Our Chicago mini-vacation!

Well, our mini vacation ended up not including as many people as we had hoped, but we're having a great time all the same. On the way up, we stopped for dinner at an old favorite, Arthur's Garden Deli in Rock Falls. If you ever get there, try the #1 - Work of Art. It's LOADED with meat and cheeses, and delicious!

Welcome to the flood of 2008, 2nd Edition!

Here in the QCA, many of us thought the floods were over for the year. Roads and parks were open again, and Davenport alone had spent over $700,000 to clean up the mess left behind.

Now, it's all back again. The rain we've gotten lately, combined with that in the areas north of us, has brought the Mississippi river out of it's banks again. Ryan and I stopped by one of the flooded areas today to get an up close and personal view of it.

These are a few pictures of what we saw, including a couple of young boys who decided to go wading. The shorter boy got in almost up to his waist, while the taller boy was able to keep it to just above the knees.

Ryan did go as far as to dip his hand in the water, but decided not to join the other boys wading.

Don't I have a good lookin' kid?

Just don't tell him, it'll go to his head! :)

Forever Mankind

I came across this speech in my Bathroom Reader this morning. I've read it before, but it's worth reading a second time, and sharing with others.

This was written by William Safire, for President Nixon to read in case of a 'worst case scenario' in the Apollo 11 mission. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, but there was always the possibility they might not make it back. Here's what we would have heard the President read if they didn't.

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice. These two men are laying down their lives in mankind's most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man's search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Pictures of our new house

I'm not sure why that map doesn't seem to be working, sorry about that.  Anyway, I stopped and took a few pics of the new house on my way in to work today, so check it out! 

(Sorry for the quality, pics were taken with my cell phone as the wife forgot to charge the battery in our digital camera!)