Living in Mayberry

I love the town I live in. It sits at the base of Mt. Diablo and is bordered on two sides by rolling hills that are green for about 2 months in the spring, the rest of the year they are a beautiful gold. We also have the Sacramento River Delta bordering another side and the rest is farmland. Farmers here grow Cherries (see Groundhog Day with Celia Fae), apricots, Fuji apples, strawberries, scrumptious white corn and oodles and oodles of tomatoes. From Memorial Day to Labor Day we have farm stands selling all kinds of fruits, vegetables, homemade jams, dried fruits and pies. Developers have planted a lot of houses in the past 10 years, I'm not so in love with that.

Brentwood is also centrally located for fun. Skiing is only 2 hours or so to the east. The California coast, Santa Cruz, Redwoods etc... is only 1 1/2 hours away. If you're a "foodie" Sonoma and Napa Valley are a little over an hour. We have two amusement parks within an hour, the capital an hour and a half north, Yellowstone is only 3 hours away to the southeast and San Francisco and all the museums, sports teams and crazy people are also only an hour to the west.

When Byron and I married, we knew that we would settle here. It is only an hour from my hometown of Modesto and Byron's entire family live here. Brentwood was a little like Mayberry and a little like the Cheers bar...25 years ago when we came, every one knew your name and any scandals spread like wildfire. I couldn't "run" to the grocery store, it was a sure fire hour long commitment because I knew so many people. At that time we knew it was the perfect place to raise our family. Over the years we have watched stoplights come, chain grocery stores, a bowling alley, fast food restaurants,sports leagues, a aquatic center and now, a mall. It's still a great place to raise kids...just bigger.

My children have all attended Liberty High School, a school with 105 years of tradition. We have two high schools in town now. It makes me sad because there are cross town rivalries and all that goes with that. One of the wonderful, sweet traditions we have at Liberty is the down town Homecoming parade. This was Homecoming weekend, so for my Lauren who loves her school and still bleeds Cardinal and Gold....pictures!!



Our Homecoming Rally on the Football field, the booth was built in 1953.




My favorite student, the Jr. Class President, decked out in Liberty colors. He takes his school spirit seriously.



The Jr. Skit, complete with the Liberty Lion and minus the President, who was too busy to go to
practices...he was totally bummed. Not.

.


Two of my very favorites, #9 is my TA, #26 spends a lot of time in my office, he doesn't TA for me. Get it?




This is our Leadership teacher, she looks like one of the kids. I want to adopt her I love her that much.



"Extinguish the Eagles!" The Jr. class float.



The Junior rooter truck...for once Jeff's loud voice came in handy!



The Employees of the Year...I'm still (not) bitter about being nominated and LOSING six years in a row. I would love the parking spot, but I don't know about the back of the car riding in the parade. It doesn't seem too flattering.




Our death defying Cheerleaders. They really are impressive.



Our marching band, 70 members strong. And they sound pretty good!!!


The Math and Physics club float, yes, the stereotypes are correct.


The FFA float, they were practicing roping on it, and chewing...hay.


The Transition program float. This is the program at Liberty my Rachel attended. All the students have mental and physical disabilities. They are a beloved group of students, and are mainstreamed and really cared for by our "normal" kids. This is one reason Liberty is a great school. Last year a young man with autism won Homecoming King by a landslide.




The Senior float won the competition. Duh. They always win. That yellow square...what does it look like to you? I thought it was Spongebob, which didn't really fit the title. Turns out it's a waffle...


.
Our Queen Brooke. She really is a sweet girl and beautiful too!! Love her.



Our King, Tony (in the black tux). He is our star football player so he wasn't in the parade.
He's a sweet kid, love him.



Our very diverse Homecoming Court, all fabulous kids!



The dance. The girls are adorable, I wish they had worn a bit more however....




PS. Don't you just LOVE my new bloggy layout? My ultra-fabulous daughter Lauren, who I love dearly and is SO SO SO creative.... spent HOURS designing it.

PPS. Here's my gratuitous picture of my favorite subject...have I mentioned I adore him?
And his parents.

Happy Birthday to me...

It's my birthday!
Shout Hooray!

This year I:

Didn't cure cancer
Didn't go anywhere spectacular
Didn't lose any weight
In fact, I gained weight
Didn't win employee of the year, (but who's bitter?)
Taught Seminary again
Got a new boss, 2 new bosses to be exact
Learned how to make jewelry
Tried a ton of new recipes
Reconnected with my father (after 20 years...)
Moved offices
Redid a bedroom
Read 22 books (The Help was my fave)
Drank appx. 9600+ ounces of Diet Pepsi. (that doesn't sound like much of an accomplishment...)
Talked Jeff into taking piano lessons
Sat through at least 100 hours of soccer game
Didn't spend nearly enough time with friends
Read the Book of Mormon
Cried tears of joy and tears of sorrow and was thankful for every tear shed
Officially became the shortest one in my family
Went to Idaho four times
Spent way too much $$$ on fabric
Made new friends
Sat through at least 50 hours of Volleyball games
Stood in line for meds at Kaiser for a bazillion hours (this is NOT an exaggeration)
Kept my car relatively clean
Said "good bye" to my sweet, beautiful niece Lacey
Spent quality time with my sisters, how I love them!
Prayed more fervently
Put 18,000 miles on my car
made four quilts
didn't clean my closet
didn't go to Disneyland :(
watched or listened to 160 Giants games (thank you sons...)
Got an I-phone
Didn't exercise (see #3) (and #4)
Spent hours roasting in the sun and praying that I don't pay for it someday
Read blogs, blogs and more blogs.
Missed friends that have moved
Wished for more wisdom and patience
Laughed, but not nearly enough
Became more patriotic
Faced more bad health news about Byron
Learned things about the body I never thought I would need to know
Got a Facebook page and an addiction to Scrabble
Rejoiced in my kids successes
Had knee surgery
Ate my weight in chocolate (maybe a slight exaggeration...)
Came to accept myself a little better
Counted my blessings

But THE MOST WONDERFUL?

Became a Grandma to Carter! duh.

A sweet baby needs prayers

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that when my daughter Rachel was six months old she sustained a traumatic head injury that resulted in her being left multiply handicapped. This event changed my life and the lives of our family forever. We are so blessed to have our sweet girl despite her many challenges.

Preslee Sullinger, 19 months

My daughter Lauren told me of a tragic accident in the life of a friend of hers. I would like to share it with all I can, as this sweet baby needs your prayers and her parents need a miracle. Last Friday her friend Ashley left her baby, Preslee, with her parents. Somehow, Preslee fell into an irrigation canal, no one saw her fall. Two miles down river a farmer was in the canal and felt something bump his leg, he looked down and saw that it was a baby. He immediately pulled her from the water and started CPR. Preslee was life flighted to Primary Children's Hospital where she is fighting for her life. Ashley's aunt is keeping a constant update regarding little Preslee's progress. The blog is here.

I don't know this family, but I do know the power of prayer. As a mother and a grandmother, my heart goes out to this sweet little family. At times like this it is difficult to remember that God has a plan for all our lives and this is part of His plan for Preslee and her family. Having been in a similar life and death situation with the unknown looming before us, my heart is full of love for Preslee and her family. My thoughts are also with her Grandparents and the heartache they are feeling. I wanted to share the story with as many as possible, Preslee and her family needs our love and prayers.

What did we do without him?

It's hard to describe what a tiny 6 lb redhead did to our family.
What did we talk about, laugh about, love wholeheartedly before him?

Carter is six months old and it's impossible to imagine life without him.

I often wonder if I loved my own children as much as I love him?
I'm sure I did, but this little guy has stolen our hearts.
When they say your own kids are great, but just wait till you have grandchildren...
They're right!!!

He's now 6 months old, 15 lbs. 13oz, 27" tall.

He loves his feet,




going on the swings...



Playing with toys...



THE GIANTS...



licking soda cans,



peaches....



red licorice,




rolling all over the house,

Coming to Gramma and Grampa's house...



His Momma...



His Daddy...


(this picture cracked me up)

He's a happy, happy boy!



And did I mention he's brilliant?



(And if you look closely, he's showing you just what he thinks of Daddy having to do homework.)

Calling the Marriage Refs....

A very small part of Mr. Neat and Tidy's music collection.

Oh, where to start....

My husband, Byron, LOVES movies, music and books. We have literally thousands of these forms of entertainment. He is a methodical, neat, ultra organized guy. He alphabetizes his possessions and puts them in height order. Our books are very neatly put away, all the same distance from the edge. His movies are alphabetized. His CD's are organized by genre and then alphabetized. He likes to clean, which elevates him to a god-like level to most women. (He also loves to shop...I know, you're jealous.) Our house is neat and tidy and the dishes always done. He vacums, he puts away things When he had to retire from one career - he joyfully went to school to embark on a new career. He takes care of us, doesn't mind how many pairs of shoes I own, buys me purses for gifts, doesn't complain about my width, how much my hair costs and my monthly pedis....what? you ask...what could I need a marriage ref for when, obviously I am married to the perfect man?

THIS......






Yep, this hangs in my bedroom directly across from my bed. It's the first thing I see in the morning (after I put on my glasses) and the last thing I see at night. THIS is why I need a referee.

So, how did it get there...the focal point of the part of my bedroom, the room that is supposed to be a sanctuary? He says I'm lucky, he really wanted to hang it in the living room! Oh yeah, lucky me.

The story of how this came to be...

For years there hung a picture in my room of Byron and his friends on a white water rafting trip. The picture was taken at a class 5 rapids, you could see the terror and joy on all their faces. This was the pinnacle adventure, man vs. the wild! It was a little bizarre having Barry, Jeff, Kent, Brad and Howard all staring at me while I was dressing, but I got over it and just lived with it.

Then, that picture was replaced with this one:


The Avengers, ah....Byrons' favorite TV show as a youth. He had a mad crush on Diana Rigg and her alter ego, Emma Peel. I even bought him the collection for Christmas one year, feeding the fire as it were. Obviously I am as good of a wife as he is a husband. He then found this little mini poster and stuck it up in our room. Whatever. It wasn't worth the effort of fighting over.

Then he tried to hang this vintage poster of his favorite 60's horror movie. It hung for about a month and I threw a fit. Um, no.

I'm a loving patient wife, actually, no, not so much when it comes to this. There's a limit.



About a month ago Byron discovered this book:





He LOVED it. The best book he had EVER read,which really is saying quite a bit. He was engrossed, mesmerized...read it during his prep period, read it in the bathroom, late at night, in the car while I drove. The guy LOVED this book. He drove right over to B&N's the night he finished to buy book #2 which picks up exactly where #1 ends. Same drill, read and read and read. Byron was bummed out when he read it all and the #3 doesn't come out for a month. Sad, sad Byron.

ANYHOW...Byron found out this was a movie made in Sweden. He looked until he found it playing in a little art house theatre. He and his sister went to see it and loved it, truly loved it. So, Then he ordered the movie, in Swedish, (because we speak so much swedish around here...)

AND THEN...he found the movie poster. AND ORDERED IT. AND HUNG IT UP IN MY ROOM....WITH THUMBTACKS.

Just in case you missed it the first time....

Seriously, it's the first thing you see when you walk in. The girl lurks over your head if you are sitting watching tv. When I wake up and put my eyes in....there she is, menacing, daring me to have a good day. Some chick with piercings and tattoos bidding me farewell every morning. Jeesch.

So marriage refs....what say you?



PS. He says it's staying. We'll see.

Hail to the Chief!

Thanks to $21 worth of smarties and dum-dums...



And Primo posters by big sister (and the veteran of many campaigns...) Lauren


And big ole' banners painted on sheets....



95 YUMMY Chocolate Chips cookies decorated with Liberty Cardinal and Gold M & M's .....
(thank you Marty!! ) that I forgot to take a picture of, but I guarantee you...they were SAH-WEEEEET!!!!

And fancy "Vote for Jeff T-shirts" worn all over campus....

A post-poned- for- the- weekend election, (just to rattle the nerves!)

Introducing the Junior Class President at Liberty High School 2010-11!!
Woot-wooot!!!

I'm so proud of Jeff for working hard and putting himself out there, for having school spirit, for being so friendly and kind to everyone, for setting a good example that IS really noticed, for wanting to make changes and work hard so that his classmates can have a great Junior year.
Way to go Jeff!!!

So the really pressing question is:

If Jeff is the President...what does that make me? The first lady? The Queen Mother?
Busy? Yep, that's what I'm gonna be....busy.

Just call me Susan...

Today is a sad, sad day for me.

But I scraped myself up off the floor to share my sadness.

I have worked at Liberty High School for six lovely, action packed, busy, enlightening years.
I have given my heart and soul (not to mention TONS of $$ on fundraisers, financing my childrens campaigns, dances, yearbooks, cute clothes to wear while working...okay, those were totally for me, but STILL....) to this school.

I have worked LOOOOONG hours, I have worn many hats, I have been the "Mikey" of Liberty...got a project? "Give it to Jeni...Jeni will do it!!!"

Testing? Give it to Jeni!
Honor Roll? Give it to Jeni!
SIP Chair? Give it to Jeni!!
Every 15 Minutes? Give it to Jeni!!
Class Advisor? Jeni will do it!!
Chaperone at dances? Jeni will do it!!
Sit on a rooter bus for 26 hours with 46 teenagers? Jeni will do it!!
Decorate? Jeni will do it!
Achievement Night and Breakfast of Champions? Give it to Jeni!!
WASC Committee? Give it to Jeni!!

I could go on and on and on..... (I know, I already did...I tell you, it's a sad day...)

So for my service and dedication, I have nominated for Employee of the Year.
Every year, for the past six years.
Including this year....

And EVERY year, including this year,

I lose.

Me...at the end of a long day, no makeup, sad and with a cold sore. Lovely. I obviously have no pride.

Six years in a row. I lose.

It's a popularity contest, and I will never win one of those.
I am not a good suck-up or a phony.
I'm me, for the good and/or the bad...
I'm me.
So I lost AGAIN.
I don't really care about the honor, I have been in a parade before and I wouldn't get a raise. But DANG-IT!!! , I really wanted that parking place for the next year. It's all about the parking place.

Susan Lucci lost 18 times, so I have a ways to go.
In 12 years I probably will retire, that's when I'll win.
When I won't need the parking place anymore.

Console me.