Is it Spring Yet??

Wow, where does the time go?!  They are right, time flies when you are having fun. This fall was extremely busy with school/college/baseball/basketball/holidays/etc.  There were never enough hours in the day.  But finally, it feels like we can breathe again...if just for a little while. 
We are taking the boys to spend the afternoon at the lake today.  Fishing, grilling, playing, etc.  It will be a wonderful day of quality family time.  I can't wait! 
Seriously, I should be working on my "online school".  I have two classes left to finish....can you tell that I really don't want to be doing it.  This class I am currently on is B-O-R-I-N-G!  Therefore it is taking me forever to get through it, because I keep procrastinating.  (it's an inherited trait! Thanks Dad! Ha!) 

Where does the time go?!

It's been a whirlwind since school started back, and college started back.  Levi is playing "fall baseball" and is in kid-pitch this year.  He is the catcher and is REALLY GOOD!  I am Soooo proud of him!



Here is my catcher! :-)

Seth has been begging to do Karate for over a year, so we finally got him signed up.  He has been going for a few weeks now, and LOVES it! 



My handsome "Karate Kid" 

This was the boys on their first day of school.  Levi started 4th grade, and Seth started 2nd grade.  I love these silly little guys.  :-)

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it.  I love these boys.  They make life fun, that's for sure. 

Okay, back to work. 
Later gater!

Boys:

We got the boys back from Stephen's parents, had them one night, and they left for vacation with my parents.  They were gone for another whole week!  They had a blast though.  They went through a cave, to sea world, to the Alamo, to the ocean, etc.  They had a huge, fun filled week! 
I met my mom late on Monday afternoon, and picked up the boys.  They were full of stories and talked my ear off, the whole way home! LOL! 
(We had about 3 weeks without the boys! Wow!!!  It was nice to be together, just the two of us, and remember why we fell in love with each other all those years ago.  We did miss the boys terribly though.  But we knew they were having fun, and that made it easier.)
Tuesday evening, we took them to buy new school shoes, backpacks and lunchboxes.  Whew, that was a chunk of money.  But they are finally all ready for school.  (we had purchased their school supplies while they were gone). 
This week has been busy, work wise.  But they are being good sports.  This will be our last free weekend before school starts on Monday.  Unfortunately this is Stephen's weekend to work.  But Levi and I celebrate our birthday on Sunday!!!! :-) 

15 years of marriage!

We celebrated 15 years of marriage on July 27th.  Wow! Where does the time go?!  For our anniversary, we decided to take a motorcycle road trip, and also go back to Branson (where we went for our honeymoon). 

We had sooooo much fun together!!!  It was an amazing trip, and just having that quality time together, just the two of us, was priceless!!! After this trip, we decided that we seriously need to make "date night" a priority.   

Sorry, these pictures are not in any kind of date order...

Here is a photo of us as we were leaving out on Thursday morning.  :-)

Here we are in Branson, on Saturday morning, having Breakfast at the Baldknobbers before heading to Silver Dollar City.  

Riding a huge coaster at Silver Dollar City...it took us upside down 5X! It was SOOO much fun!!!

My view, from the back of the motorcycle.  :-)

 Friday morning:  we had spent the night at the Queen Willamena Lodge, and on Thursday afternoon it had started raining and the temperature was 75! We were freezing!  So we knew Friday mornings trip on up to Branson was going to be cold, so we bought us some long sleeve shirts.  This was us, right before we left...it was very foggy and cold that morning.

this was thursday.  We had arrived at the start of the Talimena Drive.  We basically had the whole road to ourselves.  We only saw one other motorcycle and one car, going the opposite direction...it was an amazing ride! 

On the way to Branson, after we got hot and ditched the long sleeves! LOL!

The tourist center, at the start of the talimena drive.  The lady who worked inside, was from a town very close to where we live.  Small world!

 At silver dollar city, we went on the Marvel Cave tour.  It's been 15 years since I've been in this cave.  It was so fun to go through it again! It's a one hour tour with over 600+ stairs!

On our way home. We stopped at Hot Spring and spent the night, to split up the trip. Good thing to, because on the way to Hot Springs, we kept having to pull over due to the pouring rain! We were FREEZING!  Here we are just laughing and trying to wait it out.  We couldn't do anything but laugh, and say "we are making memories!"  Once we got to the hotel, we showered and ordered pizza/salad.  We didn't want to do anywhere else in that cold/wet weather.

When we were in Branson, we also went to a Wax Museum. It was hilarious.  We got some great photos of each other.  I loved this one! "Men In Black"! 

We have more photos on Stephen's phone, I just haven't had the chance to download them yet.  Hopefully I can soon.  :-) 

A very SPECIAL Thank You to Granny and Papaw for keeping the boys, so that we could do this trip together.  We love you!!!  



Busy Summer

I LOVE Summer time.  It is a very busy time of the year, but it's my favorite season.
Tomorrow night, the boys have a pool party with Levi's baseball team. 
Saturday we have a 10K Race, and a Family Fun Run...and baseball practice. 
Sunday we have some friends coming over in the afternoon, after church, maybe...
Monday Levi has a dentist appt, and Stephen's parents and sister are coming down. 
Tuesday-Six Flags!!!!!!!
Then we have Wed and Thurs free, but Friday-Sunday we have a Baseball Tournament...and a friend of mine may be coming down from OKLAHOMA!!!! I SOOOOOO hope she gets to! 

This is basically an example of our weeks busy-ness, up until August.  Something going on, every week...all week.  I LOVE summer.  It's full of activities, quality family time, and fun in the sun!!!!  Bring on the Vitamin D! 

update...

sorry I've been rather M.I.A. lately. Life's just busy and blogging isn't at the top of the priority list.  Here's a few things that have been happening:

*My parents celebrated 38years of marriage last week! Congratulations!!!

*My husbands parents celebrate 40 years of marriage this weekend! Congratulations!!!!

*I went on Levi's field trip with him last week, to the bowling alley. They had so much fun!

*I've been walking with a friend a couple of times a week, and running also.  last week alone, I logged over 41 miles! Yes!

*Today my cousin is having her twin boys, so I am going to the hospital to visit her this afternoon.  Can't wait!

*gotta purchase my last three appraisal qualification courses, so I can get these done over the summer...

*kids last day of school is next week, Thursday.  they are pretty excited...

MacroEconomics

It is OVER!!!! Yea!
I finally found out my grade on Exam 4. I had made a 104! 
I had my Final Exam on Monday.  I just found out how I did on it; I made a 91! Yea!!!! 
So my overall grade for this class is 98.10%!!!! YES!!!!!

Only 1 more college class to go.... Thank Goodness!

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.