2009 Jr High Slumber party

My team has been BEGGING me for a LONG time to have a slumber party. We had planned to have a Camp Out at 1 of the girls house, but it got rained out. So we moved the party to my house.

We had a game Thursday night. I had told the girls that if they lost the game, that the slumber party would be canceled. They won!! :) (I think that they believed me also!! )



We had a lot of fun!

We ordered pizza and had WAYYYYYY to much sugar!!!

I am so happy to have Lori as my assistant coach. She makes things so much fun for all of us. She is a GREAT teacher and an even better friend.

They "spray painted" each others hair. Even Dada had her hair done!!!



We played games.....


(I have no idea why this picture is not rotated correctly. I hope you don't hurt your neck.)

We learned about the 3 B's.





Jen had to leave early b/c she is competing in a team penning competition today. The girls were so excited when Jen's Dad showed up with the horses!! I hope you do well today Jen!!

Guess who got a hold of my camera??




Another lost tooth!!!!


Isn't he cute?!?!

You guess it!!! Brother! He had fun 1 morning while waiting to leave for school.

The tale of the toad part 2.

This is the sight I was greeted with when I got home from work and games tonight. While he was at Grandma and Grandpa S 's house, he found ANOTHER frog.

So of course it came home to live with us. YEAH!!! :)

He couldn't wait to show me and came running over to show me. (He is with the neighbor boy here.)

The frogs have not yet been named, nor do I think I could tell them apart if Brother did name them.

And yes, the other frog was found. He was in the cooler. :)

Jonathan

Jonathan and Melanie married a year ago May. This past June, Melanie kissed her husband and sent him off to Iraq.

He will be there for anywhere from a year -14 months.

Although, I miss him like crazy, I am so VERY proud of him. He is sacrificing so much for his country, for me and for you.

Please pray for him. Pray that God keeps him safe, and that God gives him added strength and grace to get through these long months.

I stole these pictures from my Brothers Facebook page. :)

The Tale of the Toad

The other day, Brother came running into the house screaming and yelling. I know, I know, this isn't unusual, but this time he came in carrying a toad. A TOAD!!!!!

I tried to convince him that he needed to let it go. Really I did. But he insisted on keeping it. He wanted to keep it as his pet. (A toad....for a pet?!?!)

So he put the toad in a cooler and off he went to get something to prop the lid open with. He came back with a little screwdriver.


Now I am thinking....how do I convince this kid that he really needs to let this toad go? I am sure that the thing will be dead before morning if he keeps it, and even though I can't stand the things, I do have 1/2 a heart, and really didn't want to see the thing suffer.

Tancy stopped by for a minute, and even she was excited about the stupid thing. She told the kids what toads eat, and sent them on their merry way looking for crickets. (which are in abundance in our garden right now!!)

Well, the morning came, and both the kids ran outside to see if it was still alive. And it was! I was shocked!!

We were late for school that morning b/c the kids were so involved in the toad that they didn't want to get ready for school.

Brother even wanted to take it to school. I decided that he ( the toad ) better stay home.

I came home for a minute around 11:00 and found the toad sitting in the straight sun. I thought he would be dead very shortly. I thought very hard about just letting the toad go. Brother would never know....I could just say that the toad hopped out. Let the poor thing be on its merry way. But then I knew that Brothers heart would be crushed.

So I moved the toad into the shade and went back to work.

The next day, the neighbor boys come over and the excitement starts all over again about the toad. They decide to make the cooler into a great home for the toad. They put in a bowl (from my KITCHEN!!!!) for water and set TONS more crickets into the cooler.

Later on I even found out they decided to "play" with the toad and were throwing him up into the air. (I knew I should have let it go when I had the chance!!!)

The next day, the kids were at school in the playground, and Brother lifted up a rock, and guess what he found?? A FROG!!!!

What you ask did we do with the frog??

Well we took it home of course!

So not only do we have a toad, but now we have a frog.

Dada has decided that she can hold the frog. Its not that gross.

So all weekend the kids have played with frog and Ben. Oh yes, the Toad has a name now. Brother named his toad....Ben.

Ben lives in the garage....in his cooler.

As of today, Ben is still alive (which I am totally surprised by!!). I'm not quite sure what happened to the frog. I'm sure its around here.....somewhere.

Isaiah 41:10 ~ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed: for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

I have a long week this week. In addition to the kitchen duties, I have volleyball. This week I have 3 games. I am tired. Yesterday, I was a little overwhelmed just thinking about the week. (I'm not complaining, I am just stating a fact)

But I don't have to be overwhelmed. God will give me the strength to get through each and every day.

Lessons from the kitchen

Lesson # 18 ~ Never hang dirty rags over the sink. I mean seriously, who is going to come by and grab that rag and say to themselves.................. wow, that rag is clean, I think I will use that to do __________.





Lesson #19 ~ Wear gloves. I use them ALL the time. They not only stop the transfer of your germs to the food, but they also save your hands from getting covered with stuff.

Lesson #20 ~ When making cookies, beware that the wonderful smell of the cookies baking will automatically draw people from all over the school for a fresh, out of the oven cookie. So bake about a dozen extra. ;)

Lesson #21 ~ It is best to mop the floor everyday. The best way to do this is on your hands and knees with a rag and a bucket of hot water....preferably with Pine Sol (only b/c it smells so wonderful and cleans so well.) But if you are stressed for time, a mop with a bucket of hot water.....preferably with Pine Sol. :)


Here is a lesson for YOU. Maybe not so much a lesson, but a word of advice. Know that on Fryday, I will not be extremely happy b/c I will be smelling like a grease trap. And I don't like smelling like a grease trap.


Lesson #22 ~ Here is a lesson that I already knew. In fact I learned it when I was but a wee babe but apparently it needs to be taught.

Never, and I mean NNNNEEEVVVVEEERRRR mix kool aid flavors. I certainly would not want to drink lime kool aid mixed in with berry flavor. It doesn't take much more effort to grab another pitcher and make a fresh batch of kool aid. I'm just sayin.

Lesson #23 ~ When making Dirt Dessert it is best to allow your cream cheese to soften WELL, before mixing with the pudding and coolwhip. Otherwise you have a lumpy pudding batter.

Lesson #24 ~ When serving said Dirt Dessert, it is best NOT to tell the k3 and k4 classes that since you didn't have time to make a dessert that you instead went outside and dug up some dirt and found some worms and put them in a cup for their dessert. There will be some child who will believe you and not eat it. Especially when they can SEE the "worm." Again, I'm just sayin.

Lesson #25 ~ Remember that the kids you are serving can tell when you have gone the extra mile to make their food good. And they will appreciate it in the long run.

These Lessons don't have to be applied just in my kitchen, they can be used as a general rule in all kitchens.