Haircuts and Visitors

We all got haircuts this past week and everyone looks so nice.  Ian's was a struggle, he wants to grow his hair out so he looks like one of the cool guys on TV.  We cut it anyway.  He wouldn't let me put a photo of him up.  Kayla on the other hand let me take a picture after I cut about 4 inches off it.  Actually Jeff did it, he was a tad nervous.  I told him to just cut it up to her shoulders and leave the bangs it will be fine.  I wonder if he closed his eyes while the gal did the cutting?  I cut mine too, yes I was trying to grow it out....AGAIN!  But for those of you who know me really well....well, long hair just isn't in the cards for me.  I always get frustrated and go back to it being short.  This time I bleached it too, Jeff says it matches my mouth - sassy!

The kids are on spring break starting today and my Dad is coming for a visit.  It will be nice to have him here, we haven't seen him since Christmas.  We are hoping the weather will stay nice, it has been a long cold winter and we need some warmth.  I am hoping that we will get to plant some trees and flowers while he is here, he likes to do that.  We are going to run him ragged again, the zoo, the bowling alley, a trip to York for a soccer game and the usual errands.  He loves the activities but I think he needs a vacation to rest up when he leaves here.

Hope you all have a great week!

Disaster Happens

Well, first off I like the blue better today.  The pink looked like the Easter bunny threw up all over my page!

Well, disaster happened...again!  I was at lunch today when I got a phone call from my sister, Jnet and as I was telling her I would call her back the other line rang and it was my Dad.  Oh no!  Not good.

Well, the house my parents own in Lake Havasu has just been vacated by our winter tenant and so the neighbors are keeping an eye on it for us.  They called today because they noticed water coming out the front door, so they took their key and checked it out.  A pipe busted in the ceiling in the living room and the ceiling collapsed and landed on the couch.  The couch is obviously ruined, the hole in the ceiling is large, the carpet is thrashed and there is no telling how high the water got on the walls or where the water went to right now.  

This is the second time a pipe has burst and left the house severely damaged.  In 2004 a pipe burst in the guest bathroom and ruined the wall, the carpet in the two bedrooms and the dining room/kitchen floors.  My poor Mom just about had an out of body when this happened to her beloved house, I can only imagine what would happen if she saw it today.  

What is truly worrisome is not just the house itself but the furniture and decorations that my Mom painstakingly chose for the house over 16 years ago.  She dragged Jnet and I around to every department store in two states to find everything that is in that house and now it is gone.  We only hope that some of her paintings that she acquired from friends and loved ones have not been damaged.  For now we are just glad it wasn't a fire and that someone saw it before the entire room collapsed.

We'll Give it a Try

Hmmm....don't know if I really like the pink or not but it seems to suit MY personality. I don't know about the rest of the family.  But then again, I am the one writing aren't I?  My friend Beckie says that I need to finish the other 49 "About Me's" so here are 10 more for you....

52.  I have NEVER finished a novel without sneaking a peak at the end - not even the last Harry Potter.  I tried Fern, I really did but I just had to peak.  I am not very good at surprises either.

53.  I play Webkinz every day to relieve my stress - the Gilmore girls are laughing at me I know it!

54.  I do not know how to play an instrument or have any cool talents but I can snort like a pig and make it sound real....and I don't even open my mouth to do it.  Ask my kids!

55.  I played Varsity Softball my first year of high school.  I was also hit four times by the same pitcher that season.

56.  I can tell you the name of the Notre Dame coach, at least 10 of his players and their numbers but I cannot tell you who our governor is.  I better go look that one up.

57.  I was 9 years old when I got my hunting license.  It is still good today.  Maybe I will get myself a big Tom this spring!

58.  I rode ATC's - now called ATV's when I was little.  Our favorite weekend ritual was to go out to Palm Springs and camp for a few days.  We had no running water and no bathrooms, just what was in the conversion van but we had Coke, chocolate chip cookies and KFC cold chicken every day for every meal.  Oh, the good old days!

59.  I love to camp!  I love to listen to the little critters, smell the camp fires, watch the kids run around the camp ground and crawl into my sleeping bag after a day of exploring.

60.  I hate to eat BBQ, the sauce gets under my finger nails and it drives me crazy!

My 100...

Ok, I don't know if I can get through all 100 so I will try for 50 - thanks Beckie for raising the bar here!  Here are at least 50 things you may or may not know about me....

1.  I am a twin - my brother was stillborn

2.  Ian's middle name is Michael same as my twin

3.  I adore roses and I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss my rose bushes in Oakdale, CA.  They were amazing especially the one my Mom gave to me.

4.  I love the smell of McKayla's hair - when she is not sweaty.  It will usually pick me up  to smell her hair

5.  I used to eat chalk as a kid

6.  My sister is my best friend and I miss her every day

7.  I love going to school no matter how much I complain about finals, mid-terms and term papers

8.  I now have a 3.8 GPA after starting with a 1.8 GPA when I went back to school over 4 years ago

9.  I hate sitting at home and doing nothing.  I need to be out running around as Jeff would say "going mach 2 with my hair on fire"

10. I stress - a lot - and I actually love the adrenaline

11. I loved my physics, biology and chemistry classes in college but science is not even close to my major.

12. I pretend to see images in the clouds on a mostly sunny day while laying in the pool in Lake Havasu.  My Mom called this cloud therapy.

13. I love to volunteer my time and help others.  I couldn't imagine doing anything else with my life.

14. I am terrified of snakes, spiders and loud noises - not necessarily in that order.

15. I really like blogging, it's fun and lets me take a break from school work

16. I love to shop, but I hate to spend money.  Isn't that an oxymoron??

17. I love puppies, babies and kittens but I hate birds, hamsters and anything with a really long tail!

18. I used to dress up in my prettiest dresses when I was little and drive my Mom crazy.  Hmmm, wonder where McKayla gets it from?

19. My second car was a 1972 Mercedes Benz, it turned 21 before I did!

20. I love to listen to music while I study, I can't concentrate well without it.

21. I just earned the Gold President's Volunteer Service Award and got a letter on White House stationary - pretty cool!

22. I miss my friends that I have left behind more than I can tell you.

23. I hate moving too!  If we do it again, it's to Mexico and I get a maid

24. I want to win the lottery only so I can buy a dozen or so fast, gorgeous cars and then donate the rest of the money to my favorite charities

25. I love to cook, but I hate to hear the whining when the kids don't like my food

26. I would love to have my hair long so that I can sweep it up into a pony tail every day but I can't stand it in my face so it is short again

27. I have lived in three different states, Arizona, California, and Nebraska.

28. When we retire I want to live in Oregon or Arizona.

29. I absolutely hate clutter and will not stand for it on counters, tables or floors.  BUT my office desk is a catastrophe and the top can't even be seen.

30. When Jeff and I got married we wanted at least 4 kids and joked about having as many as 9...what happened there?

31. I have visited over 16 states

32.  Jeff and I met while working at Toyota together and I hated him at first.

33.  My favorite color is purple

34. I love to sing but I can't carry a tune in a bucket

35. My favorite movie of all time is Sweet Home Alabama, I married the yuppy!

36. I eat popcorn almost every night with lots of butter and salt!

37. I hate scary movies, it just doesn't work for me

38. I cry when I hear the National Anthem, Amazing Grace and The Rose by Better Middler

39. I hated being pregnant but now that they are all grown up I wish I could do it just one more time.

40. I hate wearing dresses now, I would rather wear a good pair of jeans instead

41. I adore reading and wait with baited breath for new books to come out from my favorite authors.  I read at least 6 novels a month.

42. I don't like watching TV and I hate reality shows - who does that kind of stuff anyway!  But I love Scrubs, Friends and Reba.  She reminds me of my mom.

43. There is not one day that I don't think of my Mom

44. I have raised almost $10,000 over the last 7 years for cancer research

45. I am left handed but I write like a right handed person

46. I don't swim very well and I don't like the ocean but I can waterski really well and I adore the lake.

47. I miss Orange County shopping and restaurants, Oakdale's small town feel and the sense of direction you can get from knowing the mountains are in the east and the beach is in the west.

48.  I don't like Valentine's Day but I love Christmas and Halloween.  I love the fall air and the laughter I hear when the kids go trick or treating.  I love to make the house look spectacular for Christmas and watch the magic of the season fill my children.  

49. I like to read vampire books - kind of goes against the whole scary movie thing huh?

50. I am really enjoying our life in Nebraska.  I don't go to the malls any more instead I go to Scheel's and the archery range.  I shoot a deer target in my basement and have a weather radio in my office for tornadoes.  I listen to country music instead of rap and haven't seen the beach in well over a year.  I  have no desire to visit Disneyland ever again and instead look forward to staying at the Great Wolf Lodge.  I love college football even more than before and am torn between sending my kids to Notre Dame and Nebraska.  

51.  Oh and I love NASCAR now.  Had to throw that last one in for good measure!

Our first post

Our wonderful neighbor who has not moved away to UTAH! introduced me to this wonderful site.  We needed a way to keep in touch with our family and friends instead of sending umpteen million emails to every person.  We hope this works and everyone will keep in touch this way.

Today...

Ian is playing his first double header in the select soccer league for Elkhorn (little annexed part of Omaha).  Jeff just called and said they tied the first game and will start the second in just a bit.  McKayla had a field trip to the fire station for Daisy Scouts so we skipped the games - which are over 1 1/2 hours away.  Plus it is still cold outside.  Whoever told us the winters were mild in Nebraska either lied or meant in comparison to Wisconsin!  Spring break is in a little over a week it better warm up soon or the Big Guy and I are going to have a talk!

Photos of McKayla's field trip and Ian's soccer game today.  I was not joking when I said it was cold.  They played both games in sweats, hates, gloves and anything else they could get on!