The kids recently participated in their school play Donkey Tales. It consisted of grades Kindergarten through second grade. Jordan was an angel and Jake cut down the palms used to fan Jesus on his "donkey ride". The performance was adorable and a dvd is available if anyone is interested. Mame took them to Eli's to pick out their "duds" for the performance. As you can see, they thought of everything. Jordan's boots even light up :) My girl does love her accesso

ries. Next year they will be in separate shows, it means a little more work but it is definitely worth it. I had the cutest little ranch hands in the show!!!!

Recently I got the opportunity to travel to Atlanta with my good friends Wendy & Leslie to attend the Junior League Annual Conference. We spent three days attending training workshops, brainstorming with other league members and we snuck in a trip the Inman Park Street Festival. Our Keynote speaker was Erin Gruwell. She is a young teacher that changed the lives of so many teenagers through her teaching. Their stories were published in a book called "Freedom Writers". There is also a movie starring Hilary Swank about the amazing work she has done....I highly recommend them both. Overall we had a fabulous trip. Our only hiccups were at the airport....if I get more time I will tell those stories :) We came home with lots of new ideas and a renewed passion for the Junior League....this year is going to be great!

Jordan had her class Easter Party at Nikki Rudd's house. The kids had a great time spending the day out of school. The did crafts, busted a pinata, hunted for eggs & had a visit from the Easter Bunny himself.

For the first time, Jake fished with the Triple J team in division 11. The division consists of three tournaments in Marco, Naples & Fort Myers. Overall the team came in 2nd place - awesome!!! Jake was the top Junior Angler for the division. He won college scholarships, a kayak and a fishing pole. I think we have created a fishing monster. He will fish with his dad in November in Boluxi for the national title - Go Jake!!!!

Palermo

Last week me and my friends Michelle and Pat went to visit Robin in Palermo. We hit the ground running and did not stop for a week. Robin took us to our hotel where we showered and changed clothes, then to her house for wine and appetizers. Then to our first dinner in Italy....of course I ordered pizza and it did not disappoint.

The next day we took the red bus tour of the city. We got off to find the farmer's market. After a round about walk through the city we stumbled upon it. There was fresh fish, fruit, vegetables and spices. It was no less than amazing. After getting back on the bus and completing the tour we browsed some shops while we waited for Robin to get off work. After lunch Robin took us to Monreale to see the catherdal. It was our lucky day and we saw a young couple tie the knot in one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. We headed back down to Palermo for dinner with Frank & Somona at a castle of the water. Once again dinner was fantastic.

The next two days were spent in Taormina. We shopped and ate and drank wine. There is also some historical sites to see there...like a Greek ampithreater (Sicily was once occupied by the Greeks) and of of course several churches. One night instead of a traditional dinner we hopped around sampling appetizers from several different restaurants...it was awesome.

We drove back to Palermo along the coast and the views were breathtaking. We stopped in ???? to have lunch and do some more shopping. The restaurant we ate in served pizza with french fries on it. It sounded like my idea of heaven....but I have to say it was my least favorite meal of the trip....I still cannot believe it.

Our final day we drove down to ????? a medievil city on the coast. On a clear day you can see the coast of Africa. Our day was not clear but it was still breathtaking. We bought our final souveniers and keepsakes while walking up to the castle. The streets were full of kids on field trips and other tourists like us. One little aspiring photographer took our picture during her adventure to the castle.

The trip was fabulous and it was great to visit with Robin and see how well she is doing it Italy. We would have been lost without her Italian speaking abilities and local knowledge. I do not think I can go into our driving adventures....let's just say that stop signs and speed limits are merely guidelines...it's your choice whether to follow them or not.

For Spring Break 2009 the Myers Clan plus PJ's mom and my mom went to Park City, Utah. We stayed at Deer Valley. Jordan went to ski school for two days, we could only talk Jake into one day. On Thursday we all skied together. The kids are quickly becoming better skiers than mom, they have some more work to do before they can out ski dad :). I did not fall any while skiing but did somehow mange to fall right in front of a ski instructor while "poling" on flat snow - go figure.

Balls Out

For everyone who has watched PJ's video & heard the expression "Balls Out" I thought I would post the origin of his colorful term & just so you know it has become a common expression in our day to day banter :)

An interesting saying with a generally misunderstood etymology. It has commonly come to mean to do something with reckless abandon or extreme courage, or perhaps a combination of both.

However, contrary to popular belief, going balls out is not something that is limited to those people who have the proper equipment to exhibit such testicular fortitude that this saying conjures images of in the vulgar argot.

It's true meaning is derived from the advent of the Watt's Governor, created in the late 18th century. This governor consisted of a pair of steel balls that were connected to a central vertical spindle by a pair of link arms. As the engine speed increased the spindle would rotate faster, causing the steel balls to move further and further away from the central arm. The point at which the balls were completely extended, the engine was said to be running balls out, meaning it was going as fast as it could.

So next time you decide to go balls out, just keep your shorts on, and give it your all.

There you have it, PJ did not make this up or misspeak as some of you have commented. I hope you all learned something new today.