History, indeed!

     No matter what...we have history in the making happening right now!
     Either an African American President or a woman Vice President will be elected in only two months!
     We are alive in an incredible time! It's crazy to think it was only in 1870 (15th Amendment) that all men were allowed to vote, and then later in 1920 (19th Amendment) women, too. That's not that long ago at all.
     Can you imagine what people like Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Hiram Revels would have to say??
     The other day I was involved in a conversation about the meth-heads arrested in Denver and believed to have planned an assassination attempt on Obama.
     That is such a fearful thing to me. That we live in a time where someone would kill our President because of the color of his skin.
     Of course, everyone is jumping all over Obama's slip when he introduced Biden as the next President, and then corrected to Vice President. A prediction?
     Of course, one cannot forget when Marilyn Monroe (because she arrived so late to the event) was introduced as the Late Marilyn Monroe, only to die just a few months later. Creepy.
     I hope I live in a country where Obama's speaking mistake will not come true!

So, here was the first assignment (notice how many words the title is)

     Today we did a little spin on the six-word memoir, and rather than write our life stories in a short little sentence, we wrote six-word summer stories!
     Some of them were fantastic! Here are some of my favorites.
     Why is summer always too short?
     I like to golf and fish.
     I am glad to be back.
     First love, first car, I'm sixteen.
     I missed my friends; divorce sucks.
     Belief: Everything changes for a reason.
     Half of my to do list.
     Horse, family, move: all equal happiness.

     The last three are mine. What's yours??

CODY

will be home on Friday, and I can't hardly believe it. SIGH.

My baby is coming home!!!

Cody will be home on Friday!!!! I can't wait! He's so cute; he sent his request for certain meals, his favorites :)

Dog days of summer, literally!

I have a Chihuahua named Turbo, and we often call him Turby! He is naked on his tummy, and for whatever reason people think that I shave him??!! But, the vet said he has a recessive gene from a hairless Chihuahua. Thank goodness it only affected his tummy! LOL!

Turbo hooked up with our Pomeranian/Datsun dog, Gracie. She had the most beautiful puppies ever, one of which is Rambo. He is the most loving dog on the planet.

They are both such a part of our family!

Anyhoot, I caught them the other day lounging like cats in the sunshine from the window.

Here is Turb:


His son Rambo:


And, the complete pic:

My baby!!!!

     Cody is coming home next week!! I can't believe he will be here on Friday. I am totally happy, happy, happy about it!
     I haven't hugged that little fart since January.

Working at the car wash!

     If you have ever had the pleasure of fundraising with kids, you no doubt have either worked a car wash for endless hours or a bake sale, right?
     WELL...hold onto your shorts folks! Here is the twist on our car wash FUNdraiser!
     Brett Yusi (a local Okanogan businessman and HUGE supporter of our kids, and someone I consider a family friend) invited the OHS Fall Cheer girls to DRY at the car wash!
     Yup, we are drying cars for donations. And, the super cool thing is that Brett Yusi is going match what we collect! Plus, he even bought all the girls t-shirts for the occasion!
     SO, come out and support his new car wash, which by the way, I love the automatic one!!
     We will be out there this Wednesday, August 20th from 1:00 p.m. until around 3:30 or so at the Clean Image Car Wash across from the Western and right next to Randy's Towing on Elmway.
     I know they are doing a live radio broadcast and giving out all sorts of prizes and stuff!
     Bring your dirty rigs in!

I can believe its (not as in the possessive form of its, but I am officially making it a plural, as in more than one it!)

     I can't believe Madonna is 50. It kinda creeps me out because I grew up with her. I remember exactly where I was (Spokane), what I was doing(babysitting my little brother, sister, and nephew), and when (1984, and I was 13) when I first saw her video for "Lucky Star." Then I became a maniac Madonna wannabe! LOL. I wish I could find pics of that time in my life. How did my mother ever survive?!!
     And, now she is 50?? I realize she was older for her debut (in her late twenties), but geez where does time go exactly?
     I can't believe my baby will be 16 tomorrow. Um, I don't remember giving permission for that to happen! I'm actually not too worried about the driving bit, because he has had his permit since February, and he is a good driver. I felt WAY less stressed this time around than I did when Cody started driving!
     I can't believe summer is almost over! I go back to school for my first teacher day on Monday. Wow! That was fast. Good, but fast! I am always excited for school to start, and I only wish it started more like college, later in September because usually our weather is much nicer in September than it is when we get out in June.
     I can't believe Cody will be home one week from this Friday!!! I AM SOOO STOKED ABOUT THIS. Yup, giddy girl, that's me!!
     I can't believe that Bernie Mac died. I am really sad about this, because I loved his humor, as crass as it could be. We just watched him in a movie last night, and I was sad :( He was so young!
     I can't believe I am having another yard sale. WHAT was I thinking? Enough said about that.
     I can't believe it's not butter. I really do like that spray stuff! LOL
     I can't believe cheerleading is starting up! I am very eager for the SUPER season we are going to have this year!
     I can't believe next year is my 20 year reunion!! I have two to attend, because I moved three days before my senior year started. I was just looking at my friend's pics of her 20 year this month, and I was dying because there were people that I have not seen since twenty years ago! Crazy!
     I can't believe I just wrote a blog about the things I can't believe. Later!

Jerry Springer style?!

     I have been thinking a lot lately about family. You know, I have known people who strictly believe that family can only be blood-related or legally by marriage.
     I know I have blogged before about being a step-mom, and how I totally understand people who adopt children and love them as their own, as I don't think a mother/child relationship can be defined only by blood or marriage.
     Cody and I were recently talking about how much Rick means to him (a fact he really didn't get until he joined the Marines), and how he considers him a dad. So, we chatted about what makes family...family.
     We also talked about labels. We talked about how some people are bothered when a label like "brother" or "mom" is attached to a relationship but not by blood or legally.
      We decided that those are people with small minds and hearts who are losing out in this world!
     I consider my mother-in-law to be to be a mom to me. I consider all the kids to be siblings to each other and grandkids to G-Ma Pat.
      This past week, Jordan was at church camp, and he had the largest family to come on family night! This included his big sister Nicole, her three kids (I got lots of baby time with grandbaby Nathan), his little sister Sarah, Rick, Grandma Pat, and me!
      I wish you could've seen the pride and appreciation my teenage son had for his family. No one can deny that these people are all his family, even if they don't fit nice and tidy into a categorical definition.
     That doesn't even start to hit the people in my life who are incredible friends; I consider them family, too.
      I think family members are the people in your life that you would unconditionally do ANYTHING for at any time and not feel that it is an obligation.
     Sometimes we can even have biological family or people to whom we are legally connected, but we don't consider family. I am fortunate to not have that in my life, which makes my family HUGE!
      Ultimately when I am trying to explain how I am related to someone, I end up explaining that we have a Jerry Springer Family. I don't mean that we are trashy or that we have issues, but rather that we are complicated; our tree is one of those SUPER cool, unique trees that you just want to stare out for hours. That's us.
     Think about it...who do you have in your life that you TRULY consider family? Who are your brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents? What does the picture of your tree look like?

Sweet new discovery!

I stumbled upon a fun site! It will take any text you enter and make it into a word collage! I made one from my past three blogs, which all three were centered around family! I hope you enjoy! Check it out here!

On vacation

See ya next week!

BEST NEWS EVER!!!!

     Cody's coming home!!!
     I haven't hugged my baby since January!!! SIGH. So, he will be home at the end of this month for five days. I can't wait to squeeze every second out that he is home!
     This is the BEST way to end my summer!!!!!

Family!

     We had Rick's oldest daughter and two of her kiddos (my grand babies) over on Wednesday afternoon through until late night.
     What is it about holding a sweet little baby that just soothes the spirit?
     I always feel so happy after we have quality time with Nichole and her kids :)
     We had good dinner, good conversation, good times! I'm excited to spend more time with them in this next week.
     We are having a huge family BBQ tomorrow! Both of Rick's brothers will be here, and their families, too. Also, a bunch of cousins, and all the kids. I wish Cody could be here :(
     We are going on vacation with one of Rick's brothers and his family. That will be a good time, too!
     And, Rick's oldest daughter and kiddos are coming to visit on one of the days, so it's going to be family, family, family time!

More Movies!

      We added two more movies to our watched list this past week!
      First we watched 21, and I liked it, but it was definitely a renter! Kevin Spacey is good, as always, and I felt like it was pretty predictable, but I LOVE Vegas, baby!
      The othe movie was Nim's Island. This movie was very cute! It's a good family flick, lots of funnies, and I love the concept behind the movie. TOTALLY worth renting!

double date nights

     This is a rarity! We went to the movies two nights in a row!
     Probably this doesn't happen more because of the expense, but also, we don't usually have two consecutive nights free!
     First up on Friday we watched Dark Knight(so much word play on this title). I think this was the best Batman movie yet!
     I am not a huge fan of Christian Bale as Batman, but Heath Ledger rocked the Joker! He was totally creepy, and it's not because he is no longer alive.
     I loved the action, and there were some great lines in the movie, too. Although pretty predictable, I loved the introduction of Two Face!
     I was glad that our friend told us we should see it in the theater! It was worth it, and I was surprised at how many people filled up the place even after it had been out for a bit.
     Saturday night brought us to tears! Rick, Jordie, and I went to see Step-Brothers. I laughed so hard that my face and stomach hurt!
     Please note: It's definitely a rated-R movie!!!! TOTALLY inappropriate language and sexual situations.
     Even so, the concept behind this movie is HYSTERICAL. I love it! Don't forget how to be a dinosaur!! Perfect theme!
     Our entertainment for the weekend rocked!

Parent Pet Peeves!

     Under no circumstances do I claim to know everything about parenting. Trust me, I realize it's always learning in progress.
     I do have a few things that creep under my skin that I have recently observed other parents doing. Yes, this may seem judgemental, but ultimately we are all entitled to our opinions. Just as much as it bugs me, it obviously doesn't other people.
     #1 - What's up with the leash for the kid? I have never understood that, and maybe I would if I lived in a VERY busy and scary place, although I have taken my own kids on tons of vacations to potential places that could be a kidnapper's paradise, and I would never use a leash. NOPE.
     I did it the old fashioned way of holding my child's hand. That seemed to me to be the easiest way when I was in a place that made me nervous. Or, I would use the piggy back ride technique. That's always an option to keep your kiddo close.
     #2 - Why don't parents MAKE their children (especially ones too small to understand doing it on their own) wear helmets when they are on bikes, push scooters, rollerblades, and horses, etc.?
     That really drives me bonkers. I have heard people make the excuse that a little kid on a little bike or push scooter doesn't have far to fall.
     Or I have even heard the excuse that on a scooter, it's no different than a child's walking height. I agree to that, but they are not moving on wheels when they walk. They normally have a bit more control of their feet.
     As far as the not far to fall to the ground response, to that I say, grab a watermelon and drop it from the same distance and see if there are ANY cracks.
     These things popped up these past few days. That's it for the rant, coming from a far less than perfect parent!