It is that time again folks, time to talk all about my immense love for Modern Family.  Of course this week that I am inspired to write about it they show a rerun, but that’s okay!  That is why we have directv whole home dvr DVR so we can record and delete on a whim.  We know that they need their down time to let their creative minds wander to come up with more and more crazy shenanigans for us to watch every week.  Phil and Claire Dunphy are for me the perfect couple.  They are a more realistic couple as compared with some that they show on tv these days.  I like how they fight and make up and then fight with their kids and then make up again.  They have problems and funny things happen just like any real family would.  I really could go without Sophia Vergara’s voice on this show because sometimes it really starts to get on my nerves but I think it does suit her character’s personality so at least that works for them.

One year my parents decided to go on a week’s vacation without the kids and they farmed me out to a cousin’s horse farm for the week. I was in horse heaven that week! My parents bought me a pair of used horse riding boots and dropped me off at Cousin Betty’s house and I was totally emerged in horse farm life for the week. One of the things that Cousin Betty had me do was to help straighten up and clean the saddlery that was in the tack room. She showed me how to use saddle soap to clean the saddles and halters and reins. She had me muck some stalls, which was hard work, but I didn’t mind at all. I was with horses on a horse farm! She showed me how to groom a horse, and she gave me a few riding lessons. I wished that week would never end!

I went to CannonSatellite.com to look into satellite and see if it was any cheaper than cable. I also talked to the people with my lawn care company to make sure they wouldn’t mind if I cut back to twice a month instead of every week – that’s helped us save hundreds a year. I don’t know why I got on this money saving kick but for me it’s all about making sure we’re financially viable in this economy and I know that my job’s secure but I get really worried that I might lose my job or get hurt or something else terrible. I love being part of a supportive family but there’s something to be said for taking matters into your own hands and that’s what I’ve done – I’ve asked every member of my family to put their best effort forward when it comes to saving money but at the end of the day it’s an individual effort and everyone has to answer for themselves with what they’ve been able to save.

To be perfectly honest, that is probably one of the biggest reasons why I wanted a baby girl way back then; the outfits for baby girls are always so adorable! The outfits always bring back memories of my childhood when my sisters and I would play with dolls and dress the dolls up in frilly outfits. Sometimes I wonder if playing with baby dolls was brain washing us, or simply appealing to our maternal instincts. Seems to me that I was just as happy playing with toy trucks and building blocks when I was given them to play with. That’s probably a good thing, though, since I had two sons and I ended up spending many hours with them playing with toy trucks, building blocks, trains, and action figures!

So I had to have my son teach me how to use it, and he laughed at me because he thought that I should already know how to use it! It was easier than I thought it would be, and I have used it a couple of times. I wonder how much I’ll use it in the future. I can’t imagine doing it while driving. That would be dangerous and dumb.

I was really glad when the white lab coat that I ordered from the http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/ arrived yesterday. I had ordered for my son to  wear as part of a Pokemon costume at the Pokemon tournaments that he has planned for the kids where he works.

He works at a residential school for “at risk children” ranging in age from six to fourteen, and he has a small group of kids assigned to him. They have a variety of issues (which is why they are there) but he has had really good luck getting the kids to settle down and learn to cooperate and follow rules by teaching them how to play Pokemon and holding tournaments once a week.

Every kid that plays wins cards, but the ones who win the games get extra cards. The kids love it. I’m really glad that he has found a way to incorporate his love of games into his work and that it is helping the kids to learn life skills.

So I was happy to go with my sister to her reunion, hoping to meet up with some of the people that I was friendly with back in our glorious days of youth. Let me tell you, this class went all-out when it came to the reunion – it was an entire weekend of activities, starting with drinks at a local restaurant on Friday night, an open hospitality room at the motel all weekend long, dinner and dancing and tours on Saturday, brunch and picnics, it was jam packed!

I enjoyed the hospitality room the most because it was not too noisy to hear people talk in there. Also, my sister had donated (temporarily) a lot of memorabilia from our school days to be put on display to bring back more memories. She had a lot of custom lapel pins that were sold at school by the spirit booster clubs in support of the various sports teams, photographs, strings of love beads, old magazines, performance programs, award ribbons… the list goes on and on.

Although I did not get the chance to visit with as many people as I would have liked (I only participated with the Friday night activities) I did enjoy myself and wished that I had been able to participate in the entire weekend.  Maybe next time!

Having one large party like that is reminiscent of a Christmas party because so many people are celebrating and exchanging presents. Having a large family gathering and party in the early autumn is another good way to keep in touch with the extended family. After all most family gathering events run from Thanksgiving through Easter with very little family contact through the summer time.

The biggest hurdle with any family gathering is trying to make certain that any family squabbles will be left out of the party. That can be a big challenge when a big family is involved.