Last night was one of the more windy night that I can remember in a long time. We had storm watches and warnings all around and it did rain very hard briefly. We even lost power for about 2 hours.. which is really rare!

This morning when we got up, our patio table had been blown about 15' and it's glass shattered and a play kitchen that had been outside was pretty much destroyed (the top was blown off of it). I am kinda surprised that the trampoline didn't take a flight.

But otherwise, we weathered the storm well!

We have a furry little friend who keeps sneaking into our pantry at night and nibbling on chocolate. It's actually not so small (a rat). Last night, I put 3 Hershey Kisses in a live trap and this morning, there is only one left, but the trap didn't get triggered. We'll have to come up with something devious to catch it!

Tonight, we finish the floor in the Living room!

I am extending the my conquest of blogging and converted the main page of this website to Blogger. This way, we can add posts much more easily.

Welcome to the Barnhart's Homepage

This is truly amazing. Be sure to click on NEXT PAGE at the bottom of each page; there are 5 pages in all. A lady found a hummingbird nest and got pictures all the way from the egg to leaving the nest. Took 24 days from birth to flight. Because you'll probably never in your lifetime see this again, enjoy.

Humming Bird Nest '03

My god it was an early morning! We had to get up at 5 AM EST. There are several different flight options if we want to leave early (our flight is scheduled for 3 PM). The first flight leaves at 7 AM and we would get back in Champaign by 11 AM. There are then 2 flights at 8 and 9 which would get us back by 2 PM.

We got to the airport around 5:45 and got onto standby for the 7 AM flight (we got there before the counter opened). The flight was full, so we really didn't think we would have a chance, but about 10 minutes before it was scheduled to leave, we were called up and got 3 seats together and 1 a little forward, which was perfect! The rest of the trip home was flawless as we had just enough time in Chicago to get some Mochas and a snack before boarding the flight to CU. It took us a few minutes to find out car (Leila picked it up the day we flew out and dropped it back off that morning to help with the parking fees).

The animals were very happy to see us and it is good to be home!

This morning we all got up early (6 AM) to eat breakfast and be ready for the 7:30 early disembarking option (where you take your own suitcases with you). We were hoping to avoid the crowds leaving and for the most part, we did. This way, we rode to the airport with everyone else.

We were hoping to be able to fly out a day early, but we found out that you can only go on standby on the day of your tickets, so we would have had to pay the difference in fare (which was expensive). So, we said good bye to everyone and headed to our next hotel at 10 AM hoping to get an early check in, and we lucked out! Our room feels huge compared to the small cabin on the ship and the pool is the nicest one we've been at on vacation. After we grabbed some lunch at 10:30, we came back to the pool and swam and played in the hot tub. It briefly rained which chased us inside, but being down south, it can rain one minute and the sun is shining the next.

For dinner, we took a taxi in to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Food was a tad bit expensive, but the portions were huge. The restaraunt was freezing as well, but that is a different issue. :) It was nice as the restaraunt was part of a shopping area on the water downtown Miami.. so we walked around a bit and then took a cab back to the hotel.

About bed time, I got a phone call from my cousin who lives in California (Bobby). It is probably the first time I've ever talked with him on the phone, which was very nice.

Overall, today was one of the more relaxing days of the trip, but another early morning tomorrow!

Last night was pretty choppy as we headed back out to sea, but at least the worse of it happened while we were asleep. Today was probably the most enjoyable day so far on the trip as there is no place to go, so we just sat around by the pool. Again, at Noon, the live music came and killed our conversation, but Trent went and found another place to sit (in the smoking section) which was perfect as it had a nice breeze.

Trent was enjoying his pasta salid during lunch, when he noticed that a small octopus was stuck to his fork... He hadn't realized what he was eating. Ausin asked how it was and he said, "it was good until I realized what it was." That was so funny to see the look on his face.

We went to another show tonight, which was good.. still felt a bit like a high school production.

Tonight, we had to pack up... we decided not to leave our bags out and try to leave early by carrying out our own luggage.

We didn't dock today until noon, which left us some time in the morning. It was very windy today and the seas were rough. At first, we weren't bothered and went up to have breakfast. We ate inside since otherwise our food would have been blown away and decided to walk around a bit.

We went up to the athletic area (running track and putt-putt golf) and I went to the front to watch the ocean while the kids played. After 15-20 minutes, we were all feeling a bit off (not really sick.. but just not feeling good). Being on the top deck, we were getting a lot of movement compared to lower on the ship.. so we decided to head down to our rooms after stopping off at the gift shop and we watched "The Incredibles" until we started to dock. Then we went back up and watched. The water is aazingly clear. You can easily see the bottom from the ship decks and tell where there was sea-weed and clear sand.

We all gathered for lunch and headed out. The port was very built up with shops (which I found out later was pretty much run by Carnival) and again very commercial.. but as we toook our cab to our destination for the day, we saw some of the real life. Small shacks and huts and basic poverty. We headed to a place that had a small zoo, beach, food, drinks, snorkeling, etc. Wasn't the best at any one thing, but it gave something for everyone. Trent and I (with Taylor, Austin, Bridget, and Broderick) went out and hung out on the sea-trampoline for about an hour... by this time, the sun was becoming very intense (about 2PM) so we all decided to head back to the ship after looking through the zoo (which had a couple of monkeys, turtles, some birds, a deer, and a wild pig thing).

We shopped a bit at the dock and then went back to the ship and the kids played more on the water slide and we tried to talk over the loud music. :(

We didn't do any shows tonight as the kids very very tired and pretty much crashed back in bed. I stayed up and talked with Trent and Amber while Holly went down with the kids and read.

This morning, we docked in Key West around 8 AM and we have to be back on board by 1:30. All of us went ashore together after eating breakfast and quickly realized that it would be impossible to stay together. Everyone was interested in different things.. so we split off into our family units agreeing not to worry about each other.

We walked around the downtown area and went through the little market which was fun, but extremely commercial. We thought we might kill some time looking through their aquarium or local musuem, but admission prices were very steep. $15/person for the museum and $16/person for the aquarium. :(

There were some lovely houses and very interesting trees there. The little shuttle driver told us on the way back to the ship that the average temp was 76F. The record low was 41 and record high was something like 94. Unreal! They measure seasons by which flowers are in bloom.

The kids checked out the kids area when we got back to ship and Holly and I headed to the adults only sunbathing spot (tops optional) which was no big thing. It was the only place we could find any sun spots and only a couple of women were topless.

Otherwise, the day was uneventful... although we did discover something that would become a major irritant. The non-smoking shadey place by the pool was also were the live music was located.. so we found that we couldn't carry a conversation while they were playing without yelling. Am I getting old when I think the music is too loud?

We went to a "Vegas style" show tonight. I thought it was enjoyable, although not as professional looking as I would have expected.

The kids also got to play on the waterslide some today, which was fun. Unfortunately, the pool was saltwater which the kids quickly got tired of..

This is our last day on the beach and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We got up, ate breakfast and then straight to the beach for a few hours before we needed to get cleaned up and head for the ship.

Bridget and Holly went for a shell collecting walk and I laid out while Broderick played in the sand. It wasn't about 10 minutes, just enough time for me to get nice and relaxed when a bucket of cold water was poured over me! Wow.. not a good way to get shocked back to reality. Broderick had decided that I wasn't helping him (even though he never asked for my help) so that was his way of motivating me. Little bugger!

So, I got up and grumbled at him a bit and then settled in to help him build the U.S.S. Kitty Hawk Aircraft carrier in the sand.

Have you ever seen those sand competitions where people build those amazing sculptures? Well... this wasn't one of them, but he was content with it anyway. :)

At noon, we checked out and hopped into our cab to go to the ship. About half way there, I noticed the white van in front of us had a Days Inn logo on it. Knowing that Amber and Trent's family stayed there, I called up Trent and said, "Guess what! We are right behind you!"

Even though boarding was supposed to start at 1:30, we got there at 12:30 and walked right on board. I am so glad we missed the lines... you could see where people normally have to weave around like an amuzement ride.

We are very happy with our cabin... towards the back of the boat (nearest the elevator which takes us up to the restaraunts and pool and we have a window overlooking the ocean. Holly and I had it in our heads that we have an inside room, so this was a nice surprise!

The only bad thing is that Holly and I got separated for about 1 1/2 hours. She had left her cell phone and cabin keys in the room and we split up to to take care of different things thinking that we would easily find each other... WRONG! Lesson learned... always have a meeting spot and a room key with you at all times! We realized that walkie-talkies would have come in handy at this point... out to sea, cell phones don't work.

Oh! And we wish that we would have brought a clock or watch... no way to tell time in the cabin.

T.V. only has 4 channels.. which sucked.

Last night, almost everyone went to sleep at 9 PM (that's 8 PM CST) and slept in until 9 AM.. so 12 hours of sleep. At least I stayed up until 11 AM.. but you can tell that everyone was pretty tired.

This morning, we got up and had a decent breakfast and then hit the beach after lathering on sun screen. The water was cool at first, but once we got used to it, it was great! We stayed out until 1:30 and then came in and went to lunch.

Then we hit the pool, but it soon began to rain, so we headed in and got cleaned up and veg'd out. The kids played games on the hotel game service. I played Star Wars and Holly read her book.

I talked to Amber who had just made it to their hotel. Evidently, it took them 3 tries to find the right place, so they wasted 2-3 hours driving around town. :( I guess they flew through the storm that we got.. so I suspect their flight was bumpy.

We decided to get out of the hotel for dinner and found out that there are restaurants in the heart of South Beach provide transportation, so we arranged for a ride.

We were very suprised when it showed up and we found out that we were going to be riding in a white limo!



Dinner was pretty good (although expensive... $100 for the 4 of us). It was so fun there. We ate out in the middle of all the shops, so we had a great time people watching. We were amazed at how put together people were. Everyone seemed to have a great sense of style and were wearing clothing that really matched their body types. Of course, 99% of the people had unbelievable bodies, which makes it more interesting and I remember that there is the diet named for this place "South Beach Diet" so no surprise.

We walked around and did some window shopping before Broderick wore out and begged to come back to the hotel.. again a Limo ride (free) back to the hotel.

I could definitely get used to this.

Tomorrow, we'll catch a cab around noon to go to the ship. I don't know if I'll have any sort of internet access... so this may be it for awhile.

Amber and Trent's families may come out to the beach and hang out with us in the morning, which would be fun. Otherwise, I don't know what they'll do for the morning.

Our first day of vacation went amazingly well. Our flight was scheduled for 8:10 AM out of Champaign. We arrived at 6:30 AM and they put us on an earlier flight, which was nice. I would much rather spend some extra time in Chicago rather then Willard. :)

Broderick loved his first flight and he and Bridget both had window seats. Bridget has flown before when she was much younger, but this is the first flight she can remember.

The layover in Chicago was fine, although we got there early enough to have possibly caught an earlier flight to Miami, but it looked too full, so we decided to wait it out.

The flight to Miami was pretty bumpy, one of the more turbulent flights I have been on in a long time, but the kids loved it! I am glad it was a positive experience for them. The only minor bad thing is that Bridget's ear still hasn't equalized fully.

We took a cab to our hotel which is right on South Beach. I am so glad we did that over the hotel shuttle. Our hotel itself isn't anything to write home about (although there is wireless in my room, which is a plus) and our room's view is literally looking at another building 40' away, but it is right on the beach!

Pretty amazing leaving CU where it was 30 and landing in the mid 80s! The water is so beautiful! SC has more of a greenish tint to it and you can't see more then 2" in front of your face. Here, the water is more brilliantly blue and you can easily see the bottom in many places.

The kids braved the ocean and swam (well, played in the surf) for about an hour before we came back up to our room to clean up. We also walked along the beach in both directions.

I am surprised that I haven't seen more spring-breakers, but they must be in a different area. The beach was pretty empty and many out were families.

We ended the evening by watching Polar Express, which none of us had seen before. It was pretty good! I am sure that we'll buy it when it comes out.

Oh! We are on a Star Wars kick right now with Bridget and we've watched the original 3 movies and #1. I brought #2 with us and we'll probably watch it tomorrow. :)

I tried to watch the Incredibles on the plane, but my headphones only had one side working... so that sucked. I ended up playing the Star Wars game for about 2 hours, not bad!

A few weeks ago, I broke our prairie website. Well.. I didn't break it, but the formatting was all off. Last night, I finally took the time to sit down and fix it. I decided to go a step further and I made the front-page a blog, to make it easier for other board members to post articles and to keep an archive. Check it out!

Barnhart-Grove Prairie Restoration Project

On Saturday, we had a Prairie burn. The wind was pushing 20 MPH at times, but we decided to go ahead. This weekend was one of those "If it doesn't get done now, it may not get done this year" things. With our luck, April would bring showers every day! :)

Some pictures taken after the burn.

Sunday, we worked more on the floor in the living room. Take a look.

Last week, I attened a horse siminar where I learned all about proper nutrition and vet care. Of course, this morning I walk out to feed lefty only to find that he has gotten into the bag of horse feed. :) There goes his diet. Luckily, I caught him before he could eat too much, otherwise, he would have been sick, sick, sick.

Tomorrow, we leave on our vacation. I am excited and nervous at the same time. In some ways, we are very prepared and in others, I have a list a mile long to get done today. I am sure it will all work out ok. the last big thing is to get a schedule for pet sitters together. We are trying not to use any one person too much.. so we figured that if we had 2-3 people who could each do a couple of days, we would be in good shape.

Broderick lost both of his front teeth! Here is a pic of one of the teeth gone.

We got a digital camcorder yesterday at Best Buy for the trip. We've been seriously slacking in taking videos of the kids growing up, so this should help change that. I am sure I'll end up creating a web archive of the better videos as well.. just because I know people can't get enough! :)

Oh, I planted 5 Maple trees that were growing in our neighbor's field. They were a good height (2-3') instead of the 4-5" ones I normally plant. They would have been plowed over, so no loss there. Hopefully, they will survive this year. In the past, my Uncle has come in to help us mow (when no on was living there) and mowed them down. But, since we are back for the indefinite future... they should have a fighting chance. This is the time of year to transplant anyway.

Sam and Cricket have both figured out how to jump the fence. Sam cracks me up. He can't jump into the porch which is about 30", but he can jump over a 3' fence... go figure. I have no idea how Cricket is getting out... he must climb it. The problem is that Sam likes to chase cars and he'll run right in front of them. So, we lock him up for his own good. I guess we need to build a 6' fence somewhere for him.

I finally got Bridget's room reveal pictures uploaded!

The Barnhart's Pictures! - Bridget's Room Reveal

In case you are ever wanting to burn, here is a web site that tells you the significant factors for your area (wind speed, etc)

National Weather Service Forecast Office - Central Illinois

I am finally getting back on track at getting some stuff done at the house. I've been dragging my feet at putting up trim on the insides of the living room windows, but I finally got them all done Sunday. A week or so ago, I managing to get some laminate flooring 1/2 off at Lowes. And last night, we finally started installing it. At first going was really rough. It installs completely different then the other flooring I've used. But, once we figured it out, it is going relatively well. We have about 1/2 done and hopefully the rest will be done by tomorrow. (Yeah!)

Only a week left before we leave on vacation (double yeah!).

This is pretty nice.

Fighting Illini tribute video

I blogged this last year, but I wanted to list it again.

Unfortunately they changed their format, so you randomly get a movie and you can't replay it. So if you found something you like, you have to keep refreshing to get to it again. :(

College Laughs

I have a house full of 9 year old girls... actually, there are only 3 of them, but it feels like a full house!

Bridget is really enjoying having some friends over for the night and it is nice to have the house at a stage where we can have people over.

I found some laminate flooring at Lowes yesterday at 1/2 off which is really great. Starting to get back into the swing of working on the house. I got not only the flooring, but the trim to start finishing the windows in the living room. By the end of next week, that room should have it's flooring down and the doors and windows all trimed out. That will let us put up some curtains which will really be needed as the sun goes down later.. right now you can barely watch TV from 5-6 as the glare is so bright.

Broderick lost one of his front teeth today on the top. Thank God! It has been hanging at a weird angle for the last couple of days.. kinda freaky!

Man, I can't believe how much time has gone by since I updated this. 3 months ago, I updated it every day... now I am lucky to do it once a week. Not that much going on I guess. :)

Well, here a few new things. I've been taking guitar lessons through church which has been really fun. I am not that good yet, but I can at least play a couple of tunes. Maybe some day I'll be singing at the Aroma! :)

Bridget's room is mostly done and we had her reveal on Sunday. I took some pictures which I'll post soon. Sunday night/Monday I was up in Arlington Heights for a conference regarding Oracle. Unfortunately, we are now 3-4 releases behind, so a lot of the stuff that was discussed we can't do. But, we are working on getting things updated.

I am playing B-Ball back at HK tomorrow which will be nice... I miss the excercise although I have been going to the gym 2-3 days a week. I think I am in about the best shape that I have been in for the last 5-6 years, although ironically, I weigh the most I've ever weighed... funny how that works. :)

The old silver dodge omni got hauled off this week (yeah!). It has been sitting by the house for 3 years and I finally found the title. Amazing the difference to drive up and not see it sitting there!

Bridget is having a sleep over with 2 of her friends on Sat and Broderick and I will be going to the Monster Truck show.

I've been working on my web pages some trying to use more CSS... man it can be tough to get everything to line up right... I need to find some tools to help with the layout. I am trying to convert the prairie pages to a blog to enable more people to post news... but that thoroughly screwed all the formatting up.. sigh.