Closing Down Target

A small confession, I have been known to see lights go out at Target. Let's face it, I could never spend hours browsing through the super store with 3 kids in tow. Well, I could but that would be considered torture to me, my kids and to all others in a 50 ft radius. So on a rare occasion I am childless, I could spend way too much time looking, trying on, craving, wanting. This is how 2 hours goes by and all of a sudden the countdown is on to get out before the lights do. This was my dilemma tonight. It started out as a simple return, and before I knew it, I hear the 1st announcement to bring all items to check out. I quickly grabbed a few more dollar items for the kid's valentine parties, LOVE THE DOLLAR SECTION, and started my way to check out. That's when a certain somthin' somthin' caught my eye. It would be hard to miss anyways, but I couldn't resist. The bright yellow purse was calling my name. I hate it when that happens. This picture doesn't do it justice, when I say yellow I'm not talking about buttercup or mustard, I mean HELLO YELLOW! Here is my dilemma, the practical side of me (my husband has gotten to me) did not break down and get the purse. The impractical side of me (yes it's still there) really wants the purse. The PS is saying what on earth would even go with the purse, the IS says if I don't have something I'll buy something. The PS says how old are you? The IS is totally outweighing the PS right now because as I am typing I am wishing I had this HELLO YELLOW purse. And come to think of it I am sure I can find something in my closet that it would go with. Okay, now I am totally wishing I had the purse. There is something about this color that screams out to me "gotta have it." It's different and I love it. I think tomorrow I am going to have to take Steve with me for entertainment purposes. I can't wait to see his reaction when I show him this outrageous yellow purse I just spent the last 20 minutes blogging about. You've gotta check it out next time you're at Target, and I might add, yellow is a hot color this year for all you fashionista's
http://www.hm.com/us/#presspic2008

Rachael Would Be Proud!

Rachael, how do you sum up so many great traits about someone? I am not sure but if there was a word, Rachael would know what it was. If you know Rachael or read her blog, you would know that her friendly personality ='s free food, amongst other things that I won't get into. Now, I have been with her during these occasions and it is hilarious to see how people respond to her. There is something about her that makes people become all gooey and soft and feel warm and toasty inside. She is a bundle of energy and big smiles. So, to get on with where I am going with this.

Rachael gets so excited about her, lets call them "freebie" moments, for a lack of a better word. Well, today I finally can relate to her "freebie" excitement. I was talking to a girlfriend at the front desk at the gym, we were laughing, having fun, just being friendly. As I was walking away, a personal trainer, who was also at the desk, said his appointment had canceled and that he would train me if I wanted to. Um, FREE personal trainer?? Okay, wait for a second, can't sound too desperate. Think enough time has passed, I say "Sure, that would be awesome." Patsy was meeting me to workout together so he said he would train us both, even better! We worked out legs and abs for almost 1 1/2 hrs. And to top it off, as we were getting ready to leave he says to us "Hey, we can do arms on Friday." This time I didn't wait to reply, another FREE personal training session......., we'll be there. Totally excited!
Rachael ...... It must have been the "peanut butter perfume."

President Hinckley Passes Away at Age 97

Our dear Prophet and President, Gordon B Hinckley, passed away last night at the age of 97. Our hearts ache for our lose of a cherished and loved man, yet we rejoice because he is now reunited with his sweet wife, whom he was married to for 67 yrs when she died. We are grateful to have had him as our Prophet and President of the church and to learn from him during the past 12 1/2 years. I will miss his charm, smile, humor, stories and direction. I will miss his cane waving and the kindness in his eyes. We are thankful for the knowledge that the Lord will soon appoint another Prophet who will continue to lead and guide our Church. We will always remember President Hinckley with joy and smiles and with gratitude for his life and service.
For more information about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints visit www.lds.org

Weekend Update

-50' and no new snowfall
-Everyone is healthy
-Mason never stops eating, not too sure how we are going to afford our food bill in a few yrs
-Preston's crush has now progressed to love notes and meetings at the school's basketball courts
-Taylor looses another tooth after Blaine and Steve hog tie her down
-Swimming at Blaine's hotel even though he is no where to be found
-Playing in the snow (from 2 weeks ago)
-Taking a nap Saturday afternoon and sleeping in Sunday morning with threats to the kids if they try to wake us up
-Great sale at Macy's - stocked up on kid's clothes for summer and next winter
-Date night with Steve and the Foresters
-Inspiring meetings at church and Taylor says for the first time ever "I Love Church"
-So not cleaning the house or doing laundry, even though it really needs to be done
-Having fun as a family and not looking forward to Monday!

A 411'al Blog

This is the why behind the hair and why I am so glad January 21st has passed. I am not superstitious, at least I didn't think I was, but why take any chances. January 21st has come and gone and I have yet to see the inside of an ambulance in 2008.

The shortest version is this.... the day before I was going to be induced with Mason (3 days before my due date....loved my Dr), I was involved in a hit & run....I was the one who got hit. Taylor was the only one in the car with me, fortunately we were both fine. I couldn't reach Steve at work and so my neighbor, Aunt Danell, came to get Taylor while I had to be taken in an ambulance for obvious reasons. After 6 hours of being monitored (I kept thinking of all the things I HAD to get done), they unhooked the machines and sent me home to prepare for labor the next day! Mason was perfect and there were no complications from the accident. Taylor talked about the accident and ambulance for months, just a little traumatized. That's my 1st ambulance story.

The next shortest version possible.....Almost 1 year after my 1st accident. 3 days before Mason's 1st birthday. The kids and I get home from errands in the late afternoon. Steve had to be somewhere and wasn't going to be home until late. I am holding Mason in my arms and bent over to pick something up off the drive way. I slipped fast and fell. Even though it happened so quickly, I somehow managed to move Mason to the opposite side of the fall. As soon as I started to fall I knew it was not going to be good. I literally could not move. Trying to keep it together, I send Preston to our neighbors. Mason is crying, I am freaking out wondering if he is okay, Taylor's panicking, I'm trying to reassure her I am fine, even though it is obvious I am not. Preston totally stepped up to the plate, our neighbor comes, she takes Mason and says he is okay... a small scratch by his eye is all. I try to get up but can't. I have to be helped up. I tell the kids I am okay and I follow them in the house totally hunchbacked. I feel like letting the tears flow because I am in so much pain but I couldn't let myself lose it in front of the kids. Steve is on the freeway and can't make it home for another hour. I am not too sure what to do next. I call my girlfriend whose husband is a Dr...he's in a meeting and she is on her way to my house. As I am sitting hunched over on the couch, my kind-hearted Preston and Taylor bring me a bag of ice for my boo-boo.

The pain gets worse and I really don't know how much longer I can hold it together in front of my sweet children. They are so scared. So I tell my neighbor to call 911. The paramedics show up 3 minutes later. This time I was VERY HAPPY to see them. They tell me how to put my dislocated shoulder back in place, painful but I could finally sit up straight. They give me really good pain meds through an IV (I kiss my kiddos and tell them I'll be okay before the good stuff took me into LaLa land). The last thing I remember was crying because it broke my heart to leave my kids and them not knowing what was going to happen to me. I felt so helpless. But knew they were in good hands with neighbors and friends. My second ambulance story.

Well, I had also separated my shoulder that day. You can see the separation on the left side of the X-Ray. I couldn't lift my arm or carry things for weeks, including my 1 year old. Recovery was very difficult. Steve parents were amazing and came out the next day, Steve's boss gave him the time off he needed, friends had our kids over for play dates and brought us yummy meals, when Steve needed to be at meetings... women from church came in and helped with Mason. I couldn't believe all the support and help. We could not have done it alone.

Steve was the best. He had to do everything I couldn't do for myself. He never once complained, at least not about the bathing part ( did I just write that?), but you know you forget a lot when you are on the pain meds. I know it was so hard for him physically and emotionally. Not only did he have to take care of 3 little kids, he also had to take care of me while trying to keep up with work, the house, his church responsibilities, etc. It was a lot. It reminded me of what a great husband and dad he is. They really don't come any better than Steve. I am a lucky girl.

Anyways, a year later my shoulder is great. We opted not to have the surgery, it was a good decision. Although it is still separated and always will be, I can function just as well as I did before the fall. Thanks to my overly cautiousness on the ice and my Uggs (I learned practical boots were more important than vain boots!), I have been able to stay on my feet (for the most part) and have managed to stay out of all ambulances. Oh, and if I do fall again, thanks to Life Call, all I have to do is push a button and say, "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up." (see video below)
http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/1087/
(Just kidding, couldn't help myself. Yes, I was old enough, barely, in the 80's to remember this commercial)

A Lot Has Changed In a Year But One Thing Has Not!

MY HAIR! Last night my girlfriend and I went to get our hair cut. As we were talking it came to me that this time last year I was sitting in a (different) salon, telling my (same) hair stylist to "cut it all off." I had dislocated and separated my shoulder the week before. The trying to fix my hair with one hand hair-do and the hubby hair stylist hair-do was just not cuttin' it... he he he. So no I didn't go off the deep end one day or go on extreme hair makeover. I was desperate and needed a hair style that I could manage with one hand and Steve could manage with two.

Believe it or not the one thing that usually changes throughout the year has been the same. Of course you know there has to be a story behind the extreme hair makeover. That will be in a separate blog, too much 411 for some. I took pictures with my phone after we got hair done last night, but can't download them for some reason. Instead, here is a picture of my 2 year old twin! Gotta love the hair glue!

Steve's Look-a-Like, I-Like-It

Bruce Willis..way to go Steve. He'll be so proud! He's at a basketball game with Preston tonight and won't be home til late. I'll tell him he needs to show his students the latest blog entry. He'll be in for a fun surprise!

http://www.myheritage.com/collage

My Celebrity Look-a-Likes

I just have fun girlfriends who find these entertaining sites. Stay tuned for Steve's look-a-like!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASON

Happy 2nd Birthday Mason. It is hard to believe that 2 years ago today we were holding a precious 9 lb 6 oz baby boy in our arms. Steve was so proud when the Dr commented on Mason's linebacker shoulders while he was on his way out. The kids could hardly wait to bring him home and are still goo goo about him. Mason is such a joy and a happy boy. It seems when Mason's around he is never alone because we all love being with him.

We let the kids plan Mason's party. Chucky E. Cheese was the consensus. We had a great time. Mason loved Chucky and the car rides, Taylor kept accidentally throwing the Skee-ball over the cage (hilarious), Preston made frequent trips to the exchange counter, each time he had 10 tickets, for tootsie rolls, Blaine and I both beat Steve in basketball (Steve wanted us to know that the sensor on the game was not working properly..whatever, we still won!). Mason had a fun birthday. Thank you to everyone for the gifts, phone calls and birthday songs. He loved holding the phone and listening to his songs. Thank you to Preston and Taylor for planning the perfect birthday party for their brother.

Here's a slide show of Mason. Starting with the day he was born, his 1st birthday and his #2 today. Happy Birthday Mason...... We Love You!

It's Only Just Begun and I Hope It Never Ends!

Preston and I were sitting at the table Tuesday night while Steve was bathing the younger 2 (one of the many reason's why my hubby is amazing). Preston gets a little smile on his face and says to me, "There's a girl at school who likes me." I ask who she is. With a bigger smile on his face, he tells me her name. I ask how he knows she likes him. He says that she signs to him "I love you" during lunch. I ask, "Do you like her?" He is so adorable at this moment and says to me almost shyly, "Yeah." He tells me that she knows he likes her because he signs "I love you" back to her. Preston had also told Steve this story while they were on their way to piano lessons. If you know Steve, he wasn't going to leave it at that. He asked if she was his girlfriend, Preston quickly said no and that he just liked her. Preston's conversations of school usually revolve around recess, sports and his guy friends. This was a new topic for us and I know it has only just begun.

So how can a 1st grade crush cause my mind to spin a little since then? It made me think that in 1o more years when he is a 17 yr old young man and not a 7 yr with a crush, I hope that we can still sit across from each other and talk as we did tonight. I hope that when times are good and when times are not so good, his dad and I will be his "go to" people. I know we have a long road ahead of us, that's life. But I hope through it all, our relationship and trust will always be there and that Tuesday was just the beginning of something that will never end.

Amazing Girlfriends!

I have amazing girlfriends. Today I had a babysitter for Mason and I spent the morning with girlfriends and then had lunch with another girlfriend and our kids. Today reminded me of how lucky I am to have great friends.

C.S. Lewis said: "Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one."

Does that sound familiar? We laughed today as we talked about our crazy snow day stories and more. It is nice to have girlfriends to talk with, laugh with, cry with, share with, and to most importantly learn from. I am very lucky to have great girlfriends. With Steve in the military, we have lived in 4 states in 8 1/2 yrs. Each place we have made lifelong friends. These are the friends that have inspired me to be a better person, a better mom, a better wife. These are women that have given me invaluable advice on all aspects in life ( either the 2 a.m. - in the parking lot of Wegmans- talks or the sleepless nights of slumber parties and hotel visits, or late nights sitting in the car outside the house talks). They are friends who talk from experience. These are women that I can pick up the phone and call and talk as if we've never stopped. I am thankful for days like today that remind me of how lucky I am to have amazing girlfriends!

An Unexpected Ending

A continuation from my snow day yesterday. A nap was just what the doctor ordered yesterday for my 3 kids because when they woke up in great moods, it almost made me forget the first half of the day - almost! When my girlfriend called and said our stamping group was postponed til next week, despite looking forward to girl talk, the evening I had with my family was just what I needed. We had a really fun night as a family having dinner and swimming with Blaine at his hotel. The best was sitting in the hot bubbly spa and watching the kids play in the pool with the guys. When we got home the kids were so tired they went right to sleep (despite their 2 hour naps) and Steve and I spent the rest of the evening alone. So my "not so good" snow day turned into a "fun relaxing, enjoyable" snow evening! THE END!

Silence on a Snow Day?

Yes, it is true, it is silent in my house at this very moment. This has been made possible by 3 very energetic children that have pushed their mom's buttons too many times and in return are snug in their beds, fast asleep. Hopefully visions of mischievous behavior are not dancing in their heads. So instead of cleaning the kitchen or folding laundry, I have decided to sit and enjoy the sweet sounds of nothing.

Today is a snow day. I usually love snow days. Sleeping in, staying in our PJ's, fire in the fireplace, kid's playing in the snow, playing games, watching movies, not having to go out. Life is good on snow days.

But today's snow day has been nothing of the above!! Preston and Taylor woke up and started to bicker over anything and everything (which I have no tolerance for). So instantly the day does not start off well. My Mason throws a fit at breakfast because I put water in his cup instead of juice, Taylor is mad because Preston had 2 waffles and she only got 1, I had to cancel my workout date with my girlfriend and so I got on my elliptical at home and had to get off too many times to stop Mason from doing whatever it was he wasn't supposed to be doing, Preston and Taylor decide to dump out baskets of toys instead of taking out which ones they want to play with (why do kids do this)?, they don't pick up and go on to making the next mess.. play dough, I am on the phone and Taylor asks if she can get the play dough out..I say yes...and next thing I know play dough scraps are all over the dining room table, floor, kitchen and Mason's mouth. It had not even been 15 min of playing and kids are fighting over whose play dough is whose amongst other things. Preston decides to get out pancake mix without asking and spills some on the floor, I ask him to wait and he proceeds to get out milk and eggs. While I am making pancakes, this is only 10:30 am, Mason comes into the kitchen with an empty laundry basket, the basket that was full prior to with laundry that needed to be folded.

So you can see that my morning was going no where but downhill. I was half way dressed, half my make-up was done, the house was a mess, too many things to do and nothing getting done. Oh, and we were supposed to be leaving in a hour to meet Steve and his coach from High School for lunch. So needless to say, I put a stop to anymore messes (in a way a mother knows best) and with no more patience left, the kids got to work cleaning the basement, kitchen, play dough and any other messes they made. While they were cleaning (don't you love it when your kids get older and can somewhat manage to clean without you), I got myself ready. I'm not sure how, but we were all ready to go and out the door with even a few minutes to spare.

Lunch, well, lets not even go there except that we did enjoy seeing Steve's old coach and visiting with him, he's a great guy. You can tell from the picture the moods of my children!


Needless to say, we get home, kid's finish a little more cleaning that they forgot to do before we left, kids go upstairs and now all kids are asleep. I wonder if they can manage to stay asleep until Steve gets home? Wishful thinking.

Some days are better left in the past. So this morning is done, gone. I have enjoyed my silent time with me and my laptop. I needed this. So now I'm off to finish laundry, go through paperwork and do a little cleaning myself. A mother's work is never done! So here's to my "not so good snow day morning" and hoping that the second half is better than the first. Wish me luck!

Tooth Fairy Takes Out a Loan!

The tooth fairy will be taking out a loan to enable her to make payments to the Hendricks' children. She has been to our house 3 times in the last week. It started with Taylor pulling her tooth out last Monday night, Preston losing his tooth Friday at school and then pulling another tooth out in Blaino's hotel room Saturday evening. Preston insisted he also get the extra $8 from Mom and Dad... that wasn't going to happen. We tried explaining that Taylor actually saved us money by pulling her tooth instead of the dentist getting a hold of it and us having to pay 50% of the extraction fee. That explanation was met with a blank stare. I think he knew if he wanted his video posted, he was going to have to pass the fear factor and get it out. So he did. Here is

Hendricks' "Take 2" on Tooth Extraction!



P.S. I promise a Mason story next and no it won't have anything to do with teeth!

Proud Mom Moment!

A little bit of background to help understand this moment a little better. Taylor, where do I start. Maybe at the beginning of the school year when I heard that she had kicked a little girl who cut in front of her in line. Or maybe the phone call from her teacher (who has been teaching Kindergarten over 25 yrs) the 3rd week of school letting me know that Taylor bit a 5th grader on the ear because the girl wouldn't go down the slide. Or how about the battle with my 5 year old every morning over clothes and having her hair fixed. I could go on but hopefully by now you get my point. Of course as parents, we begin to question where did we go wrong with this one and where do we go from here? I had frequent calls to her teacher to keep updated on her behavior. Over time the phone calls became less and less and now they are nonexistent.

Taylor received her quarterly report card on Friday. My first thought was "How is she doing academically?" But when I opened the card, something far more important was there. The teacher's comments read:
.
"Taylor is perfect! She is a hard worker. She is making nice progress in all areas. She is very eager to learn and is always trying new things in the class. Taylor is gaining self confidence everyday with her skills. I am really proud of the growth Taylor has made this year. She is very well liked in the classroom. Her happy and caring personality is a real asset to the class. She is a real treasure to have in the class. She has grown up so much in the last few months. Taylor is precious!"


Oh my goodness, a totally different child 5 month later. I learned a great lesson today. Although it is great to hear how well Taylor is doing academically, it feels even better to hear she is good, hard working, caring, and a happy little girl. Very Proud Mom! (& Dad)

Don't Knock It 'til You've Tried It!

Well, I've tried it and so I'm knocking it. The IT I am referring to would be the roads here in the North side of Colorado Springs. Remember, only if you've tried it, so because I live on the North side, these are the only roads I can truly knock. This is my 2nd winter in Colorado and I am not impressed with the road maintenance after it has snowed. Now, I am a Southern Cali girl, born and raised. My experience with driving in the snow has been 7 yrs now, which equals NOT EXPERIENCED. These places include Boston, D.C. and now here. I have yet to cause damage to anyone or anything because when it comes to getting out in the white stuff, it scares me. Especially when I have precious cargo in the car with me, a.k.a. KIDS. I will never forget, one early morning in Virginia, hitting an ice patch and swerving into the opposite lane. Fortunately there were no other cars out and I only drove away with white knuckles and a speedy heart rate. A few days later I was in Audrey's car and I think I jumped in my seat every time a car came close to us... remember that Audrey? There have been numerous incidents occur here in the Springs that have led to my frustration, but today's incidents put me into my venting mode. This a.m. my girlfriend was telling me about her ALMOST 2 car accidents in 1 day story. She said people were sliding all over the place on the icy roads. That got me going about the roads by the kid's school. There is only 1 way out after parents drop off and pick up kids. This 1 way includes a nice steep hill with snow and ice on it. The other day the mom I carpool with told me to drive safely because her car started to skid down this hill. I could understand if this was some random hill in the Springs, but this is the only route for drivers to get home from school. At the bottom of this hill you have kids walking to and from school. It only takes one car to lose control and hit someone. Now tell me why the main road, less than 1/4 mi. away is perfectly clear and this road is not?

I am not asking that they clear the road outside my house, heaven forbid they do that. I am asking that the 1 way, steep road, that I along with several others drive on everyday with our precious cargo, get a good plow. This all makes logical sense to me, why doesn't it to those who are over road maintenance? So what? So today I am calling the school and will make a complaint (in a very nice, concerned way) about this road. How could I knock something like this and not be proactive in getting it resolved. Hopefully the road conditions will change, but until then, not impressed and still knockin'!

SPORTS FANATIC

That may be an understatement when it comes to describing my 7 yr old!! Preston LOVES sports. His favorite sport is football, he can tell you anything and everything about it. Everyday he wears something related to sports (unless there is a special occasion). His room is filled with sports memorabilia, his favorite item is a football signed by Coach DeBerry on the day he retired in 2006. He knows all the main player on the Air Force Football team by name and face. Every book he brings home from the school library is about football. He takes a football with him everyday to school. His favorite channel is ESPN. Favorite website is Sports Illustrated. He can tell you every team name in the NFL and where they are from. You get my point. It is fun as a mom and dad to see him so passionate about something like this. Here is a sideshow of Preston's sport memories since we have been here in Colorado Springs (Aug '06). These pictures speak a thousand words!
(you can click on the slide show to make it bigger)

Now You See It....Now You Don't

Taylor lost her first tooth tonight. She has had this wiggly tooth for over 2 mos. now. Her 2 bottom adult teeth are coming in behind instead of under her teeth. So there is not much helping her baby teeth come out. A friend of ours, who is a dentist, confirmed to me a few weeks ago what I feared. He said that her bottom teeth would most likely have to

be pulled by a dentist. I felt so bad for Taylor. Who wants their first tooth taken out by a dentist. We didn't tell her this. Instead, we were always telling her to wiggle her tooth. Which leads us to today. After Mason went down for a nap, Taylor wanted to cuddle under the electric blanket and watch a movie. She starts to wiggle her tooth and for over a hour we both have our hands in her mouth. I promise her $5 if she pulls it out and she said "Dad promised me $3. So if you give me $5, Dad gives me $3 and the tooth fairy gives me $1, that's $9." And that was all the motivation that girl needed! Her tooth started moving more and more and at one point it made a little pop noise. She called Steve at work and told him she wanted him to pull it out when he got home. We were upstairs before dinner playing with some of her toys and she starts to play with her tooth again. I grab the video camera and we all congregate in her room. And this is how it all happened.....



That's our girl!

Give a Girl a Bag and She is Sure to Fill It!

With the winter cleaning itch going on, I decided to conquer our craft closet in the basement amongst other things. I say craft closet but actually it is Taylor's "who knows what goes on in there" closet. Taylor loves to make things and I mean THINGS! She refuses to let me throw anything away, everything to her is a treasure and needs to be saved. So, I have learned through experience that the only time I can get rid of THINGS is when she is asleep. This also includes everything going in a trash bag and going outside because she has been known to be a trash digger. If she sees ANY-THING of hers that we have tossed, we are in trouble. In unbelief she'll ask "who threw this away?" Who would have ever thought you'd have to be so sneaky with a 5 yr old.
Last night I am in the basement and I am going through the baskets in the closet. Oh my goodness, that girl is a collector. Of what, of anything. The best were the, at least, 20 home depot paint sample cards (from who knows when) and clothing tags. I just had to laugh. But that wasn't all. I started to go through her toys and I think in every bag, including her little rolling luggage bag, there was STUFF in each one. Most of it I got rid of, like the little shaped papers from her hole punches, papers what were scribbled because she was thinking quantity not quality, school work papers. Or game pieces and toy pieces that have been MIA for who knows how long. I am almost sure she will have no idea of the BIG trash bag I filled, thank goodness it will be picked up tomorrow. I did keep some of her little THINGS she made and cards she wrote for other people, those are treasures to me too. But over all, I have learned a valuable lesson. I need to get rid of a few baskets and bags, because if you give a girl an empty bag SHE WILL FILL IT!
And at the end of the day, I can relate.

Good Morning Baltimore!!

I have to admit, when I went to see Hairspray in the theaters, I wasn't blown away. Maybe my expectations were too high or maybe it was that I went to see it with my sister, Steve and 2 other girlfriends and I chatted on and off to help keep me awake during the late night show. Whatever it was, I have yet to see it again. But when my girlfriend called and asked if I wanted tickets for the Broadway production, I certainly wasn't going to pass up a musical performance or a night out with girlfriends. I decided to take Steve while everyone else took their kiddos. Steve certainly didn't mind being the only guy amongst 12 ladies and 11 kids, lucky man (the 12 ladies part that is). We went to see Hairspray at our Performing Arts center here in the Springs Saturday night. We laughed through the entire production and we're still buzzing about it today. We have seen quite a few musicals and I have to say that this was the funniest one I have yet to see. If it ever comes to your city, YOU HAVE TO GO! To see when and where they will be check out www.hairsprayontour.com. So even though the WOW factor wasn't there for the movie, it was defiantly there for the stage production! So if it comes to your city GET TICKETS, even if you aren't into the whole musical thing, this one is a must.

Here's a video of the national tour

What goes up, must come down..literally

Okay, so this week I have been dreading taking down Christmas decorations inside and outside. Partly because I am sad when I have to realize that Christmas is now a year away, no more Christmas tree, Christmas music, Christmas letters from family and friends, Christmas parties, visits to Santa - or better yet the leverage of Santa for good behavior- kids and hubby home for 3 weeks, the excitement of the season, yummy foods, etc.


The other reason why I dread taking it down is because I can think of a million other things I can do with my time than spend a day undecorating, redecorating, cleaning and chaos. And an all day chore it is because heaven forbid I only put up a few decorations! Yeah right!


So Friday I said "what goes up, must come down" and decided Saturday would be a good day to get it done, no more putting it off.

I woke up this morning at 5 am to the loud wind and could not go back to sleep. I laid there in bed not wanting to start the task that was awaiting me, especially by myself. When everyone finally woke up (I only say finally because I was awake first) and we eventually made it down stairs, Steve was fixing pancakes. We set the table and sat down to eat. That's when it happened. I looked out the sliding glass door there it was, a big part of our fence had blown down.


And do you know the first thing that came to my mind was "why is it that what goes up must come down?" And then I thought to myself "Did you really just think that?" Maybe taking down Christmas wasn't so bad, after all I knew it would be coming down eventually. Needless to say, Christmas decorations are now put away, my house is almost back in order and now we get to spend another day putting up our fence (that was not supposed to follow the coming down theory) and hoping that nothing else that has gone up comes down anytime soon.

Back in Colorado, Back to Reality

We made the 13 hour trek home yesterday after a great trip to Texas. The only reason why we were able to make it home without a hotel stay was because our bodies have adjusted to staying up late for the past 4 days. We had the best time with the Fish Fam and the Van Fam. It felt like Wegmans' night on speed, non stop fun for 3 days. We all stayed at the Fishers Taj Mahal outside of Dallas. The adults had their own rooms, the girls bunked in Lucy's room and the boys scattered out in the Media room, it was great. Driving back reminded us of why we miss Virginia so much, we miss our great friends. Steve was amazed at how fast us girls could gab about anything and everything while having parallel conversations and still able to keep up with each other! The best conversations were after the kids were in bed and it was just the adults! 2 included our 3 hour political discussion or better yet, if our leaders would take our advice, this war would be over by now discussion and the New Year's Eve dating and engagement memories, or lack of same memories as our spouses. The kids were great, loud but so happy to be together. The trip ended with Preston confessing his love to Hannah, Taylor wanting to come back for another visit and Mason missing his side kick and partner in food consumption.... aka Berkley the dog. So thank you to our amazing friends for an unforgettable, much needed great friend fix!