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Back to life as we know it...

Yes, it's that time of the year again...the summer has ended and we are all back to school, including me. I've actually been back since August 18th (yes, I know that's early) and started school on the 26th. My fourth grade class has 25 students this year, 15 boys and 10 girls and so far, we're doing okay. They are each so cute and different, and they talk ALOT, but I'm slowly whipping them into shape. Monday night is my back to school night, so that explains why I've been underground for the last few weeks. Prepping for the first few weeks of school (even have done some over the summer) is very stressful and time-demanding. Luckily, I'm just about set for the year, and slowly gaining some of my personal time back (for now).

As for the kids, Ben started school last Wednesday (7th grade-YIKES!!!) and DJ (8th grade) and Taylor (10th grade) went back on Thursday. I hate to admit this, but I was WAYYYYYYYYY ready for them to go back to school. I think they were, too. (They'll deny that to their graves, by the way)

This last summer was pretty boring for us...we went on a short trip to AZ to visit the Brattons in July and a quick weekend trip to SLO to visit Sean and Linds and the kids in August, and other than that, we didn't do much. The kids got pretty lazy and bored. I tried to do some fun things, and let them go places w/friends, but most of their friends were gone alot, and it's hard to do things on a budget. Hence, a lot of home time. We were kind of sick of each other and ready to have a scheduled life back. I'll whisper this right now, and I'll never admit it publicly, so don't even ask, but I much prefer a scheduled life to just laying around. Back in the days before I taught and had to work year-round, we lived for days home-pjs all day, popcorn, junk TV, and lounging around. Now that we're home all summer, we've started trying to manufacture activities to break up the boredom. It's also harder when I'm supposed to be working from home. I have yet to master that-I'm not cut out for it, I don't do it well, and I would prefer not to. I also have very little interest in Donald's side business of sports cards and memorabilia, so that's another thing. But I did my best, that's all I could do. And I'm extremely glad to be back at school.

BTW-the Etsy shop is going well...I've sold 3 rolodexes, some mini albums, and some cards. Granted some of it was to family members and friends (thanks girls!), but I did sell to some complete strangers. Yeah! In fact, the store's pretty empty right now-hopefully I'll have some time coming up to get more stuff listed. Thanks for asking about it and for checking it out! :)

Have a great rest of the weekend everyone....I do have some pics from events from the last few weeks...I'll get them posted soon! :)

Yes, they do sleep!

Quick little blog to show you that there is still some sweetness in this world....

Have a great day!

I'm on Etsy!!!

Yes, that's right, I have joined the Etsy world. For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Etsy is a website where people sell handmade items-kind of like an Ebay but not as commercial and only for handmade and vintage items. Catherine and I have decided to start a scrapbooking business and we're starting it on Etsy. The name of our company is "just add you". Cute, heh? Our main items will be custom scrapbooks, custom page layouts, handmade cards, and custom rolodexes. Here's an example of the rolodex I make....this one was made for Lindsey for her birthday. It's a birthday rolodex....



So, check out our Etsy shop. The website is www.justaddyou.etsy.com. Watch in the days to come for more items added like mini albums, cards, and more! Wish us luck and spread the word!!!!!

No, we're not camping..we just look like it!

Last weekend, the kids and I decided to go crazy and "campout" in our backyard. Some friends of ours (Barb and Keith) gave us a portable fire pit and I decided to put it to use. So, after several feeble attempts, we finally got it lit and had ourselves a great time! We had BBQ style chicken and veggies and then some s'mores! We even got Donald to join us! We spent some time stargazing and relaxing-it was super fun! Don't you wish you were us! :)

I've been tagged!

i was tagged by Lindsey to do the abc's of me (and anyone who knows me knows that I cannot pass these things up!). So here they are....

A. Attached or single? attached
B. Best friend? Cath, Joni, my sisters, my husband

C. Cake or pie? pie- lemon cream from Marie Callendars yum!
D. Day of Choice? saturday
E. Essential Item? rainbow sandals, Mac Lip gloss, sunblock

F. Favorite color? brown with peacock blue or pink

G. Gummy bears or worms? bears
H. Hometown? Mission Viejo, CA
I. Favorite indulgence? chocolate or ice cream-Thrifty/Rite-Aid Double Chocolate Malted Crunch
J. January or July? july
K. Kids? 3- and they're all out of elementary school now!!!

L. Life isn't complete without? um, chocolate. yes, definitely chocolate. ( copied Lindsey's answer-I totally agreed!)
M. Marriage Date? November 27, 1994

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 3 sisters, 2 brothers - i'm the middle child (explain much about me?)
O. Oranges or apples? apples - only Granny Smith and very cold
P. Phobias? spiders-big time
Q. Quotes? "What does not kill me makes me stronger"

R. Reasons to smile? the kids are all going to camp next week!

S. Season of choice? summer

T. Tag 5 people: cathy, cathi, shannon, court, and carrie (some of these people have now been tagged twice-sorry guys!)
U. Unknown fact about me? I have had a crush on Jason Bateman since junior high!
W. Worst habit? starting projects and never finishing them-once again, I copied Lindsey's answer-I'm horrible about this!
X. X-ray or ultrasound? ultrasound for sure
Y. Your favorite food? don't have one- I love almost everything but sushi!
Z. Zodiac sign? Virgo, but I don't really follow these

Have fun! Heath

P.S. Pics and updates on our trip to Arizona are coming, I promise. I was a bad girl and took absolutely no pictures and Cathy and I got around to using her camera on the last night and day we were there. So, she's going to send me the pics, but not until this weekend probably. So, just know that it's coming......

We survived...

just for the curious....we survived the weekend with Hobie. He actually mellowed out, I took away the pillow for the weekend, and we found a way to keep him occupied without tearing up everything in sight. The boys were actually sad to see him go home yesterday. Sorry Hobie....it was fun while it lasted....

So, here's what else is goin' on...

it's 8:24 PM on Tuesday night, Donald is asleep in our chair, DJ is watching the All-Star game and loving every minute of it, Benny is trying to master Guitar Hero (super fun-I played it for the first time tonight!), Taylor is at worship team rehearsal at church and I'm supposed to be finishing up dinner. I know, I'm a great mom...you don't have to tell me. We went to Disneyland today-yeah! It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be, most of the rides were 10 minute waits, and we got to ride just about everything we wanted. It was very hot though. But the kids and I had fun. We also had giant ice cream cones at about 5 PM, if you wondering why I'm getting around to dinner now-Donald's the only one who's hungry. When I wake him up to tell him that I made croissant pizzas, he won't be thrilled, but he'll eat them, because it's what I made. Ahhhhhh, what a life.

Tomorrow, I'm tutoring, then running to Costco, grocery store, and Trader Joes. Then, we're packing up for....Arizona! Yep, we're trecking across the desert to go visit Cath and the boys. We're leaving on Thursday and staying till Monday and I'm sooooooo excited! (Should I mention that she's been out here for the last 2 weeks and we're driving out together? That'll be fun, too!). First though, tomorrow night we're working the Journey concert! I LOVE JOURNEY!!!!!!! It'll be fun and with any luck we'll make enough money to pay for our gas for our trip! Keep your fingers crossed!

So, that's whats up in my little world....how bout yours? Anything exciting? Love to hear about it! See ya!

one dog, one pillow, my house....

ok, so we're dog-sitting mom's adorable little dachsund, Hobie, while they're in Laughlin for the weekend. I was NOT in favor of this, but mom talked me in to it, so I brought Hobie over...This is what my house looked like before the dog came out of the carrier...

This is Hobie...looks cute, loveable, and peaceful, right?

This is the dog's pillow-cute, soft, little fluffy thing that the dog wants to sleep on, right?

Wrong...way wrong...turns out the dog like to destroy his comfy pillow...

He's just getting started....

The end result!!!!!

...and to think, Mom promised she talked to the dog and said he would behave!! Unbelievable! Needless to say, the dog was put to bed for the night...we'll see what tomorrow holds! AAARRRGGGHHHHH!

Our Baby's All Grown Up!

Well, it finally happened....Benny graduated from 6th grade! Our baby boy is now done with elementary and on to Junior High. His ceremony was on Wednesday, June 4th and he got to give a speech! There were about 10 student speakers, and I'm not biased or anything, and I have had this confirmed from other non-family members, but Benny's speech was BY FAR the best. He spoke well, and he wrote so many great things about his experience at our school. Most of the family was there, and the Brattons even came (They had 2 cousins graduating also).















This year was fun for us, because he came to my school. We rode together every morning and he hung out after school with me. I will definitely miss that! He also grew so much in the Lord-I was truly amazed. He was surrounded by kids who had been in private school all their lives, and at first he really struggled, but he rose to the challenge and we are so proud of him!



Mr. Zimmer, Benny's fantastic 6th grade teacher







The other thing is...I no longer have a child in elementary school. I can't believe it! One High Schooler and 2 Jr. Higher's. It's a different world for us now, no more coloring, cutting, pasting, no more book reports with adorable hand-drawn pictures, no more parent-teacher conferences..it goes on and on. I know that some of you have yet to start elementary school with your kids..my advice to you is..be as involved as you can. I missed so much of my kids' elementary experiences because I was working, I really do regret it. These last couple of years have been better because I have been able to take more time off, and I finished school 2 weeks earlier than my kids, so I've been able to participate in their end of the year activities, and the kids have loved it. So, even if you're a working mom...try to find something to help out with at their school- I used to send in baked goods for the monthly teacher birthday celebrations, I helped with the book fairs..and all of that was great, but I could have done so much more. It's weird because once you get to Jr. High, the parent involvement really drops off. They have a PTA, but it's not like before. It's very behind the scenes and the parents are a lot less visible. So, I have to get used to that, I guess.

Anyways, the last 2 weeks have been very bittersweet for us, as I pack up all of the kids elementary school projects and report cards and we prepare for a whole new world. Good news is, Ben will be at school with DJ and all 3 of them will be pretty much on the same schedule....God is good! :)

Sacramento 2008

Make a Smilebox postcard

Hey! My class and I just returned from our 3-day trip to San Francisco and Sacramento. Here are some pics of our trip-we had a great time! I have about 200 more photos, but I thought I'd spare you all and show you a few. Have a great day!

Things I'm thinking about this morning....

My heart is heavy this morning. Perhaps it's the rain. Perhaps it's the stress of end of year activities for me. There's a lot going on in my life, my friend's and families lives, and the world around us. All the disasters, earthquakes, cyclones, etc. have shown how fleeting life is. The other day, my all-time favorite Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman lost his five year old daughter in a driveway car accident. I'm not sure why, but it has really hit me hard. I think because I have gone about life for so long just "winging it", scampering around, getting the kids here or there, trying to get some time with my husband, going to work and church, and trying to squeeze in extra activities when I can. It's very hard to do all that and still find time to enjoy life and all the blessings that God has for me! So, here's what I'm thinking about today...

~how nice it is to be in my jammies at 1:30 PM on a rainy Saturday
~how blessed I am to have my hubby and my kids-none of them are perfect, but I am overwhelmed by the thought that God saw me worthy enough to care and love them
~what a blessing my job has been-it's had its struggles, but if I had held out for a public school job, I would not be employed right now. I've come to realize that I'm right where God wants me to be
~how amazing my family is-mom, dad, brothers, sisters, kids, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents--all of them are blessings, even though I neglect them!
~how awesome Cocoa Pebbles taste-I'd forgotten!!
~how much I miss my best friends...now they both live in Arizona. Joni has been there for awhile now-we've been friends since high school, and lived apart for most of our friendship, but have managed to stay in touch and be there for each other over the years. I miss her tons, but have gotten used to seeing her once and year and living for those few moments we get together. Cath just recently moved and I miss her tons. I miss hanging out on Fridays, eating brownies, yelling at each other's kids, seeing her at school everyday, and being able to hang out at the drop of a hat. This is a big adjustment for all of us-but I know God has a plan and I'm trusting in that!
~How great our God is-even in heartache, suffering, pain, and loss. Our family has been through a lot of stuff over the last few years-and yet, everytime, God has revealed his greatness and love to me. There has always been a rainbow after the storm. It was mighty stormy there for awhile, but the clouds always lift and God is always faithful.
~I'm grateful for the little things...scrapbooking, baseball, junk TV, Simply Lemonade, happy kids, and time to think and pray. I do love my life, my hubby, my kids, my family, and my friends. And I love my God for giving all of this to me-I pray that I never forget all of these blessings or take them for granted.

Stagecoach 2008!!!!

Ok, so here are the pics (in as much order as possible)....Shannon, our friend Cathi and I drove out on Friday afternoon...

we stopped at the outlets for a few minutes and headed to the concert. We got there just in time to see...
Trisha Yearwood, John Fogerty and Eagles.
We then headed back to the condo. We hung out on Saturday morning, drove the golfcart around, and just enjoyed being lazy.





Around 12, our friend Sherri joined us. We cleaned up and headed out to the concert. We got to see Taylor Swift, Dierks Bentley, the Judds, Rascall Flatts, and more!









Here are some pictures of the crowd-there were people as far as the eye could see...it was unbelievable!









Sunday was another fun filled day (although we got some bad news from home-Shannon's daughter Amber fell in a soccer game and broke her collar bone. We debated for awhile as to whether or not to go home, but my parents were taking care of Amber and she was resting, so we decided to go for awhile and maybe come home a little earlier than usual). Here are some pics from Sunday. We looked like turtles with our back-pack chairs on, but we didn't care cuz those things hold a lot of stuff! :) We got to see Gretchen Wilson, Trace Adkins, and Big & Rich (with Cowboy Troy-the black cowboy-yee-haw!!!)

In the end, it was a super fun weekend and we were all grateful for the time off, the time with friends, and the chance to see some of our favorite performers. Well worth it! :) See you next year at Stagecoach 2009!!!!!!!!!