Time Out for Women Plano, TX

This past week, I had the great opportunity to go to Dallas Texas and visit some family and friends.  They really don't live in Dallas, but close enough.  It was way fun, relaxing, and full of great experiences.  I stayed with my most beautiful cousin Joanna, but I got to visit with others.  My brother Darin and his family live there as well as my cousin Lisa and her family and my cousin Teresa.  It was so good to see everyone.  In fact, it was the first time I had ever seen my brother's youngest daughter and she is definitely a Davis. 

Joanna, my sister-in-law Betty Jo, and I were able to go to Time Out for Women in Plano.  Along with them my good friend Lynette who use to live here in Alabama, got to come up and attend as well.  It was so good to see her.  We were able to spend most of the weekend together playing card games, talking about old times, eating out, and of course listening to awesome Time Out speakers.  For those who knew Lynette, she is doing quite well as she is serving as Primary President in her ward and loving the time she spends with her family. 

 Joanna and Julee.  Isn't she beautiful??  She is so much fun to be around and even though she doesn't think it, she is an awesome mom of 5 very active children.  Now, I love her children.  They are seriously funny and so much fun to tease, but if anyone deserves a Time Out, it would be Joanna.  She has so much patience and she loves to do so many fun things with her kids.  They are so lucky to have a mom like her.

 Lynette and Julee.  It was so much fun to see Lynette.  She is one of my bestest book buddies.  I have missed her so much and it was so good to chat with her and spend some time with her.  When I first had thoughts of going to Time Out in Plano, I had thought that maybe I could drive back down to Houston with her, spend a week around her house, and fly home from Houston.  It just didn't work out that way, but that just means we can always plan another trip.  Though, I have taken a few trips this year, and Jeremy might start putting his foot down.  I love ya Jeremy.

 Here is the gang with Virginia Hinckley Pearce.  She wasn't suppose to be at this Time Out, but was filling in for someone that just couldn't be there.  What a surprise.  It was so cool to listen and talk with her for a few moments.  I kept thinking, "Wow, this is Pres. Hinckley's daughter, she must have had some awesome experiences growing up".  I loved every minute of it.

 I was so excited to hear that Brad Wilcox was going to be speaking.  Joanna and I use to hear him speak when we were youth.  Also, I had forgotten this, which I can't imagine why, but he was in the bishopric in our BYU ward.  (I know, how could I have forgotten)  Betty Jo was excited to talk with him 'cause he was her brother's mission president in Chile.  He gave a wonderful talk.  Just like I remember. 

Ah, Michael Mc Lean.  I have heard plenty of his music and my most favorite is the Forgotten Carols, but I have never had the opportunity to be there for one of his performances.  He was very very fun.  

 And here we are at the end of a great Time Out for Women.  We had a great time.  Time Out was awesome.  I had a great time and learned some good things while enjoying myself with others.   I guess I get to go again next week in Atlanta with a friend from here.  There will be a couple of the same speakers, but about four will be different.  Lucky me.  The rest of my trip was great also.  It was so much fun to see everyone and to visit and catch up. 

Meet Odie

Saturday morning, Jeremy says he wants to go to the flea market not too far from Huntsville.  Well, if anyone really knows me, you know that I hate flea markets.  I don't find them fun at all.  So, I let him take the kids while telling him I had laundry to do.  (That is how much I hate flea markets)  A few hours later Emilee comes into the house very excited and asks me to guess what they got from the market.  I go outside and Megan is bringing in this.  An 8 week puppy.  Now, Jeremy and I have been talking about getting a dog.  We had one a few years ago, but we had to give him up because he just was too hyper for my kids.  I just thought we had to prepare more around our house to make it more puppy safe.  I guess when they found this little critter, they couldn't resist including Jeremy.  So, we now have a new member of our family.  I guess I think he is kind of cute.  So, just when I thought I was all through with potty training, here I am, doing it again.  He is actually doing pretty good.  We just have to be on top of it and make sure we take him out every 2-3 hours.  He seems to hold it quite well during the night.  We need to work on him telling us, but they say that can take a couple of months.  His first night he whined a lot in the night, but I put my earphones in my ear and told Jeremy I've done that job 3 kids before, it is all up to him.  Hee-hee.  He is a Dausend mixed with a Coon Dog.  His mother was the Coon and his father was the Dausend and the kids named him Odie.  The kids have had a blast with him.  They even love cleaning up his stuff outside.  They get so excited for him when he makes it outside to do his business and praise him with great words and treats.  I think little Odie is going to like it here.  He definitely will have lots of love from my kids.

First Day of School

Ah, the first day of school.  So many emotions for this day.  For the mom of a first child going into kindergarten has many different emotions then the mom who is on there fifth or sixth child going into kindergarten.  For me, I have to admit is a lovely day.  Don't get me wrong.  I love my children.  I love spending time with them, I love hearing their stories, I even love (sometimes) their emotional breakdowns.  With all that love, sometimes,  I want to share it with their teachers.  My kids, even though they won't admit it, I think were excited for the first day of school.  And even though they won't admit it, for the most part, enjoyed it.  I was having some thoughts of when each went into kindergarten for the first time yesterday.  So, I got out the old photos and decided to compare.  How they have grown.  Especially my oldest. 

                          
I probably couldn't find my camera the first day of kindergarten when Megan went to school so I must have used my phone and we think camera phones are bad now, back then they were awful.  Megan started school in Las Vegas, but we were getting ready to move to Virginia.  We knew she would only be there a few months, but she loved both kindergartens.  She is still short, but has grown up most definitely.  She didn't like her first day of fifth grade too much.  Here in Alabama, they have to change classes through out the day and she has three teachers this year.  She says she doesn't like to do that.  Megan has never been one for change and isn't ready to grow up at all.  I say that is fine, but she will want too in time.  I can't believe she is 10.  Wow!  Time does go by fast.  She did say her second day was much better.  She will get use to all the differences and I am sure will have a great year.

Emilee started kindergarten in Virginia, but like Megan, we knew she would only would be there for a few months before we moved to Alabama.  Also like Megan, she enjoyed both kindergartens a lot.  Emilee is my little studious student.  She loves school, though if you ask her now she sometimes says no, but I think that is just because she listens to her sister too much.  She is always well liked by her friends and her teacher.  She had a great first day of third grade and loves her teacher.  I never worry about Emilee at school.  She is always happy.

Not much change for Hunter since he just started school last year.  And what do you know, we actually had a child finish kindergarten with the same teacher.  How 'bout that?  Hunter is very silly when it comes to school.  I am not sure what goes through his head all the time.  His teacher last year only had great things to say about him.  He seems to listen well, but he says he doesn't like school at all and thinks he would get along fine without it.  I think he liked his first day of first grade.  I see him smiling and then when I call him on it, he says he wasn't and doesn't like to sing and doesn't like the big spider hanging on the wall in his new classroom.  He is such a character.  Mostly talk I tell you.  I am sure he will get along just fine.

It will be a great year for all of them.

Peaches

I love peaches!  I never really knew how much I love peaches until about 6 years ago when my ward in Las Vegas took orders to have some peaches delivered to us from the great state of Georgia.  So, I ordered a box.  OMGosh!!  So good.  They just are not the same in the grocery stores.  Everyone of them was a bit of heaven.  A year and a half later, we moved to Northern Virginia.  I thought "Wow, look at all the orchards around.  Surely the grocery stores will have some great peaches"  No....They don't.  The next year my cousin had come to visit so we had took her and the kids and went to an orchard to pick some.  OMGosh!!, so good.  Now we are here in Northern Alabama and I thought once again, "Wow, these peaches look so good in the store"  No, they weren't.  Very disappointing.  So, the other day I ventured out to find some good peaches that were not in a grocery store.  I am here to say, I succeeded.  My friend told me about this place off the 72 called Isom's.  (For all of you living near here)  They were fabulous.

Don't they look wonderful??  Believe me, they are!  Well we didn't stop there.  They had some nectarines to eat.  So I ate one with the kids.  Megan says"MMMMmmmm, I like that!" I guess she has never had a nectarine....go figure.

Now I think I like nectarines just as much as I like peaches, but again, you can't seem to find good ones in the stores so I guess I never bothered to give them to my kids.  My kids were all over them when we got home.  Don't they look good??

We ended up getting some grapes also.  They were really good as well, but they have seeds in them so I don't know how much the kids will eat them, but that is OK.  I still like them. 

LESSON TO LEARN:  Don't buy your peaches and nectarines in the grocery store.  So not worth it.  Either grow them yourself, find an orchard where they grow them, or if this is not available for you, find away to make that order from Georgia.  I still will say, that those were the best peaches that I ever did have.  I guess that is why Georgia is called the "Peach State".

"Smokies"....Tennessee

Last week our family was able to go to the "Smokies" of Tennessee.  We went a couple of years ago, but we thought it was time to go again.  We went to Dollywood again and instead of going to Splash Country this time, which is right next to Dollywood, we decided to go to an indoor water park in Gatlinburg called Wild Bear Falls.  Of course the kids had a good time.  They were definitely in their element of fun.  I have said it before and I will say it again, I am impressed with Dollywood.  Coming from the west, I always thought it was a park that probably was a joke, but it is a very nice park.  Very green, lots to see, and a good variety of rides for everyone.  Most rides you do get wet on, but I have to say..It felt really good to get wet that day.

We were lucky that day at Dollywood.  It called for rain and we didn't get any.  The next day we went to the water park and what do you know, it poured and you know what??  It didn't matter 'cause we were indoors.  Hunter had a blast.  He was so excited to use his swimming skills that he was able to learn this summer.  Emilee wasn't to shabby on her swimming skills as well.  Megan of course loved the big water slides.  She tried really hard to get Emilee on them, but Emilee just didn't like how high they were.  I went on one of them with her a few times, but I wouldn't go down the really fast one.  Something about being in total darkness heading down a really really fast slide.  I lost my nerve.  What happened to me.  I use to go on anything.  I almost went 'til I heard someone say, "I am never going on that slide again."  So what if it was a kid that said it.  Don't feel too bad for Megan.  Her dad went down it with her and she found a friend to hang out with. 

We had a good week. But, like always, it was good to get back home in our own beds.

Elizabethtown, KY...Much Needed Getaway

For the past year I have been telling Jeremy that I need a vacation all by myself.  No kids, no husband, just me.  Well, I finally got it.  I just wanted time to relax, not worry, and just have time for me.  When I told others about where I was going, most said, "Elizabethtown.  What's in Elizabethtown and why did you choose it?"  Well, I learned about Elizabethtown last year when we took Megan up to Lexington.  It just seemed like a small community with a lovely name.  When we took Emilee up to Lexington this year, I was reminded of Elizabethtown again and thought, that is where I want to spend my few days.  It was small enough not to get distracted by too much to see and close enough to the big city, if I wanted to venture I could.  So off I went and let me tell you.  It was wonderful.  When I first got to the hotel, I lied down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling for about 30 min, just enjoying the silence.  For the most part, I read, watched a few movies, slept, saw a few of the quaint little sites to see in Elizabethtown, and I even went shopping,.... and I did venture to the big city of Louisville.

This was a cute little walking tour that I did in the center of Elizabethtown's little downtown area.  They had characters dressed up as we visited each one on this fun walking tour through the downtown area.  They told us the story about themselves and their role in Elizabethtown and their mark on American history .  We got to go in houses along the main street and pretend we went back in time.  We met people like Pres. Lincoln's sister-in-law and Pres. Buchanann.  Each person we met was a real person from the past and it was kind of cool to hear all about their stories.

The day before I came home, I went up to Louisville.  It is about 35 min. away from Elizabethtown and it is a huge city.  I went to Cheesecake Factory, shopped a little, and went to the downtown area of the city.  Now, I am not a fan of baseball at all.  But, when you are right next to where they make the "Louisville Slugger"  baseball bats and you see a huge Louisville Slugger bat off the road, you stop and take a picture.  I wish I could have gone inside, but it had just closed when I got there.  Oh, another time.  I also enjoyed "Fourth Street Live".  This is an area on the street where cars cannot go into.  It is mostly bars throughout, but they have some other things as well.  They usually have some bands playing.  Now, of course I didn't participate in any of the bar scene, but I did enjoy my Wendy's Frosty and listened to some music.  Of course, my luck, it was a country band.  I hung out a bit, but then I headed into Border's books, and finally back to Elizabethtown.  Now, as much as I enjoyed my "alone time", this would have been a place to go with others.  Lots and lots to see and that would have been fun with Jeremy or some great girlfriends.  Maybe another time.  It was a good trip.  I highly reccommend it.  We each need some good alone quiet time in our lives.

My New Blog

I have been thinking about doing this blog for a while.  I even think it might be a little embarrassing, but I figure the more people I let know about what I am doing the better.  I so often have just kept losing weight a secret because of how often I fail.  So I have created this blog to journal my struggles, triumphs, downfalls, and successes.  I have the desire to change and I hope that you will all visit it often to go on this journey with me.  I hope by knowing that if you might check it often I will be able to work through the struggles and become successful in the end.  Please leave comments of encouragement, tips that I might add to the pages, healthy recipes that have been proven successful in your families, and links that might have helped you.  I would like to post these things on the various pages of the blog. These are things I would like to add.  I even want to add pictures, which is embarrassing itself, but what a great way to see progress.  I can't wait to hear from you all.  See you on my journey......
http://watchmybuttshrinkthejourney.blogspot.com/

Emilee's Kentucky Trip

I have been meaning to put this up for some time, but just haven't had the motivation or the energy to do it. After a few weeks, I finally got it together. As most of you know, Jeremy travels a lot for work. One of the places he has to go is Lexington, KY. Last year Megan and I tagged along on one of his trips for her birthday. Emilee of course wanted the same thing, so this year again I tagged along on one of Jeremy's trips and we took Emilee up to Kentucky and enjoyed pretty much the same things. She of course was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to go to the horse park, ride horses, go to the children's museum, swim in the hotel pool, and hang out with just mom, dad, and her. When Megan got home last year, she told Emilee all about Riddick. Emilee of course wanted to ride Riddick as well. I told her, that might not happen, the workers choose a horse for you and it had been a year. A lot can happen in a year. I couldn't believe it, out of all the kids that were there, Emilee ended up with Riddick. She was so happy and couldn't wait to tell Megan. She did really good. A lot better then me, though I have to say, I had a HUGE horse, by the name of Big Boy, and I felt very high up. I also think I am allergic to horses 'cause last time my eyes puffed up. I had thought it was just plain old outside allergies, but I ended up at the eye doctor because it was so bad. This year my eyes seemed fine, until I got off that horse. After petting the horse and rubbing my eyes, they become puffy once more. Not as bad, since I took my contacts out immediately this time. That is what happen with me and cats, so I think I must be allergic. It was fun to watch Emilee though. I would do it again.
We got to see some fun horses, some small, some huge, and some pretty and different ones. We watched some do tricks with riders, and run around the track. It was a beautiful day. Warm, but beautiful.
We also went to the children's museum downtown. Emilee had a blast, running, playing inside big bubbles, working on patients, and going to the moon.
Last year, on the way home, Megan and I stopped at one of the caves, called Diamond Cave. This year on the way home, Emilee and I stopped at Hidden River Cave. At one time this cave was probably the most Toxic Cave in the Nation, because people would drop trash, dead animals, and anything else they didn't want down in the cave. In the '80's Kentucky made a law against that sort of thing. Some organization cleaned it up and the water started cleaning itself up and now is the town's primary water source. It is now know as the Nation's greatest ecological miracles. Before it went through all of that, in the '20's it was a dance club. They had a big band down there in one of the "cave room", set up lights, tables, refreshment areas, and danced the night away. I thought that was pretty cool. I guess many of the caves in Kentucky did the same thing.
We had a good time. We were happy to be home, but we had lots of stories to tell. I guess Hunter thinks he is next. But he has to be 8 to ride the horses, so it will be a couple of years.