New Years Eve

Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Tony and Cliff worked on the kitchen counter tops yesterday and got quite aways with it. They will continue their project today. Can't wait to see it completed.

We went to dinner at Los Lupes last night with Leo & Cha. Had yummy food and then home to our nice warm house. I am such a puss. I hate the cold and it was only about 39 degrees. HA.

We watched Family Guy and The Office and Cliff and I laughed our butts off. The girls didn't seem to think it was as funny as we did. I guess they don't have our sick sense of humor. We dyed Alecia's hair a soft black last night and it looks great. I am going to have to do it again today as there are some light spots. She has so much hair that I thought we'd need an extra box of dye but we tried it anyway. I was worried it was too dark for her but it actually looks nice.

The girls will be leaving either tomorrow or Friday. It is always so quiet when they all go. I'll miss them. Then Big Daddy and I will be on our own again, running amuck with no restraints who knows what could happen?

I think we are going to stay home tonight and play games with the kids. I tried to get Teddi to bring our baby Oli out but she is having a baby party with her friend Amber. So I imagine it will be the Mexicans and us partying like it's 2009!!!!

Rockin to the Oldies

Well the big girls are here and we are having a ball. It is so much fun for us all when they get to spend time with us. They can relax and be themselves around their Dad, and boy they do. When they get in trouble they really get punished though!! Last night Alecia was really bad and so I gave her the harsh punishment of being forced to sing old 80's rock ballads and then eat ice cream. I hope she learned her lesson after that!!

We have discovered that Traci can sing after all, she didn't know she was an old rocker but last night we had her belting out Joan Jett and she rocked the house. Of course Dad had to rock out to some Danzig and we liked that although Traci said that Glen was a major CREEPER!! HA!
Cliff was clowning Ozzie Osborn and saying, "I've been the Prince of Darkness since 1979!" in his British accent till we were all laughing hysterically. Ah I love the Old School rockers. Then the girls sang me a song they said was about me. It was by some new group and all I remember is it was about some girl named Debbie who was dreaming of shaking her butt dancing on top of White Snakes car. It was pretty funny and really fit too. Lately I have too much butt to shake anywhere, but oh well.

We also went bowling and that was fun. We bowled 3 games and I won one and Cliff won the others, It was pretty distracting cause all the kids are out of school and the place was a mad house.

Cliff and the girls are working on the counter tops today. I can't wait to get them done. Traci was excited to show her Dad her construction skills so I hope they have fun. I am going to dye Alecia's hair tonight and we are going to grill steaks in Traci honor. She says she never gets to eat meat at home so I try to make sure we have meat as much as possible while she is here. She gets meat, Alecia gets ice cream, and Cheyenne just eats non-stop anything in the carbohydrate family. I guess you can say we are all pigs, there you have it!!

Christmas Past

Well Christmas is over. We had a wonderful time and hopefully so did all the kids. We picked Cheyenne up in CO last week and had a real fun week. We went to see Santa with Gabbi and Charlee and then made cookies for Santa with Mr Tony. Santa managed to find Cheyenne although she was quite disgusted that Santa used the same wrapping paper as I did to wrap gifts. She thought he should have found something besides EXACTLY what I used HA. She was also amazed that the Tooth Fairy found her this week. Traci had convinced her that the Tooth Fairy NEVER finds you at Dad's house but Traci was wrong, she did come and she left a whole dollar!!

We picked up Traci and Alecia yesterday in Co when we took Cheyenne home. We spent the evening partying at Aunt Julie's. Alecia and I were big party poopers. I had an excuse, I have to sing in two weeks and couldn't chance all the cigarette smoke, I don't know what party pooper Alecia's excuse was. Maybe she just loves me so much she could not bear to leave me!!!! We got to see Baby Bailey, Aaron and Becca's baby, what a sweetheart. She felt so light after our big chunk babies. Cliff and I laughed when we held her cause it wasn't like lugging around our fat butt babies.

We drove home this morning and the roads were clear all the way. We were really lucky. Even with the bad storm just blowing through, the roads were clear and dry both trips. We took the Durango both times in case we needed the 4 wheel drive but it wasn't necessary. Can't believe that poor car is still running. It now has 250,000 miles on it and it runs like a top. Amazing. Cliff drove it 90 miles and hours over and back and it didn't miss a beat. Sweet. Side note: It was so damn cold over there I about died. It really made me remember how much I hate the cold. I hope I never have to live where it's cold again. Please Please Please don't make me

Cheyenne in the mask she made with her Christmas paper dolls!

The Gabbi in front of Mimi and Big Daddy's tree on her first Christmas ever.

Look at those big black eyes!!

The big girls model their new leather coats and sun glasses. They also got jewelery, games, pj's, CD's, watches, movies, lotions and potions...........

Mima and Baby Oli

Baby Oli in her box!!!

Teddi and Baby Oli in her new ride! I was surprised at how fast she learned to drive her car, She was so cute in it. A hot chick in a sweet ride.

Clear Sailing

We made it back from Colorado today about 4:00. The roads were clear and dry all the way but it was sooooo cold. I thought I'd die. It was miserable. So glad we don't live there. It was great to see everyone and we had a great time at John and Julie's on Saturday night. And yes we have awarded the MVP award to Dakota with mad props for being "player of the year". (inside joke that you had to be there for) As you can see we got our Cheyenne and brought her home with us for the week.Here she is with her friend Emerald. They have lots of fun together and are so cute.

We go back next weekend to get the older girls. We did get to see them this weekend which was great, but we will pick them up next weekend when we take Cheyenne home.

The one day I spent in CO I managed to catch a cold and I feel miserable. I think I will take a hot bath and go to bed!!!

Stay Positive

I am trying to stay positive but it just is not easy with the crap I deal with at work. I have never seen so many people who have no clue about business and have no conscience when it comes to dealing with other human beings. I estimate we will have to file for bankruptcy by the middle of January and in a way it will be a relief. Richly deserved to say the least.

We leave to go get Shiner in the morning. Cliff wants to spend the night in Co and visit a bit. I am glad cause we usually just turn around and leave and I always feel bad that we don't go see people. He just hates Co so bad that he can't stand to be there one more minute than necessary. AS bad as the roads are going to be, it will be best to do it in the daytime. When I checked the road reports it is snow packed and snowing so it should be fun. 450 miles of hell!!!then 450 miles back. Oh well at least we will get our baby for a week.

I got to see my Ollie last night in Vegas. She is so sweet. As soon as she saw me she said MIMA then looked around and said DADDY DADDY? She is such a beauty with all that golden hair and big brown eyes. I love her!!

White Christmas

Well Vegas got 3.5 inches of snow last night. Crazy. Of course it shut the whole town down. They even closed the schools up here . It was just rainy here but I quess it was the whole school district. Cliff had to work today and he said the snow started just about the time he got to the race track so it was mainly snowy in Vegas. It has been really cold. We felt sorry for Digger so we made him a bed in the laundry room and put a little heater in there for him. All my lantana finally froze, that's how I gauge when winter is here, when my lantana freezes.

Well I am ready for Christmas, We go to get Cheyenne this weekend. I have big plans for next week. I want to take her for pictures with Santa on Monday night and let her do a little Christmas shopping, then bake cookies with the kids on Christmas Eve, hopefully Teddi will bring Ollie out. Can't wait to see their sweet faces. So far it has been a wonderful holiday season, hope it continues.

I have to go to Vegas tonight and help Teddi a little. Hopefully the roads will be good. They have been closed out of Vegas into California all day. Weird. I guess the passes got 10" of snow. Got Cliff a pizza for dinner cause he will be bachelor-ing it tonight. Hopefully I won't be too late.

Spanky

Cliff and I watched Gabbi today for Charlee and it was like having our own little monkey. We combed her hair like Alfalfa and took her picture. She is so sweet. We had a lot of fun.

Cliff did more tile today and started the back splash in the kitchen, it looks fabulous darling. Can't wait till it's all done. We are hoping to have it done for Christmas but he has to work tomorrow and then we are going to get Cheyenne on Saturday and then he will probably work again on Monday, so maybe not. We will see. I don't really care just it would be nice for him to have it over.

It is suppsoe to snow 4 inches in the Vegas Valley tonight and it is crazy cold (for us). I hate winter!! Even here HAHA

Snow In the Desert

We woke up this morning to snow flakes. It's the desert folks so it's not sticking but it is snow. It actually is accumulating on the mountains and looks beautiful. Just in time for Christmas. Thank heavens that Cliff got all the Christmas lights up before it turned off so cold. They look beautiful. He even did the trees. The high all week is suppose to be in the low 40's. Oh brother!!!

I am not looking forward to that drive to Colorado this weekend as I am sure the roads will be a mess. They say it's suppose to snow 2-6 inches every day this week over in that direction. Yuck. I told Cliff we better take the Durango. It's 4 wheel drive and even though it will take more gas, the Mustang is so light, I am afraid over those passes it would be a mess. Thank heavens Cliff drives so well in snow, we'd be sunk if I had to do it. At least we get to get our Cheyenne so it will be well worth the effort. I can't wait to see her sweet face. She will be so excited for Christmas with the babies.

Wish we could have the big girls with us for Christmas, but we have major Baby Mama Drama on that front, so maybe next year.

Radical Racing Rednecks

Well Miss Claiborne! Here it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I told Cliff that on this side of our carport we look like we are high class white trash form Alabama.
This side of our carport we definitely look like we have friends in low places, maybe in Arkansas. HA HA.

It's a good thing I am a big ole racing fan and that his name is painted on the car door, just looking at it makes me excited, that saves him.m

Working Weekend

Well lets start with bowling Friday night! We won 3 out of 4 games, so that was good. I bowled about my average but the guys all did better. Leonard & Cliff almost broke 200 on game 3. Cliff bowled 199 and Leo a 191. We had a good time eating a big fat greasy bowling alley cheeseburger and fries washed down with ice cold Budweiser. Yummy

After league, we came home and changed clothes and went back to the VR lounge to hear the band. Cliff saw them coming in as we were leaving and said we gotta see these guys. They were really young, I mean they looked about 16. The lead guitar player looked like Slash and the guy fronting the band looked like a cross between Johnny Depp and Dwight Yokum. We got in there and found a table before they started, so we saw them come in , I just laughed and said "Since when can 12 year old's play in a casino?" But then they started. The first song they played was Folsom Prison Blues and I about fell out of my seat. These guys were so damn good, I mean way above anything that you would normally hear in a road band. They were kind of like Indie Country and smoking hot. They were visually so interesting and their sound was just magic. Everything they did (lots of real old country) but with a twist that made it so fresh and interesting. I could have listened to them for forever and I am so critical and such a hag that is going a ways HA HA.

Saturday we got up and I went and helped the kids finish painting. Their house looks so nice. Then I came home and Cliff was laying the tile on the kitchen counter tops. What a difference it makes and he does such a beautiful job. He is going to finish this week, I can't wait. Then this morning, I finished putting bows on all the Christmas packages and he grouted the tile. Then Charlee came over and we went to Walmart and bought some fabric and I made her some new kitchen curtains and place mats, they looked really nice. Now we are just laying around watching the Broncos game. Wish the weekend was longer, I can barely stand the thought of work tomorrow. I am sure there will be drama.

Martin got home from visiting his kids in California, I am glad he's back so I don't have to worry about Teddi!! Welcome back Martin!!

Tony following in Toby's footsteps

Tony had his first guitar recital tonight.They did a wonderful job and of course he was by far the best!!!

What a handsome boy and such a sweetheart! I'm sure he loves to hear his Mimi say so. He also is doing well in school with all A's and B's.

Lord, ain't we proud!!!

Toby, here is a video of Tony playing "You ain't nothing but a Hound Dog." See you are not the only one who got trotted out to the dog and pony show to do this song!!

What the #$%^@ is going on?

What a stressful day! Seemed like it went from bad to worse at work. It should get interesting from here to the end of it all. Seemed like everyone was fighting and half stepping. I was so glad to get home I can't tell you. Mom called and she was upset and having problems, then poor Leo came over and had to vent on his day out at the base. He about punched the foreman in the nose (which he deserved). That's the one thing about our Leo, he can stand up for himself when needs be. He said, " I'm happy to BE the Mexican but don't make the mistake of trying to treat me like I'm a dumb Mexican." What a mess. I expect us to get kicked off the job at any time. I just keep trying to talk some sense into everyone but I don't think it's much help. Too many rocket scientists and not enough skilled tradesmen. As Doris Day said, " Que Sera Sera".

We tried to go bowing last night and relax a little but the lanes were all full. So we just went back home and watched the comedy channel. I told Cliff I'm sure I would have bowled a 280 if I would have had the chance, then he said he would have only bowled a 279 so I could win. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Claiborne wants a photo of the hillbilly race car, so I will try to post a picture this week. It should be hilarious

Tis the Season

We got the tree up tonight and it looks wonderful! Cliff really wanted to help with the festive occasion (not) but he dug right in and we finished in no time. I told him he's all bark and no bite. HA

Here is one of the new blown glass ornaments we picked up at Christmas. I love it!

The new cowgirl! ( a blond just like Clifford likes them) the hussy.

The new cowboy! (long and tall just like I like them) the stud

This horse was a must have cause its a palomino like Chinook , my Dad's horse when I was a kid

In the upper right corner is the saddle we bought. It kind of looks like a turkey with a saddle on in this picture HA

Another handsome cowboy hummmmmmmmmmmm

Santa is a fatty mcfattie

Cowboy Christmas

We went to Vegas yesterday to my favorite shopping experience, Cowboy Christmas. I was amazed when we got there because, usually, you can hardly find a parking space and you walk a mile. Well, this year the parking lot was just empty and when we got inside, the place was empty. It was so strange.

I have been to Cowboy Christmas every year since the NFR moved to Vegas from Oklahoma City in the 80's and it is always just packed; you can hardly move. I mean there was even a place to sit at the food court (unheard of, part of the fun was trying to eat a $12.00 hamburger and drink a $7.00 beer while standing up). Every vendor had 2 for one sales and 25% off (that part was nice but also sad as there is never deals until maybe the last day of the show). I did buy some blown glass western ornaments for the tree, a cowboy and cowgirl about 7 inches tall each, a saddle, a cowboy riding a horse on a sign that said RODEO, a fat Santa holding a sting of chili peppers, and a palomino horse that reminded me of my dad's horse Chinook.

Sadly the cowboys head broke off on the way home cause they wrapped them so poorly, but I think I can fix it. Cliff is such a good artist that he will be able to paint the little bit on the shoulder that will need to be fixed. So, tonight we are going to put up the tree and I can't wait. I will post pictures of my treasures when we get the tree up. I LOVE my western ornaments. I will have to put them high so the babies don't get them.

We did end up ordering Cliff a coat from Western Outfitter. They had a beautiful silk and cashmere blend tropical weight fabric that was a camel and black hounds tooth, very very petite pattern that I couldn't pass up. the color was so great on him. So there you have it, shouldn't have but did. Then he asked me what I wanted for Christmas since he got a new coat and I said, " I want that damn race car moved off the carport and around back of the shed, so we don't look like such hillbillies." He said, "Wait a minute, I just wanted to BUY you something, don't get crazy on me." HA So I got my ornaments, 2 coffee mugs, and a turquoise and black agate necklace and earring set. I guess that means the car stays in hillbilly heaven. HA Good thing I am such a race fan and that his name is painted on the door of the car. That may save him HA

Judy took all her grand kids to Zion over the weekend to ride on the train called the North Pole Express. I guess you get to ride and see Santa and all. I can't wait to see how Olivia liked it. She is just the right age to start to enjoy it. Hopefully there will be pictures.

It rained a little last night and is cold and misty today. It's real nice for a change. Feels like Christmas!!

Paint the Town

I had to post these pictures. Olivia was helping me wash dishes and I turned around for a minute and she had climbed into the dirty dish water. Then she tried to hide, it was so funny

Yesterday, Cha, Leo, Tony and I painted their living room, dining room, and kitchen. What a job! But it looks so nice and they are proud of it. Big Daddy was sick with a sore throat but came over for awhile and helped out with the Gouda Cheese and he and Tony played video games for a bit. He finally felt so crappy he went home for a nap while we finished. We still have the family room to go but that's next weekend. At least now she can get her tree up and Christmas started.

Today we are going to Vegas to "Cowboy Christmas". They now have it spread out in4 different places so that's a pain. We will probably go to the convention center but maybe not, maybe we'll go to the Sands. Who knows. I love to go and see everything, I get so many good ideas. We usually buy Cliff a frock coat from this guy from CA, but he has plenty of them now so we will probably pass this year unless he had something really good. Once in a while he has a fabric that is so good we just can't say no. We got a beautiful wool and silk blend a couple of years ago that is the most beautiful men's coat I have ever seen. They are really expensive but I guess that's the price for quality and the cut and styling is fabulous.

I

Baby Oli's Birthday

Well our sweet little girl is now 2 years old. I can hardly believe it. She is turning from a baby into a little girl before our eyes. Here she is playing Texas Hold em on her second birthday (isn't that what all 2 years old do?) As you can see the family tradition of playing "bite it" with the birthday cake was not as popular with Gabbi as it was with Oli. She did like it better once she was to the part where she licked it off her litte fingers . Funny girl.

Aunt Charlee had to help little Miss play "bite it" with the cake and she thought it was really funny. She has just the right spirit and personality for it. She just went for it. In fact she played bite it twice. Also Oli was not happy about having to eat dinner before she could taste her Minnie Mouse cake. She got a couple of finger fulls before Teddi could stop her. I finally said ,"what difference does it make? Let her lick it if she wants, it's her birthday for heavens sake! "

Mama and her big girl. One of her presents was big girl panties. She is almost trained and so proud. She kept saying "Mick Mouse panties", It was so sweet .Then she had to put them on over her pj's and wore them all around making us laugh

Yes the cake was a delicious tres leche cake that we devoured like ravenous hogs

Business as Unusual

What a busy week! I have been slammed all week which is unusual as of late. Had to go to Vegas for a meeting yesterday that took most of the day, glad that's over. Hopefully some real good things will come out of it, but that remains to be seen. It is certainly an unstable market and we are breaking into the Government sector and I am really learing a lot about how it all operates. Talk about a game, what a ride.

Today is Olivia's birthday and we are having her party tonight. I am making her favorite foods, fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, green beans, biscuits and a Minnie Mouse tres leches cake. Yum. We are going to eat and then go to the city's tree lighting. Should be fun. Great minds think alike. Charlee and I bought Oli the exact same birthday present. Now we have to go to Walmart and exchange one of them. How funny. Can't wait to see our baby's shinny eyes!!