Link: http://www.kyrene.k12.az.us/schools/brisas/sunda/poets/field.htm

With Trumpet and Drum
Eugene Field
The Children's Poet

With big tin trumpet and little red drum
Marching like soldiers, the children come!
My! but that music of theirs is fine!
This way and that way, and after a while
They march straight into this heart of mine!
A sturdy old heart, but it has to succumb
To the blare of that trumpet and beat of that drum!

Come on, little people, from cot and from hall-
This heart it hath welcome and room for you all!
It will sing you it's songs and warm you with love,
As your dear little arms with my arms intertwine;
It will rock you away to the dreamland above-
Oh, a jolly old heart is this heart of mine,
And jollier still is it bound to become
When you blow that big trumpet and beat that red drum!

So come; though I see not his dear little face
And hear not his voice in this jubilant place,
I know he were happy to bid me enshrine
His memory deep in my heart with your play-
Ah me! But a love that is sweeter than mine
Holdeth my boy in its keeping to-day!
And my heart it is lonely-so little folk come,
March in and make merry with trumpet and drum!

Today I had to drop my very dirty dog to be groomed. She loves to play outdoors and becomes very dirty. She will be clean by end of day! My daughter was in the car with me this morning when I took the dog to the groomers. We then started our way to her school to drop her off as well. My oldest daughter was riding in with a friend. Anyway, I was speeding over the limit. 12 miles....I learned... It was not as though I did not know this police officer was holding out on Ohio Road because I had seen him on my way to the groomers....anyway, my daughter and I were talking....musing over the time and getting her to school on time and as I went through the light and carried our way closer to the police car I saw his lights turn on and I pulled over....First, I told my daughter that I was speeding and that we were being pulled over. She handed me my wallet and I pulled my license out. There was a brief moment that I feared my insurance papers were old but as luck had it I had the new card in my car because I had printed all our car insurance cards out last week since I had to update our vehicle registration sticker. The officer approached my car and asked me if I knew I was driving 12 miles over the speed limit. I said, “No, I had not realized it” and he asked if there was an emergency. I again, said, “No, I was just trying to get my daughter to school on time.” He took my licenses and registration and asked me; “Do you still live at this address?” I said yes, and he continued to ask questions…. It was apparent that I was driving toward my neighborhood but well out of reach of the public school that would have been my daughter’s school if she attended public school. So he asked me where her school was. I told him Custera and Spring Creek. Then it all made sense to him. I told him our dog was dropped off at Petco today and that I would be mindful of the speed limit. He gave me a warning and no ticket. Thank goodness! This has never happened to me before…. I could not help but wonder if I got the warning because I had a McCain bumper sticker on my back window? What do you think?

Tomorrow will be Election Day.
As you know I voted early.
Tomorrow my husband will vote.
He has blocked out time on his calendar from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM to go and VOTE! We expect long lines or no lines.... but he is blocking time to cover either way...

Tomorrow my daughters will bake a Patriotic Cake..red/white/blue
We are also going to have for dinner; hamburgers and hotdogs…all American…..day at our home. We will decorate house....red/white/blue.

We feel strongly that we teach our kids about the privilege of freedom…. With that privilege… will come responsibility.
Our kids will have a blank map and as the news announces which states go red and blue they will mark the map; color in the state blue or red; tally the Electoral College votes….

Go out and learn about the issues and how those issues affect our country and its future.
Go out on Tuesday … vote responsibly…. Vote Republican if you share my views!

I am the daughter of an Army Officer. For my entire life we moved and were transferred from one town to another or from one country to another. It was a privilege to grow up seeing many different areas of our beautiful United States of America. It was also a privilege to grow up and live in foreign countries where we had opportunity to learn new cultures, language and represent our country abroad.

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Link: http://www.smithsonian.org/

I love the Washington DC area. Mostly in the spring because of the beautiful Cherry Blossom Trees.... a gift to our county.

Take time to spend your vacation dollars in the USA. Don't take your hard earned dollars overseas for vacation travel. Try to spend your vacation money in the beautiful USA.

http://www.smithsonian.org/visit/

Start your visit at the Smithsonian Information Center in the Castle, open daily from 8:30am to 5:30pm, your gateway to learning about the Smithsonian's 19 museums and 9 research centers.

Visit this site and plan your next trip to Washington DC.
http://www.smithsonian.org/visit/

Link: http://www.whitehousehistory.org/02/subs_house/00.html

My family will be celebrating Election Day returns together. Our kids will watch the returns with us and learn about the process. We plan to prepare "the family dinner table" with Hamburgers, Hotdogs and pasta salad. The girls are going to cook a white cake and mix raspberry Jell-O which will be poured over the cake after they have pocked holes over the top so that the liquid Jell-O can seep into the cake. Once refrigerated and Jell-O congealed frost with Cool Whip and decorate with blueberries, raspberries to create a patriotic flag design. We will decorate the house with flags and red, white and blue décor and settle down for a night of exciting election returns. Mostly, the excitement of teaching the girls about the voting process, the Electoral College process and about how the Senate and the House of Representatives function in real time real life learning.

Visit http://www.whitehousehistory.org/02/subs_house/00.html and show your children a great on line tour of our nation's White House!

Link: http://cms.komen.org/komen/index.htm

A few weeks ago I went to the Doctor for my annual physical.

I am much better now about going to the Doctor then I was for most of my adult life.

About 4 years ago, my husband intervened and made an appointment for me to go to our new family doctor. I went.

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