Alive and well, we think!

Hi, folks! It's good to see everyone posting again. Good job, Jill, leading the charge. You can click on the thumbnail photos above for a larger image; then click the large image again to reduce it.
We are doing well, despite the wild financial and climate roller-coaster of life in California these days. Education is being hit extremely hard with all the budget woes, but we feel positive and hopeful that Kade will get to stay as a counselor at his school site. His district is extremely well-run, and it's definitely paying off with the crisis. We've also been keeping an eye on our local school district and how the cuts will impact our children's school. We'll just have to see.
My baby girl princess turns three in just a couple of weeks which seems so crazy. Mr. J will hit the ten-month mark and has gotten so busy. He likes to sit on Maryn's tricycle and pretend he's driving it.
Our older three are coasting on the downslope of the school year.
I deleted Jill's request for this post, so I'm referencing the rest of yours to answer the questions.
Favorite dessert--usually anything with chocolate. My favorite ice cream is Denali's Moosetracks.
Favorite shoes--I love wearing socks and shoes in general, but I'm pretty functional about what I own.
Games--our latest family favorite is SWAP--even Maryn can play it with us. It's an inexpensive card game that I'd recommend for some cheap entertainment.
Books--I don't have favorites, so the most recent one I've read was actually re-reading Elantris by Brandon Sanderson--such a great book.
As to a movie--I don't have favorites here either, but the most recent one I watched and loved was "Cranford." For all you Jane Austen fans out there, you'd love this one. Kade and I loved it. I would definitely recommend it.
Well, I think that's all. Hope everyone's doing well.

A Snippet Continued...

forgot the rest. whoops!
2.I love most of my shoes! I really like my Crocs right now...
3.Clue!!!!!! Hurrah!!!!! I love games!!!
4.Bookity, Book book. hmm...so many to choose from! I'll randomly pick Sense and Sensibility. :)

A Snippet from the Crazy Life of Amber

1. DESSERT!!!! RUN FOR IT!!! YUMMY!! YUMMY!!!! Currently, reeses peanut butter cups are my favorite...ask Mom, I'm eating her out of house and home.

Hello from sunny AZ

We've had an eventful 2009 so far. January brought a host of events. I celebrated my 28th birthday (Can I really be that old?), Cole lost his hearing for about 21/2 weeks, Mom came to visit for a couple of days because she had another conference. February brought more. Cole's hearing thankfully returned. Dan is currently in Carson City where he will perform with the Carson City Symphony. He has been gone 21/2 days and will be gone for 2 1/2 more. It seems like forever. Anyway, like I mentioned above, Cole's hearing has returned and it is fun to have him back. We are back to being silly and singing and all sorts of mischief. He's back to telling me he's "just too busy" or that he's "just doing things" when I call for him. He is still obsessed with sports. Andrew is 7 months old and is army crawling. Nothing and nowhere (and noone) is safe anymore. He's a man with a mission. He is usually mild and very happy and smiley. He's currently working on two teeth and has a bit of a cold, so it's not always pleasant. I'm just trying to survive all the changes in our family and manage all the doctor's visits.

Between Cole and Andrew these days, I could probably invest in some kind of medical stock or something. But they are pretty healthy and happy despite our minor challenges, for which one must be thankful. Dan is finishing up his last semester with all the accompanying major exams, dissertations, and the such. We have applied for several jobs and are hoping to have a job for the fall somewhere. Anyplace is looking good right now, as long as we have a job. Well, that's about us.

Favorite Dessert: almost anything (I have a mouth full of sweet teeth.) Ice cream is definitely among the top.
Favorite pair of shoes: none or flip flops. I don't really like wearing shoes.
Favorite game: I don't think I have one.
Favorite book or movie: Again, I like many a good book and movie, but no favorite.

The Days

Well, not much new is going on for us. Justin is plugging away at school and work, and I'm loving my time at home with Katelyn. Justin has been looking for an internship for the summer, but we haven't felt very good about any of them so we'll see if we go somewhere or end up staying put for the summer.
1.Favorite Dessert --like Mary it depends, but usually cheesecake or cookies are a safe choice

2. shoes-my doc martens with the buckles...my whole life I wanted shoes like these and then two years ago I found these at a thrift store.

3. game -I love pictionary, but I think my favorite is Taboo

4. Book: the Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, Movie: I don't think I could pick but I really like Rigoletto, National Treasure, Gettysburg, and Ever After

Nothing much new on the Ostler front. No news is good news, right?
1. Dessert - depends on the day
2. shoes- none
3. game - depends on the day, but I'm not much of a gamer
4. we go through cycles on the movies, but Wizard of Oz, Great Race are a few keepers

Mary

The Virginia Stevens-February '09

Shannon's Favorites...
1. Favorite Dessert--CHOCOLATE-in almost any form-cheesecake, cupcake, icecream...
2. Favorite Pair of Shoes - flip flops, because they're the closest thing to bare feet without having my skin touch icky things in the road
3. Favorite Board or Card Game- I guess Scrabble or something like that, but we often play on the Wii-I know it's an evil video game, but there's nothing like looking like an idiot to prove that you love your children.
4. Favorite Book or Movie - I definitely can't pick a favorite here. I LOVE to read, and it really depends on my mood. We'd exceed our bandwith if I even tried to start listing favorites.

So now you know a little bit about me...otherwise, our family is doing the same old thing. We work, go to school, swim, eat dinner, go to bed, and do it all again the next day. We did finally break down and let Cody get a cellphone. We are so not in favor of young kids having cellphones, but he comes home to an empty house each afternoon for about 20 minutes. I'm a huge worrywart, so...hence, it had to be done. He pretty much has no freedom on the thing. Don't tell him though, because he doesn't know just how limited it is. ; )

All three of the boys actually made honor roll in the same grading period. That was strange. Poor Hunter usually struggles with that, but he's started kicking some butt. Parker always makes straight As and could probably use a little humbling. Cody just finished taking his first semester exams. I don't remember exams in sixth grade. It's nuts!

Matt and I are pretty much the same-thankfully that includes being employeed for the time being. Our school district, like many others, is working on a limited budget. Luckily, special ed teachers are some of the last to go. Thank heavens for the IDEA.

Well, that's all folks! I hope y'all are doing great and that February brings many wonderful things for you and your families.