So grab a cup of coffee, because this may be my longest blog entry yet... I've got lots to catch you up on!! :)
As you know from my last entry, our computer met with an untimely death... I was in the middle of a project--proofing pics from a shoot-- when it just quit. I took it to the shop for a "free" diagnostic, already knowing that it was probably the power supply, motherboard or processor--because Bj said so!. 24 hours after I dropped it off, they called to tell me it was either the power supply, motherboard, or the processor--and not really fixable due to the computers age... Thanks. That was
really informative. Insert eyeroll here! Then they tried to sell me a sub-par, piece of junk for $399. I quickly informed him that I knew a little more about computers than to buy
that and that I would be by to pick mine up shortly. Of course, we weren't ready to drop a grand on a new computer, but are you ever really ready for that?? So, we picked out a really sweet "box" as Beej calls them, and told the guy we wanted it. Of course, the model we chose was OUT OF STOCK in all of the stores within 400 miles and the warehouses as well, with no idea when it would be in. Aaaaarrrrrgggghhh.... We wandered around the store trying to figure out what to do next and came across an open-box computer pretty cheap. (Not nearly as nice as the original choice, but less than half the price.) That's the one we brought home. I'm still hoping for the nicer version, but it can wait. It would be so nice to have 2 computers. Sure would make for fewer arguments around here... And, can I just say that Windows Vista stinks! I am still trying to figure out parts of it, and of course, there are MANY compatibility issues with our software and hardware, like our printer/ scanner. But, I'm up and running, at least, and I can work with pictures and play on the internet... and update this blog. Ha!
On to happier things... Most of you already know our good news from this past Sunday, but just in case---Lance was baptized!!! He talked about it a few months ago, but we sort of put him on hold, wanting him to be sure. Last Saturday night, he came to us and said he was really ready and didn't want to wait. After we talked to him a while, we decided he really
was ready and decided to do it the next day. I let Jim and Jen know, so they could be there. Tyler and Hadley were to be returning from a church retreat that morning, so we decided to do it after church to be sure they made it back in time. David baptized him and did a beautiful job. The pictures from the front were taken by Kyle Wade with Jen's camera. The ones from the back are mine, taken as I stood on the ledge of the baptistery trying to see... Little did I know that you could see me from certain angles of the auditorium and Jayme Bandy (Studer, Horne, whatever...) said she was afraid I was going to fall in... LOL! Good thing that didn't happen. I haven't played with it yet, but if I can get the video Jim took up on the blog, I will do that, too. We're very proud of his decision!!! Afterwards, we ended up going out to Red Lobster to celebrate and let Lance have whatever he wanted... He chose a pound of snow crab legs at a mere $16.50. Yikes!
Later that same day, we got together with Debra and Lonnie, Chris and Jayme, Todd and Debbie and all the kids. Jayme's daughter Jessica was just barely there--she had to get back to Lubbock for school (LCU). Hadley had a soccer practice and missed altogether--I hated that!, but I think all the other kids were there. Debra and Lonnie moved back to town about 3 weeks ago. Lonnie will continue to work for the same company he worked for in FL, but he will work from home. He will travel quarterly, and occasionally other times, but hopefully not too much. They just decided they were ready to be back closer to family and packed up and came home. Cool, huh? They lived in FL about 14 years or so. I can't remember for sure, but they were gone a long time. We did a 'girls night' the week before, but wanted to get our families together, too. We had a great time--lots of food and laughter. I hope we'll do it more often. It's so neat to have friends that you've known forever. They feel like family, really. I didn't take pictures of everyone else, but we did get the kids... From the top--Andrew (Deb and Lonnie's oldest), Tyler with his eyes closed, Nathan (Greg and Jayme's son), next row--Logan ( Deb and Lonnie's youngest), Lance, Lauren (Todd and Debbies oldest), Jessica (Greg and Jayme's oldest), Nick (Chris and Jayme's youngest), last row--Jordan (Todd and Debbie's youngest), Ben (Chris and Jayme's oldest). Nick and Ben are Jayme's stepkids.
Now, on to the first day of school!!! Tyler started his junior year, Hadley began the 7th grade, and Lance is big man on the elementary campus--5th grade. Unfortunately, the first day of public school coincided with the first day of WT, so I had to work the first 4 days this week. It was my long hours--7 to 7. That added to the stress a bit--really had lots of schedules to work out. Thank goodness Anita is here--she saved us over and over... Tyler has actually done homework a couple of nights this week--I think he's already done more at home this week than he did the entire year last year!! Ha! He's got a pretty tough schedule--pre-calculus and U.S. history for college credit (YAY) and physics... It may be a hard year. He had his first JV football game on Thursday--another thing I missed. He didn't play a lot, but did well while he was out there. He's got a new position this year--middle linebacker. We'll see how that goes...
Hadley is in the middle of volleyball tryouts for school. I've heard there are over 70 girls trying out for about 23 spots. Many of the girls are already very skilled, so the competition is tough. Crazy!! She has had tryouts after school for a couple of hours all week long followed by soccer practice 2 nights, then had to be on the court by 6:45 this a.m. and again after school. She's really exhausted. I hope she can catch up on sleep this weekend. Cuts are Tuesday. I have noticed, though, that she's been so happy with school. She seems very confident in herself and hasn't had any of the social anxiety/ friend-issues like last year. Let's hope that lasts all year!
Lance has decided not to do football this year. I'm sorry he won't have the camaraderie of the team, but I'm relieved a little about the whole 'tackle' thing. That's scary when he's so much smaller than everyone else! He is doing fencing--had his first class on Monday night. So far he loves it. David said it was kind of a "geek fest", but oh well. What 10-year old boy doesn't love swords!!! ;) He has signed up to do almost every extra job/privilege that 5th graders do at school and is really excited about them all. I think he'll have a great year!
I had to be at WT long before school started, so David took the morning off to get them there and took pics for me. This one of Lance is a tradition--we always take a picture of the Windsor kids at this spot every year... Kind of sad to only see one kid in elementary!
My buy was uneventful. Apart from missing so much of this first week--which I HATE!, it all went well. I didn't do much buying back, but I did help the store by doing refunds.
Lots and lots of refunds... I'm glad it's over.
Tonight, we're headed to the first Sandie varsity football game. We have a group of friends we usually eat with beforehand, then go watch the game. It's fun--totally a social thing for me as I don't watch much of the game... But,
everybody who is
anybody will be there! Gotta love Friday Nights in Texas!!! Anyway, I guess that catches y'all up a bit. I'm sorry for the lag in posts. Hopefully I didn't lose
all of my blog-readin' public! LOL. So if you made it this far... you deserve to have a great Labor Day weekend! ;)
Lance and his good buddy, Barrett, have flag duty this week and next. Lance was excited because they were the 'first' ones chosen. Quite an honor, I would say. I know they choose responsible students to do these jobs all year, but the first few kind of set the pace for the year. We're pretty proud... And, to balance out the Lance-fest going on this week, be sure to look for sports pics later. Hadley will (thinking positively here) have volleyball tomorrow and Tyler will have football.
We ate at the Hard Rock Cafe on the river walk, and I spotted this 7th grade yearbook picture of Kurt Cobain and thought Bj would like to see it... It said "Class of 1985", but I don't know if he was in 7th grade in '85 or that is the year he graduated? Anyway...
We visited Fiesta Texas theme park, Sea World, the Alamo and the river walk. Definitely crammed a lot into those 3 days!! The kids loved feeding the dolphins--always a neat experience. The Shamu shows were great, of course. I think the kids liked the sea lion, otter and walrus shows the best. I really enjoyed the dolphin show, too. It's pretty amazing what they can get the animals to do! Lance got to ride almost everything at Fiesta--they weren't checking height much. He was actually just a little shy of the 54"--with shoes on-- and loved riding all those big rides. Sea World was a lot pickier and he didn't get to ride the Great White (roller coaster)---he was really disappointed!! Hopefully next year... Y'all pray for some growth, ok?? He really wants to be taller. Seems like all his buddies-even the short ones--have hit spurts and gone way past him.
So, you know those creepy (for the most part) guys who come to spray your address on the curb for $8-10?? I'm never happy with the job they do, so I decided we should do it ourselves. I'm pretty picky--shocking, no doubt! So, we spent about 10 bucks on supplies, an hour creating the stencil, and an hour or so painting, including time with a paint brush to fix mistakes, and this is what we ended up with. Not too bad, but we did over-spray the green pretty badly. (one of my gripes with the other guys) Was it worth it?? Not sure yet. I do like my numbers better....
creme brulee... yummy! Something I've always wanted to try and when we saw a kit at World Market, we just decided to go for it! It turned out pretty well. I think we overdid the torch a little and slightly burned the top, but it was still good!
and dr. pepper jelly belly candy ;) ***i'm noticing a trend... seems as if we've done a lot of eating the past few days. ha!
Tried a little hamburger place over on Grand yesterday. It was different, for sure! David ate there with a co-worker a while back and wanted me to try it. The dining area wasn't clean---I had to keep consciously ignoring that--but the food was DELICIOUS!
