Bags packed, car loaded, kids occupied with electronics, we left for the ranch on Tuesday after school. With George Bush opened all the way to 30, it made for a quick escape from Plano. We made the trip in about 5 1/2 hours, which isn't too bad considering that we stopped a couple of times, it was dark which is a slower speed limit, and we were constantly on the lookout for deer. When we were leaving Comanche and headed toward Brownwood we saw the biggest buck on the side of the road. Chris and I agreed that was probably going to be the biggest deer that we saw on our trip :)
I'm looking forward to hanging out with Chris and the kids on the ranch today. I'm thinking of my friends who have lost loved ones this year. It is going to be a tough day for them and I wish you a day filled with remembering old times and making new memories of your own.
Today we're going to attempt to take some family pictures for our Xmas card this year, ride out on the land looking for critters, and watch some football. GO BRONCOS!!!
p.s. Chris was so disgusted with the Broncos after last Sunday's game that he changed his shirt when it was over. That was a first for me and I am hoping that he gets to wear his shirt ALL day today!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Monday, November 9, 2009
A lot to catch up on....
I don't really even know where to start. Our life right now is full of games, games, practices, and more games. Grace had a FANTASTIC weekend of games. We've had to make up all of the games from the rain, which led to a game on Thursday, one on Saturday, and one more on Sunday. She had 3 goals this weekend. Two on Saturday and another one on Sunday. She was ON FIRE!! Fun times!!
Caden is still going through phases. He's really particular about everything. Sometimes love and logic just doesn't work.
Remy is proving to be a silly dog. She is getting the hang of the potty training, and is even doing a great job on her leash. We are still working on the "down" and not jumping on the kids, but it's a work in progress. Her latest trick is to climb the rock wall on our swing set. Yes, you read that correctly. She goes up and down the rock wall. The first time she went down the slide, but after that she decided to just jump. Now, she goes up AND down the rock wall. She's really starting to mellow out some, and she is a very loving dog.
Grace decided that she wanted to be the Twister game board this year, and Caden wanted to be scary. It's funny that he chose that since he won't go into a dark room by himself right now :)
We've had lice go through our house, the kids went to Disney for a week with Gma Mem and Granddad, and they both had Flu A. We're ready for the holidays and some down time. I am even thinking of getting out the X-Mas decorations next week so that they'll be ready to go when we get back from Ann's at Thanksgiving. I haven't done a lick of shopping, but I figure that it'll all get done. Happy Monday!!
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Good Grief...Grace!
My little smarty pants..so proud of her!! I just was going through her folder and looking at the work from the week. There's a blue letter from her reading teacher attached to a test. The gist of the letter is that it's their first test, first tests can be challenging, and that the grading on the first test is very lenient. Points will be taken off for spelling, no excuse words, and not using complete sentences. Hmmm....turn the letter over...Grace got a 100!!! Atta girl Grace!
96 on a math test, 100 on another math test from last week. She is off to a great start this year!!
Getting Back to it....
The transition from summer mom to working mom seems like it's been a little rough the last few weeks. We are all having our "days" it seems, but just not on the same one (smile). We have something literally every afternoon of the week. Monday - soccer for Grace, Tuesday - piano, Wednesday - CCD, Thursday - baseball for Caden, and Friday- soccer for Grace again. Then...the games on Saturday and Sunday. It has not left us with a lot of down time, and that has been a huge part of the transition also.
My mental health rests on me getting some time to myself each day...even 5 minutes to go to the bathroom by myself. I also like the time to be when I exercise. I have been making a lot of excuses lately, but this morning Remy and I ran 3.0 miles without stopping and it made me realize that the time for excuses is over. So...cheers to a great school year!
My mental health rests on me getting some time to myself each day...even 5 minutes to go to the bathroom by myself. I also like the time to be when I exercise. I have been making a lot of excuses lately, but this morning Remy and I ran 3.0 miles without stopping and it made me realize that the time for excuses is over. So...cheers to a great school year!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Grace is Turning 9..
Grace's birthday is Monday, September 7th. To celebrate she brought a cookie cake to school on Friday and she is having 4 friends spend the night tonight. My sweet baby girl is definitely growing up.
It seems like yesterday that she was born. Finding out that the baby in my belly for 9 months was a little girl was the best surprise ever. I'm so proud of her and the little girl that she has turned into.
Remy...
Remy is doing well...as well as you can expect for a playful puppy. She is so darn cute and the kids absolutely love her. Chris and I love her also...she's doing really well with the sit command. She's really a smart little cookie and we're hoping that she figures out this potty training thing really soon.
We had a bit of scare this morning. We've been putting her outside in the backyard in the mornings while we are getting ready so that she can run around before she goes in her kennel for the day. She either got into something or something stung her because her WHOLE face was swollen. Her eyes were almost swollen shut, her glands in her mouth, hives on her tummy, etc. It scared the daylights out of us. We took her to the vet and they gave her a steroid shot and some steroids for the rest of the week. She's back to normal now. Thank goodness!
Cadenisms....
During practicing spelling words he spelled citizenship...c-i-t-i-z-e-n-s-h-i-t. It was ABSOLUTELY the funniest thing. He, of course, had no idea what he had done. He was just trying to figure out how to spell the big word. Grace's eyes got huge and I told Caden that he needs to NOT put those four letters together again. He got it correct on his spelling test!
"Does Remy have her eyes back?" You'll see why he said this in the next post...
"Does Remy have her eyes back?" You'll see why he said this in the next post...
First Day of School 2009-2010 School Year...
Well, we've officially made it through our first few weeks of school. Grace is getting back into the routine of things and Caden is still moving right along too. We've only had a few hiccups along the way...such as getting ready in the mornings. Caden all of the sudden dislikes all of his socks and Grace seems to have grown out of everything that we have...even the stuff that we bought a few weeks ago. So, it's a process. Trying to get us all organized and such is the goal right now.
It's cute..Caden is still pretty clingy to me in the mornings. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he wouldn't be better off without me at the same school, but I know that he has plenty of time to be independent and I am enjoying all of the extra hugs and kisses :) I leave for school around 6:45 and I work in the mornings rather than staying late in the afternoons... (I still usually work at least an hour or two in the evenings once they are in bed)...so I leave right after the kids are awake and dressed. Caden comes to my room each morning and we walk down to 1st grade together. Grace is too worried about making sure that she is unpacked, in the right switch class, and ready for the day to take time to walk Caden down. She is very meticulous about dates, times, etc. She definitely takes after her mom with that!
On another note, my 50 5th graders that I teach each day seem wonderful. I am excited to come to school each day and see what they have in store for me. Happy new school year to all my friends out there!!
Getting Caught up...
I'm going to be better about updating my blog. I have lots of fun stories to tell and I'm sure that you are all DYING to hear them :) Much more to come...
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Crying Kids....
Chris and I leave tomorrow for Cancun with a bunch of friends for 5 nights/6 days. The first one of our "group" is turning 40 next week and we are all taking the opportunity to get away and celebrate "adults only" style. We've had this planned for MONTHS...and my children are acting like we are leaving and never coming back.
Caden is telling me that he is not able to spend more than one night away from his room. That he'll only spend one night at Gma and Granddad's and then he needs to come home. Can't you change your flight? Why can't you come home early? Why can't we come? I'm sure that you can hear everything his little mind is thinking. He even ended up with a stomachache this afternoon because I know that he is so worried about it. My sweet little man.
Grace had tears in her eyes this evening when I went to kiss her goodnight as well. I think that they are both just exhausted from Hawaiian Falls today. We tried to make it a fun family day for them and I think that we succeeded.
Say a little prayer that Chris and I depart and arrive home safely. I am going to miss my children, but not enough to stay home :)
****UPDATE...just went into Caden's room and he put a pillow and blanket on his floor for me to come and cuddle with him later...breaking my heart!!
Caden is telling me that he is not able to spend more than one night away from his room. That he'll only spend one night at Gma and Granddad's and then he needs to come home. Can't you change your flight? Why can't you come home early? Why can't we come? I'm sure that you can hear everything his little mind is thinking. He even ended up with a stomachache this afternoon because I know that he is so worried about it. My sweet little man.
Grace had tears in her eyes this evening when I went to kiss her goodnight as well. I think that they are both just exhausted from Hawaiian Falls today. We tried to make it a fun family day for them and I think that we succeeded.
Say a little prayer that Chris and I depart and arrive home safely. I am going to miss my children, but not enough to stay home :)
****UPDATE...just went into Caden's room and he put a pillow and blanket on his floor for me to come and cuddle with him later...breaking my heart!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Remy update
Remy is still the focus of our household right now. She is a bundle of energy and teeth :) She is a huge pain to Bailey...his favorite thing to do is growl at her, but he is also very patient with her.
We've learned...to keep our shoes in our closet if we don't want her to chew on them...that when she whines in her kennel she needs to outside...even when it's 3am or so...that she can make it several hours during the day without having an accident...that we need to keep paper towels handy for when she has an accident...that even though we just had her outside 5 minutes ago she still will pee on the floor...to keep her in an area without carpet...that we love her dearly and I made Chris call his parents on her every day that we were on our vacation...that Caden is a great helper with her...that she's lucky she's so cute...that she is growing bigger every day!!
Family Vacation Part 2....
Hill City was a great little town. Several restaurants and it really felt like a small ski town like we are used to in Colorado. VERY touristy, but that is exactly what we were looking for. We also loved Keystone, SD, again the same feel but had a lot to offer for all of us to do. I recommend staying in either one of those towns if you decide to do Rushmore. Both towns do a little "Shoot Out" since that area is where Wild Bill had his last fight, died, etc. Grace was chosen to give the cowboys in Hill City a quarter and they gave her it back with a hole in the middle of it. I wonder why the metal wasn't warm when we got it back AND the circle was perfect...hmmm...Grace and Caden both loved it though :)
So the 2nd day in Hill City we decided to go to Custer State Park. This is a prairie complete with roaming buffalo, antelope, and prairie dogs galore. It was great to see animals roaming free instead of cooped up in areas like we saw them the day before. I bet by the time we left we saw over a 100 of each one of those animals. It made me want to sing, "Home on the Range." This buffalo was HUGE and it just was walking down the road. We had to take a picture of it.
So the 2nd day in Hill City we decided to go to Custer State Park. This is a prairie complete with roaming buffalo, antelope, and prairie dogs galore. It was great to see animals roaming free instead of cooped up in areas like we saw them the day before. I bet by the time we left we saw over a 100 of each one of those animals. It made me want to sing, "Home on the Range." This buffalo was HUGE and it just was walking down the road. We had to take a picture of it.
Family Vacation...
Grandpa and I
Grandma and I
On the 4th at the parade in Exira. It was rainy, but we stuck it out.
Mount Rushmore
Family picture
We took the kids to see my 91 and 93 year old grandparents in Iowa for the 4th of July. My family (parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,etc.) are all doing our annual Family Reunion this Saturday, but Chris and I are going to be in Cancun so we decided that it would be fun to go the 4th instead.
We started off leaving home on Thursday the 2nd. We drove to Kansas City, KS, and stayed the night in Great Wolf Lodge. It's about a 9 hour drive to that point so it is a great stopping point and the kids love the water park. We let the kids swim on Friday morning again and then headed to Casey, IA. We did a detour through Corning, IA, and I showed the kids the cemetery where Gma and Gpa Talty are. We each left them a rose on their headstone. It's hard to believe that August will make it 9 years ago that we lost him and Gma will be 3 years in December. The drive from Kansas City to Corning still chokes me up. I still expect that Gma T will be waiting for us to open the front door and greet her and it's hard that she is gone.
We checked into our hotel in Adair, IA, and then headed out to the farm to see Gma and Gpa Williams. She was a little upset that we weren't staying with her, but I knew that they needed their space from all of us and I like a shower instead of the tub. She still cooked for us all of the staples for her - homemade mac and cheese, Iowa sweet corn, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, etc. It was delish. My grandma can cook!! We had a wonderful visit with them full of laughter, playing cards, and small town living. Loved it! We also loved the weather...62 degrees!!
When we left Casey/Adair on Sunday we drove to Hill City, South Dakota. We took a detour through The Badlands and then checked into our cabin. I found this cabin on the internet. Chris and I both thought that it would be more fun to stay in a cabin rather than a hotel. This little cabin had 3 rooms, two bathrooms, and was VERY rustic, but had a great deal of charm. It was a perfect place to go after a long day where the kids could run around and play
Hill City was 10 miles from Mount Rushmore. We spent Monday seeing the monument in the morning. They have a junior park ranger badge that the kids had to answer a bunch of questions to earn it. We learned a lot about U.S. history and the monument was beautiful. They were taking down a bunch of stuff down from the top of the monument that day so we decided to go back in the evening for the lighting ceremony they do and to get some pictures of the monument without all of the people on top of it :) So...to keep ourselves busy we went to Bear Country U.S.A and to the Reptile Gardens. Both were money pits, but we all had a great time.
Chris and the kids in front of the cabin
Bear Country here we come...
The bears were all over the place. Mostly looking for shade because it was really warm that day. This is my favorite pic of the bears. We stayed in our cars and they wouldn't let us put the windows down. We cheated here and there and I went out the sunroof to get some good pics.
At the end of the ride they have a "zoo" that you walk through and see all the cubs and different animals. Here's a cute one of one of the cubs.
Grandma and I
On the 4th at the parade in Exira. It was rainy, but we stuck it out.
Mount Rushmore
Family picture
We took the kids to see my 91 and 93 year old grandparents in Iowa for the 4th of July. My family (parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,etc.) are all doing our annual Family Reunion this Saturday, but Chris and I are going to be in Cancun so we decided that it would be fun to go the 4th instead.
We started off leaving home on Thursday the 2nd. We drove to Kansas City, KS, and stayed the night in Great Wolf Lodge. It's about a 9 hour drive to that point so it is a great stopping point and the kids love the water park. We let the kids swim on Friday morning again and then headed to Casey, IA. We did a detour through Corning, IA, and I showed the kids the cemetery where Gma and Gpa Talty are. We each left them a rose on their headstone. It's hard to believe that August will make it 9 years ago that we lost him and Gma will be 3 years in December. The drive from Kansas City to Corning still chokes me up. I still expect that Gma T will be waiting for us to open the front door and greet her and it's hard that she is gone.
We checked into our hotel in Adair, IA, and then headed out to the farm to see Gma and Gpa Williams. She was a little upset that we weren't staying with her, but I knew that they needed their space from all of us and I like a shower instead of the tub. She still cooked for us all of the staples for her - homemade mac and cheese, Iowa sweet corn, mashed potatoes, meatloaf, etc. It was delish. My grandma can cook!! We had a wonderful visit with them full of laughter, playing cards, and small town living. Loved it! We also loved the weather...62 degrees!!
When we left Casey/Adair on Sunday we drove to Hill City, South Dakota. We took a detour through The Badlands and then checked into our cabin. I found this cabin on the internet. Chris and I both thought that it would be more fun to stay in a cabin rather than a hotel. This little cabin had 3 rooms, two bathrooms, and was VERY rustic, but had a great deal of charm. It was a perfect place to go after a long day where the kids could run around and play
Hill City was 10 miles from Mount Rushmore. We spent Monday seeing the monument in the morning. They have a junior park ranger badge that the kids had to answer a bunch of questions to earn it. We learned a lot about U.S. history and the monument was beautiful. They were taking down a bunch of stuff down from the top of the monument that day so we decided to go back in the evening for the lighting ceremony they do and to get some pictures of the monument without all of the people on top of it :) So...to keep ourselves busy we went to Bear Country U.S.A and to the Reptile Gardens. Both were money pits, but we all had a great time.
Chris and the kids in front of the cabin
Bear Country here we come...
The bears were all over the place. Mostly looking for shade because it was really warm that day. This is my favorite pic of the bears. We stayed in our cars and they wouldn't let us put the windows down. We cheated here and there and I went out the sunroof to get some good pics.
At the end of the ride they have a "zoo" that you walk through and see all the cubs and different animals. Here's a cute one of one of the cubs.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Remy...
She has made our ottoman in our living room her hideout. She takes her toys under there and hides. We have the big dogs and I think that she likes to hide to get away from all of the chaos too.
Background...Remy's mom is named Gypsy and she is a Blue Heeler. She was found on the side of the road in Oklahoma miles from civilization eating road kill. A guy stopped and picked her up to find that she had been shot in the behind and had a broken leg. When he took her to the vet to get her leg set he also found out that she was pregnant. This guy's mom works for PISD and sent out an email with the puppies that looked just like our little Sadie girl that we had to put down a little over a year ago. We figured that the timing was right (summer) so we emailed Debbie and told her that we wanted one of the little girls. She was born on Mother's Day.
We didn't tell the kids that we were getting a puppy. We told them that Chris needed to get something from a teacher and so we went to her house last Monday. I wish that I had a video camera to capture the look on Grace and Caden's faces as they saw 9 little 6 week old puppies running all around the garage. They were in absolute awe and were so thankful that we were going to bring one home. We picked a little girl and then we let the name game begin.
We went through SEVERAL websites, lists of names, etc. I liked Penelope and Tinkerbell. Chris refused Tink because he didn't want to have to call that out running down the street to get her if she decided to escape. Not very manly. Ha. I started looking at names of wine grapes, cocktails, etc. and found a champagne names Remy Martin. So...that's how she got her name.
The kids are in ABSOLUTE love with her. She is a sweet little thing. Full of energy and hopefully she'll be a good sleeper tonight too!
Background...Remy's mom is named Gypsy and she is a Blue Heeler. She was found on the side of the road in Oklahoma miles from civilization eating road kill. A guy stopped and picked her up to find that she had been shot in the behind and had a broken leg. When he took her to the vet to get her leg set he also found out that she was pregnant. This guy's mom works for PISD and sent out an email with the puppies that looked just like our little Sadie girl that we had to put down a little over a year ago. We figured that the timing was right (summer) so we emailed Debbie and told her that we wanted one of the little girls. She was born on Mother's Day.
We didn't tell the kids that we were getting a puppy. We told them that Chris needed to get something from a teacher and so we went to her house last Monday. I wish that I had a video camera to capture the look on Grace and Caden's faces as they saw 9 little 6 week old puppies running all around the garage. They were in absolute awe and were so thankful that we were going to bring one home. We picked a little girl and then we let the name game begin.
We went through SEVERAL websites, lists of names, etc. I liked Penelope and Tinkerbell. Chris refused Tink because he didn't want to have to call that out running down the street to get her if she decided to escape. Not very manly. Ha. I started looking at names of wine grapes, cocktails, etc. and found a champagne names Remy Martin. So...that's how she got her name.
The kids are in ABSOLUTE love with her. She is a sweet little thing. Full of energy and hopefully she'll be a good sleeper tonight too!
Father's Day
A time of reflection. I'm thankful for my dad and Chris's dad. They are terrific grandparents. I am also so thankful for Chris and the hands on kind of dad that he is. I've always been able to count on him for help with the kids and as a result they absolutely adore him. He is the rock in our family and I am forever grateful for finding him. Love you!!
****my mom was not pictured in any of these because I respected her wishes and didn't photograph her. She took a header into the cement on Friday and had two black eyes, scraped nose, bruised lip, and on and on...she's really lucky that it wasn't worse.
For Father's Day this year we went to the races. My parents, my brother Steve and his girlfriend Liz, and then the kids and me. It was a great time and Chris even won some money :)
More Jonas
Bowing to the SCREAMING girls...
Going down the middle for the final goodbye.
Miley and Nick...
The icing on the cake from this concert was that Miley Cyrus came out and sang a song with Nick at the end of the show. It was an awesome surprise!!
Going down the middle for the final goodbye.
Miley and Nick...
The icing on the cake from this concert was that Miley Cyrus came out and sang a song with Nick at the end of the show. It was an awesome surprise!!
Jonas Brothers During the concert
Having the time of her life!
I think that he(Nick) was singing this to me :) Chris and I were both amazed at how talented he was. He played the guitar, piano, and sang.
Joe...
At this point Caden was all smiles.
Jordan Sparks was the opening act along with a boy band called Honor Society
I think that he(Nick) was singing this to me :) Chris and I were both amazed at how talented he was. He played the guitar, piano, and sang.
Joe...
At this point Caden was all smiles.
Jordan Sparks was the opening act along with a boy band called Honor Society
Jonas Brothers..Before the Concert...
Chris and I purchased these tickets a very long time ago. We gave the kids the tickets as a surprise at Easter time. I knew that the kids would want to go to see the concert and I was hoping that Chris would go with me to take them. I think that he just went to check out the new stadium, but we were both VERY surpised at how much we enjoyed it. It was a great time.
Standing outside the stadium. You could hear the screaming girls from inside the stadium as we were walking from the parking lot towards the stadium. I don't think that I've ever heard as much screaming as I did that evening.
This was our view of the stage from our seats.
Standing outside the stadium. You could hear the screaming girls from inside the stadium as we were walking from the parking lot towards the stadium. I don't think that I've ever heard as much screaming as I did that evening.
This was our view of the stage from our seats.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
10885 108th Place...Osseo, Minnesota
Was where we lived from when I was 2 until the end of 5th grade when we moved to Illinois. The house didn't used to be this color and everything sure did look a whole lot smaller. My brothers and I stopped here on our way back to Minneapolis. It was fun seeing all of the places that we used to hang out and ride our bikes through. Not to mention sledding down the huge hills and remembering my dad's HUGE garden. Fun times!!
This was the steeple from our old church that we went to. St. Vincent de Paul's Catholic church. They built a new HUGE church, but the retirement community kept the steeple from the old church.
This was the steeple from our old church that we went to. St. Vincent de Paul's Catholic church. They built a new HUGE church, but the retirement community kept the steeple from the old church.
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