Are You Reading My Diary !?!

Trying to Get Organized

2012-01-02T21:10:00.001-08:00

Sorry I haven't posted in so long. I'm trying to get organized! :) Today, I downloaded the Cozi app on my phone and set up texts to nag my family, so I don't have to! :) I'm starting to mess with the shopping lists and meal planner, but I'm not sure about that part yet. I love the calendar and I'm going to mess with the to do list tomorrow. :) I saw an article in the newspaper about it and they also mentioned this website,which is a great way to stock up on non-perishables. You only have to order 6 items to get free shipping and the prices are pretty good. They also subtract coupons from their original prices if there is a coupon available. They have lots of green/organic and labels not found around here. I found toilet paper and rechargeable batteries cheaper than at Wally World. I will have to do more research tomorrow, I think I'm burned out for today. :)

Fried Cornbread

2011-10-03T21:59:00.000-07:00

I bought myself a new camera! :) The only problem is I can't find my SD card now, so I have three pictures of Helena being cute and that's all the camera will hold. Now, I'm not going to delete a picture of Helen to take a picture of cornbread, so I'll just have to add a picture later! :) I'm loving my new actifry. Everytime I get ready to cook or eat, I think, "hmmm...what can I fry?" I was making mini corn muffins with my just add water Shirley J cornbread mix and I thought, "Boring!" I added a can of creamed corn, because I like real corn in my corn bread and all the extra liquid makes them really moist. Then it hit me! Fry those suckers! I did it. I melted some honey butter to drizzle over them. HOMERUN!!!

Superkid!!!

2011-09-01T16:14:00.000-07:00

Sariah won the Character Counts Award for her class this month! :) School is going pretty well for everyone. I'll try to put up more posts, but my camera is broken! Arrrrgh!!! I think I should organize all my old pictures and then reward myself with a new camera. ;)

Wooden Bat Classic

2011-07-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

This one was a nail biter! The championship game was tied 8 to 8. Artesia scored two runs in the sudden death extra inning for the win! :) Go Dogs!!!

Pecan Encrusted Chicken

2011-07-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to collect some more recipes using pecans. I made this last night. It was pretty good, except for the pieces I burned. I would leave out the orange zest or just use less next time. Does anyone have any good pecan recipes?

We are the Champions!!!

2011-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Desert Dogs swept the State Tournament clean! Go All-Stars! Go All-Stars! :)

One Man's Junk is Another Man's Treasure

2011-06-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Terry took Luke and AJ to the car wash with him and they were soooo excited about all the treasures they found there! When AJ said he found an old-fashioned frisbee (Terry said it was a picnic plate holder) I laughed so hard there were tears in my eyes. :) I forgot to get a picture of the Little Caesar's hat. :P

Luke

2011-05-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Honor Roll and Science Excellence

AJ

2011-05-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Super Sharer Award and his baseball team came in 2nd place. He also made the all-star team, so baseball is not over yet! :)

Emily's Mural

2011-05-25T16:53:00.000-07:00

Check out the front page of the newspaper today! :)

Supergirl

2011-05-24T23:12:00.001-07:00

Sariah earned her Sight Words Award and Counting to 100 Award! :) Just turn your head, I couldn't get this photo to rotate...grrrr!

Orange Head

2011-05-17T12:16:00.000-07:00

I really don't have the answer to any questions about this photo.

Gru

2011-05-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

Have you seen Despicable Me? Do you think I should sue them for impersonating my hubby?

My Birthday Dinner

2011-05-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

I know, I'm being a slow poke. But, here's the grand spread. They did a great job!

Chef Emily

2011-04-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Emily's been cooking dinner once or twice a week lately. She's a pretty good cook! Here is her chinese meal. :)

Science Fair!

2011-04-09T19:32:00.000-07:00

Oooooooh! It's science fair time. Sariah put carnations and celery in different colored water to see what would happen. What do you think happened?

Miracles

2011-02-22T10:10:00.000-08:00

I was trying to decide if Terry finally buying me a new car or if both our cars fitting in the garage was the bigger miracle. Then, I couldn't find any dirty laundry in the house. I caught up with the laundry! That's the biggest miracle!

Day Three

2011-02-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

Two snow days and now there's no school today because of power and natural gas shortages! The neighbor taught us how to make ice cream out of snow. We could eat New Mexico out of this blizzard. Boy, was it yummy. I opened the deep freezer a little while ago and the kids had harvested a bunch of clean snow to make more ice cream. :) They are listening to Dog Train and dancing around now. The sun is out and snow is starting to melt. I guess it's about time to get back to real life.

Supermodel

2011-01-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Emily loves giving Sariah makeovers. This is one of my favorites. I don't know why all the photo shoots end up in the breakfast nook, surely there's a better place. :)

Dishwashing Elf

2011-01-13T20:35:00.000-08:00

I've always asked my kids if they think a magic fairy is going to do their chores. Well, it turns out that we have a dishwashing elf! I never knew! :)

Big Head=Big Brain

2011-01-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

This picture just cracks me up! Sariah's head looks even bigger than it really is. It's a virtual planetory! That reminds me...I need to take a picture of my kids with their big fat heads on their pillows. Maybe tonight. :)

Worst Decorated House in the Neighborhood

2011-01-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

We had fun driving around town and looking at everyone's decorations this Christmas. One house was covered with lights and even had the lights flashing in sync to a radio station. It was amazing! The neighbor had boards covered with lights spelling out "DITTO" with an arrow pointing to the other house. I thought that was pretty clever. :) I wish I took a picture of that, but all I have is the worst house.

2011-01-05T14:06:00.000-08:00

The kids discovered they could take pictures of themselves with the camera on my laptop. :)

Halloween in January!?!

2011-01-04T11:01:00.001-08:00

Supergirl!

Our knight in shining armor

Jessie from Toy Story
Mother Nature
Captain America
Well, I am a few months behind. :) I just noticed that I hadn't posted the costume pictures, so Happy Halloween!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2011-01-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was trying to explain to Sariah why Jesus was called "Jesus of Nazareth." She looked at me and said, "Daddy should be called, 'Stealer of Candy'!"

The Favorite

2010-12-12T20:19:00.001-08:00

We were opening our advent ribbon presents tonight and after Luke unwrapped a Matchbox Car, he exclaimed, "I always knew Grandpa loved me best!" Ha! Does Grandpa even have a clue about what Grandma put on the advent ribbons!?! :)

Funny Faces

2010-11-15T16:13:00.000-08:00

We couldn't stop snickering at the faces Sariah can make in my bathroom mirror. :)

Helena Can't Wait to Get Glasses

2010-11-14T15:58:00.000-08:00

We know that Helena needs glasses, but all the opthamologists she has seen have told us to wait until she's a little older. She is always stealing our glasses and sunglasses and putting them on. The other day, she was playing with Mr. Potato Head in the boys' room and this is how she came out. :)

ThE HaUnTeD HoUsE

2010-11-13T19:31:00.000-08:00

Helena and Sariah just could not wait to put the house together. They tried to do it on their own. I don't know why Emily's math book had to be the foundation.

We waited for DAYS...these guys never dried! I think this Saran Wrap effect is much spookier! :)

Moments before DESTRUCTION!!!

I think Luke's eyes are bigger than his stomach!

Huge Hands

2010-05-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

Luke got some Buzz Lightyear gloves for his birthday. Helena has really enjoyed playing with them. :) One lights up and makes laser noises and the other make Karate chop noises when you move your hand up and down. It's pretty funny watching her walk around with them.

Birthday Boy

2010-05-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

My littlest man turned 6 Saturday! :) We had a fun fireman birthday party. I will post more pictures soon, I guess I've been slacking for too long...I need to make MANY more posts. Sorry, Mom! :(

Day 5

2010-03-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

The tower is fully functional!!! :)

Day 4

2010-03-23T08:10:00.001-07:00

No comment.

Day 3

2010-03-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

The swing set is almost done. We had to quit early Friday night due to cold and sprinkles. We woke up to little snow flurries! I spent most of the day up in Roswell searching for baseball uniform accessories. We might finish it by the end of the weekend...maybe! :)

Day Two

2010-03-21T10:13:00.000-07:00

Some people are more patient than others.

Day One

2010-03-20T10:04:00.000-07:00

Terry took the week off from work so we could all enjoy Spring Break together. So far we have started putting together the swingset, cleaned the whole house, mowed the lawn, put together a BBQ, raked pine needles and pine cones, unpacked boxes and played baseball. The swingset is taking a LONG time to put together. Maybe we should have bought the cheaper one. :)

Little Mommy Helena

2010-03-19T10:02:00.001-07:00

My baby is turning into a little mama. This morning she was pushing her little doll all over the place. Too cute!

Emily's First Formal Dance

2010-02-26T11:56:00.000-08:00

Oh, how exciting! :) Emily was dead set on NOT going to the Valentine's Day Dance at her school. Two boys had asked her, but she said, "No" and "No way!" Then when a few of her friends started talking about their dresses, she decided maybe she should go. I think it was all just a ploy to get a new outfit! :) Anyway, she conned her friend here into going along with her. They were shocked at how inappropriate their classmates acted at the dance. There was forbidden dancing and lots of making out, while the chaperones seemed ambivalent toward it all. I guess I need to send Terry as a chaperone next time! If there is a next time...these two said they prefer church dances. I think the worst part is Emily asked two guys to dance with her and they said, "No" and "No way!" They probably couldn't dance anyway! :)

Happy Birthday, Sariah! :)

2010-02-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

She's a big five year old now! Sariah had yet another "Princess Party." Friends from school and church came over to play dress-up, run around and eat the pretty purple chocolate chip cupcakes I made. Fun was had by all! :) Latest Sariahism...Sariah to me (while I was riding the exercise bike): "Mommy, don't go too fast or you'll melt!" Do you like her new princess peepers? She picked out some Hannah Montana glasses as her first choice and when the optometrist started to put them on her, she said, "Woah!!! Let's look at these adult size glasses over here..." These were the cutest adult glasses. They are tortoise shell over pink. :)

Helena's Favorite Pastimes

2010-02-24T11:40:00.000-08:00

Helena loves to follow the vacuum cleaner. She gets very excited and tries to keep up with it. :) She also loves the cupboard full of plastic containers, what kid doesn't!?! :) Why do we spend money on toys?

Another Lukism

2010-02-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Luke to Travis: What are you going to be when you grow up, a baseball player, a basketball player, a football player or a soccer ball player? :)

The Bride-to-be

2009-12-15T13:27:00.000-08:00

Emily had fun trying on my wedding dress the other night. :)

2009-11-08T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here are all the girls. :) Aren't they cute? I'm in trouble, I can't get any pictures to download off my camera! Maybe it's a sign that I should be unpacking instead of playing with my computer. :)

Halloween

2009-11-07T22:16:00.000-08:00

Luke had a legitimate tough guy look on for his costume. I'm not sure why Travis was looking so serious. Maybe he just couldn't wait to go get CANDY, CANDY, CANDY...and mom just wanted to take some pictures. :)

This is HIGH SCHOOL Football!?!

2009-10-25T20:25:00.001-07:00

We have been having fun supporting the local football team. Their stadium is nicer than my college stadium. They had fireworks and the cheerleaders even ran up the aisles throwing t-shirts and little orange footballs out to the fans! The town practically shuts down for the games, especially if they are far out of town, everyone evacuates as soon as possible on Friday afternoons. The football players are a huge presence at the schools. A.J. came home with autographs last week. They visited his classroom and helped them write stories.

No Fear

2009-10-11T18:23:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, the tarantulas in New Mexico sure are huge! :) Helena has no fear, it's just something else to play with. Her heart is doing well, surgery is going to wait for at least six months.

Just for Future Reference

2009-08-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Should you ever wash your hair with hair removal gel instead of shampoo, here is the cure: First, hide all evidence when your mom peeks in the bathroom and says, "What is that awful smell!?!" When she figures it out, try to look cute and hold still while she scrubs the tar out of your hair with shampoo and 10,000 rinses. Hold still and tolerate your mom and your older sister rubbing conditioner on your hair every few hours throughout the day. Keep that shower cap on so you don't get conditioner all over the place. Surprisingly, after a day and a half of the conditioner/shower cap treatment, Sariah's hair is looking healthy and I don't think any fell out. Now, maybe Emily and I should just stick to shaving our legs.

Luke Loves to Shop

2009-07-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Whenever we go to Fry's, Luke makes me visit the lobster tank. He loves to look at them and say "Hello." I set him loose at the play store and guess what he bought?

Only in dreams

2009-06-18T08:15:00.001-07:00

This wasn't the last dream I had, just the most memorable. I was torn between two men. I couldn't decide between Robert Redford and Brad Pitt. It was agonizing trying to choose. I kept having the same dream for a few days. I told Terry about the dream and he was quick to interpret it for me. He said, "I'm obviously Robert Redford and Luke is Brad Pitt." That night, I started having the same dream again, but decided I could keep them both! :)

Alien Playground

2009-06-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Only in Roswell! We found this great park today, we will go again soon, the kids had lots of fun. They think they can read more signs around town with this new knowledge. :)

I Just Can't Keep Up!!!

2009-05-08T21:49:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not posting in sooo long! Life just gets busy, busy, busy... I've also been spending too much time on facebook. It's been fun catching up with people I haven't seen in a loooooong time. It's so easy to keep in touch, if you aren't on facebook, I can't make any promises to stay in touch with you, sorry! Now, I can't remember where I've posted pictures and videos, so sorry if I duplicate.

Good Helpers

2009-04-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

Luke and Sariah have noticed everyone helping me out. This morning, I heard Luke "reading" directions to Sariah. They were trying to put Helen's new high chair together. :)

Get these dumb wires off of me!

2009-03-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

At least that's what I think she's saying in her mind. She did finally have the apnea monitor removed after six weeks of lugging that thing around! Thank goodness for technology, but what a pain!

Lukisms

2009-03-21T10:46:00.000-07:00

Luke has come up with some great words and phrases. Many are regulars in our conversations now. He was running around in the backyard without shoes and I told him to put his shoes on. His response was, "If I step on a pokey, will I get a flat leg?" He also labels cars while we are driving around. There are big and small cars, slow pokes and fast pokes. Helen is the cutie-est baby in the world!

My Favorite Pastime

2009-03-20T10:37:00.001-07:00

My kids think feeding Helen is my job, so I decided to measure how much time I actually spend "working." I was shocked to realize that I do spend about six hours a day feeding her! She eats so slowly that I thought maybe I should try using a faster nipple, but then formula dripped all over her chin, worse than with the slow flow, so I'm sticking with the slow flow and making sure I have a good book to read or something to watch while endlessly feeding her. I'm going to try rice cereal again next week. So far she eats just like Sariah did, I put some food in her mouth and she pushes it all back out with her tongue. Although Helen has added a nice gagging sound to the whole game. :) She is in the 90th percentile for weight, so I guess I'm doing a fine job, maybe I'm overachieving even, because she certainly isn't in the 90th percentile for height. Emily is my only overachiever for height!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2009-03-17T01:41:00.000-07:00

We arrived at Terry's house to find that many large clover-like weeds had grown in big tufts all over his backyard. They've been hunting for leprechauns nearly all day. :)

Leilani's Cakes

2009-03-16T16:48:00.000-07:00

This is my birthday cake from my neighbor. She makes the most beautiful cakes! They taste even better than they look! The "frosting" is homemade whipped cream and the cake just melts in your mouth. She puts all kinds of different fruits in the center and on top. Strawberry and pineapple are my favorites. She made a big sheet cake for my friend's wedding and it looked like a stained glass window. Anyway, if you are ever in my neighborhood around your birthday, be sure and drop a few hints to get your very own Leilani Cake. :)

Sariah's Photography Skills

2009-03-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

I have a problem with my camera sprouting little legs and running away. While most days I'm amused by pictures of someone's legs or nose, today I was pleasantly surprised by a great photo of Helen. The lighting was excellent, the camera was held steady and even captured the subject in the center of the frame, I didn't crop this! :)

Phantom Gardener

2009-03-14T13:49:00.000-07:00

After some dumb car ran over our lampost and took out about a third of the bush, I decided to start removing the bush rather than trying to make it symmetrical again. I guess "someone" noticed my little chopping and filling of my trash can each trash day, and decided to finish the job.

All the Nancy Drew skills in the world could not uncover my Phantom Gardener! :)

I have great neighbors! :)

Bam Bam

2009-03-07T20:10:00.000-08:00

Here a great Thanksgiving leftover photo. :) Luke is a little carnivore, he ate the whole thing!

Birthday Boy

2009-03-07T17:58:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Helen says...

2009-03-03T12:23:00.000-08:00

"Please stop giving stickers to my siblings!"

2009-02-27T20:48:00.000-08:00

While I was sleeping on this lovely recliner at the hospital, Emily helped Sariah and our neighbor create lovely pinkalicious cupcakes. They didn't even use a boxed mix! They saved me one and they were quite tasty. I don't even want to know how many they ate. Thank you to everyone that helped out while I was up at the hospital with Helen. The Callahan Funeral leftovers fed us for days!

<<<<<<< Video Bar

2009-02-27T17:07:00.001-08:00

Look to the left. Do you see the video bar? Check it out! The boys have a birthday message for Uncle John, it's pretty old since they are reminding us to vote, but still cute. I know that no one has watched me swimming with the dolphins or there would be a bunch of rude comments about how white my legs are!

2009-02-25T22:31:00.000-08:00

Sariah was being extra cute at lunch one day. She carefully arranged her little chicken strips and said that "Daddy was holding her." I can see it, do you?

She's Four!!! :)

2009-02-20T21:43:00.000-08:00

We all survived the princess party. Grandma and Grandpa bought Sariah a bike and I overheard her telling her friend that Grandma made it and Grandpa painted it! Such talent! :) Unfortunately, all the cutesy helmets are too small for her big head, so she has been wearing one of the boys' helmets that is black and has flames on it. It doesn't quite go with the princess theme. She loved all her gifts and remembered to say "Thank you." I think my homemade salsa was the biggest hit with all the adults. I thought 8 cups might have been a little too much, but at the end of the day, it was ALL gone!

The Bumbo Seat

2009-02-20T15:00:00.000-08:00

Helena loves her Bumbo seat. She looks so comfy, like it's her own little La-Z-Boy. :) She had her apnea monitor removed a few weeks ago, so she is much more portable and snuggly. I've been having fun painting things lately. So far I've only painted pieces of rooms and furniture. When I actually finish painting a whole room, I will post some pictures.

It's Been Too Long!

2009-02-19T09:00:00.000-08:00

This would be my excuse. Everything takes ten times longer to get done. Helen wants to thank Grandma for giving Luke stickers, by the way. Terry has been in New Mexico since Halloween and my computer was broken for several weeks, so I do have some excuses. :) Well, this is it for today, but I have tons of pictures downloaded now, so I will try to go back to posting something everyday. :)

How!?!

2008-11-02T20:27:00.000-08:00

How can one kid get so dirty, so quickly!?! I think it's his way of guaranteeing that he gets a bath every night. The other day we had been playing and not doing much cleaning up before we left the house. On the way home I told the kids that we better hurry and clean up all the messes before Daddy got home. When we pulled into the driveway, we saw that Terry was already home and Luke said, "No more Mister Nice Guy." :) Too cute.

Costume Line-up

2008-11-01T20:13:00.000-07:00

Here is A.J. the Star Wars Clone Trooper, Travis as Darth Vader, Luke as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, Emily as Tinkerbell and Princess Sariah.

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T13:22:00.001-07:00

Boy, kids will drink anything. Luke was the only smart one. He was at the table creating a truly genius work of art. :) I hope everyone has a fun and safe halloween! :)

Face Painting

2008-10-30T22:20:00.001-07:00

Emily and I had fun playing with face paint today. :)

Won't You Take Me to Funkytown?

2008-10-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Hey, someone's Grandma posted this on You Tube. :) Emily's the girl in blue with no face.

WHAT!?!

2008-10-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

That's what my mother would say if she would answer her phone. A couple weeks ago we found out that Sariah has another sister. We spent about two weeks debating whether or not to adopt her. On Friday, I was able to hold her, so yes, now we HAVE to adopt her. She looks just like Sariah did, except no droopy lip or signs of a stroke. Terry and Sariah met her today. We are going to start transitioning her to our home next week. Terry leaves for New Mexico tomorrow...Great timing!!! :) This was the first picture I have ever taken of her and she smiled right as I took it! Emily wants to name her Helena Marie. :)

I Was Really Sleepy!

2008-10-09T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what happened. Life I guess... I thought I would have so much free time with all my kids in school, but it seems like I have LESS time! There's so much to do and so little time to get it all done! Emily sang in her school's choir concert tonight. She did a great job! Her class sang and danced to "Funky Town." It was a riot. :) I'm still trying to download the dolphin video. The intoduction part worked, but that's it, so far...

Snorkel Paradise

2008-09-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

We did quite a bit of snorkeling on Roatan Island. The water was soooo blue! It was incredibly clear too. I'm falling asleep typing, I'll try to write more tomorrow. :)

Swimming With Dolphins

2008-09-24T21:33:00.000-07:00

In Cozumel, Mexico, we decided to swim with dolphins. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself. I wish our trainer spoke English a little better, but it was a great experience. We were able to kiss and hug the dolphins and they gave us rides. My favorite part was just floating around and they would swim by us. I felt like our trainer's dolphin really liked me. She kept swimming by me and even looked me in the eye and smiled! :) I'm trying to upload the video, but haven't had success, YET!

Chinese Spaghetti a Big Hit

2008-09-16T19:32:00.000-07:00

I was calling Dad to wish him a happy "Respect for the Aged Day" yesterday and I made the smart decision to ask his infinite wisdom for a dinner suggestion. I said I had chicken in the fridge and he said, "Stir fry!" Every container of rice that I have opened, since we've been back in Arizona, has been bad. So, I said, "We don't have any rice." He said, "Well, do you have spaghetti? You can make it like Lo Mein." Well, great idea Dad! :) I cut the chicken up into chunks, cooked them in a little olive oil, added broccoli, carrots, sweet and sour sauce and let them cook. At the end I added a can of Mandarin oranges and cooked spaghetti, it would have been better with pineapple, but we didn't have any. Everybody liked it. Yippee for Dad, I have so much respect for him! :)

Best Use For a Recycled School Bus

2008-09-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

And the award goes to: The resourceful locals of Isla Roatan! :) The bus ride was great. The tour guide told stories the whole way to the beach. He has a friend with a 6-foot long iguana. Cameron Diaz has a house on the island. She has to fly in a pink helicopter to get to her house, there aren't any roads to it! Richard Gere brought his whole family on vacation with him. Then there's possibly the most exagerated (or maybe it's true, I believed him, but Terry was skeptical.) story: The guide was walking around his neighborhood and saw Sylvester Stallone walking around by himself. He went up to him and introduced himself and they went to a restaurant and ate together. He didn't have a picture or any proof. Not even an autograph. He said he doesn't walk around his neigborhood with a camera around his neck and didn't even think to ask for his autograph. Lots of celebrities like to go to Roatan Island to escape because they aren't even recognized. There aren't any movie theaters and very few people have televisions. Most of the houses are on stilts. There is a great divide on the island. There are homes and little businesses that seem like little villages, then on the other side of the island there are hotels and condos where the rich live on the beachfront property. At Tabyana Beach, I found a comfy lounge chair, had my hair braided, read my book and wrote in my journal. Terry and I took turns snorkeling. I thought I lost him a few times, he would go out and never come back! The local men are liars! They were in kayaks and would feed the fish to attract them. I was happily snorkeling about when I thought I saw a plastic baggie, but after a second look, I decided it was a jellyfish! I popped my head up and asked the local man if there were jellyfish here and he says, "Oh no, lay-dee, there are no jellyfish here." LIAR! Terry even said he saw a bunch. Why do all the local men feel the need to lie to me!?! I liked to just float and be really still. The fish would swarm around me like I was just part of their school. When they flapped me with a fin it felt like someone tapping me on the shoulder, so I would turn and the fish would all go away. Then I would play dead again, and they would come back. :) What fun! I have lots of underwater shots, so I'll probably just post a bunch and not do too much writing. :)

Stingray City

2008-09-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

This is where the crazy people went to snorkel. Terry said the stingrays felt like velvet. He was able to feed about ten of them. Once you started feeding them, they would swarm around you and bump into you. He said one of them tried to suck his thumb off until it decided his thumb wasn't food. There was also the option of going to a town called Hell in Grand Cayman. We decided it wasn't worth the bus ride just to send a "Wish you were here!" postcard. :)

Food, Glorious Food!

2008-09-13T08:10:00.001-07:00

I don't think I have to write too much here. There was food 24/7 and not just your average buffet fare...This was a midnight buffet. You were allowed to take pictures from 11:15 to 12:15 and at 12:30 you could eat. I fell asleep before the eating commenced! :( Aside from the nearly continuous buffets, there was fine dining as well for just about every meal. It's hard to believe, but the fine dining food was even better than the buffets! The portions were gourmet, so Terry liked to do both sometimes, what a pig! :)

Great Photography

2008-09-11T04:00:00.000-07:00

We tried so many times to be out on the deck at sunset and this cloudy sunset was the second time we caught one. I forgot my camera the first time. I can't really explain the last picture. Alcohol was not even involved. But, there was dancing! On some nights, we would come back to our room for the night and find little creatures made from towels. I liked the elephant and puppy. We couldn't figure out the second one, Loch Ness Monster maybe?

Windex Water

2008-09-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

The water was so beautiful in every port! I found myself taking pictures of the water just to try and capture the blues. Sorry Mom, I can't think of anything else to say about the water. It was really pretty...and clear. :)

I Wasn't the Only Freak in Grand Cayman

2008-09-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here I was swimming on the good side, no iguanas over here! I like chlorine. I was drifting past the waterfall, diving underwater to wave "Hi!" to the sharks (hoping the glass was still there), working on my faster-than-Michael-Phelps-crawl, when a woman appeared to be looking into the water right under me in horror. I stood up and looked down expecting something really creepy to be in our midst when she hollered, "I thought your shadow was a shark!" Ha, ha, funny lay-dee, sharks don't bite! So, I switched to working on my faster-than-Michael-Phelps-breast-stroke...better angle to see if there was a shark below me. :)

Butterflies in Belize

2008-09-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I know I'm all mixed up and out of order, but I keep looking at pictures and thinking of more things I want to say. The hurricane didn't affect us at all, the water was smooth sailing. However, we did do some of the islands out of order to accommodate ships that were affected by the hurricanes. Had we made it on the original ship, we would have missed one island and had an extra day at sea. I forgot to mention what the rain forest ladies fed the butterflies. They mash up rotten fruit and cover it with honey and beer! No wonder I couldn't get many good pictures, the butterflies were all flying around drunk! This purple flower had a unique smell. The butterflies love it. It's kind of a vanilla/chocolate scent. I was tempted to take a bite, but I controlled myself. :) As you can see, the colors are very vivid, it's like Heavenly Father was using Sharpie markers instead of crayons here.

Iguanas Do Bite!!!

2008-09-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Iguanas are treated like dogs or cats in Grand Cayman. Our bus came to an abrupt stop to let one leisurely cross the road. They are all over the place! Some are even longer than I am tall! They appear to be very mellow and slow, yet they have a very mischievous grin. They walk just a little bit faster than a snail and they are really ugly. They look like something from prehistoric times and I wouldn't want to do anything to make them want to scratch or bite me. I decided to check out the snorkel scene in a large man made salt water pool. It seemed like a great place to take my first "safe" snorkel for this trip. No stingrays! (Which, by the way, Stingray City is where Terry went in Grand Cayman!) It was amazing! I was literally part of a school of fish. They just swam all around me. One part of the pool was up against the predator tank, so I could see sharks swimming just inches away from me. I'm glad I knew there was glass there, because underwater you can't really SEE the glass. About 3/4 of the way through the pool, I spied a sea turtle. I was swimming right next to it and following it around when something above the surface caught my eye. I pulled off my mask and looked up at a huge iguana sitting on the wall. I was just a few feet away and it was just staring at me. Then, all of the sudden it jumped right in and swam toward me. Those claws and things poking out of it's spine suddenly were inches away from me! I was treading water and I didn't want to turn and let him attack my legs, so I back peddled as fast as I could while screaming hysterically. Those water polo skills finally came in handy in real life! :) For moving so slow on land, those suckers can really doggy paddle fast! After a few seconds, I realized he wasn't after me, he was trying to get out to the little island in the pool. He swam right by me and nonchalantly perched up on another wall, waiting to petrify another tourist. After I started breathing again, I hollered at the grinning life guard, "Do they bite?" His laid-back-island-man answer was, "Oh no, lay-dee, they do not bite." Well, I was done with the salt water pool and decided to go for a walk. As I passed a large cage that housed two iguanas, I read a large sign written in bold red letters: "Do not reach into cage! Iguanas will bite!"

Turtle Whisperer

2008-09-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

Here is my little friend the one-year-old sea turtle. I went to Boatswain's Beach in Grand Cayman. It's mainly a turtle farm. They had a huge tank with a beach entrance for all the mature turtles, then little pods for each age for the first nine years of their lives. The little one-year-old turtles were the only turtles we could pick up. They would flap their fins like a bird when you picked them up, then rubbing them on their chins immediately calmed them down. I guess it gives them the feeling that they are eating. They were very cute and fun to watch. Many are released into the wild each year. Then what, you might ask, happens to the rest? Well, they are kept in the big tank to breed and some are sold. It was a little upsetting to finally realize that I was on a farm. Farm animals get eaten, this farm was no different. :(

Bananas

2008-09-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'd like to say that this woman didn't want her face photographed and I'm a great photographer, but the true story is that I'm really not a great photographer. :) I was amazed at how big these bunches of bananas were. Each petal of the red blossom turns into a banana! I could have spent all day just looking at all the different plants! The variety is amazing. There were almond trees, all sorts of herbs used for various purposes. The headache plant is pretty self explanatory. :) They call Mahogany trees, "Cradle to Grave" trees because your cradle is made from mahogany, many things in between and your coffin is made from mahogany. There was a bush you could chew if you get bit by a snake, but it also has humongous thorns that house ants, so you have to be careful where you chew...

Iguana Tastes Like Chicken

2008-09-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

I went to Bacab Eco Park while I was in Belize City. On the bus ride, we had a local woman telling us all sorts of trivia about Belize. Here are some of my favorites: Lots of locals eat Iguana meat and say it tastes like chicken. She was quick to mention that we would be having something that tastes like chicken for lunch. (It was chicken!) They cook their rice and beans in coconut milk, that's why it tastes so good! Two Belize dollars equal one US dollar. (I sent postcards for 15 cents from Belize!) The Coke is sweeter (as if Coke NEEDS to be any sweeter) because they make it with brown sugar in Belize. I tried fried plantains (again) here. (I've never really cared for them, but they LOOK like they should taste good, so I keep trying them. They were really good here! They didn't taste like a tasteless potato fried mush, they were more slimy and really tasty, not bland, kind of like caramelized onions.) Belize used to be British Honduras, so the official language is English. Many people also speak Spanish and they have an English slang called "Lazy Language." (It's like speaking the way you text message people.) Back when there was a large prison in Belize City, the inmates were fed lobster. I guess nobody had discovered butter yet, so they thought lobster was just a pest. There are 4 traffic lights in Belize and 3 are working. There aren't any traffic police, but there are speed bumps in front of schools. The locals call the speed bumps "sleeping policemen." I was amazed at how colorful the animals and fruit were. Everything was so vivid. When I came back from the butterfly garden I decided to walk to the post office. I have never had my ego boosted SO MUCH! Every man, woman and child walked with me and told me how beautiful I was, asked me who did my hair, offered me chilled, just opened coconuts, offered me a ride, wanted me to come check out their table of stuff to sell, asked me if I was a super model, everyone calls each other "sweetie." I was almost to the post office with most of my entourage when I spied Terry. He had some guys hanging on the fence of a basketball court asking him which team he was from. They were sure he was a professional football player or something. I did find something I liked on a table and bought it for Mom. I had to haggle with a guy that claimed to only speak Spanish and then suddenly only spoke English when we started haggling in Spanish. The people were all very mellow and happy.

Moving and Cruising

2008-09-04T04:00:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the audacity of Terry to make me go on a Caribbean cruise when we haven't even settled back into our house yet. It was also only the second week of school for the kids! I can't believe I agreed to go! Here is a picture from Belize City where I explored a butterfly aviary. Two women from the aviary guided me through and told me how they go out in the rain forest to collect eggs, then they hatch the caterpillars in the aviary and the butterflies continue to reproduce so they are very concentrated and protected in the aviary. This is a Blue Morpho, a very rare and very large butterfly. I should have stuck my foot in the shot, it's wingspan is about six inches!

Look Who's Six!

2008-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

While not the prettiest cake I've ever made, it was tasty! :) I let Luke help a little too much with the decorating. We had a fun time. The kids all took turns riding A.J.'s new bike up and down the hallway. :)

Finally Settling In

2008-09-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the big gap in my diary. I'll try and catch y'all up on what's been happening. I'm going to do it in a bunch of little entries because I have tons of pictures to share. I thought I lost them all, but after a small miracle, they were all recovered. Yippee! :) These are photos of one of many ballerina competitions held in our dining room. Sariah won today. I tried to get a close-up of the football trophy covered in ribbon. Emily was also trying to get a picture of Sariah's hair and I had to laugh at the car someone was trying to eat for dinner. :)

Emily's California Adventures

2008-07-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Emily survived almost two weeks with my parents. My favorite phone call was when she was alone in a room and whispered into the phone, "You know your parents are crazy, don't you?" Ha-ha! I knew that about 30+ years ago! They had a very good time. They sewed some clothes, scrap booked, ate, went to the zoo, went to the beach, explored some of the museum boats down in the bay, gave Emily some surfing lessons, had her serenaded at at a concert, did some shopping, had a tea party, went to a 4th of July party (we calculated that Emily's 4th of July lasted 39 hours!), played with the cat, visited Great Aunt Dorothy, had Grandpa and Pat over for spaghetti and carrot cake (yum! :P), they went to the Del Mar Fair, and probably lots of other stuff I can't recall or don't know about. :) I think a good time was had by all. Emily called from Canada this afternoon to say she made it across the border. My parents are probably taking prolonged naps or are in comas. :) Emily has the camera, so I'll have to add pictures later. Here on the home front, we are almost done with swimming lessons, cleaning, packing and trying not to make any new messes.

Australia Day Twelve

2008-07-03T17:20:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I forgot to include the first travel day, so Emily's 14-day trip looks like only 12. Ooops, I can't ALWAYS be perfect. :) Today Emily saw the city’s highlights and learned more about it's amazing history during a harbor
cruise. She explored the Olympic Park Grounds with an orientation of ANZ Stadium, site of the Olympics’ opening and closing ceremonies. She took a guided orientation and then a swim at the Sydney Aquatic Center. Then she enjoyed a farewell dinner at Sydney’s Darling Harbor. Sorry about the picture, I couldn't figure out how to get it right side up. :(

Australia Day Eleven

2008-07-01T21:38:00.000-07:00

Another phone call today! :) Emily woke up at 5am so she could call home, fell back asleep and woke up to call at 6 am. So sweet of her to lose sleep just to talk to us. :) I was able to ask her about the crocodile and kangaroo meat. She said she ate both! The crocodile tasted like fried chicken. (That's what she said about frog legs last year! Oh no, it was OLD fried chicken.) The kangaroo was like beef and in little meatballs. She said she liked the crocodile better. Today she was able to witness the Australian educational system at a New South Wales school. She learned about Australia's National Gemstone, the opal, at a cutting and polishing demonstration. Tonight she dined at Sydney's Cockle Bay. Yum, maybe more crocodile? :) I say, "Eat more crocodile, so THEY don't eat my daughter!"

Australia Day Ten

2008-07-01T15:30:00.001-07:00

We practiced playing with sparklers last night to get ready for The 4th of July. Nobody's clothes caught on fire... Today Emily flew to Sydney, the largest city in Australia. She explored the historical Rocks area and saw the "Plymouth Rock" of Australia. She was able to reenact the convict era in period costumes. Emily was really looking forward to seeing the Sydney Opera House Complex, which they were able to take a guided orientation of today. To end the day in style, they dined in a fine restaurant overlooking Kings Street Wharf. Nice.

Australia Day Nine

2008-06-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

I got another phone call from Emily this evening. She was on a long bus ride and got bored. She really had nothing to say but had to talk to everyone. :) I guess she has figured out how to use her phone by herself. She went to Gin Gin and had lunch made by the local citizens. The school in Gin Gin has been greatly assisted by hosting delegates from People to People and built a friendship pavilion. In the afternoon and evening they explored Brisbane going to Southbank, Queen Street Mall and Town Hall Square.

Phone Call!!! Wooooo-hooooo! :)

2008-06-28T22:04:00.000-07:00

Emily called a little after 10PM tonight! :) It was tomorrow in Australia, so I had to ask her how the future was. :) She was lounging by the pool, a pool with a waterfall and a beach! She has been amazed at all the sea life she has seen. She really likes the turtles. She also mentioned a fish that swam right up to her and wanted to be pet like a dog. I think it might have been the Mola Mola or Sunfish after a little amatuer internet research that I should not have done. The diet of the Mola Mola is jellyfish, so where there is a Mola Mola there are probably lots of jellyfish, right? Emily did not get stung. I will sleep better tonight knowing that the Mola Mola did a good job of eating all the jellyfish that might have swam near Emily. :)

Australia Day Eight

2008-06-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

Today Emily explored Olsen's Capricorn Caves. She met with local Aboriginal people and learned how to throw a boomerang and play a didgeridoo. Tonight she had a choice of crocodile or kangaroo meat for dinner. Hmmm...I wonder if she misses my cooking yet?!?

Australia Day Seven

2008-06-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Today Emily took a ferry back to the mainland. They traveled through Mackay, the heart of the sugar cane indusrty. In Yeppoon, they are staying at a resort with 20km of coral reef coastline. That must be pretty! Luke got stung by a bee today! :(