This picture probably does not mean a lot to most, but as I was flipping through my pictures, I came upon this. I learned later that my sister took it, but I was thinking yesterday about how I had so much fun yesterday at Fun Run, and I didn't understand why it was so much fun this year! I know the kids are getting older, so they are easier to manage. Tyler, keep your fingers crossed, is developing the amazing sense of humor, so she is actually enjoyable to be around. However, when I happened upon this picture, I realized that I didn't volunteer to be part of Fun Run AT ALL this year. I came to the event, I watched the event, my almost four year old ACTIVE child SAT ON MY LAP, and I just got to enjoy the food and company of friends and family. I am not one to sit on the sidelines often. I am on the Preschool Board, I like to be involved, but I did really appreciate the time out yesterday!

Fun Run

Today was the Preschool Fun Run. This is the second year that Jackson participated and the very first for Tyler. They both did a great job, and you will all be shocked to know that Tyler could not WAIT to get out on the course. She was screaming, "Ready, Set, Go!", while trying to take off running. I had to keep grabbing her to come back to the start. She is such a tiny little thing, but she sure can move those legs when she wants to. Jackson got first place in his heat and third place overall. He did a super job, but as Shannon and I discussed afterwards, if he would put a little heart and soul into his running, he could tear it up. He gets third while looking like a model runner and almost seeming to pose for the camera! GOOF!


Then, it was off to go bowling for Uncle Paul's 40th birthday!! Tyler is still a little too tiny to bowl, so she spent the majority of the time clinging to "DADDY"! She sure looked cute doing it though. Pat thinks the shirt is a little too "Hannah Montana" for her, but I think she can pull it off!

Miss Katie

Miss Katie is Tyler's teacher this year. She also happens to have been my sister's teacher when she was a toddler as well. Miss Katie is this DOLL of a woman. The first time you meet her, you think, how do kids possibly respond to this woman. She is from China, she moved here about 30 years ago, and still she has this THICK, THICK Chinese accent. I find it a real challenge to understand her, so it blows my mind that two and three year olds can understand her. But kids are brilliant, so it shouldn't really be a surprise to me. She is strict, harsh, organized, etc. Everyone said, "Give her a chance, your kids will not be able to say "r" when they leave, but they adjust, and she is worth every minute that they will be able to spend with her!" So, I left Tyler alone with her, and I haven't been worried for a second.
Her husband became gravely ill during the second week of school, about September. He was hospitalized, Miss Katie was gone a lot, and it was a real challenge for the school to maintain the numbers needed to have appropriate coverage. When I would drop Tyler off in the mornings, she would be sobbing, then 30 other kids would start crying since the two classes were combined. Anyway, it was a VERY DIFFICULT transition for Tyler, with no fault to Miss Katie, I just thought that the school could have handled it in a much better manner. Anyway, one day, out of the blue, I get a phone call, and it is Miss Katie, just checking to see how Tyler is doing without her there. Miss Katie was calling us from the bedside of her dying husband to worry about my child, and from that moment on, she has stolen my heart! She didn't call everyone, but she knew that Tyler was new, and she just wanted to check on her, told me to tell her that Miss Katie called, and to give her a hug for Miss Katie.
Unfortunately, Miss Katie's husband died about two weeks ago, so she has been gone, but this morning when I took Tyler to school, Miss Katie was back, she was in the bathroom, but she was talking, and if you could have seen Tyler's face the moment she heard Miss Katie's voice, you too would have fallen in love. She looked like a little puppy, her ears perked up, her eyes started skipping around the room to try and located where she was. It was precious. She ran up to her, gave her a hug, showed her the monkey shirt she was wearing, and it was as if all was right in the world again.
Some of the other moms and I went to the funeral for Miss Katie's husband last week, and she thanked me this morning for going. She told me that she was nervous because her husband didn't have a lot of friends, and the chapel was so big, and how it would be so uncomfortable if it would have been empty, but it was packed! I just looked at her, smiled and said, "Miss Katie, YOU have a lot of friends!" I am so blessed to have squeaked into Miss Katie's class, and she will never know the impact she has had on the lives of SO MANY families!

#1 Fan

I am not a fan of either Elisabeth Hasselbeck or the Phoenix Zoo, but I have to say that I have been impressed with both over the past two days. I recorded The View on Wednesday to see what she would say and do after Obama won! And, much to my surprise, she handled herself with a great amount of poise, not something that I see her display often, so for that, two thumbs up. It was actually enjoyable to watch, since it was a display of how these girls can act like WOMEN! I know that everyone doesn't agree, but I cannot imagine getting on television and screaming at your colleagues, that would be exhausting. How can almost NONE of my friends (the only two friends I have been able to come up with who wanted Obama were Cynthia and Andrea, other than that, I am at a loss) and I agree on who should be President, but we are still able to have a BLAST together, discuss it, and not make a scene! Anyway, I was very proud of Ms. Hasselbeck and her restraint!

The Phoenix Zoo is a pile of dirt if you ask me. How it is appealing to animals, I will never know. I think MAYBE the lions have some grass, other than that, it is DIRT. It has a lot of flies, it smells, and overall, I HATE going to the zoo, but my kids love it, and if you get there early enough, they can run around and see all the animals out and eating. We stayed for about an hour, but the point of the story is how accommodating they were about letting this recently crowned airhead into the zoo. I lost my Membership card, Pat had my license, and they let me in with my COSTCO card. I am sure it was against all policies, and she did say she would do it for me just this once, but my kids and I greatly appreciated that!

Kind of Embarrassed!

I have to admit that McCain's speech last night was amazing, but I was absolutely EMBARRASSED to be from Arizona. The crowd and their "booing" was a ridiculous way to end a really well fought race. McCain was begging them to accept Obama as their leader and being totally mature (I thought one of the best concession speeches of all time!), while the crowd just carried on and did their own thing. Granted, I know a lot of people there were visitors from other states and what not, BUT the majority of the people who live here, supported his campaign, so most likely they were there as well. I can only hope that I would be ever so gracious if I were to lose an election.

Fundraiser

Little Bit of This and That

None of my actual Halloween pictures turned out as cute as the ones below, sorry! Our neighborhood is PITCH BLACK, in SERIOUS need of street lights, but I did get a darling picture of my little Tyler Gracie eating a lollipop! I wish you could have all seen her taking off around the neighborhood. Pat and I were still laughing about her trick-or-treating style the next morning. She LITERALLY looked like a cartoon character when she was running so fast. There should have been smoke instead of her feet, similar to the Roadrunner. My kids could have cared less about the candy because they know all but one piece goes to the Halloween witch, but they sure bickered over who was going to ring the stinking doorbell.

Remember to get out and vote tomorrow, no matter who you are voting for, exercise your right, otherwise, you don't get to complain!