So, yep, it has been awhile.
Has it possibly that our lives have been SO boring, that there is nothing to post?
Nope. Not hardly.
Okay, so sit down, get a snack, a drink and make sure you have plenty of time. This is the longest blog post in
Nope. Not hardly.
Okay, so sit down, get a snack, a drink and make sure you have plenty of time. This is the longest blog post in
HISTORY!
So, as Tacey is on the Freshman Basketball Team, there has been a significant amount of Basketball watching. They did call a foul on this shot. I know you are thinking; 'Of course they did! That is a obvious foul!'.
So, as Tacey is on the Freshman Basketball Team, there has been a significant amount of Basketball watching. They did call a foul on this shot. I know you are thinking; 'Of course they did! That is a obvious foul!'.
However, it seems you must also
fail
a vision test to become a referee.
Different team, different game, can't remember if physics were in Tacey's favor on this shot, but we will assume they were.
Out-running the rest of the players. That is one of the reasons they like her; she's fast.
Okay, so early in December we (Me, McCade & Dallin) had the 5th grade music concert. I need to have at least one concert, per grade, per year.
I really HATE trying to squeeze a concert in during the already busy Christmas Season, but those 5th graders this particular year are definitely on the difficult side. I was certain that trying to keep focus and perfect music until the spring was going to be next to impossible.
So, Christmas Music it was!
Shelley High School has 2 gyms, so Tacey was at practice until the concert started (practicing in the OTHER gym. Nope, They have no auditorium, but they have 2 gyms - go figure). She & her friend Abbey showed up to watch the concert in their post-practice beautifulness. haha!
McCade had a solo, no nepotism, I promise. The kid has talent.
I had 64 kids audition for 3 solos. I managed to narrow it down to 10. Everyone sang solo, they sang much shorter solos than I had originally planned. I was honestly SHOCKED at how many auditioned. I anticipated having a hard time; breaking little hearts is never easy, but I was extremely overwhelmed. It seriously sucked to be me that day.
Dallin helped out with the 6th Grade Honor Choir. He also did a very nice job. The 6th grade Honor Choir sang harmony opposite the 5th grade. They were amazing, and I was VERY pleased with them!
Okay, so I never post pictures of myself. (Self-Image issues, haha.) But, okay, here I am running the show.
The next night was the Ward Christmas Party. Dallin had to explain to Santa what a KINDLE is. I guess the elves take care of technology, and he takes care of delivery.
And you are wondering why McCade looks so serious?
Well, maybe because he has been having a problem with lying.
(Actually, he doesn't have a problem with lying AT ALL. He does it really well, without any thought, those tall tales just POP right out of his mouth!)
ANYWAY,
Santa KNEW that McCade was having issues, and had a little talk with him about it.
Santa KNEW that McCade was having issues, and had a little talk with him about it.
Because Santa knows EVERYTHING!
Then came the Christmas-Present-Before-Christmas.
All the kids decided that among the things they wanted for Christmas was a trip to a CHARGERS game. So, I braved the snow and ice, drove the Las Vegas, met Shane there and we went to San Diego for a Chargers Home game.
*Side Note - we also used this trip to return Muffie to her Mommy. Thankfully, she responds very well to doggie Valium. We stayed the night at the Southpointe Casino in Vegas; Shane does a lot of work there. After we were confirmed in the room, Shane realized they don't take pets at the Casino. Problem, right? So, he called the guy he works with (a coordinator for the casino) and told him the problem.
His business associate had a solution; he said
"Just throw the dog in a duffel bag and sneak it in! That's what everyone else does!"
HAHAHAHAHA!
So that is what we did! I have to say that Muffie is the most 'vocal' doggie I know. BUT, she did not make a single noise while she was in the bag and was carried through the casino, not one noise all night in the hotel room, not one noise when she was back in the bag and we were sneaking her out. It was AMAZING!*
As for the game, we had what most people consider not-so-good seats. They were labeled as LIMITED VIEW.
Yep, the view was limited, by the
PLAYERS.
HAHAHA!
Here we are in our seats in the 6th row. Andrea got to go with us.
See how close we were? I will admit that there were times during the game that Shane leaned over to discuss what was happening with Dallin, but Dallin had missed what was happening.
This usually because Dallin was too busy watching the Cheerleaders.
Shane finally gave in and asked which Cheerleader Dallin thought was cutest. Dallin went several shades of red.
Just a comment about Tacey's shirt.
That is THE shirt.
It is the shirt my Grandpa, the biggest Charger Fan ever seen on this planet wore to every game. He's been watching them in High-Def on the big screen in Heaven for the last 10 years, but his shirt went back to a game. I also wore on of my Grandpa's shirts.
We were completely 'in' with our Charger-wear.
They played San Francisco. The Chargers kinda let up a little in the 4th quarter, and let the 49ers finally get a Touchdown. In the end it was almost a complete shut out, and to make the whole thing better, all the REALLY exciting stuff took place right on front of us!
The next day we relaxed at the Wild Animal Park; how we love San Diego!
We have all our traditional picture spots.
McCade had to hatch out of the egg, again . . .
So, occasionally I take AMAZING pictures.
Like National Geographic amazing type pictures.
This is a Tenrec. He is from Madagasgar. Isn't he cute? He looks sleepy because he is nocturnal, so it was WAY past his bedtime. He looks like a cross between a hedgehog and a porcupine.
You can tell this a MALE because his eyes are kinda puffy. When he comes across a female he rubs his eyes and they excrete a white, milky substance. He rubs that all over himself, and it makes him
SERIOUSLY SEXY
at least as far as a female tenrec is concerned!
So, I am not one to carry change at the Wild Animal Park, I carry my ID, my Season Pass, the debit card (if the kids are lucky) and my camera, THAT IS IT! However, Tacey took her wallet in this time. She had quarters, so the kids got to use the Footsie Wootsie for the first time.
That was entertainment.
Tacey began a love affair with a Lion.
Tacey began a love affair with a Lion.
I hope that is the most kissing she does for awhile.
And this is a picture I take every time.
This is one of 8 Southern White Rhinos left in the world.
Look now, because you may never see one again.
Of the 8 left, 6 are female, and 4 of the females are beyond breeding age. They have been working to try to breed the other two, but so far, there have been no Southern White Rhino babies. It really doesn't look promising. They have the Southern White Rhino 'in the bank'. But if they are all gone, I am not sure how they will get an embryo through gestation. The researchers aren't sure either, but they have them 'in the bank', hoping for a time when they can figure it out.
Yep, National Geographic!
This is the
sexiest
Male Giraffe at the Wild Animal Park.
He is on loan from Busch Gardens, and within 3 months of arrival ALL the females were pregnant. Now there are all sorts of very-cute baby giraffes wandering around!
Yep, that is a Cheetah just feet from the kids.
His tail is longer than his body, his head is a lot more square then you would expect. he is nervous and jumpy, and has a best friend/companion that is a Black Lab.
No one else wanted to go, but Tacey and couldn't leave San Diego without a trip down Christmas Card Lane.
Again, Tacey got 'Elfed'.
And we posed with our favorite cards.
Tacey wanted this one in honor of her friend Josh. When she goes to his house they watch a lot of Veggie Tales.
And the Beauty & the Beast fan stopped to join the party.
Then Tacey posed with her future husband; Superman. She kinds fits in the Justice League, doesn't she?
On the way home we came across this sad but funny flyer. Can you read it?
It says Family Wreath 1996-2010
"After having our family's wreath up for only one night, a heartless coward stole the family's heirloom from our yard which it had adorned for many christmases.
To the Cold Hearted Grinch who stole our wreath:
You can go Fa-la-la-la-la yourself!"
Funny, sad & tragic; but still funny.
So then we had to return to reality; a snowy, cold home in Idaho and school that didn't get out until December 22nd.
On the up-side, Ben and Laura came to Idaho for Christmas and spent some time with us; for which we were grateful.
First thing we did was go sledding.
I took everyone to Pillsbury Park because it has the perfect Haley-sized hill!
We only had one sled, but MOST everyone shared well.
(That is code for Dallin & McCade could share with everyone EXCEPT each other)
Tacey had fallen on her head the day before and didn't think sledding would be fun. As she had a concussion, I agreed sledding was a poor idea.
*Back story*
Tacey went to grab the ball, and the girl on the other team didn't want her to have it. So the opposing player jerked away, but Tacey didn't let go. Tacey held on to that ball, but the momentum flipped her completely up in the air so the bottom of her feet were facing the ceiling, and then gravity took over and she landed squarely on her head. She had all the symptoms of a concussion, EXCEPT the uneven pupils. She talked a loopy all night; like she had a berr or two. Mostly her friends laughed at her, and we kept her up for quite awhile making sure she was okay. For the next few days she had a sore neck and a headache. Not a big surprise. She also doesn't remember most of that night. I wish I could be confident this is the worst that will ever happen, but I'm not.
Dallin and McCade do play football . . .
Haley LOVED it!
Some kids had come before us and had built this jump.
Haley didn't weigh enough, so she never actually caught any air.
McCade did!
Laura did!
Dallin did!
Then we settled down for a quiet Christmas at home.
Christmas morning Dallin had KINDLE from Santa
Tacey had a guitar from Santa
McCade had a camera from Santa
The traditional down the Hallway Picture.
McCade in amazement
Dallin with his Kindle. I will say that he manages to use that even more than the papparazzi uses his camera!
Tacey wearing all her stuff at once
McCade showing off his new gear
and becoming our own
personal
papparazzi.
You really have to lock the bathroom door now!
Dallin with his Kindle. I will say that he manages to use that even more than the papparazzi uses his camera!
The guitar was used a lot in the begining, but it is begining to catch dust as I feared.
We'll see, maybe things will change when Basketball isn't so time-consuming.
*SHORT BREAK*
The Saga of the Stupid Fruit Plates
When we got married, we got the usual assortment of presents; among them was a set of flatware we thought was
oh-so-NOT-attractive.
We tried to return them, but with no success, we couldn't figure out where they had come from. So, we decided to use them first.
Since things break, they would be the first to break, then we could move on to the stuff we liked! Well, almost 19 years down the road, I think
1
ONE
1
of the dishes in this particular sest has broken.
They have lived through four moves, three kids and my amazing ability to ALWAYS be clutzy. So, in an attempt to be grown-ups, Shane bought me the white Corelle we had always talked about.
I opened the first box, and
BAM
the first plate
JUMPED
out of the box
fell to the floor
and broke.
No, it was not funny.
No, we did not laugh.
Stupid Fruit Plates live 19 years
Corelle lives 19 seconds.
I did have one victory that day!
So, have REALLY been working on my bread-making skills.
(That means I was trying to gain some. Bread is something I have NEVER been able to do.)LOOK!
I made these rolls!
From
SCRATCH!
Like with flour, and yeast and stuff!
They were so yummy!
Ben & Laura stopped by later in the day to open the presents I was holding hostage. I don't let anyone open ANYTHING before Christmas.
(I think Laura looks just like my Mom in this picture.)
Sinced then there has been more basketball . . .
More injuries, though none of them as scary as when Tacey was flipped over and dropped on her head.
And now we watch Dallin and McCade play as well.
Dallin didn't play in their first game, he went Cross-Country Skiing with the Scouts, so Mac represented for both of them.
He can set a screen as well as his sister!
He is still using his whole body to catch passes, BUT he is on the floor a lot less this year.
IN FACT,
the only time he was on the floor was when he actually got pushed!
Progress!
Shooting the ball; didn't go in. But as you know, you miss 100% of the shots you don't take!
More Tacey Basketball. Tacey really made this girl mad. She was the coach's daughter, and Tacey's defense was really on. Made this girl exceptionally angry!
So there you go!
As you look back over the blog, take special note of Tacey's nifty-new Basketball shoes.
They are the ONLY set in existence.
Her Dad loves her, and is a big softie, and let her design them on the NikeID website. She chose the style, the colors and has SHS monogrammed on the outside & TM on the inside.
Cost?
Too Much!
Coolness factor?
Priceless!
Danielle
