Josh and I visit Paris

The volcano in Iceland caused Josh and I much anxiety about flying to France. Our flight was cleared the day we were to leave, so we were on one of the first flights into Paris. What a scary feeling that was! We made it though! The entire plane cheered as we touched the ground, I suppose we were not the only fearful ones! Here are a few pictures of our days in Paris. We are leaving later today to Lyon, France where we will meet up with Katrine and Henrik for a road trip to Marbella, Spain. (Josh hates long drives and long plane flights, so it should be interesting!)

We are having a fun time together! Thanks to everyone who is helping with the kids so we can enjoy each other!

I now realize.

WOW! What an ordeal it is to get four people ready for a Halloween party. I did not realize the amount of effort put into getting an entire family ready for an event on Halloween. My parents must have had some patience getting the four of use prepared for Halloween. We went to a costume party last night and had some fun hanging with friends. The kids dressed up as a witch and a bat girl…

Bat Girl and her doll "Spooky"

The little "witch"

Josh and I went a little less “Goth” as Robin Hood and Maid Merriam,

The happily married couple.

We had a good time! I think it was a plus that the party was only 2 blocks from our house, so we walked there. The kids were a little peeved when I made them walk home at 12am…and it was chilly! Fun night though!

We will see what tonight brings, Halloween…

yes…I bought it!

My girls have been in gymnastics for almost 4 years. We have taken “sabbaticals”  during the 4 years. However the kids have realized that some kids get trophies each year for attendance. Hmmm…not my kids…we take too many breaks to qualify for these trophies.

Finally we have managed to attend for 2 straight years and Regan received her 2 year recognition trophy. She was so proud! Madalyn should get hers next month.

I know…ahhhh…she is too cute!

As a Mom…

Thanks to Bethany…found a intriguing blog…that I agree with.

http://asamom.ning.com/

The Nine Principles
1. America is good.
2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life.
3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday.
4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government.
5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results.
7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable.
8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion.
9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me.

The Twelve Values
1-Honesty
2-Reverence
3-Hope
4-Thrift
5-Humility
6-Charity
7-Sincerity 8-Moderation
9-Hard Work
10-Courage
11-Personal Responsibility
12-Gratitude

This site is one of my new favorites…looking forward to networking with moms’ there…

still here

Still here…just busy with work…

Promise to write soon! And have you…yes, you over for a BBQ soon!

First day of school

This morning was the first day of school for all of us girls. We tried really hard to get there on time and we did it! As we pulled in the parking lot 20 minutes early I told the girls to go stand on the grass while I got my camera out of the car to capture the first day of kindergarten…they actually did as told…so I proceeded to get my camera from the car and hook my car keys on my school bag. I needed to close the car door so I could get the picture of them…as I shut the door, the door pushed something against my car alarm and locked the car…with ALL my first day of school supplies inside!

I frantically grabbed the car door, praying it really was not locked…it was! And then the car alarm started to sound as well as the tears began to flow down my cheeks…I was already so worked up about all the variety of ways being a teacher can pull you I was near the max before I did this…so locking my keys in the car was the “icing”. I did not know what to do so I proceeded to take the kids picture and cry at the same time. We went and called Josh from the office and he was on the way with AAA. During this time I went to take Regan to her first day of kinder…all the while trying desperately to control the crocodile tears flowing freely down my cheeks. Funny thing…when you go to drop your child off at her first day and you are crying, all the parents who do not know you think you are crying cause you are so attached to your child…the looks I was getting…parents kept saying, “she will be fine” and “don’t worry she is in good hands”… things like that. Thinking I was upset about my 5 year old going to kinder…in reality I was upset about locking my keys in the car with all my supplies for the first hour of school!

Josh came with AAA about 45 minutes into school and brought me all my stuff. I only needed to “improvise” for a little while.

After was all said and done and I moved on with my stressful day all was ok…I wandered over to get my kindergartner from her class…only to be greeted by parents asking me if her day went well, saying see she did good and things like that! They all thought I was upset about leaving her! So now they know I work there and they are probably thinking, “man I hope little Susie does not have that super attached, crazy lady for a teacher one day!”

It has now been a week and a half since school started…and no…things have yet to calm down! maybe next week!

I have given in to the stress that is over taking me…school starts tomorrow and aghhhhh….I am anticipating the road ahead of me! I am excited and distraught all at the same time…is that possible??? I enjoy being a student and I enjoy teaching. But there is always stress involved.

And perhaps I am stressed cause I did not get all the things done on my summer list…the house still is not clean and my bedroom is still not painted and all the laundry is not done and the office is still a MESS! It is ok though…I will not let these “chores” rule my life. I have enjoyed the time I have been able to spend with family. I really enjoyed my week vacation with Josh and the girls to Santa Barbara. We had a good time, Thanks babe!

Anyhow…just felt like expressing my thoughts. Let you know how this week turns out. Please don’t just drop on over in the next week…I will be mad cause the house will be in shambles!!!

Thanks Mom

Josh decided we needed a new TV . The one in our bedroom burned out about a month ago.  He ventured out by himself yesterday to get a new one to replace the broken one. Regan had no idea that we had a new TV in the back of Josh’s truck when she went to bed last night. So this morning she wakes up to see a new box! She could care less about the TV. She comes to me and as sweet as can be Thanks me for getting her a new box. She is so excited because the patio furniture box has now hit the dust.She acted like it was Christmas or something.

Looks like the box will provide the fun for the day!

I think he really is gone

It has been almost 2 weeks now since my cat decided to run away. The night of the snake event he decided to get out front and ignore my requests for him to come in. Of course I was exhausted so I left him out front and went to bed. Then the next morning he still had not returned. I found some fur clumps by our front door. I am sad. I liked him. His name was “Casio”. My little brother gave him to me so he could reunite with his cat allergic girlfriend Nadine. I was happy to adopt Casio so Nadine could once again be part of our family. So, I grew attached to him over the past 6 months.

Anyhow, he still has not come home. I think he turned into coyote food. It is so sad. I am never going to let my other cat Sydney outside again! Not sure if I could handle it again…what a dumb thing to get so upset over…a cat! But, I am.

PS: Today is my middle brothers 27th birthday! Wow! Matt I can not believe you are so old! Happy Birthday Little Brother! I Love You!

Remember these days?

I am glad I passed on the love for olives to my girls! They are the best!