We are still alive!

Just a little update- we have a virus on our computer! I have not been able to download any holiday pictures, let alone update the blog! As soon as we get our computer back- I will be back- I promise!:)

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"!