The more the Merrier

We have added not 1 but 2 fish to our menagerie. Aaron gave her the tank and the fish for Christmas. It looks pretty with all the things inside of it. Hermie, the Hermit Crab is the blue shell in the tank in the bottom picture. Papaw asked if Hermie was really alive. He never saw it move but when you come back into a room sometimes the shell has moved.

More Pets

I don't think that I've mentioned that we have added to our menagerie. Along with the hermit crab, named Hermie, our mother cat had another litter of kittens, and Sage got a fish for Christmas from her boyfriend. Now we have 2 dogs, 8 cats, 1 hermit crab and 1 fish. I had to change what it said at the top of the blog to fit with our crazy animals. I brought the cats in this evening because they needed to see the people. They're growing so fast that they'll end up wild if I'm not careful. Don't worry I will be posting pictures of the fish and crab later. Hermie stayed at Nana's while we were in Vegas and I haven't made it down there to get her (?). They wouldn't let Sage bring the fish home today because the filter in the tank has to run for 24 hours before you put a fish in it. Who knew?

Home from Vegas

We're back and we did have a blast. I think I had the most fun but Jon would probably disagree with that. I got a manicure, a massage, shopped and gambled. I even got to see a show. We went and saw the Circe De Soliel (spelling???) at the MGM. It was amazing. Jon gambled. He saw no sights and he did not shop. The funniest part of the trip was Jon lost his blackberry in the first hour. He had it at the airport but it was gone by the time we got to the hotel. We checked security desks and I called the cab companies but no luck. However, when we got home last night there was a message from the Las Vegas Airport saying that they had found his phone. They called the house phone because it was under home in his phone. They are overnighting it to us through fedex. There are miracles. Oh yeah, the biggest miracle was we didn't lose any money gambling. We came out even and that's not too bad for 3 days of fun and gambling. I didn't take any pictures even though I took my camera. I will however post one from last year when we went. Everything looks basically the same. We stayed at the Excaliber.

Las Vegas

Jon and I are leaving for Las Vegas in the morning-yea! We're very excited, me to see the sights and him to gamble. I like to walk around, look and sleep. Yes, I sleep while I'm in Vegas. Why would I want to go on vacation and then stay awake and not rest any? I'm planning to read, play my nintendo, walk around, see a show and maybe gamble. Jon is planning to gamble. I am also planning to drag him away from the black jack tables for some sights and maybe a movie. We're going to have a blast. We usually have a blast wherever we go.

Uncle, Uncle John

Uncle, Uncle John is my Uncle John. There are too many John's in my family. I have a husband, brother, uncle, cousin and a grandpa with this name. Reagan began this tradition because she calls my brother Uncle John so that made my uncle her Uncle, Uncle John. That was a mouthful. We went to Uncle, Uncle John's for Christmas Eve supper. John and Jon talked farming, Sage and Aaron played cards and the rest of us played with my cousin Ashley's new baby, Seth. We don't see each other very often so it was good to see everyone but I was ready to go home when it was done. We had been moving since 10 that morning and didn't get home until after 11 that night. It's not even Christmas Day yet. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Nana's Christmas

Last night Cathy called and asked me if I would make the dip for Christmas because she was using her crock pot for something else. I had one so I said sure. It was especially easy when Cathy cut up the onions, jalapenos, and sent the sausage. It turned out great except that 14 hours later I can still smell it in my house. We lit candles when we got home. Today we had Christmas at Nana's house. We had lots of food, presents and the kids made cookies and then decorated them. These were to leave out for Santa. I didn't get enough pictures is what I've decided but I'll settle for what I got.

Merry Christmas Lucky and Lizzie

Lucky and Lizzie got a new doghouse for Christmas. The one we had was a hand-me-down from a neighbor and both of them barely fit. Sometimes Lucky wouldn't let Lizzie in the doghouse at all and she has short hair. Jon and I were at tractor supply looking at coats yesterday and I decided that an igloo was the answer. These are the coolest looking houses, they actually have an opening and then curve a little bit so they can get out of the wind. I won't tell you how much the extra large was (they were out of all the other sizes) but now they each have one. I also moved the houses off the porch and into a more protected part of the yard, plus I have other things I want on the porch. Try to pretend that you can't see where we haven't finished siding the house.

Puppy Shots

Reagan went with me Friday to get her puppy it's 4th puppy shot. Lizzie was very hyper and wanted to smell everything in the room. Reagan did a good job of keeping up with her. The poor thing had an ear infection so she got her ears packed on top of getting a shot.

Tractors and Farmers

This is our new tractor.Jon brought it home yesterday. He like a kid with a new toy. I went and rode with him for a little bit. It was a tractor, I don't know much about the new ones. When I was around 13 I started driving a tractor for my Dad but all it had was a radio and an air conditioner. Our new one has all kinds of buttons that I'm afraid to push. I'm sure that at some point I will have to plow something or move something but until then I'm refusing to learn what all of the buttons do. There's only so much I can do in a day.

Bye-Bye

The kids left at 5:40 this morning and it's very quiet around here. Reese has already called and said that they landed in Dallas o.k. Sage hasn't gotten up yet and I've already moved my water, talked on the phone, walked the dogs, and taken a shower. It's not even 11 yet. I promised to call them everyday, although I'm leaving for Las Vegas on the 26th. I hope the snow is gone by then. I'm not going to have Reese and Reagan for 9 days....that's the longest we've ever been apart. When they get back Sage is leaving for 10 days to go to Hawaii with her boyfriend's family. I'd rather go to Hawaii than Vegas but beggers can't be choosers.

Holidays

It's only 15 hours until the kids get out of school for the Christmas holidays. We were bad and bought the kids tickets to fly to see their Mom. We were going to drive them Saturday morning but the weather is supposed to be really bad in Missouri with sleet and snow. We were going to have to leave at like 4 in the morning and they still would have hit bad weather on the way back up north. The upside to this is the kids don't have to spend 12 hours in a car and we don't have to spend 12 hours in a car. They have to be at the airport at 6:30 in the morning but oh well. They'll be there at 12:15 and I'll be back home taking a nap. I got 2 new books from the library for the trip but I think that I can read them in the comfort of my own home. I'm all for that.

Fieldtrips

The fifth grade kicked my butt. All of the kids with a certain amount of points in reading got to go on a field trip today. Reagan begged me to go with her and in a moment of weakness I said yes. It started at 8am when I took her to school. We left about 8:10 and went to the food bank. The kids dropped off the canned goods they had gathered and then we packed boxes. We all got to wear gloves and hairnets. I should have taken my camera but no, I forgot it. After the food bank we went to the mall and split into groups for a scavenger hunt. This took us to all the corners of the mall, with the kids asking can we got here or here or here......After we finished that we got to eat and then shop for about an hour. I just thought that I was done. The last thing we did was go to the "Silent Wings Museum" and learn about the base that used to be in Lubbock and different tools they had during WWII. It was very interesting but we didn't have enough time to see everything. I took Reagan after the fieldtrip was over and she was already so tired that she cried because she couldn't have anything from the museum gift shop. I then drug her to the hospital to see a friend who is having tests run (maybe they'll actually find out what's wrong this time) and then to the grocery store. We finally got home around 6pm and we were beat.

Done

My Christmas shopping is finished. If I forgot you, too bad. I'll say I'm sorry but I am not driving all over Lubbock anymore looking for the perfect gift. I like it until it gets down to the wire and I haven't found what I'm looking for or I remember that someone that I forgot. I am happy with everything I got and I hope they are too. Now I want to know what I got and I want to know now. I'm just joking, my favorite part of the holidays is the anticipation. It's always anticlimactic when you actually open your gifts. I just want everyone to be happy and have a good time. Tomorrow I can go back to the normal things in life, like cleaning the house and buying groceries. I might even catch up on my tv watching. Good luck with your Christmas shopping.

House

Kip came out yesterday (yes, on a Saturday) and finished my porch. He also helped Jon put up our new front door. They both look awesome.

Successful Evening

We had a successful Christmas this evening. The kids liked their presents and the food turned out pretty well. I now have a new brand of brisket to buy and I know to put more seasonings in my pot of beans. Reagan decided to stay at Nana's with the twins and Reese brought Ryan and Logan home with us. They've never stayed with us before so I'm hopeful that everything will go o.k.

BUSY

I've been so busy this week that I haven't even had time to blog. I've gone Christmas shopping twice and I'm still not done (bah hum bug). I got the house rewired because it still had the same breakers that were put in when the house was built. I kept blowing breakers, again and again and again......We also got the porch put up and I bought a new front door. Jon picked out this door even before he met me (we call this pre-Lee) and I decided that he had waited long enough. This is a Christmas present to the whole family. Now all I have to do is paint the railing on the porch and the front door. Lucky me. I've never painted anything before except a pipe trailer. We are doing Christmas this evening because the kids are going to see their Momma for the holidays. They opened presents this morning like it was Christmas morning except for Sage. She is going to be here so I made her wait. She also left a 6:45 this morning for a baseketball tournament an hour and a half away. This is the third day of the tournament and I've been so busy I haven't made it to a single game. If it was closer it would be easier. It woke Reagan up when she left and she came and climbed in bed with us at 6:55. She really wanted presents but she went back to sleep until 8. She woke Reese up but he opened his presents in bed and then went back to sleep. She keeps asking if it's time to go to Nana's yet.

Porch

The builders came and started on our porch and put the rest of our trim up yesterday. It looks so great but....I have to paint it. Jon also put up our first set of Christmas lights. I will now stop procrastinating and finishing painting in my bedroom. I'm not starting on the outside until the wind dies down and there's not a chance of snow.

Band Concert

Reese and Reagan had their Christmas concert this afternoon. We went from church to a lunch to raise money for the Senior class and then I had to run home and get camera because of course I forgot it. Reagan played in the first set of kids to go. Sage and I were sitting in the audience with one of her friends when all of the sudden Reagan's head popped out from behind the curtain and picked up a piece of paper. She didn't look around, she just went out and back in. She told us later that she dropped her music and it slid under the curtain. Reagan sat on the front row with her flute but Reese is in the back of the band with his mallets. There is a great picture of Reagan playing but all you can see of Reese is his face. It was a good concert and it was over in 45 minutes, that made everyone happy. Reagan had to go with her GA group to sing Christmas carols and hand out scarves at the nursing home as soon as it was over. Then right after she got home we went to see her great-grandparents. It's been a busy day and we are worn out.

Saturday Outings

I don't usually want to take the kids to Lubbock on Saturday, actually I don't usually want to take them to Lubbock at all. I don't like the traffic and the begging for things I don't want to buy but....I decided what the heck. We wanted to see BOLT, so off to Lubbock we went. There was also the inevitable question of "Can we go to the mall?" I said fine and shocked even myself. I just told myself that I might as well get ready to buy something that I don't think we want need or want to buy. That made the day go so much smoother, instead of thinking we're going to the mall but we are not going to buy anything. Jenni's kids went with us to see the movie and we all loved it. It was really cute and we laughed a lot. Then I dropped them off and to the mall we went. Reagan had already asked if she could buy a hermit crab with her money and I figured what the heck. I was going with the flow. It's really cute and came with cage, food, sand, a shell and a palm tree (for scenery I guess). Reagan named it Hermoine (it was my suggestion). We thought that it might be dead because it didn't move for awhile. We got home, got settled and a few hours later Reagan screamed "it's alive". All was right with the world again. The whole day went very well, with a minimum of begging and pouting. Yea! We might even try it again some time.

Canyon

I lived in Canyon, Texas for about 10 years if you count the dorm and I do. I loved Canyon and miss my friends that I also love. So today I took a short trip to Canyon. I had lunch with a friend and got my hair done. I have to many friends to see in one trip. That makes it sound like I have lots of friends but there are 5 people that really keep in touch with and I can't give them all the attention they deserve when I'm there. There's not enough time. I try to have lunch with someone different every time and go by and visit someone else. I didn't have time to see anyone but Laura today and my hairdresser. I will continue to drive to Canyon to get my hair colored as long as my hairdresser continues to do hair. She is younger than me and if I could get my brother to go on a blind date I would set them up. She's great and I had a great lunch.I didn't even mind stopping at Wal-Mart on the way home.

Home Again

Jon and I had a journey to pick up the kids from their Momma on Sunday afternoon. We got a wild hair and decided to leave Sunday and spend the night somewhere. I started out with some misgivings as I already had a slight cold but I thought what the hay, it's better than driving 14 hours in 1 day. We drove to Yukon, Oklahoma (the home of Garth Brooks) and that is where we stopped. We checked into the first motel we saw (Hampton Inn) and carried our stuff. You'd think that we would have less stuff being just 2 but no we had 2 bags of crap. The room was excellent, great bed and bathroom. I will remember these things in the future. We then went in search of food, we picked Santa Fe Steak House. It was one of the best steaks I have ever had. Then we drove around to see what was in town, it's kind of like a suburb of Oklahoma City. We went in and walked around Target but didn't buy anything. Now that is only because we knew we were getting 2 kids and their suitcases. I drive a Tahoe and you'd think that would be enough room but no it is definitly not enough room. We are thinking about a suburban. We then went back to the room and watched basketball. The next day we ate breakfast at a cute little restuarant called "Jimmy's Egg" and then I drug Jon through a craft mall. He didn't think that it was as bad as could have been. We got on the road and what should I see....a sign for the Oklahoma City Zoo. I love zoos. I talked Jon into walking around the zoo, which is just what my cold needed. It was a really neat zoo but it was COLD. We didn't get to see the whole thing because we had to get on the road and because it was COLD. I guess I got my date after all. When we picked up the kids they were excited to see but so very sad to let their mother go. We started the long road home. The poor souls got to listen to me sneeze and blow my nose for the next 300 miles. It was horrible. We finally got home and flopped into bed. YEA!

Biding Our Time

It's been very strange without the kids here for 3 days. I keep expecting to hear their voices or Reagan to climb in bed with me in the morning but nothing, just silence. Sage came home this evening from her basketball tournament, they won 2 games and lost 1. It think that's pretty good. She is worn out and has practice on Monday, even though there is no school. Jon and I have been alone for days but still not have not found time to go out on a date. Last night he didn't feel good and tonight I don't feel good. There's something to be said for a sore throat, even if the rest of your body doesn't feel too bad, you just don't feel good. It seems to be going around. Oh, well, maybe another time. I am waiting for the kids to get back so we can put up our Christmas tree and decorations. It's hard waiting, I love Christmas. I keep looking at the decorations in the stores and wanting but not buying. I have more important things to buy, like presents. I love to give presents. I try to find the perfect present for everyone, something that they won't expect but will love. I don't know if it's possible but I have fun trying. I like to see their faces light up. I have no idea what to get Jon and he's not very helpful. Good luck with your shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there. Reese and Reagan went to their Momma's for the holiday so we are missing them. Their cousins were very put out that they weren't here to play with. Sage went to her other randparents for awhile and then to Nana's for awhile. She had to be at the school by 3:30pm to leave for a basketball tournament in Wichita Falls until Saturday. Of course it depends on how well they do when they will be back. That means we are childless....it's very quiet, like something is missing. We loved on Jenni and Ashley's kids since ours weren't here. My Mom came to Thanksgiving with us to Nana's. I am so glad that everyone knows each other and we get to see almost everyone on the holidays. I've just incorporated our families together. It works for me.

Alone At Last

Sage and Reagan are alone at last. We moved Sage into our old room Saturday night. Since this picture she has finished unpacking her boxes and making everything look very pretty. I got a little happy shopping for her. I got her some curtains, a desk and a new lamp. It looks very girly in there. Reagan, with Nana's help rearranged her room and has been putting everything back in it's place. They are both ecstatic.

Almost finished

These are just some interesting pictures of the new room. I refuse to post pictures of what it looks like during the process of actually moving our stuff and arranging it. Nana Cathy and I put the closet organization stuff in this week and now the closets are finished. I can finally organize the rest of my stuff.

Moved In...Kind Of

We moved in Saturday morning and night. We moved in shifts and unfortunately there is still so much to be done. My house looks like a tornado went through it. Sage has moved into our old room but is still getting situated. It looks cute in there right now and Nana Cathy cracked the whip with Reagan and cleaned up her room. They got rid of so much stuff and rearranged the furniture. I would crack the whip but I don't have one. I am whipless. When I have made some progress in my room I will post pictures. Tomorrow I'm getting the closet organizer for my closet so maybe some of the stuff can move out of the floor. Hope springs eternal.

Let There Be Light

Our electrician showed up today and now I have lights in my new bedroom. The fan works and all 9 plugs. I did have one problem I bought the wrong color white but I didn't care I told him to put them up anyway. I do have dimmer switches in the closets because I got a little happy in the dimmer section but I also don't care about that either. Kip came out yesterday and put up as much of the baseboards as he could. He put up the crown molding and the closet doors. All he has left to do is put up the rest of the baseboards, the trim around the doors and the porch raililng. They are coming tomorrow to put in the carpet and then all I have to do is buy a storage unit for the closet. Then I am moving in, done or not. Thank you, Nana, for all of the help.

Win Some, Lose Some

Reese started basketball Monday, so I got pictures of the bench and in action. He looks very graceful. I'm sure that he will be thrilled with that description. They won their first game 63-13. The boys on the other team were about half their size. We have some really good guys and they will probably play on varsity as soon as possible. Sage had her second game on Tuesday but they lost pretty bad, although again they did much better the second half but just couldn't catch up. They'll try again on Friday.

Fixtures

Last night Jon put up our ceiling fan and light fixtures. It's really starting look like a finished room, as long as you don't look at the floor. Today I'm back to painting molding, yuck. I'm halfway done, yea! I have to hurry they are supposed to put it sometime this week but since you don't know exactly when you have to have it done.

Friends or Enemies

Our dogs and cats are the strangest creatures. Reagan and I have been taking Lucky and Lizzie on walks down a path to Nana's house. I let Lucky run free but we decided to keep Lizzie on a leash until she gets bigger. Usually about halfway to Nana's Lizzie starts laying down or just plopping down on her butt. She has decided that she is done. A few days ago we noticed that we had a following. I think I have mentioned that we have 4 cats, one of which is pregnant. First we saw one cat and then we noticed another. When we walked by a tree there was yet another one. It turned out that they were all following us down the path, some just stayed a little more hidden than others. The pregnant mother cat just walked along the middle of the path with her huge belly swaying from side to side. She looks like she's going to pop out of her skin. Everyday I go outside and see if I have kittens. You can see things moving in her tummy. I've never seen cats go on a walk. Plus when we are at home the dogs chase the cats, except the Momma. She just looks at them like "whatever". Tonight I happened to glance out the window to see if the dogs were in their beds and guess what I saw.....a cat in the bed with the puppy. I guess they've decided to keep each other warm. It was so cute I took a picture. Lucky y'all.

Shortbread

I finally have color in my room. I know you can't tell from this picture but the walls are a color called "shortbread". Cathy and I painted the walls Friday and Reagan and I started painting the molding this evening. It's coming along very nicely.

Best Friends

Our new dog and our old dog are keeping us endlessly entertained. The Lizzie gets so excited about everything that she pees while she is running. You have to be careful before you pick her up. Lucky watches over her and makes sure that she is where he thinks she should be. If you hear barking out the window, when you look you will see them playing tug of war, chasing each other in circles or generally horseplaying. Then they sleep for an hour and start over again. They both have little beds on the porch but sometimes they curl up together. I can't the little one on our walks yet because her little legs can't go 2 miles and she gets sidetracked by whats in the weeds. I take her on a short walk and then put her in the garage and take Lucky the rest of the way.

Football to Basketball

Football is finally OVER. I'm sorry that we lost our first play off game but it was cold out there last night. Sage lucked out and sat in the car with her boyfriend and his Mom. He had surgery on his thumb yesterday to rebreak and set it. I could have sat with them but I wanted to sit with Jon. Now basketball can begin in earnest. Sage had practice at 8 this morning and Reese has practice at 1. They are behind because of football and now have to catch up. Reese has his first game on Monday. On another note Reagan went to her first sleepover last night. We had to talk her into, she was afraid that she would be to homesick to spend the night somewhere. I packed her 3 animals, 2 blankets and her Nintendo DS in with her clothes so she would feel at home. The DS was in case she couldn't sleep. I guess all went well she didn't call and ask us to come get her in the middle of the night.

Texture

I have now made 5 trips to Lubbock and 2 to Plainview. You'd think in all of those trips I would have everything I need to work on the house with but there always seems to be something more. Yesterday Cathy textured the walls (THANK YOU) and I painted the ceiling. I had never painted anything but a pipe trailer before but I think I did pretty good. There are just a couple of spots that need touched up. Today we picked out trim and crown molding. I also got doors for the closets. We have light fixtures for the recessed lighting and a new ceiling fan. Jon thought the one from the dining room would work just fine but I figured after 20 years of service it could retire. I see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Basketball Begins

Sage had her first basketball game this evening. There are two girls suspended from the J.V. team so Sage played with the J.V. and the Varsity teams. She got really aggressive in the second game and punched one girl in the chest. I did not see this and the refs did not see this but Reese and Aaron saw this. I think she was a little frustrated. She did score 2 3-pointers and played almost all of both games. Go Sage!

Haircut Drama

Reagan has been growing out her hair since I came along. We have even let her bangs grow out. They haven't ever quite caught up with the rest of her hair. She and I discussed hair last week and decided to cut. She never wants to comb it and it gets very tangled while she is at school. We can't ever decide how to fix it and when we try something it never turns out the way we expect it. So we cut it.....

Poor Sage

I woke up at 2:30 in the morning Friday, I mean Saturday and freaked out. I got up to go to the bathroom and Sage wasn't home. I had a moment of panic and woke Jon up. I called her phone and there was no answer. I was contemplating driving to town and getting her or calling her boyfriends house when I thought there must be a logical explanation. We have had no problems with Sage. All of the sudden I thought did I lock the door before I went to bed. I got up and sure enough the door was locked. I looked outside and Sage's car was out there. I went and got my shoes and told Jon that Sage's car was here. I went to her door and she was covered in blankets asleep in her seat. She said that she had knocked and no one answered. She was 20 minutes late getting home and she thought that was her punishment. Poor Sage, I feel so bad. To make matters worse I did it again to Jon the next day. He got home from stripping cotton at 11:30pm and couldn't get in the house. The funny thing is at least Jon knows that you can open the garage doors and go in that way.

Sleepover

Our football team is now the district champs and they have their first playoff game next Friday. I'm waiting to see what they do about all of the basketball games, they'll move one but I don't know which. Sage's boyfriend broke his thumb in September during a game. He has been playing with a cast but he went to get the cast off and they set the thumb crooked. Now they have to do surgery to reset the thumb correctly. It's his Senior year and he won't be able to play in the play offs. They did switch doctors. It was the juniors turn to serve the supper before the game so Sage and I worked at the supper (Jon's stripping cotton). Then Reagan and her friend went and rang the bell when we scored while I sat in the car where it was warm. Before halftime the girls decided they were ready to go home. I took them home and when Reese called I went back to get him. He called me and told me to come get him but when I got there he couldn't leave. He thought that the game would be over by the time I got there but it wasn't. Isn't that just like a man? He talked the band director into letting him leave so off we went. He had the option of staying at Nana's instead of with Reagan and her 2 friends that were staying but no he stayed home and bugged them. All the girls wanted to do was play at Nana's. They went after school yesterday and have been there all morning. They called and asked for some sandwiches and drinks. I took the food over there and they went right back to playing when they were done.