Where I'm From....

Where I'm From...

A bloggie friend of mine, Just Pure Lovely, has come up with Where I'm From Weekend once per month. It's really neat to see where all these other bloggers live. I LOVE seeing the rest of the United States, since I haven't seen much more than where I'm from. It does make me look around and appreciate the beauty that surrounds me, as well. I'm sorry that this month's pictures are autumn, since it is now May....I've just been so busy I haven't had much time to take nature pictures....I promise to do better next month!

This is the fog lifting off one of our ponds about 7am on a cool fall morning.
This is an old walking bridge at a local state park called Natural Falls. This was also taken in the autumn, as you can tell by the colors.
I know this looks like just some autumn leaves, but if you look closely towards the upper right corner you will see an Eagle. They are abundant where I live. Some people come to see the eagles and I keep thinking, what is the big deal? But I've grown up seeing them pretty much daily, LOL.
This is one of the waterfalls at the same local state park.
This is a picture down our road. That's one thing about living in the Ozarks...you have autumn colors like no where else. The beautiful reds, oranges, yellows, and deep browns are like no other place. When driving south through the Boston Mountains it is breathtaking to look out and see neverending hills of autumn colors.

This is Legit!

I found this on Just Pure Lovely's site, which she links to another MomSaver sight. On the Momsaver site you can see an actual check. Lori, from Just Pure Lovely, had hers electronically transferred to her account. She got over $500! So did the MomSaver woman! Cool! I would not even support this if I thought it was questionable or unsafe. Check into it!
It is a company like PayPal that is just getting started. Instead of buying ads to get their name out, they are using word of mouth and paying people to do so. Hurry, though...you have to sign up by May 15!!!

Just Curious

I'm just curious to find out what time ppl go to bed, when they get up, how they get up (alarm: buzzer or radio, baby, hubby, other), etc...
I have to get up early to have a successful day. If I sleep in, I'm a slug for the rest of the day and might as well have stayed in bed. Ugh. Ick. But I HATE the alarm clock!!! Grrrr...not a great way to get up. I used to be such a morning person....not sure what happened. I can't trust myself to just wake up on time like I used to. It really stinks, LOL. I'm a night owl, too. I like the quiet after the kids are in bed. That's my "Me" time, LOL. I can watch tv or read a book, blog, or catch up on emails, scrapbook or make cards, get some sewing done, or just catch up on chores. But late to bed means not early to rise. Where's the happy medium in all this? I'm all for any advice or comments anyone has! :0)
Also...do most of you need 8 hours sleep? I used to be fine on 7, but seems I need 8 these days. My doctor did tell me that TOO MUCH sleep was just as bad as not enough. Hmm.....

Young Author's Reception May 5, 2008

Young Authors

Every year our beloved Trish Youmans voluntarily guides us through helping our children write, illustrate, and publish their own book. It is a rather lengthy process. Most of us started (or were SUPPOSED to start) back in....what? October? November? By the end we are cracking the whip to get them done, LOL! It's all worth it, though, when you see the finished product and the pride and joy that beams from each child's face as they show off their books!

There were 80 books this year, I think? Something like that. That's a lot of creativity and writing!

Jaslyn's book was called "Jaslyn's Farm" and it was about a John Deere Green tractor...I know..she's such a redneck!

Rendis' book was called "The Horse and His Girl"

That's pretty self explanatory. Remmy's book was called "The Letter" and is quite interesting....and LONG! LOL You'll have to read it to find out what it's all about.
I think I chopped some of the authors out...just couldn't get them all in!
Then, of course, the funny face picture!

Our 40/29 Field Trip

The New Studio in Rogers

With the chicken pox outbreak our group of 30 turned into a group of 8, LOL! But we had a blast anyway, and maybe it was even better because we got to ask a TON of questions...even the moms! :0)

Can you imagine pushing the wrong button in here? LOL

....or here?

Everyone got a chance to sit in "the chair" and pretend to be an anchor. They used the real anchor scripts from a week before and got to take them home, too!

Our guide was SUPER SUPER nice!!!

And then there are the "stars" LOL

The Lovely Leslie Wright

I don't think I've ever seen those kids more starstruck! Autographs all around. This definitely made the trip better than the one we took to the Ft. Smith studio last year! (Where Justin Povich was our guide......) The bright and beautiful Melissa Kelley.

" Jennifer Haile, Mama!"

I must say all these ladies were ever so charming. They were busily working and gladly put down their work to sign autographs and pose for pics with the kiddos. I even talked with Jennifer about her hours....LOL.... I told her I wouldn't like it...3am-11am....ew! But, she does get to spend the afternoons with her toddler, which she obviously enjoys! :0)

Branson Trip

Our Trip to Branson

We enjoyed the sights at Branson Landing. This was taken on a pier...windy, cool, and bumpy, but pretty!
There was a great playground at Branson Landing that is set up like a Pirate's Ship
This is at Bass Pro Shop. Can't go to Branson and not hit Bass Pro! LOL
Giant aquarium at Bass Pro.
This was my personal favorite, and if you go to Branson you MUST check it out. They do a water/light show set to music and it is truly beautiful and amazing.

Alas...the Titanic Museum. It was magnificient! As you can see, the family is miniscule in comparison! It really is something worth seeing if you get close to Branson.

The girls and I in front of the Titanic.

There is so much more to post, but I tried to pick and choose. I'm so behind on blogging! I don't think I've blogged half the field trips we've taken this year...we just do so much interesting and fun stuff! It seems like our whole life is a field trip! I'm going to try to blog once per day until I get caught up. Keep in mind it's still soccer season, and we are getting busy with 4-H as well. Thank goodness ballet is nearly over! :0)

State Bible Drill Trip to Little Rock

Arkansas Baptist Convention State Bible Drill

Sherwood, Arkansas

April 26, 2008

The Cornerstone Drillers
Hmmm.... you may ask why there is a picture of a Hooter's Restaurant here...
Well, see the red roof in the back right of the pic? That would be part of our hotel. This lovely establishment was directly in front of our rooms (which are not seen but are just to the right of this pic). We shared the parking lot. Welcome Bible Drillers to Hooters! LOL This might help explain why we had a taxi driver banging on our door at 2:30am..... Needless to say, we have had many interesting conversations about why we couldn't eat at this particular restaurant! :0)

Always gotta have the goofy face pic!
Awww....nearly 13 years and they still love each other! :0)
Nan-Nan and the gang!

There were so many pics to choose from! We had a good time...well, the kids did. LOL Sleepless nights and long bumpy bus rides seem to be their idea of fun! I call it a headache, but it was all worth it to see them shine!!! Remmy and Rendi BOTH had PERFECT scores!!!!! They BOTH completed the state level!!! Now, next year Remmy will be competing with the older team which is a little more to memorize with a little less time, but a bigger goal.... Nationals! There were probably a couple hundred there and only one will get to go. Ah, but for now, we rest! :0)

Congrats Remmy and Rendi!!!

Great Job!

Rendi Gets Her Mouth Jewelry!

Braces Day for Rendi!

One last smile with the sisters.

Hair flying...eyes closed...deep breath....HERE I GO!!!
Beautiful and beaming!
Awww...but the sad news is that by the time AWANA was over she was hurting pretty bad. Shower, tylenol, and bed was what she craved. She tried to eat some mac-n-cheese and some mashed potatoes, but didn't eat much.

I have to just take this moment to say how much we LOVE Ozark Orthodontics in Fayetteville (they have Rogers and Ft. Smith offices as well). They are SO kind and truly caring. We see the same faces every time and THEY ARE NEVER FROWNING!!! They are always happy and cheerful....GENUINELY SO!!! It's amazing in this day and age the service those employees give. They treat each patient as if they are the most important person in the world. I could list a million details and reasons, but I'll stick to just this one...

At 7:00 pm (well after hours, mind you) I received a phone call from the office to check up on Rendi and see how she was feeling. They asked if she'd tried eating anything and talked about how in a couple of hours she'd probably be feeling it a lot more (hit that one right on the head!). They talked about eating mushy foods for the next few days, etc. What is just so amazing is simply that the woman on the other end of the phone TRULY cared. She wasn't just making a routine call that was required of her. We truly enjoy our visits to the orthodontist. How many teens/pre-teens/parents can say that??? LOL

On another note.....they ABSOLUTELY LOVED the shirts!!! (I'm so glad b/c it would have been bad if it went the other way!) They took pics of them to send to Dr. Pickard. They asked if I could make more. LOL I'm really glad they didn't get a better look at the lack of craftsmanship!!! I even got asked if I could make a onesie for them....How funny! :0)

Tee Shirt Make-Over

The Great T-Shirt Make-Over!!!

Okay. So I've decided to try my hand at sewing/crafting/card-making and whatever else I can dredge up. I'm inspired as of late to create!

So...it's 9pm and my daughter has an orthodontist appointment tomorrow. If they wear "Razorbraces" t shirts they get extra orthobucks which they can then cash in on prizes (one of those being the NEW Razorbraces shirts that just came out). Well, the nice lady at the office gave each of the girls a shirt for free a while back because they were trying to get rid of the old style. Only thing is...they were like XXXL. LOL Even as night shirts they were so huge they weren't comfortable. I told the girls....well, maybe I can alter them once I get the hang of sewing again. So...like I said, it's 9pm and Rendi wants the shirt fixed for TOMORROW. Ugh...like I can just whip it out like that. So...I search the net for some "quickie" pattern or SOMETHING that will help pull this off. While I'm searching I'm remembering a show I watched once upon a time where they were re-styling old tees without even sewing. Hmmmm....

Well, I just get a shirt that fits her well and that she likes, lay it on the giant shirt, trace over it, cut, turn inside out and stitch along the edges and voila! New fitted shirt.

Remmy then wants hers altered. So I suggest some new ideas that are coming to mind and the pictures will tell all the "new creations" we came up with!

I seriously can't wait to see the looks on the faces of the employees at the orthodontist's office tomorrow! LOL They'll either love it or hate it, but oh well! :0)

BUSY! BUSY!

I'm so sorry it's been so long! Wow, March 22!!! Springtime is here and life is extremely hectic! Soccer, ballet exams, Bible Drill, spring carnivals, WM family day, field trips galore..... The list is never ending, even though we DO pick and choose, knowing we can't possibly do it all! :0)

Anyway...here are a few pics of the girls at the Wal-Mart family fun day this last weekend. They had a blast! I didn't get a lot of pics because I was holding stuffed animals and balloon animals and all thier other prizes, LOL! Jason was helping his dad clear fence, so I didn't have any extra hands.

Ha ha ha! What you don't see in the pic of Remmy throwing the bean bag is that she finally had to stand right in front of the target and throw it at the hole TWICE before it went in! LOL Everyone had a good laugh (with her, not at her). She's sticking to ballet. No "ball" sports for her! :0)