Needed Links

A few people have asked for directions to the graduation ceremony. Here is the link to jbu's site for directions to campus: http://www.jbu.edu/about/directions/.

There is also a site for streaming video of the ceremony for those who can not make it. I'm sure it's not as exciting for you as it is for me but here it is: http://eagle.jbu.edu/services/graduation/

We're off to do some more Christmas shopping. I promise to write more soon!

I am Thankful for Bear....

Today was Katelyn's last day at school before Thanksgiving break. They had a small Thanksgiving party and did crafts related to the pilgrims etc. They made these adorable Indian Headbands (little did they know her true heritage). Anyway they made these "My Thanksgiving Books." Here are the answers on the pages of her book.

I am Thankful for..... Bear
My family.... Mommy and Daddy
We will eat.... Apples, Green beans, and Chicken

Boy does she love chicken! Just thought this was cute...

The last one to go...

Well...I know some of you are wondering if I finished my capstone presentation tonight or not. I went all night not knowing if I was going to have to wait another day to finish the final presentation but he picked me to go last tonight so I am now officially done with everything for graduation! I think that the project and the presentation went over well so I am excited to see my final grade whenever that becomes available. I just had to share my excitement! 26 days till graduation!

Turning three-four...

Yesterday we had Katelyn's birthday party. She doesn't get that she is three now. She did tell Justin that she was three-four and she told me that she was turning old. But that's okay...we had a fun time with just some of our family. She got a lot of really cute gifts and has had a blast the rest of the weekend playing with them. Marlaina did a great job on the cake and may have future business from our family if she so wishes.

I couldn't sleep last night so I got up and finished my project. I am still waiting on Marivel's corrections to my reflection paper so I will have to make a few last minute changes tomorrow and then print everything off and put it on a disk and then I will be done my senior project. It is really hard to believe that it is almost over. I mailed out my graduation announcements on Friday so let me know if you didn't get one and you would like to have one. I don't really trust the postal system that much and I have the nagging feeling that I forgot someone since I can't seem to remember anything lately.

Thank you for saving my life daddy!

I was a busy lady this weekend. I've been cleaning since Justin left for the deer woods Friday afternoon. I washed and ironed the curtains in our bedroom, washed all the bed linens for our bed and Katelyn's bed. Katelyn and I cleaned her unbelievably dirty room (seriously, I wish I had pictures to send to the KNWA uggliest room contest. It was that bad!) You can actually see the floor in there now and all of her clothes are hanging in her closet. I also did all of our laundry that was hopelessly behind thanks to our busy lives. I cleaned our living room and kitchen in preparation for the Thanksgiving company. Anyway, needless to say we were very busy. We did take a moment out of our cleaning frenzy to visit storytime at the Fayetteville library on Saturday morning and Katelyn liked it. She liked playing with the puzzles more than the storytime but she always enjoys our trips there. We checked out several horse books that she has enjoyed flipping through several times since Saturday.

We also made a short trip to Rudy, AR yesterday to Crockrum's Meat Processing. Don't get too excited...Justin did not kill another deer. His friend Denver did. It was an 8 point. I was supposed to be studying but it was such short notice that we all just jumped in the car and took off. Regretfully, I did not spend enough time on my senior project to get rid of the nagging and stressful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I did find a great clip on YouTube for my presentation today however. This helps a little bit.

Anyway, you may be wondering what the title of this post has to do with cleaning and deer processing. Well, this is how it ties in even though I am really embarassed by the beginning of the story. Truthfully, our kitchen table is the first thing inside the door from our garage. Our washer and dryer are in the garage so when you get the clothes out of the dryer they tend to end up on our kitchen table until someone has a chance to fold them or unti they get worn again. Many clothing pieces have been lost in the humungous mound of clothes. Anyway, on my cleaning spree this weekend I was able to tackle the mound and rid our kitchen of it. We ate dinner at our kitchen table for the first time in months. (Isn't that awful?) I made breakfast for dinner including hash browns, sausage links, and french toast with chocolate milk. We were enjoying our meal when I saw a lightening bug fall off the ceiling and crawl across the table towards Katelyn. Justin jumped up and starting swatting the bug every chance he got. By this time Katelyn was hanging on to my arm for dear life. She is terrified of bugs. Justin killed the bug in her chair and swept it up before she could see it. When she discovered that daddy killed the bug she said as seriously as possible, "Thank you for saving my life daddy!" The rest just speaks for itself....

Pictures

Every year I get more and more lax about family pictures. The first year we had Katelyn family pictures was a big deal to me. The second Christmas was about the same but last year I let Justin wear jeans to avoid that moans and groans associated with this yearly ritual. This year, he has been in the woods so much lately that I just decided to forego the family picture shoot and just get some pictures made of Katelyn since it has been since Easter. Those of you that know me well, will be amazed that I have actually stayed away from a photographer for that long! But it is true. I actually let our JCPenney portrait membership expire so I decided to use a coupon for a free sitting fee at Sears last night. The pictures were okay but it took forever! I don't know how anyone with a screaming kid could stand it! Katelyn was very calm and played with their busy beads the whole time so it wasn't too bad. But two hours! Anyway we got a few Christmas shots and a few birthday ones. I had never had her picture made with the big numbers they have so we decided to do that this year. She is such a ham!

Late Nights and Ponies

I have been working some long hours this week because I won't be in the bank tomorrow. I am going to take a CPR and First Aid course at the local Red Cross chapter. This is the last credit hour that I needed to graduate outside of the JBU Advance Program and of course I put it off until the very last minute. Our last night of class was Tuesday and it was such a blessing! The chaplain came and spoke about making time to write a list of the things that we are greatful for this Thanksgiving and I wondered if everyone who reads this blog would post a comment about the things that they are thankful for. Katelyn and I are going to make leaves and write all the things that our family and friends are thankful for and paste them on the trunk of a tree for Thanksgiving. I think that this will be a great tradition for our family to begin this year.

During these late nights Justin has been very good to pick Katelyn up and keep her occupied until I come home. Tonight they watched Madagascar, Fu Fu Panda (a.k.a. Kung Fu Panda) and a Bug's Life. They also played Spiderman on the XBOX 360. I don't know what it is about Spiderman but it seems that all kids love this game! I remember when my brother was moving to Florida from Oregon his kids loved this game as well!

I finally gave out the invitations for Katelyn's third birthday part tooday! This is so unusual for me since the last two years I have had her birthday party planned months ahead of time. This year I have been so bogged down with school and work and not feeling well myself that I haven't had time to even think about her birthday party. I was so late that another little girl who has the same birthday already planned a party at Chuck E Cheese for the same time. That is okay because it will be easier to deal with mostly adults instead of children. But Katelyn still wanted to have a My Little Pony party so that is what we are doing. Marlaina (a girl that I work with at the bank) is a great cake maker and she has agreed to make the cake for me. The ideas that she is coming up with are really cute and I can't wait to see the final product! I will be sure to post pictures for everyone to see who can't make the party!

When things don't count....

Obviously from my last post I have prided myself in getting good grades while at John Brown. I recently discovered that I received a 7 out of 10 on a progress report that was due last week on my senior project. The instructor stated that there was no evidence of my reflection paper turned in. I have responded to him and questioned his grade because the reflection paper was turned in and it was over half complete. This was more than many other students in my class. Please pray that he is willing to change my grade since I sent proof in my email that I did turn in the paper. I would hate to miss those points simply because he overlooked something in the dropbox or because the technology we are forced to use did not work properly.

On another note....I thought that tonight would be a great time to do a little early Christmas shopping since there are many Veteran's Day sales and Justin is the deer woods. Katelyn and I set out for Old Navy and Kohls. She always begs for a ball or toy from the little machines at Old Navy so that was the first thing we did when we got there. I really thought that this would occupy for awhile but she just was not in the mood to shop tonight. So if anyone sees any good deals please post a response to this posting and I will try to convince her to go again tomorrow. Many of my gifts this year will be homemade but I still need to pick up a few things since my mom and Hardy will be here this year.

The other thing that has been on my mind has been the election. I am by no means qualified to host a conversation about the recent election. This was the first time in probably more than half my life that I did not keep track of the daily news and really know the platforms of the candidates. I am even embarassed to say I voted to re-elect Mayor Coody simply because I didn't know who any of the other candidates were. But somehow I still came away from this election feeling as if my vote and the vote of many of the people in the nation did not count. I somewhat understand why the electoral college was created when the foundation of our nation was laid but I do not understand the purpose that it plays today. It is hard for me to feel as if my vote matters when the electoral college votes and the popular vote were so totally different.

It just hurts sometimes when it seems that things don't count....

Distinctions

Just a quick note before heading off to class tonight. I was informed to today that I have been cleared for graduation and that I will be graduating with distinctions. This is so exciting! I had no idea that I would be eligible for graduation with distinctions. JBU does not allow you to graduate with latin honors unless you have at least 60 hours of credit from their university. Therefore, it is almost impossible for an advance student to reach latin honors. Graduating with disctinctions is the Advance program equivalent of latin honors. I was just really excited and decided to share this everyone.

Monday already...

This weekend went by so fast and I couldn't hardly believe that it was Monday already when I woke up this morning. Justin and I did something that neither one of us had ever done before yesterday. We showed up at church before anyone else yesterday forgetting that it was daylight savings time. We thought we were doing good since Katelyn had spent the night with Mimi and Poppi on Saturday. We got ready and went to Taco Place for breakfast and didn't realize what we had done until we pulled in the parking lot and no one was there. I mean NO ONE! It really was an eerie feeling until we realized that it was November and daylight savings time had taken place. We decided to go home and eat and rejoined society a little bit later.

Katelyn has discovered the beautiful fall leaves. I'm sure that she had noticed them in the past but was always too sick for us to spend much time outdoors when the leaves were changing. This year she is excited to pick them up and thinks they are as pretty as flowers. She likes to show them off and carried one all through church and then to lunch afterwards.

Tomorrow is the class before the last class! I am so excited. I can finally see the end in site. My cap and gown arrived last week in the mail and I have actually not tried it on. I had imagined I would rush home to find it on the doorstep, I would put it on, and I would wear it around the house. After all the cap and gown alone cost me almost $40. This is however a small price to pay when compared to the cost of the piece of paper I'm about to recieve but I wanted to get some wear out of the ridiculous outfit one must wear in order to walk at graduation. I hope to try it on and get a few pictures taken to include with my invitations. Hopefully these will go out in the mail at the end of the month.

I'm a Dress Mommy!

Yesterday I volunteered at Katelyn's school for their Halloween Carnival. All of the kids brought their costumes and we dressed them up and had a small carnival outside. When all the kids were showing me their costumes and telling me what they were Katelyn kept saying, "I'm a Dress Mommy! Look at me..." I think she was just a little jealous at all the attention I was getting from the other kids. She didn't like the fact that they were also calling me Mommy. But we were paired up with two other little girls from her class, Alex the witch and Emma the pumpkin in order to go around and play games. They had face painting, a duck pond, a sand dig, a bean bag toss, go fish, basketball, pin the broom on the witch, and a cake walk. The girls seemed to have a lot of fun until it started raining. Emma and Katelyn got cold so we went inside while Alex stayed with her mom and read stories. They laid down for nap and Katelyn didn't really seem to mind that I left her there the rest of the day.

Last night we went to a few houses trick-or-treating and she got more candy than we know what to do with. But we all had fun and we enjoyed a delicious dinner with Dale and Cathy of a chicken tamale bake from Cooking Light that was really good. Cathy also loaned me a beautiful oil painting to hang in my office. I am so excited about decorating!

Here are some pics for you to enjoy....

Tarah Talker

Many of you may not know that in elementary school kids used to tease me and call me Tarah Talker. The other night in Ethics class we had to think of a word that began with the first letter of our name that we thought described us. The only one I could think of at the time was Tarah Talker. It's kind of funny how things come full circle isn't it? As long as you can remember you hate being called something and then one day you call yourself that. Brings real meaning to the idea that if you constantly tell a kid they aren't worth anything they won't amount to anything. That's really sad.

On a brighter note there are only three weeks left of actual class. I have received my graduation announcements and am really looking forward to the next month being over. The last night of senior project presentations is November 25th, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Crazy Tarah is also planning a Barnyard Birthday bash for Katelyn on the 22nd so that will probably be a stressful weekend but well worth it.

It's time for bed so I better get going. Katelyn isn't even in her jammin's yet. Isn't that cute? She comes up with the cutest names for things. Oh, one more quick one. She loves to eat box sticks. This is what she calls french toast sticks from Sonic. We aren't sure where that one came from.

P.S. If anyone is looking for birthday ideas.... anything horses! She is in love with ponies, horses, horse barns, anything horses. Not sure why but for now it is okay. I just dread when she realizes that we could actually have a real horse....

Fall Festival

We just got home from our Church's fall festival. We had to miss it last year because Katelyn had just had surgery and had strep throat. We were excited to participate this year and Katelyn had a lot of fun. I had to work all day and got home just in time to fix her hair and get her ready to be a princess. She likes the movie Snow White and picked out this costume herself. Isn't she darling?!?! She got to go fishing in the haunted pond, the bean bag toss, the cake walk, and the candle shoot-out plus go trunk or treating. We also had some great snacks afterwards. The teens at the church always do a great job of hosting the fall festival for all the little kids. We really appreciate it.

Our Princess Katelyn and Mommy enjoying the festivities
Bob the Builder a.k.a. Uncle Josh and Snow White a.k.a. Princess Katelyn

Movin' Up

This week was a big week for some of us at the bank. Not only are we switching softwares and processors for the bank but a few people are switching positions, me included. This was an unexpected move since I was not anticipating my promotion until closer to graduation time but I am really excited. I will be moving into more of a compliance/auditing and managerial position. This is what I was hoping for and I am also really excited to move into my first office that doesn't have to be shared. I look forward to decorating a little as well. I have to be at work in less than hour so I better go but please pray for Justin's dad, Mike. He woke up the other morning with all of his joints swollen and stiff. They are waiting on blood work to discover the true cause but think that it might be a blood infection. Please pray for healing.

I'm the Princess

Well we are finally back from Tennessee. It was a very long weekend. My uncle Dennis took us to Wasabi Thursday night which was wonderful. It was Katelyn's first time to go to a place where they cook at your table like Shogun and she was really scared of the fire. Friday was the rehearsal for my cousin Angela's wedding. While helping to decorate their unity candle table I fell off the stage and twisted my ankle (luckily everyone else was enjoying the rehearsal dinner). Early Saturday morning we took Katelyn to get her hair done. It was gorgeous but they scheduled her appointment at 10:00 a.m. even though the wedding wasn't until 3:00. It looked okay though.
We visited with my Mimi and my aunt Karen and uncle John in between the hair appointments and the pictures. When Katelyn put on her dress she looked so pretty! She kept saying that she was a princess. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was nice.

My cousin Cari and Katelyn
"What a lucky guy!" The groom and the attendants
Angela and Billy cut the cake with Katelyn first in line.Katelyn thought they were going to cut her a piece and you can see she had her fork ready to dig in. We also went shopping and got some nice things for Katelyn. On the way home Margret was saying that Katelyn was a turkey because she was being silly about something and Katelyn said, "No! I'm the princess!" It was a weekend of spoiling but nice. I am definitely glad to be back home though. As with all good things they must come to an end. Unfortunately, Katelyn let my mom's dog, Lexi out of the house yesterday and she was hit by a car. Katelyn was so upset because my mom was crushed! Lexi had been such a good companion for my mom and she was so good with Katelyn. Katelyn just didn't understand what was going on and it was hard to keep her curiosity at bay while my mom could grieve. Please pray that the Lord will bring healing and comfort to my mom and Hardy both.

Half a Century and Counting....

I can't believe that it has been over a month since I last published. Time has really flown by since we have been so busy. Katelyn has had pneumonia again and I am down to one class and a senior project before graduation. My senior project is pretty much done other than a reflection paper and a presentation. I also turned 25 this week and have enjoyed our new Nintendo Wii and Wii Fit. I have lost almost 2 pounds since we got the "game." I have had several wonderful birthday dinners and lunches from friends and family. Last Friday night Katelyn and I went to Margret's for Spaghetti and pineapple upside down cake. This is her playing with Uncle Jerry and the mailbox.

Anyway, Justin was in the woods but didn't see anything. I always hope that he will get a deer early in the season so that it isn't such a big deal. Well I have to get to class so I will try to post more when we get back from Knoxville this weekend. Katelyn is a flower girl so it should be a fun trip!

Catchin' Up...

We have been so busy lately and I apologize for not updating the site in the last few weeks. We have done fair things and been busy with school and work. The fair was great even for Katelyn. She won a blue ribbon on her ice cream bowl, watercolor, and puppet and a white ribbon on her basket. Justin and I also entered things and did well with those as well. I am taking several of my items on the Arkansas-Oklahoma state fair next week. School is also going good right now. Somehow I managed an A in Statistics and finished up on Marketing last night. Two classes left and then GRADUATION! Katelyn's school is also going well. She is learning new things all the time. She has a new teacher who is also great. Tonight is our first School Board meeting so I am excited to go and meet some of the other parents. We met one of the parents at the fair and I see her almost every day. Her daughters name is Emma and Katelyn really likes her. I'm glad that she made friends so quickly at this school.


Saturday we went and had Katelyn's hair cut for the first time. We just decided that it was time for a trimming because she had never had it cut and she is almost three years old. We didn't want to cut much off the length since she is going to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding and they want her to wear her hair in a sort of pony tail with curls. This was also a bit of a trial run to see how she would do getting her hair done. She did great and she really enjoyed sitting in the big chair all by herself.

This was before she had her hair cut.

Don't worry bout it mama!

Some personal things have been going on lately that I won't get into to on here but I did think it was funny today when Justin and I were sharing our days with each other that Katelyn ran up to me and said, "don't worry bout it mama!" She is so carefree and loving!

They have released her from Speech therapy with ongoing goals and she did much better this week in her occupational therapy. We are really excited with her progress. Her last ST evaluation showed that her articulation was equivalent with a 3 yr. 10 mo. old! This is incredible considering just a year ago she was 5-6 months behind. Praise the lord for this healing!

We are preparing for our exam at the bank and many other stressful projects. I am looking forward to my vacation in October (for my birthday) to see my mom! I can't wait and I'm excited that Katelyn gets to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding. I just can't believe that flower girl dresses cost as much as my wedding dress did!

We are also preparing for the Washington County Fair. Fair entries are due this Saturday and then my baked goods will be turned in on Monday. Wish us luck as Katelyn and I are both entering multiple items in the fair. Hopefully our winnings will be a good addition to her college fund and savings account. More later....

Clownin' Around

Sorry it has been so long since my last update. I have been very busy canning and preparing for the fair. Katelyn is doing wonderful at the new preschool and we are loving that they send art home every day. We went to Little Rock on Monday and saw the GI doctor. Didn't say anything new but we did find out that she has been discharged from speech therapy unless she starts having problems again this fall/winter. The speech therapist has created goals for the teacher and is checking in with them periodically to make sure that they are following her diet and thickening restrictions. This weeks unit is the circus. Yesterday they made lions and today they made clown hats. Here is a picture for you! I just love it!

Look Mommy! I not wet....

As I was posting the last time I was unaware that Katelyn refused to put on her night time pull up and was sound asleep in her nice clean bed unprotected from a bed wetting experience. I probably would have woken the sleeping monster simply to change those pants but Justin let me sleep soundly without a clue of the grim possibility that I would have to wake up in the middle of the night to change sheets. However, when Katelyn awoke she said, "Look Mommy! I'm not wet!" At first I was like okay because it is normal that she doesn't use her pull up in the night but then half asleep I realized what a big accomplishment that was. I'm still not ready for her big girl panties every night because I am tired enough as it is with everything at work and all the other normal Tarah duties but I was really excited to see the first dry night come and go.

Another first was her first occupational therapy session today. We came to find out that Cross Therapy is highly recommended by Katelyn's beloved pediatrician and were much happier with the responses they have given us as compared to children's therapy team. I realize that CTT has done wonders with her speech therapy but were unhappy with the scheduling situation and lack of communication by their OT staff. Katelyn enjoyed her "play" time with the therapist and we are looking forward to discussing her goald further next week. We are supposed to learn how to "brush" her which is part of the Wilbarger method. Here's a good site I found about this method: http://www.pbbkids.com/the_wilbarger_brushing_protocol.htm

On a side note....I have been slowly preparing crafts for the county fair and to sell at an upcoming craft fair. If anyone is interested in seeing what I have so far or is interested in helping with a craft fair booth, let me know.

Have a great weekend if I don't see or talk to you before then!

Great news!

Don't get too excited by the title...I know that some people are wishing that Justin and I would have another baby but this isn't that kind of great news. The exam is over at work and I made the Dean's list for the second term. (I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I didn't make the President's list like I did in term 1 but this is still an honor with all the other things I have taken on this term). Things are looking up right now. I have started my senior project and hopefully things will be back down to a low roar at the bank for awhile.

Katelyn has still been coughing a lot since our trip to Branson so I took her to the doctor today. He seems to think that it is those non-existent allergies again. He gave me some samples of a different allergy medicine to try and if that doesn't work more antibiotics. We are really going to try to keep her off those until we can see the GI doc on August 4th though. Even though she hasn't felt well her and daddy can still have fun!

These were those squish pillows that were so popular a few years ago. They make great mushroom hats!

Katelyn met two milestones in the last week. She was invited to her first birthday part and it was decided that she gets to be a flower girl in my cousin Angela's wedding in October. This will end up being a milestone for me too because I will have to drive to Knoxville with Katelyn by myself. Luckily it is a holiday weekend so I will get to stay longer with my mom.

Happy Belated Birthday to Hardy!

Circus and Not a Circus

On Saturday we went to Branson. It was definitely a much needed get away. You would think since we took a vacation this year that we wouldn't want to get out of town so bad but it didn't really feel like much of a vacation when we went to Florida. I guess because we came back feeling so crappy from the sun. Anyway...So Saturday we took Katelyn to the matinee of the New Shanghai Circus' presentation of the Acrobats of China. This was a fabulous show! In fact it is my favorite so far but coming in a close second is Legends in Concert. You can visit the website at: http://acrobatsofchina.com/en/. We were able to get front row seats and Katelyn's eyes were glued to the stage the whole time. There was death defying feats and fun rhythmic dances and soft ballets. It was really nice and I would totally recommend this show to anyone going to Branson anytime soon. We also did some shopping and discovered a secret. All the evening shows start at around 8 so this is the time to shop in Branson. Most of the stores don't close until 9 so from about 7:00 to 9:00 the stores are almost empty. We found some great deals on fall and winter clothes for Katelyn. And the doting mother that I am I didn't even buy anything for myself until I got home. It seems that everytime I go shopping Katelyn gets the better end of the deal. Anyway we went to Springfield to the Bass Pro Shop yesterday. I guess that Katelyn didn't sleep well and I know that she wasn't feeling well. She was in a horrible mood and was really rather hard to keep up with so we didn't stay there for very long. We decided to just come home and I was able to get some alone time at the mall and grocery shopping while Justin watched Katelyn.

Today Katelyn went to her new big girl school. This is the not a circus part of the title. It was so nice to drop her off at a school that was not chaotic with peopple everywhere. Her teacher was great and let Katelyn pick out her own cubby and hook to hang her backpack. She introduced her to another little girl and they just hit right off playing while I talked with the teacher and the cook about some last minute questions that they had. She had no accidents and they said that she did great for her first day. I am really excited about this place and think that it is going to be an answer to prayer! The cook really is a sweet lady. Her granddaughter is Katelyn's age and recently moved to New Jersey. Miss Anna really misses Bella and was telling her daughter about Katelyn who said that God provides in your time of need. Miss Anna has decided to make Katelyn her special girl until she can see her own granddaughter again. Isn't that sweet?!?!?

Happy 4th of July!

Today we got to swim with Justin's Nana and Papa and his two much younger cousins, Jordan and Hope. Katelyn really likes to play with the bigger kids and had fun swimming. She didn't like swimming as much as they did and we took a nap while watching Peter Pan. I can't wait to see how she reacts tonight with the fireworks!

Big Girl School

Well, I'm not sure what I will tell Katelyn when she actually goes to big girl school because we told her that the preschool she is starting on Monday is her big girl school. We went to visit this afternoon and it went over well. When I picked her up from her daycare I told her that we were going to her big girl school to meet her new friends and her new teacher and she was excited. All the kids knew she was coming and they introduced themselves and told her how old they were. She was very excited and took off playing with them right away. I was really happy to see this. I am a little concerned how Monday will go since it will be a stressful day for me anyway. Our FDIC compliance exam starts Monday and exams are always stressful on everyone around the bank. I have been preparing for this for over a month so I am really hoping that all goes well.

We are going to Branson this weekend. We aren't sure yet if we are going to Silver Dollar City or not but do want to. I will make sure to post some pics when we return. Happy Fourth of July to everyone!

Yeehaw! Ride 'em cowboys!

We took Katelyn to her first (and I must admit my first) rodeo last night. It was so much fun...a little on the warm side but definitely fun! The bank is a sponsor this year and so we were able to get free tickets for Justin's mom, dad, and brother and for the three of us. It was a nice and inexpensive outing. Our main purchase was this lovely pink cowgirl hat for Katelyn. I think it suits her perfectly. Pretty in pink! We arrived around 6:30 so that we could watc the Muttin Bustin. This is where the little kids around age 4 and 5 climb on a sheep and ride it as far as they can go. A girl won for the night and she did a really good job. Katelyn wanted to ride to but mommy isn't ready for that yet. I told her maybe in a couple of years. I'm thinking it took me 24 years to make it to a rodea...maybe another 20 or so until I want to watch someone I know, especially Katelyn actually be in the rodeo. Anyway, there was a touching speech about our freedom and what the flag stood for and a great grand entry parade with the Rodeo Rounders (the pretty girls on horses). It was great fun and I would suggest it to anyone who has never been before.

Play Ball!

We took Katelyn to her first baseball game last night at the new Naturals stadium. It was a lot of fun for the whole family. Mike and Kim were given four tickets by someone that works down the street from them and we are all able to go. It was nice that Katelyn did not require a ticket. The Naturals beat the Traveler's. When we left the score was 8 to 1.





Oh by the way! Katelyn is doing really great with her potty training. She has not had an accident since last Wednesday which means that tomorrow will be a whole week of perfect pottying. We are so proud of her! She gets to start her new school on July 8th -- two weeks from today! We can't wait!

I'm a Big Girl Now!

We discovered on Thursday that Katelyn's daycare is moving to Johnson. This is very inconvenient for us and would end up costing us much more in gas each week. We made the decision that we would try to find a better preschool that was more convenient. I was lucky to find a preschool on my way to work that is even cheaper due to parent involvement. It appears to be a great school and has been in business since 1975. They are much smaller with only 28 students and I hope that Katelyn will learn more and will get more personal attention than her current situation provides. However, this new school does not accept children that are not potty trained. Diapers and Pull-ups are not allowed. I went straight from my visit to the new school to take Katelyn shopping for big girl underwear. I let her pick them off the rack, put them on the check out counter, and discuss her situation with the store clerk. The clerk was very understanding. She even gave Katelyn her own shopping bag for her new big girl underwears and gave her the receipt as if she had purchased them herself. It was a big day for her. We decided that night that there would be no more pull-ups except at night because she has still had a few nights with very wet pull-ups in the recent past. However, she made it all day yesterday at school without any accidents! We were so excited and she knows no that she's a big girl. She went and spent the night with Mimi and Poppi last night and didn't even want to take her big girl underwears off to go to bed. They had to put the pull-up on over her big girl underwears after she went to sleep. It was a big day/night for us with two big milestones at one time. This was the first full night she had spent away from both of us. It was kind of nice but definitely weird to not have a toddler in tow. We ended up spending most of the night shopping for father's day gifts and toys for her. She is in a very big learning stage right now and really wants to play with flashcards, read books, and do art projects. We hope the new preschool will help her get a head start before school.

The Date is Set...

So I finally discovered that the graduation date has been set. I will officially graduate from John Brown on December 20th. This ends up being really cool for me because this means that my mom and Hardy get to be here for Christmas. This will be the first time since before Justin and I got married that I have actually gotten to celebrate Christmas on Christmas day with my mom! I am so excited since this is such a rare occassion. Plus I will be really excited to get graduation over with. I imagine we will have a party and everyone will be invited. You guys know me and parties! :)

On the otherhand. Things have been relatively quiet lately. Katelyn has not been sick but my car has. We had to replace the battery and the alternator this weekend. I was able to get some homework done while I was stuck at Sonic on Saturday so that was okay. I have a final tonight so I have been studying for that but mostly Justin and I have been working. We have both been working overtime lately. I don't expect that to stop for awhile either so I guess for now we are just used to it.

Maybe we will do something fun this weekend so I can post some new pictures. I imagine we will since Sunday is Father's Day. Justin's grandparents are coming up so I bet we will have pictures from that. We really appreciate this since we can't afford to drive very many places lately with gas prices the way they are. I'm sure that everyone is feeling that pinch in the pocket.

The Newest Old Couple we know...

Yesterday was an exciting day for us. Dale and Cathy were married at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville at 4:00. It was a small but beautiful ceremony that was very intimate. Cathy's dress was gorgeous. Katelyn was of course a handful and did not like when the priest took Dale and Cathy up to the alter. She wanted to go right along with them. But the priest read some very nice scriptures and it was a very happy occassion. Of course the food afterwards at Bordino's was to die for. Dale and Cathy always have impecable taste when is comes to fine dining. It was a great time to visit with everyone but our favorite part was back at not Dale and Cathy's house for cake and champagne. It was really nice to get to know some of Cathy's family. I just wish I hadn't stuck my foot in my mouth from the start when I asked said to Cathy's sister, "Oh you must be Cathy's mom." I just didn't see her mom there...I don't know what I was thinking but I felt soooo bad! Anyway, here are some of the pictures. The rest can be viewed on my flickr account.