A Shutterbug's Escape

It's been forever...but it's still me...

2011-02-10T21:54:00.003-06:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted...I can't believe I still have a Christmas background and it's February! Life has just steadily been going by and I keep trying to keep all the balls in the air! We are so busy these days! It's funny how when your kids are babies you think you are so busy, but really it's nothing compared to when they get older! I keep thinking they will slow down and not need me as much! When really, they need you even more and for different things! I am a taxi driver, tutor, coach, teacher, and tons of other things for my kids! I absolutely love being a mother and staying home is tough to do but I think it's totally worth it. I miss working but honestly I don't know where I would find the time to do everything if I did work! I'm sure if I had to I could but it's definitely nice not having to. I feel so blessed to have the life I have...a friend told me yesterday that she loved me but was jealous of me because I "had it all together". What a compliment! I was shocked. I must put on a good show because I definitely don't have it all together! I struggle just like everyone else. My kids drive me crazy, I yell at my husband, I get down sometimes, my house is a mess. I am definitely just like every other mom out there who feels discouraged and gets frustrated having to say the same thing or do the same thing a hundred times a week! And here I am in February and haven't blogged since December! I will not feel bad about it. I will not feel bad about it. I will not feel bad about it! haha I wonder how many times I need to type that to be able to believe it! So here I am posting that I have been to busy to post! Haha I'll have to figure out how to catch up! I think I'll start with the background....we'll go from there! Check back soon!!

Brr!

2010-12-14T11:07:00.000-06:00

It's chilly down South!!! Check out the icicles on our mailbox today! It finally feels like winter!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (isn't that the coolest thing?!)

War Eagle!

2010-11-24T23:36:00.003-06:00

Michael, Christopher and I spent Homecoming Weekend in Auburn enjoying the win against UT-Chattanooga! We enjoyed the game, tailgating, the bookstore afterwards, Toomer's Corner, dinner at the Cock of the Walk, and Mass the next morning at St.Michael's where our friend, Fr.Bill is pastor. It was a fabulous weekend spent with two of my favorite guys!!! Go Tigers! War Eagle!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Matthew!

2010-11-24T22:57:00.000-06:00

My sweet baby boy turned three this month! Had to share a few pics from his party! He picked a pirate theme and I had fun creating a pirate cake for him. We had some family and friends over to share the fun! We had a huge pirate ship moonwalk in the driveway and the kids wore each other out jumping and looking for treasure! It was a GREAT day to celebrate Matthew's birthday! He had a blast at his party but is still asking "What happened to my jumpy?" To funny! He thinks it's just "put away"! A wonderful party for a wonderful boy!

Happy Halloween a little late...

2010-11-24T22:44:00.002-06:00

Now that it's Thanksgiving....I'm finally getting around to posting my Halloween picture! It's been a busy few weeks...The kids had a ball...Matthew kept telling everyone to "put yer hands up!", Katie Ann was stinging everyone with her jellyfish "tentacles" and Christopher was hopping around singing "La Cucaracha!" in his Mexican jumping bean suit! I made all their costumes...It was a fun Halloween to say the least...I ate waaay to much candy though and am back on the diet wagon! Hope you all had a great one!

St. Dominic Midget Football Season 2010

2010-10-31T11:32:00.002-05:00

I made a slideshow for Christopher's football party to hightlight the season! I love the song Micheal suggested, "The Boys of Fall" by Kenny Chesney. It's a great song for football season! Make sure you pause the playlist at the bottom of the page before you hit play!

Snoozing (???) at the Zoo

2010-10-24T22:02:00.005-05:00

Last weekend, I got out of my comfort zone and went on my first ever camping trip with my Daisy Scout Troop! We traveled to Hattiesburg, Mississippi for the Hattiesburg Zoo Snooze! Of course, I brought my camper extraordinaire husband and son to "pitch" our tent and get us settled! Several siblings including Matthew and Christopher and husbands stayed the night camping as well. The girls had a great time exploring the zoo on a flashlight tour as well as several animal encounters with a baby alligator, snake, african grey parrot and some sort of lizard! We rode the train and learned a great camp song called "Bazooka Bubblegum"! It was a blast! Until of course it was time to bed down.....I don't think I slept a wink! I was trying to get comfortable on about 6 inches of an air mattress with Christopher and Katie Ann kicking me all night and people talking, laughing, coughing, sneezing, trains roaring by, and all sorts of sounds....I am NOT used to sleeping outside!!! Can you tell? Next time, if there is a next time!! I will be bringing my own cot and a set of ear plugs!!! The girls really enjoyed our Junior Girl Scouts, Riley and Kellan, teaching them the Bazooka Bubble Gum Song even though we didn't have an actual campfire! Maybe next time we can enjoy some s'mores and s'more songs!

Ready for some one on one pumpkin time...

2010-10-24T21:36:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it's the middle of October already! This is one of my favorite months! I love pumpkins and my children do too...Matthew had a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with his Mom's Day Out class last week and had a great time posing for pictures, listening to a story and picking out the perfect pumpkin to bring home! I had fun watching Matthew play on the playground with his little group of buddies afterwards...It brought back memories of Christopher and Katie Ann's field trips and how we had to "visit" the pumpkins several times before October flew by...

Blastin' past the competition!

2010-10-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

Christopher's football team continues to dominate in the midget division! Last week they beat the St.Pius Cardinals 38-0, one week after beating the Cottage Hill Warriors 34-0! This team works together extremely well! This Saturday, the boys are up against St. Ignatius. If they can win this week and next week, they will be Toy Bowl bound!

Feed the birds...

2010-10-11T00:06:00.005-05:00

Katie Ann, Matthew and I had fun "going green" today making bird feeders from pinecones out of our neighbor's yard!

WAR EAGLE!

2010-10-06T23:12:00.004-05:00

I've been feeling pretty crafty lately and since we are in the middle of Auburn football season, I decided to make a cute wreath for our front door! The kids have been cheering the tigers on and Christopher is thrilled with our 6-0 record at the moment! The Tigers have some tough games coming up but I have three little ones who are definitely rooting for them!!

Daisies at the park!

2010-10-06T22:21:00.001-05:00

My sweet Daisy Troop met at Municipal Park last Sunday for some fun in the sun! The girls had a great time feeding the ducks, running on the playground, playing hopscotch and learning to play 4-square! Just some good old-fashioned fun!

Defeated the Cougars!

2010-10-06T22:10:00.001-05:00

Christopher's team was able to defeat the undefeated Corpus Christi Cougars on Saturday 14-0! It was a really tough game but the boys were blocking really well on offense and were able to score! Christopher made several key tackles on defense and had a great time playing linebacker! He is loving football season again this year!
Go Eagles!

Go Jags!

2010-10-06T22:02:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to show off this layout I did for a friend whose daughter was on the front page of the newspaper! We have really been having fun at South Alabama football games this year!! Go Jags!

EAGLES SOAR!!!

2010-09-11T20:02:00.005-05:00

Christopher had his first football game of the season today! We cheered them on despite the heat and then the pouring rain!! The boys played a GREAT game and BEAT St.Pius 6-0! Ted Prescott had two AWESOME interceptions and I caught one of them on camera! Jennings Clayton played a great game as QB while Carson and Christopher were terrific as defensive end and linebacker! Christopher also played every snap on offense as the center! I think the only time he came off the field was for half-time! He had a FANTASTIC time and is THRILLED that football season is here again!!! WAY TO GO EAGLES WAY TO GO!!!!

Labor Day Picnic

2010-09-11T19:32:00.005-05:00

We spent Labor Day not laboring but having fun at my parent's house! We had a great time hanging out with my sister and husband, my brother and his family and my parents. The kids played baseball in the front yard, chased each other, climbed the tree and of course picked up tons of acorns...it's fun hanging out with "the cousins"!

We love our grandparents!

2010-09-11T19:28:00.001-05:00

Eighth grade and First grade recently had Grandparents Day at school. Of course, my mom and dad were there as they always are when the kids are involved! I feel so blessed to have them literally right around the corner. They are such wonderful grandparents and I love the special relationship they share with my children. They truly go the extra mile ALL THE TIME! Matthew is extremely close to his papaw and asked to go to "papaw's houe" almost daily! I hope they can always have that special time together! The other very special thing about this day was I got to meet Katie Ann's Eighth Grade Big Sister! Katie Ann was super excited because not only is her name Catie (!!) but she gets to share Catie with one of her best friends, Mia! They will do several fun activities with their Big Sister through the year!

Daisy Scouts!

2010-09-11T19:09:00.000-05:00

Just thought I would show off my new crop of Daisies! Scouts that is....aren't they adoable? We had our first meeting last Sunday. I have 21 (HOLY COW!!) girls in my troop!! We have just about doubled from last year! We lost one girl who switched schools but we have gained 11 new girls this year!!! It should make for a really FUN year! The girls are holding the milk jugs they decorated to save coke tabs in for a service project through the local Ronald McDonald house. We will save the coke tabs all year and turn them in in the spring. The girls had a great time decorating!! They are all about the craft projects! My kind of girls!
This Sunday we have our Investiture and Rededication ceremony. It is going to be at the Botanical Gardens! I've been hard at work planning and getting ready! I just wish I could somehow control these scattered showers and keep them away!
I'm looking forward a really fun year with these sweet girls!!!

Back to school...

2010-08-30T23:07:00.003-05:00

I know we've been back to school for about two weeks now and I'm behind on posting my pictures but it's been CRAZY!!! Trying to manage all of our extracurriculars with all the homework has been a full time job in the afternoons! I'm working it out though and all is well! Katie Ann is loving first grade and Christopher is really enjoying fourth grade. We're looking forward to another great year!!

Now I sit me down in school....

2010-08-02T00:53:00.005-05:00

It really drives me crazy that the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer are not allowed in most public schools anymore because the word 'God' is mentioned.....

A kid in Arizona wrote the following and I thought it was terrific!
Sorry if I offend any of you whose children attend public school, I don't mean to, I'm just a little passionate about this issue! Figured I would post this as we are all getting ready to go BACK TO SCHOOL next week!

NEW School prayer:

Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule
For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene..
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all..
In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks...
They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.
It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong..

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles..
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen

A battle for the ages...my countdown begins!

2010-07-29T01:18:00.003-05:00

So right now, 20 castaways are in Nicaragua filming the 21st season of my all-time favorite show, SURVIVOR (did I really need to tell you?!) It's only been a month or so since Heroes vs. Villians ended but I'm already itching for some new challenges! I've been searching my favorite sites lately for info on the upcoming season and they have FINALLY posted some stuff for me to read and salivate over!
The next edition of SURVIVOR will be a battle for the ages...literally. The 20 new castaways will be divided into two Tribes of 10: Young vs. Old. The Espada Tribe, made up of individuals over the age of 40, must prove they have the life experience and knowledge that will ultimately help them Outwit and Outlast their younger competitors. The La Flor Tribe, consisting of individuals 30 years of age and younger, will have to use their youth and vitality to Outplay and ultimately Outlast their elders. Who will prevail: youth or maturity? I can't wait to see how it all plays out!!! The most surprising piece of this puzzle is that my favorite show is switching nights and I'm not real sure yet how I feel about it!
SURVIVOR: NICARAGUA premieres in its new night on Wednesday, Sept. 15th! When the series began in the summer of 2000 with one of my favorite players ever (Richard Hatch) it aired on Wednesday nights so who knows what we're in store for??!!

one year older...

2010-07-26T22:33:00.003-05:00

It's that day again...my birthday! 36 and counting now...sitting here tonight alone just thinking over the years I've had...feeling nostalgic. I don't normally pour my heart out on my blog but I feel I've been neglecting my sweet little piece of the internet so I thought I would ramble for a little while...
I truly can't imagine my life being any differently than it is RIGHT NOW. Of course we all dream of more money, more travels, more whatever...but honestly I'm perfectly content being just who I am and where I am in life. I just feel so blessed and sometimes darn lucky. My husband leaves me speechless. He works so hard providing for our family but really and truly he fills my soul with happiness in so many ways that I can't ever seem to explain. I am so proud to be married to him. He completes me in a way that no one else does. He understands me (most of the time anyway! can women ever really be understood?) and loves me despite all of my many faults and shortcomings. I am truly married to my best friend. He still "does it for me" if you know what I mean! Sometimes at night when we are just watching "Lie to Me" or some other show we are addicted to, I'll look over and my eyes will tear up just thinking about how lucky I am to be married to such a wonderful funny sweet man. My favorite thing is just the fact that since day one Michael has alway been able to make me laugh. And let me tell you, I've been through some things in the past 14 years of marriage that I needed a laugh! It's funny how sometimes it feels I've always been married to Michael, like my life before was someone else's or something. It's odd but I'm sure some of you out there can relate. I feel like God really knew what he was doing the day Michael walked into my Anatomy and Physiology class and made my heart do a little flip flop! God has truly blessed me in many ways and I can't say enough prayers of thanksgiving. It's funny, Christopher was gone to karate camp and then to his cousin's house in Birmingham for a week and a half recently, and I REALLY missed him! So much so that when it was time for him to come home and Katie Ann to have her turn at the cousins I didn't really want her to go...my children are such a part of me that sometimes I don't even want to be away from them at all. Being a mom is definitely the best job I have ever been given. I cry whenever I think of my mom's piece of advice when I was pregnant with Christopher...that a mom's main job in life is to prepare her children for the day when they will leave home and be on their own. I hate thinking of that day...I simply love enjoying the day to day things my children say and do. Yes they drive me crazy arguing, fighting, getting on each other nerves and mine but deep down I have no idea what I would do without them. It's funny, after I had Katie Ann, I thought to myself "We have this perfect little family, one boy, one girl. We're good!" I never thought we'd have a third and after the horrible pregnancies I had I didn't really want to go down that road again! But God had other plans...Matthew was my sweet blessing and surprise! And now I have no idea why I didn't think I wanted a third. He helps me remember all the funny things Christopher and Katie Ann did when they were little but he has all of his own funny little quirks as well...my heart is full of love and adoration of them. Being a mom is amazing...I can't even explain the emotions sometimes...I know all of you mothers out there know what I'm talking about...
So I'm feeling pretty blessed tonight...blessed to have my awesome family, my parents and siblings, blessed to have my faith, and blessed to be surrounded by some amazing friends. I read a friend's blog tonight talking about her attending a high school reunion and something stood out to me. She said that those were not the "best years of her life" as some people state. I totally agree...my life since high school has gotten so much better! College was fun, being newly married was great but growing older and experiencing children and marriage and friendships like I have now has definitely been the best....so I'm happy I guess you can say. Happy in that I have some amazing friends who love me. I simply can't believe I had over 50 people wish me happy birthday on facebook today! CRAZY! Totally funny thing though, my iphone dings everytime I get an email so it was dinging all day today and at one point I looked down at my phone and I had 72 emails! Too funny! So it's really nice to know that I have friends out there who would be there if I needed them and I have a ton who are there everyday just checking in and seeing how my life is going....I'm so blessed to have so many, I just hope I'm a good a friend to them...so I'm rambling but hey it's my birthday so I'm entitled...! But anyway....I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to just get a few thoughts out there...36 is only a number, it's all about what's going on during those years that really counts!

Atlanta 2010

2010-07-15T23:59:00.002-05:00

I'm finally getting around to posting this slideshow from our Atlanta trip. I only had 650 pictures to go through! The summer is speeding by....I can't believe school is only a few weeks away! I've been trying to soak up the sun and enjoy my little ones while I have them! Just a quick recap...we had a blast in Atlanta...we stayed busy and enjoyed the Coca-Cola Museum, Aquarium, the Zoo, Six Flags and a Braves vs. Phillies game that of course the Braves won! It was a great trip and we hope to visit again soon!

Pickin and Grinnin

2010-06-23T20:12:00.001-05:00

It's been so long since I've posted and we've done so much that's it's going to take forever to get caught up but I wanted to post these pictures from yesterday! My mom, Cherie and I took the kids blueberry picking at Betty's Blueberry Farm! Not only did we pick 8 pounds of blueberries but we hit the jackpot with the biggest blackberries I've ever seen! The kids were so excited to pick the berries and actually stood by the trees eating them as they picked! Betty's is a great little place out in the country that took us away from the rat race of daily life if only but a short time. It was so nice to just be out in nature picking berries instead of buying them off the shelf at WalMart! And it's definitely cheaper! Matthew, Katie Ann and Ella had fun playing with a cat and several dogs, quacking at some baby ducks and looking at several peacocks and chickens while Christopher and Bain went off exploring the farm. The boys are the ones who found the blackberries in the back of the farm. Cherie and I were like addicts picking berries! Everytime one of us would say we'd had enough, the other would say "okay" and then we'd pass a really good bush and go right back at it! We could barely walk away from these gigantic berries! I've now put most of them in the freezer for pancakes, waffles and muffins but some are in the frig waiting for yogurt, cereal or just eaten right from the bag!

Mad Hatter's Tea Party!

2010-05-20T07:45:00.001-05:00

Caught up in the spirit of the recent Alice in Wonderland craze, the kindergartners had their own Mad Hatter's Tea Party last week! I was very excited to help them make and decorate hats and even made myself and Stephanie hats to wear! The kids paraded around the school sporting their creations and then we all went out to the field for a picnic! We had a great time posing and pretending for pictures! Katie Ann was so excited that I dressed up and played the part as well! If you want to make your own hat (like mine)....it's really easy! All you need is about 2 feet of bulletin board paper in the color of your choice, masking tape, a glue gun, tulle and artificial flowers! It helps if you can have someone else to assist you as well. Put the bulletin paper over someone's head and form fit. Wrap masking tape around it to form the dome, roll the edges and shape it however you would like, tie tulle or ribbon around it to hide the tape and add flowers! EASY! It would be fun to make hats for a Kentucky derby party or Easter parade! Have fun with it and enjoy Spring while it lasts!

For Lindsey...

2010-05-13T00:01:00.003-05:00

My friend Jessica is painting canvases to help offset her niece, Lindsey's, medical costs for a minimum donation of $30 each (shipping not included). Her 5 year old is battling brain cancer. The canvases are all 16x20 and customized just for you! If you would like to order one, let me know! They make great baby shower, wedding, graduation and birthday gifts! Jessica is extremely creative and has great taste! Please email me or leave comments here if you are interested in ordering! If you would like to see a larger picture of Jessica's flyer simply click on it!

One more project...

2010-05-11T01:47:00.000-05:00

Hope you all had a very Happy Mother's Day!!!

Time to get creative...

2010-05-11T01:18:00.002-05:00

It's that time of year....TEACHER GIFTS!
Just thought I would share what I made tonight for Matthew's Mom's Day Out teachers...

Mother's Day on the water...

2010-05-11T00:44:00.004-05:00

With news of the oil spill looming, we wanted to take advantage of the time we do have to enjoy being out on the water or atleast that's the excuse I had for skipping out on Katie Ann's Mother's Day soccer game and heading out in the boat! haha! Michael's mom, Pam, came down with our nieces, Dallas and Abby, and nephew, Grant for the weekend and we all had a blast hanging out in the sunshine Sunday afternoon. I can't imagine a better way to spend the day! I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day as well!

It's Showtime!!!

2010-05-10T23:52:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday was Katie Ann's Recital! She and her best friend Ella have been working hard learning their dance routine this year! The Hip Hop Hokey Pokey was absolutely adorable! They had so much fun on stage and wanted to have another go at it! They are already asking about next year! Just wanted to share some of the photos I took backstage!

Rusty and Regan were in the number right behind Katie Ann and Ella...toooo cute!

Mommy's girl lovin' her roses!

Do you Zhu Zhu????

2010-04-28T23:40:00.004-05:00

So do you? My kids do! I'm talking about Zhu Zhu pets, one of the latest of crazes down here! Katie Ann and Matthew LOVE these crazy critters! In case you have NO IDEA what I am referring to, they are these little hamster looking things that run on batteries. They make really funny noises and speed around on wheels that are tucked under their bodies that you can't really see! They totally drive our Schnauzer, Maggie, CRAZY!!!! It's hilarious to watch really. If you see any Zhu Zhu's in your neighborhood, pick some up, they are loads of fun!

Spring Break!

2010-04-11T22:15:00.003-05:00

Spring Break! The kids and I had a great week! We went to the beach twice, shopped, ate out alot, watched "The Diary of a Wimpy Kid", baked cupcakes and RELAXED! It was a well-deserved break and I think we made the best of it! Just thought I would share a few pics from our beach moments! It has been beautiful this week and they are NOT ready to head back to the books!

Our Easter 2010

2010-04-11T21:53:00.005-05:00

So I decided to post all my Easter pictures in one post because I am about week behind! Some of these aren't the greatest because at some point recently I damaged my basic lens and I've since replaced it but more on that later...
We have a wonderful tradition of dying Easter eggs with my mom usally a few days before Easter. This year we did it on Good Friday. I love dying eggs and my kids really get into too!

This was Matthew's first year to dye eggs! Here's the mess we made!

Once we got all the eggs dyed, we HAD to go outside and have an egghunt!

Easter morning, my kids wake up to full Easter baskets and hidden eggs. This year the bunny only hid the real eggs and not any plastic eggs filled with candy! The bunny must have known mommy and daddy have been dieting and didn't need all that extra candy in the house! The kids had a blast finding the eggs and checking out all their loot! Check out our carrot dish! The bunny got an apple to eat this year as well!

We went to church Easter morning as a family even though I had been the night before. Katie Ann had a beautiful new dress to wear that my mom made for her! It's her favorite color (blue) and made with some of my favorite fabric (dotted Swiss)! I loved it! Thanks mom! Matthew wore Christopher's Easter suit from several years back when he was two! It was a favorite of mine that I kept! Christopher looked so handsome in his new shirt and tie and his term not mine "President's coat"! Funny what kids think isn't it? CUTE! I made them all pose for pictures when we got home but it started to rain so we had to run in...We were able to get a family shot later on at my parent's house. I need to take another one with my new lens. This one is isn't very clear. All in all we had a beautiful Easter spent with the Lord and family. I hope you all had the same! Jesus is Risen, Alleluia!

Easter Vigil

2010-04-11T21:30:00.004-05:00

My favorite Mass of the entire year would have to be the Easter Vigil. This is a wonderful night where new members are brought into our church and recieve sacraments such as Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist. I love it because of the beautiful music, the numerous readings showing God's prescence and importance in our lives, and the beauty of new members joining our faith. I was asked this year to photograph the mass and was quite honored to have the opportunity...I just thought I would share a few of my favorites here!
Mass begins outside St.Dominic Church with Fr.Jim lighting the new Easter candle with Deacon Connick's help.

Doesn't the church look gorgeous in candlelight? This is Deacon Connick brining the new Easter candle into church for the first time. Everyone present lights their own candle from the Easter candle.

Here is a friend of ours, Steven, getting baptized!

This was the last woman to be confirmed and I love this picture because of the joy I could see on her face and the people around her...

I know it may seem strange to take pictures during the Eucharistic prayer but it is such a beautiful prayer and the core of our faith that not documenting it wasn't possible for me....I love to hear the Eucharistic prayer sung the way Fr. Jim sang it that night. I teared up just listening because it truly was a very special moment.

I simply cannot sing enough praises for our wonderful choir! They truly amaze me all the time...it would not be the same without them. I wish I had a voice to join them!

Here are our neophytes posing with Fr.Jim and Fr.Havens! New members of our church! Congratulations!

Happy 40th Cherie!

2010-04-07T10:01:00.007-05:00

I can't believe it's taken me this long to get these pics posted! Two weekends ago, one of my BFF's celebrated her 40th birthday and we went to Birmingham to celebrate! Cherie(the birthday girl), Christina and myself had a fabulous weekend shopping, eating and watching movies in Birminham! We left on Friday morning and didn't come home until Sunday night! We stopped in Greenville, AL to eat lunch at The Smokehouse and enjoyed some yummy home cooked food...I'll have to pass that along to Michael on our next trip! He would love it! We spent the weekend at the Hampton Inn in Colunnades and shopped at The Summit and a ton of others stores in the area. We spent forever in Cherie's favorite TJMaxx! One of my favorite stores was called Swoozies at the Summit! It had all kinds of really cute girly stuff! I was overwhelmed at what to buy! We went out to the movies at Patton Creek Friday night to see Alice in Wonderland. We are all huge Johnny Depp fans so we were quite happy to sit back and enjoy watching the Mad Hatter's gibberish! What an amazingly creative movie! After shopping all day Saturday, we borrowed a dvd player from the hotel and stayed in to watch New Moon!

Sunday was Cherie's actual birthday but we let her open her presents first thing Saturday morning to start off our full day! I had fun with her gifts and ended up going with a "40" theme! She had 40 gifts packed into those boxes and bags!!! All sorts of fun stuff! I had a great time making the "C" to top off the gifts!
Saturday night we ate at PF Changs, her fav restaurant! I was actually quite excited to find that it was delicious!

Especially the "Great Wall of Chocolate" for dessert!!! Talk about falling off the diet wagon! haha! It was totally worth it to spend the time with my friends!
What an awesome weekend of just some good ole girl time! Hope to do it again soon!!!! Happy Birthday Cherie! Love you!

Miles for Maggie!

2010-04-03T15:42:00.001-05:00

This morning I was able to cross off an item on my bucket list that I seriously never thought I would be able to do! As a kid growing up with asthma, and never being a runner by nature, I had major reservations when Michael challenged me to a 5K run a few weeks ago! I have been taking better care of myself, eating right and losing weight (total of 28lbs so far!) and exercising but running has never been my forte! Well, I can now say I've run a 5K and my time wasn't to shabby I don't think! My first goal was to simply finish without needing oxygen or CPR to get me through! But if I did make it I wanted to do it under 45 minutes. I've been running at night in the neighborhood but I've never actually timed myself! So I really didn't know how much time it would take to do it. I can say I ran the whole way except for the last hill, it was seriously kicking my butt! I walked up the hall at a good pace, saw the finishe line and took off! It was an amazing feeling to cross that finish line! Talk about exhilaration!!! My time was 31 minutes and 28 seconds! I was proud of myself for finshing but my competitive nature kicked in and I was even prouder to beat my hubby! He came in a 36 minutes even! The race was a benefit for a local nurse diagnosed with cancer and was set in Daphne with the start and finish at Lott Park. I had never been there so the first mile and a half I was sight-seeing at the churches, homes and flowers along the way! It was a beautiful day with a strong breeze but only running at night kind of makes you forget about that hot sun in your eyes! I was glad I grabbed my sunglasses at the last minute! Just wanted to share a few pics Michael took for me from my phone...they aren't the best but they captured a special moment in my life! Just remember, even if you don't think you can do something, believe in yourself and you will watch it unfold in front of your eyes...don't ever give up!

There's an APP for that!

2010-03-24T10:38:00.004-05:00

A few weeks back my friend, Jessica, who has always been a huge Apple fan wrote a great post on how much she loved her iphone! I totally connected with it and felt compelled to share some of my favorite things about my iphone! I've had mine for about six months or so and it is my favorite little gadget! I of course love my camera and my sewing machines but this little toy is so much fun to take just about anywhere! I love being able to check my email and surf the internet just about anywhere and texting is SO much easier with a full keyboard! I love having my phone, email, internet and ipod all in one place as well! I have had alot of fun searching for apps that do actually help me out on a daily basis! I'll just clue you in on some of my favorites...

One of the really cool things about itunes is that you can arrange your apps on the screen anyway you wish! I have about five "pages" or screens with all my apps organized how I want them! My first page seen above is full of the apps I use the most!
1. Messaging is awesome! Texting is so much easier with the iphone! I love not having to peck out on a little keypad or having to push a number button two or three times! I always ended up "passing it" before and having to start over! It was very frustrating!! I love how my phone stores the texts as well until you delete them yourself!
2. I use my iphone camera ALL THE TIME and I recently downloaded the camcorder and can't wait to try it out!
3. I use the Google app anytime I'm hunting for something online! It's quick and a great search engine.
4. I write all sorts of to do lists and notes to myself on the Notes app! It is awesome to have it all in one place and not having little pieces of paper scattered on my counters and in my car!
5. I use the clock for timers and alarms every day! I also use the calculator on an almost daily basis!
6. The iwant app is pretty amazing if you're looking for a restaurant, gas station or whatever! You just type in whatever you are looking for and the GPS uses your location and gets you to it! Thanks Jess for sharing this terrific app!
7. Facebook is something we are all familiar with and a great social network! I like keeping in touch with people that I don't see very often!
8. Most banks have an app that you can check your account balance, transfer money and make payments on! It is quite handy!
9. Obviously, itunes and app store are on my front page b/c I am on there all the time!

My second page has apps that I don't use daily but enjoy!
1. White Pages and Yellow Pages Mobile are two awesome apps for finding anything in the area! It's totally a mobile phonebook!
2. The Catholic Directory helps me locate churches I am close to and for Mass times. It will also connect you to websites if a parish has one! It is very handy when traveling!
3. BlogPressLite allows me to blog from my iphone! So cool!
4. Pandora is an amazing internet radio that you can pick your own genre and it just fills you in with music!
5. I keep up to date with news stories with Local 15NBC, E!Online, and my favorite, the reality TV buzz! I've gotta get my Survivor fix!
6. Sale Price is an amazing app! If you can't do percentages in your head (like me!) you just type in the original price and then the percentage off and any other coupons or sales and it tells you how much something costs! Really handy for shoppers like me!

My third page is kind of a random group!
1. Rosary app has the prayers of the Rosary and the Bible verses they correlate to. I like the visual pictures and verses when I pray the Rosary.
2. Shazam is really cool! 97.5 WABB here in Mobile is awful about telling you who is singing what song on the radio! Well, I have a solution now! Just hit Shazam and hold the phone up to the radio and it will tell me the artist and song title! Talk about cool technology!
3. Pic2Shop is like the little scanner in the store that tells you how much an item is! Now I don't have to wander all over the store looking for a scanner!
4. SEC Pocket Schedule is a neat little app that keeps me in the know with SEC sports!
5. HPiprint allows me to print pictures directly from my iphone to my printer!
6. iRelax is an app full of soothing sounds and music for relaxation, nice in the car with the kids screaming!

My fourth page/screen is full of fun games that I play sometimes in carpool, waiting on an oil change, on an airplane or whatever! My kids love them too so it keeps them occupied when we are waiting for something as well! My favorite game is the SURVIVOR trivia game! It's the only one I actually paid for!
So as you can see the iphone is a really cool little gadget! I have really enjoyed having mine! So if you're in the market, go to AT&T and check one out!

Spring is on its way...

2010-03-22T09:23:00.003-05:00

Last weekend was absolutely beautiful! We thought Spring was on its way!
65-70 degrees outside and sunny! I took the kids to Botanical Gardens for a few pictures...Matthew was not in the mood so I mostly shot Katie Ann and Christopher...just thought I'd share a few...

Happy St.Patty's Day!

2010-03-22T09:16:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to share some pictures from our St. Patrick's Day! Katie Ann's class went on a Leprachaun hunt! I loved the hat she made! I ended up wearing it all afternoon! Hope you had your green on!!!

Have an Epiphan!e

2010-03-15T21:54:00.003-05:00

What a cool blog! Thanks Angel for sharing! I have found an AMAZING camera bag that I am totally in love with!!! I really want one!!! Will definitely have to start saving up for this one! Go check out this website! They are having an awesome giveaway! You can win a CANON D camera or an airline ticket! So holy cow do you have to ask me which one I would choose??? Isn't it obvious how obsessed I am with CANON? I love mine and all but a new CANON D?? I would totally flip if I won this!!! So go check it out and enter to win!!!!

Technology is simply amazing these days!

2010-03-10T15:49:00.001-06:00

Well this is just a quick test to see if I can actually blog from my iPhone!! I'm not totally convinced that this free app is really going to work! Check it out!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone (isn't that the coolest thing?!)

Hang on to your helmets!

2010-03-07T23:36:00.010-06:00

So maybe I'm a little behind on the times but I've been wanting to see Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, Whip It, for a long time now...and tonight I sat back and totally found a brand new all-time favorite movie!!! I absolutely LOVED it! I've made a playlist of the movie soundtrack for you guys to enjoy (and me too of course!)
I totally love these girls! They are fierce and full of spunk, not afraid to get out there and fly! I have loved Drew Barrymore for a very long time and now I have even more respect for her. She made some huge mistakes when she was young but since then has done nothing but succeed in everything she touches! I love the characters she plays and her zany personality off-screen...
In case you haven't seen the movie and are just a wee bit curious about it...here's the gist...

Bliss Cavendar (Ellen Page) is a misfit in her small town, Bodeen,Texas and has no idea where her life is going. She allows her mother to push her into entering beauty pageant after beauty pageant, despite having no interest in it herself. She and her friend Pash (Alia Shawkat) dream of escaping their small town, with Pash planning to go to an Ivy League School in a big city and Bliss hoping to find something that will help her figure out where she belongs. During a shopping trip to Austin she finds it — roller derby. She and Pash secretly go to the roller derby event in Austin under the pretense of going to a football game. Bliss only wishes to tell the Hurl Scouts that they are "her new heroes" and is suddenly thrown into the idea of being in Roller Derby herself when Maggie Mayhem (Kristen Wiig) replies, "Well, put some skates on. Be your own hero.

Returning to Austin, Bliss tries out for the "Hurl Scouts", a derby team that has never won a game. Having no real experience, Bliss is nevertheless faster than any girl on the team, and makes the cut. Despite the determination of "Razor" (Andrew Wilson) their coach, the other "Scouts" are happy to be number 2 in every game they play. Razor has made such a science out of roller derby that he even prepares "play books". The Scouts have no interest in Razor's coaching until he "persuades" another team to use one of the plays against the Scouts, which they unleash with clockwork precision.
After realizing she needs to be ruthless in Roller Derby, Bliss realizes she also needs to take charge in other aspects of her life and her parents and old friends are eventually able to accept that Roller Derby is where she belongs, even if only for "the moment"
So are you hooked? Check it out...it's definitely worth your time!
Believe it or not we have a Roller Derby league here in Mobile! Maybe I'll be on the lookout for tryouts!! Anyone care to pull out their Barbie skates and go for it??!!
www.mobilerollerderby.com

Miracles Do Happen

2010-03-06T22:02:00.003-06:00

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN
God Can Do the Impossible

Do you believe in miracles?
Sister Briege McKenna does. For over 25 years, since she was healed of crippling arthritis, Sister Briege has ministered hope and healing to countless people all over the world, from huge rallies in Latin America to retreats in Korea. Miracles Do Happen tells the story of Sister Briege's encounter with the healing power of God. It also shares her insights about faith, the power of the Eucharist and the importance of prayer. Most of all, it points the way to a closer relationship with Jesus, greater knowledge of his love, and deeper faith in his power to do the impossible .

This week, my parish, will be Sister Briege's home and I am excited to be able to hear her speak. I have been reading this book and it has really touched my heart. So much of what she writes gives off such a human touch but with such knowledge and strenth that you know the Holy Spirit dwells within her. If anyone is here in Mobile this week, make a point to come to our Lenton Mission at St.Dominic Church, Monday through Thursday with morning sessions at 8AM and evening sessions at 6:30PM. There will also be a special healing Mass on Tuesday at 2PM. I am excited to be a part of this event! Sister Briege is a world-reknowned speaker who has touched many many hearts and healed many souls. I look forward to just being in her presence...

Happy Birthday Stephanie!

2010-03-06T21:10:00.003-06:00

Had to give a shout out to one of my best friends, Stephanie...Happy Birthday!
I love you girl! Here is a layout I completed and framed for her as one of her gifts ...

The Princess Diaries

2010-03-06T17:40:00.004-06:00

I found this kit at Hobby Lobby several months back and had a great idea to put together a scrapbook of Katie Ann and her best friend Ella. They have been best friends for almost four years now...I hope one day they can look back on this album and remember all the fun they've had growing up!

It's Girl Scout Cookie Time!

2010-03-06T17:34:00.002-06:00

Katie Ann has had alot of fun this year in Daisy Scouts! We have eleven girls in our troop and recently had a cookie booth sale! The girls had a great time dressing up in the cookie costumes and harassing people at Lowe's! We had to keep telling them to back away from the door! They were adorable trying to sell as many cookies as they could! I just tried to keep from buying them! I did end up buying a box because Katie Ann was "starving" and HAD TO HAVE some! Her favorite is the new cranberry Thank you berry much cookie! She took a break and ate cookies halfway through the sale! I am very proud of our Daisy group! They sold 1550 boxes of cookies!!! More than any other Daisy Troop in the city!!!

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-15T21:26:00.004-06:00

Saturday night, Michael and I joined numerous friends for the St. Dominic's Valentine Dinner Dance. One of my closest friends, Stephanie, organized this event; and I have been her right hand woman for months now helping make decisions and planning this very special night. It has truly been a lot of fun to plan mainly because Stephanie is so wonderful to work with! The event was held in the Murphy Center at church and I have to brag and say that Stephanie and I truly transformed the room into a romantic setting for a dinner dance. Stephanie obtained a donation of tablecloths, both black and white that really dressed the tables. She and Laura did a wonderful job choosing a dinner menu and caterer as well as organizing friends to bring appetizers! (Insert my antipasti platter here!) I was able to get Laura Kay's Nursery to graciously allow us to borrow hurricane globes and bases to create a beautiful centerpiece with rose petals (Steph's great idea) and greenery cut from our very own bushes outside the Murphy Center! One of our own parishioners,Eva, created our wonderful cupcake wedding cake that was not only beautiful but quite delicious as well! If I haven't stated it already, I'll state it now...Steph and I work very well together! We both love to plan and organize and with her terrific ideas and my creative flair, I think we do a great job together! One of my favorite ideas of hers for this special evening was the "botanical spheres" as I will call them! They've been called floral balls, kissing balls, and flower things but I'll go with the traditional name! Steph saw some at a wedding and asked me to create them. I had a good time with this one! Honestly, it was VERY easy and anyone could do it! It is expensive though so use those coupons and discounts to the best of your ability!! When we were decorating Friday, I was at the top of a 15 foot ladder hanging the botanical spheres from the ceiling with fishing wire! It took awhile to get all five of them even but the effect was amazing! We recieved numerous compliments! All of the couples present renewed their wedding vows and some even opened wedding gifts! Michael and I won a beautiful picture frame! It truly was a wonderful evening of friends, fun, and dancing! I hope we can continue this tradition year after year....

Operation Marshmellow Massacre

2010-02-15T17:36:00.003-06:00

We celebrated Christopher's 9th Birthday this past Saturday with a marshmellow massacre at Cottage Hill Park. We had about 35 kids there! Each one made a marshmellow mazooka, was given a holster full of "ammo", shown how to use the weapon and let loose for a full blown war! The kids had an absolute ball! The party was all Christopher's idea...Michael and I merely executed the plan! My favorite part was coming up with the invitation which you can read above! It was so much fun! Christopher brought his own special made gun from home that had been spray painted black and camoflaged with green and gold paint. The kids at the party made their guns and decorated them with different colored Sharpies. I wanted to spray paint but we were afraid they wouldn't dry in time to use them. The kids didn't mind! Michael split them up into teams and they played a version of Capture the Flag as well as Dodgeball or Dodge Marshmellow rather! Even the girls were into it! I had an incredibly busy week and decided to forgo making Christopher's camo cake myself so I ordered it from Target and then added the "mazooka" myself. Christopher loved it! It was really a great party and I think all the kids and even some of the dads that joined in had an incredible time!

Antipasti anyone?

2010-02-15T17:23:00.003-06:00

So have you ever made something brand new that you've never tried to make before? Was it something you had ever heard of or maybe you weren't quite sure what it was? Well, Friday afternoon I went outside of my comfort zone and made something I've never attempted before! An Antipasti platter! My friend, Stephanie asked me to make one for the Valentine dinner we were having and I honestly had NO IDEA what would be on that sort of platter! haha! I went online and found a "recipe" of what to do and voila! My Antipasti platter was formed! I had a great time putting it together with the exception of the pickles that is! I used pastrami, salami, ham, roast beef, banana peppers, gherkin pickles, olives, pepperoni, mushrooms and artichokes! Check out my pictures! It was fun and it ALL got eaten Saturday night!!!

The Royal Order of the Pull-Ups!

2010-02-11T19:28:00.003-06:00

Even Matthew's into Mardi Gras this year!
His Mom's Day Out Program outdid themselves today with their very own Mardi Gras parade! I brought our wagon, decorations and throws to school on Tuesday, and today my baby boy rode in his first parade! The kids were so adorable, some rode, some walked but they all had a great time! The Toddlers of Time started us off and were followed by the Order of Pacifier Snatchers who were followed by the Order of Poo! The Crewe of Kook-a-Mungas was followed by the Order of Royal Tots and bringing up the end was my sweet boy in the Royal Order of the Pull-Ups! To cute! Matthew had fun walking and throwing beads but once he reached me he wouldn't go any further with the parade! I think if he had been riding in the wagon he would have gone on with his class but he was content to stay with me and wave at the kids going by! I put him in the wagon on the way to the car and he was smiling and laughing and throwing beads at anyone who would stop to catch them!

Eagles win!

2010-02-11T19:25:00.004-06:00

Christopher's team beat Corpus Christi last weekend in basketball! The boys were excited for their first win! Christopher played tough and had a great time!

Happy Mardi Gras!

2010-02-11T19:17:00.002-06:00

Christopher, Katie Ann, Grant and I went to the parades last weekend and had a blast in the 40 degree weather! An arctic blast that is! We stood with our friends Joshua, Melinka and their boys, Marcelo and Mauricio. We had a great time catching tons of beads, moonpies, and stuffed animals! The Clidesdell horses were in town and started off the parade pulling a Budweiser wagon. We watched all three parades, the Maids of Mirth, Merry Mates, and the Butterfly Maidens. My favorite float of the night was the Merry Mates' Parrothead float! I loved the Butterfly Maidens "walking" butterflies as well! What an awesome Halloween costume that would be! The "best catch" of the night was Grant's package of Ramen noodles! He wanted to take them home and eat them! Hopefully we're in for more parades this season if only it would get a little warmer!

Basketball has begun....unfortunately with a loss...

2010-02-11T19:12:00.002-06:00

Another season of one of my favorite sports has begun but not on a good note! Christopher's team started competing in mid-January and lost their first game to St. Ignatius. Their are ten boys on the team this year and it's tough to get them all equal playing time. We have two boys who are new to sport so it's exciting to see them learn and grow. Hopefully, the season will get better as the boys learn to play together and make their darn free throws!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Katie Ann!

2010-02-11T18:59:00.003-06:00

On January 21st, my sweet baby girl turned 6 years old! We celebrated with a Super Silly Six-Year Old Sleepover for Katie Ann and six of her best friends! She had an absolute blast! I tried to keep the girls busy playing games and doing a craft. They all painted their own picture frames, decorated them and posed for a picture! I put the pictures in when they FINALLY went to sleep! They watched Barbie and the 3 Musketeers and ate popcorn before they went to bed and in the morning Michael made them all Belgium waffles! We experimented with fruit toppings, syrup, chocolate chips and whipped cream! YUM! Katie Ann loved her three layer chocolate heart shaped cake that she helped make and decorate! It's exactly what she wanted and thank goodness much simpler than last year!

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger!!

2010-01-06T22:51:00.004-06:00

I guess I can finally say I've been to a real BCS Bowl Game! Yeah, I've been to the Senior Bowl of course but does it count being in your own hometown? It is pretty cool that we have that here in Mobile, BUT I wasn't about to give up the chance to see Auburn play in the Outback Bowl! Michael came up with the idea and put in a request to Santa for tickets for Christopher, his mom, himself and me! St. Nick came through and put tickets in our stockings and left one for Mawmaw as well! We were VERY excited! We left on New Year's Eve and drove about 8 hours to Tampa. Christopher and I camped out in the back seat and watched Remember the Titans to get in the mood! He loved it of course! For New Year's Eve, we went across the street to the movie theater and watched The Blind Side, seeing a trend yet?? It was an incredible movie and not just because Sandra Bullock is one of my favorite actresses! What an amazing story! If you haven't seen it, you really need to go!
We woke up early on New Year's Day and caught a shuttle bus to Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! So cool! Check out the photos for the pirate ship! Unfortunately, the weather was pretty yucky and it rained on and off until about half way through the third quarter but we didn't let it get us down! Christopher was loving life. He told me over and over how cool it was to be there. We were on our feet cheering and yelling alot! I got a bunch of new shaker pom poms, a hat and a tshirt! Christopher was thrilled to get a new football!
Tim McGraw tossed the coin on the first toin coss of the game! (They had another toss b/c they went into overtime!) If you look really close you can see him in a grey sweater vest, grey hat and jeans. There is another picture of him at halftime with his back to my camera, he's on the right and high school bands are on the left! To bad he didn't sing! The game was incredible...highs, lows...good, bad...So much fun but kind of stressful! I was freezing by third quarter b/c my jeans and shoes/socks were wet but I didn't really care. We were having to much fun!
After the game, we met up with some friends from school to hang out for awhile....
We ended up going to a Sports Bar for dinner and to watch more football....and then after hot showers back at the hotel, we were ready for the Sugar Bowl! I had had enough football by the time we went to bed!! I think we've found a New Year's tradition! Michael and I have decided that if Auburn is playing in a bowl game within a day's drive, we're going to go! We've never been big on New Year's Eve parties so this would be really fun! I'm just really glad we were able to go and that Auburn won!!! A-U-B-U-R-N.....WAR EAGLE! HEY!

Merry Christmas!

2010-01-03T08:35:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure what type of Christmas traditions you have in your home, but everyone has them. We always bake cookies to set out for Santa on Christmas Eve and this year was no different. But with Matthew's egg allergy, we had to get creative! I ended up substituting water, baking powder and oil for each egg (tiny amounts). We used chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and they were the BEST cookies we've EVER made! YUM!!! Katie Ann had a new idea this year to leave Santa a "healthy snack". She wanted to leave Santa "ants on a log", a treat of celery, peanut butter, and raisens. Didn't sound to yummy to me....but I went along of course! She was tickled to find it devoured on Christmas morning!
Another tradition we have is to go to the children's Mass on Christmas Eve. The church was packed and the service was beautiful as always. I love Mass on Christmas Eve sitting with my family surrounded by friends on Christmas. I pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all the wonderful people and things in my life.

Christmas morning was a blur...it went by so fast! I didn't take a single picture! I was so consumed with upwrapping and untying twist ties that I never picked up the camera! I finally took some pictures at my mom's when we went to eat dinner. The kids had fun playing with their cousins and of course ripping open more presents!

I couldn't get Matthew to sit with the other kids for a picture because all he wanted to do was take his own picture with his cousin, Felicia's camera!

I hope you all had a wonderful blessed Christmas!

Christmas shopping...

2010-01-03T08:30:00.002-06:00

The kids and I went over to the Eastern Shore Center to do some Christmas shopping one morning...We found a HUGE tree and fun ornaments to pose by! Matthew wouldn't stand still very long so I didn't get very many pictures of him! At two, he's busy busy!!!

After shopping for awhile, we decided to go hang out in Barnes & Noble and warm up! My elves had fun shopping for books for each other!

Ken Bear's Christmas visit

2010-01-03T08:22:00.000-06:00

Katie Ann's class has a teddy bear mascot named Ken Bear. He's visited us before but he made a second trip to wish Katie Ann a Merry Christmas! We had fun toting Ken Bear to piano class and karate! He watched patiently as Katie Ann did her thing! Matthew loves Ken Bear too and they both had fun changing his clothes and playing games with him!

Santa Claus is comin' to kindergarten!

2010-01-03T08:18:00.000-06:00

Santa visited the St.Dominic kindergarten classes on December 17th! The kids were VERY surprised to see him! All of the kids got to sit on his lap and got a cute bag filled with treats!

Daisy Christmas

2010-01-03T08:12:00.000-06:00

Our Daisy Girl Scouts met in early December to make Christmas cards for the Carmelite nuns here in Mobile. They also made Nativity sets to take home! We meet again in January to start our COOKIE sales!!!

The reason for the season...

2009-12-06T12:27:00.000-06:00

Our family recently participated in an Advent Retreat at church. We lit the candle for the first week of preparation of the coming of our Lord, listened to speakers, broke into smaller groups with kid's activities and adult activities. It was a wonderful way to begin the season of Christmas. Katie Ann's group made a mobile manger scene and talked about the birth of the baby Jesus. Christopher's group learned the origins of the nativity scene and saw different versions from around the world. His group also began a mosaic picture of the Holy Family. Michael stayed to help Katie Ann's group while I joined my parents with a sleeping Matthew on my mom's shoulder for the adult's talk. We had a terrific speaker who helped us reminiscence of Christmas times growing up and questioning our traditions of today to be sure we have Christ as the center of Christmas in our own families. He was a great speaker and I thouroughly enjoyed listening. Think of your own Christmas traditions...does your family focus on the real reason for Christmas or have you gotten so caught up in buying gifts, decorating and the commercialism that you've forgotten why we truly celebrate the holiday? Don't forget to remember the real reason for the season and let Jesus' light shine in your heart this Christmas!

Happy 2nd Birthday Matthew!

2009-12-06T11:43:00.000-06:00

I'm running behind on my posts...it's that time of year! Christmas is such a wonderful season but it is definitely hectic and busy! I am trying to stay ahead of the game this year and so far with the exception of blogging I'm doing pretty well! We celebrated Matthew's birthday a week late because of our Orange Beach weekend. We had our family over for lunch and cake and ice cream. I made Matthew's cake because being allergic to eggs, he can't have a bakery version. He loved it as you can see from the picture! He loves anything chocolate so I figured he would. All the cousins had a great time playing and tearing up my house!!! I can't believe my sweet little boy is 2!

My very own Karate Kids!

2009-11-16T22:28:00.006-06:00

We spent this past weekend in Orange Beach for the Hurricane Taekwondo Tournament. It was Katie Ann's first time to participate and we were all excited for her! This was Christopher's last tournament as a colored belt! He will be testing for his probationary black belt in a mere two weeks! Unbelievable! The kids had a great time at the tournament! Christopher took two silver medals (second place for his Form and Sparring) and Katie Ann took first place in Form! We were absolutely shocked that Katie Ann rocked her form the way she did! I was so proud of her! She did awesome in her One-Step combinations but the judges tend to spread the wealth in the Little Ninja category...She brought home a HUGE trophy that is half her size! haha Christopher won a huge first place trophy in Gatlinburg last year and they have been vying back and forth as to whose is bigger! Taekwondo is such an amazing sport...I truly respect those who do it! I love that it teaches my children discipline, patience and self-reliance. There is truly nothing out there quite like it!

This is Christopher and his buddy Matthew...they have been together since their white belt days!

Check out all the Little Ninjas and their trophies!
Here's my karate kids with their amazing instructor, David Holler!

Nativity Pots

2009-11-16T22:17:00.005-06:00

I just had to show off this adorable little Nativity I made out of mini clay pots! I was asked to make these for our upcoming Advent Retreat to be used as centerpieces! I made 15 sets! Aren't they sweet?

Can we fix it?

2009-11-16T22:12:00.002-06:00

The kids were out of school on Veteran's Day so we ventured downtown to one of favorite places...the Exploreum. We brought a friend of Christopher's along as well, Rylan. The newest exhibit is the Bob the Builder exhibit and it was right up Matthew's alley! He was in awe of all the machines and tools! He even got to meet Bob himself! He high-fived Bob and talked to him for quite sometime. It was adorable! Christopher and Rylan enjoyed the Hands on Hall while Katie Ann and Matthew played at the Wharf of Wonder. We spent nearly four hours roaming around the Exploreum and never even made it to the IMAX! I'm sure we'll be back to visit Bob sometime soon though!

Birthday Baby...

2009-11-12T23:38:00.001-06:00

I simply can't believe that my baby turns two today! It seems like only yesterday he was just an infant in my arms! Matthew is such a joy! He is my adorable little man and I wish he could stay this size for a little longer! He is so much fun right now...although difficult to photograph because he is so busy! He is talking so much and learns new words all the time. He loves trucks, trains (choo choos), Bob the Builder, Max and Ruby (mostly Max), playing outside, building with blocks or Tinker Toys, and doing just about anything his sister is doing. He absolutely adores Katie Ann. He asks for her all day while she is gone to school! They play together so well and she is really a little mama to him. Matthew makes me smile all the time with the funny little things he says and does...he loves to give hugs and kisses. He loves to blow kisses from across the room. He likes to give the "gun and a wink" and "show his guns (muscles)". He is doing very well potty training and started it all by himself. He loves to cuddle on the couch and watch tv but I am the only person he will do this with! Mommies are special you know...

I baked him some special cupcakes to take to Mom's Day Out today! They were egg-free as he is allergic to eggs. All the kids had them for breakfast! Matthew and Christopher gobbled them down but Katie Ann wasn't to crazy about them. I thought they were pretty yummy myself! I'll be baking some more next weekend when we have his family party!
Say a prayer today for my sweet baby boy...he's growing up so fast!!

Daisy Scout's Investiture

2009-11-09T10:03:00.004-06:00

Sunday was our Daisy Scout Investiture Ceremony marking the beginning of our sweet Daisies' journey into Girl Scouting! The girls were all very excited! We began our ceremony with a flag ceremony and then said the Girl Scout Promise while giving the Girl Scout Sign. The girls learned the Girl Scout motto, Be Prepared!, as well as the Girl Scout Slogan, Do a good turn daily. The girls all participated in building our Daisy Petal by stating the color and petal they had and placing the petal on the board. We started with the Daisy Blue Promise Center and moved onto the rest...
Light Blue Petal for honest and fair- Katie Ann
Yellow Petal for friendly and helpful- Regan
Spring Green Petal for considerate and caring- placed for Laura Luckie (home sick) by Riley
Red Petal for courageous and strong- Savannah
Orange Petal for responsible for what I say and do- Gigi
Purple Petal for respect for myself and others- Sadie
Magenta Petal for respect authority- Lily
Green Petal for use resources wisely- Jillian
Rose Petal for make the world a better place- Mia
Violet Petal for be a sister to every Girl Scout- Sydney
I tried to match the majority of the girls with their favorite color! They did a wonderful job reciting! I read them the story of Juliette Gordon Lowe, the founder of Girl Scouts and they learned how the Daisies got their name. (It was Juliette Lowe's nickname!) We ended our ceremony with a Friendship Squeeze! We invited our parents, siblings and grandparents for refreshments afterwards! I made bows for each girl to matche their Daisy tshirts and I even found wooden daisy flowers to glue in the center! They turned out really cute! I think everyone had a great time and we are all ready to begin our journey in Girl Scouts!!!

My sweet Daisy Scout and me!

Katie Ann and Regan!

Our KA girls: Jillian, Mia and Savannah

Our KB girls: Sydney, Katie Ann, Lily, Sadie and Gigi

Another season has come and gone...

2009-11-09T00:45:00.003-06:00

It's been rough at our house this week...Michael out of town...Katie Ann and Matthew have both been home sick with a stomach bug. And poor Christopher...he's been home all week with none other than Swine Flu...thank goodness he never actually started oinking at me and we never saw a curly tail but he was DEFINITELY sick! All kidding aside! He had a 104 degree fever, sore throat and miserable headaches and bodyaches. It was just awful! He started feeling bad Halloween night and woke up feverish on Sunday. It went downhill from there but we are finally back up and running! He has been fever free since Thursday and is headed back to school Monday morning! Katie Ann and Matthew are both fine as well. Maybe we will have a better week. Unfortunately, Christopher was unable to play in his last game of the season. I took him to the game but didn't feel he needed to run around and get hot and sweaty out there. It was pure torture for him...But atleast he got to go! He asked me atleast four times if he could change into his pads and cleats! We stayed after for a short pizza party and award ceremony. The boys each got a tshirt and a dog tag type momento with a football, team name, year and jersey number on it. It was a great time celebrating our second place finish for the season! Our coaches will coach the All-Star team who will compete against Corpus Christi in the Toy Bowl in December! It was a fun season but Christopher is definitely not happy that it's over for another year!

Nifty Fifty!

2009-11-09T00:40:00.003-06:00

Last Monday was Nifty Fifty Day in Kindergarten! The children celebrated the 50th Day of School in poodle skirts, petal pushers, white tshirts and leather jackets! The moms came by and fixed Coke Floats for the children to enjoy! I made Katie Ann's poodle skirt along with three of her friends: Angelina, Ella and Grace! It was a fun day!

Trick or Treat?

2009-11-03T23:45:00.004-06:00

Definitely a treat I would say...making my kids' Halloween costumes! I had so much fun this year! Katie Ann decided early on she wanted to be a bunny so hers was done early and it was adorable! Comfortable, cheap and super cute to boot! Matthew even loved her ears! I changed my mind so many times for Matthew...I had so many ideas that I went back an forth on but one night I was in WalMart looking for a pattern for Katie Ann and decided to check out the costumes one more time. I ran across this adorable Frog Prince costume, smiled, looked up and saw the perfect fabric on the shelf in front of me! It was FATE! I decide right then and there that that was going to be his costume! I made it over the next two days with just a tad of help from my mom! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! And so did Matthew! He never wanted to take it off! Especially the hood and the booties! It was hilarious...he would run around the house with it on! He even ate breakfast with the hood on one morning...He is to funny! He loves hats and masks too. I think he is the cutest froggie ever!! Christopher was my tough one this year...he couldn't make up his mind. We went to WalMart, Party City and Target looking for ideas but nothing struck his fancy! Finally, the Sunday before Halloween, I sat him down in front of the Family Fun website and told him to find something. He looked and looked and then got VERY excited and said "Mom!! I found it! I want to be a gargoyle!" I was like " a what?" I'm thinking "How in the world do I make one of those? Aren't they concrete?" Well, you know me...I never accept defeat in the face of a challenge without giving it a good try so I definitely tried! He absolutely loved his costume! I think it turned out rather well myself! It was really fun to make and not hard at all...a little foam, poster board and a stapler and we were off and running! It's amazing what you can find on that Family Fun Website...well we spent all afternoon at the Cub scout party, cleaned up, went to Mass in costume!, and then went trick or treating with the scouts. My troop was EXHAUSTED after about 45 minutes and we headed home...after the almost 300 pictures taken that afternoon, not one of them has me in my poodle skirt!! Michael and I dressed up like folks from the 50's! Check out his sweet little waterfall hairdo that he managed all on his own!
Hope Halloween was as much fun for you as it was for my family!!

Cub Scout Halloween!

2009-11-03T23:41:00.003-06:00

For the past two months, my friend Christina and I have been planning the Cub Scout Halloween party! This was the first Halloween party the scouts have had in a very long time! We totally had a blast with it! I'm going to post the den pictures here and I'll put the rest on the Pack 143 Blog at http://pack143.blogspot.com so go there and check them out!!

Tiger Cub Scouts

Wolf Cub Scouts

Bear Cub Scouts

4th Grade Webelos

5th Grade Webelos

Eagles WIN!!!

2009-11-03T23:34:00.004-06:00

Christopher's team played St. Ignatius on Halloween morning bright and early in windy rainy weather...it was COLD! It didn't seem to bother our boys though! The cheerleaders even left early because they were freezing!! The boys seem to have patched things up from our past two losses and came out on top today beating the Impalas 16-0! Christopher came off the field saying "That was really fun today mom!" He played nose guard (whatever that is haha!) and made several really good tackles and forced a fumble!

Here's their first touchdown...Christopher is #8 and ready to celebrate!!

Halloween at SDS

2009-11-03T23:22:00.005-06:00

Halloween is a huge event in Kindergarten at St.Dominic's! We have a Halloween blessing, a parade and a party! The kids always have a great time! Katie Ann was in her element all afternoon singing "Little Bunny Foo Foo"! She hopped and wiggled her nose and would've eaten carrots if we had had some! She was so cute her in bunny suit!

Katie Ann's buddy, Grace, borrowed the poodle costume Katie Ann wore last year! We laughed and said this year we had a "Fifi and a Foo Foo!"

Here's Katie Ann and her class mascot "Ken Bear" who was in his own costume of course!

Unfortunately, over in third grade the festivities are not quite as lively! The third graders wear black and orange accessories but aren't able to come in costume like the little ones...it didn't put to much of a damper on Christopher and his friends though. They had fun with the treat bags I made for them! The vampire teeth were quite the hit!

October...

2009-11-03T23:05:00.004-06:00

This has definitely been one of the busiest months I've had in awhile...between all the crafts I've done at home with the kids, the crafts and parties to plan for school, making three Halloween costumes, and planning a Cub Scout party for roughly 100 people...it's been crazy! And of course don't forget all of our "normal" activities...Katie Ann's piano on Monday, dance on Tuesday, and karate on Wednesday and Friday...Christopher's football on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and karate on Tuesday and Friday and go ahead and through in homework and projects to the mix! woo! I'm tired just thinking about all I've done the past few weeks! It has truly been a fun month! Here's a quick look at a few of the things I've been up to!
Matthew and I visited the pumpkin patch one day after Mom's Day Out and picked up a pumpkin or two...we never made it as a family! We tried about four times to go but it's been raining so much that each time we've tried to go it pours! Oh well, there's always next year!

Michael and the kids carved the pumpkins one night last week and it was quite the experience for Matthew! He was so excited and kept saying "pumkin" over and over...he is to cute! Well...he stuck his hand inside to check it all out and quickly made a face and said "EWWWWWWW!!!" It was HILARIOUS! So glad I captured that moment!!!

Katie Ann came home from school the other day and said "Mom, we HAVE to do something fun this afternoon because tomorrow I'm a reporter!" She is so dramatic...each day the "reporter child" reports on their previous day's afternoon and most of the time it's all the same...snack, play outside, dinner, bath, bed. It gets "published" in the kindergarten news at the end of the week. haha Well, MY child wanted to have something to REPORT! So I kept her busy all afternoon! We played outside, painted, made our own clay and made ghosts, made cupcakes, and finished up the kindergarten treat bags! She had so much to report the next day she couldn't remeber it all! So here she and Matthew are with their homemade play dough ghosts! It was really easy and lots of fun!

Here is my pumpkin patch of treat bags for KB! These are super easy and so adorable!! Try it out next year for your own pumpkins on Halloween!

Defeated again...

2009-10-26T01:36:00.003-05:00

Christopher's team lost to St. Mary's on Saturday in a really rough game! Those boys were big and fast! Our defense worked hard but couldn't hold them and they scored three times on us. We finally scored near the end of the fourth quarter but could never seem to do much with the ball. Christopher was excited to be able to run the ball at the end of the game and recovered a fumble. The boys were sorely disappointed but that's the way it goes sometimes.. Unfortunately, I think we are now in third place so I'm not sure how many players will make it to the All-Star team...the future's not looking to bright! We still have two or three games left to play so we'll just have to see how it all ends up!

It was cold and windy but I backed my Expedition up and the kids played in the back almost the entire time! Katie Ann was tailgaiting with Rusty, Regan, and Matthew!

Black and Orange Day...

2009-10-26T01:28:00.000-05:00

Friday was McGill Toolen High School's Homecoming and to celebrate our school had Black and Orange Day! The kids were able to wear black and orange accessories to school with their uniforms. My kids were so excited! Katie Ann's favorite was the pair of black and orange tights! Christopher loved his orange sunglasses and they both loved the black teeth I found! They shared a pair of black and orange gloves and each wore black spider rings! It was a super fun day to dress up and celebrate!

Halloween crafts

2009-10-26T01:24:00.000-05:00

I worked in the KB classroom Friday morning and somehow made my least favorite subject work for me! I taught Math! Now for those of you who know me...I am TERRIBLE at Math! I get it wrong using a calculator so it was quite hilarious that I was teaching kindergarten Math! It wasn't anything terribly complicated thank goodness! They have been studing patterns and we incorporated a Halloween craft into their Math class. The kids made Halloween bracelets for their moms out of black, orange and clear beads. I had them all bagged separately with the correct amount of beads and the string tied on one end to the clasp. Several moms came to help and the kids loved it! Our pattern was black, black, clear, orange, orange, clear and repeat! I was able to handle it quite well and didn't end up needing the calculator for any of it!

Sweet Cailyn's Baptism

2009-10-26T01:18:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, was baby Cailyn's Baptism at St.Dominic's! Gretchen and Brian invited us to join them and we all went back to their house to eat afterward. Michael stayed at home with the kids because Matthew fell asleep and Katie Ann wasn't feeling well. It was wonderful to be there with Gretchen and Brian and their families! I took lots of pictures and her sister Alice videod. What a special day it was!!!

Our first defeat...

2009-10-26T01:15:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Christopher's team loss to Corpus Christi this past Wednesday...the boys played hard but our quarterback was out sick. I think it messed them all up mentally. Christopler played center on offense and linebacker and defense. He was truly disappointed but he played his best and that's all that matters...There's always All-Stars to look forward to! I don't know if he'll make the team or not but he atleast has a good chance! The boys play St. Mary's on Saturday so we'll take the field 6-1 and hope for the best!

Sister Katie Ann?

2009-10-26T01:09:00.001-05:00

This past Wednesday was a very special day at school. It was our Vocations Day. It is a day devoted to praying for vocations and planting the seed in each students' mind to pray for and think about God' calling in our lives, whether it be married life, single lives, or the religious life. It encourages students and parents to consider what God is calling each of us to do and to learn into our own hearts for His answers. I worked the whole day on Wednesday helping boys and girls try on a nun habit or priest collar and encouraging them to look at the posters that the 5th-8th graders made. Katie Ann's class came through on Wednesday but Christopher's class came on Thursday so I missed him! It was a beautiful day and a wonderful thing to see the children considering God's plan for them in their lives...

Daisy Troop#8110

2009-10-16T08:42:00.003-05:00

Here is mine and Lisa's sweet little troop of Kindergarten Daisies! We have such a great group of girls and parents and I am very excited to start our journey this year!! We had our first meeting this past Sunday where we made daisy tiaras to wear to our Investiture Ceremony next month!!

Golden Eagles Extravaganza

2009-10-16T08:27:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday night was the 6th Annual Golden Eagles Extravaganza. I was the Auction Chairperson and the early numbers show we made about $14,000 for our school!! Thanks so much to all who helped out! The Art Projects were my favorite items but we had some great stuff!

Eagles beat the Wildcats 12-0!

2009-10-16T08:13:00.005-05:00

Last Saturday, Christopher's team played the St.Luke's Wildcats! Two of his best buddies go to school there! Christopher was so excited to play his friend Noah and told me before the game that he "wanted to push Noah around on the field!" It was hilarious! Christopher played both center on offense and linebacker on defense. He had a great time. The funniest thing happened right before half-time! He went to tackle someone and slipped in a huge mud puddle! His pants were brown instead of gold and he was dripping with mud! We had to literally hose off his uniform when we got home. I have learned to bring beach towels to the game and we make him strip down before getting in the car!

Our cheerleaders do a terrific job!! They are super cute!!
The siblings all had a great time playing during the game!

Here's Christopher with his buddies Noah and Bain. They've been friends since they were babies!!!

Tiny Angel Rest Your Wings...

2009-10-08T16:14:00.003-05:00

I can't belive we are coming up on the 2nd Anniversiary of my friend Abby's baby Ann Briggs. Ann Briggs was stillborn at 35 weeks on November 6, 2007 with a heart anomaly. Phi Mu alumnae from Auburn began a book drive in her honor and to this day over 5000 books have been donated to the USA Women's and Children's Hospital here in Mobile. I encourage anyone to see Ann Briggs new website and to donate to the book drive this year! Please visit her new website at www.annbriggs.com.

Kindergarten Art Project

2009-10-04T17:38:00.004-05:00

Being the Auction Chairperson for our Golden Eagles Extravaganza and co-chair for the Art Projects, I was given the priviledge to help out with the kindergarten projects! My cohort Cindy and I decided to do Christmas Tree Skirts with the kid's handprints. I designed the skirts and embroidered them with each class's teacher's name and brought them to school for the kids to finish on Friday! Several moms came to help and I couldn't have done it without them! Thanks so much to Johanna, Wendy, Brandy and Michi!! I think the kids had fun and I know the moms did! Check out the finished skirts! Katie Ann's class has a red skirt with Reindeer handprints while the other class has a green skirt with Santa handprints! I absolute love them both and am thinking about making one for our house for my own kids to decorate! These will be auctioned off next Saturday!!

Crazy Hat Day!

2009-10-04T17:36:00.000-05:00

Friday was Crazy Hat Day at school and the kids had a ball showcasing their hats! Christopher proudly wore his McGill-Toolen visor while Katie Ann went a little crazy with her Parrot Head hat I got at a Jimmy Buffett party! She got lots of strange looks but standing next to her buddy Sydney with her flamingo hat she didn't look out of place at all! One of my favorites of the day was Katie Ann's buddy, Greyson's Cheese Block Hat! It was hilarious! I saw turbins, ball caps, sombreros and more...it was a fun day to be at school!

Eagles...still UNDEFEATED!!

2009-10-04T17:11:00.002-05:00

Christopher's team went head to head with the St. Pius Cardinals Wednesday night and played at the Lipscomb Stadium! It was very exciting playing on McGill-Toolen High School's home field! The boys were all syked up and ready to go! Christopher was out for revenge! His regular season team was beaten badly by the Cardinals twice last year but his All-Star team was able to overcome them at the Toy Bowl game. Christopher wanted to beat them in a regular season game this year and his team was able to do it! They beat the Cardinals 12-8! The weather was perfect for the night game with a cool breeze and low humidity. The cheerleaders were decked out in their new uniforms and all their voices were loud and clear! We had fun stomping our feet on the metal bleachers and clapping along to their cheers! The boys played great and our quarterback/defensive back, Joseph, made a beautiful interception and eventual touchdown that really made the game! We had an off weekend this weekend but it's right back to practice on Monday to gear up for next weekend's exciting show down with St. Luke's! Christopher's buddy, Noah, plays for St. Luke's and they can't wait to bang helmets on the field! It should make for an exciting game!!

Mudbowl 2009

2009-09-28T20:13:00.005-05:00

This past Saturday Christopher's football team played Christ the King in Mudbowl 2009!! It started storming when we got to the field but it soon stopped and they let the games continue. It sprinkled on and off the entire game. The boys were covered in mud...Christopher played center as well as defensive linebacker so he was on the field more than off and was one of the muddiest!! We made him strip down to his underwear before getting into the car! He had a fabulous time playing in the mud as well as all the boys and it was even better with a win!!! 24-16!

Here's Garrett and Christopher doing their "victory dance"! To funny! Wish I had a video!!

McT and St. Dominic Spirit Night!

2009-09-28T20:02:00.003-05:00

This past Friday was St. Dominic Spirit Night at "The Lip" McGill-Toolen's home football field. Michael and I braved the evening with six kids in tow! All the children got free tickets sent home from school and we got there right at kickoff. We had fun with half the crowd being from our school and the kids all had a blast hanging out with friends. The Yellow Jackets played the Davidson Warriors and were triumphant winning 24-14!

Zero the Hero!

2009-09-21T07:53:00.000-05:00

One of many great things about kindergarten is Zero the Hero! Every ten days, the children celebrate the day with a round snack! It is one way of learning to count by tens and also learning to count to 100! They will celebrate Day 50 with a Fifties Day in costume and 100th Day with all sorts of fun events! I'm already making poodle skirts for Fifties Day!
I decided in order to give the kids a better idea of who Zero the Hero is, I made a cute puppet to send to school! He can help give out the round treats! Today is the 20th day and Katie Ann is bringing Ritz crackers to share with her class!
I think they will all be surprised to see Zero the Hero coming to school!

"Get Lost" in the Maze!!

2009-09-21T07:39:00.004-05:00

We headed out to Seward Farms on Saturday for a Cub Scout Pack meeting and had a blast getting "lost in the Corn Maze"! Although the afternoon started out pouring rain, it ended up being a beautiful day! The Corn Maze was pretty muddy but no one seemed to mind! Matthew was quite a little trooper stomping through the maze! We had fun shooting corn cannons, watching the pig races, and swinging on the tire swings! I hope we can make it back out there again sometime in October for the Haunted Hayride!

For more pictures, go to our Cub Scout blog at http://pack143.blogspot.com!

Katie Ann's new friend!

2009-09-14T01:15:00.003-05:00

This past week at school Katie Ann brought home a new friend! His name is Ken Bear and he is the mascot for KB! Ken Bear has his own backpack, playclothes, lunchbox and toys! He gets to visit all the kindergartners and spend the night! Katie Ann was chosen to have him spend the night first! We were very excited about his visit! Katie Ann had fun "feeding him", "brushing his teeth", and putting on his pj's! He even went to dance class with her! I hope he gets to come back and visit again soon!

Highlights from Alaska!

2009-09-14T00:38:00.004-05:00

Life has been super busy since we returned home from Alaska! I have had alot of catching up to do! I saved 983 pictures from our trip so it was tough breaking it down! I bought a scrapbook while I was there and I REALLY want to get this trip documented! It was an amazing trip! You guys know how much I love to travel so...anyway just a few highlights! We flew in and out of Anchorage but we stayed two nights a little town called Seward that is right on the coast. I loved all the mountains! We were on Resurrection Bay and stayed right at the harbor. There was a boardwalk outside our room that went all down the harbor and into an area with shops and stuff. We went out on a daycruise and before we got out of the bay Michael was looking green! He didn't eat all day! I got a little queasy one time when it got kind of rough in the Gulf of Alaska but it wasn't bad. We saw Orca whales, humpback whales, a sea otter, puffins, a bald eagle, sea lions, Dall porpoises that look alot like orca whales, and a bear (from a distance)! THe cruise was absolutley incredible but be prepared! It's chilly! We went out to Bear Glacier, Surprise Glacier and the most gorgeous one of all Holgate glacier. My pictures don't do it justice! It was overcast and cloudy but the glaciers were beautiful. We visited Exit Glacier in Seward that was a short car ride into Kenai Fjords National Park. I got to know the town very well on Tuesday while Michael worked! I found the Mile Marker Zero for the Iditarod Trail, hiked up to Exit Glacier, went to the Alaska Aquarium, checked out the painted murals around town and visited several souvenier shops! I kept busy and had fun just hanging out by myself. I met some really nice people and even one guy from Mobile who now lives in New Orleans! We headed back to Anchorage and stopped at the Alaska Wildlife Conservatory. It was wonderful! The guy from Mobile actually told us to go there and I"m so glad we did! We saw moose up close and personal, caribou, bear cubs climbing trees, an eagle, a great horned owl, elk, and muskox. On Wednesday, we went to the Alaska State Fair! I saw the 125 lb winning cabbage and the 594 lb winning pumpkin! We played some fun games, ate some yummy food and looked at all sorts of arts and crafts! We saw lots of animals too...goats, cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens and geese. We even saw an adorable baby goat (kid) that was born at 9AM that morning we were there! So sweet! It was a wonderful fair!!! I loved seeing the local booths. I saw and sat on a Snowmobile for the very first time! We also learned about Snowplows and outdoor furnaces. We laughed at the dunking booth with freezing water! On Thursday, we headed north to Talkeetna, Alaska. It is a tiny little town of 800 people but is home to the Moose Dropping Festival! I bought a tshirt b/c I didnt' think people would believe me!Talkeetna is the place to go to see Mount McKinley! We didn't want to drive the 6-8 hour drive to Denali National Park and I'm so glad we didn't! The view from Talkeetna were incredible and just visiting the town was fun! Mount McKinley or Denali as some call it is simply breathtaking...That was the only clear sunny day we had up there and we were told that only 20% of people who go see it get a day like we had so we were definitely blessed!!
On Friday, before we headed home, we stopped off at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. I loved the wolves, bears, and wolverine the most! We saw black bears, brown bears, and polar bears! We saw more moose, a camel, llama's and a beautiful snow leopard! Unfortunately, the zoo was mostly cages so it was difficult getting good pictures! I had never seen some of the animals they had! We don't have alot of them down here! They can't live in our heat!!! Speaking of the weather, the temps were mainly 50's and low 60's while we were there but the day we saw Denali it was in the low 70's! People told us we must have brought good weather with us b/c it had been raining the last few weeks! I was happy to hear that! The red-eye flight home was rough and I was exhausted from being on the plane overnight as well as the 3 hour time change. I didn't think it would be bad but I was pretty tired for several days and had to catch up! I'm back up and running full steam now! I absolutely loved our trip and will always keep my memories close to my heart! It was my 44th state to visit! Only 6 more to go!

Greetings from Alaska! The Great Frontier!

2009-09-02T13:53:00.003-05:00

Michael and I headed to Alaska this week for business and vacation! His mom is at home with the kids and we are ever so grateful to her and my parents for helping us out so we can enjoy this beautiful country! Alaska is absolutely gorgeous! We have seen glaciers, mountains, orca and humpback whales, moose, bears, puffins, caribou, elk and many other wonderful creatures! I will post pictures when I get home! My camera card won't fit in Michael's laptop so I'll have to wait! It is simply breaktaking here! We are headed up to the Alaska state fair this morning to see some of the culture here in the surrounding area of Anchorage! Check out my blog in a few days for pictures!

Football Jamboree!

2009-08-29T15:35:00.000-05:00

Today was the CYO Football Jamboree! Christopher was SO excited to be on the playing field again! I'm not sure who was more excited, Christopher or Michael! Michael cracks me up yelling from the sidelines...he is so into it! Christopher played both offensive and defensive linebacker and did a great job! They tied 7-7 with St. Mary's and 0-0 with St.Ignatius. His season opener is September 12th! We should be getting his schedule this week!

Girl Scouts like to swim too!

2009-08-29T15:27:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon, we opened up our backyard pool to all the Girl Scout Troops at St.Dominic School!
We had a great crowd and I think everyone had a fun time!

Our sweet little Daisy Scout Troop! Katie Ann is SO excited to have her own Girl Scout Troop! She has been an "honorary Cub Scout" for two years! She thinks it's terrific to be able to participate in Girl Scouts this year!

Back to the Pack!

2009-08-22T19:17:00.003-05:00

We had all the cub scouts over Saturday afternoon for a Back to the Pack Swim Party!

Check out our pack blog at http://pack143.blogspot.com/ for details and more pictures!!!

Going on a Ken Bear Hunt!

2009-08-22T19:03:00.004-05:00

Katie Ann had her first day of kindergarten in uniform Friday and her class went on a Bear Hunt! They found their friend Ken Bear. He is the KB Class Mascot! I sneaked into the classroom while they were hunting and set up these adorable cookies and juice for their snack. I also got Ken Bear out and helped him climb into the rocking chair so he would be waiting for the kids when they returned! He has his own backpack, clothes, toothbrush, and lunchbox and the kids get to take turns bringing him home! I'm sure Katie Ann will get her turn before to much longer!

Our friend, Ken Bear!! Check out those footprints he made climbing into the chair!

There are 29 kids in Katie Ann's class! She sits at the Green table right now!

Matthew was thrilled to see his "sissy" and wouldn't leave her side! He cried when we had to leave! He asked me all day "Where sissy go?"...he sure loves his big sister!

I can't believe how big these girls are! Here's Katie Ann with her best buddies, Grace and Mia. Both of these girls are in KA but they will find time to play at recess I'm sure!

Katie Ann already loves her teacher, Mrs. Stebbins!

Back to School!

2009-08-21T07:05:00.000-05:00

It's been a busy week with the kids back in school....I feel like I've been living out of my car again! Christopher started third grade, Katie Ann started kindergarten and Matthew started Mom's Day Out! I can't believe how much older Christopher looks to me this year and Katie Ann looks like such a BIG GIRL in her uniform! She is so excited to be in "Big School", wearing a uniform, getting dropped off in regular carpool and walking on the kindergarten verandas! I can't believe she has started! Time flies...Matthew is growing so much too! He is 21 months now and talking talking talking! He has enjoyed MDO this week I think, playing with kids his age. His teachers are very sweet and I think it's good for him. The other two started around 18 months of age so it's about time I guess! I got a little nostalgic the other day...my baby starting and all! But it's definitely nice to have some free daytime!
Hope the newness of school stays for awhile...I don't look forward to dragging the kids out of bed!

One more summer swim party!

2009-08-15T18:58:00.001-05:00

My brother and the kids came over today to swim and hang out! The kids had a great time splashing around on this one last weekend of freedom!