Dad's Lemon Diet

October 2011
Soooo...Dad wanted to lose some inches off of his belly and shed some pounds. Therefore, he decided to do a colon cleanse diet to rid himself of toxins and built up waste, and hopefully feel a little better in the process. He opted to do this diet for a week: It consisted with starting and finishing with a Sea Salt drink (gives a burst of motion to the system because the body rejects it), then drinking a lemon juice concoction about 6-12 times a day (which cleanses the intestinal lining), and drinking a laxative tea each morning and night (to help push everything through). It was a difficult seven days, but my hubby was happy to shed over 20 pounds of waste (and three inches off his belly)!!! Now he's trying to eat healthier and do cardio/weight exercises to maintain and continue his goals. I'm so proud of him for trying to be healthy. I know it's very hard!!! I don't know how he did it.

Cuban BBQ

24 September 2011
We were invited to a Cuban BBQ at a friend's house and it was amazing! The Fisks roasted a whole pig in their pit and had all kinds of great side dishes, and hosted about 60-75 people. Here the boys are eating some of the skin (pork rind). They said they loved it! It was a wonderful social event to just go and hang out with great folks. Thanks! It was awesome!!!

Fiddler On the Roof

19 August 2011 I have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my husband lately. Having some spare time outside of school has been great. We have been able to truly connect again (much neede) and I have loved every minute of it. This past weekend we decided to go to the foothills of Spring Mountain and enjoy an outdoor play of Fiddler on the Roof. (We've been trying to make it up there for awhile, but they've either been sold out or we've had other committments.) It's such a nice setting. It's mountainous with grass to lay on, and a beautiful, gentle breeze blowing in the background. The temperature is perfect! It's a great environment to relax and snuggle with the one you love...which is exactly what we did. We laid out a blanket and curled up together as we watched the play. It was awesome!

We knew this date would be fun, so we invited Frankie and Michelle to come along too. We figured the newlyweds could use a little cuddle time as well. LOL. We had a great picnic dinner (Cafe Rio with fresh fruit, ham/cheese/and crackers. Plus, we included a cooler full of drinks to enjoy. I would like to think that Frankie and Michelle had a really good time and we added a little cultural fun to their lives. At least that's what I hoped happened. ;)

At any rate, I believe Michelle was grateful that her hubby took the time to be with her in an atmoshpere other than bowling or video games. Hahaha.

Of course...my babe is always thrilled to be with me no matter what the occasion! ;) Truth be told...I kinda like being with him too. hahaha. Just kidding...I LOVE being with him. After 21 years, he still makes me smile and feel excitement. I'm grateful for that. Marrying him has been a huge blessing to me. I'm glad he has the ability to overlook all of my faults (which are many) and love me anyway. He definitely has my whole heart. I love him more than anything.

But. I can't take all of the attention, can I? My hubby also enjoys being with his oldest son too. He loves him dearly and he treasures all of the time that he gets with him as well. He loves being a dad to boys and he's proud of each of them. Right now they are just waiting for the football games to start, so they can cheer the Gamecocks on together. Gooooo COCKS! Gotta love that! Hey, Frankie...with school starting and football season beginning as well...don't forget to keep your relationship with the most important person alive. ;) Take care of what matters most. (Just a little advice from your mother.)

Hubby's 4th Knee Surgery

16 June 2011
Well, my hubs tore his ACL AGAIN! He had to go in and get it repaired. Here are some shots that the surgeon took.
He had to drill out a new hole in his femur to attach the ACL to. He kept the screw in his tibia, but replaced the one in his femur. His surgery lasted for four hours and when he came out into recovery, he stayed there for another five or six hours because he was throwing up tremendously. He doesn't do well with drugs! The doctor sent him home with Tylenol 3, since the stronger meds don't do well on his stomach. Although....he did give him this ball thing that dripped anesthesia in his leg and kept the block going for three additional days. It worked like a charm!

Here is a funny conversation that I had with Gabriel via text while dad was in surgery:
Me: They put a new ACL in from a cadaver.
Gabe:Really?
M: Cadaver is cool, huh?
G: Haha...sure is!!
M: Do you know what a cadaver is?
G: Nope hahahaha
M: A dead person. They use their muscle and hope that the dead tissue will convert to live tissue. So dad has a dead person's ACL.
G: Gross!
M: Hahaha...the miracle of the human body!
G: It's nasty!
M: They did that same procedure last time too. Aren't you going to be an organ donor???
G: I guess...idk
M: :) Well, I think it's pretty cool that our bodies can do such spectacular things!
If dad starts dunking, then maybe they used a black person....hahahaha
G: Hahahaha...wow!
M: :) time will tell...maybe last time they used an old woman
G: Hahaha...im showing dad these
M: Hahaha...I'm sure he will get a kick out of it.

White men can't jump...and certaintly white, old women can't! ;)

Dad Vs. Frankie

6 June 2011

After the Memorial Day competition (and Frankie losing by a breath), Frankie challenged his Dad to a one-on-one smack down on his turf (Santa Fe). He was averaging a 200 for the day (he played 5 games with Brandon), and his high was a 243. He was pretty confident that he would clean house. This is in response to the question, "Who do think will win? Frankie's bowling pretty good." Dad is giving that look like, "REALLY?! You asked that question?" Hahaha!! My hubby never goes into a game thinking he is going to lose!

The first game didn't look too good for Frankie. What happened to that 200 average??? Well, his dad answers that question easily. He tells him that he always bowls higher with other people, because he doesn't have the pressure of him being in his head. And, you know...that's pretty much been true in their competitions. Frankie does great around others, but when his dad shows up...it's a whole 'nother story.

The second game......Frankie just got worse! Are you kidding me? Barely breaking a 100???? Dad just thinks this is tooooo easy!

Third game: more of the same...beat down from dad!

*Frankie and Brandon have their own bowling balls, and their dad decided to buy one this night too. He calls it his "Captain America" ball. Honestly, it should be called the "Trash Talker" because that would be fitting since my hubby did that ALL night!

Frankie decided to bowl one last game by himself on a different lane to see if it would make a difference....it did. However, it wasn't against his daddy. Point established. It was his 9th game of the day, though. That has to mean something. :)

Update: They went back the following week and played 9 straight games...FRANKIE WON!!! ....finally! ;)

Dad Leaves for SC

17 March 2010
Well, I had to send my baby off to SC again! The purpose of this trip was to go pick up a truck. My MIL decided to give Brandon her husband's 2000 Ford Ranger that he never drove. Brandon had been complaining about the amount of gas his Jeep Wrangler took, so Grandma thought it would be nice to give him a vehicle that would help him save some money. That was very nice of them to think of us (as they always do), so we gratefully went to retrieve it. I sent my hunny on his way. However, on the trip home, he had some complications. He broke down in New Mexico and had to get some repair work done before finishing his trip, but all in all made it safely back. Brandon was excited to start saving money!

New Year's Eve

31 December 2009

For New Year's Eve, we celebrated at the Pisciotta's house (adult's only). Frankie went out with Kendall, Brandon hung with Carly and friends, and Gabriel babysat for us at home. The Pisciotta's were nice enough to host everyone at their house. They are such good people!!!
We were thrilled to be able to hangout with people who are like-minded with us. It's refreshing to be able to be in the presence of those who are good and wholesome, and who don't need to get wasted to have fun. We played games all night, socializing and enjoying each other's company. It was really nice! We were amongst some of the best people we've ever met. They are awesome!!! These couples will be friends of ours for eternity!
Perkins Marrott (Amy Perkins' parents) Alexander Shepherd Wyatt RiceSterling Taylor

Okay, let the games begin!!! We had to give ourself a name that represented us in some way...then they were read out anonymously...just ONCE. We had to try and guess who's name was who. If you were right, you captured that person and they became a part of your team. The object was to annihilate the room and make everyone a part of your "family." However, the hardest part was remembering what the names were, because they were only read out once. They were crazy things so it made it difficult. Like my husband called himself Bear Windsor (He said that strippers take the name of their first pet and combine it with their first address street name. Huh??? Yeah, that's how he came up with his name). I entitled myself Help4U (That's because I feel like I help everyone...go figure). Of course, when you only hear a list of names once, you can't recall all the weird concoctions. However, as you captured people, you relied on their memory as well to help select others into your group. There was always a "head of the family." It was the person who captured first. However, if another family or person could recollect the head of the family's name, then their WHOLE family was captured to become a part of the other clan. It was VERY CHALLENGING!!!

This is Rex and Frank deciding together on who to try to capture. They were sharing memories. LOL! This game was entitiled Curse. You had to emulate these curses the whole night, along with adding challenges to go along with them. Everyone ended up having to be extrememly goofy, so we were cracking up!!!! VERY FUN!!!

And, then....

HAPPY New Year's KISS!!!

Now we can start 2010!!! No matter what life brings, we'll be okay since we have each other. ;)

Hubby's Knee Surgery

My husband was playing basketball three months ago, and had a serious injury to his knee. His ACL completely snapped, and his MCL and meniscus were damaged as well. He put off having surgery until his work (driving limos) slowed down. He finally went under the knife Monday, 21 Dec...the day after his birthday.

We were at the hospital for 10 hours. The surgery only lasted a couple of hours, but it took my husband awhile in recovery. He would only wake up long enough to throw up. The anesthesia didn't settle well with him at all. It was really rough. Even when he got in the car, he continued to puke, and all through the night. The next day he took his bandages off, because he couldn't feel the ice packs.He was really pitiful, and in a lot of pain! However, my husband couldn't stand me doing Christmas shopping without him, so he went with me to Wal-Mart on Wednesday, and hopped on one of their motor scooters. Hahahahaha!!! He was so funny!!!

Frank's SC Trip

10-15 Nov 09

Frank started a tradition last year with some of his Vegas buddies to fly to SC each Fall and attend a Carolina football game.

This year they chose to watch #1 Florida. Oh, it was a close one!!!

The guys had SO much fun!!!! They golfed a total of 72 holes in just three days...part of which was in the rain. However, they said it was the funnest golf they have ever played. The smack talk was unreal, of course!

They also spent time with my family: playing games,


and acting the fool!!!

Jason Pickup, Kris Alexander, Frank, and Rex Perkins

They were treated well by my hubby's mom too...

....so, of course, Frank had to give her some lovin'!

The love got reciprocated as you can see. Carol (Evelyn's best friend) was happy to be a part of the occasion.

They are all so excited for next year's trip: Carolina vs. Alabama!!!!

Margaritaville @ The Flamingo

15 Oct 09

My husband wanted me to run errands with him, but we ended up eating dinner at Margaritaville. I certainly was not dressed for the occasion, but it was nice spending time with my baby, no matter what I looked like. We sat out on the balcony and had a great view of the strip. It was very nice. I always enjoy are unexpected moments of togetherness!

You know, my husband says the sweetest things to me. Just the other day he said, "hunny, I love you so much! You make me want to live." Huh??? I immediately responded, "Well, gosh, I would hope you want to live on your own." To which he quickly explained, "Yeah, but I think without you, I would just exist. With you, I LIVE!"

Awww...He's a keeper!!!!

Hubby's Knee

My husband injured his knee a while ago playing basketball. He came down on it pretty hard, and knew right away that he had damaged it pretty bad. He said he had never experienced such terrible pain, and the noise he heard echoed the gym (like a pop), which made him suspect bad news. He saw the orthopedic right away, who diagnosed him with a sprain. Consequently, he has walked around on it with nothing to help for quite some time. However, because of the pain that has lingered, and the unstable movements that he has been feeling, my husband knew that there was more to it than a sprain. He finally got the doctor to schedule him an MRI. He went today. The results: a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus. He definitely has to have surgery. I think he's shooting for December.
(My husband claims this is why he lost to me in ladderball...yeah, right..nice try!)

Las Vegas Temple

Frank and I have some really fun dates being here in Vegas, but the best dates are always the ones when we get to go to the temple. FLASHBACK: When we got our assignment to move here 2 1/2 years ago, I cried for two weeks at the thought of raising teenage sons in "Sin City." However, when I google searched Las Vegas to find out about where we would be living, the temple popped up. At that moment, I felt a surge of peace come over me. I knew that it would be okay, because I would have a place of refuge to go to when I needed it. I knew the Lord would be with us in our journey, and from that moment I had faith to move.
I love the way the temple makes me feel. It is by far the most pure and serene place on earth. There is more warmth, love, and peace that is felt there than any other site around.
All the distractions of the world fade away.
It is a calming and beautiful place...
...a place to gain knowledge...
...and a place to gain focus. It is a real gift to be able to go.