Tonight was Family and Friends night at Spring Creek BBQ. Ashley is working there and they open for business next Monday. Tonight, we got to go and eat for free. All the food, desserts, beer, coffee, everything was free and realllly good. Mom and Dad went with us and enjoyed the food also. Hopefully Ashley has a good time at this job.
Today I created a photobook of pictures from 2008. I had a coupon offer for a free book. I only had to pay the shipping. It took me longer than I planned but I like the way it came out. I will post pictures of it when it comes in.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Here are a few pictures from this past week. Father Daughter Pantera Night. They were supposed to dress in the 50's theme. Joey didn't quite get there. It was cute anyways.
AND.....Ashley got her car!!! She was sooooo excited. I'll post a video soon. She can't drive it by herself until Dec 17th when she gets her license. She doesn't care. She sits in it and listens to the radio. She has already decked it out with a steering wheel cover, flowers on the mirror and a Yankee candle scent hanging from the mirror. We've washed, waxed and vacuumed it already too.
AND.....Ashley got her car!!! She was sooooo excited. I'll post a video soon. She can't drive it by herself until Dec 17th when she gets her license. She doesn't care. She sits in it and listens to the radio. She has already decked it out with a steering wheel cover, flowers on the mirror and a Yankee candle scent hanging from the mirror. We've washed, waxed and vacuumed it already too.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
The Butler's new addition
My sister, Stacy, decided she wanted to add to her family. Instead of telling us she was pregnant, she added this instead
Her name is Daisy and she is 9 weeks old. She looks like Heidi (my mom's old Schnauzer. She is a toy schnauzer.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween 2008
Last night was Halloween and we took Amy and Emily trick or treating at Katy Mills Mall. We only let them trick or treat on our street at the houses we know. Amy was a Spider Queen and Emily was a black cat. Doesn't Amy look like me? I noticed it more in these pictures because we did her hair all poofy- like 80's hair.
Ashley was at her football game. Last night was the determining game on if Cy-Springs went to playoffs. They lost! So, next week is the last game. She will be performing, so I will be filming her with my new camcorder. Yeah! I can zoom in real close.
Ashley started her new job today at Spring Creek BBQ. Hopefully she likes it.
Ashley was at her football game. Last night was the determining game on if Cy-Springs went to playoffs. They lost! So, next week is the last game. She will be performing, so I will be filming her with my new camcorder. Yeah! I can zoom in real close.
Ashley started her new job today at Spring Creek BBQ. Hopefully she likes it.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Crystal Beach Memories
The last week has been surreal. Hurricane Ike wrecked havoc on Houston and surrounding areas. Many of my family members who had houses in Crystal Beach, Bridge City, and Orange have lost everything.
I have many memories of our families beach house in Crystal Beach. It is now completely washed away. All that is left is the slab. I can't believe it is gone and will never be there again. My grandpa Schkade built that house. It won't be rebuilt, as I'm sure many of the houses down there won't. It's as if Crystal Beach was wiped off the map.
I have early memories of Schkade family gatherings. Not that many, but I remember taking Joey to meet my grandparents in the summer of 1987. I remember all the junk underneath the house. Grandpa's 75th birthday party. I remember all the carpet sample squares all over the house. Grandpa died in 1987 and the house sat empty for many years. I remember the summer that we went to the beach house (1993) and cleaned everything out. Ashley, almost 2 years old, was helping to sweep the floor. There were magazines in there from the 70's. Old Sears catalogs. Everything smelled musty. Stuff left over from when my grandparent's lived there. We left very little of the original stuff. Most was replaced and it became the families summer vacation spot from then on.
In more recent memories, I think about all the summers that we gathered together with the McComber side of the family. I remember when Aunt Kathleen's family used to stay with us in the house before our family got too big. Then all the grandkids started coming along.
Summer after summer we would line the kids up by "the pole" and measure their height. We did this for at least 10 years with the last time being this July 2008, the last trip to the beach house. The pole became one of the important things about the beach house because it marked many years of kids growing up there. Last summer, in 2007, when the beach house was on the market for sale- we all took pictures of the pole because dad said we couldn't have it. It was a support column for the house. (Don't worry dad, I don't hold it against you) I don't think that pole did it's job of supporting the house in the end. It washed away with the rest of it. I'm glad I have my pictures.
Amy had many birthday celebrations at the beach house because her birthday would always fall during the week we would be there as a family. Many reunions took place with BBQ's, games in the field next to the house, canopies lined up on the beach and the orange fence to keep the little kids corralled. We learned that we couldn't cook scrambled eggs in Grandma Schkade's cast iron skillet, but that bacon sure tasted good that way. I wonder how many dozens of eggs and pounds of bacon we went through all those years?
We watched year after year as dad built his RV garage. He was still working on it as of the week before Ike came. Guess what- it's still standing. At least the main structure. His garage is gone with all his toys, though.
I've watched Ashley grow up summer after summer down there. I used to say we were going to let her live with Grandma and Grandpa Schkade, during the summers, at their Crystal Beach house when she was a teenager. Now she is almost at the age that I was when I met Joey. That is really weird for me. The spot we met is now eroded along with the rest of the beach. Ashley was just at the age where she could drive up and down the beach herself as we did many years ago as teenagers. It's just what teenagers do around here. Go to the beach. Where will they go now?
The Big Store, Waterslides, Ships Wheel,the Eagles and all the "8-liners" are gone now. I wonder if things will be rebuilt. If people will want to start over. I'm sure it will be a long time before we can venture down there and see with our own eyes the devastation. We've only seen pictures and from those, we know it will never be the same again.
This is a video of pictures that I put together of my own memories of times down at the beach. It wasn't just about the house itself, it was about everyone getting together for at least a week every year. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was chaotic. Yes, we were griping at each other by the end of the week. 20 people in the same house will do that. But, now that we don't have the beach house anymore, I will always remember those weeks were full of fun times and family gossip.
I have many memories of our families beach house in Crystal Beach. It is now completely washed away. All that is left is the slab. I can't believe it is gone and will never be there again. My grandpa Schkade built that house. It won't be rebuilt, as I'm sure many of the houses down there won't. It's as if Crystal Beach was wiped off the map.
I have early memories of Schkade family gatherings. Not that many, but I remember taking Joey to meet my grandparents in the summer of 1987. I remember all the junk underneath the house. Grandpa's 75th birthday party. I remember all the carpet sample squares all over the house. Grandpa died in 1987 and the house sat empty for many years. I remember the summer that we went to the beach house (1993) and cleaned everything out. Ashley, almost 2 years old, was helping to sweep the floor. There were magazines in there from the 70's. Old Sears catalogs. Everything smelled musty. Stuff left over from when my grandparent's lived there. We left very little of the original stuff. Most was replaced and it became the families summer vacation spot from then on.
In more recent memories, I think about all the summers that we gathered together with the McComber side of the family. I remember when Aunt Kathleen's family used to stay with us in the house before our family got too big. Then all the grandkids started coming along.
Summer after summer we would line the kids up by "the pole" and measure their height. We did this for at least 10 years with the last time being this July 2008, the last trip to the beach house. The pole became one of the important things about the beach house because it marked many years of kids growing up there. Last summer, in 2007, when the beach house was on the market for sale- we all took pictures of the pole because dad said we couldn't have it. It was a support column for the house. (Don't worry dad, I don't hold it against you) I don't think that pole did it's job of supporting the house in the end. It washed away with the rest of it. I'm glad I have my pictures.
Amy had many birthday celebrations at the beach house because her birthday would always fall during the week we would be there as a family. Many reunions took place with BBQ's, games in the field next to the house, canopies lined up on the beach and the orange fence to keep the little kids corralled. We learned that we couldn't cook scrambled eggs in Grandma Schkade's cast iron skillet, but that bacon sure tasted good that way. I wonder how many dozens of eggs and pounds of bacon we went through all those years?
We watched year after year as dad built his RV garage. He was still working on it as of the week before Ike came. Guess what- it's still standing. At least the main structure. His garage is gone with all his toys, though.
I've watched Ashley grow up summer after summer down there. I used to say we were going to let her live with Grandma and Grandpa Schkade, during the summers, at their Crystal Beach house when she was a teenager. Now she is almost at the age that I was when I met Joey. That is really weird for me. The spot we met is now eroded along with the rest of the beach. Ashley was just at the age where she could drive up and down the beach herself as we did many years ago as teenagers. It's just what teenagers do around here. Go to the beach. Where will they go now?
The Big Store, Waterslides, Ships Wheel,the Eagles and all the "8-liners" are gone now. I wonder if things will be rebuilt. If people will want to start over. I'm sure it will be a long time before we can venture down there and see with our own eyes the devastation. We've only seen pictures and from those, we know it will never be the same again.
This is a video of pictures that I put together of my own memories of times down at the beach. It wasn't just about the house itself, it was about everyone getting together for at least a week every year. Yes, it was loud. Yes, it was chaotic. Yes, we were griping at each other by the end of the week. 20 people in the same house will do that. But, now that we don't have the beach house anymore, I will always remember those weeks were full of fun times and family gossip.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Ice Skating
We all went ice skating this past weekend. My boss and her husband reserved the rink for a private party. So, we all put on our rental skates and hit the ice, or I should say hovered around the wall. Except for Ashley- she took off without fear of falling. She did pretty good. Amy picked up speed faster than Emily and I. Joey decided to skip the skating but did get in on a game of broom ball, in tennis shoes.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Ashley's 1st Game
Ashley had her 1st football game that she participated in as a drill team member. She didn't perform at half-time because she just couldn't get the strutting down. We had a good time watching her anyways. Emily also got into being a Pantera. She did the stand routines right along with the girls.
I know this video is extra long, but, I'm still learning how to put them together and I couldn't figure out how to crop it.
I know this video is extra long, but, I'm still learning how to put them together and I couldn't figure out how to crop it.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
I've been trying to decide if I should finally cut Emily's hair. It's never been cut and she is going to be 7. It's down to her rear end! I guess I've just never wanted to cut it because she is the last one of my girls and the one that doesn't care if her hair is really long.
Well- she took matters into her own hands. Yesterday morning I noticed pieces of her hair were different lengths. OMG- she cut her own hair. So- grandma to the rescue. I called up my mom and said that I was bringing Emily by for a haircut. I thought she was going to cry.
Well- she took matters into her own hands. Yesterday morning I noticed pieces of her hair were different lengths. OMG- she cut her own hair. So- grandma to the rescue. I called up my mom and said that I was bringing Emily by for a haircut. I thought she was going to cry.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Where to start?
I've never really been the type to journal or use a diary when I was young. I'm sitting here staring at this page wondering what the heck I'm doing. Blogging! Who would have thought? It's so.... computerish... so not me. BUT- then I figured it would be a good way to keep up with my kids and remembering the day to day stuff that they do. Who knows if I'll keep it up. I'm not real good about keeping up with picture albums so maybe I can get some pictures in here as well for other people to check out. Some of my friends have them and I do check them out occasionally for updates on what's going on with them.
So- what's up with my family today? Well-
Emily has her Mr. Potato head pieces spread all over the living room floor.
Amy is hunting through the house searching for any and all old electronics (cameras, phones, camcorders, whatever) that she can HAVE! Cause you know it still works, right?
Ashley is raiding the pantry and the bathroom cabinets for toilet paper and plastic forks- hmm, I wonder what she is up to? AS IF I'm so out of the loop! Her and Kaci are out the door.
Joey is on the way home from teaching his math class at the college. He calls and says, "Make sure you record at 9:16 channel 2 because Michael Phelps is supposed to"- break some record or something- I think is what he was screeching into the phone. I guess that is supposed to be important so I better start recording now, in case 9:16 passes and I miss it!
I'm back!
Ashley has been really busy this past week with drill team practice. School starts soon and the team is working on their routines. I remember the days.
Emily is ready for 1st grade. She has had one rough summer (at least the start of it). That's a whole other blog entry and I don't want to get into that now.
Amy is attending a new school this year. We've enrolled her in a charter school in Katy. It has small class sizes. Katy Creative Arts is the name of it. She was on a waiting list and they finally called to say she was accepted. Emily will be automatically enrolled next year since Amy is already in. They have cheerleading and dance and piano and all kids of stuff like that and she is excited to start. She knows a couple of the girls that go there. She was upset that she has to wear a uniform, though.
We, as in the girls and me, went shopping this past weekend for school clothes. I leave Joey out of those excursions- it's just best! I worked with Amy and Emily first because I knew if I let Ashley shop first she would take all the money I brought with me. Amy was mad because she only got 4 skirts or shorts in khaki and blue. How boring for her, how easy for me! Emily got about 5 outfits to start with. So- I'm down to about $200 left. Not going to go very far with Ashley. You know that discussion about how "you can make this money go farther if you go to TJ Maxx or Ross or even JC Pennys"- well that is so not going to happen. She would rather go to school in last years clothes, which is almost as bad. So, of course, she heads straight to Hollister! After one shirt, one skirt and..... um, yeah that's it- I now have $100 left. And- we are off to American Eagle. One pair of jeans later (ones that have rips up and down the legs and are really faded and old looking) - $50 left. She is not going to have even two days worth of clothes to start with. She doesn't care- she has a Hollister shirt, skirt and jeans from AE! AND- yes, I remember those days, too.
Anyways- still have to shop for shoes and some other things for Ashley.
So- what's up with my family today? Well-
Emily has her Mr. Potato head pieces spread all over the living room floor.
Amy is hunting through the house searching for any and all old electronics (cameras, phones, camcorders, whatever) that she can HAVE! Cause you know it still works, right?
Ashley is raiding the pantry and the bathroom cabinets for toilet paper and plastic forks- hmm, I wonder what she is up to? AS IF I'm so out of the loop! Her and Kaci are out the door.
Joey is on the way home from teaching his math class at the college. He calls and says, "Make sure you record at 9:16 channel 2 because Michael Phelps is supposed to"- break some record or something- I think is what he was screeching into the phone. I guess that is supposed to be important so I better start recording now, in case 9:16 passes and I miss it!
I'm back!
Ashley has been really busy this past week with drill team practice. School starts soon and the team is working on their routines. I remember the days.
Emily is ready for 1st grade. She has had one rough summer (at least the start of it). That's a whole other blog entry and I don't want to get into that now.
Amy is attending a new school this year. We've enrolled her in a charter school in Katy. It has small class sizes. Katy Creative Arts is the name of it. She was on a waiting list and they finally called to say she was accepted. Emily will be automatically enrolled next year since Amy is already in. They have cheerleading and dance and piano and all kids of stuff like that and she is excited to start. She knows a couple of the girls that go there. She was upset that she has to wear a uniform, though.
We, as in the girls and me, went shopping this past weekend for school clothes. I leave Joey out of those excursions- it's just best! I worked with Amy and Emily first because I knew if I let Ashley shop first she would take all the money I brought with me. Amy was mad because she only got 4 skirts or shorts in khaki and blue. How boring for her, how easy for me! Emily got about 5 outfits to start with. So- I'm down to about $200 left. Not going to go very far with Ashley. You know that discussion about how "you can make this money go farther if you go to TJ Maxx or Ross or even JC Pennys"- well that is so not going to happen. She would rather go to school in last years clothes, which is almost as bad. So, of course, she heads straight to Hollister! After one shirt, one skirt and..... um, yeah that's it- I now have $100 left. And- we are off to American Eagle. One pair of jeans later (ones that have rips up and down the legs and are really faded and old looking) - $50 left. She is not going to have even two days worth of clothes to start with. She doesn't care- she has a Hollister shirt, skirt and jeans from AE! AND- yes, I remember those days, too.
Anyways- still have to shop for shoes and some other things for Ashley.
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