A Gift From Marisa

We had an early New Year's Eve dinner at our neighborhood Applebee's. As we sat at the table reminiscing about the year, Marisa asked for a pen. I thought she was bored and just wanted to doodle on the napkins. She slid the napkin across the table and told me to read it outloud. Here is what she wrote for me:

I miss you here with me.
I never thought this would be.
I miss seeing you, you're no longer in by view.
I'm lost without you.
I just don't know what to do.
I got no clue, who would of knew.
I'm searching for you like an owl.
I miss you, Granny McDowell.

Merry Christmas Eve

It doesn't matter how big the kids get, we always start off with the traditional 'kids-by-the-tree-with-pets photo'. This is KC's first Christmas with us. Danny had to dangle a bacon flavored treat over my head in effort to get the dogs' collection attention. Tony kept squeezing KC's sides. This photo took about half a dozen tries, so this particular photo is as good as it gets.

Now for the favorite treasures of the night:

Marisa...skinny clothes

Danny...vintage Captain Kirk doll. Oops! Sorry! ACTION FIGURE
Tony...a fan of gift cards

Angie...a years worth of Bill and Eric

Who Let The Dog Out...

...or forgot to put her in the crate? Actually, this happened when we were home! KC decided to chew on, or eat, Danny's new shoes. Thank goodness we bought them on sale at Kohl's. Before I discovered the shoes, I found cherry-flavored cough drops and used tissues on the staircase, all half eaten and damp from slobber.

You'd think a shark was in the closet! That's where the shoes were this morning! In the closet.
She definitely looks satisfied with herself. I wonder if shoes are a form of dog nip. Heavy sigh. But the good news is that Danny gets a NEW pair of shoes.

'Tis The Christmas Season

It's time to bring out those charming Christmas movies! The ones we tend to watch over and over are:

Christmas Vacation

A Christmas Story

We also watch The Nativity Story, The Santa Clause, Scrooge, and Jingle All The Way. When the kids were little we sat for hours enjoying the boxed set of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials.

What's in your entertainment center for the Christmas Season?

Happy Birthday, Marisa!

Marisa turned 16 years old yesterday. She chose to go to Red Robins for lunch.

She bought this Ghostbusters shirt from money she got from her Uncle Lucas and Aunt Vicky. Instead of a birthday cake, Marisa wanted Scooby Doo cupcakes. (Yea, there's still a kid underneath that tough exterior.)
Every year when the 'fab four' are together, we line them up for a mug shot. Looks like Tony is the tallest this time.

Did you know that the Denver Aquarium has Sumatran Tigers?

See Nemo?

It's Big Boy! We had turtles when I was growing up. When they got too big, we would turn them loose at Lake Jacksonville. Now, when we see turtles, we say "It's Big Boy!" (Similar to the line "punch buggy, not punch backs...")

Orange was the color of the day...

Marisa let me take a picture with her. I think I brushed my hair that morning, maybe not.

Marisa and her Papa...

Dad and Me. I love you!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well....the gang's all here! Amazing how they have grown since last summer. The boys are still toe-to-toe in height. Marisa has fallen alittle behind, but don't let that fool you. She still rules the roost (Queen-in-training). We went to Pearl Street the first day and enjoyed the nice weather.

And, being a computer family, even my brother had to put in a few minutes working. Hey! He is now officially on facebook, too!

It's early in the morning on this beautiful, crisp Thanksgiving Day. We put the turkey in brine the night before and here it is on the grill. Yep! We grilled the turkey this year.

The spread is bountiful....(but the photo is cropped crooked.)
The boys...silly as ever. And, nothing less is expected.

Here's Marisa. Tomorrow is her 16th birthday. Stay tuned....

Original Man Candle...Candles With Attitude

Danny and I went to the Colorado Country Christmas Gift Show as we do each year. We love all the holiday ideas, cooking shows, crafts, food, etc. This year there was a new station that had Man Candles.

Ok, this was a blast! Between the scents of Football, Golf Course, Cup o' Joe, Pot Roast, Sawdust, Fishing Dock, Bacon, Garage, and Freedom...we couldn't decide which to get. However, I just couldn't manage to work up the courage to sniff the Fart candle.

We decided on Football (leather), Golf Course (fresh cut grass), and Cup o' Joe (obvious). They had run out of Draft Beer and French Fry candles. I might have liked those as well.

Yep, Danny married the right girl. I do LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Dee Jay's Candles like lavender, cinnamon, english ivy, baked pie, white chocolate, spring rain, and french vanilla. But, I can stand my own ground and hang with the best o' them. Except the farting thing, that's just gross!

Never Too Old

Well, the young at heart still go trick-or-treating. Tony is Rorschach from The Watchmen, Shannon is a Lady Bug, Sevren is a Banana, and Marisa is a brooding teenager. And, yes! They actually are out getting candy. I confiscated a roll of toilet paper from Marisa's backpack.

A New Smile

Marisa got her braces off! Now if she would just reconsider taking out that lip ring...

Rake Job

Kids want money. To earn this money, they must do jobs around the house. What better way to make easy money than to rake the leaves in the front yard. Here is what was finished before they became "too tired for the day".

Four half-filled bags of leaves. And...

Well....
Real teens, real parents, real issues...

Happy October!

October is one of my favorite months. Perhaps because it's my birthday month. Or, perhaps it's because this is when the leaves turn to the beautiful fall colors, football is in full force, cooler weather arrives, anticipation of Halloween, or just because.

This weekend I'm headed up to the mountains for a scrapbook retreat. Work has been very busy and the kids have been giving us a hard time lately. So, I'm so looking forward to this time away.

Legacy Homecoming 2009

Homecoming is an event that stays with you forever. This is Tony's first homecoming. Marisa didn't go to homecoming last year. But this year was a different story.
Here is Tony in his room waiting for the girls to get ready. Tony started getting ready at 2pm.

Marisa and her darn lip ring. Here she is getting ready.

Had to get a picture of my kids together, smiling, happy, and being nice. Yea, I had to snap this one quickly.

Tony and Heather. Note the wrist corsage...Tony picked this one out all by himself. He did a great job!

Marisa and Sevren. The hat thing, I don't know what that's about. But most of the guys were wearing them. Marisa is so darn pretty, sin't she?

The fab foursome. They decided to go to Red Robin for dinner. Can't beat those bottomless french fries. Marisa and Sev know how to pose! Tony and Heather are so cute together.

And, here is the entire group. The new additions are Shannon and Dexton. They piled into my car (Tony and Dex ended up in the back) and off they went to the dance. Thank you all, kids, for being patient with us moms. We were snapping shots faster than a modeling session.

Grand Lake, Colorado

I'm sitting here thinking of something to say about our weekend at Grand Lake, CO. I keep thinking how much I want to go back! I'm thinking that once the kids graduate and move out, Danny and I can retreat to the mountains forever! Who needs the day-to-day grind and drama of reality? Oh well, we'll see...
This is the front of our cabin. We stayed in the Henry Schnoor Cottage. Perfect size for our clan.

This is the back of our cabin. Tony and I sat on the porch in the morning, drinking coffee that was so hot and so strong. He complained of being cold and wrapped up in his comforter. He wouldn't be a good candidate for full-time mountain living.

This is the Grand Lake Yacht Club where we rented out boat for the day. Luxurious...mountain style!

This is Shadow Mountain. Very nice, crisp, and peaceful.

This is Danny and me by the harbor and the museum. Walking distance everywhere.

Well! Imagine our surprise and chagrin when we saw the sign "Please stay off the rocks"!

So, we found a BOULDER instead. Oh, where is Marisa? Well, being the teenager that she is, she wanted to stay back home with friends. So be it...

All I Did Was Blink

Here is my son Tony with his girlfriend Heather. At first, I was a bit shocked when I saw this. But, what you don't see are the other 4 kids in the room making faces. She did a good job cropping them out. It was taken in our house, on the sofa. Still...all I did was blink and my son grew up.

Exercising Independence

Marisa decided to pierce her lip, on her own, after we told her not to. She and her friend did this home job with a stud earring, hydrogen peroxide, and a lighter. It took place in our front yard. We are very disappointed that she did this. Now, natural consequences take over: will it get infected, how is she going to get the "real" components for a lip piercing (as we are not paying for it), what will the orthodontist say at her appointment next week, what will happen when she has gum surgery? Individuality, independence, and defiance have a price.

Driving

Marisa has her learner's permit now. We take her out in the early evenings after work. Most of the time she will drive my car, but she also likes to drive Danny's convertible...with the top down.

She THINKS this is going to be HER car when she gets full driving privleges. That remains to be seen!