Going Down!

• I have 47 unread emails (just today!)
• I have 291 unread blog posts in my Google Reader
• I have 5 work days ahead of me where I will miss lunch
• I will never get caught up at work (at least until the calendar says September)
• I have no time to read blogs at work this week!
• My Mother’s Birthday was last Sunday….the cards are still in the car
• But I get to go see my Mom (1 hour away) on Saturday (Yea!)
• I have to work 2 hours on Sunday (but I can take my kids)
• I missed A Day For Quotes, Take Me Back Tuesday, and Wordless Wednesday this week!
• My daughter is a 1st grader, and that went great!
• Help Me! I feel like I am going down this week!

P.S. We went camping this last weekend and had a GREAT time!

See you soon guys!!

Take Me Back Tuesday ~Sturgis Ramblings

I wasn’t sure I was posting about Sturgis this year, but it always just fits into Take Me Back Tuesdays so well!! So here you are going to get a few general ramblings about past Sturgis trips.

 

This first photo is from the last time I went to Sturgis, that would have been in August of 2002.  That is actually me in the middle, with our friend J, and Hubby there on the left.  The big truck set up with the trailer in back is affectionally know as the Chase Truck.  When you have 15 or so people, their assorted camping gear, food to feed them for the week, and well….the beer you need something large to haul it all.  This rig is a F250 Ford Diesel pick-up with a 4 horse trailer attached.  Oh, I almost forgot to mention that I was usually the one driving this set up!

 

The year 2002 was my last year because I got a new job in 2003, and in my office of five people, 2 of them were my Sturgis buddies, thus making it pretty hard for me to get the week off.  By 2004 I had a tiny baby (Yea!) and we have never found a good overnight babysitter to free me up for an extended vacation away from the kiddos. 

This picture above, while it looks a lot like Sturgis is actually Sundance Wyoming.  Basically in the entire region of Southern South Dakota and northern Wyoming the towns end up just packed with bikes and all end up looking like this. 

 

This picture is of Hubby and our friend D.  This one takes me back to 1994, my very first year of Sturgis.

While I do miss going to Sturgis with my friends I don’t look back with regrets that I can’t go.  I couldn’t imagine my life without my kiddo’s, and the friends that go, well they are mostly here in our small city anyway! 

 

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~1998 Not Our Best Year

Do you ever wonder why you have a blog? Because sometimes I do. I look back at the fact that I got dragged in for the giveaway entries! I mean you get extra entries for blogging about a giveaway and posting buttons…oh and don’t even get me started about twitter.

I think what I am trying to say is hey, it is so easy when you blog to show what a perfect life you have. It is so easy isn’t it? To post picture of your perfect children, and your perfect life. You have time for everything when you have a blog right?

Today, in Take Me Back Tuesday I give you a down side of our life. The year 1998. We didn’t have children then, but we had each other, and God decided to give us a true test, the biggest test of our lives.

Once upon a time my husband’s hands shook, I mean like all the time, and we didn’t know why. So he went to the doctor and they said it was because his cholesterol was to high, or something basic like that! We asked to see a Neurologist. They gave us the reference (had to have that for the insurance company don’t you know).

The Neurologist did an MRI, and they found a tumor, yes I just said tumor, at the base of his brain. That is why his hands shook. They were shocked that he wasn’t dizzy all the time, that he wasn’t blacking out!

Four days later we were at the hospital for brain surgery. The tumor was benign, we knew that all along. But my friends, Brain Surgery was well….brain surgery. The doctor (one of the best if the field we would come to find out later) cut into the top of my husband’s head, went down between the 2 lobes of his brain, and cut out the tumor.

What followed was a very quick physical recovery, and a very long short term memory loss recovery. I hate to leave anyone hanging, but just writing about the short term memory lost stage would take about 3 post’s in it’s self, and this one is getting way to long as it is!!

The pictures I give you are from the night before surgery. We knew that for the doctor to do what she had to do, they would shave Hubby’s head in 20 different places, so we saved her the trouble and our friend B came down with his razor and shaved him the night before:

Hey, if you have to have your head shaved, you may as well play around right?? Hence the Mohawk!

A true friend in life, is one that will shave his head when he knows you are going to be shaving yours too right?

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~The Little Van

Take me back to June of 2008,  my Cutie Bug was just barely 2, and my Angel just barely 4.  Cutie Bug had a love affair with the little Cozy Coupe at his daycare, so we found this sweet little Step 2 Van on our local Craigslist!  

 

His Daycare provided warned us that he felt that the little coupe at daycare was his, and even though he was good at sharing, this little car was one thing he wouldn’t share! 

 

But ours has a back seat!!

 

 

But Brother still wouldn’t let her drive! 

 

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~Portraits

Looking back on this portrait of the kids I just have to laugh at the memory. You have a new baby who is just about 4 weeks old, so you make an appointment to get their portraits done. What I didn’t count on was my usually picture happy 2 year old wanting to have no part of the whole thing! After many failed attempts to get her to smile, the photographer and I just had to give up. I had to get just one print of that day for the memories alone!

June 2006

About 4 weeks later in July 2006 we got a different story and my Angel behaved as I knew she could!

And then we have this little Cutie Bug, who had found his smile by the time these portraits were taken!! I still just want to pinch those cheeks!!

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~Grandparents

Take me back to November of 2004! This was probably Thanksgiving that year. At family gatherings I am always bad at remembering to take pictures, just get to busy with all the preparations I guess! This year it looks like my Mom and Dad remembered to get the camera out and then sent me pictures when they got them developed.

My parents bugged my brother and I for years about having Grandkids, we managed finally between the 2 of us to give them 6 Grandkids in about 7 years. My kids fit in nicely with their cousins at number 3 and number 5!

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday

Take me back to July of 2004! Wow, is it really almost the 4th of July?? The upcoming holiday makes me remember dressing my sweet Angel up in her patriotic outfit!! It was one of my favorites for sure, and so was the cute grin she was learning to use! In these pictures, she is about 3 1/2 months old!

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~The Daddy

Take me back to June 6, 2006.  To that 6 week old baby with her Daddy!  I have a whole series of these pictures that I took with my old 35mm camera, you know the kind that you have to take the film out of to be developed!  This remains one of my favorite of that series.  Just seems fitting since it was just Father’s Day! 

P.S. Can anyone tell me where this baby with the fat cheeks went?  A sassy 6 year old seems to have come and replaced her :-)

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

Take Me Back Tuesday

Take me back to the “I must have a very small rodent as a pet” phase!

The year was 1979, I was 10 and my brother 13.  I am proudly displaying for you my Teddy Bear Hamster “Teddy”.  I lovingly raised Teddy from just a tiny little thing, he taught me many things including how to train him to be picked up, how to tell when he was sick and how to make sure he had food, water and a clean cage.  Sadly Teddy also taught me about death, as hamsters only live about 2 years. 

In the second picture my Brother is holding our gerbil “Bernard”.  Where that name came from I don’t know!  Bernard was sweet for a gerbil, letting you hold him most of the time but still teaching you to watch out for those lethal teeth that could chomp into your fingers unannounced at any time!!

So do your kids have or have they had pets?  I know that will be coming for us some time soon!

  

Got some memories of you own posted??

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Friendly Friday

Hi everyone! 

Shannon over at The Mommy-Files is starting an new adventure called Friendly Friday!  She says “On Friendly Fridays, I will provide a linky so that you can leave the link to your blog and have other people in the blogosphere visit your site and leave comment love.  After all, who doesn’t love comment love, right?”

 

If you are here from The Mommy-Files welcome!  My name is LT, and I have been blogging for about a year and a half now.  I originally got into blogging to enter Giveaways!  But I quickly learned that most bloggers offer much more than just giveaways and started to meet a bunch of super nice people too! 

My days are filled with my 2 kiddo’s my Angel who is 6, and my Cutie Bug, who is 4.  I also have a sweet husband of 15 years and a full time job!

I participate in several Meme’s each week, and try to put a few more personal posts up too!  The links to my Meme’s are over in the left side bar!  Every Sunday I host “A Day For Quotes”, where you can show off your favorite quotes every week!  Every Tuesday I host “Take Me Back Tuesday”  where you can post older pictures from you past!

 

I am looking forward to meeting some new bloggers, and if you are too head on over to The Mommy-Files!

Take Me Back Tuesday ~The Saucer Version

Take me back to September of 2004! My Angel was 5 months old and just loved her exersaucer! We had the basic kind that came with no toys and required you, as the parent, to keep picking up tossed toys from the floor and lovingly place them back onto the tray! No matter how many times I retrieved said toys, I could not have done without this!

Wow, just look at those pinchable cheeks! Where did those go?? This was also the spit blowing phase which is what she is doing in those last 2 pictures!!

Got some memories of you own posted??

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~The Bathtub Version

In our bathroom I have this cute little picture of my daughter in a ducky frame. She was just 6 months old (November of 2004).

Yesterday my son asks, “Mama, where is my bathtub picture”? So I had to dig in my picture archives to show him!!

Here is my Angel, just 3 and my Cutie Bug at 1 (May of 2007).

Thank goodness I had bathtub pictures to show him, and he is even using the same little blue bathtub seat his sister used, man that was the best little thing!

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back." If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

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Take Me Back Tuesday ~Alaska in 1984

 

Once upon a time, what seems like a long, long time ago, (but was really July of 1984) I got to go to Alaska!  This was a huge deal for the “I have never been anywhere” girl from Colorado. 

The youth group at my church worked and worked to be able to send a bunch of us on a Mission trip to Alaska.  If you want to know exactly where in Alaska, you must tune in on Wednesday for Where in the World? over at Lemon Drop Pie!

 

What you are looking at in these pictures was something completely new to me, was a Buoy swing.  A Buoy in Alaska is typically used as a float in the ocean to mark where crab pots are for the fisherman.  In this instance, it was strung up in a tree, much like a tire swing is.  Going on the Buoy swing, involved climbing the tree, reaching for the Buoy, taking a leap of faith, and swinging.  But hey, we were there on a church mission trip, so I took the leap!   These pictures are a few of people that were with me on the mission trip, since I was the photographer at the time! 

The first picture shows some bear prints from a very large brown bear native to the area next to a grown man’s boot! 

 

“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if we just scan a few each week, eventually they will all be safely into our computers. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "Take you Back."  If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

Take Me Back Tuesday ~May

May will always and forever remind me of babies! I had a baby born in May, and a baby born in April. So May was when I had Maternity Leave from my job to stay home and learn how to take care of a baby. I got to do this twice. I guess that I learned pretty good judging by how the kiddo’s are today!!!

This one is when my cutie bug was about 3 days old. So take me back to May 12, 2006. The proud big sister was just barely 2.

This is my sweet Angel when she was about 5 weeks old, May of 2004. This picture has always been one of my favorites, because the hand you see is Dad’s. Always supporting her.

I love looking back on those early days of motherhood!! What do you love looking back on??

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“How do you play along? We all have tons of photos from the days before the digital camera. I figure if I just scan a few each week, eventually I will get them all safely into my computer. But you don't need a scanner to participate! - Just find a photo that takes you back to another time. Every week you can come back here and share photos that "take you back." Maybe it is the bad hair we all had in the 80's, the bell-bottoms you swore were so hip in the 70's, or your favorite pictures of your kids! If you decide to participate, sign the Linky below and I promise to head on over and spread some comment love your way!”

This post will be proudly featured at Meme's the Word! On Saturday! Jump over to Lemon Drop Pie to see what that is all about!!