Behind the Times

I'm behind on posting again ... ... but I am going to try to be better. I can't make any promises but I will try ... probably.

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Fried Peanut Butter & Jelly ... yummy!

Wind-blown "C" tree

Callie running at her school's jog-a-thon
Terence & Calob running ... a newer thing for Calob. He's trying to get in shape in case he plays soccer for the high school in the spring ... he's run 4 miles without stopping at his longest distance, which is a huge accomplishment for him! Way to go, Calob!!!
My groovy green nails ... love them!
(ignore the cuticles though please)

Another Ragnar Relay Success!

A month ago, July 24-25 (yes, I'm bad), Terence competed in his 3rd Ragnar Relay. His team did great again this year! They finished 4th overall AND 2nd in their division!!! Super fantastic! Here are some team pictures.
After the run ... they're all still standing! Yay!

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On July 29th, we had record heat. I know, people will talk about how hot it is/was where they live and while I don't disagree, this was record-setting heat here. Let's just say, the hottest days EVER! So that means something! Most people here don't have a/c and aren't prepared for heat like this. I felt pretty bad for Tamara too. She was definitely suffering. Someone suggested (I think it was Jerrie) trying a frozen washcloth. Who knows if she liked it or not, but we did try it.

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Close-up of Leo's rocks ... nice & colorful

Callie & I watched "Jaws 3-D" yesterday

Chillin' In Texas ...

We're hereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! We made it to Texas with only a little drama. Our flight from Seattle to Dallas was actually a bit early but another plane was at our gate so we had to wait ... and wait ... and wait. We waited for about 30 minutes. It was horrible. That was supposed to be our dinner time but it turned out there was barely time to get off our plane, run through the terminal to the next gate & it was time to board the next plane. Whew, we did make it though, so that was good. The flights were smooth & everything was ok. Once we got off the plane we were greeted by my dad ... and he got the best birthday

present ever ... ME!!! he he

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Today we've done a lot of hanging out. We went to eat some BBQ and then to H.E.B.

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On another note entirely, I had reserved a mini-van for my family of 4, my dad, and my sister & niece. We found out last night as we were getting off the plane in San Antonio that my brother-in-law, Bill, is coming too. Yippeeeee ... but what to do with a 7-seater van and 8 people??? So I asked at the rental counter (love Alamo) if they had any mini-vans that seat 8 people. He said that they didn't even have any mini-vans ... pardon me? I was ready to raise some hell (keep in mind, it's been a lllooonnnggg day & it's midnight at that point) but he then informed me that they did have a 15-seater ... 1-ton Ford Econoline ... OMG! So yeah, I took it but I'm basically driving a bus. lol It's pretty funny ... be jealous. ☺

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The weather isn't as hot as expected - at least not yet. It's SUPER windy though ... which isn't exactly friendly to my curly, frizzy hair.

I love hairspray ... LOTS!

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OK, I'm going to zone out & relax my brain

... until later ...

Texas ... here we come!!!

The time is here ... it's vacation time! I'm not sure I'm mentally ready after the last couple of days but hopefully the trip will help take my mind off Nalu. (missing him SO much)

I'm a smidge worried about the weather in the San Antonio area. I see a few 90's on the 10-day forecast & anybody who knows me at all knows that I'm more of a 65-70 degree weather ... as a high. I'm thinking there could be some melting involved ... eek!

It's about time I really start packing (yes, I'm behind ... oops) and get the family ready to go. I will be updating from Texas but there probably won't be any pictures until we get back.

Miss me tons!!! :)

Snow Much Snow!

It finally rained today. I couldn't be happier. After 4 days of snow, rain is much appreciated. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate snow. I just hate LOTS of snow. I hate snow that keeps the kids home from school. I hate snow when it keeps you housebound for days on end. Snow itself is lovely ... in small (very moveable) amounts. I think we must've had at least 50 feet of snow in those 4 days. You think I'm exaggerating? OK, I might be ... but at times it sure felt like it. I made a collage of assorted snow pictures over the days. Enjoy!

On a completely unrelated note ... I love this!

Callie & Kit, looking for Waldo!!!

Christmas Happenings 2008

We woke up Christmas morning to a very white Christmas. We don't have snow on Christmas day typically so it definitely fit the holiday. The kids were especially happy to see the falling snow (Terence & I, not so much).

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Calob & Callie w/their stockings

new pajama pants & slippers from SantaCallie opening her presents from Grandma Judy

Matching nightgowns for Callie & Kit

Assorted pictures of presents being opened

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We were invited to eat Christmas dinner with Sharon, Gord & family again this year. My kids love having the traditional feast there because when we celebrate at home we have tri-tip ... not turkey. At some point in the evening I left my camera unattended on Sharon's dining room table. She picked it up & told her parents to act goofy. They definitely did so. To keep my blog PG I added a little something to Sharon's mom's backside ... and NO, she wasn't drunk! lol

Emily took this picture of Callie & me

Close-up of the necklace Callie got for me. Green IS keen!

A group shot of our 2 families at the end of the evening. Remind me next year to take it w/a flash.

* Merry Christmas Eve *

My kids have unofficially been on Christmas break since Thursday of last week. They have taken every opportunity since then to fight. About anything ... about everything ... about nothing. It's the thing that drives me most crazy during Christmas break ... and summer break ... and any other time when they are home for an extended period of time. So, when I hear nothing and go in search of the kids & find them like THIS ... it brings me a joy I can't explain!!!

Samson cozying up to Gillian
Today we had a bit of a surprise. Snow ... LOTS of it. We woke up to it snowing & it's now 8 hours later & it's still snowing. It did stop for a brief period but I think that was to give us a false sense of relief ... it didn't last long. When Terence got home from work (early) he took the kids outside to finally play in the snow. They had SO much fun!!!

Soccer Season Begins!!!

Saturday was the beginning of our soccer season. We will have 3 games every Saturday. 2 for Calob & 1 for Callie. I'm tired just thinking about it. Most days they will overlap as well, so that just adds to the fun. They both had pretty good games. Calob's team won both their games and Callie's team tied theirs. The only problem was that Calob hurt his wrist/arm during his first game. He got taken down pretty hard and you could tell he was hurting. When he finally came out you could see how swollen he was & in definite pain. He iced it and then played the 2nd game (which I didn't see, as I was at Callie's game) but apparently he did quite well, considering. His arm is still swollen & in pain but we're thinking it's getting better ... slowly but surely. If it's not better in the next couple of days I'll have to take him to the doctor as he can only be excused from P.E. a few days w/o a doctor's note.

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Calob waiting for the ball (game 1)

Callie ... pretty in (pepto bismol) pink

After the games we ran some errands in town & then came home to enjoy the lovely weather. I think it's supposed to be quite nice all week ... the kids are really liking it because usually it's very nice this time of year and we've had pretty gloomy weather up until now.

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REAL women do cartwheels!! :)
Hmmmm, we might have to work on pointing her toes! lol

"Look Ma! No hands!!!" This picture totally makes me laugh! Calob & Katie were just

playing around and they kept heading the ball.

I caught this moment & Calob's face is PRICELESS!!!
Calob is going to destroy the ball!
Who does he think he is anyway ... Troy Aikman? HA

Still Kicking!

We ARE still kicking but we are all exhausted! It's amazing how a vacation wears you out SOOOOOO much!!! Anyway ...

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We went box-car racing with Denise & her family on Thursday. The kids had a BLAST and I can say that many of the adults did too (omg, the guys ... too funny)! We were the only ones there for the last hour so there was lots of racing, strategy & fun involved. Of course, I took pictures and I will post them once we're home.

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4th of July we were at Denise's house. Sharon & her family joined us for breakfast after the 5K that Gordon ran. He finished 2nd in his age division & 12th overall ... WTG Gord!!! Then we all headed to a beach house that Gary's friend rents for the month of July. It's right on the water (literally) and the kids spent many hours in the water. There was TONS of food and lots of socializing. It was a great time & I'm glad we could spend the 4th with the group.

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We picked up Grandpa on Saturday to take him to lunch before we visited Grandma again. She didn't feel like visiting much so we weren't there long. When we took Grandpa home Kenneth was there so we visited with both of them for a while. When we left we headed to the PX to do some souvenir shopping. Callie had a blast buying all kinds of treats while Calob was a bit more realistic in his souvenir "needs." HA ... I wonder if I should take a picture of all the "stuff" Callie bought ... it's funny.

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Sunday we went to T's aunt & uncle's beach house ... GORGEOUS!!! It's right on the water and actually, if you're interested, the house is for sale! :) Sharon & her family joined us and we just hung out on the beach & watched the kids play in the water & sand. A little later in the day 2 turtles came up on the beach. We were pretty excited! I took a bunch of pictures and even touched one (although we found out ... after the fact ... that they're endangered and you aren't supposed to touch them). One of the turtles had a hook in his wing and that took a bit of effort but a guy & T's uncle helped free him of that. After the beach house we headed back to Oscar's to clean ourselves up for the day. Then we went to Waikiki to meet up with Sharon & family for an evening out. We ate at Chili's ... uh, no ... we ate at Denny's ... hmmm, still not right ... we ate at Round Table .... yeah, that's it! We had pizza & then walked around Waikiki and checked out the billions of shops. It's our last time to see Sharon & family in Hawaii as they leave Tuesday & we leave Wednesday.

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Today we're headed to the beach and then dinner with Oscar & one of T's friends from school. I hope it's not TOO hot today (hoping,hoping, hoping)!!!

We're Here!!!

We made it to Hawaii! I'll give a quick update as it's almost time for dinner and it's hot as heck upstairs where the computer is.

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Our flight went really well. It actually left early (shocking, I know) so we got in about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. Who knew those things happened?

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On our way to Terence's dad's house we picked up Terence's grandfather to take him with us. We had a great dinner (chicken long rice ... yummmmmy) and lots of other funky things I was too chicken to eat. Terence's sister Denise was there along with her kids, Reyn & Dane.

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We got up and headed straight to the beach Friday morning. It was actually SUPER windy so it was cold for quite a while. Then it started to rain. NOT fun at all. Then it quickly got hot ... quite a difference from when we arrived at the beach. After coming home for a shower & lunch we headed to the nursing home to see Terence's grandmother. It was SO great to see her & it was touching to see her with Terence & the kids. There's just nothing like grandparents. :)

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We went to the beach again today but it was HOT HOT HOT the entire time. Oh my, I think I actually sweated the entire time which we all know is super attractive. I did see a woman way whiter than me today which made me smile. :) I know, it's lame but it works for me. Oscar (T's dad) is bbq'ing for us right now so I'm going to head downstairs to sit in front of the fan & stuff my face.

Aloha ... Cheryl & the family

Sensational Saturday!

Today is a spectacular day in Whatcom County ... absolutely gorgeous! It was also the "Rock and Gem Show" held in Bellingham. If you remember from last year, Callie absolutely loved it & this year was no different. Lots of rocks & gems for her to drool over. I was looking for information on the show in the paper & found exactly what I was looking for. What I was NOT expecting was to see MY kids in the "ad" for the show. I didn't even notice it was them at first but I looked again & thought to myself that the girl's hair was awfully long. HA ... then I realized it was MY daughter with the long hair. This picture was last year, about 2 months before we donated our hair. It totally cracks me up that they were in the paper and I just happened upon it.

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Callie checking out all the rocks this year
One of Callie's favorites

They can pick up and feel the rocks/gems which is neat for the kids

Look at all those beauties

This one was MY favorite!

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After we left the rock show Terence wanted to check out the Sehome Arboretum. I had never heard of it but it turned out to be a pretty neat area.

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This was one of the 2 main things we enjoyed.

A family picture on one side of the tunnel

I absolutely ♥ this picture of the kids!!!

Terence, Callie & Calob in the tower
All of us on the steps of the tower
All of us on the other side of the tunnel
Callie & Calob goofing off! ☺

The Calm After the Storm

We had quite a windstorm yesterday. Boy howdy, it blew through like nobody's business. The wind gusts said to be 97 mph ... HOLY COW!!! It was interesting to sit at home & watch things blow down the street. We saw this tree go down & I am sad to see it go. It has the prettiest colored leaves, as you can see in the pictures, but with the wind that strong it just snapped. The city came by today to take care of all the limbs & trees that were damaged in the storm. They used a chainsaw to take off all the limbs & then they put it in "the chipper." It was sad.