Lauren is Back!

Lauren came back to us today after a 2 week vacation.
She went to Nebraska for a week to see her grandpa, and spent a week at her cousin's house in KC.
Happy she is back. I missed her.

Did I Tell You Gram Is A Genius....

and, I am not just sucking up either. OK, maybe a little, but she is. Really.
On Friday, Val woke up with a nasty case of pimples. Like, 5 of them. All along one side of her face. Gram took us out on Friday for a girl's day out, and one of the stops we made was to get her some blemish therapy by bare escentuals.
She woke up this morning, and her complexion is once again clear. Well, she had a huge zit, and now it is little more than a bump, so I am saying it is clear. WHEW! She will continue to just brush a little on each day, to keep her face clean and clear.

I wanted to add this update, because I realized that Danelle for one, is really concerned about what is going on in my life. I realized this after I read how she was wondering about my lawn chairs, probably on a daily basis, but I am now in a good place about them. Just so you know.

And yes, I realize that 5 pimples is not a national crisis, but remember how you felt when you were starting high school. And yes, I know she still has 45+ days off, but she sees a bunch of the cute running boys every night when she goes and runs at Sedgwick County Park.

Update

An update on the lawn chair situation.
I found 1 of our lawn chairs.
Only 1.
Oh well, I bought new ones for replacements anyway.
Just thought you should know.

Octopus

Today, Gram treated Val, Emi and I to lunch at the Olive Garden. I had Calamari. I shared it with Val and Emi, but when I offered some to Gram, she refused. What is up with that? I don't understand. She doesn't like octopus. Or chicken liver.
Now, I am not saying that she secretly likes it. Like she hides and eats it when noone else is around, I am just saying that she may try it one of these times.
Everyone should. It's good. Not like a hot dog! YUCK!!!!!!!

I think she will try it..........and I hope I am there when she does.

MALL CRAWL! We Would Be Barefoot Without Her!!

Today was a day of favorite things!

Gram-Cracker got Val some dress shoes for school. She has to wear a nice leather shoe next year, and since she has always been known to us as SHOE GRANDMA it seemed appropriate that she get them for her. She also got Emily the Converse that she is wearing. They are really cool on the side!Then, we also found these cool sandals and they got those also!

Next, Gram treated us to lunch and Val needed some makeup at Beau Monde, and Gram needed some stuff at Beauty First.

All in all, it was a great day!

THANK YOU, YOU ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!!!

PS- We call her SHOE GRANDMA because she always bought the kids shoes when they were younger, and always on Christmas.

Summer Dance

Every week, Emily goes to dance class. In the summer, it is more about technique, which I think is very important. This is where they learn and can perfect new steps and combinations, that are put into the dances that they perform the next May.
Not everyone takes the summer lessons. Emily has every year, but I can see the difference with the girls that do not take the summer session, when they start putting the routine together, and it takes them longer to get the steps down. It also takes Emily a lot of practice and hard work, I am not saying it doesn't, but I think that dance is something that will help her, her whole life long. She is very graceful for one thing. She has a way that she carries herself. Maybe, it has to do with her dance training, maybe not. She has the highest kicks of anyone in her dance class, or on her track team. Her coaches even mentioned this to me.
Anyway, today is another dance class, and while it may not be flashy, I know that what she learns this summer will really come together during the school year, when they learn a routine, and get to perform in sparkly costumes, with hair and makeup done.

Yardwork

Not only have we been cleaning out the inside of the house (only the laundry/storage room left, and some cupboards in the kitchen), but it was also time to mow the grass. This has always been Mark's job, but last year I started doing it,because his allergies started bugging him when he would do it. This is his excuse anyway.He also tells me I do a better job than he does on it.

When I had finished Mark and the girls came out, and we were looking around, and I asked him if he had seen our lawn chairs that have been haunting me, because I cannot find them. He said he has not, so Val and I went to the store and bought some new ones. They are very useful things to have, so I didn't mind replacing them so much, except that I know I did not get rid of those other ones, and it just bugs me that I can't seem to find them.

Anyway, we found them on sale at Dillon's of all places, and in a variety of colors. Mark got BLUE, I got PINK, Valleri got PURPLE and Emily got GREEN.

Tank Tops

Emily spent the night at Shelbie's house after Andra's baby shower.

They tend to do this a lot. When they get a chance to visit with each other, they can usually con us into letting them have a sleepover.

This time, Nelle was sweet enough to get them plain tank tops, and they decorated them with some paints that I think Shelbie already had.

Emily's is mostly JONAS BROTHERS. She loves them. Her walls are covered with their posters. She watches CAMP ROCK ( their new movie) all the time.

And Emily got a bonus this time, because she did not have to help with Day 2 of helping BB and Megahn move into their new house.

Emily and Shelbie always have a great time together. They are like best friends, which I have said before. I wish they lived closer so they could see each other more, but I think they email and talk on Club Penguin a lot, so they are in contact. Now, if they could just get some cell phones, they could call and text each other more.

Emily will get one for her 13th birthday.

I am not sure when Shelbs will get hers, but probably soon......

Hopefully!

She once told me when she gets her cell, all her emails will be signed off, in need of laptop.

Val's Got Junk!

We have spent part of the summer cleaning out all the useless stuff we have. Which is a lot. First it started in Emily's room. I threw out clothes, toys, trash, junk in general, then the living room, that is when Mark built that nifty bench.
Next I moved on to my room. If it did not fit in the closet, and was not worn in the last season, it was gone!
The bathroom didn't have a lot of trash thrown out, but got a good scrubbing.
I cleaned up the kitchen, and still need to go through 2 cupboards in the pantry.
First, though, is Val's room. She wants to be sure I don't get rid of any treasures though, so I am guessing this room will take about a week. This is our project to start today, when we are not helping Brian move, or picking Emily up from her SHelbie sleepover.
I know a lot of people are going to think we should have a yard sale, but I was never one to have them, work at them, or go to them.
There is something very satisfying to me about just throwing it all away.....It is worth more to me than the money, I guess.
And I love money.

Tim Bystrom

Mark's friend, died last week. They were not extremely close as adults, so we were not notified, and kind of found out as a fluke.
Mark and Tim did have a lot of good times together growing up in the "country", outside of the Newton city limits, and their families were very close friends years ago.
Tim's mom is still thought of by me at least as Granny B. She gave herself this name when I was pregnant with Val so she could practice being a grandma. She did a good job.

I just think it is really sad when a man who is just 37, dies, and leaves behind children, who will, I am sure, miss their dad. I don't think any child should ever lose a parent, but I also don't want parents to lose their children, so I am out of luck I guess. I just hate it for their family, and I wish all of it could have been different.

Today, we celebrated a new life about to join our families, but we were also reminded of the passing of life. It's all a circle.......

Testing

Let's play Who Am I....
1. Apparently, I really hope I love ducks.
2. Strawberries are going to be a popular clothing choice for me.
3. I won't miss the sound of my mommy's heartbeat, thanks to my grandmommy's teddy.
4. I hope I never get sick, but if I do, I will have plenty of things to help my mommy and daddy give me medicine.
5. By the looks of the gift table, I must already have a LOT of family and friends who really love me, but who could blame them?

Have you guessed yet?

It's Alyssa Raenell, making her grand debut in just a matter of weeks, just hoping her daddy gets her room painted in time. HAHA!

Congratulations to Seth and Andra.

What a time you will have!!!!

You guys are the lucky ducks!!!!!!!!!!

PS- I know I am far down on the list, but I am available for babysitting! I'm cheap too! FREE!!!

Pretty in Pink

It's all about the pink!
Aunt Sherry is the only one of her siblings to have a daughter. Marie, Burt and Gary all were the proud parents of boys.
Her daughter, Gere, has 2 daughters, Kerrymaie and Andra.
Andra found out hours ago, she and her husband Seth are going to be the ecstatic parents of a baby girl, in just a few months.
Who doesn't love a baby girl? They are sweet, I know, because that is all I got too. I love boys also, and enjoy my nephews, but a baby girl is so exciting!!!
I know that they will be great parents~ they have wanted a baby for a long time. They are both caring, wonderful people!
Tomorrow is a co-ed baby shower for the new family, and I know that it will be a lot of fun!

I Heart Movies

OK, you all know how much I love movies. We have a whole wall of movies, from floor to ceiling. I collect them. But, due to space and the cost, we have been exploring alternatives. Movie theaters are fun, but too expensive to go all the time, and I am no good at going to a store to rent one, because I tend to start browsing, lose track of time, and forget why I went in the first place.
Our friends, Jonny and Dasha, told us about Netflix. Now, this is a really cool deal! We pay less than $10 per month, and we get to watch unlimited hours of tv or movies, what they have available (it's older titles) on our computer, and we get one movie mailed to us, then when we return it, in an envelope they provide and pay shipping for, they send us a new one. We just keep a list that they send the next available title on. It is perfect for us, and fast. So far, we have watched DAN IN REAL LIFE ( I recommend it), UNTRACEABLE ( good, but gross in parts),BENCHWARMERS ( Val and Emi loved it),CAPOTE (that was Mark's) and SWEENEY TODD ( Mark hated it, I liked it). Yesterday, I mailed back SWEENEY TODD in the morning, and today, they emailed me that they received it and by tomorrow, we will have CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR. That is another Mark pick, in case you were wondering.
I have been completely satisfied so far, and it is fun to browse their movies, and put in titles that I want to see.

Waddle We Do Today??? Play Club Penguin!!!

My kids love Club Penguin! They have been playing on the website for over a year, and both of them got memberships to the website for Christmas presents. Em from us and Val got one from her Gram-C.
Now, I always stayed away from this, because I tend to have an addicting personality, and I get easily hooked on things, like when they got Nintendogs games, I never messed with it, until one day they asked me how to do something, then when I figured it out, I played and played and played.
A few weeks ago, Val wanted to enter some contest on the website, but she was 5,000 coins short. You collect coins by playing games. She got up one Sunday and started playing, and playing and playing. The thing is, she gave herself just one day to make all these coins. Her wrists hurt, her eyes hurt, and she still needed coins, so she asked me to help, which,of course I did. She showed me how to play the easy games, and she got enough coins.
She did not win the contest, by the way.
Pretty soon though, Emily was like wanting me to help her too, then when Lauren started coming over, she wanted me to get coins for her too. There are a lot of clothes catalogs, and you can buy an igloo and decorate it. So, I tend to go to each account every day and play a few games. In fact, today new catalogs came out, so I am sure that the weeks of my hard work will be spent.
I never realized how cute the website is, and how much fun they have on it. Especially in the summer, when it is too hot to be outside. They have a good time on it, it is a secure website, so it is safe. Emily sets up times with her friends, and they can meet up with each other in Penguinland.
I think Club Penguin is good clean fun!

REEE-OOO-REEE-OOOO-REEEE-OOOO

Do you hear the tornado siren? I cannot believe this weather. Every Thursday for 3 weeks now, we have had severe weather. What is up with that?????

I love overcast, rainy days! I really do. I think I am allergic to the sun, and everyone I know knows how much I hate to be even a little too hot, but come on! Enough is enough! I am sick of seeing Mark watching the radar every Thursday night, but I am grateful.

Now, he loves a good tornado. He used to chase them with his friends in their younger days.Not now though, now he drives away from them.

The only thing that really gets me is the flooding in the streets. I am terrified of drowning,and I just know that one day I will be carried off in a wave, and drown in my car.

One Halloween night that did happen to us. We had just left Gram and Papa's apartment, and it was raining really hard. We were stupid to leave, but we did, and on Meridian, our little Ford Aspire actually got picked up and moved a little in the street from the rain. I know it did. I felt it!

So, now I still love the rain, but hate the floods. Even as I look outside now, the sun is shining away, less than 15 minutes ago, it was pouring down.

Ya gotta love Kansas!

Walk On By....

Every morning or evening, Val and I have been walking about a mile. It started out as Emily and I since Val is also running, but Emily said it was torture, since she dances and swims all summer she does not need to walk also. Val took it up with me then and we had fun laughing and talking, until we added the dog.

Now, the dog takes Valleri for a walk, and I follow. She runs and runs until she gets to the light poles on the street, then she stops at each one to sniff it out, before going to the next. When she stops, I keep going, and pretty quick, Val and Wrinkles streak by me.

It is a lot of fun, but Val and I don't get in much talking anymore.

Funny Story

OK, so you all know that every Wednesday, the girls have friends that go swimming with them, and have lunch and basically mess around together.

The "freshmen", Tianna and Juan and Julie and Vinh and Val and DJ decided they really wanted to all go to a movie together. First, they chose NARNIA. They picked the time and location, and all were happy. That was last week.

Tianna came over early this morning, and she and Val were talking about how much they wanted to see DON'T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, so they called all the friends, and they all agreed to see it.

Here is the funny part. I am so happy you waited. DJ had to get to his grandma's house for a trip to his allergy doctor, but left his swimsuit at Vinh's. So, we had to stop at Vinh's house first before taking DJ but Diem had Vinh's keys, so we went back to my mom's house to retrieve the keys. Vinh was in the front seat of my mom's van, and did not see Diem run out of the house and past his window, so he stooped over and turned around and shook his booty out the windshield, just as my mom stepped out onto the porch. I thought the kids were going to pee their pants they were laughing so hard!

All's well that ends well. DJ got to his appointment on time, and Vinh made it into his house just fine, although I did not wait to see if he waved from his living room window. I didn't want to see what would be shaking!

My Other Dad....

First of all, I just want you to know that I am totally irritated, I can't get pictures to load. You know that I am computer retarded, so I am sure it is a glitch on my part. I will look into it later, when I have more time. I just did not want any more time to pass, before I honor another Dad in my life...Gary.
I have always loved Mark's dad, and I always will. I still speak to him often, wish he were with us, smile about him, cry about him. You all know the emotions that come up when he is mentioned.
Here are some good memories I carry with me.
BBQ chicken.
Any other bbq- I will always choose to think that he never let a hot dog touch my burger, no matter how much people tease me about it.
Dog track- I always bet on the blue dog. And usually won, even though Gary would tabulate and research, sometimes it worked for him, but sometimes not.
I buy if you fly- he would order pizza as long as someone else went and picked it up. Val used to call it pae-pae.
flower Sunday- he used to buy flowers for Nancy, Danelle and I when he was sick, and he always got me daisies.
Hugs, Loves, and Kisses
A shoulder to cry on
An ear to listen
Great Advice
I am starting to get emotional so back to silly.....
Dropping Mark on our doorstep after Tim's bachelor party
Juicy Fruit gum
Val, Papa and Skippy going to the dump on Saturday mornings
The best times were just hanging out on the weekends, sometimes doing stuff, sometimes not.
We always knew how much work he needed help with on the weekends when we drove up, because if the garage door was open, Mark went straight to work. He never minded though!
Gary- he was (and is still) one great dad!!!!!

Father's Day Morning

Mark does not get up well! But, he was a trooper, and treated his girls to a nice day out. Until we had to go to Lowe's, but it was his day, so they survived. Val said she was making him go to the mall all day on her birthday though. To get him back.

Mark Is A BIg Softie!

Mark saw this truck at the Zoo yesterday, and he immediately thought of his brother Tim. Tim loves the Chiefs. Each year they go together to one game, but I know that Tim goes to way more than that. Nancy even treated him to a Chiefs themed Christmas.

Anyway, he saw this truck and thought of Tim and took these pictures, so he could enjoy them.

At the Zoo

If you look closely, you will witness one of the most rare things you will ever see. A picture of my dad. At the zoo. Well, the zoo part isn't so weird, but it is virtually impossible to get him to let anyone take his picture, so I snuck this one.

It is Father's Day after all.

Father's Day

Udderly fantastic!!!!

They look comfortable holding those too! Perhaps a little too comfortable! HAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I Had a Hammer....

...I still wouldn't be able to build this. But Mark did.

He came home from work yesterday, and was in the mood to take on a big project. First, he thought he really wanted a chair, but then he ended up making something way bigger, this is

a loveseat,

I think he did a really good job on it. He made the whole project with scrap stuff we had at home, so it only ended up costing us about $20.

We used to watch Trading Spaces alot. Do you remember that show? Mark could get a job as a carpenter on it. But he probably shouldn't take on an extra job now, since he also starts school in August.

On Your Mark.....

Get it? This is about Mark.

He has decided to start running. Valleri has been given a very aggressive running schedule for cross country and Mark has decided he is going to run with her.

They also go out with a group of SMM people who love to run. He is really enjoying it. Right now, Val is doing 3.8 miles 4 days a week on terrain, and Mark is doing 2 miles, then on their off days ( the other 3) they run together, about 1.2 miles, but that will have to change next week, because Val needs to run longer than that. More like 1.5.

Right now, Val can beat him, but not for long. You know how stubborn and driven he is, and he has decided he is going to win.... so you all know what that means!

I think he is going to run his first race in Newton on July 5, at the Chisolm Trail Festival. If their group can get their admission forms in. They are talking about it now. More to follow.....

Flowers

We decided to dry Valleri's graduation flowers. The pink one was given to me by a friend, but I told her she could have it, and she had them in a vase in her room for days, then before they started to wilt, I took them and tied them upside down in our kitchen window, so the stems would dry straight. I have no idea what to do with them once they are done, but will have to think of something soon.

Chanel or Faux Chanel

Each year my dear Claudia spends a few weeks in the beginning of December in New York. Her daughter, Jennifer, is the meeting/party planner for Pizza Hut Corp. and is always on the go, out of town. Each December, they have a big Board of Directors meeting in New York. Jennifer got it cleared with her boss, that as long as Claudia and her sister Carla pay their own travel to get there expenses, and spending money, they get to go and stay and are even allowed to participate in the Wife Events, like, bus trips and shopping trips by guides.

A couple years ago, they got the nerve up to visit the underground. They walk, but the vendors will take you there by van, they just don't trust that, and I don't blame them.

It is where they get fake watches, purses, scarves (when I got Chanel, Carol got Louis Vuitton), pretty much anything you could want.

It is a trip they look forward to each year. They get to see a show, stay at a 5 star hotel, and shop till they drop! And pay $25 for a coffee and muffin for breakfast.

I think it is worth the trade off.

The Angels Finally Found Their Charlie!

They have chosen. Chase Pitcher. DJ's brother. Cute Kid!

Hey, You Could Put Her In Your Pocket, But Could She Breathe?

Ok, all of you know that Emi dances, and some of her costumes have been outrageous, and this was one from a song called "Shake Your Tail Feather" from the Chicken Little movie.

The thing about it is, that you are looking at a tiny Emily. It is a statue made from lucite, that was cut to her exact picture that year. She was in 4th grade at the time.

I just think it was funny, because as I passed it yesterday, I thought of Auntie Nelle, always saying she wants to put you in her pocket. Now, she could. I will have to keep my eye on the statue next time she comes over. I would hate to have to frisk her on her way out.

Are You Out of Synch with NSync?

Do you remember when I did the blog right around Emily's birthday about Emily, Aunt Sherry, and the orange ribbon? Well, this is a different take on the same idea.

When Val was preschool aged, she was going to marry Justin Timberlake, from NSync. She loved him. And Chris. Joey, JC, and Lance too. The whole band. She had CD's, and posters. T shirts and pajamas. Everything a fan could want. So, that year for her birthday, my dad found this gift bag. I don't remember what she received that year, but it came in the bag.

When his birthday rolled around a few years later, we thought it would be funny to put his gift in the bag. And so we did, and if the gift was too big, we taped the bag to the wrapping paper. He always got it. Then, a couple of years ago, we lost the bag. I figured it got thrown out with the Christmas paper that year.

I pulled a box out of our laundry room a few months ago, and what should I find? You guessed it!

Father's Day is Sunday, so while we are at the zoo (we go every year), we will put his funny Fathers Day themed t shirt ( we get him a different one every year) in the bag. I don't know if he will notice or not, but I will.

THE BAG IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

S'MORES

Yesterday, we were wandering around Wal Mart, and we(the girls, Lauren, and I) thought that s'mores sounded good, so we bought the ingredients to make them.

Lauren asked me how we were going to do this, like if we were going to start the bbq grill, and I told her that I needed her to dig a pit in the yard, line it with foil, and find some sticks, to start a campfire. Well, she didn't believe me(go figure) and so, we just popped them in the microwave. They are delicious!!!!

There is no reset button

This is Val's pride and joy. She loves her ipod! Today, she was listening to some songs she just downloaded (legally-I know a person who is in an unfortunate lawsuit situation over pirated music) and it just froze up. In the middle of the song.

I am not electronics savvy, by any means, and Mark had to work late, and Val was kind of freakin, so I went on the internet, and found a site that gave step by step directions on how to fix a frozen ipod. I said we should wait for her dad, which we did for a while, then Val wanted to try it, and gosh darnit, she fixed it all by her lonesome!

And then, she celebrated by downloading more songs.

I am keeping the directions in my Favorites file.

Just in case.

Thank God the Beer Is OK!

I hope all of you in BlogLand weathered the storm ok. Get it, weathered? HaHa!

Mark had to work late tonight, and we sat down to dinner as the sirens went off. Since we have no basement, we generally go to my mom's house, since they have a basement.

Mark bought beer on his way home and when we got to my mom's, we had the girls, their bags, and Wrinkles, but when we got back to the car, the beer was ok. Happy Day!

Punk Rock Hair

I don't think they meant for it to look punk rock, but I think it does. Lauren got this spray at Party City, so she and Emi put it in their hair after a day of swimming.

I hope their hair doesn't fall out from all the different chemicals!

They were a little too happy....

Now, you know that I love Vinh and DJ, but they were joking around yesterday before they got in the pool that they wanted girl friends, so I told them not to look at my babies that way. Did you know that Tianna and Julie are both my babies too? Well, they are! Especially when they came out in their bikinis.

I am totally confident in these kids though. They are like brother and sister, and just have a good time together, but I will keep my eyes and ears open next year.

They ARE my babies, after all. The boys too.

Do you remember these?

When I was young, these were made of nails. My grandpa had one, and he used to let us play with it .

I don't remember what they are called. Emily found this one when she had some Christmas money from my Grandma's estate, and saw it and bought it.

Now, they are just long pieces of plastic. Sometimes it is hard to mold it, and get it to stay, but this one did pretty well. It is kind of fun to play with. She enjoys it.

I am adorin' Lauren

This is my gal Lauren. She is awesome!!! She goes to SMM and will be in the 8th grade in the fall. I have watched her/taken her home since the summer after her 1st grade year at SMM. That is a long time.

I have always been linked to her though. Her mom and uncle grew up down the block from me, so we grew up together.

Lauren loves Ramen noodles ( I know they are disgusting) and swimming, doesn't like to read much, but I think she is a smart cookie- and yes, she also likes cookies.

I remember when she first came to our house, just 7 years old, and met Mark, and she called him Mr Young, and he told her she did not have to call him that, so she asked what she should call him, and he said whatever you like, so for the whole summer plus, he was known as Mr. Britney Spears. That is what she came up with.

I also remember when she cut her toe open on a nail, there was a lot of blood. It kind of made me sick.

And the stories. She is hilarious! There is a story she told me and my dad once, about a time she was holding a (real) revolver and running on a hill with her uncle. I think my dad spit his pop out for sure.

I am sure the little darlin' will pop up in stories over the summer. I'm telling you, she is someone everyone should know!

My man Landon

I decided this was family night. I wrote about Shelbie and Noah a while ago, so I am going to focus on my other nephews now.

For some reason, there was a theme going on last month of cousins trying to beat Valleri in photos. I'm not sure what was going on exactly, except that she probably deserved it. Just kidding!

Landon is a smart little cookie. Very sporty. Mark especially enjoyed watching him wrestle a few times, but that was because it was his favorite sport. His favorite, I think, is football. We only got to see one scrimmage last season, because we were busy with girl sports, but I know he did a great job all season, I hope we can see him more next season.

Last year, Landon and Shelbie stayed with us for 3-4 days while Tim and Danelle went to Mexico on vacation. I was being a smartass, and trying to scare them, and went around the house to the bedroom window they were playing in and beat on it, and he, Emi, and Shelbie were screaming and jumping around, then, like an idiot, I turned and twisted my knee and fell on the concrete cutting it open, and bleeding pretty bad. He saw it, and ran out with Uncle Cracker and helped me inside, then that little sweetie sat with me while Mark went out for pizza. He said he was going to stay with me in case I needed anything. I recovered enough to drive him to his baseball game a few days later. And now, I am fully recovered, in case you were wondering.

I know Landon is getting to the age where he is a "tough guy", but I love him, and will be patient until he grows out of it. I know he loves me, even if he doesn't say it anymore, he will again, and I will just continue to hug and kiss him and talk to him about Legos and everything else he likes, because he is one special little guy to me!

I love him!!!!

TIm

This is my oldest nephew Tim. He is 16. Does this make me old? NO!

He lived at my mom and dad's house for a number of years after he was born, so we have really gotten to know him. It was really hard for him when Val was born, he lost a lot of attention, but he rallied, and now he and Val are more like brother and sister, than cousins.

Tim is a good kid. He went through grade school at SMM, and applied to BCCHS, and was accepted, but decided to go to Derby High School instead. I think it was a wise choice, Catholic school was a bit stifling to him, but he is doing absolutely awesome where he is now.

Tim is a very talented artist. He draws, and paints, and is doing a really great project for Nanny for her birthday next month, drawing portraits of each of her 5 grandchildren. I saw the one he is working on of Val, and it is really excellent. I was very impressed.

I love Timon, that is my nickname for him. Don't tell him I still call him that though, even though he still calls me his Aunt Minnie. He is also responsible for naming my mom Nanny, my dad Buddy ( that is because each night my dad would get home from work and get his stroller out to take him for a walk around the block , and he would say Come On Little Buddy, when Tim was old enough to talk, that is what he called him), and my absolute favorite, he could not learn to say Aunt Suzy for my sister, it came out Aunt Doody. I love it! And, she is a teacher at Derby High by the way, and I heard he once slipped and called her that at school. I did not think it was a big deal, because when he went to SMM every day at lunch he called me Minnie, but Suzy was quick to remind me that the names are quite different. Whatever!

The cute girl in the pic is Tim's girlfriend Tysanna. She is very sweet. Just wanted to mention it.

Anyway, I love my Timmy- toes.

Connor

I like this picture. It is Valleri with Connor, her cousin, falling down on top of her. We were at Beech Elementary, and it was Noah's last day of school. He was getting an award, but Connor was too antsy to sit still and watch, so Val and I took him outside.

Connor is in pre school at SMM. He is addicted to cartoons-he calls them tartoons. He loves legos, fruit snacks, and Scooby-Doo.

Cute kid. I call him Bad Baby, but he is not really bad, and he isn't even a baby anymore. Just a cutie.