Kimi and Al Christensen

One Busy Summer!!

2010-08-19T19:25:00.001-07:00

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - June 2010

At the beginning of Summer, I had the opportunity to travel to CDC for a training workshop. I figured, why not take some family along with me on my journey? So, Cameron, my Mom and my Dad accompanied me on my trip!

We stayed on the Emory University Campus. It was beautiful and very close to many fun places. We drove to Decatur for dinner one evening, spent a day at Stone Mountain State Park and visited the Georgia Aquarium and The World of Coca-Cola. It was such a great time.

We all had a blast! Cameron was such a great traveler. He was so, so good on the plane and very, very good throughout our whole trip! He really loved Georgia and said that he wanted to go back there in 10 days.

Here are some pictures of the fun we had in Georgia.

Loving Spring!!

2010-05-07T19:27:00.001-07:00

I finally see a glimpse of Spring!
Cleaned up the yard, planted some flowers & took some pictures of my little cutie!

Tip-toe ing Through The Tulips!

2010-04-17T21:24:00.000-07:00

Today we headed down to Thanksgiving Point for the annual Tulip Festival. Although, many of the tulips had not yet bloomed, there was still plenty of beauty to be seen. The boys, Cameron and Parker, had fun and it was a gorgeous day!! If you haven't been to see it, you truly should go. By next weekend, I think it will be even more beautiful!

Easter

2010-04-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Easter was a lot of fun this year! Cameron had a great time. That night when he went to bed, he said "Mom, I wish it was Easter again tomorrow!".

Spring is Here!!

2010-03-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

My mom and I took Cameron and Parker to the park today. We took a picnic and the boys took their bikes to ride. It was a beautiful day and the boys had a great time!!

Great Birthday Weekend!

2010-02-22T17:43:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend full of birthday fun.

Saturday, the 20th, was my beautiful mother's birthday! We had dinner at our house and had ginormous cupcakes and ice cream for dessert.

Sunday, the 21st, was my cute nephew, Parker's second birthday! It was such a fun day. He had a Ute's themed party, since he is such a big fan.

I'm so thankful to be able to spend time with my loved ones. It was a good weekend!!

Beautiful Bear Lake

2010-01-25T12:30:00.001-08:00

Last night we went to a wonderful dinner up at Mike Capron's (Al's general manager)gorgeous cabin! Mike and Kris were so nice to have all of the AVIS family up for a lovely dinner of Prime Rib, baked potatoes and yummy vegetables.

Their view is phenomenal! The kids also had a lot of fun playing and looking out for deer to come up to the feeder.

Thanks to Mike and Kris for a wonderful evening!

It's Been Awhile!!

2010-01-11T12:25:00.000-08:00

It has been so long since I have posted anything on this here blog. So, I have a bunch of things to post in one super duper big posting.

CaMeRoN's 3rd BiRtHdAy!!

Cameron had a great 3rd birthday. He wanted another Thomas the Tank Engine birthday. He had all his cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas and grandpas over for his birthday bash. He had a lot of fun.

Home Addition!
Strangly enough, we started construction on our new addition above our garage in the cold, cold winter time. It has been quite an ordeal, but is almost finished. We have one ginormous bedroom which Cameron will call home in a few weeks. It is all painted and finished and is just awaiting its carpet. The outside is waiting for stucco and gutters to be completed. Cameron is so excited for his "own bedroom". We are excited to get all of his toys out of our bedroom, living room and dining room. I hope that he will actually sleep in it and really enjoy it.

Christmas!
We had a wonderful holiday season this year. We had a fun AVIS party, where Al played Santa again. Cameron didn't even notice that he was sitting on his own daddy's lap!
We had a great Christmas party at Mandy and Jason's house. All of the families were there, minus a few of the older kids. It was lots of fun. The younger kids picked one of their own toys that they wanted to give to one of their cousins for Christmas. It was a fun and different way to exchange gifts and Cameron really thought it was cool to give Abby one of his beloved puzzles!
Katie, Sean, Parker and my parents came over on Christmas Eve for dinner. It was fun to be with our family on that exciting night for the kids. Even though our house was in a state of emergency, it turned out ok. We sang karaoke on the Wii and the kids got to open their pjs to sleep in.
Christmas day was great. We had our Christmas morning fesivities here at our house. Chan got an Ipod docking station, Nate got a camera and Cameron got a Geotrax airport and a vacuum cleaner. We then headed down the block to my parents house for more fun! Katie, Sean and Parker were there, then my brother, his wife and their kids came over. It was great to spend the day with everyone.
That evening we headed out to Bonnie and Bert's house for a yummy, yummy dinner! The kids had a great time opening more presents and playing together. Cameron, Kaden and Abby really have a lot of fun together!!
It was a great Christmas! Our New Year's was a quiet one. It was nice to just chill out at home and watch movies and TV.

Things Kids Say!!

2009-10-24T21:38:00.000-07:00

When we were done shopping today.....
Grandma - "Where to next?"
Cameron - "Um, McDonald's I think."
Me - "You are hungry again?"
Cameron - "My tummy's talking to me...and it wants a cheeseburger!!"

On our way home from the dentist today....
Me - "I'm so proud of you for being such a good boy today"
Cameron - "Yeah, it was a little bit scary and I cried a little"
Me - "You were very brave"
Cameron - "Mom, you're my best friend"
Me - speechless

After dinner one night.....
Cameron - "Let's play trains, shall we?"

Goodnight Moon

2009-09-30T11:24:00.000-07:00

Cameron William Christensen will now "read" his version of Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown. The first video is his serious version, while in the second video, he gets a bit goofy.

Tony's Pizza Anyone?

2009-09-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

Chandra is selling Tony's pizza (from the yummy little pizza parlor in Ogden) to raise money for her drill team nationals. All of the money that she raises for selling pizzas goes directly to her individually.

Pizzas are $7.50 and the toppings are:
Mushroom
Ham
The Works
Green pepper
Green olives
Pepperoni

Money and orders are due by Monday, the 14th and the pizzas will be ready for pick-up on the 16th. We can deliver them straight to you!!
Give me a comment or a call (801)791-8451 if you want to order one (or several)! ;)

Thanks for your support!!

Too Cute!!

2009-08-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

So, we saw the cutest thing at the zoo a few weeks ago!! A 9-day old baby giraffe. So cute! There is pretty much nothing cuter in my opinion.

Any Little Girls Out There That LOVE to Dance????

2009-08-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

Chandra is looking for girls (ages 3 to junior high) that like to dance to sign up for Future Cardinelles.
The girls (or boys - Cardinelle Security) will go to dance clinics beginning Tuesday, August 18th (6-7pm) through Thursday, August 20 (5:30-7pm) to learn a dance to perform at the Northridge football game halftime show on Friday, August 21st.
The cost is $25 for girls (each additional sibling is $20) and that includes treats, dance classes and a t-shirt. The cost for boys is $20, which also includes a t-shirt. Discount football tickets are available for the kids families for the game on Friday night.
It should be a lot of fun for everyone! If you are interested or now ANYONE who might be interested, please let me know. The deadline to sign up is Tuesday night, August 11th. So, please give me a call/email or text...801-791-8451 or kimichristensen@yahoo.com if you or anyone else is interested!
THANKS!!

Carwash & Rummage Sale!!

2009-07-29T11:23:00.000-07:00

For all of you who actually read this blog....
Chandra and I will be working hard this Saturday, August 1st at the Northridge High School Cardinelle carwash and rummage sale. Her drill team is trying to raise money to go to Nationals next year.
The carwash/rummage sale will be held in the parking lot next to the Neighborhood Walmart in Layton on Hwy 193.
The rummage sale, at which we will also be selling yummy home-made cinnamon rolls, Tasty's donuts and Starbuck's coffee, will start at 7am.
The car wash, at which we will also be selling hamburgers, hot dogs and yummy treats, will start at 10am.
So, if you aren't busy sometime Saturday and want to look around at the rummage sale and/or get your car washed, come on up! I know Chan and all of the girls would really appreciate it.

More Summer Fun

2009-07-27T16:48:00.000-07:00

CaMpInG and OtHeR fUn......

CAMPING
Last weekend we went camping with TJ, Amber, Braydon and McKayla up in Logan Canyon. It was a lot of fun. Cameron was so happy to have Braydon and McKayla to play with. Saturday started with Nate taking a dive on Al's bike and smashing up his body pretty good. After getting him all put back together, we met Katie and Parker and went up to Bear Lake and ate some YUMMY pizza at Bear Lake Pizza and Pasta. Then we headed to the beach for some swimming. The water was pretty warm...Cam and McKayla LOVED the water! Al and TJ even took a romantic walk on the beach! Sunday, we went for a hike around the lake at Tony Grove. It was so pretty..all the wildflowers were out and there were butterflies everywhere. The kids enjoyed it....I think.
Unfortunately, both my cameras were out of batteries, so I was unable to document all of our fun with photos. Can't believe I was so unprepared in the camera department. But, take my word for it....the kids were cute, the places were beautiful and we all had fun!!

SATURDAY AFTERNOON
One Saturday afternoon, we just decided to blow up the kiddie pools at toys at my mom's house and let all the kids play in the water! Katie brought all her boys, so Cameron had an extra good time.

The Zoo!!

2009-07-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

Amber, TJ, Alan and I took the little ones to the zoo a few weekends ago! Other than being pretty hot, it was a lot of fun. Cameron liked the monkeys the best, after riding the train, of course.

More summer fun to come!!

Summer Fun

2009-07-04T10:12:00.000-07:00

My mom and I took Cam and Parker to Beus's Pond the other day for a picnic. They had fun feeding the ducks and seagulls. Cam thought the baby ducks were so cute. We were followed down the sidewalk by a gaggle of canadian geese!

More to come for summer fun!!

Papa Murphy's Pizza Discount Cards

2009-06-23T12:20:00.000-07:00

Attention all Papa Murphy's Pizza lovers!!!
Chandra is selling Papa Murphy's Pizza discount cards to raise money for her high school drill team (Northridge Cardinelles) to go to Nationals in March.
The cards are $8 and contain over $35 worth of discounted savings. So, if you are a lover of the papa's pizza or know of anyone else who loves them, please let me know!!
We would greatly appreciate your support!!!

Slides of Our Wonderful Anniversary Trip to San Francisco!

2009-06-18T18:21:00.000-07:00

Totally Disgusted!!

2009-06-12T15:08:00.001-07:00

Friends don't let friends let their children play at McDonald's playlands!!!

OK, so we were at McDonalds the other day and Cam was playing in the playland. I know that these are not the most hygienic places, but he enjoys it so much, I just give him a good scrub down when he is done....but those days are OVER!!
This little kid comes out of the mazey mess with a ferrociously bloody nose and there is blood all over his clothes and face! I immediately tried to get Cam to come out of there and several minutes later, he finally came out. To my shock and disgust, he, too, was covered with the other kid's blood! OH MY GOD!! I was totally freaked out. His pants were covered, his socks were too ( I threw them away). And, this tops it all off...he had it on his hands and arms and it had soaked through his pants onto his legs!!! I rushed him to the bathroom to scrub him down, all the while praying that he hadn't put his hands into his mouth. Did I mention that I was freaked out?
I got him cleaned up and I know that someone mentioned to someone on staff that there was blood in the playland, but no one ever came to clean it up. AND...people who saw the mess happen, still let their kids play in there!!!
So, just a lesson, if anyone still lets their kids play in there, please stop!! You never know what could be in there! I'm sure they still haven't cleaned up that blood.
I have decided to just stick to the playthings in the parks...you can pretty much inspect those to make sure they are somewhat clean....blood-free and other bodily specimen-free at least!!
Totally disgusted and did I mention, freaked out????

FBI Citizen's Academy

2009-05-24T21:39:00.001-07:00

My friend Jana and I just graduated from the FBI Citizen's Academy! Bet you didn't know that the FBI hosts a citizen's academy free of charge to anyone that is interested in learning about the FBI and what great things they do. Jana and I attended the 6 week course and graduated last Saturday with a fun-filled day of shooting crazy guns, being held hostage and then rescued, watching things get blown up, seeing a real sniper in action and eating some yummy Iceberg food.
Let me tell you a little about this amazing opportunity....after applying and passing a background investigation, we were enrolled in a 6 week course. Every Wednesday evening, we headed down to the Salt Lake FBI headquarters to learn about the mysterious FBI. We heard many interesting presentations...from domestic & international terrorism, cyber crime, undercover operations, gang crime, and even a polygraph demonstration. One night, we got to break away from the classroom and see the firearms training simulator, the evidence recovery team, the gun vault and the mobile command unit. It was so much fun and all of the agents are very, very nice and not to mention...they are all also pretty good looking!!
But, the best part of it all was graduation day....we headed up to the Salt Lake County Sheriff's firing range and the fun began. We each got to shoot 5 different guns...an M4 (full automatic), another full automatic, a glock, a sig sauwer (?) and.....drumroll please......an original 1928 Thompson sub-machine gun in full automatic. For those of you who do not know why I was so excited about this last gun....it is from the era of the old gangsters and are really rare....you know those guns you see in the old movies that people like Al Capone used to shoot with that big round drum magazine on it? It was sooooo very awesome!
We also watched some explosions, a sniper demonstration, were held hostage and got to see what a hostage rescue consists of. We got to shop in the FBI store (got some cool stuff). Iceberg drive-in catered our yummy lunch bbq and we had a graduation ceremony and received awesome certificates signed by the head of the FBI...Richard Mueller.
Did I mention that all of this was totally free???? That is one of the best parts! I would strongly encourage everyone to take this class. It gives you a better understanding of who the FBI is and what they do. Then you, in turn, become a good will ambassador for the FBI. Let me know if you are interested....I can get you an application.
Great Experience!!

Sniper in his camo

Swat team member

Jana and the Tommy Gun

Me and the Tommy Gun

Jana and I with some of the Swat Team

and Special Agent in Charge, Tim Fuhrman.

Random Pictures!!

2009-05-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to share some random pictures with everyone.

My Cute Girl, Marley!!

Chan and Cam

Cameron and Parker at the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

Cameron's Mad Face

My Mom's new puppy, Benny

Mr. Fix It

2009-05-09T17:52:00.001-07:00

The other day, Cameron decided that the sprinklers needed to be fixed. So, he got his tools, found the sprinkler box and got right in there and fixed those sprinklers!! Funny Guy!!

Thank you!!

2009-05-06T20:31:00.001-07:00

I know it has been quite awhile since I have posted anything, but I must blame it on that stinking swine flu.....no, I am not sick with it....I am sick of it!! You see, I am one of the lucky people testing the hundreds of samples that people are sending in. I have not had one minute to do anything computer related for a long time!! But enough about that disease of which I don't want to speak anymore....
I really wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone for my wonderful birthday! Yes, I will admit that I am now on the downward slope of my 3rd decade of life. It hasn't been so bad so far, but the year is young!!
I had a great birthday weekend. It started out with my great friends, Jenni, Jana and Jackie taking me out to lunch at Hires Big H on Friday, then to Spoon Me for some green tea frozen yogurt with fresh raspberries and coconut. YUM!!! Thanks Ladies!
Saturday, I was surprised at a party at Jared and Tanya's house. I thought we were just going to a bbq and it was also a birthday party for me....the old lady of the group!! I thoroughly enjoyed the night...good food, giant cake, games and great gifts from my girls...thanks to all of you for the great stuff...cute flip flops, nail stuff, candy, a cute bag, movie tickets, costa vida gift cards...lots of stuff! You all are too kind to this old lady!!
Sunday, which was my actual birthday, was a relaxing day. Took a nap with Cam...went to dinner with my family, my parents and my sister and Parker. We went to El Matador, which I LOVE...I think I am the only one that loves it, so thanks to everyone for sacrificing your guts to have dinner with me on my birthday. I got Bath and Body Works GC from my kids, Pier One GCs from my mom and Al and a cute little bag full of Clinique lip glosses from my sis! On Monday, my mom and dad took me down to pick out a new bed for my birthday!!
I have such wonderful friends and family and I just want to tell all of you how much I appreciate you and all you do.
It was a HaPpY BiRtHdAy indeed!!!

EaStEr TiMe

2009-04-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

Our family had a great Easter Sunday. The Easter bunny visited and left the kids an Easter basket and hid some eggs for Cam to find. Then we headed down the block to grandma's house, where the Easter bunny also left a basket and lots of hidden eggs for Cam. We colored more eggs and ate some yummy breakfast.

Next we went out to Al's mom's best friend Ethel's house for even more yummy food, hidden eggs and some excellent swimming in their new pool. Everyone had a great time all day long. Hope everyone else had as great a day as we did!!

More Easter Fun!!

HaPpY BiRtHdAy JJ!!

2009-03-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday night at Keys on Main was thee place to be!! JJ's spectacular birthday party!! Everyone had a great time and most people drank way too much, except me however, who had the fun (and I mean that...it really was fun) job of being the designated driver! Party-goers (that I knew) included....JJ and Casey (she had to leave though), Amber and TJ, Bradley, Al and myself! It was a great time....songs were sung, cupcakes were eaten, drinks were drank, Amber danced (on my lap!!), and JJ was sung to onstage!
FUN, FUN, FUN....Thanks for having a birthday JJ!! Many happy returns!

More pics of the party!!

Girls and Little Boys Day Out!!

2009-03-19T19:49:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Cameron and Parker took the girls (my mom, my sister and I) out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.
It was our first time there and we were amazed as we walked in to see the display case full of every type of cheesecake you could ever imagine!! I wasn't planning on eating any cheesecake, but how could I resist the temptation that was staring me in the face...calling my name..."Kimi, you know you want to have just one little piece of one of us!" So, I gave in and took a "little" piece of the banana cheesecake home. I couldn't have possibly eaten it after the ginormous navajo chicken sandwich I had just eaten! DELICIOUS!!
YUMMY!!!
The boys were being cute and having fun. It was a great day out!

Thomas & Friends!

2009-03-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

My wonderful little boy just LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine, so when his grandma saw that he was coming here to SLC "Live on Stage", well, she immediately called for me to buy some tickets!
So, last night was the night of the BIG SHOW. Cameron had so much fun! At first, he wasn't too sure of the big trains (with big eyes that moved and mouths that actually talked), but he quickly came around to liking them.
I went in thinking that it would probably be kinda dumb, but I was pleasantly surprised. It was well done and definitely kept the kids attention! Audience participation was encouraged and once in a while, Cam would shout out something (I still have a bit of a hard time translating his dialect) and do some of the train actions with his arms. It was really cute!
He, of course, got spoiled with a new T-shirt, a plate and a crazy straw! He was in heaven seeing all of his favorite trains....Thomas, Gordon, Percy and James! It was a great night out with Cameron and grandma!

My Trip to Walgreens

2009-03-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

So, I have had amazing deals before at Walgreens, but this one takes the cake for me! I got....2 jumbo packs of Huggies, a giant pack of Huggies wipes, 4 12 packs of Coke products, a Glade lasting impressions holder, a Glade Sense and Spray holder, 2 cans of almonds, 1 aquafresh, a bottle of Jet Dry, a box of Electrasol gelpacs, some Garnier Fructis hair gel, a deoderant and 3 packs of gum! I had $9 of register rewards to use with all of my coupons. I also had a gift card from Walgreens rebates of $19. My final total came to $12. I then got back $15 in register rewards and I claimed $1 on a rebate, therefore bringing my grand total to.....-$4! I made a profit of $4 on all of this stuff! I was paid to buy this stuff! Pretty cool. Just had to share it with people that will appreciate it as much as I did.

I Want To Go Back & See It All Again!!

2009-03-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

It has been nearly 3 years since my family and I traveled to the Mediterranean and I think it is already time for me to go back and see it all over again! We visited Rome, Venice, Naples, Pompeii, Barcelona, Dubrovnik, Sicily, Capri, Sorrento and Cannes. It was the trip of a lifetime!

Since I have been daydreaming about it lately, I just thought I would share some of the beauty with all of you. So, I have uploaded just a few the pictures below so you too can dream of being in those anciently amazing places!

Picture Tag #2

2009-03-05T16:22:00.000-08:00

This picture is for my 2nd picture tag!!

This is my sister-in-law, Mandy, with her new baby and my newest niece, Claire. This was on Thanksgiving of last year. Cameron is checking out his new little cousin. She is such a cutie!! She was just about a week old in this picture, so now she is 3 months old and getting even cuter by the minute!!

I'm not going to tag anyone again...this could get ridiculous.

Picture Tag #1

2009-03-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

I seem to be caught in a game of endless picture tag!! It sounds like lots of fun, so here I go. This is my picture tag #1 for Angie! My 6th folder is my birthday folder and the 6th picture is described below.

This is my sweet nephew, Carter. It was his 6th birthday party. He turned 6 on January 2nd. We had a great time at his birthday, eating Spongebob cake and smacking around a pinata! He is such a cutie and he is a super nice & very sweet kid!

Now, I have very few friends with blogs, so guess what? I'm tagging some of you again! I'm tagging.....Nikki, Angie, Deanna, Morgan and JoDee. This could go on forever, so if you don't want to do it, I will understand. However, if you want to keep playing, this time post the 2nd picture in your 5th folder!

Amazing Deal!

2009-03-01T16:35:00.000-08:00

If you haven't already checked it out, you should definitely go to http://www.restaurant.com/. Every once in a while I will check it out to see if there are any restaurants worth going to and last night, I hit the jackpot.

I recently visited the Pleasant Valley Grill (located at the Pleasant Valley Golf Course by the Adams Parkway toll road) and I absolutely loved it!! It was so yummy! Anyway, as I was looking through the local eaterys, low and behold....there it was! So, here is the deal. I purchased 4 $25 gift certificates (that is $100 worth of gift certificates) for $8!!! They were $2 each when you use the coupon code DINE! Can you believe that? The only stipulation for these certificates, is that in order to use the $25 certificate, your bill has to come to at least $35. Not a problem. You can only use one per party and one per month. Also not a problem!!

So, if you haven't already, check them out....the website and the restaurant!! Happy searching and happy eating!!!

What Do You Think?????

2009-02-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

So, while I was in beautiful Savannah last week, my friend JoDee and I went on a tour of the Old Sorrel Weed House, which is said, by some, to be the most haunted house in Savannah. This old house was investigated by TAPS on the SciFi show Ghosthunters on one of their Halloween specials. This is one of my favorite shows, so I was very excited.

We got to tour the neighborhoods and squares surrounding the house, along with a nearby cemetery. It was really cool. Then around midnight, we were inside the Old Sorrel Weed House listening to our guide recounting historical tales from long ago that happened at that very spot.

Of course, I was taking a lot of pictures, trying to capture some sort of proof that this place was haunted. In many of my pictures, there are "orbs". Now, I used to be a believer that all orbs in pictures were spirits; however, I have since become skeptical of these orbs and now believe that they are simply dust or dirt in the air that are reflecting the flash of my camera. However, I still cannot explain why, if they are dust, they aren't in every picture that I took.

As I was looking through my pictures, I was surprised to see a different kind of "orb". These orbs are not perfectly round, as the "dust" orbs are. They are oddly shaped and seem to be emitting their own light...they are glowing a bluish green color. I really cannot explain these types of orbs. TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) has said in the past that orbs that are NOT perfectly round and seem to emit their own light may, in fact, be balls of energy generated by spirits.

I am still not sure what to think...I am still skeptical, although I desperately want to believe that spirits are there and will show themselves when they want to be seen. I guess I will just have to wait until I have that one personal experience that makes me a true believer.

WHAT DO YOU THINK???

Picture #1: This picture was taken in a pitch dark basement. The blue light in the upper left corner of the picture seems strange to me and doesn't look like other "dust-like" orbs. At this spot, people have claimed to have been touched by something unseen.

Picture #2: This is the room above the old carriage house. It used to house the nanny, Molly. Molly was said to be hanged in this very room. My friend JoDee started feeling sick to her stomach the moment we got up to this room. Our guide also played an EVP that the TAPS members collected on their investigation. It was an EVP recording of a woman screaming "Get out, Get out...Help me, my God, my God." They say that this recording could be Molly screaming when her murderers were coming to hang her. Notice the whitish blue glowing orb to the upper left corner of the door at the back of the room. Is it Molly?

Picture #3: This is a picture of the courtyard of the house. It is said that some people have seen a shadowy figure of a woman in a black dress walking down this sidewalk. This woman is said to be the lady of the house, who had thrown herself from the top balcony after finding her husband in the arms of the nanny, Molly. Notice the rather large glowing orb to the left of the picture.

Picture #4: Again, this picture was taken from the courtyard, looking up to the upper balcony, from where the lady of the house threw herself. This was taken right after the picture above. Look up in the left corner of the picture. Again, a sort of glowing orb. Maybe this is the same orb from the picture above. Is it the lady of the house?

Picture #5: This picture was taken on our neighborhood tour just outside the cemetary gate. I have no idea what this blue streak of light could be. The cemetary was said to have 600 headstones, yet there are supposedly 13,000 bodies buried here. Just thought this was a bit unexplainable. Could this be one of the thousands trying to say Hello?

Picture #6: This picture was taken in a pitch dark basement. The orbs are what I believe to be pieces of dust or debris that are reflecting the light from my camera's flash. Notice how they differ from the orbs in my other pictures.

Well, what do you think? Let me know!! Are you a believer or a skeptic?

Georgia on My Mind!!

2009-02-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

I just got back from the beautiful city of Savannah! It was so pretty. I actually went for a work conference on West Nile Virus, but my friends JoDee and Ilene went too and we had a good time! I'm so grateful that they were there, otherwise, I probably would have stayed at my hotel the whole time and not ventured out to see the city.

Our hotel was right on the Savannah River, a river in which dolphins call home. I was fortunate enough and extremely excited to see several dolphins and many different species of birds, including a bald eagle. I didn't however see any alligators, but was warned not to feed them!!

We ate at several delicious restaurants, including the Pirate's House, which is the oldest building in Georgia. The seafood was great and I am sure that none of it was on my Weight Watchers menu!! We roamed around River Street and JoDee and I went on a GhostHunter's tour of the Old Sorrel Weed House. We got to see lots of the historic homes and even a cemetery.

It was a great trip and we had so much fun...oh, and the West Nile conference was pretty good too! Thanks to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention for allowing me the opportunity to see this wonderful southern city!! I'd go back in a heartbeat!

Surprise From My Hubby!!

2009-02-14T17:32:00.000-08:00

So, I was feeling kinda sad that my hubby was going to be out of town on Valentine's Day :'( Then, on top of that, I get to work on Friday and I am pretty much the only person there for most of the day! What a bummer. Then, I was called down to the front desk. I thought that was a little strange, but headed on down. When I got off the elevator, I was totally surprised to see a box that unmistakingly contained some sort of flowers. I was excited. As soon as I got back upstairs to my office, I ripped open the box to find a dozen long stemmed roses!! It took a little bit of work for me to be able to enjoy these beautiful flowers...I had to unwrap them, cut the stems, fill the vase, add the flower food and then try my hand at arranging them in a suitable fashion. I think that I did a pretty good job and they look amazing!! They even look better the second day!!
Alan is so thoughtful to send me this beautiful token. I truly think I have one of the best husbands out there. I am very lucky! And although I would much rather have had him here with me, I had a pretty nice day!! Afterall, I got to look at these gorgeous roses!!
Thanks Al....I love you much!!!

Way Cool Pics!

2009-02-07T20:27:00.000-08:00

OK...I just found thee coolest place to edit your photos. Maybe everyone has already heard of it and I am way behind the times, but I think it is awesome! I followed a link on Facebook called "Picniking" your photos. You can do all kinds of fun things with your pictures like change their colors, change them to night vision, blur them, soften them, reverse the colors, make them into pencil sketches, give them frames, stickers, text....it just goes on and on. I'm afraid I may had just found something that will eat up my time more than Facebook itself!! YIKES!! Some of the pics I had fun with are below. Check it out if you have the time...it is truly amazing!!

HaPpY 40th BiRtHdAy Al!!!

2009-02-05T14:52:00.000-08:00

Today is Alan's 40th birthday!!

He is such a great guy and I just hope he knows how much I appreciate him!
I love him so, so much and am so glad that we are together!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!!!

Proud Aunt and Uncle

2009-02-01T20:23:00.000-08:00

Alan and I were the lucky recipients of some precious Parker hugs tonight. My sister, Katie, has the cutest little guy who was giving us hugs and kisses tonight during the Super Bowl and some of them were actually caught on film (do you call it film anymore???). I just had to share them with everyone, cuz he is so stinkin' cute!!
Aren't they sweet?

Another Awesome Deal!

2009-01-27T12:51:00.000-08:00

I was so excited about this latest deal that I just had to share it!!

I went to Walgreen's on Sunday and got everything in the photo for $2.95!!

I had several coupons, some from the Walgreen's ad, $10 in register rewards, and an $18 Walgreens gift card that I received from Walgreen's easy saver rebates!! I couldn't believe my total was only $2.95. So, it really does start getting even more amazing once you have started receiving your rebates and have some register rewards to start using.

Great Deal!!

2009-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

My friend Nicole has taught me a fabulous lesson....how to save money!!! It is so awesome! Just by going to pinchingyourpennies.com (PYP) and iheartwags.com (wags stands for Walgreens), I have been able to save so much money and it is really pretty easy!! It's also awesome that my fellow, money-saving girlfriends always share the news when they find any great deals. Thanks to all of you...you know who you are!

My deal today was at Albertson's. I went to PYP and made a grocery smarts shopping list of everything that I wanted from Albertsons. I picked up all of my merchandise and headed up to the checkout. My grand total for everything was $99.05. Then I gave the cashier my magic phone number for my preferred savings, along with my gi-normous stack of coupons! It was amazing to see how much money kept coming off of my bill. My final total was......drumroll please......$34.95!!!! I saved over $62! I love it!!

Down, But Not Out!

2009-01-14T08:29:00.000-08:00

Poor Cameron has been sick for the last week! He had a horrible case of hand, foot and mouth disease. It can be caused by several different viruses and causes blistery ulcers all over in the mouth.

See those yucky sores in my poor baby's mouth? He couldn't eat or drink anything and I was worried that he would become dehydrated. But he survived and in the middle of it all, the cute little guy wanted to play some Guitar Hero!! Some stupid disease wasn't going to stop him from practicing to become a RoCkStAr!!!

His mouth is better, however, now he has a horrible sounding cough! Not a great beginning of the new year for him. I hope he gets better soon!!

Saturday Night Fun with the AVIS Crew!

2009-01-06T14:45:00.001-08:00

Saturday night, we had fun with some of the AVIS crew! However, it would have been even better if the WHOLE AVIS crew were there. We missed some of you! We watched football, ate some pizza and 7-layer dip, and played guitar hero and Wii. There were lots of little rugrats (I mean that in the nicest way possible as a term of endearment) running around and it was very, very noisy and I loved it!! Cameron found new friends in Morgan and Curty and Amber and Brayden taught Cameron how to do a backflip (with Morgan's help, of course)! Marley wanted to go home with Curtis and Morgan and be a sister to Shiloh, but I think that we will keep her. We kind of love her! I hope everyone can come over again sometime. And this time, the more, the merrier!

2009-01-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

WeLcOmE 2009!!

This New Year's Eve we had a great time at the Tavernacle!! We had a front row table with JJ and Casey and some of their friends. It was a great time and if you have never been there, I suggest you go. It is fun anytime of year. Kirk and Troy were playing the pianos and did an awesome job!! We had lots of laughs and sang until we could sing no more! What a great way to ring in the New Year. Hope 2009 is a great one!

My New Blog

2008-12-30T14:29:00.001-08:00

I thought I would join the millions of people in the world and finally create my own blog!!
Stay tuned as I figure out how the heck all of this works!!