Suzy Q's News

Fall Planting Day

2011-08-28T21:50:00.006-04:00

Saturday was fall planting day. Molly was a huge help! First on the agenda was harvesting our okra. Looking forward to using it in a stew in the near furture. Then, she helped us get the soil ready for planting our new crops. We found a garden rake that was just her size! While she couldn't really do much planting of the new crops, she found other ways to stay busy (and get a little dirty) while daddy did the planting. Looking forward to broccoli, carrots, lettuce & spinach in the fall. Yum!

Helping dad get the soil ready for the plants!

Molly showing off her "green thumb"

Holding the hose to help water our garden

I'll have seconds please!

2011-08-24T21:31:00.002-04:00

I made spaghetti for dinner tonight. I knew this was one of Molly's favorites, but she took it to a whole new level. I saw her not only eating the spaghetti, but sucking the sauce off her hands, and digging in her high chair and bib pocket to find MORE spaghetti! She was ready for seconds before I had put the first bite of mine in my mouth. Funny story - when I was young we had spaghetti for dinner one night. I'm pretty sure I ate the meal in just my diaper. I made a MESS with it - I rubbed it on my face, tummy, hair - everywhere I could reach. (Mom & dad, you can confirm...it sounds like I may have eaten less than I played with). Straight to the tub I went, and after the scrub down, there was a large spaghetti grease ring around me! My parents have told that story enough times that I no longer get embarrassed by it. I know there's a picture somewhere...I'll see if I can find and share.

"Molly and the Purple Crayon"

2011-08-24T21:27:00.002-04:00

One thing I've learned that's important to do in parenthood is to pick and choose battles. Once I discovered that Mr. Clean magic eraser will wipe off any crayon Molly happens to put on kitchen surfaces (we've yet to try the walls...), I decided to let her go to town. Just like Harold, Molly picked up the purple crayon and started on her masterpiece!

A New Direction

2011-08-24T21:22:00.002-04:00

I'm going to try something new with the blog. I think I get overwhelmed with how much I have to share about certain events. I'm going to try minimizing. One of my friends is doing a daily photo blog of sorts. While we all know it won't be daily, I think I'm going to go more in that direction. Here's to hoping a picture is worth a thousand words... :o)

Watch Out World...Here She Comes

2011-06-13T18:00:00.005-04:00

The biggest milestone for Molly this spring was learning how to walk. She took her first steps on April 24, but wasn't walking until about a week later. This video is from April 29. She is now walking almost exclusively. Go, Molly!!

Highlights of Spring

2011-06-13T17:07:00.028-04:00

SPRING 2011 HIGHLIGHTS. This spring has been a busy time for us. We have attended many events and watched Molly learn many new things. What a whirlwind it's been. Here are some highlights of what we've been up to... End of the year Grad student picnic: Molly really enjoyed not only playing with another child at the picnic, but learning all about the wonders of sidewalk chalk. Here, her and Emma work on a rainbow together. Molly: Mom, are you sure I can eat my first popsicle? Me: Enjoy! Just don't get it all over me, please. (She did a really good job of keeping it in her mouth or on the bib. Way to go, M!)

Easter:

After hunting for eggs at Barbara's, Molly pauses in the shade to check out just what's inside each one. The cutest little Easter Bunny I've ever seen! This is at the egg hunt at church. She was way more interested in playing in the sand then hunting for eggs.

The Dogwood Festival:

The Dogwood Festival is every year in Atlanta. I've always wanted to go, and made it a point this year. My friend Anna, Molly and I went. They had a lawn where they were doing dog tricks. We watched that for a while before going to get something to eat. That was a disaster trying to maneuver the stroller through the crowd...but we found some yummy crepes! The main reason for the festival is to showcase different artists, so after our meal, we wondered to see what there was. It was a lot of very pricey photographs, sculptures, paintings, etc. But I did find a multi-media print for Molly's room. I haven't hung it yet but it's on the to-do list. First, I have to find the right frame for it. A fun afternoon for sure!

Ice cream:

This captures Molly's first ice cream cone. It was at Chick Fil A. She didn't understand that it doesn't go in our mouth - rather we lick the ice cream off. It didn't take her long to figure out how it works. The facial expression shows such anticipation...one of my favorite Molly photos!

Play time at home:

There is obviously a lot of play time at home. I've learned to live with the fact that our living room floor will never be "clean again". Don't waste her nap time cleaning it up, because it will all be brought back out post-nap. She is still learning how to really use crayons. The best way to use them is with a pacifier...or else they end up going into the mouth rather than on the paper. Another goodie...this is one that I couldn't resist taking. Apparently, I was a little older but there was one of me taken while I was playing in the dryer. I don't want Molly to get in the habit of thinking this is a play place, but she was pretty happy to pose for a picture while in there. Just make sure to put it on the delicate cycle. ;o)

Molly Turns ONE

2011-06-12T22:35:00.011-04:00

(It hasn't been 6 months...for those of you who are still reading...) Molly turned one on March 11. This is a big milestone and of course, we had a party to celebrate. In fact - two parties. One was the week before with my co-workers. We had brunch at one of our favorites, J. Christophers. Pancakes followed by a red velvet smashed cupcake. Yummmm! Thanks friends for helping celebrate Molly wish us. And a huge thanks for the presents that you gave to the Children's Hospital.

Waiting for guests to arrive at J. Christophers.

She spotted the cupcakes and couldn't wait to get her hands on them.

Birthday Girl

Friends that came to help celebrate Molly's first birthday!

Her actual birthday we had Andrew's parents in town from Waco. My friend Anna also came to the celebration. We had dinner at Folks - good southern food (can you say peach muffins and corn nuggets?!!?).

Waiting for dinner... Granddad, Grammy, Dad, Mom, and Molly

Then we came home and let Molly smaaaaaash her cake. It was so fun, but the poor girl didn't know what to do with a WHOLE cake at first. She needed some "coaching" from mom, but she caught on quickly.

After a bath that turned the water blue, she got to open presents. Molly was such a trooper as it was clearly after her bedtime. But hey, who can say no to presents?

Happy birthday, Molly Marguerite. What a year it's been....I can't wait to see how you'll grow and change in the coming year. I love you.

It's been awhile...

2011-03-05T22:53:00.002-05:00

...and life with Molly has been very busy. I could kick myself for not doing better at keeping up with blogging. Since my last post we've been to New Orleans for Andrew's college reunion, Kansas City for my HS reunion and Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas. While I hope to get caught up eventually, I wanted to go ahead and share our trip to Athens, GA last weekend while it's fresh. I can't find the cord to upload pictures to the computer, so those will come later. We've lived in Atlanta for 6 years. Every year I've searched the Baylor athletic schedule in hopes they would come this way. FINALLY, baseball was coming to play UGA in Athens (a little over an hour from us). We've always wanted to head up there. We had heard good things and since it's where REM met, there's some musical interest as well. We headed up Saturday mid-morning. Got there in time to grab a quick lunch at Subway before getting to the game. If you know me, you know my love for all things baseball. There's something I've missed about the "ping" of the metal bats hitting the ball. I hadn't been to a college game since my time in Waco. It was a sunny day, but still a slight chill in the air. It was a fun game - Baylor ended up losing 4-3. I would've liked to see them win, but I'm ok with it since they won Friday and Sunday winning the overall series. After the game, Molly was ready for a nap so we checked into our hotel. We were all pretty tired so took a quick rest before going out to find dinner - ending up at Logan's. Molly's first steak...yum! Sunday was a beautiful day - mid 70's and sunny. We drove to downtown Athens and pulled out the stroller. Time for the "REM walking tour." Perfect day for it! We saw the steeple from the church of their first show, the train trestel bridge from the cover of their first album "Murmur", Weeber D's Soul Food - Automatic for the People, the old & new 40 Watt clubs, and of course - Wuxtry Records - where the band members met. Andrew has turned me on to REM so it was a fun walk for both of us. After all that walking we were ready for some lunch. One of our favorite places in Atlanta, Doc Chey's, has a location in Athens, so we went there. Delicious! It was while we were eating lunch that Molly and I had our first "gut laugh, you-had-to-be-there" moment. I had just put a bite of food in her mouth and she laughed or did something that made it fly back out of her mouth. It startled her and she started laughing, which made me laugh, which made her laugh. We were both belly laughing at each other for the silliest thing. Andrew calmly looked up from the newspaper and asked, "what's so funny?" We both looked at him and I said "You had to be there..." It was a fun mom/daughter moment. Even the little things that seem like nothing are special to share. We had discussed going to Sunday's baseball game, but decided to finish seeing campus, and then head back to Atlanta (with a stop at the outlets first, duh!). It was a wonderful weekend get-away that was much needed. It's amazing what a night away from home will do for the mental state of mind. I promise it will not be another 6 months before I post again. After all - we had Molly's first ONE YEAR OLD birthday celebration today!

Bookworms

2010-09-09T20:42:00.003-04:00

The Decatur Book Festival is an event I'd always wanted to attend. For whatever reason, Andrew and I had never made it out there. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to go check it out while Andrew was out of town. It was something that would definitely get me out of the house. And it turned out to be a beautiful day. Molly and I were trying to get there by 12:30 to see the Charlotte's Web puppet show. I thought that would be something she would enjoy because of the visual. We arrived at 12:35, and found that they hadn't started yet (yes!). Well, sadly it's because they were behind schedule and just ended up cancelling it. (Or if it was changed to a different time, no one could tell me when it would be...) So, I was pretty bummed, but knew that if I stuck around I would probably find some good deals on some books. This is probably my favorite thing to spend money on. Especially children's books....and especially children's books for Molly.

We did find some great deals on books....$4 hard-cover books. It's really hard to beat that. Another tent had 50% off all children's books. So, I got some for Molly & some for my class. I wouldn't say it was all I expected it to be, but I really can't complain about getting such great deals on books. And it was a nice mother/daughter afternoon.

Waiting in the tent for the (non-existent) puppet show to begin

Molly calling...

2010-09-08T21:13:00.003-04:00

Andrew was out of town recently, so Molly and I would call to say good morning. While she was "talking" to daddy, I decided to snap a picture. She's really interested in listening to that familiar voice on the other end, but still seems a little confused by it all. Her favorite thing to do is reach for the cord...and try to put it in her mouth. (surprise!)

Molly's Dedication

2010-09-07T21:19:00.005-04:00

August 15, 2010 Andrew and I, along with our family & church family, dedicated Molly. Many people have asked what that is exactly. It's basically our promise that we will do our best to raise her in a Godly home, with the help of God himself, and our amazing support team - family, friends, and our church.

We were so blessed that both sets of grandparents and Andrew's sister, Courtney, were able to attend. It was a special day. Here's what we promised....so you all can help us and so we can always remember what we agreed to do in raising Molly Marguerite Kirkpatrick.

Susan & Andrew, we invite you to recall your own baptism and, seeking to fulfill it's promises, give yourself in convenant to lead Molly toward discipleship in Christ.

With gratitude to God:

Do you receive this child as a precious gift from God, and seek God's grace and this community's support in nurturing and caring for her...

Do you covenant to remain faithful in love to your child...whatever the future may bring...

Do you promise to teach her the joy of the Holy scripture, The importance of worship, The duty to serve God's people, The responsibility of faithful stewardship, and the Blessing of Christian Community...

Do you promise before God and this community to so fashion your lives that your child may come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

I do, God helping me...

Andrew, myself & Molly with Rev. Erin during Molly's dedication

Grandpa, Nina, Mom, Erin & Molly, Dad, Aunt Courtney, Grammy & Granddad

Just us 3...Andrew, Susan, and Molly KP!

Sit & Spit

2010-07-21T12:29:00.005-04:00

So I realize the name of this post sounds quite gross. But when you're talking about the sweetest 4 month old around, it's so cute, right? :o) Yesterday, while in Ottawa, Andrew needed to go to the library. Molly and I found a shady spot close to the library to hang out for a bit while he worked. I knew she was very close to being able to sit on her own, so we were "working" on strengthening her muscles to get her strong enough to do so. I was lightly holding my hands behind her back when I realized she didn't need my help. So I grabbed the camera & took some pictures. While she was sitting there, she was also participating in one of her other newer tricks....spitting. She has learned to do this and while it's not the most lady-like thing she's ever done, it really entertains her.

Molly's New Trick

2010-05-15T20:49:00.004-04:00

Recently, Molly has discovered that she can suck on her hands at any point. Unlike the pacifier, she doesn't have to wait for mom & dad to put it in her mouth. You can always tell when she's sucking because of the "smack smack" that comes from her direction. Andrew and I realized it was just a matter of time before she would find her thumb. And this week she found it! She doesn't always suck it because she's still learning how to get it to her mouth before she gets frustrated. But when she does get it, it's like she's struck gold. I've heard negatives to thumb sucking, mostly with how hard it is to break the habit in years to come...but for now, it's pretty stinking cute! See for yourself. :o)

Baby in your bag?

2010-04-22T21:34:00.005-04:00

Today was my first day back to work. While I was very anxious about it all week, the day turned out quite well. The students were excited to have me back, and I was excited to see them, too. I also enjoyed being back in a routine. Not to mention, having lunch with adults! :o)

I did miss Molly, and was grateful that Andrew sent me 2 pictures to my phone. He also kept me informed of her day by email. I was definitely ready to come home right after school. It was so nice to curl up with Molly for an afternoon nap.

Funny "first day back" story. I walked into the room with my normal gear plus my breast pump. It is hidden in a good sized tote. One of my students said "Hi, Mrs. Kirkpatrick! Is your baby in your purse?" I thought it was really funny and quite cute. I informed him that, in fact, Molly was at home sleeping. My students are so cute...it was good to be around them again. Nevermind how fast the last six weeks has gone; this whole year with this group of 3rd graders has flown! I will enjoy my last 4 weeks with them.

And while we're here....a few pictures of Molly:

Molly curled up with mommy for a nap on her first day home.

Molly with the Easter bunny!

I'm pretty sure this belongs in the dictionary next to the word "Peace"

Welcome Molly!!

2010-04-05T11:34:00.013-04:00

I think most of you that read this blog have heard about Molly, but I do want to blog and share with the world about this most precious gift.

Molly Marguerite Kirkpatrick arrived on March 11, 2010 at 8:49 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces.

The weight is a funny story....we had a couple ultrasounds in the weeks leading up to her birth, and SEVERAL at our doctor's office that were convinced we were going to have a 9+ pound baby. Because of her size, we went ahead and induced on March 11. I was ok with that though because it meant that the midwife, Kelly, that I really wanted to deliver with, would be there to help me.

Labor was not terrible. It started around 7am with the help of ptosin. The contractions started to get pretty intense, so at 10:30, we called for the epidural. After that I slept for a few hours on and off...which was great to help me get my energy ready for that evening. There wasn't much progress from 10:30-2:45 until Kelly came in and "threatened" a C-section. Then things really took off. I still wasn't feeling much pain from contractions, so I sent Andrew to the gift shop to get some cards. I kicked his butt in a few games of go fish (the only game that either of us could remember how to play!)

At 7pm, my body started letting me know that it was time to push. Nurse was in to help us start at 7:30. Molly arrived at 8:49! Hearing her cry in the seconds after her birth was the most beautiful sound. I wanted to hold her right away, but knew the nurses needed to do their thing. She couldn't get to my arms fast enough. . .

It was a long day, but one that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. Becoming Molly's mommy was worth it all!

Molly's first picture

Hello world-here I am!!

Molly with mommy & Kelly

First family photo

Latest on the nursery. . .

2010-02-24T21:10:00.009-05:00

I've kinda lost track of what happened when, but wanted to give you an update on the nursery. It is now the most multi-tasked room I've ever had. It is a guest room, Andrew's office, and baby's nursery. I guess you could even say it's storage for some of Andrew's old band things.

Anyway...we've made good progress and I would now say we are ready if the baby were to come early.

Valentine's day weekend I had a 4-day weekend, and we were hoping to get out of town on one last weekend get-away just the two of us. When the weather had other plans, the goal became to get the crib up. Friday we went out to lunch and it started snowing. We decided that's perfect weather for getting home and working in the room.

It's SNOWING!!

We cleared the spot and moved the dresser into it's new home.

That night we watched Adventureland while putting the crib together. It was fun to do it together, even though it turned out Andrew really didn't need my help. But still - I'm glad Andrew let me be involved.

Crib together - bedding in!

B is for Bear . . . . so cute....I love, love, LOVE it!

A cross-stitch that was in my bedroom when I was a child. Mom passed it along at Christmas and it goes perfectly with the teddy bear theme.

Mission accomplished. We got the crib together. Andrew's only stubbed his toe on it once. I have a fear that will happen more as 3am feedings become more common.

We stripped it down to wash the bedding. We also got the sheets for the bassinett washed, so she has a few options for sleeping.....although I'm already convinced her favorite place to sleep will be in mommy and daddy's arms. :o)

Something else not quite as fun, but also important - we have the changing table together and in the room as well. I like the one we chose because of the shelving. That's this weekend's project...getting baby supplies into cute little baskets so it's a functioning room. The presents from showers are still in the living room. I plan to sort through those and get them put in a better place. Here's hoping I get this "burst of energy" I keep hearing about. I'll definitely need it to get through this "nesting" task!

Two cute!

2010-02-03T22:38:00.007-05:00

With baby faces like these how could we not make an absolutely adorable baby?? :o)

Nursery Progress (weekends 1 & 2)

2010-02-02T22:14:00.016-05:00

So, I'm a little stressed about all the blogs I've missed and "shoud've posted...." But at this point, I'm taking inspiration from my friend Judy and going more with a "look at the progress we've made on baby's nursery."

The question I've heard the most lately (and am frankly tired of hearing because of the stress it causes) is "Is your nursery ready yet?" Well, the short answer is NO! but we are working on it. It's been Andrew's office and our guest room for the last 4 years. You can imagine how 4 years of graduate school can really pile up in there. It's books, cds, papers, folders, and then even more of those things. . .

I'm a little embarassed to show the "before" pictures, but I will. Mostly because I know how proud I'll be at the end when I see where we started.

We started last weekend. I say we, but it was mostly Andrew rearranging the books to get them on the bookshelf and dispersed other places in the house. Quite a project....

Here are the pictures after last weekend before this weekend (January 30 & 31). Under each, I'll let you know what our tentative plans are for that area of the room....

The twin bed that serves as our guest bed. This will stay in place - at least for the first few months. We assume at some point, baby girl will need more play room....then the bed will probably have to go.

For this area, we're thinking of two options. Either move the bookshelf out of the room and slide the dresser over. Where the dresser sits is where we will put the change table. We may also try to just turn the dresser and put it between the end of the bed and the bookshelf. It would block access to some of the books, but Andrew says that's ok.

Here are the filing cabinets. They will be turned into the base for Andrew's "new desk" First they require some cleaning.

This is Andrew's corner desk. It is quite large and because of the design of it, needs to be replaced. It was quite a task getting it undone. Andrew thinks he may have spent more time taking it apart than putting it together. . .

The new desk will be put in front of the window. The black end table will leave the room.

January 30 & 31:

There was good progress made this weekend. The major task was cleaning off the filing cabinets and getting the desk taken down. When we saw that progress was far enough along on Saturday, we headed to Home Depot to get the wood. This wood will be placed between the 2 filing cabinets to serve as Andrew's new desk. I felt bad about this, but we know it only needs to last us for a year or two. He has a nice one waiting for us in Waco. We'll take it when we have a house of our own and room to put it somewhere. Poor Andrew worked hours on getting the desk taken apart. It was quite a bear for him to tackle, but he managed to do most of it Saturday. Then he woke up early to finish on Sunday morning. He was careful when taking it apart because a friend of ours is going to take it from us. (Have fun putting it back together!!)

Filing cabinets cleaned off & the desk taken apart!

End table cleaned and removed; desk taken apart & moved out of the room. New desk ready for assembly.

Andrew's new desk in place!! Ready for him to use this week. We realized a problem. The crib is going to be in the foreground of the picture (where the filing cabinets used to sit). There is JUST enough room, but it means that Andrew won't have access to his files in the black cabinet. He (again) says that is ok. Many of the files he is keeping for when he teaches. So we'll make sure he doesn't need those for the first few months.

All in all, there was good progress made on the nursery this weekend. It was a lot of work and I really owe Andrew a huge thanks for all his help getting the room ready. The theme for the room is "B is for Bear", so as a small token, I bought him a bag of gummie bears. He's the best! Next weekend we'll either work on getting the space for the changing table ready....or maaaaybe even get the crib up. I'm anxious to see how the desk/crib combo will work out. 2 baby showers this weekend mean that a lot of the work will be left up to Andrew...although I'll help when possible.

I'll keep you posted. . . . :o)

Thanksgiving with the Kirkpatricks

2010-01-13T14:22:00.007-05:00

Part 2:

So I realize I'm way behind on my blog, but I'm trying to go in order of events that happened. . .

This year for Thanksgiving, Andrew's parents were able to come. It was nice to have my mom in town to motivate us to clean and then Andrew's parents in town a few weeks later as motivation to keep it clean! (That, of course, was not the only reason it was good to have them come).

They arrived on a Monday night, and we met up for a late dinner. I had to work on Tuesday, so I headed to work while they went shopping (not fair!). They headed to the Lego store and also ended up at the Carter's outlet. What grandma can resist shopping for an expected grandbaby? Not Brenda! :o) After their shopping excursion, they came to visit me at school. All 3 of them were able to see my new toy, the ActivBoard! It was really fun to show them all the things it can do. This is not me or my students, but it gives you an idea of how interactive you can make learning by using it. They can write on the screen. It's pretty awesome!!

Wednesday we met Andrew on campus for lunch, and then got ready to head to the Fabulous Fox Theater. We saw the Rockettes perform their Christmas Spectacular! My dad had their special from the year before that we had watched, and they did some of those same numbers. It was much better live, and a great way to put us in the holiday spirit

Thursday was, of course, Thanksgiving. We woke up, turned on the parade, and started cooking. Luckily, cooking for 4 is not a ton of work....and Brenda of course wouldn't let me stay on my feet for more than 10 minutes at a time! We had a delicious meal - with the perfect balance of healthy choices and banana pudding! Here's a picture of the spread...yummy!

Thanksgiving dinner

We didn't do much Thanksgiving night. Of course there was the watching of the Cowboys game. We also discussed going to a movie, but realized there was nothing we were all desperate to see. So we decided to call it an early night so we could be at Old Navy at 3 am to play Guitar Hero and get us some new jeans.............................Yeah right!!

We did do some shopping on Friday, but it was only to Babies R Us. One nice thing about pregnant women is there is no "busting down the doors for deals". We got there about 10:00 and got the 1/2 price deal on the glider we registered for. I love it! We got it home, set it up, and have been using it since then. It's so comfortable and we hope baby will love it as much as we do.

Andrew putting the glider together! Yay!!

Final product.

After we got it we headed to one of our favorite brunch places - Radial. We enjoy going there, but try not to go too often...it's a special treat. We came home, put the glider together, and it was time to say goodbye to Brenda and Jerry. They had obligations at church on Sunday, but we were so happy they were able to come and celebrate this holiday with us.

Next time we welcome family to Atlanta will be for the birth of our baby girl!!! So excited!!

The Parents Come for a Visit (Part 1)

2009-12-31T12:53:00.018-05:00

November was filled with many visitors - something we love! My mom was in town the first weekend and we had Andrew's parents in town for Thanksgiving.

Part 1 is about mom's visit:

I worked 1/2 day on Friday, grabbed some lunch at our favorite noodle house, Doc Cheys, and then we hit Atlantic Station for some shopping. We found some good deals and were definitely worn out by dinner time. So we picked up California Pizza Kitchen and headed home.

Saturday we had a lazy morning before heading to the Botannical Gardens. I'll try not to bore you with too many pictures, but it was a beautiful afternoon and for the time of year, we were surprised how many flowers were still in bloom. There was a bride getting ready for her wedding wondering through the garden taking pictures. Beautiful setting!

Mom & I in front of the entrance

Pretty blue glass sculpture/fountain in the middle of the garden

The garden was featuring sculptures by Henry Moore. We know him from the sculptures there are of his in Kansas City. A common theme of his is with a mother and child. I liked this one the best of those.

I thought the pink of the blooming roses were beautifully contrasted against the orange of the fall colors on the tree in the background.

Me with one of the several frog sculptures througout the garden.

Orchids that were in the orchid room. I loved the beautiful colors. There were so many unique types!

Green leaves are pretty too - especially when bordered with pretty purple!

Mom snaps our picture while we try to take one of our own.

Mom & I by another fountain.

The kid in me wanted to go down the slide. . . ha ha! :o)

We ended the weekend by going to church. Mom got to see what we do when we help with Children's Worship & Wonder. It was nice to have another set of hands to help us out. I was sad to see her go so quickly - weekend visits are never long enough but definitely better than no visit.

Halloween Treat

2009-11-08T20:56:00.000-05:00

Living in Atlanta, Andrew and I love to take advantage of being so close to the mountains in the fall. We were ready to get away from the city for a weekend, and chose a get-away to see the fall foliage.

We started out Saturday morning (after getting my H1N1 flu vaccine), heading north up 400. We've gone this way before, but made a turn we hadn't made before - toward Dawsonville & Amicalola Falls. I've always wanted to go, but thought it was a lot farther away. Not a bad drive, but we did have some bad weather. It spit rain on us all the way up. We decided to pull in anyway for a picnic. After finding a covered shelter, we unloaded and started making our sandwhiches. A quick glance over to Andrew had me looking at a daddy long legs on his neck waaay too close to his face. Eeeeek! Back to the car to eat there. Perfect timing too, because the rain stopped while we ate. We drove on up to the bottom of the trail up to the falls. We weren't in the right shoes, but managed to get far enough along to get a beautiful view.

The stream at the bottom of the trail up to the falls.

Amicalola Falls

After finishing up at the falls, we found a cute little pumpkin patch. It was Halloween - we HAD to stop! :o)

Holding our baby pumpkin

After the pumpkin patch, we drove about 10 miles. We saw many signs for apple orchards. I love apples! Andrew was concerned we were stopping too frequently (3 stops in about 15 miles), but it ended up being our last for a while. They weren't letting anyone pick apples because of the weather, but we did pick some out from the baskets - Pink Lady for me and Granny Smith for Andrew. Very crisp and delicious. We headed back to their parlor where we saw they were selling apple fritters. It was the best apple fritter either of us had ever eaten.

Warm apple fritter with vanilla ice cream - perfect!!

Back on the road - at the top of a mountain on the Appalachian Trail. A 3rd grade teacher from South Carolina was nice enough to take our picture. The sun came out long enough for a picture that really shows all the colors!

We stopped in Clayton at the downtown there - it was quaint and not as touristy as some of the other towns we'd driven through, so we spent some time there stretching our legs. We ended up finding a few good Christmas presents and decided it was a small town we'd like to spend more time in later. Maybe a cabin rental up there next fall?? On to South Carolina - we drove through Clemson. They had just finished Homecoming football game, so we didn't see much of the campus. What we did see was enough to say that yes, it was a place I'd live. Andrew likes to look at all the universities we drive by to see if it's a place we could live. It looked like a good size college town. Advantage - distance to Greenville (our stop for the night.) Disadvantage - they're school colors are ORANGE (ick) and purple. We drove straight to the hotel - it was dark, rainy, and we weren't familiar with where we were going. Got in, watched some college football, and called it an early night. Perfect! The next morning, waking up refreshed after the extra hour of sleep, we had a delicious breakfast buffet. Andrew navigated us back to downtown and we found Falls Park. It was a beautiful day, so we took many pictures before walking around some of the shops. Cute place! We needed to get back to Atlanta for my pregnancy yoga class, so we didn't get to see as much as we'd like. Another place to put on our "let's come back" list! :o) It was a great weekend vacation and we both returned refreshed; ready to face the week.

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World!

2009-09-28T22:16:00.000-04:00

I think everyone that reads my blog has heard the news that Andrew and I are expecting our first baby in March. Needless to say, we are very excited!

There have been countless times when I've stopped to think about the miracle of life, and the amazing process it takes to "build" a baby. We love to read about what's happening each week. This week's big thing is building their layers of fat. It's also about the length of your palm (5 inches) and weighs 5 ounces. Teeny!

I'm especially excited about the next few weeks. We are going to find out if we're having a baby boy or girl. Yes, we've had people tell us that's cheating, and no we don't agree. It'll be nice to start getting more prepared with nursery items that coordinate with baby boy or girl. Also, in the next few weeks, we should be able to start feeling the baby move. Neat-o!

Today was doctor visit #3. This was the least exciting of them all, but that's ok. The doctor just answered my questions and they took blood for more testing. But, one thing that I will never get tired of is listening to baby's heartbeat. The doctor had a device that we were able to hear it on. And it truly is the most beautiful sound in the world. I could sit and listen all day. . . :o)

What a View!!

2009-08-16T12:35:00.001-04:00

On our trip to Kansas City a few weeks ago, we decided to go to the Liberty Memorial. It is also home to the only World War I museum in America. It's something Andrew had been wanting to see for a while, but we finally found time for it on this trip. Now, I'm not much of a museum person. I like the idea in theory, but usually get bored pretty quickly. This was not the case at this awesome museum. They had movies, artifacts, and many interactive displays. The first display had pictures that had 2 pictures on one frame...you could see one, then you'd walk 1-2 steps and see a completely different picture. This was the kind of quality that was in every piece in the museum. It's easiest to show the museum in pictures, so here they are:

Propaganda designed to appeal to women

They had models of the trenches - for the countries of Britain, Germany, & France. It was neat to see the differences between them. Germany's were the best designed and kept.

The timeline that spanned the room - it had all the major events of the war as well as things that were happening back in the United States.

This one speaks for itself - sad.

Andrew and I with a real WWI TANK!! Cool! There was a spot on the side where there was still damage from the war.

My favorite part of the museum was the listening room. They had a cubicle that you could sit in and listen to music, poems, & speeches from the war. I enjoyed hearing "In Flander's Field" and listening to speeches given by Lenin and the Kaiser. There was also the big band marches from Sousa that were becoming big. And of course, Over There sung by Nora Bayes. They also had active boards in the middle where you could play games (WWI related), find out more about ammunition, or even design your own WWI memorial. Very cool. It was definitely the best museum I've been too. I was engaged for the whole 4-5 hours we were there. And we didn't see it all. We'd like to go back at some point and finish looking at all we didn't see.

After the museum, we headed up into the tower. Good thing they had an elevator to assist in the journey to the top. It was the best view of Kansas City's downtown I've ever seen. I could've spent all day up there - especially if we'd brought our binonculars!

The buidling in the foreground is Union Station

Andrew and I with the beautiful city!

With mom & dad

I loved everything about the day. It's fun exploring new parts of my hometown. And really, What a view!!

Jetta the Bean Snapper

2009-07-28T11:26:00.000-04:00

During our trip to Waco earlier in the summer, we spent the evening with Jetta while the other Hughes were at Vacation Bible School. Andrew has been producing a lot of veggies from our garden, and we brought some green beans with us. We thought it would be fun for Jetta to help us snap the beans to get them ready to eat. Good thing she thought so too. She had trouble with some of them and kept saying "Can't do it." We'd reassure her that she could, then she would and she'd shout "I did it!" It was cute. The weird thing is that when we tried to put some on her plate at dinner, she threw a fit. Oh well, it was entertaining while we snapped.

Vacation Days 3 & 4

2009-07-07T11:46:00.000-04:00

Part 2 of our vacation to Florida.

Our main purpose for choosing the destination of Tampa for 3 years in a row is, duh, the Royals play there! We were planning on making it to Tuesday's game, but our time at the space center went longer than anticipated. This turned out to be ok, as the Royals lost game #1. We listened to the game on the way to the hotel, checked in, and headed to bed.

Up and at 'em on Wednesday for a trip to the beach. We were afraid weather would spoil our time, but the storms stayed north of us all day. Yippee! We go to the same beach and love it. It's not crowded at all.

Perfect for splashing in the waves, catching up on reading, and celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe it's already been 3 years. It seems like just yesterday that we were in Waco for our wedding. And yet, Andrew is my best friend and I feel I've known much longer than the 5 years we've been together.

Happy anniversary, Andrew!

When we realized we were pretty pink (Andrew worse than me), we headed to our local favorite, The Hurricane, for our routine grouper sandwhich. Still good!

We rested up at the hotel for a bit before heading to game 2 of the Royals / Rays series. Too bad the Royals lost. It wasn't pretty either...they lost pretty bad. 9-0. Boo. The next day's game was scheduled for the afternoon, so we stuck around for another. Crossing our fingers that we could see them pull one out... We had to check out of the hotel, so caught a movie while we waited; Night at the Museum 2. It was good, not great. Amy Adams was cute. At the game, the Royals went ahead early...hooray! We led the game 2-1 until the bottom of the 8th. Then, the Rays scored 2 and ended up winning the game. I was not a happy camper! I know that the Rays were in the world series last year, but they are not that same team, and I couldn't believe we got swept by them....again (we saw them get swept last year). Andrew's theory is they spend too much time at the beach and leave their heads there when they come to the game. Whatever it is, they need to pull it together and start HITTING!!

Forced smile after the game

We headed back and one of my favorite parts of the trip was getting off the interstate for a while. Andrew and I have different styles of driving - I like to get there, and he likes to stop and enjoy the journey. This has caused a few disagreements when we're on the road, but I was tired of the boring road, so agreed to hop off for a while. It added time to our trip but was nice to see some of the small towns that get passed by.

Very old house near Chula, GA

Methodist church

Cute little train depot in Cordele, GA

Vacation Days 1 & 2

2009-06-06T10:50:00.000-04:00

One of the many beauties about both working in academics is having summers off. We have a lot of time to travel, and we have taken that opportunity for each of our anniversaries. Andrew and I have made it a tradition to follow the Royals wherever they are. In Tampa 2 years ago and this year, Chicago last year. We'll see where to next year. . . .but for now, here are highlights from this year's trip.

Day 1: Driving

We got up and took off on Monday morning. We would be driving most of the day. This year we decided to go to the Kennedy Space Center. One nice thing about this was a different road for driving. We drove over to Savannah and then headed down I95. It was still interstate, but new roads are always a little more interesting. We stopped for a break at an outlet mall where we found some shirts for a good deal, and a ice cream shop...yum! Back on the road and there by 9:00. Jacksonville, Florida - thought the structure in the water was interesting. Day 2: Kennedy Space Center A new fascination of mine is space travel, exploration, etc. I was very interested in the last mission (STS-125; the last to repair the Hubble). Andrew suggested we go to the space center to explore it more and I was on board! We arrived shortly after they opened at 9:00 and started at the Rocket Garden and Early Explorations. . . a good place to start! We learned about the Gemini and Mercury expeditions. It was neat to see the early rockets, space capsules, and control rooms. Models of the first rockets to get to space...look at how they changed in size over just a few dozen years. Cool! Gemini capsule that was actually in space - you can see how the heat affected the "United States" on re-entry. One of the earliest control rooms! Look at how many buttons and knobs it has. After the room on "Early Space" we headed over to see the IMAX movie about the International Space Station. It was Andrew's favorite part of the day, and I can see why. It was informative, and cool to see in IMAX. It was like we were really in space! (as a bonus, it was narrated by Tom Cruise). There was a room about the Hubble right next to the theater, so we mozied through there. They had information about the last mission to repair it...and I also found out there that they have coffee in space! So, yes Houston, I am ready for lift-off! :o) Here I am with a model of the Atlantis with the Hubble in the payload bay. . .ready for servicing! Next stop, Shuttle Launch Experience. It was a simulator that made it feel like you were taking off in a real space shuttle. I was very nervous, but it turned out to be very fun. There at the beginning I thought my head was going to rattle right off, but when the rocket boosters dropped off, it was much smoother. Even though I know it wasn't the exact same (no adult diapers on this ride), it was neat to get a small taste of what a lift-off is like.

A model of one of the orbiters that we could walk in and see the payload bay. The last thing we did was hop on the bus for a tour of some of the space center buildings. First stop was the viewing station. This is where people can go and see the space shuttles launch. It's about 5 miles away, but you have a great view. The Endeavor was on the launch pad ready for the June 13 take-off, so that was neat to see. One thing we learned was about the special gravel they have on the road that the shuttle moves along when they transport it. It doesn't allow any friction, which is important because of all the fuel in the rockets. One spark could mean very bad things!Space shuttle Endeavor. The special gravel road is on the far left of the picture next to the main road. The second stop on the bus tour was to see the Saturn V - the rocket that did all the Apollo missions. It was HUGE - slightly longer than a professional football field. No way could we get it in one picture. It was interesting to read about all the Apollo missions in the room around the rocket. The tip of the Saturn V rocket and the command module under it. The last stop was to the room where they are working on parts for the International Space Station. There was an observation deck overlooking the room where they work on parts that are going to be installed. There were even some that are going up next week - cooool! It also explained future plans for the ISS. Andrew was interested in the window going in that looks like on in Star Wars - called the Cupola. It will be installed in the fall. . . we'll keep up with the mission that includes that. :o) It also had an area that had modules of some of the segments where the astronauts work and live. The part in the front, right part of the picture is going up next week (I'm pretty sure that's the one the lady was talking about). Strap yourself in - it's time for bed! I can stop working for a quick pose (p.s. I have no idea what those buttons are for...maybe it's a good thing there was a panel there....haha)

We had a great day! We were planning on getting over to Tampa in time for the first Royals game, but the Space Center was an all day event. And that ended up being ok. We had more fun than we would've watching the Royals lose (more on that later...) We listened to the game and arrived in St. Petersburg that night.

Girl Talk & Itzhak!

2009-05-08T22:38:00.000-04:00

Last weekend was a lot of fun; so much fun that I want to share it with you. Friday night started with a "cleaning party" at school. Anna and I turned on some music and worked on getting things organized in the classroom. She has been great for me in that area of my life. I've never seen the bottom of my desk for a week at a time, yet alone almost every day of the school year! Afterwards, she followed me home and we headed to dinner at Taco Mac in Decatur. I had a delicious fish & veggies dish. I was surprised at how good it tasted since Taco Mac is more known for it's selection of beers. Claire joined us after dinner for a glass of wine at Tastings - right across the street. I really enjoyed getting to spend some time with these ladies. We talked about Claire's upcoming wedding, shopping, school, and whatever else was on our minds. It was a great night out with the girls! One point Anna brought up was how great it is that we get along so well. We spend all day together working, and still like each other enough to hang out in social settings afterward. I've heard, that we will be working together next year too. Yay! Saturday was date night! I found out in September that Itzhak Perlman was coming to play with the Atlanta Symphony. We decided to grab dinner at our favorite Chinese place beforehand. Can't go wrong with Fortune Cookie! As we were sitting in the concert hall, and the music started, I realized that nothing really makes me happier than great classical music. I get goosebumps when I hear an orchestra. And man, is Itzhak good! (duh!) One thing I was a bit disappointed about was that he only played one piece and then conducted the last 2 symphonies. I would've loved to hear him play more. But it was a great night. We are very fortunate to be in a city where there is a spectacular orchestra within 10 minutes of our house! I love going down there - it makes me feel very "big city". :o)

"Play Ball!!"

2009-04-21T21:14:00.000-04:00

Every year I anticipate the start of a new baseball season. This year was no different. Some may say I was even more excited. Back in the fall when the baseball schedule was announced, I realized that the Royals home opener would fall on the 2nd weekend of my spring break! In addition to the excitement of being at home for the start of baseball season (Andrew and I didn't make it to the K last year), we also got to be some of the first to see & explore the new stadium. Kauffman Stadium had $250 million in renovations in the off-season. It was a beautiful day for baseball & the "new" stadium is gorgeous! I have not been to all of the ballparks but it is definitely the prettiest I've ever seen! Too bad the Royals lost the game (& to the stinky Yankees). I told Andrew the experience of the new stadium with the loss was similar to seeing all the pretty packages on Christmas morning; opening them to find underwear!! But we are off to a pretty good start for the year (7-5)! Let's keep it up. Here are pictures of the stadium: Ok...pictures coming later. My photo uploader isn't working...

5/3/09 - Sorry it took so long...my computer had to be reimaged and I lost a few pictures that were on my laptop. But, here they are now... Also, the Royals are still doing very well 13-11 and in first place in the central division. Woohoo! Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome to the New K!!

First view of the field as you exit the escalators - perfect!

The new Pepsi Porch and Rivals Party Deck

View from the outfield of the press boxes

Fountains above the Pepsi porch all lit up at night

Andrew and I with the scoreboard - the crown is new this year.

Glasses!

2009-03-18T21:48:00.000-04:00

While at home for Christmas I realized my vision was getting to the point where it was time for a check-up. I haven't had great luck with eye doctors here in Atlanta, but finally decided to pony up a little more money to have a doctor from Emory eye center. (In the top 9 in the country!). I'm so glad I did, because I have a doctor that has been very patient and willing to work with me.

I tried soft contacts, but never got used to the fact that they weren't as sharp as the gas perms I'd had my whole life. I went back to gas perms, and got a new set of glasses. They are much lighter than my previous pair so they don't sliiiiiiiiiiiide down my nose. I was reluctant to get a new pair when I didn't "really" need them. But my doctor told me that I was going to continue permanent damage to my eyes if I only wore contacts.

And...here are my new glasses and I LOVE them!! I've become a glasses person again!

Let me know what you think. :o)

How Would You Measure A Lion?

2009-03-11T17:51:00.000-04:00

We've been doing measurement in math this week. Yesterday's lesson was about converting feet and inches to only inches (Ex. 3 feet, 4 inches would be 40 inches). One question on last night's homework asked for an item they wouldn't use feet and inches to measure and explain why not...here are some of the answers we received: 1. An apple seed because it's too small to measure with feet and inches. (good!) 2. You wouldn't measure water with feet and inches because it's liquid. You could use cups (great!) 3. I wouldn't measure a lion with feet and inches. I think he would be so mad that I was touching him, he would just kill me. (hilarious!) That is one of my favorite answers I've ever received while teaching 3rd grade. I laughed out loud for several minutes when I read it, and then again later while thinking about it. Ahhhh kids. They really do say the darndest things!

Happy Valentine's Day

2009-02-17T21:59:00.001-05:00

Yay!!! Notice the picture - it's time to Rock again! :o) After several months without a CD player, we finally got it replaced in the car. This was my Valentine's Day present from Andrew. I couldn't be happier. If you know me, you know I love music. It was very tough not to be able to listen to my music to and from work. The commute is about an hour 45 minutes every day, and music definitely helps pass the time.

To go along with the new CD player, Andrew got me the Rush greatest hits CD. 80's Canadian Rock....yes! I found out that I'm really into them when we started playing them on Rockband. I heard a few of their other songs on the radio (while without a CD player), and enjoyed them as well. It's kinda cheesy, but I like it.

Thanks, Andrew for my Valentine's present!!

Just Jetta

2009-01-26T21:39:00.000-05:00

Jetta in her cute piggy tails

Over the Christmas break, Andrew and I got to spend a whole week with Jetta by ourselves. My other niece and nephew stayed in Kansas City to spend some time with Nina and Grandpa. While I was disappointed in the lack of time I would have to spend with Julia and JC, we had a lot of fun with Jetta! We went on a few walks around Baylor, out to lunch, and to a few basketball games. One thing we found Jetta was a huge fan of was the singing (and preferrably dancing) characters that were at the Kirkpatrick house. She would dance along and then go back to push the button for more. So adorable! (Towards the end of the video, that's Edward and Courtney you hear discussing Oprah's magazine) Jetta also seemed to have a great time at the basketball games. She loved hearing the music and clapping and dancing along. Cheap (and very cute!) entertainment. We also found out first hand her love of the words "No, no!" This was especially amusing to us when we had her use these words against the opposition at basketball games. She would point to the player shooting free throws, shake her little finger and say "no no!"...and then to our chagrins they would miss the shot! :o) Andrew and I had a lot of fun with Jetta, and have many memories to take from our special time together.

<--- Jetta and Andrew doing the "Sic 'em Bears!"

Better Late Than Never. . .

2009-01-23T22:35:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I realize it's been a while since I've updated. Obviously, much has happened in the last few months.

We celebrated the holidays with family and friends. We traveled through 11 different states in 2 weeks...whew!

One of my favorite holiday traditions took place before we left town. The 4th annual cookie decorating party. We've hosted it every year while at Emory. I must say, we've seen the bar raised every year. Unfortunately, neither Andrew or I have many skills with the decorating, but we do throw a pretty good holiday party!

The winners with their cookies -(L to R) Andrew's best effort "Cartman", Emily's best star decorated like Jesus, Susan's best gingerbread men - Batman trio, Josh's best tree-hidden aliean, Nigel's double-decker cookie.

Theme of the night: Batman - here are all 5 cookies. Nice job!

And of course, no party is complete without a white elephant exchange. I ended up with some Ninja Turtles video tapes. Oh boy....do I see some re-gifting for next year's party? Possibly. :o)

Mom's Trip to Atlanta

2008-11-07T21:26:00.000-05:00

Mom came to visit for the weekend and we had a great time!

She got in Thursday night, and we just relaxed at home. Friday we shopped a little and then met Andrew for lunch. Halloween night, one of the highlights of the visit was our trip to the Fox Theater in Atlanta to see Wicked. This was the first time mom had seen it; my third time. I feel like I could watch it over and over and still never get tired of it! It's amazing!! I

highly recommend it if you haven't seen it yet.

Saturday we had a slow start, but eventually made our way to Dahlonega, Georgia. One of the ladies I work with had recommended a place for lunch called The Oar House. We got a little lost, but found our way to a cute place along the river. The fall foliage was beautiful - probably at it's peak for the season. We all had different entrees, with delicious dessert. Apple tort cheesecake, white chocolate pecan pie, and key lime pie. Deeeelicious! After lunch, we headed over to the Dahlonega Consolidated Gold mines. Third grade usually takes students there for a field trip, but because funding cuts, we're not able to go this year. :o( I've always wanted to take Andrew and thought with mom in town, it would be a great opportunity. So we headed down in search of "GOLD!" It was very interesting - even for the 4th time. We had a great tour guide. Here are a few pictures of Dahlonega...

After the gold mine, on the way home, we stopped in Dawsonville for some outlet shopping. We found some great deals. Nothing better than outlet shopping! :o)

Sunday we went to church, had lunch & a nap, and then it was time for the airport. The weekend went by quickly, but it's always good to spend time with family.

Thanks for coming mom!! :o)

Bring the Funk

2008-10-07T19:48:00.000-04:00

This just MIGHT be my new favorite commercial. . . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cNDSPutas8

The Chefs - Great Googley Moogely

2008-09-23T14:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know if you remember the Chefs commercial. It's still one of my very favorite of all times. . . This year, the Chiefs are playing more like chefs-and not so much like football players. They don't look very good, and it's going to be a very long season. We'll be very lucky to pull out 4-5 wins. We have a bunch of rookies, and it sure doesn't help when your #1 and #2 quarterbacks get injuries.

Regardless, some friends of ours, Andrew and I attended Sunday's game against the Falcons. It was a lot of fun. Would've been better if the Chiefs had played better, but we've discussed this. . .

I was surprised by the number of Chiefs fans in attendance. It was good to see so many KC peeps! It was only my second NFL game, and we hope to get back in the near future.

Chiefs score a touchdown!!

Can't We All Just Get Along??

2008-09-10T22:06:00.000-04:00

At school, we've been talking about democracy in Social Studies. One of our recent lessons included talking about the voting process. One of the activities they did with this was to come up with a "voter button" that had slogans encouraging citizens to go vote. Here's my favorite... Stop Fighting! Go Vote! What great wisdom from a 3rd grader-I want to say, "If only it were that simple..." but you know what, it is! Stop bickering about lipstick on a pig. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the 3rd graders in my class went on to do great things in politics! :o)

Boston baby!

2008-09-03T21:18:00.000-04:00

One of the nice things about Andrew being in graduate school is the frequent trips to confrences. Andrew usually gets some good information from them, and it's a nice excuse for a mini-vacation. This trip found us in Boston for Labor Day weekend.

I met up with Andrew after school on Friday - he met me at the airport, and after a drive through the Big Dig, it was time for bed. (Got in at midnight.) I'll have to admit I was a bit afraid of crashing while in the tunnel. Not that we had a bad taxi driver...just something about being so enclosed with merging traffic. Ack!

Saturday Andrew presented his paper, while I slept in. We met up for lunch with a few other people from Emory at Legal Seafood Co. I had a wonderful mixed green salad and clam chowder. Perfect lunch! Then Andrew and I headed down Newbury street which had some great shopping! We didn't really take advantage, but that's ok. We saw some beautiful buildings-several churches. We then headed to the Public Gardens / Boston Common.

Here I am by the pond...where the ducks were. Made me wish I had a large loaf of bread...

While in Boston Common, Andrew pointed out while there was how very different Civil War memorials in Boston are from ones in Atlanta. Interesting. . . From there we found the start of the Freedom Trail. I'm a huge U.S. history buff, so this was so fun for me! The history in the city of Boston is amazing! The best part about it, it was FREE!! The only thing we paid for on the 2 1/2 mile trail was $3.00 to enter the Paul Revere House - totally worth it. We didn't get that far on Saturday - only about 4-5 stops before finding a Borders to redeem my gift cards. We then headed back to the hotel quite hungry and tired.

Sunday we picked up where we left off, and headed down the rest of the trail. It was a perfect day for being outside...sunny and warm with a light breeze. Fabulous! Here are a few pictures from our trail walk.

The Old State House - just outside is where the Boston Massacre took place. Then, 7 years later, was the place where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston. Faneuil Hall: It has cute shops on the lower level. This is the building where they came up with the idea of "no taxation without representation."

Along the trail, right before we made it to the Paul Revere house, we found a resturant that had delicious lobster ravioli - Mother Anna's. It had a spectacular view of the city, and I got some sun on the back of my arms while sitting on the patio. Perfect! :o)

Paul Revere's House & the monument with the Old North Church in the background.

Bunker Hill Monument. We thought about climbing to the top, but there's no way we would've had enough energy to make the trek back to the train station!

The U.S.S. Constitution with Boston city skyline in the background. After about a 3-4 mile walk around the city, we were tired and ready to head back. It was a very fun day - relaxing in a way because we were doing what we wanted.

On Monday, we had a 1:00 flight, so we got up early and headed to Harvard, & Fenway before heading out. The trains were on holiday (Sunday) schedule, so it wasn't the easiest getting around. Harvard was nice to see, but we didn't spend much time there because of the train schedule. Plus, all the freshman were moving in. There were a LOT of parents running around campus with a camera. Many pictures being taken in front of the library, on the lawn, etc. We didn't get the opportunity to see Harvard Square either. That's on the agenda for next time, because I've heard it's a cute little area. We did see a very beautiful "Harry Potter-ish" building. We wanted to go inside, but weren't allowed. Oh well, I guess that means we get to see what we want in our imagination.

Then to Fenway to see another baseball stadium. I'm NOT a Red Sox fan what-so-ever, but as you all know, I am a baseball fan. It would've been nice to see the inside of the stadium, but time did not allow on this trip. Another thing to do in the future. Andrew and I agree that we really could've spent a full week there and done something different every day. While around Fenway we did get a better understanding of why they have so much money. Their team store was gynormous!!! It was insane. Waaaaaay too much Red Sox gear - I could only stand it for about 5 minutes.

To the hotel to get bags, and then to the airport to head home. We had a great weekend, and can't wait to come back to do more in this very fun city!

I lost a few pounds. . . of HAIR!

2008-08-30T10:33:00.000-04:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about getting my haircut, but hadn't had the guts to go through with it. Now, I know this sounds weird, but I've only gone to one lady my whole life to get my hair cut. She's in Kansas City - a little far, but she manages to get me in when I'm in town. She always does a fabulous job, and I just didn't want to trust anyone else. (Or pay the price of a good Atlanta haircut)

But, with a trip to Kansas City not coming until the holidays, and picture day next week, I went ahead found a place. And, I love my "new hair"!! :o) She did a great job, so I'll go to her again in the future. Yay!

Happy birthday, Andrew!

2008-08-22T20:33:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday!! We celebrated Andrew's birthday on August 6 (yes, I know I'm a bit behind). I'm not going to say how old he is, but you can see on the cake for yourself.

We headed to Edo, a Japanese Hibachi around the corner. We went for my birthday in May and had such a great time we went back. The cook had a great personality. He even had a shrimp sing happy birthday to him. It was cute. The people we sat with were also very friendly. It was a great birthday dining experience. I tried to get a picture of the onion flame, but was a little late.

We came home and Andrew talked to many people who were calling to wish him a happy birthday. Afterwards we had cake. I made him a strawberry cake with cream cheese icing - very yum!! I was quite proud. Then he opened his present. I got him SNL season 3 DVD. He was pretty excited!

It was a low-key celebration, which is exactly what he wanted. :o)

(Yes, I know there's not the right # of candles. . .)

Santa Fe

2008-08-18T21:19:00.000-04:00

Ok, so I'll admit...one of my favorite movies growing up was Newsies. And every time I think of Santa Fe I think of my favorite actor singing about this city. Enjoy! Santa Fe ~ Newsies Now that we have that taken care of.. :o) Santa Fe, NM - it was our last day of vacation. Boo. Andrew and I headed out from Taos house a little after 10:00. We hadn't taken the opportunity to head to the square so we stopped there on our way out of town. We stopped and got a few post cards. We also found a nice spoon rest with chilies on it. It's cute and matches our red kitchen. Then we headed over to a quaint little book shop. I, of course, headed straight to the children's books. I can't resist. I got the book about needing a rock that I mentioned earlier in the week. I also got a few for my classroom. We study Indian legends, so I got one that had the Legend of the Indian Paintbrush. I was excited!! And, now ready to head to Santa Fe. We opted not to take the high road. We had seen most of it on our way up to Taos through Las Vegas. The road ran along the river for a while and had some beautiful views too. Andrew took some while I drove (thanks babe!) We ate sandwiches in the car, so when we arrived in Santa Fe we headed straight to the square. We found a parking spot close to the capital, so stopped to wander around. Not too impressed with the building, but good to see another state capital...We found that the square was being set up so a festival so it wasn't as pretty to look at. I remember it having a very open area, and it wasn't that way. We found another store that had water - very thirsty! The awesome thing is that we found a coffee cup to match the spoon rest from earlier. Same pattern and larger than your standard mug, so I was pretty excited. We continued to mosey around the stores. It was nice to just browse. Many things out of the price range, but it's fun to look. :o) One funny (annoying at the time) story was the lady in front of us at the ATM who thought there was something wrong with the machine when she couldn't pull cash out with her credit card. Duh!!! Not the brightest person we'd come across. Andrew and I found a tasty chocolate shop. We shared 3 chocolates including a tasty peanut butter, caramel cup. Then we found a bead shop. Jennifer and I had talked about wanting to find beads. The store I found wanted $2 for a tiny bead, so I opted for the $6 bag of mixed beads...one for me, one for Jen. Nothing done with them yet, but maybe soon. (Heck, I'm just now finishing the blog...) Andrew and I met up with Jennifer, Jeff and kids, Matt & Brandy and Mom at the Loretta Chapel. That's when we found out dad wasn't feeling well. :o( We entered the chapel and looked at the staircase. Andrew and I had been into 2 other chapels in Santa Fe, and to be honest, liked those a little better. We had both seen the staircase before. Pretty miraculous though... Headed to the hotel and rested up before dinner at Maria's at 6:30. We got there and poor dad and Jeff weren't feeling well. It wasn't a fun way for them to end the trip. No dinner, and an early exit from the restaurant to go rest. Many of us weren't particularly impressed with the food, and after our waitress about lost mom's credit card the last batch of us headed back. I will say they had very tasty sopapillas and I got a very cute picture of JC. After getting back, most of us called it an early night with so many not feeling well or just tuckered out. We had one last meal together in the morning - hotel continental breakfast. It was time to part ways :o( I didn't want to leave...Mom & Dad and Andrew and I were the last to leave. It was a great trip. Thanks mom & dad!!! You guys are the best...we'll have to do it again soon! More pretty views on the way home...I love the mountains! They are so beautiful and when you drive, it's fun to see how the view changes every 5 minutes. :o) We stopped in Tucumcarri to visit the dinosaur museum. Andrew's request, but I had fun too. It was good to have a break from driving. Another stop in Amarillo for a late lunch with Andrew's Aunt Cathy at Joe Taco - yummy! Then we stopped for the night in Wichita Falls, TX. Horribly confusing highway overpasses made it difficult to get going the next morning, but we did. Back to Waco about 3:00 on Sunday. We traded out cars...I don't think I mentioned that we used Brenda's new car - Toyota Prius to help aid with gas mileage and $. We figured we saved enough to make it worth it. Thanks Brenda! We also got to meet their new cat, Lily. Back in the car Monday mid-morning. Sooo tired of the car, but we have to make it home. Here I am about to go crazy. We stopped in Shreveport to get Cold Stone smoothies and walk around. They have a very nice shopping center by the river. Then stopped again in Monroe at Olive Garden. Did some more shopping. I got a few back to school outfits, so I was pleased. Finally back to Atlanta on Tuesday. Whew! We were pretty exhausted. I'm very lucky that Andrew takes care of me and unloads the car after a trip. I don't how that worked out, but I'm not going to complain!! All in all, it was a wonderful trip. Very good to get together as a family for an extended period of time. I have a feeling we'll do it again in another few years.

This IS Vacation After All. . .

2008-08-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

Thursday July 24, 2008

Ahhh...this was the last day in Taos. A sad idea, because I felt like we had barely scratched the surface of things to be done. That being said, Andrew and I were both pretty wiped after the week's activities. We decided to sleep in and stay out of the way while everyone else got ready. Mom & Dad were headed to Red River Ski Valley to pick up the family photos we'd taken, Matt & Brandy & the Hughes family to the ski valley. We played the Wii and enjoyed our coffee. Jennifer came back and we decided to head into Arroyo Secco. They had some cute shops there we wanted to check out. We headed to the Mercantile first and spotted some pretty bead necklaces. They had a lot of interesting things in a wide variety. Soaps, jewelry, t-shirts, antiques, books, you name it...they probably had it. Jennifer bought me the brown beaded necklace for me as my birthday present. (Here I am wearing it on Friday) She also got one for her in blue, white, and amber beads.

After the Mercantile we headed to the Taos Cow. Andrew was waiting for us, and he's already sampled some of the ice cream - blueberry. He really enjoyed it. Jen and I got there and I ordered some raspberry dark chocolate ice cream; Jennifer just got a grapefruit soda. I thought it was pretty good. The flavors were yummy, but the consistency of the ice cream wasn't the best I'd had. We wandered around a few more shops. There was a really cool photography shop that was way out of price range, but I really enjoyed seeing some local artwork.

We headed back and had turkey sandwhiches at home. Mom was a bit concerned that we had all the groceries purchased on Sunday still at the house. After lunch and a bit more Wii, many people headed for naps. Seems a bit lazy, but we were tired and it IS vacation after all, right? :o)

I felt bad because we had talked about going to the Taos square, and ended up sleeping through our opportunity to go. Sorry, Jen!

Matt & Brandy and Jennifer & Jeff decided to head to dinner in town for date night. Andrew and I talked about it, but decided to save a few bucks and eat with Mom & Dad and the kids. It was left over pork steak and hash browns. Very yummy! After dinner we loaded up the kids and headed back to the pool. Similar to the night before. Again, an enjoyable evening. This day felt most like "vacation"....No schedule, naps, and some quality pool time.

After everyone got back and we got the kids to bed we headed out to the porch. We noticed a glorious sunset in the works...As the sun continue to set, we had a sliver of light from the west and storms all around us. We got quite the picture show; lightning but no thunder. It was a wonderful way to spend our last night. Together on the porch talking and watching a beautiful sky show.

But then, it was time for another competition!This one pitted each couple against the others. Time for the newlywed game. Let's just say many memories were taken from this game. You can't play the newlywed game (especially with your parents) without having everyone blush at some point. And did we! :o) It was fun...mom & dad won, but I guess they have just a few years advantage on all of us, huh? Early to bed, because we'd be up early in the morning packing up and heading to Santa Fe. Goodbye Taos...sure will miss this view in the morning...

Choo Choo! "All Aboard!"

2008-08-09T09:57:00.000-04:00

Wednesday July 23, 2008

Good morning everyone! Are you ready for Train Day?? We all got up this morning excited. Going on the Cumbres & Toltec train was the activity we planned to do altogether as a family.

So, 11 people up, fed, dressed, and out the door a little after 8:00. Whew! We piled in the cars. JC and mom rode with Andrew and I. Quick stop for gas and directions, then onward to Antonito, Colorado. There was a pretty view of the mountains around Taos. It was cool because it appeared the clouds were sitting on the mountains. Then you can see the bright blue sky above. We arrived a little after 9:00, so had plenty of time to see the train, the gift shop, and take plenty of pictures. The Hughes kids were very excited and looked so cute in the conductor hats grandpa bought them. We all took many pictures of the engine getting ready for the journey!

The train left the station promptly at 10:00. The whistle blew and we were off! Our destination was Osier for lunch. Then we'd take the same train back. That would be ok, because as we found,everyone's favorite part were the tunnels. So now, instead of having 2 tunnels to go through, we would get 4! :o) Yay!

Everyone found their way to the observation car pretty early into the journey. I was with JC most of the time who wanted up, but clung very tightly so as not to fall over! He had a great time looking at everything around him. And boy, did he love that whistle. His eyes got real big every time it went off...but he always had his hands on his ears. Very cute! We arrived in Osier. On the menu for lunch was turkey with potatoes (that were very bland!), rolls, and green beans; all served cafeteria style. We snagged a table big enough to sit all of us. There was a high chair for Jetta, but no way to secure her in. So, dad took off his belt and we belted her in. It worked very well, and we were all glad that dad's pants didn't fall off during the process! Yummy dessert-chocolate cake-and then back on the train. The whistle blew again and we were off.

One thing Jennifer and I wanted to make sure of was to get a good shot of the view before the first tunnel. We didn't get a good look the first time because everyone had already crowded. So, we knew it was coming and got there early. It was a spectacular view of the gorge-600 feet down!

Then Andrew and I headed to see the view from the very back of the train. It was nice because there weren't people shoving elbows around to get a better view. It was kind of nice to see "where we had just been." It was a different perspective of the journey. Towards the end of the trip, it started to rain. Glad that it was so close to the end. It was pretty to see all the clouds roll in, and the storms around the mountains we were traveling in. There were some great shots of the scenery we saw...those are all below. Enjoy! Dad and Julia rode with us on the way back to Taos. It didn't take Julia very long to fall asleep. The train ride and all the excitement wore her out! We had a nice trip back. Dad decided that Julia would be more comfortable sleeping in his lap, so that was sweet to see, and I think Dad was right.

We got back home and decided that a swim would be a perfect way to wash all the cinders off our bodies and out of our hair. So everyone except Jeff got their swim gear together and headed for the pool. Jeff went and got pizza for dinner while we swam. The pool in the community was nice. The one complaint was that the room it was in was freezing! It made it very hard to get out of the pool - or even keep your head abouve the water for any amount of time. JC held onto whoever was holding him like a little monkey. He had fun squirting water guns. I had fun bouncing/jumping with him. Julia has turned into a good little swimmer! And Jetta did a good job of letting someone put her on her back to swim. It was a fun evening.

We headed back and had dinner, put the kids to bed, then busted out Battle of the Sexes. It was a re-match of the game at Christmas. The guys won then, and unfortunately, won again in Taos. I think the questions are easier for the guys. What do you think ladies - 3rd time's a charm??

This might've been my favorite day because it really was everything done as a whole group.

Llama Mama

2008-08-04T20:47:00.000-04:00

Tuesday July 22, 2008

Today was the day we had planned for the Llama hike. Going on the trek was Jennifer, Julia, JC, Mom, Andrew and myself. We headed to Questa - about a 45 minute drive north to Columbine Canyon in the Carson National Forest. JC rode in the car with Andrew and I. It was fun to play peek-a-boo and make silly faces at him from the front seat. He seemed to have a good time with it as well. :o) We arrived and met Andrew, our guide, and the 5 llamas that would be journeying with us. 3 were loaded with supplies for lunch and the journey and 2 were ready with llama saddles for the kiddos to hop on and go for a ride. The 3 with supplies were Mateo, Dakota, and Andalito. JC rode Rudy, and Julia rode Vato. It was cute to get JC to pet Rudy and here him say "Giddyup Rooody." They both took a little bit of time to warm up to the llamas, but were eager to ride a few minutes in. JC had a hard time deciding if he wanted to ride or walk. He actually wanted someone to hold him, and Andrew did well to wear the backpack. After 2 trips in and out we said "enough". It was either walk or ride. He bounced between the two for most of the journey up the mountain. Which, yeah, I was under the impression that it wasn't going to be such a hike. But boy, was it! I was definitely out of breath several times. I guess that should've been expected. We were in the mountains; thinner air, harder to breathe. Needless to say, we were all ready for a break when we came to the open pasture where lunch would be. Lunch was provided by the llama hike service and it was gourmet turkey sandwhiches (very yummy!), chips/salsa, carrots, and a delicious coconut chocolate chip bar. It energized us all for the return trip...but let's be honest, it's easier to hike downhill than uphill! One interesting thing that we found out aboult llamas, and in particular these llamas, was they had very specific places to use the restroom. They only went there. Which I guess was nice because you knew when to move out of the way! It was a fun hike, but after horseback riding the day before Andrew and I were pretty sore. Ready for another trip to the hottub when we returned. This time - no rain pellets attacking my neck. Yay! After a few hours of relaxation time, we got ready for our Campbell Family Photo session. We headed to Overland Sheep Trading Co. It was a little plaza with colorful flowers-there were many artists in there drawing, painting, taking pictures. And I can say that if I lived in Taos, I would definitely make this a location for doing artwork. It made me want to ask one of the artists for a piece of paper and the use of her pastels...very inspiring. The sky was also the perfect shade of bluish/gray- it was about to rain which made the sky in all our pictures look like a background. Taos Mountain was in many of our pictures, and I don't think you could've asked for a prettier setting. We had fun making faces at the people getting pictures taken. Brandy has a funny one of me where I'm trying to get JC and Jetta to look at me and smile. Thanks, Brandy! It did start to rain which was a bummer. We had to rush through pictures to get all the ones we wanted. But, they turned out well. It'll be good to have those pictures to look at and remember the trip. Andrew and I hosted dinner at Orlando's that night. Unfortunately, they didn't take reservations and could only get us at 2 separate tables. Andrew and I ordered the fish tacos. I thought they were delicious, Andrew thought they were a too much on the spicy side. Jennifer suggested putting sugar on them to help take away some of the spice. Then I said I could call him Sugar Lips. Funny, right Jennifer? :o) I'll let the rest of that story stay at that little corner table!

We headed back and no game tonight...we were pretty tired. Andrew, myself, Jennifer, and Jeff headed to bed while Mom, Matt, & Brandy went to check out the pool. Hmmm, what did Dad do? Drink coffee? I'm not sure. Early night for some much needed sleep. Tomorrow is train day!!

Back in the Saddle Again

2008-08-03T09:23:00.000-04:00

Monday July 21, 2008

...Ok, so I really can't say "again", because I'd never been horse-back riding in my life. But, today was the day!! I was very excited, and kind of nervous. Andrew was too. It didn't help when we had to sign a release that says the horse acts on it's own sometimes and could throw the rider. Eek! I just stopped reading, signed the form, and picked out a helmet. Bring on the horsey! Going horseback riding was Dad, Matt, Brandy, Andrew and myself. Our guide led us over to the "mounting stump" and tried to match our riding skills with the horses. Dad rode General Custer, Matt rode Manny, Brandy on Lil Red, Andrew on Hannibal Hank and I was on Pearl. We rode on an uphill trail that followed a small river in the ski valley. There were some beautiful views of the mountains around us. Brandy, mom and I the night before were trying to figure out where Julia Roberts' house was (we heard she had a house in Taos), and we passed right by it on our trail ride! :o) Onward and upward to the mid-way point - the small waterfall where the picture was taken. We stopped for a short rest and then headed back down. Ouch! That's a hard ride - downhill on a horse. "Lean back!" We arrived back down at the bottom of the trail, and headed to Tim's Stray Dog Cantina to meet the rest of the gang for lunch. The weather was perfect for an outside table. Andrew and I ordered tuna melts. I wasn't a huge fan, but I was so hungry after the ride that it was sufficient.

After lunch, the group split up - some headed to Taos, while the others headed for the ski lift. From 9,207 feet up to 11,819 feet...quite a ride! Mom, Jeff and Julia headed up before us. Then Andrew, dad and I headed up. It was about a 10 minute ride to the top. Once at the top it seemed we were at eye level with many mountains around us! We had a great view of Wheeler Peak - the tallest point in New Mexico. There was even still snow on the top! We heard during our horseback ride that there was 8 inches of snow that fell on Memorial Day weekend.

After taking many pictures, we headed back down. This trip was a bit more queasy on some stomachs. Not me! I've never had much of an issue with heights, but Andrew kept his eyes on the book he brought with him. I took it all in. Pretty view of the Ski Valley down below us.

After spending some time in the ski valley, we headed back to the house. Andrew and I were pretty sore, so we decided to give the hot tub a try. It was pretty cold and rainy, but hey, it's a hot tub, right? We got in and it did feel pretty good on our sore muscles, but after about 10 minutes, I'd had enough. The rain drops were starting to feel more like little icy pellets! Ouch! It also wasn't very fun trying to get out with the cold wind blowing-but the hot/cold was kind of refreshing on my skin. Back inside we took it easy. I think I finally made my Wii me and took a gander at some tennis. Fun times. Matt & Brandy provided dinner-chicken, steaks, squash, potato wedges-yum! Again, it was good to sit as a family to a home cooked meal. Afterwards, we had cupcakes and ice cream to celebrate mom & dad's 33rd anniversary. 33 years - that's a good while :o) It was fun to celebrate together, even if it was a few weeks late (their anniversary is July 12).

After the kids went to bed, the adults headed to the table for a game of Songburst. It was a bit harder than I think we expected. Andrew had a good rule for next time - don't pick the card if no one knew the song...It took us a while to go even halfway around the game board. The boys ended up winning. boo.

Time for bed ... see you tomorrow! Oh yeah, and one of my favorite pics of the trip...Jetta, Jennifer, me, and mom.

Getting to the Taos House

2008-08-02T11:58:00.000-04:00

Saturday we started our journey to Taos. We headed north to Fort Worth, and then west to Amarillo. This was our destination for the night. We stopped in Fort Worth to sell some books at half price books. We had a great result getting $27 for our old books and magazines! Woo! Half a tank of gas :o) That would be important with all the driving we were going to be doing in the next week and a half. We arrived in Amarillo just fine, but were ready for dinner and a good night's sleep. We walked over to Outback, got a to-go order, and then headed back to the hotel. We found the Royals' game on TV, so we got to watch them beat the White Sox 9-1.

Up and at 'em the next morning - final destination for today was Taos!! The transition of scenery between west Texas and north New Mexico was pretty amazing. Flat, plains with wind turbines to spectacular mountains was a fun one to drive. The views definitely improved once off the interstate. Slower driving, but well worth it.

We arrived in Taos around 4:00 and found that Mom & Dad, and Matt & Brandy had arrived. We unpacked the car, and had a few minutes to visit. But it wasn't long before mom, Brandy and I headed to the grocery store for the week's food. When we got back to the house, the Hughes had arrived! I wasn't surprised to find the kids already in the back yard - JC and Julia were hunting for bunny rabbits with Andrew and Jetta was playing with a pile of rocks. Finding, looking at, and sometimes throwing rocks would be a favorite pasttime of the kids. At the end of the week I got them a book called "Everybody Needs A Rock" by Byrd Baylor. It's one that I had heard before and really liked. It's 10 rules for finding the perfect "pet rock." I hope they enjoy it as much as I do.

That night we had pork steaks, orange fluff, tomatos, and other great food. It was so fun to sit down as a family to our first meal that week. That's one of my favorite memories as a kid. I loved our family dinners every night. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip, too.

The rest of the night found everyone just getting settled and enjoying the family. It was good that everyone arrived at the Taos House, and were off to a good week of vacation.

Wacky in Waco

2008-08-01T21:56:00.000-04:00

Hey! Well here I am to tell all about our vacation. . .

We headed out from Atlanta on Sunday and got to Waco on Monday. We spent some time with Andrew's family. It's always good to go back to Waco. Something in me feels like it's coming home whenever we visit there. It's such a great little town. It was nice to have some down time. We slept in, relaxed, and had Jerry's famous breakfast rolls. There were two days that Jetta was sick so we got some quality time with her. She's a lot of fun. She definitely let's you know what she wants and when! :o) The highlight of our time with her was a walk around Baylor's campus. We walked past the bears at the perfect time - they were getting fed, so we got to see them eat their oranges. Did you know that bears can peel their own oranges? I was surprised that they didn't just gobble the whole thing...It was fun to watch. We then headed over to the Baylor Spirit shop where I got a few new shirts. (see picture!)

One afternoon Andrew and I took Jetta and met my sister and Brenda for lunch at Cafe Cappacinno - yum! I had a nice chicken salad wrap. It was fun to meet them for a lunch date.

That night we took all three kids back to the Kirkpatrick's house for pancakes. This helped my sister have some time to get ready for the big trip to New Mexico, and spend quality time with all of them. They enjoyed eating their yummy blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. Then had fun playing with trains and exploring the backyard. They even found some tomatoes to pick. :o) It was good to play Aunt and Uncle to the Hughes chillins.

We also had a good visit with our friends the Towers. It was fun to meet Max and watch Ann & Sha with their acrobatics trying to calm him down. I'm sure it wasn't fun for them, though! It's hard to believe how fast Carter is growing. I remember being with him in the baby room at Lakewood. Time flies. . . . Then it was time to head to Taos...more on that to come!

Beach Bum

2008-07-12T09:13:00.000-04:00

Ahhh...nothing like the sand between your toes...

Andrew and I spent the 4th of July in St. Petersburg. We saw that the Royals were in town to play the Tampa Bay Rays, so thought we'd take a weekend jaunt to see that, and catch some time at the beach.

Unfortunately, the Royals lost both games - pretty badly. The Rays are playing great baseball, and the Royals just aren't hitting. No offense is no good. The other thing is the Rays fans are not the smartest in baseball...so that was annoying. They rang their cowbells every time there were two strikes, but no cows came home. The only thing they accomplished was giving people headaches. We definitely did not have a fever with a prescription for more cowbell...

The nice thing was our afternoon relaxing at Pass-A-Grille beach. We discovered it on our trip last year - it's out of the way, not very crowded, and is close to a very good grouper sandwhich. We did come away with a bit of a sunburn, but that's to be expected...right? :o)

It was nice to get away for a bit of time - and celebrate the 4th in our third city in three years. We'll see where next year takes us. . . but for now, we're off to Waco and Taos, New Mexico to visit with the families!

This just in...I'm in the right profession

2008-06-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

Ok, so this has never happened to me, but I definitely fear that it will happen one day. Thought it was funny. Hope you get a laugh from it too. . Also, as much as I love my summer vacations, I'm at the point in the break where I'm ready to go back to work. Am I crazy?!!?? No, I just love teaching. I am full of anticipation and ideas about what my next year of teaching holds. I'm super excited about it! I'll be co-teaching again, but now that I know more about it, am looking forward to what it holds in store. . . Not much exciting has happened in the last few weeks. We've done a lot of house cleaning which is always a good thing! We're not done, but slow progress is good. We got to see R.E.M. for the 2nd time. They rocked it! That was a fun show to be at-it was their "home crowd." We cooked in the sun to see the Braves vs. Brewers game - just typical summer activities. It's been kinda nice to experience summer in Atlanta. The past few years we've been in Michigan while Andrew's in class. Andrew and I are about to venture on a few vacations in the next month. July will be busy, but that's ok with me. We're going to the beach and a few Royals games in Tampa for the 4th. And then our big Texas/New Mexico trip to visit with family. :o)

Celebrating 2 Years of Wedded Bliss in the Windy City

2008-06-07T12:31:00.000-04:00

Doesn't seem like 2 years has passed since Andrew and I got married. Time flies when you're having fun. . . . A friend of mine asked if the 2nd year was easier. In many ways, it was, although I never want to go through comprehensive exams with a spouse again, and thank goodness I will never have to! Woohoo! We went to Chicago to help us celebrate. I guess we've started a little tradition of following the Royals for our anniversary. We were in Tampa Bay last year. So, we caught a few games, and it didn't go well. Royals aren't playing the best baseball right now. But, it was fun to experience a new ball park. I wasn't too impressed, though...nothing very special about it. Not a great view of the city (which I totally expected!), the food was not that great, nothing to make it stand out... it was just your average ballpark. But here with our with our smiles after the game. Another thing, we heard that R.E.M. was in town and had to go. It's Andrew's favorite band and, I was totally impressed with them. We saw them play Friday night, and it was awesome. I could've listened to them play all night. Which makes me really look forward to seeing them again in Atlanta! :o) As far as the city, we really just wandered, which is fine with me. There's a LOT to see, and it was free! We walked to Millenium Park the first day and had a picnic. Then we walked the Magnificent Mile to Navy Pier. Very beautiful architecture! After walking the pier, we took a water taxi to Sears Tower. There, we traveled the 103 stories to the top. I was a bit freaked out about the ride down, but we survived. The view was spectacular!! Another one of my favorites about Chicago was the old Marshall Fields. 9 floors of wonderous shopping...Heaven! I was just awed by the size of the place! I have no doubts that the next years of marriage to Andrew will be just as great - and we'll just have to wait and see where the Royals take us next June 3.

Laugh out Loud

2008-05-24T11:48:00.000-04:00

As an educator - this got me really tickled. Small groups are being pushed by everyone these days. And yes, I am a huge supporter of them, but this got me laughing out loud for a few minutes. Enjoy!

Letters from Students

2008-05-23T22:28:00.000-04:00

So, today was the last day of school. Our school does something called a 5th grade walk, where all the graduating 5th graders walk through the school. Students make banners, teachers cry and 5th graders are congratulated. This was my first year of having students pass by that I had taught. One thing they did this year was write thank you letters to former teachers. I got a handful and all are sweet and made me feel really good. Here are what some of them said. . . "...You taught me how to tell time. I would be lost without time. I remember on the last day of school you were sad that I was leaving. Now I'm sad that I'm leaving..." "You have touched my life unlike any other teacher. You understand all of your students and their needs...You've always been there for me and were concerned for me. And you've always wondered about my personal life." "The memories I had with you are unforgettable!...Remember the time I flipped out of my chair during class? I was embarassed, but you comforted me and from then on I knew you were going to be a great teacher!...I hope it's fine with you that I still call you Ms. Campbell!" :o) Comments like these make all the long nights, meetings, and frustrating days worth it. It means a lot to me that I have left such an impression on them, because each of them has left an impression on me.

The start of something big. . .

2008-05-19T22:33:00.000-04:00

Ok, well maybe not big, and definitely not a new concept but alas, here I am world. . .