Canary Joy

Are We Still In Florida?

2010-01-10T11:47:00.000-08:00

O.K. I think I still live in Florida, but it feels as if hubby moved us back up to Maine. IT'S SO COLD HERE! I don't remember the last time I looked at the temp. and it said 19 degrees! It also snowed. Yes, that's correct, IT SNOWED IN FLORIDA ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 9th, 2010! Well, I'm still trying to get rid of this stupid cold. YUCK! Haleigh and I went through a whole roll of toilet tissue between the two of us last week. Rough though, I think we'll invest in some Puff's Plus with lotion this week. I have a pretty busy week since I stayed home for 2 days last week. It was nice.Two whole days, vegging on the couch and in the bed! I needed the extra rest. No new pictures to display this time. Though with this cold, I have not dyed the hair and appear to be turning into a skunk.SCARY! So, we'll see this week, when Haleigh comes over, if taking pictures is on her to do list!

But Officer, It's Only 5 P.M...

2009-12-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Well, my baby is now 15 years old. WOW! I'm getting old. We decided, since for the past 10 years we have not been in Florida for his birthday, that we would have a party for Alex and a few friends. So, Alex for the past couple of weeks, has been planning and inviting, etc...We told him to let us know what he wanted to do, the menu, the place, etc...He decided to have the party at the house with 26 of his friends and family. Alex and his band,

made their debut in the backyard on the patio. It was awesome. Food, Family, Friends, new talent bursting forth, exciting right? Well,yes, yes, yes, and not quite. Apparently, three of our neighbors, whether it be on our road, or three streets over did not appreciate the young lads budding talent. Yes, it's a first for the Dickinson family. We had the Citrus County Police called out to the Dickinson residents for disturbing the peace. However, the officer was great, and said the boys sounded great, his son is a drummer as well, but it IS his RESPONSIBILITY to respond to all calls. SO, he did. We agreed to do whatever the man in blue advised us to do in order to not give ALex the memory of his parents being hauled off to jail to make our parental point of "But officer, it's only 5 p.m. The noise ordinance is not effective till after 11P.M." Long story short, the officer completely understood, and said since the party ended at 7, to pretend he was never here. SWEET!
SO, ALex and the band, played one last song to commemorate his 15th Birthday and hopefully, prayerfully, his last encounter with the Citrus County police.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

2009-12-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

What a FANTASTIC day! Haleigh Bug, Alex and I spend the morning creating our very own gingerbread house. How fun! Alot of work, which they fail to mention that on the box, but it was fun. We're also puppy sitting for a client, so we took some pics of Haleigh bug and Baxter and Spotty. All three look drunk in the picture, but I can honestly say, liquor was not involved. Dan, Alex and I braved the stores just one last time, hopefully, to finish up some shopping. I believe that's about it. I have to work for alittle while tommorrow before I tackle the never ending grocery list. The world can shop for just about anything online these days, I wonder if Walmart will ship your holiday food shopping list straight to your door?

Let It Snow, Let It Snow,Let It Snow!

2009-12-05T20:28:00.001-08:00

This weekend, we went to Kissimmee with family and friends. Unfortunetly, Kristen, Jared, and Haleigh did not get to come with us.
Buggy caught tonsilitus and Jared was sporting a 101 fever this morning along with Kristen's sore throat. BIG BUMMER! We are praying for a quick recovery! Forward, march...and that's what we've been doing this whole weekend. Seriously, we had to walked atleast 50+ miles today. We went to Downtown Disney, and Celebration this evening to see the snow. How awesome it has been today. We missed seeing the expressions on Kristen, Jared, and Haleigh's face when the "snow" began falling at Celebration, but, maybe next year. Anyway, we've been "wooping it"up with our oldest son Sean, and his girlfriend, Kate, and Alex.
Alex and I even shared the best Brownie Sundae this evening and I just know that delicious culinary treat put 5 pounds on my hips. Some things are just worth it!

We survived!

2009-11-09T15:46:00.000-08:00

Well, it's been ALONG time since my last post. Yes, we did do the hike. However, we did not complete it all. After the ups and downs we had, we only did 53 miles. We plan on going back someday and finishing the remaining 20 something miles, but, we'll see. It was awesome. The views, the weather, the experience. Breathtaking. All together we only hiked for 4 1/2 days. Some of our fellow compadres did not finish with us, but they sure did put in 100% while they hiked. Dan and I did get to have some alone time, in the woods, on top of a mountain, which was WONDERFUL. We camped and hiked together, just the two of us, for 2 days. It was awesome.
We learned alot from this trip. Like, 60 pounds is alittle too much for one man to carry. And the body tends to react and respond to such weight in not so nice ways, NO MATTER HOW MUCH TRAINING AND PREP YOU DO. But, like I said, it was worth it. And we found out we need to do alittle more research. So, it wasn't a wasted trip after all.
Though, we did learn the hard way one very important lesson. If you plan on taking pictures, at all, of your adventures, it's better to invest in a digital camera that you feel comportable with rather than numerous disposable cameras. $54.00 later, and only a few pictures came out. UUUUGGGG!!!! That was hard to swallow. Oh well...

South Carolina, Here We Come!

2009-09-22T14:02:00.001-07:00

Well, as you can see, three of us are very excited about our trip. We leave in 2 days. WOW! Time has kicked in turbo drive. It's hard to believe this crazy adventure is really here. I've been asking ALOT of questions these last couple of days. I sure hope and pray we have trained hard enough for this expedition. I think we have.

Well, Kristen and Jared celebrated their anniversary this week.

And that meant Haleigh Bug stayed with us for 2 days and 2 whole nights.

She was an absolute joy. We tried to do as much as we could before we leave.

It's going to be 2 weeks before we get back. WOW! I already miss my family and friends and we haven't even left yet. We will be taking lots of pictures and ibuprofen...HAHA, and I'm keeping a journal to write down our days ups and downs (the mountains, that is) enlightened moments ( what we're we thinking, those thoughts etc...) and plans to get Dan back, I'm sure. Just Kidding. I'm on board with this trip just as much as he is. Though I have to admit, seeing a port-a-potty in the wooods during our trek would be a most welcomed treat. UUGGG!

It's Buggy Time!

2009-09-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

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Is it just me, or does Haleigh look ALOT older these days?

Here's Kristen and Haleigh coloring a picture for Pop-Pop.

And here's Haleigh and I checking out this year's future orange crop. Looks like it will be Orange Marmalade in every ones Christmas baskets this year.

We have been VERY busy with our upcoming hike. It's in 3 WEEKS, YEAH!!!!! This weekend we camped out in our tents. Dan and I have our own tents, and decided we better get a trial run in (sleeping in separate tents), before our trip. This was the first time, EVER, in a tent by myself.It wasnt too bad. Though there's nothing like the comfort of your very own cuddle bear to help lul you to sleep. But, I guess the ole Tylenol P.M. will have to be the bear on this trip.

Quick, Turn Off The Butane!

2009-08-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

O.K. Just to let you know in advance, I'm having one of "those" days and spelling was not one of my better subjects in school, so... here goes. I have been sick with a glandular infection and finally went to the doctors . Needless to say, my hiking prep for a week and a half has been nada, zilch, nothing. I can only clean one house a day but then feel like a 90 year old needing her oxygen tank and wheelchair. Anyway, we did do alittle hiking prep with the crew regarding our kitchen skills, tents, and safety skills. Here's how it went. Here's our stove.
Dan, a.k.a Thunderbolt, lite the stove in our living room to see how easy or hard it would be. No, problem, it's very easy to use just don't get too close while lighting or you will get a very ODD odor seeping up your nostrils. We also tried one of the soup mixes that we will have on the trail.
If you like Cheddar and Broccoli then this is for you. For those of you who are amongst the normals and despise the green stuff, your better off eating a granola bar and peanut butter instead. We worked with our tents to see how long it would take to set them up.

We had no manuals and eventually we got it. Dan, Tammi, and Alex donned their packs on and hiked 3 miles last Saturday. Dan made it in 52 minutes. I asked later if he was planning to keep the same pace when we are on the trail, and thankfully he said no. He's in training now, so he's whipping his body into shape. Alex, according to both Tammi and Dan ,said the kid was jumping around after this hike. He had no problem with the hike and his pack that weighed about 25 pounds. This has put my mind at ease. My baby will be o.k. on this adventure. I thought for sure we would have to carry his load and maybe him at times, but he can handle it. Oh youthful energy, how I long to have you back.

Now if you ask Alex about his great upcoming adventure he still acts like it's the end of the world. HELLO...am I missing something here. What teenager doesn't want to get out of school for 2 weeks? His vice principal, Mr. Darby thinks this is an awesome opportunity, wishes he could join us, and is getting everything prepared, ahead of time, so Alex can have all the work he will miss completed before he even leaves for the trip. How great is that? On Thursday night we went over some excellent emergency and safety skills/scenarios with a friend Carl, and his wonderful daughter Kessid. It was a blast! And though it will add alittle extra weight to my pack, I think I'm going to bring part of the safety manual with us on our trip, just in case. Well, as I am writing this, my fellow com padres are on a 6 mile hike. I'm still getting my strength back and do not want to over do it. So here I sit.Do you think blogging and typing can be considered hiking prep? I'll need the extra strength in my fingers and hand to catapult my bear bag up and over the tree. Yep, that's it!

Are We Really Going To Do This?

2009-08-16T15:40:00.000-07:00

What have we gotten ourselves into, has been the phrase floating around amongst us lately. With our impending trip rapidly approaching, we have decided to kick up our training, drastically. And, since all of us hikers involved in this crazy adventure have not been diligent in training alone, we've decided to meet 3 times a week, and hold each other accountable. OUCH! So, on Saturday, Dan, Tammi, and I set time aside for some serious training! Dan picked out a trail that was 7 miles long. So we put our loaded packs on and ventured into the woods eager to push these bodies to the limit and see how they would react. Well, surprisingly enough, we all woke up Sunday morning, and are not sore, at all. HALLELUJAH. So, we have either not pushed hard enough, have conditioned alittle with what minimal training we have been doing, or our bodies are just waiting for us to relax only to turn on us in pure rebellion in order to possibly prevent this crazy expedition. Now don't misunderstand, this WAS challenging in almost 90 degree weather. We made plans to avoid the scorching sun by starting our hike at 7:30 a.m. Well, that time came and went and we stepped foot onto the Citrus Trail, Loop D at 8:40 a.m.

Needless to say, we DID NOT miss the brain frying sun, and the last mile seemed to almost do all of us in. I know, we live in the SUNSHINE state, but for those who are not used to the direct sun beating down on you, know that there are certain times of the day, that if you can avoid this appointment, then your better off scheduling activites when the sun is not out blazing in all its glory. Well, we did not, and even though our car was only parked a mile away, this girl was tempted to hitch a ride with the next available mode of transportation that did not require me to exert anymore energy to get to where I needed to go. Though it was tough, I have to admit, it was worth the effort and energy. We hiked in the Withlacoochee Forest, about 10 minutes from the house. Parts of the forest were quite pretty for Florida.

It's not Table Rock, but still pretty for Florida. We did see some wildlife...moths, butterflies,
a baby turtle, and a deer.
Oh, and we saw the most welcoming and pretty red truck in front of us, not too far ahead, that brought hope and alittle happiness to us weary hikers, that yes indeed, we managed and survived this test of endurance.
So, maybe we're not as crazy as we thought...MAYBE?

Haleigh and Gramzie's Play Date...

2009-07-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Hello Bloggers. This post comes way past due. Life has been busy with many joys and cares and concerns. It was a refreshing day on Wednesday though. Haleigh Bug came over for some Gramzie time. It was Gramzie however, who needed my little Bug fix. We had a wonderful day exploring outside.

It was a good thing Haleigh wanted to go play in the backyard. We discovered that Gramzies grass was in dire need of mowing. If left too much longer, Haleigh would have been lost amongst the tall giant-like weeds that seemed to have strategically preyed upon my once thriving bahia grass.
It was a very HOT day, which quickly helped Haleigh decide that dirt, sweat, and unknown creatures crawling on your shoe was her que to retreat to a cooler and safer environment, free of foreign inhabitants, especially those with more than 2 legs...YUCK!!!!

Bye,Bye creepy crawlies!

Cryptosporidium,Bacteria and Protozoan Cysts Be Gone...

2009-06-13T15:24:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, Dan and I went to the first of many trips to the outfitters store in Ocala for our upcoming hiking trip in the fall. YEAH!!! We purchased our ever important water filtering system. This contraption will pump out 2 liters per minute... AWESOME... A much quicker plan to the previous ones we have researched. I'm so excited. It also anhilates all diarrhea and other uncomfortable illness causing ickys, not seen by the human eye, in the water ones about to ingest. We looked at all sorts of different gear etc...We decided on which tent and sleeping bags we will get. So now we know what brands and are on the hunt to find them at the most economical price. We still have many more hours of research ahead, but today's outing has definitely aroused the hiking bug. We are going to check out some of Walmarts supplies to compare quality and pricing, and make final decisions on which outfitter to choose. The ole' wallet is screaming Walmart prices, however, we've learned that sometimes it pays to pay alittle extra for quality which will in the end last longer. Not all items fall under this category, but in this case, definitely.

Hello Bloggers!

2009-06-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been along time since I posted. We've been quite busy here in the Dickinson household. Dan and I went to Fernandina Beach recently and then to my parents house for the weekend. Alex was able to join us during the beginning of the week, but with finals at school, he was a responsible student and went back home to study, yep, that's what he did. And I'm happy to report, he passed and is now entering...HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!

Work has been CRAZY busy, like 3 and 4 houses a day during the week with one day off. Last week I had 4 jobs on Monday, 3 on Tuesday, off Wednesday, 4 on Thursday and I was off on Friday. On my days off, Haleigh bug and I catch up on some extra playtime...YEAH!!!!!

With our hike coming up, every job I complete I'm logging down as hiking prep. Absolutely!!!There's alot of calories to be burned cleaning houses now. I'm still working on the whole backpack and walking with a 30 pound load. Not quite there yet. I have alot of goals set...running, drink more water, cut out sugar, etc...but I'm not stressing over unmet goals yet. Baby steps. Every little bit of prep helps. For those of you interested in the cakes we've been trying to create, here's the car pics. I'm still waiting on the spaghetti pics and will post asap.

I have also discovered that yes, even when you are up to your elbows in marshmallow fondant and powdered sugar, you still burn calories. Question...How did one come up with the exact calculation of calories burned during baking? Did they take into consideration the taste testing involved and the physical exertion one expels during such a task? I do believe that every baker/cook should be required to taste test and that that should somehow cancel out a certain number of calories for taking into consideration the safety and culinary needs and wants of our family and friends.

Back to Business...

2009-05-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

Well, vacation is over...UGGG! I know, it's only been 3 weeks, and I'm ready to go again. PATIENCE GIRL!!!!!! Anyway, the next few weeks are going to be very busy. We have 2 cakes to make, and we are catering a party. YEAH...MEATBALLS! The first cake was a spaghetti cake for a friends surprise 50th birthday,(which we actually did already this past Saturday, and it was pretty cool) and the other is a 1959 Ford Edsel cake. I'm so excited. This will be our first attempt creating a car cake. The spaghetti cake I think was pretty easy. All the OOPS that happened where covered by squwiggling (is that an actual word...SQU-WIGG-LE-ING???)frosting noodles. FUN!!!

Wednesday Haleigh Bug is coming over for the day.

And tommorrow Dan and I are going to a seminar. We are spending the whole day together. We will be entering the wonderful world of INSULATION...Yeah!! Dan and I get to sit at the feet of one of the most well renowned scholars of the pink stuff (remember the Pink Panther commercial)? I did find out that it's in Tampa at the Hilton in the West Shore district, around the airport, before going over the Howard Franklin Bridge. My plan is to endure, I mean soak up and retain as much info as I can stand, I mean get, and then maybe make my way to the West Shore Plaza mall for alittle down time before the second half of the day. We will see. All together the seminar is for 9 hours. UUGGG, I mean YEAH!!! Last time I was at that mall was when Dan was in school for his contractor's license. I made my way over to the mall and walked around Sak's 5th Avenue. I saw the most hidious dress I wouldn't even put on someone to be buried in. The dress was red and had all this ugly beading on it and the price tag was $1221.00. Do people really pay that much for one article of clothing? I once payed $20.00 for a dress, and about talked myself out of it because I thought it was too much. But my honey helped me through this buying purchase challenge, and I'm glad he did. Though I have to admit. I love being able to go to the local thrift store and fill a bag for $5.00. Beat that Saks!

DID I MAKE IT THROUGH? I COULDN'T WAIT TO TELL...
Yes, I survived the 9 hour seminar. YEAH!!! I have to admit, it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I walked away with some new found skills that I plan on putting into practice, no worries mates, I'm not going to use you as guinea pigs, or will I? I'll never tell...Anyway, the information was quite interesting! SURPRISE to me too. It was nothing like I invisioned in my mind. Dan and I was even called to do alittle role playing infront of all these people. Thank God we did not have to say anything. I threatened Dan with his life if this man called on us. But, it wasn't has horrific as I imagined. Oh, I also thought we were going to a totally different hotel. I never stepped foot into Saks 5th Avenue. However we did spend 9 hours in a Hilton. A first for me. OOOH LAAAA LAAA! Did you know that there are 2 faucets per sink in the restroom? Quite enlightening for me.Before class began, I naturally was looking for the little girls room. Well, imagine my surprise when I stepped into the ladies room and saw 2 faucets in each sink. What is that for? COOL, A spiket for each hand...OOOH, FANCY!!! Well, just imagine the squeal of amazement that sounded forth when I was washing my hands. The second faucet is not for water, but a soap dispenser in disquised.WOW!!! What a handy little contraption. I had so much fun with it. One squwirt or two miss,Hmm..FOUR please. Hey, you would too. And it smelled SO good. It really made my hands soft as well. I had NEVER seen this ingenious invention before in a public facility. O.k, maybe not that public. But at least for the day, this girl was afforded the most luxurious bathroom experience of my life. And I didn't have to spend the $119.00 per night fee. Yes, and that was their "special discounted rate." OOH LAAA LAAAA!! Though, it got me thinking on the way home. Have we as a society really become that lazy? Who comes up with these ideas, REALLY?
Maybe it's to make every persons bathroom experience at this Hilton more "green"-you know earth friendly etc...VISIT YOUR LOCAL BACKYARD...Just kidding. Maybe someone, during their unmentionables, decided... How can I change the way people experience their bodies natural plumbing tendancies from ENDURING the process to being the MASTER of their domain. HMMMM! Self squwirting soap dispensers.TAADAAA! I wonder if the Hilton cleaning ladies get to wear fancy uniforms? I hear that Saks has an appropriate little uniform for a mere $1200.00. Take it from me, it doesn't matter what I'm wearing to clean in, if there's fancy, smancy soapy thingies or not, talking paper towel holders or whatever else is invented in the future for a more "comfortable" bathroom experience, if I have to clean up after others unmentionables the last thing on my mind is OOOHHH look at that, 2 faucets! However, when it's my turn to be graced by the ingenious work of yet another tidy bowl mastermind, I can only pray that they take a moment to reflect, with thanksgiving, the hard working cleaning staff, that clean the millions of bathrooms out there. Now, tidy bowl masterminds, create...only this time, can someone please invent the self cleaning bathroom...Calling all cleaning girls...Stand with your toilet scrubbers high girls and proclaim...IT'S NOW OUR TURN TO BE PAMPERED IN LUXURY!!!

WE MADE IT!!!!

2009-04-28T07:37:00.000-07:00

This weekend, we went back to Pickens, South Carolina, with our pastor and lovely wife (J.D. and Margie Hatfield) to conquer Table Rock Mountain.

YEE HAW!!!!! What a challenge.
Dan and I thought this would be a good tester to see just how "prepared" we are for our 76 mile hike coming up this fall. Well, we both received a serious reality check. We did make it all the way up to the top and back,
however, we definetly are looking at the upcoming hike alittle differently. It's time for some SERIOUS hiking prep. Dan carried about 45 pounds on his back up Table Rock, and I carried a WHOPPING maybe 7. It was quite comfortable though. But after talking to our friends who have hiked numerous trails across the U.S.A. including the Foothills Trail, the average hiker carries 1/5 of their weight in their pack. That's about 25 pounds for me....UUUGGGG!!!! Needless to say, Dan and I both have realized just how challenging this is going to be and to increase our training for the fall hike, DRASTICALLY!!! It's time to enroll in the THUNDERBOLT TRAINING PROGRAM...yikes. Right now we are continuing our endurance training using the Mountaineer Stair Climber, and now are adding walking with our backpacks loaded with 1/5 of our weight. This should be interesting for me. I wonder if I'll make it past the drive way?

Happy 1st Birthday Bug!!

2009-03-24T18:11:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!! It's been a whole year! Today, Haleigh went to the zoo with mommy and daddy. She really enjoyed the water fountain play area for alittle while. She slept for a half an hour on the way down to Tampa. However, her mommy said she can see a tooth trying to cut thru, which explains why she's been a wee bit on the cranky side...Oh, well bug...It's your birthday, and you can cry if you want too! Love you bunches, from Gramzie and PopPop!

She's Almost One! ONE? ALREADY???

2009-03-10T07:14:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!! It's hard to believe that Haleigh is going to be one on March 24th. Has it really been a whole year? Pop-Pop and I are going to be making her birthday cake that her mommy designed!! We were quite impressed with our daughters creativity. Haleigh will be celebrating her first birthday with a three teird SpongeBob and Bikini Bottom themed cake. We are very excited and up for the challenge.

Dan and I are looking forward to our upcoming hiking trip! YEAH!!!!! We will be going back to South Carolina too conquer Table Rock Mountain. We are not completely "ROUGHING" it, YET...
We are bring Rocky (a.k.a. our pop-up camper). The BIG test for us will be in September. We are planning our first thru hike on the Foothills Trail in South Carolina and North Carolina. I haven't decided what to call this adventure yet. Maybe the... Make You or Break You Tour? ,The Nitty Gritty Challenge, Pack it In and Out, Thunderbolt Insanity Proclamation. I'm not sure what to call it yet, but whatever we decide, Dan and I will be hiking 76 miles, start to finish, with our backpacks loaded with enough food, supplies, and whatever else Dan feels we need to "rough" it in the woods with. Dan may however be caring more than supplies on his back...like ME!!!! This sounds fun, challenging,YES I conquered the mountain, but no water, electricity, "real" food, etc... Nope, it's just Dan and I (I do like that idea, unless we both stink from not submerging ourselves in a warm bath for 8 days, without soap...YUCK!!)Anyway, it will be just us two, braving the elements (Yeah like hiker craving mosquitos, and other woodly creatures waiting for our demise). FOCUS CINDY!!!It will be Gramzie and Pop-Pop, hiking the trail, enjoying nature, chilling around the fire with fellow hiker enthusiast! Enjoying God's creation. Sounds kinda fun..RIGHT? Well Pop-pop's not going to completely strip me of modern conveniences on this trip.I will be bringing my camera. I want to get pictures of our time in the woods,capturing everything,the good, the bad, and the ugly! So, we will see. For now, we have ALOT of planning, and researching to do concerning our trip. Did you know theymake backpacks and sleeping bags, and tents that weigh only one pound? Seriously! They'll cost you your retirement fund, but yeah, who needs retirement money when you can proudly announce I CONQUERED the mountain?! Oh Lord Help Me!

Look Mom, No Hands...

2009-02-19T19:39:00.000-08:00

Hello!!!! Haleigh bug, you are the cutest. It's hard to believe that she's almost one. Yes, one year old. WOW!!! Time has put on a turbo pack and is flying at lightning speed it seems.

Look everybody, NO HANDS. I'm WALKING...O.k. two days ago it was more like running across the room. Just a few weeks ago she looked like her legs were made out of jello as she concentrated so hard to standup and walk without falling on her backside. NOW...she's not just walking across the room, I'm pretty sure she's been watching track and field competitions, she is sprinting across the living room at full speed these days.
Luckily her buddy SpongeBob was sitting over by her toys and distracted her before she went into overdrive.

Vacation is over...ALREADY?

2009-01-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

> Hello!!! I know it has been SO LONG since I posted. But, life has been BUSY, BUSY ,BUSY!!!! The holidays, cake making, vacationing, and of course working...Oh my! Well, here are a few pictures of what has been going on...

Here's Ms. Dorlas Chicken Foot cake.
Dan and I at the GSF Christmas Formal. Hi Honey Bun. Here's my sweetie, hard at work at my parent's house during Christmas.

This picture was taken at Devils Fork State Park in Salem, South Carolina. We had a ball exploring, and camping out with our friends. We are defintely planning on going back some day.

More hiking please...This was one of the waterfalls we decided to go see. Getting to the waterfall was fairly easy, and the views ,spectacular!! We took SOOOOO MANY pictures! I will post new ones each time and a description of what's going on. Until then, enjoy a few of our friends and our family chilling, seriously, like human popsicles ...

O.k.,o.k., do not be fooled, this picture was not taken in South Carolina, it was in Georgia, middle Georgia actually. Just wanted to show that we indeed THAWED out...look, short sleeves...

Is This Couch Taken?

2008-12-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

Oh, my. What a wonderful Thanksgiving we had. We went to our daughters house. And had dinner with her, Haleigh, Jared, and Jared's parents, Tim and Lori. It was a nice RELAXING time. Add that to the 10 pounds of turkey, it seemed, I ate, and you have the makings of an afternoon delight called...NAPPIE time. Snoozie Land here I come. I was not the only one bitten by the snooze bug...

Haleigh kept all of us entertained, as she explored the house. OOOH, what is that...PEPSI!!!!!

Thank You Lord for my family...

Well, Saturday, Dan and I are delivering a birthday cake for our friend. It's a SURPRISE PARTY!!!!!YEAH!!!! SO, all week, we've been preparing and baking. Today, however, we put the fondant on the first layer....YEAH, it worked. No rips. PHEEEEWWWWWW!!!!! Dan has the cake topper spinning. He figured out how to make the topper rotate using a music box thingy majig. He's SOOOOOOO savy, cool, cute, dreamy, O.k. O.k. Moving on. Anyway, other than being in cake upto our elbows, not too much is going on. I'm looking forward to the weekend. I'm eagerly anticipating how this cake is going to turn out and if she likes it. We will see...

A Little Taste...

2008-11-24T08:20:00.001-08:00

When I look at these pictures an old hymn comes to mind..."Just one glimpse of Him in glory, will the toils of life repay. When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be, when we all see Jesus, we'll sing and SHOUT the VICTORY!" Oh what a WONDERFUL time we had. Our time at the Historic Bok Tower was truly a time that the "toils" Dan and I we're dealing with that weekend, were indeed bareable. Being there, and seeing God's creativity in his creation was amazing. Looking at all the details was a much needed reminder, for me, of how God is in control and cares about every detail in our lives. It may not seem like it, but God really does have a plan. Our responsibility, my responsibility, is to TRUST and accept His will. Easier said then done, at times, but like my Granny Keenan always says, You have to take one day at a time. Thanks for that nugget of wisdom Granny.

Well, I have SO many pictures to share, I'm not sure which ones. Here are a few more of the Historic Bok Tower Gardens. And let me just add, I believe everyone should take time and bask in the beauty of God's creation, and that place is a unique and beautiful place to do just that...

Now, here's a few pictures from our camping trip, as well. The bike trails were AWESOME! However, I do believe that you would have to be declared clinicaly insane to bike some of them. We actually met two patients, I mean people who did Moonscape and the other EXTREME EXTREME trails. Yes, on a bike, of their own free will...WILLINGLY they took the lives in there own hands...CRAZY!!!!!

"Artsy-Fartsy" and other Firsts.

2008-11-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

MEOW!!! Haleigh is dressed up in her cute little pink cat costume today. I took pictures for one of my customers who gave us money to spend on Haleigh's first Halloween. Well, Pop-Pop and I had a ball. We went to Walmart and found lots of yummy harvest vegetable babyfood, stuffed sqweeky kitty cat for nappie time, bubbles, juice, baby bottle candy and pacifer sucky thingy, and a cute little Dora T-shirt. Oh, and her new Disney Princess basket. What fun we had.

Well this week we are getting ready for our camping trip with our fantastic friends, the wild and crazy mountain biking crew, and family.. IT'S FINALLY HERE!!!YEAH!!!YIPPEEE!!!!HOORAY!!!! I'm ready, NOW to leave. There's still so much to prep and get ready for, but well worth the lack of sleep in preparing. This Saturday, Dan and I are going with two of our BFF's (Hee Hee) in the whole wide world (HAW HAW) to the Bok Tower Gardens to see the.....ORLANDO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA!!!!! A dream come true for me. A first for Dan! I'm very thankful he wants to go. It was his idea two years ago. I have the best husband in all the world!!
We are camping at the Alafia River State Park in Lithia Florida. Anyone ever heard of Lithia? Anyway, it's suppose to have the best off-road biking trails in the state. The park's land is part of an old phosphate mining plant. We will get there on Friday afternoon after the boys get out of school. Then Saturday Dan and I are going to Lake Wales, kid free, for a day of fun. I know, you must be thinking an orchestra, classical music?...UEEWWWWWW!!! Artsy Fartsy stuff, NO THANK YOU!!!! Trust me when I say, there is not one ounce of artsy fartsy in Dan,
O.K. the fartsy, yes, but the artsy, NEVER, and he's still going. Just try and picture this. You're sitting outside in God's arena, among the beautiful gardens as the backdrop adding to the overwhelming anticipation of whats to come. Excitement coarsing through every part of your body , then the curtain begins to open. The excitement intensifies and the music begins to play......THEN!!!!!!! NO words are heard, No sighs are released. Just the sound of many different people, different instruments, all tuned to the one purpose they are their for... to present this beautiful meloudious symphonic story, told and played right before you. WOW!!! Simply breathtaking!! That's what I'm looking forward too. As for Dan, well, I guess he may have the same experience, or he'll just have to let his ears get the cultural shock "Artsy-Fartsy" workout. Either way, it's going to be a day I'll not soon forget.

LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!

2008-10-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Kevin! What a great week it has been. Dan and I attempted our first themed birthday cake, together. Well? What do you think? We had such a blast from beginning to end. We are both pretty excited about our venture into the "Cake World". And both of us are eager to challenge each others skills and creativity. I was quite impressed with my "Maine Man, Dan". He came up with the idea of the castle, and made the cake from start to finish. Even the marshmallow walls. The only thing I did to the castle was spray color and make the flag. WOW!!! GO HONEY!! Anyway, it looks as if we may have our first customer. Our friends son is getting married in May, and while at a birthday party, we were approached about making the "WEDDING CAKE" UUUGGGGG!!!! OOOOHHHHHHH!!! They heard about our dragon cake, and the rest is history. Dan and I are VERY excited, and nervous. But it's not until May 2009, so that will give us both plenty of time to create. YEAH!!!
Finally, Thanks go out to the Cohen crew for letting Dan and I share in the family fun and excitment of Kevin's birthday. We had alot of fun, and the look on his face was priceless.

Thanks T-Rohey for taking the pics. Until next time! Oh, remember to BRUSH YOUR TEETH ALWAYS after eating creative concotions containing such sugary substances!

SURPRISE!!!! GREAT GRAMMY!!!!

2008-10-20T13:51:00.000-07:00

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Happy Birthday Mom! This weekend, Kristen, Jared, Haleigh, Joanna(my sister), and I, surprised my mom for her birthday. We left Friday, and stayed at a motel overnight in Fort Myers, Florida. My mom had no idea we were down there.

My dad was in on the whole thing. Dad even came to the hotel and met Haleigh for the first time, and went out to dinner with us.
We had a wonderful time! On Saturday, we drove down to Naples to my mom's friend's house for the surprise party. Mom had NO IDEA! We were all hiding in the kitchen and mom was telling Christina how we could not make it down for the party. HILARIOUS!!! SURPRISE MOM!!!! After the party we drove back to Fort Myers and spent the remaining weekend at my parents house. On Sunday my mom, sister, and I decided to try and find an indian grocery store. She loves one of the dishes I make. I gave her the recipe, and we went on the hunt for the spices she would need. We found a wonderful Indian Grocery Store down there. I was like a little kid in a toy store. It was so organzied, and had such a variety. The people who owned the store were very nice and amuzed at the three white women squealing, giggling, and frolicking like little girls inside the store over all the possibilities of great new tempting dishes awaiting our creativity.SWEET!!!!!
Anyway, mom bought me a new chappati pan for my birthday. Dan was really excited to see that come home with me. He already has plans to use it to make some blackened chicken. YUMMMY! It was a great weekend, and I had fun with the family!It is also nice to be back home. Now I can rest. Do you ever do that. GO on vacation, and come back needing a vacation from your vacation? Oh well. We played hard, laughed hard, and enjoyed EVERY FUN-FILLED MINUTE!!!

Pick me up, and I'll be your best friend..Oh bring the turkey too!

2008-10-05T14:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Uncle Alex! Well, it's been a busy past few weeks...work, family, fun, you know, the usual. Haleigh Bug is growing SO fast! Pop-Pop and I are having a ball watching her while mommy and daddy are at work. Her mommy and daddy have been introducing her to new foods...sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, pears, peas, and green beans. What a great variety. Kristen's really excited about feeding her turkey for Thanksgiving. Did you know that you can buy turkey and chicken in baby food jars now. Yes, it's already ground up and ready to go. Just heat and eat. WOW!! Yum, Yum. You try it first Pop-Pop!

Now, can you guess,besides eating, what one of the other FAVORITE activities Haleigh is beginning to enjoy?

HOLD ME, Here I am, Oh pick me up. Hello, I'm down here! Would someone please pick me up. Yep, ANd we do. Come on now...You would too! Would you be able to resist?...

I'm A Big Girl NOW!!!

2008-09-17T07:10:00.001-07:00

YEAH!!!LOOK AT ME!!!!!I can sit-up and play with my toys ALL BY MYSELF!!! This has been a fun filled week with Haleigh Bug. She sits up now by herself. And she loves to throw her toys over the side when she's sitting in her walker. LOOK OUT BELOW!!!!

Well Haleigh decided this week to take a closer look at Gramzie's plant which was positioned strategically in-between her pack-n-play and the bookshelf. NO PROBLEM /> Look at that face...Oh my, what was that? How did that happen? That plant was there just a minute ago, it was the wind, No, Uncle Alex did it, maybe Uncle Sean.

O.k. I can't take the pressure. I DID IT!! IT WAS ME!!

The boys are back to routine with school. Sean went job hunting yesterday. He really wants to get his license and taste alittle open road freedom from Dan and I. However, he as to get a job in order to pay for his insurance. SO, he applied to a couple of places, and we'll see.
Not much is going on with Alex. Skateboarding, of course, and that's about it. Life over here has been pretty much routine. Kind of nice. No surprises, etc... Well, I did finally get some batteries for the camera, So here's Haleigh Bug...

Haleigh, WOW'S and Balistic Adventures.

2008-09-02T18:11:00.000-07:00

Hi Haleigh Bug. You are so cute. Gramzie loves you! Today I watched Haleigh at her house while her mommy went to work. She was an absolute doll baby. She was very well behaved, and she showed quite the little personality today. She was sitting in her jumper watching her puppy, Moose and I, play with his chicken chew toy. Moose kept putting it in his mouth and shaking the chicken violently around. Well, Haleigh couldn't take it anymore, and just gave in and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. She thought that puppy was the funniest. SHe kept watching him the rest of the day and smiling when he would walk by. He jumped up on the couch while I was holding Haleigh, and she reached for him. AWWWW!!!!

We had an amazing LOOONNGGG weekend. It was wonderful. We were suppose to go camping down south at the Alafia State Park. However, when we tried to make the reservations, the whole campground was already full. OOOPPPSSS, way to plan ahead. O well. Anyway, our friends graciously let us come over to their beautiful homestead. So, we loaded up Rocky & the boys and headed for Camp Cohen.We were treated like royalty. I even utilized the camp spa treatment for my aching body. We did some off road biking. Yes it was the Cohen Family and the Dickinsons, and T-Roy braving the elements to outwit and outlast the bike trails in Santos. We had a ball.Some of the trails posted an EXPERT sign. NAY....OOPS. I guess we should of paid attention to the signs alittle better.( one back and hinee was put to the ultimate test, but the rider was victorious....Great Skills Mr. Cohen!!)
Our weekend of adventure was far from over. We went swimming, played board games, worked on music, and shot potatoes through the air with a potatoe gun. WOW!!
Amazing what alittle PVC pipe, and hairspray can do. It was quite educational for the munchkins and it helped detour pesky critters wandering about. I don't have pictures. I forgot the camera at the house on Friday night. OOPPS!! Dan and I were suppose to get to the camp at around 5 that night, however, Dan's best friend from high school called us on Thursday and asked if we wanted to meet in Orlando for dinner. It had been 9 years since they saw each other. So in all the excitment of driving back from Orlando on Friday night and switching vehicles at 12:30 in the morning, I forgot the camera. Oh, well. Anyway, we had a wonderful Labor day weekend. I'm not sure how much 'laboring'we did, but if having so much FUN with family and friends is considered labor, then we did exactly that.

Ninjas , Noses, and a New School Year!!!

2008-08-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

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Hello everyone! Yes, I know, it's been awhile since I've posted, but life has been busy and our computer decided, against our wishes, to go on strike until it received some long overdue TLC. Anyway, school is back in session...YEAHHH!!!!! I think both Sean and Alex were ready. Sean is a senior this year...Big man on campus, and Alex is experiencing alittle of the same status being in 8th grade, his last year of middle school. WOW!!!Remember Alex, do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Next year you will be back on the bottom of the old school food chain!

I'm not sure what Sean's plans are for after highschool, but he has his father and I alittle concerned. Today he announced he was going to become a ninja. Yes, I said NINJA!!!!
So Dan and I went in the backyard and took pictures of our new little ninja, I mean Big, Strong, Ninja boy..man. UUGGGG!

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Alex, under the amazing cooking instructions of his father Dan, learned how to make grilled cheese sandwiches and tomatoe soup for all of us last week...yeah..Yum Yum! He really did great. It really hit the spot too during all the rain we had last week. Nothing like a warm bowl of tomatoe soup and a grilled cheese sandwich to dip to help chase the rainy day away.

Well Haleigh is now 5 months old. Can you believe that? Dan watched her today while I was at work. He took pictures of her today for me. He fed her peas for lunch. YUMMY! I was glad though I wasn't home for clean-up time. However, there were a few ninja peas hiding up in Haleighs nose waiting for me when I came home. HIYAW!!

Happy 20th Anniversary!

2008-08-05T13:14:00.000-07:00

Tommorrow, August 6th, is our anniversary. It's hard to believe Dan and I have been married for 20 years. WOW!!!! I still feel like a kid, and yet we are grandparents.
We both, not telling each other till yesterday, gave ourselves the day off. We both had the same idea. We are going to spend the day together, WORK FREE!!!!!YIPEEEE!!!!!! We don't have anything planned, but we both have a few ideas. You know your getting older when you have a day off, and you want to take a nap!UGGGG!
Let me see, whatelse can I tell you. Oh, I'll give you the run down on Dan and I courting, dating, etc... My mother worked for Dan's uncle and my sister said I needed to see this guy that kept bugging her at work. Yes, Dan was trying to date my sister...first. Anyway, we went to my mom's work, and there he was. Oh My...Look at HIM!!!....I told my sister she could do better, and was not impressed by him, at all. His first impression of me was mutual, we both did not like each other at first.
Anyway, my sister was dating Dan's best friend before you know it, and Dan was the third wheel. Anyway, they thought Dan and I should go out on a date. I reluctantly agreed, and the evening ended with...I'll never go out with that...again. After numerious attempts from my sister to convince me to give this guy a second chance I still was not interested until...
One evening, Dan came over and apologized for the horrible first date. And asked for a second date. I was completely smitten with him. I had never had any guy apologize for being such a ...guy, and that said something about his character. Anyway, we went on a second date, third date, etc... and here we are. 20 years later. We both have watched each other grow-up as individuals, and together as a couple. We were married on August 6th, 1988. Dan was 18 years old, and I was 16. It's been a very growing and learning experience. And I'm thankful that it was and is with Dan. He is my better half. I'm looking forward to another 20,30,40,etc...wonderful years.!Love YOU Honey! Happy Anniversary.

Mystery, Memories , and Military Don'ts!

2008-07-24T03:30:00.000-07:00

Have ever wondered why, when your about to go on vacation, you can't wait for it to begin? And when reality has hit you and it's your last day of your vacation, you hurry up to get things pack, and ready so you can hurry back home and get back to routine? Weird!!! Anyone every think that way? Maybe it's a safety switch in my brain that turns on, otherwise I would stay on vacation FOREVER!!! I was thinking about that this morning. We had fun. ALOT of fun. So much fun, that I'm not sure what to say, and what pictures to put on the blog. SO, I guess the easiest way is to list some highlights, and pictures with it. Here goes:
During our drive to Fort Clinch, we saw a rocking chair that was 30 feet tall and a gigantic orange that was about 15 feet tall. While we were at Fort Clinch, it rained almost everyday we were there. However, it gave us a chance to test out Rocky's weather worthy material. He passed with flying colors. But it did get pretty windy...EXTREMELY windy one night. We were very concerned about the awning,but it was fine. Dan didn't get much sleep that night.

We went to Fort CLinch and learned some interesting history about the fort and Fernandina beach, and we went to the historic part of Fernandina Beach. Dan even took me dancing on our last night there. We ate dinner at THe Florida House, and they "tried" to teach us how to do the Carolina Shag. IT WAS FUN. However, Dan and I can not help our friends learn this dance , due to we had to switch partners EVERY time we learned a new move. HOW UNCOMFORTABLE. Hello, my name is Cindy. I have no idea who you, now, take my hand in yours, and lets boogie....VERY ODD FEELING. I was so concerned with trying not to step on the men's feet, that I completetly forgot the steps. Needless to say, Dan and I hardly got to dance with each other, at all. I even had to dance solo so other ladies could dance with a partner...yes, my husband Dan!!! He was BUSY with the ladies...HEEEE,HEE,HEEEE... AWKWARD!. But, most of the people we danced with were very nice, and even talked and tried to help Dan and I. You have to be smooth, one lady said. And smooth was not the way to describe how we were dancing. More like stepping on sandspurs barefooted. Ouch, ewww, . It was a hoot. But I have to say, I HAVE THE BEST HUSBAND IN ALL OF THE WORLD. Dancing is not on his... top things I want to do on vacation, and he was a trooper.

Our main activity was off-road biking. Yes, we bought 2 off-road bycicles, and wore our helmets bravely, and went for it. WHAT A BLAST. We finally found something Dan enjoys doing that does not require us to leave the state. YEAH!!! We did a total of about 12-15 miles Dan said during our entire vacation. Our friends Ed and Sue were with us at Fort CLinch, and shared in the excitement. The trails were definetly more challenging at Fort Clinch, and it was exhilarating. Nothing like a few bike rides up steep sand dunes and backwoods trails to remind you just how out of shape one has become. UGGG! GET PEDALING!!!!NO PAIN NO GAIN!!!! We also went to the beach.
The mystery of the holes in the sand was solved...CRABS! We went boogie boarding with Ed and Sue and tried to recreate Fort CLinch with our sand castle skills (lack of) but it was fun. Swimming, bonding, YEAH!!!. Oh, and found out, thanks to 2 kind spectators on the beach, that we were swimming with SHARKS!!! Yes, SHARKS!!! They actually were VERY CLOSE, VERY CLOSE, to Ed and Sue. These sharks were in the shallow part of the surf too. Sue mentioned after that she thought she saw them swimming around when the four of us were trying to see how far our boogie boards would bring us to shore, but was not sure if that's what she saw. Well, it was. They were baby sharks, only about 3 feet long. TO long, for my comfortor. Here, let me dangle my limbs off my boogie board for you...hungry for a mid-morning snack? We saw 4 sharks at the next campground too. It was our last morning, and decided not to go swimming. But we watched the pack, move it's way down to a group of about 12 swimmers. Um, Hello, Mr. Lifeguard, do you mind ....DO YOUR JOB, SHARK! SHARK! get out of the water people! The lifeguard didn't seem to be concerned...He was swimming in the area we first noticed the sharks, and DID NOT get out of the water. I guess these were friendly sharks...Humans are friends, not food! Sure!

We also went to the Museum of Science and History, the Maritime Museum, Jacksonville Landing, and tried not to go completly insane while driving around downtown Jacksonville looking for these places. Lesson learned...CHECK YAHOO MAPS AND DIRECTIONS BEFORE LEAVING HOME.

We drove our car onto a ferry and road across the St. Johns River. FUN!!! That was a first. We had a wonderful meal at Singleton's Seafood Shack which was next to the ferry entrance.

Oh, and our BIGGEST lesson learned... if you are ever in the quaint little town of Mayport Florida, DO NOT turn right at Wonderwood dr. This takes you to the United States Naval Base. We learned that the HARD way, and backed up traffic for a mile while the kind military police cleared us to enter the base only to make a U-turn. The military frowns on that and claiming ignorance as an excuse WILL NOT be helpful to your case and WILL NOT get the nice military personal inside the base to smile. OH WELL!! ATTENTION CIVILIAN!
Finally our way home included some interesting info. Did you know that Florida has a city named Switzerland. Yes you can get chocolate there, but it's from the one and only Jiffy store, and it was a Hersheys candybar. I don't think we were in Switzerland for more than a mile. ALso, we drove through Hastings, which is the potatoe capital of Florida. They had signs everywhere in town proclaiming this. But we didn't see any potatoes, but saw alot of corn. We are both eager to brave the elements again, both natural and cultural with the boys. AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. SO, we are planning a trip the end of August.I wonder if the boys would do alittle Shag dancing with us...NOT!

VACATION TIME IS HERE....YEAH!!!!!!

2008-07-16T19:53:00.000-07:00

HEllO ROCKY! Yes, I know, we are weird. We've named our camper Rocky. We plan on making many memories with our camper, so, we named it. How did you come up with that name, you ask? Well, the manufacturer is Rockwood.and I like the EEEEE sound on the end of words...Gramzie, Seanee, etc..and there you have it. Well, vacation time has FINALLY arrived.It has been a jam packed week and a half.And I AM SO READY for alittle R&R. As you can see, Haleigh has been helping me get ready for tomorrow. YEAH!!!!!! She is getting SOOO big, and, SHE'S TEETHING. Ouch!!!! She really likes to put things in her mouth now. She's discovered how to put things, like her toys, in her mouth. Yummy! She's SO ADORABLE

We are planning on taking ALOT of pictures. So, I will post pics from our trip. We are going to Fernandina Beach, Florida and staying at Fort CLinch State Park. Then we are heading to Jacksonville, FLorida and staying at Kathryn Abbey Park. It has miles and miles of biking trails ranging from beginner to intermediate. SO EXCITED!!!!!!! Anyway, Sean and Dan picked out a camera memory card thingamajig, which holds about 350 pictures. I think that will be enough?

Pop-Ups and PopPop's Surprise...Oh My!!!

2008-06-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

To all our family and friends in bloggerville. Dan and I would like to thank you for all your prayers and we are VERY excited to announce that..."THE ONE" has arrived. Yes, you read correctly. We are the proud parents of a 2000 Rockwood Pop-Up Camper.YEAH!!!!! Rocky is 13ft 6inch long FHEEEWWWWW).Weight? 1,650 lbs..WOW. Anyway, we are extrememly ecstatic, overjoyed, ...yada yada yada. Rocky just fell into are lap very easily.

After our last adventure out in the boondocks looking at a overused pop-up, Dan and I were alittle discouraged. Yes, we were. AWWWWW. But after much thinking through, and realizing, this is not a need, but a want...Then, O.k. if we find one...good, if we don't...good. Either way, we will still enjoy our time together on our anniversary regardless.

Anyway, Kristen and Haleigh were watching our friend Charlene for the week. And one night we were over there talking about our last pop-up viewing. UGGGG. Well, Ruby, Charlene's mom, mentioned her friend at works sister had a pop-up for sale. So, a week later, we went to her house, and saw ROCKY. What a cutie. Rocky has been gently used and has had only 5 fun trips under him.He's in mint condition. He does smell alittle like moth balls, but that's o.k. Nothing alittle Clorox Cleanup and air freshner maybe won't fix. Apparently moth balls keep critters out of your pop-up. So, I guess I'd rather smell like my great grandmothers old house than have an encounter with a curious critter.

Now, I'd like to say I have pictures of Rocky to show all his wonderful details, but I don't. Living in the city limits has it's challenges and ridiculous statutes. The city does NOT want to see our little Rocky, parading itself proudly out in the front yard for all the world to see and know...."I'm home, I'm home". Nope, nope, nope.

SO, we closed Rocky up and parked him on the side of our house so the city officials would not develop an ulcer or lose sleep over the "EYE SORE" residing on Quail Roost Drive". But don't be discouraged. The next time we bring Rocky out for his bath, we will take pictures and let you see the new little bundle. Until then...

Sean, our oldest son decided to give Dan a father's day gift that will have to go down in the baby book for later. He wrote in the card something like this...for all the times you pulled out your hair over me and my poor decisions. I thought I'd give you some hair back...SO, Sean SHAVED HIS HEAD BALD!!!!! Yep, completely BALD!

School's out, School's out...umm...YEAH?

2008-06-07T22:39:00.001-07:00

Summertime is officialy here for the boys according to the Citrus County school calendar? UGGG. I mean Yippy, Horray, Yeah...Lord help. O.k. pardon the sarcasim, but, gone are the days when a simple, ordinary, plain, boring to adults, cardboard box would easily entertain my children. Oh I miss those times. They have moved on to the more advanced "boxes" now, which have all the frills, chills, and whatever my teenage boys are looking for . The graphics on some of the video games they play are extremly realistic, too much at times in my opinion. They would literally sit there in front of this "box" for hours, no days, if there dad and I let them. Whatever happen to having to use your imagination to entertain and occupy ones self. Now it comes in convenient "boxes" sold by the hundreds, at Walmarts around the world for various amounts of money and it will do the imagining and entertaining (if you can call it that) for anyone who brings it home...How can you compete with that? whinning? We used to, when we homeschooled, we would do school during the summer as well. Only during that time we would do something called unit studies. Pick a topic...Pop-up campers. Then we would find spelling words, vocabulary, history, etc...that related to the topic. It was SOOO much fun. We really had fun. Not to sure if that would fly this summer. One of my custormers was telling me that when she lived in India, they went to school ALL YEAR, Yes, even during the summer. YIPPY....Get the Uhaul ready. WOW. I think they still do that today as well. They go for a certain amount of time, and then they would get a few days...not weeks off. They even went on Saturdays.
Regardless of what is ahead, I do have hope that all the previous hours the boys have sat in front of the "box" hasn't completely turned them into couch potatoes...because, in celebration of the last day of school, Sean was telling us about an experiment that involved Mentos candy and a 2 liter bottle of Coke. Apparently, when you put the mentos in the Coke bottle, something AMAZING is SUPPOSE to happen. Are attempt was... It was a flop..no go...etc...However, what seemed like a failure was a success after all. We bonded,had fun actually together, and looked forward to conquering this scientific mystery some day together. Be afraid little mentos...we will meet again, ready to conquer and watch you explode or whatever your suppose to do...AHAH!!!!!
Finally...Dan and I are going to look at a Pop-Up camper tommorrow. We looked at one that we thought for sure was going to be "IT",but when we go there, "IT" needed ALOT OF HELP to be camping ready. But, we both determined,it's o.k. we will just keep looking. The next day a friend told us about a coworker's relative that had one for sale. So, we are going tommorrow to look at it...we'll see.

Growing Spurts, and Life Lessons

2008-06-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

HELLO EVERYONE!!!! Look at little Haleigh bug. She is growing and changing everyday it seems. I can't keep up with her with my camera. She is 10 weeks old now. O.K. 2 and 1/2 months old. Question?...When do you start to refer to your children and grandchildren in months and years instead of days and weeks? Oh, you want to know how old she is.Well, She's alittle over 70 days now. Or how about her mommy...7029 days old now. AWWWWW! We'll keep how old Gramzie is to myself thank you...Something about answering in weeks just makes Haleigh sound so little. But no matter what I say, whether in days or weeks, the inevitable still happens...Babies grow up to be toddlers, then school age, then teenagers, then adults...
even wives and mothers too. How did that happen...so quickly too.

I enjoy seeing my daughter interact with Haleigh and love all over her. It's precious to watch. She's such a good mommy to Haleigh and Jared is a wonderful father and husband. God's grace is sufficient, thank you Lord for Your plan for our lives.I have to be honest though, I truly thought God had NO clue what He was doing when Kristen and Jared told us they were expecting. I kept thinking about how it was for Dan and I, and I don't want them to struggle like we did.Oh, the stories I could tell...We'll save those for later perhaps. But,once again, I'm reminded that He...God, the creator of the world, the one and only God who loves me,my family, and this world so much that He gave His son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us so that we could have eternal life in Christ for those who believe.,He DOES have a plan, even if it doesn't make sense at the time, and if I would only learn to trust Him more, His character, and keep my thoughts focused on Him and His word(BIBLE), I would begin to know Who He really is, and finally understand more about His grace and mercy.
Do I want my family to struggle? Of course not! You don't ever want that for you family. It has me wandering though...Dan and I are going to be celebrating, rejoicing, etc...this summer 20 years of marriage. Yes, 20 years...it doesn't seem that long. The odds were against us. He was 18 and I was 16 when we married. 19 and 17 years old when we had Kristen. I was still in highschool! He worked a long and hard job for hardly nothing. At times we had only $10.00 a week for groceries,on a "good" week it would be $20.00 for groceries and household supplies. And don't get me started on our Maine experience. UUGGG UGGG UGGG UUGGG UGGG. Seriously! Looking back now, I honestly don't know how we made it. Dan and I both agree, back then, we had NO clue what love was. We've grown to love each other, and we're growing more and more in love with each other the more we learn about each other.We were not thinking about LOVE back then. It was the other L-word. The hormones were ragging, need I say more...Moving on. It would be great to not of had to struggle the way we did. And I'm sure there's others out there that struggled in worse circumstances than what we did. Still, why must there be hard times? I've been thinking about that question alot lately. And I think the lightbulb is finally going off at the moment in this brain of mine. If we (I) never have any hard times, then how do we (I) ever learn, and growup (in character)as individuals and as a couple. If there are never times of uncertainty, doubt, and fear, then how will I ever learn to truly trust God with my whole heart and life? Not just in my life, but in Haleighs, Kristens, Jared's...my WHOLE family.I'm still struggling, believe me... I can only hope and pray I'm learning through this process...

Oh and finally...an update on the pop-up camper. We are still hunting for "THE ONE". Dan and I, surf the net everyday, sometimes twice dudes!!!!TOTALLY! We've had a few almosts... but they turn into not todays...we called a day to late...etc...UUUGGGGG. Oh well. I don't care if we are in a pop-up camper or out under the stars, I'm SOOOOOO looking forward to spending a few weeks, ALONE, with DAN DAN MY MAN. Until July 17th, we will continue to eagerly check -craigslist.com , and other various newspapers, for "THE ONE". We almost had one with the Florida Gator logo and colors, but I'm kind of glad we didn't get that one. Nothing against the Gators, but I'm not sure if that would of been a wise decision towing that through Georgia Bulldog country...

No Skateboards Or Video Games Today!

2008-05-26T18:40:00.000-07:00

This morning, Dan and Alex, and I jumped in the jeep with great expectations of adventure, exploration, and deals of a lifetime which did not include skateboards and video games. O.k. we had to convinced Alex that it would be O.K. and he may be surprised what fun adventure awaits. He was alittle reluctant at first, but willingly got in the jeep after we announced we would be stopping at Walmart to get munchies later.So, we set out first to find "THE POP-UP" camper for our trip in July. Needless to say, after 5 different stops, yes, 5 different stops between 2 different counties, that "deal of a lifetime" apparently was not for us today. But that's o.k. We met a wonderful man who showed us some pretty awesome, way out of our league, top of the line pop-ups that even had Alex droooooooling over. He gave us some great tips on what to look for in quality,etc... when we find "the ONE". Over all, our day was not wasted. We had a relaxing time just hanging out with each other, and exploring. We were driving through Ocala, and a sign with a diving symbol caught my eye. It said "paradise springs". So, Dan graciously turned around and we drove back with great anticipation of what awaited us. O.k., maybe I was the only one, but I was trying to teach Alex that there are other things in life besides skateboarding and video games. We turned down the dirt road.Our jeep was filled with anticipation,excitement, where are we?,and can we PLEASE STOP AT THE OCALA SKATEPARK? Anyway, we drove over railroad tracks that were out in the middle no mans land, into an area occupied by some mobile homes, and horse farms. It was literally out in the middle of nowhere. We enjoyed the yard signs about their wildlife, and came to a house with a lawnchair positioned outside with a sign that read "register here". That seemed pretty strange to us for two reasons. #1. We were parked in the middle of someones yard. and #2. There was no water anywhere that could be seen. We did however see 2 divers with there gear getting ready to suit up when we first started down the driveway with the funny yard signs. So naturly we were quite puzzled when we "arrived" at "PARADISE SPRINGS" only to be greeted by a man and his son who appeared to have been swimming, but where...?

There was a tiny platform to the right of our vehicle. The man said we could go take a look, and there was... Paradise Springs. It looked small, but looks can be very deceiving. To the left, under the biggest elephant ear plants I have ever seen, was an orange marker in the water. You can't see it in the pictures, but underneath that marker was a 100 foot drop. When you get down there, there are several caverns. One particular cavern, if it was possible to drive a semi-truck down in that little blue hole, could occupy 10 full sized semi-trucks. Wow! The pictures really do not do it justice. The water was a beautiful shade of blue. The sign by the main highway was fixed onto their mailbox towards the ground. It was maybe 2 feet by 2 feet. I'm surprised I even saw it. I'm so glad we decided to turn around, and just go for it. Who knows what we'll find I told Alex. We could come across something no ones ever seen before, or at least not many people have ever heard of. That was our great adventure today.We did stop and look at some "MUSCLE" cars for the guys, and ate at Dan's FAVORITE chicken place...Popeye's.
This was a fun day. I believe Alex had a wonderful time too...even if he did have to spend...THE WHOLE DAY WITH HIS PARENTS...UGG!

Love Is In The Air

2008-05-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Song of Solomon 8:5

My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among ten thousand. His head is the finest gold;his locks are weavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water, bathed in milk, sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like beds of spices, mounds of sweet-smelling herbs. His lips are lilies, dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold, set with jewels. His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved and this is my friend...Song of Solomon 5:10-16

Wow! All this love talk, why? Well our friends are getting married in about 2 weeks, and I'm SOOOOO excited for them both. Nothing like a wedding to get the ole' mushie meter working overtime.
I just can't help it. I have to praise God for the man He has blessed me with as my husband. I'll refrain from letting you know the other names I like to call him. Anyway, in preparing for the upcoming wedding shower, yes, shopping, I came across a wonderful little book. Here are some of my favorite quotes:
Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young. -Sir Arthur Wing Pinero
The sound of a kiss is not so loud as that of a cannon, but its echo lasts a great deal longer.-Oliver Wendell Holmes
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
The roses, candles, and love letters will one day be few and far between. When it comes to maintaining a happy marriage, friendship must outlive everything else.-Clint
Sensual pleasure passes and vanishes in the twinkling of an eye, but the friendship between us, the mutual confidence, the delights of the heart, the enchantment of the soul, these things do not perish and can never be destroyed. I shall love you until I die.-Francois-Marie Voltaire (1694-1778)
That about says it. Thanks for 20 wonderful years baby. Oh, one more thing. If someone asked how we've made it this far, I would have to say...COMMUNICATION. You have to communicate with each other, not at...if you know what I mean. Never forget the three powerful resources we all have available to us in our relationships: love, prayer, and forgiveness. Thank you Lord. And finally, remember that the quality of our relationship reflects the kind of care we give it. We can apply that to EVERY relationship in our lives, ESPECIALLY our relationship with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Vacation...Let's go, NOW!!!!

2008-05-09T06:23:00.000-07:00

Can anyone tell me where April went? It seems like May is flying by just as fast.
It's been very busy at work, and though I'm very grateful for the work, when it gets like this, all my days seem to just blend together, it's hard to keep track what the date is. Oh, well, on to more exciting things. Today is my day OFF. Yes, do the happy dance with me, I said TODAY IS MY DAY OFF!!!! YEPEEEEE!!!!! And, tonight, Haleigh is coming over for a sleepover. HOORAY! I'm SOOOOO very exicted.

Hubby has been VERY busy this week as well, Praise God. Needless to say, this week has been very exhausting for both of us, and I've been looking forward to spending the weekend doing nothing but lounging around with the family. A little relaxing would be nice too, however, I'm not sure it will happen this weekend as the laundry seems to have developed a voice and is constantly telling me its needs. UUGGGGG!

Dan and I are going to be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary this summer, and we have a few ideas about what to do, but I'd like to know others experiences. What is your most memorable vacation destination? and Why? So far we are going to go camping on Fernandina beach at Fort Clinch for 4 days and nights, YEAH! This is something I've always wanted to do. Right now it looks as if we are going to be sleeping in a tent in the middle of July. I'm VERY excited about this, however, Dan is really praying our finances turn around and we can purchase a pop-up camper before then with A/C. After that, we are pretty much open to whatever. We have a friend who has a house on the beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. He said we are more than welcomed to use it as long as we want.
AWESOME! Let me pack my bags and call me when the children have graduated from highschool. JUST KIDDING!!!!CALM DOWN!!!! All this vacation talk has the vacation bug biting me, and after this week, I'm ready for alittle R&R. Anyway, so far that's what's been floating around up in our heads. I applied for trail maintenance on the Appalachian Trail for July.And they accepted my application. As appealing to me as this sounded, Dan was not quite on board as I was. Actually, he was on a totally different boat all together. I thought it sounded wonderful. We combined both our passions into one vacation, and they provided our food,shelter, etc... all we needed to do was get ourselves to Virginia. We would leave headquarters, and get dropped off into the woods where we would HIKE to our camping destination. We would set up base camp there for 7 days and 6 nights, then during the day we would be carving out new trails that would connect to the Appalachian trail, and do some regular trail maintenance on the AT(hauling out logs, cutting down brush, etc...)you know, all that fun stuff people do on vacation. Alright, so it sounds like work, but the food, shelter, etc... provided was VERY appealing, and we both LOOOOOVVVVEEEE hiking and camping. But Dan said some other time, Just not in the summer in a tent.Oh, and there was no running water so i guess no shower maybe for days, but the river was there.Come on, that sounds like something a Maine mountain man would want to do, right? Farewell Appalachian Trail vacation, you'll have to wait till winter. Yes, winter. My husband, being from Maine, loves to hike and camp... IN A TENT IN 30 DEGREE WEATHER. BRRRRR. I would say it was because of his brain cells being exposed to all those years in Maine's frigid temperatures, but I have to admit... It's a passion we both enjoy doing together. For that, I consider myself VERY blessed to share with the man I love. Alright, I hear you, don't lose your lunch, i'm moving on... let me know if you have any ideas. Where's the neatest place you've EVER been? Even on family vacations when you were a kid. We would like to know. Until next time, this Gramzie is going to get ready for Haleigh bug. This time Poppop will have to hold me back. I wonder if Haleigh likes smores? YUMMMY!!!!!

I'm ready for my closeup!

2008-04-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Happy 5 weeks Haleigh Bug!. Wow! Well, first...Hallelujah, Haleigh is doing 100% better. No more nasty nebulizer, though the annoying aspirator does visit her nose occasionally, which she still does not enjoy and lets her mommy and daddy know. But hey, if all she's having to deal with is an occasional visit from the "boogy booger monster" then life is good in Haleigh's world.

Haleigh got to meet her Great Grammy this weekend. My mom absolutley fell in love, of course. Great Grammy and Auntie Jo-Jo came over for a few hours and played with Haleigh so her mommy and daddy could get some much needed R&R. Kristen and I had picture day with Haleigh on Friday. ABSOLUTELY SOME OF THE BEST FUN I'VE EVER HAD. We had a ball putting her in different outfits, and setting up props. I was amazed at how well behaved she was. We stopped for the occasional snack attack, but other than that she pretty much let us do what we wanted with her. HILLARIOUS!!!!!!

Back to the R&R, rest and relaxtion, how many of us would LOVE to sleep like a baby again. I know I would. Oh wait, let me rephrase that, how many of you would like to sleep like a baby ALL through the night? I know this Gramzie would LOVE to sleep all night and NOT get up 50 million times due to poor plumbing. I didn't get up this much when I was pregnant with my 3 munchkins.UGGGGGGG! Sorry, for the visual, but it was a ROUGH night, AGAIN!, for me.I just hope and pray that this Gramzie is not destined for diapers. I'd like to leave the diaper duty to Haleigh Bug!

Quick get the camera!

2008-04-21T12:04:00.000-07:00

Haleigh bug you are just SOOOO CUTE. It's hard to believe how much she's changed in 4 weeks. Tonight we are going over to take more pictures. I'm SOOOO SOOOOO SOOOO excited! I'm almost on a first name basis with the people in the Walmart photo lab. I just can't help it. She's growing and changing SO fast. Did I mention just how EXCITED I AM!!!!

Guess who else has changed? ALL of us. I mean I understand as you get older it's unavoidable,believe me,I've tried, with this grey hair thing... I'm not going gracefully! No, I'm kicking and screaming, the whole way and proudly supporting the Revlon haircolor company about every 3 weeks, UGGGG! I was looking back on some old family vacation photos, and WOW! It was time for the tissues to come out again.

Here's Kristen three years ago. SWEET PEA, LOOOOVE that smile!

Here's Kristen and our son-in-law Jared on their wedding day.PRECIOUS!

Hello, Sean. He's our oldest son. Look at those eyes!

Here's Sean holding his niece Haleigh. Hello Uncle Sean.

And finally, Here's our youngest son Alex. He used to be into Star Wars BIG TIME, but that has been replaced with Skateboards. TOTALLY!!!!!

And of course, PopPop and Me.
Oh my....He's so DREAMY. AWWWWWW. HELLO POPPOP!!!!! Who would of thought, 20 years later, we would have 3 children, a wonderful son-in-law, and an adorable grandbaby? And we can't forget our wonderful friends and family too! God has truly blessed us, and I praise Him for His grace and mercy. He knew before I was ever born who I needed in my life. Thank You Lord for Your Bountiful Blessings.Glory to God!

Oh, no, what is THAT?

2008-04-17T12:52:00.001-07:00

Well, I went back to work this week. SAD!!!! It was time to get back into a routine.
I have to say I was excited to show my clients all the pictures of Haleigh. This week I had two clients give Kristen money to buy Haleigh something. WOW! It's not everyday you go to work and your clients bless your daughter who they never met before with a GENEROUS gift for her daughter. What a blessing. I've shared stories with them about my family and everything else, but WOW, come on, what do you say to that, except, God is gracious and wonderful.

Well, Haleigh is getting acquainted quite well with her doctor and his staff. She's been to his office every week at least once. He put her on Albuterol via...The NEBULIZER. EEKKKK! That thing is intimating to me, I can only imagine what this three week old is thinking when this steam blowing vapor monster is coming towards her face. She's suppose to inhale what this thing is blowing at her. Yuck! Oh, to know what babies dream of.

Well, I have to say, watching our sons Sean and Alex interact with her is precious. Oh, and by the way for you music enthusiasts, we've recently found out that Haleigh and her PopPop have similar talents in producing music WITHOUT instruments,(if you know what I mean). I don't know if its the medicine she's on, or what, but her and PopPop share this bond that puts the trumpet, horn, and other "wind" and "percussion" instruments to shame. Simply EXPLOSIVE.

Well, PopPop has been experimenting with making beef jerky. Yum Yum. I know he's just itching to get a hold of Haleigh to give her a taste test. When Haleigh's mommy was little, Dan a.k.a. PopPop tasted everything from milk to medicine before it touched Kristen's mouth. By the time the boys had arrived, he wasn't as enthusiatic to taste test.However, he was eager even more to get the kids to start tasting HIS food, steak,potatoes, broccoli, in the bottle? Can we do that?

Haleighs family scrapbook

2008-04-11T09:04:00.000-07:00

Well, today I'll be going home and spending the weekend with my hubby and my boys. I've truly enjoyed spending this time with my daughter Kristen, Haleigh, and my son-in-law Jared. I'm truly blessed by God with such a wonderful family. I'm alittle sad to be leaving, but know that mama bird has to let my baby girl spread her wings and fly. She has her own little baby bird to teach now. I'm confident in leaving Kristen and Jared to the task of parenting little Haleigh Bug. It's been a joy to watch these two interact with their daughter. It reminds me of my husband and I when we brought Kristen home for the first time. We were scared to death! Eventually that was replaced with sleepless nights, and moments of happy bliss as she reached each milestone in her developement. Being a parent is one of the most rewarding and exhausting blessings one can have. For now, I'll spend the rest of the day, talking with my daughter, loving on Haleigh, and looking forward to a good night sleep. This Gramzie is exhausted... it was worth it. Thank you Kristen and Jared for letting me share with you this intimate and special time with Haleigh Bug. Love Mom

Where Did The Time Go?

2008-04-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

April 7th, 2008. I'm sitting here, creating my blog, while my 2 week old granddaughter Haleigh is taking time for a quick snoozie before Mom and Dad return from the grocery store. She's soooo cute. It's hard to believe my daughter, Kristen, is a mom. It just seems like yesterday that I was sitting on the couch, watching Kristen napping. How time flies by. It's scary that my daughter is looking to me for help on how to care for this new little bundle her and her hubby have been blessed with. I don't know about anyone else out in bloggerville, but looking back, I see so many things in the parenting department I would go back and do different.. And now that I'm a grandmother (Gramzie), and my daughter is the mommy now , I guess my little Gramzie nugget for today for Kristen and Jared is... CHERISH EVERY MOMENT WITH HALEIGH. The good, the bad, and everything in between because before you know it, they'll be the ones, sitting on the couch, looking at their new grandbaby.