A Time To Be Thankful

It may be cliche' but I thought with it being Thanksgiving I would post a "thankful" message. So, I asked my boys what they are thankful for...

Z: I am thankful for daddy and mommy and for my Kyle Busch car and my Ryan Newman hat. My movies, Frosty the Snowman and Bee Movie. I am thankful for my teacher Mrs. Wheeler and for Mr. & Mrs. Webster.

KT: I am thankful for daddy and mommy, Z, A, B and T (daddy's guide dog). My movie Finding Nemo. I am thankful for my school and my friend Nicholas and my teacher Ms. Wallis and the principal Ms. Hart and Mr. & Mrs. Webster.

A: Grandma, the fridge, the computer, the chairs and my toys.

B is to small to understand...

There seems to be a consensus though that they are all thankful for Grandma and Grandpa as well as all of their uncles, aunts and cousins.

As for me, the list is endless but most importantly, I am thankful for my beautiful family and for the love I feel from them every day of my life. I am thankful for my parents who have been great examples and support to me. My freedom in a beautiful country, and my belief in God.

In a time when things are so uncertain, I am grateful for all that I have been blessed with.

It Didn't Turn Out As Planned, But I Wouldn't Change A Thing

Today I attended Parent/Teacher conferences for Z and KT. As always I was beaming with pride as each teacher informed me how well the boys are doing academically.

Among the workbooks and papers that I was shown KT had a "green" workbook. One of the pages in the workbook asked the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and then asked you to draw a picture of what you will look like. KT's answer to this question was an F.B.I. Agent. Wow, that is just awesome!

This made me start to think about what I wanted to be when I grew up. I had plans, I'm sure just like everyone else, I had my life mapped. And naively, I expected it to go just as planned.

I was going to graduate from High School and then attend a 2-year college and get my Associates Degree. School was not easy for me (obviously my boys didn't get their book smarts from their mom) so 2-years of college would be sufficient.

After receiving my degree I was going to work for just a couple of years and then get married. After being married for two years, my husband and I would then start a family. I was going to be a stay-at-home mom.

So, how have my plans turned out so far?

I did graduate from High School and attend a 2-year college. At the age of 20 I graduated from that college with an Associates Degree. I immediately went to work. I worked, and worked, and worked...

At the age of 30 I met a great man and we were married. Shortly thereafter we started our family. I continued to work.

By the age of 36 I had 4 beautiful boys, a great marriage and was still working. I am now 38 years old still with a great marriage and those 4 boys. And yes, still working.

And SMILING!

My life hasn't turned out as I planned but, I wouldn't change a thing.
So to my dear son KT and his brothers I say, keep dreaming. You can be anything you want to be when you grow up. Most importantly, be happy! Oh, and try not to grow up so fast. Love, Mom.

Our Visit to North Lake Tahoe, Nevada

During the week of October 27th-30th my sweet husband and I were able to spend some time at North Lake Tahoe, Nevada. I was there for a software conference and KD was able to tag along. It is truly a beautiful place.

We flew into Reno, Nevada on Monday evening. After about a 45 minute ride on a shuttle to Incline Village, Nevada we arrived at the Hyatt at Incline Village. On the ride up to Incline Village we couldn't see much as it was around 10:00pm local time when we arrive. I could tell however, that there were a bunch of trees and some houses built among those trees. Incline Village is a small community nestled in very large trees. It is gorgeous. One of the comments made by someone from New York was that when he stepped outside it smelled like the air freshener in his car.

We were able to attend a dinner/dance cruise on the Tahoe Queen. This is a riverboat that cruises on Lake Tahoe for about 3 1/2 hours while you dine and dance to a live band. Although it was chilly when we were on the upper deck, I can honestly say that was the first time in a long time I have seen the night sky in all it's splendor. It reminded Kevin of days gone by in St. Louis.

Here are some more picures. If you ever have an opportunity, it is a very nice place to visit.


View from our hotel room at the Hyatt


Lake Tahoe in the morning


Lake Tahoe from Lone Eagle Grill (this is the view we had during all of our meeting)


View of Lake Tahoe from Mt. Rose

Trick or Treat...

We have made it a tradition to "Trick or Treat" at Daddy's office. They have two building and they open it up to the kids on Halloween. They even prepare a Haunted House. So after the Marriott and the South Salt Lake City Hall we came home with a small laundry basket full of candy.

Much to the boys dismay we only went to the house on our street this year. I'm not sure how much candy one household can have. For mom and dad, this was plenty. We will probably be throwing away candy from 2008 this time next year.

We Love NASCAR!

For those of you who know my little family well, you know that we love NASCAR. From the opening prayer to the final interview we love it all. Although we have yet to go to an actual race, we promise that someday we will.

The most avid fan in our family is Z. He doesn't miss a race. He makes sure that he watches both the Nationwide and the Sprint Cup races. If he can talk mom and/or dad into it, he will watch the pre-race countdown as well as any NASCAR shows that may be on during the week. For the first part of the season he would even write in his notebook the results from all of the races.

As far as drivers go...



KD (dad) likes Tony Stewart. We try not to fault him too much for that.



Z started out really liking Ryan Newman. However, he seems to have taken a liking to Kyle Busch lately. We have some educating to do with him.



KT and I (mom) like Kasey Kahne. A and B have no interest at this time. We all do seem to like Dale Jr. Who doesn't like him!

There are now only four races left in the season. We will then be done until February 2009 when it all begins again at Daytona.

We say congratulations to Dale Jr. , Tony and Kyle for making it into the chase. To Ryan and Kasey, we say, good effort...next year will be a much better year.

To all the NASCAR fans out there we say...CRANK IT UP!!!