School is going good...

The girls seem to be settling into the school year great.

Amber is enjoying being part of the "top dogs" at school. I hope she realizes she will be at the bottom of the food chain next year in 6th grade. Amber likes her teacher, Mr. Seusser (pronounced: sizer). Amber is off to a good start with AR. She is currently tied for 1st in her class with 4 points. The person she is tied with had 500 something points last year, remember Amber had 107 points, so I don't really expect Amber to stay in 1st. I do expect her to do her best and to at least get her minimum required AR points for this 9 weeks (15 points). Bonus info: Mr. Seusser has a son who was born last year on what day? March 6th!!!

Alyssa is also in 1st place in her class for AR. She leads her class with 2 points, which is also what she is required to get per week. As you might have guessed, no many kids got the required 2 points - matter of fact Alyssa was the only one. Alyssa seems to enjoy Mrs. Carrasco. This is the same teacher that Amber had last year. Alyssa's biggest competition for AR will come from a boy named Cameron in her class. He was in her class last year. He is a very intelligent boy who has his head on straight all ready. Hmmmmm, I will have to remember him when she is old enough to have a boyfriend.

I have been volunteering in Alyssa's class. I volunteered in Amber's at the end of last year. Everything was going good until yesterday. My car got hit by a teacher at the school. It is not that bad. They put a small dent in the passenger front door and loosened the side view mirror on the passenger side. I think the teacher only had a busted tail light. She called the police and came and got me. I appreciated her honesty. She said that last year someone hit her car and she never found out who. Oh well!!! Life goes on.

I have almost purchased all my school supplies. I still need to buy a watch with a second hand on it. Today I purchased my scrub pants, shoes, pen light, and bandage scissors. This is really starting to feel REAL!!! I mean I really feel like I am getting ready to start nursing school. I am still full of MIXED EMOTIONS!!!!

A New Link....

I have added a new link on the right hand side of the screen. It is Christopher's Blog. Donna has finally joined the blogger craze. I am excited about her new venture into blogging.

Donna is the sole member of the Blogging Police. Donna sends out reminders to bloggers when they do not update their blogs frequently enough. You see, Donna checks everybodies blog daily for updates. Oooooooooooh, do you see where this might be going? I would like to welcome Donna to blogging and remind her to update frequently as I have just joined the Blogging Police (I will be assigned to her blog only). Just picking with you Donna!!!!!!!!! I actually appreciate the reminders in a backwards kind of way!

I hope everyone enjoys getting to know Christopher and seeing how much he has grown up.

I am officially in the ADN program!

Back in April I posted that I received my acceptance letter to the ADN program for Nursing. Well today, it is official. I am in the ADN program. My major is now Associates Degree in Nursing. And I have registered for my 1st nursing class. I have purchased all my books and my stethoscope and blood pressure gauge. I have had my physical ($600 later) and I have most of my immunizations. For some reason the only thing I am not immune to is MEASLES!!!! So I will probably have to have a measles vaccination very soon. I still have to purchase my nursing shoes and scrub pants & the official Athens Tech nursing program shirts & vest to complete my ensemble.

I am really excited about classes starting. I have mixed emotions about clinicals. They start in October and I am SCARED, NERVOUS, and EXCITED about them. I still have to finish the 3 textbooks that we are supposed to self-teach during the summer. The Medical Terminology and Math for Meds are both interesting as they have software to practice on, but the Diet and Nutrition Therapy is boring and depressing because junk food tastes so GOOD.

Amber is growing up!!!!!

When Amber got back from Middle School Summer Camp she talked about how all the 7th graders and most of the 6th graders shaved their legs. I told her she could start shaving her legs before Summer Camp next year. I talked with some of my friends who have daughters that are either Amber's age or a little older and they said they did the same thing with their daughters. Well Amber must have caught me at a weak moment because I agreed last night to let her start shaving her legs today. My mom and Amber both pointed out how long Amber's leg hairs were and Amber reminded me she could be going into the 6th grade. I relented because I remember what it was like to have that long leg hair at school. So here are some pictures of Amber shaving her legs for the 1st time. She woke me up early so I could teach her how to shave.

Tooth Fairy to Visit Amber!!!!!

A.P. Press 7-16-06

Amber has lost her 10th tooth!!!! This was the 1st molar tooth for her to lose. Amber said, "The tooth came out pretty easy. The new tooth was coming in, which helped push the old tooth out." Amber's mom said, "I really enjoyed pulling the tooth out for Amber." Amber's sister, Alyssa, said, "No fair, you get money from the tooth fairy." Amber tells us that she still has another loose tooth that should be coming out in the next 2 months.



A.P. Press 7-17-06

Amber received $1 from the tooth fairy. Amber stated, "I was hoping the tooth fairy would accidentally pull a $20 from her wallet like she did on an episode of Full House. But I didn't get that lucky. Oh well, $1 is better than nothing!"

A Tribute to Great-Grandma Cook

January 18, 1909 - June 20, 2006

I hope everyone enjoys these pictures.

Happy 4th of July!!!!!!!!!

We have our pool (which is cholorine free).

And we have some more dogs hanging around.

Left to Right: Lucy, Missy, Salsa, Pepi (in back), and Tasha.

Pepi is the lone male. The other four dogs are female. Missy and Salsa are pedigrees and need to be slimmed down.

And the "Nature Lessons" continue...

As we were getting ready to leave for VBS one day last week, we saw a turtle in the road in our cul-de-sac. We, okay I, quickly picked him (or her) up and we put the turtle in the doggie pool. One of our neighbors told us it was a boxer turtle and that it would not bite us. We ended up naming the turtle and keeping it for a few days. Here are some pictures of "Franklin Jordan Boxer the Third" (sometimes called "FJB3" and "Trey").

After 3 days of fun with a turtle...sweet freedom was granted to FJB3. We let FJB3 loose in the woods behind the house near a creek and far from the road.

First it was birds, then it was...

I caught some pictures of some lizards PLAYING! Nature abounds.

End of School Update (I forgot to post)

I didn't realize that I didn't post this at the end of the year.

Amber and Alyssa both did great this year in school. They both made the "Merit Roll" for the year. This basically means that they averaged A's & B's for the entire year. Alyssa had A's & B's all year. Amber had A's & B's except for 1 C. I think the girls have done an exceptional job this year.

Aunt Laura should be impressed with the art talent that both Amber and Alyssa have. The art teacher awards 3 certificates per class: "Outstanding Artist" (1 for a boy & 1 for a girl) & "Most Improved in Art" (1 per class). And the winners are:

Amber won "Outstanding Artist" (Girl) for her class.

Alyssa won "Most Improved in Art" for her class.

If you remember the painting I did, you will know they didn't get their artistic talents from me.
Here is a sample of their artistic talent.

"Peace Beach" by Amber Stowers

"Rainbow Garden" by Alyssa Stowers

Next year Amber will be in 5th grade and Alyssa will be in 4th grade.

Sorry for the delay in this info. I will try to make sure I post my drafts next time.

FYI.......

Everyone may not really know the families on our links, so I thought I might do a little clarification.

1. Callie's Blog is my cousin's blog for his 2 wonderful daughters (Callie & Avery).
2. Malachi's Blog is my cousin's blog for her wonderful son (Malachi).
3. Lisa's Blog is my cousin's (you are still very much my cousin) blog for her 3 wonderful boys (Josh, Stephen, and Andrew [A.J.]).
4. Lisa's Homeschool Blog is the aforementioned Lisa's blog where she discusses homeschooling issues.
5. Lisa's "Love Letters 4 Jesus" Blog is the aforementioned Lisa's blog where she opens her heart through creative poetry to God. This blog is a great place to read if you need your spirits lifted.
6. Lilly's Blog is my Uncle Andy's blog where he shares about his times with his granddaughter (Lilly).
7. Gabehart's Family Blog is my cousin's (Brian's side of the family) blog for her wonderful son (Austin) and her wonderful daughter (Alex).

If anyone else has a blog I would love to add you to my links. I hope that this helps everyone know who my links are for.

Baby Birds

We had a nest in our yard with 6 baby birds. I think that only 5 show up in each of the picures. I hope you enjoy our baby bird pictures.

Momma Bird

Baby Birds

Baby Birds

Alyssa's Bargain

Alyssa was a real bargain shopper!!!! Alyssa bought a huge basket of chocolate at her school carnival's auction. She paid $40 for the basket. She has returned about half of the chocolate (the stuff she doesn't like) to Walmart. Her returns came to $43.25 and we still have 6 more things to return (1 item is a $4 from Sav-A-Lot). I guess Alyssa is a pretty good "Bargain Hunter".

Alyssa's thinned out "Chocolate Basket" which she got for free since she has re-couped all of her money!!! What a BARGAIN HUNTER!!!!

This basket was overflowing with CHOCOLATE. It took me 4 trips from the care to carry all the chocolate into the house. I carried this basket piled over the top and then carried 3 more armloads into the house. This basket should last Alyssa a while. She is being very good about eating a little at a time. Any one wants some chocolate - Alyssa might give you a small bit (or maybe not). She really loves chocolate.

School Carnival

The girls school had their 14th Annual Spring Carnival yesterday. I know what you are thinking -- school carnival's are kind of hokey!! This school has the carnival down to a science. They charge $15.00 for a bracelet. This bracelet allows you to participate in all games. I bought the girls each a bracelet. We got to the carnival at 11 am (which is when it opened). They actually had a pretty decent carnival. They had 2 blow-up obstacle courses for little kids, a paddle boat lagoon (huge shallow pool with 4 boats to race in), 4 easy (easy, easy) games you play until you win (you get a prize no matter what!!), a blow up boxing rink with jumbo boxing gloves (the gloves were almost bigger than Alyssa - Alyssa and Amber could barely lift them), a blow up Q-tip battle rink (you know those sticks with cushions on both ends - they had to stand on these foam stands and hit each other off), a blow up bungie run race, a huge blow up slide, a blow up tweety cage (strictly a bouncing cage), and a monster size blow up obstacle course. They also had a cake walk, manicure station, face painting station, and (temporary) tatoo station and bingo.

The carnival ends at 5 pm and is followed by an auction. Let's just say that we were there from start to after finish. We stayed for the auction. It was my first auction. Some stuff went at bargain prices while others went ridiculously high. A teacher paid $190.00 for a reserved parking space up front next school year. They had a lot of great items in the auction. Each classroom had to enter something in the auction plus each grade level also entered a grade level item. Examples: Amber's class did an "Arts & Crafts basket" - it sold for $30.00, Alyssa's class had a white round table painted with "fingerprint bugs" on it and the name of each child with their bug - it sold for $75.00 (I stopped bidding at $45.00), a handcrafted oak porch swing - sold for $250.00 (the girls wanted that), a child-size wooden picnic table - sold for $75.00, a bookcase dollhouse (created by special ed class) - sold for $290.00 (the girls wanted it - I stopped bidding at $40 - it just wasn't worth more), the 3rd grade had a "desperate chocaholic's basket" this laundry basket held a ton of chocolate - sold for $40.00 (needless to say...Alyssa wanted this and she won it too - she bought it with her birthday money). We ended up leaving school around 8:15pm. I decided next year I am getting me a bracelet too, I can at least play some bingo and try to win a cake in the cake walk. (I got tired of just walking around for six hours while they played.)

Alyssa went through the chocolate basket that she "won" (bought) and picked out everything she didn't like (surprisingly she pulled out 2 walmart bags of chocolate stuff that she didn't like and still has a huge laundry basket full of chocolates. If I calculated about right, Alyssa paid $40.00 for about $65.00 in chocolates. I told Alyssa since she bought it she could decide what to do with the chocolates she didn't like -- she gave a (very, very, very) little to her grandparents and wants me to return to Walmart anything they will take. She will recoup some of her money that way. She is planning to share some of the chocolate with her sister (who is mildly allergic to chocolate) and her mom (who is also allergic to chocolate). We had fun at the carnival and learned that all school carnivals are not hokey...at least their auctions can be lots of fun. They had a professiona auctioneer - he actually won some stuff because no one wanted it. He was very fun to listen to.

Alyssa is turning "9"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought I was only 18 years old, so how can I have a children that are 11 and almost 9. I ask you how???????? Alyssa is so excited about turning 9!!!! Every day after school, she gets in the car and tells me how many more days till her birthday. She is growing up. Soon I won't have a child in the single digits!!!! HELP!!!!!! Where does the time go????? It seems like just yesterday that I brought Amber home from the hospital and that was over 11 years ago!!! I just have to remember, even though they are getting older - I am not!!!! After all, didn't that lady think I was 18!!!!!

I got in!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received my acceptance letter today for the Nursing Program !!!!!! I will start classes in September 2006. I am so excited.

I thought that I would get in, but I wasn't going to be completely comfortable until I knew for sure!!! Now I am comfortable!!! I can't wait to register for classes and get started. I am looking forward to the challenges Nursing school will provide me.

The girls were excited upon hearing the news. They know this means that mom will be out of school in about 2 years.

Amber's Musical

Amber's musical went well. They did a great job. I would have to say that Amber's class did the best out of all the classes. (No, I am not biased!!!!!) The musical was just the 4th grade classes. The musical was about making music, thus all the classes played some type of musical instrument. I apologize for the bad pictures, but the lighting is not great in the gym and they are moving so you are limited in the camera mode you can use.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How old am I???

Yesterday I stopped at Publix to buy a Lottery ticket ($265M payout - why not try!). I went up to the Lottery register and asked for a "quick pick" Mega Millions ticket, they lady around 45 yrs old) asked to see my ID. I told her "Bless your soul". I handed her my license and told her "I am 38 years old" . The lady said, "I can't believe I was 20 years off on my estimate. You look very young." I know this made my day! It might have even made my year! I guess if I win the lottery it would top it!

Happy Easter to all!!!!!!

We wanted to wish everyone a Happy Easter. Here are some pictures of us in our Easter finery and the girls Easter goodies.

Happy Easter from Kim, Amber, and Alyssa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amber

Alyssa

Kim

All three of us

Here's their goodies
Amber's (left) & Alyssa's (right)