All of the eighth graders at Carson’s school have to make a roller coaster each year. There are certain requirements regarding turns, drops, etc., but other than that, creativity is key. Carson, in true Carson fashion, designed a rock’n'roll roller coaster named “Gene’s Tongue” in honor of Gene Simmons. The marble rolled right out of Gene’s mouth and passed through rock’n'roll posters, a pedal, and even a guitar. Great job, Carson!!

Click on the middle of the picture for the video to play!!

As I’m constantly trying to figure out “who” Kitty really is and what really makes her tick, I have come to one realization. I am a REAL Colorado girl! I L-O-V-E the snow! I don’t even mind the cold as long as there is SNOW!!! And we definitely have it! It is so clean, so pure, so absolutely beautiful. I have no idea how much snow we have, but Rowland says it’s about 30 inches, and it’s still snowing! BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I don’t care if it’s the middle of April. A nice, clean coat of snow lifts my spirits. It’s so bright and clean, washing all the old away. From now on when I sing about Jesus’ washing me white as snow, I know EXACTLY what that means!

I try not to take pictures without people, but it’s just too beautiful to neglect.

And My Daughters Still Wear Shorts!

Thank you, God, for raising Your Son from the dead for without His resurrection, His death would have been in vain. Without His Resurrection, we would be destined to a life with no hope of an eternity with You.

All of my children say that Easter is their favorite of all holidays that we celebrate. I’m not sure why exactly, but it is always filled with joy and laughter, the kind that comes from just being together as a family. After church and short naps, we went across the street to Joe and Jeannie’s and enjoyed a wonderful late lunch / early dinner with their family. We waited for our traditional Easter egg hunt until we got home around 6:00. This year, Carson decided to help Jia with her hunting rather than to hunt himself. What a fabulous day!!! Enjoy the pictures!

Our Family with Our Newest “Daughter,” Hollie

Really, Rowland, Purple?

You Know What They Say about Girls with Guitars!

Carson “Supervising”

Sissy on the Hunt

William’s Sharp Eye

Can You Help Me, Daddy?

Jia had her first research paper due today. Yes, she’s in Kindergarten, and yes, I think it’s ridiculous for her to have a research paper, and yes, no one asked my opinion! The instructions for this paper said to go to the library, check out books, and read about the animal of your choice. For extra information, the internet would also be a great resource. The student was to gather pictures from magazines, draw pictures, or print pictures off of the computer, then write a paper about their animal. Also included in the paper was whether the animal was domestic or wild.

Jia chose a turtle. No, we did not go to the library and check out several books to read about turtles. Obviously, her teacher doesn’t have five children at home! In fact, we didn’t even have to get on the internet to do research as Jia already knew about turtles. Keke (surrogate mom for the night) helped Jia find pictures on the internet, print them, and even cut them out. I had the almost overwhelming task of helping my kindergartner write the sentences that she chose while erasing almost every other letter to make certain that all letters were formed correctly and were sitting on the line. Her four sentence report took us an hour to write, and that was after her sister had already helped her write the first sentence!

Today, she’ll present her research paper, and I’ll pack it away proudly in her special box. For more information on turtles, read her paper below!

Jia went for her quarterly check-up at Children’s Hospital to determine how her growth is progressing. She has grown a little over an inch since her last visit in November. The good news is that she is maintaining her curve on the graph, although she is still well below “normal.” She’s 104.5 cm which is right around 40 inches tall. Now that she’s 6 1/2, she’s actually outgrowing (barely but definitely a change) her size 4 jeans. She’s such a precious little peanut!!

The doctor increased her nightly “tall shot” dosage once again, and we’ll be able to stay on these high doses through November of this year. After that, we’ll go to the lower dosage for two years (because we’re in a study), and I’m praying that we’ll still see good results. The doctor told me today that even if the study doesn’t continue past the original four years, Jia would still be a candidate for the growth hormone injections. Hopefully, our insurance would cover the shots, but if not, I’m definitely willing to give up a cruise a year for my baby girl!

Anytime I take Jia anywhere, she seems to always add humor to my life. Today was no exception. Since our appointment had to be re-scheduled because of our cruise, the doctor was working us into her schedule. We waited FOREVER, and of course, this was the first time that I had forgotten to take her a Leapster or Nintendo DS for her to play. She was incredibly bored, and when the doctor came into the room FINALLY, Jia said to her, “We sure have had to wait a long time for you.” I apologized, but in my mind, I was laughing my bootie off!!! Out of the mouths of babes!

Playing in the Water Park on the Ship

Her Hysterical Laugh!

A Little Girl Who Still Loves Her Blankie!

It’s true! This actually happened to me last night/this morning. I took care of all of my nightly routines, put kids to bed after baths, homework, and dinner, gave Jia her shot, straightened the house, finished up the laundry that my precious “daughter” Hollie had helped me with (amazing girl!), washed my face, brushed my teeth, checked on the kids, set the alarm, and hit the bed. Little Kitty awoke in the middle of the night with a tummy ache, and I found our medicine right in the closet where I always leave it, used the same restroom that I use each night, and went back to sleep at 3:00 a.m. Between 3:00 and 6:00 a.m., my house became someone else’s.

When my alarm went off at 6:00 a.m., I actually jumped right out of bed for fear that I would sleep through getting the “big kids” to school. My eyes seldom see the light of day before 7:15 so I was rather impressed with myself. At first, it seemed that I had awakened in my house. I found my toothbrush and paste in the same old drawer and grabbed a sweatshirt from its normal place, then headed downstairs to awaken Carson. Still, all felt the same. As I climbed the stairs back to the main floor, however, I began to feel as though I had entered someone else’s world. Sage, our Lab, and Valentino, our cat, were both looking at me like, “Okay, Mom, do the next thing! We’re ready!! We’re ready!!!” As I watched Sage dance around, I assumed that she needed to go potty so I opened the back door for her to go out. While Sage sat looking at the opened door and danced around some more, Valentino began to meow very loudly over and over again. Obviously, I was missing something. What’s supposed to happen now? I’ve never run through this part of the “routine.” I began realizing that this part of the day, the house is Rowland’s house, and I really have no knowledge of how it works!

Sage walked me through feeding her, and Valentino showed me where his food was kept. (No, I don’t even know where the cat food is kept in our house, nor do I know what the bird eats! I just know that Rowland cooks for the bird, Huey.) I did remember that Sage had to have a thyroid pill twice a day and had to go hunt down her pills that I’d picked up yesterday at the vet. Of course, by then, she had finished eating so I couldn’t drop it in the food bowl as she’s accustomed. I wrapped it in bread, fed her, then took her cue to let her out - finally! Valentino is an inside cat who gets to go play outside in the morning so he also let me know that it was his time to go out as well. Relax. Done. Done?

My original plan was to go back to sleep while Hollie and Carson got ready for school. I figured that I still had a good 30 minute nap coming my way! As I walked by the clock, though, I remembered that Rowland made lunches for all of the kids except William. I definitely knew how to make lunches - for the little ones. As I pulled out the bread, I didn’t know what kinds of sandwiches and snacks went into the big kids’ lunches. After all, they’re gone when I get up. I vaguely remembered Hollie mentioning that Rowland made her PB&J, and I knew that Rowland added bologna to my grocery list for Carson’s lunch. What did he put in with their sandwiches? Surely, everyone likes tortilla chips, a drink, and a napkin. Do they get a dessert? What? Do they have snack time like the little ones?

Having completed the lunches, I looked at the clock and realized that it was 6:52, and I hadn’t made anything for breakfast. When I get up, Rowland ALWAYS has biscuits or sweet rolls on the cookie sheet on top of the stove. Here I was, running out of time and didn’t even have milk for cereal. Oh, well…….no answer for that one!

After calling Carson upstairs, drying his hair, putting in his contacts, and sending him down for juice, his shoes, and his lunch, I found Hollie and asked her what time Rowland usually took them to school. Once again, this was all foreign to me. 7:10 was our target, and we were right on time. I noticed that she put William’s snack in her backpack and decided that Rowland must make snacks for the big kids, too. While walking out the door, I made that mental note for the future and headed to the high school. As soon as we got in the car, Carson asked, “Why’d you give me goldfish?” (I didn’t give him goldfish. That was Kitty’s snack.) Hollie responded that she thought that I was just being sweet and giving them a snack today. Another mental note…..Rowland must not put out the little kids’ snacks until he gets back from taking the big kids to school.

Of course, I had to ask Hollie which direction Rowland drove on school mornings, which lane to get into, where to drop her off, and how to get out of the parking lot. Carson informed me that Rowland always drives over the median when he’s leaving the school parking lot - not for any particular reason but just because he has a Land Rover, and he can! He gave me directions out of the parking lot, and we reached his school just as a bell was ringing. I panicked as I looked at my clock which only said 7:23, and I thought he wasn’t late until 7:30. All was fine, though, as he explained to me that we were early (something that has NEVER happened to me when I’ve dropped Carson off in the morning) and that the bell was only the first one. As he exited the car, I drove home very proud of myself for having successfully transformed into my husband and actually completing the duties in HIS home.

As I walked into the door at 7:35, I recognized that I had arrived back in MY house where there were three little ones waiting. Bring on Round 2!

There’s always the age-old question of what happens to the socks when they go into the washer and never reappear from the dryer. How about……why do smoke alarm batteries only go dead in the middle of the night? Beep……beep……beep……and you search the house, and even if you find it……who took the last 9 volt battery?

What a fabulous time we had in the Caribbean this past weekend as we cruised out of Miami with our wonderful friends Dave and Carrie (San Jose)! After flying to Miami, we met Dave and Carrie at the airport and set out for our hotel right on the beach. That night, we had our first experience riding in a limo as the restaurant sent one to pick us up at our hotel. It may not have been the finest, but it was definitely a lot of fun!

The Kids in the Limo

After spending the night, we boarded the ship on Sunday morning and set sail later that afternoon on the Royal Caribbean Freedom of the Seas, the largest cruise ship on the waters right now. There were 4000 passengers and 1400 crew members on board the fourteen story ship.

Rowland and I Getting Ready to Board the Ship

William and Jia Set to Board

KeKe Excited(?) to Hit the Ship

The Kids’ Adjoining Room

Carson Enjoying One Last Cell Call

Our first port was San Juan, Puerto Rico, which was “okay.” William’s favorite part of the day was running up and down a beautiful grassy knoll where the fort for the city is located. The adults’ favorite part of the day was sitting in a little courtyard enjoying a nice cold beer! The shopping left much to be desired, as did any beach activities. All in all, it was rather uneventful. After going to bed at 8:10 that night, I was ready for the next port, St. Thomas, early Wednesday morning.

William on the Knoll

Carson Overlooking a Cemetery & the Ocean

The Adults Enjoying a Cold Beer

Narrow Bricked Streets
(Carrie and I: “Ready? Okay!)

Our Fantastic Four

Jia Holding and Feeding the Pigeons - GROSS!

The waters of St. Thomas are absolutely beautiful, and I must say that this was all of our favorite port. We went to Magen’s Bay, voted one of the top ten most beautiful beaches in the world. Rowland and Carson rented a kayak, then gave me a turn with Rowland. It was my first time in a kayak, and Rowland was a great teacher. We paddled over to a deserted area and climbed around in the rocks until we realized that our kayak was being swept to sea! The younger kids laughed harder that day than I’ve heard them in a while. They jumped the waves over and over again, while Carrie and I swam out well above my head. Having always been a little afraid of the ocean (too many Shark movies!), it was my first experience going deeper than thigh high. I felt like a little girl as we swam and did flips in the water. I must admit that the margarita that the bartender made me seemed to give me a little shot of courage!! What a beautiful, wonderful time we had!

Carson and Rowland in the Kayak

William Buried Alive

Our last port was St. Maarten, and it was a beautiful little town. As we rode in the taxi boat over to the shopping area, the driver was playing reggae Christian music, Luciano. Fabulous!! We did end up finding a few bootleg copies and are hoping to find some more on line. After shopping in the jewelry stores (yes, Rowland dropped some money on me once again! Lucky girl I am!!!), we had a the best burger EVER on the beach before heading back to the ship.

On the ship, William learned to boogie board on the Wave Rider. He and Carrie were brave and quite talented. Of course, Carrie’s biggest challenge was keeping her bathing suit on!! We all sat and cheered them on as they rode the waves. Kitty made two friends, both from Albuquerque, NM, and stayed at the Kids’ Adventure Club from 10 p.m. until 1:30 a.m., 12:45 a.m., and midnight. Obviously, the girl is major social!! Jia stayed close to me the whole trip, feeling a little nervous on the ship, but she had a blast playing in the water in the water park on board. She also fell in love with Dave and even practiced her flirtatious moves and giggles with him! William swam a lot and ate a ton of pizza while Carson saw every show in the big theater and saw every movie in the on-board movie theater. The boat had an ice skating rink in the middle, and while none of us actually skated, we did enjoy the fantastic show.

Kitty Fresh Out of Kids’ Adventure

The Girls Enjoying the Water

William on the Boogie Board

Carrie After a Great Ride!

Of course, Rowland worked out each morning while I caught a few extra ZZZZZs before breakfast. He and I enjoyed our late night dining with Carrie and Dave in the formal dining area and often had a glass of wine after dinner in one of the many bars on the ship. We definitely enjoyed too much food, too much drink, and lots of never-enough laughter with our dear friends.

Vintage for Our Nightly Before Dinner Wine

Presentation AND Tasty!

Decadent Desserts

Farewell Party in the Dining Room

Once we departed the ship and hugged our friends good-bye on Sunday, we headed to the Jungle Park in Miami where we met TONS of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. William and Kitty were able to participate in one of the shows, which was a real treat, while Jia sat next to me and took pictures. Carson was able to get lost even in the Park (as he was most of the time on board the ship) and enjoyed the animals as well. The monkeys were entertaining, as they always are, and the petting zoo was full of goats. One goat ate holes in my shirt, giving me the opportunity to go shopping for a new one!

At the end of a long day, we settled into our Miami hotel to sleep for a few hours before getting up at 3:00 a.m. to catch our 6:00 flight. We came home to fresh snow, mounds of laundry, and our cozy beds. Tonight, it’s great to be home. I love vacation, but I always long to come home to Colorado, my favorite place in the whole world!

Bathing suit shopping! Ugh! Gross! Depressing!! As I’ve gotten older (yes, 43 now), I have grown to hate bathing suit shopping more and more. Shorts - bad enough! Jeans - torturous! Bathing suits - should be outlawed once you hit 40! There are some things in life that you shouldn’t have to deal with for your entire life. My thighs are the least attractive part of my anatomy (which I know really scares some of you who’ve seen my nose and my chesticles!). Where do you put them in a bathing suit? You can’t hide them. Those legs are just hanging out for the world to see. Of course, so are my chesticles as well as my upper arms. Isn’t it bad enough that my husband has to look at them? Why does the rest of the world have to to be tortured as well?

At 19, I thought I looked fat in my skimpy bikini. At 28, I knew that I looked fat in my skimpy bikini. At 38, I didn’t really go for the bikini at all but felt pretty cute in my one piece. At 43…….not so much! It seems to me that once you have your first hot flash, you should automatically be exempt from wearing bathing suits. There should be something really cute like leggings and a cute little tunic top that you get to graduate to once peri-menopause hits. Some kind of reward for turning older should be given. Those over-40 should not have the same requirements as those under 40 and certainly not the same requirements as those under 30!

This afternoon and tonight, little Kitty, Hollie (my 18 year old surrogate daughter), and I had a girls’ night. We shopped and ate and went to see a movie. We laughed and had a wonderful time together. Truly! Then, right before the movie, I lost my ever-lovin’ mind and went bathing suit shopping. Those tankinis looked pretty cute from the waist up. The problem was that I couldn’t find the leggings that went with them! I called Rowland in the middle of the store and cried. Yes, I actually cried while shopping! Anything that makes you cry at a store shouldn’t be in the store! Shopping is therapy; it doesn’t send you to therapy! Stinks! The only bright side of the traumatic experience is that now I’ll have something to discuss with my therapist when I go tomorrow! Thanks, bathing suits!

(And, no, there will be no pictures attached to this rant!)

Anything you want…we can make it happen
Stand up and turn around
Never let them shoot us down
Never….Never….Never Run Away!!!
- Heart

Those of you who’ve known Rowland and me for any length of time know that we’ve had some major peaks in our relationship and some MAJOR valleys! Our commitment to our relationship as we’ve walked through those valleys of darkness has never completely disappeared, thankfully! Someone once described me as a “pit bull” in relationships because I hold on for all I have in me. Fortunately, Rowland’s a fighter as well! And God has truly given us the endurance to make it through the last 15+ years together. We’ve definitely come out stronger on this side and have a closer bond than we ever thought possible. He’s my rock, and I’m his, and nothing (especially Satan’s prowling around!) is going to shoot us down!

However, sometimes dates and times cause a few problems! As I wrote in an earlier post, we showed up for the Heart concert a night early. It was great, though, because we were able to have two nights out in a row. Hmmm…..wonder if that was REALLY a mistake on my precious husband’s part…..

We dressed up again on Saturday night and headed to the concert where we had fabulous seats at the Wells Fargo Theatre. We were only twelve rows back and on the outside - plenty of dancing room! Ann and Nancy Wilson definitely came to give a show worth singing and dancing through. They didn’t pull any new songs out of their hats but played every song you’d identify with them through the years. College days were swarming in my heart!

We go to concerts often, really often. I’ve figured out that a concert is a perfect date for us. Rowland absolutely loves good, classic rock (and some country). He watches every lick on the guitar, every beat of the drum, listens to all the cool musical movements happening. I, on the other hand, love to sing and dance. While he’s tuned in to the musical expertise, his precious wife is acting like a fool next to him, shaking what she’s got and singing with all her might. I kept thinking that Ann and Nancy would hear me, see my amazing moves, and call me on stage to hand me a mic!

Well, no mic, and no one asked Rowland to rip a guitar lead either, but we had a blast - once again! Great memories!! Great time!! Hot night with my handsome man!!! And the knowledge that neither one of us will ever let them shoot us down!!!!

A Little Last Minute Mending of My New Jeans
(Rowland: “Starting early, huh?”)

I love that Man……Truly!!

Nowhere More Secure Than in His Arms!