Something to Think About

I came across this conversation today. It's from one of my favorite philosophers, Winnie the Pooh.

Pooh and Piglet walked home thoughtfully together in the golden evening, and for a long time they were silent.

"When you wake up in the morning, Pooh," said Piglet at last, "what's the first thing you say to yourself?"

"What's for breakfast?" said Pooh. "What do you say, Piglet?"

"I say, I wonder what's going to happen exciting today?" said Piglet.

Pooh nodded thoughtfully. "It's the same thing," he said.

Could be.

Now On To Volleyball...

Katherine has already played a week of games and had one tournament. This week we added Rebecca and that's where it gets interesting. I feel like the plate juggler, trying to keep everything spinning at one time. Rebecca had to report to the gym at Fielder Road at 2:30 for a 3:00 game. Katherine and I watched Rebecca's first game and then left to drop off Katherine at Pantego at 3:45. I left Katherine and drove to Grace Prep to pick up Abigail, who gets out of class at 4:00. We drove back to Fielder and picked up Jeff and Rebecca and then all of us arrived at Pantego to watch Katherine's back-to-back games at 4:30 and 5:30. On Thursday we get to do it all again, just in different locations. Don't get me wrong -- I love watching the girls play and, they really enjoy it. It's just that little thing of driving here and there that makes me feel a bit like a hamster on a wheel. Wait... I'm a plate juggler. No, hamster. No, juggler. Sigh...

By the way, both girls' teams won all their games tonight.
Go Lady Lions!

Upward Soccer Awards Night

Abigail enjoyed playing Upward Soccer this summer. There were only 2 teams, so they played each other every week. It was great to see how much they improved over the 9 weeks. Tonight was awards night where every player was given a certificate and a backpack. Thanks to James Booth for organizing a great season and to Coach David Gustaf for being such a wonderful influence on the kids.

Team United

Abigail, Emily Garrett, Chelsea Gustaf, Hannah Six

Tin Grins are In!

Rebecca had her top braces put on today. She really has very straight teeth, the best of all my kids. However, she had 3 baby teeth that did not have permanent teeth under them. The solution was to pull those teeth now and close the gaps with braces in order to prevent problems later.

Checking in at Dr. Sorokolit's office at 7:45 a.m.

Almost ready...a little nervous

Tammy helped Dr. S. with Rebecca.
She also went over brushing, flossing and
the dreaded "what you can't have to eat/drink" list.

I wasn't this cute with braces!

Miracle on Lynndale Place

This morning at approximately 10:48 a.m. a miracle took place at 3701 Lynndale Place in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. (Begin humming "Battle Hymn of the Republic" here...) It was the completion of a journey that began on April 11, 2007. In the mostly quiet neighborhood of Wedgwood, it happened to one unsuspecting woman. It is a day that shall go down in infamy. After 4 months, 11 days, 10 hours and 16 minutes...(music crescendo here)

MY PASSPORT ARRIVED!!!!!

All together now..."Glory, glory hallelujah! Glory, glory hallelujah!" And just in case you think I'm kidding (would I kid about this?) here's proof.

Anyone available for international travel?

Funny Fotos

Well, this is a totally random post. To explain: I've been going through all the photos on my computer, trying to see which ones I need to print, what I need to scrapbook, etc. As I scrolled through them, I thought, "Wow, we have some really strange pictures on this computer -- pics that either make you laugh, or make you ask, "Why was this even taken?" I found them fairly humorous and you might, too.

Cheesehead in Wisconsin

Wooden man we bought at IKEA for Katherine's art
Abigail posed him in MANY ways on the way home.

Rebecca took this outside a church in East Texas

Uh...why?

Face in the peanut butter

I just don't know.

A picture of our TV screen...did we need this?

Face in the dominoes
(I'm sensing a trend here.)

OK, teenagers are just funny!

This photo cracks me up. I was trying to get King and right when I snapped
it, he jumped up and met the lens. He practically broke my nose jamming it into the camera.

So clearly I've got too much time on my hands, or I'm avoiding housework, since I have time to post random pictures that have nothing to do with nothing. You guessed it! I'm avoiding housework. Gotta go! The dust bunnies are calling...

May the Force Be With You

These pics were too fun not to share at some point. While I was in Canada, Jeff took the girls to the Star Wars exhibit at the Museum of Science and History. There were many hands-on exhibits, as well as costumes from all the major cast members. Looks like a fun time!

Katherine and Bethany Lawson

Look out Storm Troopers

The Millenium Falcon
(I wonder if Harrison Ford was around? I would have hated to miss him.)

Not sure what's happening here.

Watch out! Crazy 9 year old driver.

Two little cuties

Watch out for the Dark Side...

First Day of School - Part Two

Unlike Monday morning, Tuesday arrived with great excitement. Abigail has been ready to return to school for at least a month. She loves everything about it. Much to her sisters' dismay, Abigail was thrilled to learn that study hall is going to be for studying this year -- not social hour. Imagine that. Abigail's classes are: Math, English, Science and Art. I will be teaching her history at home. She will attend classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays and be at home the other three days.

I can't believe she's a 5th grader!

Sweet face

First Day of School - Part One

It's hard to believe, but the first day of school for the 2007-2008 year is upon us. Some of us were happier than others this morning. (I really don't care much for getting up at 6:30 in the morning myself.) Katherine is in 10th grade -- unbelievable. Her classes are: Biology, American Lit, Algebra 2, Spanish 2 and U.S. History. She'll also be playing volleyball. Rebecca's classes are: Pre-Algebra, English and Life Science. I'll be teaching her history at home. She will play volleyball and basketball at Grace Prep. Both girls will attend classes on Monday-Wednesday-Friday and work at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Ready for school

Let's just call this one "the disinterested scholar"

Check back tomorrow for part two, when Abigail goes off to 5th grade!

Possible Titles for Melissa's Blog

So now that Melissa is going to be a blogger, she needs some help coming up with a title for her blog. I believe Michele is trying hard with "Davis Debacles," but it may just be a little more depressing than anyone wants to admit. So, here's some to try on for size.

1. Melissa's Musings
2. The Davis Daily (suggested earlier by Paige)
3. Davis Dispatch
4. Bored in Brownwood? (Sorry...)
5. Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind? (Sorry again...reading minds now)
6. Confessions of a Chocoholic
7. Davis Daily Grind
8. Rudolph's Report
9. For Sanity's Sake
10. The Golds Forced Me To Do This

Thoughts?

Thoughts on Having a "Gold" Personality

Before I expound on the benefits of having a gold personality, I must direct you to Paige's Blog. (This will explain why I'm commenting on this topic.) For some strange reason, my computer (or something) will no longer allow me to leave comments on Paige's blog. I typed in a wonderfully witty comment this morning and the screen just went blank. This has happened to me before, so I did not try again. I did say that having this type of personality is perfectly respectable. All of my favorite people are gold-personalitied; they know who they are. And, I believe 2 of them left comments on Paige's blog.

Speaking of which, I agree with Melissa that reading Paige's words in the morning is a wonderful start to any day. Second to that, I am starting to read Melissa's comments to Paige's thoughts right after that. I believe it is time for Melissa to create her own blog, say "Melissa's Musings?" Can anyone second that? Melissa, like myself, will say that she does not have time to do such a thing. But, I can assure you, once started , you will be addicted and as she has already said it is "one of the bright spots in her day." Organized, on time, obsessive types unite!

To Balance My Usual Pessimistic View of Life

To diverge from my normal pessimistic view of things, I thought it would only be right to list 10 wonderful things that I remember about our vacation. See Jeff...I can be positive!

1. A wonderful week of family time
2. A fabulous tan
3. Four books read
4. Enjoying God's beautiful creation in the Hill Country
5. Watching Katherine and Summer
6. Delicious made-from-scratch rolls...mmmmm
7. A great day shopping and a new pair of shoes
8. IKEA -- say no more!
9. Much needed rest...
10. Did I mention my fabulous tan?

Hope your summer was fun and restful.

Yucky Things That Make You Realize Vacation is Over

So, we're home now and I was thinking...why is the week after vacation always so yucky?

1. Laundry
2. Grass is knee-high.
3. Laundry
4. Getting ready for school (9 days!)
5. No sleeping in.
6. No more lying around by the pool.
7. Return to responsibilities (I won't even list.)
8. Discipline to lose 10 lbs. I gained this summer
9. Laundry
10. Stacks of mail...still no passport...yup...sigh...

Pool Time

Today was officially our last day of vacation, as tomorrow morning will be spent packing and cleaning and then heading for home around 11 a.m. We've enjoyed the week and really aren't that excited to return to the responsibilities of home. But, we're thankful for the time away as a family. If you see me next week and I don't look that happy to see you, it's not you. It will be me -- not on vacation. Wonder where we should go next year?

Fishing Friday

Rebecca and Abigail took in a little fishing today. Both girls caught a total of 8 fish each, although Abigail's numbers might be in question. They tried really hard to catch a turtle. They each had a turtle almost in the net, but the turtles bailed out at the last second. Abigail told Jeff that it didn't matter if they caught a turtle because "Mom won't let us take him home anyway." Smart girl.

Summertime!

Summer Hall

Summer spends a week with our family every other summer. We've done this since the Hall family moved away from Fort Worth several years ago. She is such a fun, energetic teenager. She loves to clown around and is always making us laugh. Katherine and I took Summer back to her family today and a little bit of the brightness left our vacation. Hope to see you again soon, Summer.

Katherine's Vacation View