Can you believe Seattle is rainy & gray?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! Hope everyone's was as great as ours. My mom said it was the most relaxing one she has ever had.

I know I've been a slacker blogger, so here are a few pics from our Christmas (presents and ornament making...sorry there are no Dance, Dance Revolution pics but no doubt there will be some later). Also, found a picture from Logan's piano recital a couple of weeks ago. He did a great job! Of course as he sprinted off the stage he "forgot" to bow, so Nana made him go back up on stage after the recital to get a bow out of him.

I still have lots of cleaning and packing before we leave on our annual post-Christmas extravaganza. Have a wonderful New Year!!

Snow day!!!

Playin' Hooky

A few weeks ago I had to take a couple of hours off of work in the morning but then still had to go in and finish out the day. While I was out, even just those few short hours, I realized that I really needed to schedule an extra day off. So I did just that. And God worked it out wonderfully that the day I scheduled fell right before an in service day, so I just got an early start to the weekend. A museum in the city was having a special Star Wars exhibit so we contributed to the truancy of a minor and took Logan downtown. He had not been to Museum of Science and Industry before, so he was very excited.

I was a little crabby...

but then I grabbed Logan and we went for a beautiful fall walk. Afterwards we hung out at the park for a little bit. Hooray for fall!!!!

Hey Little Boy, want some candy?

Logan never officially went trick-or-treating this year but he did get to go to a halloween extravaganza at his uncle's house. He had a great time and got lots of candy there, but the day after halloween, he was a little confused as to why he hadn't gone trick-or-treating yet. We reminded him about the party and all was well. Who could blame him really for wanting to wear his black ninja "dollar store" special again. And about that, I am so thankful that he did not care that his ninja suit was terribly cheap and quite possibly made of the same material as those gowns that they use in doctor's offices. He loved it and because it only cost a dollar I was able to splurge and get a sword (cuz every ninja needs a sword), which also only cost a dollar. The only picture I took of him in his costume was with my cell phone, so the quality is not the greatest but he's pretty cool looking if you ask me.

A Last Minute Costume Idea for You

Bible Character Day was on Friday and you'll never guess what Logan was. Seriously, you probably would never guess. He was one of the flame throwers who destroyed the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. He had no speaking lines, he just got to run around and throw pieces of yellow and red flame paper at the wicked citizens of the city. He was very happy with his part. What 8 year old boy wouldn't love a part where he gets to run crazily around while throwing things at people? Its really not that much different than his regular activities.


If you look in the back you can see him taking aim on the people of the city.


And here he is, satisfied with a job well done.

An A-Maze-ing Time!

We went to Richardson's Corn Maze today, the "World's Largest Corn Maze"! It was crazy huge. There were 3 themed mazes, totaling about 11 miles of corn maze. We walked through quite a lot of it before Logan was done but we had a great time. It was a beautiful fall day.


Here's Logan making a plan while we scoped out the maze from the lookout tower, that was a little scary as it swayed in the wind.
We got a lot of practice on our map reading skills but it was so much fun!

We finally found a pumpkin, now we just have to carve it. And in the background is the scary lookout tower!

The only way I could get a picture of the both of us. I actually prefer this to the real me, look how long my legs are!!

Go ahead Vanessa, sing your song

To those of you who might have misunderstood my previous post with the prediction that it was the "right time to make new friends", I am so sorry. I thought that my one or two friends would appreciate it if I found some new ones that might occupy a little of my time and allow them some breathing room. I do look forward to making new friends but COULD NEVER forget the wonderful blessings that God gave me when He brought my "old" friends into my life.

Confucius say...

I will try and put more pics up of our great weekend in Ohio but I wanted to share this first. For one of our fun nights out we went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. After the meal they gave us our fortune cookies. I opened mine up and started laughing, then Logan's made me smile too, so I asked to see John's. He was a little reluctant which made me want to see it even more. Here's a picture of the fortunes (from top to bottom: mine, Logan's and John's). I'm definitely working on the first one, praying for the second and the third...well, that was John's, so who knows whats going on with him. : )

Welcome to "East" Wrigley Field

Even though the division champs have already claimed their title, the game was fun. A Cubs win is always enjoyed. And ya gotta love seeing the sad Red's vendors watch as the sea of Cubbie blue walked by their stands. (By the way, it's tough texting this blog from my cell with my giant foam finger!)

Trying out the mobile post

Logan's room!

Getting back up

Once again, I am so thankful for God's amazing kindness, even in the middle of dealing with self-created struggles and problems, He throws blessings into my day. He sends me HUGE answers to prayer to let me know that despite all my mistakes, outright disobedience and stupidity, He wants my repentance and when He has that He will guide, direct and bless, even though I don't deserve it. From an unexpected visit from my super busy friend, who brought silly wonderful gifts for me, to two plane tickets waiting for me in my email when I got home from work. And that they came on this day, just when I needed them most. When I told Logan about the tickets, he heard my excited tone but saw the tears and had to ask the standard guy question, "The tickets are a good thing right? Why are you crying?"

Now I'm off to pack for a fun-filled Teacher's Convention with a detour to the second-to-last regular season Cubs game. While it would be great for this to be the game that decides whether they are Central Div Champs, I would settle for them already having that title clinched and being able to sit back, relax and enjoy the game. I don't ask for much.

Eventually I will post pics of Logan's painted room.

Ain't it the truth

Funny bumper sticker that I saw the other day:

God wants Spiritual Fruits
Not Religious Nuts

I'm thinking that maybe I can make this into a bulletin board for the spring when we talk about seeds, plants and fruit. : )

Blue, blue my room is blue

After a whirlwind weekend of taping, priming and painting, Logan now has a blue room...just like he has always wanted. He is very happy. As soon as I get new batteries for my camera I will be posting pics. I was also able to find a great deal at Kmart on curtains that went perfectly with the new room color. I feel great that it is finally done. Not just because I HATE painting. Logan was and is so excited. He keeps thanking me and telling me that "I am the best mom he's ever had", which he knows always makes me smile. If all I have to do is paint a room to get that, then it is well worth it. Now the colorless living room and dining room laugh at me everytime I look at them. I think they can wait a couple of weeks.

They're all getting A's

Thought I would share my little ego boost for the week. It was the first day of school and I had just read a book called "What I Like" to my class and we were taking turns telling something that we liked. We finally got to me and I said a couple of things, including 'bike riding'. Well, for whatever reason, they were shocked that I not only had a bike but enjoyed riding it. They seemed to be surprised that an adult would like doing that because it sparked the question..."How old are you?" I usually get this question every year but I don't think I have ever gotten it on the first day of school. I then asked mischieviously, "How old do you think I am?" Of course, I set myself up for two extremes, I would either get a great ego boost with an unrealistically low answer or come crashing back to reality with a terribly high guess. Here is the conversation that followed my inquiry:

Student 1: I think you're 19
Me: No I'm not 19
Student 2: 21!
Me: Nope
Student 3: 16
(I love 1st graders!)
Me: No I'm not 16
Student 4: 26
Student 5: 31
(I am friends with this girl's mom, so I think she may have heard my age before.)
Me: Yes, I am 31
Students: You don't look 31!
(Again, I set myself up with the following question.)
Me: How old do I look?
Student 1: 19
Student 4: 26

While I clearly know that I do not look 19, I will be satisfied with the 26 ; )

Skater Boy

The reason why Logan was excited about starting school...
*shoes have been enlarged to show detail. : )

Whistle an annoying tune

As some of you may or may not know, I have a huge pet peeve against whistling. I don't know why, I just do. My tolerance has been tested to the limit lately. In the privacy of your own home I can understand exercising your freedom to whistle but seriously, do people have to whistle every minute of every day? Walking, standing, sitting...all of it done to the accompaniment of a little whistled ditty. At the start of every school year I read the book "If Everybody Did" to my class, which helps us talk about why we have certain rules and just general classroom behavior concepts. I seriously think that all whistlers should be read this book and a new page should be added to show what would happen if everybody whistled. The picture to go along with it might show listener's heads spontaneously exploding or the whistler experiencing some unfortunate whistle-stopping trip or fall. Next year there needs to be some rules against PDW added to the handbook (Public Displays of Whistling). Or go to the National Whistler's Convention (yes, there is really such a thing) where you have a captive, interested audience. This is "The Happy Whistler" Chris Ullman, 4-time National Whistling Champion.I highly recommend visiting his website, here are a couple pictures but there are many more entertaining ones and there's a bio and "whistling resume" to go along with it.

Its the little things in life

Its amazing how little it takes to brighten my day. Hooray for the adorable Hello Kitty ice pack holder that was waiting for me when I got home today, along with other fun things. From one funky sister to another (you'll understand when you get the package I just sent)...thank you and I love you!!

Things that make you go "hmmm"

I was having my devotions the other morning (yes, I really have them!) and it used 2 Kings 22 for the reference. While I should not be surprised at the perfectness of it, I always am amazed and in awe when I see God's hand and feel His presence and know that it was all just for me. There could not have been a better place to lead me than this chapter. It answered questions, quieted concerns and gave me the peace that I needed to do the task that God has put before me.

Leading up to these verses, King Josiah has just found God's Word, which was buried and forgotten by Israel for a very long time. He has it read before the people and when he hears what it says, he realizes how disobedient and sinful the nation of Israel has been and wants to make it right immediately. So he sends a messenger to the priests to find out if its too late to repent and turn to God...

2 Kings 22:16-20
'This is what the LORD says: I am going to bring disaster on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book the king of Judah has read.
Because they have forsaken me and burned incense to other gods and provoked me to anger by all the idols their hands have made, my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.'
Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard:
Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before the LORD when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD.
Therefore I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.'"
So they took her answer back to the king.

Hmmmmm.

Cubs are in sole possession of 1st place!

I have had a very productive week. For the first time ever I went in to school before the week of In Service and got a lot of work done on my classroom. I know that I will be grateful for that next week when I can get out of there as quickly as possible and enjoy my last few moments of summer freedom. We went to Six Flags yesterday and had a great time. We went later in the day so the lines were not bad at all. Here's a pic of Logan while we were waiting in line to ride the Eagle (he's just a little excited) and then one of me on those silly this-is-not-scary-why-are-we-riding-this rides. The little teeny bopper had to come over and tell me to put my phone away, so I just got better at hiding it like all the other people were doing. Yeah, I'm a bad seed. I forgot that I could record a short video with my phone or else there would be some sweet Dance, Dance Revolution footage that would rival the picture in the previous post.

Guess we'll find out if he reads my blog

I went to upload pics off my camera and found this one that I had forgotten about. After my involuntary burst of laughter, I knew that I had the perfect place for this picture. : ) I have no idea how I got him to pose like this...just laugh and enjoy.

I'm not cute, I'm BIG

I saw this and thought of you Vanessa. This plaque was posted in front of a bridge on the trail that we walk. I was a little scared at first...given my hugeness and all : ) But I figured since it had been a couple weeks with consistent exercise I might be ok. Whew! I think I just made it.

Blister in the Sun

Given that I just got my wisdom teeth out yesterday, I probably overdid it a little today but it was fun. After running some errands, we went for our daily 3.5 mile walk...Logan thought it was a little hot. Then we went and grabbed some lunch and ate down by the lake. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed the fountains and the free museum, where Logan found a new friend. Now I am off to take some drugs (for my teeth, of course), relax and watch the Cubs game! Hey Ang, these pics are courtesy of my new phone...yeah, I'm hooked.

Good Fellas

Recently spotted in the eastern half of the US...

Where will they be spotted next?

Logan's head is useful!!

Before our flight back to Chi-town, we spent the day in Long Beach. The kids loved the Aquarium...we will definitely have to go back. While the shark lagoon was a favorite they also enjoyed trying to feed a cup of nectar to the lorikeets. It appeared that most of the birds had already been fed and there were a few minutes with them sadly holding the cup out with no takers. But thanks to Logan's head, they were able to get close enough to get one interested in eating. They all were very excited to take turns feeding the birds. We finished off our day with a beautiful walk along the water. As always, our trip was wonderful but too short. Thanks for everything...I'll be home soon!

Day at the Beach

After our baseball game the night before (see Tubs O'Fun blog), we had the whole day Monday to play while Scott was working. Ang and I voted on going hiking in the Torrey Pines State Park, the kids voted for the beach...so we compromised. We went on a short hike and then drove down to the beach. It was a beautiful day and Logan enjoyed his first swim in the Pacific. The kids had a great time running in and out of the surf, even Sadie got in on the fun!

One smart fella he felt smart

Went to the Reagan library and it was beautiful -- and so are we. Enjoy!

Two smart fellas they both felt smart

Born to be wild

The other night Logan was riding on the track in the backyard. He had gotten some pointers from Scott and Chip about how to go over jumps and had been logging jumps practicing his new skills. While we watched him, Ang kept noticing that as he was preparing for the jump his leg was coming up on one side. I motioned for him to come over to the fence so I could find out what was wrong. When I asked him about it, he answered quietly that he was doing tricks! As only a good motocross mom would do, I told him he was not allowed to do tricks until he had mastered the jumps. Kids these days need to learn to keep their priorities straight.

I'm a riding maniac

No, this isn't a photoshopped pic of Vanessa - I'm just wearing the same borrowed gear. I had fun cruising around the backyard on the 90cc and might move up to the 125 if I beat Vee to the garage one of these times.