Cozumel vacation

We got back Friday from our wonderful Cozumel vacation for our 10 year anniversary. Our friends Cody and Carrie Little went with us. It could have been longer, but we were missing the kiddos by Friday too. We drove down to Dallas and Carrie's sister-in-law was so kind to take us to the airport. Good thing she did, that place is MASSIVE and we would have had a hard time finding our way around. We really enjoyed our first day there, a little too much perhaps, because Cody, Carrie, and Joel were all burnt. We used the spray on sunscreen, which by the way, doesn't work well, so be careful! The next day, we rented a Jeep and cruised around the island. We stopped at beaches that looked good to us. We ate at a 'restaurant' at the end of the road. I had chicken fajitas and the other's had fish. It was a great meal and the scenery was breathtaking! We stopped by some Mayan ruins, they weren't much more than piles of rocks. Then we shopped around town for some souvenirs for the kiddos. There are about 100 jewelry shops in Cozumel. Seems a bit overkill. Our last full day, we saw dolphins just off shore while we ate our breakfast. Then the rest of the day we lounged around in the hammocks and chairs. After lunch we snorkeled a bit. We got to feed the fish swimming all around us. One of the fish got a little excited and tried to take part of Cody's thumb too. Out of reaction, he actually punched the fish! We all came up laughing because laughing and snorkeling don't mix very well. It was such a relaxing trip! Just what this crazy mom needed!!!!!

Luke and the wish

At El Tequila, Luke wanted to throw a penny in the wishing well. After he threw it in, I asked him what he wished for and he said, "A penny...." We laughed and he changed his mind and said that he wished to have a safe trip to Nana's next week.

America, the land of the free and the home of the brave

Okay, by my personality, I LOVE a reply to insensitive comments so concise that there is nothing that anyone can say afterwards….. it’s better than kicking them in the shins, hee, hee, hee…... I usually just delete most forward messages I get before I even read them (sorry folks!) but a few people send ones that I always try to read. These tidbits are from one of those forwarded emails. Who knows if these stories are true or not, but they make me want to yell, "Yeah! Take that!" none the less. This is for my brother Seth (Iraq), my grandpa Nute (WWII), my great grandpa Ed Schubert (WWI), and my great, great, great grandpa Jonathan Cole Fuller (Civil War).

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of empire building' by George Bush.

He answered by saying, 'Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return.

You could have heard a pin drop.

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Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying 'Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?' A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: 'Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have? '

You could have heard a pin drop.

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A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S., English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large gr oup of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?' Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe it's because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'

You could have heard a pin drop.

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A group of Americans, retired teachers, recently went to France on a tour. Robert Whiting, an elderly gentleman of 83, arrived in Paris by plane... At French Customs, he took a few minutes to locate his passport in his carry on. 'You have been to France before, monsieur?' the customs officer asked sarcastically. Mr. Whiting admitted that he had been to France previously. 'Then you should know enough to have your passport ready.' The American said, 'The last time I was here, I didn't have to show it.' 'Impossible. Americans always have to show your passports on arrival in France!' The American senior gave the Frenchman a long hard look. Then he quietly explained. 'Well, when I came ashore at Omaha Beach on D-Day in '44 to help liberate this country, I couldn't find any Frenchmen to show it to.'

You could have heard a pin drop

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What Is A Veteran?

A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.'

That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today, who no longer understand that fact.


Only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you,
Jesus Christ and the American G.I.
One died for your soul, the others for your freedom.

I say, "let's live our lives in appreciation to both!"

Luke's phrase of the day

Luke, "I want some Cheetos, I love them!"
Anthony, "Then why don't you marry them?"
Luke, "Give them to me! They're my bride! They're my sweetie-poo!"

Where does he come up with this stuff?!

New blog look

Hey ya'll! With the help of Shabby Miss Jenn Designs and my handy, handsome husband, I have a new blog look. Let me know what you think! xo, S

Ferguson Family Fun Weekend

We had a great time on our Ferguson Family Fun Weekend at lake Tenkiller. The first evening, Grump hooked up the lazy swing. Lily and Joel enjoyed swinging, and no one had to push them! Saturday was a lovely day on the lake in the pontoon boat. Few fish were caught, but we had a great time anyway until the weather started to turn nasty. After a couple of hours, the sun was back and it was swim time at the beach then at the pool. We had steaks and smores that night. Yummy! On Sunday morning, the weather was rainy and so we grilled indoors after a brief trial outside. We never did get our family picture! Oh well, maybe next year!

Workin' on the house

The boys worked hard on the house Memorial weekend. Liam and Luke carried all the debris to the back of the truck. They were great helpers!

Meet Pete

Some of you know that we welcomed a new kitty to our home a few weeks ago. Little Pete is a very tolerant soul. Good thing, because Lily pesters him relentlessly! The boys are very gentle with him and love to have him sleeping in their laps.

prayer from Luke

I forgot to mention that one of the sweetest parts of my mother's day was Luke's 'prayer'. When they were trying to fly the kite, there wasn't enough wind to keep it aloft. I told Luke that he needed to pray for some wind. He raised up his arms and looked up and yelled, "Wind!". Wouldn't you know it, not 1 minute later the wind picked up... Oh to have faith like a child!

Mother's Day

I had a really great Mother's day. I wish I could say that the kids were angels, but they were all grumpy today! I enjoyed my day anyhow. Didn't have to cook or clean! Joel let me scrap book all day. So nice! We went out to the park and flew the kite and took some pictures in the front yard. Now I'm posting bunches...

Flippin' Out

NOTICE! No children were injured during this photo shoot! LOL!

Liam and Lily had a great time doing gymnastics last night. Liam was reminded after this picture that he has to use his hands and protect his neck. I'm sure I went in to too great detail, what can happen to him if he injures his neck, but I believe he got the point. None the less, this was a fun picture to get.

Lily invented this 'routine' one night and was so proud to show us. She slides off backward from the couch until her head reaches the floor, then flips over. I'm thinking we're going to get her in to gymnastics soon...

Rooster Days

Here we are at the BA Rooster Day parade. The parade this year was the best I've seen, but it was cold! Good thing we brought blankets to sit on. We used them to snuggle in instead. The boys love the Shriners and their funny cars.

Once again, we saw my friend Heather's (see blog to right) parents, Roy and Barbara Cail, in their Model A. It's fun to watch for someone you know coming along in the parade.
I was also lucky enough to get a picture of my hubby smiling a REAL smile, not his 'special' picture smile. Unfortunately, Liam has also inherited this 'picture' smile. Ah, well....
Lily loved seeing the cheerleaders, Miss Chick candidates, and of course the puppy dogs. She started waving back when they waved. It was adorable!

Oooo la la!

Lily looks so chic in this pink and black stripe top with her black skirt and patent leather shoes. She gave me a big smile for this photo 'shoot' so I had to share....

Seth's cuties

I just have to share a couple of pictures of my adorable niece and nephew! I get to see them in about 6 weeks. The last time I saw Kevin he was 3 months old and he'll soon be 2 years! Mallory has the cutest freckles on her nose. I doubt you can see them in this picture, but they are wonderful!

Lily's word of the day

Okay, Luke hasn't said anything funny lately. Mostly he's been a pain in the rump.... We love him anyway! Lily, however, has been saying all sorts of new things. The most frequent, and annoying at this point, is 'mere' which of course means, come here. It's ususally high pitched and drawn out. It was only cute the first 72 times she said it.... She's learned that she likes to 'talk' on the phone which means you talk and she listens. On her play phone she will say, 'hel', 'hel', 'bye'. I'm trying to get her to say hellOOOO, but so far it just sounds like a bad word. We were talking to my 'niece' Abby on the phone the other night and Lily said, "I wanna hel." That meant, I want to say hello or talk on the phone. It's a lot cuter when she says it....

I've created an online gallery for my digital scrapbook layouts with a spot called scrap orchard. You can click on the link to the right and see the pages.
xoxoxo, S