Anther Example of How Awesome Our Employees Are

As I have mentioned, Jon's fave football team is the Steelers, and that has translated into Jacob's fave team. So imagine my delight (and slight confusion) when one day at work, I see a FIRE TRUCK in the parking lot next door that was repainted in the Steeler's theme (you see where confusion sets in, right?). So, I grab my phone and run out the door to take a pic. Where upon the truck starts to drive away. So I chase it. Now, before you picture me running down Winchester, I must set the scene and allay your fears. Our Winchester store is set within a sort of shopping strip area, so a small side street runs in front of it, between the store and Winchester. So, back to me, out-of-shape-and-almost-40, running. The truck isn't going fast, and as I said, we are in a sort of strip where there aren't that many places it could go, being a huge fire truck and all. So I just knew I was going to catch it. Oh, one more thing, I was wearing my lovely-made-for-slick-floors-but-not-for-running-restaurant-safe-clogs. But, alas, the truck turned at the end of the strip and started going around the back. At this point, I have two choices: I can cut through to the back and try and catch it there, or turn back around and hope it goes back in that direction. Guess what? I chose the opposite direction the truck took. But not before running my out-of-shape-almost-40 body in my lovely-made-for-slick-floors-but-not-for-running-restaurant-safe-clogs back in the direction of where I started, SONIC. Out of breath and disappointed, I went back into the store, put my phone back in my bag, and struggled to regain composure. Only to see THE STUPID TRUCK TURN RIGHT ONTO WINCHESTER, WHICH TAKES HIM BACK TO DRIVING PAST OUR STORE. Take note: I could have just stayed where I was, and gotten a pic. So of course, everyone was laughing at me. NOT giving me mouth-to-mouth, which is what I needed. Anyway, a few days later, I get a notification ding on my phone, check it out, and it is this fabulous pic of the truck!! Taken by a carhop who wasn't even there for the event!!! I am so loved. Or so laughed at behind my back. Not sure which. But, who cares! This pic is now our desktop background on our computer!

And, for posterity's sake, the apocalypse pic:

A Boy, His Dad, & His Dog

Sometime last year Jon decided he wanted to start bike riding as a form of exercise, and he needed to find some good trails.  Fortunately, we live in Collierville, a town whose apparent goal is to make itself into its own separate nation (and who knows, maybe one day Colliervanians will find a way to completely separate into a new continent...the possibilities are endless). Anyway, besides looking for ways to declare their school district independent (for real, Collierville is working on lawfully unaffiliating-don't know if that is a word or not-itself from the Shelby County School System, thereby making themselves immune to the Memphis City School System takeover), the town also has its own little nature conservation/community biking-hiking trail. It's called the Wolf River Conservancy, WRC, and has its own committee and everything. Sorry if this is boring you, but I am just continuously amazed at how this little town so blatantly develops ways to sever itself from Memphis. Not that I blame them or anything. But I digress. So Jon discovered this area, rides his bike there, and takes Jacob for lots of little boy adventures. I went along yesterday to check this guy business out:

You see Jon's back pack there? It has all the emergency type necessities: water, bandaids, toilet paper...  Gonzo is with them also. So cute. 

 Charlie Brown tree!

 Every boy should own a pair of boots. Because there are countless ways to use them appropriately. 

 "This is real driftwood. See how it is smooth?" okaaayyy

He was in a daze. That kind of daze where you could pass out from utter relaxation or erupt in giggles from happiness. He erupted. 

There are a few sandbars that have formed due to the river rising and receding. When they first told me about these sandbars, I imagined small bumps of sand...

 But as you can see, I don't think we will ever need to go to the ocean again...

 We claimed this land. Take that Collierville.

 A couple of cool pics. The one above was an accident. Looks neat though I think. The one below looks to me like either the landscape of another planet, or a pic taken from an airplane flying over the desert.

I mean, seriously, just give me a lounge chair and suntan lotion. It was huge. And, well, muddy. But I never actually get in the ocean anyway.

Gonzo. We have such fun making fun of him. He thinks he is such a stud.

His paws got so muddy that he was having trouble walking. Not a stud anymore...

I love a blue sky.

Again, somewhere in that land of extreme relaxation and supreme jubilation. 

Footprints from my guys. :)

A picture of me was taken! wow.

A video of Gonzo. He had just been running around in wild circles. Until I pulled out my phone to record it of course. But still, this is cute.

38!!

I had a great birthday this year! So my coworkers sent Jon a text the night before and asked him to make sure I went up there the next day around 11. Here is what awaited me: a dozen cupcakes from GiGi's, flowers, a balloon, AND a $50 gc to Barnes and Noble AND a $50 gc to Carraba's restaurant!!! I couldn't believe it. It really made me feel so loved. It was so sweet of them. Oh, and a giant card they all signed that played the chicken dance music! ;)

This is Sandy, she gave me the earrings that are lower in the post. She is Mexican. We call her "Ardilla" which is Spanish for squirrel. We call her this bc she has the same name as Sandy, the squirrel in Spongebob ;)

Clapping because my fave cupcake is in here: it's called the TopHat. It is a chocolate cupcake, with vanilla frosting, and FUDGE on top. yummmmmmm

I just found the gift cards. I look horrible. I really just assumed they were giving me a card and maybe some cheapo Kroger cupcakes. I wore no make up and sweats. Anyway, I had just found the gift cards, they were stuffed inside the flowers. First, I yelled at them. Naturally. Because they had spent so much!!! But then I cried. :)

 I had not seen the gift cards yet, so Debra, the one standing there, pointed them out. She couldn't wait on my slow self anymore.

 Me and Debra

The earrings Sandy gave me (I'm really good at putting these pics in order ;)

Roses Jon gave me. LOVE ROSES. When I smell them, I don't exactly smell them. I smoosh my nose into them so I can smell them AND feel their softness. LOVE IT.

I don't ever have my pic taken of just me, it just isn't something I do. But all the girls at work made me promise to when we went out to eat that night. I think they just wanted to see my in something other than Sonic clothes and sweats...anyway, this pic actually isn't that bad. So there ya go.

Christmas 2011

So I had to wait to do this post so that it would be registered as a 2012 post, that way at the end of the year when I click the "make a photobook" button, I will be able to just use all of 2012 posts and don't have to rely on my brain to remember to grab the Christmas post from 2011.  Because that would NEVER happen. Me remembering something, that is. Especially a year from now. I laugh at the mere suggestion. So here are the pics I took this Christmas season.

The fam makin cookies. Each year we all make cookies, and we take the activity VERY seriously. First, because some of them will given to Santa. Second, because we each pick the best ones for Santa. And of course you don't want to be a loser and not have a cookie picked!!

 Jacob made...um....what we decided to call the "Christmas Amoeba," because we just couldn't figure anything else out...

These were the final selections made for Santa. We each pick one, that is not our own, for Santa. So Santa gets several cookies. And the amount will only grow since boyfriends/husbands/
girlfriends/wife (gasp)  also get to join in the excitement. 

 My cookie I made for Jon. awwww. Abby also made a similar one for Tim Tebow. Yes, the NFL football player. She has decided to marry him. He doesn't know this yet, but that's ok since she is only 15 right now. And since Jon & I are 10 yrs apart, her mom & stepdad are 8 yrs apart, & Hallie & Josh are 11 yrs apart, Tebow and Abby totally fit into the family pattern that is developing.

Jon made the tree. And literally spent about 20 minutes on it. Even pulled out a toothpick to make a branch-like pattern. And the blue in it is supposed to make it look like a real tree, bc you know how they are kinda bluish/green? Yea. Goober. His painstaking/borderline OCD drawing tendencies make him the last person picked for Pictionary teams....the man is incapable of half-a**ing anything. The other cookie is Josh's. It is supposed to be a present with a bow.  We don't know why he put the bow in the corner like that. We laughed at him and decided it looked more like the flag of Sweden.  That's right. We laughed at him. I told you this was serious business.

Jacob has recently become obssessed with NFL teams. I blame this on Amanda, Zack, Kyler, Noah. If Kyler & Noah hadn't been obssessed with wearing NFL jerseys when they were little, if Zack & Amanda hadn't bought them for them, if Amanda hadn't sent me hand-me-downs (the nerve), then Jacob never would have rekindled the jersey wearing obssession. So, since Jon's fave team is the Steelers, I got Jacob a jersey and Jon a tshirt to open early.  I have always let Hallie & Abby open an early gift, and it is always new PJs. This started out as me torturing them-they would beg to open an early gift, I would say, sure here ya go, and then it would be PJs. Torturing kids is fun. But now they totally look forward to it bc I make it Victoria Secret PJs. Anyway, I try to make it something more interesting for Jacob, but at the same time not too exciting...thus continuing the torture tradition ;)  Jacob actually came up with the idea of painting his old Titans helmet to make it look like a Steelers one. Of course, he was going to do it with a Sharpie, so Jon jumped in on that one...

 Gingerbread house that Abby & I made. Sniff, sniff. Jacob used to love doing this, but this year he got bored. My baby is growing up...  :(

 Jacob and his friend Noah at the class party.

 Jacob and his friend Auden. Both of those boys live around the corner. Fantastic!

 The Christmas craft was to use icing and sprinkles, candy, etc to decorate an ice cream cone to make it look like a Christmas tree. Jacob made his look like a one-eyed monster. Naturally. All the kids kept coming over and saying, "That really does look like a monster! I want another cone!"

Playing a book swap game. Each kid brought in a wrapped book.  Then the room mom read the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas poem, but inserted a lot of "left" and "right" words in there. Each time they heard either word, they were supposed to pass the book in that direction. It was entertaining for us parents to watch. 

The inside of Jacob's desk. Yep, that's about right...

The Christmas Fluff Monster

 My dad has been wanting to get Jacob a remote control helicopter for a couple of years. But my mom kept telling him that Jacob wasn't old enough. In her defense, they all say something like "ages 10 & up" or something similar.  Anyway, this year she bought him one. My dad wasn't very happy with her ;)  But it was acutally randomly difficult to do...We couldn't figure it out so we waited for Hallie to bring Josh, an actual PILOT, so he could figure it out. And he did ;)

Hard to see, but there is a little blue spec to the right of Jacob, that is the helicopter attacking Jacob. 

Josh brought his Weimaraner over bc he was going to be gone all day and didn't want Abe cooped up for that long. It was just too crowded in the living room while we were opening presents for him to be in there too, and Gonzo was just being his annoying self. So they got to watch ;)

The next several pics are some of Jon's side of the family.  I usually don't include them in my blogs since none of them read it, but since I'm gonna make a photobook I have to be thorough from now on!!!

 This is Jon's brother's son, Reed. He is 15, just a few months younger than Kyler and Abby. Jacob ADORES him.

 Goofy nephew Stephen.

 The two Jons(Johns).  So, my Jon was once married to Pam. My Jon has a sister named Pam, who is married to this John.  My Jon has a sister named Donna. Brad was once married to a Donna. My Jon's exwife Pam is now married to a John.  Jessica (Michael's ex) is dating a John.  No, it isn't confusing at all. And no, I have never sent a bday card/text message to the wrong Pam, Donna, and/or John..never.

 Gonzo and Hallie's dog Henri fight/try to impregnate each other whenever they are near each other. Yes they are both boys.

 Jon's sister Pam, the one who is marred to John. Quiz later.

Brother-in-law Rodney. Only one of him. Thank God. hehe

 Brother-in-law Brad and Reed.

 Hallie and Stephen

 Abby and Stephen plaiyng BopIt. Very serious.

 This is Jon's sister Donna. Not to be confused with Brad's exwife Donna.

Jacob giving Grandmother a hug. 

So Hallie and I were inspired by Nicole.  Plus, Jon's mom is the type to never get rid of anything, even if it is a huge apocalyptic/type painting from the 70s.  Seriously, this painting that she had hanging in the living room reminded me of  New York, the day after the apocalypse. Very depressing. So I asked Hallie if I bought the supplies, could she please help me remedy this situation. We chose a Bible verse. Jon's mom loved it.

 

 Crying/reading the verse

Hanging above her TV where the apocalypse pic hung. I wish I had taken a before/after shot. I swear. it was depressing. 

Jacob got a Lego watch from his Grandmother. He was pumped. He wants it for school. I envision it lasting one day.

All my free Christmas Cards!!

Jon and Hallie took Jacob to Paint a Piece to make me something for Christmas. He made me a hot chocolate mug, with a place for my lips ;)   It says moma.

 Playing the new XBox Santa brought!!

 Santa brought a new Lego set. It was great to have something to work on while we waited for Hallie, Abby, Josh, Grammy, Grandfather to get there to open presents. Santa is so smart ;)

Santa forgot to eat his cookies.  Santa also snuck into our house sometime early November and took the Playstation 3 that Jacob NEVER looked at, in order to, ahem, sell it so that he could use the money to buy the XBox. In order to explain himself in a kid friendly way, Santa had Elvis, our Elf on the Shelf, write a letter...

Jacob saw this $7 shirt at Walmart the week before Christmas and BEGGED me for it. I did not buy it bc I saw that as the prime opportunity for the "it is almost Christmas/you don't need any clothes/there are kids all over the world getting nothing" lecture. But i did tell the story  to my carhops at work. One of them went out and bought it. And that's what makes Christmas awesome.

So this is another great story. Another one of our workers is engaged. She and her fiance live in a one bedroom apartment. Her fiance's bestfriend works at Target. Both guys are Star Wars fans. The best friend was at work when Target decided to throw this awesome 3D poster away. The best friend said, no way, not on my watch, and brought it home. His GF said, we do not have room for that monsterous thing in their one bedroom apartment. So he gave it to my emplyee's fiance, his best friend. Fiance brought it home, where upon my employee, his fiance said, no way, we do not have room for that monsterous thing (can't imagine why both girls were so against hanging this up in either their living room or bedroom???) and asked me if I wanted it. OF COURSE!!!! So, Santa left it out with all the other business and it is now hanging in Jacob's room.  Happy ending!!

The Santa stash. Please take time to notice the case of copy paper from Office Depot. Santa somehow knew that Moma was quite tired of trying to print something out, only to find there was no paper in the printer bc a certain little boy used it all to draw on...

When I was in highschool and carhopped, I had these antler headbands that I always wore at Christmas time.  For some reason, they have survived all these years. Each year I find them in a Christmas deco tub, and each year I repack them and put them away. This year I decided, enough. So I brought them to work and put them on the break table with a note that said, "take me." Of course I assumed the FEMALE carhops would take them. No. In fact, I don't think I ever came in and saw a female wearing them. Not once. Instead, for 2 weeks, each time I came in, a different MALE was wearing them.  The guys would actually switch off at the end of their shift and give them to the next person clocking in. It was hilarious.

Sorry that was so long! You probably had to take a break in the middle....