Always Check Your Child's Homework

I've received this email a few times from different people. It made me laugh (on the inside), so I thought I'd show yall.

***NOTE: I DESPISE forwards. But if they're funny, I'm down with that.

Here's the reply the teacher received the following day:

Dear Mrs. Jones,

I wish to clarify that I am not now, nor have I ever been, an exotic dancer. I work at Home Depot and I told my daughter how hectic it was last week before the blizzard hit. I told her we sold out every single shovel we had, and then I found one more in the back room, and that several people were fighting over who would get it. Her picture doesn't show me dancing around a pole. It's supposed to depict me selling the last snow shovel we had at Home Depot.From now on I will remember to check her homework more thoroughly before she turns it in.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Smith

100 Things

So I totally ganked this off another blog. Thought I would share my life experiences with yall... so now yall have to share yours back. Let me know where to find your 100 Things, I'd love to read them.

100 Things
*The things in bold are ones I have done*

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you're not sick.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to truly be satisfied.
38. Seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo's David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Been deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater. (Why aren't there more of these around?)
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served in a soup kitchen. (Murray, KY -of all places- was helping shelter Hurricane Katrina victims.)
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets, or plasma.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial. (Does it count if I've only seen it from a distance?)
71. Eaten caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the changing of the guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Been to the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the paper.
85. Read the entire Bible. (Almost, but when I got to all the begets I quit.)
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had Chicken pox.
89. Saved someone's life.
90. Sat on a jury. (No, but interestingly enough, I've been selected for jury duty twice- once while away at Harding and the next while in Australia.)
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been white water rafting?
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.
100. Read an entire book in one day.

So wow, when I look at this list, I've been able to experience a lot when some will never have an opportunity. Okay, now it's time for you to share.

She No Like Peas

What a ham.

I think tummy time's growing on her...
...kinda.

This is new. She sucks her thumb... a lot. And has taken to this tiny pink blanket for comfort.

At dinner time, Elayna sits at the table with us. She pays very close attention to what we're doing. Some say that means she's ready to try food... others say not to give her anything other than milk/formula for the first six months. I think we're waiting.
For now, she's got her tomatos, pumpkins, and peas to "eat" with us.

Also, she's SO close to sitting on her own and rolling over. She can sit with the tiniest bit of support. --just enough to make sure she doesn't plummet. And she teeters on the roll to the point we wonder why she hasn't just fallen over. She'll figure it out soon enough. Ryan leaves in February for training. With our luck, she'll decide to perfect these tricks while he's gone.

Capitol Hill

Doesn't everyone start singing this song in their head whenever they hear "Capitol Hill?" I'm just a bill. Yes, I'm only a bill. And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.

I forgot to mention an awesome event that resulted from the horrid travel attempt to get home over Christmas. When Kara picked us up from Reagan Airport, she gave us the coolest tour of Washington DC we could've asked for. We got to see and learn about all sorts of national and local monuments, buildings, and attractions. I can't even tell you how "wickedly sick" it was! (Thanks to one of my birthmoms, that phrase is now part of my vocabulary.) And since it was at night, all the buildings were lit up. The city was gorgeous. I wish I would've thought to take pictures. Especially of the Secret Service hottie who waved at us. So anyway, I couldn't believe this part of our travels was left out of the post earlier. It was definitely a highlight of our Christmas vacation.

Christmas Noodle

Okay, as Cheri commented, I completely forgot to talk about this year's Christmas fiascos.

Just days before we were scheduled to fly out (12/21), it started to snow. And snow. And snow. It was as close to a blizzard as Seattle's seen in a LONG time. We had made arrangements with some friends who were flying out of seatac the same day and approximate time we were. They stayed the night and we all get up around 2am to battle the weather, crazy insane drivers, and the an unbelievably crowded airport. Just as our alarm goes of, we get a call from American Airlines. Of course it's automated and tells us our flight has been cancelled, so if we want to reschedule please hold. After 20 minutes, everyone's ready to leave, so I redial the number on a cell phone and we start our trek to the airport. The roads were absolutely covered with inches of snow, no one paid any attention to where the lines should have been. And other drivers in a rush to get wherever they were going were driving like lunatics. The drive to seatac made me feel like I was in a real-life game of Mario Kart: Crazies barreling down the highway, others trying to get out of their way before it's too late, still others sliding out of control and in ditches. After an hour of being on hold, I finally spoke with a representative and reschedule our flights, one of the last available for the same day. Whatever, at least we have a flight.

So... Then that flight got cancelled. And the NEXT rescheduled flight was cancelled... but I didn't know it. Flights were being cancelled left and right so they weren't announcing them. I was just chilling with my baby: comfortable, staked the area around me with our coats and carryons, Elayna was laying in the seat next to me, I was mowing down a milkshake and eyeing my tater tot hashbrowns. Next thing I know, Ryan's running down the terminal yelling at me to get everything together and to forget the food. We had to get to a plane that was leaving in 15 minutes on the other side of the airport. (Why was Ryan running and yelling at me, you ask? Because he forgot his cell phone, as usual.) I grab Elayna and her bag. Ryan grabs everything else. We ran like mad men and made it to the next gate in time... just to be there another six hours, folks. We had to wait for the plane that had just landed to leave. Then we had to wait for OUR plane which was still in the hanger. They de-iced it. We board and the crew's doing all they do to get a plane ready to take-off. But wait. Now the plane's refrozen and we're back at the end of the line for stupid de-icer. After a couple hours, they let us off. We're waiting at the gate. We're told there's a good chance the de-icer has run out. A few hours later, they say there's enough de-icer, put us back on the plane, and hose the plane off. FINALLY, we were off the ground. The captain informed us that we were the 2nd to last plane to leave seatac before they closed it.

Washington DC (nonstop) was one of the only remaining flights available out of seatac, so we took it and figured we'd decide what to do once we got there. We just wanted to be anywhere but the Northwest. Luckily, that's where Joe and Kara are from and we gave them a call. They were happy to help. Kara picked us up and we stayed in her friend's empty home. Her family was so hospitible.

So long story short, after multiple cancelled flights, travel from one coast to another, lost baggage, and an extreme shortage of diapers scare, the Mabry family finally made it to Nashville.

Christmas was great. We saw everyone in six different Christmases. That's right, SIX. I'm not sure we even saw our child about half the time. She was off in one person or another's arms. It was wonderful to be with family again. AND I got to ride my favorite horse ever. When Ryan & I lived in Melber, we cared for whichever horses a friend kept in the barn behind us. I fed, treated wounds, handled, (whatever was needed), and played with horses every day. The last horse I took care of was a mare. She was pregnant and actually had her colt the day after I left for Pennsylvania to go to Jess's baby shower. Should have known that was gonna happen. Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with this horse. Never actually got to ride her then, but she'd let me lay across her back whenever I wanted. Just before she had the colt, she was traded for another horse. Luckily, the new owner left her where she was and she's been in Melber ever since. Getting to ride her over Christmas was a dream come true. Ryan promised to try to get her when he got home from Iraq. But when someone recently made an offer on her, I was notified and given dibs. Ryan & I talked about it. With the pressure on from this dude's offer, we seized the moment and decided to get her! None of this would have been possible if we didn't have family to support us until we can fully care for her ourselves (when Ryan gets out of the army).

SO I HAVE A HORSE! Ryan thinks she's hideous... I think she's absolutely BEAUTIFUL. I call her Noodle because when I took care of her in Melber she was preggo -like the spaghatti sauce- and she has a couple markings on her that look like noodles... when you dig deep into your imagination.

Notice the Time

Wow, so how long has it been? Thanks for not giving up on me... I'd show you more pics EVENTUALLY. But I just want you to take a look at how late I had to stay up to get this posted. Does that not tell you how busy I am? Baby. Husband. Home. Work. Baby. Husband. Home. Work. Dogs. Cats. Horse. (That's right! I said "Horse." More about that later.) Now for what you're really on the blog for! (And I KNOW I'm talking to Little Miss April Walker.)

Holy Cow, so much has happened since the last photo post. And since it’s now past midnight, I’m not bothering to straighten pictures on their sides… just turn your head if you have to. Here we go:

One of the houses behind ours caught on fire one afternoon. Luckily no one was home and the duplex neighbors were able to evacuate safely.

Ryan's earned his CAV spurs-- after a grueling endurance and skills event. He's in there somewhere with the Alpha Troop (A flag).

We received a nice visit from Granny

For awhile there, Elayna wouldn't fall asleep unless she was COMPLETELY covered.

Poor baby, after her first shots. I'm so glad Ryan was there. I'm still haunted by my kindergarten shots.

The next few pics are the photo op for Renee's Christmas card.

Reece came out for Thanksgiving. (...Not once did he change a diaper.)

Ryan deep-fried a turkey. It was delicious.

Little Missy in her Thanksgiving outfit from our friends Jessie and Anna.

Here are a few shots from our Christmas card photo op.

8-1 CAV Christmas Party

She was pouty most of the time.

Here, we're on the flight home to Kentucky.

She liked Ryan to touch her nose... weirdo.

Renee's beautiful Christmas tree with the outdoor dog who spends most of her time indoor.

Granny's fridge USED to be absolutely covered in pics of all the grandkids... now there's just THE great-grandkid.

Granny has the magic touch. Grouchy Elayna fell right asleep.

One minute she's happy...

the next she's sad. What are we gonna do with her?

Sue also has the Grandma Touch.

Put her right to sleep.

Grandma Mary

Papa

The Mabry family... minus one. Where were you, Reece?

Randy's sister, Sheri and her husband, Ricky.

This picture is upsidedown. Ryan was kissing on her to make her laugh.

I'm beginning to think she'll never grow into those cheeks.

Foretaste of what's to come.

Aunt Lori and Elayna

Elayna and David

Holly Pirtle holding Elayna

The Girls took all the Pirtles' kids Christmas shopping at Walmart. We had a blast. We each had one child and a giftcard... surprisingly we weren't even there an hour.

She's very interested in Hawk, the horse on the right.

Grand-Daddy Rex and Elayna

Racing around the house like some speed demon. She LOVED for her GrandDaddy to "drive" around the house at speeds which I'm sure made her think everything was one big blur.