Same house, waaaay different eating habits

I want to dedicate this blog entry to all of you out there that have absolutely no problem with all types of food.   I also want to apologize to Mandy for making those cookies last Saturday.  I know we live in the same house, and we do talk and see each other daily, but somehow, putting it down on paper (blog), seems much more sincere.  And,  it's not that I don't mean it, it's just that I'm not as strong as she is, nor anyone else that can live without sugar (and junkfood). I secretly want to write a "sweets only" cookbook one of these days.  More than likely if I did that, I would be banned from the kitchen, forever.  Bill's not wild about sweet things, either, unless you don't count me! It's pretty funny when I bake cookies, or anything with sugar.  Bill will eat the one I give to him, and then can actually stay away from the good ol' cookie jar for a week or so.  One time I baked cookies and by the time he decided he wanted his second one (a week or two later), they were mysteriously gone!  He was so surprised.  If there were tons of kids living at home, it would be understandable, but, as I recall, it was only he and I...honestly!  I think we must have had a visitor that came while we were at work and devoured the morsels, don't you think?  Now that the holidays are behind us, I really don't have an excuse to bake all that fudge, pies, and yummy stuff, so I'm going to try to put on the brakes, and limit not only my own consumption of "sweets," but also the baking thereof.  Whew, that felt good!

Even though I didn't know him...

I'd like to thank someone that I don't even know.  It is he who is responsible for my day off tomorrow, and the extra sleep I'm going to get as a result of this "holiday."  Here goes:  "Thank you, Martin Luther King!"  There, I feel better.  I guess that means I'll have to thank all the famous people who, just because of their historical famousness (not really a word), I, and others like me, can sleep in!
Just had a thought...who do I thank for my summer vacation?  Anyone out there, reading this blog, help me out with this one, ok?

Here's a cute picture, to sign off.  I'm not sure what Jacob was doing here, maybe it was when Oregon lost their bowl game :)

Back to Reality

I can't believe Christmas break and beyond went so quickly.  It's great to be back home, but I want to let Jacob and Lauryn (Erin, Jesse and Landon, too) know I had a great time at their house, and I miss you guys!  We love all our kids and grandchildren, and I'm sure  that Bill and I would love to have everyone visit us this summer (hint, hint).  We could have a real party! 
It's weird here in class, as the new semester begins.  With many of my students, it's as if we're starting all over.  Some of them are just as whiney as ever, but I just hope they retained some of what they learned (or not) from last semester.  We begin testing (UBSCT, Utah Basic Skills Competency Test) in a couple of weeks, and my fingers are crossed.
I was getting my last period students ready to take a pretest (for the real thing), and one of them (a boy, a real big boy) came up and wanted to go to the bathroom.  I just hate it when it always seems to be a matter life or death.  I told him no, since we were starting the pretest, and he let me know (and the rest of the class) that he really needed to "go pee."  I told him to wait, since I would have gone up to him and quietly let him leave after we got settled.  I turned my back and he got up and left the room...that smug kid!  I didn't say anything to him when he returned, but when the bell rings to dismiss for the day, he will get to listen to my lecture on patience.

New Book

For all of you out there who are raising children, saving money (or at least trying to), here's a new book, written by a friend of Jenny's, called Centisble Meals.  This book was written by Lorae (Hunsaker) Bowdon who, with her husband, has a family of 9!  Jenny is trying to follow it and she has been saving money.  Lorae (author) apparently can save around $200 a month.  I'd say that is a BIG WOW!  If  you're interested, you can find it on Amazon.  There, that's my commercial for this blog.  Jenny and Adam want to do some traveling this summer, and you know how costly that can be.  More later...

I decided to bake one of my favorite cookies today, with the help of 3 year old Lauryn.  If she could, she would have tried to eat the whole batch...well, maybe not, since I'm sure I would have taken care of that all by myself!

"Jump For Joy!"

This is the name of the jumping place you take the kids when it's either too hot or too cold outside, or you just want to watch your kids defy gravity.  I'll take some pictures and post them later.

Lauryn really loves her animals, and tries to hide in her bucket with them!

Dallas, TX

Today we decided to head to Dallas (or somewhere nearby)  to celebrate Jacob's 9th birthday.  It's a place called "Dave and Busters," and let me tell you, it is crazy!  It's sort of like Chuck E. Cheese's on steroids. (sorry Chucky).  It was wild.  Our favorite game (and the one that gave the kids the most tickets, was the one where you pop in tokens at a rapid-fire basis and hope to knock off many precariouly perched tokens so you can win more tickets.  When we frinished that game (and allowed all the kiddies an equal opportunity to try their luck), we cashed in Jacob and Lauryn's tickets.  This is all very strange...the way they "count" the kids' tickets is you place them in a plastic bucket and they "weigh" them.  Right.  Jesse said we need to get the tickets wet next time so they'll weigh more :)  All in all, they came away with a huge pink kitty (Lauryn), a baseball cap with Dave and Busters' logo on it (Jacob), and various other treasures such as a Tinker Bell wallet, a pencil box/calculator combination, and so much more, I forgot the rest.  The important thing is the kids had fun and I really think the adults did too.  I'll download some pictures from this event tomorrow.
We also went to the mall that was attached to Dave's, and boy it was a mall on steroids, too.  There really must be something to the size of everything in Texas.  Go Longhorns!, or Oilers, or Rockets, aw heck, go everything Texas.  The only thing I'm not impressed with in Texas is a long standing tradition of the steaks in Amarillo, TX.  We ate there last spring when we helped Jesse and Erin move to Wichita Falls.  The steaks were the draw (especially the 72 oz. one), but we really weren't impressed.

The Rose Bowl Game

OK, THE GAME has officially started, and Jacob, Jesse and Juneau have become a bit crazy.  Not Juneau, just kidding, but the boys are off and running.  Here's a shot of them just prior to the game; boy, it's really intense around here!
This is what happens when Oregon scores a touchdown or fieldgoal:

The GAME ended, with the score 26-17, and if your a Ducks' fan, that's not a happy score.  I think it was hardest on Jacob.  Oh, well, there's always next year, and as Jesse said, "we're only losing 8 seniors, and the quarterback is coming back." Enough football.  I hope all had a nice New Year's Day, and the new year finds you in good health.  I'm here for about another week, and am looking forward to helping Erin and Jesse with their expanding family.  Little Landon is so cute!  I miss Bill a lot, but know that I'm needed here, and will see you soon.  Miss you too, Mandy!