Quilt and Celia

The above pictures are of the quilt that I was involved in helping make. According to my friend, I did 75% of it. Anyways, it was a ward service project to make the quilt and donate it to charity. It will go to a needy family. It was very frustrating for me and it was a lot of work. According to my sister Rachel the quilter, it was a 6 month project that I did in a little over 2 months or so...I am so glad it is done though.

To the side - this is Celia she has been really into drawing lately. Mostly on paper, but one day she drew on her legs. I washed most of it off, but she really did not want me to take the picture of Tigger off. It was gone by bath time, but at least I have a picture of it. Kids are so fun and silly.

Learning every day

Yeah for me I finally figured out how to get John's digital camera pictures onto the computer...I do not have a hookup from his camera to the computer. So now I can add some of those pictures onto this lovely blog. I will not add all 100 + pictures, but maybe juat a few of my favorites. If you want to see them all I have uploaded a lot to my facebook page and I can send you the link. I will post them in order from the most recent pictures back...

Six Flags

Here Celia is riding on the Thomas the Tank train engine. They let us take this picture here. She loved the little Thomas play area with slides and stuff. I hate that she is so grown up that she doesn't need help with anything like that anymore. We were able to get into the park for free, awesome, it was military appreciation day for the army.



This totally cracked me up. I had showed her the park map and information on-line the night before. She was so excited to meet Bugs Bunny - she actually watches a little Bugs on occasion. Unfortunately he was sick so they couldn't do the preformance. They did a little meet and greet and Celia had talked about getting her picture taken with them. She went so shy when she saw the characters that this is the closest she came. She kept wanting to see them though.

I was so impressed with how many rides Celia was actually able to go on. None of the big ones, but she was still able to go on a kids roller coaster and some kids rides. Probably the funniest was the water fall one where you go down. She was fine until the water hit us....Then she screamed and cried and was so mad at us for taking her on it. I really did warn her she would get wet...I guess it was just too much for her. She dried off quick and was fine, but it was funny.

After 5 or 6 pictures, I finally got a good one. The first he closed his eyes, second made a weird face, and the rest he kept purposefully closing his eyes. I don't know why he would do that, he has gorgeous eyes.

I finally decided that I should probably get my picture taken as well. Maybe next time I won't bend my neck all wierd. I am always the one taking the pictures, never in them. In fact, these are all digital pictures from John's camera. He has taken less than 20 himself. Chris keeps telling him to take pictures, I even begged him to take a picture of some stuff on base in San Antonio. He forgot....

I love this picture. John took it and you can just tell that she was having a fun day.

New Beehive Spend the Night

These are my beehives (the girls I teach and stuff at church). Michaela Buckner, Kyra Taylor, Sarah Embry, Brooke Mosby and the newest edition Tara Nye. We decided to have a spend the night to welcome Tara into Young Womens and beehives. They wanted to go to Waffle House and Walmart. So here they are at Waffle house listening to the music they picked out on the juke box.

You may think that Brooke is giving a disgusted look. Ok you'd be right. Brooke had made a mixture of stuff from the table, ketchup, syrup, pepper, etc. Tara decided to give it a try. Brooke was obviously shocked and yeah disgusted.

This was a radom picture that ended up being totally awesome with Sarah making a wretching face that looks like a ducks bill. She felt ill.....Little did they know I was slightly ill myself having found a hair at the bottom of my food.....

Sarah and Michaela are good friends. Here they are at Walmart trying on boots, I must also note this is their before picture. Everyone had wanted to wear pajamas to Walmart, but Sarah forgot hers.

Here they are with their newly acquired matching pajamas.....They cracked me up. The whole outfit was less than $10....

They love trying on silly clothes at Walmart. Brooke is in the tamer outfit of a mumu type night dress. She doesn't love it and neither did I, but it was fun to try.

Kyra and Tara try on some costumes since we went at the beginning of October.

Fishing at the Jones'

One of the many things that we did this year was take a little fishing trip to a family in the wards house. They have a lot of acreage and a pond. John is holding up the fish he caught...

John helping Celia fish.

This is from the beginning of the year, but I had to throw it in there. Celia was digging the georgia red clay and throwing the dirt over her head. I don't know if you can tell, but yes that is dirt all over and in her hair.

This is the silly face that Celia learned and has loved this year.

She loves putting on shiny gloss and will just keep doing it for quite some time if you let her. I even caught her adding watcr to the gloss when it ran out.

This is at the entrance to SeaWorld in San Antonio. We went to visit John for Spring Break _ an interesting trip filled with a flu bug and a 13+ hour drive in the car. Anyways, SeaWorld also does military appreciation stuff and lets you get into a park once a year if you are in the military. So yeah, we got in for free here too....Course as John puts it he does put his life on the line to have this privelege.

I love this picture from seaworld. I have no idea why that turtle is on his head, but it strikes me as very funny.


The only pictures John took at any of his Army Stuff were in San Antonio. These are a few. The one above and below is of his good friend Victor Armenta. They have good times together.

Yes I know this is disgusting, this is the kind of practical exam stuff John had to go through in San Antonio when he was doing the Army Medic school. That is a pre-requiste for the LPN type nursing school that he is currently involved in at Fort Gordon. It has been well over a year since he left for boot camp and there is not immediate end in sight.

Stuff

I will soon be posting new pictures... i would have already if I could get my husbands digital camera and the computer to peacefully coexist. Until I can figure that out or pick up some film from Sam's there are no new pictures. I just felt like posting a note to say that training for the half- marathon this time (3rd time) is a lot more challenging. I recently have been going to physical therapy to correct a lifelong pigeon toed leg problem (my feet turn in from my hips on). It has been a painful process to try to correct this problem. Now I no longer have pain in my hips when I run, but my legs hurt. Yes I know that is the way it is supposed to be, but it never was for me. I am also having to change the way I run, make it quieter and make sure my arms are at my sides and don't cross my body. I have to do all kinds of stretches and stuff. Fortunately, the physical therapist told me that I should be able to get greater definition in my legs because I am now using those muscles. We shall see how that goes. All I know is that I ran 8 1/2 minute miles on my 9 mile run on Saturday (a very hill run I might add) and it felt great. Ok, I was sore, but it was awesome to realize I could do that. I really feel like it is such a good experience to do long distance runs. My body does not tell me when to quit, of course if I broke something or it was excrutiating I would have to stop. But a little soreness and aches they aren't going to hold me down.
I have had a lot of help as usual in this training process. My friends and parents have watched Celia so that I can go on the long distance runs and occasionally the short ones as well. My normal routine usually has me running with the stroller in front and the dog attached running by my side. I should have someone take a picture of us like that so y'all can see my normal routine. I feel like an iron woman sometimes - course that's after I finish.
I must say that I was very hesitant to do this half-marathon. I just wanted to be pregnant. Well I decided that I can not change what happens in that area. Only Heavenly Father can help that and He has said that my kid(s) are busy right now doing their stuff. So I have to let go, a constant theme in my life. It really helps to have a goal of something else that you can focus on and running really does make me happy when I am done. It feels so good to get out there and use that wonderful body that Heavenly Father gave you.
I also wanted to add that I love my beautiful little girl and she really does bring peace to my life having her beautiful, energetic, love around. I have a blessed life.

Win a free handbag

Hey....If you post to your blog page you get extra chances to win...

So here is a new website that is giving away a new handbag everyhour on the day that they open, October 15 ....Hopefully one of us will win. www.handbagplanet.com

September Family Fun....

Does anyone know how to rotate pictures that are put on through cd.....if so let me know cuz this is driving me nuts?


Celia loves the computer. She plays games at Mickey mouse clubhouse and also has some educational games she plays that she loves. This is at grandma and grandpa's house, aren't the glasses - not hers- cute.

Celia being her usual daredevil self and climbing around at the park.


Celia and Daniel swinging at the park. Daniel loves the swings.

Isaac Riddling, he loves the sunnyd drinks.

Grandma making Izzy laugh while Ben holds her.

Amy wearing her hellofacatch shirt holding Izzy. They just got back from swimming.

Rachel and Kevin Crawford, I hardly have any pictures of them and so this was a nice moment to get one.

Erin Drummond looking so cute as usual.


Erin and mommy playing at the park...

I love how much Greg is smiling in this picture. Greg and mom were swinging side by side. Mom jumped off and somehow landed on her back. Greg didn't want to jump from the heighth he was getting to and so he slowed it down to a better one and jumped.

Crazy busy Month

Ok so this is a mass posting, just be grateful I took the 3 rolls of film and condensed them to one. I have had a crazy busy month and it is not quite over yet. I have been working on a service project quilt for the ward and it should have been started months ago. Unfortunately, this quilt followed the anything that can go wrong will go wrong motto and has been quite the trouble. I try not to feel too bad because my quilt expert sister, Rachel, assured me this was a 6 month project that I have done in about 6 weeks or less (I have had some help from a few of the ladies in my ward, as it was a ward project). At any rate between that and taking care of the kids and house and everything else I am spent. Can I get a vacation from life....no not really because vacations are a lot of work in and of themselves. Life is crazy and I am ever so grateful that I have my husband home every weekend, but just wish I was a little more caught up on the housework from the quilt project. That is the goal this week, right after I finish the quilt.

Ashley's Wedding

Ashley Galbreath became Ashley Guptil at the end of August and she is the first of 4 young women in our ward that will be getting married in the next few months. It makes me feel really old to be a young womens leader to someone who is now married, but that is the way it goes.
Ashley married Doug at the Charleston, South Carolina temple. It was beautiful and I loved being able to attend the wedding.

Ashley's dress is so pretty and it was cool because the bottom is part is removable so it becomes a party dress.

Celia was able to come and have some fun outside the temple with Ashley's sisters Macey and Katie. Luckily, there were plenty of my young women age girls out there to help watch.

Here are some of my girls Meghan Galbreath, Madison Buckner, Ashley Guptil now, and Kayla Mahedy who will also soon be married.

Ashley and her mom C'less. Both awesome women.

Michaela Buckner, Ashley, and Madison Buckner. Michaela is one of my current Beehives, but I have been in all of their leaders at one time or another. Aren't they beautiful.

The Buckner clan - Most of these crazy fun people are in my ward and I love them all.

Pictures at Home

Here is my crazy part time son Daniel Embry - he has recently decided that he is definately two and needs to act the part. He gets into everything. Pens, pencils, walls, furniture nothing is safe. The other day I tried to put him down for a nap, which I think he no longer will take, he took off his diaper and poop was everywhere when I came in. He definately is keeping me on my toes. Don't let this cute face fool you.

I must admit that he is also so funny and will throw himself on the ground to get you to laugh. He dances, sings, and even plays mock guitar. Celia and him act like siblings and love and hate each other depending on the moment.

Celia playing peek -a -boo under the toddler bed. I was just amazed she could fit under the bed.

Celia loves to wear pajamas and most days it is hard to get her out of them. If she had the choice she would wear pajamas everyday. She also loves her blanket and has started calling it a her and will not sleep without it. I love the fact that she is totally getting into imaginative play and will act out things with her dolls. She is with my old snow leopard stuffed animal from when I was younger.....ok well it is what I have slept with most of my life.

Ward Activity at the Jones'

The ward activity was fun. I was able to hit a volleyball, eat an apple off a tree, go swimming in cold water, and have very good food that I spilled all over the place in yet another one of my clutzy moments. They also had softball games going and games for the kids....I also ran into some poison ivy and am definately allergic. It takes forever for that stuff to go away....

This is my good friend Tiffany Harper. She is 6 months pregnant with her little girl, Lilly. I am so excited to meet this little girl and hope that she has brown hair - that is what Ryan, the dad, has requested. Either way she will be so cute.

This is one of my beehives Michaela Buckner playing with Celia in the pool. The water was so cold I don't know how they even could stay in the water.

Another one of my beehives Sarah Embry being thrown into the water by her brother Steven. Families are so fun that way.....


Celia eating one of the apples from the Jones' apple trees. It was awesome. Nothing better than picking an apple right of the tree and eating it. Course I love apples.

Celia and some friends went and checked out some cows and were on the fence while viewing them.

This is Alfredo Taylor he is 4, just a little older than Celia.

This is Theresa Taylor, I believe, I am sorry but there are 7 Taylor kids and I don't know them all by heart yet.
This is Gabriella Taylor,....again I am not 100% positive on this, but pretty sure. I think she is beautiful though.