At Grapevine High School, just up the road from us, a girl is graduating with the highest GPA in the 103 year school history--5.877. You would expect her to be valedictorian, right? Wrong. She graduated in 3 years, and the district policy says the valedictorian will have the highest average "for four years of high school." So the Valedictorian is a young man with a GPA of 5.64, which he earned in the required 4 years. So they are calling her "valedictorian--three year graduate." Somehow it doesn't have the same ring, does it? Plus, she doesn't get the state scholarship for "highest-ranking graduate" that goes to every accredited high school in the state. To make matters worse, the school counselor is the one who advised her to graduate in 3 years and told her she would be eligible for valedictorian because the spirit of the rule was to prevent students from transferring in from less-rigorous schools and then winning the award. Crazy, huh?
Mark your calendars, the big Bath and Bodyworks sale starts June 2. I love love love Sea Island Cotton. But I sure hope they also have the discontinued fragrance White Tea and Ginger.
Have you seen Prince Caspian? It is sooooo good!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
A Little of This and A Little of That
I don't have anything hugely exciting to post, so I'll just catch you up on what's going on around here.
"The Foreigner" is a hilarious play and C. is doing a great job in his role as Froggy. This is his 10th accent to do on stage, and he continues the British (cockney even, maybe) here at home. It's kind of funny!
D is in rehearsal for Music Man which will run most of June. He is very sad the Mavs blew it.
J has finally finished his life guard training at Carrie's former place of employment. He was one cold boy when I picked him up--literally shivering, but he did pass the test to be a deep guard. His exact words were, "If Carrie can do it, I can for sure." His Eagle project is on Saturday. Can you guess where?--at the theater of course!
18 more days of school. Need I say more? I did finally finish reading The Book Thief (Linds was right--incredible language) and Water for Elephants. I enjoyed both very much, but Water had a couple of R rated scenes--just so you know.
I am looking for a good bread recipe and a good bean recipes. All ingredients must come from items you would keep in food storage--- so no eggs (not a problem with the beans, I'm sure). Anybody have good recipes that really taste good, as in people would actually eat them, and all ingredients can be stored? Thanks in advance.
And finally, I had the first watermelon of the season today. It was good and sweet. Yeah!!! I love sweet watermelon.
May everyone's week be as great as Carrie's was last week.... :)
"The Foreigner" is a hilarious play and C. is doing a great job in his role as Froggy. This is his 10th accent to do on stage, and he continues the British (cockney even, maybe) here at home. It's kind of funny!
D is in rehearsal for Music Man which will run most of June. He is very sad the Mavs blew it.
J has finally finished his life guard training at Carrie's former place of employment. He was one cold boy when I picked him up--literally shivering, but he did pass the test to be a deep guard. His exact words were, "If Carrie can do it, I can for sure." His Eagle project is on Saturday. Can you guess where?--at the theater of course!
18 more days of school. Need I say more? I did finally finish reading The Book Thief (Linds was right--incredible language) and Water for Elephants. I enjoyed both very much, but Water had a couple of R rated scenes--just so you know.
I am looking for a good bread recipe and a good bean recipes. All ingredients must come from items you would keep in food storage--- so no eggs (not a problem with the beans, I'm sure). Anybody have good recipes that really taste good, as in people would actually eat them, and all ingredients can be stored? Thanks in advance.
And finally, I had the first watermelon of the season today. It was good and sweet. Yeah!!! I love sweet watermelon.
May everyone's week be as great as Carrie's was last week.... :)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Wild, Wild Weather
This past week bad weather from Wisconsin to Texas ruined our family's plans. Traveling Man came to town on Wednesday, but only after his flight was delayed due to 4" of snow. That night we were awakened by the tornado sirens at 3:30 am. We all rushed into J's room, which is in the center of the house, but alas, we found the tornado had already struck there and there was no room for us amid the debris. But on the good side, electricity was out in many parts of the city (good for us, not the people with no electricity), so we did not have to go to school. But of course, we didn't find that out until J had already left for school, and since I forgot to tell D., his alarm went off and he got ready for school only to walk out and find me in my jammies watching tv... It's hard to remember everything some days.
Well, lo and behold, Travelin Man's girlfriend was scheduled to arrive on Friday for a fun weekend at 6 Flags with the family, but due to winter storm advisories, her flight was cancelled. So, Travelin' Man spent many hours on the phone trying to get her a new flight (part of this time on the phone was during a professional basketball game he attended with youngest bro--so youngest bro was by himself inside the arena and Travelin' man was pacing out on the concourse, talking to the airlines).
But alas, it was not to be, and many hours later all flights, not just American, were cancelled due to a blizzard. So cute girlfriend did not get to come, and sad boyfriend wondered how on earth he was going to get home, because his flights, too, had been cancelled.
Friday morning dawned beautifully. But Travelin Man found a flight out and had to take it or risk not getting home at all. So, while Traveling Man boarded his flight (2 had already been cancelled), sisters boarded the new SUV and came home to see brother, who was already on the plane. I'm sure you see the problem.
Well, to make a long story short, I enjoyed seeing my children, even though it wasn't the planned for weekend. All the girls and I ( and cute baby boy) went to the bookstore, Sam Moon's, and two other stores, so we managed to somehow salvage the weekend. :) Shopping has saved many a day.
Even though there were 6 tornados in our area Thursday night, one did not set down in our neighborhood, at least that is what the National Weather Service said. You may decide for yourself when you view the pics below. All of these pics are very, very, very close to our house.
At the park two blocks away--the roof over the dugout:
You will need to enlarge the next two:
At a little store just down the street: the debris is the roof
See the dangling traffic signal? and the bent post on the left?
We were very fortunate not to have any damage other than a few branches blown down. Some people in our church were without electricity for 4 days.
Well, lo and behold, Travelin Man's girlfriend was scheduled to arrive on Friday for a fun weekend at 6 Flags with the family, but due to winter storm advisories, her flight was cancelled. So, Travelin' Man spent many hours on the phone trying to get her a new flight (part of this time on the phone was during a professional basketball game he attended with youngest bro--so youngest bro was by himself inside the arena and Travelin' man was pacing out on the concourse, talking to the airlines).
But alas, it was not to be, and many hours later all flights, not just American, were cancelled due to a blizzard. So cute girlfriend did not get to come, and sad boyfriend wondered how on earth he was going to get home, because his flights, too, had been cancelled.
Friday morning dawned beautifully. But Travelin Man found a flight out and had to take it or risk not getting home at all. So, while Traveling Man boarded his flight (2 had already been cancelled), sisters boarded the new SUV and came home to see brother, who was already on the plane. I'm sure you see the problem.
Well, to make a long story short, I enjoyed seeing my children, even though it wasn't the planned for weekend. All the girls and I ( and cute baby boy) went to the bookstore, Sam Moon's, and two other stores, so we managed to somehow salvage the weekend. :) Shopping has saved many a day.
Even though there were 6 tornados in our area Thursday night, one did not set down in our neighborhood, at least that is what the National Weather Service said. You may decide for yourself when you view the pics below. All of these pics are very, very, very close to our house.
At the park two blocks away--the roof over the dugout:
You will need to enlarge the next two:
At a little store just down the street: the debris is the roof
See the dangling traffic signal? and the bent post on the left?
We were very fortunate not to have any damage other than a few branches blown down. Some people in our church were without electricity for 4 days.I really enjoyed my family and I'm so glad I got to see all of the "away" children again. Hopefully next time the weather will cooperate. ;)
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Little Update
On Sunday I thought of 3 things to tell you, but now I can only remember 2. I even jotted down a quick list, but I can't find it. Isn't that just how it goes!
Anyway--CJ is not going to be Gaston in the play after all. The original Gaston is going to be able to do the whole run, so CJ was not needed :(
Here is a quick little recipe that I remembered. Lay 2 crescent rolls out in a rectangle. Layer sandwich ham and cheese (I used 2 of each) and then cover with 2 more crescent rolls. Smush the edges together so the cheese doesn't leak out and then bake according to crescent roll directions. They should brown on both sides . Fast, easy, and tasty--my kind of recipe. You could serve with salad or yogurt or fresh fruit.
Also, the TAKS Test is over and only two of my students did not pass. One student was absent and the other one speaks very little English! So that was great news :) Now if I could just get all the research papers graded....
Happy April to everyone!
Anyway--CJ is not going to be Gaston in the play after all. The original Gaston is going to be able to do the whole run, so CJ was not needed :(
Here is a quick little recipe that I remembered. Lay 2 crescent rolls out in a rectangle. Layer sandwich ham and cheese (I used 2 of each) and then cover with 2 more crescent rolls. Smush the edges together so the cheese doesn't leak out and then bake according to crescent roll directions. They should brown on both sides . Fast, easy, and tasty--my kind of recipe. You could serve with salad or yogurt or fresh fruit.
Also, the TAKS Test is over and only two of my students did not pass. One student was absent and the other one speaks very little English! So that was great news :) Now if I could just get all the research papers graded....
Happy April to everyone!
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Catching Up After Spring Break
I never did finish posting my pictures from SLC or from Meeting Jamie, so I'll just add a few really quick.
Well, back to Abuelos. Carrie and Devin at Abuelo's the weekend Jamie came down. As usual, Carrie just ordered two enchiladas. Silly Girl.
Aunt Khaki and Donny, with CJ in the background. Donny is finally becoming friends with Aunt Khaki.
Grandpa keeping Donny out of trouble.
Liz and Laura, who looks pretty happy for having just eaten a lemon.
Enjoying our family at dinner. Everyone was there except Lizzy's Chris. He and Eyan stayed home because of "the rash."
Spring Break was lots of fun. First there was the Open House in Houston. As always, it was fun to see the family and eat all the good food. On Monday morning Liz and kids and I went to Lubbock to see the two Lubbock sisters. It was a long trip as we didn't get started until 12:30 pm. But we had fun going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and going to the Science Spectrum. We also got to eat lunch with Tricia and Kathy (Sarah was sick) and with my cousin Debbie and her daughter Shandyl. It was really great visiting together for awhile. Then we went to the Science Spectrum--which was fun but really wore me out. I do not know how Carrie managed to work 5 hours after that. Maybe being around all of those shoes gives her energy--I don't know. It was especially great to see Cathy's apartment (I'm sorry we didn't get to try the pasta chicken salad) , Cathy's newly decorated office, and Carrie & Dev's decorated house. Both of those girls really know how to decorate with pictures! I am looking forward to going back sometime soon.
Today is Easter Sunday. I was having a frustrating morning--worried about two songs I had to play at church and then J woke up pretty sick with strep throat. I was running late and thinking how hard it was to get to church by 8:00 for choir. It was like everything that could go wrong did go wrong and I was feeling kind of resentful about everything that needed to be done on a Sunday morning. But once I started playing "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" and the choir started singing, it was just so beautiful--it really calmed my heart and I could feel the peace of the Savior. So, on this Easter, I am grateful for the music that touches my heart so often and helps me feel the love of the Savior. Hope you have a Happy Easter, too!
Cute baby Donevan at Abuelos when we went there with CJ and Jamie a few weekends ago.
Can you tell they are brothers?
Jumping back a few weeks to Alli's wedding in SLC: This is one of my favs--Tricia and I at Spaghetti Factory in Trolley Square. We went here the first time when she came up for Liz's birth--27 years ago! We had to go back to celebrate that memory. We even got to sit in the Trolley! Trolley Square is a lot different than it used to be, though. Since the shooting a year ago, many of the businesses have closed down. The mall was almost deserted.
It took Tricia and I a long time to find this little house in Provo, but since we were going down memory lane anyway, we had to find the first little house Chris and I ever bought. We about gave up (since neither of us could remember the address) until she spotted Deseret Industries, then we knew to cut through the parking lot and we finally found it without too much trouble. I decided after that little excursion that there is more traffic in the Provo/Orem area than in SLC. One final note, it is really hard to find a Utah teeshirt. We went to two malls , two grocery stores, a sproting goods store, and two Walgreens. We decided they need a little of our Texas Pride up there!
We were hoping to visit LA on our next "sisters' trip", but our hoped for tour guide is moving to India, so we're not sure where we'll go next.
Well, back to Abuelos. Carrie and Devin at Abuelo's the weekend Jamie came down. As usual, Carrie just ordered two enchiladas. Silly Girl.
Aunt Khaki and Donny, with CJ in the background. Donny is finally becoming friends with Aunt Khaki.
Grandpa keeping Donny out of trouble.
Liz and Laura, who looks pretty happy for having just eaten a lemon.
Enjoying our family at dinner. Everyone was there except Lizzy's Chris. He and Eyan stayed home because of "the rash."Spring Break was lots of fun. First there was the Open House in Houston. As always, it was fun to see the family and eat all the good food. On Monday morning Liz and kids and I went to Lubbock to see the two Lubbock sisters. It was a long trip as we didn't get started until 12:30 pm. But we had fun going to see Alvin and the Chipmunks and going to the Science Spectrum. We also got to eat lunch with Tricia and Kathy (Sarah was sick) and with my cousin Debbie and her daughter Shandyl. It was really great visiting together for awhile. Then we went to the Science Spectrum--which was fun but really wore me out. I do not know how Carrie managed to work 5 hours after that. Maybe being around all of those shoes gives her energy--I don't know. It was especially great to see Cathy's apartment (I'm sorry we didn't get to try the pasta chicken salad) , Cathy's newly decorated office, and Carrie & Dev's decorated house. Both of those girls really know how to decorate with pictures! I am looking forward to going back sometime soon.
Today is Easter Sunday. I was having a frustrating morning--worried about two songs I had to play at church and then J woke up pretty sick with strep throat. I was running late and thinking how hard it was to get to church by 8:00 for choir. It was like everything that could go wrong did go wrong and I was feeling kind of resentful about everything that needed to be done on a Sunday morning. But once I started playing "Jesus Once of Humble Birth" and the choir started singing, it was just so beautiful--it really calmed my heart and I could feel the peace of the Savior. So, on this Easter, I am grateful for the music that touches my heart so often and helps me feel the love of the Savior. Hope you have a Happy Easter, too!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Meeting Jamie
At his apartment.
At Abuelos. Aren't they a cute couple?
Being silly (but they really did this all the time :)
Still at Abuelos (we were there a looong time)
MMMMM MMMMMMM good!I'm not sure where this text will end up once I get the pictures on, so just know it is supposed to be at the beginning. I have been trying to get this post to save since Sunday, but between my internet being down and blogspot not saving anything, it has been a frustrating experience.
Anyway, Traveling Man brought his friend Jamie home to meet the family last weekend. We hope she liked us as much as we liked her! They met when he gave a presentation at her work a few months ago, and we noticed over Thanksgiving that he was spending a lot of time on the phone talking to "someone." Evidentally they are still spending lots of time on the phone talking, since they were snowed in on her birthday and they told us they talked for 18 hours straight! (They live in different towns.) We had fun playing ping-pong, eating at Abuelos, and sitting around the kitchen table late at night talking.
We are excited to see them both again in April when Traveling M an comes home to play four performances as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast! We are really looking forward to that!!!!
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wedding Pics
Cute Aubrey and Grandpa Karl
Outside the temple
It was a lovely wedding cake!
The beautiful sisters. I thought it was so clever to have each bridesmaid use the same material, but choose her own pattern. All the dresses were so pretty and becoming. Good idea!
Cousins throwing kisses to cousins. We were all thinking about those who weren't there. :(I had so much fun on my trip to Utah. I just wanted to hurry and post these pictures because I knew my girls were wanting to see the dresses and cake, etc. I'm so glad I got to attend the wedding! The ceremony was wonderful, everyone looked beautiful, the food was delicious, and the company was entertaining! I'm so glad my sister got to go with me because we had a great time together! I hope we can do it again sometime.
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