Turkey Recap...

Well it's ALMOST too late to mention how much fun we had at Thanksgiving! We went down to California to visit my Sister,Trysh and her family. We had such a good time! The first day was actual Turkey day- I don't think I have TOTALLY recovered fully from ALL that FOOD! YUM,YUM! We then tried to fight off the triptophan (sp?) by....what other than.... AMERICAN IDOL, Wii version!--- I have a new respect for those contestants... WAY HARDER than it looks! Later on, after everyone slipped into our PJ's ( 2 other families joined in the sleepover!! :D) and put all the kids to bed, we challenged each other to a very vocal game of 'Battle of the Sexes'! The Boys beat us, but OF COURSE- We're still reviewing the tapes for the final verdict on a couple of their answers!



The next day, we awoke to the the FIRE ALARM and delicious breakfasts aromas... But mostly the fire alarm!!!... (Which no one REALLY knows why it went off! The food wasn't burning or anything!) Breakfast was OVER THE TOP GOOD! Trysh's Friends know how to cook!!... Of course so does Trysh! :D After breakfast, we mounted up and headed over RPM to race some go-karts! Those puppies were fast! I wish that I could say that I whooped up on the boys...BUT I CAN'T! I got schooled then left at the bus stop!!! But at least I didn't get any "BLACK" Flags...OR TWO OR THREE!!! (BEN!!!!) Afterwards, we met up with everyone else at the roller skating rink! I haven't done that since I was in grade school! But it was fun rolling around to the music and the disco lights! I, of course, traded in my old school skates for some roller blades. The four wheel where just too.... stable! Mason had a good time at his first skating rink experience, but he would rather stick around the arcade games. Luckily, his cousin Anissa showed him the ropes! Those two were inseparable the whole weekend! It was adorable! And to top off the whole day, we headed over the Leatherby's, an old style ice cream parlor that made sundaes bigger than my head!!! Very nostalgic!

On Saturday- Trysh, Mario, Ben and Myself left the kids with my capable nephew, Marquis, in charge and a promise that he got $5 a dirty diaper and a nice Christmas present for each "Poops" diaper he changed. He handled the wet diapers beautifully...except that he put the new one on backwards! But at the sign of the first "Poops" diaper... He promptly called his auntie Jamie (who lives just 2 miles away) to come resolve the situation! :D THANK YOU JAMIE for EVERYTHING!!! And Marquis earned his money that day! :D So the four of us, drove down the San Fransisco for a little day trip and a relaxing SPA EXPERIENCE!!! AHHH! We're talking white plush robes and ALL! Massages, pedicures, manicures... OH MY!!! IT was heaven! A BIG Thank you to Mario and Trysh for making it a truly MEMORABLE experience for us! It was some MUCH NEEDED relaxation for Ben and myself. We had lots of laughs and a few tears... mainly when Mario had to LEAVE the SPA! He could have stayed there forever :D... and he's not alone!

YES, It was a JAM PACKED weekend that topped the memory list! Thank you again for having us down! We love You and miss you already!

Irony is Everywhere!

I was making dinner the other night when I looked up and was struck with the funniest realization! I've had this family picture sitting on my counter, waiting to find the right frame for it....for probably 3 months now. It's to the point that I forget it's even there! We got a new pet fish (Mason has named him Fishy...) about a month ago. So the other night I REALIZED that it PROBABLY WASN'T the BEST idea to have the two of them next to each other... POOR FISHY!

SHHHHH! I'm trying to EAT my words while reading!

Sorry- I haven't been blogging - I've been reading the "Twilight" book...and soon to be book(s)... I've wanted to see what all the hype was about. And I have to say, I'm hooked! I'm not a big reader and this is the fastest I've ever plowed through a book. Why just today I found myself squeezing in a little reading... WHILE I WAS WAITING AT A STOP LIGHT! VERY, VERY unusual for me!!! I apologize to all of you that I made fun of for this type of behavior. I guess it true what they say... "Don't knock it 'till you try it!" :D Here's to you EDWARD for making 'pale' skin an attractive feature! (Just remember- I was pale ( and always will be!) before it was cool to be!) HA! HA!

A Birthday Wish!!!

My darling friend Stephanie requested that, for her birthday, all her friends enjoy a fabulous meal of some sort and send her a picture of it. As a way for all of us to celebrate across the nation. I chose this tasty treat that we used to enjoy when we were room mates back in the good 'ol days! I'm not sure exactly how we CONCOCTED dipping carrots in cool whip. (I think a 24 pack of mountain dew was involved!) But it's ACTUALLY really good! So to salute my dear friend on her big day- I post this ode to the past! :D

Happy Birthday Stephanie the Great!!!
This ones for you!!! Wish you were here!!!

CAUTION for YOUNG Readers!

I was conversing with my coworkers the other day and it lead to me asking everyone how they "FOUND OUT" about Santa when they were kids... (Sorry to spoil it for some of you out there!)

I guess it interests me so much because I don't really remember how I found out. No mean kid dropping the bomb at the playground...or catching mom and dad in the act...or ripping off the Mall Santa's beard. I guess I just put it all together and didn't worry too much about it 'cause presents kept coming. On gal at work put it nicely when her kids figured it out. She told them that " As long as there's love in our home, Santa will always exist!" I thought that was kinda sweet! So I pose the question to you:

HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT SANTA?...

~Leave me a comment with your story! ~

One of MANY Reasons Why I Don't Like Bears!!!

My parents emailed this story to me today and I was SOOO AMAZED that I'd HAD to share. This happened to the brother-in-law of a guy that my Dad works with.... I have to warn you that the pics aren't for the faint of heart ESPECIALLY if you haven't been around hunting much. I posted the ones that best tell the story in a PG sort of way.

This is the exact email that my dad received and forwarded to me:

Many of you know that my brother-in-law(Bridgett's husband), Ron, was attacked by a grizzly bear last weekend in Wyoming, while bow hunting elk with his dad.

Ron amazingly came through with non life threatening injuries.

Ron, who is an experienced hunter and used to be a guide, was calling an elk for his dad, who was down hill 40 yards. The elk suddenly spooked and then Ron heard a noise behind him. He turned around and a grizzly was 15 feet behind him. He tried to shoo it away but it proceeded toward him. He went behind a tree and the bear kept coming, so he took off on his "death run" down hill towards his dad. With the grizzly just feet behind his son, and running full speed, Ron's dad shot one arrow. Ron saw the arrow fly by his leg, unsure of whether it hit the bear, and within a few more steps, Ron was on his back with the grizzly on top of him. With is arms shielding his head, Ron kicked and punched the bear with all he had. Ron said it all went too fast and he was so full of adrenaline, he could not feel any pain at the time of the attack. When the bear continued to attack, Ron's dad, could see that the bear was bleeding badly from the arrow, and he went over and started beating on the bear with his bow(You can not carry guns during bow hunting, so he had nothing to shoot it). The bear continued to attack Ron, biting clear through his left hand and glove, and down to the bone of his right arm just below the elbow. Then the bear, stopped, looking at Ron's dad, walked away several yards, and rolled over dead.

The bear was autopsied and showed that it was well over 500 lbs(the grizzlies in that area average 350lbs) and 11 years old(which is in it's prime). Following the path of the arrow, the autopsy showed that the arrow went in, hit a main artery, then bent, and hit the heart!

A one in a thousand shot they said.

Another important fact to mention and that gave me chills is that Ron's dad had had surgery on his arm, because he had injured his arm and was not even able to pull the bow last season. This was to be his big hunt, and before the day of the attack, he had already missed two elk that were standing still. The morning of the attack, Ron's dad (also named Ron), prayed "God please guide my arrow today".

Little did Ron Sr. and Ron know how God would guide his arrow that day!

These are the pictures of the bear and the area that everything took place in. Please enjoy at my expense. Ha ha.

Ron

Pretty AMAZING, Huh?! I personally don't think that I'd be sticking around to take pictures after an ordeal like that... But that's just me! :D If you'd like to see ALL 34 pictures, I'd be happy to forward it on to you... IT REALLY IS AMAZING! That guys Guardian Angel deserves a RAISE!!!

p.s. I'm sorry if I grossed you out- But I DID warn you!!!!!!!