What's What With the Ward's

Spruce Creek Spirit

2010-10-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

This is the week of homecoming. And Donovan has the school spirit! Go Spruce Go!!!

Family Home Evening

2010-09-20T06:57:00.000-07:00

This F.H.E. was really special. For starters the Grandparents were off their mission and we finally were able to see them. Second the kids were scared to death. This lesson was all about faith. The kids were blindfolded and lead through a maze of raw eggs or so they thought. Little did they know that I switched them for crackers while they were being blindfolded. It was a funny sight to hear the kids horrified screams as they inched there way across the floor.

Randy's Birthday 2010

2010-09-02T06:45:00.000-07:00

The great Pizza Cake! Ahh the aroma the sweet sent of meat! The gone in 30 seconds birthday cake. Till next time.
The inside of the card reads: "Dad you are going to have a wodrful brthday! From:Audrey To:Dad.

It just go's to show that the best gifts come from the heart!

Wild Grape

2010-08-24T06:37:00.000-07:00

We have wild grape vines all throughout our jungle next to our house. Shauna decided to start to pick them and so I joined in. Before you knew it somehow we were making wild grape jam! Quite yummy I might add! Wild Thing I think I LOVE Ya!

Our First Harvest!

2010-08-05T06:31:00.000-07:00

We have had our pear tree for a few years now and it was so nice to give us a pear for each family member this year! They were really good. I hope next year brings even more.

Donovan's 15th Birthday!

2010-07-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

Donovan and Randy woke early that morning and went crabbing for the first time with a guy in the ward that is a really good fisherman. They brought home so much crab and even caught a couple fish that even the missionaries benefited from the feast. We enjoyed latter in the evening a family celebration of cake and the unavailing of Donovan's gift. Just in case you were wondering what is was and why the shock of excitement was on his face I tell you. It was a new micro-fiber pillow. He has been wanting a new pillow for a few years now and I think the expression on his face says it all!

Wedding March

2010-07-23T06:10:00.000-07:00

Ahh...Another day, another day of dress up. Here comes the Bride!

Junior Olympics 2010

2010-07-17T05:51:00.000-07:00

Donovan did really well. The first day I went and I had a hard time taking pictures. I was too busy watching him. The second day Randy did well and got a great picture of his 100 Back, and his time.
Donovan qualified for 6 events this year. 50 free-27.65, 100 free-1:00.61, 200 free-2:14.53, 100 back-1:11.04, 200 back-2:35.16 and the 200Individual Medley-2:32.76.

Princess for the Day!

2010-07-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

Audrey and Shauna are always getting into the dress up and putting on plays and reviews. This time Shauna didn't do the dressing up but was the servent to Princess Audrey. The thrown was a chair right outside the door of the actual thrown room of the house. I thought this was pretty funny and so I took some pictures of the Royal event.

Shauna's Dance Recital 2010

2010-06-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

Shauna this year took Jazz and her routine was meant to be creepy. But how can a beautiful person like Shauna ever look creepy?

Bolles Meet

2010-06-26T14:24:00.000-07:00

This meet was held at a high end boarding school. Tuition is 40,000 dollars a year. Anyway,Randy borrowed a great camera from a friend and got some nice shots of Donovan in the water. It was a weird weekend for the swim the water was 85-88 degrees and it was hard to swim in. Donovan did not do his best under the conditions but still made it to finals (top 16 of the whole meet).

Shauna's 11th Birthday

2010-06-22T17:04:00.000-07:00

Shauna received her presents the morning of her birthday. She later that morning went to a friends house where they swam the day away and three of her friends came as well they all had birthday cake and celebrated the day with Shauna.

Ohio meets Florida

2010-05-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

Jake and Jill, Jenna and Calli came out for a visit and it was so fun! We enjoyed the zoo the first day they were here and Audrey got out of school for that one. Another memorable day was the beach day were we played in the sun most of the day. Too bad we forgot to put sun screen on Shauna's back (bad burn). In case your wondering why Randy is not in the beach pictures it is because he was on call for work that weekend, he was tied to the computer. Another fun home thing we did is it started to poor outside. So we convinced the kids to go dance in the rain. Then Jill decided you only live once so she went then we twisted Jake's arm and he too went out in the rain and Danced. It was so cool! Donovan and Jenna wanted to be out in it longer so we took Jenna out front with an umbrella this time since she was just changed into dry clothes and stand in the river that flowed right through our driveway. Fun Times!!! I hope the cousins will remember the time they had with one another.

Audrey's 1st grade Science Experiment

2010-05-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

She must have done this experiment a dozen times because she would not let me throw it away. However one day it just went missing? I wonder where it could be....

Family Visit from across the Country

2010-05-10T11:16:00.000-07:00

I just want to first start out saying I am in amazement that not only did Randy and Donalda travel cross the country to visit us but this is the second time doing so! They must truly love there house on wheels because I would not be able to do it. We had a very nice time. We were able to go to Universal for one of the days they were here. We all had fun getting wet on the water rides, some loved the Roller Coasters and some wish they were tall enough to ride the coasters. Next time they will all be tall enough... till then.

DBS Banquet

2010-05-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

It was a very nice event this year held at Daytona State College and the food was great we had lasagna and salad and rolls. The kids looked great and enjoyed getting together outside of the pool. There was some nice speeches given and all the kids enjoyed getting there goody bags.

Spring Primary Activity

2010-05-01T11:07:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic Primary activity in our ward. It was called"A walk through Christ Life". The first Station my counselor talked about Christ birth and that he is the lamb of God, then the children got to find little sheep that she hid for each one of them. They were made out of cotton balls and batting way cute. The second station they were taught of him teaching as a boy in the temple, then they made gram cracker temples. Next the heard the story of his baptism were able to view the font and then make origami doves. The next station they went fishing for goldfish and were taught that he is the fisher of men they also heard the story of the feeding of the multitude with three fish and one loaf of bread they then recived a roll and three sweddish fish to eat. The next station they were taught about him healing the sick they then put sticky foam all over there face and then we took there picture looking all sick then we took off the stickers and again took there picture looking all happy! Next station was all about the last supper where there was a lovely spread on the table and they talked about what they might have ate and then tried some flat bread. Next station was all about avoiding the temptations of sin and how Christ payed for all our sins. They got into pillow cases and jumped around boxes that represented the sins. Next they learned of his barrial in the tomb and they then were wrapped up in TP as mummies. Finally we went out side for the last part and talked about him ascending to heaven where we released white balloons into the air. Then they all received a color balloon to take home to represent Christ promised to return again.

Ashley's Visit

2010-04-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

Ashley came to visit and all of us had a great time. We were able to go up to Saint Augustine for a day did some shopping while being hit on, went to the fort and had a personal tour once again flirting skills pays off and we saw all kinds of crazy stuff at Ripley's Belive it or Not. We enjoyed our time together getting to know one another and it will always be remembered.

Opening of Long Course Season

2010-04-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

This last weekend was a really fun meet. Donovan did so well. He started out the day before the meet by taking the plunge into the big league and shaving his legs. So here are the blackmail pictures. Then it was off to bed early on his own doing. Over night Shauna got the flu. NO FUN. So their was little sleep for all in the house. However this did not break Donovan's spirits. He was a guy with a mission. We arrived at the meet really early... OK besides the coach and the vendors setting up we were it. I was able to talk to the coach a little and he told me not to worry about Donovan that he is taking good care of him. I was appreciative for the comforting comment. I am just not around the pool as much as I was last year and it sure made me feel good knowing that he is being looked after. Now down to the meet. Randy stayed home with the girls and I had the opportunity to time in Lane 6 (2 of the 3 events that Donovan swam were in this lane).
First event- 100 Back 1:15.97 from June 09 of 1:23.79. He is only 0 .88 away from JO time.
Second event- 100 Free 1:02.62 from June 09 of 1:08.34 He made the JO cut of 1:04.79
Third event- 200 IM 2:43.98 from January 09 of 3:22.56 He is only 2.19 away from a JO time.
Fourth event- 100 Breast 1:28.55 from April 09 of 1:35.97 He is only 4.96 away from a JO time.
Fifth event- 50 Free 28.36 from June 09 of 30.43 He made the JO cut of 29.79
Sixth event-400 Free4:55.53 from April 09 of 5:26.50 He is only 2.64 away from a JO time.

After the meet was over. Donovan and I were getting ready to leave and walk by the coach who was talking to one of the other parents and she congratulated him on his 100 free. She looked at the coach and said he is mold-able isn't he. His coach responded with " He's my special project right now." Now when he said this Donovan was already long gone heading for the car. So when I told him the news I think it made his season.

Easter

2010-04-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

Had a very relaxing day of watching conference, hunting for eggs and eating great food! For breakfast we had ham,eggs and potato's. For lunch we ate chocolate and for dinner we ate Turkey, mashed potato's and stir fried carrots. But the most memorable part of the day was during the second session of conference the timer went off for the turkey and Randy being so kind got up to tend to it while I continued to watch conference. He had taken extra care of the bird, he injected it very well and he decided to put it in a large mettle bowl to bake in. When he pulled it out of the oven and sat the bowl on the counter it was a little off the counter still and when he went to pull the bird out of the bowl , all the contents went flying and there was hot grease and injected yumminess all over him and the kitchen. He didn't suffer supper bad but he did manage to slice his toe open on the flying bowl. It took nearly 2 speakers later to get the mess cleaned up. But well worth all the chaos. The turkey was very yummy!!!!!

Steph's Visit to Cali

2010-03-25T16:34:00.000-07:00

I owe a lot of thanks to my wonderful brother Tim who flew me out to see family. When I arrived I was so starved. Tim took me to a little Mexican burrito shop. They were huge. I could only eat half. Then we arrived at his place talked awhile then crashed. I was so tired. The next day we went to the Disney Museum and spent most of the day there. It was wonderful. It was all about the life of Disney the Man and his life. You could see where he got a lot of his inspiration for a lot of the attractions in the theme parks. The museum was in a prime spot to see the Golden Gate Bridge so naturally took a picture in front of it. After the day at the museum we went back for a fabulous home made dinner of Moroccan Chicken w/Couscous and golden raisins. It was very good. During dinner though I downed so much water because I'm too cheap to buy it while we were out that I was floating. Right after dinner we were going to see "Master Class" in S.F. . We were about to leave when Will pipped up and told me to use the restroom before we left because there would be no women and the men use the lady's restroom. I thought "Oh, great! I just downed all that water!"Sure enough I had to go so during intermission I I asked Tim to look inside the restroom then take guard at the door. I made it without any incident. YES!
The next day we went to visit Gramsie and what a lovely visit it was. We picked up some lunch before we arrived and sat and really enjoyed the conversation we had. She looked great and It was so nice to see her. I love her very much. From her house Kim picked me up and whisked me away to Salinas where I scored some points with the nieces and nephew with some Easter candy. Kim that evening had all of us stuffing 1500 envelopes for a lady running for Sheriff in Santa Clara. We hated it but it did create a fun memory of talking and laughter one with another. The next day their ward had a picnic I think I was the only one bundled up in a blanket. What can I say " I love the Florida weather!" The next morning I awoke to Brianne crying and screaming "Aunt Steffie is gone!" I got out of bed and came to her rescue. Needless to say she was stuck to me like glue for the rest of the morning. I said my good byes after church and Sharon took me to Morgan Hill where I met up with Garrett and Vanessa and we arrived at their house (mom's & dads). We had a lovely bbq with some seasoned veggies that were to die for. Home teachers then arrived and when they had barely left so did we. Off across the bay meet up with Debbie, Theresa and Loretta at a Mexican restaurant. Their is nothing like a Mexican restaurant in California. It was fun to catch up with them. After dinner we went over Debbie's for a bit and saw Dino and Chris. We had a great time telling one another about each others lives now and reminisce of days gone. I left with Tim back to his home.
The next day we went out to Fred and Grandma's house in Pleasenton. Shared pizza with Aunt Kim, Uncle Walt and Aunt Tanya ,Uncle Steve and Aunt Sandy, Uncle Eddie and Amy and cousin Lee. Garrett and Vanessa also came. It was very nice to see everyone. Steve said that I finally don't look 18 anymore. And I hope not being 36 and having a 14 year old. It was fun. And I am glad I got to see everyone.
The second to last day was already here and I wanted to see Gramsie one last time as well as Garrett and Vanessa because I really had not much time with them.
The final day had arrived and Tim and I took a walk in the morning and spent our last little bit of time together. We picked up some Couscous at trader joes before the long flight back home. I enjoyed every moment. It was a wonderful trip.

The Cookie

2010-03-16T05:42:00.000-07:00

Shauna has been baking cookies for the kids school lunches lately and this time it was "Snickerdoodle cookies". Well three got stuck together when baking so before we took them off the cookie sheet we snapped this photo. Mickey fans! I know we are obsessed.

Audrey Play's Tennis

2010-03-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

Audrey has taken up the game of Tennis. It started up at the begining of March and will go through the end of May then pick up again in September.They practice twice a week and she loves it! She is doing really well so far and is able to hit the ball most of the time. At the first practice all the parents are standing by watching and talking to one another to figure out who's child belongs to whom. Normally I would say the red head is mine, but this time there are four of them taking lessons! Crazy Funny! So I had to say the red head in the red shirt! And I thought red heads were rare? I guess in the sport of tennis in Deltona that is not the case!

Audrey's 7th Birthday!!

2010-02-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

It's official you are looking at a 7 year
old. This was one eventful day! It started out down in Clearwater Florida watching her brother swim at Junior Olympics. Lucky for her there was a park to play on. We were able to find a bench in the parking lot so that she could open her presents there. After we left there we went strait to Disney's Hollywood Studio's. Where all day she was treated like a princes! The grandparents bought her a crown for her birthday and with the button that was given to her at the beginning of day at the park she was wished Happy Birthday at every turn! She got so accustomed to hearing it that after a while forgot to say "Thank You". I know that I will remember this day and I think she will too! Later in the week we made her a cake and sang "Happy Birthday". Yum! The cake was still warm when we ate it. It was delish!

Short Course Junior Olympics 2010

2010-02-20T04:03:00.000-08:00

For the girls the best part about a far away swim meet is the hotel and its pool and hot tub! Donovan did pretty well he qualified for the 50 free, the 100 free and the 200 back. The 50 free his time was a 25.10 he decreased by .71 from his last time and this time last year he had a 33.93 what an awesome improvement. The 100 free was the same way his time was a 55.64 he decreased his time by .20 and last year at this time had a 1:01.75. The 200 back there is a story to tell. First the place is so crowded that there is nowhere to sit even if you arrive a little early. So Papa, Dad and Donovan woke up super early. I think they were there 4 hours before the event started. They were able to save seats and they were prime or so they thought. The day before the boy's swimming was right down below the seats that they had saved. However they switched sides and were swimming clear at the other end and you could not see from the seats that were saved. Now us girls thought it would be nice of us to bring the men some breakfast in letting us sleep in and saving us seats at the event. Well, Donovan woofed down a egg sandwich that I lost my marbles and forgot that he does not like eggs as well as a large OJ and he started to feel sick right before his 200 back. Lucky for him there was a garbage can close by! If you get what I mean. Then he raced came in dead last increased his time by 4.82 seconds from his qulifying time and got a 2:18.59. He had to revisit the can right after the race. Note to self it is better to swim on an empty stomach than to put something heavy in the belly at Junior Olympics. However that is still an improvement over last years time of 2:35.42. If he keeps improving every year as much as he has this year who knows what this sport will do for him!?!

Disney with the Grandparents

2010-02-18T07:00:00.000-08:00

Disney was so much fun!!! However I think it was even more special that we were able to experience it with loved ones that we had not seen in a while. In the rollercoaster picture is Audrey's first time on Space Mountain. Her First real roller coaster! She wanted to sit in the very front. She has been waiting to be tall enough for years! After her ride which by the way she was able to keep her arms in the air most of the time. Nothing could stop her. She rode on Rockin' Roller Coaster as well as Everest about 4 times and well if Audrey the youngest was going Nana had no excuse to stay off the ride and had to go! So while Audrey's screams were of excitement, Nana's screams were of fear! Everyone took turns sitting beside Nana because it was so much fun to hear her scream during the ride, you were laughing so hard that you forgot all about being on the ride yourself.
Now in the next picture was in the Swiss family Robinson tree house. Shauna and I posed for Audrey the photographer and it did not turn out too bad! Now I want to point out that Shauna and I are both wearing jackets and I am also wearing a sweat shirt and two layers of tops. People this is Florida it is not suppose to be in the low 50's in the middle of the day! Most of us were cold, even Nana was cold one day. However I was freezing.

This is in line in front of our small world. Not as good as California but Nana noticed that you were able to get a lot closer to the attraction then California. Awe!!! The Grandparents are they too cute! It was so much fun to spend time with them. Audrey held onto Papa's hand almost the entire time we were at Disney. I think she will remember the trip.

I love this picture the best! We finally are all in one. This is in front of Muppet's 3-D. It goes to show that we were all having a wonderful time, not a tear or a grumpy face among us and it is the end of the day. Amazing!

What a great looking group! Shauna, Audrey and Nana rode the tea cups together. I believe that this was taken right after that and right before Its a Small World.

Now this one I took the picture and forgot all about getting the Mickey head in the photo. Who can blame me when you have such great looking family members to take pictures of!

All in all I think everyone of us will remember and talk about this trip for a while and I hope it will last us until the next time we see each other!

SNOW in FLORIDA?

2010-01-09T12:31:00.000-08:00

OK... It has been so cold here! We have seen the temperature as low as 19 degrees but it has been below freezing every morning for a week now. I don't know if our plants will survive. We have wrapped them all in sheets in hopes of keeping them a little warmer. But that also means that they have not seen the sun in a week. Tricky! Don't know how the plants or I will survive this cold weather. Saturday morning the conditions were right and it snowed or sleet fell as most weather men would say. But to the kids it was SNOW and enjoyed catching it in their mouths while it fell from the sky. I even tried to take a picture of it as it landed on the seat of the swing.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

We had a very memorable Christmas this year. We had a new added tradition put in motion this year. I know that we will do it again. We had what I call "Mom's Dirty Rotten Christmas"! There was a lot of gifts under the tree with no names on them big ones, small ones, hard ones and soft squishy ones! Everyone took turns opening one gift of their choice. The catch was that you could either choose from the pile or steal from someone else and then they choose from the pile. It was hilarious! Donovan continually opened little girl pink stuff and Audrey continually opened boy things! Shauna, Audry and Donovan all stole from each other and laughed until everyone's sides hurt.
Christmas Dinner was wonderful too! I worked hard the day before as to not have to work too hard on Christmas day yet was able to enjoy eating as if I had. Shauna made origami flowers for each place setting and the table was very beautiful. We had set one extra place setting and we told the kids that we were having Christ dine with us and we all took turns talking about that beautiful day when the Christ child was born.

Thanksgiving Parade

2009-11-21T08:27:00.000-08:00

Shauna is in a Environmental Club at school and does a lot of great things with them. This activity was pure fun. The city of Deltona had a parade and the club got to participate and walk in it. Audrey and I had the joy of waiting curb side anxiously awaiting to see big sister in the parade.

Halloween

2009-10-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

Jeff and Ashley were so sweet with Audrey and Shauna. They bought pumpkin pans and made and decorated cake with them. It was so cute! The girls really got into it and did a very good job with there cakes! Shauna went as a Indian belly dancer and Audrey went as the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio. The girls and I went out on Halloween to our usual neighborhood with the Mixon's and Jensen's. They had so much fun running from house to house collecting treasures of candy. When we arrived home Ashley and Vanessa helped sort the loot and the Uncles help eat it! LOL!!!!

October Visit with Family

2009-10-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

October was a great month! I was a very lucky sister to have two of my four brothers come to visit me. What's wonderful about it is they even brought their beautiful ladies with them and it made for a great time getting to feel like I have sisters. We really enjoyed everything about the visit. We played at Disney for a day, went to the beach, even were able to share a little of our crazy lives with them and take them to a swim meet. Everyone was able to get a haircut from the talented Vanessa and Ashley. Well all who have hair... LOL! Shauna and Audrey were all over their Uncles. And adored their Aunt and Aunt to soon be. Visiting family always seems to go to fast, but we really enjoyed it while it last.

Gearing up for Halloween

2009-10-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

Donovan did not go trick or treating this year. However the youth had a costume ball and Donovan went as a jewel thief. One of his good friends went as a police officer. So naturally she made an arrest. The cultural hall at the church was very well decorated. I only stayed for a minute though as not to embarrass Donovan that his mom tagged along. But I was able to get a few pictures before I left.

Lake Brentley Invatational (Spruce Creek)

2009-09-19T11:01:00.000-07:00

Donovan looks great and he was in the fastest heat of the 100 free. This was a very fast meet. This is him getting ready for the race.On your mark..... BEEP!He swam very hard. I was so proud of him.
Even though he came in 7th he was racing with state champs(Bolles Prep School) in this event. He still did a 100 free under a minute. That Rocks! Junior Olympic time is 56.79. Not Bad. Getting close.
He also was involved with a 200 free relay in which he was the only freshmen to be on a relay team that day! Go Donovan! GO HAWKS!

After the meet we stopped at BK to get Donovan's Favorite bk double bacon cheese burger. And we saw on a poll the Harry Potter (H) we took a picture and both grinned and said "Harry Potter does exist".

Sorry the pictures are backwards!

First School Team Practice Swim Meet

2009-09-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

I guess Donovan is just taller but his entry was a good one!

As you can see Donovan is helping out a fellow freshman and is quite a bit taller. Leave it to the Barnes genes to pull one out for the team! GO HAWKS! (Spruce Creek High School)

Just whisle while you work!

2009-08-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

During the rainy season our grass grows super fast! Like you mow twice a week. And the times you only mow once well... someone has to rake up the extra grass off the lawn so as not to kill it. This time it was the girls turn.
Also, Donovan got a job to pay for all his odd needs such as swim meet entries, Gatorade after practice, etc. He mows our Bishop's lawn. The bishop has acres and acres of grass. So one day it will be the front section the next time the side and every time Donovan does it, it takes a couple hours. But it sure does make him feel good to get a few things on his own.

2009-08-17T10:18:00.000-07:00

The week before School starts we tried to get to universal one last time before our passes are toast. The kids and I had a great time. Here are the photo's to prove it. The firtst photo is of us wishing they had finished the Harry Potter part of the park before our passes were dead.The second playing with all the stuff as we walk by.The third through fifth is of Audrey and Shauna talking with a talking fountain that would squirt you and talk with you and bring a lot of rain. The sixth photo is of Thing 1 and Thing 2. Last photo is the three of them spinning so quick it made me sick looking at them. LOL! We all were worn out after the fun day at the park.

2009-08-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Shauna's Dance Recital was a great one this year Shauna in the top photo is giving jazz hands in her Jazz routine called " Opposites Attract" also in that costume she did a tap routine to" Cod Fish Ball". In the bottom photo she did her ballet performance to "When you wish upon a star".
She performed for 2 day's and each recital was over 3 hours long. She also received a certificate on stage this year for completing 2 years with the studio. Only 2 years get to receive one on stage, the first years get there's in class. She felt very proud of this accomplishment and Randy and I could not be more proud to have such a specially talented daughter like Shauna.

Donovan's Birthday

2009-07-25T10:53:00.000-07:00

We were able to celebrate a day late with him because he had arrived home in the evening on his birthday from scout camp. Donovan is a pie guy! No Birthday cake for him!!! Well he is now 14. Able to go to Church dances and entering High School . He sure is turning out to be a GREAT kid. We are so proud of his accomplishments that he has achieved over the summer and look forward to witness the great things he is able to accomplish in the future. Happy Birthday Donovan!

2009-07-20T11:14:00.000-07:00

Shauna and Audrey kept me entertained while I was healing from surgery. In this particular show that they put on for me Shauna was the choreographer and Audrey was the performer.
It was a great show Shauna showed Audrey Dance moves from her Dance class and all morning they made up a routine. By afternoon the show was ready to be seen. I think I will miss my shows when they outgrow putting them on for me.

Early Morning Beauty

2009-07-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

Publish Post

Shauna picked out a flower seed packet in the late spring called "Morning Glory's". We planted them against our fence behind our little plum tree. We never saw any flowers in bloom on the vine. It was just green. However one of my first trips outside after having surgery was early in the morning and low and behold to the beauty of the Morning Glory! I should have known it would only bloom in the morning but I just did not put 2 & 2 together. It sure put a smile on my face as I went back inside to grab the camera to capture the moment of early morning in the backyard.

Donovan Leaves for Austria

2009-07-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

Randy just arrived back home after dropping Donovan off at the Airport today. He is on his way to the adventure of his life(so far). We did all we could to prepare him. We feel good about sending him with the people to people ambassador program people. However we are sure jealous that he is beating us to Europe. We sent him with a camera and have threatened him with his life if he does not take any pictures. Till the 15th of July he will be gone. We took some pictures of him before he left the house and at the Airport. Enjoy!

4th of July

2009-07-04T10:38:00.000-07:00

We woke early this morning to get Shauna and Donovan off to 2 different floats for the Lake Helen 4th of July Parade. Shauna was on the Shoestring Theater float for being in the "Once upon a Fairy Tale" play. Donovan was on the Church ward patriotic float. I got to sit on the side lines and take pictures as they went by. Too bad Audrey and Randy had to stay home because Audrey was highly contagious with pink eye(bummer). In the evening we started a bit early on the fireworks in front of the house due to rain clouds in the sky. However we were not able to finish before the rain started and came in the house and watched some TV and then tried again at 10pm. We were successful in celebrating our independence and all had a great time!

Shauna's 10th Birthday

2009-06-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

This year we celebrated Shauna turning 10 by inviting a friend to go to Universal with us!Shauna will tell you all about it. fun fun fun we went on the mummy 1st and I said to my mom" I'm going to die now"! OK then when the mummy said your soles are all mine i screamed at the top of my lungs that was the most exciting ride we went on.Bottom PictureB- day girl (right) Zoe (middle) aud (left) i don't know what we were doing at the time but it was a lot of fun. now for my favorite present was the one that my uncle Tim gave to me. he knew Iwas in a play so he bought me a book about theater. 2nd fav was make your own t-shirt.My 1st design on my
" t " was" DUH I WAS ACTING" AND I'M WARING IT RIGHT NOW. HAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Fathers Day!

2009-06-21T09:31:00.000-07:00

We tried to make Randy's Fathers Day Special! We gave him special hugs, Dog piles and Painful Cards(Inside read: There are more painful things then raising a teenager).

Once upon a Fairy Tale

2009-06-19T08:27:00.000-07:00

Shauna's opening night of her play is here! It's no fun to hear it second hand so Shauna will tell you in her own words all about this wonderful play.
I have a lot to tell you so you better check if you have enough time to read this. OK here I go.I was a princess locked up in a tower and a PRINCE comes by trying to find a maiden to marry.so I have to say I want him as my HUSBAND but after I fall out of my tower when little red bumps into it he just lets me fall.Then I have to say he doesn't love me so then I shove him into my tower because he called me a vegetable cause Rapunzel is a name a vegetable.
prince charming is trying to find his soon to be bride because sleeping beauty got tangled up in my hair but prince charming doesn't realize that. prince dashing is chasing after me but I have to say "I..I..I..I don't love you!" then run off.
here comes the scary part . he keeps chasing me until I realize he just didn't know my name. then I HAVE T HUG A 14 YEAR OLD.so any way it just creeps me out. then all the spells are broken at the end and then the final curtain call. that's it end of the story.

One year older

2009-06-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

How is it that when your little you count down the days till your next Birthday and when you get older you long for more days in between your Birthdays. Here's to getting one year older!

The Month of May all rolled up into one

2009-05-01T07:37:00.000-07:00

Oh! The month of May was truly full of flowers. The wild flowers start to be seen everywhere my favorite is the black-eyed Suzann. We had a lot go on this month. Donovan had his once a year awards ceremony for swimming. The presentation's were nice but the food was terrible. I was so thinking I could have done a better job. But it was held at the Daytona 500 club which is in the middle of the race track. It was pretty cool to drive into and through a deep tunnel to get to the center without driving onto the track. And to see the pit people working on cars was pretty neat too! Donovan then turned his focus onto scouting and was able to fund raise his camp money through selling tickets for a spaghetti dinner. Camp isn't until July but he will not have to worry about the money anymore. He then later in the month helped out with a car wash to raise money for the other guys in his troop. He is doing a good job as senior patrol leader.
Shauna this month tried out for a summer play and made one of the main roles of Rapunzel. She is nervous and scared yet excited and anxious with anticipation on will I be able to do it? But as her parents we have full faith and know that she can.
It is the last full month of school for the kids and it is hard to believe that my littlest one is growing up and will be moving on to 1st grade. Where does the time go? She is doing so well and despite her feelings of missing out on things going on at home she is growing and learning so much at school. Her teacher Ms. Velez will be missed she is so organized and on top of things. We went on a field trip to the Zoo and had so much fun! They had a animal show and Audrey got to pet a snake and a baby alligator.
That is the list of the exciting things this month! So I will throw in some pictures of the kids just because they are my pride and joy!

April Fools

2009-04-01T19:00:00.000-07:00

It was 2:50am and the phone rang. My heart began to race as I picked up the phone to hear Randy's voice. He told me that his car just stopped and would need me to come to his rescue. As I got dressed my heart began to slow down a little knowing Randy was OK but then all I could think about was $$$$$ dollar signs! Wondering how much of a set back this was going to be. I got to Randy and he put me in the drivers seat of his car. I was terrified , I have never driven his car because I don't know how to drive a stick shift. He got into the van and pushed his car with me driving all of a little over a mile home. I almost ran a red light because I was coasting down the only hill in Florida and did not know that I really had to push hard on the breaks to stop the car. So as I was screaming out the window waking the whole town up. Randy kept saying press down hard!!!! Wow! I was sweating now but the car did stop at the light.

The Next morning I had the car towed to the shop. At 4pm I called to find out that the engine was done for and they could not fix it. So I called the dealership and they said it would cost about $7,000.00 I cried! Randy was under so much stress you see his heart was in California that day because Joe was in surgery for his heart. Plus there was a lot on his plate at work. I didn't dare tell him about the car until I knew that Joe came out of surgery OK. In the mean time I needed some advice and a shoulder to cry on. So who better to call? I started to call Family. I was able to calm down finally when the voice of reason came through my parents. Aren't they great!

We were able to take the steps we needed to take and we were in the market for a new vehicle. However sometimes things don't always turn out like you think they will. We were pre-approved for a dodge caliber for a steel of a deal! We were ready to go and I had to get Audrey who was playing across the street at our neighbors! I told my neighbor my story and she got on the phone talked with her brother who then called us and told us to hold on. He could fix it for less then $1000.00 and he told us that he is a Master mechanic. Randy and I looked at each other and we had the car towed to him. He was able to fix all but one part. We had to then take it to the dealership and spent another $1000.00. But we will take $2000.00 over $7000.00 any day!

We were still approved for the caliber and with the steel of a deal we thought that we should turn in the van that I had been driving for the past 10 years and was driving in 3rd gear for a while because the transmission was failing. So with the twist of events I was the one who ended up with a new car!

March Madness

2009-03-14T21:00:00.000-07:00

Shauna on the Saturday afternoon of Randy leaving for Porto Rico was swinging on the swing set in the backyard and got caught up in the moment. She decided to swing without any hands on the chain and fell backwards landing wrong. Randy had about 1 1/2 hours till he was leaving and Shauna was crying on her bed from the fall. We both tried to console her. But the tears kept coming. She complained that her arm hurt a lot. We gave her the ice pack and Motrin and that is when Randy left. It was evening now and her arm started to swell. I asked myself "Why do things like this always happen on the weekend? And Why this weekend? When Randy is gone! I told Donovan that I was probably going to be gone most of the night and he would not be able to get a hold of me because at Hospitals you have to turn your cell phone off. So with worry in my heart for all my kids off to emergency room with Shauna. Hours went by and finally they came to the conclusion that it was broken. They wrapped it up into a splint and gave me a doctors name to call for Monday. So $150 later and news given to me of what I already knew. I felt ripped off! Monday came and more money spent but now she has a cast for 6 weeks! Through this experience I feel that Shauna and I have gained a deeper bond.

Porto Rico

2009-03-14T05:20:00.000-07:00

I had to survive a whole week without my sweetheart because Randy's Job took him to Porto Rico this Month. He was in charge of getting the location up to speed by instructing 55 employees how to do what Randy does in Orlando. He was able to make some lifetime friends while he was there. I think the funniest story was of the second night of his trip when his co-worker and himself went out to dinner at Chile's Restaurant (I know, Why Chile's when in Porto Rico? I asked to! He said it was his co-worker's choice). They had a great meal and where leaving and while in the parking lot Randy heard "Wait! Wait!" He turned around and this Puertorican girl hands him a napkin with a phone number on it and said "My girlfriend wants you to give her a call!" Randy was not expecting that and laughed a little and relayed me the story that night over the phone. Now I give him a hard time that he has a Puertorican girlfriend! He was able to go sight seeing one day and these are those picture's. Enjoy!

Audrey's 6th Birthday

2009-02-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

Audrey's Birthday was a success! The theme was Hannah Montana Pop Star party. First as they arrived they all got a purse and had to put on their pop star disguise. Then they signed autograph's while each of them had a photo shoot. Then we played pin the microphone on to Hannah. They liked that a lot. We then got to decorate cupcakes and take one home as their masterpiece. Now it was concert time they sang to Hannah Music with their blow up microphone's and rocked out the show. Then it was the awards ceremony where Donovan and Shauna pasted out the trophy's. After that we headed outside where a pinata was waiting. Finally we ended the party with balloons falling on there heads because it was the best concert ever! We had a great time!

Shauna takes the ACT TEST

2009-02-21T12:53:00.000-08:00

when I took the ACT I was so elated even though I did not finish any of the tests. I just thought of it as a test that I had to take to see how smart I was. When I got to Pineridge high school and was about to take the test I saw a couple of friends from school. I got to the knowings that I was not the only 4th grader there.when I got done I wanted to pass but I'll never know until 5 to 6 weeks after the test ended.

Junior Olympics

2009-02-21T06:49:00.000-08:00

Ok this is Donovan's version of what happened at the Junior Olympics (Donovan is typing this not my mom). A couple weeks ago my coach, Kristin Locthe, asked mom if i could go to the Junior Olympics (i will call it J.Os) she said it would be good exposure. mom of course asked "will he be swimming?" Kristin said i would be swimming four relays. Then without hesitation mom said yes he will be going. This all happened when i was in the showers with my friends, go figure lol.

so maybe a week later me and my dad were going to J.Os but in order to get to Gainsville where it was held we had to wake up at four in the morning and boy could i not sleep. I think i woke up three times in the night one at 9, the next at 12, and finally the last one at 2. So i decided to stay up until we had to go. we then left to go pick up one of my relay teammates (the guy in the middle hanging from my arm like a monkey). we then got over to Gainsville at 7am granite we got lost..... a lot.

I then got on my swim suit that i just bought a couple days before and met all my team mates. I was so excited to do our first relay i think i nearly look like a giddy school girl lol. As you can see from the picture above taken by the oh masterful picture taker aka: dad you can see i was the tallest so that made me first. The guy that's mouth is open thinking (oh we're taking a picture?) ya that's will and he was our third man. the guy that I introduced before this paragraph he was our second man and his name is Raaef ( if you have watched Achmed the dead terrorist his name is pronounced like this Ra-a-a-f lol he hates that). and the guy that was looking away with the black head cap ya he was our last man in other words the anchor His name was john. well we had to do a i think it was a 200 free relay. i went first and i decreased my best time for a fifty free by 3 or 4 seconds. but as i was coming in to touch the wall Raaef decided to leave early so we got DQued. Then our next one for the day was a 400 medley i was pretty nervous because it was our first medley that we had ever done. i had to go first .... again doing the back stroke. fallowed by will doing his breaststroke and then john with his majestic butterfly and finally the moment we all were waiting for the screw up and his freestyle better known as Raaef. we decreased that relay time by 14 seconds which is a big deal when your talking swimming. then me and dad dropped of Raaef at his hotel and went to go see the movie push. it wasn't the greatest movie in the world but i liked it. then we waited until our Friend got home so we could sleep staying up for about a whole day with exercise kinda kills you. then the next day we went to the o' Connell center better known for the swimming pool for the gators sense i was at UF (university of Florida) home of the gators. raced the 200 medley and the 400 free. we got 3 and 4 in those races. which was good considering that there was four people in the first race and five people in the second race. then we went home after the big monster meet of nothing but girls. i think we were the only good looking guys there. lol but if you put your stuff down it Will get either barred or sat on. when we got home i practically fell asleep from all the swimming. but i couldn't because it was Auds B-day. hectic i have never seen so much Hana Montana. with that said i will get off of the computer and retire from typing for the rest of my life.

The Hair Cut!

2009-01-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

Audrey for a while now has been wanting a hair cut and today was the day! She was able to donate her hair to locks of love! We all felt pretty good about that. Well with a new hair cut she sure does feel very grown up! Look out world here she comes!

Lighthouse with all the Wards

2009-01-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Randy's dad and Donalda was able to come across the country in their motor home for a visit. One of our outings was to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse. Shauna was really scared to climb all the stairs up and down the light house but she made it and I was so proud. The view was beautiful! The kids had a great time and I know that we will all remember the trip.

Port Orange Swim Meet!

2009-01-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

Well this was a very different swim meet! To start it is the very first Long Course race Donovan has participated in. So he did not have any previous times to go by. His first race was 100 yd. back (1:33.57). Second was 100 yd free (1:11.92). Last was a 200 yd. IM (3:22.56). But what made this race really different is I had the opportunity to be a timer. What pressure!! However after learning that they have 3 different clocks running for one lane I felt more at ease. I definitely didn't want someones life in my cold hands. Yes it was very cold! At least to wimpy me. Another exciting element to this race is we had some international teams there. There was a team from the Netherlands as well as Jamaica! What a opportunity as well as a very exhilarating day!

Deltona Swim Meet!

2009-01-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Yes! Donovan beat all his times! His first race was a 50 Free (then 30.60) now 29.04! Second race was 100 Breast (had never done this race before) now 1:25.91. Third race was 100 back(then 1:19.53) now 1:18.48! Final and last race was 100 fly (then 1:47.81) now 1:44.11! We were so happy! After the meet Donovan rode his bike home and I stayed a little longer and was able to talk to his coach. I went up to her and before I could share my excitement with her she proceeded to tell me how upset she was that Donovan did not push himself. She feels as if he does not know the difference between practice swim and race swim pacing. So she told me that she thinks she must have worked him too hard at practice this last week and to let him have Monday off! Well, when I got home and told Donovan that coach has given him the day off, he was so mad! He was saying" How dare she give me a day off without asking me if I want one or not! I can't believe that she would come to you and not me! Wow! I guess his coach knows how to push someones buttons! Over all it was a great meet and we could not be prouder to see him excel!

Bon Fire!

2009-01-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Donovan's swim team had a Bon fire party on the Beach! In JANUARY! Just thought I would bring it up to make some of you jealous (IE you Canadians ay!) LOL!!!! Well it was a lovely night and a big full moon it was supposed to be the night that the moon was the closest to earth. It was gorgeous! We had a great time and we know Donovan did too! What a Casanova.

Straddle Spits!

2009-01-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

New Year and already goals are being achieved! Shauna has been working on doing a straddle split for some time now. At dance class this last week she was finally declared all the way down into a straddle split! She was awarded a trophy for her achievement! Her teacher said " It is much harder for a girl with as long of legs as Shauna to get to a full straddle split", she was quite pleased! Ouch.... it looks so painful to me.

Painting the House

2009-01-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning determined to start the new year differently. So I looked at Randy and said lets paint the house! Some how I talked him into it. These walls are white and VERY dirty. Not all entirely my fault because I swear the home builder dilutes the paint with a lot of water. So we painted and when we got the 3rd and final color on the wall, Randy started to make fun of my choice in colors. He said" I know what you were thinking about when you dreamed up these colors. Chocolate and Carmel." Then Donovan piped in yea and mint or a blue dish to put the candy into! They had a great laugh. Now I seem hungry all the time. I wonder if it is the colors on the wall? Oh! Well. I love the new colors it's a whole lot better than the white dirty ones!

Rockin Christmas Spirit

2008-12-18T21:22:00.000-08:00

Our good friends the Matthews are so kind to us. They really help out our family. Sandra has been picking up Shauna for me from dance lessons , since I can't be in two places at once and I travel with Donovan for swim everyday. So today Shauna went to their home and they were making gingerbread houses as a family and they were so kind to include Shauna. It was really nice because Shauna was feeling a little left out the night Audrey made hers. So here it is Shauna's masterpiece in front of our Christmas tree at home. Now for sure the Christmas spirit is so strong that it's Rockin'.

Tumble Maddness

2008-12-17T17:56:00.000-08:00

While Donovan is swimming the girls take a kid exercises class. They do different things everyday. They have so much fun and have meet so many nice kids. The instructor is pregnant but is full of life. Today they set up an obstacle course for them to do. They first had to go across a balance beam, then jump up and down ten times, do a cartwheel down a foam wedge, jump up while twisting in the air over small hurtles, then 10 times each do toe touches, sit ups, jumping jacks, push ups then windmills. It was exhausting just looking at them.

Rowdy Swimming

2008-12-17T17:09:00.000-08:00

Today instead of a normal swim practice Donovan's team had a swim clinic with the 3- Time Olympic Gold Medalist ROWDY GAINES! He gave all kinds of tips for the free-style stroke. He got in the water and showed them what to do and swam with the kids. He even brought 8x10 poster of him winning at the Olympics in 1980. Then signed them for all the kids. Donovan's Say's," Go Donovan! Rowdy Gaines". How cool is that! In case you recognize the name and still think you heard it more recently it is because you have. He was the commentator in Beijing for swimming.

The Christmas Spirit

2008-12-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

The youth in our ward had a wonderful gingerbread house making night. Well....Donovan enjoyed more of the destroying then the making and didn't have one to show for all the time he spent supposedly working on one. However they let Audrey make one. It was sure sweet of them. So we put her in front of our Christmas tree at home and took a picture of her masterpiece. Ahh... the smell of sugar and frosting sure helps get you into the Christmas spirit.

4th Grade Christmas Program

2008-12-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

Shauna is into everything it seems like and the crazy part is she is good at it all. Today all the 4th and 5th graders preformed for each other what they had learned in music class. It was held in the morning in the multi-purpose room. Lucky me I was able to sneak in the back and film Shauna's Class. Wouldn't you know Shauna had a mini solo however the girl in front of her who had a solo before Shauna didn't know where Shauna was standing and so Shauna missed out on her peers hearing half of her solo. But the part that was heard was absolutely beautiful. Of course I will always think that I'm the proud mom!

A live Nativity

2008-12-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

Our primary program was tonight! What a busy day. No rest for this mom and Primary President. A while ago I saw in a magazine while waiting to be drilled on in the dentist office the ideas for the decorations for tonight. Christmas trees cut out of wrapping paper and a balloon Christmas tree. However the magazine had no instructions how to build the balloon Christmas tree. But those that know me know that when I have something in mind I am determined to figure it out. But you know what? I know I was inspired to call the counselors that I have because they are just as creative as I. I was able to tell them what I saw in the magazine and my first counselor quickly went to work. She went dumpster diving at a cemetery of all places to get those tri-pod wire things that hold up the flowers at funerals. She found some and they worked out great as a mold for our Charlie Brown Balloon Christmas Trees. We placed one on each side of our stage. The wrapping paper trees all over the walls of the gym, with a few snowflakes. I was also able to get Christmas Stocking Ornaments for each child at the farmers market and we engraved their names and year on the back and hung them all over all the paper trees. We set up the chairs for our little theater and hung paper chains along all the backs of the chairs. My other counselor made a wonderful slide show of the children's activities throughout the year and set it to primary music. We invited the whole ward and we asked if they could bring a finger food to share. Some did but there was not quite enough to go around because there was so many investigators that came. What a special night to come because the children did such a wonderful job. You felt the spirit and it was sweet. Shauna played the roll of a Shepard(est), and all the children had memorized their parts. We hope you enjoy and feel the Christmas spirit like we did. Merry Christmas!

School Winter Fest

2008-12-13T21:50:00.000-08:00

The elementary school puts on a winter fest. It has jump houses , carnival type games, food and local craft people selling all kinds of things from jewelry to woodwork and all of it is Christmas Holiday themed and every year all the different after school clubs preform at the event. Shauna is in the Recorder Club and did a very beautiful job. So we thought we would share a song called Fas do do(Fae doe doe) with you.

Jingle Bell Swim Meet

2008-12-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

This swim meet was 2 1/2 hours away in south Florida, in a city called Clearwater, it is near Tampa. So Randy and Donovan made it a Father Son weekend. They came home with some fond memories that only those two will ever know and the rest of us get to stare at them every time they crack up and you don't understand why? Now the swim meet, once again Donovan did another awesome job! His first race was a 50 freestyle and his time was 30.60 seconds. Then he did a 500 freestyle and he did that in 6:40:29. Then he did a 200 IM and his time was 2:52:42. Then on Saturday he did 200's in freestyle and his time was 2:38:39 but was disqualified for a false start and his 100 back time was 1:19:53. He also did a 100 butterfly and his time was 1:33:00, however he was disqualified for improper leg movement. Then unexpectedly his coach came up to him and wanted him to join in on a 400 freestyle relay with the senior team. This team had a 20(Trevor Lowe),18(Tyle Petersohn) and 16(Jaron Lowe) year old on it. They were one short and they asked Donovan to join them. Donovan did it and didn't even get disqualified.The team had a time of 3:50:66. I think Randy was pretty excited because he called me from the meet right away to tell me about how Donovan was swimming with the older boys! I think as parents we get just as excited or more so than our son.

Kindergarten Christmas Program

2008-12-10T17:39:00.000-08:00

Audrey was so cute today... she was very nervous about her performance. After school today she told me that she didn't want to go any more. We talked her into it and what a treat. It was very sweet. The kids sang all kinds of holiday songs including one's for Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah.

Christmas Ornaments

2008-12-05T20:51:00.000-08:00

At the YMCA they had a nice little activity for the kids. They had about 6 different tables set up in a room. At each table they were able to make a different Christmas ornament. Well, they went around the room and made such lovely looking ornaments and had fun doing it too! At one table the "Y" employee asked the kids what kinds of things they were into. The first kid said I play soccer, the next karate, and so forth down the line of kids. It got to be Shauna's turn and she told everyone about how she loves to dance and it's her hobby. Finally it gets to Audrey and when she was asked what it was she did she said," I do nothing absolutely nothing, I just stay home." We all started to laugh a little it was so cute I had to share that story with all.

The Spa Treatment

2008-12-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

Audrey asked if she could take a bath in my tub. I thought it was because it is bigger and deeper then her tub so I said sure. We warmed the water and put some good smelling stuff in then I put her in. I left to go and get her PJ's and when I got back she asked me for the round things that go on her eyes. I stood there for a while trying to figure out what she was talking about then she said it was in the fridge. Then I knew what it was that she wanted. CUCUMBERS! So I went and got them for her and as she put them on her eyes she said Ahh.... and I took some photo's to remember the day of the cucumbers.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well, I know it is December already and we have been busy putting up decorations for Christmas already but I must tell you about Thanksgiving before the New Year arrives. We were going to try out a Turduckin( A chicken stuffed into a duck stuffed into a Turkey) however the duck would not fit into the Turkey. Oh! Well. We still cooked them all. We also had home made noodles that our friends made and she puts them inside her gravy which you put on top of your potato's. Talk about a carb. overload! We also had sausage stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, cranberries, jello salad and to top it all off pumpkin and apple pies! YUM... We ate and ate and in between were able to play some games. We played a new one called "Lights out in Moscow" Really fun! However the best part of Thanksgiving was Audrey lost both front teeth that day! Now she can truly sing the song "All I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth". Hope where ever you are you had a memorable Thanksgiving too!

Thanksgiving Swim Meet!

2008-11-26T18:47:00.000-08:00

Well, once again it was another exciting swim meet. This meet, Donovan was doing all 200's. His first race was freestyle and he placed second with a speed of 2:24. He did this race without kicking his feet. His coach said that he would pay for this mistake in future practices and he would be kicking all the time. His second race was Breaststroke and he did very well he placed 1st with a time of 3:12. For the whole swim meet he placed 19th in this stroke he was so hoping that someone would scratch their race because the first 16 were in the finals. But no one did, so close yet so far away. The final race was Backstroke and the last time if you remember he was disqualified. Well this time was no different. He ended his race too early (we need to practice counting) and therefore was disqualified. Bummer. There was another race that we wanted to enter it was the 50 freestyle. But his coach said that he was not allowedto enter that only babies could enter 50's. He is not in that league she said. Well I think this just about covers it. Till next swim meet.

High Fashion

2008-11-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

This last week I let my girls watch with me on T.V. "America's Next Top Model". It was the last episode of the season and so there was named a winner of the whole thing and many photo shoots. Right after the show was over Audrey went into her room and proceeded to pull out of her closet all her church dresses and insisted on having me take pictures of her. It was late and so I made a promise that tomorrow night we would be able to do it. I was sure she would forget. But the next night she got her sister Shauna into it. They both put on make-up and where ready for their photo shoot. Outfit after outfit they would come out wanting their photo taken. So what was a mom to do but to get into it and take some photo's. The funniest part was Audrey saying that instead of growing up and becoming a doctor she now wants to be AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL!

Patriot Meet (Nov.15th)

2008-11-18T17:21:00.000-08:00

Donovan was amazing! His first race was a 100 free-style. He jumped in the water and to his dismay his goggles slipped off his eyes and into his mouth. However Donovan was a true athlete he swam anyway. As water came pouring into his mouth with every flip turn and he was unable to see a thing he still managed to plough through the competition and managed to come in second with a time of a minute-five. Wow! It was amazing!

Blast Off!

2008-11-14T18:46:00.000-08:00

Tonight at 7:55 pm we went outside to what looks like the sun is rising then all of the sudden you see it! The Space Shuttle leaving for there mission. The second part is that it looks like a big streak across the sky, then lastly you see a separation and the streak ends then the shuttle looks like a bright ,bright star moving across the sky.It is so cool to witness!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

Once again the spooky and silly come out in the night, and for what you think... for a sugar rush!! We had lots of fun! Our church had a Fall Fling for the kids including hay rides, ring toss, cake walk, fishing for what else candy and so much more. Donovan was Kiba from a Japanese Animation cartoon called Naruto. Shauna was a Brazilian dancer. Audrey was of course a Vampire. She really loves to be scary! The kids on Halloween night cleaned the neighborhood out. They each collected 2 gallon zip lock bags full of candy! Pray for me. Until the candy's gone and the kids are done bouncing off the walls you'll probably find me on the ceiling clawing my way out of the crazy house!

Donovan's Do's

2008-11-05T15:47:00.000-08:00

Donovan is continuing to excel in swimming. He is really amazing! He had his first real swim meet. There was over 750 swimmers there. He was able to place 2ND in the 50 freestyle. He missed his backstroke race do to his coach not getting him in the water on time. So he was to swim the next race and was trowed off his game. He didn't realize that he was to swim a 200 and stopped half through and it disqualified him. Bummer! However, It was a lot of fun and I think he is more prepared for the next big meet. (Look for the Red Cap!)

15 years

2008-11-05T12:16:00.000-08:00

Wow! Time does fly when you are having fun. Randy and I have made it to our 15 year wedding anniversary. Looking back through our years together we both agree that we have had some pretty wild times. To celebrate this momentous occasion we took a cruse to the Bahama's. The islands were beautiful and we had a wonderful time even though the last day I sprained my ankle working out in the gym. All in all it was fun to spend just husband an wife time.