67 posts tagged “ray”

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.

 

Jace is in his 2nd week of flag football.  He played quarterback the first game and first half of the second game.  They lost the 1st game 2 TD's to 1 TD and the 2nd game 2 TD's to 0.  Jace has some really nice passes in the first game.  He played safety on defense and had an interception in each game.

Ray is the assistant coach for his team.

 

 

We miss you and hope to see you soon.

We went to Back to School night for Cody last evening.  We thought it was an open house but it started with an assembly with information on social networking and texting.  Then, the parents got to experience the child's daily schedule.  We spent 10 minutes in each of his classes.  It was like going back in time.  Whenever the bell rang and the teacher wasn't done speaking, I immediately started having anxiety.  "The bell rang!  I have to get to my next class!  I don't want to be late"! 

Cody has two teachers that I had.  His science teacher is one that both Ray & I had in high school.  She didn't appear to recognize either of us but we didn't really like her and she's very strange.  His art teacher was my 6th grade teacher.  I loved her but didn't recognize the name at first because she's remarried. 

When we were in his homeroom class, the teacher asked for the name of our child.  The mom behind me I recognized as one of my former babysitters.  My ears perked up when she gave the name of her daughter because its the girl Cody has a crush on from Jr. Golf, Hunter's Safety, and Confirmation. 

You're also not going to believe the latest band saga.  Cody was only allowed to switch to percussion if it didn't make for more than 8 kids because that was all the instruments they had.  Cody made #8.  Well, yesterday another student was allowed to switch from trumpet to percussion.  He made #9.  Guess what that means?  The new kid and Cody switch off each day.  One day, Cody sits and watches and the next day, the new kid sits and watches.  Cody gets to play in the Homecoming parade but will sit out the first concert.  Is this not INSANE?!  First, the teacher lets in an extra student and then he makes the two newest students switch off?  The two students who need the most practice to catch up!  Honestly!

I was speaking to the principal as we were leaving and Cody's Language Arts teacher came up to tell me how impressed she was with Cody for a new student.  She said he was very engaged, assertive, and knowledgable.  That's my boy!

Look what slithered across my path on the patio as I was coming home last night. 

The fact that I didn't run screaming into the house is nothing short of a miracle.  After being startled, I got composed and told myself it was a very small snake.  Then, I went in the house to get Jace & Lily.  They were quite fascinated with it and then I got really brave and decided to take a picture.

Lily was wanting to touch it when Ray got home and picked it up for her.  Now, I know she looks just like me but she can't possibly be my child if she's petting snakes!

 

We had such a wonderful weekend.  We spent Saturday morning shopping for house stuff while my brother took the kids out to breakfast, swimming, and to the Farmer's Market.  The tile for the main and master bathrooms is now purchased!  We're getting close to the end of picking stuff out for the new house, thank goodness!

Next, we headed to the Indoor Football Championship with the Billings Outlaws vs. River City Rage (think they're from Missouri).  We had awesome seats about 10 rows up.

Jace got a tshirt, Cody a hat, and Lily a megaphone.  The mascot is a horse named Gunsmoke.  Instead of cheerleaders, they have a dance team who entered on the back of Harley motorcycles.  They also have 3 "outlaws" that fire their guns whenever there's a score.  This is the quarterback making his entrance.  It was super neat that several of the players came out with their children. 

The game got off to an amazing start.  The Outlaws were kicking off and did an onside kick right off the bat and got it!  The next play was a flea flicker for a TD!!  The crowd went wild.  Arena football is done on a smaller field and there are no sidelines.  The coach actually stands out on the field and fans could reach over the barrier and break up plays which happened once.  Another time, a catch was made but the player ended up going head first over the barrier into someone's seat!  I was blown away by the fantastic catches that were made.  There's very little running game.  Because of the smaller field, there's a lot more scoring which makes it very exciting.  The Outlaws led the entire game but the Rage came within one TD a few times during the 2nd half which made it scary.  The mascot, Gunsmoke, came around and Cody got his autograph and Lily gave him a hug.

The final score was Outlaws 71 and Rage 62!  The Outlaws quarterback was awarded the Best Offensive Player and MVP for the Indoor Football League. 

We topped it off with a superb supper at the Samurai where they cook the food in front of you.  My very favorite!

Not only are the kids now clothed for school but I just might be, too!  My mom totally spoiled me with a great sale at Dillard's.  I got 2 new dresses, 5 shirts, 2 jackets, and a pair of jeans!  Nothing like some new clothes to make you feel like a million bucks. 

 

 

My parents have a very unique house.  It has an indoor pool and part of it was once a health club so there's a large, open space with His & Her bathrooms that each have 2 showers.  The kids sleep in what was once the single-stall garage and we sleep outside their room in a TV / game room area.  In this area, there is a pop / beer fridge.  At one time, this fridge was in the house I grew up in.  I'm not sure what the original color was but my mom had it painted to make it kind of fun for when my brother was a teenager.

So, this fridge is probably going on 25 yrs or more and it makes this really loud noise like a plane about to take off twice per day.............at exactly 10:47 am and 10:47 pm.  How weird is that?  Ray and I never attempt to fall asleep before 10:47 pm because it'll just wake you up!

 

We were very disappointed in the strict height guidelines on the rides here.  Lily's been going down the big slide in Jamestown since she was 3 and by herself last year.  Here, she can't even go down it with us!!  She also needs an adult for the Sizzler and Bumper Cars.  I tried sending her on them with my cousin's 13 yr old daughter whose taller than me but that wouldn't fly either. 

Jace & Katlin were brave enough to go on the Hurricane which spins around really fast and then goes up and down, but only once!

We went to the rodeo Thursday and Friday night.  We haven't been to a full rodeo in years as we only got bull riding in Jamestown.  It was so much fun!  Last night was "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" night.  Every person who went to the rodeo wearing pink had $3 donated to our local breast cancer programs.  I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in one place and definitely not at a rodeo!

Ray only went to the rodeo the 2nd night.  The kids and I went with my brother and dad the first night.  My brother insisted Ray come last night because he thinks people assume we're his wife and kids and it makes it hard for him to get chicks.  So, I made signs yesterday for him and I to wear that say "I'm not his wife" and "These aren't my wife or kids".  He thought it was pretty funny.

 

 

 

Apparently, momma bird didn't like two of her babies because she threw them out of the nest.  Ray found one of them alive on the floor so grabbed it by a claw and put it back in the nest.  She sat on it with the other remaining baby but then threw it out again as soon as Ray left.  The remaining baby is starting to venture out from the nest a little but hasn't flown yet.  It's really fun watching it start chirping and then the parents flying in to feed it.

Here's Ray doing some plumbing in the basement.

And the stucco process began last week.  It'll take about a month!

 

 

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!