a missing stocking...

something in our house is missing...
~it's the laughter of a little girl...
~it's the sound of a little girl saying "good nike" at bedtime...
~it's little arms wrapping around your neck...
~it's a little girl saying "i need sum-ting"...
~it's pretty, bright, golden brown eyes in the morning...
~it's a little voice saying "can i have milk or no?"...
~it's a wild & crazy hair-do right out of bed...
~it's a stocking on our wall...
~IT'S LAURYN!!!

lauryn went back with my parents after their stay here for thanksgiving. with me going back to work, we thought it would be best for all of us. so far it has! lauryn was not scared or sad to leave us...which makes me kinda sad that she wasn't sad to say goodbye to us...but at the same time, it makes me very happy that no one has had to deal with an unhappy little girl who could really make life miserable for all of us if she really wanted to. instead, she chose to prove us all wrong & not have an issue with it. in fact, i'm wondering if she'll come home to l.v. with us without a problem ~ that's how much fun she's having with g'ma & g'pa. here are some pictures from the 11 days she's been gone:

lauryn has gotten some quality time with cousin lilia.

it's always fun to be in the kitchen with grandma ~ get to help bake and get to have hot chocolate AND ice cream!

fun in the snow ~ making a snow angel & sledding.

~lauryn~
we can't wait to see you in 10 days and play in the snow with you, drink hot chocolate with you, & cuddle up with you!!! will you give us hugs or no?
we love you!!!

flashback friday

this picture is from my junior year of college. my friends shelley, ann, & i were living in our first apartment after spending 2 years in the dorms. one night we got together with a bunch of girls from our dorm to have a party. you can see for yourself how wild & crazy it got!

i bet you've never been at a party before where someone broke out their accordian to play? but if you have, i want to hear YOUR story!

back to work...

it was back to work for me this past monday after a 3 year break from teaching. a few months ago i had decided to go back to work as a sub in the school district. it seemed to take FOREVER to get the word that i could begin. here was my to do list:
1. fill out sub application
2. get referrals (which i found out after the fact that i didn't need them since i was a former district employee)
3. paperwork for the dept. of ed.
4. get transcripts
5. get fingerprinted
6. fill out this form & that form
7. get fingerprinted again!
8. fill out this form & that form
9. tb skin test
plus, i was driving all over the place to get these things done, papers turned in, then find out that they need more papers; therefore, more trips. it seemed to never end!
my girlfriend kelcey from my former school called one day while i was in the middle of this process. she called to tell me that a co-worker of hers, in her grade level, has to go out on medical leave. she told me to hurry up & get everything done so i could long-term sub for this person! i called the district & said hurry up & get everything done so i can long-term sub for this person!...i don't think the words hurry, quick, or fast are in their job decsription at the district offices.
i found out the day before thanksgiving that i could start dec. 1st. i've got 3 days under my belt and, i must say, it's going better than i anticipated. i'm exhausted (was sleeping by 8:30 the first night) but am fine with it. since it's the school i used to work at, i know most of the people, and it's been fun catching up with everyone. on monday i got home & was greeted with the flowers below, given to me from my boys. they are soooo sweet to me!!!

happy thanksgiving from 3 lil' turkeys

flashback friday...i knew that she was THE ONE!

these are pictures of maxie 8 years ago when we first got her. she was such a cutie! i was back in north dakota while on track break & had fallen in love with jackson, my dad's dog. he is a yorkie, and i had never known what one was before that. so that summer when i was home, mom & i were busy looking through the want ads, looking for yorkie puppies for sale. dennis & i had been looking in vegas but didn't feel it was right to spend almost $1000 on a pet. we were lucky to spot an ad for 3 mo. old yorkie puppies about 45 miles away from where my parents lived. mom & i headed there to see what we could find. it was a family who had bred their own yorkies to sell the puppies. as soon as we walked through the door, there were 3 puppies yapping & nipping at our feet. it was hard to decide which ball of fluff to choose. then i spotted a 4th puppy hiding in the shadows, taking everything in but too shy to participate. i knew right then & there that she was the one. so for a mere $150, we left that house with my first baby in tow. now, as you may have noticed, dennis has not been part of this story but is in the above picture. that is because he was in training camp with de la hoya at the time in big bear lake, ca. so the picture with dennis & maxie above is their first meeting ~ after i flew back to vegas with maxie & was back at our place for a bit, dennis drove back for a weekend to meet the new member of our family. you can see on the top & bottom of the trio of photos, it didn't take her long to make herself at home. maxie has always loved to snuggle in blankets & continues to do so to this day. all you have to do is take a blanket out & she's there!

more isaacisms...

according to isaac, the characters below are:
woodchop
&
snooFy

are you smarter than a 5 year old?

if you are in the nys offices, i'm gonna say the answer to that question is NO! now i'm conviced that there are idiots in charge of the national youth sports (nys). this past saturday, isaac's *purple* team (the tigers) played another team that was *purple*, and if that wasn't enough irony, they were also called the tigers. teams decide what their team names will be so i can't blame that on them, just the uniforms. a bit confusing for a bunch of 4 &5 year olds, wouldn't you say?!
this is how it works ~ your team is put in a "league" with 7 other teams & play round robin for 8 weeks. well, they don't even excell at planning that because you play one team twice. that's it ~ not complicated in my book. apparrently, the person in charge of uniforms is 1 crayon short of a box of 8 crayolas!