I almost forgot Ruthie is the AG doll she picked, Kit's best friend! Not Gwen that she has said for months that she was gonna get, not Kit that she also considered. Ruthie, thats her doll.

For The First Time

Highlights of our Chicago trip.
1. When we were getting into the city I said to Sarah "See Sarah it looks like the pictures mommy showed you of the city" to which she responded "well yeah but you didn't show me the pictures of the traffic"
2. When we were eating lunch at AG they give you a cute little box of questions to use while your waiting for your food. Sarah's response to the question If you could meet anyone famous who would you pick? she said Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Obama...not so funny.
3. To the question Which animal do you find the most beautiful? she replied a goose.
4. The girls were infactuated with the Sears Tower, one of the things we DIDNT do while we were there.
5. One of the things Sarah thought was the coolest...the toll booths. She was obsessed with asking how many more there were and how much they cost and if we missed any.
6. We went on a carriage ride through the city. While we were waiting for the next carriage to come along we talked to a very knowledgeable young man (he was 34). He told us all about the horses where they were kept how they were fed etc. Nana said "so how long have you been working here", he smiled and said "3weeks" We laughed cause we realized he didn't really know what he was talking about.
7. We spent 3 1/2 hours at the American Girl store, since we've been home Sarah has held her doll alot but hasn't bothered to go through the huge bag from the store and some of the boxes haven't even been opened yet.
8. Elizabeth's favorite part of the trip, the pool at the hotel.
9. I can tell you where the bathrooms are all along Michigan Ave and I know how to get around inside the Marriot (not our hotel) since Elizabeth had a UT and had to pee every half hour.
10. I now know that Nana sounds like Darth Vader when she sleeps.
11. I also know that a person only needs about 3 hours of sleep to function on a birthday weekend in Chicago.
12. Penelope (my GPS) doesn't always know the fastest, easiest, most direct route ANYWHERE!
13. I still love Chicago!
All & all a fun busy crazy weekend in Chicago that I hope Sarah never forgets. We are very grateful for Nana and all the time and money she put into the weekend.

When I Think About Leaving

I don't have a whole lot of pictures of me at CDC. This one happens to be from Mother's Day last year. I'm having a tough time these last few days coming to terms with my decision. I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing. How do you know??? What if I regret it???

I love CDC.

I love my staff, yes I really do. I love the flexibility, the option to go to the kids schools for special days or garage saleing on Friday mornings lol. I love giving tours and meeting new families. I feel priveleged when they put their trust in me that I am going to make sure that their child gets the best care that they can. Most of all I love the kids. I love being called Mrs. Cole. I love their funny voices, chubby cheeks, big eyes, clumsy walking, funny questions, and so much more.

I'll never regret working at CDC for 7 years, I'll look back and hope that I did some good. I hope that some of the kids remember me. I hope that some of the staff learned something from me, or that I did something for them that they'll remember.

I want to be mean and say that I hope the place falls apart but that would only mean that the kids and families that I have enrolled would suffer and I can't do that. So for their sake I hope that Lakeview CDC continues to be successful and the next director loves them as much as I do.

Big Star

First of all, no she doesn't have a black eye, that comes from an inexperienced mascara wearer. Second of all, isn't she the cutest ballerina you've ever seen.

Sarah had her first dance recital last night. I can proudly say that she did wonderful. It is her first year so I don't think you can expect a whole lot but that being said I believe she was the best in the class. She dances at "In His Steps" dance studio which is a Christian based dance studio and there aren't a whole lot of kids in her class. She was excited and proud and overwhelmed by the experience. Her and I both are so thankful for the family and friends that came out to support her.....Nana and Papa, Grandma Turkey, Aunt Emily and Lizzie B and NatKat, and Mama Mesha. Jacob even sat through it, with some help from his DS. I hope that she continues to dance, I hope that she finds a passion for it.

I already can't wait for next year.

A Lot of Things Different

I went over to Cortnie, Jerry, and Kathie's house today to give my condolences to them for their brother Mike, and Uncle Mike. What do you say at a time like this, I'm sorry seems so cliche'. But I am sorry, I'm sorry that there were things left unsaid. I'm sorry that they have to play the "shouldve done this, shouldve done that" game. I'm sorry that a mother had to lose her son, a wife her husband, two sons their dad, three sisters their brother. I'm sorry that there is so much anger towards a man that made a mistake, a huge mistake. In their shoes I would feel the anger too. How many times have people gotten in their cars thinking that those couple drinks they had weren't gonna make a difference, in this instance those couple of drinks are going to make a huge difference in the lifes of many people. They say that our paths are already chosen for us the moment we are born but I have to wonder what puts us on those paths. What made that man, Ivan Jones, drink that much and think that he could be on the road at 4 in the morning? I bet he's sitting around today wishing he would've done a lot of things different. To the Slack/Converse family, I'm so sorry.

Tequila loves me!

So I know all my fans (all 4 of you) have been patiently waiting for me to blog about nascar so here it is. Unfortunetely the hairy backed man did not sit in front of us this year. I hope the pics do show that we were not lacking in the redneck nascar fans this year. That being said, there were so many more that I wasn't able to get the camera out in time to show you but trust me they were incredible.

The highlight of the weekend was on Friday when we all went down to the pits. We stood right where all the drivers walk through to get to their cars. Josh stood in the area where they first walk through and he would holler back to me who was coming. That is where I got all my good pictures, except the two I wanted the most. You know I wanted a picture of my man Jimmie, so when Josh said here he comes I was ready. BUT when he got by me I just put my hands on him, I held them on his chest while he walked and signed autographs for people. Yep I just walked with him with my hands on him, too freakin funny. When I realized that I wanted his picture it was too late, he walked out on pit road and I had to let go of him. So there are a lot of people out there with pictures of Jimmie with my hands on his chest!! I also wanted a pic of Jr. for my dad and Jeremy but he was mobbed. I got caught up in the crowd and almost got taken down. So after all that the picture of Jimmie is the best I could do. It was a fantastic weekend, beautiful weather, tequila sunrises, bloody marys, Killians, Hard Creamer, and lots of water. I already can't wait till next year.

Wild Ride!

So I am putting these pictures up in honor of Nascar! We are busy getting ready for our redneck weekend of the year. I am so excited I can't stand it. Even though my boy Jimmie doesn't ever win at Michigan, I still love the race. I love spending the weekend with four of my favorite men, my dad (Jim), my brother(Josh), my husband(Jeremy), and Jimmie Johnson! I suffer through a whole weekend of my dad making fun of me for some reason or another, my brother putting down Jimmie and telling me how much he sucks, my husband drinking enough beer for an army, and Jimmie not winning the race. Maybe this year will be different my dad will compliment me on something I did, Josh will shut the hell up about my man Jimmie, Jeremy will drink water, and Jimmie will win. Stranger things have happened, like when Jr won the race last year!!

I'm not holding my breath for any of these though cause if any of that came true, for me the whole experience wouldn't be the same. I love nascar, and all the hairy backed men that partake.

Don't Blink

I was watching Jacob ride his bike today and I felt like time has just passed much too quickly. He's 9 now and it feels like he was just born yesterday. He's a kind and gentle soul. I want to protect him from all the evils in the world. I want to beat up the kids that called him "big" and made him cry. But since I can't do that I just have to try everyday to teach him how to face people that just aren't nice. I have to tell him that I love him and that I am proud of him. I have to hug him and tell him how important he is to me. I want him to know how lucky I am to be his mom.

We went out last night!

The anticipation is over! Last night was our Keith Urban concert in Fort Wayne. This is defintely the best concert I have seen. Not only is he the hottest performer out there but he is an amazing guitar player. Like April said "If only I could be his guitar" What a night! Cortnie and I were both lucky to have our momma Mesha with us, she takes such good care of us. A great night with great friends!

My First Blog

I'm not really sure I want to do this but I can't resist peer pressure. I don't feel like what I have to say is blog worthy but hey if Mesha can do it then so can I. So here we go!