1.3.10
22.11.07
Randomness
Rynn is potty training (with success!!!) finally...HOORAY! She is wearing panties and sadly she still has accidents but we are making great progress.
My kids are cup stacking. I don't know why but they are deriving so much joy from doing this. No pack of plastic cups is safe in this house.
Uncle Ken's in the news. MSNBC LINK Wow, how disgusting those priests were. We are very proud of Uncle Ken.
I hit a transvestite's van. Yes, I backed into it and busted it up good. Go me. *sigh*
The high last night was 10 degrees and the low was -5 degrees. I didn't notice. Went outside today barefoot and with short sleeves and felt fine.
It hasn't snowed here in quite a while. One weekend it did in October and that was exciting. We went sledding a bit. Snow's got a few added bonuses I didn't expect - after it melts a little and then refreezes it's so *sparkly* and *glittery* . And I love to walk in it then - crunch, crunch, crunch. After it melts, though, everything is just muddy and nasty for a few days.
Audrey has this little pony Pawpaw and Mimmy gave her before we left that is supposed to turn hot pink when you touch it with ice. Well the pony seems to stay hot pink more often than not and Audrey decorates it back to white with her tongue!
Audrey's doing great in school. Her teacher says she is going to put her in an advanced reading group when they start with reading soon.
Rynn has an amazing memory. When I need to find something, I ask Rynn where it is and she almost always finds it. A couple of days ago I read a book to her (a simple one - the words were something like "we like reading. we like biking. etc etc...we are friends.") and after only reading it once she read the whole thing back to me flawlessly.
My girls have bike skillZZZ. =) Those kids are tearing up the pavement daily. I am running to keep up with them now, even with Rynn and her training wheels.
My girls have computer skillz too. Audrey of course has been able to use Nickjr.com since she was 4. She actually has her own character in WoW that is, I think, lvl 12 or so which she has done herself. I told her she couldn't play that any more til she could read and now she's trying to convince me she can. Yesterday she gets on and asks some random guy, "dooyoowunt too froop" (Do you want to group) I had to laugh at that one.
Rynn is to the point where she turns on her daddy's laptop, clicks the start menu and goes up to internet explorer, clicks the link that comes up to nickjr.com, goes to the games menu there, and goes to town playing or watching videos. I'm telling you that girl is gifted. She's not even 3 yet and I didn't specifically show her how to do any of that, she just got it by watching us.
Ok this has turned into a bragging session! That's enough about us for now, else my head explode.
Photos from Breckenridge
The scenery was stunning. We stayed in a suite in a hotel that was very pretty for the price I thought. Thank goodness for Adam's government discounts. Even the outside pool was heated and it was pretty neat to think you could go swimming outside with snow all around. Most of the snow you see is fake & made just for the skiers, but it was still very cold. We didn't do too much beside walk around the town window shopping and eating out but I had a blast taking pictures of all the new things I had never seen before, like ski lifts. Everywhere you looked there were people with their ski goggles and snowboards and I just felt so uncool next to them!! It's kind of hard to imagine renting skis etc. when you have 2 young children with you though. What do you do with them while you are skiing? I want to at least try it someday. It looked like so much fun.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Audrey is sort of depressed today. She keeps asking for someone to come over for Thanksgiving. Of course there isn't anyone but it is comforting to her to know her Grandparents are coming over next week. She had the idea today to do ''toasts" to things we were thankful for during our meal so that made it kind of special.
Rynn is feeling sick. She's been having a tummy ache that comes and goes and has spent most of the morning just lying down.
Adam must have been feeling festive. He cooked our Thanksgiving turkey, his first one ever, today. We got some ''Cajuny'' things in the mail from his Mom and Dad a couple of days ago - Boudreaux Butt Paste, Zapp's chips, and some Cajun Injector. If only we could get okra and boudin in the mail! He was pretty excited about the Injector and used that on the turkey.
I was pretty excited about the chips. Oh how I have wished for some Cajun Craw Taters over the past few weeks and to get a whole box of them in the mail was like Christmas. Thank you Mrs. Joyce and Mr. Carl!!! As for today I made muffins this morning and the sides for dinner. Mom and Rachel called this morning and I am always so thankful that you guys keep in touch. Rachel, Rachel, Rachel - THANK YOU for calling me OFTEN. Even Adam has said he is really impressed with you. I am absolutely terrible about making phone calls but always so happy to receive them. We bought new phones a couple of weeks ago because we just weren't getting service with the old ones. If you'd like our phone number or address, please just send me an email at mrskerry@kajnmail.com.
I'm trying to get this up in a hurry but I will post some more today, including photos. Going to go ahead and publish this one now though. I love you all and I am missing you!
2.11.07
New Updates Coming
13.10.07
30.9.07
Sunday Steamboat - Our first snow!
for Audrey's bike for the mouth and one of Adam's Tennesee hats. We started to get so hot Adam actually took off his shirt and went bare. The kids ended up with their jackets off. Audrey surprised us all by making yellow snow......
An interesting fact about the snow in Steamboat: "But it's not just any snow here in Steamboat, we have the driest and fluffiest snow in the world. It's so different, we coined the phrase Champagne Powder.. In fact, meteorologists have measured Steamboat's Champagne Powder. as having 70% less moisture content than average snow." - from snowguide.org.
I don't know what they mean by dry - our pants were wet when we were done, and our hands were freezing from touching the snow. However this being the only snow I've ever really seen I guess I don't know what wet snow is. If we had had gloves, though, we could have stayed out there all day.
Rynn says, "I like to throw it at Daddy! HAHAHAHAH!!!"
Audrey says, "We ate it and it was good!"
Adam says, "It's a different kind of cold"
Kerry says, "We're gonna get so sick of snow that we're going to laugh at how excited we were today."
Saturday Steamboat Springs
28.9.07
And Bigger Steps
This week we've been trying something different outside. Adam somehow got an old bike from someone and it fits Audrey just right. Since then we've been riding all around the apartment complex - Audrey and Rynn on their bikes and myself on rollerblades! Yes it sounds nuts but it's actually a lot easier than running after them. Then we stop on the playground and have a little snack, and go back upstairs to put my skates up. We come back down and play on the playground some more. Sometimes I bring Adam's computer out. You'd think the other mothers out here would think I was an oddball but there are no other mothers out here. Yes - children, no - parents. Hooray for supervision? I don't let my girls out of my sight.
Adam's been working so hard. Well he's been working so long anyway. Starting at 7:30am he's at work driving aliens around and he doesn't get to come home most nights til 7pm though he is scheduled to come home at 3:30. He's really bummed about the lack of family time and exercise. We miss him tons too. Wow this wind is getting chilly. Need to get inside and get a light jacket. We can't wait for the weekend. We are supposed to go over to Steamboat and maybe even see some snow!
26.9.07
Small Steps
Taco Soup for Rachel
1 lb. ground meat
2 can diced rotel (1 original & 1 hot)
1 can red beans
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 bag corn chips
1 pkg. dry hidden valley ranch dip
1 onion
1 can navy beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can water
shredded cheese
Brown ground meat and onion. Add rotel, corn, and all cans of beans. Don't drain the cans. Add packages of ranch dip seasoning and water. Cook for 30 minutes. Top with corn chips and cheese. Don't add salt or pepper.
I changed this a bit because I couldn't find one of the cans of beans (beans were labeled red kidney beans - not both) so I added an extra can of corn instead (the best part!). We also did not top with cheese. I used an extra hot rotel instead of just hot and regretted it - it was too hot but still delicious. You might want to just put mild in there for your girls but the way it's listed above is the way they serve it at school. I absolutely LOVE this stuff! Now you have to send me your recipe!
19.9.07
Fun with Pronghorn
16.9.07
Thoughts On..
It's everywhere. Monday morning we woke up to a child screaming at the top of its lungs. Later when we kept hearing it all day we realized it was the elk across the street. Saturday we were driving along through town and some little critter peered at me from 5 feet from my window. We thought it was a groundhog but it wasn't - I've forgotten the name of it. We've seen dead porcupine, foxes, & pronghorn on the side of the road. And EVERYWHERE you look are deer. We're so used to seeing them everywhere that it's no big deal to see them at the gas station. Magpies are also all over. They look a little like bluejays but they are quite a bit bigger.
Church
For the past two Sundays we've gone to the same Baptist church. It has been nice, contemporary like Bethel. The preacher was earnest and the teaching was Biblical. The people were very friendly. However I think it may be a little bit too casual for us. They have some kind of coffee shop in there and the people in Hawaiian shirts and flip-flops sipping latte's while the pastor poured his heart out was a little disturbing to Adam and I. The teens didn't have to come into the sanctuary - they had their own little sofa area in the back where they could hear the sermon but sat there texting each other. What was important was the message of course, but unlike Bro. Tony's message that always spoke to my heart, I just didn't feel anything at these. So the search for a church home will continue next week. I know how important it is for us all to find the right place for us.
Grocery Shopping
I absolutely can NOT wait for Wal Mart to open in November. Right now we have Safeway and City Market for groceries and K-Mart for other things. The prices on groceries are outrageous - everything is on average $.50 more per item than it is in La. It adds up fast. I don't know if my girls will be eating chicken noodle soup again - it's $1.60 per can here instead of 60 cents. Yeah Wal-Mart cannot get here soon enough. The stores are VERY nice though, especially Safeway. Very high class looking inside. And the buggies are adorable. There are little cars on the front of the buggies and the girls both sit inside and pretend to drive their car around while I shop. They LOVE it.
Job Hunting
Last Monday morning I checked with the principal of Audrey's school to find out if they needed any subs and indeed she was happy to find out about me. She gave me the numbers of two babysitters and a good daycare. I called the babysitters - they wanted $30 to watch Rynn and $15 for Audrey for the half day! Rynn had to be potty trained for the daycare. One babysitter was full and the other could only take them on Wed. and Thurs. To put that into perspective I used to pay a little more than that for a whole week for Rynn with Marie. Tuesday I went to the school board to find out the pay for subs to see if it would be worth it after day care. They pay $85 per day for subs but $160 per day for long term subs with teaching degrees. Then I still would have to figure out how to leave school to get Audrey and bring her to the babysitter. Adam's enjoying me playing Miss Mom around the house right now anyway so I'm going to stick with that for a bit.
Being a Homemaker
This is what I've always wanted! I don't know how long I'll get to do this, but I'm loving it. A typical day looks like this - walk Audrey to school by 8:00, then walk back to the house with Rynn. Rynn and I hang out for a few hours, cleaning and maybe watching Wiggles, Yo Gabba Gabba, and other disturbingly enjoyable programs. We walk over to the school to get Audrey at 11:00 and the kids both play on the playground there for 15 minutes. Then we come back and have lunch at the apartment. Then we go to the grocery store and run errands or we do laundry and go to the apartment playground. We've been to the library, or to visit Daddy at work a couple of times. Then we are back to clean up for Adam to come home and get dinner ready. I've done gumbo for Adam's office which they loved, and did some taco soup from a recipe I got from Mrs. Tessa (the lunch lady back at Bethel) as well as lots of other dishes. Yeah you guys thought I couldn't cook - life just didn't allow time for it before.
15.9.07
Every Weekend is a Vacation
Click
for more
pictures.
Here is a video of everyone at the creek. I won't be able to leave it up for long because it is taking up a lot of my allotted space so take a look before I take it down.
And a quick snippet of Glenwood Canyon...
(videos removed to save space)
I kept thinking today how much Daddy would like it if he saw the mountains, or how much Bailey and KK would love to hike by the river. I can't wait til you guys can come to visit!
11.9.07
Our Place
Remember, we are still unpacking, so there are boxes here and there, especially in our bedroom. I've left out the photo of that one and the 1/2 bath - nothing special there.
The kitchen is just the right size, the cabinets are cute. We have a dishwasher (YAY!) I washed the dishes by hand for 3 days before I even noticed it - assumed we didn't have one. Our fridge STUNK up until about yesterday. Really that's the only complaint I've had about the apartment itself.
The living area is large enough for us. I'm a little sorry we left our coffee table but I do like the space. We don't, however, have a dining area. Instead we sit at the bar on stools. The carpet is brand new as of last week so we bought an area rug, knowing how hard the girls are on carpet. Sadly, we couldn't fit our sofa that goes with the ottoman through the door so Adam took it to his office. I visited him today and discovered my sofa was all scratched up from moving and almost cried. He comforted me and told me we could fix it but I loved that thing. Too much, I guess - it's just an object after all.
Friday
The view was almost immediately spectacular. The mountains were so big, but even more impressive, at least to me, were the homes on them. Some of the multi-million dollar ones were perched precariously right on the edges. I didn't get any photos of them, but here are some of the mountains we saw.
It was at that point we discovered that an Escalade does not have enough horsepower or whatever it is to drag a car up a mountain, so we unattached the car and I took the wheel of the truck. From then on my pictures were relegated to sticking my camera out of the window while watching the road, so don't expect any spectacular photography. Here are some shots taken while we stopped for gas:
You can see the rest of the photos on our Flickr Album.
Catching up on the Last Week
yuck! Ignore the bugs on the windshield!
9.9.07
We Made It!
If anyone wants our new address, please email me at mrskerry@kajnmail.com and let me know who you are.
I'll probably be making this blog private soon so you'll have to register to view it, so please don't give up when you see you don't have access. It's for our safety. See you (virtually) on Tuesday!
30.8.07
The Verdict is in
27.8.07
Graduation Day!
Georgia in August
Today was the big day. Joyce, Carl, myself, and the girls all went through security at FLETC at Glynco, Georgia, to see Adam graduate into a genuine ICE officer. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. We are so proud of him!