Yeah, it's been *that* long since I've updated. There has been so much going on, that I'm not even sure how to catch up on it all, so instead, I'll just updated about my last week :)
Last weekend, Fri-Sun, I went scrapbooking for the whole weekend! I stayed at the hotel and had a great time. I got 33 pages done!!! Unfortunately, I was sick, too, while there. Once home, I went to the doctor (I do have priorities, right? LOL!) Turned out I had bronchitis. Dr. wrote me out for Monday and Tuesday. I went back to work on Wednesday, was there about 1/2 hour---45 minutes and my boss pretty much told me to go back home. On Thursday morning, back to the doctor I trekked. Bronchitis was pretty much cleared up, but in had moved.....pnuemonia. Dr. said I have to stay home at least until I see him again on Tuesday. Oye! Turned out to be a very expensive scrapbook weekend. LOL!
At least I got a lot done.
I have almost all the pictures from last Summer done, but forgot a set of them. I was not nearly as organized this time as last year. Maybe next time (if I go again...can't afford another weekend like this again soon) I'll get the rest of the summer pictures done and start on Christmas 2008. I also have kids birthday parties, Halloween and Thanksgiving to scrapbook too. I guess that's what I get for taking so many pictures :)
Speaking of pictures, I have so many that I want to share, that I'm not sure where to start, so I'll just be even and pick one of Rich and one of Abigail to share....at least to whet your appetites for more, right???
Today was muffins with mom at Rich's school. What a treat that I was able to sneak away from the office and spend this wonderful time with him. He is such a gregarious little boy~~taking time to introduce me to his friends and people he hadn't even met yet (like the other kids' moms!) Silly, silly boy, but what a great ice breaker, too!
Since it was muffins with mom, they performed a little song.....
Also, we got a picture taken of ourselves....
Yes, I was brave enough to wear my Cottonwood t-shirt to Martin today. Hey, at least it's all blue, right? LOL!
Rich and I counted m&m's, too. We had 80 of all different colors, then had to sort them into colored piles and make a graph. Rich did great counting over and over. I helped with the sorting. The graph he made was tactile, but the teacher wanted to keep it, so I'll have to share that a little later.
Abigail has soccer tomorrow. Today, after school, she went to a friend's house, where they made posters for Student Council. Week after next, is Red Ribbon/Live United week, so they're having a fundraiser and different days to dress up. Abigail and her friend had to make a poster for their class and also a younger class, since they are representatives on the STUCO (student council). So, it was a busy week all the way around!
Okay, I seriously cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted on here. OVER a month? I totally missed September! Geesh! If any of y'all out there are still checking in, I hope this sort of makes up for it.
I've been kinda buried in work, school, and finding old friends. Not necessarily in that order. Richard has been steadily working on the outside of our house, getting it ready to paint. It's kind of polka-dotted right now, because he primed the "raw" wood yesterday and it rained today. Not sure what he's planning for tomorrow, but he hopes to be done by the end of next weekend.
I am still totally LOVING the new job. Well, it's not so new anymore, but I still really enjoy it. I love seeing the kids and helping out the teachers. It's a great job. Just enough gossip to keep me happy, and I don't have to deal with the drama. That's someone else's problem! LOL!
Kids are doing great. Rich knows 18/26 of his braille letters, plus the period symbol and number symbol. Kindergarten is going great for him. Abigail is excelling in school as well. Her parent/teacher conference is tomorrow, and I don't expect any surprises. She tested in the gifted range for reading and missed the math range by 4 points. Not bad. She has 100% in science and not less than a 96% in any of her study areas. I'm impressed with both of them this year. Well, I'm almost always impressed with them. I just sometimes don't realize how much they really are absorbing.
Not much else is going on. My scrap room is still packed up, which is fine. I don't have a lot of time to work on it right now. I am planning on a scrapbook night with some friends in November. I can't wait!! I think I'm going to work on my pictures from this summer. I only took about 300 of them.
Oh, and Abigail has been taking pictures like crazy. I need to download some of them soon to share.
Okay, I need to get going, but felt like I *really* needed to get on here and give y'all an update!!!
I suppose I owe y'all out there an update. A couple of weeks ago, getting ready for the office to be ready for school to start, I pulled a 57 hour work week. Thankfully, I get paid time and a 1/2 for anything over the 40 hours.
After a week like that, you'd think I'd be ready to run for the hills. Thankfully, such is not the case. In fact, I love the job more and more. Today, I had to come home sick (really sick) and was SOOOO disappointed. I guess that's a good sign, huh?
Okay, I'm ready to share the kids' first day of school pictures. I'm not sure what I was thinking (or not thinking), but I didn't think to have anyone take MY picture. Duh!!
Without further ado....here's Abigail and Rich on their first days of school:
Abigail started on August 15 and Rich started on August 19. They are both off to a wonderful start!!
We made it back from our whirl-wind trip around the western part of the United States. All in all, it was a GREAT time. We came home exhausted, but full of memories and happy smiles. We were glad to see Richard/Daddy again and of course, all the pets. I think Skittles the cat was a little mad at us for being gone so long. It took her 2-3 days to really warm up to me again. Not sure how she was with the kids.
Now, it's photo album time. I just downloaded pictures and took 244 while we were gone. I promise not to share all of them, but there are a few that I just have to share! And, in going over all the pictures, I think what I'll do is just share a few with you each time. Then, take more and more and more. I just gotta say, that I'm loving digital, cause you can pick and choose what you want to print--no more blurry prints or fingers over the lens or pictures that make you think "what the heck was that *supposed* to be? Kinda like this one:
But then, there are ones like these, that even with the *old-fashioned* was of developing film, made it worthwhile:
From left to right, a picture of breakfast at YOCF (Your Order Comes Fast) restraunt (at Auntie Di's house), Abigail striking a pose, and Rich & Abigail taking a dip in Auntie Di's hot tub. (We won't mention that Rich didn't have a suit--oh wait, I guess I just did!)
We had dinner at Carolyn's house while we were there. She and her room-mate Kris (Chris?) made us yummy enchiladas, salad, fruit and brownies. Yum! Here are a few shots of that evening.....
Carolyn, Rich, Debbie, Abigail and Di......Chris (Kris?), Abigail, Carolyn, Rich, Di...........Debbie & Steve
Well, folks...that's about all I have time for this morning. Next time, I'll wrap up the Davis leg of the trip and possibly get to the Merced part. School starts next week and I'm already working lots and lots. Still loving it, too!!!
Until next time.....HUGS!!!!
Well, we're done with the first leg of this summer adventure. We left Grandma and Grandpa's house yesterday. We had a great time visiting with grandparents and all the aunties and cousin Carolyn. The kids went bowling, swimming in a spa and several sleep-overs. They had a great time. Abigail had mixed feelings about leaving. She's looking forward to the next stops, but was sad to leave the family.
Rich was ready to move on. So, now, we're spending some time with Grandad and Grandma Vicky. We're going swimming this afternoon. Not sure what else we'll do while here. It's a much quieter pace of life, which is a nice change for me to recharge my batteries.
Richard reports that Maisy's ear is gettng better. So, that's good news, too.
Unfortunately, no new pictures to share. I'll have some after we get home, I think.
Whew, it's been a bit of a busy couple of weeks. I'm going to work on getting this thing caught up today and tomorrow. We'll see just how far I'm able to get.
As mentioned the last time I posted, we had a cloud burst--I think it may have been straight-line winds or a small tornado...we're really not sure. What we are sure about, is that it caused damage. Mostly to our property. Not the neighbors. Go figure.
We lost our trampoline (do you hear Taps playing?) and also the tower for our internet. The west-facing side of the house looks like it got sand-blasted.
Here's a shot of where the trampoline "used" to be. The trampoline was picked up and blown well into our neighbor's yard. So far, that we couldn't see it from anywhere on our property. Pretty amazing. Also, the neighbor said that a piece of the trampline went flying through the sky and stuck straigh up in the ground, like a javelin. They removed it before we got home. I would have liked to have gotten a picture of that as well.
And, you can kind of see in that picture, that the slide on the playset was bent all out of shape too. We also lost part of our fence, which Richard has since fixed.
The kids and I left about a 1 1/2 weeks later for our trip to California (and later Arizona) to visit family. That leaves Richard at home working on trying to get some of this cleaned up. Especially the side of the house.
We've been in CA for about a week now, visiting family. I'll have pictures of this trip to share later. In the meantime, here are a few shots of Maisy in her cone. She got hurt last week, her ear. Richard isn't sure what happened, but he took her to the emergency vet and then sent me these pictures. Poor thing.
Richard reports that since taking her to the vet on Saturday for a follow up, that she now has the cone off. As long as she doesn't shake her head too much, she should be just fine.
I owe y'all out there a nice long post. Unfortunately, this isn't going to be the one. LOL! Between starting the new job, a HUGE storm blowing through and trying to get ready for our vacation, time has been a little short.
But, I've got TONS to share and will get at least some pics posted tonight after work, so check back soon. I miss sharing with y'all that stop by to read about me and my family.
Toodles, Jen
One week until I start my new job. I'm still so excited!! I can't wait to get in there and learn and find out what's going to be expected of me!
And, in honor of that momentous occasion, I went and got my hair cut and colored this weekend.
Abigail was a sweetie and took this picture. She's getting to be quite good with the camera.
In other news, Rich has two loose teeth! The front uppers are working their way loose. Wonder if they'll be gone in time for fall pictures this year. LOL! He also has molars coming in in the back, so I'm feeling kind of sorry for him. His mouth isn't feeling the best right now.
Not much else to report. Haven't been too creative the last few days. Too many chores and things getting in my way!
I did it!! My goal for 2008 was 100 scrapbook pages. Well, on June 1, 2008, I MET that goal. How cool is that?!?! Here is my 100th page.
Now, if any of you out there are asking if this will be my last sb page for 2008, never fear....it's NOT! LOL! I have PLENTY of pictures to scrapbook and if I run out, well, I'll just take MORE pictures!!!!
Have a great day!!!
