Thursday, December 24, 2009

A Merry Christmas to all.....









































except for the cat!! Knocked the tree over 3 times. Coincided with him getting neutered. It almost felt like revenge!! Isn't that pitiful? Note how the colored lights no longer go all the way to the top. So, this is our once glorious tree. It was such a happy tree. Huge! Tall and big and fat! Perfect tree! I had so much fun decorating it. Heavy sigh here. So, the kids are in bed, the turkey is in the smoker in the garage. It smells soooo good! And Santa is on the way! Merry, Merry Christmas to everyone! We hope you get everything you asked for and feel loved by everyone!

Applause, applause





















































I am so behind at posting. This little event actually took place at the beginning of the school year. Ethan and Emily received awards for achieving perfect, PERFECT, scores on their SOL tests at school. And, hey, SOL stands for Standards of Learning.....just sayin'. Emily scored her perfect score in history. Ethan made perfect scores on history, reading, and math. He was the only one in the whole student body that scored perfect on 3 tests. Do you think he got credit for that? Nope......he is a terrorist. THAT is a LONG story and I shouldn't even say it here because I'm afraid someone from the school will read it and the whole mess will start all over again. Call or email and I will fill you in. Although, every time I think about it, I think I need a bigger soap box!! So, for now, we just celebrate the smartness of our kids! And just because John did not get perfect scores, do not think that he is not smart. He is a very mature, very smart boy. He does things (managing his money) already that I see some adults (me) have trouble with. So...John, Ethan, Emily....take a bow for all your hard work and effort....we're so proud! (someone hand me a tissue)

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

The Great Hunter

He doesn't look very excited does he? OH MY!! Everyone who has come near has had to hear the story. John's first deer. He was so proud. He had a hard time getting the cross hairs on the scope to line up because his heart was beating so hard. But he got it! All that sitting and watching and sitting and watching and sitting and watching paid off. And in the cold! I could not sit still that long, much less in the cold.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Catchin up






































































Now that I am on Christmas break I can blog. Ahhhhh, I feel so relaxed. Got 3 As and 2 Bs. Got an A in Pathophysiology. That's my trophy. That was a hard class. And next semester I start my first practicum in Women's Health. Class starts again on January 19th. Until then I will be sitting on the couch eating bon bons and watching Oprah if I am needed......and DON'T need me!
Isn't that the most spoiled cat you have ever seen. We set that up to take a picture, but the cat never moved. He napped right there just like that for the whole afternoon. He did push the little teddy bear away, but never even took his head off the pillow. He does pay a price, though, for all that spoiling............and the price is.....he has to wear baby doll dresses for the kids. It is a male cat. Poor thing! He takes it like a champ. Emily is sitting here beside me reading this and reminding me how much the cat enjoyed wearing the dress. He also likes the Christmas tree. He has a favorite low branch he loves to sit on. It's going to get him killed. And every so often I catch him sitting in the middle of town square of my Christmas houses. It looks like he is really waiting for someone to come out of one of them so he can pounce on them. Also something that is going to get him killed or maimed.

And now we can talk about Halloween, yaaaa now that it's Christmas, just a little behind. Loved my purple lights. And there are five pumpkins...one for each of us. Halloween was not as much fun for us this year. Our neighborhood changed the way they do our Halloween celebration. We did the trunk or treat this year with a hayride. It was fun; it just wasn't quite the same as going door to door. BUT we still got chocolate and that's all that counts!


Sunday, November 29, 2009

Breaking the law.....

























....or at least, all of our holiday traditions. We had a really nice Thanksgiving. We thought we wanted to go to Baltimore and have Thanksgiving there because there are some really fun Christmas Tree farms near there and we could just make a weekend of it. We planned to eat at Cracker Barrel for Thanksgiving dinner. It was a great plan. Really. Except that the forecast for Friday was rain, rain, rain, and more rain. I was starting to get sick Tuesday, a simple cold, but nonetheless, I was slightly fatigued, grouchy, ya know....not much different than normal, according to John. So, we went to a movie Thanksgiving day, A Christmas Carol. It was IMAX AND 3D. What more could you ask for? A better movie, actually. The affects/effects (I'm not sure which one) were great, but the movie itself was a little intense. Did not leave ready to go save all the Tiny Tims of the world. It should have been heart warming. Parts of it were a little scary. Anyway, back to the story....we decided to come home Thanksgiving day because of the forecasted rain in Baltimore on Friday. So, we did come home that day. Long trip. We did eat at Cracker Barrel. It was so yummy! Especially since I did not have to cook it myself. Came home. It rained Thanksgiving Day here at our house, so Friday we could not go to a Christmas Tree farm here because it was too muddy. So......did we go Saturday. NO, Heaven's no, this year we are all about breaking traditions and routines. We went to Lowe's on Friday night and got the biggest Christmas tree they had. It is truly, larger than life, exactly what Christmas is supposed to be. I feel like I should keep apologizing to the tree. It really should be somewhere it can be more appreciated and better decorated. But I love it! It makes me happy. I didn't think we were ever going to get it in the house. John had to cut a lot off the bottom and the top. It just didn't look that big at Lowe's. Now it's up and mostly decorated.....just waiting for the cat or the dog to come knock it over. I will have no mercy......

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Yaaaaaaa........


one day may never get here. It seems like I am always too busy to post an update, although, I'm sure that's not true. I don't really study on the weekends. I COULD, actually, make a post on the weekends, I'm just too busy catching with the household and running errands. Plus John is home on the weekends, so who wants to sit in front of the computer?? But, let's see...what are the Thompsons up to? John is in Baltimore during the week still. How long do we have left?.......August 2010. Ethan's last football game is tomorrow night. Ethan has had a great season. He has learned so much and gotten a lot less timid. We had his birthday party this weekend. He wouldn't let us take pictures of him right now. He wouldn't even let us sing to him over cake. But he had a really good party. The boys (3 dads and 5 sons) went to Buffalo Wild Wings for wings and football. The girls (3 moms and 2 daughters) went somewhere better. Then we all met back at the house for ice cream cake and good times. Ethan got a Texas hoodie, an Army hoodie, a Dallas Cowboys book bag (which has not arrived yet, so shhhhh!), a Game Stop gift card and lots of money. I want some!!! And if you can't tell.....he is very much into football. He is absolutely a fair weather fan. He loves A&M, but they aren't doing too hot, so he had to jump the fence and cheer for Texas. His Halloween pumpkin reflects this. I'll try to post a picture of that.
I am almost done with my first semester back in school. I will be glad to get a break. I did my last physical assessment demonstration today and this is my last week of lecture. All we have left is finals and I plan on having a little meltdown for each one. Stay tuned......
Emily is doing Irish dance this year and is really enjoying it.
John continues to be a 30 year old man in a 13 year old body. Poor thing. He comes home, does his chores without being asked, does his homework, eh, most of the time without being asked, and doing it well (actually this is a HUGE improvement over last year), he's so grown up. He wants power tools for Christmas. I can't wait until he can drive. I will have my own chauffeur.
OK.....see how boring we are....I don't think I have anything else for ya. I will try to post before another month goes by.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

One day......

.....I'll update my blog. I'll post new pictures. It'll be wonderful. I feel like I'm doing good to get a couple of loads of laundry washed, much less do anything else. I truly have the best kids ever. They are not perfect, but if they didn't help out with chores around the house, we'd be in bad shape. Too much to do. Too many places to be. Ethan doesn't have football practice this week since they are having a bye on Saturday. What a break! It has been a pretty quiet week. Ethan is having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to middle school life. And it showed up in his progress report. Got those yesterday. He has a B in history. A B! He has never had less than a 97 average in history at any time. I thought the world was going to stop spinning. And a C in math. Which I was kind of expecting. But he really felt bad. He was being way too hard on himself. Poor guy! Emily came waltzing in with all As. She has a teacher that really stretches students academically. It will do her well because there is not a good choice for a 5th grade teacher at that school. She will have to learn enough this year to last two years. And I think that John may actually LIKE school this year for the first time since kindergarten. Holy cow! But don't anyone tell him I said that. He did really well on progress reports. Anyway, all I am is tired. And now I'm wondering what I'm doing up at this late hour....so.....off I go.

Friday, September 18, 2009
























































































































Lots of photos. Let's see.....we'll start at the top. Ethan at a football game. He has been opposed, recently, to having his photo taken so all I'm getting is the back of his head and from far away. He plays tight end on the offense, defensive end on the defense. Tight end is a position in which you are on the end of the line and you must hold the ball very tight. Defensive end means, also, that you are on the end of the line and that you must be defensive about all comments made to you during the game. That is what I don't know about football. John says I must add that Ethan starts on both the offense and the defense, which I do Really know is impressive. He practiced all summer and went to a really great camp, so he was ready for the season.

The thing that Emily is holding up is an anemometer. It is something she is learning about in school. Hers was the only one that worked when the class tried to use it. Did I mention that I have the best kids? I shouldn't really have to; I think it is obvious. The next picture is Emily sleeping. Also I guess I have to mention that I have the cutest kids. Isn't she just precious?

And then John on the tractor. Doesn't he look so proud? He loves driving the tractor. Mowing the grass. John (husband) looks the same way when he is mowing the grass. Must be a "men and their tractors" thing. We have so many rocks in our yard right there. The boys are trying to get them all picked up and take them down to the lake.

Next picture is Thompson version of Where's Waldo.....Where's Emilytha? We have been calling her that since she was 2. Ethan had a birthday party and a little girl in his class came to the party. Her family was new to the country and she could not say Emily's name without adding "tha" to the end and we liked it. We also call her "toots", Smelly Gayle (Gayle is her middle name), what else? I think that's it.

And last....John in front of the cat tower he made. Isn't it cool? And the cat is trying to play with his hair. The cat loves it. He likes to tease the dog and then run up there where the dog can't eat him. It's so funny.

And now let's see.....what's going on in our house? School is going well for everyone. Even me. Well, let me qualify that. I'm not doing so hot in research. My instructor is from another country and she is difficult to understand, plus crazy, plus I don't like research to start with, plus the test questions are not well worded, plus, plus, plus......I could go on and on. I will pass the class and just move on..... But I am doing very well in all my other classes, which is the way it should be. The things that will make me a good nurse practitioner, I am doing well in. I love my pathophysiology class. I love to know exactly why something is going wrong in the body. It's very exciting. John is back from Alabama, glad to have that two weeks over. It's been a great weekend, going to hate when he goes back to Baltimore tonight.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

First day of school






































































Today is the first day of school and I am a nervous wreck. Holy Cow!! I thought I would be more worried about them when they were little. NO. It just gets worse. When they were little they had more people around making sure they were where they needed to be. Now they are bigger and they have to know so much more. I just wish it would be acceptable for mommies to walk their kids to class in junior high and middle school. Oh NO!!! John and Ethan would have FrEaKeD!!! It just would have made me feel better I tell you. They wouldn't even let me take pictures. They rode the bus this morning. It was the first time Ethan rode the bus to school on the first day. It just broke my heart. But, they really have to so they will know what to do tomorrow. The first day there is a lot of help. Tomorrow will be less. John and Ethan are plenty stressed about being at a new school, especially Etahn--first time changing classes, not the smae teacher all day. Emily is so execited about school because we got the BEST teacher ever. Really. Mrs. Vanborgandine. I'm not sure I spelled that right. We get to call her Mrs. VanB. Thank goodness! I had such a good summer with them and I just miss them so. Pity party at the Thompsons.

Thursday, September 3, 2009

A New Edition to the Thompson Family


His name is Clyde. Clyde the cat. And I cannot figure out why oh why all my text is being underlined and furthermore, can't find a way to turn it off. We, actually, got the cat a couple of weeks ago. I just haven't posted it. Shame on me.....because I know you all are waiting with baited breath to have all the information about the Thompsons you can get. Sorry! So, back to the story at hand. This is Clyde. We adopted him from the animal shelter. He has got to be the best cat. Puts up with Emily toting him around like a champ. He even likes the dog. Does the dog like him? Eh, I don't think so, but he does tolerate him. He's a people kind of cat. He likes to be held and petted. He likes us. The only thing I don't like about this cat is that he likes a morning massage. And he wants it at about 5:30am. Yea....that's not any fun. Not even when I have to get up that early. You know those cat tree things you see at PetSmart that cats climb and play on? The big ones are like a hundred dollars or so. My John built one for Clyde and it looks just like those and we hardly spent any money at all on it. I'm so proud. Just dreamed out what he wanted and built it. And....the cat loves it. He has a perch way up tall that he likes to sleep on. I need to post a picture of that.

Alright, that's the cat story. And since I know you guys are not getting enough of this underling business, let's talk about something else. It's getting on my nerves. The kids start school next week. Tuesday. They say they aren't excited, but they really are ready. We had a great summer, but now that I have started school they are getting a little (a LOT) bored. So, they are ready. John and Ethan had open house last night. We walked through their whole schedule so they won't be so anxious on the first day. Alright, class is about to start. Off I go.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A Night out with Emily
























Emily and I went to the Cheesecake Factory for dinner one Friday night a couple of weeks ago. The boys went to a Montgomery Gentry concert and didn't invite us. So, we had to go shopping. Had to. We went to an outdoor mall with lots of good stores and restaurants. Do ya see that dessert that is almost as big as her head??? You should have seen her eyes when they brought to her. Huge! It was so fun! Even the people at the next table got big eyes for her huge dessert. Oh, what fun! Sadly, though, it was one of those trips where you just can't find a thing to buy. But we still had fun being together, holding hands, and just talking. Those are the best moments for me.
It's been a long time since I've posted. We have had some stress. The Army is asking (demanding) for John's assistance in Baltimore. He will be there for a year. Could be worse, I know, but still I am bitter. He will be home on the weekends. I just think it is such bad timing. I just started school and it is not going to be a piece of cake. Do you know how many ATP a molecule of glucose yields and how this is relevant to a diabetic....how a broken second messenger system in a cell can lead to cancer? See? Why now? Two years from now would be better. But, as we have no choice(say that like you're mad).....we will survive and adjust. Ok--but that's the bad stuff.....let's talk about the good stuff. School starts back next Tuesday. No, wait....that's bad stuff too. Actually, I will really miss them. Even though they will tell you they are not ready to go back, they are. Open house for John and Ethan is tomorrow. The next day for Emily. We are having a monumental moment this year. John starts junior high and Ethan starts middle school. I can't believe how fast they are growing. Emily has really grown this summer. She is looking forward to dance starting soon. Football started eons ago for Ethan. And poor John got cheated. They didn't have enough players to have a soccer team, so he will have to wait for spring soccer. Alright, someone needs to crack a whip behind me. I need to get busy cleaning and studying.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

I am man. Hear me roar.

John has done a lot of yardwork this weekend. Way to go John. It looks so much better. Sadly we still have so much to do. And I am not going back outside until September. It's waaaaaaay too hot. I'm ready for cooler weather. Now that the yard looks so much better I want to do so much more.
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Saturday, August 1, 2009

Emily's Room

Emily's room is finished. Hip hip hooray!!!! Doesn't it look great? Now we just have to find decorations and I can't really find anything. I thought a beach theme would be popular.
We went to DC this weekend. I think you just can't go in the summer. Traffic was horrible and it was too hot to do sooooo much walking. The Presidential helicopter flew right over us as we were leaving. That was fun. We went to the American History Museum this time. Amazing how they can preserve things for so long. It's something to be standing in front of a flag that was sewn in 1813 and has meant so much to so many. And I thought I was going to get to see Mr. Rogers sweater, but they didn't have it on display. Dang it!!!
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Tuesday, July 28, 2009

James Mendoza



















Well, guys, I hate to be a downer, but since this blog serves as a sort of diary for me, you must hear the good with the bad. This a friend of mine, James. We worked together at the hospital. He died in a motorcycle accident last Wednesday. One faaaaareaking block from the hospital. Which was especially frustrating for those of us who worked with him. On one hand, I tell myself that he almost made it. One more minute and he would have been clocked in and ready to make everyone laugh. On the other hand, I can't understand why those that were working that day weren't given a chance to save him. He was right there. One heartbeat and they would not have given up until they saved him. He died instantly. Such a tragedy. He was 26 years old. His parents should be looking for to him getting married and giving them grandchildren instead of planning a funeral. His absence will be very painful for everyone who knew him. He was a good natured guy. Never a harsh word. Always smiling. That's what everyone kept saying at the service. "He was always happy, always smiling".
I guess moments like this remind you that your next day is not garunteed. I wish we could all live to be 90 or 100. Wouldn't that be better?



Sunday, July 19, 2009

Now...that's more like it

What do you think? I love it. I love it so much I painted the dog. Not really. I was ALMOST done and the dumb dog came in and leaned his hairy self onto the wet wall. Dumb dog!!! When he moved away from the wall half his coat remained stuck to it. Now we will fix that spot and maybe I will quit yelling at the dog sometime next week. I so wanted to be done with the blue so we can move on to the pink.

I bought curtains for the boys rooms last night without them there to choose. What was I thinking? John didn't even try tO hide his disdain. He pretty much said what were you thinking. Ethan tried to spare my feelings by saying maybe they just weren't the right shade of color.

What a great family I have! We had such a fun day yesterday. John went and did some man stuff with dad on tractors. Ethan went shopping with me and Emily and tolerated us like a champ. Even did the Bath and Body works store without too much complaining. And these words escaped Emily's mouth. Really. No joke. "I'm going to do it if you'll quit nagging me". I would have beat her if I hadn't been laughing so hard. And saying to myself did she really just say that? They are each so unique and I love everything about them.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Back to square one....

....in Emily's room. That blue was awful. Like Pepto's version of blue. We have a better option now. It's called Nautical. I just have a great need to be finished in her room because I have most of her room lined up on a wall in the living room. So...back to work.
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Thursday, July 16, 2009

Friends......

Does this look like the ocean???? I think not. Back to the paint store we go. Emily wants the ocean on two walls and girly pink on the other two. I think will be perfect once we get to that side of the room.
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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Time for fall colors?

I grew these myself. I am so proud! Here is the problem though....it's July. AND.......what's left that's growing on the vines is being slowly eaten by some pesky animal. I wish they would choose one instead of nibbling a little from several. So, I guess I will be buying them in October, dang it. So disappointed. I also tried to grow peas--I think they produced three or four peas. Green beans--got about twenty of those. Tomatoes that refuse to turn red. Watermelon that's also being enjoyed by the wildlife. Oh and zucchinis--did get a few of those. Not enough. .....next year. But aren't my three little pumpkins so cute???
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Sunny afternoon playing in the yard

Emily helping Ethan some battle strategies. He went to civil war camp this week. He has been for the last two years. I think he was a little disappointed this year because they did a couple of things differently. Poor guy! Its the last year he gets to go. Too old next year.
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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Sponge Bob at the beach

Another test.....

Holy Cow! I have been lucky twice! In a minute I'll be runnin' out for that lottery ticket. We went to the beach to celebrate July4th. Oh, we had fun! When the sand castles didn't work for me and Emily, we decided to build Sponge Bob. What do you think? It think it's awesome. We were so relaxed. Splurged for a hotel room right on the beach. Soaked up some vitamin D. Watched the kids play. Watched fireworks from our balcony. My favorite time was the morning we left. We took the kids out to the beach early so they could play one last time before we left. Hardly anyone on the beach, the temperature was perfect. The sand was still cool to the feet. Ran around and acted silly. It was fantastic. I wish we could live there.


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Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Emily's boots.....ahhhhhh

This is a test....this is only a test.

I can't believe I got a picture to post. Holy cow!! I should run right out and buy a lottery ticket! Oh yes, I should.

These are Emily's boots. Grandpa Bill and Nana Ann bought them for her before we left Texas and oh how she has loved them. They have lived a good life. Her little foot did not budge in size for about 3 years. Great for the budget. But, alas, all good things must come to an end and Emily has finally grown. And so we must say farewell to our dear friends, the pink boots, that have been worn with everthing from jeans to sunday dresses. We will miss you!

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Will this work?

I have a very good reason for not blogging. We are using a less expensive internet service and I cannot do anything with it. Most of the time I can't even use the internet. Weird, I know. Let's see if this will even post. Here goes frustration!

Edit #1--Holy internet batman! I can't believe that worked. Now let's see if we can upload a photo.

Edit #2--well maybe it was too much to ask for. Let's give it just one more try, shall we?

Edit #3--indeed, adding a picture was too much to ask for. We will keep trying.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Awards, awards, awards...

Ethan graduated from elementary school and is off to middle school. John is off junior high. And they all got awards. Ethan got AB honor roll and a certificate for being a Friendly Helper (he helped out in the first grade classes). John got an award for maintaining a B average in history...which is HUGE. In Virginia's goofy grading system, a B is 87-94. Crazy, right? And John has always said how much he hates history and how unnecessary it is to study because it all happened in the past. John also got 3 awards for Most Improved Student in Science, History, and English. Emily Gayle made the AB honor roll. And now summer is here. What will we do with ourselves?? Swim, go to the beach, laundry, yard work, work, work, work.....just kidding. We will try to maximize the fun times and minimize the chores.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Doritos



Sometimes you just gotta have some! And I have been craving them for two days now. I really try not to eat chips at all. I don't even like to have them in the house. I have NO willpower. Once the bag is open, they are gone. So, I finally caved today...well..and last night too....and had some. Craving satisfied. And noone will be invading my personal space. I smell too bad. Now I am craving something sweet. Go figure! I will be 300 pounds by the time I leave work.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Who doesn't love Willie Nelson












Me. But John does. He got tickets for us to see the Willie Nelson concert last night in Richmond. And this is what we looked like on our way to the concert. And I just realized, I forgot to draw myself some arms. Funny. Maybe I lost them in my battle trying not to go the concert. We did have fun. It was so hot during the day, but it cooled off and it was very comfortable. We really had a good time. Not too hot. Not too cold. Relaxing outside in lawn chairs listening to "good" music. (It's all relative.) Enjoying each other. No kids. Just us. Good times! Good memories!

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Up was a real

d
  o
    w
      n
        e
          r!
Oh.....my.........word!  If you have any fear of heights, it is not the movie for you.  Which, I guess, I should have determined by the name of the movie, but, I swear, it never occurred to me.  In almost every scene of the movie, the characters were just about to fall off of or out of something very high.  It kept me upset through almost the entire movie.  It did have some good parts.  The dog is cute.  "I do not like the cone of shame."  But the old man's wife dies, the little boy doesn't get to spend time with his dad.  It was very sad.  Emily cried in the very few scenes of the movie.  But, it was the first time in a very long time that I have been disappointed in a movie after spending nearly 50 bucks to get in.  See, there was something positive...sort of.  Alright, now I am going to go try to finish painting some trim in the piano room that I started a long time ago and have not finished.  

Friday, May 29, 2009

Friday night at the movies


I am taking Ethan, Emily, and one of Ethan's friends to the movies tonight. We are going to see Up. It looks really cute. Popcorn and soda for dinner; it'll be great. John and John are on their way home from West Virginia; doesn't sound like they had a great time, but they took good care of John's mom. Did I say this already? She had eye surgery on Thursday. She is doing well. Doesn't get to drive for a while. They did get to have cake to celebrate the May birthdays. John's is May 19 and his mom's is May 25. We will be anxious to have our Johns home, but if they think we did any chores while they were gone......we did the minimum standards for household cleaning, but mostly we just had fun. Watching Scooby Doo, going on walks and bike rides. Emily gave me a notebook and she wants to me to write letters to her in it "everyday". She wants to be like a journal from me to her. I am going to try so hard to be a good mom and write something to her once a week. Only 10 more days of school. Holy Cow!!! I cannot wait. Really, guys.....I cannot wait.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tidbits






















Pictures--John enjoying a milk shake that splashed him. Emily and mom experimenting with homemade facials. I would not recommend this. Way too messy! And.....the true identity of Hannah Montana revealed.

I have been to the Ikea store in DC. Oh my.....love that store. Yes. I could spend all day there. And you could. They have a cafeteria. Although, the food did not smell all that enticing. But, the store is fun.

Football camp is over for Ethan and John and now John is in spring training for fall football. Everyday after school from 3:30 to 5:30 for two weeks. We are anxiously awaiting the end of school. Ethan and Emily still have a couple of SOL tests this week. Ethan has one soccer game left, it will be on Saturday.

John and John are leaving tomorrow evening to go to West Virginia. Carol is having surgery Thursday morning on one of her eyes. So, they are going to take care of her. They will be back on Saturday sometime.

We had a beautiful evening. We went for a family bike ride. John and the boys played football in the yard on what little grass we have. After that we sat on the porch and just talked. It was so much fun. Ethan told us about a governor of Virginia from the 1920s. How does he remember all that stuff. Emily amazed us with ability to talk continuously. And John surprized us with some very grown up views on the world. We talked about politics and choices and consequences. It was fantastic.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Can't Stop Dancin'




















Doesn't she make a great zombie?? The finale was the song, Thriller. What fun! It was a great recital! We all really enjoyed it. John has been in an after school club called Academic Achievers this year. He earned "money" for his participation, and he got to spend it all at a party they had Friday night before the recital. He bought Emily flowers. And she gave him a big ole hug. Enough to make you melt! It was precious! She was in 5 performances. All we did was run from one to the next, but she loves it. She never slowed down. I was worn out on her behalf. Whew! So, now dance has been over for two days, and she already misses it. Crazy girl!

And......dance ended just in time for football camp to start. No rest for the weary!
Soccer season ended for John on Saturday. Ethan has one more game. We are ready for summer! Good golly! I am ready for some consistantly warm weather. Hello??? It's May, I should be in shorts everyday by now.