189 posts tagged “friends”

Thumbs Down:

1. A woman looked at our house last week and just loved it.  She brought her husband to see it on Monday and he was very quiet except to say one of the bathroom's needed remodeling and they'd already done a lot of that on their current house.  Our realtor is hoping the woman just needed some time to talk her husband into it.  I'm afraid it was a woman who thought she needed a new house and her husband didn't. 
2. I was a crabby patty today.  It's not very often that I'm in a cranky mood all day but this was one of them.  Several little things that put me in the mood. 
3. My great uncle passed away.  He was my step grandpa's brother.  Grandpa died when I was 12 but he lived in town and I spent tons of time with him.  Out of his 3 brothers, this was the one I was closest to.  He and his wife have lived in AZ the past 10 years and had just moved back to MT to be closer to family.  I've made at least 3 trips to Billings and wanted to stop and see them but always had other things to do.  Now, I regret waiting.  I'd also like to go to his funeral tomorrow but it's not going to work out.  He has such a twinkle in his eye.

Thumbs Up:

1. We really are making good progress on the house.  We've started painting the basement even though we don't plan to totally finish the basement right away.  The tile is done in the foyer and Lily's bathroom floor and shower.  Ray's started hanging interior doors and putting on base trim so the carpet installer can come.  2/3 of the kitchen cabinets are done.  I need to get pictures of some of the lights Ray's installed because they are gorgeous!  We're very tentatively hoping to be in around the end of the month.  (No laughing, mom).
2. There's no school tomorrow so Ray's taking the boys hunting.  This will be Cody's first time going as an official "hunter" since passing Hunter's Safety.
3. The 1st quarter is done at school.  Cody really struggled the past few years but is finally taking school more seriously.  There is still room for improvement but he made the Honor Roll so we're very proud.  All his teachers had great things to say.  This is Jace's first year to receive letter grades and he earned all A's and B's.  He's also suddenly taken a huge interest in reading.  He's always hated reading but is now reading 300 page novels!!  Lily is also doing well.  All of the kids' teachers are very impressed with their transition into new schools.  It truly has been amazing and we couldn't have asked for the move to be any smoother.
4. Cody has started Middle School wrestling and his first tournament is Saturday.  Wrestling is such a different environment here.  In Jamestown, Cody was teased a lot for being a wrestler instead of playing hockey or basketball.  Here, wrestling is huge!  Last night, they had a photo shoot for their team poster!!  He's best friend here is also a wrestler and a super, nice kid.
5. Though the weather in October was awful, November is off to a gorgeous start.  It's even supposed to hit 60 tomorrow.

 

I'm not sure what exactly Cody is but he suggested going to his first dance as a ghost.  Then, when it was time to slow dance with a girl, he was going to take off his ghost sheet and be wearing a tux with a rose in his mouth.  Well, I told him that was a little expensive.  We went down to Party Central and they really didn't have any costumes but a few wigs.  However, we found a tuxedo tshirt and a black rose!

Jace is a character from G.I. Joe.

Lily is a genie.  So far, she hasn't granted me 3 wishes.

Cody's big celebration was last night at the dance.  Tonight, he's going to do a little trick or treating with some friends.  Lily's at a friend's party.  Afterwards, we'll take her and Jace over to a friend's house.  The guys are going to take the kids out (they have 4 kids) and the women will stay at the house and hand out candy.  We'll order pizza when the kids are done.

 

What's the worst vacation you've ever taken?

Growing up, we took a vacation every Labor Day weekend to the Black Hills in South Dakota.  On one of those trips, I got the stomach flu plus an asthma episode.  My friend, Michelle, came with who also has asthma and she ended up with the same thing.  We spent the weekend together on the floor in the bathroom thinking we were going to die!

I can't wait to hear how their first day goes.  Lily's teacher seems very nice and there is 1 boy and 1 girl in her class that she knows.  We actually had Jace's teacher changed because the 3 boys he's become friends with were all in another class.  I'm so glad the principal and teacher were receptive to that.  It's a much larger class than he's used to, though.  At the middle school, only the 6th graders and transfer students attend today.  I think it's a brilliant idea for the kids to learn their way around without a lot of congestion.  They even go swimming at the end of the day!  Cody was very excited and up at 6:15.

 

 

As you know, the kids and I went to Jamestown for a few days to visit before school starts.  We spent 3 nights there and Lily spent all 3 nights with friends and the boys spent 2 of the nights with friends.  Good thing Rascal went with or I would've been completely alone!  We got to see just about everyone that we wanted to see but, of course, it wasn't long enough.  We even went to church on Sunday.  I was hoping AWE would be singing so I could join them but it was their Sunday off.  Directors haven't been found to replace me with AWE or the kids' choirs which really concerns me since time is running short.  Our Pastor tends to procrastinate a bit much and I'd hate to see the programs fail.

A few photos from our trip. 

Bluebird's daughters with Jace & Lily.

Our house didn't sell from any of the 2nd showings last week.  I'm afraid we're going to have to drop the price again because we really need to unload it.

The last night was the best for me.  I had supper with Deb & Cory and then we sat on their deck and visited in the gorgeous weather.  Afterward, Kristi came over and we had a cup of Chai tea and visited before bed.

 

 

Ray & I were scoping out You Tube videos from our area last night.  Let me just say that what we found was slightly frightening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqvKE2OkYSs

I think on one of our 2nd or 3rd dates, Ray took me with his buddies to go water skiing.  Irrigation is big around here so there's a huge canal that goes through town.  They were actually water skiing in the canal while being pulled by a truck!

 

Thumbs Down:

1. I stunk at golf league again this week.  I also golfed Monday and Wednesday and apparently my problem is nerves at women's league because I golf much better when I'm not at that!
2. My Great Aunt Betty passed away this week.  She was 84 and had Alzheimer's so it was a blessing but always sad.  She looked a lot like my Little Grandma so I always felt closer to her when Betty was around.  I'll be going to Billings with my parents for the funeral tomorrow.
3. Big Ben being accused of rape by some gal in a civil case because the DA won't even prosecute.  I don't buy it for one second.

Thumbs Up:

1. Lily had her 1st sleepover of the summer last night.  It worked out especially well because then the boys and I went golfing.  After that, Cody babysat Jace while Ray & I met my parents down at the Pub.  My mom's best friend and husband were in town for the first time in 3 years. 
2. They've finally started roofing the house and the stucco guy should be coming soon.
3. It's been a pretty uneventful week so I can't think of anything else!

Friday night we went to the opening ceremony.  There were activity and food booths.  The kids all got autographs from the Billings Outlaw arena football players.  They also had fun with the dunking booth.  There was continuous entertainment and the the kids got to walk the track.  They are in the maroon shirts and you can see Jace.

The most exciting part was when 5 skydivers jumped out of a plane over the field and then all landed right in the center.  I was amazed by the accuracy of their landings!  The USA women's fencer who won the gold lit the torch at the conclusion of the ceremony.

The first game was early on Saturday.  The team was really tough and we lost 0-10.

The next game was against another Billings team.  We were the only out of town team so knew it was going to be tough.  Ray's dad and family arrived in time for the 2nd game.  They picked a good game to watch because we won 10-0 and Cody scored 4 goals. 

After watching a 15 yr old team last spring, Cody's been practicing a flip throw-in.  I didn't think he was confident enough yet to try it in a game but he did it in the first two games really well.  Unfortunately, the 3rd game is the one I tried to get on camera and it didn't go as well.

The 3rd game was against an all girl team.  They were big, rough, and tough!  It was also about 95 degrees and miserable.  The game ended in a 3-3 tie even though they outplayed us a lot.  I think we were saved by our goalie and a penalty kick that scored a goal for us.  Because both teams had won and lost 1 game each, it came down to total goals to see who would play in the championship game.  We beat them by 1 point!!

After the game, the kids spent time at the pool while we played pinochle with Ray's dad and Amy.

I was a little shocked that we were the only adults present at the pool and most of Cody's team was there.  We were extra glad with our decision when the fire alarm went off.  We hearded the 20+ kids out onto the patio.  Apparently, some teens pulled all the fire alarms so it went off 5 different times.  The kids swam some more Sunday morning before we went to the championship game.  Unfortunately, we were playing the same team that we'd lost to Saturday morning.  I thought Jace did a great job keeping up with all those older boys since most of them were 11 and 12.

We lost 0-12 but still won the silver medal.

 

 

 

What vacations would you most like to take in the next five years?
Presented by Intel, Sponsors of Tomorrow.

1. Take the entire family to Pittsburgh for a Steelers game.
2. Take the family on a road trip through Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah to see family and ending up at the Grand Canyon where we can see more friends and family.
3. Another trip to Jamaica.

Stinky:

1. I'm signed up to do the women's golf league for the first time tonight and the wind is blowing about 50mph and it's raining off and on.  Sure hoping it quits in the next 2 hours!
2. I miss my friends back in ND.
3. Our house still hasn't sold.  Supposedly there was a really positive showing last week but we haven't had an offer.  It really needs to sell SOON!
4. Coming home Sunday night to a terrible mess left by the babysitter and kids including a pint of chocolate milk sitting on the counter, everything from supper left out, and the kids still awake when it was 1 1/2 hrs past when they were supposed to be in bed!

Perfume:

1. Ray & I went on the 2nd annual Cattle Crawl Sunday night.  It's a progressive beef dinner.  We started out at the Cattle-ac for appetizers, then we went to my parents' restaurant for their big salad bar, next we hopped on 2 large busses and went 10 miles to Fairview for a roast beef dinner, and then we went another 30 miles for a steak dinner before returning.  There was a free drink at each stop plus free beer on the bus.  Of course, I felt like my normal, boring self because I wasn't drinking.
2. The deck being built on our new house.
3. Meeting more people.
4. Going to Billings this weekend for the soccer tournament.  The coach is very impressed with the boys' skills.  It'll be nice to bond with the other families, too.
5. Seeing my cousin from AZ in Billings this weekend.  I think it's been about 5 years!