Week in Pictures

This week we celebrated Adam's Birthday. He has recovered from his surgery very quickly, so we were able to go to McGuire's for dinner - Yum! It was wonderful. The best steak I have EVER had. We ordered appetizers too and ended up coming home with 5 take out boxes!! No one could finish their dinner. We came home and sang Happy Birthday to Adam. For some reason he didn't want me to metion his birthday to our waiter. Something about the way they make you kiss a big stuffed moose on your birthday. Some people are such babies :-)

Adam's cake - Orange flavored with white icing and LOTS of sprinkles

Hayden got to go to Super Science Saturday. The science department at the high school invites middle school kids over once a month to do fun science projects and experiments. Oh yeah, they get pizza and soda too. This month was all about aerodynamics. They made lots of different flying "machines".

Hayden's flying toys. They don't look like any big deal in the pic, but in action they are really cool. It's neat how 5 simple objects can all fly with such different styles.

One of Christian's favorite shows lately is "That 70's Show" Here he is "chillin'" and watching TV.

Howdy Pardner

Thought I'd share a couple of pictures from Adam's company party last week. Rather than having a Christmas party L-3 has their employee party in February. It is such a great idea!! You can actually enjoy the party without all of the holiday stress. This year the party had a Western theme. It was a lot of fun getting "duded" up.
The cowpokes. You can't see our spurs, but we've got 'em :-)


(1) The decorations were fabulous.
(2) Nancy - I mean Miss Kitty - was a great MC.
(3) More great props and decorations.


(4) couple a gun slingers talkin' at the saloon.
(5) lots of door prizes.

We had a great time!! Can't wait to see what next year's theme will be.

Emerald Coast Winter Classic

Last Saturday, February 7th, Choctaw hosted the Emerald Coast Winter Guard and Percussion Classic. Throughout the day we hosted 10 Percussion units, as well as 17 Colorguard units. The kids had a great time and got another chance to perform in front of an audience and be evaluated.

It won't be too long before we are back in Dayton, OH showing off for thousands!!

Christian in uniform.


(1) Pre-performance Practice
(2) The Happy Gram Table - this is what I did all day :-)
(3) A packed house


(4) Choctaw Percussion rolls out their floor for their show "Shattered"
(5) Choctaw World Guard in ready position for their show "Valentine"

Adam's Doing Great

Adam's surgery went really well. It was both a little more work than the doc thought and a little less. You see, the gall bladder removal that should have taken 20 minutes took 2 hours. That was the more work part. Then, Adam's appendix decided to hide behind his colon so taking it out would have meant making a large incision - in addition to the 6 laparoscopic holes they had already made. Since, it wasn't imperative that they take it out, the Dr. decided to leave it in.

Even with the longer surgery, I couldn't believe that we were in the car on our way back home so quickly. Check out this timeline:

6:30: We arrive at the Surgery Center
8:00: The nurses wheel Adam back to the Operating Room
12:00: We are back at home with a slightly groggy Adam tucked in bed and me sending out a mass email to let everyone know that everything was A-okay.

It was practically drive-thru service :-)

Adam has been such a GREAT patient! None of the meds made him sick and he has been managing his pain very well. He has also kept a really good balance between rest (to promote healing) and activity (to prevent complications from the anesthesia).

He has been back to the Dr. to have the post-op drainage tube removed, and will go back for a follow-up next week. Looks like he will have some pretty good bruises over the next week or so. And of course a scar or two (okay 6).

Thanks to everyone for being so supportive and thoughtful!! We are very thankful to have so many caring people in our lives.

RAK - Random Acts of Kindness

I am a member of a RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) Group on Splitcoast Stampers. It's lots of fun!! You just randomly send out a card or fun craft item to a person on the list. There are currently over 3,000 people on the list. The other day I got a surprise in the mail. It was this gorgeous RAK!!!

I just love the colors. And the saying is soooo true. Can't wait to send her a RAK in return :-)

All A's

Hayden's middle school lunchroom has a wall devoted to displaying the names of the 6th, 7th and 8th graders who did well on their nine week report cards.

There is a section of the wall devoted to "All A's." There is another section for "All A's and B's." And still another section for "All A's, B's and 1 C."

Hayden made all A's again this nine weeks and got to be 1 of the 37 6th-8th graders on this section of the wall. Go Hayden!!

Learn Something New Everyday :-)

Until today, I had no idea what National Signing Day was. If you had asked me prior to 8:00 am this morning, I would have guessed that it was a day to celebrate American Sign Language. You see I know a little something about sign language. Football . . . not so much :-)

For those of you that are as clueless as I was, National Signing Day is the first day a high school senior can sign a binding National Letter of Intent for college football. And, that is exactly what 2 Choctaw seniors did today in front of an auditorium full of fellow athletes, friends, administrators, teachers, and family. One with East Carolina, the other with Alabama State.

I happened to have a free period, and decided to check it out. I'm so glad I did. It was neat to see kids that I have worked with making such an important step for their future. Who knows, maybe one day they'll be playing in the NFL and I'll be able to say I knew them when.

P.S. I don't have any pictures because the Spanish class I was subbing for was watching a movie (The Jungle Book - en Espanol :-) and the DVD remote didn't have any batteries. So, I had to take the batteries out of my camera to make the remote work. I didn't think to take the batteries back out before I left on my break. I also didn't have my cell phone on me. EGADS!! I was practically naked :-) Luckily, Christian was there filming the story for WBGI (the school news show). He said he would probably be able to get me some pics. Hopefully I will be able to add them in later.

Hayden's Tooth

Hayden has had half of a baby tooth that has been hanging on for the last year and a half. Yes, I said half of a baby tooth. Somehow, the baby tooth cracked and half of it came out. The rest stayed put, and the adult tooth has been coming in above it. Every time we go to the dentist I asked them to whack it lose. This time they finally did. So here is Hayden numbed (he had to get a filling too) and guazed, and holding his tooth. Well, actually he's holding a tooth shaped box that his actual tooth is in :-)

When we got in the car Hayden told me that the hygienist had told him that just because it was a half of a tooth didn't mean he should get half a visit from the Tooth Fairy. I said, Oh really? Well what if the Tooth Fairy doesn't have any cash on her? He said she could always transfer it into my Debit Card Account. I told him - Buddy, if you're old enough to know how to electronically transfer funds to a debit card account, I think you're a bit too old for the Tooth Fairy. He sheepishly agreed. Funny what kind of angles you'll try to work when you're saving up for an iPod Touch :-)