LIFE'S LESSONS

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

This came in the mail today from Todd's work and i thought it was amazing. 

Lessons Life has taught me...

1. Life isn't fair, but it is still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends and parents will.  Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month

6. You don't have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

7. Save for reitrement starting with your first paycheck.

8. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

9. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

10. It's okay to let your children see you cry.

11. Don't compare your life to others, You have no idea what their journey is all about.

12. If a relationship has to be secret, you shouldn't be in it.

13. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.

14. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

15. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

16. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.

17. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.  Don't save it for a special occasion.  Today is special.

18. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.

19. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

20. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "in five years, will this matter?"

21. Always choose life

22. Forgive everyone of everything.

23. What other people think of you is none of your business

24.  Time heals almost everything.  Give time time.

25. However good or bad a situation

26. Don't take your life so seriously....no one else does.

27. Believe in Miracles

28. Don't audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.

29. Growing old beats the alternative--dying young.

30. Your children get only one childhood with you.  Make the most of it.

31. Get outside everyday.  Miracles are waiting everywhere.

32. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back

33. Envy is a waste of time.  You already have all you need.

34. The best is yet to come.

35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

My personal favorite is #30. What a great way to look at it! What's your favorite?

Christmas Program 2009

Last night was the Indian Hills First grade Holiday Program.  All of the kids looked super cute.  It started with a little bit of drama and I could tell that the Music teacher was less than thrilled with a few of the kids but it ended up being a pretty cute program! Here's the lowdown.... When the kids came on the stage there was a girl that pushed a much-smaller-than-her boy off the bleachers and then started yelling:  "He pushed me first!"  It was a moment where everyone in the room (except that kids parents, I assume) were thanking GOD that it wasn't their kid!!  Then, to add fuel to the fire, this same kid was pointing and laughing throughout the program....UGH.  It only takes one brat...er...kid to ruin it, huh? 

Here is a photo of Karley and I at our house before the program.  We were waiting on Todd's mom and princess Madison to get here!

When we arrived at the school I took Karley to the lunch room where her teacher was waiting for everyone.  Here are the 2 of them.  She loves her teacher!

Karley and Tanner getting ready to line up!

Karley and Kayden....she lives down the street from us and is in the same class this year. 

Karley and her friend, Allie

After the program family photo! 

Karley and princess Madison getting ready to go to dinner.

Overall it was a fun night!  I was very proud of Karley---she did such a good job!  It is hard to believe that they only have 5 days of school left before winter break!  This year is going super fast! 

Have a great Chrismas! 

My (late) Thanksgiving things I am thankful for List.

I missed the Thanksgiving "things I am thankful for" bandwagon....We did have a great Thanksgiving. It was relaxing which is always nice. Since I forgot to take some photos this year (oops!) I thought I would make my own list of things I am thankful for....This is in no particular order but here goes.

I am thankful for my endless opportunities....
My parents always told me to never settle. Even if I truly believe that I have everything I need and I think I’m happy, there is always so much in this world to take in. We have a choice to make and it whether or not we want to grab the opportunities life throws at us or watch others take it. I try to teach Karley that life is limitless. We have this pillow displayed in our house that says: You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose. It's a classic quote and it is so, so, so true.

I am thankful for Vacations...I am very lucky here.....we have been to several AMAZING places. I think the coolest part of it is that we travel as a family. My daughter is so lucky to be able to see so many amazing places and Todd and I can't imagine going without her. She is so much fun (and only little once!)

I am thankful for All the men and women who've served our country past, present, and future...Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

I am very, very thankful for My amazing husband and daughter...There's nothing I wouldn't do for these two! They give me a reason to live, a reason to be a better person, and a reason to wake up before noon. :) I love you guys!!!

I am thankful for my group of friends who I can spend hours with gossiping or just hanging out. Here is one of my favorite quotes by Dr Seuss...Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind. :)

I am thankful that my husband works for such an amazing company that values family and is really, really good to us. He works for one of the rare companies that, if you are Willing to work hard, it will pay off for you.

I am thankful for my family who I would do anything for and I know I would get the same in return. I am very lucky to have a mom and sister I can call at 2 in the morning just to talk. I am pretty sure I wouldn't call my dad at 2am to talk but he is pretty super duper.

And last, but not least I am thankful that i have learned the value of discriminating between true friends, and acquaintances. What does this mean??? Well.....nevermind. :)

Karley has a Holiday Program this week so plan on seeing some really awesome photos later in the week.

I also want to give a shout out to Todd's BFF Sunni and her new (amazing) husband Curtis! We went to their reception a few weeks back and had an amazing time! Todd couldn't stop talking about how excited he is for her and how happy she was. My wish for you two is that you have as much fun as Todd and I have. Congrats and we love you!

Happy Holidays!

Family Vacation 2009

For the past 10 days we have been on a (much needed) vacation. We began our trip by going to Disney World and hanging out at Mickey's not so scary Halloween party. It was a lot of fun but we were so exhausted because our flight left KC at 6am......Here are a few photos from the evening there.

Karley and Papa riding the roller coaster.



Aunt Jamie and Karley on the Buzz Lightyear ride.

This picture is at Cocoa Beach. We stopped here right before we got on the boat to do a little shopping.

Here is Karley at the Sports Bar on the Carnival Glory ship. We were waiting to set sail (and checking out some football scores)

We got a balcony room this time and it was awesome.

Our first stop was Nassau, Bahamas. We hung out at the Dig at the Atlantis Resort. It was fun to see all the fish, sharks, jellyfish, etc. That place is amazing!

Karley loved this part....She got to reach into the aquarium and touch a starfish and some sort of a stingray looking thing....Not sure what it was but it was super slimy.....

Here we are with the hotel in the background. The bridge that goes across and connects the 2 buildings costs $25,000 a night with a 4 night minimum stay. WOW!
Formal night on the ship

Karley and Funship Freddy

Karley and Grandma

Karley having her morning cup of Hot Chocolate. AHHHH! The life of a 6 year old!

When we got off the boat at our 2nd stop in St Thomas we took a speed boat tour. They took us out into the ocean and spun the boat around soaking everyone!

After the tour we took a cab to Megens Bay.

St Maarten. We took a snorkeling/beach tour. This was by far the best stop on this cruise! Karley snorkeled for the first time and did AWESOME!

This was one of our guides....he was so much fun! He went around the beach and collected sea shells for Karley and they became instant friends. When we got off the boat he picked her up and gave her a huge hug and kiss. It caught her off guard but she talked about that guy for the rest of the day!

Todd and I spent the morning shopping at St Maarten while Karley stayed back on the boat with my parents and sister. We bought her this outfit at the market. Super cute for 10 bucks!

Every morning we would sit out on our balcony and watch the ocean. This was one of the most relaxing parts of the trip. Breakfast on the Balcony....Life doesn't get any better! We even bought Karley her own Carnival robe so we hung out in those a lot!

They had an air brush tattoo place on the ship that Karley found and insisted she get one. She picked a pretty butterfly and wanted red and blue... (haha!)

This was the water slide on the ship. I bet we went down this 500 times. It was so much fun.

I am not sure if anyone can tell but she is VERY used to getting her picture taken! She did this pose all by herself!

I love, love, love this picture! Karley is going down the waterside and Todd is sitting in the hot tub below. Look at her chilling out on the slide! :)

This is by far the most DANGEROUS thing on the boat for me.....Molten chocolate cake, ice cream and coffee.....I miss it already!

Our dinner waiters. They were so good to us!!!!

After we got off the ship we went to Cocoa Beach to spend the day. The waves were HUGE and it wore all of us out but it was sure better than getting off the boat to go to the airport! That last day was very relaxing and so much fun.

We had the best time on this trip and we are already planning our next one! Alaska in June 2011. We were laughing about how Karley will be wanting to snorkel and swim at the beach and when we pack her sweatshirts and jeans she will be so confused. :)

Upward Soccer Awards Night

Yesterday was our last day of soccer! We played in the morning at 10:30 and it was 45 degrees.....FREEZING! The kids were all bundled up in their hats, scarves, winter coats and not one of them was too thrilled that they had a game.

That evening there was an awards ceremony at the Church. It was super cute! They started off by introducing the teams and they ran across the stage--they went WAY too fast for me to get a picture but I did get some pretty good ones throughout the night.

Here is Karley right before we left.....She is such a stylin kid with her ugg's and side ponytail! Such a fashion statement!

Todd and (half of) his team. This was right after they ran off the stage. Too cute!

Karley and Chase showing off their new soccer balls that were given to them that evening.

So, this picture is of Karley and Aiden. He is on of my favorite little boys on the team. His mom came up to me at the ceremony and said : "I wish those 2 were older so they could go on a date!" HAHAHAHAHA!!!

After the awards we ate dinner and then headed outside where they rented the big jumpers for the kids. They all had a blast playing on them while we watched from the car....IT WAS FREEZING! Karley and Chase

When we got home Karley wrote Todd a note thanking him for being her coach. She also asked him if he would please coach her in Basketball.....There were several parents who said if he was willing to coach please let them know because they wanted to be on his team again. What a great feeling! Todd did an amazing job and I am so proud. I think she has him talked into it......

Influenza A

Karley has been sick since last Thursday. It started with a fever and a small cough. It grew quickly into a high fever (103) and a nasty cough......Todd came down with the same crap on Sunday and it knocked him flat. He did not remove himself from bed the entire day. If you know Todd, this is a big deal....he is NEVER sick.

Today i woke up and called the doctor for both of them. Todd had an appt first and Karley was 2nd. Karley tested positive for Influenza A.....aka. H1N1.

Todd has the same thing. SUPER!

Today they have been sleeping all day and I have been going through the BLEACH. If they touch something, I bleach it. The sheets have been changed and washed 2 different times today and my house smells like a hospital. I have also spent the majority of the day outside just to stay away.
Karley's doctor told me to keep her out atleast another day. She must be fever free for 24 hours (doy!) and even if her fever were gone I wouldn't feel comfortable sending her with this cough.

Todd will (hopefully) go back tomorrow since his office is in need of some help and he doesn't want to leave Joel to do ALL the work......(that's another story!)

Okay....gotta go. I can hear them waking up and I need to get the sheets changed again. The bright side of all of this is we have our vacation planned for 3 weeks from today and I am sooooooo glad it didn't happen then!!!!!!

I will keep you posted!

Pancake feed Auction basket preview.

It's time (already??) for the Pancake feed at Karley's school. This is our ONE big fundraiser and the kids have been selling tickets for the past few weeks.....I have been busy helping with the auction baskets. This year Jenni Halsey (a good friend) and I are the co-chairs of this department. WHEW!

I have had some experience with this sort of thing in the past. I was the events chair for Karley's preschool for 2 years and in charge of the baskets there as well but this was no comparison......At CDO (preschool) there were maybe 100 kids....total. At indian hills there are 700ish. Just like the preschool fundraisers each class was in charge of a themed basket......but at CDO there were 12 classes. Here there are 25ish. I am exhausted.

Last night we met up and put all the baskets together.....today we set up the tables and brought the baskets down to the gym for the event on Saturday. I wanted to post a few photos of our hard work but i won't bore you to death with ALL of the baskets.....I chose a few of my favorites to share.

Here is the Italian Gourmet basket. This one is stocked full of anything Italian you can think of. There are even some gift certificates tucked in there. AMAZING.

Scrapbooking. This was was kind of a bust last year but is awesome this year. I think this one will be a big hit.

Halloween basket is always such a big hit. We were lucky enough to have a parent go to the hillsboro craft show this year and pick up some really cool things to "fill" the basket. I love it.

This one is Arts and Crafts for kids. Karley's class was assigned this and I had a parent make the cabinet for us. This one is BY FAR the coolest basket this year.....I am so proud.
Here are a couple of shots of the gym with all of the baskets.

We have a crazy weekend planned. I have to be at the school Saturday from 6:30ish-1ish watching over the baskets. Todd has to work and Karley has a soccer game. Since todd is the coach we have had to find a replacement for that as well as a ride for karley to and from her soccer game. Todd's parents are coming and doing that for us......Right after the pancake feed is over, karley has a birthday party and then we are going to the Auburn fair and out to the pumpkin patch with some friends.....WHEW!

Have a great weekend!!