A Trip to Our Alma Mater.

Cal Poly was having their Structural Forum this year.  My work signed up to attend.  I took Kevin along for the trip.  Sadly we had to board the Cougar plane to get there.  We forwarded this picture to our friends, the Brandt's.  They could not understand our hesitancy in boarding the plane, as they are Cougar's themselves.

Kevin made a criminal out of me by breaking into the football stadium to get a picture.

We spent our spare moments acting like crazy tourists.  The weather was not fantastic, but we were not going to let that get us down.  As you can see, we dropped a few bucks at the Cal Poly bookstore.  It is not often we get to load up on Mustang apparel.

We ate at the delicious Klondike Pizza.  Kevin sent this picture to the girls showing them that I was throwing my food on the floor.  They got a kick out of that one.  Such a rebel...throwing peanut shells on the floor when it is allowed.  Whoa!

A true tourist, I took a picture with Elvis in Old Town Arroyo Grande.

We visited my absolute favorite place, the Avila Barn.  I love, love, love it there.

Kevin getting up close and personal with one of the goats at the barn. 

Kyle came over and spent an evening with us.  He and Kevin went out to Pismo Beach.

I took in a yoga class at the SLO Yoga Center.  It was an interesting one to say the least.  I will call it an experience.  For starters, the instructor originally had a substitute scheduled due to the 'phases of the moon'.  She decided to come after all.  I am super glad I went, but quite sure I was the only person that had shaved armpits and deodorant on.  Good times!

The trip was not all play, we did actually do some work.  The students at Cal Poly are impressive.  It amazed me even when I attended school there how focused and driven these kids are!

A Night in the Spotlight.

Boise has a minor league hockey team, The Steelheads.  Kendall's choir group had the privilege of singing the National Anthem at the opening of one of their games this year.  The glowing group at the end of the ice is her choir group singing their hearts out.  She has had so many neat experiences in choir this year. 

 

I was out of town for work, so I sadly missed the game.  Grandma Terrell joined in my absence.  The girls had a blast.  Sidney enjoyed beating her thunder stick the most.   

Kendall claimed that the fights were her favorite.  She informed me that the hockey game was tied with the Meghan Trainor concert for her top favorite experiences.  Seriously?

The girls even took a picture with the mascot.  This is HUGE for Sidney.  She has never been this close to a dressed up creature before.  If she did not have a picture to prove it, I would not have believed her.

It's been too long...

Oh my!  It has been way too long since my last post.  I have stock piled so much that it is almost overwhelming to began again.  I will start with a few ramblings. 

 

Valentines Day has come and gone.  The girls have started a tradition the past few years.  With the help of Grandma Terrell,they have orchestrated a wonderful Valentines dinner for Kevin and I.  Who are we kidding?  It is really Grandma Terrell with a few suggestions from the girls.  Last year, we talked them all into joining us for dinner  This year, we could only talk the girls into staying.  I believe my favorite part was the homemade chocolate mousse.

Jackson is now the proud owner of the Pie Face game.  He and Sidney managed to plow through a whole bottle of whipped cream one afternoon while playing.  This is one game they will not be able to talk me into playing!

Matt and Shelly had given the girls Dutch Bros. coupons for watching their dogs one weekend.  They finally decided to use them.  Imagine what they might have chosen?  Only the LARGEST smoothie they could get.  These girls.

I absolutely love this picture of Sidney.  I am not sure who took it from the balcony at gymnastics, but it landed on my phone.  It is a keeper.

The Interview.

Kendall at 10 years old.

1. What is your favorite color? Grey

2. What is your favorite toy? Gel Pens

3. What is your favorite fruit? Pears

4. What is your favorite tv show or movie? Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Chicken and Waffles

6. What is your favorite game? Clue

7. What is your favorite snack? Cheerios

8. What is your favorite animal? Chili Bean

9. What is your favorite song? 24 Karat Magic (Bruno Mars)

10. What is your favorite book? Sting (Judy Watson)

11. Who is your best friend? Kaitlyn and Hayden

12. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms

13. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Tetherball

14. What is your favorite drink? A&W Root Beer

15. What is your favorite holiday? Valentines Day

16. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Lamby

17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Pancakes

18. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pizza

19. What do you want to be when you grow up? Engineer

20. Imagine that you can become invisible whenever you wanted to. What are some of the things you would do? Steal all the cookies, eat all the fruit out of the fruitbowl and do a bunch of kartwheels in the house.

21. I am very proud because… of my good grades.

22. If I were President I would… let Chili Bean have his own gigantic room.

23. I am afraid to …walk on a tight rope 2,500 feet above a waterfall.

24. Name one thing you do really well? school work

25. Describe what it means to be a good friend: kind, compassionate, thoughtful, nice.

26. What is your favorite time of day? lunch time

27. Describe your best day ever? Going to the Meghan Trainor concert.

28. Describe your favorite hobby: gymnastics

29. Climbing trees is… very fun but scrapes my toes.

30. I wish there were a law that said…..dogs could go to school with you.

31. What makes you feel sad? Daddy has cancer.

32. What makes you feel happy? My family.

33. Pretend that you can fly whenever you wanted. Where would you go? Florida

34. If I could choose a different name, I would choose…Arriana

35. Where do you want to go on vacation? Florida

36. What is your favorite thing to do with Mom? Cuddle

37. What is your favorite thing to do with Dad? Play chess

Double Digits - Here We Come.

I cannot believe how fast the last decade has went. Yes, decade!  Kendall turned 10 years old this month.  She is such an incredible young lady.  She is smart, funny, compassionate and always keeping us on our toes.  We are so blessed!  Early in the month, we had a family dinner party.  She made the cake.  I always wish I knew what was going on in her head during these very intense birthday wishes.

 

 

Grandma Terrell came to celebrate her birthday with us.

 

 Kendall has a great group of friends. 

She wanted to invite the "girls" to an overnight stay at a hotel.  Yes we are crazy, but we did it anyways.  It was truly a blast.  We had nine girls overnight in a hotel and managed to not get kicked out.  Kevin and I laid out a few ground rules at the beginning of the evening.  These fabulous young ladies listened and obliged.  They had a fun filled night.  They stayed up until 3 am.  UGH!  Then, they were up for breakfast at 8 am followed by another round in the pool.

AshLee, sent us this picture of Speaker Ryan after she saw the dabbing picture.  Yes, the girls do it better:)

 

Kendall had cookies & cream pie and pizza for the big shindig. 

This girl...I love her so much!

A Trip Through Alligator Alley.

While everyone was freezing in Boise, Kevin and I HAD to go to Florida.  It was just terrible.  The sun was shining and it was warm and beautiful.  We flew in to Ft. Lauderdale and drove through the Everglades to get to Naples, Florida.  It was such an awesome trip.  They call that road "alligator alley".  One of my co-workers told us that he has yet to see an alligator.  It must have been our lucky day.  We saw them everywhere.  It had rained the day before and they were all up on the banks sunning themselves.  Kevin wanted to get a few more pics, but his irrational (hee hee) fear of snakes held him back.

After my first afternoon meeting, we headed to the beach.  The park was closing down, but the ranger let us park our car near her gate and walk down to the beach to watch the sunset.  We were thrilled to get to enjoy the beautiful evening.

We stayed at the fancy Ritz Carlton Resort.  Outside of the hotel, there was a McLaren.  What a cool car!  The gentlemen that owns this car was sitting with me at lunch the next day.  Apparently this is one of his many fabulous cars.  I cannot even imagine!

 

The conference was great.  During the Friday closing meeting, I had the privilege of talking at the investor meeting.  Yes, it was a bit terrifying.  There were 300-400 investors all in one room.  It was quite the experience, but I survived.

 



Friday afternoon, Kevin and I went going deep sea fishing.  The weather could not have been better.  On our way out to the fishing spot, there were several dolphins playing behind the boat.  It was overwhelmingly breathtaking.  There was another couple with us.  The lady, Carolyn, was brought to tears at the beauty.

We even managed to catch a few fish.  Actually, they were biting as fast as we could drop the line in.  I think I got quite a workout reeling them in.

Here is our crew, heading back to shore.

That evening, we closed the week out with a lobster dinner and plenty of dancing.

Here are the ladies of RedBuilt!

Celebrating Sidney's Baptism!

Sidney has been expressing an interest in baptism.  She indicated as much on her comment card about a month ago.  Pastor Brian called to see if she would like to sit down and talk with him.  Kevin, I and Sidney met with him last Monday.  She always astonishes me with how much she absorbs.  She is quiet...a thinker.  I often underestimate what is going on in that head of hers.  She had come prepared with questions and thoughts of her own.  A couple days after the meeting, she made the decision to get baptized yesterday.

 

She insisted on decorating her own cake.  It turned out pretty great.

 

When Pastor Brian asked who she wanted to baptize her, she said "Daddy" without hesitation. 

We had an awesome day celebrating with family (gah, no pictures).  Grandma and Papa Workman came down for the day (8 hours each way)!  The Nelsons, The Easons, Valerie, Bridget, Terrell and Christine also came to celebrate the day with us.  It was an amazing day filled with lots of love!