BUMMER!!

I am very sad today! I was playing with my camera last night and hit the button that erased ALL the pictures:( I had tons of pictures from California, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Taylor visiting, Mountain Home trips, my school kids, the list goes on and on.

Without the pictures we have still had a good break! It started in Texas when Taylor and Ryan came in from Cali. However, the family togetherness was interrupted by Miss. Priss (Taylor's cat). She got really sick and Taylor and I were on our way to the animal hospital in McKinney on Christmas morning about 6 am. That was scary for a while but I am glad to report she is healthy and back to her old tricks. We had fun at Mimi and Poppy's, Sweet's house and now we are in Mountain Home visiting Shane's family...making the rounds! Shane is loving the long break he got this year. It is a perk:)

Hope you had a great holiday and have a happy New Year!

NRE Christmas Party

This is from our school Christmas Party. We had it at the fabulous home of Terry "wonder" Wade:) who is our nutty PE teacher. The two of us in red teach 1st grade and the others teach 3rd grade. We had a great time giving gifts, chatting, and EATING!!

I am so glad today is Friday! The kids have been CRAZY all week long and are feeling the excitement today. Not to mention the fact that they all came in with candy, cookies, juice, cupcakes, fudge.......Taylor comes in tomorrow and we have Christams in Bonham. Then we will leave to have Christmas in Moutain Home. I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Happy Birthday Tater-tot!

Tater, I hope you had a wonderful birthday! We love you so much and miss you a ton! Only 10 days till you come back to Tejas! Can't wait:)

Thanksgiving Day #2

Grandpa Sanders Thanksgiving

Shane thought he might be too big to sit on Grandpa's lap...but Cody thought he still fit just right:)

We heard great stories about these "sweet" boys when they were little!

Thanksgiving Day

Collins Clan Thanksgiving






We had a great time at Sam and Anne-Camille's! We had great food and it was great to see the family! And we had wonderful food!

This is sweet Cort after he woke up from his nap and I finally snapped a picture against his will!!

Actually...Anne-Camille took it, he didn't want me to:)

Tom the Turkey:)

I got this COOL thing to wear for our Turkey Trot at school, and it proved to be a great addition to the holiday! We had a great time in Mt. Home. I know Shane really enjoyed getting to see his family!

GO HOGS!!

Well, this past weekend we got to go to Fayetteville and meet Sam and Anne-Camille (shane's aunt and uncle). We had such a blast, as we always do, and it was great to catch up. We did lots of talking and had LOTS of laughs!

Here is the Big "A" the players run through before the game. The band also did a really neat tribute to the troops at half time spelling out each one...it was great!
We found Shane's name on the "Football Letterman" list and we were so excited...however Shane didn't realize we were going to take his picture and make him point to it. As you can tell by the picture he is very enthused about it.
Sam and Anne-Camille are such a joy to be around! They are both wonderful people, so full of life and they have such an evident love for one another.
The group before heading to the best Mexican restaurant EVER!! La Huerta. I think about it everyday:) and it was not a disappointment.
I am so glad I have gotten to know this lady! We have become great friends and she has truly blessed my life!

Fayetteville

We went to Fayetteville this weekend to watch the HOGS...they lost:( but we had a great time getting to catch up with everyone! Thanks Bertram's for letting us crash at your house!! See you guys this weekend! Sam and AC, can't wait to meet you there in 2 weeks!!!
These are our great friends Tasha and Cody. We went to eat at an old favorite Penguin Ed's and had to capture the moment!

Yea! Tom found our name on the Senior Walk...proof that we did graduate!
Shane and his mom outside the stadium! I owe Darla a BIG thank you for her socks! I tried to be a hero and wear high-heels. Well, the MOUNTAINS in Fayetteville are very unforgiving and after about 5 min. of walking, I had blisters. So...I rolled up my jeans and wore socks...very chic!

My Dad's a Rock Star:)

Well, last weekend Shane, Momma, and I went to see Daddy play with his band in Windom. This is the band he was in during his high school(I think)/early college/early marriage days. Last year was their 30th reunion so they got together and made a CD (which are for sale:) and they decided to play together again. This year they decided to go to the Windom pavilion. It was really fun and they do a great job for only playing together about once a year. YEEHAW!

This is the best video I could get Taylor. Sorry for all the dancers. This is Tequila Sunrise...our favorite is Trudy, but they were playing it when we go there and I didn't have time to get out my equipment:)

Patriots Win!!

Well, I forgot my camera last night (because I left all valuables locked in the car:) but I wanted to tell everyone that Shane got his first WIN!! It was so refreshing...especially after last weeks DRAMA filled game. So congratulations Shane!

The cheerleaders were such a hoot...I know I NEVER acted like that in Jr. High:)

St. Jude's and Chili's

Hey Guys! Some of you may already know this...but September 24, Chili's is donating their profits to St. Jude's Children Research Hospital! On top of eating, you can get a shirt with a donation and/or donate by creating a pepper! It is a great way to help out and all you have to do is go have good food! So if you can...get to a Chili's SEPTEMBER 24!

Patriot Football

Here are some pictures of my classroom and some of what our football program looks like. I'm teaching technology education and coaching the 8th grade football team. It has been really busy so far and I'm looking forward to our first scrimmage on the 18th! I hope this gives you guys some sort of idea of what I'm doing down here. See ya!

Tagged by Anne-Camille

The Game of Tag about your MAN:
1. Who is your man? Shane...Shwane (when I want something)...Shane-o-Mac (from college).

2. How long have you been together? 5 years - married 4

3. How long dated? About 9 months

4. How old is your man? 25

5. Who eats more? Sadly, I am guilty of consuming more (depressing)!

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did. He was going in for surgery, I think he was scared:)

7. Who is taller? Well, I'm 5'3'' and he's 6'3''

8. Who sings better? ME:) He won't let me hear him sing. Sometimes I act like I'm asleep in the car and I almost hear him.

9. Who is smarter? Unfair question

10. Who's temper is worse? Shane's FOR SURE!

11. Who does the laundry? We both do, however; though I love his help many of my things could now fit a 2 year old perfect:)

12. Who takes out the garbage? Usually Shane

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the bed, I sleep on the right. He sleeps on the left near the door so if someone breaks in they'll get him first (horrible I know!)

14. Who pays the bills? Shane

15. Who is better with the computer? Shane, if he doesn't know how to do something, he will figure it out!

16. Who mows the lawn? Don't have a yard

17. Who cooks dinner? I do most of the time because I love it, but he makes the occasional chili cheese dog...yum yum!!

18. Who drives when you are together? Him...I hate driving!

19. Who pays when you go out? Usually him

20. Who is most stubborn? It's a toss up

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Shane because I give a killer silent treatment:)

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine

23. Who kissed who first? Have you met Shane??? I kissed him first.

24. Who asked who out? I stalked him. I would call from a guys phone and say, Boys are playing video games over here, they want you to come over. He would get there and they would say "Hey! What are you doing?" I would say, "You told me to call him"

25. Who proposed? He did and he's reading along as I am typing and he said it was crap.

26. Who is more sensitive? I am about most things

27. Who has more friends? me

28. Who has more siblings? Well that's complicated. We both have one sibling and then he has a step-brother and step-sister

29. Who wears the pants in the family? I kind of think I do (love you Shane!!!!!!!)

I tag:
Jamie
Kyla
Kristin
Chesley

Aquarium

I had just touched some sting rays! I was very excited...I yanked my hand out of the tank several times before I actually did it so I wanted to document the occasion! Sarah was scared and a germ-a-phob (sp?) so she wouldn't touch them.
We bought these really cool shark mask:) People thought we were crazy wearing them, but they proved a good time for us! This little girl came up to us and said, "Where did you get those?" We sadly had to tell her we got the last one:) We're so mean

After seeing this, I will be doing some heavy duty thinking before jumping into lakes with these suckers! I'm thinking this could cause some major damage!

Da Da...Sharks are my favorite!!! I didn't miss a single Shark Week program on the Discovery Channel this summer! So the shark tank was the best! It was huge and it went all the way around and over your head. They even had cut-outs in the floor where they were swimming under your feet, I was a little uneasy about walking over those because little kids were jumping on them. They also had these huge (200-450 lb) sea turtles and when this shark swam under him, he slapped him with his fin...funny.
Look at the teeth on this dude! C-R-A-Z-Y! AND you could scuba dive in the tanks with these things at 6YEARS OLD. I don't know who in their right mind would let their 6 year old do that???

So...I absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE going to aquariums (I am aware I am a dork). I have asked every year to go to the Dallas aquarium for my birthday, but Daddy isn't interested. Well, while I was in Denver, Sarah took me to the aquarium. SO MUCH FUN! I acted like a crazy person! I was so excited running around and reading the information about the fish. It was great and it had more things than just fish because you "traveled" to different parts of the world and they included other animals that would be in the habitat also.

I took about 100 pictures there (I think Sarah got embarrassed) so I tried to narrow it down.

DENVER!!

Okay...so I just got back from spending Labor Day weekend in Denver, CO with Sarah. We had SO much FUN!!! It has been such a long time since we have been able to spend time with just the two of us and it was great! We had lots of good talks and LOTS of laughs! Here are a few pictures of us. Sarah will kill me when she sees the first one. We were coming back from eating and I got major blisters walking on the way, so on the way back she offered to give me a piggy back ride. Apparently, I am a little heavier than she thought because with every step, she kept getting closer and closer to the ground. I was trying to capture the moment, but it didn't work so well. Eventually I had to tough it out because she was huffing and puffing:)...Then we decided to take it back to BHS by doing a little two bits (I know we're cool).
This is us watching the Railbenders.
On Sunday, we went to Red Rock...It was absolutely gorgeous! We climbed 400 stairs to the top but it was worth it! It was so pretty over looking Denver.

Taylor Update

Well, all is well in California! Taylor made it through her surgery today which started at 9:45 am and we made it home around 2:30. When the doctor went in, he was pleased to find it was only her ACL torn and nothing else. He repaired it and said she will have a much more stable knee...after a few weeks of LOTS of pain.
She has been a trooper! She insisted on going up the stairs to the apartment by herself and has been sleeping on and off the rest of the day. I secretly think she is enjoying this because she is bossing me around like "the good ol' days"...and she's getting to boss Momma around too! Ryan has been great too! Helping us cook and seeing that Taylor has everything she needs. He did have to take a power nap this afternoon with Taylor because he was tired. (We (me and Ryan) ran the hills of Pepperdine last night) One word...PAIN!!! For those of you who have been on campus they are more like mountains, but we were motivated to get in shape! Any who, Taylor is well and we are very thankful for that. We appreciate all of you who were praying for her during her surgery! I'll update soon with any news!

Canoe Trip

While we were in Mt Home, we got to go on a canoe trip with Shane's Aunt and Uncle. We always have so much fun when we go with them and I am so glad I have gotten the opportunity to know Anne-Camille...we have great times!!


Me and my "Aunt" Camille:)

We decided we did not want to jump into the FREEZING cold spring!



Sam and Shane I also got to spend time with AC's sister Sarah! She was so much fun!

Mountain Home II

On Sunday we made the drive back from Mountain Home. I know Shane was ready to see his family and we had such a great time seeing and visiting everyone! We got to visit the Collins' side of the family Thursday night when everyone came to Scott and Karen's for snacks. (boo hoo AC) It was fun getting to talk and catch up with everyone. We got to go up to Clarkridge and visit his grandparents which was great and see the old Chevy that his dad and grandpa have been working on...Shane LOVED that!

This is really the only picture I took while we were there. It is Shane cruisin around town in a truck his dad is working on.

Mountain Home

Okay, so I have been a bad blogger this trip! We are in Mt. Home visiting Shane's family and we are having a blast! We had not seen his family since Christmas!! Shane's old job really didn't allow him a lot of time off and they had not been able to make the journey to Texas, so we were SO excited to see everyone.
Shane started off the trip in true fashion (a migraine), but he got better once I drove the 400 miles here! I hate when he doesn't feel well and am glad to report he is much better.
We just got to his Dad and Karen's house. We spent the first part of the week with his Mom and Tom. We were so busy making the rounds that I never even pulled out my camera. But, we had fun getting to visit with them, his brother Cody (who is always entertaining), his step-sister Jamie and her husband Kevin and their adorable daughter Laykin.We had a lot of great food, relaxing time at the lake, and lots of laughs. Jamie is a photographer and I L-O-V-E her work. I really wanted her to take pictures of us while we where here, so she worked us in! I love them! If you click on her blog you can see some of them. She did a wonderful job!
So the rest of the week we will get to see the Collins side of the family...I can't wait!

Coyt Lawson

"Talking" to Daisy...he has a lot to say!
Howdy Partner! Cutest cowboy I've ever seen!!!

Getting into everything according to Momma!


Coyt and Aunt Laine! I love this child SOOOO much!!!

I got to spend the morning with one of my best friends Heather (Neal) Lawson and her precious son Coyt! Heather and I had such a good time catching up and I had a great time playing with Coyt! We laughed, giggled, and crawled around everywhere! There are a lot of pictures, but they were all so cute of Coyt and I knew Aunt Taylor would want to see them all!