P.S. I Love You

I have to take a minute to give a shout out for the movie P.S. I Love You. This was the best movie I have seen in a while. Lissa called me up yesterday, and after having been cooped up in her house all day with a sick child, wanted to go catch a chick flick. We drove in 9 degree weather with snow on the roads to watch this amazing movie. Once we got there we loaded up on junk food and made our way to the top row of the theater. I thought it would be a tear jearker, but I had no idea it would make me cry from laughing so hard. I missed some of the lines of the movie because I was laughing so hard at what was happening. Before the movie was halfway over, I knew it was something I will definitely own. If you haven't seen it (and you are a girl!), grab your best girlfriend and go watch this funny, tear-jearker of a movie. Oh, and did I mention it has good looking guys in it too!

Sledding With Dad and Lynn

Dad and Lynn....Peepaw and Granma....came to visit us for Christmas. They got here late (midnight) Thursday (Dec. 20) night, so I sent Ben to pick them up from the airport while the kids and I slept. The kids didn't know they were coming, so Peepaw and Granma woke them up for a minute when they got to our house and told them "hi!". When Annalisa woke up on Friday morning she told me that she had dreamed that Peepaw and Granma had come to our house and her prayer was answered....she had been praying for them to come see her for Christmas. I then took her out to see that they really were here, and she was so happy! On Friday it snowed pretty hard and was very cold, so on Saturday we woke up and went sledding! The kids had a blast, but I think Dad and Lynn had just as much fun, if not more. Below is a video I put together of them sledding. At one point Cole is sledding towards a tree, then turns and continues down the hill. We finally got Jacob to do some sledding, and you can see him at the end sled over a ramp that was made by some other kids. I am glad he finally had fun on the hills. I will write again soon about Christmas, but enjoy this video for now!

What's Up....

We have been having lots of fun these past few weeks, and this week we got more snow! It is 18 degrees outside and still snowing as I write this. It snowed a bit last Saturday, so we all got on our snow clothes and made the trek to the school where there are big hills for sledding! The school is about a 1/2 mile from our house and the snow was blowing in our faces the entire way there. Ben tied the inner-tube to Annalisa with "Caution" tape, so she could drag it behind her fairly easily. Once we got there, Annalisa, Cole, Ben and I had a blast sledding down the big hills. We went fairly fast too, but Jacob was pretty scared and he would stop himself everytime, so he never made it down the hill. Cole had icicles on his eyelashes and a small wind burn on his cheek by the time we left. We went home, turned on the fire, and made hot chocolate so we could warm up. It was a true winter day!

Today the schools started an hour late (trust me, they would have been CLOSED in Texas!) and Ben had to start shoveling the driveway at 8:00. He was finished right when it was time to go at 8:40. That is a super work-out!


Last week Cole was in his first play....Colorado: A Land Through Time. He was Francisco Coronado and he did really well. Check it out at Feeling Froggy!

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, we were much further from family than we usually are. The only other time we have been far away was when we lived in Washington. The kids knew that Nana, Papa, and Susan were coming and had been anxiously awaiting their arrival for weeks. They got here on Thanksgiving afternoon, and were here in time for snow! We spent 3 days with them and it was a blast. The kids got to do their Christmas shopping on Friday and we all got our Christmas tree on Saturday. Ben and I even enjoyed a date night on Saturday while Nana, Papa and Aunt Susan took the kids ice skating. We all watched Enchanted, which is a GREAT movie! I hope they stayed warm enough because it snowed most all of the day on Friday, even though that wasn't in the forecast! They left on Sunday afternoon to head down to New Mexico to visit Jamee, Jason, Kate and Josh. I am glad they got to be here with us for worship on Sunday morning, though because that was an important time for Ben to share with his family. I am very glad they made the trip and came to see us! Annalisa cried when they left...she already missed them, but a visit from Uncle Bub that evening got her spirits up again. Jeffrey surprised me by coming in with John on Friday night (the day after Thanksgiving). I really had no idea he was coming, but I knew John was, and Jeffrey's phone call to me Saturday afternoon got me very suspicious! A few minutes later....after Melissa lied to me (I am thinking about forgiving her, but I am still not decided yet) they showed up at Wal-Mart and I got a great big bear hug from my favorite brother! Jeffrey and John came over and let me cook dinner for them on Sunday night, then me and Jeffrey, John and Melissa all went to the movies Monday night to watch The Mist....not scary at all, but it was filmed on Cross Lake so we couldn't miss it. It was a really fun time and I am so glad I got to see Jeffrey! On Wednesday of last week I had to fly to San Diego for a Canon event for work. It was really nice there and warm. I had an appointment at the spa on Thursday and I got a 50 min. full body massage....nice! Then I got to spend the day outside in the hot tub reading my book. It was very relaxing. I flew home Thursday night and saw snow on the ground when we landed...my tropical vacation was short but sweet! It has been a good past couple of weeks, and I look forward to the Christmas season when we will see more family!

P.S. I asked the kids to write their Christmas wish lists and my favorite thing was on Jacob's list...he asked for super powers. When I asked him which one he said he didn't care, he would take any! Then Melissa told him if he got the flying super power he would have to take her for a flight, he looked at her and very seriously said, "Then I would need super strength." My boy isn't going to get too many dates with that kind of honesty!!

Because I Was Tagged

Apparently I have been "tagged" by my dorkwad, weirdo brother who has nothing better to do at work than play on the computer. Are my tax dollars funding your job? I am willing to do this for him, cause I love him soooo dang much.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
   
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
   
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
   
4. Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
   

Here are the 7 random and/or weird facts about myself (if I can keep it that short!)

1. I am the smartest one of all 3 of my siblings.
   
2. I am the best looking of all 3 of my siblings.
   
3. I am the coolest, most popular of all 3 of my siblings.
   
4. I am the most liked of all 3 of my siblings.
   
5. I am the best cook of all 3 of my siblings.
   
6. I am the nicest of all 3 of my siblings.
   
7. I am the funniest of all 3 of my siblings.
   

Gosh, I could keep going for hours, but I guess I will stop with those 7. If you disagree with these FACTS about myself (you decide whether or not they are random or weird) then you will just have to take it up with ME….I am also the best fighter of all my siblings.

I don't think I can tag 7 people, because the people I know have all already been tagged…I don't know that many people in Blogger World! (I also work harder than all of my siblings).

And in case you don't understand….I do mean all 3 of my brothers, but Mainly just my older brother!

New Mexico 2007

On Thursday morning...12:30 a.m. to be exact....we woke up and piled in the Passat so we could begin a 9 hour journey to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Our mission was to see the new twins! The kids have been so excited since Kate and Josh were born that I don't think we could have waited another day before we went. The trip to Las Cruces was fairly uneventful. Because we traveled at night, the kids slept well, then we got some breakfast and we were about an hour away. Ben did get a speeding ticket from a state trooper who said he was going 71 in a construction zone with workers present...which equals a $300 ticket. We showed him that our speedometer was set at 41 mph, but he, of course, is never wrong and told us we could just pay the ticket. Ben told him he didn't plan on doing that, so the police officer told him he could go to court. WHATEVER! That part wasn't fun at all...but then we got to Jamee's and got to hold the babies. They are so perfect and precious. The kids fought over who would hold them, feed them, give them their pacifier, rock them....everything! It was so sweet. Jacob was very enthralled with Uncle Jason, and he and Cole had fun going hiking with him and his dog Wyatt. They loved being out in the country and seeing the mountains. Cole hoped they would find a snake, but they didn't. Boy am I glad! We went to the corn maze because we hadn't ever been to one before, but when we got there they informed us they weren't open to the public....so we still haven't been to one! Ben got some good pics of the twins and some of all the grandkids also. We had a lot of fun, but the trip home was soooooo long. I am just thankful that we "gained" an hour of sleep last night, so I felt a little more rested before church today!

Snow In October

For a few weeks now we have been hearing on the news that it "may snow on Sunday", but it hasn't. This weekend, however, we decided on Friday to go buy heavy coats in case it actually did snow. Yesterday was nice and warm (about 73 degrees), and we were comfortable in short sleeves. When we got home last night it started raining really hard, and the wind kicked up quite a bit. Then, this morning I woke up, went to the bathroom, and absent-mindedly looked out the window to a totally white backyard. I told Ben, and he just smiled then told me not to wake the kids up yet...it was 7:00. By 7:15 they were up on their own and the excitement in their voices made it sound like Christmas morning in my house...."Look! It's snowing! Mom, can we go play....please!" I couldn't tell them no.....they have been waiting weeks for this! I didn't expect it to last, but as the morning dragged on it snowed more and more until there was about 4 inches of snow on my car after church. We, being from Texas, were ill prepared for this storm. I had to clean the snow off of my car with a piece of cardboard I found in my trash pile. Melissa called me AFTER church to ask me if I had bought a brush yet....we didn't even know about the brushes until we saw another guy using one after church.....it is now on our list of things to buy. I am deeply grateful that there was a snow shovel in our garage, otherwise my car would still be parked at the edge of my driveway, because there was no way it was getting over the curb with all the snow there. The kids played outside all afternoon stopping only because I made them come eat lunch.....what kind of mother am I??? Then, about 3:00 Cole came in and said, "Mom, why are my hands this color?" I looked at them in horror and saw that they were not just purple, but almost black! We also had not bought them gloves yet, and they had been playing in the snow without them all afternoon. I immediately made them come in and get in a warm shower so they could get the blood flowing to their fingers again! They did have a great time playing today, but it will probably all be gone tomorrow.

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High School Musical

Yesterday my kids got backstage passes to Peyton Hatcher's High School Musical Concert. It was very fun and exciting! Melissa did a great job planning it all---way more than I have ever done (or will ever do!) for a party! I will not rob her of telling you all of the details, though! The biggest hit was the karaoke that all of the kids had a chance to partake in. Lots of the kids knew the High School Musical songs and sang right along, while others were still a bit shy. I put together a short video showing much of what happened, but not everything. You will want to watch all the way to the end, because the best performance is the last one! I love you Melissa!


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For Michael

The following information is about the show Psych, which shows on USA on Friday nights. I find it interesting that this show--which, according to Michael, "stinks like steaming dog turds wrapped in burnt hair" was the #1 show in ALL of cable last year. Wow! I guess A LOT of people like dog turds wrapped in burnt hair, because the number of viewers continues to grow, and the show made USA the #2 network in all of television. I understand Michael that you would never even give the show a chance now that you have been so vocal about how bad it is, but that doesn't mean the show is as bad as you say it is. Tag---you're it!

"We are thrilled to bring PSYCH back for a third season," said Wachtel. "The series has been a critical and ratings sensation since it premiered last summer and continues to gain new viewers and grow its fan-base."

PSYCH has been a ratings success since its debut in the summer of 2006, becoming last year's #1 new show in all of cable. The ratings accomplishments have continued through this summer. Along with its Friday night companion series MONK, PSYCH led USA to win the summer on Friday nights in P25-54 and P18-49. PSYCH is currently averaging 4.6 million total viewers, 2.3 million in P25-54 and 2.1 million in P18-49, with a 3.4 household coverage rating in the first half of the show's second season. PSYCH has been the #1 series on cable in its timeslot for the summer, beating its competition by 126% in P18-49 and 120% in P25-54 as well. PSYCH made USA the #2 network in all of television second only to ABC during its time slot.

Blake's 8th Birthday Party

I have been enjoying using the scrapblog feature, so I decided to use some photos I have had for a while. This scrapblog is from Blake's 8th birthday party....last April! I know, I know....that was a long time ago, but you can still enjoy the photos! We had a lot of fun at Sonic in Tyler and ate some good cake thanks to Windy!

Baseball in the Yard

I created this scrapblog with pictures from the last time my kids played with the Smith kiddos before we moved. The boys always enjoyed playing baseball in the yard together, and Dawson and Annalisa just enjoyed hanging out together!

My Jacob

Jacob is such a fun, sweet boy! I just love watching him think, and I love watching him interact with other people. He is very sociable, and he has been doing so well since we moved here to Colorado. He hasn't gotten in trouble at school at all, and he is having fun playing outside with friends every afternoon until at least 7 pm when I MAKE him come inside! He told me the other day that he likes it here because he didn't have this many friends in Kilgore. It makes me happy to see my kids happy, so I am very glad that Jacob is liking it here. He is also going through a stage of minding really well and saying, "yes ma'am" when I ask him to do something....I think it has a lot to do with the fact that Cole is staying in trouble for his bad attitude, disrespect and bossiness, so Jacob wants to stay out of trouble! He's no idiot!! That is fine with me, though because when he acts nice and minds me it makes my life that much easier! He has been rollerblading, skateboarding, riding his bike and playing football lately. I still can't get him to eat anything green (for the simple fact that "it tastes green"....whatever green tastes like!), but he is telling me a lot more lately "that was a good supper, mama". I like to hear that! Yesterday when he was getting ready for school he decided he wanted to wear his "cowboy" clothes that he got from Nana and Poppa for Christmas. I thought he looked handsome, so I took some pics of him. He does tuck his pants into his boots, though for the simple reason that he thinks the boots look cool and he wants to be sure everyone can see them! This morning he was so proud of himself for getting up and getting dressed without me having to ask him 1,000 times (Jacob is LAZY in the mornings!!!)....he came down with the biggest grin on his face (that means "mom, tell me how proud you are of me") and he was wearing the same exact clothes as yesterday!!! I grinned, told him I was proud of him for already being dressed, but explained that he couldn't wear the same shirt as yesterday. He only pouted for a minute, then let me give him another shirt to wear....and he still looked like my handsome little (no, big! ) 7 year old!

Note to Michael: My boys still button their shirts all the way to the top because that is how they like it! I try to unbutton the top button, but they will not have anything to do with that!

Annalisa's Room

Just a quick post to show you pics of Annalisa's room. We painted it last weekend and now it is two shades of pink with a green chair rail around the middle. She is very excited about it, and so am I. I am glad she finally has a "girlie" room! The next room we will paint will be the boys' room and it will be a pretty shade of blue. Painting is so much more work than you originally think until you get started....then you start asking yourself, "what the heck was I thinking????" Also, her room will look alot better once I get some pictures and things on the walls....for now it is still bare.

Everything Skit

Melissa sent me the link for this video, and I thought it was so good I wanted to share it with you. Please watch it until the end...it is very powerful.

Fatburger

Some of you may remember a post I wrote a while back about mine and Windy's visit to a local Dairy Queen. Our order wasn't correct when we got home, and more than that the guy behind the counter offered Windy some Nacho Cheese to go with her steak fingers. That was a pretty hilarious time for us, and as I went to dinner tonight with my kids I was reminded of that day. I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner, and they unanimously said, "Fatburger". I had a few extra dollars, and Ben is out of town, so I thought I would take them out for dinner. When I got there I began to order. First I ordered a Baby Fatburger deal. I said, "....and on that burger I want mayonnaise and ketchup only." (The sign says ALL burgers come with lettuce, pickles, relish, mayonnaise, mustard and tomatoes). So the guy looks at me and seriously says, "so you don't want the bun?" as if the bun were an add-on. I said, "yes, I want the bun, AND the meat and mayonnaise and ketchup...but NO vegetables." Ok....so I guess we got that straight. Then I say, "I also want JUST a Baby Fatburger.....mustard, lettuce and tomatoes." By "Just a Baby Fatburger" I meant I only wanted the burger and NOT the meal. Then I said I wanted a Fatburger meal "with mustard all the way." Then I realized they put relish on their burgers, so I said, "no, I don't want the relish." Well, that totally threw the guy off and he couldn't figure out how to make the order be "no relish" now that he had already run it through. So, he called over another employee, who then says "well, you ordered a Fatburger with mustard only." I said, "No, I said mustard all the way." They looked at me like "well? mustard all the way means mustard all over the burger right?" I said, "Look, I'm not from here, but in Texas mustard all the way means mustard with everything that comes on the burger." Oh, well that was new to them. So, the guy rings up my order and I pay....I was thinking it was awfully expensive for what I ordered so I looked at the ticket. He charged me for 2 Baby Fatburger meals and 1 Fatburger meal, even though I only ordered 1 Baby Fatburger meal. Oh well, I had already paid and I knew the kids would eat the fries and drink the drink, so I figured what the heck? Then I got to my table and started reading the ticket again. Under the 2nd Baby Fatburger meal it said "No Bun". What? So, apparently when I said "Just a Baby Fatburger" that meant just the meat. Who are these people and did they graduate from high school? I walked up to the counter and asked the guy who took my order if I could talk to him about my ticket. I told him how it said "No Bun" at which point the other guy came up and cut me off saying "you want the bun, right?" I said "yes I do." He pointed to the other guy and said, "He is from around here but he is sort of slow." He said it right in front of him! And seriously it was the truth! So, they brought all of the burgers on buns, but when I got mine it was mustard no vegetables. So, I had to send it back to get my lettuce, tomatoes onions and pickles. At that point I was a little nervous to eat my food, thinking that maybe they had spit on it or something!

Annalisa

I haven't written for a while because we have been so busy getting our house like we like it and getting the kids settled in school. Last week, though, Annalisa celebrated a milestone in her life....she turned 5 and she is already counting the days to when she will be 10! To celebrate her birthday, Ben took her to a place called Amazing Jakes on a day that she wasn't in school. He really enjoys spending time with her....just dad and daughter....and they get along really well! She definitely felt special because her boys have been wanting to go to Amazing Jakes also. It is way bigger than Chuck E. Cheese....and way more expensive! Apparently there is an indoor miniature golf course, a train, go-carts, bumper cars, and a roller coaster....not to mention all of the video games and the climbing wall. WOW! After they went there, they spent some time at the library--one of my kids FAVORITE places to go, and then they had a photo shoot at the house for her 5 year portrait. You can definitely tell that she has been around a camera her whole life, and she loves to pose! On her actual birthday we all celebrated by eating at a place called Fatburger which has to take the place of What-A-Burger because they don't have those here, then we got scoops of ice cream at Maggie Moo's. All in all it was a great day and Annalisa enjoyed all of the phone calls she received from family and friends....although at one point she wanted to play with her toys and asked me if they could all stop calling her on the same day and "call tomorrow!" I have added some of the photos from her photo shoot for you to enjoy!

Outdoor Mall

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Well, the kids and I have had about 4 days of working in the house and garage, and today I got the "I'm bored" speech.......so, I thought I would take them over to the outdoor mall for some fun in the water! When we first got here we found this neat spot and noticed that a lot of parents bring their kids out in their swimming suits so they can play. Today seemed like as good a day as any, so about 2:45 we put on swim suits and loaded up the car. We were there by 3:00 and the playing commenced. Well, Cole only lasted about 3 minutes total! He said it was freezing, and he was right! Every time Annalisa would come close to me she would twirl around, slinging freezing water off of the end of her ponytail onto me! It was overcast, but still a warm day. I could compare it to running through the water sprinkler in Texas in December. Warm enough outside to wear shorts, but the water feels like it is running through the freezer. Annalisa and Jacob played until I made them stop--due to blue lips--at 3:30. Jacob was still pouting about having to stop when at about 3:33 the wind picked up and we could tell it was about to rain. We got to the car and at 3:35 it was pouring down rain! I guess it was a good thing they were already soaked. All in all it was a fun half hour for 2 of my kids....Cole sat on the bench and watched from a distance, not brave enough to go back in. Jacob loves water so much it doesn't matter to him if it is cold or not! Annalisa would run through, come over to get dried off and warmed up, then go back for some more! I think we are all gonna really love being here, because there was no where in Longview or Kilgore to do something like this on a Sunday afternoon.....the boredom was abated and now they are chasing each other through the house playing tag!

Colorado!

We have now been in Colorado for a full week! Woo-hoo! On August 7 the boys and Ben went with their Poppa (Ben's dad) to the Astro's game to celebrate Cole and Ben's birthday's. It was their last big night in Texas. We woke up at 5:30 on Wednesday morning and said our good-byes to Nana, Poppa, and Nanny, then we began our road trip to Colorado. We only made it to Amarillo by Wednesday evening, and Ben already had a hotel reservation for us. I am not used to long distance driving, and after 10 hours on the road I was VERY ready for a bed! We slept well, and woke up Thursday morning to finish the trip. We arrived in Aurora, CO around 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon. Melissa met us at Wal-green's so we could follow her to our new house. Even though we were totally exhausted, Ben was not going to be able to sleep until the truck was unloaded. Melissa had called a few of her friends, and they came over to help us unload. We got the truck unloaded, which was packed from front to back, and that was a load off of Ben's shoulders. As we unloaded the truck, the neighbors came over to introduce themselves, and the kids began making friends. Our neighbors have a boy who is 7 (Jacob's age) and a girl who is 5 (Annalisa's age). They have been outside playing every day since we moved in! We have a park in our neighborhood that is within walking distance, and we have been there a couple of times. The stores that we need to shop at are less than 5 miles from our house, and we are still not sure how to handle that! It is so convenient for them to be close by. The kids' school is 1/2 mile from the house and is very nice. The kids are on "C" track, so they start on Tuesday, Aug. 21. The kids (and I!) can't wait! It has been a long summer! I took Ben to the airport today so he could fly back to Longview. He has a wedding he is photographing in Joaquin this weekend, and the couple flew him in so he could still do it. However, after a few phone calls today I found out he was bumped off his flight from Dallas to Longview, (but received $250 in vouchers---the same thing happened to me when I was flying home from Vegas) moved to the flight from Dallas to Shreveport...then that flight was delayed due to thunderstorms that started when they boarded the plane! He has had a long day at airports! He got to the Denver airport at 12:30 and was supposed to arrive in Shreveport at 10 pm, but that was postponed. I spent the day trying to organize things in the house and garage....and I still have a LONG way to go! We are very happy here, and Ben already has a job--- he has started working with Melissa's neighbor. It is good to know we will already be making some money! We are loving the weather too!

This Past Week

This past week we started out on Monday with a drive to Dallas and a trip to the IMAX theater to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. We very much enjoyed the movie, and the last 20 minutes were in 3-D. Jacob kept reaching out to "touch" the characters, as it seemed they were right in the middle of the theater with us! It took Cole a while of being frustrated with the double images on the screen before he would actually put his glasses on, and I think he missed the best parts of the 3-D effects. Annalisa sat in my lap and slept through the movie, so that was a $9 nap for her! After the movie we headed to my dad and Lynn's apartment and went swimming! The kids have been wanting to swim all summer, and we were so thankful for sunshine! We swam again on Tuesday and Annalisa now refuses to wear her floaties and is no longer scared to get her face wet. She swam from me to Ben (across the pool that we were in) multiple times and was so proud of herself! Ben and I were very proud of her too. She decided she was tired of watching her boys have fun while she just floated, so she learned how to swim. She is still no expert, mind you, but we have made tremendous growth in just one week's time! On Wednesday we took the kids and Lynn to Six Flags and had a good, hot time! Ben got to ride Mr. Freeze with Lynn because she had never ridden it before, then he rode The Shockwave with Cole and Jacob 2 times. After that he was done for. Since his accident he can't take a lot of shaking and big rides....it hurts his head pretty bad. So, we left around 2, but since the lines were virtually non-existent the kids had already done a lot and we had braved the Roaring Rapids. On Thursday Ben and Dad played golf, Lynn went to work, and I was left home with the kids. I knew we would go swimming so I invited my beautiful nieces to join us, and my Aunt Sis brought them over. The kids swam for about 2 hours and had a blast. Annalisa tried to convince Emma, who doesn't like water on her face, that it is more fun to put your face in the water because then you can look at the people who are swimming under water. Emma didn't buy it! They still had loads of fun and my kids can't wait to spend time with them again! On Thursday night I had the opportunity to eat dinner with my best friend from Jr. High and High School...Eva Methvin Troha. She now has 2 beautiful baby girls and lives in South Arlington. She runs her own Chiropractic Clinic and is doing well. I was very excited to see her because it has been 6 years since I saw her last. On Friday we came home, but not without a stop at the Tanger Outlet Malls for some good deals at Old Navy---$2.97 for swimsuits! I couldn't believe it.....so Annalisa got a bikini for next year....she was inspired by her cousins who all had bikinis on when they came to swim on Thursday. She does think the top is like a bra and wants to wear it everyday and pretend like it is.....what is wrong with that girl? She will give me fits in her teenage years, I am sure! We are home, but Ben and I are planning a trip this next week to MO to find a place to live and a school for our kids. Hopefully I can find a job teaching there too!

"Wii" Have Been Having Fun!

This is a short video showing the kids having fun playing our new Wii. I especially love to watch Cole because he gets so excited about it! In the beginning of the video, pay close attention to how Jacob bowls. He looks like he is a fast-pitch softball pitcher! It is pretty funny! Then watch Annalisa strike Cole out with her awesome pitching skills. The Wii is fun because it is something everyone can do....including Annalisa, and we all have been enjoying it immensely!

What's Going On

This past week has been been so exciting and fun! We went to 4 ALL STAR baseball games and watched Cole's team play some awesome games. When we got to the finals, we played Nacogdoches. They had not been beat. Furthermore, they had pretty much slaughtered all the other teams. The first time we played them, they beat us 8-1. When we played them in the finals, we scored 3 runs in the first inning, and didn't let them score any. We kept them at 0 until the 3rd inning when they scored 1 run. Our guys were so pumped that they were not only winning, but they were winning against Nacogdoches!! We were playing in the rain, and when their team would mess up, all of the parents would complain to them about how it wasn't their fault because the grass was wet and all. We were playing on the same field, and managing to do just fine! In the 4th inning they had some really good hits and scored 2 more, tying us 3-3. Our guys were playing well, and we had a chance to score, but after 3 BAD calls at 2nd base (we had the same umpires the whole tournament, and there were LOTS of bad calls--especially at 2nd base)in the other team's favor, they were able to score 2 more runs and beat us 5-3. Cole caught 2 pop-up's behind the plate....he caught at least one in each game of the tournament, but he said (with a grin on his face) that he has never caught 2 in one game! One of the Jacsonville coaches came up to Cole after the game was over and told him that he had been a catcher for many years, and he thought Cole was one of the "best little catchers he had ever seen out there!" That made Cole smile from ear to ear! Our guys won 2nd place in the tournament, and they were the only team to hold their own against Nacogdoches. We actually had them sweating! It was a lot of fun!
On another note, we currently have a couple who wants to put a contract on our house. We have not shown our house in 2 weeks, so this came as a surprise to us. Apparently, this couple looked at our house when we had it For Sale By Owner. (We only showed it to two couples that week, and now one of them has come back and said they want it. We are excited to get the paperwork and move forward with this part of our summer!
Ben is still enjoying umpiring baseball games, and last night he umpired 2 tournament games in Kilgore. We went and watched the 2nd game. It was between Carthage and Jacksonville....Carthage won 28-2. That is a slaughter! Today Ben is playing in a softball tournament in Longview and we will be heading over there to watch that. I am really enjoying relaxing, watching some baseball and just being home with my family!!! (also, Cole would like for you to continue to read his blog....he checks regularly for comments and doesn't think people read his posts!!)

Playing With The Boys

I really just posted this because I thought it would be a good video to watch in the summertime....and I wanted to see how many people actually read my blog posts and would comment on the barely clad men playing volleyball in the video. This is definitely when Tom was a lot younger and not into "witchcraft"!! LOL Maybe you will enjoy watching, and maybe you won't. (Melissa, you need to find something better to post for me on my birthday!! You have less than a week!)

What's Up?

So I made it to the end of the school year without harming any students, taking any medications (prescription, over-the-counter, or otherwise), or walking out and simply quitting!!! YAY!! I feel like that was a major accomplishment! I must, however give all of the glory for that to God. He is the One who got me out of bed every morning and gave me what little desire had to go to the school and "teach" every day. It got worse before it was over, and I feel now as if I could handle just about anything!

Cole finished up 3rd grade with all A's all year. He is proud of that accomplishment, also. He made a 100 on his Reading TAKS test, and only missed 1 question on his Math TAKS. He beat himself up pretty bad for missing the 1 question! I am so proud of him, though! Cole has been the catcher for the Blue Jays and the Red Sox (a tournament team) this past baseball season, and has now made it on the ALLSTARS team! Woo-hoo, Cole~~a.k.a. The Punisher. Games start this Thursday-Saturday in Springhill, then next Friday-Wed. in Jacksonville. Cole is doing a great job in baseball and loving it. I love this pic of him....he is very intense when he plays!

If you would like to see Cole and Jacob's stats for this year, click on this: Forever Love and then click on Cole's Stats or Jacob's stats. Ben spent a lot of time putting it together this year!

Jacob finished 1st grade reading on a higher reading level than most of my 3rd graders. He does not enjoy reading, unless someone is listening to him or it is a comic book, but he is very good at it. Jacob played for the Blue Jays and came a long way with his hitting, throwing and catching. At a few games he donned Cole's catcher gear and got behind the plate. He did a great job! Jacob is also loving summer and all of the swimming that comes with it!

Annalisa is ready for us to move, and she can't wait to start school. However, we found out that where the cut-off date for starting school in Texas is Sept. 1, in Missouri it is Aug. 1....not much help for her there. During the baseball season, Annalisa could not go to a game without wearing her baseball uniform! She was convinced the boys loved it, and she also got a free soda after the game if she was in a uniform! I haven't raised a dummy! In this photo she is being the "batgirl" for the Blue Jays. She loved being in the dugout with all of the guys!

We are listing our house with a real estate agent this afternoon, because the whole "For Sale By Owner" thing just wasn't up my alley. We have a couple interested in buying it for what we are asking, but they are young and it is their first buy, and I just don't want to tell them wrong things, so I will solicit the help of someone knowledgeable in the field.

Mostly, I am enjoying sleeping late and not listening to kids that I didn't give birth to (and therefore can't spank) disrespect me all day long and fight each other.
I love being at home with my own three kids and Benny!! I had a great week last week with just Ben because the kids went to Dad and Lynn's house and had a blast. I don't think they were ready to come home to me!!! I am glad they love their grandparents and can spend time with them. Soon, they will go to Jim and Ruby's for vacation bible school! They love that!