A few more Halloween Decoration pictures

Random pictures around the house

Spooky Halloween Coming!!!

Shelby did such a great job decorating the front
yard to scare our little trick or treaters this year.
He wants to make sure when Racheal, Crystal and
Kristin come over with the kids......that they are
really scared!!!!


He took all the masks from years past and hung
them all over the tree.


I love this spooky cat.

You better watch out.....it may just be a trick

this year instead of a treat :-)

Boooo!

Charley Jean Stanford Drake "Carr"

4th Generation great granddaughter of Charles and Doris Stanford, Jr. :-) yeaaaaaa!!! Congratulations also to Carl and Dana on their first grandchild!!!

Charley Jean was born on September 25, 2009, weighing 6 pounds 9 ounces, 20 inches long. What a beautiful baby!!! Danielle did a great job having her totally natural.~ way to go! When she decides to have another baby she better camp on the hospital doorstep because when the doctor broke her water she went super fast :-). Congratulations Johnny and Danielle....we love you!!!

New York State Fair 2009

Sunny's Bestest of Friends from Georgia came
to visit him after his knee surgery ~ so what
better thing to do than to take them to the New
York State Fair. As usual, the pictures are posted
in reverse :-)



This is Shane Lusk (Sunny's new trainer), his friend Will
is in the back ground. The boys always goofing
around.

Shane, Will, Kenny, Sharlie, Cassie and Shelby
went on a couple rides. Shelby was scared to death
of this ride last year so it has been a year long joke
to see if he has grown up a bit over the past year to
do the ride again. Yeaaaah, he made it but he said
it still was a very scary ride. He thought he was going
to pop out of the ride and of course the older ones
tried to make him think it truly was going to happen...
They always love to pick on the little ones...lol

Finally, ride over....Shelby you did it!!!!

Sunny and his mechanic Brandon. It was a fun

filled day.

Did we win playing some games? Awwww

how sweet boys!

What is the fair without a couple tattoos

Now all Shane needs is a girl to give the rose

too!

Sunny's first tattoo! At least it can wash off :-)

The weather was perfect ~ not to hot and not

to cold.

Shelby was the first one in on the act....although

I am posting in reverse....Day light to night time

hahaha

And boy did we eat, and eat, and eat.....Gotta

love that food!!!

Brittany's little sister Val.....What a cutie!!!

I never did get Skyler in Brittany in a picture ~

what is wrong with me? We finally all split up and

went our own ways.....Hard keeping track of that

many of us.

Sunny's been a fishing fool

I do not like fish but the boys love to catch them
and then eat them. Sunny loves to fish, hunt and golf.



Not a bad catch.

And of course instead of using good knives to
cut up the fish he used a steak knife.

I think Kenny caught one of these fish too but

I am not sure.

Scott and I came home to the boys eating fish

that they cooked on the grill. They said it was

amazing. Yuck!

After surgery pictures - not for the squimish

Okay, whats a mom to do? I hate that he has
to go through this. Considering all that was done,
I guess you can say that it looks really good. He
had a drain this time that I had to pull out the following
day so the swelling is hardly anything like the first time.



The doctor called Sunny the next day to apologize
to him because the cut was half the size they told
him it would be. You know guys, they want the biggest
nastiest looking scare possible ???? What is wrong with
them :-( They were able to repair all his own parts and
not have to use any donor parts....way better but only
half the scar if they can fix your own. GUYS!!!



Now the therapy begins three times a week. This
is taking its toll on me. I use to be able to handle this
surgery stuff pretty good but in December I passed out
and this time I puked when I had to empty the drain.
I just got done eating a egg salad sandwich when Sunny said
the drain was full and of course when I went to do it (the nurses
said it is sooo easy) and it was, except they failed to warn me about
the possibility of it flying all over the place due to the vaccum seal
when we opened the plug!!!! I still think it was because of
the heavy egg salad on my stomach.....I really cannot handle
this stuff anymore. I am getting to old...haha

So we had a wheel chair for the week because Sunny did not want
to miss the New York State Fair. Can you believe him! Ohhhh to be
young again.

Sunny's surgey day........

Oh no, not this again....didn't we just do this in
December?



Walking into the Harrison Center at 6 a.m. to
have the ACL done on the right knee now.




Dad and Sunny just before they get him all doopy!




We both really hate this as any parent would. Never
like your child being put under.




I love you Sunny Bunny Boo Bear.....have good
dreams




This kid has a stomach of iron. He always wakes
up hundry and is upset when he gets ice chips
and toast!



Emily Trust was nice to stop by the hospital
to make sure Sunny was doing okay. He was
all doopy and had every one in stitches. I am sure
he does not remember any of this.



This is not a good time now. Some one give me
a shot of something.....anything!



trying to get alittle rest before they release me.
That bathroom break really did me in.



Well, they did the ACL, PCL, MCL, trimmed both
sides of the minicus and shaved the femur bone
down being my knee was up into the bone. No wonder
it hurt for so long.



Just leave me alone....I wanna sleep



Okay, I guess who ever made this same day surgery,
never had one done before. Thank you doctor for
ordering a nerve block in my groin before I left because
even with all that was repaired, it felt much better this time
than just the right ACL alone.

I am whole again!!!! Yeahhhhhh, lots of therapy ahead.

They love their cousin Shelby......

Out on the boat trying to keep Riliegh warm.



Oh baby it is cold in the back of the boat when
you are little!




Is it my turn yet? I want on the tube....




Okay, maybe not my turn yet? I wanna ride!





aaaaha, I won Landyn!!!!






Are fighting to the death??? What game is this?




Wack, I gotcha....commin get up and fight like
a man.



Oh no he is getting up...I think I am in trouble
now......lol




It is time to Tango Shelby. :-)



Tyler loving the Turtle rides that Shelby gives
him.



Hold on Tyler, I am going under!!!



I need air.....I am coming up



Finally, a breath of fresh air....this turtle stuff
is hard! :-)


aaaaah, I don't think so Skyler. I think you are
missing a part to that get up. Me thinkies you are
gonna get a headache with that get up!!!

Chicken Man is at it again ~ at the Lake House

Oh no, he is at it again. Have chicken will travel.
Everyone just loves his chicken. I swear he was a
Chicken in another life....lol



I have never tasted his chicken but I know it is
good because everywhere we go they ask him to
cook it for them. Even when we are racing they
call ahead of time to say are we doing chicken ~ is it
chicken tonight :-)



We are tailgating keeping Scott company and munching
down the gold fish. Tyler loves those fishies!



Waiting for that chicken to get done....common Uncle
Scott, whats takin sooooo long?



We will eat a little and then go out on the boat and
pull the kids around on the tube. Ohhhh what fun!

Time with Carl and Dana at the Lake House

Okay, this was after the day was almost over
and the boys were playing nail biting ping pong :-)
you would have thought a million dollars was riding
on the game. Prego Danielle starting to look tired.



Nate taking his game seriously!!!



Uncle Carl definitely took his game seriously...
lol




Jamie waiting for her turn to play. The guys would
not give the table up.



Getting ready to send the ping pong into the
next Century...haha



Jonny and Danielle getting ready to call it a night.
Something about the sound of water and being
on the Lake.



The three Amigo's eating chicken that Scott cooked
all day long for everyone. Just call Scott the "Chicken
Man".



Is this what you call a "tailgating party"?


Okay, this picture was taken from the weekend
before. Hi, pretty girl. She was not feeling well
this day and Dana had to take her to the hospital
that night ~ they thought she had appendicitis. Poor
thing!



Danielle still has 2 and a half months to go. Oh baby
you are ready to pop!

Fun with Carl and Dana over the summer!

Crystal making sure Kobe is covered up so that
he does not get sunburned!

I am backing up a little bit. This is our first weekend

after school is over. We are at ESTA Drag Strip watching

Carl and Carl Jr. race. Austin, Crystal and kids came to watch also.

Uncle Carl cannot wait to get on the track!!!

Carl Jr. waiting in line for his turn.

Carl Sr. doing the same. It was the first warm day

I think we had up to this point. A very chilly spring and summer.

The smile we all love.

Riliegh loved being at the track. She was not afraid at all.

Same with Tyler.....he loved it! I bet if he had a

little race car he would have been making all those

noises like our boys use to do at that age.....I love it

and miss those days! Shelby taking care of Tyler to

make sure he did not get into any trouble.

Rileigh sitting with Carl Jr.

Tyler helping Uncle Carl out and being a good

boy :-)

Me and my Man!!! Boy do I love him.....

Austin chatting with Uncle Carl. Uncle Carl kickin back.

Checking out the rail after the time trial.

Austin and Tyler enjoying the day together. Like

father, like son.

Scott and Carl enjoying good quality time together doing
the things they love to do.

Keep on COOKING Shebly....WE are LOVING it!

As you can see, Shelby is at it again! Boy oh boy are we loving it. I highly recommend to anyone with pre-teen age kids the William-Sonoma Fun Food Cookbook...it is a pictured step by step cookbook that any child can follow with the help of mom. Also, The Magic of Jello (by Sterling) both from Barnes and Noble. All jello recipes consists of jello, ice cream, cool whip, graham crackers etc....all very easy and very elegant looking.



Good thing I have my garden....it definitely helps with the presentation of the table!

Summer fun at the Lake House before Sunny goes in for surgery

AGAIN, I POSTED EVERYTHING FROM THE END OF THE DAY DOWN TO THE BEGINNING OF THE DAY!!! START FROM THE BOTTOM....IT IS A DAY OF SWIMMING, BOATING, TUBING, PLAYING GAMES AND OF COURSE IT WOULD NOT BE A DRAKE OUTING IF SOMEONE ISN'T SHOWING THEIR BUTT!!! :-)

Another meal by Shelby.....yeaaahhh

OKAY, i found the picture of the Cherry Almond Cheese squares that Shelby made with his Lasagna Dinner. It was not a figment of my imagination....and tell me that that does not look just absolutely YUMMY!!!






Another great meal planned, prepared and served by Chef: Shelby

Lasagna ~ one with meat and one without meat

Fresh Salad with Homemade W.O.W. Salad Dressing

Fresh Italian Bread with Butter

Dessert:

Cherry Almond Cheese Squares




Having the table setting, flower center piece and cloth napkins folded just right.

PRESENTATION IS EVERYTHING!!!




Flowers from our garden....




I insisted that I take the Lasagna out of the oven for Shelby being it was in a large GLASS baking dish and it was very heavy. He was not to happy about this but if ever there was going to be an accident it would have been NOW! It smelled soooo good and I did not want dinner ruined.

Oh my gosh!!! Where did the dessert, Cherry Almond Cheese Square pictures go???? Crystal saw these pictures.....I've gotta find it! They were sooo good. The entire meal was GREAT Shelby. Keep on cooking for us!!!

Happy 18th Birthday Sunny

It all began at Loretta Lynn's for Sunny's birthday. He celebrated his last day there with turning eighteen. It was a bitter-sweet 18th. All of us there know why.

Thank you to our new friends, Ricki, Denise and Will. Denise made Sunny birthday cupcakes. I do not know how she did it. Their camper had an oven and our motorhome has a convenction oven which I have not mastered yet...lol ! Again, thank you Denise for the yummy cupcakes!

I have not made a cake in so long so this is the best I could do...haha...I guess I should have bought one. It was white cake with choclate pudding inside with choclate icing. It was good tasting at least.

Holy smoke Sunny !!!! Eighteen candles can start the house on fire!!!

Nope, you can wish all you want Sunny ~ you are not getting that!!! :-)

Here is wishing you the Happiest Year Ever Sunny! Love you Sunny bunny boo bear......

Of course it would not be me if I did not put the pictures out of order....haha

Another Sign??? Sunny getting ready to take his placment testing for his GED...is he ready?

Okie, Dokie.....is this a sign??? Anyone that knows Sunny knows that his number for racing his entire motocross career is......what???? can it be??? 167... as I was watching him come out of the Education Center it occurred to me that there was his number, as he was walking closer and closer to me......and getting ready to walk by the sign........

Wait.........STOP......!!! Sunny....stop....look behind you!!! Your number is the address as the Education Center. He was so worried if he would know enough to pass the placement test to qualify him to be able to take his GED. He has not been in a school setting in such a long time that his confidence is at an all time low about what he does and does not know. He will not believe me about most of it being common sense. Anyway, I do believe this is a sign that he has nothing to worry about.

Update: he passed all his placement tests with the math being a little low (still passing but he wanted it better ), he just needed to refresh on how to do a few things and is all set to take the GED test in October. Yeah Sunny!!!

He is thinking about College right now while he heals from his surgery he had two weeks ago.

WHAT CAN THIS BE???

Shelby, Brittany and I ran up to Wegman's by the Great Northern Mall and as we drove by I caught something out of the corner of my eye....what was that? They did not see it so I actually made a u turn at the next light to make another pass ~ if you know that road it is fast moving so the next time I turned around in the back parking lot to look at the back side of it ??? What is it??? As I got closer the thing got bigger ~ these pictures do it no justice. I grabbed my camera out of my purse, which I have been keeping in my purse lately, and made another u turn. By this time, I was not the only car trying to figure out what the BIG WHITE SPOTTED thing was. Oh my gosh, it is a huge White Spotted Snowy Owl. You do not usually see these incredible birds around here unless you go to the Zoo. I am so glad we were able to get these pictures but wished I was able to get out of the car to get closer. I did not want to get rear ended on route 31 but this definitely was exciting to see and was happy to get these 3 quick photo's of this majestic bird. I thought for sure it would be on the news that night but maybe I was the only one that had a camera on that at the time this bird decided to make a stop. We went back the next day but of course it was not there. The kids said I should have called the Zoo or channel 9. Oh well, only a few of us got to enjoy such splendor!!! I would guess if I got up close to it, it would have been up between my knee and thigh.

If you have zoom you have to get closer to look at this beautiful bird!!!

Shelby's cooking lessons over the summer!

I bought Shelby a Junior Cookbook and a Jello dessert cookbook for Christmas but never had the time to sit down and actually help him with a meal so I decided that I would teach Shelby to cook over the summer. On Tuesday night he would go through the cookbook and pick a meal
and a dessert. On Wednesday morning we would go to Wegmans and buy the ingredients to prepare the meal and come home and cook all afternoon. Well, after cooking all afternoon, I thought that would be the end to Shelbys cooking experience. It started out as fun but then he got tired really quick after slaving over a hot stove for hours to then move on to preparing the dessert ~ to again move on to table preparation. If I was going to invest all this time into teaching him, I wanted the presentation to be just as important as the meal. Shelby even listed the meal on the board so that when you walked into the house you could see what was being served.

What a great job he did!!! I honestly did not think he would ever want to cook again after this but then the guys came home from work and thought (I, mom) was cooking and was raving over the unbelievable smell that was coming from the kitchen. And how good it looked. Shelby got so proud and let them know he was the cook today and this is what we had:

Rosemary Roast Chicken
Sauteed Green Beans
Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes
Fresh Salad with Homemade W.O.W. Salad Dressing (word of wisdom)
Fresh Italian Bread/Butter

and for Dessert:

Frozen Banana Bombe

I have to tell you the truth....The meal was incredible...had I not been their to help guide him with this meal, I would have thought he hired a professional cook to come in a prepare it for him!!!

He was so proud of himself and everyone could not believe he did it. He was so happy that when we finally finished up the meal he could not wait to plan the next weeks meal and dessert. More pictures to come of our summer cooking experience.

Oh, and the flowers came from our garden and Brittany helped Shelby fold the cloth napkins. What a great meal!!!

CATCH UP OVERLOAD..............

Why oh why do I always post in reverse...lol

The Class of 2009
Granby Elementary School
Sixth Grade Promotion Cermony
June 23, 2009

Shelby received several awards from being in Granby Elementary til 6th Grade....ohhhh how I will miss the elementary years!

He received:

The School's Safety Parol Award of Merit

Chorus Award

Certificate of Special Recognition ~ Showing Great Character Traits:
Respect*Responsibility*Gratitude*Empathy*Tolerance*Honesty*Perservance*Self- control*Citizenship

Certificate of Achievement in the Band Program

Certificate of Promotion maintaining High Honors

And also one of which we are very Proud of: The President's Education Award of Outstanding Academic Achievement (only awarded to those who maintain High Honors from K-6th grade.

WAY TO GO SHELBY ~ We are all so very proud of you!!!!

See Sunny Drake at Baja LL Qualifier (see Scott and Shelby walking by after Sunny's clip)

Video » Baja LL Qualifier Video

Woody the Woodpecker

Just before the high winds yesterday we looked out at the bird feeder and look who came to visit.

The cats were going nuts wanting to get outside to see the little critter. This bird was so much fun to watch.

Scott was down in Syracuse trying to save a cat high up in a tree named Peanut. Luckily Peanut was nice to him even after being told that he didn't like to be held. Just what you want to hear when your 60 foot up a tree. Poor kitty was in the tree for two nights with all the rain and cold before Scott rescued him. The entire neighborhood was thrilled that Peanut was saved and we are happy that Peanut didn't decide to jump when Scott reached out for him. They always land on their feet but still upsetting if people are watching. GOOD SAVE Scott (the animal whisperer) to us. :-)

Sunny on McDonald's ~ Give me my FISH!!!

SHUT MUSIC OFF FIRST SO YOU CAN HEAR SUNNY :-)

someone please tell me why the guys find this sooooo funny?

more pictures

Back in the Day! Going through some old photos of Sunny's early racing days.

This is Sunny at age 12 and Davi Millsaps
around 16 (I think). Sunny was staying at Davi's house.
You can watch Davi on T.V. on Supercross and
outdoor motocross.


This is Sunny again age 12 and Austin Stroupe
(I think age 14). You can watch Austin on T.V. in Supercross
and outdoor motocross. They were two peas in a pod.


This is at Hurricane Hills in PA. This was
the Hurd's other track.


Of course this is Sunny doing what he
loves to do coming over the finish line
in Palmyra, New York.



Our sponser of Monster Energy Drink and back
then Team Green.

Wow, so much has changed over the past 2 years. We are now on Honda and getting closer to Sunnys dream of going pro. He has had a great year last year and now back at MTF training for the new 2009 year. He was home over the winter for the first time in awhile recovering from a ACL surgery. He is doing great training ~ has not lost any speed but is now working on his endurance. Here's to a GREAT year of training, racing and realizing his DREAMS COME TRUE! Go Sunny!

MXPTV Rider Profile - Sunny Drake

MXPTV Rider Profile - Sunny Drake

Danielle's lil babe

Picture Tag

March 21, 2009
Okay, so I haven't been very good at keeping my blog updated but I saw this picture tag on a friends blog and thought it would be fun!
Here are the rules:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder
3) Explain the picture
4) Tag 4 people to do the same

This picture is so funny ~ the cats never sleep on the piano but I happened to change some things around after the holidays and put the fox that was up in the boys bedroom there. One evening when we sat down to watch t.v. we looked over to find meeko sound asleep. I took a bazillion pictures of him and he did not wake up for nothing ~ I think he must of been dreaming it was his mama :-) ha ha


I tag ~ Crystal, Paige, Racheal and Kristin

Babies, Babies and more Babies :-)

It is hard to believe all the new babies around us lately...I am proud to be a honorary grandma to Kaylee and Saige. No grandbabies yet from my own children and that is okay, especially now that I have Kaylee and Saige to pamper and spoil. Kaylee is as smart as a whip and at 5 years old should be in some sort of a gifted program to continue with her advanced learning. Saige is just like her big sister ~ so alert and taking everything around her in ~ you can tell already she has the bestest personality and always (for me) full of smiles. I just love them to pieces!!! I told Kaylee today I was going to call her my little Kayleecakes like we use to do with our neice who is now almost 19 and her response to that was "well, I've been called alot of things but never a Kayleecake". I laughed so hard, she is a kick in the pants with her comments.




















On January 27th our nephew and his beautiful wife added a new addition to their family tree with the birth of their third child (a bouncing healthy baby boy of 9 pounds 6 ounces named Koby). What a beautiful looking boy! Kudoos to Crystal for having such a big baby. For a week straight all I could think about was that POOR POOR girl. She did a great job and as usual had another beautiful baby. This makes 1 daughter and two sons....following in the same order as us so if they have another I bet it will be a BOY! She is gonna have her hands full with the three of them 3 and a half and under. Riliegh will be 4 in April.





Next, on February 20th, our beautiful neice Racheal, had her third child via c-section, her first DAUGHTER, named Brinley Grace. She is absolutely gorgeous!!! She weighed in at 6 pounds 15 ounces. Racheal will also have her hands full with her babies also being close in age, all being 3 and a half and under. I am so excited to have all these little ones around to rock. Racheal did a great job too driving to the hospital in that major snowstorm ~ I would have thought twice about leaving the house. Hopefully Jimmy got some pictures of the Great Outdoors on the way ~ hehehe


















Needless to say, it has been a busy few months and that is why I haven't posted much lately. My own kids have been keeping me busy and we have had quite a few colds and sicknesses since the holidays ~ winter ~ blah, blah, blah ~ I cannot wait until spring. Please hurry and get here!!!! I will try to get the pictures of the three families and their little ones and hopefully they will post in the right order (or not). :-) if you have been following my blog you'll understand that I do have a problem with that. I hope everyone had a nice Valentines Day and remembered to love your sweetheart!


LOVE WAS DEFINETLY IN THE AIR IN OUR HOUSEHOLD :-)

Happy Holidays

Merry Christmas to all our Family and Friends! We enjoyed receiving your cards and letters and hope this holiday finds you and your families happy and safe. We have had plenty of snow the past two weeks and even a ice storm that hit in Albany just prior to Christmas which helped make our christmas alittle merrier. We just want you all to know we are very grateful for this season and remembering the Birth of the Savior, and the blessings that we have, especially for friends and family. May Heavenly Father bless you this coming year with good health, prosperity, and inspiration to help strengthen you and your families. We miss those of you whom we love so dearly that are no longer with us but are only here with us in spirit. We never forget you and we keep you in our thoughts and prayers daily ~ We love you and miss you all so much!

Remember the Purpose of Christmas, a time for celebration! a time for salvation! and a time for reconciliation!

To everything their is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the lord appeared to them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeard with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

Luke 2:8-14

I bear my testimony to you that I know that my Savior Lives, that he loves us all, and he wants nothing but good things for us. I am a daughter of the most highest. I love him with all my heart. I thank him every day for what he has given me. I am truly blessed just knowing that he loves me, us! We are all important to him ~ not one soul will be lost. Believe in him...he is the only way. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen

Merry Christmas to all our dear family and friends!

I guess by now if you are following our blog you realize I am always posting in reverse....lol ~ sorry. This is the end of our Christmas unwrapping and the animals are happy and playing with each other. Little Bear is trying to get Cocoa to chase him around.

Skyler unwrapping his gift from dad and mom. The kids only wanted cold hard cash this year but the boys kept getting into Dad's shaving stuff so we bought the boys shaving kits they can take when they travel. Hopefully they will leave their fathers stuff alone now!

Shelby was so happy to get Syracuse University p.j.'s and slippers. If only they were all that easy to please!

Wake up Scotty you need to go shave!!!! Always just kicked back and taking everything in.

Sunny is so into hunting this year and with him being home and all we thought this would be a good read for him. After deer season he wanted to know what is next for hunting....I guess that would be turkey, fox and coyotte.

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas!!!

Sharlie got some Gertrude choclates and a nice warm cuddly bear. I guess I can help her eat the choclates being they are my favorites :-)

Yes, we got snow for Christmas day!!! We wanted a white Christmas so badly this year being we spent last year in Georgia and it was warm and sunny out that day. We are not use to that and it just was not the same. Sorry all you southerners out there!!!! You need to try a good old fashion Northern Christmas!

Cocoa did not know what to play with next. She had the bestest Christmas ever!

Shelby loved the money Grandma and Grandpa sent and of course the best of all was the pictures of them and of Aunt Dawn and Uncle Bob. Thank you for all you do. We love you so much!

We haven't had a picture of everyone in so long. The kids and Scott and I were so happy to get a photo of everyone. Again, thank you so much. We love and miss you tons!

Merry Christmas to all our dear family and friends!

The animals had a great time on Christmas morning. They seemed more excited about Santa coming than the kids did! :-) Ohhh to go back to those days when everyone believed!!!

Squeekers was so adorable under the tree. I worried about her climbing the tree at night when we slept. I did not have to worry about Mya, Meeko and Moto ~ they are to fat to make it up the tree :-)

Cocoa and Little Bear loved the treats Santa left them. Good thing they did not get put under the tree any sooner. Little Bear has a better nose than Cocoa and can sniff anything out.

Cocoa really got into opening the presents ~ after she opened her toys and snack she did not want to stop. She even helped Shelby tear open his presents. I think we had more fun watching Cocoa and Little Bear rip open the paper. What little kiddies :-)

Go Cocoa.....go! The cats only wanted their scratching door hanging mouse....they could smell the catnip. They also loved their bouncing feather thingy. Merry Christmas our little loved animals ~ you are the best!

Hanging the outdoor lights for the Holiday

Okay, I did it again ~ I love putting the pictures in reverse. As usual Scott always waits for the coldest, snowiest, nastiest weather to get in the mood to hang lights. I try to get him to do it when it is still somewhat warm for this time of year but I think he needs white on the ground.

Shelby is such a big helper inside and out. What would we do without him.

While Shelby is outside in his p.j.'s helping the older boys in the house are just hanging out watching sports.....whats up with that?

Yeah Shelby ~ untangle those lights for dad!

I think it was about 10 or 11:00 at night....the best time to hang lights :-) no one to bother you!

You have heard of the horse whisperer, dog whisperer but how about the cat, dog and sunny whisperer? Well here is SCOTT ~ THE WHISPERER TO ALL...

Coco and little bear playing with their toys until Scott decides to bring a plate of food into the living room to watch some T.V. and then they all come....

DINNER Time? It is too funny ~ they only do this to him.

Now Sunny has to get into the act. Skyler trying to hide from the camera by tilting his hat to hide his face. And yes this is Skyler, he has been trying to do the weight gain and working out so if you are not familar with him.....yes he has put on weight!

Did someone say "speak"?

We just need a few birds, maybe a penguin or two, a camel would be great and of course maybe a elephant and zebra. All the animals just love Scott :-)

Getting our GPS stolen the night before Sunny's ACL surgery

I am not sure how the date got changed on the camera but I am pretty sure it was Tuesday night, the night before Sunny's surgery that Sharlie took my truck to work (that morning because it was freezing rain, snow, sleet) and she had to leave at 5:30 in the morning and I was worried about the roads. She got out of work around 6:00 that night to find the passenger window smashed in and my GPS gone.

It had to be towed home because all the glass was all over and they did not feel it was safe for her to drive from the city of Syracuse to home.

Good thing I have glass coverage.

Remember to remove your GPS from your car this Holiday Season ~ they are a hot item.

Sunny's ACL surgery

We arrived on time for Sunny's ACL surgery and of course the Surgery Center was running behind schedule which did not make Sunny very happy. He was so thirsty and hungry and all he kept telling his nurses is they better have a BIG meal for him to eat when it was all over. They could not believe how hairy he is :-) or was....

Okay, all shaved and ready to go...come on he wants to eat. Lets get this over with.

Dad of course had to bring his cover to show the doctor and nurses so they could fully understand that Sunny needed to get fixed so he could hurry back to moto x ~ What is that saying ??? Motocross riders do not take time off, they take time to heal. Well that is us right now ~ healing time, family time.

It was so cold in the surgery center ~ I left my coat on the entire time. They brought in another warm blanket for Sunny after this.

Feeling all warm and fuzzy. Sunny kept telling me how much he loved me and wanting to give me kisses....awwww ~ wish he was like that all the time and not just all the drugs talking. :-)

Ooops, a picture mistake...scroll on down...pretty soon the pictures get graffic so if you are squeemish do not proceed any further.

Getting sleepy................

Dr. Cannizzaro is just an awesome doctor! He is the greatest. He will take his time to talk to you, listen to your concerns and just hang out alittle bit and joke around.

getting his blue cap on ~ don't we just love that blue cap....not....getting ready to go into the surgery room. I hate this ~ getting ready to take him from us. You always worry about your loved one while they are in surgery.

Waking up from surgery and being in lalaland. Not feeling to great yet in the next minute feeling funny. Poor Sunny fellow...I just feel your pain.

In and out of sleep. Wanting to drink and eat but only having toast and soda. The nurses took really good care of Sunny and he had them all in stitches laughing. I guess he was quite the character. Good thing we didn't hear all that was said. They loved him anyway and remember him from when he was 4 years old and driving the fire truck into the surgery center to get his 3rd set of tubes in his ears.

Ouch....ouch....ouch...that is all I can say!

The next day we had to rush him back to the hospital because he was bleeding more than he should have been. Very scarey but not as bad as it looks. Sunny kept joking after the surgery that something terrible might happen like he would bleed to death after his surgery and die...He thought he was being funny but of course I did not at all...that night we went to bed at 1:30 in the morning (was a very long day) and Skyler said he would stay up and keep an eye on Sunny so Scott and I could get some sleep. At about 4:05 a.m. Skyler came rushing in our room saying Sunny was bleeding all over the place. We ran downstairs to see his bandages, pillow and blanket soaked in blood. Sunny reached down to scratch his leg and his hand was all wet with blood. I ran into the kitchen to grab the paper they give you "in case" a emergency occurs ~ I called the number and the on call doctor called me back immediately ~ giving him my information about Sunny I started to feel wooozzzyyyy (that is not like me at all ~ I am nerves of steel when it comes to the kids and medical emergencies) well not this time...I fought really heard to stay coherent and sat on the floor immediately because I knew what was about to happen ...I called for Scott and gave him the phone, he grabbed me as I plopped over on the floor and the kids got cold rag for my head...I didn't go totally out but I was definetly a TKO. The kids got very scared because they have never seen mom that way and Scott got really scared because he thought possibly their might be something more wrong with me being I had all those tests done recently...Sunny got very scared because he thought if mom passed out that must mean he was bleeding to death. We were an absolute mess...all of us. We can laugh about it now but at the time it gave us all a good scare.

All cleaned up but had one spot that would not stop bleeding ~ they applied pressure and rebandaged him up and he came home. It looked alot worse than it really was because blood mixed with joint fluid looks more than what it really is and it is better for it to bleed out than in. We are all feeling alittle better now. Started physical therapy on Wednesday....exactally one week after surgery. Going to therapy 4 times a week and working really hard at home to get back to normal.

Our kitties and doggies :-)

Gosh, you would think I would have this down by now on putting these darn pictures in order but evidently I have not...so work with me here and know that I am alittle backwards....lol Sharlie's kitties Moto giving Squeekers a bath.

They can be nice to each other every once in awhile. :-)

They were cuddling together so nicely that I had to get a picture of them.

Little Bear being ever so cute. The cutiest little pomchi you will ever see.

And Meeko just chillin....what a life. We are missing Coco in the pictures. I did take them of her but they were all blurry.

part 3 to Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to our Family and Friends!!! more pictures of the day

Again, my pictures are out of order...I guess I need to start working in reverse. Dana and Jamie snacking on the fruit tray later in evening after we played like two hours of Catch Phrase....what a fun game!

Now this is when we started dishing up the Thanksgiving meal.

We all filled our plates up and ate, and ate and ate until we could not move. Dana did a FANTASTIC job cooking us a feast!

The boys of course were being silly all day long but they did take a time out to fill their plates with the delicious food.

When Dana and I took the turkey out to put on the platter we almost lost it....when it broke loose of the strings and landed , thank goodness, right on the platter, but with such force that the stuffing bounced out of the bird right on the beginning part of the platter....luckily for us and everyone else it landed right where it was suppose to be. We didn't even have to dig the stuffing out....lol....WE laughed so hard and could not believe how it all happened. Could not have planned it better if we had tried.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Family and Friends!!!

Okay, somehow the pictures are out of order again...We had turkey and two hams along with all the hams in the house (meaning husbands and children lol).

And of course to start the morning out with Dana's homemade cinnamon bunns. Oh my gosh, they were soooo good.

and Uncle Carl being alittle goofy!

and you have to have FROSTING on the bunns in order to be GREAT!

Dana and I cooked and cooked for two days....

Sunny got his 5 point Buck

Can you believe the snow that we have had so early in the season. The only good thing it is for is the hunters and getting in the spirit to decorate the house early....:-) yep, I did start the decorating and cannot believe I did. I hope I can make it til Christmas...

One proud papa....it definetly is a guy thing. Scott and the boys have tried to get me into the hunting thing ~ even taking a video of the hunt but they know me...Once the deer came into sight I would jump out and YELL.....RUN!!!!

The poor deer....It is a good thing we do not live in the pioneer days....I would not have made it. I'd live on bark and berries before I could kill and eat one of these poor babies.

Now the butcher has called for them to pick up the meat and they are excited to cook it up and eat it....as for Sharlie and I, I guess its Olive Garden for us. I do not even want to smell it cooking.....yuck, yuck, yuck!!!

OKAY, who was singing ~Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow? Thanks alot...someone was listening!!!

Okay, so if you read my earlier post you would know how nervous I get driving in snow storms especially the first one of the season. No one seems to know how to drive in the first storm. And of course I had to drive Sunny to Syracuse for his 9:30 appointment. I was happy that I filled the car with gas the night before because it took me 38 minutes to drive from Fulton to the Phoenix exit. That seems to be the point all the time where the weather clears....thank goodness. For some reason the plows had not made a pass yet through Fulton and I kept telling Sunny it would get better once we hit I-81....but NOT.....it was so stressful. Sunny kept telling me that he would drive....hahahha Mr. Need for Speed....I think not I told him....no experience of driving in snow. I told him I would take my chances, after all I have been driving for 35 years with NO accidents or tickets. We made it safely to his appointment but of course everyone there kept asking what happened to his nose and not his knee :-)

Shelby was so excited for the snow and could not wait to go out and make the first snowman of the winter...actually I think he did a great job.

His snowman has quite the character with plump cheeks.

and the buds from my magnolia tree as buttons for his chest. Does this mean WINTER is going to be long and record breaking snow falls again? Please NO not this year...we are home for the winter....dreaming of Georgia's warm weather!

Sunny's Broken Nose

Sunny came home from Georgia on Friday November 14th. He tore his ACL and we scheduled him to meet with his doctor on the following Monday at 9:30 a.m. Normally I do not make appointments that early in the morning because of the chance of snowstorms but with it still being fairly early November, I thought what are the chances! Sunny was excited that if he had to be home, hunting season was a good time to be home. He has never had a chance to hunt deer and no matter how bad his knee was hurting he was gonna drag himself out to that tree stand no matter what! Of course once the boys returned home the temperatures started dropping. When he got up Saturday morning it was pouring rain....he hunted for alittle bit but then came in. Later in the day it stopped for a bit so he decided to head back out. Now the weather took a turn for the worst....the rain started again then quickly turned into freezing rain and then snow....he thought aaaah ha, I am staying out here no matter what ~ this is the weather you get your deer in. He was freezing (not use to the NY winters anymore) but determined!!! Soon the opportunity presented itself....there was his deer....right in front of him. Being his first time deer hunting his heart began to race, the excitement was almost to much, his scope was all fogged up, the snow was coming down harder...he wiped his scope and put his eye close to it because it was fogging more...He wanted to make sure his shot was good. As he pulled the trigger and kept his eye on his deer....the gun kicked back into his nose....YEP, BROKEN NOSE! Luckily for Sunny he was tied into the tree and he was sooooo cold that he really didn't feel his nose at all. It was not until he saw all the blood from his nose (inside and outside) did he realize he was hurt. He was not going to let that stop him from finding his deer. As he got out of the tree, the lightly snow covered ground gave proof to him that he hit his deer. He began to trail it when the snow turned into down pouring rain....at this point the only blood he could find was coming out of his nose. He came back to the house and was telling his brothers his exciting story when I heard all the fuss and walked into the office to see his face......"what the heck happened to you".....and he began his story all over again. Sunny's first deer hunting trip is a story I am sure he will never forget! and NO he did not find the deer but he is out hunting waiting for that BIG one to cross his path.

Some of our Halloweeners :-)

Our very own (sorry Scotty and Kristen's) very own baby Sage...she is such a cutie...cannot wait to babysit her again ~ hint ~ hint ...I really miss having a baby in the house to spoil. The pictures came out dark and I do not know why...obviously I did something wrong to the camera again!

ooops, this picture should have been first. Scotty, Kristen, Kaylee and Sage coming in the door for CANDY! Kaylee was the cutest little Dorothy with her basket and little Toto too!

Shelby and his friend Devon getting their make up touched up and getting ready to go out for the big night. Aunt Laurie, Racheal, Tristen and Easton stopped over for a trick or treat. We were nice and gave them a treat :-) Although, I think Shelby and Devon scared Tristen.

Tristen is in here somewhere. He was alittle shy and I think he just about had it for the night.

Easton was full of smiles. He was the cutest Chicken you ever did see ~ luckily Uncle Scott didn't eat him! You know Uncle Scott and chicken :-)

Halloween 2008

Halloween was very spooky this year! The poor animals in the house were scared to death with Shelby being gothic. I must say he looked the best of anyone at school. Sharlie was not to happy when she got home from work because Dad used her eyeliner and sharpened it in the electric pencil sharpener.....girls out there can relate to how mad she was at her father for ruining her expensive eyeliner :-(

I actually liked this costume because you could see Shelby's face ~ in previous years he seems to go for the costumes with the face mask.

It was a picture perfect day this year for Halloween. As you can see it was warm and no one even had to put on a sweater....two years in a row....I think we will pay big time next year!

This is the end of our children in grade school...I will surely miss it. Where did the time go?

This was pretty good showing off his braces!!! We had a fun time getting all this makeup off that night. I think we can safely say he will never be gothic in real life.

Shelby's Rocket Launch at school

The kids worked so hard on making their rockets and could not wait for the launching date provided the weather was cooperative....well it was a great day and everyone was excited to see if their hard work paid off

random pictures

Kitchen Makeover

After coming home from Georgia in February I knew I would feel closed in in my kitchen so I got creative and knocked out the bathroom and took down the kitchen wall to the dining room. I guess I watched to much of the home show and how women can remodel... Needless to say, my husband and kids were shocked to come home and find walls missing. :-) It is not totally done but hopefully in the spring I can finish up the resurfacing of the cabinets and changing the back door to glass and having it swing out. All in all, I am happy with how it turned out. Who would have known it would have made such a drastic difference! I should have done this 21 years ago :-)

Niagara Falls, Canada

For the first time in years the entire family was home together ~ we took this opportunity to take a short trip up to the falls. It has been years since we have been and the younger ones did not remember it. Here are some pictures.

more Niagara Falls pictures

Niagara Falls, Canada

Someone needs a hair cut!

I've been trying to figure out how to work this type and post settings...when I think I have it figured out, I end up deleting everything I worked hard to get posted. Anyway, I think its gonna be awhile before I get this up and running. Please be patient with me.

up up and away!

Ryan's Homecoming from his 2 year mission in England

Ryan's Mission Homecoming at Atlanta Airport ~ 12/22/07