Traffic violation

Well, I can never say again "I have never gotten a speeding ticket". Chris laughed out loud, one of those truly amused and hearty laughs when I called to tell him. He was surely amused!

They (the bad guys) say that I was going 37 in a 25. I guess they are telling the truth. However, I believe that they got me going down a hill because for the first time in I don't know how long, I wasn't even in a hurry and truly speeding like a MAD WOMAN!

Well, just thought I would post about my first speeding ticket that I am sure was a long time comin'!

I'm going crazy with the pool!

The area that the pavilion will be. It is behind the master bedroom.

From the deep end, looking to the shallow end. You can also see where it is framed for the deck.

It started out with what I would call the bare necessities and 5 months later it is totally out of control!
I'll name a few of our, but mainly my splurges:
1. I added 3 feet of deck to the left side of the pool. It was initially going to be 5 feet, now it is 8.
2. I added accent tiles to what was just going to be blue. Once I saw them, I just had to get them. Know what I mean?
3. I changed my mind about the chlorination system. I now HAVE to have the salt system, chlorine simply won't do.
4. Chris added a pavilion that is octagonal shape and 16 feet around. We also had to add concrete and acrylic topping to go under this pavilion.
5. We were not going to have the pool heated, but now it will be.
Did I say enough? Do you get the picture? I am OUT OF CONTROL. Stop me now before someone gets hurt, or totally broke! :)
I am going to love The Shipley Pool! Get ready to swim!

Look what I found!

I was uploading my pictures from my camera this morning, thinking that I just had a few pictures of the pool, and lo and behold, someone has gotten a hold of my camera AGAIN! Enjoy...

Aislinn Grace with a mo hawk!

Aislinn's pretty painted fingernails.

Sporting her new Dora hat that her daddy bought her.

And of course, Daddy had to sport that Dora hat too!

Who is taking all of these pictures anyway? These were just a few in the collection. I might need to lock that camera up!

I've been tagged, again...

I've been tagged! Thanks go to Jennifer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago... Wow, 10 years ago, that would be February of 1998. I think I was getting ready to get pregnant with Kerstyn and in my first semester of my Master's program. I felt young and that I could conquer the world! We were living in Tallahassee and Chris was contemplating law school.

2. What are 5 things on my to do list today... Make it to 8 p.m. without losing my mind, say family prayer, put the kids to bed, try to relax for a few minutes and go to sleep.

3. Three things I enjoy... eating, sleeping, exercising.

4. If I were suddenly made a billionaire I would... have a lot less stress in my life!

5. 5 jobs I have had... I don't know if I have had that many. Let's see, counter staff at The Loop (a restaurant in Tallahassee), Student Assistant/OPS employee for the State of Florida doing accounting/bookkeeping, second grade teacher, wife, mom.

6. 6 things people don't know about me... I think you already know all you will ever want to know, but, I really enjoy vacuuming, being alone with my husband, a clean house and clean laundry, and visiting with my family. I LOVE to laugh!

7. 7 people to tag: I'm not even sure that I have seven friends! Well, let's see, I guess I won't do this since I just did one a few weeks ago.

Hope this didn't bore you all to death!

Wow, spell checker is working again, good news, good news!

Are you on Facebook?

I just signed up today. It's a whole 'nother world there!

When I join things like that, that are new to me, I feel so old and out of touch. I'll keep trying though.

Hope to see you there.

Another trip to the pediatrician

Well, it's been an interesting day to say the least! I worked at the office this morning. While there, I had to call our health insurance agent regarding the bill that we received today, yet it was due on 2/15.
Then, I went to Publix to pick up my prescription and I was told that I DID NOT have insurance! I was not happy!
I went home and called BC/BS and we got it worked out, but not before I called our agent again and left the SECOND message! They apparently canceled out my old plan, mailed me new cards, but with the old plan number and NEVER sent me new cards with the correct number! Smart, huh?
Well, once I had it worked out, I knew that I needed to call Dr. Soto to get Aislinn in because she is coughing incessantly and told me that her head was hurting. Well, she was prescribed Albuterol and Cefzil. Also, Dr. Soto thinks that Aislinn has allergies so I needed to buy her Zyrtec and give it to her every night before bed.
I took the prescriptions to Publix and also requested that I would be reimbursed for the earlier amount that I paid without insurance for my prescription. I gave them all the correct information, which was written on the back of my Publix receipt. I went hunting for the Zyrtec and of course, they were all out. So, I loaded up all 5 of them again and went to Target, got the Zyrtec, went back to Publix and then FINALLY came home to get homework started, baths and showers given, and dinner fed... all before we have to leave to go to Scouts. Now, can I take a breath?

It's a...

Kerstyn has a sinus infection and is on Amoxicllin. We went to the pediatrician this morning and that's what we found out. Hopefully she will be feeling much better soon.

Isn't it great that you can get Amoxicillin free at Publix?

I had to give a talk.

I was asked to give the concluding talk in Sacrament meeting today. My topic was personal revelation. It went pretty well and I feel much better just given that it is over.

I was sad though because when we woke up this morning, Kerstyn was running a fever of 102 so she obviously needed to stay home. Since I had to give the talk, Chris stayed at home with Kerstyn and Aislinn.

Mary Gronlund graciously agreed to let the boys sit with her since I needed to be on the stand. It all went pretty well and hopefully my talk today will buy me another 3 or so years of time.

Visit to the temple

I left the house this morning at 8 a.m. with Debbie Clayton. We went to the temple and had a wonderful time. After our session, we went to the Beehive store and then to lunch at Perkins. Debbie had an omelet since she is doing the low carb thing, and I had all the carbs that I could get eating pancakes. I was on a sugar high when we were done. Of course, after lunch we went to the bookstore and looked around for around an hour. We had a great time!

I got...

A very nice dinner for two at Carrabba's in Altamonte Springs. We did not call ahead, so the wait was 2 hours. We just sat and people watched and talked. It was a nice time.

When I arrived at the office this morning, I had a nice tulip plant on my desk and a very nice card.

I'm not sure if I am the most beautiful woman in the world to him, but we did have a nice day.

All I want..

All I want for Valentine's Day is:
To feel like the most beautiful and wonderful woman on this Earth! Is that too much to ask?

OK, more realistically, I would like dinner with Chris at a restaurant that we don't usually go to and maybe a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure or a massage. Do you think that is better?

Well, you might find yourself asking, if she wants all of that, what does Chris get? I'll answer that for you, he gets a card and my company at dinner. And, most importantly, a happy wife because he thought of me and my wants.

Let's see how he does... I am sad to say, I'm not too optimistic. :(

Pool update

The tile is coming along as you see...

Chris obviously decided that the pool needed some cleaning up! I just had to take a picture of him in the pool sweeping with the broom. Now, when the pool is complete, will he continue to keep it clean? Good question...

Too funny

I found these today, with some others when I was uploading the pictures to the computer from the camera. I guess Lauklan thought he would document some things...

How do I put my little camera movies on here?

Piano player

Kerstyn has been quite faithful in her piano practice as illustrated below.

Brennan...well, that's another issue.

However, both of them are doing really well progressing with their lessons.

Why can't we all just get in the picture?

We had to go to a Birthday Party for Chris' paralegal this afternoon. At first, Brennan wasn't ready...

Then, Aislinn wouldn't get in the picture.

I guess we have 4 kids and just rotate them as needed. :)

There was Worldwide Leadership Training today broadcast from Salt Lake. I could not attend because Chris got to go to the temple to work today. I really want to hear what they had to say. I need all the help that I can get!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Chris and Kerstyn for the Father/Daughter Dance at Round Lake Elementary.

Today is Chris' birthday. He is 41 years old. I just can't believe it. I'm not sure if he can believe it either. It seems like yesterday that he was 26 and I was 19 riding around in his yellow Jeep Wrangler just starting to date and as happy as can be. I guess you never realize it when your young, but the years really do just fly right by. I am glad that I have my blog now so I can try to remember some of this life of ours.

He is gone right now to the Father - Daughter Dance at Round Lake Elementary with Kerstyn. He did his level best to bribe her out of going, ice cream, movie, etc. It didn't work. She was so excited to go and always looks forward to it every year. I tried to take a picture of them before they left, but my battery was dead. It is now charging, and I will take one when they get home and post it later.

Some reasons that I love my old man, I mean Chris:
He loves me even when I am at my worst. This is very important because it seems all to often lately. :(
He is dedicated to the gospel of Jesus Christ and having an eternal family.
He is a hard worker and dedicated to his family, calling and job.
He's Chris. I couldn't ask for anyone more wonderful to be my husband, best friend and father to our children.

I hope you have/had a great birthday honey, I love you.

It's a sad day for America

I was so sad to see and hear that Mitt Romney was suspending his campaign today. Hopefully we'll see him run again and be even more successful in a few years.

One thing you won't have to worry about from me...
I WILL NOT be voting for the dirty politicians John McCain OR Mike Huckabee!

Christian Home & Bible School

I had a tour of Mount Dora Bible today. I set up to go there this morning at 9 a.m. to look around the school and see if it was somewhere I would like to send Brennan for middle school. I was impressed.

I loved how they have chapel each day. How nice to have a special time to hear a spiritual message. I also liked how they have bible study as a class. Another plus is that they have many ways that the child can have advanced classes if that is what they want and can be in. I like that they have more opportunity to excel academically. The class sizes are also much smaller and that is appealing. They whole school, K - 12, is only about 800 kids, which is smaller than Round Lake which is over 1100 for just K - 5.

The campus was beautiful and the staff seemed very nice. They are all certified in their field and the school is SACS accredited. Now, how do I pay for it?

I've been tagged

I was tagged by Tricia. I'll do my best answering these...

4 "people" who email me regularly:
1. Mom
2. Family Minute
3. Mark
4. I can't think of anyone else regular. I'm definitely a lonesome gal. :(

4 places I would like to visit:
1. Bermuda
2. Australia
3. anywhere and everywhere in Europe
4. Israel

4 favorite restaurants:
1. The Cheesecake Factory - I just LOVE cheesecake and everything else that I have eaten there. :)
2. Sonny's - I love their jumbo Diet Cokes and corn nuggets!
3. Cracker Barrel - Tasty food in a comfortable atmosphere that is always loud so my kids don't sound that loud.
4. Brio - Good food that isn't a taste that I get too often.
(Numbers one and four are thanks to Debbie Carter who got me going to both of them.)

4 things I am looking forward to in the coming year:
1. Having all of my kids in school at least for part of the day.
2. Being able to help Chris out more in the office.
3. The opening of the Shipley pool!!!!!!
4. Watching how my kids grow and learn, and hopefully how I shrink.

4 things I am not looking forward to in the coming year:
1. The economy, let's hope I am pleasantly surprised.
2. Cooking (it's just not my friend)
3. I'll have to think about the last two...
4.

All right, I tag Ashlea, Janet and Jennifer.

Aislinn has decided...

that it is time for her to attend pre-school...
She DID NOT want to leave Greyson there today. She was bound and determined that she was going to stay too. She'll just have to wait for a position to open up though.