Another Marching Band Video

Sam found this on YouTube--a video from their performance in Jonesboro, Arkansas where they became the grand champions.

Hell Week

You ever had one of those weeks where NOTHING went right? Don't laugh, but this is how last week went...

The strap on my favorite turquois Crocs shoes broke off. Not a huge deal (Sam tried to glue it back together), but it was the start of an insanely stressful week. Next up, we had some guys come out to do maintenance on our furnaces. We paid a good amount of money to have the furnaces and air conditioning units serviced twice a year, but of course they uncovered something that needed to be done that wasn't covered in their maintenance contract OR the home warranty we pay a lot of money for. I had a HUGE altercation with the guys because I felt like I was being screwed over. To make a long story short, they were sent away without being authorized to do the $150 thing I'm not even sure needed to be done in the first place.

Next day, the internet dies. It wasn't the cable modem, and after a bunch of testing, it looked like our router got fried from power bounces in our neighborhood. They're actually turning power off to the area all day Wednesday to supposedly fix the issue, but that didn't help us. We were totally offline for several days until a friend took us to Walmart Saturday, we bought a new router, and Wayne talked us through getting the network back together. UGH!!!!

And while the stress was high, my cell phone managed to fall into my glass of Diet Coke. HONEST TO GOD! It died a sugary, water-logged death. Since Chris's had gone through the wash machine, that meant we were down to two phones for the four of us. Luckily our contract is up and we can get new phones, but that means Washington numbers while we're still in Memphis.

Then Sam had diarrhea for several days which we feared could be from salmonella-tainted Austin peanut butter and jelly crackers. Luckily it went away, so it must have been the stomach flu that was going around.

Chris's glasses broke, but a nice guy at Walmart took pity on us and fixed them for a whopping $2.

Last but not least were the Microsoft layoffs. Not again! Fortunately Wayne's job survived, even though another guy in his group was let go.

None of it was major, but please, oh please, can this week be better?!? I just want us all back together again before my supply of Xanax runs out (laughs).

Dancin' the Night Away

Sam and her friend, Lauren, met a bunch of colorguard friends at Winterfest last night. That's a semi-formal dance that raises funds for a safe graduation night party for the seniors.

Turns out Sam had a BLAST! She danced all night, and even spent the night at Lauren's. Oh, and Lauren's dad grilled them a wonderful steak dinner before the dance. (They actually got together early so they could do hair, makeup, etc. together.)

Chris and I just stayed home with a deli pizza from Wal-Mart.

Nothing Like a Nap

What better way to chill than an afternoon nap? While Lady was glued to Chee for the most part, she did take time out to nap with her daddy. It was so nice having them home...

Calendar Cats

Microsoft did a cool fundraiser for a local animal shelter. They produced a Cats of Microsoft calendar where employees could donate and enter cat pictures for inclusion in the calendar. Our Meg can be seen on March 1st yawning, and Terry and Cali appear on the April 2 square. Unfortunately our photos weren't a high enough resolution to be considered for one of the 12 month shots, but the item raised over $40,000 for the organization! How cool is THAT?!?

Anyway, I've been working on entries for next year, and Terry lounging on CJ's Xbox sleep pants could be a contender.

Super Scrabble!

Wayne got me Super Scrabble for Christmas. What a fun game! And now the kids are actually old enough to be worthy challengers. Sam and I played a game, filled the board, and used all but TWO tiles! Check it out above...

The Living Gift

Since the day Chris discovered someone in Parker had found a long-haired calico, my dream cat, Meg has been his perpetual gift to me. Every birthday, every Valentine's Day, every Christmas, you name it, Meg appeas as Chris's gift to me. Chris made a grand gesture of it this year, though, as he put her under the tree. Don't worry; she was only there an hour while we ate Christmas Eve dinner.

Wow, He Made It!

It was probably the biggest Christmas miracle this family had ever seen. After being snowbound in his apartment for a week and having the shuttle scheduled to take him to the airport cancel less than 12 hours before the flight due to poor road conditions, Wayne and Lades made it out of Seattle between snowstorms.

None of the cab companies were taking passengers, but the owner of one small company took pity on our story and picked up Wayne and his travel companion in his Chevy Suburban. It cost an arm and a leg, but it was worth every penny! Turns out Lades is quite the calm traveler. Not a peep or an accident out of her all day. Wayne carried her through the airport in a backpack (flight approved of course), took her out so they could walk through security together, and learned that she was a much better passenger than many of the kids on the crowded flight.

The kids and I watched the progress of their flight so our Christmas Eve ham dinner would be ready shortly after their arrival.

Lades and Chee-burger got along as if they had never been apart, and of course the kids and I were super-excited to see Wayne.

Christmas was pretty calm. We had a big breakfast and found everyone fighting over Xbox time. A lot of cool games found their way under the tree, and since it's part of Wayne's job, well...

The week went entirely too fast. Of course we had to go out for BBQ and southern fried chicken in between stocking up for our next stretch of time. Turns out this may be the longest stretch we'll be apart, too. Wayne has a lease on his apartment until April 1, so it's doubtful the kids and I will move before then unless I find a job out there. Ugh. Anyway, we enjoyed the holiday, and were very grateful to have everyone in one place. We hope yours was happy and safe as well!