Megahn

There is not a lot to say about this. I just thought it was a funny picture. When we went bowling today, Megahn and Brian brought their own bowling balls, and this romper was in her bowling bag. Apparently, she uses it to wipe her ball down.HAHA!
Anyway, I dared her to put it on, and she really has no shame, so she was more than willing.
I love her though. She is a good time! She fits perfectly with my brother, Brian. They are quite a match.

I Don't Wear Shoes For Just Anybody...

THis is how much I love Noah. Happy 10th Birthday!!!!

PS- I bowled a 91, a 37, then we only got another 1/2 game in, and I got 50, but that is only because Val bowled a strike for me.
I don't think I will make the tour any time soon.

All Is Fixed

I called ATT and got the internet fixed. My new password is ******. Really, did you think that I would give that away? Not even to you, my dearies!
So, now I can get email.
I am off to go bowling for Noah's birthday. I need to show off my skills. I think I will try to take pics.
Then, we have to pick up Hunter, cuz he is taking Val to the movies for New Years.
I think Mark will be home tonight....
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Attention

Hey, if you read my blog, then you probably email us too. I don't know what is wrong with our email, but I can't figure it out, and Mark won't be home until like Thursday or Friday, so if you want to email me use michelleyoung43@yahoo.com for now. I am sure Mark will be able to fix our valem address, but it is beyond me.

The (Burger) King is Alive

and stalking my brother.
I can't get my camera on, so I will have to paint you a picture of what we did this morning. Put your imagination caps on.....

First, this summer, I bought Brian a Burger King King mask for Christmas. It is the only thing that really freaks him out, so I thought it was a good idea. He is usually the one who zings someone on Christmas, but this time I got him. I mean, he gave my other brother, Marc, a book, for crying out loud.
Anyway, the King freaks him out. I am not sure why. Maybe, it is because he keeps popping out, or because he doesn't talk. I don't know. It is between him and his therapist. HAHA!
So, on with it. First off, the girls and I went to Burger King and got some food. Just a hamburger and fries. I was not sure what he ate from there. Then, we attached a note to it, written in regal script, saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY_ THE KING> P.S. I'M WATCHING YOU.
Once we secured the note, we called his lovely wife Megahn to make sure he was home, but not like right at the door, or outside.
We drove over, and they live right off of Mt Vernon, so it is not a side street, but like a regular 4 lane street, so I didn't want to have to pull into the driveway in case he heard me or saw me, so I drove around the front and had Val get out and run it up to the door, and ring the bell. Which she did, and we sped away.
Megahn never called, so we called her back, and she said the bell never rang, so we went back, and the bag was still in front of the door, and Val ran back up there, and rang the bell again, and ran, and I know he got it this time, because Megahn texted us that the bell rang, and we pulled up the street behind a tree, and saw his door open.
So far, he probably knows who did it, but is not saying. I haven't heard from him at all today. I will see him tonight, and I am curious if he will say anything, but I have instructed the girls to not give away the fun.
If this works, in a week or so, I am going to start leaving Burger King packages in his car, his desk at work, everywhere he goes.
Just to freak him out.....
My mom told me he requested my name for Christmas next year. I am not too worried. Yet.

You Say It's Your Birthday....

What's a birthday without a little mischief?
Today, it is my birthday. I am 30-cough cough years old.
Today, it is my brother's birthday. I will not tell you how old he is either, because he was born on my 1st birthday, and come on, I know (most) of you could figure that out.
I will post a blog with pictures later chronicaling the greatest birthday prank that I have ever pulled off. Ever! I will not let anyone in on the details, yet, because it is going to be too good, and I want Brian to be on his guard.
Maybe it will be this morning.
Maybe it will be this afternoon.
Maybe it will be this evening.
I don't know.
It will happen today though.
And then, I will let you in on it.

On a side note. We had a good time with Shawn, Amber, the kids, and Dalton last night.Old CHicago could not seat us (their loss), so we took our party of 11 over to Players. Shawn's son Dylan, really wanted to watch some football game, and not only did we get a whole room to ourselves, in the restaurant, they put the game on every TV in that room, so he got to see it, whichever way he turned.
Dalton's girlfriend, Amy couldn't go, she had to work, so the girls were definitely outnumbered, since we have 2 girls, but the Crawley's have 4 boys.
I will have to ask Val when she finally rolls out of bed if she has any pics. I forgot to last night.
There was a lot of talk of politics (boring), but when those 3 get together, there is a lot of laughter too. I am glad we got to see them. We really need to go and stay with them in Oklahoma for a change. And, watch out Dalton, because we are going to take you with us. Don't worry, if I drive, we will be there in 1/2 the time it would take if someone else was. HAHA! No really, it would be safe, but Val should really start getting some Highway Miles, for her license.....hmmmm....maybe....

Oh My God, Speed Bump

I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry! I have no excuse. I promise to do better. I have a load to write about Christmas, but I will do it by gift.
Gram gave Val rollerblades and Emi skates for Christmas. This was the first day that they got to strap them on and take them for a spin. They laughed and had a lot of fun.
Emi was in the street and Val stayed on the sidewalk. At one point, Emi yelled, Oh My God, Speed Bump, but went over it with ease, she is naturally athletic I think. It must be all those dance classes. Graceful.
Val loves her blades. She has never had them before, but she is doing really well on them also. She should have taken dance.
Anyway, they love the gifts. And, yes Gram, Val loves her new shirt. She washes it at night, so she can wear it during the day, she loves it so much. You hit a homerun for sure this time!
Nothing says Christmas likes skulls and crossbones. LOL!
Now, to get ready to go to dinner with Shawn and Amber! Maybe we will have some good stories about that!
Sure we will.

The Big Switch... I Don't Know Why I Always Do It To Myself....

Every single time we are on an extended vacation from school, I get the stupid idea to do this huge project that takes forever!
This time it was Val's idea. Not mine! She wanted the twin bed which is in Emily's room. Val has a Queen size and Mark and I have a full. So, Val wanted the twin, so she talked Emi into letting her have it, but she didn't really want the huge queen size, so I told her she could have our full size, and we would take the queen. We have the smallest bedroom as it is, but we were able to squeeze the mattress in.
Mark is in Greensburg, until the holiday, so he will be quite (pleasantly) surprised, because he loves Val's mattress. It is the most comfy one,but, it took a long time, and we all 3 suffered not very serious injuries from the move.
I wonder what Spring Break will bring.....

Finally FInals

Val has been working really hard this week, studying for finals. Yesterday, she had Old Testament, PE, Algebra 1A and Study Skills.
Today she has Spanish, Physics, and English. THese are her harder classes for sure, so she is a little freaked out about them, but she has studied really hard, so I hope she does well!
Valleri's gifts have always edged more toward the social side of school than the academic, but I do have a funny story. It is not about finals, just about a random PE test the girls had a few weeks ago, maybe a month or so. I lose track of time.
Anyway, Val was studying for a test, off her study guide, and my dear sweet, Karlee Fraizer came up to her and asked to use her study guide. Val said yeah, she could have it, but let her finish first. THen she said, that she WAS trying to get good grades now.
She finally figured it out.
Proud moment.
On a side note, her Study Skill Teacher recommended that she opt out of the 2nd semester class, so her counselor put her in Word Processing. She needs it to graduate anyway, and she is pretty happy about it.

Merry Christmas To Me... Sarcasm Style

The Grinch is alive and well in South Wichita! Mark's truck was broken into last night, and the stereo, subwoofer and amp were stolen. The most horrible thing, as I told the police officer who took my report, was his backpack with schoolbooks in it. Mark came home from Greensburg, just so he would not miss class, and left his backpack in the truck. His books are gone....his calculator is gone.... his backpack is gone.... GRINCHY!!!! THey popped out the back panel window, and voila got his stuff. Now, he is gone too... back to Greensburg for the day.
It is horrible for this to ever happen, but this is an EXTREMELY horrible time of year! I consider myself to be a Christmasy person, but there is only so much a person can take before it is too much! Mark has always leaned a little more toward the Ebenezer side of Christmas, but I believe he truly enjoys the season, deep deep down.
Sorry if I am short with you today, I have already been up over an hour, and it is only 5:15 am. I'll let you know next time something good happens to us, to balance out the Grinchiness....
I am going to go drive around the block and see if I see the backpack or books.... we don't really want to replace them if we can help it!

Weekend Update

Mark got home Thursday night, and was absolutely thrilled to stay at home yesterday while we were away at work or school. It happens so seldomly, he likes to tease us about it.
Then, yesterday night, Val and Hunter and Julie and Jack went bowling. Emily did not go because she had to get up early today for a basketball game at St. Jude. Emi scored the first basket of the game, within the first minute. She swished it! They played an excellent first half, but went a little spazzy in the second half, and ended up losing. They will try again on Monday.
Val spent her afternoon at the mall with Hunter, and Kenny and Taylor. Now they are eating soup and watching CRIMINAL MINDS on tv.
Tomorrow is Cookie and Candy Day, at Nanny's house. Maybe I will remember to take some pics.....I keep forgetting!

Part of the Solution

Mark has been working in Greensburg this week, and will be for a while. He will come home on weekends, for the next few weeks, months, years, whatever it takes. This is the slow season for electrical/construction work, so he has to be flexible and take what he can get.
I am sure you remember that Greensburg was hit by a tornado a while back and it devestated the town. Now they are rebuilding and the company Mark works for is one of the electrical contractors that are helping out. So, he is working long days and then has to stay in a hotel in Pratt, because there is not enough lodging in Greensburg. Makes for LOOOOONG days!!!!!
So, you may have heard, that Greensburg is going green. Mark says it is very interesting, the changes they are making to make the town eco-friendly. He sent some pictures, but I can't find them in the file, because Val named them, and I am not sure how to retrieve them. I don't want to wake her up early, because she already has to get up earlier now that there is only one of me, and there are a lot of things that have to be done in the mornings, that was easier when Mark could do half. I have never learned to split myself down the middle, not even after doing this for so many years.
Anyway, back to Mark. Apparently on one of the Discovery Channels, there is a program about Greensburg, and Mark said he would be on it, because they are documenting the rebuilding. I haven't been able to find it yet, and doubt he would be on so soon, since this was his first week out there, but I think when he is on it, that would be exciting, and I will keep you posted....

They were this close....

Emi's team lost tonight. They were so close to winning. They lost in the last 1 minute 30 seconds. Emi scored a basket and made a VERY OBVIOUS foul. They actually gave the girl baskets and she wasn't even shooting when EMi did it. They were just running down court, and EMi slammed in to her.
Yikes.
ANyway, I hope they do better on Saturday. They were SO close.
It was a heartbreaker!
They played like a team though.
They are getting there!

Tiger Basketball

I can't get my pics to load off my camera. I need Mark to check on that for me.
Emily's first game was on Monday night. It is rough, because she plays with the 8th graders, because there were only 2 7th graders that wanted to play this year. You don't really notice it, until you see the opposing team come in, because SMM kids all tend to be small to me, but other schools must grow their kids bigger- must have something to do with the lunches HAHA!
Anyway, it was a rough game, and they lost, but I think with a little more practice and if they are more aggressive on the court, they should be ready to take out HOly Savior this Saturday!
Maybe I will get some pics of the carnage this weekend. When Val's team played Holy Savior last year, all our girls got injured, and the ref actually stopped the game and told all the girls to start playing basketball and stop beating each other up, or everyone would be benched.
Yikes!
Emily likes to mix it up though. So does, Sara and Shanae. We will see I guess!

Who Was That Masked Man?

Mark being silly with the Christmas decorations....