Thursday, April 30, 2009

Meet Lilly


.

Meet Lilly. Sweet Lilly joined our family today. She's a Dumbo Rat and oh so adorable... as rats can be. She's so cute and Angelina loves her! For her Birthday we promised her a pet; she's old enough and she's ready. We did our research between a rabbit, hamsters, gerbils, and a rat. We had great success with a rat when Becca wanted a pet and so here we go again. Oh the joys of growing up. Of course as Murphy would have it, we sold our rat cage years back and now need it again . Now if only I could have my pet cow.

Why the Tonka Background.. You Ask?


My boy graduates in 19 days. I can still see him playing in the dirt for hours with his Tonkas. This is for him.

Spring has Sprung

The flowers are popping out and soon my yard will be bursting in color! Welcome spring. We're glad you're here.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

You Know You're from Colorado When...

My sister sent this to me via a fellow cousin and let me tell you..it is so true! Got a good laugh and smile from this one.


A winter statistic: 98% OF AMERICANS SCREAM BEFORE GOING IN THE DITCH ON A SLIPPERY ROAD. THE OTHER 2% ARE FROM COLORADO AND THEY SAY, 'HOLD MY SODA AND WATCH THIS.'


NOW:
You're from Colorado if you'll eat ice cream in the winter.

When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.


It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.

You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.

You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's, and then you make fun of them.
'Humid' is over 25%.

Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.

You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.

You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.

You buy your flowers to set out on Mother's day, but try and hold off planting them until just before Father's day.

You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.

You wear socks with sandals. You know what the Continental Divide is. You don't think Coors beer is that big a deal.

You went to Casa Bonita as a kid, and as an adult.

You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.

You always know the elevation of where you are.

You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.

You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.

Every movie theater has military and student discounts.

Everybody wears jeans to church.

You actually know that ** South Park ** is a real place not just a show on TV.

Y
ou know what a 'trust fund hippy' is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder .

You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.

A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.

Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.

When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.

You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer blue.

Pay It Forward Reminder

Just in case you weren't paying attention the first time..... Contest ends May 1st. What Contest you ask? Scroll down a few posts... you'll find it. Go on, do it .

:)

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Extreme Office Makeover... Phase 2876


So.. It's on to the home stretch for our office. Terrell finished his part of the walls and then we had a friend come in to blow on the texture. Now it's on to staining the doors and painting the walls. Oh Yes... and New Lights. Whoo Hoo.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

My Baby is 10!

The Birthday Bunch
Cake.. What cake?
The day started clean and neat! The girls were very BIG helpers. Oh thank goodness.

Terrell was our judge. Which island would win?

Here I am bossy again. :) Actaully I was giving instructions for all the game time.
Becca and T were our pizza cookers. YummY!

Silly Birthday Girl.
Bubble blowing contest. Bazooka RuLes!

Angelina is 10 and she celebrated her birthday with 15 friends from church and school. We choose certain years for BIG parties. 5, 10, 13, 16, 18 and 21. So this was a BIGGY for her and she's been planning since Christmas. Yes. Christmas. Her theme was Survivor... We split the kids into two teams and let the games begin.


1. Treasure Hunt. They went searching for GOLD. Gold candy that is.

2. Worm eating contest. Sour worms.

3. Island sculpting contest. Which team was the most creative?

4. Bazooka Bubble blowing contest. We had some big bubbles.

5. Our favorite box game. Gag gifts and Good gifts.

6. Of course Present Time.. Angelina's favorite!

7. Home made Pizza and ice cream for dessert.
We shooed the boys out at 8, (I never thought we'd even have boys!) and the girls got on their jammies to watch a girly flick. My baby had a great birthday!!! All my kids are double digits. WOW! That's just crazy.
I know you're thinking I deserved a bubble bath right? What did I do? I worked on a paper from 10- 11:30pm. It had to be turned in by midnight. My sweet husband got up in the morning with the girls and let me sleep a little longer. Ahh... me and my pillow.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Pay It Forward Contest... Ready GO!

I won a contest through my bloggy friend-soon-to-be-friend-whom-I-have seen-up close-and-personal-and-ate Chocolate with... Jen and now it's my turn!

As part of my winning her Pay It Forward, I agreed to hold my own Pay It Forward Give-Away.

So there is no time like now to have it.

The rules are as follows...
1. leave me a comment (bc WHO does not enjoy some comment love?) for ONE entry

2. link back to my give-away post on your own blog for a SECOND entry (but be sure to tell me you did so)

3. if you are a follower (or become a follower) of my blog you get a bonus THIRD entry. (bc I love checking out new blogs and making new friends along the way)

4. If you win the Pay It Forward give-away, you agree to host your own Pay It Forward give-away on your blog.

I will be PAYING IT FORWARD with 2 of my favorite things I use to pamper myself!

You have until May 1st to enter. Have Fun!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Meet Mr. and Mrs. Jones

Yep... Lots more snow! Definitely required a cute couple out front to celebrate.


Charley thinks the snow is bo-diggity. She loves it.


Our friends drove by "just to check out how much snow we had" and wouldn't you know.. God's timing is perfect. The mail lady needed pulled out. Their truck is set up for such a thing and they went to work.

Wood pile is almost covered over.



Kids were sledding out behind the house on the hill. It is still snowing and we love it! I never thought my spring baby, Angelina, would have a snowy birthday. (It's tomorrow)


You can hardly see Charley's legs. It's really deep. I think we got near the two feet they predicted.

Our neighbors blessed the kids with a toboggan! Isn't that cool!
Here are the Sister Muggers ready to play outside.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Can You Stand a Long Winded Women?

Kadence is such a cutie patootie. Her little squeaky voice just makes you smile.
My girls are really attached. I love the relationship they have. Reminds me of me and my sister.

I know I've told you many times but I'm gonna say it again. This place is beautiful. For so many years T and I dreamed of living in the mountains. I would even dream of us house shopping, driving for hours over hills looking for something. I really believe we found it. Do I miss California? Oh yeah. Great friends, our pool, family near by... I miss all that but I know this is where we belong. So now with that said... enjoy the walk we took on Thursday. Me and the girls. This is up the street and around the corner. I've never walked this street and it was spectacular.

That's Pikes Peak in the background.

This is a main road just outside of our neighborhood.
This sweet church is around the corner from our neighborhood. It has a cemetery I visit once in a while. Call me weird... I really like cemeteries. When the first three were little... real little, I took them to a cemetery for lunch. They still tease me. Hey, there's real life lessons to learn at these places.
So now the life update: All about Tuna Jones
I'm doing well. We have had a great school year and look forward to a great summer. Here is some highlights and disappointments along the way....
1. School. The kids are doing well. Becca and Boo are happy with the part time home part time public school set up. Lina has a great school and an awesome teacher. I truly miss homeschooling her though. As far as my schooling, it is going well too. Almost done with two more classes. I'm attacking each day with a vengeance and crash each night.
2. Church. We have a great body of believers to celebrate Christ with each week. The spirit is alive and active. I have served in Awana this year and it's almost done. Lina finished Book 1 this week. What a huge accomplishment. We are really proud of her. She wants to take a discipleship class so she can learn how to share about the love of Jesus with kids at school. The kids are active in the high school youth group and going on a mission trip this summer to an Indian reservation in Montana.
3. Weather. You know.. it hasn't been bad. The storms come and go but it isn't this horrible thing. When it doesn't snow it's sunny and 40 here is warm. The cold allows for modesty too. That's refreshing. We are expecting this big fat storm tonight. They say we could get up to two feet of snow. Something about an "Albuquerque Low". I get excited really. The snow is so beautiful and we rent movies and eat yummy food. :) Doesn't that sound great!
4. Our Home. Love it. It's big enough for family but feels cozy enough for T and I when the kids grow up and leave. T is still working on the office renovation and then we hope to start painting the main level. The basement is a blast to have and we've thoroughly enjoyed the theatre. There are a few things we'd like to change long term. It's on a list and will happen soon enough. I would like a new faucet sooner than later at the kitchen sink. The one we have is too short. Drives me crazy.
5. Charley Girl. The dog. She is happy and loves the snow. She loves being outside. She loves being inside. She loves us. She also thinks every yard is her yard hence the new fence will go in next month. She scared the neighbors to death recently and now she is tied to the porch when we aren't home. How sad is that? She's very good but has a wandering spirit and so she wanders away. No fun! I surely would hate to lose her.
6. My Health. I'm not a complainer so this will be short. I'm not sleeping at night well. I fell down a few stairs not too long ago and my right should is still messed up. My left shoulder isn't right yet either and this is affecting my neck. I do workout but not like I'd like too. Probably only twice a week. Only so much time in a day, you know. My eyes are swelling for no apparent reason, usually after I'm on the computer or worked out. My hearing keeps coming and going. More going than coming. I sound old. I wish our insurance had better chiro coverage. I think I need a massage.
7. Children. I still think about adopting. Thought I'd closed that chapter but as I turned the page the title on this chapter was.."Hey, why don't you revisit the adoption conversation?" I am mother, mommy, mom. I like that title.
8. Truck. We love our Burb but it has 135000 miles now. We have become OCD about looking for a newer one. Notice the ER part. We don't buy new. Not only looking but looking nationwide. Like I said..OCD. Can't decide if this is the time or not. If you see a picture of a truck soon you don't recognize.. we found one.
9. Gabe. Graduates May 19th. I still hold my breath when I say it. I can't believe this day is here. It was only yesterday I gave birth, at least I think it was yesterday. He is off to college this fall and what-do-you-know, we have one adult child living amongst us. Wow.
10. Vacation. CAN NOT WAIT!!!! We need this terribly. The kids have been very patient about a family trip. With Gabe leaving this fall this is our last chance to do it big. So BIG it is. We are going on a three week trip that includes the following places: Kansas, Memphis, Louisville, Atlanta, Orlando (week in time share here), New Orleans, and finally Austin. History, Family, Friends, Mickey Mouse, Good Food and Hot Sunny Skies. Our goal is to get very dark. and eat yummy food.
So that's the run down. I'm sure there is more but I figure by now I lost most of you anyhow. Who reads this ol' blog anyhow beside my sister? She HAS to... like listening to stories late at night in our full size bed when we were growing up. She was there and I would talk. Some things don't change. Now I just type more than talk.





Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Tax Day Tea Party- Colorado Springs

Today we drove to Colorado Springs for the Tax Day Tea Party protest. Terrell met Becca, Lina and I down there. Boo and Gabe could not break previous commitments unfortunately. :(
Ok.. so she doesn't look so enthused! It was a great learning experience and she did great. We had some good conversations about our country and debt.




Many people brought in can goods for our local Care and Share.



There were a sea of flags and signs. We sang our National Anthem, heard speeches, said our Pledge of Allegiance, and roared, " Enough!" Today was a time I will remember for a long time. A time to stand up and be counted.
How about you.. did you go?

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Tax Day Tea Party


Tomorrow is a BIG day for all of us in America. Check out the website below, make your sign, and make a stand! It's time to be heard.

Sunday, April 12, 2009

The Freshness of God...


Happy Easter! The morning was calling for pictures. The snow is so pure and clean. The tulips so bright and alive. A reminder for me of Christ on Easter morning.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Father-Daughter Dance



Tonight is a special night for our Terrell and Rebecca. Tonight starts a new tradition of my man taking our amazing daughters to a very special dance. Our church does an annual dance for fathers and daughters. Terrell is going to take a different daughter each year. Good thing I don't have 10 daughters.. it'd be a long wait! Tonight is Becca's turn. She looks stunning next to her handsome dad.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Look What I'm Wearing!


65 today... break out those flip flops! We have a blizzard one week and flip flops the next... Gotta love Colorado!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Happy Palm Sunday!







Good Morning World!
Here are a few pictures from the storm. Honestly it hardly did anything but blow around all day until we went to bed. I guess the humidity and temperatures were finally right to give us this. It's quiet, crisp and sunny out. Amazing.