Ouchita Weekend

Here are some pics from our day on the lake last weekend. We went and spent time with our friends at their condo on Lake Ouchita, we had a lot of fun, Baby L really loved the water...to see a slide show that includes him, go here.

Pearly Whites

Someone has begun growing his first two teeth!

To see more pics of this boys cute little 'mug, with new teeth a'growing, go here.
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We were on vacation last week, took pics and have adventure to share, its just taking me time to put the posts together!

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

ME: "Dad, can you watch Baby L for me for a minute?"
DAD: "It's like riding a bike, you don't forget how to take care of a baby."

Not Me Monday

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Steven, Baby L and I ARE on vacation this week, in Biloxi, Mississippi, visiting my day and enjoying all the Redneck Riviera has to offer. Last night, Steven and I DID take my Dad to have dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, in the Hard Rock Casino/Hotel to celebrate his birthday. He DID turn 51 years old last Thursday. But, surely, this DID NOT happen during our night out: Baby L was not sleeping quietly in his stroller up until our entree's were delivered, when he was not awoken by a waiter kicking the wheel of his stroller, for like the fifth time. He did not procede to get fussy, and Steven did not put him back into his stroller and step out of the restaraunt to take him for a soothing stroll around the lobby. Then, on his way back into the narrow entrance to Ruth's Chris, he did not get opposition and additude from a crotchety, narrow minded old couple, who took one look at Steven, pushing a young, black baby into a fancy restaraunt and decide they did not belong. The old, white lady did not then procede to look right at them, directly, two times and hold her stance, dirrectly in his way, EVEN after he said "excuse me". Once he made his way around them, Steven did not then mummble some comment about moving next time, to which the old man did not bow-up and start antaganizing saying "you will not speak to my wife." As they all came around the corner, I could NOT hear my husband and this old man grumbling at each other, and this old woman baying on and on about how "I'm deaf, I can't hear." As they neared our table, I was not froozen in my seat, stupified by the sceene unfolding in front of me while I tried to enjoy our $200+ meal. Steven and this old man DID NOT wind up toe-to-toe both saying "I'm not scared of you," and the old woman was standing to the side, saying some crap about how we have no business having a baby like "that" in a restaurant like this anyway. My dad DID NOT have to stand up and apologize to everyone in the area, and separate Steven and the 70+ year old man.
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On a serious note, yes, these things did happen. And while I DO wish my husband wasn't quite so hot headed, I am also fiercely proud that he is ready to jump to the defense and take care of this precious little baby God has entrusted to us. In his words, "I'm not going to stand there and let my family take s*** from fools like that!" Spoken with true redneck eloquence! I love you honey!

On the road again...

We are leaving tonight to spend a week in Biloxi, MS, visiting my dad, and playing and the beach and such. We are planning of traveling through the night, in hopes that Baby L will sleep through the 7+ hour drive. I'll let you know how that goes! We are planning a day at a water park, dad and I will go see HP6 at some point, dad and Steven are going golfing one day, and there will of course be lots of dining out and shopping, as all good vacations should include!

I'm a little LOT behind...

But, here are some pics from our 4th of July activities. We spent the 4th with my Aunt Marla and Unlce Lou at their lake house on Lake Norrell. We had a good time, cooking out, swimming, and relaxing.
At Lake Norrell there is a parade every fourth of July, and the boats are supposed to be decorated and make them really fun, and then its a competition for who has the best "float" (get it: float; all boats, float, but now they are 'floats' in the parade---I thought it was funny...). These are some of my favorites from the parade.






To see some pics of Baby L, having fun at the lake, go here.

Sandage/Fisher Reunion 2009

About 40 members of my extended family gathered at the lodge at Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Mena, Arkansas for a wonderful weekend of togetherness, to visit, catch up, and enjoy one another!

Everyone together, though I don't think many of us are next to our significant others, we all just jumped in where ever we could fit.

My second-cousin Blair's little girl, Ella, was infatuated with Baby L, she got into his stroller, and took every chance she got to be near him.

Uncle Bobby and Uncle Lou were fabulous auctioneers. We raised $1300 at our auction this year!

Saturday afternoon, when it was way to hot to do anything outdoors, we all gathered in the conference room to visit and play games, and do a few puzzles.

Once it cooled off, we headed outside an played some games, we had an egg toss, a bubble gum blowing contest, and a water balloon toss.

I LOVE these people! They are some of the best individuals I know, and I am proud to be a member of this amazing family.

Baby L had a blast this weekend, can you tell?

Family Reunion

I am so excited about this weekend. We are having our Sandage/Fisher Family Reunion. We have weekend long reunions every other summer with our big, extended family of both sides of my mom's parents families. I have the best family, and they are all so fun, and nice. I really look forward to getting together with them all. This years reunion is at Queen Wilhelmina State Park Lodge. This is on top of whatever mountain is near Mena, AR. There really isn't a lot to "do" at this place, but that's kind of the point, for us to all just relax together and visit.

My mom's brother and his family live in Boston so we don't get to see them a whole lot, they are all coming in for this weekend though, so I am super pumped about that as well. I actually am in charge of picking up my cousin Brittney from the airport this afternoon. Her flight is due to arrive around 3pm. She will stay at my house tonight before we all head to the lodge tomorrow. We are having a big cookout tonight at my mom's house for her parents, brother and sister and their families. Should be fun, though I'm afraid were going to burn-up if we try to eat out back...

Well, I'm off to run a few errands, then to get Brit. Hope all have a safe and fun weekend, I know I will!

I'm Back....

Well, I made it home from Hawaii Sunday morning at about 8:30 am. And I have been trying to get caught up since then. Caught up on laundry, house cleaning, work, and sleep! We had a wonderful trip, it was beautiful and a really great time. I enjoyed getting to hang out with my mom and sister, it was time I know we will always all treasure. We stayed at a fabulous bed and breakfast in the town of Lanaki on Oahu. This is a pic from Lanaki Beach, the beach front just about 5 blocks from our room: There were so many gorgeous things to see in Hawaii, some of the scenery was topography I had never seen close up before! Like the Volcanic rock cliffs and shore lines shown here:

Mom and Brooke looking out near an observation point, and near a natural "blow hole" where the rocks have formed a crevice that is invisible to the eyes, but then water rushes into the rock caves below, a spray of water erupts from the rocks, like a whales blow hole!

Some of the other islands of Hawaii have many more waterfalls, and they are more spectacular according to mom, this is the only one on Oahu. Wiamea Falls was very beautiful, though it took a little hike to get to them, it was worth it for the view.

Last shot for today, a view from my beach chair, looking over my sandy feet, outing across the Pacific Ocean. It was paradise!

The only good thing about Steven not going on this trip, and me missing him for 7 days straight, is that getting to come home to him took the sting out of having to come home at all!

Only 4 more days...

Until I leave for paradise!

Hawaii here I come! I can't wait!!! Mom is taking Brooke and I away on a last big all girls trip before she (Brooke) and I get so caught up in our "grown up" lives that we don't have time to get away as just us girls. We leave for the island of Oahu on Saturday morning at like 5:30 am or some other ridiculous hour...but because of all the time zones we will cross, even though the trip takes over 12 hours, we will be arriving in Oahu by 3 pm! We are staying in a town called Kailua, on the North Shore of Oahu, at a cute little bed and breakfast called Pillows in Paradise. Isn't that the greatest name! On the right I have put in a little pic from the web site of what our room is supposed to look like. It is a large open room, with a pool right outside, and a few minutes walk from the beach. My mom went to Hawaii last year in May, and when she came back said it was somewhere she had to go back to, and she wanted to take us to experience it all together. So I told her she better get on that is she was serious, because once Steven and I have started a family there is no way I could get away for a whole week with out him and my kids. Maybe, once the kids were school aged, I could sneak off for a long girls weekend, but nothing like an escape to Hawaii. So she did just that, and began booking our girls spring break get away. We are going to have such a blast. We have already planned activities for about half the days, like whale watching cruises, and guided island tours of all the big attractions, etc... and the other days were just going to swim and play on the beach, and trip around the island shopping and hanging out!

Its going to be a complete blast!

25 Random Things about Me

I'm borrowing a note that I made on Facebook today. I decided this would be a fun one to share on my blog as well. Obviously the "rules" don't apply since were not on facebook, but feel free to use this if you want to!

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose at least 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)
1. I have ADD(Attention Deficit Disorder) and have been being treated for it for over 10 years.
2. My husband and I will be having our fourth wedding anniversary this summer, 7/23; but we've been together for ten years this coming fall.
3. Steven and I met on the internet, but before it was 'the thing to do', back when it was still considered wierd, and a bit scary...
4. Steven is the only guy I ever seriously dated, and therefore the only guy I have ever kissed, or done anything else with!
5. My mom is very much by best friend.
6. I love to blog, though I don't keep up with it as much as I would like!
7. I love my work, its a passion and service, not just "job".
8. I love to travel, even though I don't get to nearly as much as I'd like, Cruising is the best way to go!
9. I am newly addicted to 'The Dog Whisperer'. Ceasar Milan is awesome!
10. I am addicted to my 'crackberry'.
11. I am in a bible study with seven other teacher that I work with, and we are all learning so much from one another, these a some of the most amazing women I have even met, and I feel so honored to get to work with and worship God with them.
12. My little sister is moving back to central Arkansas this May after she graduates from ASU, and I can't wait! Its going to be so cool to have a more connected relationship with her now that we are both adults.
13. I love to read, I am always reading something! Typically I read realistic fiction (Grisham, Cook, Francis), but have most recently read the Twilight series and then The Shack, and I LOVED them both!
14. My husband has a tatoo on his arm that incorporates my favorite bible verse into the design (Romans 1:18), or so I thought it was. We were sitting around the house one day and I looked the verse up and realized that the verse I love is actually 1:16...oops! My bad honey!
15. My favorite color is Green.
16. When I set my alarm, I set it so the last number is always either 1, 3, 7 or 9 (ie: 5:37 am).
17. I hate watching live TV, DVR has spoiled me to not having to wait for commercials.
18. One of my dogs is an escape artist. Mandy is constantly digging out of our yard and going to explore the neighborhood. She is very friendly and social, people usually enjoy visiting with her while waiting on us to come pick her up!
19. My dad lives far away these days, but were closer that ever, we talk for about 3 hours over a week on average.
20. Steven and I are in the middle of working to get our certification to be Foster Parents right now. We hope to be opening our home to a child in need by April.
21. We are entering Foster Care because we want to serve God with our lives, and we desire to be His hand and feet and to serve other and share His great love. We adore children and feel this is an area of great need where we could make an impact is His great name.
22. We have NOT yet tried to start our own family, that is unrelated to our desire to enter Foster care. We don't have a plan concerning a family of our own right now, we are just trusting in the Lord to show us where he wants us to serve, and that He will show us if and when He wants us to persue children of our own.
23. I feel closer to God right now than at any other time in my life. I feel like I am just beginning to really serve Him, and really understand what it means to live my life for Him. Gods loveand grace is so great and so deep, and absolutely amazing!
24. My mom is taking my sister and I to Hawaii for Spring Break. I can't wait!
25. This is hard, I honestly can't think of anything else to write! I guess I'm just boring...

Sports Extravaganza Weekend

Last weekend, November 21, 22, & 23, Steven and I went to Mississippi to watch the Hogs play (lose to) Mississippi Sate University. Now, we are Razorback fans, though not this die hard in reality. Our best friends actually are from Columbus, MS, which is about 45 minutes from Starksville, where MSU is. Our friends incited us to come join them for a visit, and we went to the game as well. We stayed with Ellen's parents (well, actually just her mom, her dad was in the deer woods, it was the first day of gun season in MS). Mrs. Townsend was a wonderful hostess. It was so kind of her to let Steven and I stay at her home, as well as her own family, Ellen and Micah. It was fun seeing Columbus and all the areas Micah and Ellen talk about so much. We have always teased them because they say they "Love living in a big city like Little Rock". This statement has always cracked Steven and I up, because we don't consider LR to be a big city at all...but after our visit to Columbus, their hometown, I now understand the perspective of viewing LR as a "big" city :).

We drove down Friday night after work, and got there around 10 pm. So we just visited for a little while and then went on to bed. Saturday we woke up to homemade Monkey Bread (yum!) and got ready for the football game. Micah's company was hosting a tailgate for their clients that are local and going to the MSU game, so we headed on out to the game at about 11 am. We had a nice lunch and got to meet some more of the people we hear so much about, it was fun putting a face with a name. Then at 1 pm we headed on into the stadium. The opening of the game was the best part. MSU's mascot is the bulldogs, and they have an actual English Bulldog (named Bully) who comes out onto the field for the game. He was so cute, though its hard to tell in this fuzzy pic, and so well behaved, he just sat and watched the whole time. We had really good seats, fifth row behind the Razorbacks bench, on about the 40 yard line. We could see everything, and even hear the coaches talking to the players some. This is the closest I have ever sat for a game, and it was more interesting to me when I was close, it held my attention much better too. Anyway, it was chilly throughout the weekend, but by about 4 pm, as the sun was going down, it got so cold that Ellen and I were uncomfortable. But I was so impressed, because not only did Arkansas have an impressive number of fans make the trip to come watch them play, but Hog fans were to ones who stayed all the way through the end of the game, even when MSU fans began an early exit, our fans stuck around, though the (bitter) end, and unfortunate defeat.

Now, though I did really enjoy the game, I was cold and done by the end. But then I found out that the boys (Micah and Steven) had scrounged around and found 4 tickets to the MSU basketball game that was beginning at 6 pm, just about 30 minutes after we left the football game, so what did we all do? We all made the trek across campus to the Hump (what the students call their coliseum, Humphrey Stadium), this game was okay, kind of dull, they were playing a no name team who they easily stomped.

We then ate dinner at a really good pizza place in Starksville, before heading back to Columbus, where we tried to go out and find some night life to enjoy. But, really, there was none to be had, so we found a DIVE bar, got a couple drinks, then we were all so tired anyway, that we headed back to the house to call it a night before 1 am. The next morning we woke to the smell of fresh baked muffins (I love wonderful hostesses who bake goodies) and had breakfast, then lurch while watching the Duke game, before Steven and I hit the road heading home by 2 pm. When we were only about an hour out of Columbus, Steven got stopped by a Mississippi State trooper, for going 83 mph in a 65 mph zone...needless to say we got a ticket. Which Steven found out today is going to cost us $150.50. I was not pleased, especially seeing as this is his second ticket in the last 18 months.

But, all in all it was a good weekend, we even stopped at Southland Greyhound park on the way through Memphis, and I took in $2 to play in the nickel slots, and I left with $2.50!!! Hey, it may not be big money, but its more than I went in with...and I gave my $0.50 winnings to Steven, so now he only has to scrounge up $150 for his speeding ticket. See, I am a loving and supportive wife!