Monday, November 26, 2007

Other Things

Here's more cute pictures of our visit with Mom & Frank. These two were at the zoo. Aren't they so cute with her? This is a dress my Mom bought Regan for her 3rd birthday with her cute shiny pink shoes she bought. She loves them so much. Doesn't she look adorable? Okay, I have so much to catch up on. I've got to do this more regularly. I have lots to talk about Thanksgiving, but I'll do that later once I transfer the pictures over. Let me catch up on before Thanksgiving. First,we had my brother Matt in town for awhile. It was fun having him here. He is so good with the kids in playing with them, and even helping with homework. It was great having him visit. Jeff went to the girls' elementary school to do a career day demonstration on what he does at the refinery. Somehow he got roped into doing this for all the first graders and all of the second graders at Tara Oaks. He did a fabulous job, like always. He really is good at explaining the refining process on a level the kids understand. He even said that in his job, his plant is like a big McDonald's playground that he gets to play in. I don't know if it's exactly the same, but the kids thought that was cool. Jeff also got brave and entered into the biggest National Professional Raquetball tournament. His company was one of the sponsors, so he and one of his work buddies signed up. Of coarse, he entered the lowest bracket at the amateur level. Regan and I had fun going down to the University of Memphis to watch him play. Unfortunately, he got his behind whipped. But, he sure was cute doing it. He said he was so nervous, his legs were shaking. Not used to people watching him. But, in all fairness, the 50 year old guy that beat him (that's right, I said 50) did end up winning the whole tournament for his level. I told him, he might want to try doing some local tournaments first next year. Overall, he had a good time. I have been busy with reading to classes, doing crafts and volunteering in the health room down at the school. Also, I somehow got roped into helping with the Young Women's Daddy Daughter Western party they had with the Stake. It was fun because I got to work with a lot of my friends from Stake Camp, and also my friends from the ward. We had a great time. I learned some line dances and burned off all the Nachos I ate dancing around with my friends. That line dancing is a great workout. I need to do it more often!

Friday, November 9, 2007

Stuff missed

Okay, here's some more pics I didn't get in. Above is, of coarse, Halloween. The kids are with their cousins who just moved here. They had so much fun. Brooke is a Power Ranger (go figure), Brennan is OB (I think), Jadyn is the White Witch & Regan is Tinkerbell. Actually, she's really a fairy because it was cheaper. We figure she'd never know. Above right is our fam in the Smoky Mountains. Directly above is Jadyn. She cheered for the Packers' Flag football team. I know I'm biased, but she was the cutest cheerleader ever! Even though the team lost every game, I don't think one cheerleader even noticed. J.J. loved it. After freezing the other night watcher her, we are now grateful the season is over. Good thing Brooke wants to cheer next year and they'll be in two different leagues with games on different nights! YIPEE!!! That's okay, I really eat this stuff up. I have so many more pictures. I wish I could post them all. If it didn't take forever, I probably would.

Still don't know what I'm doing.

As you can tell, I never got the whole Blog thing down before. Still trying to figure it out. So, instead of trying to catch up, I'm starting with the month of Oct. Just briefly, summer was very memorable with a wonderful family reunion with the Bradshaw clan that I just loved, Girls Camp that ROCKED, and a great visit in Arizona. Now to continue...
We had a great month in Oct. It first started with a much needed visit from my fabulous sister. (Thank you Jen!) We had so much fun and quite an adventure. For those who missed out on her Blog explaining the whole thing, you really missed out. Then, my brother Matt came for a very quick visit. It was great seeing him, even if it was less than 24 hrs. Later in the month, Mom & Frank came for a week where we had a great & wonderful time. We celebrated Regan's 3rd birthday. Hard to believe it has been 3 years. We also went to Gatlinburg & the Smoky Mountains. We stayed in a gorgeous cabin right in the middle of the changing fall leaves. We spent a day in the Smoky Mountain National Park among nature. It was absolutely beautiful. Didn't see any Black Bears this year. Total Bummer! But, we saw lots of deer. Of coarse, we see deer all the time, but it was fun for Mom & Frank. The next day, Mom & I went to the little shops in town while Jeff & Frank took the kids to do Go Karting. Apparently, Frank didn't realize that he would be needed to help drive the younger kids and wasn't quite ready for what he got himself into. According to Jeff, "It was worth all the money we paid just to see the look on Frank's face!" Unfortunately, he didn't have the camera with him! Later that night we went to a family comedy/singing show that was fun. They had all the kids from the audience go on stage. Jadyn, being the ham that she is, managed to push her way to the front & center of the stage with Regan and the two of them danced their hearts out in front of everyone! They definitely stole the show. Brooke said she had stage fright and stayed in the back. When we got back to Memphis, we spent time with them at the zoo, our town's "Mayberry" shops, and Graceland. We also enjoyed having them here for Halloween. The kids just loved being able to show them their costumes. Overall, October was such a great month. We loved having everyone visit. Anyone else out there who'd like to come, we'd love to have you!