Golf and Stuff

I have been scrapbooking. I created this page on the computer for Sayre and me. There are a few similarities in our lives.

Brian has been busy with golf. He has played in many matches and his scores keep getting a little better each time. I have been able to get to the course before he finishes and take a few pictures. Here they are:

Let the season begin!

Well, I've been really lazy about posting here. No excuses, just didn't get around to it.

Lots has gone on since the last post. We hit Disneyland for five days and had a great time. Just enough time in the park and out of the park. Loved the barbecue place in Frontierland.

When we got back it was time to put the library back together. Everybody helped. Judy, Sayre, Amanda, and Brad were there. It was a huge task, but we did it (mostly, there's still stuff left to do).

Then we went to Cedar City to take Sayre to school. She had a great 18 hours and then got upset that we would leave her there so far from home and all that she loved. Needless to say, she came home with us on Friday. We enrolled her at Mohave Community College and she started classes the following Monday. She is extremely happy and loves her classes. She is still far away from D.J., but she plans to transfer there at semester. We'll see.

Tonight was the first high school football game of the season. The old rivalry between Kingman and Lake Havasu is back on. It was close, but the Bulldogs held the line with seconds to go and won the game 14-7. Go Bulldogs!

When we were at dinner tonight, Brad was checking out the clouds forming outside. He showed me and I had to get out the camera. I got this great picture of the cloud! It is not a nuclear blast, but it sure looks like it.

One week to go!

Oh, I'm getting excited. I've started my last week of work in Mesa. It has been fun and I've learned lots like always. I'm just ready to be home and with my family. They kind of miss me. Not enough to stay around the house (or even stay awake if they are home), but I think they'll be glad when I'm home. That and we are headed to Disneyland next week. This time next week I'll be in Anaheim maybe seeing Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at a fancy movie theater. Fun, fun!

Here is my latest picture from my photo editing class.

Isn't he cute?

A little late

I'm in Chandler at Wendy's house and we just finished our first class on photo frames and editting at jessicasprague.com. We are so excited to be doing this together. Actually I even knew how to do a couple of things and was able to tell her when Jessica didn't. I'm feeling very smart.That's good too since today at work I felt anything but smart. It was a rough day. One of my scorers won't be here for the whole week. We only had four people to begin with and now we are down to three. Good grief! They came to me today and said we were authorized to work any overtime that we wanted as long as it was not something like 12 a.m. - 4 a.m. It is really nice for the money, but what stress there is on all of us to perform. I keep telling myself that when I get that check I will be so happy that it won't matter. It won't either. I will make it just fine. I am not going to let a little thing like too few people get me down.

Well it is 10:07 and I have to be at work at 7:00. Yes, I said 7:00. It is not a time I like to be fully functioning and nice to too many people, but in the name of getting the job done I'll be there. Wish me luck!

One week down

Well, I'm back for the weekend from training for scoring NBPTS portfolios. I got good news and bad news. The good news is I get to work an extra week at a good pay rate. The bad news is I had to postpone the family vacation with the Cathers family. We are all bummed, but I don't know what they would have done to/with me if I hadn't accepted the extra week. I'm hoping that by my being flexible with them, they will ask me to go to Charlotte, NC next year to train and score again. That would be a fully paid trip. It would be nice to see a part of the country where I've never been. Keep your fingers crossed. OK, so I won't know until next February, at least, but still.

Everyone did fine without me. Brian kept busy playing golf and video games with friends and his dad. Brad and Sayre went to Cedar City for orientation. He really liked the campus and the area. The second dorm deposit has been paid. Now we wait until August to pay the rest. Sayre has her official schedule and is pleased with it. We'll see how hard it is when the semester starts.

I've enjoyed being at Wendy's house. She and Caitlyn are so glad I'm there. Connor might even like it, because he has someone to drive him to and from the gym. Wendy informed me that I wasn't allowed to leave at the end of my job. She likes having me there way too much to let me go. We've gone to Caitlyn's swim lessons, gymnastics class, and Connor's guitar lesson. OK, so the guitar lesson time was spent at the neighborhood scrapbook store. It was quite fun. I was able to get some cool things and even planned a page for one of the papers. Now I just have to make the page. We'll work on scrapbooking next week. We had to settle into a routine. I just need to make sure I exercise. I didn't walk as much as I had been at home and that's not good with the big lunches they provided. Next week won't be as generous with food, but it should still be good. I'd rather not gain 15 pounds while I'm there. I did find a fun run. Don't know how long it was, but I ran for more than 30 minutes just around Wendy's neighborhood. It was a good feeling to be out there. The treadmill tried to kill my shins, so I'll not be doing that again.

Now I must go and see what I can create. I have a new, borrowed stamp set that I need to use.

Back to work

Well, I am off shortly to Mesa/Chandler to begin my summer job. I will be staying with cousin Wendy and her kids. It should be fun. I'm planning on scrapbooking in the evenings (after my workout, of course). I will be there for four weeks. It is good because I will make enough for tuition, but I'm missing four weeks of summer with my family. Oh well, I'll sacrifice for them.

Last week we were busy with life. It was Papa Jim's birthday. He turned 70. Everyone except Dustin was able to be there, so we had a house full. Even Uncle Tom and Aunt Ginny were here. I was able to get some picture of Tom and Jim.

Brad finally made a gate for the area between the house and garage. It looks so nice. No more Butler gate! Yea! He also fixed the dryer that had been broken for 5 weeks. It is so nice to do laundry when you want to and be able to finish it then. Ah, the luxuries in life!

Well, I'm off. I must hit the road before all the psychos from Vegas do.

Ah, summer time!

Well, I am officially one week into summer and it feels good. I have completed Sayre's graduation present scrapbook, 8 6 X 6 pages for the grandparents, 8 12 X 12 scrapbook pages, and one card. OK, I have tried to be busy. I have plans, man. I only have one more week at home to use all of my supplies. While I am in Phoenix I will be working on my scrapbook of Sayre's last year of high school. I shouldn't need many supplies to complete it, so it will be perfect for taking on the road.

The kids are busy with multiple activities. Brian has been golfing - a lot! He and Brad played three days this week. He has also watched Marissa and Josh at the park to earn a little money. Sayre has been forced to babysit (by me), so she has been at the Dixon's, the Victory's and with the Bonivert's. One way or another she will earn some money this summer.

Well, off to create some more scrapbook pages.

Graduation

Well, graduation is officially over. Only one party left to go to. Thank you notes are in the mail. Pictures are soon to be ordered. Separation is beginning. Here we go.

It was a long, busy week, but we made it. We can enjoy our summer and think about her leaving again in August. It will be ok. It really will.

Four days left

Life has been quite busy this past week. The library has to be packed up so that next Monday they can re-carpet it. Well, there is still a ton of stuff from Linda Hill there. We had to be tough and purge. Good thing Judy likes me. She came two days and really got stuff done. Tara and I will have to be busy this week, but I think we can do it. I sure hope so, because I won't be in until late on Friday.

We had Brian's final band concert of the year on Tuesday night. He had one big solo and several others with different instruments. It was a great concert. He did a good job. We got it on tape for the family members who weren't here.

I have one assignment left for my online class. I am so excited. I only need to watch the video and answer one part of a question and I AM DONE! Woo hoo! I won't take another until some time next year. The district is not paying for moves across, so I won't get that raise until the economy is better. Isn't that lovely?

I will order food for the graduation party tonight. That should cover it all. I have all the other things we will need. I have a few things left for Sayre's gift and several cards to make for kids in my class and Sayre's friends. It's almost done. I think I may be relieved when it's all over.

Senior Prom

Sniff, sniff. One more milestone down, very few to go. All of Sayre's friends came over for pictures before they left for dinner. They all looked beautiful. They are sure to have a great time tonight. Here they are:

Heather, Sayre, and Toni

DJ, Matt, and Thomas

Sayre, DJ, and Lizzie (his little sister, who also wanted to go to prom)

It's Painted!

Woo, hoo! The house and garage are finally painted the same color. Ray Smith and his crew came over this week and spent several days working on it. I chose a light brown color for the house and a little darker color for the trim. I have to say I am very pleased with the results. We are making progress. Now if we can just get gates that don't look like they belong in Butler, we'll be in great shape. OK, I tried to upload pictures but the computer is mental. I'll try those again later

BOO HOO!!!!!

OMG! I finally got around to putting the picture in Sayre's school year's frame and holy cow. It hit me. I'm done. No more pictures. No more sister at home. She's all grown up and leaving the nest. What am I going to do?

As I was setting up to take the picture, Brad came in and made fun of me. Well, we'll see how tough and macho he is when he has to leave her in Utah and come home with just me! That will show him how preparing makes it so much easier. Ok, not really but still!

Spring break?

Oh, for Pete's sake! It is our spring break and today there were snow flurries. We had a storm front blow in and I mean blow in. The news said we had a recorded wind gust of 54 miles per hour. Holy cow! The wind did not stop all night long. This morning it was cool, but it never got warm. It just kept cooling off. While Sayre and I were at the movies seeing "Hannah Montana" she got two texts that said it was snowing. When we got out of the movie, we saw no snow where we were, but the Hualapais and foothills were getting it. I went to get my hair beautiful this afternoon and while I was waiting I could see snowflakes falling/blowing down in the parking lot. Who would have thought? I mean, I understand sometimes it snows at Easter, but we are three days past Easter! Oh well, the weather is supposed to get warmer for the weekend. I hope so, because Brian has a baseball game on Friday afternoon.

Here is a picture of me with my new haircut and color. I like it. I will have to enjoy it. It might not get fancy color again for quite a while.

Finally Spring Break

We are finally on spring break. It took forever to get here. The kids and I got to spend the weekend with family in Casa Grande. Mom had everyone over on Saturday evening. Everyone came and was nice to one another. We had a very nice time. I was able to take a few pictures that I needed. There are scrapbook pages planned for them.

Sayre learned how to play Mexican Train dominoes. She and her uncle Chris sparred during most of the game. Isn't that sweet?

Brian and Connor played wiffle ball in the back yard with the dogs. As usual, they had a great time together.

Tristan, Seth, and Caitlyn had a great time coloring Easter eggs. They were very creative and didn't spill any dye on the table.

I was able to show my Dad, Gram, and Crappa some of the pictures I had taken recently. Everyone commented on Brad's latest expedition with the mine extraction. It went well and they got some pretty good pictures. The baseball pictures were fun too. Overall, the whole trip was great. I wish we lived closer or I had much more time so I could visit more often.

Baseball

I finally saw my first baseball game of the season. Brian got the ball to pitch so that made it stressful. He doesn't have a ton of fielding behind him and some balls that should have been caught were not. He didn't do too badly though. He even got on base and scored. If he can just keep his composure and do his job, then he will make progress. The other coaches have noticed that he's doing well. We just have to keep him working.


We also were able to enjoy the game with Tricia and the girls. They came for spring break and spent most of the week in Havasu with her parents. They were able to enjoy the game, dinner out at El Palacio, and shopping such as it is in Kingman. We had a great time catching up. The kids had so much fun spending time together too. We can't wait for Disneyland this summer.

Prepare yourself

OK, prepare yourself people. It's happening sooner than we are ready for. Sayre picked up her graduation announcements and cap and gown today. She said it made her cry. Heather laughed because she cried too. Me, on the other hand, I did not cry! I am very proud. My crying days are ahead I am sure, but for right now we can only have one crier in the house.

Birthday week over for another year

Well it was a busy birthday week. Sayre's birthday was Monday, but we did not celebrate it until Tuesday. Monday night was the soccer banquet, so we went there. We had her family party on Tuesday night. We had a yummy lemon velvet cake whose recipe I got from Lisa Bearnson's blog. It was pretty darn good.

Brian's birthday was Friday, but he had a baseball game in Phoenix. He was able to go out to dinner with Brad, Jim, Judy and my dad to celebrate. We had his family birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Uncle Brent, Aunt Karla and Dustin were able to join us along with Gramma and Poppa. He had his traditional Texas sheet cake, which, of course, was delicious. There are only two pieces of it left. Too yummy! OK, now it's time for a serious healthy eating kick. Man, with so many cakes in the course of a week, I need to exercise.

Today we went to the Dorner's to help celebrate Matthew's birthday. I can still remember the day he and Sayre met. Matt was one day old. Sayre was one week. They were both wrapped up tight in their blankets. We had them next to each other on Gretchen's mom's couch that was backed up to the back window. They were so tiny. We have celebrated many birthday's with them. It was kind of bittersweet to celebrate this 18th with them. Both kids will be off to college soon and who knows if they will see each other even close to around their birthdays.

Tricia flies in tomorrow night. Brad is going to Vegas to pick her and the girls up. They will go down to Havasu on Tuesday and come back here for Brian's game on Friday. It will be nice to see them. We may have to make plans for our summer vacation to Disneyland. It could be the right time. Whatever we do, we'll have a great time and I'm sure at least one scrapbook page will be made to commemorate it:)

The weekend

Well, Sayre and I survived the senior expo at SUU. It was actually quite fun. We got lots of information about the school and the programs they offer. We got to go on a tour of the dorms. They said over and over that the communal bathroom dorm is the favorite of freshmen (and lots of others too because of the social aspect). I told Sayre that she should stay there, but she said no. She reminded me that Gramma said she didn't want her staying in that dorm, but I said I'd tell her that they said it was best for freshman. Well, Sayre was happy because Gramma said she didn't agree. That's ok though, she should get her first choice of the new dorm since we put the application in so early. We took a tour of the campus towards the end of the visit and it was really nice. We learned some of the history of the school and some of the features that they offer. It is a relatively small campus (7,500 students compared with my alma mater ASU at 40,000 when I was there) and it is ranked in the top ten by Consumer Reports. I guess there aren't too many things bad about the whole thing. The one bad thing is she is going there and I have to deal with it. I only got teary twice at the very end when they showed pictures of the day and it kept reminding me that it is coming soon. I guess I still have some time to deal with that.


This is Sayre walking towards Old Main. We got a history lesson on the building on our tour. It is the oldest structure on campus (it was gutted by fire and remodeled years ago). There was some snow on the ground. They got snow the week before for their last senior expo, but it was pretty nice weather for us. It was only really cold at night.

This past weekend I met my parents in Wickenburg to give them their new puppy. Our neighbors, the Walkers, needed someone to take their yellow lab. Well, my parents were ready for a new dog and I asked them if they wanted her. They were very excited about it. I said I'd meet them on Sunday at 11:30. I was running a little late and called to tell them not to leave yet, but they were already on the road. Dad said Mom was jittery and said it was like going to the hospital to pick up your new baby. Too funny! Here is a picture of the new family:

They have reported that Roxy is settling in just fine. She knows how to use the doggie door. She's only chewed up a cord for a digital picture frame so far. She has met the neighborhood dogs and been out walking with them. I'm sure there are many happy years in front of them.

Sayre and I are in Cedar City, Utah preparing to visit the Southern Utah University campus tomorrow. We did take a walk around campus today. It doesn't seem too big. The kids seemed pretty normal. We talked to a couple of university employees who seemed very nice. Tomorrow we get to do a formal tour and learn about different programs that the university offers. It should be fun. After the Senior Expo she will be ditching me for D.J. His mother is going to meet us somewhere and take her up to Brianhead for the weekend. Lots of her friends will be there. She will have a great time, I'm sure. On our way here I took some new pictures of the bridge being built by the Hoover Dam. It is getting close. I can't believe how cool it looks. Of course, I don't look forward to driving across it. I know it will save time, but it will be very high over the canyon and I don't like that!

Trish won't like this when she comes to visit. At least it will be a year or more until it is done.

Ah, spring is here

Well it's here. It seems a little early and I'm sure that winter will rear its ugly head at least once more, but today it's spring. Brad and Brian were out this morning practicing baseball and they came home saying that it was hot. OK, now by hot they meant 72 degrees. I was able to go for a run in shorts and it was most comfortable. Ah, this is the season.

We did have a busy week. Brian's first game was cancelled. Mohave did not have a freshman team. He will play this Thursday down in Lake Havasu City. We don't know where he will be playing yet. He hopes he starts as pitcher. Oh, the stress of being a player's mom is on its way. On Thursday evening Brian had a jazz band concert. It was a very good concert. It started with the percussion ensemble, then Brian's jazz band, then the advanced jazz band. I loved it. As I saw some of the kids Sayre has gone to school with it made me sad because they will all be gone next year. OK, so there were a few tears too. I am sappy that way. Here is a picture of Mr. Brian:

Then on Friday Sayre had her last back injection. It was not an easy procedure this time. It took three pokes on each side to get it into the correct position. Brad asked afterward how long the needle was that he put into Sayre's back and Dr. Terry said it was 7cm long. Oh my! All but about an inch was in her back. Poor baby. D.J. was there this time. He was all gung ho to go in but when it came time, he stayed with me. He got nervous when they marked on her back with the Sharpie. I explained what they were doing at each step. I showed him the spot where they were trying to get the needle. At one point he sat down and was a little disturbed. Poor guy. He came out telling his mom (she and little sister Lizzie came for moral support) it was worse than having his knee aspirated. She is up and moving today. I think it still aches from the shot, but hopefully the back pain is gone for a while. We'll see. Here is a picture of her before they did the procedure. She is propped up with a pillow under her pelvis. Hopefully this will work and she'll not have to worry about it again.

This week Brian has a concert band concert. I hope to find a way to add a video link so that everyone can hear it. We'll see if the little technophiles in the house can figure it out for me. That is what I rely on them for!

Spring sports begin

Well, our spring sport season begins this week. Brian has his first high school baseball game on Wednesday here in town. Sayre travels to Phoenix for tennis on Thursday. No, she's not playing yet. She will go as the manager. She has her final back injections on Friday. I will be taking pictures this time. She said no the first time and I didn't try the second. I think I've shown great restraint in not doing it before now. I need to document this part of our life. It has been a part of our life for the last few months, so it deserves to be remembered. We'll see what happens.

Valentine's Day

Well, another Valentine's Day has come and almost gone. We mostly hung around the house and did Saturday things. Sayre did go out with D.J. and some friends. She baked him brownies in cupcake liners and wrote a scrambled message on them. As soon as he saw the letters he knew it said "Always & Forever". He got her a stuffed dog (a tradition) and some flowers. At dinner he have her a pretty diamond necklace. Here's a picture of them before they left:

Brad and I are going to go to the movies later and see The International. We haven't been in a while so this should be nice.

Sayre had her second set of back injections on Thursday. Brad was there this time. He commented to me how large the needles were. Gee, ya think? I could have told him that. I'm used to watching people have this done. I'll be glad when it's all over. I'm sure that Sayre will be too. Her back is still tender, but there has been some improvement. Just one more to get through. Brian went to the eye doctor on Thursday. The doctor cleared him to play ball again. He said most everything looks good except for some blood still on the eye. He wants to see him again next week and then hopefully the whole thing will be done. Brian went back to practice yesterday and hit in the batting cage today.

Snowy Day again

Yesterday around 11:00 we got some unexpected snow. It continued all afternoon and the schools were released an hour early. As soon as they sent the kids home the snow stopped. But around 4:45 it started again and this time it really didn't stop until late in the evening. It was beautiful. At 10:00 it was still light enough outside that Brad thought he could go out and play catch. The kids are on a two hour late start today. I have to go in at the regular time :( Here are a few pictures of the scene last night:


It looks a little snowier this morning. It is truly beautiful (at least for right now). I am going to enjoy it while it lasts.