"All That Jazz"

Okay, since I have so much time on my hands...................NOT..........I've signed up for a Jazz class with my daughter, Allie. It's a teen/adult class at a Dance Academy close by and we started this evening. It was actually fun. Well honestly, I didn't start tonight. I watched. But next week, after I've gotten up the nerve and I've come up with fancy dance attire, I will participate. The thought of being 38 and in a recital at the end of the year is quite hilarious. AHHHHH make that 39. But it was so much fun watching them tonight that I can't wait to start next week. Allie thought it was a blast and gets a kick out of the fact that I'm in her class. She enjoyed coming home and going over the steps with me. I looked much like I was doing the "funky chicken" but hey, maybe I'll get the hang of it. If not, come recital time, my family will get a good laugh at my expense.

More Fun on the Lake!

http://photoshow.comcast.net/watch/Vh4ge9Cp

I thought instead of downloading our pictures from today, I would share a slide show. Just click on the link above. As you can see, my kids are characters!

Traffic!!!!

With the type of traffic I travel in day and day out and the crazy people that surround me, I knew at some point during my car's life time, it was going to happen. The question was, when and how bad and who's fault. Well, luckily, I wasn't at fault and luckily no one was hurt.

Early morning Tuesday I was taking Allie to school. I was traveling in the turning lane to make a left turn and a van decides he wants to turn too but doesn't wait for me to pass him. The hit was pretty hard, knocking me across the road into the oncoming traffic. Thankfully, there wasn't any oncoming traffic. Allie screamed and then fake cried not because she was hurt but because her future car had been damaged.

The funny thing is, I had just pulled out of the gas station where I had noticed my reflection in the glass window. One of my headlights were out. I immediately got on the phone with my husband asking him to please go by an automotive store and pick up a headlight so he could fix it when I returned home in the evening. Then BAMM............ "Okay, never mind honey, I've got a lot more to worry about now than my headlight, Gotta go!"
'

So, it's happened. Now the question is, when is the next one coming and how bad. With as much traffic I'm in daily, statistics show it's going to happen.

Welcome Home!

The crew is back! My children arrived in Atlanta yesterday! YEA!!! I'm so happy to have them home. I cried like a baby when they left and was crying when they arrived. The kids think it's hilarious. I could hear Allie saying to the other kids as they were walking down the ramp from the airplane, "mom is going to be standing right out there and I bet she's crying." I stood there shaking my head "yes" as tears ran down my face.
They were so excited to get home and try on all their new school clothes and see their new book bags full of school supplies.
They were also excited to see their two step brothers, Max and Mitchell.

We had a family day, today. We took the boat out and cooked hot dogs on the grill, swam, and rode the tube. Allie and Max are riding together in the picture above. I wish the picture was clearer because the look on their face is priceless! I've never laughed so hard in my life! I stopped breathing and I'm not sure how Scott was driving the boat because he was laughing just as hard. Since they are older, they weigh more which causes the tube to ride with more intense. They were whipping back and forth and flying through the air. Although they were trying to play it cool, their faces told a different story. There was nothing but terror in their faces!!!!!!! Our laughing got so out of control, Scott finally just had to stop the boat. When the two got back on the boat, they were laughing as well. Allie got back on the tube later but Max said that was enough for him. In fact, Allie and Mitchell rode and it was so rough that they hit a wave, went flying through the air, Allie flew off and then a few seconds later, off went Mitchell. I believe Mitch has a few bruises he hit the water so hard. That wasn't funny, but he didn't seem to care. He thought it was fun.
I love making memories with the kids. I hope the days we share, such as today, are days they will look back on with fondness.

Well, I'm off to start the new school year. Set your alarms................

4th of July Celebration

Scott and I had a few days to ourselves. Ashley was at EFY (church camp) and the boys were with their mom. Of course the rest of the troop is in Utah for the summer.

We started our morning early (about 5:00), left our hotel at Colony Square, took the marta to Lenox and ran the Peachtree Road Race. Which was a blast!!!! As I said in my "marathon bound" blog, it was the easiest 6.2 miles I have ever ran. Scott did very well, I was very proud of him. After the race we packed our things up and moved over to the Ritz Carlton in Buckhead. Our room was gorgeous and we were spoiled rotten while we were there. The bed was to die for!!!! From our window we could watch the 4th of July extravaganza at Lenox. It was fun watching the vendors set up, people gather, and could hear the band playing. As the night progressed, we also could see the streaks of lightening making it's way closer, the wind pick up, and thousands of people run for cover! Oh, and traffic out the wazoo!!!! That was quite amusing. We looked at each other and said "This is the place to be! We've got it made!" After about an hour the storm subsided and the fireworks began. We laid in our bed and watch the fire work display! I have a feeling the Ritz will see us on many 4th of Julys to come.

Cocktail Cove

Another day on the lake.
We decided to anchor for a while at Cocktail Cove. Cocktail Cove is a cove where many people go to anchor their boat to swim, associate with other boaters, and have a good time. Boats tie up to other boats, some look like they are going to tie up when in actuality they are just getting too close and end up hitting each other. There is no telling how many boats are damaged during a trip to Cocktail Cove. Two local radio stations have boats anchored in the cove. Those boats usually have a lot of people hanging out on them and draw the most attention.
So every now and again we will anchor at cocktail cove just to people watch. There are many families like ours having a good time together but there are also a lot of singles in their 20's acting a fool. That's always entertaining. Although the older I get, I watch theses kids and think "if their mom knew what they were doing......."

I told you!

Well, I said back in May it was just a matter of time before Scott would buy another boat and sure enough, he has! Nothing extravagant but perfect for our family. He bought a 2006 Bentley 24 foot pontoon. It looks identical to the one in the picture. Of course that's not us in the picture. That's just the picture on the brochure.

Scott and the boys have been out on the boat twice this past week however yesterday was the first day I had seen the boat.
Here is how I got to enjoy the boat!

As you can see it looks like the guys are in more of a tent than a boat.
When we started out it was over cast but we thought maybe we would get through the day without rain or at least until the afternoon. But we were wrong. However, the rain did allow us to get plenty far away from the marina before it started to pour. What are we going to do? It's cold and we are getting soaked. The little top does not keep you dry from blowing rain. So we decided to beach the boat and put the cover on and crawl underneath. Now mind you, the cover is for storing the boat not for partying underneath!!!! We stayed like this for about an hour or so then decided to brave it back. Afterall, we really couldn't get any wetter. Mitch and I stayed underneath while Scott and Max braved the weather and drove us in. Needless to say, it wasn't the most pleasant day to be out on the lake. I've been in worse though, the year before last, Scott and I were coming from the North part of the lake on our jet ski. The sky turned dark and we thought if we hurried we could out run the storm. We had been headed back home about 5 minutes when the lightening and thundering started along with a torrential down pour. We couldn't see anything. It was almost impossible to open our eyes. That was by far the worse day on the lake!! Here are a few more pictures from yesterday.

My Company Summer Party @ Lake Blackshear

This weekend we had my company summer party at Lake Blackshear Resort in Cordele, GA.

Friday, we had lunch and played kickball out on the beautiful lawn. (shown in the picture) Kick ball was a lot of fun. We laughed and carried on making fun of each other. The red team (which was my team) won.

That evening we ate a wonderful seafood boil with cocktails before and after dinner. Dinner was superb! Max and Mitchell wasn't too fond of it but I thought it was fabulous! Scott and I went for a walk around the lake and sat for a while on the veranda and watched the sun go down on the lake. Afterwards, the boys wanted to swim so we sat at the pool for an hour or so relaxing. When we made it back to our room, it was 85 degrees. The air conditioner had broke. We ended up having to move to a different room. It was 10:30, we were tired but there was no way we were going to try and sleep in that heat!

On Saturday morning, we had a nice buffet breakfast. After breakfast most everyone went home but we decided to stay an extra night. So Scott and I played golf until about 2:00 then the four of us rented a small pontoon boat for the afternoon. We rode around for about three hours looking for alligators. With all the vegetation along the banks, they were too difficult to spot. However, we did see one in the lake while playing golf. Good thing I was able to hit over the water! I would have never recovered my ball.

That evening instead of eating at the restaurant on the resort we decided to try a Mexican place down the street. It was okay until we all thought there was a big dead rat on the floor. I lost my appetite right then and there! After some inspection we discovered that it wasn't a rat afterall, it was a thick chuck of hair. I don't know which is worse.

On Sunday we checked out and headed back to Atlanta. On the way home we stopped by Cracker barrel for brunch and my parent's house for a father's day dinner.

It was a very enjoyable weekend.

Grandmom's Birthday Party

A few weeks ago we celebrated my Grandmother's birthday. It was a little surprise for her. My dad's idea was for everyone in the family to be at a location where my Grandmother had already planned to be. We aren't often all together as a family so it was very special. My brother, his wife, and two boys even flew out from California.

Here we are the four kids. Jody, Jennifer, Me, and Jeff. I, of course, am the youngest. As I'm sure you can tell. ..................................No, I'm the oldest and they like to remind me of that fact. Although, we are getting to the stage in our lives where really- we are all middle age.......with the exception of Jody. He's still in his 20's but give him another two years he'll be middle age too.

This is Kayla, Allie, and Hayli. Kayla and Hayli are Jennifer's daughters and Allie is mine. It's great having girls around the same age. They are all close even with Ashley living in Utah.

And last but not least, my husband, Addison, and myself. Addison has to be right up under Scott. She loves him to death.

Our Hockey Players

This is how we spend a few days a week. Watching our two sons play hockey. This is Andrew's first season and Mitchell's sixth. They play on the same team this season. The team name is the Avalanche. We get so much enjoyment from watching them play and they love doing it. The game they played on Thursday night was exciting. Andrew made their first goal of the night and at the end of the game both teams were tied. The game went into over time and Mitch scored the winning goal!! Very exciting. His dad was so proud!

Bahamas

Here are a few pictures from our trip last month to the Bahamas with my mother and father in law. We had a fantastic time. In fact, the children have started saving for another trip spring break 2007.

Great Friends!

I wanted to add this post real quick. This is one of my best friends, Jenny. The main reason I'm posting this picture is because I know she will read this blog and I promised her a copy of this picture over a year ago. But never seemed to get it in the mail.

Jenny and I met in Utah when she was pregnant with her first child and I was pregnant with my second. Some how pregnancy bonded us and we've been friends ever since. I moved away a year later to Georgia but we've always remained very close. We have been through a lot together, even with all the miles between us, and I believe we know things about eachother that the average person just keeps to themselves. : )

Hopefully she will have a blog soon of her and her family.

Introduction

After reading and enjoying my sister in-law's blog, I decided to create my own.
I guess I'll start out by introducing my family members.

This is my wonderful husband, Scott. He is the absolute love of my life. I love spending time with him. We have so much fun together even if it's a trip to the grocery store. (which I usually hate to do) Our relationship is something I cherish with all my heart.

He's a Fire Captain and works hard for our family. He is constantly telling jokes and pulling pranks to make us laugh. He enjoys tinkering with jeeps and boating. In fact, we just sold our house boat at the end of the summer last year and he's aching for another boat. He loves the water and hopes to one day own a house on the lake.

This is Ashley. She's 17 and a very sweet young lady who has great morals and outlook on life. I'm very proud of her. She attends highschool in Utah where her father lives. She loves to write and wants to become a sports writer for a popular magazine. Her driving is a bit questionable but other than that she has a great future ahead of her. She also loves to play tennis and in November of this year (2006), she and I are running the Atlanta Marathon together.

This is Allie. She's 14. Allie is very outgoing and a leader. She's a wonderful big sister and is very nurturing to her little sister Addison. Allie loves to dance and was on the dance team at her middle school. She also takes hip hop. We just recently enjoyed her hip hop recital. She did very well! She's going into high school this next year. I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up.

Here's Max. He's 14 years old going on 30. He, too, will start high school in the fall. Max is a sweetheart, he makes you want to just eat him up. He loves to fish, hunt, and go four wheeling. He is his dad's shadow when they are together. They work on jeeps together and do the "redneck connect" (nextel) when apart.

Aimee (believe it or not) is 11 years old. She's 5 '8 and looks like she's 16. She's going to give me a run for my money very soon. She's boy crazy and I'm sure being "locked in her room" is in the near future to keep the boys away. Aimee is a very sweet little girl. She is so friendly and makes friends easily. She has a great deal of confidence and has no problem venturing out on her own in social situations. Aimee loves to talk on the phone about nothing. The phone would be glued to her head 24/7 if I allowed it. Aimee likes to play tennis and is looking forward to taking a modeling class when she becomes a teenager.

Mitchell is 10 years old. Mitchell is an athlete! He does well in any sport but right now is playing roller hockey. He's one of the best on the team. He's not afraid of anything. He does back flips, jumps ramps, climbs trees, anything that the average kid might be afraid of doing, Mitch isn't. He's a cutie and the girls are already after him. I don't think he minds too much!

This is Andrew. Andrew is 9 years old. He loves to create things. Give him some cardboard and tape and he can build a cruise ship. His creativity is amazing. He's very smart. (I say it's because I ate tuna fish every day when I was pregnant with him... you know "brain food") He's very obedient and does exactly what I ask of him. (Unlike his sisters) He's usually very mellow and plays well until his sister's get a hold of him. His little sister's day is not made until she has aggravated him into a frenzy. Andrew is also playing roller hockey. This is his first season so it's taking some getting use to but he loves it!

Last but not least, the baby of the family, Addison. Addison is the most hard headed child I have ever come across but can be the sweetest. She is also very prissy. She loves makeup and doing her hair. She is very girlie. Addison takes gymnastics and has a knack for it. She's also very smart. She's been on the honor roll every year she's been in school. Her teachers love her. I'm certainly glad I continued to have children. She's a wonderful part of our family.

This is me. I'm aging and I can't believe how fast my life is passing before me. I feel 20 but oh no.....approaching 40. Well getting close anyway, I'll be 38 by the end of this week. I'm a property manager and enjoy my job. It's something different every day. I love being a mom and a wife. My family is so much fun to be around. As chaotic as it can be sometimes, it's very enjoyable doing things as a family.

I'm in to running right now. I'm training for the Atlanta Marathon on Thanksgiving day. It will be my first but I hope to continue to run a marathon every year until my body can no longer take it. Even with all the blisters, chafing, and black toenails, I find running to be very therapeutic and the high that I get from it is unbeatable.

My husband and I have, just recently, taken up golf. We played our first (in many many years) 18 holes last Sunday. I can't utter my score but my husband did fairly well. Since he hates to run, this is something active we can do together. I look forward to our future and growing old together.

Well I think I'm going to like this blog thing. I've enjoyed creating this page. I hope everyone enjoys reading it.