Summer Doldrums

Wow, 2 weeks goes by fast! When I last updated we were getting ready to go on vacation. Now we are back and the summer doldrums are setting in. We had a great vacation but often when we get back from a trip I feel a little let down...I've got no other trips to look forward to and we face 30 more days of hot summer before school starts. I've got about a million things I should be doing around here, but just don't feel motivated to do any of them. This past week we've been home more than we're used to and when I'm home I tend to eat. I've gained 4 pounds in the past 2 weeks. Gotta put the brakes on that. Hopefully I can snap myself out of this next week but in the meantime. let's relive our beach vacation!

We left Kingwood on Sunday, July 15th at about 5:45 a.m. Crazy early, I know, but we were caravanning with friends and they wanted to get there early. I'm pretty proud of myself that we actually left somewhat on time.

We drove about 9 or 10 hours through a lot of pouring down rain through Louisiana, Mississippi and on to Alabama. We made a stop in Lake Charles, LA at a cajun meat market to pick up some sausage, stuffed pork chops, stuffed chicken, etc. for the grill. Cajun meat markets are the best! We even sampled cracklins (not sure what this is...near as I can tell it's fried pork fat). It was pretty disgusting and I won't be trying that again.

We arrived at our destination--the Beach Club in Fort Morgan, AL--at about 3:00 p.m. Got the car unpacked in the rain then went down to the beach. It was still sprinkling but we didn't really care. It was nice to be on the beach.



The next day the rain had gone and we spent the day on the beach. The only problem we encountered were the jelly fish. That put a little damper on the ocean for the kids since everytime we were down at the beach at least one of the kids got stung. Luckily there were 5 different pools, tennis courts, and a playground to also keep them occupied.














To take a break from the beach we went to a nearby waterpark one day. On another afternoon Jim took the kids to see a movie while the moms went shopping at the outlet mall.

All too soon it was time to pack up and head out. Our drive home was in much better weather and was pretty uneventful...just the way I like it. Even though we had a great time I don't think I'd stay at this particular condo complex again. Fort Morgan seems way too out of the way for me. I prefer to be closer to stores, restaurants, etc. Plus they only had two community grills to use for the entire complex! When we go on vacation we like to grill. Our group ended up going out to buy our own grill to use. All in all, though, it was another fun year at the beach. Now...what are we going to do for the rest of the summer...

On Our Way

It's been a few days since I've written but I've been busy getting things ready for our vacation. We leave tomorrow for a week at the beach...gulf shores, AL. Believe it or not, the Alabama gulf coast has beautiful beaches and the drive is shorter than going to Florida. I'm all for shorter drives.



Our car is packed and we'll be leaving at about 5:30 a.m. caravaning with our friends, the Enochses.

Last night Jim and I went to see The Fray in concert. We saw them at an outdoor venue called Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion (for you Michigan people it's exactly like Pine Knob). It was about 98 degrees here last night and not exactly perfect weather for an outdoor concert. This was the first time I've been to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavillion and I don't think I'll ever see another concert there in the summer. The music was awesome but i was too hot and sweaty to enjoy it. Except for when they did the cover of Shakira's Hips Don't Lie. It was awesome! I tried to find a clip from our concert on youtube. It wasn't there but this one was. It seemed so spontaneous at our concert...like they'd never done it before...one search of youtube and I discovered I was very wrong. Doesn't matter. I enjoyed it all the same.

Talk to you from the beach.

An Unexpected Good Day

When Heather asked me to go to Ikea today with her with all 5 of our kids in tow I thought..."well, that doesn't sound very fun." But I knew she wanted to purchase the same cabinets I have up in our playroom and I have a big car that can haul them home so I said okay. It turned out to be a great day. Another friend of ours, Brandy, met us at Ikea with her son Dylan. Most of the kids went into the play room area they have at the store (how awesome is that?) except for the very small (Dylan and Megan) and the very tall (Jordan). As it turns out. Jordan had a blast with Dylan who really seemed to like her. Now all Jordan can talk about is "babysitting" Dylan even though she's only a "baby" herself.

We got our shopping done...I managed to find a few random items like a wine decanter that one of the sommeliers in a tasting room in Sonoma recommended to bulletin and magnetic boards for Jordan's room...and Heather got her cabinets. We loaded it all in the car and took the troops to Jillians for lunch (aka Dave and Busters) which is a restaurant slash arcade. We ate. We spilled. We played. We went home tired and happy.

Sometimes the "lazy, nothing to do" aspect of the summer gets to me so it's nice to have a day filled with activity with friends.

I hate that I don't have a pic from today so I'll try to do better tomorrow.

Happy 4th and other stuff

It's been a wet July here in Texas so far. I think I read in the paper that it's rained the last 23 days in a row...yuck. This year, the 4th of July was on a Wednesday...weird to have it in the middle of the week. It was overcast in the a.m. but we decided to go to the Kingwood parade anyway. It started drizzling about halfway through but we were sitting under some trees so we didn't get too wet. The kids don't seem to mind the rain.






We had just planned a cookout with some of our neighbors and luckily we have a porte cochere--a covered area over part of our driveway--on our house (never even heard of this until we moved to Texas but now wouldn't want to live without it). We grilled under there and set up tables to eat. The rain actually held out for most of the evening and the guys were able to set off all the fireworks they had purchased (probably $300 or $400 worth combined!).

On Thursday Jordan had a sleepover with her two good friends on the street, Madison and Kristina. She's been dying to have a sleepover since we moved back into the house but with early morning summer swim practices/meets we didn't have one until now. The girls all braided their hair, watched a movie, ate popcorn, listened to music, talked and stayed up late. Typical sleepover stuff. Luckily, Jackson was asked to spend the night at his friend Austin's house the same night so no little brother around to bug them.



On Friday we had the Kellers over for dinner. They have the distinction of being our first dinner guests since we've moved back in. I've hosted girls' night and some of the neighborhood friends have ended up eating over here after grilling out but this was the first time we've cooked for others since we've been back. It was a fun time!



This week (July 2nd) also marked the two year anniversary of our fire. We are so happy to be back in our house but things are far from over. We're still dealing with the arbitration case against our contractor and our Ford lawsuit hasn't even started yet. Currently our trial date is set for November, but our neighbor's insurance company just intervened in the suit so that will probably mean another delay. We have lost so much financially and emotionally that some days it seems like we will never recover.




On a happier note, this week also marked the first time in two years that we've had kids swimming in our pool. That was a good day! The kids have all grown so much in the past 2 years that our pool suddenly seems really small but at least it's ours and it's up and running.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Dear Jackson,

I'm writing this letter one month past your 8th birthday...time has such a way of flying by. Your birthday falls at the end of school every year (this year the last day of school was 5/25 and your birthday was 2 days later) and that is always such a crazy time. Plus this year, we moved back into our house just two weeks before your birthday. Now one month later we are getting settled into our home and into our summer routine.

You had an up and down year I would say, but mostly up and you definitely finished strong. You started off your 8th year with a broken arm which was not a good way to start the summer. That meant no swim team last summer but you did swim this year and had a pretty good time, I think. You even made it to the All Star meet for breast stroke. That's pretty darn good after missing all of last season.





Other than swimming, you also played baseball this year. You were part of a great team and had so much fun. You really improved over the season and your team ended up going to the championship game. Your lost and it was heartbreaking but it was so exciting to watch!



This was your first year of Cub Scouts and I think you really enjoyed it...campouts, archery, bb gun shooting, what's not to love! I'm hoping that you'll want to do it again next year.




You had an up and down year at school. You are such a bright, energetic kid and you really excel at math. But there are some subjects you don't love and those don't get your full attention (spelling, writing, penmanship). You ended up getting two Cs one marking period and daddy and I got pretty upset with you. But you worked hard the rest of the year and ended up getting mostly Bs with an A in math. Daddy and I were very proud of you at the end of the year. I'm really hoping that you find your groove with school...maybe 3rd grade will be the year. You have so many years of schooling ahead of you and I just wish you enjoyed it more.



Another big accomplishment this year was making your First Communion. We were so proud of you.



This was the year that you finally started losing some teeth. This is such a great snaggl-tooth photo. I love it! And for some reason this year you decided to start growing your hair out. For years you've had your hair cut super short--"a number 2 all over." I definitely like the longer locks but I think you were a little disappointed at first. I think you thought it was going to grow out straight and you kept trying to plaster it down with gel and other products. It is definitely not straight and I think you've decided to go with it. I think it is just so darn cute!





I love you Jackson. You keep my on my toes and brighten my days.

Love,
Mom

Happy Father's Day

We had a kind of low key father's day but great none the less. Breakfast in bed for Jim then off to see Fantastic Four in the afternoon. A big steak dinner to polish it all off.

The day really doesn't do justice to how much you mean to our family. You are a great dad...so much better than my words can describe. You are definitely a hands on, feet wet, bed wrestling kind of Dad. The 3 Js adore you and so do I. I could never do this without you. I love you.

Wine Country

Three weeks since my last post...can't seem to get the hang of this blogging thing. We've been so busy. This happens to me every year. The last two weeks of school is a crazy time...performances, ceremonies, parties, gifts, swim team, etc. Throw into the mix that Jackson and Jordan also have their birthdays during that time period...gets really crazy. This year we also planned a trip to Sonoma for the first weekend after school got out so I've been busy trying to get ready for that. Now we're back from an awesome trip and I hope the lazy days of summer can settle in.

We had a great trip to Sonoma with two other couples (the Enochses and the Kimberlins). Denise came to stay the kids and they (the kids) had a great time. I think Denise did too. She did a great job--even took them to the Space Center for an outing and had two of their friends sleep over. She's brave!

I had never been to that part of the country before but had always wanted to go. Now I want to live there...if I had an extra couple of million dollars laying around. The scenery is just gorgeous. It really seems like you could be in France or Italy. We visited mostly small wineries that I had never heard of and we had awesome experiences--tours, private tastings, beautiful lunches. I'd definitely like to go back some day and see Napa Valley.

Happy Birthday Jordan!!

More than a week has passed since your birthday which was May 11th (last Friday) aka "the day we moved back into our house" so it was and has been a busy birthday week! This was a big one...you turned 10. Double digits. Wow.

I'm going to relate a story that illustrates what a terriffic person you are. A day or two before your birthday Daddy and I were talking to you about how the timing is so bad for celebrating your birthday because we were in the throes of moving from the temporary apartment back into the house. We were explaining that we hadn't even gotten you a gift yet. We were feeling so guilty and neglectful as parents and promised to make it up to you. We told you that on Saturday or Sunday we would go out and get you whatever you wanted (this is safe to say to you becuase you never want much; if we ever said such a thing to your brother we'd have to be prepared to just hand over our wallets). A lot of kids I know would whine and complain and be pouty about it but not you. You said, "that's okay; moving back into our house is the best present." Wow.



It is almost the end of the school year. 4th grade is coming to a close and it's onward and upward to 5th grade. You had a great year at school...a teacher you really clicked with, great friends in your class, awesome grades, a spot on the "Rockin' Recorders," and now a spot on the safety patrol for next year.



This was also your first year of gymnastics competition. You did great and had a great time with your team. You continue to love gymnastics and still want to do it again next year.



The gymnastics practice schedule doesn't leave much time for other activities but you are on the GTR Gators swim team for another year. This marks your 5th year on the team. Every summer we have so much fun being part of the swim team even though it means getting up at the crack of dawn every Saturday for 6 weeks and daily swim practices. As I write this you and Jackson are at the first dual swim meet of the season with Daddy. I can't wait to see how you do this year.



All in all you had a great year even through all the upheaval in our lives. You've been so adaptable to all the moves we've had to make (first to the house on Fern Creek, then to the apartment, then to a second apartment, and finally back to our house on Misty River) and have continued to thrive. Hopefully in the next year there will be more stability in our lives and you will thrive even more and really enjoy the year of being 10!

You always make me and Daddy so proud in everything you do. We love you, Jordan!

One of Those Days

Just because I feel like whining, this is how my day went:
* 5:30 a.m. alarm goes off. I get up at about 5:40 and start a pot of coffee. Drink coffee and check e-mail.
* 6:00 a.m. shower
* 6:30 a.m. wake up kids (one was sleeping in my bed since Jim is out of town so that one was easy).
* 6:30 - 7:27 a.m. Get kids dressed, fed, lunches made, etc. Yell at Jordan for backtalk. Off to school for 7:30 a.m. parent/child book club meeting before school starts. Late as usual.
* 8:06 a.m. back to the apartment to get Jensen's things for school and put my makeup on since I didn't have time to do it before.
* 8:40 a.m. Take Jensen to school. Get there about 8:55...late as usual.
* 9:00 a.m. Go to house on Misty River to unpack more boxes.
* 9:30 a.m. Meet with landscaper. Go to his nursery to see some stone selections. Get call from city inspector that he is at my house and needs to get in. Rush back to house.
* 10:00 a.m. House passes mechanical inspection...the last inspection (we think).
* 10:30 a.m. Back to landscaper and off to see a few houses he's done.
*11:00 a.m. Bed Bath and Beyond to get items for the bed, bath, and beyond. The list is endless.
* 1:00 p.m. Drop off beach towels to be monogrammed for birthday gifts. Pick up lunch on the way back to house.
*1:30 p.m. Back at house to unpack a few more boxes and wait for people from Star Furniture to show up to fix something they delivered last week.
* 2:00 p.m. No guys from Star furniture yet, but I have to leave to go pick Jensen up from school.
* 2:30 p.m. Back to apartment to pack up kids' gear for swim practice. Head out to pick Jackson and Jordan up from school.
* 3:00 p.m. Back to house. Wait for guys from Star Furniture. Kids play out on the street with other neighbor kids. That is awesome!
* 4:45 p.m. Neighbor Jen takes Jackson and Jordan to swim practice for me (love her) since I am still waiting for guys from Star Furniture.
* 5:20 p.m. Guys finally show up. Fix the problem while they sweat all over everything.
* 5:55 p.m. Guys are done in the nick of time and I leave to go pick up kids at swim practice. Rush back to house, kids inhale leftover pizza and change clothes.
* 6:30 p.m. Last Cub Scout meeting of the year.
* 7:45 p.m. Meeting over; head back to apartment.
* 8:00 p.m. Get kids showered, in pjs and off to bed.
* 9:00 p.m. Ahhhhh.

Wow

It's been over two months since I last updated here. There's been many times that I've wanted to post, but felt overwhelmed with the need to catch everyone up to date. So much has gone on in the past two months that I just never knew where to start. So I decided not to. I decided just to start fresh tonight with what happened today. And what happened today was Jackson's First Communion.

You'll never see him look so angelic, pious and clean so take a good look. We were so proud of him today. He made it through another school year of CCE and was definitely ready for this big day.

Being in church today felt good. Most weeks we're there I'm so worried about whether or not the kids are behaving, whether or not they're disturbing the people around them, etc. to pay much attention to what's actually going on. Today, though, I had a definite feeling that this was a good place to be. Whenever we're at church I do three things. 1). I thank God for getting Jim and I through our recent tough times without killing each other and now that we are preparing to move back into our house I thank Him more and more. 2). I pray for Him to keep all of our family safe and healthy. And, 3). I ask God to help me be a better mother. I always feel the need when I'm there to pray for some help in being the best parent I can be. I don't know if He hears me or feels the need to intercede but I always feel the need for a little extra help.

Anyway, to celebrate Jackson's accomplishment we planned lunch at The Aquarium restaurant downtown. It is a pretty cool place and we all really enjoyed it. Surrounding the restaurant is a little amusement park with a ferris wheel, train ride, arcade games, etc. We spent a little time doing that stuff before heading back home. Jackson had a baseball practice in the afternoon then Jim had to catch a flight out of town for the next few days. I think Jackson had a good day and is definitely excited to have made his First Communion and able to "take the bread" at church each week along with Jordan. I definitely had a good day...feeling very proud of my son and loving my family.

Here's a funny story. When we were driving out of the church parking lot, Jackson said, "Mom, I think that woman over there is wearing the same dress you are." I looked across the parking lot and saw a 75 year old woman wearing a dress, while not exactly the same, remarkably similar to mine. And when I left the house this morning I thought, "hey, I look pretty good in this dress." Hmmm.

February 12 on the 12th....or 13th...or whenever

Due to Heather posting hers I figured I better get on the ball so here's my 12 on the 12th. Although I actually forgot on the 12th so these pics were mostly taken on the 13th.


* 4:24. That's a.m. people. This is Jim's alarm clock that went off at that time. The only problem was that Jim was out of town so I had to climb across the bed at this ungodly hour and shut the thing off.

* My alarm went off at 5:15. Crazy.

* I went to school early to help Jordan collect data for her science fair project--who has better balance, boys or girls?

* Our house as it is today.

* Filled up the Suburban today. I think the gas was $2.02 / gallon.

* Been spending a lot of time at Home Depot lately. I think Wal-Mart is getting jealous.

* The roses Jim got me for Valentine's day. He had to leave town Monday afternoon (V-day was wednesday and he was still going to be out of town). So thoughtful of him to get me flowers in advance.

* As I said, Jim left Monday to go to Chicago. Today (Tues.) he was flying to Toronto, Canada. He forgot that you now need a passport to travel to Canada. He found out that they'll let him into Canada without it; but he won't be able to get back into the States without it. I had to find his passport and Fed Ex it to him in Toronto. Since I'm writing this after the fact I can say that the passport got stopped in immigration and I was very nervous that he wouldn't make his flight back to the States on Friday (not normally a big deal but we were having Jensen's birthday party on Saturday). He was able to pick up his passport and make his flight in time thank goodness. So happy to have him home.

* The door to our temporary apartment. I can't wait for the time when I'll never have to see this door again.

* Jackson writing out his Valentine's for the class party tomorrow.

* 130 sugar cookies that I picked up for the 4th grade class for the Valentine's parties tomorrow.

* My last task of the day was to put together gift bags for the 3 Js for Valentine's day. They each got a giant Hershey Kiss, some other candy and a dvd---Jordan got Flicka, Jackson got Open Season, and Jensen got Cinderella III.

Some more photos with my new lens

These are from Jackson's cub scout Blue and Gold banquet last Thursday. The first is Jackson's centerpiece he made. He named it Bob.

The next is just Jackson. So cute.

January 12 on the 12th

I'm ready to post February, but thought I better get January done first so here goes:

January 12th was a Friday.

1. I usually start my day here...at the computer. Checking e-mail, reading the news and weather, etc. It's my morning quiet time with my coffee and cookies. Can't start my day without it.

2./3./4. I went up to Shadow Forest for some volunteer work. While I was there I checked out Jackson's piece in the Writing Gallery. This was big for him since he's doesn't much care for writing. His story was cute and very inventive...The Evil Kangaroo.

5./6. Pictures Jensen took of Jim and I.

7. The tile work in our master bathroom is almost done and I love it!!

8. Our house as it is today.

9. School pick up. Gave Madison a ride home today.

10. New York Pizzeria. Picked up a large Greek pizza to take to Jen's for girl's night out. Love the Greek pizza. Love the girls.

11. Heather and her new fancy pants Donna Downey camera bag.

12. A toast with the girls. Tried a new drink...an Italian cocktail with champagne, vodka, lemon, mint. Some of my favorite things, but the drink was just so-so. Toasting with the girls was awesome though! Love them, need them, so glad I have them.

Running Water!

First electricity, and now this

This was the first picture taken with my new camera lens--a 50mm f/1.4. Thanks to Heather for the enabling. And thanks to Jim for the purchasing!

Bridgefest

Jordan ran in a 1 mile kid's race on Saturday sponsored by our local YMCA. Look at her. She looks so happy. You'd never know it was 8:30 in the morning and only 35 degrees.

Catching Up

Since it's almost Feb. 12th, I figured I'd better post my December 12 on the 12th. The problem with waiting this long to do it is you forget why you took a lot of the pictures! Here goes, to the best of my recollection.

This was a Tuesday and we had a parent/child book club meeting at Shadow Forest. We meet at 7:30 a.m. before school starts. Jordan and I read the book The Lemonade Trick. The 3rd picture shows the room at school where we house all the books for the bookclub. This year, I chair the PTA Literacy Committee and the Book Club is one of the things I'm in charge of so I'm in this little room quite a bit.

Since it was a Tuesday, it was also a day I volunteer in the Library. the first picture in the second row shows Jordan's class lining up to go back to their classroom after their library time. It was "crazy hat" day and most of the kids were wearing Santa hats. I volunteer in the library every Tuesday--one week I'm there for Jordan's library time, the next week I'm there for Jackson's. I like this volunteer job because it's short and sweet. You are in and out in 30 minutes and the kids get to see you there and they love it. I check their books in, shelve the books, help them find new books, then check their books out. You get to meet and greet all the kids in the class and they get to know who you are.

This was the last week of school before Christmas vacation and class parties were going to be held on Friday. I head up the 4th grade room moms and we got together this day to put together the supplies for the party on Friday. The next picture shows all the goody bags we assembled for the 4th grade. The funny thing is the main activity we had for the class was for them to play Bunco. It was so easy and the kids loved it!

This was a school volunteer intensive week. Most weeks I am not at school this much.

If you look closely at the picture of my rearview mirror, you'll see that the temperature reads 75 degrees. On December 12th it was 75 degrees! Pretty cool how I can see myself with my camera in the mirror.

Off to Wal-Mart for some power Christmas shopping.

Next stop is Pier One for some ornaments to give as teacher gifts, hostess gifts, etc. Plus one for each of the kids and one for me. I love the Le Bien ornaments they have there that are hand painted ON THE INSIDE of the ornament. I've bought one for each of the kids the last two years to start a collection for them that I'll give to them when they have their first tree on their own. I had started this collection before our fire but have since had to start over. I hope they continue to make these ornaments for a long time.

The next picture shows the Le Bien ornament I bought for myself last year. This year I bought another heart ornament for myself.

Next is our little Christmas tree in the apartment. It's actually the tree that we bought the kids to have up in their playroom. It was the right size and fit the bill as our main tree this year.

Ahhhhh, love this picture. This was an early Christmas present from Jim. A beautiful new Coach bag that I absolutely love.

Our house in it's current state.

Let There Be Light

For a brief shining time last week lights were actually on in my house. This is the first time in over a year and a half that lights have been illuminated at the house. It was a very exciting moment. Currently the house is just hooked up to the temporary electric pole in the yard. The electrician still needs to run a permanent cable from the transformer to our house. This requires 2 or 3 days of no rain in order for them to dig the trench (this has to be 3 feet deep), lay the cable, have an inspector come out to look at it, and then bury the cable. I'm not sure when this will be but hopefully soon. In the meantime...light definitely brings hope.

Happy Birthday Jensen!

Happy #4! Wow, what a year you have had. You've grown so much...definitely not a baby anymore and not even really a toddler, but a full-fledged kid. And one with a king-sized personality to boot. You definitely rule the roost around here and don't take any guff from anyone. Being around Jackson and Jordan, you've really learned to stand up for yourself and the things you want. Your pre-school teachers always say to me, "We know who runs your house." I'm not saying that's necessarily a good thing, but it's just the way it is.
You're in pre-K 3 and attend school three days per week. Most days you love it but for some reason you really detest "circle time." All I can get out of you is that it's "boring." This may be something you've picked up from Jackson but whatever the reason, you don't like it. Other than that minor detail, you like school and have fun when you're there. You are still a girly-girl prefering to wear dresses or skirts rather than pants. You love "nake-up" as you call it and are always in there when I'm putting mine on. It finally got to the point that I bought you a few of your own make-up items and some brushes so that you can have your own and use them at the same time I'm putting my make-up on. You always ask for nail polish and I even took you to the nail salon once with me for a mani/pedi! You love to play dress up and do "hair styles." You love your babies, Barbies, and stuffed animals. And I love watching you play with all these things.
You've recently started playing on the "compuga." I think you finally got tired of watching from the sidelines while Jordan and Jackson were doing things on the computer. Your favorite websites to visit are barbie.com and disney.com. I've really got to investigate some more educational sites for you to go to.

You've been through so much upheaval over the past year and a half but hopefully not a lot of it will become part of your permanent memory. Daddy and I have really tried to make life as normal for you as possible after our fire and I pray that we have done an okay job of it. Our house is getting closer to being completed and us being able to move back in. I hope when I'm writing this letter to you next year that you are happily ensconced in your own room filled with things you love.

I love you, Jensen Marie.
Mom