March 18th

Hi All,

Hope this finds you all doing well. We are all staying healthy here. Knock on wood, no one has been sick in a while.

The last month has been a good one. We enrolled Dylan in preschool for next year. Some days he is excited about it, some days not. He will go 4 days a week, but only go half days. I am hoping that this will break him in for Kindergarten, when he has to go all day.

We had Kristian's parent teacher conferences last week. He did well again this 9 weeks, but did drop in 2 of his classes. But still managed to hang on to A's and B's. He teachers had high praise for him, except for his Math teacher, but... I have had issues with her from the get go, so I think it is more her than him. And I am not the only parent who feels that way. We got Kristian a cell phone last month. My main reason was because I will have to drop him off at soccer practice alone while I take Dylan to his soccer practice and I wanted him to be able to get in touch with me if he needed to. He was in shock when he got it!

Mike worked some REALLY long hours this past month. He spent a week and a half working from 6 to anywhere from 7-9 at night. Right after that he left for a 6 day trip to D.C. He came back on a Sunday and then had to work the next day. But he did get to take a couple days off at the end up the week.

Last Friday we took the boys to ITZ. It is a new family fun center that opened last month in the springs. We had a great time. I won 504 tickets on the Deal or No Deal game. That was fun. They have different rooms to sit in and eat while you are there. The first time we ate.... we sat in ToonLand. It had cartoons playing on a big screen. After we played games we grabbed some dessert and sat in the Drive In Movie room and just happened to catch Back to the Future at the beginning. We ended up staying and watching the whole thing! We spent the rest of the weekend doing nothing! It was GREAT!!

Next week is spring break! YIPEE! Mike's mom is flying up on Saturday and is spending the week with us. We are all looking forward to it. The boys have been thinking of things to do while she is here.

We are spending Easter at the Bowen's. They are putting together the scavenger hunt for this year and promised to make it difficult for the kids. They always figure it out way too fast!

So I made a big decision this past month. I decided that I wasn't going to watch Tracy's kids next year. It was a tough decision for me to make, because I LOVE the kids to death. But it was what I wanted to do and as the days go by I have no doubt that it was the right decision.

Again, no pictures this month. I know I am getting horrible at this blog thing! I can't believe how I haven't been keeping up with it! But SURELY with Easter, Mike's mom visiting and spring break, I will have lots of pictures to share next time, whenever that might be!! Hope everyone has a very Happy and Blessed Easter! Take care.

February 20th

It has been a while since I have been on here.

Kristian ended up getting the flu. He was sick for a week. He missed a whole week of school. We ended up taking him into the doctor and they prescribed TamiFlu. Within a day of taking it he was feeling a lot better. It is so hard to see your kids sick. He didn't want to eat and had trouble just walking around, which he didn't do much of. He mostly laid on the couch. No one else ended up getting it, but Dylan did end up with an ear infection during that time. Which was nothing compared to what Kristian went through.

Everything else has been going good. Mike works atleast one weekend out in the shop on the car. Knock on wood he hasn't had any business trips lately and I have enjoyed that! I went last week and signed both the boys up for soccer. It is in Colorado Springs, which takes about 45 minutes to get to, but they don't have it anywhere out here. Kristian will have practice twice a week and Dylan just once a week. But both of them will have games on Saturday. I am really hoping that it will all work out. Both of them are on a developmental team, so I am hoping that things aren't so pressured. After things that we have dealt with on other sports teams that he has done, I just want them to be able to go out there and have fun. I guess we will see.

We went to Rebecca's 4th Birthday party last weekend. I can't believe she is already 4. Time just flies by!!

The Bowen's came out for dinner last Saturday night. We had a great time just visiting and catching up. We don't see them but maybe once a month, so it is nice to get to visit with them every once and a while. We played Guitar Hero and watched funny videos on You Tube!!

Sunday we hung out here at the house. It was nice because everything was clean, the laundry was done, so I could just relax for the day. I have a hard time sitting down when the house isn't somewhat clean. And it is amazing how quickly it can take a turn for the worse!

Well I suppose that is it. I know there were other things that happened, but I can't remember that far back. I will try to write more often than this, but it has been a rough year so far with all the sickness going on. I hope all of you are doing well. Sorry no pictures this time. :(

January 21st

Lets see if I can remember everything..

I am still not feeling the greatest, but finally with each day I feel somewhat better. I ended up getting a cold in my eyes. First the left one, then the right one and now both of them. It doesn't hurt, they are just very bloodshot. My ear is still a little clogged, but nothing like it was. It is amazing how something so small could be so bothersome. Dylan still has a cough, but is finally sleeping through the night again! Yeah!!

Mike had a great trip to L.A. It actually went by pretty fast. Which I was glad about. I always hate when he is gone. He said his meetings went well and he had a nice visit with the guys out there. It amazes me that he can find his way around out there. Somehow he manages without me!

Last Thursday, Maite and I took the kids to Mr. Biggs Family fun center. They have a place called Little Big town, that is just for kids under 10. Kristian was at school, but he was still disappointed when I told him we went. Oh well. The kids had a great time. We stayed for about 3 hours and then headed back home. Tracy brought Kristian home from school that day and her and the kids had dinner with us. We played Guitar Hero after dinner, but we didn't do too well. Jacob was trying to help us out and well he wasn't much help. But we had fun anyway. Rebecca spent the night with us that night. Dylan has wanted to have a sleepover with her, but I just hadn't been up to it lately.

Friday, Mike came home around noon. We had a quick lunch and headed into town. My Christmas present had finally came in. Mike got me a new buffet for Christmas. We went and picked it up and then went and looked at washers. Mine went out on Sunday night right before he left. Luckily it was washing the last load! So I was good for the week. Thank goodness. At first we were just going to buy something second hand, but decided against it. Mike told me to pick out whatever I wanted, so I did! I have been waiting for that washer to die for years. I just knew if I got something second hand that it would last me for 40 years and I would never get another chance to get a new one! Lowe's delivered it yesterday morning and I have been doing laundry ever since. Man does it pile up! But I love my new washer and dryer. It has so many buttons and options on it I don't know what to do! The Fix's came out on Friday night for dinner and games. We played Fill or Bust, of course and also a game for the Playstation called Buzz. It was so much fun. Four people can play at once and you each have a controller. It asks all kinds of questions. Definitely one we need to get. They also have a junior edition too.

Saturday we went to town. That's when we bought the washer and dryer. We went to Best Buy too and surprised Kristian with the new Guitar Hero and wireless guitar. Dylan picked out a robot. They were so happy. After that we went and picked up some groceries and headed home. I don't think I have mentioned it yet, but... I am now into Guitar Hero also. I figured I might as well join them since it obviously wasn't going anywhere. I moved up to medium the other day but dropped back down to easy to make myself feel better!

Yesterday me and the boys hung out here at the house. Mike ran into town to pick up some car stuff. Kristian played Guitar Hero most of the day and Dylan helped me with laundry. He loves watching the clothes spin around and turning it on. Luckily there is a child lock on them both. Otherwise no telling what I would find washing and drying, the dog, his shoes, etc.. When Mike got home we played Buzz, including Dylan. Mike won, but Dylan, with no help from us, did pretty good. There was some questions that we missed that he got right. Lucky guesses of course.

Today was back to school and work. It has been snowing all day long. I think we have about 3 inches now. It is actually just coming straight down instead of being blown to Kansas. I am enjoying it right now. When I have to drop the kids off in a few hours, I probably won't be enjoying it as much.

Well I guess that is it from Colorado. Hope all is well with all of you. The pictures are of the kids at Mr. Biggs (with Dylan showing how old he is on both hands), my buffet, my new laundry set, the playgroup (Rebecca, Olivia, Grant, Jacob and Dylan. I should have some pictures of Kristian next week. He has an awards assembly on Thursday. Till then...

December 21st- January 9th

Happy 2008!!

We ended up spending Christmas with family. Mike's cousin and his family invited us to go with them to Breckenridge. We had a great time. The kids did a lot of sledding. They had a blast. We had talked about going skiing, but it was just too cold to try to do that with Dylan. Maybe when it gets warmer. Breckenridge is a beautiful place. Lots of snow!! While we were there we went tubing. It is way up on the mountain. You take a gondola up to it! The four of us went down once together, but after that I was frozen, as was Kristian. Mike and Dylan went down once more together and then Mike did a few times by himself. We all had a great time. We really enjoyed getting to spend time with Ryan, Tanya and the girls. We played games pretty much every night and just hung out. It was a lot of fun. The day after Christmas we headed back home. I had woke up not feeling just wonderful, but as long as I had Motrin in me I was fine. We got home around 9 that night, unloaded and hit the hay. On Thursday I felt a lot better, so we went to Chris and Maite's for dinner and then went and picked up groceries for my family's visit. On Friday, I spent the day cleaning and cooking. My family arrived late Friday night, after a very long trip! When you have 3 vehicles carpooling, it doesn't make it easy. On Saturday, the adults went to Walmart, well except me.. I volunteered to hang out with the kids, since they had been cooped up in the car the day before. We had a great time. I took them out to play in the snow, they loved that! When the adults got back, we pulled the kids around on the 4 wheeler. They had a blast. That afternoon we had Christmas dinner and opened gifts. We also spent a lot of time playing Fill or Bust!! Sunday, we took the kids to Chuck E Cheese and then came back home. Kim's husband, Brandon, drove in from Kansas where he was working to spend some time with everyone. Me, Mike, Kim and Brandon stayed up late playing Fill or bust and Guitar Hero. Monday I woke up and felt HORRIBLE! I didn't get out of bed till around noon and then I was back in bed not too long after that. I ended up staying in bed for a week. I went to the doctor on Wednesday they said it was just a virus, gave me some meds and sent me home. On Friday night my ear starting hurting. Finally on Sunday I couldn't take it any longer, so I went back. I had an ear infection! They gave me some antibiotics, cough medicine and a steroid shot. That helped some, but my ear even today is still clogged and driving me nuts! Other than that I am just tired. Luckily no one else has came down with it. The guys have had stuffy noses and coughs, but nothing like what I had and I am greatful for that. Dylan did get an ear infection from his stuffy nose though, but he acted like it was nothing. We didn't even know he had one. Mike took him in for his cough and we found out then. We are starting to think that New Year's just isn't a good time of the year for us. With Mike's appendix bursting last year and this year with me being so sick, I am almost dreading 2009!

We had a wonderful time with my family. They ended up leaving on New Year's Day bright and shiny. I didn't even get a chance to tell them good bye I was so out of it. It was nice to have them all here. The house was full and loud, but it was great to have everyone here at one time and enjoy everyone's company.

The pictures are of the boys sledding here at the house, the tubing hills, Kristian, Sierra, Dylan and Mike bundled up at the tubing hills, Christmas with my family and Pierson with his bull riding shirt on.

Have a great week!

December 11th

Hey everyone,

We are all doing good. Enjoying a little wintry weather this week, finally. It started snowing on Friday night and has been off and on the last couple of days. Saturday was beautiful. For once the wind wasn't blowing so the trees and everything else looked like it has been sprinkled in powdered sugar. As you can see from the pictures.

Last Tuesday was Kristian's Christmas band concert at school. He did a wonderful job. One song she had the bass guitarists, which consists of Kristian and another kid, start the song off. He did it perfectly! We were so proud of him.

Thursday I went into town with the 3 kids and went to Maite's house for a play date. The kids loved having "new" toys to play with. We stayed for lunch and then I went and did grocery shopping with them. I was pretty impressed with myself. They behaved so well!

Friday I went and dropped Max off at the kennel. Came home and packed us all for the night. Kristian was spending the night at Connors, Dylan was going to Tracy's and Mike and I were staying downtown at the Hilton. His work's Christmas party was Friday night and we decided to get a hotel across the street from the restaurant and just make a night of it. The party is always a good time. The food is unbelievably good! Plus we get to catch up with people we haven't seen in a while. After the party we went out for drinks with some friends and then back to the hotel. Unfortunately the people next door were having a "good time" all night long!! So we had to listen to that all night. I was too embarrassed to call the front desk. I mean what do you say... Anyway the next morning Mike surprised me and took me to a furniture store to pick out a new buffet for the dining room. I have been looking for one for a few months now and just hadn't found what I was looking for. I found one and lucky me... it won't be in till January 7th! But oh well at least I found one right? After that we went and had breakfast. It was so nice just to be able to sit and talk and not be interrupted every couple of minutes by the kids. After breakfast we went and picked up the kids, picked up Max and came home.

Sunday we hung out at the house for the most part of the day. In the afternoon we went to the store and had dinner at Applebees. We got home around 7. The boys had to take showers and get ready for school the next day. Around midnight we got a call from Mike's youngest sister, Tayla. She was having really painful stomach pains and was throwing up. She wanted to know what an appendicitis felt like. Mike told her what to do and she was feeling like that was what it was. So Mike told her to go to the emergency room. She got there and they did tests and the ER doctor said that that was what it was, but the radiologists said it wasn't. So they waited. Finally around 3 in the afternoon a surgeon said, well that is probably what it is because she is very tender in that area and there isn't another reason why. You have to love Oklahoma doctors. Anyway they did the surgery and it was in fact her appendix. Luckily it hadn't ruptured yet. But I guess when your appendix becomes infected it excretes bile and that went into her intestines. They said there isn't much they can do for that. I am just glad that they finally figured it out and that she is on her way to recovering.

Yesterday, the school called and said that Kristian wasn't feeling well. He had a mild temp and a head ache. I picked him up and dropped Tracy's kids off to one of her friends. He came home and rested and seems to be doing better today. I am keeping him home just to keep an eye on him.

Well just two more weeks till the big day! I can't believe it. I am pretty much done with my shopping except for the stocking stuffers... Tomorrow we start the 12 days of Christmas with the boys. They get to open a small gift every evening from under their tree upstairs. They are really excited to start. Then on Christmas eve they get to pick one from the BIG tree! My family will be here two weeks from Friday. I am excited for them to come. Tammy has never been to my house before and all of them at one time has never happened either. It will go great and I am sure like any family gathering will have it's ups and downs, but... at least we will all be together.

I guess that is it from us. Hope to be back on here sometime within the next week. The pictures are of Kristian and Dylan before the band concert, us during the snowfall on Saturday, the trees on Saturday, and some out takes of our "Christmas photo shoot"!

December 4th

Hey everyone.

I guess I will start where I left off last time. On Wednesday I put up my Christmas tree and the inside decorations. The boys were a big help carrying stuff up from the basement and unpacking it all. I let them decorate the tree, but I had to rearrange the ornaments because everything was hung on the bottom of the tree on one side. I felt bad moving everything, but... I was afraid it was going to tip over.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Cat and Brett. Lots of GREAT food. I am still recovering from that day! We played a fun game called Fill or Bust. You must get it. It is very addicting and a blast to play. It lets you see just how much you will actually risk. It is played with 6 dice and a deck of cards. Great to take on a trip because there isn't much to it. I had a hard time finding it. I actually found it at a game store at the mall. It was around $5!! Can't beat it!

Friday morning I was over at Joann's around 5 and we headed out. We went to the newest Walmart in town and it was DEAD! They still had a ton of stuff left, so we got some good deals. After that we went to Bed Bath and Beyond, Dick's Sporting Goods, we walked in and out of Kohls and Toys R Us. The lines were wrapped twice around the store. We went to JcPenny's, Linen and Things and ended at Radio Shack. We got a lot of stuff and I'm pretty much done with the shopping. We grabbed some lunch and headed home, just in time because it started snowing. When I got home and was unloading I realized that not only had I left a bag at Walmart!! they also overcharged me! So FRUSTRATING!! So we headed back over to Walmart to get everything straightened out and luckily it wasn't too much of a hassle. They had my stuff and gave me my money back. I just wonder how many people they had overcharged that day who didn't realize it...

Saturday we went and met Cat and Brett and their kids for lunch. It was Cat's REAL birthday. We ate at a new place called Dave's Famous BQ. It was really good AND they are the only place around here that serves sweet tea! Now some of you may not think that is a big deal, but everywhere back home serves it, so that is what we are used to. After lunch we headed to the mall. Dylan was so excited to see Santa, until we were there. He didn't want to get out of line, but he wouldn't talk or smile and still didn't when he saw Santa. He sat in his lap and just totally ignored Santa talking to him and never once smiled. I bought the pictures anyway because I want to remind him of that someday! I ended up doing some shopping while we were there and bought a dress to where to Mike's Christmas party. By the time we were done with all of that it was dinner time and if you know my kids, they think if they miss one meal they are going to starve to death. So we went to Saltgrass for dinner. Then went by Target and headed home.

I can't remember what we did on Sunday. I think we just hung out at the house.

Monday was back to work and school. It was great to see the kids again, (Jacob and Rebecca) I hadn't seen them all week. They always look like they have grown a foot. I ended up getting a head cold on Tuesday night and felt horrible. I still watched the kids though. I figured I could make it till nap time and then I would just collapse, but out of all the days they decided they were only going to sleep for a little bit. So... I ended up loading them into the car and heading to Walmart to pick up some medicine for me. I swung by KFC to get dinner, headed to the school to pick up Kristian and drop off the kids to Tracy and then home we went. Mick ended up working till around 10 that night, so it was just the boys and I. Thursday was a much better day. I was feeling a lot better. Maite and Grant came over for a play date. We had a great time. The kids all got along really good.

Friday Mick took the day off. We hung out around the house for the first part of the day and then ran to pick up a few groceries. That evening Joann and Phil and the kids came out for dinner. Joann and I worked on a craft for the teachers and then we played..... Fill or Bust. Mike still isn't good at it. He risks every time. And poor Phil... He started off not risking, but by the end of the game, Mike had him risking it all. It was so funny. Joann and I couldn't stop laughing at them two. Out of 3 games I won one and Joann won two. So that just shows how well the guys were at it! They also played Guitar Hero and well she and I AREN'T good at that.

Saturday Mike and Bryan went to Canon City to pickup somethings. Me and the boys hung out around the house and I cleaned. We went to the Festival of Lights parade Saturday night. The boys loved it. It lasted about an hour. We were lucky to find a good place to stand, but next year we are getting there earlier. After the parade we went to dinner, went by Walmart to pick up outdoor Christmas lights and then headed home. Mick and I tried to stay awake to watch Christmas Vacation, but we just couldn't.

Sunday we got up all ready to hang lights and what a pain that was. The lights that we had just bought the night before weren't working right. It was too cold outside to stay out there too long and it was a bad day! What should've taken us a couple of hours to do ended up taking all day. But there are lights on the house and that was the point.

Well I guess that is it. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving and are enjoying the Holiday season.

I only have the one picture this time and that is of Dylan and Santa. Isn't it just the greatest picture ever? :)

November 21st

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I know I am so late at getting around to doing this, but I just haven't had much time, nor much to talk about.

Things are going good. The weather, up to today, has been beautiful. Warm and sunny. This morning though we woke up to about 3 inches of snow and EXTREMELY cold weather. Of course it could be that I am not yet use to it. I just know it is cold. I spent yesterday baking. I made two pecan pies, a batch of sugar cookies, made a gingerbread train and decorated it with the boys and.... I guess that is it. All I know is I was in the kitchen from 8:30 till around 5:30 yesterday and it was a blast. I love this time of year. Last Sunday we had a surprise 40th birthday party for our friend Cat. She had no idea. She thought she was coming to a Mary Kay party and showed up with no makeup on. But she is one of those people who have a great complexion and don't really need it. We all had a great time. We ended up playing the Movies DVD Scene It game and us girls barely beat the guys, but we did!!

Saturday I went to a couple of craft fairs and had lunch with Joann. I haven't seen her in such a long time. We had a great time. I didn't buy anything, but as usual said many times, I could make that! To which I never do!!

Mike took Dylan to McDonald's on Saturday while I was gone. (Kristian was at a friends house) And he worked on the car. He finally got the frame welded up last weekend. He is so very proud of himself, as am I. He has put a lot of work into that car. I will be so glad when it is done. And I am sure he will be too.

Last Wednesday morning we woke up to a popping sound around 1. It was our refrigerator. Mike unplugged the ice maker and it stopped making the sound. We called and they wouldn't be able to fix it till Monday. That is the only day that they come out this way. Cons of living so far out of town... But it wasn't a big deal since it was just the ice maker. But then on Friday I went to fix the kids some lunch and noticed that the corn dogs seemed a bit softer than usual. After doing a little investigating I realized that the entire fridge had slowly been cooling down, since Wednesday! UUURRRGGGG. So I called the service place and they couldn't get to it till Monday, still. I was in tears! I had the birthday party on Sunday and I had to pick up a cake on Saturday for that. A pretty pricey cake at that! Not to mention all the food I had in my refrigerator!! I called Mike and he said just go look for one in town. So after 4 hours of dragging the kids from one Home Depot and Lowes after another. I finally found one. Mike and a friend from work rented one of those trucks from Home Depot and had it back to the store in less than 2 hours. Heaven forbid Mike have to pay more than he needed to at $5 for every 15 minutes. (Tanya he reminds me of Papaw sometimes!!) We have been wanting another fridge for the garage anyway, but just didn't want to do it right now. I guess someone had other plans though. Anyway, it all worked out and the cake was safe and refrigerated!!

I can't believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We are going over to Cat and Brett's house tomorrow but not till 5. In the morning, my plan is to sit and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade with the boys, which I am sure after 30 minutes of it... it will be just me on the couch alone, but oh well! I am getting up early on Friday for the big sales. I SWORE I wasn't going to. But Joann coaxed me into it last weekend. Plus I did see a few things that I was interested in. I always enjoy it once I am awake!!! Can you believe that Kohls is opening at 4!!! I don't think so. I remember when Wal-mart would open at 6 and now it is 5! I know the early bird gets the worm.. but at some point the early bird is going to say to *%&$#@ with it!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and eats WAY too much!! Until next time...

The pictures are of the gingerbread train, sugar cookies and Dylan, Jacob and Rebecca.