Halloween Mail for Levi and Seth

Yesterday when I checked the mail, Levi said "did I get mail Mom?" I told him no and he said "I never get mail, I wish someone would send me a letter". ......
So.....today when I checked the mail, imagine my surprise to see mail for Levi and Seth! Talk about making two little boys day!
They each had their own Halloween Cards from their Granny. It was those cute talking cards, and they both loved it! It also had $5 in each card, and you would have thought they just won the lottery! hahaa :) The smiles on their faces were priceless! I tried to take a picture of them opening their cards, but ALL of my batteries were dead. I have 4 sets of re-chargeable (ok, so they are all almost wore out) and they were all dead. I even tried some out of a remote, but they would only power it on to immediately die. So I have all of the batteries on the charger...I am bummed that I missed that Kodak moment.

Levi also came home from school with a bag full of goodies! He was so excited! It was full of pencils, toys, candy, stickers, tattoos, etc. He was even sweet enough to share it all with his little brother! What a big boy he is becoming! I was so proud of him.

Happy Halloween! We took the boys to the Fall Festival on Thursday night, so today doesn't really feel like Halloween to me. I went and got a Flu Shot with Stephen today, ran errands in town, and bought groceries. Now the boys and I are getting everything ready to have our own little Halloween party here at home. Stephen and I are both to tired to mess with trying to go somewhere tonight. We just both want to relax at home this evening...the boys are totally happy with that...as long as they can make decorations and surprise Daddy with a Halloween party! :) I'll try to get my batteries charged (literally! ha ha) and will take some pictures of the boys in their costumes tonight.

Busy Weekend, and another Busy Week ahead...

This weekend we spent all day satruday cleaning the house and mowing. Then my parents stopped by to visit later that afternoon. It was so great to see them again! We all went out to dinner together and then went over to the NEW Lowes next door. It was so NICE and HUGE! So this got Stephen and I inspired to actually paint our bathroom and fix it up (which we have wanted to do ever since we moved here). So we bought some paint.

Sunday afternoon, I worked on taping off the bathroom and painting Kilz on the walls.

Then yesterday I got up at 4:40am to go workout with Janel. We had a great workout! We ran 1 1/2 miles and walked 1/2 mile (1/4 warm up, and 1/4 cool down). Then we did lunges, squats, upper body work with our weights, and abs. After I got Levi to school, I finished up the Kilz in the bathroom, completed 11 lessons (through my online course), cleaned the house, did 4 loads of laundry, ironed 6 pairs of pants and 2 pairs of slacks, etc, etc. Then I had to cook dinner for me and the boys (Stephen came home sick, so I tried to take care of him too). Then we all hit the sack around 8:30pm.

This morning I got up at 5am and completed another 2 lessons (I am now only have 52 lessons left to go and I will have the Basic Appraisal completed! YIPPY!!!). I need to go get ready, because Seth has "Good morning Pre-K" at the library today, and he is excited because he gets to wear his costume! :) Then we need to go grocery shopping, and I need to work on the painting and my lessons some more. Oh and I have 2 cooking shows I have to get closed today also. Whew....

Oh yea, and in the midst of all of this, Stephen and I stayed up late on Saturday night (after we got the boys in bed) to watch 2 movies that we had rented the week before. We watched Thr3e, it was based on the book by Ted Dekker (a christian author). If I hadn't read the book, I would have been scared to death! :) It was good though. It totally flips around on you, and you are sitting there like "What?!?" and then it all makes sense. Since I had read the book, it was fun to see Stephen going "what? Oh my!" once he figured out the ending. It was really good.

Then we watched "Fractured". It had Anthony Hopkins in it. It was SO GOOD!!!! It was by far, the best movie I have watched in a long time. Of course sitting next to a detective who had the show figured out, and was telling me his theory of what happened (which turned out to be right) kind of spoiled the whole "what happened" suspense, but it still flipped around and had me on edge a few times. It was SO GOOD!!!!!

Ok, I better go get ready so I can get Seth to Pre-K on time.
Later y'all!

Lessons

I just completed Lesson #103!!! Wow!!! I only have 65 lessons left to go, and I will have completed my 60 hours of Basic Appraisal. Then all I will have left is to complete 15 hours of USPAP. Woo-Hoo!!!!!

I got up this morning at 4:40am, to go workout. One of the girls was sick, but I had talked to the other one, and she was going to go with me. But then as I was walking out the door, I just happened to check my phone...it had a voice mail. She was sick to! Oh no! So I was already dressed, and drinking my coffee and thought "Ok, I will put this quiet time to good use" and I completed 3 lessons this morning before anyone even got up! :)

Stephen is off today, and has been working outside and Seth has been helping him. So I was able to squeeze a quick workout in, and do more classes. Yea! I also had to get everything ready for my Cooking Show tonight.

Oh, we took the boys to the Fall Carnival last night. They had a blast! I wish I would have taken my camera...but I forgot. Plus it is kinda on it's last leg. A piece broke on the battery cover, and it hangs open part of the way, and is only holding on by one little lip...so I hope I can make it last until I can get a new one. I was going to use my Birthday money to get one...but then they changed our insurance and I had to use all of my birthday money ($150) to pay for my prescription. Yikes! I was FURIOUS!!! But oh well at least I had it. I will just know I owe myself $150 when I have some extra money. Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha! Like that ever happens...but i can dream can't I? :)

Later y'all!

Biggest Loser

Ok, so who out there watches Biggest Loser? I watched it yesterday afternoon (I had recorded it), and I was furious! I couldn't believe Neil GAINED 17 lbs! Actually what he did was sabotage his team, by drinking 2 gallons of water right before the weigh-in, so that they would go to the elimination round. There was a Red team, Blue team, and a Black team. Then this week, they were all combined together in Trio's. He was a Blue Team member, who was teamed up with two of the Black Team members. He did this so his team could then vote one of the black team members off (Knowing they wouldn't vote for him!).
I was so MAD! When did this show become Survivor? This is about LOSING weight and learning a healthy way of life...it isn't about alliances and "playing a game". This is about helping these people lose weight and learn to live a healthy life!
Ok, I have vented...I feel better now. Thank you! :)


As far as our workouts, they are going great. I am getting up at 4:40am, 3 mornings a week, and meeting the girls at the track. We work out for at least an hour. It is so much fun to have someone to workout with! I get so much accomplished on these days...but then i hit the sack around 8:30 or 9pm! haha I definitely have more energy, and I just feel happier now that I am working out on a regular basis again. :)

Ok, I need to go do some more of my Online Lessons.
Later Gators!

Fundraiser Prizes

Levi's Fundraiser stuff came in on Tuesday. I had to go pick it all up. He had 14 boxes of stuff he had sold. So I got it, brought it home, sorted it out, and filled our freezers. Then we went to Stephen's work and delivered stuff there, because we were out of room in our Freezer.

So yesterday Levi was awarded with his Prizes for selling so much stuff. He came home with the huge bag, full of toys. Look at that smile! He was on cloud nine!


Here he is, pulling everything out. He was so excited. He shared his toys with Seth, and they played with them ALL afternoon! Some of his favorites was this light up, fiber optic, pen (in his hand in this picture), an electronic dartboard, an MP3 Player that I put some kids songs on for him, this thing that shoots this spinning disc up into the air, a duck that you shoot across the room like a rubber band and when it lands it quack/quack/quacks! haha The boys (and their Daddy) had so much fun playing with all of this stuff last night. :)

Online Courses

YEA!!!! I am HALF-WAY through my 60 hour course!!!! WOO-HOO!!!!
I just completed lesson 84, and there are 168 total. I'm slowly but surely making progress. :)

Sick

Ok, last weekend I was sick...now Seth is sick. He has been running a fever, had diarrhea, and has been throwing up. I am doing everything I can to keep him hydrated. It is so miserable for him. I wish I could take his place, and have him feel better again.
Please pray that he will be feeling better soon, and that God will protect the rest of us from catching what he has.
Love y'all,
Kandy

P.S. I have been forced to slow down this week, and I have completed a lot of lessons on my Appraisal schooling...while Seth has been sleeping a lot more than normal. So that is the only plus-side to all of this. :)

Carving Pumpkins

Sunday afternoon we went over to some friends house. There were 4 families there, and we took pumpkins for the kids to carve. Ok...the "parents" to carve for the kids! haha Anyway, we all had a lot of fun.

The large pumpkin is Levi's, and the small one is Seth's. They turned out pretty good huh. Ok, I did the big one, and Stephen did the little one. He did a great job. I was very worried about trying that one, because it looked hard, but he did it perfectly.


Here are their pumpkins, lit up at night, on our porch.


The boys with their pumpkins. Levi said he was trying to make a scary face. Notice out "copy cat" watching him....

See, the copy cat had to try to make a scary face too! hahahaaaa Is this scary or what?! :) This little cutie pie is just to adorable to look scary...no matter how hard he tries.

Camping at Fort Richardson

We went camping at Fort Richardson, over Levi's break from school. It was so much fun! It is always so relaxing, and so much fun to go camping/hiking. We are never ready to leave, and come back home.

While we were there, we saw some deer, and a bunny rabbit. Then when we were at the park playing on Sunday, a woman and her daughter asked if the boys would like to see some baby squirrels. She had been caring for them since they were just a few weeks old, and they were finally old enough to release into the wild. So we got to see some 12 week old squirrels! It was so cool!

I actually forgot to take my camera, but luckily Aunt Michelle remembered to bring hers. Yea!!! She let me borrow it, and then she put all of the pictures on a CD for me. Thank you Michelle!!!!

The first day there, Stephen had to put up the boys tent. My dad (Papa) had bought this for the boys when we were visiting them once. Now every time we go camping, they want it put up. They play in it, like it is their own little house.

Hiking at Fort Richardson: Lost Creek Trail

The boys love going hiking with us. So we made sure that Fort Richardson had hiking trails before we even made arrangements to go there. We are so glad we went. The trails were BEAUTIFUL!!!!
This was the Lost Creek Trail. It started down by our campsite, and went .5 mile, and came out at the park. So we would hike the trail to the park, and then play, and then hike it back. It was so much fun!

Here Stephen is giving Seth a piggy back ride, and Levi is hiking beside Daddy.


Stephen took my picture too! :) Isn't he a sweetie.

The boys on the hiking trail.


Stephen, helping the boys up onto a cliff, for a picture. They loved climbing up all of these rocks!

The picture was definitely worth the climb! Isn't this cute!

We found some more rocks to climb, for a great picture!

Daddy, Papaw, and Seth....I think Levi was climbing on up, over on the left, out of the picture.


A nice man and his two daughters were hiking by, while I was taking ALL of the boys picture. :) He offered to take a picture of all of us together. Wasn't that nice!

Seth, standing on the trail, next to a "prickly pear cactus". Most of the cactus plants were taller than him. He learned on our camping trip to Palo Dura last year, that these are bad news! (he had fell on one when we were hiking, and he cried and cried, while we pulled all of the cactus thorns out of him.) So he was sure not to get TO CLOSE to these!

On our hike back from the park, I was giving Seth a piggy back ride. So once we got back to these rocks, we climbed up to rest, while waiting on Daddy, Levi and Papaw to catch up with us. Daddy come along, and took our picture, while Levi was climbing up to join us. :)

Levi made it to the top! So Daddy took a picture of us.

Touring the Fort

We went on a tour of the Fort on Saturday, but Levi wasn't feeling well, so we didn't look at everything. Just the main stuff.

This was the Fort Hospital. It was really big, and the porch wrapped all the way around it! I would love to have a house like this...just updated with our modern conveniences.


Inside the hospital.

Seth, in front of the "toilet" room. Boy are we blessed to live in this day and age. In a room directly across from this, was the "bath". It was a huge metal wash tub. That was it!

Seth was always looking for the camera saying "take my picture!" haha

The Morgue. Seth, standing in the old pine box. Levi wouldn't go near it! haha

This was the Officer's Quarters. It was a nice little house...

Seth, sitting on one of the beds, saying "take my picture!"

Seth, sitting in the sitting room. There was a huge, red, "old time" couch on the other side of the room. It was so pretty.

Seth, in front of the old piano, in the entry room....again, saying "take my picture"!

Hiking at Fort Richardson: Rumbling Springs Trail

We decided to try the Rumbling Springs Trail also. One of the Rangers that worked there, told us not to go on it in the evening, because that is where the snakes tend to be. But he said the water comes up out of the ground, and makes a natural spring, and was definitely worth the hike to see it.
So we went in the morning, the next day. Luckily we didn't see any snakes! Yea! It was a very narrow, rough, trail. The boys LOVED it!

The weeds were almost as tall as the boys!


Daddy, showing Levi the pool of water.


Here, you can see the flow of water, that is coming down from that natural spring. It was really pretty!


Crossing the stream.

Seth needed a little help.

The boys loved climbing up the rocks!

Mommy and her boys, on the hiking trail.

What?! haha

Update

Ok, I never seem to have time to blog anymore! Every time I even think of getting on here to update, I can think of a million other things I "NEED" to do. But I decided to bite the bullet, and just squeeze in a quick update.

I am getting up at 4:40am on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and either Saturday or Sunday to meet the girls at the track to workout. It is so much Fun! I always feel best on these days. I come home so energized and get SO much done. It is amazing! But then I am so tired that I hit the sack at 9pm! haha

I got up this morning at 4:40am, but it was raining, so I called the girls, and we all decided we couldn't go with it pouring outside. So since I was awake by this time, I actually completed another Real Estate Appraisal Lesson. it was so peaceful, and quiet, and I could really concentrate! It was GREAT! I might have to start getting up that early every morning, so on the days i don't workout, I can actually squeeze in some of my lessons. It is so hard to do at night, because I think "I need to iron, I need to switch the laundry, I need to help get Levi's stuff ready for school, I need to give the boys a bath, etc, etc, etc". I can't ever just relax and concentrate...except for at 4:45am this morning! :) haha! It is amazing what you will do as a Mom, to squeeze in time to workout, or to study!

Anyway, we also took Toby to the Animal Hospital to update his shots last Thursday (to have it done before we go camping this Friday). We found out he has Heart Worm. Oh No! The poor baby. We had to keep him inside, and cool, and calm over the weekend. Then on Monday I took him in to start his treatments. They will keep him for a week, to see how he is handling the shots, and make sure he is recovering ok. Then once we get him back, we have to keep him inside, calm, cool, etc for 3 whole weeks! Talk about tough. He sheds so bad, that I am constantly cleaning up dog hair! At least he is a good dog though, we tell him to stay in the kitchen/dining room (on the linoleum), and he actually does. He usually wont even go over onto the carpet. We also found out that he is house-broke. So the people who had him before us, must have kept him inside. It is hard to believe that he will be 3 yrs old this December, and that we have now had him for 2 years. Stephen is just devastated that Toby is going through this. I just pray that he survives the treatments and everything ok. Otherwise we will all be heartbroken. I didn't realize how attached I am to him, until he isn't here this week.

By the way, are y'all watching Biggest Loser? I LOVE that show!!!!

Ok, I gotta go do a Lesson. Later Gaters!
Love ya'll,
Kandy