Haunted Fun... during the DAYLIGHT!

There's a local ghost story that one of the wooden bridges in the Amish area is haunted. As the story goes, an Amish man and his family had a terrible accident in which their buggy went over the edge and they all perished. So, brave family that we are, we went ghost hunting... during the daytime! LOL The following is our photo shoot, sans Ben, as he does not have any desire to participate in anything ghostie.

Matt and Rick, terrified to be on a haunted bridge.

A haunted bridge that happens to be a gazillion feet in the air!!!

This is the edge of the bridge.  You are supposed to drive over the bridge, then make a U-turn so you are facing the way you came.  You are then to turn off your car and wait.  Exiting the vehicle is strictly up to you and your terrified passengers.  After 15 min. you should experience something ghostie-like. Oh, and it should be at night.

So this is us after we did the U-turn and we are about to cross over the bridge.

However, you might notice that there is a house right at the end of the bridge next to where we parked.

Also, I want you to notice the white PVC pipe that is fastened to the bottom of the bridge railing in the top right corner of the photo. More on that later.

So, now we have crossed the bridge and are facing the way we came. We got OUT of the car - it is light out yet. I'm very brave in the daylight!

To the left of this picture, to the left of the tracks there are a bunch of trees. Behind these trees is another household. We could clearly hear both households making noise while we were on the bridge.

Do you see the PVC pipe along the bottom of the railing?  We think the first house hooked up the PVC pipe with a low-voltage wiring. Perhaps speaker wire?  It is definately NOT county materials.  I think there is a speaker(s) under the bridge.

Another theory is that someone could be living or sleeping or partying under the bridge - notice the circular sitting area complete with empty beer cans.

 It didn't photograph very well, but there was a slightly used trail on this side of the bridge. It could be a deer trail though, but I think it's more of the 2-legged trail going to the empty beer cans.

They aren't scared anymore.

Us - it is really a very pretty bridge.

Us again.

Even a tiny birdie nest.

Bridge construction.

Up close and personal with the bridge hardware.

Clearing Off The Shelves

Rick is going to be a Senior in the autumn. Ben is going to be a Junior.

It's that time of year when I clear off the hs'ing shelves and sort thru the junk.  However, this year is different. This year, I have no need to make room for new books for Rick. He's almost done. This final year is mostly reading the classics. He also has Math and Science along with a few reports that I will need for him to complete.  His shelf is almost empty. As for Benny's shelf, everything he needs for his Junior and Senior year are already on his shelf.

I have all the books I need for the next two years. Everything else can go...

I put out an email to several people and thru my tears I explained that I don't need to sell these books in order to buy MORE curriculum. I have all that I need.  Everything is free.  My hs'ing journey is almost over. It was bittersweet to be cleaning off these shelves.  Everything from Algebra and Art to Zaboomafoo and Zoology could go.

Immediately, within minutes, the phone was ringing and the email was telling me, "You've Got Mail".  Everything is gone. Every last book, workbook, student text, Teacher guide, readers, art supplies, paper and folders of a million different types are gone; except for what is on my two tiny shelves. Almost 13 years of my journey gone with the click of a send button on my computer.

It's the beginning of new chapter for all of us.  There are many changes coming our way.  Matt started a new position within the company he works for and in addition to his duties, his shift may also change. Rick started working as a Stable-Boy for a horse farm. Ben has specifically set aside time every day so that he can work on his book - undisturbed.  There are two retirements approaching at my place of employment and there will be some job shifting there as well - which means I could be going to days either full-time or part-time - regardless of when, I will gain a few more working hours during the week.  My Mother-in-Love has cancer and is undergoing chemo treatments. My Father-in-Love has a few things he is dealing with. My brother is going to be a daddy in the fall - and I will be a full-fledged "Skype-Auntie".  Rick wants to take a train out West to visit his uncle.  All sorts of things going on. It can seem overwhelming at times.

The changes seem daunting and at times heartbreaking, but through it all we seem to find time to laugh. It seems, to all of us, that this time is super-duper-uber precious to us. We are taking more time to 'play'. We were a close family anyway, but now it seems almost urgent to keep our family time a priority.

My heart broke a year ago when my Grandmothers died and when my Dad had a heart-attack in the middle of those deaths. My heart was breaking just a few days ago when I was clearing away a huge part of my life.  Hs'ing is everything to me. Everything revolved around making it work financially, so that one of us was always home to home-school the boys. I don't regret the sacrifices we made, however, I am ready for more income.

We are facing different financial times within just our own family unit. 3 sets of wisdom teeth, flight school, Technical College, carpeting and one last BIG family trip. While I will miss the days that have flown passed up, I am looking forward to having the cash flow for some big ticket items --- like wisdom teeth!