~~ODNEAL FAMILY BLOG~~Port of Readlyn, Iowa

So Kyle is moving into his rented house this weekend and getting this "stuff" out of my dining/first living room. I think we bought more stuff for him moving into a house than into his dorm. But as you can see by these pics I will be glad to have this room back so that I can put normal stuff back in and hang some new pictures on the walls. I have put up with this furniture for far too long. And it smelled of stale cigarettes very bad for a while. The last thing a former smoker wants to smell in their own house everyday is stale smoke. So I wiped it all down with Fabuloso and sprayed the crap out of it and we were able to tolerate it for now. So Kyle and I both agreed in a way that we are sad about him moving out again, but I think his is totally because "his room" will no longer be "his". It is totally turning into my extra bedroom that looks nice just in case we have company that stays. Yep, I'm going to miss him like crazy but he will be a lot close...

This is our good friend Steve at the river (and his friend Billy that was here for the weekend to visit). You've seen pictures posted on here before of his famous wonderful parties he throws. Yes, he is the one that has the house on a bluff along the river and I ALWAYS take photos of people and the view from his deck. Well we see Steve pretty much every weekend and have NEVER seen him get on a tube and go behind a boat. It was so fun to watch them out on the water having fun. If you look closely at the bottom right picture, Steve is holding his watch up so it doesn't get wet. Apparently he doesn't have a Citizen watch like me, because I dive in all the time and forget about having it on, and have never had to worry about it except for a battery. Although I highly doubt that Steve's watch is a Citizen. It is probably a watch way more expensive than I can afford! But we love him and his friends just the same. Everyone have a great weekend!

You know all those people that sell bread and other stuff shaped like Jesus (or other shapes) on EBAY? Well, the other night when I was preparing supper I found this "heart" shaped potato and told Bruce we ought to put it on EBAY. Of course I was joking but in the end I ended up not cutting it up with the other potatoes. It was spared. I don't know if I thought maybe Bruce would put it on EBAY just to see if any crazy people bid on it or what. Well, it never got put up for sale so tonight it became supper. And what a great supper it made! Okay it probably didn't make the supper but it helped. Why do weird shaped vegetables intrigue all of us? And why do people pay money for these crazy things? And why does this topic even deserve a blog post? EXACTLY! Enough said.

Well seriously I know that he's had 19 "birthday dinners" but let's face it that the first years were definitely not memorable to him or me. So I made Kyle's belated birthday supper and cheesecake tonight since we got home later last night from the river. I always make a cheesecake for all 3 of our boys as that is what they request. And tonight we grilled bacon wrapped sirloins and they were awesome. Bruce was worried they were overcooked waiting for the garlic bread, but they were actually PERFECT! Kyle nor any of us were hungry for the cheesecake after supper though, so I guess we will actually have some tomorrow. Kyle and I are going to get the rest of his list of stuff he needs for his house tomorrow after I take Ty for his sports physical in the afternoon. I can't believe Kyle is moving out again next weekend, but this time I will just be able to let him use the truck to move his stuff out of my living room and can visit him next week to check out ...

Today you turned 19 and I cannot believe it. Seems like yesterday you were reading out of the newspaper (at 3 years old!), and reading books to your kindgergarten class when Mrs. Behnke had laryngitis, because you were the only one that could! I am so very proud of the great young man that you have become. It makes a Mom & Dad very proud to raise a son that is so respectful and just a genuine person like you are. These are just a few of the pictures that I came across that make me smile and I could have put a thousand more on here but Picasa wouldn't let me! So just know that I am honored that you are my son and cannot wait to watch the years ahead and what you still will become. I love you Kyle and I hope that your birthday was all and more than you expected!

So did you see the news tonight? Yep, apparently a barge "hit" the Lansing bridge this afternoon and it is closed until it can be examined. Here is a picture from vacation of the bridge and guess what? It looked exactly like this on all the news cast reports tonight. Only difference is there was a full barge driven by apparently a "tired" captain sideways right along the bridge. On the 10 o'clock news tonight they said that it hit the cement (rubber I call it) dolphin so it did not hurt the bridge at all. I personally was hoping the bridge was had since I cannot stand to drive over, ride under, ski under, etc. this "beautiful" bridge. I am personally open to a brand new one !!!!! But really I am kidding because I know it is a landmark and all kinds of stuff I guess. But my life really wouldn't be damaged if this bridge didn't exist. However, I totally REFUSE to not have that "rubber dolphin" out there for my enjoyment...

It really hasn't been that many, but man this year has not been good to us boaters in the marina. One morning while we were on vacation we woke up to a huge fish fly hatch. Bruce power washed everyone's boats and the dock for over 3 hours. I walked out of the a/c and took pictures of a few of the piles and I think going from the cool to the humidity made my lens a little foggy. We have had a few more hatches since vacation, but now I brought up 60 gallon garbage bags that cover our lights perfectly. So hopefully when we have a heads up and get the bags on before they are out too thick we will keep them away from Dock #1 and send them elsewhere ! I guess I wouldn't want to be elsewhere anymore!!!! I really think the city and marina messed up by not putting shut offs on the lights. The street lights in town have them after all. What were they thinking? Apparently they weren't! Hoping we are now done with the fish flies for this year!

In the backwaters I found all of these turtles lined up on a log, and some on top of each other on that log. By the time I snapped a couple of pictures........... OOps-they were gone! I just love everything you can find in the backwaters of the Mississippi. We had a really relaxing boat ride checking out all of the wildlife along the way. Oh vacation! Why do we only get one of you each year?????????

The Friday before the 4th John & Dawn, and Jamie & Georgia came to the houseboat to visit for the day. We took them and the girls on a long houseboat ride, and then hung out on the sandbar until they had to leave that afternoon. We all had a really good time and I am so glad they get to visit once or twice a year. It isn't enough, but we love to have them. Here's hoping that I am doing some more of this fun and socializing this weekend with my "river" friends since Bruce won't be able to be on the beach with me! Happy Saturday!

Yep, three years ago today at 10:16 am I smoked my very last cigarette FOREVER! (at least I feel it is forever!) It is funny I chose this picture for this blog post, but this was a cross left on our sandbar by a bible camp when we pulled in to start our vacation. We (I) thought it was pretty neat, so snapped a few pictures of it stuck in the sand looking over our houseboat and spot. I really feel that maybe if my Mom would have quit when she was younger and stayed quit that maybe, just maybe, she might still be with us today. It is a terribly bad habit and I wish anyone great luck in quitting. I apparently am very fortunate in quitting cold turkey because after about a week or two I'm good to go. Must be because I am so damn stubborn! And the only other time I had quit before this I only made it a little over 8 months and got depressed because I gained weight. This time I am very happy to just be over the addiction and can deal with not being the exact size I was when I was 18! My...

I snapped this picture of an eagle while we were on a houseboat ride on vacation. I love the fact that they are now plentiful in Lansing, Iowa and we get the joy of seeing them flying around everywhere pretty much every day. Well we only get to on the weekends, but the locals see them EVERYDAY! They are so beautiful to watch. Everyone have a great weekend!

So, we had our family from Colorado here again on the 4th of July weekend. My niece's husband bought this cool tube from a guy at the gas dock. I guess just because the tube is cool, and he got a GREAT deal on it. So Friday I decide that I haven't tubed for a long time (and I now remember why) and said that I would go with the little ones from Colorado. Well, we did and it was fun, but very rough on the channel. I don't think that I have laughed that hard in a very long time though, so I think a great time was had by all of us. And by Miss Emily's thumbs up I think she thought it was a cool ride! Thank God when we went in on Sunday morning that my favorite chiropractor neighbor in the marina was there. Yep, he pretty much told me to not do the tubing thing anymore. I think my neck and back cracked like 5,894 times. Or something like that. Glad the kids had fun, and I have to admit so did I! And I hate to say but I'd do it again in a heartbeat if those s...

We just got back Sunday from being at the houseboat from Thursday, July 1st through Sunday, July 11th. Still trying to catch up on my house, laundry, and everything else. Just finally loaded my pictures onto the laptop tonight. I promise to make some posts soon for anyone that cares. And yes I know and appreciate that there are a few of you! Thanks! Here is a fun picture I took of Bruce and I out in the rubber boat taking a ride through the backwaters. I may or may not have picked a lilly flower! SSSHHHHHHHH!!!!! Be back soon with some fun pictures and stories. And someone please tell Bruce that his feet and bunions are WAY uglier than my feet!!! Thank you!