Okay- I am lame!

After local competition

Grampy and Nanny were able to see the local competition

Madalyn and her cheer friends at Animal Kingdom at Disney World

Magic Kingdom at Disney World

Madalyn holding the trophy after the National competition in Florida




I know I haven't posted in like- forever! It has been weighing heavily on me! This blog thing is like a black cloud hanging over me. So much has happened since Nov 8th when I last posted! Let me just give you a quick run down (I will make a long story very short)!

1. My mom came into town during Parent/Teacher Conference week to help out with the kids and make the window treatments for my living/dining room, kitchen and family room. They turned out awesome, of course! I can not even express how much I appreciated her help! Thanks Mom!

2. Steve's family came for Thanksgiving. Everyone came- so that made it really special. Me cooking- not so special. It was so good to see everyone. The cousins had a great time playing. They only left with one injury! I hope your forehead is better Nixon!

3. Madalyn's cheer squad took 1st place in the local and regional competitions!

4. Madalyn and I went to Disney World for her Pop Warner National competition. It was a blast! Her squad took 4th place in the NATION!!! That means that they are now ranked nationally. You can see her on ESPN on December 27th. Program the TIVO now! We had so much fun! We roomed with my friend Debbie and her daughter Jule. The girls had fun hanging out and Debbie and I were able to act like teenagers, staying up until 2am every night laughing our heads off. FYI- Disneyland is better than Disney World!

5. Chad finished his football season. This is always bittersweet for us. He is so passionate about the sport and has a hard time leaving it. It has become a tradition to cry after the last game (I wonder how long that will go on). To fill the void, he has started basketball. He has had two games. The first game he was very timid and tried to avoid the ball. The second game, he made a basket and became very confident. We can't wait to see the next game! Go Chad!

6. Westin is still hanging in there as cute as ever! He is anxiously awaiting baseball season! He is doing awesome in school and is starting to read!

7. I made it through teaching for 2007! I can't believe that it is already Xmas break! I have had my ups and downs with becoming a working mom again, but at the end of the day, I love everything about my life!

Now I have some confessions that have haunted me this past month. If you are a blogger, you will be right there with me!

1. We never took out our camera over Thanksgiving. I have not a single picture. I do not know what is wrong with us! I will forever regret this!!!

2. After national competition, I misplaced my camera. That is why I have not posted anything in awhile. It is also why I don't have a SINGLE picture of Chad's awesome chorus concert and Westin's cute Kindergarten musical!!! Fellow bloggers out there, can you imagine your life with your camera missing???

The good news is... I tore apart my room tonight and found my camera in.... my church bag.?! We are leaving for AZ in the morning (in a couple of hours) and I knew I had to find it before Christmas. So.... I am downloading the Florida pictures right now and I will post a few of them tonight. I will update with more pictures when we get home from AZ after Xmas!

Merry Christmas!!

What happened?

I don't know what happened in my post below. It was perfect in the preview. When I posted it, the captions got all messed up. I tried to fix it, but if you'll look at the time I posted this, you will see that I need to go to bed! I am going to have to post something that looks less than perfect. I hope I don't lose any sleep over it!

A Proud Fan!

****************************Such a gracious winner!
How cute is that?





Here's to you ***************************Right back at you






More cuteness!



I was able to watch the CMA awards while I was doing report cards tonight. Was there any doubt that Kenny Chesney would win Entertainer of the Year AGAIN?!?!?!Didn't think so! I watched his acceptance speech over and over because it was so dang cute! He was funny, witty, humble, and he was with his mom!!! Like me, he must have known he would win again because he is all dressed up. He looks like Steve going to work minus the cowboy hat. He usually doesn't dress like this- but I think I like it (it doesn't matter how he is dressed).

I had to concentrate on the report cards, so I couldn't pay too much attention to the CMAs, but here is what stood out to me-

1. Kenny Chesney- goes without saying
2. Taylor Swift- totally cute- love her album- so talented- a senior in high school!
3. George Strait- will always be cool!
4. Kellie Pickler- love that song she sang- didn't like the hairdo- wish she wouldn't have cried- the pictures online don't look good- still a cutie
5. Carrie Underwood- I'm so happy for her- How many years does she have to thank American Idol?:)
6. Brad Paisley- love him- his wife looks too skinny! Still a cute couple
7. Sugarland- love that song!
8. Jaime Foxx singing with Rascal Flatts- very mesmerizing- Did they kiss at the end?
9. Where were Tim and Faith? Was Alan Jackson there?
10. Did I mention that Kenny Chesney was with his mom?

Trick or Treat

Halloween has just not been the same since we left AZ. We all miss having the grandparents, aunts, uncles, COUSINS and friends over to our house. We had a great tradition of making tortilla soup (I know it is crazy- but I do make a great tortilla soup) and trick-or-treating. I don't know if my kids will ever get over the fact that everyone now goes over to Ryan and Carrie's house for the same tradition. I personally think it is great that Carrie is carrying it on- tortilla soup and all! But my kids just talk about it the entire night. Despite that little set back each year- we had a great time. It was fun to get to hang out with our neighbors and get a bunch of chocolate in the process! To all our new friends in CA-I am opening an invitation to anyone who would like to come to our house next year. The tortilla soup really is good! :)


Jack Sparrow, "Ruby" the pirate, and the skater (Which one of these things doesn't belong?)


Jack Sparrow with some of his neighbor friends.


The two "girl" pirates of the neighborhood.


I have no idea who that is...


Jack Sparrow and his "wife pirate" as he called her.

Happy Halloween to me!

LG- Life's Good!

Last weekend, I bought a new washer and dryer! With my life so crazy, I noticed how long it was taking me to do laundry. I heard that with these new front loaders, you can do 3x the laundry in one load! After much thought and research, I did something I have never done- I bought the top rated, biggest, best washer and dryer on the market right now. The brand is LG- it stands for Life's Good and I happen to agree with them!

If you are in the market for a washer and dryer- come over and see mine in action. It is supposed to take me a fraction of the time, but I am so intrigued by them that I stand there and watch them for the first 15 minutes (I know that will pass soon). It is just not like anything I have seen before. Everything is digital, it weighs the clothes and decides how much water it needs (which isn't very much), it has an option to add steam, you can even do a speed wash which only takes 30 minutes! It is all just amazing to me! Yesterday, I put the clothes in the washer in the morning and set the delay timer for an hour before I would be home and when I got home, the wash was just finishing its spin cycle. Amazing! I took the freshly washed clothes right out and put them in the dryer. I could go on and on- but I won't!


Here is a picture of the washer and dryer. I couldn't fit the whole dryer in the picture.


Here is the washer in action! I hope someone is as impressed as I am!:)

A Berry Good Time!

We ended up having a 4 day weekend due to the poor air quality from the fires. It was an unfortunate reason to have days off, but I did get to relax with my family! We spent time watching movies, eating lunch with friends, shopping and just doing nothing. It was good for us! We ended the weekend at Knotts Berry Farm. We were just there for a couple of hours. Steve had to be there for work. It wasn't crowded, so we were able to hit several rides. The only problem was that Westin was about an inch too short to go on most of the rides. We hope he grows that inch before we go back!

I am actually looking forward to going back to school tomorrow. It was a nice couple of extra days off, but we need to get back to work! Our thoughts and prayers go out to the many people who have lost their homes in the fires.


Madalyn and Chad after a ride on the Sidewinder.


Steve and Westin after a ride on the Sidewinder. Westin loved this ride so much, that I went on with him next. I was scared to death! I was screaming like a crazy woman. The whole time, he was looking at me saying, "It's okay Mom, It's okay!" They video you on the entire ride, and sure enough, it all showed up on the video. In the end, I ended up liking the ride and will probably ride it again (someday).


Here is Westin's "whining" face. This is how he looked when he found out he wasn't quite tall enough to go on all those rides!


Just stay in Camp Snoopy and you can go on all the rides!


On our way out, we stopped to take one more picture with the "Peanut Gang"!

Something I miss

For those of you who have known me for a long time, you know that I have a deep love for Kenny Chesney. He is the only "famous person" that I am pretty much obsessed with. When I wasn't working, I would listen to him ALL the time. Now that I am working, I use the time in my car to talk to Westin or make necessary phone calls. When I am at home, I have no time to listen to music. Tonight, I was updating my playlist and listening to Kenny. I realized how much I miss hearing him everyday. So- I decided to dedicate this blog to him. I have been to his concert every year. This year, I flew to San Jose and met my friend Carolyn (from AZ) to see his concert. It was a great time! Madalyn and Steve usually go with me, and last year our whole family went. He is that good! He definitely earns his "Entertainer of the Year" every year. If you haven't had a chance to listen to his music, stay on my blog for awhile. I hope you enjoy him as much as I do!

I'm back!?!?!

I will try to better at updating my blog. I feel like things have kind of died down at work, but will probably pick back up again with report cards and parent/teacher conferences right around the corner! I love teaching again! It has been extremely time consuming with teaching in a new state and trying to learn the curriculum for two grades (I am teaching a 2/3 combo). I am so happy when I am in the classroom everyday. My own children have been great with all the changes in our lives. I wouldn't be able to do it without the extra help from my wonderful husband and friends. So many people have my back right now!

Thank you to all the concerned people who have called and emailed to check on us with all the fires. This beautiful state is just being torn down by fire right now. It is very scary. It is addicting to watch the news- it is all that is being covered. My heart goes out to all the families who have lost their homes. We have been safe so far. The fire looked so close last night- we could see orange above the mountain that we look at out our front door. Our children got very nervous. Fortunately, by this morning- it had died down. The winds have died down and now the smoke is settling in our valley. The air is thick and smelly. There are ashes everywhere. The school district is closed tomorrow because the air quality is so bad. So much has been destroyed in less than a week. I hope it is over soon. We have had a quiet week with football being canceled. The games and the cheer competition (in San Diego) have been canceled for the weekend. I guess I can have a relaxing couple of days! :)

The one thing that I have been really bad about since starting my job is taking pictures. I will update you briefly on our lives this past month. I promise to get better about bringing my camera with me. I can't play the blog game without pictures! (how boring would that be?).
Okay- here it goes!.....

Madalyn cheering- I noticed that this picture was a little fuzzy after I downloaded it.


I wish Steve would have gotten this whole picture- it is really cool- TVPW!


Here is Westin and his spectator buddy (again). At least he has a partner in crime at the games!



We tried to go to the Miramar Air Show. There was so much traffic that we were stopped on the exit for about 30 min. Needless to say- we had great seats for the show- but we never actually made it in. It was still awesome!


Afterwards, we went to eat sushi (yummy- our favorite). Chad had his friend, Nick with us.

Westin eating his favorite, octopus! (yikes)


I had the opportunity to fly to AZ by myself and visit my family. Ryan and Carrie were getting sealed. Their family is adorable. I am so glad that I was able to share this special day with them. (Thanks Steve for covering my back at home)!


What a perfect family!


The family with Nanny and Grampy (what is Kelan looking at?)


Afterwards, we went to Mattas (yummy Mexican food, brought back LOTS of memories). Here is Brandon, Taylor and Janie- my kids miss them so much!


Just had to throw this one in- Kelan is so cute- I wanted to put him in my suitcase and bring him home!

That night, we went back to Ryan & Carrie's house for dinner. It was so much fun to get to spend more time with everyone (especially the kids). We had a great time talking and laughing (and eating). The only person missing (besides Taylor) was RJ (and my family of course).


This is what I miss the most about AZ- being an aunt!!


Nanny and Janie, playing Polly Pockets!


Brandon- he was kind of alone all night- Taylor was at a slumber party!


Kelan in the highchair- can you tell he is teething?


A close up- isn't he precious???

Update (this is an old post I forgot to publish)

Madalyn is always so happy when she is cheering. Her screen saver on her cell phone says I luv cheer!

It is hard to tell in this small picture, but Chad is about to make a tackle. He is on the end, number 81.

Chad loves football. Here he is after a game.

Chad's first set of stitches. He was hit in the mouth with someone else's face mask. Gotta love football.

Ouch! He thought this was pretty cool!

My Heart Is Full...

For those of you who thought I fell off the face of the earth last week- I didn't- I got a teaching job! It has been an overwhelming week- I have been setting up my classroom and will have my students on Monday (tomorrow). On Friday night- Steve took the boys to an Angels game and Madalyn and I went shopping and out to dinner. When we were at dinner, I told Madalyn that I just felt like I wanted to cry- but I didn't know why. I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days. I have come to the conclusion that my heart is full. I have so much to be thankful for right now. I thought I would jot some of them down so that I would never forget the feeling I have right now.

I am thankful for:

1. A husband who has been so supportive. I worked so many hours last week (compared to the zero hours I worked the past couple of years) and he was home when I needed him. He is such a wonderful dad and husband. He even handled a crisis on Wednesday when Chad got hurt at football practice and had to get stitches. He wasn't too sure about me going back to work but he has really stepped up to the plate.

2. My wonderful children. I have been home these past two years and they have really come to rely on me (for everything). When I told them about my job offer (that wasn't at their school), they told me that I needed to take the job because I love teaching and it will make me happy. They also think it is pretty cool that I am a teacher. They had to be very responsible last week (especially Madalyn) and everything ran very smoothly. I am also thankful that they are all healthy. They are such great kids and their teachers tell me they are role models in their classrooms- I am especially thankful for that!

3. My supportive parents and family. I know that my parents thought it was great that I was able to stay home with the kids but they were nothing but happy for me when I told them I was taking the job. I know that I can call them anytime- even during this stressful time in their lives when they are moving. I enjoy being able to call my mom on my way to work (that sounds weird) and on my way home (and sometimes during). I am also so thankful for my sister-in-law, Carrie. She is the sister I never had. It is hard to believe that I have known her for over half her life! She has been there these past two weeks (like always) when I have needed someone to talk to. I am thankful for my brothers too! I know that they will always be here for me.

4. My awesome friends! I can not express my deep gratitude to my friends here that have helped me out these past several weeks. We just moved here 5 months ago and I have been so blessed to meet the most awesome people. I really needed help with my kids last week (especially Westin) and I had so many people helping me! It is such an overwhelming feeling to know that people really care about our family. I hope you all know how much you are truly appreciated. I also hope you know that I would love to help any of you out in any way I can. So- please call me if you need me. And like I have told you all before- please don't forget about me when I am at work! :)

5. My AZ friends! Thank you for the continuing support! I received many phone calls this week checking up on me! I am so thankful for cell phones and internet because sometimes I feel like I didn't even move! We can still talk as much- just not see one another. You guys have gotten me through these past two years- since moving away! Thanks for not forgetting about me!

6. The wonderful teachers I work with! After working for just 4 days- I can honestly say that I work with great people! Everyone has been so helpful! I am teaching a combo 2/3 class, so I will come in contact with many teachers! Thank you to the 3rd grade team for coming to my classroom and hanging bulletin boards! I am also thankful for a supportive principal. I don't know her that well yet, but she seems great!

7. My testimony of my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. I have been truly blessed in my life. Faith can get you through anything! I could not ask for more...

I promise to get more pictures up ASAP! I will update you on the rest of our lives as soon as I get a minute to download the pictures.

Did I forget someone?

Westin was missing from the game pictures last week. He is usually so busy playing with his little friends at the game that I don't get pictures of him. This is Westin and his friend at the Pop Warner Carnival last weekend. There was a very popular "hair dying" booth. Thank goodness it washed out (the shower was pretty colorful).

Tonight, before Westin went to bed, he told me the following:
1. He wants to be a professional soccer player or a policeman when he grows up.
2. He never wants to smoke.
3. He will never get a tattoo.
4. He wants six kids (3 boys, 3 girls).
5. He never wants to be homeless.

Then he asked, "Who invented tattoos?" "Who invented smoking?" and "Who invented homeless people?"

He just gave us this list, with no prompting. He has been very busy thinking about his future lately. I guess that Kindergarten will do that to you!

Saturdays...

What should we do next?

Chad and his friend



As you may have guessed, our Saturdays are filled with football and cheer. This past Saturday, we had our first games! It was so much fun to watch the kids. Chad played most of the game and did awesome. He made many tackles including a quarterback sack (I am learning slowly- but I guess that is good). Unfortunately, his team lost in the last quarter 6-0. I am sure the coaches will have it all worked out by next game! Madalyn did awesome! Her coaches told us that she is definitely a game cheerleader (I guess that means that she interacts well with the audience). If anyone gets a chance to come out here one Saturday to see them play and perform- I know it will be worth your while! Just wait until after the heat wave!!