I get on line about twice a week to check the happenings and the obits (I know it sounds morbid)in my hometown of ElDorado, Kansas. Although I don't know very many people there anymore we still have several family members and a few close friends that still are living in the area. When I got on this morning right on the front page was our beautiful niece and great niece enjoying Valentines day.

Lindsay's new hair

Lindsay finally got rid of the awful curls she had. Her new cut and color are very nice and I like it much better. I think she does too. She had a slight tint of red added and it makes it darker to match her eye brows better. She was born with black hair and black eye brows. The hair fell out and came in a lot lighter but her eye brows are still very dark. Here are just a few pictures I took of her and Rachel. Grandma Gauthier, Rachel is wearing another outfit she bought from Christmas money.

We had 3 days of wonderful weather. 50 and 60 degrees. I am so ready for Spring time. I have never liked winter and the older I get I dislike it even more.

Our new cat Cubby has adjusted very nicely now. Jake and Cubby can now walk past each other without one of them hissing. They aren't really friends but they at least tolerate each other now. Cubby has grown so much I sometimes can't tell them apart. Jake's white spot on the front is bigger than Cubby's but when you are looking at the side or back who knows which cat it is.

Happy Kansas Day

I know it has been awhile since I have blogged. I am getting as bad as EMILY! I still get on and read all the other blogs. Today is a normal day of going to work so I have a little time this morning to do this. Some you you may not know but we have a new addition to our family. His name is Cubby. Grandma Gauthier named him that because he looked like a little cub when he was a KITTEN. Yes we have another cat. He actually looks like Jake and many time I can't tell them a part. He was Grandma and Grandpa Gauthier's cat so some of you may know him already. He is Lindsay's cat now. He loves her and her room is his room now. At Christmas when we were at G and G's house Cubby snuggled right up to Lindsay. Of course she melted as Jake hisses at her when she walks by him. G and G were trying to get us to take him home then but we didn't have anyway of getting him back with us at that time. Well Bob and Lindsay made a quick trip down to ElDorado and picked him up. He was totally freaked at first. He has adjusted now and doesn't seem to mind not going outside anymore. Oh and Jake has adjusted too. Cubby being young and wanting to play and Jake being old and not wanting to play sometimes creates a bit of a cat fight but never lasts long. Oh and he has got a few swipes at the bird too(he is declawed). He runs around the cage chasing the bird. Silly cat. The picture is from the first day Cubby was here. Bob has Jake and Lindsay has Cubby.

Rachel has started basketball and cheer for Special Olympics so she is staying busy. Lindsay is helping with basketball. We have a meet in KC in Feb. and the state meet is in March. I am in hopes of going out to Hayes for the state meet this year. Rachel is wearing one of her new outfits she bought with her Christmas money.

Lindsay started her second semester of college and seems to like it ok. I think she likes the semester better than the 1st. Again her classes are Monday, Wednesday and Friday getting Tuesday and Thursday off. She loves this set up. She still ride the K-10 connecter bus that goes from Lawrence to the school so she doesn't have to drive.

Bob and I are both good and seems like all we do is work! OK I have now caught you all up with the happening here in Lawrence. I will try to do better with my posting.

Happy New Year 2009

I just want to wish everyone a very happy New Year. I just have this gut feeling it is going to be a great year. Last year, losing my job was so stressful. Now that I have a new job and I still like it I just think it is going to be a good year.
We had a great Christmas and New Year's Eve. We spent Christmas at home for the first time. The kids got up on their own and then we opened our presents. Then it was just a lazy day all day long. The next day we went to ElDorado and saw both sets of Grandparents and I had my yearly lunch with my best friends from high school. We keep in contact via e-mail, Facebook but I only see them once a year. When we do go to ElDorado it is usually for a family gathering or something like that and is so hectic it is just hard to see them them too. New years I worked until 8:00 and worked New Years day so I was in bed and asleep by 11:00. Bob stayed up with the TV on and welcomed the new year. He has had a very bad cold with a terrible cough. He is much better now and is back to his OLD ornery self. He still has a bit of a cough but has his voice back now.
Rachel started Special Olympics up again yesterday. Cheerleading and basketball both started so she is going to be a busy girl for awhile. Lindsay is helping so she is going to busy too. School starts back for Rachel this Tuesday and I do think she is ready to get back. Lindsay doesn't start until the following week and she is not looking forward to starting again.
I am going to take Rachel shopping this afternoon. She wants to buy a new dress with her Christmas money. I will try to post pictures if we find something.

Santa Party

We had our annual Santa party this past Saturday. There were 27 of us most of them between the ages of 14 to 19. There were no little kids and the only believer was Rachel. I have told her Santa is really mom and dad and she just doesn't believe me. Every kid had a gift and had to sit on Santa's lap to receive it. One young man who goes to K-state got a piece of coal. It was pretty funny when Santa took his gift back and gave him his coal. You know this is Jayhawk country. The house erupted with laughter. Sean was a good sport and played along. The food was great and we just had a really good time. Actually I think this was the best one so far and we have had a lot of these. The Hanson's and the Gauthier's started this when David and Lindsay were 1 1/2 and Abby was almost 1. They are now 18 1/2 and almost 18. We have grown to 4 families and now have a huge buffet supper. We have boyfriends, girlfriends and just friends that come. It seems like the older they get the more fun they have. And they don't really care about sitting on Santa's lap. Most of them have fun playing along.

Tagging Happiness

I was tagged by Emily to share 6 things that make me happy.
1. My mom and dad. They are the most loving and generous people I know. They have loved me know matter what stupid thing I did. And if you have never eaten at there home you are truely missing a wonderful meal.
2. My Family. I love when we all go to a movie together. Now that Lindsay is "grown up" we don't do it very often. We did do it this weekend!
3. Lindsay's singing. I can watch and listen to her sing for hours. She has so much expression when she sings and you can tell she loves it.
4. Rachel's singing. Well it is hard to listen to but she also has lots of expression and truely loves to sing. She belts it out at her school chorus concerts.
5. I love sappy movies that make you cry. Right now all the Christmas movies/love stories that always end happy!
6. I love the Spring flowers. After a hard cold winter and that first bud pops through the ground.

OK I am tagging Donna and Lori.

New Job

Thought I would catch everyone up on the new job. I have now been in a week and a half of training. And I actually like it. I went into it thinking I was going to hate it. Now I haven't started my night shift yet so I may change my tune then. I start evenings on this coming Monday. This is a call center and I will be working with students and parents calling in with questions about the FAFSA(Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Student loans, grants and that sort of thing. It has been pretty interesting so far. I have taken about 15 calls now. All have been with someone there helping me. Monday I will be on my own winging it. I am in hopes that someone with good hours will quit and I can get their hours. You know the job I really wanted and everyone was praying for, they had a layoff. Kind of glad I didn't get that job after all.