Happy Birthday My Friend

Happy Birthday Beth!!

a few pics from last summer and a few from 2003 crop !!

So glad that a handmade birthday party invite opened up and started such an awesome friendship!

Hope you had an awesome day!

See you MONDAY!

Christmas pics to share

*cheeser grins by Mr Barton - happy Santa man!

*Steve II gaming in his pjs.....lovin the new head sets for XBOX 360.

*Koda cracking up- love these pics.

*Jake wearing his new hat and sweatshirt and Riley in her new purple bed!

*Koda thought the Miller Lite box was the best- and when he found his new coat inside he was a happy boy!

Christmas was wonderful and I cannot believe it is back to work tomorrow already!

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The boys got Guitar Hero World Tour - and have been rockin all day long! I had a blast playing with them today!

Then we went to the movies and watched Marley and Me. Awesome movie - but oh bring a tissue or two!

and of course, I was behind the camera AGAIN! I asked for a group shot today but seems we never made time to get one.? Maybe this weekend.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas to YOU!
It's been a CRAZY busy week at work and home. I think the kids out of school complicates my life more! :-)

Our normal Christmas Eve traditions....dinner together usually our big holiday meal. I made baby back ribs in the oven and they were awesome....2 slabs and none left.
After dinner we watched the Christmas specials for awhile and then went on seaching for awesome Christmas lights and a tour through the fairgrounds lights. Below are shots from the light show ...Riley is a crazy dog as she seems to love the lights as much as we do...



Merry Christmas !!

Very cool article and a good day review

365 Days, 365 Ideas for Photos check this cool idea out that was in my email inbox. :-)

Saturday recap....all day wrestling meet in Lansing. Koda is making awesome improvements - learning loads. Hate to see them growing up so fast but on the other hand it is great to see them developing into young men. He actually had a 1 win - 3 loss day.

Hope the next storm comes and goes soon. I hear that tomorrow we will be blessed with high winds and more snow? and temps below ZERO! oh boy

Michigan weather impacts us

SNOW day on Friday. The first for us this year!! The boys were very happy!!


Out my office window just after 8am! Michigan Theater.


My drive in yesterday was super fun- there were drifts to hop through IN TOWN!



Koda is such a sweetie - woke up just in time to shovel to get Mom out to go to work. HIS idea and he insisted!! Gotta love them boys!

We postponed the Christmas celebrations up north that were scheduled for tomorrow. Weather channel says we have more coming, negative temps and wind tomorrow......we will get together on Jan 3rd instead!!

Headed to Lansing today - Koda had to be at the school at 630AM to catch a bus...hoping he gets a boost of confidence....he needs it. :-)

Have a great weekend

Role Model

Thanks Mom! I received this from her in my email tonight....

WHO IS YOUR ROLE MODEL??? Try it without looking at the answers......
1) Pick your favorite number between 1-9
2) Multiply by 3 then
3) Add 3, then again Multiply by 3 (I'll wait while you get the calculator. ..)
4) You'll get a 2 or 3 digit number….
5) Add the digits together
Now Scroll down ..............













Now with that number see who your ROLE MODEL is from the list below:
1. Einstein
2. Nelson Mandela
3. Abraham Lincoln
4. Helen Keller
5. Bill Gates
6. Gandhi
7. George Clooney
8. Thomas Edison
9. Kasandra Barton
10. Abraham Lincoln


I know....I just have that effect on people....one day you too can be like me.... :-) Believe it! P.S.: Stop picking different numbers. I am your idol, just deal with it!!!! NOW CHANGE YOUR NAME IN NO. 9 AND SEND IT ON!! HAHA

Handmade

Love decorations made by the kids....Koda made this at the career center - welding class....a 3 D metal Christmas tree..he did an awesome job!! Love it.
Yes, there is a bobblehead hiding behind the tree....just like a man - must be in the spotlight! :-)

simply stated

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

Christmas is the season when you buy this year's gifts with next year's money. ~Author Unknown

OH MY......

So YUMMY - these cookies are sinful - the caramel inside is still gooey when they are cooled.

Had to share.

I made a double batch tonight - 6 dozen for a cookie swap and leftovers for the guys lunches and to share at work.

Chocolate Caramel Cookies

TIME: Prep:25 min. Bake: 10 min.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
1 package (13 ounces) Rolo candies

Directions: In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, cocoa and baking soda; gradually add to creamed mixture just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans. Shape dough by tablespoonfuls around each candy. In a small bowl, combine remaining pecans and sugar; dip each cookie halfway. Place with nut side up on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375° for 7-10 minutes or until top is slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: about 5 dozen.

Crafty lil snowbird

She's caught the BUG....card making bug!

She has been playing with stamps a little and then she started to explore....and she is doing GREAT!

The bottom is her Christmas card....a photo of where she is....she glued sand on the beach and added a Christmas tree punch! OH I forgot to take a pic of the inside...she used a snowman punch and a caption bubble with 'Merry Christmas' in it!

Love it!

Great job, Mom!! XXOO

weekend recap

An all day invitational was exactly right! We started at 8am and were leaving at 515pm!
Although Jackson High did not do well....they boys had a great time and Koda said it was his most memorable....because he had lots of family that came to see him! :-)
Thanks Mike, Jennifer, Bryan, Jody, Richard and Jerod - you made his day!

Jake went to his friends for the afternoon (we were in Brooklyn where he lives) and they invited his to stay the night - and then Steve's sister and brother in law asked if they could keep the other two....woo hoo. We are child free - last night we had Subway and watched the Wings play. Crashed early - and today we are cleaning and trying to make room for the tree - and going shopping - groceries and some Christmas.


Go Koda.


Kyle (Koda's buddy)


Christmas Ban Concert was awesome...for middle school students...they are terrific! Nope, you cannot see Steve - he is sitting in the backrow all the way to the left!

up and running

The computer is back up and running. Thanks to sons and curiosity - I was the lucky recipient of a CRASH on my pc. I will let the party remain anonymous and leave the details to you....they are also lucky t'he'y have a computer savvy mom...otherwise 'he' would have been cashing in some gifts...ugh!

and we are up and running this morning - heading to an all day wrestling event. Will post later with pics...hopefully with smiles. Thursday night he was not smiling and was just plain MAD because he lost both matches. I have seen him mad -wish he could use that energy to get loose from the holds he gets into - but unfortunately he gives up if they get him around the neck and feels like his breathing is compromised. (think this is from being an asthmatic)

Anywho - I will post details later!! Have a super Saturday!

My Planner

Caught a creative bug last night - and made this. It was quite relaxing and I love it. It has pockets inside for wish lists, receipts, a calendar, and whatever......

pics are not the best but you can get the idea!

It all started with a Manila file folder!

December 2008

I cannot believe it is already December !
Sure signs it is December and we live in Michigan........

• It's snowing
• 25 days of Christmas is on ABC Family
• I am counting paydays before Christmas
• I have lists all over with gift ideas
• wrestling meets/ invitationals fill my Saturdays
• my calendar is FULL
• I am in the mood to craft and craft
• I want to make gifts
• Shopping is part of my lunch hour
• need slippers on my feet to keep me happy
• pink cheeks on my boys that wait at the bus stop at 630am!
• every commercial on tv is about Christmas and gifts

oh I could go on and on.

I am feeling better today - returned to work.

*Tomorrow I have a re-check appt and the day off because I worked all day Sunday. Maybe if I feel better I can shop a little?