Update and Relay for Life!

To read about the Relay for Life, click HERE!

Update on the washer:  I have the MOST AMAZING husband ever.  He came home from work, and took the washer apart, found the broken part, searched and found a new part (close to where I was working), so I went and picked  it up. I got home, he put the new part on, and $25 later has my washing machine working like a charm!  Praise God!!!!  I am one HAPPY Momma!!! Who knew a working washing machine could make me so giddy! LOL!!!!  I'll try to remember this, and not complain about how much/how often I have to do laundry again.  At least I have a washing machine to do that hard part of that job. :-)

Why not.... :-(

Last night, the washer stopped agitating/spinning. :( why not....like enough stuff hasn't broken/need repairs. I'm really struggling to keep my chin up. Don't know how much more of this I can take....

Long overdue update:

Wow, where does the time go?!  Oh yea...baseball, baseball, and more baseball! LOL!  But we are having fun and living life, so what more can we want. 

Macroeconomics:  current average 98.47%! Yes!  I have Exam 4 tomorrow (say a prayer!), and then the final exam on May 9th.  After that, I'll be done with this class. Yea!!!

My Car:  Road Hazard struck.  Literally!  I was driving down a two lane hwy, and as a big truck drove past me going the other way, it's tire threw something at me.  I saw a flash of black, and screamed as it hit the hood of my car.  It made a very loud noise.  All I could think was "thank God that didn't hit my window!".  I didn't think another thing about it, until I got home later.  I turned around to look back at Levi to make sure he shut the car door good, and I saw this: 

a HOLE in the hood of my CAR!  NOOOOOOO!  So I went and got an estimate. It's going to cost over $400 to repair it.  Just great....

-Our dishwasher isn't working.... lovely... why not?! 
-a storm came through and broke one of the red oak trees in our front yard, snapped it right in half...could have been worse I guess.....
-but even in the midst of all of this turmoil...I refuse to be defeated.  I'm working extra to try and make the extra money needed....and I'm holding my head up and praising God for saving us from "what could have been much worse".  :-) 

Macroeconomics

All is going well with my Macroeconomics class.  A few days before we left for spring break, I had my second exam.  I just checked the gradebook, and I made a 94! Yea!  I made a 93 on the first exam.  I thought I hadn't done as well, but I guess it was okay after all.  My overall grade is currently "A (97.01%)".  YES!  :-)
 

My Valentine's...

Stephen and I went to the boys class parties on Friday, and then the boys were out of school on Monday! 
Sunday after church we went over to a friends house and had lunch with their family.  On the way, we stopped by the store so I could grab some stuff to make Sugar-Free Banana Pudding to take with us.  When I came out of the store, and got in the car, the boys jumped up from the back seat, yelling "Happy Valentine's Day!!!"  Levi handed me a beautiful vase with 3 pink roses (one for each of my guys!), and then Seth handed me a long-stem red carnation.  They are such sweethearts...and their Daddy is pretty special too. :-) 
With the boys out of school, we were all about to spend the day together on Monday.  I got up and made everyone whole-wheat heart-shaped pancakes.  It was fun, and the boys loved it.  I did have to go work that afternoon, and while I was out, I stopped by the store and got my guys some valentines too.  I came home to a clean house!(thank you guys!) and my husband even made dinner for us!  Wow!  I could get used to this.  LOL! 
We don't really need a specific "day" in order to tell each other how much we love each other and that the other is special.  We try to do that on a daily basis anyway...but it is fun to try and make it an extra special day for the ones you love.
I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day also.

Crazy Weather

We have been iced in since Tuesday morning.  We had went to bed Monday night with it raining, then during the night it turned to sleet.  I got up early Tuesday to get kids ready for school, but my phone rang, and it was the automated message from the school saying it was closed.  The temps have been in the teens and single digits ever since.  Needless to say, we've been stuck at home every day since.  Now they are calling for SNOW....great....I don't know if the kids will get to go to school tomorrow either.  I think they are calling for Saturday to be our first day ABOVE freezing.  I can't wait.  I really do not like all of this ice. 

Levi has started Spring Baseball, on a Select Team.  It's a total 180 experience from what we have had out here through the school.  The coaches are "encouraging" and praise their strengths while helping them perfect their weaknesses....instead of just screaming at the kids for always messing up.  The first practice Monday was great.  I think Levi will learn a lot this season, and it will really boost his confidence.  He LOVES baseball.  It's his favorite sport, and it will be nice to see him learning and excelling at it.  He's super excited. 
Seth decided he didn't really want to play baseball this year, so we are trying to decide what else to let him do.  He wants to do Karate, but I am afraid he would constantly be trying to beat up his brother (even more than he already does).  So we are still considering what to do....if anything. 

Oh yea, for Christmas I got a tanning package (unlimited tanning for 6 months!) from my FABULOUS Mother-in-law.  Yea!!!! So I've been surviving this horrendous cold weather by soaking up the vitamin D...amazing how just a few minutes in the sunny bed can totally brighten your day.  It makes me feel instantly better and optimistic about the upcoming spring and summer...that warm weather will actually get here.  So I am LOVING this gift!  :-)
They had also given us an electric/heated mattress pad.  Talk about coming in VERY handy!  We are really enjoying that!  Thank you Thank you Thank you, for everything!!!!

While iced in, I'm using the time to catch up on my college homework.  Luckily we get to work ahead in this class.  So I am trying to be productive.  Have a clean house too, and caught up on some projects that were on my to-do list.  Feels kinda nice to be "ahead" instead of just trying to tread water. 

Y'all enjoy your family and remember that Spring WILL be here...someday.  :-)  Can't Wait! 
 

Merry Christmas!

(I had typed this up on Christmas day, but for some reason it had never posted...I found it in my "drafts"...so here ya go!)

Merry Christmas~

It doesn't really feel like Christmas to me.  Stephen had to work today.  He left around 6 this morning and wont be back until around 7:30 or 8 tonight. :-( 
It's been a very looong morning already.  It feels like it should be about Noon at least, and it's only 9am.  Geesh.
So I just keep reminding myself to be thankful that God has blessed him with a great job, and he loves his job.  That makes it worth it.  Plus we have friends who are overseas, and their families are without them during the holidays...boy that puts things into perspective....we are truly blessed.  At least we WILL see him tonight.

We had Christmas Eve at my Nanny's house yesterday.  Stephen was working and didn't get to go, but I brought him home a plate of food, and his presents.  He hasn't opened his presents yet though, they are under the tree.

My cousin is pregnant with twin boys!  She looked so adorable!  She is due in June, but the doctor says they are aiming for making it to May...  She also brought us a bunch of (their son) Jared's clothes/shoes/belts/coat that he has outgrown.  They actually fit Levi perfectly!  The boys loved getting to play with Jared while we were there. 
My aunt Linda and uncle Ken were also there..as well as my other cousin Scott.  It was so nice to see everyone.  Aunt Linda brought me her Polaris running watch/heart rate monitor/shoe clip mileage-speed tracker.  It is SO AWESOME!!!!  I can't wait to figure it all out.  I think I might need to start reading the manual and go for a run today and try it out.  :-) 
I got to see my brother and his wife.  They have both been smoke-free for about two months!  I am SO PROUD of them!!! His oldest daughter is now 15! Yikes!  Where does the time go? I swear she should still be 11 or 12...
My Nanny had to work until 4pm yesterday.  She was exhausted by the time she got home, but everything was cooked and ready when she got there.  I enjoyed getting to visit with her last night.  I don't get to do that nearly enough.  We are talking about planning a girls trip this spring or summer.  We took one a long time ago, when I was pre-teen.  My Nanny, her sisters, and her mother, along with my mother, me, and one of Nanny's sisters daughters who was around my age.  We had all taken a trip to Branson, and watched shows, went shopping, etc.  It was so much fun, and so full of memories! 
So we decided it's been to long, and we should make new memories. Nanny's mother, and all but one of Nanny's sisters have passed away in the recent years.  So we decided it's definitely time to do a get away again, before we no longer have the option.  Mom and I decided we WILL make it happen in 2011, instead of just talking about it.  I can't wait.  I love spending time with my Mom and my Nanny...maybe we can even talk her sister Barbara into going with us too.  Aunt Barbara was my favorite of my nanny's sisters...and Seth's favorite too.  When she was at Nanny's a few years back, when my Papaw passed away, Seth really took to her.  He was always talking about his 'favorite aunt barbara'. LOL!  He left quiet an impression on her too I think.
Two summers ago, I was able to go up and take Nanny to her eye surgery and stay with her for a few days after.  It was so nice to have that time with her.  I didnt' even realize it had been that long ago though.  But ya know, last night when talking about the girls-get-away, she said she felt so selfish for wanting us to do something like that with her, because she is taking us away from our families.  I told her no way is that selfish...I personally "need" the get-away from time to time (to maintain my sanity, living with all these boys! LOL!)  Plus SHE is our family too, and we want to spend time together with her, every chance we get.
My mom let all the women choose a Bath & Body works lotion.  And my Aunt Linda let all the women choose a Bath & Body works tingly lip gloss.  Then my Nanny let all the women choose a set of kitchen towels that she made for us.  She also gave me a set of Flour Sack Towels. Yea!!! Love Christmas presents!  :-)
I got a super cute new black purse and scarf from my brother and his wife.  Love it!!!      
My mom gave the boys each a set of books, and a movie.  They also each got a pillow pet from Nanny, which they slept on the whole way home! LOL!  My brother gave them each a Airhogs Hovercraft thingy.  They LOVE it!

randomness

I saw this on the news this morning.  It's a mother of two boys, who created these shirts for other mother's of boys...because people always said "awww, are you going to try for a girl?" when they found out she was the mother of two boys.  She said this always hurt her feelings, and she wanted to do this to show how proud she was to be a mom of two boys.  She said being a mom of boys is different, because boys are so different, then how we girls grew up playing...but it is a fun filled action packed adventure everyday! LOL!   Here is her website, and her super cute clothing/accessory line.  click here

I got a magazine gift-subscription to Better Homes and Gardens in the mail today, from my Super Duper Fabulous Mother!  :-) Thank You Mom!!! I Love you Bunches!!!!! 

I've been working on appraisal school since I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep, at 3:45 this morning.  I have two classes to complete by Jan 12, or else I have to pay for them all over again. YIKES! So I gotta get busy.  Guess we know what I'll be doing for the next few weeks....

Stephen's mother sent us some yummy treats in the mail.  They were delivered on Monday, before we got back from my Mom and Dad's house.  The mail person left it laying on the ground by our gate, and by the time we got home, so of the neighbors dogs (who are always running loose) apparently broke into it.  The box was all ripped apart, and there was paper and cardboard scattered everywhere.  There were two tins left in the box that the dogs weren't able to break into, so the boys did at least get those two tins of cookies.  But we were furious at these stupid loose dogs! I swear from now on, anytime I see them in our yard, they are getting shot with the BB gun.  I told Stephen I had an evil thought...I hope the tins the dogs broke into were full of chocolate, and that it kills them.  Harsh I know. But I'm sick of them constantly pooping on my flowers, and tearing up our stuff....serves their owners right if they do die.  They should keep them in a fence if they want to keep them safe....okay enough of my soap-box. LOL! 

Yesterday it was over 80 degrees, and the day before was in the upper 70's!  Talk about a NICE couple of days.  I LOVED it! Wish it could be that way all winter.  I hate being cold.  I'll take a 70-80 degree Christmas break anytime. LOL! 

The boys and I are going to make Sugar Cookies for Santa today, and wrap the last of the Christmas presents.  Fun, Fun, Fun! :-)

Last night we watched Toy Story 3!  GOOD GOOD GOOD!!!!!  We all loved it.  It was sad, but happy..at the end Seth snuggled up close to me and said "Mommy, I don't ever want to go to college. I want to stay with you forever!"  So I hugged him close and told him he could stay with me even while he goes to college and he never has to leave me until he's ready.  He said yea and that he will never leave, and he is going to live with me forever and ever. LOL!  We'll see.... I love this age!!!! 

Hope you all have a safe and Merry Christmas!  BTW, watch out for drunk drivers on the road.  Drunk drivers are being caught even as early as 4:30 in the afternoon...so don't think it's to early in the day to worry about it.  Keep your eyes on the road and watch out for them...Just yesterday I was stuck in traffic due to an accident and care flight.  I don't know any details, but still my heart broke just thinking of the poor family members who are getting the devastating news that their loved one has been in a horrific accident.  Don't take one day, or one moment for granted.  Pray over your car/family before you leave your house.  Make sure your soul is ready to meet Jesus everyday/anytime.  And last but not least, hold the ones you love extra close and tell them how much you love them.  Merry Christmas!     

Christmas #1

We went to my Mom and Dad's after basketball games on Saturday.  When we got there, we went shopping and Nana & Papa bought the boys new boots for Christmas.  They also got Levi a couple of new pairs of pants that fit {he's outgrowing everything!}. 
Later, we went to eat at Olive Garden, and Seth was so excited and told the waiter "we get 4 Christmas's!"  We cracked up laughing.  I hadn't even thought of it, but I guess he sure had.  We will have Christmas at Nana & Papa's, then at Nanny's, then at home, and then at Granny&Papaws.  Busy, but FUN!  :-)
We got back to Nana and Papa's house and had our Christmas gift exchange.  The boys LOVED their gifts.  They got Airhogs Motorcycles, and have played with them non-stop!  They also got Spy NightVision Goggles...talk about awesome! I think we adults had as much fun playing with those as the boys did. 
Stephen got a new tool, and drill bits, and a Bass Pro Gift card-which he LOVED! 
I got a KINDLE!!!!! Plus a cover for the Kindle, and an Amazon gift card!!!!  Talk about excited!!!! I've wanted one of these ever since my mom got her first one.  I'm LOVING it!!!!!!
Mom and Dad really liked their gifts from us too.  As an extra gift to Mom and Dad, Stephen removed their old dishwasher (they have had a new one, in the box, in the corner since about may of last year...just hadn't gotten around to installing it....their old one was so bad, you had to use pliers to turn it on, and didn't know what cycle it might even be on, and made a horrible racket! talk about LOUD!...but as my dad said "it still gets the dishes clean" LOL!)  So Stephen took the old one out, and installed the new one for them.  It was kind of a joke at first...when we were at Grandma's for Thanksgiving and talking about Christmas, my Mom told Stephen "You can install my new dishwasher as my Christmas Present!" LOL!  She sure was surprised when he actually did it.  I hope they enjoy it. 
We all had such a great time this weekend.  It just always ends to soon.  Time flies when your having fun.  :-)

Oh yea, while we were there, we also watched "Despicable Me".  It was such a cute show!! I highly recommend it. 
Merry Christmas!!!!

Exam 3-Statistics

This was posted by my professor today:
The grades from Exam 3 are now posted in your grade book, and once again, you did a wonderful job! The class mean was an 81, the median was an 82, and the class was bimodal with modes of 79 and 94! Thanks for all of your hard work.

The two promised practice grades have been dropped, so your average is now up-to-date. If your average is close, but not quite where you want it to be, you might consider doing the two Review Practice assignments. If you missed an exam or your average is not what you want for the semester, you should take the final exam. If you are happy with your current average, the final exam is optional. :-)
***********************************************************

So I checked my gradebook, and I made a 97!!!!!!  WooHOOOO!!!!  My overall grade is now 93.81%, and I am very proud of that A.  No Finals for me! Yea!!!!!! 

New Ride!

{I meant to post this on here last week, but somehow had posted it on my other blog instead...oops!)

My poor little Maxima was getting very high in mileage (over 153K), and it was running a lot rougher than normal, and very rough when it would switch through the gears. I really didn't want to get rid of it, because it was loaded with every bell and whistle you could think of. But Stephen didn't want to worry about me breaking down in it either. We had already replaced a $600 sensor and the battery this year...who knows what would have been next on the list. We figured we better go ahead and get rid of it while we could still get something for it as a trade in. So we had been searching for a few months, trying to decide what to get. I was going back and forth with whether I wanted a new Cross-over like the Nissan Rouge or the Hyundai Tuscon, or if I'd rather go with another Nissan Maxima or maybe another Toyota Camry......hmmmm, or maybe a Hybrid.


Well, after doing some research, we decided to go with a Toyota Prius Hybrid. It gets 45-50 miles per gallon!!! Talk about fun to drive to. It takes some getting used to, because it's totally different than a traditional car. But we are really enjoying it (and LOVING the gas savings! especially with as much as I drive!) The display says I'm currently getting 47-MPG (after driving it for work the past two days). YES!

Here's my new ride. A 2007 Toyota Prius. We all LOVE it!!! It's not fully loaded like my Maxima was, but has some other great features. It actually feels roomier in the front and back seats, than my Maxima did, and is a much more comfortable seat/ride. So we are very happy with the change.

Exam 2!

Posted from the professor:
The grades from Exam 2 are now posted in your grade book, and once again, you did a terrific job! The class mean was an 82, the median was an 85, and the class was trimodal with modes of 88, 97, and 100! Thanks for all your hard work.


My grade was a 97!!!!!  I now have an A in the class!!!!!  WOOHOOOOO!!!!

Exam 1

I had my first "Statistics" Exam at the college on Monday.  I studied extremely hard, and felt like I was finally ready.  I drove over there, took the test, and felt very positive that I had "A"ced it.  Well, she posted the grades today.  I actually made an 84.  Not quiet the A I had been hoping for, but I'll take it.  At least it's a B.  With everything I'm juggling right now, I should be grateful that I'm passing. 
Statistics for Exam 1:  the class central tendency for exam 1 was: 
Mean (aka: average) 77.7
Median (middle grade, of all grades in order of score) 81
Mode (the most frequently repeated grade scored) 84

So at least I scored "above" average. LOL! 
I'm happy with that. 

Shocker!

I decided to do something drastic with my hair at todays hair appointment. I was simply tired of the same ol', same ol' all the time. I've had my hair highlighted with blonde streaks since I was 13, so it was definitely time to try something new.

What do ya'll think? This is my BEFORE (on way to hair appointment) and my AFTER (on way home from appointment)....

Personally, I LOVE IT!!!! :-)

Fun and Thanks!

I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU!!! to my Mom! She took me on a "girls only" shopping trip this past weekend.

I need to add an addition THANK YOU!!!! to my Dad! He watched the boys for us, so Mom and I could go on our trip. I think the kids ate him out of house and home while we were gone. LOL! Thanks Dad! The boys love spending time with you!!

I went over on Thursday and my Mom had already picked up the rental. She was going to get a van, but they didn't have any, so she got a Hyundai Santa Fe. I fell in love with this vehicle on our trip...seriously thinking our next vehicle may have to be one of these.... :-)
I got there and dropped the boys off with Papa. Then Mom, Becky, and I went to pick up Rachel (Becky's daughter, they are around our same ages)...oh and on our way there, we were only a few blocks from the house when Dad sent Mom and text and made her drive back home to give him a kiss! We laughed so hard! She had just jumped in the vehicle and we took off...I had at least kissed the boys bye and threatened them into being good for papa, then I kissed his cheek on my way out the door...but Mom was already outside and loading up! LOL!!!! Can you tell we were excited?! LOL!!!

So after our detour, we then picked up Rachel and we drove 270 miles to the Outlet Malls. It was so huge! We shopped ALL day on Friday, from the time they opened at 10am, until they closed at 9pm, and we still didn't hit all the stores we wanted to. We only took one break to eat lunch, and another break to grab a snack for dinner. By this time we were worn out, so we went back to the hotel and crashed. Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast and hit the stores we'd missed the day before. By Noon, there were so many people there, you could barely get around, so we went ahead and left to come back home. We still didn't hit all the stores we wanted to, but I think we were all tuckered out and broke! LOL! I'm telling ya though, we got some GREAT deals! Especially at Bath&Body Works, Victoria Secret, Cold Water Creek, Cole Haan, Juicy Couture, etc. I could go on and on....

We then drove the 270 miles back home...which was much more exciting driving down than driving back home, but at least we had good friends to visit with. We finally made it back to mom's house and I wasn't feeling up to another 1 1/2 hour drive to my house, so the boys and I decided to stay the night. I went for a short 30 minute run on the hills there in their neighborhood until it got dark. I felt much better after that. Being couped up in a car that long will kink you up.

Sunday morning the boys and I were excited to wear some of our new clothes. I borrowed some of my moms shoes and jewelry, and it made the perfect outfit!


It was so much fun having all of that quality time with my Mom though. We don't get time together like that often, and the trip was her birthday gift to me...(what could be more perfect?! I LOVED it!!!!) along with some super cute shoes that I fell in love with! I didn't buy them because it was our last day there and I was looking for shorts that actually fit because mine are all to big...I didn't even know she had bought them for me, until we had got home and I was unpacking some of my stuff and found them in one of my bags! I was THRILLED!!!! I had beat myself up the whole way home for not going ahead and getting them. Mom's just know don't they!?! We had a great time together, and I hope we have many more fun times like that together. It was PRICELESS!!!!!


Here are a few photos:
I had told Mom we needed to take a picture of us all together, at the Outlets (to document our shopping trip), but we were all so focused on shopping, none of us remembered! LOL!

After church Sunday we had gone to lunch, and on our way back we stopped by another church that my dad is now also in charge of. Seth is infatuated with the drums, and wants to learn to play so badly. Their drummer taught him a 'pitch' and he loves practicing. Just look at that smile!





Levi snapped this photo of me and Seth together, on our way to church.


Seth, wearing his new "drums" shirt we found at Gap Kids. To Cute!


Levi wearing his new "Baseball Pitcher" shirt. He want to grow up and become a pitcher for the TX Rangers. :)




BTW: On a different note....
Today has been a GREAT DAY!!! (Thank you Lord!!!!) I started the day off by mowing, then was cleaning out drawers, closets, and cleaning the house for our birthday party on Saturday...(my oldest will be 8! and we're just not going to discuss my age...LOL!) ...and
-I got a surprise email with some GREAT news from my boss.
--PLUS I checked the mail, and my sweetest, dearest friend Jenni sent me a Birthday Card and some adorable Coasters for my Birthday (this Saturday). She is so amazing at always remembering special dates and sending cards! (It is truly a God-Given Gift!) *Jen you are such a blessing to everyone who is fortunate enough to know you. I'm thankful that he allowed us to work together and become/stay best-buddies all these years. Your an inspiration girl!!!! Love ya!

School can't get here fast enough.....

I can't wait for school to start back.
No, I'm NOT looking forward to getting up early every morning, to drag two boys out of bed and get them ready for school. I'm NOT looking forward to paying for school lunches, pictures, sports, class parties, etc. But I AM looking forward to working, WITHOUT my boys in tow, or them here fighting or constantly needing something while I'm trying to type up reports.

They've had to go to work with me a lot lately. Yes, they are VERY well behaved while we are measuring a house, but they complain constantly on the way there, and on the way back. Then they get restless and fight with each other in the back seat of the car, until I'm ready to pull my hair out.
Mom needs a time out...pure and simple. I love my boys, but after an entire summer with them going to work with me, I'm ready to have a break from them during the day.

Luckily school will be starting back in about 2 1/2 weeks!!! Yea!!!!

Running!

Yea!!!! My amazingly talented husband got the 4-wheeler back up and running. He's worked on it non-stop all week (when not at work) and finally got it going again this morning. The boys were so excited!!!!!
Way to go Daddy!!!!!

Happy Anniversary!

Happy Anniversary to us! We celebrated 14 years of marriage yesterday. The day didn't go exactly as we had planned....

On Monday Stephen and the boys dug my OLD 4 wheeler out of my dad's barn, and brought it home, cleaned it up, and got it running again. This thing is like 24 years old! I never dreamed that the 4-wheeler I rode as a kid would some day be rode by my own kids! Wow! The kids and I had a lot of fun riding it that evening.

Tuesday (Happy Anniversary!) morning, Stephen went to get the boys donuts. I had told him when I was working on Monday, I was going in reverse and had my windows down because I was taking comp photos, and I heard my car making a weird squeaking noise...so he drove my car to the donut shop and listened to what I was talking about. Sure enough, he said my brake pads need replaced. So that was on his agenda for the day, to get it fixed for me. Well, after breakfast the first thing the boys wanted to do was ride the 4 wheeler again. I actually got some pictures and videos of them riding it. While they rode, and I watched them, and Stephen brush-hogged the pasture so they could ride easier. They were having a blast!

Seth and I had came inside, to get some water, and the next thing I know Stephen has the 4 wheeler parked and said he's going to have to tear into it because it was making a strange knocking sound and he didn't want to risk blowing a rod or something. So he spent hours working on it. During this time, I cleaned the pool and swam with Seth, and then played catch with Seth (Levi was busy trying to help his Dad work). Around 3pm he took a break and we went into town to get some parts he needed, and also brake pads for my car. We stopped for late lunch/early dinner at Shlotzkys (spell?) and then came home for him to get back to work. While he worked on the 4 wheeler some more, seth and I went grocery shopping. We got home and he was still working on it (poor guy!), so I unloaded the groceries and then decided to run. I ran 4 miles, then went out to check on him, because it was getting dark. He was out there working on my brakes then. (BTW: I have the most AMAZING husband! Thank You God!!! I'm so blessed that he can fix all of these things on my car, and keep me and the boys safe!) I came back in and worked on some of my appraisal school stuff. Then he came in to ask me to drive it up and down the drive to make sure it was all working good. Sure enough, he did a GREAT job! So I gave him a kiss and told him thank you for my Anniversary present (brake pads) LOL! then I told him I felt bad because I didn't get him anything... LOL!!! So we decided, next year, for our 15th Anniversary, we need to do something REALLY special. Needless to say the day didn't go exactly as we had planned or hoped, but God blessed us with another day together in this life, and we will be thankful for it.


Stephen said he has to work on the 4 wheeler again today after work, and both boys are praying really hard that Daddy will get it running again. I have faith that he will. I have an amazingly talented husband who can fix just about anything. We are very, very blessed! I hope he knows how much we love and appreciate him!

Levi driving the 4-wheeler, and Seth riding behind. We need to get them both a helmet, WHEN we get it running again.

Seth driving, with Levi behind. Amazingly, Seth is the more careful driver!

Catching up

It's been a whirlwind since my last post.

When Stephen took off of work for a week, we went camping. We went to a state park first, for Tuesday evening through Friday morning. It was so much fun to get away and just enjoy my family. The first day the boys fished and I went for a run, then we went for a long bike ride down to the park store. There we found out that we could all fish without a fishing license, as long as we are in the state parks. So we all went fishing and had a great time! They caught 15 the first day, but 2 of them got away when trying to get them on the stringer. Then the second day I think we caught 13 or 14 more! We actually caught enough crappie for a fish fry! It rained most of the day thursday and friday. So Friday morning we had left, to go up to where stephen's family lives and go camping there with them. They brought their camper and boat out and we went water skiing on saturday and tubeing on sunday. I actually got to ski with Stephen, and his rope was a little shorter than mine, so he kept getting over close to me and spraying me with water, the turkey! LOL! Then I also water skied with Levi. It was a blast. On Sunday afternoon Levi started running a fever. Luckily Stephens mother is an RN and had a thermometer. It was up in the 100's, and we gave him some medicine. She left her awesome forehead thermometer for us, and we couldn't figure out how to use it. We were following the directions, but it just wasn't working right. So Monday morning she came back out to the lake to see how Levi was, and see what was wrong with the thermometer. Well....it helps if you take the clear cover off! LOL!!!! Boy did we feel like idiots! LOL!!!!!

We had came back home to get back to work. Once the boys fever was gone on Wednesday, I was able to take them to my Mom and Dad's house. They stayed with them the rest of the week and went to VBS at their church. Stephen and I went over Saturday and stayed the night and went to their church on Sunday. It was great to hear my Daddy preach. We stayed for that evening also, because the church was having a home-made ice cream social for my dad's birthday. It was D-LISH! (I soooo cheated on my diet that day! LOL!)

Then this past week we took the kids to Hurricane Harbor (a six flags water park) on Monday. They loved it! We all had a lot of fun going down all of the waterslides.

On Thursday I went up to my Aunt Linda's to get my hair done. The boys had a blast! They swam in her pool and played with two puppies she found. (If anyone wants two puppies, she has a boy and a girl, they look just alike and are ADORABLE. Their names are Lady and Tramp. How cute is that! By the looks of their paws, they will become big dogs.)

Then Saturday was my 15 year class reunion. Stephen couldn't go with me, because he had a class all day Thursday-Sunday. But it was good to see everyone again. Only 10 students out of a class of 30-something showed up. But we had fun anyway. It was neat to hear what everyone is now doing, where they live, and how many kids they have, etc. Hard to believe it's been 15 years though. I'm getting old...

Excited!!!

My hubby just told me that he has a surprise. I was intrigued.... He said he took off ALL next week!!!!!! YIPPY!!!!!!!!!!! He will still have to do some work on Monday and Tuesday, as will I, but then I'm going to take off the rest of the week also! Hooray!!!!!! I'm so excited to get a few days with my guys. We are so in need of it.

While he's been working so much, we put the boys a tent up in the living room for a few days. Boy they LOVED that. It was their fort, spy headquarters, house, etc during the day. Then at night they would put their sleeping bags in it and sleep in the floor. They were thrilled.

Today, a crazy thing happened to me. I went to work, used my access key and went into the house I was measuring. I had to go through the house to get into the back yard to measure, because they had locks on the gates. I went to the back door, turned the dead-bolt and the door lock and went outside. I measured, and then when I was ready to go back in, the door knob wouldn't turn. I was locked out! Plus the gates were locked, and they had an 8ft wood fence, so I was locking in their back yard. I called the Realtor and told her what happened and that the key was laying inside by the front door (I always put the key there, so I'll remember to put it back in the box when I lock up to leave. and I always lock the front door behind me when I enter a house, to keep anyone else from following me inside.) She then called the homeowners, and called me back to tell me where the gate key was hidden (so I could at least get out of the back yard). Luckily the homeowner then called me and gave me the code to open their garage door, and that the door leading in from the garage is never locked. Praise God!!!! I was really getting worried there for a little bit, while waiting on the realtor to call me back. Talk about a sick feeling, knowing you had locked yourself out of someone else's house and their spare key was locked inside. Whew! Luckily God came through for me and saved the day. I was short on time, because I had to hurry up and get home before Stephen had to go to work. It all worked out perfectly, thank the Lord. Never a dull day.... LOL!