Washington's Birthday Parade

76 trombones...and this is the cutest


Before I could get my camera situated Melena had already danced.

Islands of Adventure

I went to Universal to see Jensen march in a parade.Then we went to Islands of Adventure for the day.

It was a beautiful day and we hardly had to wait in line. Except here at The Daily Bugle...

I broke all of the chaperone rules. Melena and I rode the Hulk twice, and both "Fire" and "Ice". We couldn't resist because we just walked right on. The girls rode Popeye about five times. There was no way I was getting wet. We rode Spiderman once...

and Storm Maker about fifty bajillion times.

Central Florida Zoo

I went with the fifth graders to the Central Florida Zoo.

Where they touched a red-footed gopher tortoise...

Collected pond water...

looked at it under a microscope...
learned about metamorphisis and touched a Ball Python...

and acted like monkeys.

Tonight we celebrated my niece Tiffany's birthday which was actually on the 16th. She turned 25. I can't believe it. She has grown into a beautiful young lady.My picture taking skills were less than par.

Jensen talked me into going on the swing. I have to admit that it was fun, much like the Tilt-A-Whirl at fairs. It really spoke to my inner child.

I'm glad that Jensen is not my peer because she can talk me into anything.

P.S. For those of you who know my nephew Nick, he is going to be a Daddy. My mom has already called dibs on the baby. We haven't had a baby in the family since that cute little Jensen was born almost 13 years ago.

East Side versus West Side

I received a phone call that no parent wants to get. The mother of one of Parker's friends called and said she wanted to let us know what happened with the boys. She had actually called Lew's phone and I was listening. Lew said, "Is he alive?" Of course, my heart drops to my toes. I said, "Tell me what she is saying!" He said, "Hold on!" The he gasped a few more times. In my angry voice I said, "Tell me!" When he got off the phone he told me that George and Parker had been robbed at gun point. One kid held a gun to Parker's chest and the other kid held one to his head and demanded that he empty his pockets. Parker told them no. (he got fussed at about that). Then the kids hit him in the head with the gun. He said it felt like plastic but the other gun looked real. Regardless, George's mother called the poe-lice. We went and got Parker and brought him home to his nest. This morning we got out Parker's yearbooks and he was able to identify one of them. Eustis' finest are on the case. Hopefully, they will be found and justice served.

Valentine's 2009

This is my favorite Valentine from my 5th grade inclusion class.

This one is from my roommate.

Randomness

This is a tag that I did on facebook. I thought it was good info for my posterity so I am including it here also.

These are 25 Random things about me. When I transferred it, I thought of one more.

1. I bruise like a peach.

2. My middle name is Carey, but I dropped it when I got married and use my maiden name, Stanford.

3. I think bleach should be a potpourri fragrance. I love the smell.

4. It took me 24 years to graduate from college but I finally finished in 2006.

5. My favorite TV show is Arrested Development.

6. I think the world would be a better place if everyone wore plaid shorts.

7. My goal is to be a minimalist.

8. I love to travel. I've been all over the US, including Hawaii and a little into Canada. I've been to England, France, Germany, and Switzerland. I'm gonna start again soon.

9. I consider myself a wordsmith. My favorite website is Dictionary.com

10. I love to read anything and everything, milk cartons, cereal boxes, anything.
Well almost anything...not Jane Austen. I'm sure I will succumb to peer presure, again.

11. I secretly want to get a tatoo. It's not a secret anymore.

12. I love to blog and I love to get comments.

13. If I weren't a Buddhist Mormon I would be just a Buddhist.

14. I love to laugh.

15. In 2002, I completed a mini-triathlon. 1/4 mile swim, 8 mile bike, 2k run. My racer number was #666. Sign of the beast. I wore it proudly.

16. I like campfires.

17. In high school I succumbed to peer pressure and listened to country music. My first concert was Hank Williams, Jr. I know it's kind of embarrassing.

18. I want to ride in a hot air balloon.

19. I love the beach. It's where earth, wind, fire and spirit meet.

20. I love my kids more than anything in the whole wide world...and Georgia, too.

21. Jimmy Buffet saved my life.

22. I don't really have a toenail on my pinky toe.

23. My first job was selling newspapers for the Eustis News. We sold them for 10 cents. We had to turn in 5 cents for each newspaper. If we made over 10 cents we got to keep the extra. My sister and I would sneak into the bar downtown and the drunks would give us 50 cents!!!!

24. I want to change my name to Sunny Phoenix. It would be a positive affirmation for me.

25. I think flip flops with arch supports are the best invention since sliced bread.

26. I've ridden my bicycle from Eustis to St. Augustine, twice.

Catharsis

In my journey to become a minimalist, I have been sorting and purging...and burning. A few weeks ago, I burned a huge rubbermaid box full of college papers. I was finally ready to let go of the pain and tears. College papers took up so much of my time and money. I saw them more than I saw my offspring. They became a part of me. They defined me. They completed me. Now they are a pile of ashes and rubble. They no longer occupy my world. I feel like they were holding me back. Now I have room in my life for more joyous flotsam.

Tonight I performed another ritual. I burned boxes and boxes of papers I needed for my income taxes in case I ever get audited. I burned receipts from 1996-2001. What a release. I purused them before I set them aflame. I cried a little (not really) when I saw bills from Florida Power and Light, Sprint and BellTel. Now all of those businesses have different names.

I also saw a receipt from 1995 from Waterman Medical Center from when Parker busted his head open a church. Back in the day they had tables in the foyers with sharp corners on them. He was just the right height and ran right into one. He had to get stitches that day. We were leaving church to go to Tampa to go to Busch Gardens the next day. We made an exit to the emergency room and then carried on with our theme park plans. It was a treachorous day because I remember it was a torrential downpour. The car we had at the time had rusted out floorboards. When we would drive through a puddle the water would come through the back floors and soak the kids feet. Aww! Good times. I had to write this memory before I forget since I burned the evidence. I'm sure we have pictures somewhere but I haven't purged them yet. don't worry I'm not going to burn them. Just scan them.

Back to the burning, it felt good to rid my life of the clutter. I don't know why I am so dead set on becoming a minimalist. I feel like Heavenly Father is preparing me for changes in my life. I don't know what they are going to be, I gave up trying to figure it out or guess but, I will be ready.

Day of Ambiguity

Today we celebrated the "Day of Ambiguity"

Barbara Manatee

We set off to see the manatees this morning. Actually, this afternoon. We had to wait for Brittni to take her ACT. We arrived at the park around 2:00pm. They were closed because they were at capacity. No way! Aww!.

I told Jensen she would have to see the show at home. She didn't get it and I didn't bother to explain that her mother and father looked and moved like manatee. I just let it go. It must have been an "off" day for me.

We headed back to Velentine (appropriate for this time of year)Park that we had passed on the way in. The kids played on the payground and then we ate our picnic lunch. We decided to go back and maybe see the manatee from the road. We had seen some people lined up along the side of the road earlier. They must have just been huddling to decide what to do next because they had been turned away also. We drove until we couldn't drive anymore. At the end of the road was a small beach and boatramp. We played around there for a while. Walked in the woods, skipped shells, and wondered what had happened to the boy they had erected a memorial to. We were going to walk to the springs but we asked some other hikers and they helped change our minds. It was almost dusk and there was no way I was going to get lost in the woods.

I finally got through on the phone with Blue Springs. She said they would reopen as people started to leave but she didn't know when that would be. It was 4:00 at the time. We played around some more and then thought we would give it another whirl. Sure enough we were able to get in. Yea! We saw some manatee. Of course, the battery in my camera had died by this time. I got a few snazzy shots with my phone.

Pure Testominy

I had an a-ha moment at church. It finally sunk in about how to give a pure testimony. Before I go up to give my testimony, I always worry about what I am going to say. Is it going to be clever? Is it going to be witty? Is it going to be poignant and touch someone's life. Do I have a story to go with it? It was always about what I was going to say and not what the spirit was going to say. After last week's lesson from Prseident Carter about the MTC and telling the missionaries to bear a pure testimony. The meeting started and a few missionaries gave their testimonies, which were not pure testimonies. Whoever was conducting/presiding stood up and said you guys are not getting it and he told them again how to bear a pure testimony. He said that even though everyone said basically the same thing, he had never felt the spirit more strongly. I decide to put it to the test. It was amazing. I was able to actually listen to the other testimonies and benefit from them. When I felt it was my turn, I already knew what I was going to say. I did not have to fret or worry. AAAHHH! It was so easy.

It was also an extra special day because Jensen received her first calling, 2nd Counselor in the Beehive class. She was set apart by Bishop Berge and Brother shofkom.

YMCA 5K

I have been wanting to do another 5k since the first one I did for MLK day last year. I was going to start back in September but apparently I wanted my appendix out worse than I wanted to run a 5k. Again, I was going to be waylayed this season by having to take ESOL classes on Saturdays. Miracle upon miracles, my colleague and I showed up for the ESOL class last Saturday and were told that we could not stay because there were no seats available. Aww! I'm not sad about that.

The planets finally aligned and I had a Saturday morning free and there was a 5k going on at my local YMCA. (Yes, evertime I say or write YMCA I do it with the sing song and hand gestures of the Village People). An added bouns was that my friend Roxanne Ingalls was also available. I had heard that she was an avid 5k'er so I invited her to join me. She said she would run with me. I told her she didn't have to, she could run her own race, but she insisted which I'm glad she did. We arrived at the race site in freezing Florida temperatures. At the beginning there were only a handful of participants. Eventually more and more showed. I could tell by the crowd that I had last place all tied up. It's ok I was only doing this for a benchmark and a motivator. We watched as the people assmebled. The smart-alecks that were running the course already as a warm up. Luckily most of the participants were modestly dressed because of the cold weather. Except for, the men in there stretchy pants. (Come on, at least let us guess.)
We started out at a slow jog. I think only because of peer pressure. I felt the need to stay with the pack. I started getting shin splints. When I finally realized that there was no catching the pack, we just walked briskly. I realized just how much work I needed to do. I have slowly been walking about three miles 3 or 4 times a week but I need to step it up.
We were asked twice if we were going to finish the race. What? Of course, we are. Loser. How dare you ask such nonsense. The race truck asked us. They were cleaing up the signs and cones. We told them that we would do it for them. They were relieved that they did not have to hang around any longer to wait on us. Like they have better things to do. Whatever.
We finished the race and had wonderful conversation. What better way to start a Saturday. Thanks, Roxanne.