48 posts tagged “supper”

Yesterday was my mom's birthday.  The whole crew got together for supper down at the 40.  This is my brother and his new girlfriend.

Today at work, we did her birthday lunch with the office crew.  We go to the Cattle-Ac and have lunch, champagne, and cake!  My mom was wearing the new coat from my dad and necklace from Ray & Amy.  We got her a scarf but it didn't go with that particular ensemble.

I sure hope I look that beautiful at 65!

 

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. 

 

 

It's been 4 1/2 months in the making but moving day has quickly arrived.  It's been a crazy week packing and spending time with friends.  On Friday, Cody and I had a golfing excursion with his good friend and his mom.  It was my first time out for the season and it was so nice to be golfing again!  Saturday evening, we played pinochle with Gndsgang.  I'm happy to say that the girls went out on top creaming the guys in all 3 games!  (We were due). 

Sunday was my last time singing with the AWE group at church.  The scheduled accompanist was a no show so we had 20 minutes to practice 8 songs with another accompanist who'd never seen some of the music.  I was so nervous about it that I hardly had time to be sad about it being my last day but things did go well and our family was remembered in the prayers.  We signed with a new realtor so prayers are welcomed on that front.  There were 3 soccer games during the afternoon and we were blessed with temps in the 80's plus a small rain shower.  Lily scored 3 goals. Cody scored one goal on a corner kick but his team lost right at the end 3-4.  Jace has had a fantastic season and finished strong.  His team won 7-3 with Jace making 4 of the goals, 2 of which were from half field!  I believe his team went undefeated.

We went to supper last night at Paradiso with Bluebird and family.  She gave the family a nice card and then one for me.  Of course, it made me cry.  The good news is we're letting the boys play with their competitive soccer teams for one tournament in Bismarck this weekend.  So, we'll see all of our closest friends in just 5 days which makes leaving much easier. 

I wasn't very excited about moving to Jamestown, ND, when we graduated from college.  ND was the state we always made fun of growing up on the MT/ND border.  However, I have grown to love ND and the people who live in it.  Our time here has been filled with memories that we'll cherish forever:  having 3 children, making wonderful friends, growing spiritually, directing 3 musical groups which I never thought I'd do, becoming a SAHM, Ray climbing the corporate ladder faster than anyone thought possible, and having our children attend Catholic school.  It's hard to say what we'll miss most about Jamestown (it won't be the blizzards) but I do know that this is definitely not goodbye.  There is too much here for us not to visit often and we'll be counting on our friends to come visit us, too! 

Montana, we're coming home!

Are you doing anything special to celebrate Easter?

We sure are!  We arrived in MT last night.  After a great supper at the South 40, we drove up to take a peak at the lot.  This morning, we are all going to church and then we'll eat at the 40 again. 

The rest of the day will be spent making lots of decisions on the house. 

We had our best weekend of wrestling yet!  Jace had 2 easy matches and pinned both opponents.  We hope he gets a little more challenge next week or I'm afraid he'll be overconfident going into state in 2 weeks. 

Cody's 1st match looked really tough.  The kid had very defined muscles which you don't see much of at this age and he came out strong.  I had written Cody off 1/2 through the 1st period but I was mistaken!  Cody came on strong in the last 2 periods and won 6-5.  His 2nd match was easier and he pinned his opponent.  The 3rd match was super easy and he also pinned him to take 1st place. After the tournament, we went to the Home & Garden Show.  We got lots of great ideas for the new house and look who was there signing autographs! After a quick stop at the mall, we met Cody's godparents at Famous Dave's for supper.

My dad called me bright and early this morning after my alarm had gone off but before I'd crawled out of bed.  He serenaded me with "Happy Birthday" and informed me I was now halfway to 70.  Umm, ok.  That doesn't make me feel old at all!  Here I'd just been thinking I was on the downslope of my 30's. 

We went to church and Luther Choir sang which the boys are both in.  After they'd finished their songs, I was motioning for them to go back to their seats and they just kept standing up front.  Then, they led the congregation in singing "Happy Birthday" to me.  That was quite a treat and brought a tear to my eye.

For lunch, we got Subway and then I was treated with a yummy Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  I had 8 candles:  3 and 5 LOL.  I already got most of my birthday presents that were related to my laptop but the kids got me

which I've been wanting for awhile.  I really needed to work more on the house but think I'm still fighting off this cold and couldn't bring myself to do anything but take a nap.  Now, we're getting ready to go out for supper with Bluebird and husband to one of my favorite restaurants, City Lights.

Thumbs Down:

1. Football withdrawals.
2. The most insane February weather ever.  It rained all day yesterday.  We're supposed to get a lot of snow today but it hasn't arrived.........yet.
3. School started 2 hours late this morning but I didn't find out until I'd already gotten up and showered.
4. My sore throat.
5. The cost of building is ridiculously high in MT due to the oil boom so Ray's going to end up doing a lot of the work himself.
6. My parents got Jace Madden '09 for his new DS but he couldn't open it since we hadn't given him the DS yet.  Unfortunately, I forgot the sack with the game in my mom's car so he has nothing to play on it until it arrives in the mail.  Bad mom!

Thumbs Up:

1. We found a lot we like and have decided to try to buy that instead of building next to my parents'.  It's a new subdivision on the outskirts of town on the hill with an amazing view of town.  It's 1/2 acre.  Here are some pics.
   

   W. end of lot

This lot is really low so we don't expect anyone to build on it and there's none behind us so we shouldn't lose our view.  Also, lots of places for the boys to ride their dirt bikes.

2.  Because of the view, we had to change our house plan completely.  We finally found a good one.  This is the outside (it won't have clay tiles for a roof).

And this is the layout.  The laundry area will become a 1/2 bath for guests and the sunroom will be a laundry/mud room.  It's 2397 sq feet and will have a full basement underneath.  Cody's room will be downstairs.  We'll angle the house on the lot so everything in the back will face the view.

3.  The look on Jace's face when he opened his Nintendo DS Lite last night.  We had supper at Paradiso.

4.  Word Twist on Facebook.  It's my new addiction.  Way too fun.

5.  Meetings & activities being cancelled last night due to weather so we had time to go out for a birthday supper.

6.  My brother going to church with us in MT.

We definitely timed this trip right.  Within a few hours of our departure, another 5 inches or so of snow dumped in town.  This winter is just CRAZY!  When we arrived, we had an office visit with the pediatric ENT.  Right away, he did a flexible scope which means he put a spaghetti size tube through Jace's nose and into his throat.  He didn't like it but managed pretty well.  We were able to watch on the computer screen which was really cool!  Right away, the Dr. spotted some lumps on his vocal cords which were either vocal nodes or cysts.  Strangely, we were hoping for cysts because they could be the cause of his coughing spells and would be removed.  Nodes would more likely be a result of all his coughing.  Either way, they probably caused his hoarse voice. 

After the Dr. visit, we checked in at the hotel and then went to the MOA.  A cold Tuesday night in January is definitely the time to go there!  I have never seen so few people at the MOA.  Ray & Jace each got wristbands for Nickelodeon Universe and didn't have to wait in one line.  The 1st ride Jace wanted to go on was the SpongeBob rollercoaster.  He was too scared to go on it when we were there in August but that was pre-Disney World!  This video gives you an idea of what it's like.  Jace didn't like the big vertical climb and drop right at the beginning but loved the rest.  While the boys went on rides, I hiked through most of the mall in search of the perfect boot.  Of all places, you'd think I'd be able to find them there but no such luck.  I did browse through the new American Girl store.  Honestly, it wasn't as impressive as I expected.  I was also sad to see that Club Libby Lu is closing.  Thank goodness Lily got her makeover when she did!  After supper at the Rainforest Cafe, we went back to the hotel to chill and watch the season premiere of AI.

Jace wasn't allowed to eat Wednesday morning.  We arrived at the Children's Hospital for his pre-op and he got to play PS2 while we waited.  He was having a Bronchoscopy and Laryngoscopy.  Ray got to go back into surgery with him until he fell asleep from the laughing gas.  I think it took about 2 minutes!  They gave Jace a nebulizer treatment first.

They have this awesome tracking board in the family waiting room where you can watch your child's number to see what part of surgery they're in.  The Dr. said he'd come and talk to us after the scopes before removing anything.  I think it was under 10 minutes.  The bumps on the vocal cords were just nodes and everything else looked good.  Here's a picture.  Three are of the vocal cords.  The areas on each side where they protrude are the nodes.  The bottom left picture is looking down his windpipe.  Cool, eh?

The Dr. still thought there was a problem if Jace needed to take oral steroids almost once a month for croup attacks so he set us up an appt. with a pulmonologist.  We went straight there after Jace was discharged from recovery.  It was 2 pm and the poor kid was starving!  He got a small juice box and popsicle in recovery.  The pulmonologist administered a breathing test which Jace did perfect on.  However, they still couldn't completely rule out asthma without a more advanced test which would've required us spending an extra day.  The pulmonologist did rule out Vocal Cord Dysfunction as it's more of a daytime problem and Jace's croup is definitely a nighttime thing.  We were given a Croup Management Plan and some more high power medications for when he has flare ups.  We're also going to have allergy testing done here in town to try and determine what triggers his attacks.  Our theory now is that it might be post nasal drip.  So, we still have no definitive answers but at least ruled a few things out.  The nodes should go away once the cough is under control and that should improve the hoarseness in his voice.

When we finished there, it was 4 pm and Jace was really hungry and wanted Perkins so we stopped at one to eat.  We had good roads coming home and I had to drive some because Ray was getting migraine symptoms.  I hate driving at night!  Jace went to school with much complaining this morning but only made it 1/2 hour.  He has some bloating from the surgery and I think is emotionally drained.

We didn't get off to a real great start.  Around 4 pm yesterday, Jace threw up all over the floor.  He'd been complaining of a stomach ache but had no warning that he was going to puke.  Strangely, he's been fine ever since so I don't know if it was just something he ate or what?  Then, after the kids went to bed last night, I had indigestion.  Hopefully, that'll be it since we're traveling today.

We had a lovely, quiet Christmas with my parents and a yummy dinner of tenderloin, mashed potatoes, corn pie, rolls, pea salad, & fruit salad.  After supper, Cody read the story of Jesus' birth and Lily sang a few Christmas songs for us.  We usually unwrap half the presents on Christmas Eve but because of our weird schedule this year, we did them all last night and Santa this morning.  My mom's making french toast & an egg bake and then we'll be hitting the road.  We're going to stop and see my brother on the way to Bozeman where we'll meet up with our neighbors to go skiing tomorrow & Saturday.  Sunday, we're meeting Amy Sue for a night in Billings to have Christmas with them and then we'll come back to my parents' place for 2 more days.  Whew!

Presents:

• Ray:  Car cover for his Firebird, guitar stand, Tempurpedic pillow like mine, 2 pairs of pants, PSP game, Steelers welcome mat & rain gauge, and some little things.
• Me:  GC to get my car detailed, wireless mouse, clothes, pillows, charging station, personalized address book, tripod, photo checkbook cover, Taylor Swift CD, and then my big present which was this in cherry!!  My mom didn't think my $5 floor length mirror went very nicely with our new bedroom furniture.  I also didn't have a jewelry box so this will be awesome.
• Cody:  Steelers shorts, Steelers calendar, Steelers lamp, cologne!, 2 shirts, Rock Band, Newsboys CD, blanket, book, metal football guy to hang on his bedroom wall, football & darts.
• Jace:  Steelers shorts, Steelers calendar, Duck Fever game, 2 shirts & pair of jeans, Nerf dart game, blanket, Rock Band, Magic Tree House books, darts, & a football.
• Liliana:  Outfit, matching nightgown, robe & slippers, Barbie & 2 outfits, rollover puppy, HSM3 CD, Barbie Hot Tub Party Bus, coloring books, puzzle, & blanket.
• All 3 kids got the entire set of 6 Star Wars DVDs.

Well, I better get going or I won't be ready to leave when it's time.  Doubt I'll have computer access until we return here on Monday.

 

 

First up were the 6th graders, Cody's class.

 

Lily's kindergarten class was next.  She always had someone in front of her so it was hard to get a good picture.

 

Then, Jace's 3rd grade class.

 

At the end, all the students line the aisles, the 6th graders stay up in front, and everyone sings.  This is when I got choked up.  It was Cody's last Christmas program at this school.  I couldn't even sing.

We ran for a very quick supper at DQ after the school program because then we had to go to the middle school for Cody's band concert.  He was selected to introduce one of the songs.