tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-252102712024-03-14T02:57:38.200-05:00~*~ My life ~*~the ramblings of a wife, mom, teacher, daughter, and friendcherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-82346505915798061562011-03-18T20:28:00.004-05:002011-03-18T20:44:27.791-05:00Spring is here!Two days from today, but who's counting?! Spring is my favorite season, and I'm so excited for the warmer weather and sunshine. Hopefully we'll have some nice weather this coming week, as the kids and I just started spring break. I'm looking forward to cleaning & some yard work. The garden needs some TLC as well as the rest of the yard. I noticed today that some of my daffodils in the front yard have already bloomed! I've got to get out tomorrow and get some pictures of them. <br /><br />This past winter we spent several weekends at swim meets with Lenae, as well as on the hard court watching Ryan play basketball for the first time. Lenae did great, and even qualified for divisionals in the 50 fly. She was pretty excited, but I think Kerry and I were more excited for her! Ryan had fun at bball, but he really needs to get some height on him. He joined McPherson Strikers for the spring and is enjoying his new soccer team. He seems to do better at soccer. I think being on the smaller side in soccer isn't as much of a handicap as it is in bball. So far all of his sport experiences have been rec league, so, I am looking forward to watching him play his first game in a "real" uniform.<br /><br />Kerry is running for city commission this year. He's been doing a radio show each Wednesday. I haven't been able to listen since I'm busy teaching when he's on the air. He's told me that he's heard good feedback from his friends. I know he really wants to get in and make a difference. It's so the opposite of me. I like to fade into the background if at all possible. Give me a room full of kids and I'm great. Put me in a room full of adults and I would just die! Funny how that works.cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-18127580997314890402010-10-02T22:50:00.003-05:002010-10-02T23:12:12.113-05:00It's been a whileWow! I really need to write something! Let's see, since my last update, we've been quite busy. We took a short trip to Colorado this summer to visit Kerry's cousin. We brought Kerry's dad along with us too. It's been around 20 years since he'd been there, and Kerry really wanted him to get away to see his brother and sister. We spent the bulk of the summer between the ball field & swimming pool. Ryan played coach pitch for the first time, and LOVED it! He also took swimming lessons at the YMCA. Lenae was on the summer AquaPups swim team where she earned 16 ribbons for the season! We spent every Tuesday evening at a meet, and Wednesday evenings at the ball diamond. We had a great time cheering them on. <br /><br />At the end of July (the day after Ryan turned 6) we left for Tennessee. Having never been there before, we were all really looking forward to the trip. We spent a couple days in St. Louis first. Took the kids up in the Arch and played lots of cards with my Aunt Sharon & Uncle Clair. We then spent a week in Fairfield Glade, TN. While we were there, we spent a day at Dollywood, and another day in Nashville. We even went to Dave Ramsey's studio and got to watch him tape the last few minutes of his show. Of course we missed meeting him in person by just seconds. We were wanting to yell our DEBT FREE scream - live on the air. Instead, we bought some souviners. I got to meet one of my online scrappin' friends, Rhonda. That was fun, and we hope to meet up again. <br /><br />After our week in TN, we headed to Kentucky to spend a few days with some friends that used to live here. We had a great time with Gerry & Cheryl and their girls. We got to spend a nice day with just the "adults" too! The four of us celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary. Gerry & Cheryl and Kerry & I were married on the exact same day, July 30th! We went to "Shaker Town" for lunch and then walked around the area. It was a lot of fun! We wound up the trip by spending a couple more days in St. Louis before heading home. It was a great vacation, and we hope to get back to that area again. Tennessee & Kentucky were absolutely gorgeous! I've never seen so many trees and winding roads!<br /><br />Now, school has been in session for about a month and a half. The kids seem to be adjusting well, along with myself. I get the privilige (I think - LOL) of having Lenae in one of my classes this year. Hopefully it isn't all bad for her. :P Ryan is loving 1st grade, and being at the big school all day long. After school can get kind of crazy with trying to get things done with them both in my room, pestering each other. Of course there's after school activities too: Angel Choir and Winter Swim Team for Lenae, and Soccer for Ryan. It sure makes the days go by fast!<br /><br />Hopefully I'll get back here before 5 months pass by again! Until next time......cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-1698893945138352612010-05-15T08:06:00.003-05:002010-05-15T08:24:20.575-05:00Almost summer...You'd think that after many years of teaching that I'd figure out to wear sunscreen on play day. Nope! I got home yesterday only to walk in and hear Kerry tell me, "Your red!" Of course you always feel it more the day after. My face is tight and my chest and arms are a little tender. *sigh*<br /><br />Speaking of school, there is only one more week left for this year. My 6th grade homeroom students will be graduating on Tues. evening, which will be the last time I am with them. They were a pretty good group of kids. We had our challenges this year, as well as ups and downs, but overall I can honestly say that I am proud of how they conducted themselves as the year went along. <br /><br />With that said, I am SOOOOO looking forward to summer! Back in March or April, Kerry and I made reservations at Wyndham Nashville. We were supposed to be going for a week in mid June. Of course with the recent flooding, our reservations have since been cancelled. I found a video on youtube showing just how high the water was at the resort...chest deep! The resort is right near the Cumberland River and just down the street from the Grand Ol Opry. So, we revamped our vacation plans. We are now going to Fairfield Glade, TN (another Wyndham resort) which is an hour and a half east of Nashville. We are still hoping to spend at least one day in Nashville. It'll be later on in the summer though. <br /><br />Well, we are off to a graduation reception today. It's raining and chilly out, but what can you expect for spring?cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-91588217811605379352010-02-13T09:29:00.004-06:002010-02-13T09:50:53.943-06:00Another day in the lifeIt's Saturday, finally! This week has just been a long week. Not for any particular reason, it just has. I think as spring and summer grow nearer, the anticipation of both make them seem like something far off in the distance. <br /><br />December and January were busy months. I did most of the Christmas meal to help my mom out since her back surgery. She still did too much, but unless I was to lock her in a room, I don't think I could stop her, LOL! We both had a good time right before Christmas when I took her to Hutch to do some last minute shopping. Luckily, every where we went the stores had those motorized carts. If not, I don't think we would have been able to shop as long as we did. We both finished up the shopping we needed to, and we got to spend the evening together - bonus! <br /><br />Kerry, the kids, and I rang in the New Year with our friend's the Jakaboskys. We always have a good time when we get together. We spent the night at their house out in the country, and then got up and made a New Year's breakfast. It was a good time, with even better friends!<br /><br />January was spent driving all over. Lenae finally had her first swim meet on Jan. 9th in Topeka! She did great...even though she had nervous jitters the entire day before the meet. We had the next weekend off - in which I played catch-up. The following weekend we spent in Wichita with my brother since she had a meet there on Sat. & Sun. Then the last weekend of the month was spent in Salina and her final meet for the short course season. She ended up earning her first ribbon at the Salina meet - 6th place in the 100 IM! WOO HOO! That gave her a ton of confidence, and some acknowledgement that she really is competition worthy.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/S3bJ-9SXKbI/AAAAAAAABUA/iBpLYrmMJBY/s1600-h/January+2010+058.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/S3bJ-9SXKbI/AAAAAAAABUA/iBpLYrmMJBY/s320/January+2010+058.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437755683537103282" /></a><br /><br />It's been exciting being a "swim mom" and I know this summer will be filled with running around to different towns for meets. I hear they are less hectic, except for the divisionals. Either way, I'm looking forward to it! Oh...and throw in Ryan's activities of soccer and probably t-ball too. We are finally starting to be what most families are for their kids...taxis! I love it!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/S3bKP5teihI/AAAAAAAABUI/-arqrtniocg/s1600-h/January+2010+063.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/S3bKP5teihI/AAAAAAAABUI/-arqrtniocg/s320/January+2010+063.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437755974634867218" /></a>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-88059848510677942402009-11-29T09:55:00.006-06:002009-12-09T18:35:40.565-06:00The Christmas Countdown is on!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBCAlJ0SBI/AAAAAAAABSo/047DcMdj6BA/s1600-h/031.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBCAlJ0SBI/AAAAAAAABSo/047DcMdj6BA/s320/031.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413399329840056338" /></a><br />Well, I missed a couple of months, but here I am. September was spent getting back into the swing of the school routine. I had to convince Ryan that he has school every day now. He loves kindergarten, but is ready to be at the "big school" all day. September also brought us a new experience...soccer! This was Ryan's first year for being on a team. He sure had a great time playing and running around with the other kids. The coaches were awesome, and we can't wait until spring to get him going again. <br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBByDefj6I/AAAAAAAABSg/IxwI2xbpVIc/s1600-h/026.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBByDefj6I/AAAAAAAABSg/IxwI2xbpVIc/s320/026.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413399080281804706" /></a><br />October brought a new experience for Lenae, swim team! She does such a great job too. It amazes me how many laps they do at practice. I think I'd be dead after the first 10 minutes. She was supposed to have her first meet Nov. 20th, but after arriving we found out it had been cancelled. That was pretty disappointing. She spent most of the day in a funk until she and her other team member got together in the evening for a movie at the theater and a sleepover. <br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBCQL0FHJI/AAAAAAAABSw/N4npZhSqY5s/s1600-h/035.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SyBCQL0FHJI/AAAAAAAABSw/N4npZhSqY5s/s320/035.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5413399597915905170" /></a><br />Mom had back surgery in November. I spent 4 days in Wichita with her, and have been trying to help out Dad as much as I can now that they've been home since the 10th. She's recovering quite well! I know she feels slow, but I can see how much better she moves now then pre-surgery. She still has several weeks/months of recovery since it was a pretty invasive procedure. I'm excited for the summer when we'll get to do so much more together with my kids. This year we had big "dreams" but nothing came to fruition because of her pain. <br /><br />Mom and I did Thanksgiving together. She'll tell you that I did it all, but that's not true. She helped a ton! The only rotten part was I got sick the night before. I started out with a headache and fever and then it went downhill from there. I ended up with the flu, bronchitis with developing pneumonia. YAY! I've got one more day of "drugs" then my treatment will be complete. I ended up being down with a fever for 10 full days, and missed a week of work in the process.<br /><br />Monday, the 7th was my first day back, and then yesterday and today were snow days! At least I've gotten some extra time to recoupe. I took a much needed nap today.<br /><br />Now it's time to get in the shopping mode. With being sick, I haven't done a darn thing. I have a feeling I'll be out at the last minute this year, which I hate, but I guess I gotta do what I gotta do. Don't want to let the kiddos down. :) Hopefully I'll have another post over the holidays, but if not, Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-57528798805029476182009-08-07T22:25:00.003-05:002009-08-07T22:40:56.580-05:00Summer AccomplishmentsI have officially 4 days left of *MY* summer vacation, and I got to thinking...we've really done a lot this summer! So, I thought I'd see if I can remember what all we've done.<br /><br />1. Traveled to 8 states: Oklahoma(twice), Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, and Colorado.<br /><br />2. Visited 4 National Parks: Petrified Forest, Grand Canyon, Zion & Arches<br /><br />3. Watched Lenae overcome her fear of diving off the block into 5 foot water - something the swim team has to do to compete.<br /><br />4. Finally convinced Lenae that she's needs to join the swim team. Well, actually someone else made a comment that he thought she had some budding talent and that she should join. Thanks Doug! I owe you!<br /><br />5. Hauled in 9.5 tons of sand to make a pad for our pool. Doggone it, this year it's gonna be level! <br /><br />6. Saw Ryan finally JUMP into the water, allowing his whole head to go under, and LIKE it!<br /><br />7. Sold some of our backyard stuff on craigslist so I can get my patio back to how I want it. It's great for BBQs and entertaining now!<br /><br />8. Listened to Kerry's doubt on what he didn't think was going to be a successful garden. I've harvested TONS of cucumbers and tomatoes. I've also gotten 5 canteloupe (so far), many peppers on the way, my carrots are getting good sized, and the 2 watermelons are almost ready. Oh, my sunflowers were HUGE! <br /><br />9. Painted Lenae's room.<br /><br />10. Re-finished Lenae's wood floors after we ripped out her carpet.<br /><br />11. Watched Ryan watch Lenae diving...he wanted to do it too. HE DID, and he does a great job too! Now, to learn to swim without his life-vest. :)<br /><br />12. Almost forgot - We went camping for the very first time! Well, Kerry has camped before (in the army) and has always said he'd never do it for "fun". His cousin can get him to do just about anything though. So she invited us camping, and we went! It was so much fun!<br /><br />That's all I can think of for now. If I remember more, I'll come back and add to my list.cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-64107038254796489242009-07-28T09:49:00.001-05:002009-07-28T09:52:39.528-05:00Ryan doing the hula hoop!<OBJECT class=BLOG_video_class id=BLOG_video-c96e0d43ae42a482 height=266 width=320 contentId="c96e0d43ae42a482"></OBJECT>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-74284290959705321092009-06-26T08:50:00.017-05:002009-06-27T14:07:03.557-05:00Summer VacationWow...what a trip! We left for Arizona early on May 24th. We arrived in Gallup, NM that evening and spent the night at a hotel. The next morning we drove to the Petrified Forest National Park (probably 30 min. to an hour away from where we were). We decided to do the "drive through" tour, and figured we'd be through the park in about an hour or so. THREE hours later, which could have been a whole lot longer had we taken some of the trails, we finished our tour of the park. The kids earned a Jr. Ranger badge and were pretty proud of themselves.<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZqt5YiRpI/AAAAAAAABNo/XhUJasGD7yo/s1600-h/June+2009+120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZqt5YiRpI/AAAAAAAABNo/XhUJasGD7yo/s320/June+2009+120.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352082543906801298" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZq2LIGi7I/AAAAAAAABNw/USp7MLvAXBE/s1600-h/June+2009+040.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZq2LIGi7I/AAAAAAAABNw/USp7MLvAXBE/s320/June+2009+040.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352082686108666802" /></a><br /><br />Off to the Grand Canyon! We drove up through Flagstaff and then headed to Grand Canyon National Park, the south rim. When we arrived, we unloaded our stuff at the Yavapi Lodge. Of course we were greeted by ELK roaming just feet from the door of our motel room! <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZq_Ib1S6I/AAAAAAAABN4/8I7Rtk7GwEw/s1600-h/June+2009+138.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZq_Ib1S6I/AAAAAAAABN4/8I7Rtk7GwEw/s320/June+2009+138.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352082840004938658" /></a><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrHXq2FWI/AAAAAAAABOA/xzsqvPHplDw/s1600-h/June+2009+242.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrHXq2FWI/AAAAAAAABOA/xzsqvPHplDw/s320/June+2009+242.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352082981533390178" /></a><br /><br />The Canyon was beautiful! The pictures we took don't do justice to how huge and majestic this place is. It is so incredible how vast and deep, and yet it is so still and quiet. The kids had a great time, and they earned their 2nd Jr. Ranger badge. After our two night stay, we headed further west to Lake Havasu, AZ. <br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrRRvy5kI/AAAAAAAABOI/dvaabzlD-Zg/s1600-h/June+2009+254.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrRRvy5kI/AAAAAAAABOI/dvaabzlD-Zg/s320/June+2009+254.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352083151742232130" /></a><br /><br />We stopped briefly in Kingman, AZ so Kerry could introduce me to some of his co-workers there. Let me do a little back-up for a second. Kerry works as an "Information Technology Manager" in the office at PizzaCo. Inc. which has 24 (I think) Pizza Hut restaurants mostly located in Central Kansas, but 7 are in Arizona. Each year the name's of the office staff & managers get put in a hat to win a trip out to Arizona, or for the AZ people - a trip to KS. Kerry won last year, but we were busy with his parent's house remodel we didn't get to go. So this year we made it our family vacation.<br /><br />Okay...back to the trip. After our stop at the dine-in restaurant in Kingman, we drove on to our "main" destination in Lake Havasu. We stayed a week and a half at Kerry's bosses' house. She lives here in McPherson, but also has a home there (and a couple other places too!). The house was beautiful & we had a great time. Kerry put in 40+ hours working at the various Huts while we were there. This is the main reason we were gone so long. It was getting up to 110 during the days, but humidity was pretty much nonexistent. The same goes for mosquitoes! ABSOLUTE HEAVEN! I love the palm trees & cactuses, but I really missed green grass! <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrhagtC8I/AAAAAAAABOQ/twDdUs6_ZOM/s1600-h/June+2009+365.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrhagtC8I/AAAAAAAABOQ/twDdUs6_ZOM/s320/June+2009+365.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352083428972760002" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrqwhtNpI/AAAAAAAABOY/zgsY1DsGtGI/s1600-h/June+2009+313.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZrqwhtNpI/AAAAAAAABOY/zgsY1DsGtGI/s320/June+2009+313.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352083589501367954" /></a><br /><br />We left Havasu and headed for the Hoover Dam and Las Vegas. I've seen pictures of the dam before, but until you see it, I didn't realize just how big it really was! They are working on the construction of a new bridge & road that goes around it. Once it is done you will no longer be able to drive across it, how sad. Terrorism at work in our country! We reached Vegas in the late afternoon and found our hotel in the Old Downtown area - Fremont Street. We stayed at the Fremont. When the sun went down we loaded up the kids and drove the strip. WOW! When we returned to our motel, we decided to walk up and down Fremont Street and take in the outdoor shows going on. There were three live bands playing at different areas, and an FANTASTIC LED light show that goes on over head. It was pretty cool!<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZr0Ulj4wI/AAAAAAAABOg/E76HL9LRS74/s1600-h/June+2009+405.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZr0Ulj4wI/AAAAAAAABOg/E76HL9LRS74/s320/June+2009+405.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352083753800033026" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZr--sKPEI/AAAAAAAABOo/bn5KPl2hvwg/s1600-h/June+2009+442.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZr--sKPEI/AAAAAAAABOo/bn5KPl2hvwg/s320/June+2009+442.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352083936900693058" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsJgAgiLI/AAAAAAAABOw/7Rbe0eKDBrI/s1600-h/Lenae+June+2009+092.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsJgAgiLI/AAAAAAAABOw/7Rbe0eKDBrI/s320/Lenae+June+2009+092.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084117643102386" /></a><br /><br />The next morning we headed for Zion National Park in Utah. We didn't have a lot of time before we had to be in Moab to meet up with my friend from college, so we took the shuttle tour of the park. We got off at the furthest point the shuttle takes you and did a little exploring on the "Riverwalk Trail". The scenery was breathtaking. The kids had a good time walking in the river and climbing around on the rocks. Unfortunately the requirements for the Jr. Ranger program at Zion would have taken too long to complete, so the kids didn't earn a badge there. <br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsZTL4pPI/AAAAAAAABPA/9hwyYZZ3tPA/s1600-h/June+2009+474.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsZTL4pPI/AAAAAAAABPA/9hwyYZZ3tPA/s320/June+2009+474.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084389079065842" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsTarPtpI/AAAAAAAABO4/1asucoJ4SmQ/s1600-h/June+2009+463.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsTarPtpI/AAAAAAAABO4/1asucoJ4SmQ/s320/June+2009+463.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084288010434194" /></a><br /><br />We loaded back up and headed to Moab, UT. The drive there was gorgeous. It seemed as if the scenery changed every five minutes or so. It would go from mountains to canyons to buttes and mesas to cliffs and back again. I think it was one of the most beautiful drives that I have ever taken. We arrived in Moab just before sunset, and met up with my friend Karen. We stayed at a motel and got everything ready for our adventure the following day at Arches National Park.<br /><br />In the morning Lenae had to get a little swimming in at the hotel. Afterwards we got all packed and ready to head just outside of town to the park entrance. If you've never been to Arches, you can drive through the park and stop at the various "points of interest" along the way. There are also tons of trails that you can use to go exploring even more. We were able to take a mile hike behind the north and south windows (famous arches). The kids did pretty good. Again, pictures of these natural rock formations just don't do them justice. If you ever get a chance, you have to go!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZtAq4UO-I/AAAAAAAABPg/myFqr80j_2Y/s1600-h/June+2009+589.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZtAq4UO-I/AAAAAAAABPg/myFqr80j_2Y/s320/June+2009+589.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352085065454336994" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsy5_j5uI/AAAAAAAABPY/_SRN_t87Fyg/s1600-h/June+2009+553.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsy5_j5uI/AAAAAAAABPY/_SRN_t87Fyg/s320/June+2009+553.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084828993087202" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZssAUqAFI/AAAAAAAABPQ/XeW3NUVIVuE/s1600-h/June+2009+539.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZssAUqAFI/AAAAAAAABPQ/XeW3NUVIVuE/s320/June+2009+539.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084710433095762" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsn4WiJtI/AAAAAAAABPI/6laldrsHL-s/s1600-h/June+2009+536.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZsn4WiJtI/AAAAAAAABPI/6laldrsHL-s/s320/June+2009+536.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352084639574009554" /></a><br /><br />That evening we headed back to Karen's home in Glenwood Springs. We stayed with her for two days. While we were there we did a lot of catching up. We also drove to Aspen and to Independence Pass. Going from over 100 degree weather to 50s while on Independence Pass was a little shock to the system! We even saw some snowflakes. <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZtJJNcFJI/AAAAAAAABPo/7kHO19W7mlY/s1600-h/June+2009+595.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SkZtJJNcFJI/AAAAAAAABPo/7kHO19W7mlY/s320/June+2009+595.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5352085211034948754" /></a><br /><br />We headed to Aurora, CO (Denver) to visit Kerry's cousin four a couple of days before making our way back home. We had a good time as always. We were able to go out on the lake, and the kids got to go swimming at the pool in the sub-division where they live. Of course Kerry had plenty of fun harrassing Beth too. We are planning on going camping with them in OK over the 4th of July. Ought to be fun! <br /><br />We arrived back home on June 12th. I was so glad to finally be sleeping in my own bed. Vacations are a great break from "life", but make you realize how wonderful "home" really is!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-87797175504061495992009-05-16T12:39:00.002-05:002009-05-16T12:49:59.081-05:00Quick...I have but a secondNot really, but I do need to get some things accomplished today. Only 4 days left to go for school. Lenae will be old enough to be in my classroom the year after this coming school year! ACK! Where does the time go? <br /><br />We are heading out for a family vacation soon to Arizona and Colorado. We'll be staying in Lake Havasu for two weeks, then slowly making our way back through Colorado. We hope to visit the Grand Canyon, The Arches, Hoover Dam, and some other place. I need to purchase one of those tether strap thingies for Ryan. I don't think I'll be able to do the Grand Canyon trip with out it. Either that, or I'll bring a roll of duct tape. I don't think he'd appreciate that much. LOL!<br /><br />My garden is going well this year. I started by planting seeds, Unfortunately, with all the rain I wasn't able to get them in in time, and they got too big for the seedling tray and started to croak. Some of my cucumber seedlings made it and they are doing well! I ended up buying plants and got them in the ground about two weeks ago. We have 2 cantaloupe hills, 1 watermelon hill, a bed of carrots (from seed) and another of lettuce (from seed), 4 cucumber hills, 1 jalepeno plant, 1 chili ancho plant, 2 bell pepper plants, and four tomato plants. I've also got a nice row of mammoth sunflowers (from seed) growing along our fence. Oh...Lenae's class is competing in a 50 lb. cabbage plant contest, so we have one of those too. <br /><br />I suppose that's all for now. I've got to make a trip out to the grocery store. Ta ta for now!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-71325949415861163272009-03-17T21:35:00.007-05:002009-03-17T21:58:30.531-05:00Happy St. Patrick's Day!Spring Break! It's been an awesome week so far, and it's only Tuesday. I've gotten tons done around the house. The kids and I have worked outside and cleaned up a bunch leaves left over from fall, and we've got the garden about 3/4 of the way ready for planting. Today we took a break from all the "work" while I prepared a special St. Pat's day meal. We invited some friends and their daughter (who is leaving on Monday to volunteer in Africa for 6 weeks at an orphanage) for supper. Lenae cleaned off the patio table and we ate outside. It was BEAUTIFUL weather for enjoying family and company! Enjoy the food photos...of the leftovers! LOL!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhQydRGdI/AAAAAAAABME/K6LIWzwboRw/s1600-h/brisket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhQydRGdI/AAAAAAAABME/K6LIWzwboRw/s320/brisket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314354501347514834" /></a><br />Mmmmmm....corned beef brisket with carrots & cabbage (no leftover potatoes)<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhgZuoBOI/AAAAAAAABMM/92HpV5lpO48/s1600-h/salad.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhgZuoBOI/AAAAAAAABMM/92HpV5lpO48/s320/salad.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314354769587340514" /></a><br />Ramen noodle & cabbage salad....YUMMMMMMM!!!!!<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhrynlsJI/AAAAAAAABMU/MvkZ_yNLlvU/s1600-h/pie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBhrynlsJI/AAAAAAAABMU/MvkZ_yNLlvU/s320/pie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314354965247275154" /></a><br />Lemon Meringue Pie with a twist - it's green! It was refreshing!<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBh8nsJPhI/AAAAAAAABMc/Whn0eF8IXnU/s1600-h/cookie.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBh8nsJPhI/AAAAAAAABMc/Whn0eF8IXnU/s320/cookie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314355254371368466" /></a><br />Gotta have some shamrock cookies!<br /><br />Tomorrow I plan to head back out for some more yard work. Kerry cut down one of our big Austrian Pine trees this past weekend, and I need to finish raking the pine needles and twigs. Unfortunately with the "pine wilt" disease making it's way through our area, we've now lost 2 trees to the disease. We'll probably take down a third tree in the near future. It doesn't have the disease yet, only "tip blight". However it won't be long until it will succumb to the disease. Bad news is that there is a fourth tree right next to it that will need to come down eventually too. :( I guess on the good side we'll get rid of those darn pine cones and needles that cover everything! Oh, and our red maple tree will be able to really spread! We also need to pick out some replacement trees. Exciting...but planting trees are a lot like caring for newborns. LOTS and LOTS of work. <br /><br />And speaking of planting here is a quick picture of my gardening stuff for this year (including Lenae's new gardening gloves that she coerced me to buy-LOL). I'm going to get the seeds started tomorrow I think. Yay! I've got two flats with 72 peat pellets each. Ought to be plenty. *I hope* ;)<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBiI8Gzx2I/AAAAAAAABMk/43YQ5ubxOtA/s1600-h/garden.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 239px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/ScBiI8Gzx2I/AAAAAAAABMk/43YQ5ubxOtA/s320/garden.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314355466010347362" /></a>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-17915319519517094492009-02-14T12:43:00.003-06:002009-02-14T13:58:14.132-06:00Can I back date?<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fcherigillis%2Falbumid%2F5302742114205701713%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed><br />Okay, so I never said I was a regular blogger, but I really didn't plan on going this long between posts. LOL! Maybe I'll make a late New Year's resolution: post something at least once a month. There it is, in print. Now, let's see if I can keep it up.<br /><br />I suppose since I last posted, a lot of things have happened in life, including mine; but nothing that is really monumentous. Well, in my life anyway. I suppose having our first African American president is pretty important, but I don't agree with him much anyway. I will however to continue to pray for him, and particularly for God's guidance in his decisions. <br /><br />As far as our family, we took a much needed vacation over Christmas break to Branson. We stayed at our timeshare for a week and had a great time. Kerry and I cringe now that we purchased the thing some 10 years ago. Knowing what we know now, about how they are such a rip off, we definitely won't be "upgrading". However it is now paid-for, so we'll keep using it. Our condo was comfy, and just being away from home and the hum-drum of daily life was such a nice break. My parents came up and stayed with us as well.<br /><br />The only bad part of the whole trip was when we thought we were going to an "update" type of meeting and it turned out to be another blasted sales presentation. They really didn't like hearing that we do not borrow money, nor do we use credit cards (GO Dave Ramsey!)for any type of purchases. I don't think they thought we were serious. I mean really, just how many times did we have to stop them and say we were not interested? It was nuts! It was fun being educated though on "sales pitch techniques" through our Financial Peace University class and then watching them all being used in their stupid sales pitch. Right down to the exit interview/quality control lady that was supposed to fill out a survey with us. She asked us ONCE if we were treated nicely. Then proceeded to talk us into buying. Um, NO! Oh, and just incase you are wondering - I'm referring to Wyndham Resorts. However we bought into it when it was Fairfield Vacation Resorts. Oh the beauty of sales people finding young, in love, and totally clueless people! <br /><br />Dang...I don't harbor any bad thought's about that do I? LOL!<br /><br />Today is Valentine's Day. I need to go take a quick snap-shot of the beautiful flowers Kerry had delivered to school and upload it with this post. I'll do that here in a bit. While I'm doing that, I'll get one of Kerry's balloons too. He likes to embarrass me when he can, so I made sure to get him back yesterday. I sent him a HUGE balloon that plays "Wild Thing". Of course I sent it to the office where all the people he works with would get a kick out of it. He said it got played quite a bit, and sent me a text that said I was bad. Heck, he got a KU windsock and chocolate & nuts too! What more can a man want? <br /><br />Well, I'm glad to be on the down slope of winter. I'm so ready for spring, even though we've had a very mild winter this year. I suppose I can't complain too much. I'm starting to decide what I'll be planting in my garden this year. I'll be buying seeds and all the stuff to get the seedlings started soon. I've also got to get the ground worked up and find out what I need to add to my soil to have a good harvest. I'm really excited to get started on time this year! I hope the kids will enjoy watching everything grow as much as I will. <br /><br />Off to take a couple snapshots, and post some pictures here in a bit.<br /><br />*update* Incase you didn't notice, the added pictures are at the top. :)cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-5391260572178836912008-11-02T16:05:00.004-06:002008-11-02T16:21:41.407-06:00This N That<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nxYT4_BI/AAAAAAAABFQ/pVtvTJuwyLc/s1600-h/October+2008+017.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nxYT4_BI/AAAAAAAABFQ/pVtvTJuwyLc/s320/October+2008+017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264188743735639058" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nmthffjI/AAAAAAAABFI/SMy-Wq6TGNo/s1600-h/October+2008+077.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nmthffjI/AAAAAAAABFI/SMy-Wq6TGNo/s320/October+2008+077.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264188560451272242" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4ncMaQsSI/AAAAAAAABFA/sfFIouCpya0/s1600-h/Pumpkin+Patch+009.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4ncMaQsSI/AAAAAAAABFA/sfFIouCpya0/s320/Pumpkin+Patch+009.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264188379763880226" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nQgb_PLI/AAAAAAAABE4/rCb70nTa_eg/s1600-h/Pumpkin+Patch+007.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SQ4nQgb_PLI/AAAAAAAABE4/rCb70nTa_eg/s320/Pumpkin+Patch+007.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264188178981403826" /></a><br />For starters - Thanks for the idea Tigger....love my new background!<br /><br />Fall Conferences 2008 - CHECK! They went great! Grades were pretty good this quarter, so I didn't have much to give parents to complain about. :) My kids's conferences were good too. My daughter likes to talk a little too much (who knew?!) and my son is getting better at using his words. Ahhhh boys!<br /><br />Pumpkin Patch Visit - CHECK! It was a great day, windy, but great! The kids had fun along with Kerry and I too. Well, except for that small moment in time where we figured out we lost the camera. Thanks to some honest person, we got it back though. Note to self - don't let 8 year old go to the bathroom with camera...it will get left behind. Oh yeah, I am to blame too. LOL! We went to the Pizza Hut after all the pumpkin patch excitement. Drive off after having supper and about 2-3 miles out of town I realize that I left the camera back at the restaurant. DOH! <br /><br />Halloween 2008 - CHECK! I can't believe that is over and gone!?! Christmas will be all too soon, but then again, I'm really looking forward to the break and vacation with my family. Of course, giving presents is always a joy, and Midnight Mass is my favorite of the year. You can't forget the lights and sounds of the season either. I love Christmas! <br /><br />That's all for now...hope you enjoy the photos!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-66304417350342987972008-10-24T16:52:00.002-05:002008-10-24T17:07:24.709-05:00Just how long is too long?So it's been about 4 months since I posted. Yeah, I'm due for an update! As I look back over those months, I notice time has really flown by. One of the biggest pieces of news: We moved Kerry's parents into their newly remodeled house a couple of weekends ago. Kerry still has some smaller inside jobs to finish up, as well as getting the yard cleaned up and the fence put back up. But it can be lived in, and that's what matters most! <br /><br />Lenae is doing well in school and enjoying 3rd grade. She's getting taller by the day and I fear she'll soon pass me up. Ryan had some trouble adjusting to preschool. We finally got the potty training down right before school started. Well, for the most part anyway. But, he had a rough first day and has never really let that memory go. I still battle it occasionally with him, but he's doing better. <br /><br />Lenae just completed her first marathon this year! A full 26.2 miles! The kids at school ran 1 mile each day for 6 weeks. Last week they had their final mile and a big celebration afterwards, complete with t-shirts, medals, necklace charms, and a snack. <br /><br />I just finished up with parent teacher conferences today. 1 quarter down, three to go! It's going by FAST too. Conferences went very well, and overall, I had good reports to give. Sure makes it easy (for me and the parents) when most everything is positive news.<br /><br />My dad's mom died this week. She was 89. She'd been sick for a while and had spent the last 8 years in a nursing home. She went peacefully in her sleep on Tuesday morning. I wish I would have been closer to her, but we just never had that connection. I really enjoyed hearing my cousin talk about his memories of grandma. It showed me a different side of her, one that I never really experienced. <br /><br />My thoughts are drying up, so I guess that's my cue to bring this to an end. Till next time...cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-74636811559083764952008-07-27T21:14:00.004-05:002008-07-27T22:02:18.915-05:00It's a blurSummer has gone by incredibly fast, as usual. Unfortunately it didn't take us anywhere this summer. In fact, the farthest that I got was my class I took in Wichita ~ how sad! With the closing and remodeling of Kerry's parent's new house, our time to get away has been completely squelched. We are possibly thinking of taking a trip over Christmas vacation though. We'll see what happens. All I know is, someone better be darn thankful when Kerry's done...cause it's been 4 months of non-stop fixing, moving & remodeling.<br /><br />Ryan is officially 4, and is finally making some pretty good progress in the toilet training department. I knew he could do it, although I spent many a day being a skeptic. It's been a frustrating journey, but we are finally seeing lots of progress. It looks like he'll be able to attend preschool! <br /><br />Lenae is bored, and ready for school to start. We bought school supplies and more uniforms over the past couple of weeks. She's officially ready to go! Well, except the whole registration thing. I think I might get her in to have her hair cut. She looks really cute in shoulder length hair, and I think it would be easier on the morning routine. <br /><br />Well...I'll leave by posting a slide show of various kid pictures taken in July. I did add a few photos on the end of my new hobby. I think I talked about it in an earlier post this summer. It's really been a lot of fun starting this garden. Although I planted everything about a month and a half late, it's looking pretty good. My pumpkin plants are really getting big, as are the watermelon plants! I can't wait until next spring. I'll be on the ball then. Hopefully I'll also expand and have that whole section of the yard behind the fence into a garden. This year was just an experiment. Oh...my dad brought me some fence to keep the critters out. :) I just got it all up tonight. <br /><br />Till next time!<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-fc.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=144115188093721596&site=widget-fc.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=144115188093721596&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-fc.slide.com/p1/144115188093721596/bb_t017_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=144115188093721596&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-fc.slide.com/p2/144115188093721596/bb_t017_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=144115188093721596&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-fc.slide.com/p4/144115188093721596/bb_t017_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-42762685138363652402008-07-07T10:09:00.003-05:002008-07-07T10:24:44.683-05:00Are you kidding me?Take a look at this: <br /><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2008/07/06/lavin.wafer.held.hostage.wftv">CNN: Communion Wafer Held Hostage</a><br />Sometimes it really does anger me that people can get off by saying just because, "I give you money" they have the right to decide what's right and wrong. As in this case, this college student believes that it is his right to remove a consecrated Eucharist from Mass to show it to his friend who has questions about the faith because the college faith community receives money from the school. What? Are you kidding me? I have no doubts that many do not understand our belief of the Eucharist and what it means, but if your friend has questions...take him to Mass, talk to someone who knows about the faith, READ a book! For crying out loud there is a vast array of possibilities where you can investigate the beliefs of our church, but don't take what is considered one of the most sacred objects from our celebration and put it in a ziploc baggie! I also can't believe he is shocked that someone tried to get it from him! DUH! If you believe in the faith, and the Eucharist, and what it is - he should have expected it! <br /><br />Okay...I'll get off my soapbox now.cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-25512679313903306922008-06-25T16:00:00.004-05:002008-11-13T14:18:08.631-06:00Toad-a-ly Awesome!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SGKyW-IU2GI/AAAAAAAAAzI/MJW-q0wsAT4/s1600-h/June+2008+076a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SGKyW-IU2GI/AAAAAAAAAzI/MJW-q0wsAT4/s320/June+2008+076a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215927426153240674" /></a><br />As I've said many a times, he's definitely a boy! He's outside playing with this little guy as I'm typing this. And yes, that is the dog's water dish that is now the toad's swimming pool!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-74494936288077515102008-06-22T20:15:00.004-05:002008-11-13T14:18:09.010-06:00Mid-summer already?Time has flown by as usual this summer. Lenae attended a soccer camp for the first time ever, and she said she enjoyed learning about the game and playing. She and Ryan have also been taking swimming lessons. This is Ryan's first year taking lessons, and I was worried about how he would do. He LOVES going, and gets pretty upset when it's Lenae's turn and not his again. He was quite entertaining to watch during the first lesson. There were 2 teachers and 5 preschoolers. Ryan wanted all the turns. He kept telling them, "How about me?" It was too cute! <br /><br />This weekend we accomplished another "first" at our home. Lenae's first slumber party! I'm sure they'll be many more in the future, but this time we decided to get our feet wet by only allowing her to invite 4 girls. One wasn't able to make it, so we ended up with 4 girls total, including Lenae. They had a ball! Lots of swimming, pizza & popcorn, more swimming, and of course a lot of laughter. The only thing we need now is a bigger house! <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SF8AlZgSq9I/AAAAAAAAAx4/-2iQ2RZ0tPw/s1600-h/June+2008+038a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SF8AlZgSq9I/AAAAAAAAAx4/-2iQ2RZ0tPw/s400/June+2008+038a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214887536019811282" /></a><br />This week Lenae will be attending Totus Tuus (Bible School) here in town. Hopefully she'll make some new friends. I am always concerned about that since she commutes with me 35 miles away to go to school. Most of her friends (like the ones she's pictured with above) are all out of town, and I'm sure that is difficult for her. <br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SF8A7Saq3yI/AAAAAAAAAyA/wyN9SujZsww/s1600-h/June+2008+067.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/SF8A7Saq3yI/AAAAAAAAAyA/wyN9SujZsww/s400/June+2008+067.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5214887912074305314" /></a><br />This past week I also took a class in Wichita at Botanica. It was called "Gardening in the Classroom." It was an awesome class! I have a lot of ideas for the teachers back at school to use with our new school garden that was started at the end of the year. Hopefully I'll be able to tie somethings into my social studies classes as well. It would be much easier to tie things in if I was doing science (although I would not want to teach science anyway). With this class I am now done with getting college hours until 2010...when I renew my certificate. Then I'll have 5 years to get 4 more hours. I'm just glad I'm done for now, and that I ended on a high note. <br /><br />Keep crossing your fingers with Ryan and his potty training. He's getting there bit by bit. He knows what to do, it's just getting him to consistently do it. He can tell me and he can get up on the big potty himself (he doesn't like the training potty). But to get him to do it on a day to day basis...forget it! I'm still trying to be patient, but 4 year old preschool starts in August! He's already enrolled, and this year I really want him to go. <br /><br />Until next time ~ enjoy the sunshine!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-88425687932669972002008-06-10T11:55:00.000-05:002008-06-10T11:56:39.317-05:00A few photos<embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&captions=1&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fcherigillis%2Falbumid%2F5210295855813124593%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-51169466821832631882008-06-03T21:52:00.004-05:002008-06-03T22:19:05.637-05:00An update, if you please!It's been a while and I thought I'd do a laundry list update. <br /><br />April 4 - My inlaws moved in with us<br />April 6 - Lenae turned 8 *cry* my baby is growing up WAY too fast!<br />April 9 - My brother's birthday<br />April 11 - 1 week with inlaws here<br />April 12 - Found a house for inlaws, just a few blocks away...put in an offer<br />April 14 - Offer accepted! Closing July 1<br />April 18 - 2 weeks with inlaws here<br />April 19 - Found a buyer for their farm<br />April 25 - 3 weeks with inlaws here<br />April 27 - Lenae made her first Communion - pictures will be added later, and again, my baby is growing up!<br />April 28 - My 6th graders put on the 2nd annual "Medieval Festival". It went SO much smoother than last year. <br />May 2 - 4 weeks with inlaws here<br />May 6 - 6th grade Field trip to Hutchinson Underground Salt Museum/Mine - We had a GREAT time!<br />May 9 - Mother's Day Mass - 6th graders did a fabulous job & after Mass, I took the rest of the day off!<br />May 9 - 5 weeks with inlaws here<br />May 16 - 6 weeks with inlaws here...MOVE OUT DAY!!! They moved to a rental about 4 blocks down the street. We also begin working at their farm packing things up. Oh...the stories!<br />May 19 - 6th grade graduation...my last day with this years class. This year was definitely a bittersweet occasion. I REALLY enjoyed my class this year. They were one awesome group of kids.<br />May 20 - Last day of school! Wa Hoo!<br />May 21-June 1 - Continue working out at the farm trying to get it cleaned out. <br />May 27 - Lenae lost another tooth (she pulled it out because she "needed money") Poor girl has BIG gaping holes in her mouth. I hope the permanent ones come in soon.<br />May 31 - Closed on their farm<br />June 2 - Lenae started soccer camp (and she likes it - YES!)<br />June 3 - Ryan's first ever swimming lesson. He did great and was a hoot to watch! <br /><br />That's it for now....I'll get some pictures up soon. :)cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-38710349993641595552008-04-07T22:59:00.009-05:002008-04-09T21:05:30.502-05:00ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!!!!<a href="http://xs3.xoospace.com/myspace/graphics/26295.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 150px;" src="http://xs3.xoospace.com/myspace/graphics/26295.gif" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />OH Yeah baby! Awesome nail-bitting game, with a dream come true ending!<br /><br />Way to go KU!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-1176356125278492512008-03-22T21:11:00.006-05:002008-11-13T14:18:09.662-06:00Spring Break!<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W_yp-cj-I/AAAAAAAAAg4/9Z3oGQ9pSIU/s1600-h/January2008+054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W_yp-cj-I/AAAAAAAAAg4/9Z3oGQ9pSIU/s320/January2008+054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180757823341760482" /></a><br /><br />Beautiful aren't they? I was hemming some pants, and they put what I cut off on as hats. LOL!<br /><br />We just got finished playing cards with some of our friends. Sadly, I have to report that the girls lost 3 to 1. Oh well, sometimes you have to let the boys win so they'll keep wanting to play. Yesterday was our first "official" day of spring break. Kerry was diagnosed with Strep throat, Ryan played with his 1 million hot wheels, and Lenae and I made the yummy cookies that are pictured! Frosted sugar cookies are my absolute favorite cookie! YUM! <br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W-SZ-cj8I/AAAAAAAAAgo/KT_wcOWgXRg/s1600-h/March+2008+001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W-SZ-cj8I/AAAAAAAAAgo/KT_wcOWgXRg/s320/March+2008+001.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180756169779351490" /></a><br /><br />Lenae will be making her first communion next month. She's very excited about finally being able to go to communion with us. We found a dress this past week (thanks mom!). I picked her up so shoes that just happened to match too! When the day arrives, I'm sure I'll have plenty of photos to post. She'll also be turing 8 here in a couple of weeks. YIKES! Guess I better figure out what we'll be doing for her birthday too. <br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W_Y5-cj9I/AAAAAAAAAgw/1hHwUo0xr50/s1600-h/Ryan.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R-W_Y5-cj9I/AAAAAAAAAgw/1hHwUo0xr50/s320/Ryan.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180757380960128978" /></a><br /><br />Ryan is wearing us out as usual. He has taken a liking to the phrases, "you're a pain in the ying yang" and "meanie". He's also FINALLY decided that going to the potty is fun! Now, to get him to tell us that he has to go, instead of us playing the guessing game. Maybe by the time he turns 4 we'll have it down! <br /><br />Happy Easter!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-47639775028236508162008-01-16T21:26:00.000-06:002008-01-16T21:29:58.743-06:00Hardest thing I've had to do this week....A challenge from Jeanne....<br /><br />I guess that would have to be being the emcee at the Geography Bee today. Although it really wasn't THAT hard. Thank goodness we didn't have a ton of parents. Put me in front of a crowd of kids, and I'm good. Add adults, and I get weak in the knees.cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-10086473720360611262008-01-16T20:52:00.000-06:002008-01-16T21:24:17.824-06:00A SurveySeeing that I don't have much to post right now...I thought I'd do this instead: (by the way...I'll do a real update this weekend when I have more time!)<br /><br />Name someting you eat with fruit: <strong>cottage cheese</strong><br />Name something you make with fruit: <strong>smoothie</strong><br />Name something you do with Flour: <strong>make dough</strong><br />Name a color not in the rainbow: <strong>pink</strong><br />Name a college in the South: <strong>Texas A&M</strong><br />Name a state in the West: <strong>California</strong><br />What is something teenagers do on Saturday night: <strong>Drink</strong><br />What is the most used room in the house: <strong>Kitchen</strong><br />What is the most used appliance in the kitchen: <strong>Refrigerator </strong><br />What is a fun food to take to the theatre: <strong>m&ms (easy to sneak in)</strong><br />Name a kind of dancer: <strong>Belly Dancer</strong><br />Name a type of root: <strong>Carrot</strong><br />What is another word for male: <strong>boy</strong><br />What is another word for female: <strong>girl</strong><br />What dog breed is typically the smartest: <strong>jack russell terrier</strong><br />Name a child's cartoon: <strong> Bob the Builder</strong><br />Name a Disney Movie: <strong>Cars</strong><br />Name a romantic comedy: <strong>Somewhere in Time</strong><br />Name a horror movie: <strong>Nightmare on Elmstreet</strong><br />Name a food that is good with garlic: <strong>Bread</strong> <br />Name a food that is good with milk: <strong>Cookies</strong><br />Name a food that is good with ice cream: <strong>Brownies</strong><br />Name a pizza topping: <strong>Cheese</strong><br />What is the best way to call a dog: <strong>whistle</strong><br />Name a government office: <strong>President</strong><br />What is a word that has the word Key in it: <strong>keyboard</strong><br />What is a phrase that starts with the word Don't: <strong>Don't touch!</strong><br />Name a type of house: <strong>Ranch</strong><br />Name something that people do just before going to sleep: <strong>Take their medicine</strong><br />Name something you associate with McDonalds: <strong>Fries</strong><br />Name someone famous named Billy: <strong>Billy Idol</strong><br />Name something made of metal: <strong>Scissors</strong><br />Name something you build with wood: <strong>A desk</strong><br />Name something you do while on a camp out: <strong>roast marshmallows</strong><br />Name someting you light with a lighter: <strong> candles</strong><br />Name an exercise that everyone hates: <strong>jumping jacks</strong><br />Name a tree with the prettiest flowers: <strong>redbud</strong><br />Name a reason (other than being sick)people call in sick to work: <strong>Tired</strong><br />Name a piece of furniture that is most comfortable: <strong>Couch </strong><br />Name something people steal from work: <strong>Copies</strong> <br />Name a popular Milkshake flavor: <strong>Strawberry</strong><br />Name a movie with the word Kill in the title: <strong>Kill Bill</strong>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-63375191173889727632007-12-22T11:17:00.000-06:002008-11-13T14:18:09.867-06:00Merry Christmas!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R21H3Q6Df7I/AAAAAAAAAak/EkraI2jnhqc/s1600-h/Merry+Christmas.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_2LRpEw6Sah0/R21H3Q6Df7I/AAAAAAAAAak/EkraI2jnhqc/s320/Merry+Christmas.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146848963911188402" /></a><br /><br />Today is the first day of winter, and appparently mother nature wants us to take notice! It's been crazy here the past couple of weeks. We started off the 2nd week of December with a horrible ice storm that the thousands in the dark. We were fortunate and never lost our power, although we did lose our internet for a few hours. After that storm left we had a day of respite only to receive about 9 inches of snow! That melted and we enjoyed fairly nice temperatures for a few days, 40s and even low 50s. This morning we woke up to 35 mph winds and blowing snow. Yay! <br /><br />In the ice-storm, My in-laws lost their power. They have been staying with us for the past 12 days. All in all it hasn't been too bad. This morning they went out to the farm to check on things and feed the animals, as they have done every morning, and found the electricity is back on! Yahoo! They are going to spend one last night here tonight and then get groceries and head out tomorrow. Now, as long as the roads don't drift to the point of being impassable we'll all be happy campers!cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25210271.post-4174632406506432252007-12-20T20:08:00.000-06:002007-12-22T09:33:03.400-06:00Ice Storm DamageHere are some pictures from the damage at my parent's house.<br /><br /><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" src="http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" width="400" height="267" flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&RGB=0x000000&feed=http%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fcherigillis%2Falbumid%2F5146240208131554769%3Fkind%3Dphoto%26alt%3Drss" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>cherighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06483504217547366320noreply@blogger.com1