FINALLY, an update

Ok, everyone, I know, I know! It's been a while since I last posted here. I've been MOVING! :) And I've come to the conclusion that moving stinks. I'm so unorganized right now and I hate it. The house is a total disaster, but I did get most of the boxes out of here in less than a week. The boxes that are left, might be staying for a while.....in the basement. :)

So, anyway, since I still have tons of work to do, I'm posting mainly pictures for those of you who haven't seen them....

Anisa's graduation....
Seniors..... Anisa and Aaron in the senior tire.













GRADUATION!













Tossing their caps.













The kids, almost adults. :)













The Graduate with her mommy and daddy.













We did take a little time out to play while since we've gotten to VA. Poor Travis had to go to stinky work, but I got to take the girls to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. We had a good time. It was really hot, but it wasn't SUPER crowded and we went on all the fun rides, sometimes twice! :) Busch Gardens gives military families free tickets, so we went for FREE! THANKS Busch! :)

So far, we really like Virginia (not enough to stay here forever, we'll be back WEST COAST!). Right now it's so beautiful with all the trees and different shades of green. The rolling hills. The birds singing. Travis picked a good house. As soon as we get it all organized, it will be much better. The neighbors are really nice and it's close to the bus stop and freeways. Shopping is CRAZY GREAT! :) Ah, I love being back near shopping. I'll try to keep updating my blog a little more now that we're getting settled in. And soon I'll post pics of the house and neighborhood. Come to visit us anytime!! :)

My little baby

Yesterday Sara turned 15 years old. Wow, I can't believe it. 15 years ago, my Grampa drove me to the Bess Kaiser Hospital in Portland (which is now Adidas headquarters), along with Grandma and Big sis Anisa. We met Travis at the hospital since he was at work, a couple of miles down the road from the hospital. As I was in labor, I got to watch float planes and boats on the Willamette River out of my room window. 4 hours after labor started, Sara made her grand debut into our world. Hey, Viv and Ranee, remember?? They were her very first visitors. Oh, by the way, she rode home in Baby, the van, that we had just bought when we found out we were having another baby. :)

15 isn't my favorite age. I have a theory. Kids lose their minds in about 6th grade and don't recover them until about graduation! :) Luckily, Sara is a pretty good girl. She makes us laugh and only argues a little bit (well, compared to some kids). She likes clothes, hair and make-up. She likes playing guitar (and plays her violin still, if forced to). She listens to music constantly and likes to talk on her phone. We love you Sara!!! :)

Isn't She Grand? Like 200Grand!

You all know I have a crazy kind of love for my van. Baby is my dream rig. I know, it's weird. Who would love a Ford Aerostar this way, but I do. I can't help it. I had a little Ford Festiva before her and when we found out we were having another baby, I REALLY wanted a van. I REALLY wanted the extended Dodge Caravan. We test drove them, loved them and wanted one. One day Travis was looking at the classifieds in the Oregonian and saw that Coliseum Ford in Portland had Aerostars on sale. I told him I'd go drive one, but I wanted a Caravan. Well, we came home that day with a brand new Aerostar. She has been from Port Angeles, WA to San Diego, CA, Astoria, OR to Sturgeon Bay, WI and will be heading out to VA in a month. We have taken several family trips in our little van. 200,000 miles of trips! I hope to post one day that she just went over 300,000. Hey, I could happen! :)

Well, I finally did it

I've been thinking about cutting my hair and I finally just did it. Both girls had their hair cut yesterday and I was talking to Jen (the stylist) about getting mine done. I told her I wanted to do it, but was nervous since I HATE doing anything to my hair. She said, what about just a layered bob kind of style. I told her I have to be able to put it into a ponytail. When she got done with the girls she still had lots of time before her next client came in. I asked if she wanted to cut my hair and she said SURE! :) And here is the result. I really like it. I did actually blow it dry today. It feel so good and soft and healthy. The last REAL haircut I had was probably, well, I can't even remember. I think I had my hair whacked off after Sara was born, but that was 15 years ago. I just don't really care about hair. At least she got it thicker feeling and healthy, tho. I DO like that. :)

Prom 2009

Well, last night was SB High school Prom 2009. Sara and her pal, Lena, had their make-up professionally done downtown for fun (and free). They came back to the house to start doing hair and getting ready to go out to dinner with a group of friends. Anisa was in there doing her hair too.....3 girls and a boy (Aaron) doing hair, nails, make-up. There was hairspray flying, straightening and curling irons warming, brushes swooshing and nail polish fumes! Sara ended up doing her own hair, Lena's curls and Anisa's poof.



Then it was time to get dressed. Anisa and Aaron went to dinner in regular clothes so they didn't spill on their beautiful clothes. They went out by themselves and met up with friends later at the prom.















Sara and Lena got into their dresses. Sara ordered special silver Puma high tops for prom. Her family doesn't particularly like them, but she does, so I guess that's all that matters. We thought since she was wearing a princess dress, she should wear fancier shoes but she swears she can't walk in any heels. She's a crazy girl. Lena's mom came over, we took pictures and off they went to dinner and then to prom.












Anisa and Aaron came back after dinner to get all prettied up. Check out Aaron's tie. I made that. :) They couldn't find the perfect green to match Anisa's dress, so we got some fabric, a pattern and there ya go! A tie! Anisa made her flower hair clip. Aaron made Anisa's necklace. Lots of crafty people around here!













They took off in style. They left in the Cavalier, but picked up the truck to actually head over to prom in. I don't exactly know how Anisa got into that thing with her dress on, but she did it. Maybe Aaron picked her up and threw her in. :)









Here are my beautiful girls after prom. Since they left the house at different times, I had to snag them after prom. They were exhausted, but had had a good time. We stayed up for a few hours telling stories. Anisa headed to a friend's house to spend the night and Sara and I finally got to bed around 3:30 a.m. It was a fun night for everyone. :)

Oops, I forgot to tell you..

I was going to tell you all that we woke up to this on Tues. April 21. Yep, that's right, it's snow. Travis is very happy he's not here because this disgusts him. He hates that winter in WI started Nov. 30 and is still happening. He likes snow every once in a while, but generally, he can do without it. I like it. This snow melted pretty quickly since it was warm (about 44) that day. Today is supposed to be warm. So far, it's 47 at my house. By tomorrow, we're supposed to see temps into the 70s. Prom is Saturday, so I just hope the weather is good that day. The weathermen are calling for thundershowers. That will not be good since the girls have long, flowing gowns. I'll keep you posted!

curly light bulbs

I just saw a show about the disposal of the little curly-wurly flourescent light bulbs everyone thinks are so great. I personally don't like them because of the light they give off. I like the good old fashioned GE soft light light bulbs. I just keep lights off when I'm not in certain rooms. Besides, you aren't supposed to just throw them away when they die. You have to dispose of them at a special recycling center. I couldn't even get rid of my unwanted paint here, much less special bulbs.

For those of you who have them and like them, here are the directions if you accidentally drop one of the fancy bulbs. Be careful, they contain mercury! This is from the EPA website. I couldn't make this stuff up. You'll have to open the directions to actually read them. Just click on the pics, and enjoy giggling! :)

April Block of the Month

Here is my April BOM. I'm following the wonderful pattern by Anne at Bunny Tales. I'm getting ready to download the May pattern to get started on it. I am really happy I've started doing these blocks. They are just so fun and easy. All you crafty people out there, if you haven't started, get movin'! You won't regret it. :)

update on us

Well, we took our trip to DC during Spring Break to go school/neighborhood/house hunting. We weren't super successful in finding a house, but we did find the schools and neighborhoods we were and were not interested in.

Travis is settled into our little trailer at Andrews AFB. He says it's not too bad. He has all the conveniences of home (except for a shower in the trailer. We had a water heater blow-out - but the campground showers are clean). There are a few other guys/gals there in the same situation. Living there until the summer when their families will join them. Travis is also getting some running in, so that's been nice to kill some of his time alone.




He's trying to get settled into his job/office. So far, he's been really busy just trying to get his desk situated. He didn't have a computer or phone when he first got there, and now that he has them, he's just getting them to be the way he needs and wants them to be. He has a really nice view from his cube. He can see into DC and across the river. So far, he thinks once he really starts his job, he's going to like it. It's a new challenge for him and he likes that.




The day we left, he found a house for us to rent. We thought about buying a house, but with the market the way it is, we didn't want to chance being stuck with a house out east when everyone knows, this family will be heading back out west as soon as possible. :) It looks like we'll be living in West Springfield. Close to Trader Joes, Ikea and even a Costco! woot. It's about 20 miles from Travis' office, which apparently translates into about half hour commute (we hope). I've been told that you don't go by mileage out there, you go by commute time. It's 27.2 miles to Renee's house, which I'm guessing will mean it is actually 40 minutes to her house. :)

While we were there, it was the Cherry Blossom Festival. We went into the city on the Full Bloom Day. It was beautiful. We also went to the Library of Congress. We'll be spending more time there, I'm sure. And in the city! Here are some pics of the trip.

Bunny Tales BOM

BOM?? Block of the Month. :) That's what the talented Miss Anne is offering to us lucky fans out here in cyber land. Bunny Tales is the blog to get the patterns. Just click on the little widget on the sidebar for the patterns. I'm late in getting my blocks on here, but better late than never. :)

Here's my January block.

















Here's my February block.

I'm working on my March block tonight or at least this weekend.














Since I'm posting fabric-y stuff, here's a baby quilt I made for a CG family here. Jerry works with Travis and his wife is having a baby boy very soon! They are BIG Dallas Cowboy fans, so instead of making a babyish quilt, I thought a Cowboy quilt would be more loved. I ran out of fabric and had to improvise on my pattern, but I'm happy with how it turned out. And mom and dad really liked it.











Here is another little pockety purse made from Happy Zombie's pattern in BH&G Quilts and More. I love this pattern. So easy and when I make them, I think of my dear friend. :) xoxo HZ!!

slacking, but no more

Well, I've been slacking on my posting. I admit, it's just been laziness. I'm a stay-at-home mom to TEENAGERS. I have all the time in the world! :) Seriously, I do. :)

Speaking of teenagers, Dance Team season ended, and it ended with a BANG! The girls competed at State in LaCrosse, WI. They only qualified with their Jazz routine (they also perform a Hip-hop/Funk routine and a Pom routine). They didn't place in that competition, but performed their little hearts out. The competition there was fierce, so they were happy to just be able to compete there and not come in last! :) The weekend of Feb. 20-22 we headed to the UPA National Competition in Minneapolis, MN. This is a competition that is by invitation, not by qualification. It's big and fun. The girls really gave it their all and placed 2nd in Funk -stripey uniforms (out of 5 teams), and 3rd in Pom -warm-ups in front of trophys (out of 8 teams) and 3rd in Jazz -red slinky dresses (um, well, there were only 3 teams, but heck, we're still proud!). There were some dancers who competed in the small team competition. Anisa and her friend, Sonia, performed a Funky hip hop routine and came in 13th out of 35 teams. :) With their points, they qualified to go to the next level which is the UPA US Finals. We decided (in voting) that it wasn't worth the time and money. Unfortunately for the girls, the competition out there is really something. The jumps, turns, and other tricks.....our girls haven't had the opportunity to learn. It's a young team, tho, only competeting in these events for 2 years now, so they have time. Hopefully next year, they can get a really good teacher/choreographer in there to get these girls some serious skills. I'm also posting Anisa with Sonia in the air. It's blurry, but you can see what these girls can do! wowwee

What I've been doing lately

Mostly, I've been running around to this dance competition, that school performance, blah, blah, blah. I have had a little time in between my running around to watch my girls, tho. In that little bit of time, I've done a little sewing. Here are a couple of projects that I've finished.

This first little quilt is from the fabulously talented Lori Smith Patterns....From My Heart to Your Hands Fat quarter quilt pattern #1514 - Exploring Batiks. I love Batiks, but I rarely use them. I don't know why. Just one of life's mysteries, I guess. :) Anyway, I bought this pattern ages ago on the advice of Happy Zombie (who is also fabulously talented). When I bought the pattern, I also bought the fat quarters, and they went directly into my stash box. I felt like sewing last week and didn't really have a project to do, so I dug into my box and decided it was time to do this little wallhanging. I'm happy with how it turned out. Don't know where it will go, but I'll figure out something.






This handy dandy little pockety bag is from that same Happy Zombie I just mentioned. :) She had a pattern (actually, has had a few) published in the Fall 2008 issue of Quilts and More. I did an Egg Bag with this pattern here, but made the Egg version bigger than the pattern called for. This time, I did exactly like HZ told me to and I love it. It's so cute. I'm gonna make another one very soon. I now have 3 other projects in the works, a baby quilt, a little pockety bag and the Bunny Tails BOM (Jan. block is ALMOST done, then I will do the Feb block). So, after I get done sewing, I'll be doing more posting!

I hope you all have a specialicious day! :)

State Qualifiers!

The Dance Team competed in the Regional competition on Saturday. They performed their Pom routine and their Jazz routine. We didn't expect them to move on to State since they were really good last year and didn't qualify, BUT THEY DID!!! They placed 3rd in Jazz, so we head to LaCrosse, WI this coming Saturday to compete in the State competition. In 3 weeks, they head to Nationals in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN. We're excited, but tired just thinking about all the traveling. LaCrosse is about 4.5 hours away. Minn/St. Paul is about 5.5 hours. The bonus of M/SP is IKEA and Trader Joes. :) Anyway, here is the team and my two beautiful chicks with their State Qualifier Plaque. We're pretty proud of the team! :)

Foxy Loxy

We have a new pet. Well, not "technically" our "PET", but we can enjoy him/her. This is our little fox visitor. Isn't it ADORABLE?? We enjoyed watching him/her eating peanuts and sweet potatoes (leftovers from dinner). Our little friend sat there for a long time letting us admire him/her. I love it's markings. Hopefully if we keep food out there, it won't eat our bunnies. yikes.

10 year old mom

Yep, I was 10 when I gave birth! hahahaha ok, not really, but I can't believe my baby is 18!!!! Her birthday was yesterday. We were busy all day, so I had to wait til today to post pics. Isn't she beautiful??!! We're so proud of our girl. She's turned out to be such a wonderful person. Yeah, she has her quirks that drive me up the wall, but don't we all. :) Here are some pics of the birthday girl.

One of the perks to living in a small town, is they will put personal messages on signs. Take this one, for example. :) It's wierd having an "adult" child. Even tho she'll always be my baby. :)

-27?

-27 was our coldest wind chill reading today. Of course, now it's warmed up to 2 degrees air temp and -13 wind chill. School was cancelled today because of the temps. That's what happens here. They don't really call "snow days", they call "extreme cold days". Did you know bare skin can get frostbite in about 10 minutes in temps that cold? Yeah, you learn new things all the time! :) If you live in a house with windows and doors that don't have excellent seals you might have frozen doors like we do. I had to use a hair dryer to melt the ice to open the door to feed the birds and squirrels.









Speaking of squirrels, I haven't posted on our obese squirrels lately. They have their winter blubber and fur, luckily. I still worry about them even tho they are like little balls of fat and fur. Most of the day, they must stay in their cubbies, holes or wherever they live since they don't come around too much when it's THIS cold.







I thought it would be fun to see how my hair would freeze in 2 minutes. Here are the results. :) Ah, boredom makes you do silly things. :)

Birthday girls

Well, I've been home now for 8 days, but I went to California for 4.5 days to celebrate my Grandma Lopez's 80th birthday. My mom, 2 aunts and cousin put this big surprise party together for her. I told everyone I couldn't come since we have all kinds of stuff coming up to spend money on...the move, Anisa's college, a trip in August to CA for my mom's birthday... Travis and I were talking about the party a couple of weeks before and he asked if I was going to go, I could just use airline miles. So, for giggles, I called the special 800 number and it turned out we had plenty of miles and so I booked my tickets, without telling anyone. :) I got an email from my cousin about her not going (she lives in NY), so I had to tell her I was going. She borrowed some money and got a ticket, too.

Friday evening, I arrived in Orange County, go to get my "economy car" and got a Mustang with a V8 instead! :) I truly love my van, but I really, really liked that V8. Anyway, I drove over the Ortega mountains to my mom's house. I called Sara and was talking to her as I rang the doorbell. Mom answered the door and screamed!! She was so surprised. We visited for a while, then I told her I needed brown pumps for the party, so off to the mall we went. I found some shoes and it was time to head over to my aunt Jennifer's for the last minute planning. When we got there, of course, everyone was shocked. Jennifer and Uncle Marty cried, they were so happy.

My niece, Justine's birthday is the same day as Grandma's and traditionally they go to Denny's in their jammies really, super early in the a.m. for breakfast. We got up at 5:30 a.m. and headed to Denny's. My mom, Danny (little bro) and I got there first - we were going to go somewhere else, but the other place was closed. Steenie Bean walked in and I was slouched down in the booth. She saw my mom, then my leg and asked who that was...I stood up and she was so surprised. Then my little sis, Sandra and her honey Jean and their new baby bug Chloe came in and got shocked. :)

After breakfast, we all headed home to shower and get ready for the day. I wasn't totally satisfied with the shoes I had found the night before, so I headed to the outlet mall and mom headed to the restraunt to set up (didn't find any other shoes, but the shoes I found turned out to be very comfy). We met at home, got all pretty and went to meet and greet guests. I saw cousins I hadn't seen in years, and MET cousins I only knew about. I hadn't seen my cousin April (from NY) in about 10 years! This is us, proof that I got dressed up in big people clothes with HEELS. :)

Grandma came in with Aunt Jennifer after her hair appt. She was so surprised to see everyone. There were 52 guests! We ate, visited, laughed, ate some more and when it was time to leave the restraunt, we headed to Grandma's house to party some more. Here are the 2 birthday girls. Aren't they cute? Grandma is 80 and Steenie is 17. Holy smokes! Shortly after the party started, I went outside to call my sis, Wendy (who was running late because of stinky work), and they just happened to pull in and see me. I could hear Wendy scream from inside the truck. That was pretty funny.

Here are my sisters, Wendy and Sandra and brother Danny and me.













Here I am with my mom.













Here is Grandma with her 3 babies...my mom, Aunt Joanne and Aunt Jennifer.












Sunday was Mom's day. We went to her church, then to lunch, shopping with Sandra, Steen and Chloe then headed to Mom's house for a BBQ with Danny, Wendy's family and Aunts Joanne and Jennifer, Uncle Marty and the cousins. Mom and I stayed up late talking and watching tv. It was fun to just visit.

Monday I headed to my Dad's house. I told him I was coming since I was asking wierd questions the day before about Peg (my stepmom) and work. I got to the house and I called Peg at work and surprised her. We went to lunch with her, then hung out visiting til she got home. We got to go to Vince's for spaghetti. I grew up on Vince's Spaghetti and every time I go to CA I have to go there. :) It was DEEElicious.

Tuesday I went to Grandma and Grampa H's house. I knocked on the door, but they didn't hear it so I called and Grandma said she was just waiting for my dad to come over after his haircut. That was the lie my dad told her the day before so they wouldn't make plans and they'd be home when I got there. I told her we lied and to come to the door. She was very surprised! We went to Ikea for lunch of swedish meatballs, then just wandered through the store. After visiting for a while and a trip to the mall we went to In N Out for burgers for dinner. Oh, Yum! :)

Wednesday was the day I came back home. It was a whirlwind trip, but very fun. It was even a little chilly while I was there. I packed shorts to wear in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA, and it was in the 50s and low 60s. I wore shorts anyway. :) I got home to snow and temps in the teens. Oh well. I missed my honey and my girlies so I didn't mind the weather.