A Road to a Friend's House

You know that ol' saying:
"A road to a friend's house is never too long."

Well it is so very true. Les, the kids, and I packed up on Friday and drove the short drive to my best friend's house to spend the weekend. I have already posted the history of Cheri and me months ago and I sure wish I knew how to highlight it so that you can just click a word and read it again. So, I will just tell you again. Cheri and I have a long long history that not many people can compete with. We met each other in the third grade and have been the best of friends since then. Yes, we are 32 years old and still friends. We survived:

*many childhood fights (you know the ones that you have with your friend and two seconds later everything is fine again?) hee hee

*Many long road trips together

*Long distance relationship (Cheri moved away when we were in the 8th grade. It was one of the hardest things I had to deal with as a kid.)

*Living together for one year (it was the best of times)

*Working together while living together (that was the most trying!)

*Getting engaged together (well around the same time)

*Planning weddings

*Graduating UT together

*having children 1 year apart

*And now another long distance relationship (I moved away from her 3 years ago)

Of course there is so much more, but this is it in a nutshell. We are sisters by heart. We help get each other through the hard times even if it is over the phone. I truly don't know what I would do without Cheri in my life. Ok ok, enough sappy stuff.

We had a fabulous time at her house. You know, the positive thing about moving away is that now we get to go to her house and spend the night. We ALL love that. Our kids never tire of each other and play until they just can't hold their eyes open. Cheri and I talk and reminisce until we can't hold our eyes open. It was a needed weekend of good food, relaxation, and shopping. Thanks Cheri and Ken for having us!

I hope you will call your best friend and tell them how much you love them after you finish reading this!

3rd Generation Skier!

We have had a monumental weekend! We started the weekend off dog sitting the cutest little pup in the world. My brother-in-law, Matt, took his wife, Mindy to Fredricksburg for a late anniversary getaway and had us watch their sweet new shih tzu. He was such a good little dog with the exception of a few accidents on the carpet. The kids and I really feel in love with him.

Once they got back they invited us to the lake for some boating action. The four of us (Les, Matt, Mindy and I) grew up going to the lake every weekend. We would pack food for the day and be out till sun down. Les and I want our kids to have the same experience so we took them up on the offer. Mindy's parents rented a couple of condos that sat right on the water, so we could watch everyone out in the boat. We did not stay the night, though. We drove back and forth both days.

Ok, are you ready for the big news? We had the kids practice getting up on a pair of Jr. skies. Nolan was super pumped because he had already tried on a pair of adult skies a few weeks back. He has been wanting to try again. I actually found a pair of kid skies at a garage sale last week for $2! However, my sister-in-law's dad bought a really cool pair for them to use as well.

The first day all of the kids tried to get up except Leslie. They all did great and actually got on top of the water, but did not stand up. Finally the next day Les told them just stand up as soon as the boat takes off and you will get it. Sure enough, they did and each skied about 100-150 yards before losing their balance. Their faces were so cute when they stood up. They were all shocked and super excited to be on the water! Check it out. Here is Nolan's still frame movie shots, hee hee.

Here he is getting the boots on, which is quite a work out in itself!

He is ready..........Go! (sorry it is so far away! I need a zoom lens!)

This is all he did not the first day. We would tell him just stand up! Well he finally did!

Yes! He thinks he is a pro now!

How awesome is that? I would have videoed him but I had to hold the other end of the rope. You see, the kids' ski rope does not attach to the boat so that you do not drag them under the water. Sometimes their feet don't come out of the skies and sometimes they don't let go of the rope! So, I held the other end and luckily Mindy took some great pictures with my camera. Here is her daughter getting up.

STAND UP!

She's got it!

Yes! Way to go girl!

Here are the other kids waiting in the boat. Kelby and Lily, Mindy and Matt's other kids tried too, but sadly I did not get any pictures of them. I am so sorry.

Les took this picture from the boat to show the condo we stayed at during the day. It was awesome to be able to watch everyone from there!

As I was sitting there talking to Mindy's parents, I heard her dad say, "Look there, Honey, we have a third generation skiing." I thought to myself, how neat is that?

Dollie Day

Leslie and I had a grand ol' dollie day! We visited the American Girl Doll store in Dallas with my sister-in-law and two nieces. We had been planning this trip for months now. Grandma and Grandpa gave my nieces a doll for Christmas and Leslie was super excited that she now had girls to play American dolls with. You see, as I have stated on this blog before, these are not just ordinary dolls, they are companions and best friends. It is not just playing "dollies". So we finally got to go on our trip we had been expecting. Mindy drove in Dallas for the first time in eight years and did fantastic! It was a straight shot there with a little traffic. Once we arrived the girls were in awe.

It is a bit over whelming stepping into the huge place. There are dolls and displays EVERYWHERE! We browsed around and decided to eat lunch in their bistro. Each of the girls got a special chair (in which we ended up purchasing one!) for their dolls to sit at the table with us. They even got their own menu, but sadly only had to share the food with the girls. I thought it would have been neat for the dolls to get a fake meal for them to eat, but nope! Goodness knows the company makes enough money for that, but nope! Anyhoo, they still enjoyed the delicious, overly priced food.

After we finished Leslie mentioned that she wanted a chocolate shake. She had caught eye of one while we were waiting to be seated and was sure to eat a lot of her lunch. So I gave in and let her order a shake. However, she did not want to drink it at the table, she got down out of her chair and got up at the stylish bar stool. She wanted to experience the entire feeling of drinking a shake at a dessert bar. It was so funny watching her lick the whipped cream off the top and dangling the cherry in her mouth. I promise you that it was the best shake she had ever eaten in her life with the way she sat there by herself indulging in it.

The other two were too full and anxious to shop. Afterwards it was time for serious shopping. All of the girls had a hard time making up their minds on what to buy. They all wanted so much, but it is extremely expensive! They did well on their choices and no fits were thrown, thank goodness! However, we almost made it to the cashier when Leslie spotted the salon. Yes there were people working there doing nothing but fix dolls' hair! There were cute salon chairs for the dolls to sit in and capes for them to wear. Leslie and I bargained a few items so that she could get her doll's hair fixed; even though I could have styled the hair any way she chose FOR FREE! Once again, it was the experience she wanted.

Leslie was super excited and watched Kirsten's hair get brushed by a professional. Emily, my niece decided to get her doll's hair styled as well.

The girls had a fabulous time and I know will never forget this monumental day. Now I am off to get Leslie at their house. They all wanted to play style show with their new clothes this evening!

We.....

Please excuse this different style of posting. I want to hurry up and post about Florida before it is not even new anymore. So here it goes.

We drove 9 hours to New Orleans last Friday night because it was half way to St. George Island, Florida.

We stayed right downtown and ate at Popeyes Fried Chicken on Canal street. Luckily not reactions to that, hee hee.


We drove the next 7 hours to St. George Island and stayed in this house.


We swam in this pool.


We sat out on this deck to drink coffee each morning.


We found sea shells on this beach.


We boogie boarded in this water.


We went fishing (actually the boys)on a charter boat and caught these. Yes they are sharks and Nolan was the fisherman that reeled in the most!


We took a nap like this. Leslie is watching and hearing the ocean waves while laying in bed.


We saw this in the pool one morning! And hunted them almost every night!


We made crafts in this window. Thanks Grandma!


We lost a front tooth. Ok, Nolan lost a front tooth!


We went horse back riding on the beach the day we left.

We also drank a lot, danced, shopped, ate way too much, rode jet skies, rented kayaks, and got sun burned! Sorry no photos of these events yet.

We have these people to thank for getting this all together and renting the house. Mandy and John, thank you so much! We love you!

We did not want to leave this place!

We got back into the car on Friday and drove 10 hours to Vicksburg to visit Grandma and Grandpa, aka Mike and Linda (Les' mom and dad).

We watched fireworks being shot off of a river boat that were amazing! (sorry no photos)

We drove all the way back home on Sunday.

We do not want to get back into the car for a long long while!

Summer Food

Awww summer time. I absolutely love this time of the year. There is nothing like sitting out on the back porch with a big cold glass of lemon iced tea watching the kids play on the trampoline or sprinklers. Les finally put a fan out on our porch so now we can sit and be more comfortable. Woo hoo!

We grill a lot in the summer because we are always outside. The other night we had the most delicious meal. I have a recipe of a pork tenderloin with a peach and lime concoction. Oh my goodness, it is to die for! We grilled the tenderloin medalions, peaches, green onions, and squash. The key to grilling veggies is to place them in a baggie with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and salt and pepper. Squish them around to get them well oiled so that they do not stick to the grill. Also, if you have not tried grilling fruits you are totally missing out! The heat brings out the sweetness and they are oh so yummy!

This is the peach concoction. Oh it is so good Les dipped his tortilla chips in it. Les, it is supposed to be to wipe on the meat and fruit!

Let me know if you want the recipe and I will give it to you. Right now I am on a time crunch!

I'm Going Back

I don't know if you caught it in the last post, but I hinted around that I may not be blogging much in the next school year. That is because I have decided to go back to work! I heard that the school was going through some changes and that there was a need for second grade teachers. I did not sleep for a couple nights for wondering what to do. So I prayed to God that I needed Him to show me what decision to make. After discussing the issue with Les, we decided it would not be a bad idea to try to take the open door. If it is not in God's plan, then I would not get the job. So, I applied and received a call yesterday that
I am officially a second grade teacher! Yeah!
I am extremely excited and can't wait to start on my own room. However, there is a lot of fear floating around me. I have not taught in seven years! Oh, and Leslie will be going to the preschool there at the elementary school FOR FREE! Yes! I know down in my heart that she will truly love it.

So after this summer, I may have to say good-bye to my blogging world. We will see.

No Boys Allowed!

Well I can tell that summer has officially been in full swing. Just take a look at my blogging pattern. I have been blogging only on the weekends because it is really the only time I have. Now that both kids are at home ALL day, I don't get a chance to sit and blog. (sorry Cheri, I know how you hate it when people don't blog often!). I will try to do better this summer, because at the start of the new school year I have a feeling that I will not blog often at all. So I better get it all out this summer. I will fill you in later about that later. hee hee

Anyhoo, with summer here, I feel like a firefighter putting out all kinds of fires between Nolan and Leslie. Some days they wake up and play beautifully (at least for a while) and some days they wake up and immediately start fussing. Urgh! Well, Leslie had enough of her big brother being mean to her, so she decided to put a sign on her door. She came to me and asked for some paper and then proceeded to the art table to draw. Later she asked for some tape to attatch the note to her door. I caught a glimpse of it and started laughing. If you know Leslie, she does not like for you to laugh at her. I grabbed my camera and gave her the tape. This is what I caught her doing.

Sorry the picture is underexposed, I was trying to catch her in the act.

Here is the note she put on her door. Can you tell what it is? Look closely at the spikey hair do she drew. Yep, it is Nolan with a BIG X on top. " No Nolan allowed" was her comment.

She was quite upset, as you can see. However, she walked into her room and closed the door and played for a good long while all by herself.

The note stays on her door, but she has been nice enough to let her brother inside ONLY if he will play Barbie with her.