Christmas Caroling

I asked Schane' yesterday morning if she wanted to go caroling with people from church & she said no. I then told her that one of our friends was going & he was bringing his kids so she said yes. I told her that if it was raining then we wouldn't go. When we got home from work & school she said that she didn't want to go. To bad, we're going I said. I was looking forward to getting in the spirit of the holiday season & seeing a bunch of friends from church.

The weather was great when we started out. It was actually kind of warm, a lot different from last year. We were frozen by the time we got back to the church for hot chocolate & goodies. Approximately 20 mins later it started to rain. There was no downpour but it was enough that our hats got soaked, shoes were wet, & the little ones wanted to walk in puddles. I thought it was great. It really felt like Christmas. I only wish the people in the neighborhood felt the same way.

After awhile Schane' & other kids were getting really disappointed because no one would come out of there house to hear us sing. A few actually used their brains & opened up their garage to listen to us. I just told Schane' that we need to pray for them.

After we came back to the church we socialized, got warm, & ate some great cookies. I'm really glad that we went & made the effort to sing around the neighborhood even if people were not in the mood to hear us.

Before we started out we played a bingo game. I know most of you have played this in some manner. 20 boxes & you go around and ask people questions trying to get a bingo. Anyway, one question on the paper asked who was naughty this year. I had her go over to one of our friends, Mr. Christofferson (Mark) & ask him something. She just happened to ask him this question & he got down to her level & whispered something in her ear. The pic that I got was right after he whispered something & it looked like it was a great response.

This next pic is my friend Jenny & her son Sam. She has a daughter Emily that is Schane's age but she wasn't around at the moment. Jenny helped in my Sunday School class last year & is just as bubbly as I am.

This was taken right after we got back to the church. You can't tell how wet we are but we sure were a tad bit cold. That hot chocolate tasted sooo good when we got inside.

Spirit Week...

My understanding of spirit week was usually the week of homecoming. Lately it seems like whenever they want to have a spirit week they have it. Schane' comes home with a slip of paper on Friday stating that this week we would have spirit week & to listen to the announcements on Monday to know what to wear for the week. She already knew that Monday was crazy sock day which she said she didn't want to do. Tuesday was pajama day, Wednesday is Christmas crazy hat day (something like that) & I'm not sure what tomorrow is. So I took a picture of Schane' in her pajama top & sweats for yesterday & an elf hat that she bought at the dollar store for today.

Dinner at the neighbor's...

Tim, Schane, & I went over to the neighbor's last night for a farewell dinner before we leave next week. Nicol will be taking care of the house & collecting our mail while we are gone. We're missing two kids in this picture because they have 6 kids but everyone here was playing around on the couch & I told them to stay put for a sec so I could take a pic. In the back we have Timmy & Aaron, & in the front we have Cerys & Peter.

After dinner we had coffee & goodies. I even brought over my shortbread cookies. On Monday Nicol & her mom made some greek cookies that were out of this world. They are from Greece by the way. We also played Christmas charades. It was just something we made up. You had to think of something to do with Christmas & act it out. They usually play Christmas Carol Charades but Schane' couldn't think of many Christmas songs to act out so we just used the Christmas theme.

Here's another picture of Cerys. I couldn't believe how cuddly she was last night. Usually she walks away from me & hides beside Nicol but as I was sitting at the kitchen table talking to Nicol she came beside me & said "up". I picked her up & told Nicol to quickly take a picture with my camera. Isn't she just cute? She has got the biggest brown eyes ever.

Rain, Rain, Rain...

Wow, have we had a lot of rain. I'm not complaining either. I have had to drive Schane' to school the past couple of days. She would have rather walked in the rain but it was me who said that I would rather drive. This picture was taken yesterday morning as I was getting ready to leave. I am standing in the driveway looking west down the road. The rain finally stopped before noon today. When I came into the office I was hearing that Lilttle Rock CA had snow & Deb's sister in Vegas has snow. Flagstaff has a lot snow too.

This next picture is the front of the house that I live in. I took this yesterday too. You can't tell by this picture but Tim put some lights on the house but it only goes from the front door to the middle of the garage. He thought he had more lights. I told him that I can't switch the lights on when they're only half done. I didn't want to be the laughing stock of the neighborhood. My feeling is either you do it right or not at all not half way. Lately though Schane' has been wanting the lights on so I figure why not. At least it's something & it did look kind of nice the past couple of nights while it was raining.

Cookie Exchange...

On Friday I talked to mom about what cookies would be pretty easy to make & the ingredients cheap. We were supposed to have a cookie exchange on Monday & I didn't sign up but then thought that maybe I would bring something because who wants to be excluded on a whole bunch of goodies? Not me that's for sure. Mom suggested her shortbread cookies. I didn't have to think twice about that because I love those. I saved this container from last year when I bought some cookies. I was surprised that it didn't get smashed or broken in the Christmas tub because it's just plastic. As you can see we had a variety of items. There was peppermint bark, pineapple upside cake, muffins, chocolate chip cookies, eclairs, & on & on. It was a great turnout & I'm glad that I participated.

A Bunch Of Pics...

Yes, I know it's been awhile. It seems like when I think I have time to upload pics something comes up. Then I've got Schane' who's 9 & realizes that I'm always on the computer & doesn't like it. What am I to do? Tell her no that I won't read a story or play a game? My point exactly. Right now I have a few minutes so I thought what a better time than to quickly update you on what's been going on.

These pics where taken Thanksgiving weekend. You can tell that it was pretty warm outside considering what Schane' is wearing. She had so much fun bringing out everything. I let Schane' decorate the tree by herself after I got the lights on. She was making a mess actually because she was on a mission to find her stocking to hang it up & she couldn't find it. It took awhile but after taking everything out of the buckets I finally found it. I didn't tell her I found it either. I laid it on the couch to see how long it would take for her to find it. I have to tell you that it's a High School Musical Stocking. Oma made her a stocking when she was a baby but I hadn't been able to find it. On Sat when I talked to Oma she said that it's at her house. I was really excited because I couldn't believe I had lost it. Well, I am a bit unorganized, I know, go figure, but the stuff that REALLY means something to me I try to keep close by. By the way, my Christmas stuff is really organized. I bought a bunch of tubs last year & organized everything.

I took the Christmas tree pic just the other night. I was trying out the self timer on my camera. I thought that I would take a pic of Schane' then I would take another one with the two of us. As you can see I didn't get to take a pic with the two of us. Maybe I'll get a chance to try it again this week.

As Schane' puts it "her dream came true". Meaning she was finally old enough to be in the Christmas church play. She has been wanting to be in the play for 2yrs now and you have to be in 3rd grade in order to be in it. As you all know I had stopped all other activities due to the struggles we were having in school. I almost said no to this but I told her that if she worked hard on her school work then I would let her be in the play. Saturday there was a 4 hr rehearsal & then Sunday was the program. The program was for all 3 services. By the time the 11:00 service came around she wasn't smiling as much. Of course that was the service that her dad, nana, & Deb & the kids were at. She was half shepherd & half angel. I didn't get a picture of her being an angel though. I didn't even realize it until I was uploading pics today. I was having a hard time with the lighting in the church so this last picture didn't turn out so good. Looks like its a bit dark.

After the last service was done we decided to go out to lunch. Nana (Sharon) suggested The Cheesecake Factory. It can be a bit pricey but we didn't turn her down because we just love the place. Most of us anyway. Tim had never been there before & Schane' doesn't get anything fancy. You can't leave that place without getting a slice of cheesecake either. Oh is it good! Nana wasn't going to get a slice because she was going shopping afterwards but our waitress told us of a holiday one that wasn't on the list. It was peppermint & white chocolate. She said if you love peppermint you'll love this. We both decided to order one, which turned out to be a mistake because I ate off hers because she couldn't eat it all & I took my whole piece home.



As we were walking back to Nana's truck Tim noticed this Rolls that he just loved. I thought I'd take a picture of it just to show something different besides Schane'.

Black Friday II

A highlight for the girls was trying on clothes in the stores. On the left Schane' has a robe on pretending that she just got out of the shower. On the right Schane' tried this coat on from The Children's Store. Both girls just loved this coat, we of course did not get it though.

I can't remember what time we finally stopped & took a break. It was probably when the kids kept complaining that they were hungry & couldn't go any further. You know the drill with kids. We decided to stop at Cinnabon. Who doesn't want a giant cinnamon roll for breakfast? We needed that sugar to keep us going for a couple more hrs. It tasted great & it rejuvenated all of us.

We kept on shopping after this & then when we were in Mervyn's I realized the time & said let's go stand in line to see Santa. I figure it will be the last year that they believe in Santa so I wanted to get one last great picture. Schane' is already coming home saying that her classmates said there's no Santa. She said that only she & her friend Emma believe in Santa. Not sure if I believe that but I wasn't going to say anything. We had to stand in line for about a 1/2 hr. but we were also pretty close to the front of the line, Santa hadn't arrived yet.

I thought this was a great shot. We were actually done shopping & started heading out of the mall when Deb said Oh, I didn't make it to Victoria Secret. Great. I was fine with it but the kids were starting to moan. These chairs were outside of the store & we were able to snag two. The girls were fine for a few mins then they really started getting tired. That's when I took this picture.

We made it back to Deb's by noon. We had some lunch, sent Abbey off with Grandpa to a hockey game, let Schane' watch cartoons, & take a nap. She really felt like crap that day. She kept saying that her head hurt, her stomach hurt, & everything else hurt. Welcome to the club child. Both Deb & I were complaining that our feet hurt & then I became loopy because I was so tired. We were laughing hysterically for awhile & that was mostly at nothing. You know remember doing that back in college don't you?

If you can't tell we had lots of fun & made some great memories. We're already talking about going back next year, maybe earlier this time!

Black Friday

I was going to make a slide show but I just figured out tonight that I have to take my computer in to get some work done on it. So, I am not sure how many pics I will upload but I do want to say that we had a great day & the girls for the most part were great.

We spent the night at Deb's on Thursday & decided that we would go to the mall at 5am. I know that it's pretty late for Black Friday shopping but Deb did not want to get up at 3 so we compromised by getting up at 4 instead. I took a pic of the clock when we were about to leave the house.

The girls were great. They got up easily & were pretty cheery. Deb on the other hand needed caffeine so we stopped somewhere to get her a soda & some gatorgades for the girls & we were on our way. One main reason we wanted to go was because one of our local news crews is always at the mall closest to us on Black Friday & we wanted to see if we could get the girls on tv.

Schane' & I watch this station every day so she knows their names. The man that we both really like was already gone by the time that we got there. It took awhile but we did manage to get a picture with the main lady, Tara. She was really cool too. I practically stopped her after she was done with a segment & when she was done talking to some other people I asked her real quick if we could get a picture of her with the girls. She said sure & I hurried & took the picture because I did not know how much time she had before she was on again. Later we happened to go by the area when it was 9am when they are off the air & we could get pictures then. I wish I would have known so I wouldn't have hurried before. We did get another picture of somebody that we like. His name is Dan. He was a so nice. He pulled up a chair & sat down & put his arms around the girls. The girls were so excited after having their picture taken with "somebody famous" as Schane' puts it that they were doing little squeals of giddyness.

We all did manage to be on tv. It was pretty funny how it happened too. The kids were behind Tara while she was doing a segment. If you're not looking for the girls then you would miss them. You would also miss me if you weren't looking but I was noticeable. Deb on the other hand was very noticeable. Her step mom even texted her to say that she saw her. When we got home later we went on their website & found the part where we were all on at different times. I took a picture of Deb off the computer. Yes, that's her with the Jack sweatshirt on.

Sorry, but I will have to finish tomorrow. You can look for Part II of Black Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have no pictures for you today. Mainly because I am all by myself today. Schane' just left to spend the rest of the day with her dad. I could have gone to Deb's parents house for Thanksgiving but I really don't feel at home there so I am choosing to stay home. I'm going to do a little cleaning, get the Christmas tree & decorations out, & watch movies.

Anyway, as I was driving home from Deb's house today I noticed how many people were enjoying the great weather we are having. Then I got to thinking, why don't we see this every day or night or even on the weekends? Do you ever notice how on Thanksgiving everybody actually seems to want to be with other people? I noticed so many people riding bikes, roller blading, playing at the park, walking, etc. Maybe it's because a lot of people don't have to work today, but even on weekends you don't see people enjoying each other's company like you do on Thanksgiving.

That should really tell us something. Spend more time actually living & doing something. Don't just live day to day not doing anything & then wait for that one day (Thanksgiving) when it's kind of the thing to do. Get out & enjoy each other's company. Be thankful everyday. At our church service last night they called it Thanksliving. Exactly what I am talking about.

I pray that everybody had a blessed day & that you will continue to "live" each day that God gives you.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A great lady...

I wasn't going to blog tonight but I just happened to look at last nights blog & saw a comment from a woman that I haven't seen in yrs. She deserves recognition because she was one cool lady. Yes Cindy, I am talking about you. And this little story is for you.

I moved into a house with a woman who lost her husband a yr ago. She isn't often here because she goes back & forth between Michigan & Arizona. I think having a child in the house really helped her at the time. After awhile Schane' became really comfortable with Joan, she didn't know her very well to begin with, & she started sneaking up on her. Does this sound familiar? And yes, she LOVES to scare her! I couldn't figure it out. Where does she get this from? It wasn't until awhile back that you left a comment & it all fell into place. ME. One simple word.

I do have to say though that she isn't as good as I was. I mean, when you broke your wrist I was a lot older than Schane'. I'll give her a few yrs & maybe she could be as good as I was.

Yeah Schane'!

For some reason Schane's teacher did not send home the Friday folder that usually gets sent home, well, on Friday's, of course. As Schane' was reading aloud to me tonight I was going through all the papers from the folder. I suddenly came across two spelling tests that they take on Friday's. I noticed that she got a 100 & then looked on the back because they also take a math test following the spelling test. I noticed that on one side of the paper she got them alright & beside that she had some problems with other math problems.

Her score was in the mid 80"s! I was soooooo ecstatic I was talking at the same time while she was reading so she started yelling at me to be quiet because I'm the one who told her to read aloud. I let her finish reading & then I showed her what an awesome job she did. She hadn't looked at the papers at all so she had no idea. Every week I bring out jellybeans & go over the math facts that she needs to know for the week. We usually start during the weekend because it takes her a little longer to learn the problems. By the way, she's learning multiplication & division at the same time. As much as the two of us struggle together this really gave me a boost that I desperately needed.

I'm so proud...

I've been having issues lately with sassiness. My child is a huge drama girl & is having problems distinguishing when you can act drama & when not to act drama. Saturday just happened to be one of those days. We weren't doing much that day except her final volleyball game & spending the day at Deb's house. Towards the evening I could tell that she was getting tired. I tried to talk or explain something to her & she gave me the sassiest tone of voice. I popped her in the mouth & put her in time out. I later explained to her that she would not be able to sleep with me that night. As a reward during the week I let her sleep with me Fri & Sat nights.

We got home later & then went to bed later. I was having a moment of weakness & asked Schane' if she wanted to sleep with me. She told me no because she didn't deserve it. Now, I know I shouldn't have done it, let alone even ask, but I'm not always strong. I know, who is?

I hate being the "everything" in the family. Most of the time I feel like I am doing everything wrong. Especially like Sat night. I mean, my child was stronger than me! What does that say?

I'm Blogging Again!!

I'm not even going to try to go through the past few months & tell you what has been going on. Most of you know anyway. Schane' started a new school, I finally found a job, we quit cheerleading, but kept up with swimming & volleyball. In fact, Schane' had her last game today. She was very excited about it all week because at practice on Monday she was serving continuously over the net, which doesn't happen very often & mostly not at all at the games. Then today came, she missed the net. The look that was on her face was not pretty. Then it was her time to serve again, it didn't go over. I thought she was going to cry after that. This was not what she expected at all. Finally she served a third time & she hit it over once! That helped a lot though she was still upset because she only got one pt out of it. Her team, The Dolphins, lost both games, but did they ever improve. It was a good season. We are taking the winter off & will probably get back into in the spring. Schane' wants to start gymnastics & that starts in January.

Tim comes by about twice a week. Approx. 2 wks ago he came by with his brand new truck, new to him that is. Do you think it's big enough? Joan, my roommate, says he must be going through a mid life crisis. He says that she's just jealous. I just say whatever. Those things don't turn me on & I think they're a waist of money & gas.

One thing that most of you don't know is that I have had Schane' tested for a learning disability. It took approx 2 wks & the psych. called me last week to set up an appt. to discuss the results. With transferring to a new school I have found out that Schane' struggles really badly in school. She doesn't process well, she can't sit still worth anything to get homework done, & math continues to be a struggle every night. There might not be anything wrong & just may need a tutor but I had to get her tested to rule everything out so we both wouldn't feel like pulling our hair out 4 times a week. So I just ask that you keep the situation in your prayers. I know God is in control & he has a plan. Hopefully Tuesday we will know that plan!

Here's a cute pic of Deb & I at Halloween. Work had a Halloween contest & I actually won but I gave the gift card away. I didn't feel it was right with me being Deb's friend so I told them to give it to someone else.

3 wks already?

I can't believe how much time has gone by since I blogged last. I didn't get to blog much while in Disneyland because Tim's computer is really slow & I couldn't upload any pics. The time we spent in CA is amazing. I loved the fact that I was able to share Schane's first time in Disneyland with Oma & Opa. Everywhere we went she was amazed. She did have one grumpy day as well as her mom. I will be sure to send her to her dad's when she is older & we are grumpy together.

Schane's favorite ride was probably CA Screamer. She still talks about it. Her eyes continue to light up, she talks a mile a minute, well she does that anyway, & everytime she talks about it makes me smile & laugh right along with her. The place she liked least was A Bug's Life. You would have thought that Opa would have learned his lesson years ago when he took Hannah & Miriam but no such luck. I told him afterwards that he couldn't even think of taking Nora because if two of his granddaughters didn't like it then I'm sure the third wouldn't either. I took many, many pics & will forever cherish the memories that we made.

Besides being busy every day, Schane' lost a tooth while eating in our hotel room. I just happened to be reading at the pool & she came running up to me & showed me her tooth. At first I didn't believe her. She will often pretend that she lost a tooth so I just thought it was just another joke, but no, she had the proof in her hand. She seemed amazed the next day that the tooth fairy was able to find her in Disneyland. No note was written this time.

We got home on a Sat & Mon was the first day of school. Schane' seemed to adjust pretty well with the new schedule. I transferred schools this summer so we are now able to walk to school in the am & pm. Many kids walk without their parents but they are always with friends. Since Schane' doesn't know anyone yet I walk with her. Even though the school is two blocks away I continue to sweat quite a bit. It's only 107 in the afternoon so I'm not sure why I'm sweating.

School seems to be going pretty good. She has a math & spelling test every Friday. The math test is timed & she seems to have a bit of trouble with that. Last week the teacher only did 45 seconds & she realized that wasn't enough time for the kids to finish. When I talked to the teacher this week she said that she will be moving it up to 1min 30sec. We worked real hard on the math this week & on the time & she still had 3 left to finish. Maybe she'll do better in the classroom.

I decided earlier in the month to take Schane' out of swimming lessons for Aug. She will start up again in Sept. Deb & I keep teasing her that if she continues to swim as well as she does then she can participate in the Olympics & we'll come watch her swim. Don't worry though I'm not one of those crazed moms that will force her to continue. Well, right now I am. I am making her take swimming lessons until I feel that she is strong enough to hold her own if something happens to her & can help other people if something happens to them. So often we hear of to many drownings or near drownings her in AZ & I want her to have the ability to be able to help others as well as herself.

As for the cheerleading, we are scoping out a different instructor on Tues night. Her last coach is moving & is going to be approx 2hrs away. As much as we love Coach Cathy, we really do not want to drive that far.

Schane' also wants to get back into volleyball. See, she can do that in the Olympics too! So that will start in Sept. Church also starts on Wed nights in Sept so we will be quite busy. I will take her out of things if I think she is getting overloaded. Which she might be anyway because she also sees her dad one eve during the week.

That's about it for now. Other things have been going on but I don't have anymore time to write. I'm not at home right now & I need to be leaving so I can get home & go walk to the school.

Who Is This Hijacked Mystery Poster?

It's Jules and Nora fixing some code on Mindi's blog. You should be good to go, Mindi! :) We love you and enjoy lots and lots of Disneyland, Schane & Tim!

New Port Beach...

We had a late night last so we didn't get up til 9:00. We then went down to eat a very non healthy b-fast in the hotel & then Tim took another nap so Schane' & I went back to Disneyland Park. We went back to the Disney Store & went into a bunch of other stores that we didn't go into last night. We ended up being gone for 2 hrs. Schane' was hungry & Tim hadn't called yet so we headed back to the hotel. He was still sleeping. Schane' woke him up & told him it was time to get up & start spending time with her.

After awhile we decided to head down to New Port Beach. None of us had been there before so we were looking forward to it. We got directions from the front office & headed on our way. Tim had me drive because he did all the driving yesterday. That was an experience I won't forget. Mainly it was driving into New Port. If you've ever experienced it you'll know what I'm talking about. I really felt like an outsider with not knowing the rules of the road. The roads are tight together, there are walkers, cyclists,& skateboarders everywhere. The best part is trying to find a parking space. I think it took us almost 20 mins to find a spot. We ended up in an Alberton's parking lot, which clearly states that your car will be towed if you're not shopping. Those weren't the exact words of course but you get the picture. Tim decided that we better go into Alberton's and buy something so we could have proof that we did shop & not just go to the beach.

Finally we had the sand & beautiful ocean in front of us. Schane' was mesmorized. She kept yelling at us to come on. We look at her & tell her that we're right beside her. She just couldn't get to the water fast enough. We spent almost 2 hrs at the beach & would have stayed longer but Tim was getting worried that the car was going to be towed so we left.

Schane' & I played in the water for quite awhile & then went exploring on the rocks. I'm glad I brought our water shoes with us because they came in handy when we decided to go on the rocks. We found a lot of crabs & even some starfish. We walked almost to the end & then I had somebody take our picture. Tim decided to stay on the beach. He doesn't like to get wet so he planted his butt & just watched from afar. At one pt Schane' was out to far so I went back in for her & fell over a rock. I received a nice scrape that hurt for sometime afterwards.

We finally dragged Schane' away from the beach stating that maybe we can come back on Tuesday. Tim was getting worried that we couldn't see the car when we finally came up on it. Then the fun really began. Tim decided to drive back to the hotel. Ummm big mistake, he got lost. We didn't have any maps with us & the more Tim drove the more frustrated he got. Finally I realized that we called the hotel yesterday so he called them & received directions. Thank goodness I was listening to him because he was repeating everything that the front desk was telling him. Everything that he said outloud he did backwards. I'm like weren't you supposed to go down that road? Don't you think that our hotel is that way on this side of the road? Yup, I was right 3 times in a row. Next time I'll be driving.

We had a pretty quiet evening. I took Schane' swimming & we watched some tv in the hotel room & then ate a very late dinner. We are all going to sit down in a bit & plan a strategy for our very first Disney experience together. If you don't know this, both Schane' & Tim have never been to Disneyland. It will be an unbelievable day tomorrow.

Happiest Place On Earth...

After 7 hrs we finally made it to Disneyland. Tim drives kind of slow & he made a lot of stops along the way. We weren't really in a hurry so it didn't matter to much. Tim managed to drive the whole way without me being sarcastic on the way he drives. I managed to almost complete a full book, just shy of 20 pgs.

After we check in Tim takes a nap & I take Schane' swimming. I really wanted to go walking around but both of them had their own plans. Finally, later in the eve we managed to leave the hotel. Schane' was so excited. I'm sure all of you still remember the first time you took your kids to Disneyland. It will sure be a memory I will not forget.

I had told Schane' beforehand that she is not getting anything tonight. The excitement of the whole aspect just sent her overboard. We were both very patient with her & told her that another day she will get something. Tonight we were just exploring the new surroundings.

The whole place was magical. You could just feel the excitement in the air. Just to walk around & look at peoples faces was priceless. We did not go into Disneyland or CA Adventure but instead walked the surrounding areas. The music was great & the smells were awesome.

Finally at 10:30 we walked into an IHOP for dinner. Schane' was beat as well as Tim. I was ready to keep going since I don't sleep well anyway. Now Tim & Schane' are watching Spider Man 3 & we are planning our day for tomorrow. Until then..

Pink Puke Cake...

We finally had our last fondant/gum paste class tonight. We haven't learned that much & I often think it was a waste of time but it did get me out of the house & do something that I enjoy. Deb & I decided just to make one cake tonight for class instead each of us bringing in a cake. There was less stress on both of us & a bit more fun. I tend to ask Deb a lot of questions & be a bit anal with how my cake looks but tonight Deb did most of the work & I wasn't anal at all.

The funny thing about tonight is that I wasn't going to go but Deb convinced me that I should. I had a much better time than I thought I would. After awhile I found out that I was having trouble speaking. Not literally mind you. For example, at one point I said do you think this looks pretty...but I didn't finish the sentence. I wasn't talking about the cake either but the way I said it sounded like I wanted praise for the cake. Another time I was looking for toothpicks so I could color the fondant but what I asked Deb was do you have any rubberbands? The last thing I looked at was a rubberband in my case so that's what came out. Deb thought I was serious to. I don't know if you'll understand the humor of these things but we were dying laughing on the way home talking about how I wasn't able to speak tonight.

Perkins Wedding

On Friday, Tim, Schane, & I drove to Flagstaff for Tim's brother's wedding. Schane' just happened to be the flower girl, that's why we all went together. We made it to the hotel just in time for Liz to call & say this is where you need to be & you should probably leave now. Good thing we did because Tim gave me wrong directions & we ended up somewhere different. We stopped to ask someone but he just happened to be from out of town & didn't know Flagstaff at all. He did look up the directions on his gps but Tim didn't write anything down so we were still in the dark. Luckily we backtracked & had no further problems.

We had the wedding rehearsal, went to the rehearsal dinner, & then went back to the hotel. We decided not to go out with the gang and took Schane' swimming instead, meaning I took Schane' swimming because Tim won't go swimming. I really wish I hadn't because the water was freezing! I was chilled to the bone for most of the night.

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast & then Schane' & Tim went back to bed, for 2 hrs. None of us slept well at all. I was going to take a nap but I wanted to paint my nails & have them dry before I had to do Schane's.

At 1:00 we went to the hair salon so Schane' could get her hair done & at 2:00 the limo showed up to take all the girls up to the lodge for the wedding. At this time the weather had not been cooperating. It started to rain when we arrived at the salon and finally quit when we arrived at the lodge, just in time to change for pictures.

At 4:00 we had a beautiful outside wedding. Somebody timed it at 18 mins. We then had appetizers while family pics were being taken & then we had a scrumptious dinner. The whole evening was special.

The next blog is just random photos that I took from the wedding rehearsal, the wedding, & a few scenic pics along the way. Enjoy!

Wedding Slide Show

So Far Behind...

I have been told twice now that I am behind on my blogging. As my mom just stated to me today it's funny how people just expect you to keep on writing about your day & then when you don't it's like come on, what's up? Well, I have been a little busy but the main thing is our lovely surver doesn't always work. It can even be 10pm & we have no connection.

Monday I was recovering from a migraine from the night before so I stayed in bed for most of the day. I would have stayed in my pj's all day except we had cheer Mon. night so I had to leave the house.

Tuesday I registered Schane' at her new school. I brought in the required paperwork, filled out the required paperwork, & then was asked what kind of teacher would I prefer. Didn't have to think twice about that one, somebody that has tough love. She was like O...K... Schane' tends to get distracted, maybe talks to much, you know, typical girl stuff. Well at least it's typical Schane' stuff. She's much better if someone pushes her & doesn't always talk fluff to her. Schane' is not excited about her new school. It's only two blocks from home where as we were driving 15 mins to school. The school is older so it looks more run down where as the other school is much newer. I like to think of it as don't judge a book by it's cover. The new school has received more positive reviews than her previous school. I'm thinking it's going to be a great change!

After that we went home to change & then went swimming. I had Matt & Abbey with me the whole day & we met up with other friends at the pool. Matt introduced Schane' to the diving board. She never would get on before but somehow he convinced her that she was going to be alright if she would just try jumping. For the next hour she was glued to the diving board, not only jumping but doing some great cannonballs. She said that she was going to stay on the diving board the whole time when we go back. That will make it easy looking for her at least.

After swimming we came home to change & then we were off to the bowling alley. I figure when you have extra kids at home it's always good if you can get out of the house & stay busy. While at the bowling alley, Schane' lost a tooth. She wasn't to happy about it but she survived & I just happened to have my camera on hand. That didn't make her happy either because I'm like just smile or just show me your upper teeth so I can take a picture. Nicole went & got some salt water for her swish around in her mouth & we were all better after that. Schane' doesn't do well when she sees blood so when it stopped bleeding everything was all better. After we got home she started asking me a few questions about the tooth fairy. I guess she didn't like my answers because she decided to write her a note. I thought it was great so I took a picture of it so you could all read it.