Happy Birthday Tina & Happy Anniversary Billy and Tina :)

First off..Billy - I'm VERY sorry that I couldn't find a picture of you to put on here (that was JUST you). I found several of you and Brayden playing at Christmas...but you never looked at the camera :) I'll make up for it this weekend..get ready to smile.

Now to business.......

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TINA!!!



For those of you who didn't know, Tina is my sister-in-law (technically), but in my heart she's my SISTER! Our family has been so blessed to have her. She's is so sweet, happy, caring, patient, excellent Mom ....my list could go on and on! She and I hit if off right away. I was a teenager (a rotten one at that) when she and Billy started dating. And she saw right thru it all and accepted me anyway. She became so dear to my heart a long time ago and I'm so, so thankful for that!

And her and Billy...wow...they are such a perfect match for each other. Talk about a couple who couldn't be more meant for each other...that's them! They are having their anniversary today also. I believe this is their 17th wedding annivesary (Billy, Tina, Mom, Dad...anyone who knows..correct me if I'm wrong). Regardless, these 2 have weathered many storms together and they just continue to get stronger because of it. They are one tight unit and couldn't be a better example of how a marriage should be. And they both adore wach other in a way that just puts a smile on your face. It make me so happy that my brother has someone who loves him so much...and it makes me happy that, that someone is Tina!

I love you both (and you 2 sweet kids) so much! And I (along with all my family) are so, so blessed to have you in our lives! Can't wait to see you this weekend...rain or no rain. Brayden has asked EVERY day since Monday..."...go Tyler's house??" He's very pumped...along with the rest of us.

I love you and Happy Birthday Tina and Happy Anniversary Billy and Tina!

Happy Birthday Debbie!

Today is my oldest sisters birthday. I send out birthday wishs to her on the blog...even though there's a high chance that she won't see it :) But I get to put a little something on here about my big sister and use her birthday as an excuse :)

Debbie is our (me and my siblings) 2nd Mom. She is the one that made sure we were all doing ok while Karen was sick. She's the one to make sure you got a hug if you needed it. She has the biggest heart and will take care of whom ever is in need! And the kids...oh man, to get to go to Debbie's house...that's heaven right there. And funny, all the stray animals in the whole world feel the same way :) She may not be too happy about inviting them in (the animals), but she'll make sure they are cared for none-the-less. Debbie has an infectious laugh. You can't help but to laugh even if you don't know what the "funny" was. And as a Mom to her kids...yowza...talk about being the kinda Mom that kids wish they had...that's Deb! And her children reflect her love and caring in ways that just floor me sometimes.

So here's to ya Deb! I hope you have a great birthday and I'm sorry I missed you this past weekend. We all love you tons!

I have placed this photo of Debbie with her oldest daughter Jordan with the hopes that you'd lift Jordan (and her worried Mom) up in your prayers. Jordy's been having bad headaches for about 3 months now and has found a lump at the base of her head. She had numerous tests run towards the end of last week and they are waiting on the results. She's currently on an antibiotic for what they (and WE) are hoping is a lymph infection. It's just such a scary thing to happen to a child and plus with all that just happened with Karen...we are all on pins and needles about this. So if you wouldn't mind adding her to your prayers, I'd sure mean a lot to me!!

Dreams

I decided to go thru and nab all the emails that Yahoo had saved between me and Karen. I go in a read a few a day. Most are just one liners, but they still make me smile and realize that I miss her so much! Today (2 weeks since she passed away) I open up 2 emails...one makes me cry and the other makes my heart stick out of my chest a foot.

In the first email she wanted to get my advice on the caps they'd made to give everyone at the wedding. She wanted my opinion but also felt bad cause it wouldn't be a surprise to me. ...that one made me cry. The next one I'd TOTALLY forgot writing. Here's a segment that I'd wrote to her on March 14th, 2007....

"...Hope you guys are doing good. I had a dream about you last night. Kinda weird, but at the time really scary. I was having to beg a dragon not to eat you cause you were my sister and I loved you so much and couldn't live without you in my life...."

Yes the dragon in the dream makes it a kooky dream. But at THAT time that dream really shook me up and I remember I really felt compelled to tell her about that dream cause it was the first time I'd EVER even considered not having her in my life. And for those of you who didn't know....she never even went to the doctor till Good Friday and even at that time she (and the dr.) thought it was a cyst (or something along those lines). Nothing had come up about cancer.

No I don't believe that I have ESP or anything out there like that. But I have had some dreams come true. I just NEVER thought a dream like this would come true. I guess if I wanted to analyze it...the dragon was cancer? What ever...the SOB (dragon, not God) took my sister even after I begged so hard.

My Mom told me a while back (way, way before all this) that if you have a disturbing dream about someone...they need your prayers. Good Grief Mom....you couldn't have been more right about this one.

Sorry, but finding this email has really hit me at so many levels. I wasn't looking to write another tear jerker. I was just wanting to share this email that I'd wrote to my sister to make sure she knew how much I loved her and wanted her in my life. Today - more true than EVER!

Thief

Here's one to make you smile :)

Yesterday I set $2.50 on the kitchen counter. When I came back thru the kitchen after the kids had, had breakfast I only had $2 dollars! Well...unfortunately my thoughts went to one child...poor ole Matt :( So I kindly went to him and asked if I could have my 2 quarters back. He gave me the deer in the headlights look and said he didn't have them. I assured him that I wouldn't get mad if he'd just give them back. He swore he didn't have them. So I walked away and went to Nat. Now she's a WAY better fibber than her brother. That girl WILL NOT give in...stubborn!!! She tells me she didn't have the quarters and told me I could search her room...yeah right. So I walk away and just shrugged it off...it was only 2 quarters.

Then I went back to my office and remembered the midget's mumblings earlier in the morning. When I had my head so far into my work that I was just saying "yeah...uh huh...okay baby..." and stuff like that cause I didn't have the time (or so I say) to pay real attention to what he's saying. As I thought more I remembered him saying "coints" (aka coins)..... I found my culprit!!! It came back real vivid then. I heard the little slap-slap of his fat feet running into the kitchen...him yelling "Momma...coints"...then slap-slap changing over to "thump-thump" as he ran across the carpet to his room and "clinck-clinck" of the coints into the pig.

Matt asked me as we headed to town to take Nat to Art "Mom, did you ever find out who took the coins?" And Nat followed with "Yeah! Who did it?" I just pointed to the midget and we all just died laughing!

On a more serious note: If you didn't get to read 49, please do. Momma says :)

49

49 is the days my sister had once she was diagnosed with Cancer. I loathe Cancer! And "49" should sum up why. I know that I haven't written a happy-go-lucky blog in a while, but bear with me...I will soon. My whole perspective on the life we have has been radically rocked (as has all my family and friends of Karen). It's just jaw dropping to me as I still just sit here and think about how fast those 49 days were. It was jaw dropping for her oncologist that it was JUST 49 days. And the most heart breaking of all, it was jaw dropping (though she NEVER showed it) to my sister Karen. Cause the day before she passed away I could still see her fight in her eyes. She wasn't done.

As I flipped the calendar from July to August, my heart sank. The 13th was to be her 1st scan to find out if any of these harsh treatments had shrunk the cancer.

This is all just rambling and I apologize. I just gotta know that someone who reads this will take something from this. DON'T ignore what your body is telling you...it DOES NOT make you a hypochondriac to go to the doctor if something seems "off". You know what it makes you??? ....it makes you stick around for your family and those who love and care for you. And every one of you have those people in your life. And guess what? It will hurt their hearts so bad if your gone. I was one the worst about going to the dr. and I just tried to dismiss the occasional twinge and pang. It will NOT make you a "baby cry" to admit that you have these things and to see a dr. about it. I (we) will never know if Karen had felt any twinges or pangs that were her bodies way of telling her something wasn't right. So be proactive in your health. Only YOU know what you feel and what's "normal" and what's not. Don't go around thinking "oh I'll tough it out" and then you have to experience the "49". You don't want that...your family...your friends...your loves ones....they DO NOT want that!

I know that this "poem" has been passed around forever and most of you have already seen it. I know I've seen it before, but now having this experience with Karen it takes on a whole new, cherished meaning to me:

Life Is A Gift

Today before you think of saying an unkind word Think of someone who can't speak.

Before you complain about the taste of your food Think of someone who has nothing to eat.

Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone who's crying out to God for a companion.

Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who went too early to heaven.

Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who desires children but they're barren.

Before you argue about your dirty house, someone didn't clean or sweep -Think of the people who are living in the streets.

Before whining about the distance you drive -Think of someone who walks the same distance.
And when you are tired and complain about your job,Think of the unemployed, the disabled and those who wished they had your job.

But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning another ,Remember that not one of us are without sin and we all answer to one maker.

And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down ,Put a smile on your face and thank God you're alive and still around.

Life is a gift... Thank God for it...

Memories

Jim's cousin Sherry sent me a FANTASTIC saying yesterday that is just so awesome and true.

Take good care of your memories. You cannot relive them. –Bob Dylan

This is just so perfect for me, my family, and loved ones who loved and knew Karen. My Dad had made mention that he was never going to get to hear her voice again. Well, I told him that I would find video of her. Surely we have it and I'm going to find it. And with that I'll take care good care of my(our) memories and we can hear and see her anytime we want.

It's been 1 week today since the loss of my sister Karen. And I (we) must do what we can to move on, but NEVER forget. Still love you and miss you terribly. Still want you here with us...and that will never change.

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly. Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably. And never regret anything that made you smile.

Karen Elizabeth (Wright) Boggs Pope

02/16/65 - 07/24/07

The incredibly beautiful girl that you are getting to see in the picture above is my awesome sister Karen. She passed away on Tuesday after a short yet grueling battle with cancer. This girl battled to the very end! Even in her last days that girl had the fight in her. It's VERY hard to understand why at this point. But after watching someone that I love struggle to breathe and be in such pain, I know that she is no longer having to be in misery. She was an unconditional giver. She was so worried about us and if WE were OK. As my sister Cheryl and her loving fiance mentioned in her obituary (forgive me for any miswording) "...she got to know true love and was truely loved". She loved her nieces, nephews, and son Mitch so much. And her love for her animals...oh my...so loved her animals! And oh how she brought the 2 loves of her life to their knees! She was our rock. As my Dad said "our 'go to' person" in the family. She was the person you could call in the middle of the night and she'd be there as fast as she could get there. And she'd be the first to call you on it if you were messing up or doing a loved one wrong :) She might have been small in size, but she was HUGE in will and heart. Oh my word we are missing her and are gonna continue to miss her. After they wheeled her out of the hospital room, and all of my siblings (minus one) are gathering up her things...my brother says to me "I keep thinking 'where's Karen at?'" And, then we are both like "...oh..." It just doesn't seem real. Even though we watched it happen with our own eyes. Even though I held her hand from when it was warm till it wnet cold...it just DO NOT SEEM real. I know she's in a better place, but sure do wish she could still be here. She was just so amazing and anyone who knew her for more than a minute knows exactly what I'm talking about. She had MANY rough times. The kinda of rough times that would break the average person. She just rolled with the punches. The girl was freakin tough!

I will definitely think of more that I should add as time goes on. Still kinda dazed and confused at the moment (so please forgive the way that this blog is all over the place). But I had to send out my love to her ...this beautiful, wonderful, loving, kick-ass...I mean KICK-ASS sister of mine! I love you Babe and man alive I already miss you so much. I regret not having more one on one time with you over the years. But I cherish the memories that I have stored in my head. Even the ones of sorrow from the past week. I'm glad I was able to have that time. I love you, we all love you, and we'll always have you in our hearts!!!!

**Services for Karen will be Saturday, July 28th, 2007 @ 11am and will be held at McCoys Funeral Home in Sweetwater, Texas**

Replacing the "F" word

Replacing the "f" word in our vocabulary and minds is a tough thing to do. And no...I'm not talking about the "f" word that we swear...I'm talking about FEAR! This situation with my sister has had me thinking deeper than I've thought...ever! We all believe that prayer is the best answer for Karen. And I whole heartedly believe that this is true!! But many of us are being held back from truly committing to these prayers because of the "f" word. (Please don't anyone take this personal or as an attack on your beliefs...this is an innocent rambling...) How do I come to this conclusion? Because I for one am guilty of feeling overwhelmed with sadness, worry, stress...etc. And what is this all derived from? ......FEAR! Fear of the unknown, fear that there's nothing I or any of us can do. But I feel that if we can remove the "f" word from our hearts and replace it with FAITH...THEN, and only then we are praying whole heartedly! We are truly putting Karen in God's hands. Yes, we are all human and that in turn make us have emotions. And we are and should cry and feel sad that this is happening to someone whom we all love so much and mean so much to us. Karen (as we have said so many times in the past 1.5+ months) is the Rock in our family. She is truly one tough cookie. But to dwell and wallow in deep nasty depths of fear isn't gonna do a dang thing for her. Faith in God... in our prayers for Karen...that's what she needs from us.

I realize that I may have not worded a dang thing "correct" in this blog. And I might have come off as loving as a Brillo pad, but it is (again) just my ramblings...not intended to hurt anyone, but to maybe enlighten anyone who might have been doing what I am guilty of.....ya know...being consumed with the "f" word.

You NEED to know!

Ok...this goes out to all the ladies who read this blog. Any men who read...tell your ladies.. PLEASE! Some of you may take this as an "ewh, ick" topic....but facts are facts and I have a fact that I need to share.

When you get your annual exam from your Gyno, that swab they do ONLY checks for cervical cancer and the HPV virus. That swab DOES NOT check for uterine or ovarian cancer. Now when the dr. pushes around on your stomach in the ovary area (externally), he is looking for abnormal lumps and what not...but they can get missed. And if you are someone who's dealt with (or has) endometriosis(sp?), it may be even harder to catch a tumor. As in the case with my sister. I called my Gyno and asked these specific questions because I don't want this to happen to anyone I know or love EVER again! He said you body "should" give you indicators to let you know that somethings not right. Abdominal pain (as vague as that sounds) in that area is the most common indicator. But if you have endometriosis, cysts, or something along those lines you may have that pain a lot anyway (every day for some). So, all I can say is that if you feel anything other than normal in that area...something appears funky...DON'T dismiss it....PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't dismiss it. I was once that person who dismissed pain, but have now learned that it IS you body's way of saying "HELLO, fix me please!". Please don't let these words fall on deaf ears. Hear them, take care of yourself, most of us have a $20-$30 co-pay to go see the dr. That's not that big of a deal when you look at the big picture. Pay it, be pro-active, don't put yourself last...there are people who NEED you to stick around!

I'm done with today's sermon. Check in later for another :)

14

Wow, I must say that #14 has slipped up on me! I just realized a few minutes ago that it is the eve of our 14th anniversary. I've been so preoccupied that I didn't even get my hubby a card. So I hope this counts :)............

It's so crazy, but I think we have out lasted all of our friends (at the time that we got married) in marriage but 1 couple (Brian and Penny). We were warned that we were getting married to young. But ya know, I strongly believe that it worked to our benefit. We grew up together :) We are both so strong willed and stubborn that I think we'd be total oil and water if we got together any later in life. You are and have been since day 1, my best friend. We may claim that from time to time that the other one has lost their minds and have no idea what's going on in their head. But deep down, we pretty much know what the other is thinking 90% of the time....10% of the time we ARE nutz! :)

It has been a great 14 years with a perfect mixture of up, downs, insanity, pure joy, and love!! There have been the days where we could burn each other down with our less than loving stares :)~~ But all in all the love has never gone. And man alive we've made some beautiful kids in the process!! I wouldn't want to take this roller coaster ride with ANYONE else!

Love you Babe!

Thanks for the laugh TIna!

My sister in law Tina just forwarded this to me and it gave me a much needed laugh... thanks Tina!

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2007 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 50) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before> getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : -)

12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

**If you missed yesterday's blog, see below..**

HAPPY BIRTHDAY POP-POP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We want to send out a GREAT BIG Happy Birthday wish today to my Dad (aka Pop-Pop & Grandpa Racecar). We all love you so very much and couldn't have been blessed with a better Dad! Thank you for all that you have done and continue to do for all of us. Thank you for still making us laugh and for not "offing" yourself just yet with all your little race car, lawnmower, or home repair mishaps :) Hope you have a great day Dad! Love you bunches and heaps and piles :)

My Sister

First off - THANK YOU to all of you who commented and have Karen in your prayers! I sincerely appreciate it and I know she does too!

When I left off Friday before last we all had hoped that the wedding was still going to take place. As I was driving out of town on Friday I got a call from Dad telling me that the vacation was off for them and Karen. And that the wedding would be postponed. They started radiation on the 3 (once believed to only have 2 spots, but now there's 3) spots on her brain on Tues, and she goes every (business) day for 10 days. She's also taking a chemo pill and steroids to help the other spots chill out till she's done with radiation and can start full chemo. I talked to her and Mark last Wed. and they filled me in on all the final test results. As I mentioned, there are now 3 spots on her brain, a tumor on her shoulder and leg, one in between where her lungs meet, one on her liver, a 3" one on her ovary (which they believe is where it all started), and multiple little spots on each lung. The spots on the lung they described as looking like salt and pepper all over the place. The doctor is worried about these spots on her lungs developing while she is finishing up radiation. So again I ask that if any of you are so inclined, please pray that these little spots (and the other locations) will chill out till she can get the full dose of chemo.

She is taking an anti-nausea medicine and it seems to be helping, but she still tired and achy. But in EXCELLENT spirits! She's one tough cookie! She even went to see Dad race this past Saturday.

We went to the spot on the beach where she was supposed to get married and I put a little graffiti on the beach marker and we all wrote notes in the sand for her. I took a picture of all of them and got a really nice shot of the beach looking out towards the ocean with a huge thunderhead in the background. The kids made them a wedding cake in the sand and we all took a group picture behind it. She was definitely heavy on all our minds. And heavy in our prayers.

I hope and pray to be posting some positive news soon. Thank you again for all your thoughts and prayers.

I need your help!

I know I haven't blogged in a while. Our family has been hit with some very hard news and it's being rather hard to deal with. Last Wednesday my sister Karen had 2 lumps removed from her neck and shoulder. An ENT removed them cause I guess the referring doctor had no clue what they were getting into. From my already bummed out tone you probably know where this is going. Up until yesterday the doctors assumed and were actually pretty sure it was cancer, just didn't know where or what kind. The lumps she had removed were lymph nodes. She has several others that have popped up, but the ENT didn't remove them cause they were "out of his area". When she went to the ENT yesterday to get her stitches removed they had the pathology report back and it confirmed that she had cancer. She's currently at the oncologist in Abilene with Mark (her finance that she's marrying next Friday on the beach) and my parents. Jim called Dad (not knowing that he was with Karen) about work stuff and Dad told him where they all were and what was going on. So Jim called me....

I don't know the specifics cause Dad wasn't able to tell Jim yet. But all he was able to tell Jim was that it's incurable. It is treatable and can be lived with. When the doctor was asked that horrible phrase that up until now only other people I know have had to ask..."how long?" She said "we start with today..." I wasn't there and haven't talked to the people that are there...so I don't know what that means. All I know is that it means what I (and all that love her) don't want it to mean. I know that I should be mad. Mad that doctors for not realizing that when she went in on Good Friday that they should have taken this more seriously and gotten her to a specialist right away instead of waiting a month to get her into the ENT and then how long it's taken them to get it out and tested. ...but I'm not mad. Not right now anyway. I can't deal with more than one emotion right now and that one is pure sadness and aching over what my sisters about to endure. I've only heard about this happening to someone else's family. Yes, my Mom had breast cancer when I was a senior, but it was curable and she kicked it's ass. I still want to have hope...and I've had hope and will be more hopeful once all this sinks in. I'm still processing it all. Karen is one tough chic! If there is anyone I know that can kick cancer's ass it's her.

There will be tons more doctors who will tell us good and bad news in the next few weeks I'm sure. But for now, this is what we know. I know all of my family has her in their hearts and prayers. And I am asking now that if you are so willing, please add Karen to you prayers. We need God to wrap her so tight in his healing arms right now. We just aren't ready to lose her yet. We can't lose her yet! We just can't....

Thank you

**UPDATE**
Still don't know the exact location. From what the dr. told them it can be very difficult to locate the origin of this type cancer. We do know the name of the cancer: metastatic adenocarcinoma. She'll have a bone scan today. Then she and Mark are headed to the beach for 2 weeks. We are also headed down there today (for 9 days). So if any of you respond - thank you in advance. I will respond once we get back. Hopefully at that time I will have a clearer head. And thanks in advance for any and all prayers said in my sisters name!

**Update #2**
Just got a call from my Dad and Karen will be starting chemo on Monday. They have found cancer in liver, ovaries, and 2 spots on the brain. The dr's concern now with putting of the chemo until they came back from vacation is that the spots in the brain could cause a stroke and... So, she'll do chemo on Monday and this should shrink these cancer locations and they should "flake off" and not come back again. They are thinking that the main source "may" be in the ovary area. The wedding is NOT off. Instead of them going to the beach today, they'll go on Wed. and then go back for more chemo when they get back from vacation. That's what I know...thanks for any of you that are keeping up with this...

Memorial Day Camping Trip

Let me start off by saying YES...you are about to be subjected to a TON of pictures :) But it is SOOO hard for me to pick and choose what I post. And trust me there are 3x more pictures for me to post...but I haven't got that kind of time to wait on blogger to upload them :) Besides, I think pictures tell the BEST stories!!

For Memorial Day we went camping at Mineral Wells State Park. My parents also got to come and that was a lot of fun. It did rain the entire time we were there, but that did stop us. Heck we had a week of London just like that PLUS frigid weather to top it off! Friday evening and Saturday we pretty much just lazed around and watched the on and off rain fall. Cut a few ZZZZ's here and there. It was perfect! Sunday we were ready to explore!!! There were 2 main trails they had marked on the map of the park (there were others but they were a bit to primitive and marshy-like due to all the rain). We got to the area where the trail indicated that there'd be rock climbing. We get there and it's gated off because of the all the rain...guess they didn't want to deal with the whole being liable for someone slipping off the cliff and dying...or something silly like that :) Well that didn't stop us...we slipped under the gate and man am I glad we did!! This place was awesome and I recommend that EVERYONE (if given the chance) go check this out! Now we were forewarned that a group of people had seen a copperhead...but we plugged along (we'd already checked it out once earlier in the day and this was actually our second trip cause we really wanted Mom and Dad to see it). Take a look below and you might be able to understand why...and I see now that pictures just don't do it justice.

Jim took this shot just as you come under the gate this is one of the first sights you see. A bit intimidating to peer over the cliff and see how far down this is...possibly 40-50 foot drop. The kids were stressing me out by how close they were getting to the edge!














This shot might help you see the depth. (That's me holding Brayden.)














There were several caves and crevasses and the shots below show just how big some of them where. Mind you that the walls of these caves/crevasses were lined in several places with zillions of daddy long legs!



















































Matt (being the camera ham that he is) wanted Dad to catch him jumping off this rock embedded in the crevasse)...

**I have a great shot below of Jim and the kids in the rocks...dadgum Blogger erased it and I can't get to reinsert correctly**

Ready



















Set














Jump














Land














...promptly plant butt on ground :)














She really wanted me to take a picture of this huge leaf that she'd found, but as you can see...that was not the natural beauty I was wanting to capture!



















My kids were really wanting to climb some rocks. This one was about a 45 degree angle and was pretty tough!



















Nat really didn't have the proper shoes on, but she didn't care...she wanted in on the action!



















She was bound and determined to go higher than Matt did...shoes or no shoes! ...and she did!!














Matt was pleased nonetheless with his achievement :)














Still in the mood for more they decided to move to the next higher set of rocks...














**I have a shot of Natalie crossing the rocks in the blog below. Blogger's being a real pill tonight and I don't know why it keeps deleting my pictures. So, see below....**

Daddy even joined in on the climb, and I got a great shot of my climbers.















As they made their way down I was being beckoned my the little one to witness his rock climb...














He had his sights set on a rock that he wanted scale!














And with a little help from the Pop Pops...he did it!!














My Ladies Man and his Pop Pop! You'll see Grandma in the pink shirt headed up the stairs. I don't think she was too keen on the idea of the copperhead in the rocks :)

















**Again, please see the blog below for a shot of Brayden with his Grandma horsing around with the faucet while we are down below rock climbing**

The caves above Nat's head are first seen as you descend on the stairs that lead to the ravine. We decided to try an alternate way back to the top...


































On the way back to the campsite the kids wanted to walk thru the spillway (which is at the entrance to all the camp areas). With all the rain it was coming over non-stop. The top of the spillway is at eye level as you drive by. It's kinda odd...

You'll notice that Matt's a bit wet...that was NOT by his own doing. Daddy drove by in the suburban and doused him!!!







































This smile says it all.....it was a GREAT time!

..addition to the blog above

100% & A Hair Raising Experience

I got an email from Matt's teacher the other day telling me the most WONDERFUL news. Matthew has scored a 100 on the Taks test. This is the test that every year the kids get all stressed out about. (Stress that's put on them by the schools cause if the kids don't do well the school doesn't get as much $$...or something along those lines.) And Matt WAS stressed of this. She told me to act surprised when Matt told me that afternoon and I said "you bet". As soon as Matt piled into the truck he said "Mom, guess what?... Mrs. Martin pulled me out into the hall to tell me my Taks score today and I was all 'Oh man, did I fail?' And then you know what she told me Mom???? She said I made a 100!!!!!" I of course squeezed the air out of him to show him how proud I was. Then we immediately HAD to call Dad!! We are so proud! Nat made a 100 in 3rd grade also....what a great tradition :)

Now...on to a hair raising experience....really! Last Sunday I asked Jim t got to the trailer and get the griddle so that I could make pancakes. He saw mouse droppings!!! Ugh...I hated that news. So I went to inspect the trailer in hopes that it was just a few mouse "pellets". NOT! It was a mouse party! Nasty, filthy freakin mice have gone everywhere and pooed and pee-ed! All over the stuff I'd washed and put out there...blankets, pots, pans.... So I was gathering up the pots and pans to take them into the house ans wash them. As I was doing this a storm was building just south of us. I'd seen a few lighting strikes but they were a ways off and I wasn't sweating it. I had the trailer door propped open and I was right in the door way leaning over to pick up all the pots to take in. Just as I was picking them up I heard and felt something very eerie.... You know that kinda crackly noise that come right before a SUPER loud boom of thunder? Well I was hearing the very begin of the crackly noise and all the sudden my hair stood UP OFF MY HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! ........and the BBBOOOOOOOMMM!!! Uh yeah...the storm was right up my butt (figuratively speaking....but not far from reality) and I was standing in a metal trailer, in a metal doorway, on metal steps, holding metal pots and pans. I quickly discarded the pot and pans and hauled a-- into the house! I told Jim what had just happened and he was like "if you'd been struck we'd had no idea! We would have thought you were just messing around in the trailer." Not a great thought! So no more working/playing in the trailer during a lighting storm!! Yowza!

Great Mother's Day and Jim Blogged another great one!

I believe I've contacted everyone who reads this blog already...but again, I hope all you Momma's had a great Mother's Day. I sure did :) ......ate WAY too much...yowza! I think my goal of not being larger at the beach than I was last year is not gonna be met. BUT, I am back on the wagon again starting today so we'll see what I can accomplish between now and June 15th.

Jim has recapped our softball action again, so drop by his blog when you get a chance.

Oh and one more exciting development in our household is...Matt's loosing teeth!! Anyone who might remember a few years ago I sent out Christmas cards of the kids at the beach and if you looked really close Matt's bottom teeth were JACKED! That's because he has serious issues with loose teeth and them coming out. Uncle Bobby had to take out that awful tooth out and ever since then he's thought Bobby needed to be the tooth puller...and that was the only way they could come out. Nat on the other hand was always delighted to find a loose tooth and typically from the time she would tell us she'd found a loose tooth to the time that it came out was usually an hour or less :) Well after Matt's last dentist appt we found out that he has 5 teeth that he needs to loose and if they don't come out it'll cost like $100 a tooth to get them pulled (so permanent funky tooth doesn't happen). So I've been telling to to work on the teeth and wiggle them. He's been telling me "none of them are wiggly"....he's a stubborn one. Well, it finally sank in I think cause last week he came out of his room with a tooth...I was so proud :) The tooth fairy (with encouragement in mind) left him $2. Now I think Matt sees that $2 x 5 = $10...cause last night he came out with another tooth! And I'll gladly see that the tooth fairy pays out $10 opposed to us paying out $500 to the dentist!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day!

Jim Blogged!!

...nothing more to say than that! It's a great blog and he put a LOT of time into it!! Check it out...

Piano Recital and Spring Concert

As mentioned in an earlier blog, Natalie had her first piano recital this Sunday. She did awesome. She didn't miss a beat. And she told me she wouldn't. "Mom, I know this song like the back of my hand", she told me. And she wasn't kidding. We were very proud. A few tears tried to creep into my eyes, but I fought them off so that I could take pictures :) After the recital her Grandparents gave her flowers and she was delighted! (In the group picture below you may or may not notice, but Brayden got a substantial haircut. Yes I did took him and no I'm not happy!)














Last night we went to her Spring Recital. They played 2 different songs. One of which they just played at the Sandy Lake competition where they received a "1" which was the highest score! They sounded really good and Nat was beautiful...as always :)








And not to leave Matt out...He had a practice for Battle of the Books today and his group got first place! He's really pumped about the upcoming "battle" :)

That's all for now... If you get a chance, leave me a comment. I miss hearing from everyone :(