I did not get a chance to post anything last week as I was so busy with work, CPR class, stamp club, Lexi started dance class and we got a new car!!!!

First...we got our CPR recertification done and are set for another 2 years. I hosted the class here and our instructor came up from WITC - Rice Lake!

Lexi's fall dance classes have officially started. She is dancing on Thursday nights this year and moved into a Ballet/Jazz Combo class for something different. So far she is liking it. Her music classes start tonight and she will be taking Voice Lessons again and she is also taking Piano Lessons from the same instructor so Monday's will be music night!

We got our new car....yep, we traded our Dodge for another Dodge! We got a 2008 Dodge Avenger and I absolutely love it. We bought it from Superior Chrysler and had an awesome buying experience there. The car made the long journey all the way from California to Superior, WI to find me. I took it to the cities for it's first road trip on Saturday and I loved the ride. My friends have already nicknamed the new car...it is now known as the "Mafia Car"...LOL!!! Here are some pics of the new rig....

Ashlee's first day at UMD!!!

So as Ashlee was getting ready to walk out the door this morning...of course I had the camera out snapping pics. Ashlee says to me..."Mom, it's not like I am a little kid going off to my first day of grade school." LOL...can you just hear her saying that! I said "Ashlee you will understand when you are a mom someday." Then she told me that she didn't want me tagging her in the pics on Facebook and I said..."You know I will." LOL!! It was a funny conversation! She is so cute and we are so proud of her.

Labor Day Weekend...

I have so been looking forward to Labor Day weekend. It meant that I had 4 days off and had a long "to do" list of things I wanted to get done. Some things were fun things and some were just things that had to be done. I don't know if anyone feels this way...but I just don't seem to have enough hours in a day or days in a week to get everything done that I want to get done.

So Friday...Ashlee and I spent the day together. We got mani's and pedi's, went to UMD and she gave me a quick tour and then went to lunch at Old Chicago Pizza. We rarely have the same day off and now with school starting I will not see her much at all. We had fun and I am glad we got to spend the time together.

Saturday...Butch got up early and went fishing. I did some things in my office and when he got back we started the huge project that we have been putting off...cleaning out Matt's room. I cleaned his closet out and combined a lot of "stuff" in bins for Matt to go thru someday. We switched the furniture around and moved the bed back into his room so we have a room for someone to stay but it is also our "workout" room...LOL!!! We seriously have the treadmill in there and Lexi uses it on a daily basis and I have started to use it again. I think now that the room is all cleaned up maybe I will want to go in there more and walk on that dreaded treadmill.

So after all of that we continued on some other projects and moving some other furniture around downstairs and then finally decided we had done enough for the day...we actually got a lot done. We decided to order pizza from Shamrock...yummy and we ordered the movie "17 Again" on PPV!! Good movie!

Sunday...So I have this HUGE pile of photo albums and boxes upon boxes of pictures stored under the table in my office. I have been trying to get at these and get them organized and out from under the table. So Sunday morning I decided that I would move all of the photo albums to the top shelf in my office and then start on sorting thru all of the pics. One thing that was not on my "to do" list was the mishap that was about to happen...Well as I was standing on the top step of the stool and putting the last photo album on the shelf...this ceiling fan blade came out of left field and hit me in the back of the head...Owie...not one of my smartest moves! Butch was sitting in the living room and said he heard a loud thud and then I started yelling. Thank god it pushed me forward enough that I only got hit once but that it didn't hit me hard enough to knock me off the stool. Well Dr. Butch came in and started to assess the situation and decided that I needed to sit down and take it easy for a while. He got me some ibuprofen and looked at my head and said it was bleeding. Well needless to say...I didn't get much done that day. I sat on the couch and took it easy all day. I now have a lump on the back of my head and my neck still hurts.

My hot tip of the day....be sure your ceiling fans are OFF when you are standing on step stools!!!

Monday...Butch got up early again and went fishing and I got started on my "to do" list. I got my halloween cards done for stamp club and even made extras. I even got started on my Christmas cards. Lexi and Ashlee went to visit Gene for a couple of hours and then Butch met up with them and brought Lexi home and Ashlee went to UMD to get her books and her parking pass. Lexi came home and Butch went and did the grocery shopping. We watched hours of the "Cake Boss" on tv...LOVE this show and cooked dinner on the grill and then did a quick vacuuming, dusting and getting ready for the new week.

So that was our weekend...

Picture Day at School...

It was picture day yesterday and Lexi looked so darn cute I just had to get the camera out. She dressed so colorful and had her hair fixed so cute!!

Lexi's first day of school at SMS...

Today is Lexi's first day of school. She is now in 7th grade and this is her first year at the Middle School. She was so excited last night that she did not sleep much and she was so excited this morning to get out to the bus stop!! I will be watching for her to get off the bus at 3:20 as I am super excited to hear all about her first day! I have really missed her today!!

The Girly Girls come to visit...

This past weekend my nieces Sami, Shana, Abby and Darlene all came to visit. They all stayed with my mom for the weekend and I am happy to report that she is still sane!! Friday was Darlene's 8th birthday and so we had a little party with cupcakes and presents of course. Here are some pics of the girls...

Family Golf Day...

Ashlee and Lexi are both excited to learn how to golf! My mom got her clubs out and dusted them off and Butch thinks he is going to teach all of them how to golf!! LOL!! So last weekend we went to Solon Springs to my mom's house and they all practiced in the yard first...and I took pics...I'm the camera girl! LOL!! Then we headed over to Hidden Greens Golf Course to the driving range. They all got set up and I went up on top of the hill and sat and took pics...and worked on my tan too...of course!! They all did well! Ashlee almost hit me a couple of times, but all in all...they all did really good. Then we went over to the putting green and they hit a few there. It was a fun time and when we were done we went back to mom's and had a great dinner!!

Here are some of the pics I took of our "pros"...

Extreme Home Makeover Edition

I am sure that you all know by now that Extreme Home Makeover Edition came to Superior, WI!! Well actually...South Range...but close enough!

Ashlee and Lexi had fun stalking Ty and the bus and following the bus out to the house the morning that they did the "door knock"! Ashlee also volunteered a few days...Lexi was not old enough to volunteer but she is old enough to stalk Ty Pennington...LOL!!! Ashlee and her friend Cassie had the opportunity to film a scene in the back yard with Paige and Eduardo and it is suppose to be on the show which is set to air September 27, 2009. This show has been chosen as their 2 Hour Season Premiere! So be sure and watch EHME on September 27th and look for Ashlee!!!!

Ashlee and Lexi's recent visit to see their Uncle Gene!

Here are a couple of new pics that I just got from my mom. These were recently taken when Ashlee and Lexi went to visit my brother Gene. He looks great and I am so glad that my kids get the chance to go and visit with him.

Trinity

I just received these pics in the mail from my sister Kelly and I could not pass up this opportunity to blog about them. This is my beautiful niece...Trinity!! She is just so beautiful...I could stare at her pics all day long!!

Ron E. Turnipseed, Jr

My uncle Ron passed away Monday, August 17, 2009. He passed in his home surrounded by loved ones due to heart failure. He was not only my uncle but he was both mine and my brother Gene's godfather as well as Ashlee's godfather. He is finally at peace and no longer in pain. Ron and Vern were very good friends...like brothers and I know they are now together again. He will truly be missed!

My 25 Year High School Reunion...

Butch and I decided to go to my 25 year high school reunion this year. I think he was more excited about it than I was. He is not from Superior and is "older" than me and so he does not know anyone that I went to school with...well except for Cys! He was excited to meet the people I had went to school with!

Friday during the day, Terry Johnson drove Cys, Cindy and myself to Hayward and we went shopping and out to lunch at Angler's!! We had so much fun...I was so glad I was able to go. On the way home from Hayward we stopped in at CJ's in Solon Springs for a couple of drinks! Then we went to Cys' camper and had the tour. While we were in Solon, Terry found out that Julie...his girlfriend was on her way here trying to surprise him. He thought he was going to pick her up at the airport and that her flight had been delayed but she in fact had landed in Mpls. the night before and was driving to Hayward. She had just missed us there. She was too far past Solon to turn around so she stopped at Presidents in Superior and we left and met her there. When we got there I called Butch and he also met up with us there. From there we went to Cys' house to get changed and Butch drove all of us to Aces on 29th! It was so nice to see people that I have not seen in years or even since high school. We really had fun! Oh...and Ashlee was our waitress all night...so she got to attend my 25 year high school reunion as well...how cool is that? I, of course, was introducing her to everyone...I'm a proud mom!!!!!

Needless to say...I am not 20 years old anymore and so an afternoon and evening of drinking brought me down a bit. I spent Saturday all day in bed. I did manage to get up and get myself ready and we were at the Elk's Club at 5 PM. There were people there on Saturday night that we didn't see or get a chance to talk to on Friday night. We had our class pic taken and had a nice dinner. We sat and visited until around midnight when everyone decided they were going to party at Aces on 29th. I could not stay out any longer and so we said good-bye and headed home.

We had a fabulous weekend and I am so glad that I got reacquainted with Terry and met Julie. We really like them and I think we will all be great friends for life!!!

More on the Cancer Walk...

I just received this pic of the group that we walked with for the Relay for Life Cancer Walk in July. This is the United Healthcare Team #1.

Texting Cousins!!

I had to blog about this and post this pic. Lexi and Sammy only get to see each other once a month. They make the most of their time together when they see each other and try to catch up on what the other one has been doing. In this pic they are laying on my couch texting each other...priceless!!!!

Relay for Life Cancer Walk

This year Lexi and I walked in the Cancer Walk with my mom, Sammy and Shana. The event was held at St. Scholastica and we were on the United Health Care Team #1. Not only was it the coldest day but it was rainy and windy.

This year we took a "Staycation" rather than a "Vacation"...

We had planned to go to the Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells...we go every year...and then at the last minute we had to change our plans. I decided that I needed to make some changes with my daycare and let some people go and until I knew those spots were full again, we decided to save the money on a big expensive vacation and opted for the staycation. We were very glad we did though. First of all, we had super nice weather the entire week. We went to the 4th of July parade and then went to a BBQ that night at Aida & Wade's for their 20th anniversary. We took a few day trips and went up the North Shore making stops along the way at little gift shops and antique shops. We stopped at Betty's Pies for lunch...a first for us and it was totally worth the drive. Then we went up to Split Rock Lighthouse and did the whole tour deal. Another day we went down to Canal Park and it was kind of breezy and cold that night but we were lucky and were down there when there was a boat coming in and then we went to Red Lobster for dinner. We did things around the house...outdoor yard work, redid a couple of the retaining walls, stained the fence, etc. Had a couple of days where we just stayed home and we all did whatever which is always nice. All in all, it was a great staycation.

Click on this link to see pics from our "Staycation."

http://www.slide.com/r/yJPhcQLw1T_cYmt7OzEgcPHZUfutXPUx?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Update on Matt...

Matt finished up his Tech School in San Angelo, TX the end of May. He is now stationed at Beale AFB in California. He is an Imagry Analysis Specialist. He seems to love what he is doing and from the sounds of it loves Cali!!! If you need his contact info...just email me or call me!

Ashlee & Lexi's Dance Recitals...

We attended the annual dance recitals at the DECC. Madill Performing Arts Center always puts on a wonderful show. We attended both shows this year as Lexi performed on Saturday and Ashlee performed on Sunday.