Kinda Strange To Think

Sometimes I like to think back to where I was two, five or even ten years ago and what I was doing then. Then I remember thinking back then, where would I be and what would I be doing going forward those two, five or ten years. I must say, I never thought I would be where I am today. Don't take it the wrong way, I don't think I'm doing horrible or anything, it's just interesting to me the point I am in my life right now and it's fun to remember where I was at that particular time in the past.

So, I'm curious (and curious to see who will do this), but would you comment or email me and tell me where you were in your life and/or what you were doing during these times?

Summer 1998:

Winter 1999:

Fall 2000:

Spring 2001:

Summer 2002:

Winter 2003:

Fall 2004:

Spring 2005:

Summer 2006:

Winter 2007:

Summer 2008:

Here's what I was up to:

Summer 1998: Working as a 'flagger' on the road crew for my Grandpa, getting ready to head into my senior year of high school.

Winter 1999: Been married a couple months now, living in the town of my hometown's football rival (Homedale) GO PANTHERS FOREVER!!

Fall 2000: Still living on the farm in Homedale, working for MBCI/ABC, driving my new car (I'd only gotten it the previous March).

Spring 2001: Working for Canyon County Development Services as a Recording Secretary, attending public hearings on Thursday nights.

Summer 2002: Moving BACK to Homedale (we lived in Parma for a year, approx July-June).

Winter 2003: Recently divorced and living on my own.

Fall 2004: Happily celebrating my one year anniversary with the love of my life!!!

Spring 2005: Sealed to my husband in the Boise, Idaho temple.

Summer 2006: Moving into the north end in Boise, added a sweet baby Miller to the family.

Winter 2007: Living in Oklahoma, surviving "The Ice Storm" and welcoming 2 new neices to the family.

Summer 2008: Still in Oklahoma, pretty much used to all the humidity, and missing my family cuz I haven't seen them in over a year.

Well, that's my little trip down memory lane. Can't wait to read about yours!

Selling The Camry

Hey all, Jordan and I have decided to list the Camry for sale. It's been a great car, but since our little family only seems to be getting bigger, we really need more room. So, if you know of anyone who's looking, feel free to pass it on. We have listed it on Craigslist as well as my MySpace page. Shout at me if you want more info! Thanks!

To pass on the link, copy the address and email it on.
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/car/772353696.html

It's A Miracle!!!

Yesterday as I was trying my hardest to snap a quick picture of my two 'babies' playing (Chihuahua's are VERY fast), I decided that since I had a camera in my hand, I would take a picture of Jordan. For those of you who know Jordan well, you already know he doesn't LOVE to be in pictures, so it came as a COMPLETE and TOTAL shock that he let me take one of him. The second miracle? He DID NOT make a silly face! I have proof!!! And I think it turned out great! Thanks honey!

PHS Class of 1999

If you were a member of the Parma High School Class of 1999, then please LISTEN UP!!! I want to be able to contact all the members so I can at least get a feel for where people are on the whole reunion thing, or at least LEAST make sure they are still alive!

So, if you have an email address for ANY member of the Class of 1999, or you are one of those lucky people, please email me with the addresses! Email me at parmahigh1999@hotmail.com!

Thanks so much!

My Sister's Kids

The other day I got a card in the mail from my baby sister telling me all about what her kids are up to. It was really fun to hear about them growing up, but really hard on the same token because I haven't seen them in over a year. When we moved down here, her baby boy, Keegan was just over 2 weeks old, and Kali was just a few months shy of turning 2.

Well, now, a year later, I still miss them terribly, and my baby sister is cooking another genetically blessed bun in her cute little oven. (Seriously, when my sister is COMPLETELY pregnant and ready to pop, she only looks pregnant from the front or the side...it's like she's hiding a basketball in her shirt cuz she doesn't seem to gain any weight anywhere else.... Don't worry, I'm packin the extra weight around for her).

Anyhoo, hopefully we will get a chance to see our family more often in the next (and coming) year(s). I sure do miss them. Here are two of the pics she sent of her kids.

Kali and Keegan (he fell down and bumped his lip, hence the "Elvis Lip" as my sister calls it.)

Here's Keegan playing ball in the park with his daddy. He is a spitting image of his daddy, but my sister thinks he looks more like her. She's totally wrong...that kid is ALL his daddy (but cuter...sorry Jeff)!

Idaho Summer Days

I gotta say, I really miss Idaho. Especially summertime. Mostly because it's really hot out here in Oklahoma, but add the humidity and the bugs, and you got M-I-S-E-R-Y for anyone who's not used to being in it. (I know I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I want to get my point across.) It's not as bad this summer (at least for me) as it was last summer, but I chalk that up to having a year under my belt adjusting to the humidity.

Anyhoo, I found a pic the other day (well, re-found it...I find them, put them in a safe place, and then start the cycle over again a couple months later). I thought I would post it here. Here's Jordan and I 6/17/06 enjoying a picnic at his parent's house in the Idaho summer weather.

Dog Park Days

Since the dog park is separated into two parts that are fenced off from each other (one side is for dogs UNDER 30 pounds, the other for dogs OVER 30 pounds), I typically take the 'babies' to the small dog side while Jordan handles the big kids. I snapped a shot of each of my babies last time we went that I thought were cute.

Also, after we were headed home and everyone was thoroughly hot, Jill layed down in my lap with the A/C blowing on her and was just loving it. Here are some of those pics too. -Sorry they're mostly blurry...that's what happens when you're A: driving (I already know, I don't need the lecture....) and B: you're REALLY close to your subject!!! AND, she was being really cute, so there's lots!

Two Peas In A Pod

Just thought I would make a quick post about my little 'peas'. Here's a pic of them waiting to pick up dad from work. They anxiously watch the door for him to come out, then they run back and forth between my lap (in the driver's seat) and the passenger seat, tails wagging like there's no tomorrow. They are SO excited when I ask them if we should "go get daddy!" All 4 dogs LOVE going for a car ride so much that if we're not sure if we're going to take one, we refer to it as a "C.R." until we're sure. After we say car ride they bounce (and run) around the house until the leashes are on and we're ready to go out the door. Most times we make them "Say Please" (speak) before we go out the door, so Jack just runs over to it, puts his front paws on the door so he's in a 'standing' position, and just speaks until we open the door. They are all so much fun.

Anyhoo, I thought this pic of 'waiting for dad' was really cute!

The Opposite Of A Tree Hugger...

That's US! On Saturday (the 12th) Jordan and I once again set out to tackle the "tree project" that was left in our backyard FROM DECEMBER that our landlord still hasn't done anything about. He did let us borrow his chainsaw though, so I guess he wasn't COMPLETELY useless. Anyhoo, we went to Walmart and got some safety goggles and gloves and headed out to the backyard. In case you forgot what it looked like out there, here are some pics.

December Trees



April Trees



July Trees

In order to cut down some of the limbs, we knew we would need a ladder. (Obviously!!) So, we got the ladder from Chase & Meghan's house (Jordan's dad bought it back in December for Jordan and Chase to share and this is the first time we've actually had a REAL need for it). Anyhoo, we got that out there, but since it's only a 6 foot we were kinda limited in what we could do. HOWEVER, we have a neighbor 2 doors down that cuts trees commercially, so I went and asked him if we could borrow a ladder. He said sure and actually brought it down to the house. While he was there he saw the "project" and he said to us (I'm not kidding) "I could help you cut some of this down, I have a chainsaw on a stick that I could go get." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, he said "A CHAINSAW ON A STICK". He quickly decided this was a good idea, so he walked off to get it leaving Jordan and I looking at each other and both picturing something like a wooden rake handle with a chainsaw and duct tape. (We ARE in Oklahoma afterall! Sorry all you Oklahoma readers....Both of You!!).

Well, to our surprise (and delight and RELIEF) he came back with a commercial chainsaw that had an extension pole on it. He sliced off some of the high branches that were broken and twisted (which was cool cuz we were looking at them thinking that even with the taller ladder there was no way we could get to them). He even picked up our landlord's chainsaw and inspected it. He decided that it needed oil and the blade sharpened, so Jordan put oil in it then he kindly sharpened the blade (which took him about 2 minutes, if that). Overall, we wouldn't have been able to accomplish as much as we did without his help. (Thanks Dan!)

Obviously we've still got a ways to go to complete the project, but at least we made a dent. Now we pretty much just have to cut up the stuff that's on the ground and set the twigs/branches out by the road for the mulch/landscape removal people (in Norman they have a regular weekly pickup day for things like grass clippings, twigs, etc. just like a regular trash day).

Special Delivery

Here's an article that was in Wednesday's edition of The Norman Transcript (our local paper). The article is about one of my co-workers, who obviously just went on maternity leave. She was due on July 23rd, but delivered her baby on the 13th. Overall, it's a pretty cool story. (Sorry about the quality, that's what happens when you scan the newspaper!) Congrats Jennifer!!!

Bad Dreams???

For those of you mommies out there (well, the mommies who's children have only 2 feet instead of 4 paws), I have to be honest about something. If you know me, then you already know #1.

#1 is that I'm a little jealous of you (I know, I'm NOT supposed to be jealous, but since it's only a LITTLE, so I think I'm fine). If you don't know me, let's just suffice it to say that I've always wanted to be a mommy, and leave it in that little nutshell.

#2 is that I'm a LITTLE tiny bit glad that my children have 4 paws insted of 2 legs!! (I know, they totally contradict each other, and my husband will vigorously shake his head at me because he HATES when I give him the explanation/rationale that it's just a woman thing and can't be explained!!)

The reason (today at least) I'm thankful that my kids have 4 paws, is that when they make a noise/cry, I typically know that is going on. When you have a new/young baby (for example), when they cry, it could mean a whole bunch of things. -Is the baby, hungry? Wet? Poopy? Tired? Sick? Hurt? Scared? Is something BIGGER the problem? Well, it's kinda nice knowing that when my babies cry, their cries sound VERY different. (I'm sure to actual moms their child's cries sound different too, but since I haven't had children, I'm basing this solely off of my babysitting experiences.)

The reason all this comes to mind, as you might have guessed, is because of {as read in my blog title} hopefully, and I know it sounds bad, Jill had a bad dream last night. (Hopefully because I don't want there to be some sort of internal problem that the vet hasn't found.) She woke up around 3:45 just CRYING like he was getting beatten to death. She is only 7 1/2 months old now, and I hate to think that she's been through some sort of trauma that would warrant bad memories, but on the other hand, I hope (YES, I'M SAYING IT AGAIN) that nothing is wrong with her. Of course, since she sleeps on a regular sized HUMAN pillow in between Jordan and I on our Queen sized bed (that I might add also sleeps Jack and Miller too--Molly likes to sleep under the bed), I knew that neither one of us had rolled on her. AND, she's very much a space hog when it comes to her mom and dad. If she's laying with either one of us, or even just sitting on our laps on the couch and another dog comes over, she FIERCELY defends her spot. We are still correcting her on this and trying to reassure her and her position in the 'pack' though.

So, needless to say, I was awake for quite a while EARLY this morning making sure my baby was okay and just petting her and talking to her softly. It seemed to help and she burrowed her head in her blanket (she LOVES to burrow) and curled up with me and drifted back off to sleep. I drifted back to sleep somewhere around 5:00 and got up late at 6:40 with a headache the size of Texas. (I'm feeling good now though, thanks for asking!) Anyhoo, when I got up, I handed her to Jordan and he took all the kids out while I got in the shower. I heard another cry from her while they were outside, but I think she was just scared. Jordan is home with her now, and so far I haven't heard anything from him about the 'activities' continuing.

I really do think it was bad dreams though, because she seems VERY healthy. She runs and runs and runs in the backyard and plays with all the dogs (she LOVES to play tug-of-war with Molly over our socks) and she plays with Jack (and follows him around) like she's always been part of the family. They have a good time playing and it's really cute, except for when I'm sitting on the couch and they have lovingly dubbed mom's lap as "base". Oh well, I still love it.

Here's a pic of Jill with one of her FAVORITE chew toys: DAD'S FOOT!!

Yes, I'm Alive!!

For those of you who've been wondering if I'm alive or not, don't worry (that, or either, sorry for the terrible news....) I'M STILL ALIVE!!! Just had some craziness that didn't warrant blogging as my top priority. I will try to post more frequently now though.