Orange City

Dwight and I went on a date tonight. George had recommended The Hatchery as a good place to get a burger and so we went there. The Hatchery is a little place in an old brick building off the square in Orange City. Eating there is like what I imagine eating at your neighborhood pub to be like. There can't have been more than ten tables in the whole place and most of them were pushed together for larger groups of people. The food was good and we enjoyed the leisurely atmosphere. Then we walked around the downtown area in Orange City, which is much more Dutch and kitchy than Holland, Michigan. There are lots of false store fronts in the Dutch gable style. There are Dutch bakeries, Dutch goods for sale, and an impressive looking meat market with signs in Dutch for various delicacies. The park in the center of the square is littered with windmills. I'm sure it is all quite lovely in the spring when the tulips are blooming. Tonight it was pretty much deserted and everything was closed. It was a pleasant night for a walk, though, and we enjoyed our evening.

Tami Tango Trio

Tonight we went to a concert by the Tami Tango Trio. This group from Argentina is touring in the U.S. and has been making presentations on the folk music history of Argentina to music and Spanish classes at Dordt. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert. The musicians were fabulous, especially the woman playing the piano. It is amazing to me that a person's fingers can move that quickly. Jon Felipe's insistence that we sit in the front row ensured we had a good view of the performance. I also really enjoyed watching the dancers. They perform all those intricate dance steps without once trodding on their partner's foot. They also changed outfits and shoes between every dance number. The mind boggles at the amount of luggage they must have brought with them. It was a fun evening and we capped it off with a bedtime snack of ice cream after we got home.

Down Syndrome Awareness Month

As October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, I thought I would mention a new reality show out of the U.K. that highlights DS. It is about the lives of five young people who are housemates together in Brighton, England. Four of the young people have DS and one has William's Syndrome. So far, five episodes have been released. While I do not necessarily agree with all the decisions that have been made as regards the lifestyle of these young people, I do appreciate that they are living a life that is similar to that of their peers. It is a fun show and you will laugh, especially if you know anyone with DS. If you want to get the flavor of the show, I suggest watching episode one. Episode three is the funniest one so far, but since it includes brief scenes of the Lady Boys of Bangkok, I would have to rate it PG-13. So, if you have some time on your hands, check it out and let me know what you think.

http://the-specials.com/

Maria's Braids

Maria let me braid her hair yesterday. Doesn't it look cute? She very rarely lets me do that sort of thing.

It was a Good Day

Today was a good day despite the H1N1. Maria and I took my folks out and about in Sioux Center this morning. We also stopped and visited with George and Regina awhile. This afternoon, we went on a tour of the college. I baked some almond patties while everyone had a nap and then Maria and I packed up the tea things and the treats and met them at the hotel again for tea. Maria got in more swimming and we all got in more visiting. Dwight and the boys made homemade pizza and brought it out there and we all ate together in the big gathering room at the hotel. It was fun.

Jon's fever broke by noon and he got up and ate three bowls of noodle soup. He is feeling much better and no longer wants to lay around and rest. He's eating and being pretty much his normal self again. We are so glad that he seems to have turned the corner and is on the mend. So far, the rest of us have remained healthy. It was too bad that he had to lay low for the big grandparent visit and I really hope my folks don't get sick. I think they had a good visit despite the fact that we didn't really do anything exciting. It was so good to spend time with them.

Saturday Morning

My parents arrived late yesterday afternoon. They stopped in LeMars and went to Pizza Ranch for supper. Then, Maria and I met them at their hotel room and shared a pot of tea. Maria swam in the hotel pool and the rest of us visited. It was very nice.

Jon woke up yesteday with a high fever. I called my parents right away, but they decided to come visit us anyway since the plans were all made. Later in the day, I became quite concerned about Jon because I couldn't keep the fever down and fever triggers his seizures. Plus, he clearly was very ill. I called the doctor's office and they had me bring him right in. He tested positive for H1N1. Poor little guy is totally miserable. They put him on Tamiflu and also gave a prescription for Maria to take to it to try to prevent her from getting the flu. Dwight just read in the news that 10% of the kids in the schools here have H1N1.

I was so excited to have my family come visit and now this. It seems so unfair. Jon was so excited to see Grandpa, now he can't be near him at all. Actually, though, he's so sick he didn't even notice that Maria and I left to visit with Grandpa and Grandma last night.

So, I don't know how the rest of the visit will look. I'm thinking we'll have to skip some of the stuff we had planned. My dad was pretty wiped out from the trip, so he's okay with that. At least it stopped raining.

Heartland Teachers Convention

Nasty weather is here with a vengence for the Heartland Teachers Convention. It is coldy and rainy and promises to be the same tomorrow. The Dordt College students have a reading recess today and tomorrow. In their place, several hundred teachers from the surrounding states have decended on the college for their convention. It used to be called the tri-state break, but then it occurred to someone that more than three states were represented and the name was changed to Heartland.

I attended the keynote address this morning with Dwight. The speaker was Ken Medema. He was fabulous. In addition to giving a good message, he was so funny that I laughed until I cried. This afternoon, I presented a sectional on autism spectrum disorders in the classroom specifically geared to high school. I wasn't sure if anyone would show up, but the room was full. For some reason, I was really nervous about doing this, but it went really well and people seemed to think they got some good information.

After we got home from the convention, we packed up the kids, grabbed some burgers, and went to the Ken Medema concert at the college. We heard some new songs and some old favorites. We sang along with the "Tree Song." We clapped and danced and joined in the fun. It was such a nice family evening. Tomorrow my parents and Colin are coming out for a visit. We are so excited that they are coming. I am excited to show them the college and our new home town, to share a little piece of our new life with them. (I recognize that the grand tour only takes about ten minutes, but I figure that gives us more time to visit :-) I do hope the sun comes back out.