New Puppy

Okay, so we got a new puppy on Sunday named Cinnamon. I seem to be the only person in the household who realized how much work a new puppy is. Her days and nights are seriously mixed up and she only really likes to sleep in spurts, mainly between 4:15 and 5:15 a.m. I knew this was coming and I was prepared for it. I remember back to bringing home Ryan and Amanda and the lack of sleep that followed. It is very similar to having a new baby (except I am not soley responsible for the production of food) given the lack of sleep and up at night and the potty training etc. She really is the sweetest puppy and has a great playful nature. When she gets all this sleep business worked out I think everyone will be able to enjoy her as much as I am.

Saturday

Today we had a busy day. I woke up, picked up a friend and her daughter and met Ryan and Monica for lunch. Then we headed to the nail salon for pedicures. Nothing like it let me tell you! It is the best way to relax. After pedis, we went shopping for new living room furniture. That is going to be a feat let me tell you. We began this remodeling project and have repainted the living room, dining room, kitchen and hall bath. Only thing left to paint is our bedroom. There are a few touch up areas, and some trim left to paint and the doors, but it is looking soooo good! We are so pleased. We are going to buy verticle blinds for the windows and then will buy new drapes. After that we will move to kitchen and get new appliances (I want stainless steel if possible) and new counter tops and back splash. It's going to be a lot of work but will be sooo worth it. After all this looking at furniture, we decided on spagetti, garlic bread and salad for dinner. It was very yummy! Tomorrow is Sunday and I am looking forward to my day of rest!

Amanda's Senior Year

Wow I can't believe how time has flown by and it is already her senior year. It seems like only yesterday we were picking out her outfit for the first day of kindergarten. By the way it was a blue denim jumper and black and white saddle shoes, hair in pony tail, and barbie lunch box. She was so cute, a bit of a wild woman, but still cute. Kind of like she is now! If I had to reflect back on the most impactful memories of her life that I wouldn't mind sharing with everyone I can think of a few right off the top of my head. Like the day she decided to make a cake.She was probably 3 years old and got up before everyone else in the house, got out a bowl, a large spoon, and every item she could think of. Things like eggs, flour, butter, sugar, you get the idea; anyway she started cracking eggs and mixing things right there on the kitchen floor. She had the biggest mess you had ever seen! Well, I did not see the humor in this like I do now and called my mom to come over and help me get her, the floor, and everything else cleaned up. She offered to take her for a while, probably fearing for her safety as much as my own sanity! Another thing that comes to mind is a time they were riding in the car with my parents and saw some sheep grazing in the pasture. Amanda asked my dad "papa, why do the sheep have pricetags?" Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever heard? Growing up Amanda was a bit of a tomboy, and loved all sports. She played basketball, volleyball and softball, and loved rollerblading, and riding her bike. She didn't become a "girlie girl" till she was much older. It was surprising to a lot of us to see her carrying a purse, wearing makeup and caring about "girlie things". We don't always see eye to eye and she has always been a daddy's girl, but I am very proud of her and am looking forward to seeing the young woman she will become. There have been "bumps" in the road, but these are how we learn and grow. I thank God for her everyday and I know she is destined for greatness!

Back at work

Okay so I'm not very good at keeping up with this blogging thing. I get tired and forget to write. I have been back at work for 3 days now, and I am really feeling it tonight. I am tired and my shoulders ache. You'd think I was doing some manual labor or something, but no, just sitting in meetings all day. Some are very interesting, but the state mandated stuff is sooooo boring. I really wonder who sits around in Austin thinking up new acronyms for stuff. Must be there only job, cuz they sure find new ones all the time! Ryan and Monica came over for dinner tonight cuz I made his favorite meal (beef tips) and the receipe is on my food blog. It is so quick and easy and everyone seems to love it. Can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already. The week is almost over and kids will be back in school before we know it. Reading or not here they come. I really can't believe Amanda will be a senior in high school. Her high school years have really flown by. Next year we will be looking at colleges. It just seems to hard to believe. Where has all the time gone? Tomorrow night we go and take senior pictures.

Welcome to Destin

Well, the car trip to Destin was pretty uneventful. We arrived in Destin, Florida around 2:00 p.m. and checked into our hotel. After we changed into our bathing suits with proper attire over them, we headed out to explore the town. We decided to not ask any questions, inquire about hot spots or take a map with us. We decided to just get into our car, and look for the beach. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but looking back, maybe we should have asked for a little help. We did end up finding a public beach access, parked our car and began the hike to the public beach. We were not entirely prepared for the hike through such soft sand. It was virtually impossible to walk on and you pretty much had to shuffle your feet just to stay upright. My calves were killing me by the time we reached the water. The sand is much different than I am used to. For one thing, it is pretty close to being white, and it is clean. It reminds me of sugar and is very fine in your hands. The water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom. This was very helpful considering the water was being overrun with jellyfish! Another thing that surprised me was the water was pretty cool and the weather is much nicer than Texas. Everyone tells me Florida weather is just like Texas, well maybe today was a fluke because there was no humidty at all. When we decided to go for a swim this evening, we had to cut it short because it was too cold! I know when we get to Orlando and walk around Disney for a few hours, I will want this weather back! We are having a great time and are looking forward to visiting with Mickey and friends tomorrow! Nite all!

Summer.....

Wow, it has been a really long time since my last post. I really don't know why except maybe I have discovered facebook. Summer is going well...we finally started getting rain. We are leaving for our family vacation on Friday morning. We are going to Florida with our first stop in Destin to see a real, pretty, clean beach. I have always wanted to visit Destin and am really excited about seeing it. After Destin we are going on to Orlando and going to Disney World. We are spending 7 days at Disney World and are staying at the Disney Resort. I have never been and have been looking forward to this for a very long time. This has been a really interesting summer. We have had problems and obstacles I hadn't thought would come our way, but they did. It has been stressful to say the least, but I feel we are past a lot of it and are looking forward to what is to come. I am always ready to go back to school, I am just not the stay at home type. I start to get really bored, and that is where I am at now. Well, I will post more after our trip.

It's been a while...

Well, its been a while since my last post. Oh well, not like anyone really reads these, right? Just good for venting and such. We are in the home stretch now with the last few weeks of school. That is good and bad. Good cuz summer is coming, bad because we still have to get all the last minute things done at work before summer. It's not like it comes at ya slow either, it will seem to hit all at once. Still have to get through Math TAKS, reading retakes, field trip, field day, and international festival. All in only 8 weeks. It doesn't seem possible, but I guess it will all be okay. Turned in my application to teach summer school in June and we all want to go to Disney in July. Have some planning to do I guess. Better get after it...