Rainfall Stats

The previous record, set in 1882, was 75.54 inches for the year.

The total so far this year is 81.57 inches.

Average is 50 inches for the year.

My 40th b-day present (/Christmas present)

Mila set me up for my 40th. I had a 2 month warning and lots of planning took place. It's not what I had wanted exactly, but the size I wanted was too small for it to look right according to Steve. He told me the' e's' and' a' would close up over time and just look like blobs. I have to take his word for it since he has been in the business for a long time. So it's double the size I was wanting and instead of being more of a rectangle in shape it is more of a circle or square....anyway....love it or regret it....it's here for life.

My original idea that I took 2 months to develop. Kids middle names and each dragonfly has 14 and 11 body parts representing Sahara at 14 and Canyon at 11. Their ages at this current time.

The finished product. Everything is the same, except the words had to be set on top of eachother (or it would have wrapped from ear to ear) and the dragonflies more on top and bottom so they too wouldn't go to my ears.

Early Christmas

James, his mom, and Tom came for an early Christmas with us Saturday afternoon.

The kids got a lot of clothes.

Sahara got boots I am pretty jealous of, jewelry, a clock, scrabble, and

They both got flat screen TV's and dvd players for their rooms.

Canyon got a few lucky Ducks, Let's go Fishin', lots of movies, and toy cars and a remote car that lights up and spins crazily.

Then we went out to dinner.

SaNtA !!!

Canyon was very excited to see Santa. But with his age, he will probably only go one more year. :( I figure once out of middle school, it's not really age appropriate to be doing that any more.

Santa asked what he could bring Canyon this year and Canyon said a candy cane. That's quite doable!

Sahara in Choir performance

Close up form the other side of the cafeteria

Sahara was in Choir this semester And she is glad it is over. She enjoyed getting to go over to the high school for choir, but didn't care for the class. This is from the Christmas performance.

Small segment of a song Sahara hated. You can tell by how thrilled she looks to sing it.

bye bye cell phone

No, Sahara didnt get hers taken away again. I tossed my pants in the wash with my phone in the back pocket. Sahara is trying the hairdryer method right now. But it went though the entire washing cycle. Soap and all. I just ordered a new one online and it should be here in a couple days. A couple days is all I have. I just picked the first one I saw that had no charge (except for the upgrade fee of $18) I guess that's my Merry Christmas to me.

pets...or pests

I have 1 dog and 1 cat....they are driving me crazy. Sascha has always been an indoor dog. She loves to snuggle and be warm. She has no problem getting her body between you and the little faux fire place heater. Chloe has mostly been an outside cat. At least for the last couple years since I feed her outside now. She does like to come in to sleep and since I keep flea/tick drops on her, it's not a big deal. The problem...weak bladder I guess. She cannot make it till the morning to be let outside. She wants out at 3 am. EVERY TIME. Also, since the weather has gotten really cold this last week, she has been sneaking in and sleeping who knows where and not coming out when we call. I come home from work and there is a poop in my room. Always MY room. Then today on top of pooping, she peed on the couch. Then I went to tuck Canyon in and his big blanket was on the floor and it was damp and smelled of pee! But I dont know if that was from the cat too or the dog. ( I dont think it was from him. ) I'm getting a bag of cedar chips for their 2 houses outside. I think they are going to be spending more time out there then they would like.

coldness

With the wind chill this morning, it is 4 *! brrrrrrrrrrrrr

Crunch time

I feel like I am running out of time to get things done this year. Ok, cards went in the mail today...packages ready to take to the PO maybe Thursday...house decorated...95% or better of shopping done... parade last Thursday and another tonight...our early Christmas at the house planned...skipping the office party...I think I am forgetting something, but dont know what it could be. I dont know how people who put everything off to the last minute gets things done.

How many neighbors does it take to get a baby cow?

(not the actual calf)

3 Mark down the road bought the cow and came over to use my stock trailer to bring it home. His truck and the trailer got stuck in the yard (hasn't rained in well over a week but the ground here is so saturated). I called Joe across the street who has my tractor to come pull him out. Success! Plus Joe got the trailer out to the front too and Mark was off. I get the kids back at 1 and when we get home we are heading to Marks to check this little gal out.

Thanksgiving Day

I am so thankful for good friends!

Thanksgiving day I went with Mila and her family to her adopted parents place. They had just gotten their house built and it is so nice. Over stuffed myself twice and made sure to stuff in some cheese cake on top. Then we went home and got ready for shopping at K-mart. K-mart stayed open on Thanksgiving day and had their Black Friday shopping a day earlier then the other stores here. I got so much done! YaY!

Happy Black Friday!

I am heading out to the outlets in a few moments with Mila. I should be completely done with shopping by today :)

Sahara and Canyon went to Memphis with dad for the Holiday. I hope Sahara remembers to take some pictures. They will be back on Sunday.

Fridge and Sascha

Out with the old...in with the new

Broke down and got a new fridge. Our old one was 17 years old and had been making a strange compressor noise for the last 16 to 18 months. I think I was lucky I never came home to spoiled food. It has a new home in a friend of a friend's garage now. Our new one is bigger and has ice and water in the door. I can't believe how much water I have been drinking lately. Yay!


Also > > > > > >

HaPpY BiRtHdAy SaScHa !!! She is 4 today :)

Little Zadie

From the Russellville Courier - here is an update on Zadie's death:

Test results inconclusive in student’s death

Story date: Nov. 21, 2009
Coroner says death believed to be natural

Courier staff
www.couriernews.com
Preliminary autopsy results revealed little information as to the cause of the death of a London girl, Pope County Coroner Leonard Krout said Friday.
Zadie Ezell, 5, of Russellville died Nov. 13 after she became ill at London Elementary School.
Her body was sent to the State Crime Lab in Little Rock for a routine autopsy in the wake of her collapse.
Krout said Friday authorities would wait to make a determination as to Ezell’s official cause of death until toxicology and other testing was complete — likely in about three months’ time — but that foul play was not suspected.
The Russellville School District invited London Elementary students to a special children’s visitation Monday at First Free Will Baptist Church in honor of Ezell.

3 hours in a closet

I wish I would have taken a before picture. Canyon and I decided to hit the tool room. It has needed to be cleaned out and cleaned up for years. James had left it a mess. What a hoarder! Why would you keep the empty oil containers, the boxes new parts came in, the old parts after replacing the new ones, and the left over junk from every project you ever did??? Anyway, it turned out we removed 5 trash bags, a box full of junk, a broken rolly cart, and 2 trash cans full of crap from that room. All that is left is actual tools, usable extra pieces, car parts for vehicles we currently own, and supplies that actually contain usable amounts. ( oil, cleaning supplies, fluids, etc.)

Here is what was taken out for trash. Just enough room for 1 more bag in the big can for trash pick up.

Here is the room put back together. Still looks pretty crowded, but it is only the size of a normal walk in closet. There is only so much I can do at this point. At least you can get in the room now and actually find a hammer or screwdriver or paint can or sander or tape measure....

Veteran's Day Parade

Canyon was asked to be on the Middle Grades float for the parade along with 30 or so other kids in 4th, 5th and 6th grade. The school bus took the kids to the parade after school and his aide Tammi went with him. I didn't know which side of the road to be on and of course was on the opposite side that he was facing so I didn't get a picture of him on the float in the parade.

I did take a few pictures of cars I knew he would like to see and him at the end of the parade by his float.

A horible tragedy

Rusty, Canyon's wavier worker's, little niece Zadie passed away yesterday, Nov 13th. She was 5 years old and in kindergarten. From what I have heard, she got sick on the playground, went to the nurse, said she was feeling better and then had a seizer. She aspirated and died. It was totally out of the blue the family said and she had not had a history of seizers before. She was baby makes 3, their only child. You never know....it's just so so sad.

Jr. High visitor

Special effects and make up artist Justin Stafford came to Saharas school today. He started working on one of the aides at the school at 5 AM and by 2nd period they got to see the final touches. He has worked on movies such as Click, Star Trek, Cavemen, Planet of the Apes, and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The school aide fies to New York every Halloween to be made up by him. He likes working with her to try out new things because she can sit still for 10 hours without eating or needing to use the bathroom.

Look Out BRACES Here We Come

I was thinking back and realised that my kids have not been to the dentist yet this year. They are usually pretty good about setting up 6 month appointments right on time. I called and figured that they would not be able to be seen for at least another month or 2 because of all the days and times all ready filled. I was surprised to be told to pick the time I wanted for the very next day. We went at 4:30 so no one would miss school/work. That turns out to be the BEST time to go from now on! We checked in at 4:25, were called back, cleaned, examined, set up another appointment , and out of there at 5:00 on the dot! The other appointment is for Sahara. No cavities for either kids (YaY!) but it's time for braces. We go back on Nov. 23 for the orthodontist x-rays and consult (at the regular dentist). I know it's a long process with many appointments... Sahara has been looking forward to braces for years, now she is having second thoughts. Fear of pain has set in.

I also got my seasonal flu shot yesterday at work. They don't have enough H1N1 nasal or shots for staff at this point and no word if they will offer it later. They kids will get both shots (or 1 shot 1 nasal mist) today at their school.

Halloween night

All of our costumes were last minute this year. Sahara went as a black and white cat to her friend's family party. Canyon was supposed to be a knight this year but he didn't like the armor he was suppose to wear on his chest, so we pulled out the old pirate outfits from a couple years ago and did that again. I used several parts and pieces from a couple outfits to come up with my pirate outfit.

After dropping Sahara off at Paige's. Canyon an I went to the Hughes Center. He got to play a few games for candy prizes like bean bag toss,

And mini golf.

Then he headed outside to the police, paramedic, and rescue vehicles.

He was ready for a ride in the back seat of the police car.

Afterwards, we trick or treated for about an hour and then hit McDonalds for chicken nuggets and a chocolate milkshake. We tried to make the church down the road for the hay ride, but missed it be 50 minutes! We thought their party was going on till 8 but it was only till 7. They did give us a plate of treats and cupcakes. At home, we went into the bathroom to clean off our faces and when we came back out we found the cat had been on the table and had devoured the cupcakes :(

She went for a flying lesson out the door.

Pumpkin carving

After the kids got home from school we carved their pumpkins.

Canyon did most of the pumpkin gut removal which surprised me because he doesn't care for gooey. I carved his pumpkin after he told me what he wanted.

Sahara did her whole pumpkin herself this year.

We had to work inside this year because it has been raining 300 days this year. Really, we got a few inches in the last 2 days. We went from almost to the top 10 for wettest years to in the top 5 during this last storm. We only need like 7 more inches to break the record and we have 2 months left. Not a record any of us really are looking forward to. Everything is SOAKED!

Red Ribbon Week

The kids get to dress up for Red Ribbon Week. It is an anti drug / alcohol program that last all week and they have themed days to dress up like in a Spirit Week. Crazy hair day, mismatch day, camo day, etc. Well today for Sahara's building it is career day. She wants to be a teacher, but did that the last 2 years so this year she decided to be a doctor. Look at how cute she is :)

It is so comfy and easy.

We made the badge on the internet in less than 5 minutes and then attached it to her Walmart badge. She is a pediatric dr. in the physical therapy dept.

Is it over all ready???

Canyon had his last basketball game Thursday. Then the awards ceremony after. It is a really short program. I wish it were 6 - 8 weeks long instead of only 4. Anyway, I finally got 2 video clips of Canyon making baskets!! Only problem is that in my picture folder they are rotatable and you can see correctly, but when I load them on the blog they go sideways. Oh well.

I ran out of camera battery at the end of the game and didn't get to take any pictures of the ceremony. At home I got new batteries and took a picture of the medal and ball he got.

Plus they had individual pictures and a team photo. And all the kids pictures were in memory book. The local paper was there taking pictures too at the last game so I will have to post those when I see them. Also, I found out about a new program starting in Feb for kids with special needs in acting. I don't know much about it but I will be signing him up for that too. It is so cool all this is available for him here.

*****LINK TO ACTS JR.*****

http://www.communityconnectionsar.org/actsJr.html

Canyon's Science Project

While Canyon was out sick, he had a science project to do. I guess since he missed it at school, they decided to have him do it at home. He had to make and edible animal cell. We used apricot jello and fruit and fruit candies.

Mixing the jello

Pouring it into a container to take to school.

Half a plum with a grape on top for the nucleus. He also used twizzlers, grapes cut in half, and gummy candies

.

Sticking in the labels the next day.

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The final project :)

the flu???

Last week Sahara wasn't feeling well on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday was sent home from school early with a fever. With Tylenol in her system every 4 hours, her fever was between 100.3 and 101.3. It lasted thru Thursday and Friday she really didn't have fever but developed a cough that she still has. Then I heard on the news that 90% of people with the flu so far are complaining of fever and cough. So, maybe she had it, maybe it was something else. Now, this past Tuesday Canyon woke up with a fever of 101 at 3 in the morning. I figured it was going to be the same thing Sahara had so I took off work for 2 days right away. (Sahara stayed home herself when she had it) After 1 dose of Tylenol, Canyons fever did not come back. He was trying to make himself throw up tho and that went away as soon as I was able to get some toast in him. But he had no energy for the next 2 days taking a 2 1/2 hour nap on Tuesday and a 3 hour nap on Wednesday. And he got a cough. I dont know if it was the same sickness or something different. I signed both the kids and myself up for getting both the flu vaccines at school on Nov. 5-6. We have never had the vaccines before for flu. I hope getting them is a good thing.

Canyon turns 11 !!!

CANYONS PARTY IN 3 ROUNDS ( well, 2 out of 3 anyway)

Whoop ~ Whoop !! Canyon had a blast for his b-day. Plans were all pretty much last minute but everything turned out great!

ROUND 1

1st, he went to the new Jump Place with his two little buddies, Zane and Rylan. They are the sons of his waiver worker and his ex-aide/waiver worker. Here they are, having a jumpin good time :)

Canyon - Zane - Rylan

The 3 boy in the baby bumper

Silly boys!

Canyon gets ready to dive thru the obstacle course.

Zane down the slide

Rylan down the slide

Canyon down the slide

ROUND 2

We were going to meet a friend from school at the movies to watch 'Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs', but found out Friday night he would not be able to make it. So, I asked Rylan and Zane if they could join us for ROUND 3 and we skipped ROUND 2 altogether. Instead, we got some Taco Bell after Jump Place and went home, cleaned up the house a bit, and took a nap for...

ROUND 3

Spaghetti dinner

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then opening gifts

FINALLY

:) CAKE TIME (: