Hunting on the Maryland Shore

Ray and Conlan went to Maryland for a little hunting trip

Thanksgiving with the Youngs

In Memory of Riley

The Vinson's best pal died on Wednesday. Riley was truly the world's best dog. He will be missed by all.

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Youngs are in Virginia

The Youngs made it to Virgina. We are excited that they are here. The Beaver family is full of loud voices and laughter. I did make the kids channel the Farine quiet gene on the way home for a couple of minutes. We are looking forward to spending the next few days with them.

Swim and Rock

Colleen's cheering squad!


Colleen had a super duper meet. She made it back to finals in 5 out of 7 events. Finals are always exciting because you march out and they announce your name.
these were her times and after the event is what she placed.
Beaver, Colleen (12) F
1:09.04Y AA 100 Fly 6th -4.84
2:50.67Y A 200 Breast 5th -0.19
1:09.80Y AA 100 IM 7th -2.01
27.85Y AA 50 Free 4th -0.47
31.43Y A 50 Fly 9th -0.07
1:00.77Y A 100 Free 4th -1.94
1:23.68Y BB 100 Breast 23th --- 3.31

Conlan also swam. He struggle in taking off time but he did a good job.

Swim and rock

Conlan's awards

Conlan got 4 awards! Honor Roll, Positive Referrals, Good citzenship and perfect attendanca.

Quick Wrap-up

Hopefully tomorrow I will have a couple of moments to download some pics....
Happy Belated birthday to Ellie and Russell.

We came back Sunday night from a 3 day swim meet. Colleen was on fire! More details later....

The YOungs are coming to town, so we will have pics of relatives soon.

Donavan's awards

I gave birth to a Sarah clone

Colleen is proving to be just like her Aunt Sarah. The obvious traits..tall, skinny, smart, and of course beautiful on the inside and out. I am learning they also have another SCREAMING likeness...they both go NUTS when put in a closed in space. Earlier this summer during a dentist appt. Colleen came out in tears b/c they left her in a room by herself for too long. I thought she was being a bit of a drama queen. Today she had a eye doctor appt and I got to witness her first hand. Colleen was a mess, she couldn't believe we had to wait so long, the room was too hot, the room was too dark, she was bored, and she was going to explode in little bitty pieces. Living as a Farine child, I know the signs of just complaining and actually not being able to deal with close in spaces. I told her to go and walk in the hall, go to the bathroom or do something . She did get up and open the door. Thankfully the doctor walked right in. Colleen then was fine. We called Sarah on the way home. I don't understand them, but they both seem to understand each other. It is always good to find someone who understands your pain.

Conlan did it!

Conlan made the honor roll! Conlan who works harder than anyone made all A's and B's this 9 weeks. I have to give credit to his wonderful teacher who is keeping him organized and stays on top of his progress. Conlan has really came into his own at the new school. We are so proud of him.
Colleen, not to be out done, got straight A's. I do have to give her props for keeping up with her school work while she averaged 4 hours of sports a day. She is enjoying her "free time" that only consist of swimming 2.5 hours a day.
Donavan also did well, he doesn't get letter grades yet. His main problem is keeping up with his stuff. HMMMM wonder were that gene comes from????????

Job Musing

I am starting to actually enjoy these little four year olds. Even the group that yells, kicks, and hit have a sweet side. I do not enjoy anything that involves my supervisor. It literally makes me sick to my stomach. I am learning I am to speak to NO ONE unless it has been approved by her. Of course I have to learn the hard way. No talking and joking in supervision meetings, definitely no talking to the principal and I found out on Friday not to accept phone calls from the Head Start director. I am to direct all inquiries to her. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will become more use to this new world of mental health, b/c it is sure taking a toll on mine. I can say I have been praying lots more:)

Weekend Update

Colleen went hunting with her dad. She has her own hunting license.

Conlan's football season is over:( They lost their playoff game 19-14.

Wyoming beats Tennessee

Conlan was all excited WY won today. More exciting that we have actually been to the University of Wyoming and walked on their field. Memories of a great vacation.

Future Wall Hanging

Uncle Jon picked up the deer head today. Now they are trying to figure out how to get it to VA. FYI- Ray killed this poor little buck in Colorado last fall. It has taken a year for it to become a prized wall hanging. JOY OH JOY

Who are these kids?

Colleen had her sport's banquet for basketball. The coach couldn't figure out how to get them to win a game, but she made them all dress nice. The basketball girls were much prettier than the winning soccer team girls!

Conlan was waiting to go to football practice. I do not always recognize this tall boy with a book in his face.

DATE NIGHT

Ray and I handed off our lovely kids to the grandparents last night. We went and saw the movie W. It was pretty good. We are trying to be more serious, than our typical teenage boy movie watching. Of course we did not laugh as hard......We also checked on the opening night of the new Capital ALE Restaurant in Fredericksburg. It is a beer lover's dream. All kinds of different beers. I was adventurous and tried two new ones. One was Full Nelson which is Virginia beer. It was great, if you like hoppy beers. The other was Breckenridge IPA from Colorado. I liked it also. Ray went for the Starr Hill Amber which is made in Charlottesville, VA. It wasn't nearly as good as mine. His 2nd choice was the Full Nelson. I think it will be a big hit for the downtown area.
This morning after lots of extra sleep, we went and voted. We actually had to stand in line for about 45 minutes. But only the A-E part of the alphabet had a long line, the rest of the abc's just went right on in. Nader was looking pretty good, but I took a deep breath and prayed I was making the right choice and hit the McCain button.
I have to go in for meeting this afternoon for work. YUCK! Those meetings are 10 times worst than being abused by the short people.

Things I have learned this week

* Four year olds can hit hard. I have a darling one that bites, slaps, and hits. I have managed to avoid bites, but he has gotten in a couple of good slaps and hits. No wonder his classmates cry when he attacks them.
* Teenage girls no longer wear dresses to church. Colleen is doing this cotillion thing and has to wear a church dress. We have had little luck in finding dresses that would classify as something you would wear to church. Colleen also has the trouble of being taller than the average size 5 girl, so finding a dress that goes to her knees is IMPOSSIBLE!
* Donavan can live off of candy. Must be kin to Brooke somehow:)