The Kathouse

Five Things by Jennifer Sauls

2009-07-25T05:57:00.002-04:00

The Sauls Family said...

VICKIE:

1. Vickielicious
2. Hearty and tasty food at all times
3. Authentic English sweaters and wooly sheep
4. Papa Rich
5. Scrapbooking together

Vickie's response

1. you can't say or hear that without laughing or at the very least a smile
2. thank you, food is one of my favorite things to do, yes eat and make
3. am totally clueless as to what to say about this with the exception of I love England and brought home 2 of the sweetest little wooly sheep angels (?) from there a few years ago.
4.What can I say, he is the BEST, as a husband and Papa. I must say after being a single military man and then being throwed into this family he has done (survived) quite well, don't you think ?
5. What can I say ? I miss our scrapbooking times together, heck I miss scrapbbooking at all, I feel guilty each time I come into this room : computer/scrapbooking. Ok to let you know how bad I am the only book I actually completed is one for our animals...oh what kind of parent/grandparent am I ? While I am spilling my guts I haven't been working in my journal either-oh the shame of it all

4 , might as well say 3 days and counting

2009-07-17T21:03:00.003-04:00

Well as you all know it is time for Helen to give us another GRANDchild. I keep calling and reminding her that she will be giving birth in a few short days, don't want her to forget or anything now do we ? We will be sharing the duties of keeping Nathan and Sam occupied while they are in the hospital. I think Papa is a bit nervous about that and I must say we are getting a bit older and don't have quite as much energy as we once did. It will be interesting trying to get the kids out the door and off to Nances and not be late to work at the same time. I wonder how I ever raised 2 boys ? I guess I made it from all the fabulous help I had from the bestest Mother & Father in law in the world. Hmmmm maybe that's what Papa and I are now ? Anyway keep us all in your prayers and please don't ignore your caller id if you see my name pop up next week I may be calling for some much needed help.

Cutest kids in the World !

2009-06-20T17:27:00.004-04:00

I know there is some stiff competition out there but you have to admit they sure are cute !
These were taken this afternoon, I had Nathan to give his Mommy a much needed rest, anyone that has or has even been around a 3 yr old toddler/child KNOWS about much needed breaks. He and Ryan and Papa did a few "manly" projects around the house and then Helen and Sam came for a visit along with Rich's Mom, Juanita, the kids love her. I worry as Nathan will get a running start and fling himself onto her and she is 81 yrs old...but sure doesn't act like it or look like it for that matter, she can certainly out-go me. Anyway it was a good day .

How Avant Garde

2009-06-02T19:02:00.005-04:00

The price of Thomas the Train undies, $5.00 a pack, swim goggles $1.00, the look on Abram's face-PRICELESS

Vacation revisited

2009-05-25T08:39:00.007-04:00

Ok, when I last left you we were on our way to VACATION, or "cation" as Nathan calls it. We arrive at our destination-Destin no addition issues on the way, thank you. We check in and get into our new home for the next several days. Papa and I have a time share with Wyndham so we get to stay in some pretty nice places, this one was ok, not quite as nice as where we stayed in Edisto SC but still pretty comfy, we had our room and bath and the kids had theirs, a full kitchen and most importantly a washer/dryer, a must on a beach vacation. I hate to disappoint the masses but after the drive down the remainder of the vacation was just that, relaxing on the beach, enjoying the babies not enjoying the water so much, Nathan and Sam were both afraid of the ocean at first, heck I am not a big fan of it myself but they came around, well Sam did only after I had the thought of sitting in the sand and letting the water roll up over us, she didn't much care for it when the waves totally splashed over us but as long as she was close to one of us she played in it. They loved playing in the sand, Nathan wouldn't let us build a castle , as soon as one was started he would knock it over, laughing all the time. Sam just wanted to dump it on anyone she could get near. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get any pics on the beach, my camera doesn't do well in direct sunlight so we will have to rely on Helen to post the beach pics, which is scary as we were all in swimsuits and white as white folk can be , I suggest having some eye protection available when she posts on the vacation. We decided to do the whole "touristy" things mostly because the last time Papa and I went we saw tons and tons of dolphin and Nathan wanted to see some so we went on a dolphin cruise. It was fun and we did get to see dolphins but felt for a bit like we were on the Titanic-of course minus the ice, it looked like it might rain but the assured us they wouldn't go out in a storm. We did run into a small rain shower and got tossed around a bit but wasn't too bad for too long, poor Ryan had to stay near the side , he didn't quite get his sea legs. Papa was sure one of the kids was going over the edge, he is so funny and so paranoid when it comes to one of them getting hurt, he almost errors TOO much on the side of caution but we love him, bless his heart. Notice the tight grip he has on Sam in the pictures below. At one point all the kids on the boat got to go up and sit in the Capts seat and drive the boat for a few mins and get their picture taken, I stayed up top so I could get pictures from my view-again see pics below. All in all we had a good time.

Properly Chastised

2009-05-21T07:17:00.002-04:00

We all have been chastised by the "Sisters" and no not the missionary sisters but the "SISTERS", you know who you are. And rightfully so we all have gotten slack on our postings. I promise to try and do better. There have been lots of happenings of late that I have been too lazy to get on here and post . We'll start with our vacation. We decided to take Ryan and family to Destin for a few days of R&R, now one must ask how much R&R can one get with a 3 yr old and a 20 month old ? Not much really but we sure had alot of fun and a bit of aggravation ONLY because Papa and I are not used to sharing a home full time with another family. We started the vacation driving to Destin, Nathan wanted to ride with his Papa so he rode with us, it was quite fun actually, he chattered on and on about this and that, he sang for us and he napped. It was quite a pleasant drive until the "PHONE CALL" . This is where the blog deviates from our lovely vacation, bear with me. Rich's Mom was going to stay at the house and take care of our animals, should be fine right, only 7 kats, 2 dogs in a fenced yard, well when THE CALL came she said "there is a tan dog outside and it is covered in blood and crying" we didn't think much of it, being out in the country there are dogs and such coming and going. Rich told her not to worry about it and that it would prob go home soon and if it didn't we could call the Humane Society to come get it and they hung up. Almost immediately I felt the urge to call her back so I did and she said the dog had now gone under Rich's truck and was still crying (as much as an animal can cry) I asked her to make sure both our dogs were in the yard and of course she could only find one-Babee our black lab, our "brown" one Barkley was no where to be found, I asked her to walk the yard and to check under our shop, he spends alot of time there, nope can't find him, so I next asked her to call the dog Barkley and see if he would come to her, it did not. Ok that's not like him so am still thinking it is a "stray", I asked her to give me a better description of the dog under the truck, she describes Barkley to a T---uggghhhh, here we are 150 miles from home with a dog "covered" in blood OUTSIDE the fence which is most likely ours. I make a few calls and finally find a friend (Gene) to come over and see if it is in fact Barkley, he did and it was only it turns out "covered" in blood was 2 small spots and a little cut on his leg. We are still unsure about how he got out of the fence, they normally won't go out even when we leave the gates open. Gene is taking Mom home and he is going to stay and take care of the animals and house, ok vacation BACK ON.

More to follow.....

The "evils"of the Internet

2009-04-18T06:29:00.010-04:00

It has been way too long since we posted, a friend talked me into (and you know it was so hard) joining Facebook and it is hard to keep up with both and not quit my job and sit in front of the compter all day/night to keep up with everyones blog and Facebook. I really must learn to manage my time better I suppose, yeah thats what we will blame it on.So lets see what has happened here in the Kathouse Klan since FEB ! hmmmmm ? I can't think of anything but that my MIL and SIL are moving to Ga which has kept some of the us hoppin and put a bit of stress on our family but it will all work out in the end.Ok how sad is it that we haven't posted since Feb and we have nothing to say !!! I guess I will just post some pictues of the most beautiful grandchildren in the world and be done with it for now.

Picture of Sam and Sam Nathan were done at Easter, the others were last week we took Nathan golfing, we are all convinced he is the next "Tiger" or "Phil" since he is a southpaw.

Goins on an comins too

2009-02-10T05:53:00.003-05:00

We had another exciting week or two that left us with cool experience facial lines, bruised backbones, and scratching our heads in wonder at why impatitience drives us to do things that would be much easier if we'd taken the time to explore more options for accomplishing our mission.
A primary example is our newest piano. Vic's friend Sherry gave her a new (ok, somewhat older) upright piano (which weighs at least a ton, maybe two). All we had to do is pick it up at a house in the country, just a few miles from our house, bring it home and pop it right into our living room. As usual, since I don't have any friends of my own, I begged Donald for help (actually, you don't have to beg, he's a pretty laid back guy....now he's a laid OUT guy moving yet another piano). Still, Donald, David, and Jed all volunteered to help me move the cumbersome cat crib from one locale to another. We arrived, reviewed plans for how to best remove the item from the house (without looking like piano burgulars), and set into motion. Only then did we attempt to heave this honky tonking hulk. Then, we attempted again. With maximum physical effort and maximum resistance of natural forces (gravity), we used previously unused muscles, two piano mover dollys, and finally accomplished our task. If we had taken more time to make up our mind on how to proceed, we could have simply followed the new administration's policy and gone with energy conservation....I know, this is a terrible thing for me to say....but in this case, energy conservation makes much more sense than any thing Al Gore or Barak Obama have said. We should have simply conserved our energy and opted out of the piano.

Time to post something

2009-01-11T16:20:00.002-05:00

As you can see from the title not much happening in the Cox household thought we'd better post something since it has been awhile. We haven't taken Jen up on her "one word" challenge, not sure why guess I can't come up with just ONE . I am now part of the Primary Pres, being second counselor to Sister Dorsett and Sister Tucker (aunt susie) I used to wonder why I had never been called to Primary but now having been in there going on 2 yrs .... I enjoy it don't get me wrong but sometimes I feel so inadequate, I am not sure why they are kids for goodness sakes. I suppose it is like this in all callings at times we don't feel like we measure up. I certainly am learning alot though, not that I haven't in all the other callings I have had but with this one I have to be on my toes, it's not easy getting corrected by a 4 year old :) which by the way happened today..thanks Kalan. No really I am loving the calling and dearly love working with all our leadership and teachers, they are great and I am thankful each and every young child or youth in our primary. I think I have turned this post into a Fast and Testimony meeting--sorry.
Lets see what else is happening in Brookfield, Rich has been putting around in his shop, I haven't dared venture out there in awhile , it scares me when I think he might be turning on power tools and such but I am learning to let him go and do and learn, that is not one of his strong suites and I tease him about it but he knows it is done in love. I shall stop rambling now the kids should be down for a visit soon. I need to go secure the rest of the house from Sam.

Christmas at the Compound

2008-12-30T06:26:00.008-05:00

We had a very nice Christmas with the Seaman,Cattel,Sauls, clan this year, as usual. We are thankful to be part of a large loving family. We did miss a few this year and that is sad but everyone was there in heart. Poor Rich, he still isn't used to all the "noise" that the family produces, don't get me wrong he dearly loves everyone but I can look at him and know when it is time to take him home and give his ears a rest. I guess it is a good thing we met and married later in life, he might not have survived small children or even teens in the house 24/7 , I remember once Helen and Sarah were at my house and I made a comment that my ears hurt from all the "chatter" they promptly told me thats what girls do. Anyway I digress. Back to Christmas, we listened to g-daddy read the Christmas story and ate like there was never going to be anymore food ever and opened presents. Of course there is one we won't get until July which I just found out about that night... no ones fault but my own , it seems I am not quick when it comes to subtle hints, I can hardly wait to see what this one comes out looking like, how much cuter can a child get than the ones we already have ? Enjoy a few photo's

Troop Recall?

2008-12-20T07:19:00.002-05:00

Makes me just a little bit nervous, but Eric, who was just hired last week to do my old job in personnel was recalled to active duty effective 4 Jan 09. He got to work 2 weeks. He is a retiree with 22 years of active duty and has been retired for 9 years. This just doesn't make any sense. That's 31 years including retired reserve service. I did 20 years and have been retired for 13....wonder if Donald and I are on their radar too?
By the way...he's not going to the middle east. They are sending him to Ft. Sill, OK to work in Military Personnel. THAT is even crazier!

Nathan-sitting and other eventful issues

2008-12-19T20:39:00.005-05:00

Well, one thing is for sure...Nathan-sitting has it's own brand of excitement. While Helen and Vic were at church last night, Nathan and I spent some quality time together....In the ditch in front of our house!

After our dinner of chili-dogs, he begged to go see the Christmas lights next door and I'm just not able to say no too often....YET. I did make him take one more bite of his dinner before we headed out the door and into the ditch..

Honestly, I know better, but he loves to sit on my lap as we go through the Christmas lights, so I figured it wouldn't be a problem as it's only another couple hundred yards with him sitting there. He sat on my knee as we began backing the truck. I was checking to make sure there was no traffic when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him toying with the mirror (among with other knobs and buttons) and glanced to see what he was doing....without stopping! It was a very slow decent into a very slick ditch. After finally giving up and calling AAA, we waited on "Mater," talked about the stars, and had half a dozen offers to help pull it out (I'd already called for "Mater and didn't want unnecessary vehicle damage). When I got into the truck this morning, my mirror was upside down and, the fan was blowing on high with defroster set...not to mention right side is completely covered in mud.

One other thing of note, I got a notice at work that a new intern position is coming up soon (the interviews are Jan 14). Requirements are firm ....30% disabled vet, BA, and at least 24 hours in Finance or Accounting. I'm really excited about it because they have a very small qualifying group and the starting pay grade is well above what I make now. After completeing the internship, the salary significantly increases. Oh...I forgot to mention, the position is in Contracting....which I've been trying to get into even before I started working on my degree. I've already informed my boss and though I really enjoy the position in personnel, she had to agree that this is a great opporunity and I shouldn't ignore it for the sake of job loyalty.

A hunting we will go

2008-12-06T20:57:00.007-05:00

We went on our annual tree killing adventure today with Helen and the kids, hunting for the perfect tree. Helen found her's but alas I could not. You could either see thru them or they were some weird color, they actually looked like they spray painted some of them. Others were very pretty but the type of tree they were they don't hold the ornaments very well. We had a great time running after the kids . Papa, Nathan and even Sam were able to chop down and bring home the perfect tree for them . I found ours at a "lot", it is alot smaller than we have ever had, not quite a "charlie brown" tree but maybe this year the cats will stay out of it. In case anyone is wondering Sam's shirt say's "who needs Santa when you have grandparents" hmmm wonder where that came from ?

Who does this look like

2008-11-30T16:52:00.002-05:00

Nathan loves getting my glasses and putting them on, this one cracks me up. Who do ya'll think he looks like in this photo ?

Thanksgiving and Other stuff

2008-11-30T16:28:00.003-05:00

We had a very laid back and quiet (mostly) Thanksgiving this year. I was able to NOT spend the whole day in the kitchen which as wives/moms and grandmoms you know how hard that can be. We did and do have lots of things to be thankful for. I am just glad we don't only take one day out a year to acknowledge that but sure am grateful I only have to cook a big ole meal for it once a year ! We ate and were back to the couch in no time. We WII'd and waited patiently for darkthirty so we could go see the Missmuss (Christmas lights) at Uncle Horace's, sorry but last year Nathan couldn't say Christmas, it came out Missmuss and is one of those things I don't want to let go of yet. So at darkthirty the Seaman/Sauls/Vicars/Cox/Cattell clan met at our place and we all piled in the vans,pickups and/or cars with our blankets and quilts to make the annual trek thru the lights. It is so fun to watch the kids (big&little) ooohh and awww over the lights, Sam was even watching them this year, I am sure Gretchen enjoyed them to but she was in another truck, it was a bit cold so the little little ones mostly stayed inside the vehicles, of course we have to go thru twice as you can't see it all in one trip, we got to go three times this year since RJ and Gene were a bit late in making the first drive thru. Oh I almost forgot the "lighting" ceremony at Helen and Ryans, she was most excited as she put the lights up herself. We are sorry that Ryan missed out on it but he was on his great adventure to Wy. I am sure there will be blogging on that trip when he gets home. Well thats about all I have for now, have been a bit lazy in posting so wanted to share something . Again I want to say Rich and I have alot to be thankful for and if you are reading this you are one of them

Busy Busy Busy

2008-11-17T20:54:00.002-05:00

I wanted to post so everyone would know we are still here. Isn't it crazy how caught up in life we can get ? But who am I to fuss ? Look at Aunt Carol and Joe...packing up and moving away, Eileen with 3 kids, Hel with 2 little ones, Ryan with 2 jobs, Nance with her big family and teaching Seminary, the list is endless BUT I still seem to run out of time to sit here and post. I have been working at one of our DC's in Fla the past 2 weeks so feel very out of touch with everyone. I must admit it was kind of nice to go off sort of like a working vacation, I worked the evening shift, which means from 4:00 pm to when we were done which might be 1200a or as in a few mornings until 6:30 am, it wasn't as hard as I thought to stay awake all night the problem came with sleeping during the day. I usually managed a few hrs and then up and exploring Lake City, and to anyone who knows that area I was done in an hr or so !!! No really they had a great little downtown area with little shops and a couple quaint cafe's and of course I found several second hand stores. Although much to my disappointment their mall was just like ours--sucky but I still found some Christmas gifts. Rich and I are almost done with our shopping for the season. We are waiting breathlessly to see whose name we get from the annual "name drawing exchange " with the CMAN clan. Papa Rich is so funny about that, he thinks very hard and trys to get a great gift for whosever name he has and I bet if we asked any of the little ones they would agree he has done GREAT, makes me hope he draws my name this year. I don't have any new pictures to post now, but will be putting up the Halloween ones soon.
Last but certainly not least I will be posting some of the Wall, Kudos to Aunt Susie for an awesome job.

The Thomas Train Affair

2008-10-25T21:13:00.006-04:00

A picture is worth a thousand words, here are a few thousand words. More to come later.

YUMO

2008-10-16T19:28:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Sam's first birthday last Sat and these are just a sample of some of the fun that was had. I don't want to post any more until her Mommie and Daddy do. Just giving you a taste of what is to come !!

" Ten Hut "

2008-10-12T21:51:00.008-04:00

We went to Shelly's graduation from basic training at Ft Jackson SC this past week. After a 6 hr trip with a 3 year old that hadn't seen his mommy in about 10 weeks was an adventure to say the least. In all fairness he did very well considering the trip and all. We finally arrived at the base but really had no clue as to where to go. I don't do well with maps so chose to be the driver , that means who ever is with me is the navigator or is supposed to be, my partner didn't do so well so by the time we got there and got on the base to say the least I was a bit stressed. Finally after driving until I was on restricted space I turned around and began to look for an MP to ask directions, was surprised they hadn't found me wondering around on a firing range or whatever restricted area I happened to drive us into. Finally we found one and he pointed us in the right direction...almost there....after driving for a bit more and still not finding what we needed I saw two soldiers standing at a bus stop, I pulled up and rolled down the two passenger windows and before I could even ask "where is Solomon Center please" RJ shouted TEN HUT !! we all fell out, not sure where he learned it or why he said it but it broke my tension and gave us all a good laugh. As it turned out we were AT the Solomon Center but the sign had a different name on it, government--go figure. We went in for a small ceremony and then were going to be able to spend the rest of the day with Shelly. The next day was the actual graduation, "family day" was first. All in all is was a good trip and a little boy that was missing his mommy got to spend two days with her so I suppose all the small little issues were nothing once I saw the look on their two faces once they were back together. The following pictures say it all.

Thank You.....

2008-09-29T18:35:00.003-04:00

**DISCLAIMER** I don't know where/who did this originally but it's too funny not to post

I just want to thank everyone for the educational emails over the past year...
Thanks to you, I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel.
I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the channels. I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed. I can't enjoy lemon slices in my tea or on my seafood anymore because lemon peels have been found to contain all kinds of nasty germs including feces . I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking your nose. Eating a Little Debbie sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years. I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom. I must send my special thanks to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing. Also, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time. I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program . I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St.Theresa's novena has granted my every wish. I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers. I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day. Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes. Because of your concern I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas. I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans. I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer. And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life. I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS. I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.. I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise. I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army. I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for or which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica , Uganda , Singapore and Uzbekistan . I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman-Marcus since I now have their recipe. Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt. And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a rapist waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician... Have a wonderful day...

What's in a Name ?

2008-09-20T09:15:00.004-04:00

Rich and I have been noticing that we are getting ALOT of strange hits on our blog and have been wondering why, we are getting hits from Chile', Sweden, Argentina, Italy, UK, Philippines and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head. It kind of freaks me out, I have come to the conclusion it is due to the name of our blog "KATHOUSE". I thought we might need to change it as didn't like the thought of some creepy person sitting nude in their office chair in the middle of the night looking for gosh knows what and coming across "our" blog instead of "something" else. Now YES it may be something much less sinister as Rich and I have travelled all over the world but neither one of us knows too many folks in most of those places that would be looking at us. I tried to get him to change our blog name but he says no, I like it too but .
So now I am just telling myself it is just a fluke and we just have a very popular blog that folks want to look at, yeah that's it.

Kitty Scare

2008-09-16T12:15:00.009-04:00

We had a real scare on Friday when Garfield (our 4 year old cat) started acting odd and looked to be in pain. He was bloated and far from being the happy go lucky cat we've come to love. He even growled and hissed at me, which he had never done, when I tried to check him over. I called Quailwood and Dr. Branch agreed to meet us at 8:45 PM. Before he arrived though, Dr. King opened the door at Quailwood and checked Garf over. Turns out he had a urinary blockage that we caught very early on. The doctors were able to clear up the problem but they said he'd have to stay at Quailwood for monitoring until Sunday evening. It was really hard because he'd never been away from home before.

It was really scary for us because Vic and I had just been talking about how lucky we have been over the years that none of our feline and canine family have not come up with any serious medical issues. Not 3 hours later, we noticed Garf's problem.

I'm happy to report that he is doing just great. He's on meds (about the size of horse pills) for a while to help with his problems, but he doesn't fight you when they are given, unlike most pets. It's only been a couple of days since he got home, but he seems to be bouncing right back to his former playful ways.

Please make sure that Garfie doesn't hear about this, but when we first met him at the Animal Shelter, we were told that he was a girl. Vickie decided to call "her" Sassy until her spaying became his neutering. Well, he may yet become Sassy again. Dr. Branch told me that this blockage issue could become an ongoing issue during his lifetime, but if we have to take him to the vet to deal with it too often, we should consider surgery....which will effectively make him a girl...again. Please, please don't let him know about this potential option as he may just decide that 9 lives are too much....if he has to be a girl!!

Wii-re Older and Wii-zer

2008-09-16T11:57:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, I celebrated my 52nd birthday on the 9th, and it was really made special by some surprizes, not the least of which was a happy birthday song phone call from the Seaman clan, including the vocally versatile stylings of Amelia, Estella, Jed (I think), and maybe even Gretchen chimed in. Thank you.
My other family was wonderful too, presenting me with a German Chocolate Birthday Cake, with just enough candles that I could blow out without help. Vic got me a massage certificate, which she knows I love and clothes that I hate to have to buy myself. She also found me the belt I've been looking for (military style cloth belt) that makes getting dresses for a day off so much more comfortable.
Ryan put the most effort into his gift though....once again saving me from having to cut my own lawn by doing it while I was at work. He doesn't know how much I appreciate his efforts.
After we had cake and ice cream, I thought it would be a great time to set up Vickie's birthday present (a WiiFit System) that we had almost forgotten to set up.
Wii've set everything up and have tried a number of the game's routines but have a lot of work ahead of us if Wii really want to get into shape.

Coming Out

2008-09-08T07:57:00.010-04:00

I know you all have seen the most adorable grandkids many times but I have more to show you.We put in this door for our 4 legged family members about 3 years ago but I think all the kids in the family think it was done for them. I am not being partial to Sam but I have about a "quadjillion" picture to look thru to find the ones of Nathan trying to come thru. I will post those once found.

whats more scary, a room full of kids or a hurricane

2008-09-06T17:46:00.007-04:00

I suppose that depends on who you ask, you may not want to ask Rich. A few weeks ago Sister Flanders called and asked Rich if he would help out with our Primary Activity, of course him being a weather person his job was to help the children understand about how the weather affects us and how being prepared makes it much more easier. He did a great job, we didn't have quite as many kids show up as we hoped would so they were split into two groups, boys and girls. We had the boys first, they asked great questions and learned alot about weather, of course we had cool stuff like wind up flashlights, a weather radio that we got to turn on and hear about "real" time hurricane info, we had loads of stuff that the RED CROSS gave us----yea Tifton Red Cross. So after that was passed out they moved onto the next station manned (womaned) by Sister Brown, to say the least that was interesting, sort of like getting a band aid on an oiled piglet !! But they did well for the most part, at one point I did mention to Sister Dorsett (forgive me if spelling is incorrect) that I wasn't sure how I managed to raise 2 boys mostly alone and keep my sanity. After a few mins the boys moved on and the girls moved in, they were not near as interested in our hurricane presentation, they pretty much wanted their stuff for their backpacks and to move on so we kept it short and sweet. Oh but here comes the best part. While we all were doing our presentations or games or singing, Sister Flanders and Sis McCray were cooking HoBo Foil dinners and Smores....the smell was making our mouths water and the wait was well worth it. So all in all I would have to say the kids were a little less scary than a hurricane. The vote from Rich is still out.

here are a few photo's from today, notice poor Blue MM's broken arm. The other's are everyone enjoying the yummy food.

Weather Wise

2008-08-26T15:06:00.011-04:00

Looks like we are starting to get more than our share of the weather so I thought that maybe some of you would like a link to access the local (Moody AFB, GA) radar loop that lets you keep an eye on these storms that are finding us so often these days. You can just explore the site and if you have questions, let me know. I'm not an expert on the NWS website, but I can help most likely.

http://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=VAX&product=N0R&overlay=11101111&loop=yes

Here is the link to the Hurricane Center that will give you up to 5 days of what they expect systems to do.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at2.shtml?5day#contents

Most of you internet geeks know how to find this, but below is a list that explains the Saffir-Simpson Scale for Tropical Depression/Storm /Hurricane differentiation. These winds are sustained (one minute average) versus gusts (peak winds over a 10 minute period).

TD = Tropical Depression: 23 - 38 mph (20-34 kts)

TS = Tropical Storm: 39 - 73 mph (34 - 63 kts)

Hurricane Catetgory 1: 74 - 95 mph (64 - 82 kts)

Hurricane Category 2: 96 - 110 mph (83 - 95 kts)

Hurricane Category 3: 111 - 130 mph (96 - 113 kts)

Hurricane Category 4: 131 - 155 mph (114 - 135 kts)

Hurricane Category 5: > 155 mph (>135 kts)

One of these days

2008-08-25T19:20:00.004-04:00

I couldn't resist and hey don't all families have pictures like that ,that years later the kids want to commit seppuku on you for. Seen Jens blog lately ? That lovely picture of Helen in the neck brace, if that isn't one I don't know what is. Well here is one that Nathan will be complaining about for years to come. I mean he is wearing a SpongeBob party hat and Dora the Explorer swim pants, which is not too bad except years from now I know he will ask "what are those pink panties or whatever is showing under my swim trunks"? Of course I will have the explantation ready providing I remember it, I went off and left his clothes/pull ups in his Mom and Dad's car when we were going to Gabi's 3 rd birthday party so we used her's. Still as a Nonna I love it.

A Sad Sad Life

2008-08-25T19:00:00.009-04:00

I guess I shouldn't say things like that but I have been fussed at ALOT for not posting. I have had nothing to post , no diaries, nothing exciting has happened of late, I know I should be thankful for that and I am but there in lies the problem of what to post. I am not witty and funny and able to make you laugh at lifes most simple things (Jen/Carol) . I have downloaded some new pictures of the most beautiful grandchild-sorry Sis Coates,Carol and all the other grandmothers out there but we can "share" that title and it will be ok. So I am posting them for now until I come up with something else. Enjoy. The first two are Sam exploring the cat door, actually all the kids including Madeline and Bella have been in and out that door, poor little Nathan got stuck in it, his head and shoulders were always too big to get thru it without a stuggle

Name Dropper

2008-08-08T23:13:00.003-04:00

Well I wasn't asked but thought I might as well put my two cents in, and besides I have been "fussed" for not posting for so long---hey LIFE happens.
I have a few encounters with the "famous" . Of course A. Tippin which Rich mentioned, I just couldn't talk to him, we had just finished eating Chinese food and no way was I going to speak to him with teeth full of rice and goodness knows what else plus I had almost walked right into him so that was almost as good as speaking. Next on the list was Jane Fonda, please dont' hold it againist me, it was a volunteer project I was working on with the local police dpt and she came to check it out. There was Prez and Mrs Carter, I was working on a Hab for Human Housing project down in Valdosta and for whatever reason they chose the house I was working in to help with. It was fun and interesting , they were quite humble and not afraid to get down and dirty, so dirty in fact at one point Mr Carter and I were painting in the same room and I happened to get my paint roller over his rear end, he was most gracious about it, of course I felt like a nimrod ! There was a soap opera guy that I met in Ocilla but for the life of me I can't remember his name, I know he's Greek if that helps..lol
I feel like there is more but am very sleepy and am giving up for the evening.

Famous Encounters

2008-08-08T09:07:00.005-04:00

Hmmmm, well, my final reenlistment in the Air Force was performed by Gordon Fullerton.
Fullerton was the pilot on the eight-day STS-3 Space Shuttle orbital flight test mission March 22-30, 1982. Fullerton was commander of the STS-51F Spacelab 2 mission, launched on July 29, 1985. This mission, with the orbiter Challenger, was the first pallet-only Spacelab mission and the first to operate the Spacelab Instrument Pointing System (IPS).
Vickie and I also ran into Aaron Tippin in our Las Vegas hotel, but Vic was a bit timid about talking to him after we'd just eaten dinner including rice (she hadn't had time to brush her teeth). Of course, I met many of the Astronauts during my 5 years supporting the Space Shuttle. Ran into Chuck Yeager a few times there too.
One of the most interesting, which I'd forgotten, happened while I was stationed at Edwards AFB supporting the space shuttle. We got a call one afternoon that the folks in Hollywood wanted weather support for a new series called "Quantum Leap," the pilot of which was to be filmed on the base. After answering numerous weather questions and making 4 to 6 different types of forecasts per day, they got the series of shots they wanted done. One of the assistants called and invited the two forecasters involved over to the set for the wrapup buffet (or whatever it was). We ran almost right into Scott Bacula and were introduced, but he was busy, so we were told to order whatever we wanted to eat and just wander around. It was pretty cool.
The next day, Dean Stockwell and and another cast member came by the weather station to introduce themselves AND ask if I'd like to join the for a round of golf. Unfortunately, I was the duty forecaster that day and the space shuttle was getting ready to launch again, so I couldn't leave the station.
I can't say I've met them, but I watched Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and all of the golf stars play at the Tour Players Championship at Sawgrass (St. Augustine). I did get some cool autographs on my hat, but the most well known of them is Jerry Kelly, who is one of my favorites.

You've been Nathanized

2008-07-22T13:29:00.005-04:00

Two weeks and we haven't made time to blog...and there is so much to talk about.
For one thing, Nathan struck again. Let me set the scene for you...
I had just arrived home from work, about 5:20 PM and was in the bedroom changing my clothes.
Nathan was visiting and began to knock on the bedroom door, apparently to help Punkin get my attention. Punkin was also thumping on the door, which was closed to give me a bit of privacy.
When I asked who it was, the answer came back....MEOW....then, your grabson...then...Nathan Olin Bicars (I think someone was prompting Nathan)....Punkin meowed on his own though.
I opened the door and everyone flowed into the room....4 cats, 1 grabson, and my beloved spouse.
Everyone plopped on the bed just as the phone rang...and simultaneously..the front door opened. I figured it was Ryan at the door coming for Nathan, and I assumed he was also on the phone to "call" Nathan. I decided to just give Nathan the phone since Ryan was on the other end. Nathan quickly began to relate the day's events to the caller.
Ryan walked into the bedroom, but wasn't on the phone.
At this time, Nathan had been talking for close to a minute, and now we were curious to find out who was on the line.
Vickie took the phone and found out that it was another telemarketer, who was apparently obligated not to hang up. Seems like some kind of justice was served without forethought or intended malice by making them listen to the babbling of a two year old (no matter how smart he is!). Thank you Nathan for saving us form those evil telemarketers.

And my golf game was finally coming around...

2008-07-06T19:05:00.005-04:00

Geesh...what do I do now? I had finally figured out how to beat my golf buddies on a pretty consistent basis and WHAM....I get a job! How am I supposed to keep up my swing consistency when I have to take 50 hours per week from my game? (That's a 40 hour week and 10 hours of driving.)

For those that may have not heard, I was hired by the folks at the Marine Base in Albany as a Human Resource Assistant beginning tomorrow, July 7. In all honesty, I'm quite excited at the prospect of getting back to work, but am not all that hyped about the amount of gas I'll have to burn to get there. I enjoy the drive (did it to Moody too), but that was when gas was "ONLY" $2.00 per gallon. Dang, I remember when I got my drivers licence in 1972, gas was honestly averaging about 40 cents per gallon (we paid more in California, but it was well under $1.00). Now, it will cost me an average of $120 per week to get back and forth to work. I think I'm going to have to start drilling for my own oil...which way to ANWR?

Still, having a job and a paycheck is worth it and I'm looking forward to getting back into the thrill of working (until they start ticking me off...lol)

Welcome to our new Grandkitty

2008-07-04T15:38:00.008-04:00

Welcome to our newest family member, Chance, now before anyone jumps to the conclusion that we have upped our herd to 9 we can say it "ain't so" this sweet little guy belongs to the Vicars family. But as you know Papa and I are what you might call suckers for these furry things so of course we have to post a welcome for him. There is quite a story behind this little guy, lets' just say he was meant to be. I will try to keep it short but ya'll know me and how I tend to ramble on. Papa and I had gone to T-Ville for him to take a state test for a job-(no need for that now has he got one at the Marine Base-more on that from him) anyone we were there and Ryan decided to cut our grass for Papa as a Fathers Day surprise, well he was going to use our mower but we had the keys on us, he came and got our truck and trailer and went and borrowed Donald's mower, the entire day was kind of icky, it was hot and stormy. As Ryan was mowing the ditch in front of our house something caught his eye...guess what it was ? Yep it was Chance, someone has tossed this little kitty out in our ditch, he has a huge open sore on his back/tail, we assumed it happened when he was tossed out. Ryan and Helen went and bought some kitty milk and a bottle to try and save him, none of us really thought he would make it, he was so tiny his little eyes were barely even open. He made it thru the weekend so Papa took him to the Vet that Monday, he weighed all of 5 oz and had to be put on antibiotics, they told us not to expect much as he was in rough shape. But as you can see he has thrived due to alot of love and several feedings a day. He went back to the Dr a few times and on his last visit Wed he was up to 12 whole oz !! We all think this little kitty has a charmed life, as the way things happened it can't be anything else, even if Ryan hadn't chopped him up with the mower almost as soon as he finished cutting the yard it stormed so bad and hard there is no way the little guy would have made it thru that.

Here are a few photo's to give you and idea of just how tiny this guy is, this is the smallest bed you can buy, you can see how little room he takes up in it.

The next photo is one of our smallest kitties-Hobo, he was also rescued as a bitty kitty so maybe he was encouraging Chance to keep fighting, again seeing Hobo next to him gives you a visual as to how small he is. And of course the last one needs no explanation now does it ?

Bomb's Away and other things

2008-06-26T18:45:00.012-04:00

This is what Nathan and Papa do several times a week, Papa goes and finds golf balls at the course and turns them in to pay for his monthly golf dues, he finds them and he and Nathan clean them up and get them ready to turn in. Last night Nathan discovered that as he held them real high and dropped them they made the best splash !! I am hoping things like this "stick' in Nathans memory bank I know it will ours.

I thought Nathan was having trouble finding the last of the balls, no, he was just enjoying the water .
As Nathan and Papa were washing golf balls I was trying to keep up with Sammie, she may not be walking but she is QUICK.....by the time we have had her a few hours we have to put her in the "cage" , btw we had them last night while their parents went out for a little alone time. Of course I can't have them in the house without taking pictures.
Doesn't she look pitful? and this was BEFORE I got tired !!

America's Next Top Model...don't you agree ?

Sam will be walking before long, she gets a hold of Nathan's "car" and off she goes, its' too funny, we are going to get it on video soon

Tag, I'm It

2008-06-17T07:57:00.004-04:00

Vic tagged me so here it is.

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

Joy's
Being married....my wife, kids, and grandkids mean more to me than I ever dreamed possible

Golf...playing the game for as long as I can (yes, 24 hours per day if it were possible and until I'm 100 years old)

Making meals that my family can actually eat...so far...that number is 2

Fear's
Golf....shooting over 90 at any time

Snakes and snapping turtles in the water at Forest Lakes....if I'm in the same water

Funerals - I have never been to one

Goal's
Golf - Shooting under 70

Learning to swim so I can have my own fishing boat

Travel the world with Vic...except Italy and Spain...those people drive crazy. Primarily, I want to go to England, Scotland, and Ireland and it wouldn't bother me if I got to play the courses like St. Andrews and Royal Birkdale while we were there

Current Obsession/collection

Golf ball hunting on the course...in the course's ponds. I turn most of them in to help pay my monthly golf dues. I search at least 3 times a week and pick up on an average of 2 to 3 dozen balls each time while wearing my hip-high waders and using my trusty ball retreiver

Cats - everyone knows we have 7 cats...in case you forgot....it's Tibbit, Patches, Garfield, Punkin, Toofi, Snugglepuss, and Hobo. We will not be adding to the collection, but we love them all dearly.

Animal Stones - we had almost all of our felines and canines immortalized on stone and were lucky to do so. Shortly after we began, we lost Bubba and Tigger.

Random Fact's

I've got a shop full of wood working equipment that I don't know how to use, but am anxious to learn....as soon as I can afford the wood and and the cost of getting more power to my shop.

My brother put a knife through my foot while playing chicken...ok, ok....it was 40 years ago, but I've still got the scar!

Much to my family's dismay, I love grilled peanut butter sandwiches (they are all obsessed with cheese), but don't knock my idea until you give it a try (not just a tiny nibble honey)

Granddad
Susan
Donald
Tabi
Nathan

You're it gang !!

Tag, I'm it

2008-06-16T19:21:00.004-04:00

Jen tagged me so here it is.

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

Joy's
my husband
my grandkids
our animals

Fear's
cockroaches...not so much fear they just gross me out
booger's (see above)
drowning

Goal's
lose 100 more lbs
travel the world with Rich
go back to school (always wanted to work with DFACS)

Current Obsession/collection
cats
food network channel (not new but still an obsession)
scrapbook stuff that I am not using

Random Fact's
I am obsessed with watching police/crime shows (prefer "real" ones)
I love boxing (as opposed to "wrestling")
Selected to carry the Olympic Torch when they were in Atlanta (my son carried it for me, I was too fat to run with it and HAD to be out of town when it was my turn)

Rich
Ryan
Nancy
Carol
Eilene

You're it gang !!

Calling all Telemarketers

2008-06-07T10:42:00.002-04:00

If calling the Cox household please note this is who you will be dealing with and believe us he is relentless, he will not give an inch and you will most certainly know about everything going on in and out of the house. You have been warned !

Ok now for the rest of you....The other night the phone rang and Nathan wanted to hand it to Papa, when he looked at the caller id he noticed it was a 800#, most likely a sales call of sorts, he turned the phone on and gave it back to Nathan, had we thought of it we would have listened on the extension, Nathan proceeded to tell the person on the other end of the line all about "So you think you can Dance" golfing and many other things that we couldn't really understand, to say the least he was chatting them up. Of course we were all cracking up and by the time I got the bedroom extension they hung up. We have decided any more calls like that and Nathan gets them.

Destined for Destin

2008-05-25T19:01:00.008-04:00

Papa and I received a notice in the mail a few weeks ago from a time share (sort of) you know one of those deals where if you go listen to the speil for an hour or so and you get free room and meals. Well we called and it sounded like a great way to get away for a couple days plus neither Papa or I had been to Destin before so we decided to take advantage of it. So off we go on Wed no problems on the way down other than getting a bit confused ...I know can you believe it ? me and Papa confused and going about 20 miles the wrong way before we realized it and turned around . We finally made it to our "destin"ation, we went to the resort and got our package and made our way to the hotel. The first day was ours to do with as we pleased, we pleased to get some food and go to sleep !! Getting lost takes a lot out of you. Day 2. Most of it belonged to us, we had until 3:00 pm to play, the first thing we did was get Nathans left handed golf clubs, how nice there was an Edwin Watts golf store right there...of course there were no scrap book stores. We then explored the outlet mall (ok almost as good as a scrapbook store) across from our hotel, it was great, had a zillion stores, some very high end ones too Saks 5th Ave, Michael Kors, Coach just to drop a name or 2, even at outlet prices I couldn't afford anything nor wanted to pay even those so called lower prices. It was fun looking at it all though. Now imagine this, the only things we bought were for the grand kids. Ok I take that back we did find this amazing chocolate store that we spent WAY too much money in but oohh la la was it YUMMY and worth every red cent we left in it. Ok time to go listen to the speil and tell them we aren't interested we just wanted free room and a coupon for supper....that sounds horrible doesn't it ? Anyway we listen to Pete, and lo and behold it is a DEAL but still way out of our means at this time, as we so much more enjoy living in our home and eating which if we chose to do the deal offered we would not be able to, so we say thanks but no thanks, they didn't like that, they counter offered, we politely again say thanks but no thanks, again they don't like it and the gloves come out, this time the deal sounds even better but we talk and again decide no we won't do it. Time for the big guns, out comes Nick the VP, he makes yet another offer that sounds great but again we must decline. Needless to say Pete and Nick were not happy, especially Pete who is on commission only and has kids in college and so on and so on, of course we had become best friends before the first deal was laid out , do you think they do that so you feel guilty for NOT buying ? Anyway we had a great couple days in Destin, some good food and even better quality time with each other . Enjoy the pics, more to come later.

Nathanisms

2008-05-24T19:25:00.013-04:00

Just thought I'd get these documented before he's old enough to object. Feel free to add your own!

BAFF

MIIIIINE (Any questions?)

WIMMIN

GOFF

Papa Rich

Nonna

Tiny Bubbles, make me happy

2008-05-18T18:29:00.008-04:00

Ok maybe it's not the bubbles that were making me happy this evening.

Papa and I had the kids the other night and snapped a few pictures, we were out on the back porch playing with the bubble machine. I know, how lazy is it that we have a machine to blow bubbles with but hey when you are my age anything to make it easier , plus Nathan keeps dumping the other ones , we kind of get a two for one deal with it as the kats enjoy chasing them almost as much as the babies. By the way notice what Sam has in her hand, she is getting indoctrinated early to golf, but to tell the truth she like Nathan when he was that small goes straight for the golf club and ball if she can, maybe we will get a "Tiger" yet. These babies are the light of my life, I can hardly go a day and not see them, sometimes Helen will say "Mom it's only been a day" but to a grandparent it seems like 10. I suppose one day when they are tearing thru the house like crazy little monkeys I will be wanting it to be 10 but can't imagine that right now.

Grow Up

2008-05-18T16:30:00.004-04:00

This is in response to Aunt Carol's questioned posed to us from her blog on what we wanted to do when we grew up.

First and foremost I wanted to be a Mommie, I can remember as young as 4 or 5 yrs old out on our big ole front porch arranging furniture and getting the "house" in order for my baby (s) that never wained I to this day love being a mom and grandmother even more because I can send them home when I get tired...couldn't do that a few years ago .
Next I always wanted to travel, thank you Mom and Dad, my parents were big travellers, even if it was just throwing us kids in the station wagaon and camping out a couple days, it was always a grand adventure, after my father passed on my Mom kept doing it...bless her heart now that I am grown I can just begin to appreciate all she did for us all on her OWN, she was a tiny little woman but wow what a big spirit she had. I certainly have that spirit of adventure, I have been all over the world and am not done yet !
I wanted to be a teacher, it never happened professionally but I have been an LVA volunteer, and able to give lesson's at church and of course now I have the Activity Day girls, I think I am more than happy NOT being a teacher..no offense to any of you teachers out there. It's just not for me, I don't have the patience for it.
I thought I would love to have a small cafe and serve my homemade food, I LOVE to cook and people seem to enjoy it so that has not been crossed off my grown up list am just waiting for some money to fall from the sky into my lap.

Anyone else want to share what they want to do when they grow up ?

With A Little Help From My Friends

2008-05-17T07:18:00.007-04:00

....my riding mower problems are history. Problem: Mower Won't Start. Symptom: Turning the key produces no juice for the engine. Theory: Something is wrong with the darn thing....probably wiring. Bigger problem....I know nothing about mechanical or electrical anything...

To make a short story longer, my mower stopped running a few days ago for what seemed no reason at all. I contemplated taking it in to be service at my expense, but remembered we have a small engines expert in the family, and I thought just maybe he could help me with my situation. I quickly gave Granddad a call, explained the problem, and requested his advice. No, he didn't advise me to shoot myself! We decided to take a closer look at the mower at his house. Arriving early enough the next day....in a showery weather situation, I pushed my non-operative mower under the family gathering canopy and we took a quick look under the hood. There, we looked over wiring, checked for power availablity, and everything else we could think of. After half an hour, he suggested that it might be the solenoid or maybe a safety switch, we didn't know exactly where the swithes were, other than the one under the seat. We could see that one was connected and looked to be in good shape, so we got on the internet to find the wiring diagram to find the others......google is no help when trying to find something like that.

We were both scratching our heads about what else we could look at or what we might be able to figure out when the rain began to fall in earnest. I asked him to please hold off on going back outside and I'd go run some errands and try to find the operator's manual or a wiring schematic online. On way home, I stopped at Sears and while printing out the wiring diagram from http://www.sears.com/, geesh, why didn't I think of that...the assistant manager suggested that MAYBE I should disconnect and reconnect the safety switch under the seat because it may have gotten some moisture in it. I thanked them and ran to the vet to pick up Patches and get her home (she got her hinny shaved, but that's a different story). After Vic got home, I started thinking that the reunion BBQ would need the space my mower was holding, so Vic and I took a quick trip back to Granddad's house. I showed him the diagram and we chatted a while. Then I mentioned what the Sears guy had told me and walked over to try it. Unbelievable...it cranked right over after I unplugged and reconnected the seat safety switch. Granddad and I had thought of everything....except the obvious. Still, had I not had him to help me, I'd have never figured it out and saved myself hundreds of millions of dollars...or something like that. After helping me with my mower, he took us wandering through the garden and showed us that ever growing broccoli....and the wonderful onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers. He even let Vic and I eat a fresh snap pea (never done that before and to be honest, I was a bit leary....but I have to admit it really tasted great). Maybe I'll try broccoli again....all this, thanks to a little help from my friends...and family.

Tell Me Why

2008-05-15T17:24:00.003-04:00

4th graders at Omega Elementary are much more considerate than the SUBconscious 9th graders I had the day before. However, they SUBscribe to tears more frequently than the SUBversive 9th graders. And unlike their older counterparts, these SubTEENS wanted to help and impress me rather than SUBject me to SUBterfugeous activities.

Yellow Substitute

2008-05-13T01:05:00.002-04:00

So shoot me....I'm not really afraid. But today's four blocks of ISS at the Northeast Campus was certainly a SUBstantial test of my endurance. Were we really that difficult in 9th grade?
And tomorrow....Omega Elementary.....

What a week

2008-05-08T19:56:00.002-04:00

Calgon TAKE ME AWAY....I am not going to vent about my week but I will say if I didn't have the gospel and Heavenly Father to listen to me I don't think I could make it.

Not much going on to post other than Mothers Day coming up and I kind of agree with Nance on this holiday.....and I certainly have not been the greatest Mother in the world, did the best I knew how, I suppose I didn't do too bad just look at the fantastic grandbabies we have .

Wish me luck

2008-05-02T06:46:00.002-04:00

Today is my first day of substitute teaching....Tift County HS. Luckily, it's for the foreign language teacher that teaches German and Spanish....and I've been both places. Unfortunately, I didn't pick up much of either language.

Will the real Rich please stand up!

2008-04-28T20:29:00.008-04:00

Vic told me that many of the clan are not as familiar with me as she would like, so I've been instructed to tell you 5 things about me that you might not know. Since I'm sure you know I'm a golf fanatic, I can't really use that one. Maybe you didn't know that I'm a feline fanatic too, but I'm sure that most of you do...but for those that aren't in the know, Tibbit, Patches, Punkin, Garfield, Snugglepuss, Toofi, and Hobo complete our feline pride. Most of them are in this picture. Any questions about the "Kathouse" title? Apologies for my digression....back to....me.

The first thing I can tell you about me is I define music by the 3 B's....Beatles, Bluegrass, and Barbershop! People often look at me like I've lost my mind when I say I'm a Barbershop Quartet fan, but that and Bluegrass combine such great harmony that I think a person would have to be crazy NOT to like them. And yes, I do great harmony....can't understand why Vic and the rest of the world disagree!

Next...many of you believe that my roots are in Texas. That isn't exactly true. I was born in Snyder, Texas, but grew up in Truckee, California...just 14 miles from beautiful Lake Tahoe. I spent my winters shovelling deep snow and my summers fishing in creeks and high lakes for rainbow and brown trout. What I am saying is, I grew up a Wolverine rather than a Bulldog.

Third on the Rich list; I never liked kids before becoming part of this family...I thought I'd always be a bachelor with absolutely no kinderlings. Initially, our Godson Riddick scared me....so tiny that he might break if I touched him, but gradually I found myself able to pick him up and even play with him. By the time Nathan started crawling all over me and Sam began to bat her eyes, I was hooked. What still bothers me about this is how grey I've become....is this caused by age....maybe married life....possibly children.....OR most likely, these wonderful GRANDKIDS are the culprits....turn it grey and pull it out....that's their job, right?

Number four on the list is my ancestor Jehu Cox took 2 Mormon travelers into their home, while living in Crawford County, Missouri, and were converted to Mormonism. They went west with Brigham Young and helped settle Utah. Their home is still standing and a museum, Old Fort Union was built around the house to protect it from Indians. Ok, this isn't about me personally, but at least now that I have been fully surrounded by the faith....I more fully understand the faith than when I first dug up this small bit of Cox family history.

Last, I guess I should mention that, though I waited a very long time to find love, I think I couldn't have found a more perfect person than my Vickie. We often finish each other's comments without even knowing we've done so. Few people in life find the companion that is perfect for them, but I know I have.