Flashback Friday

Payton at 2 years old on her first Halloween as a bumble bee. She's also going to be a bumble bee this year, how ironic.

I'm looking forward to all of the cute Halloween photos, so don't delay in posting!

Happy Halloween everyone!

Random Photos From My Cell Phone

I often forget to take our real camera and end out taking photos with my cell phone. I also often forget to get the photos off of the camera when we return from wherever. I took photos of Payton at her school's skating party on Sunday and thought I'd post those along with some other random photos I thought were interesting.



Saturday evening we went to dinner with some of our neighbors at Lynnhaven Fish House. Above is the view from my seat, It was rather dreary outside, but we had a lovely time.

I had the "king size soft shell crab". I provided a link in case you weren't aware of what this is exactly. I wasn't really sure if this was going to be something I liked, but I thought what the hell and ordered it anyway. I'm pretty open when it comes to new foods and my list of things I've tried is ever growing. I had been wanting to try soft shell crab for awhile, so now I can say I have. It's wasn't my favorite preparation, but it was alright. I imagine it would have been much better on a bun, sandwich style with some tartar sauce.

Sunday evening was Payton's school skating party. She's not the best skater, but she had fun anyway.

Here she is with two of her friends. It was a Halloween party but only a few children were dressed up. The way I see it is that wearing your costume before Halloween night kind of ruins the holiday, so she wasn't allowed to wear her costume for this year and she didn't really want to wear an old costume.

Somehow my kids didn't get an ounce of my coordination. Not an athletic bone in their bodies, poor things.

Monday Payton forgot to take her violin to school so I had to deliver it to her on my way to classes. Here is her entire strings class practicing. Payton is in the blue on the left hand side. She was waiting with baited breath for me to arrive.

Now we start the seriously random photos. This one is about 4 months old IIRC. This is a wild cat that they have at a local animal store here in Va Bch. I cannot remember what type it is, but it is neat to see something like that up so close. BTW this cat is not for sale.

And to prove what a weirdo I am, my phone was FILLED with photos just like this one. My car and some other vehicle in a picture, with the other vehicles tag number clearly visible. I take hundreds of these pictures while out and about each month.

This Jeep had me worried because they were parked so wonky. I was afraid the same idiot who parked this way would slam their door into my car upon leaving, or scrape my car while backing out- so I took a photo for evidence.

I know....

Family Bowling Night

For some reason my kids like bowling. I don't get how this "game" is enjoyable, but I indulge them occasionally. Gregg is a pretty good bowler, so maybe that's where they get it. I do however, enjoy the beer and chili fries that go along with bowling, it makes the whole experience a little less painful. We went bowling Sunday afternoon before Gregg left that evening for a conference about Africa in Washington, DC. He should return tomorrow.

Here are the photos:

Here are Gregg and Payton. This must have been after the first game since that pitcher is not full anymore.

This was Austin's first time to bowl. He can finally pick up a bowling ball himself. I think he had a good time.

Payton is a pretty good bowler, she does better than I do. Maybe that's why I dislike it so much, since I'm not any good at it.

Here are the kids, waiting on fried food.

TAG - 7 Minutes, 7 Songs

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be interesting.

Here are the "rules". After thinking about this for 7 minutes, write down the first 7 songs which come to mind, then tag 3 people.

Here are my picks-

"Remember When" - Alan Jackson
"When You Say Nothing At All" - Keith Whitley
"Bittersweet Symphony" - The Verve
"Break On Through" - The Doors
"Friend Is A Four Letter Word" - Cake
"She Will Be Loved" - Maroon 5
"Ring Of Fire" - Johnny Cash

I tag Britt, Mandy C. and Mandy G. - Make sure you don't take more than 7 minutes thinking about the 7 songs!

Flashback Friday: What A Spectacle

I got new eyeglasses yesterday and I thought this would make for an interesting FF post. The last time I got new glasses was in January of 2005. They have 2 *tiny* scratches on the lens, so they didn't really *need* replaced, but it was about time for a new pair.

I still really liked my old ones, but since I'm really lazy and don't like to go downstairs to get them at night out of my school tote, I thought a second pair would make sense. I actually went online to see if I could get a duplicate pair, but had no luck. My prescription got lighter (from -1.0 to -0.75) which was surprising since I only wear my glasses to watch TV upstairs, movies at the theater, drive at night and see what is written on the board in class so I can take notes.

These are my old glasses. I'm very particular when it comes to certain things, colors, cars, and furniture are some big ones. Now you can add glasses to that list. I don't like nose pieces or metal frames, so the selection isn't always the best in just plastic frames, but I did find a few pairs I liked.

I get attached to my favorite items and never want to give them up for anything, even an upgrade. I actually cried when I traded in my BMW and it wasn't because I was happy either. I was so sad to see "her" all alone on the car lot, pitiful I know. The photo above was taken in January 2006 while Gregg was on deployment. I would take random photos of myself to send to him via email while he was gone, this is one such photo.

Here I am with Austin and Payton the day I got those last glasses, in January 2005 while we were living in Norman. I'm still quite attached to them, I had the lenses swapped out so I can keep them upstairs and not have to go find my new ones in my bag.

Here I am with my new glasses. Gregg helped me pick them out. I'm glad he was there because I would have stayed there for hours trying on the same frames over and over - I probably would have never made a decision either. I know they look fairly boring in this photo, which was taken yesterday, but they are quite funky- especially for me. If you ask anyone who knows me even a little, they will tell you how boring I am when it comes to design, color and form. I don't like to make any sort of statement physically, so these quirky glasses were a stretch. Luckily you can't see how funky they are unless you get up close.

Here's a close-up. They are black on the outside with purple on the inside and a thin red stripe outlining their shape. They are by some European designer. Didn't I tell you they were funky?!

Another One Bites The Dust

Austin lost his first top tooth yesterday. He apparently didn't want to sleep and decided to pull out his tooth instead. I'm pretty sure that this tooth wasn't even close to ready, but I guess he was. I tried to get him to show his new gap with his eyes open, but it didn't work. I took 7 photos, none of which with his eyes open. Oh well, I tried.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I am really looking forward to the weekend, and some extra sleep.

Random Weekend Photos...

The weather here has been so strange. Two days ago it was 90 and today it's not even hitting 60. I'm enjoying the cool down. I was not liking the 90's so much while walking around campus carrying 25 pounds of books everyday.

As you can see, I revamped my blog and since I'm not very creative, it was a real challenge for me. I thought I'd post a few random photos that I took this evening after we returned home from a day of shopping and dinner out. Payton got a new hat and wanted to model it for everyone. I must admit that I wanted this hat for myself, but I'm sure I'll end out borrowing it when the humidity gets high. We aren't getting the OU game this weekend, which I'm super bummed out about. I could really use to see them stomp Kansas after last weekends loss. I was so upset during the fourth quarter that I got up and went into the front room to cool off. I sat in there for a bit and nearly passed out I was so angry over the whole thing. I didn't end out watching the rest of that game.

Here are the kids fall school photos. I chose some ugly bright green background so I turned them into black and whites just for posting here. They aren't very good so I guess I'll be waiting for the spring photos to buy.

Austin is now in 2nd grade. I am not sure what type of smile this is, or if it even qualifies. He looks like he might have a dip in. Maybe I should have a talk with him about that. HA

Here is Payton, she is in 5th grade this year. She's getting so big, it blows my mind. She and I can now share shoes, which is totally wild. She's lucky, she didn't get the 'fro curse. I was made fun of like crazy because of my curly hair which is funny because now all I hear from women is how they wish they had it. I'm still not sure it was worth the childhood torment.

Gregg has to work tomorrow, so I think I'll take the day off. No laundry, no dishes, no nothing. It is Sunday and for once I'm going to relax in my pajamas if I want. But I do have to study for 3 major exams for Monday and Tuesday and write a paper, so it won't be all play.

Flashback Friday

Once again it is Flashback Friday. I did manage a post between this one and the last FF, so I am doing better. I thought I'd have some fun and post an old photo of my parents. Though my parents got divorced right after I moved out, they were quite cute together back in the day. I'm not sure when this was taken, but it sure is funny, I especially love the hairstyles. I still think it's strange to see my parents together, young and happy.

And just for good measure, here I am. I'm not sure when this was taken either. It was a photo I came across in a box among other undated photos long after my mom moved out of my childhood home. I think I look a lot like my dad in this photo. The older I get though, I am less sure of who I resemble.

My Little Musician

Things have been very busy lately and I haven't had much to blog about. Well, let me rephrase that, I have plenty to blog about, but nothing that is really interesting. So I thought I'd go out of my way to get a video of Payton playing her violin tonight. They haven't picked up the bow yet in class, so plucking at the strings is all you get. She's become quite frustrated with the no bow rule, but she is enjoying the classes none the less. I find the music very relaxing and I can't wait until she starts using the bow.




Enjoy!!

Flashback Friday

Since I've been a completely pitiful blogger lately, I thought I'd try to make up for it by posting a bunch of old Halloween photos from the past years. The kids both love this holiday, one for the candy and the other for the costumes, can you guess which is which?

Here is Payton before school, in 2005 she got to wear her costume all day at school, she really enjoyed it. I really loved this one, I like the pretty & sweet costumes best.

This is Austin as a child vampire. We figured this would be a good second use for his tuxedo. Adults thought he was Eddie Munster and kids were completely frightened by him.

Here is Payton as an OU cheerleader back in 2004. She loved this costume and wore it until it was too small as a dress up outfit, doesn't she fit the part?

Here they are in 2003 when we were back in Oklahoma. I took a break from being creative with their costumes this year and just purchased some since we were getting ready to make the big move to Virginia. I did paint their faces to match though.

Here is Austin and Payton in 2006. Austin was a ninja and Payton got invited to a sock-hop just a few weeks before Halloween, so I made the deal with her that I'd make her a poodle skirt to her requirements, if she wore it also for Halloween. I loved the glasses, they were very funny I thought.

I'm going to try to do better in the future, with the blogging. It seems as if as soon as I get out of class, run errands, get the kids off the bus, and make dinner - before I know it, the day is over and it's all starting over again. Then there is the massive amount of homework and tests that seem to never stop, I know it's an excuse, but a valid one.

Flashback Friday

Since Halloween is coming up, I thought I'd make this Flashback Friday about prior Halloweens.

Halloween 2001 in Norman, OK. Me with my pumpkin (Austin at 15 months) and beautiful angel (Payton at 3 years), Halloween 2001 in Norman, OK.

Wii Karaoke

Yesterday after dinner, we played Mario Kart for an hour or so and then put in the disk for the karaoke. Payton tries to be very serious when she sings, her entire goal is to win (and she did), but Gregg just tries to make us laugh.

Here are two videos from the evening:

The game is called Karaoke Revolution American Idol Encore, if you have a Wii, you have to get this game... it is so funny.