What's Going On In the Kountry?

We're settling back into the school routine, and Leyden is getting ready for junior varsity cheerleading tryouts. (I can't believe she's gonna be in junior high!) They start clinic the first week of February, and tryouts will be that Friday. I'm a nervous wreck already!

We aren't planning on traveling as much this year, especially if Leyden makes cheerleading, but we have plans for a few road trips. The first weekend of Leyden's Spring Break, Leyden and I are going to meet my cousins on Dad's side for a little reunion of sorts. We've seen each other mostly for funerals in the past couple of years, so we decided it was time to get together for some fun. Not that we didn't have fun at Josh & Heather's wedding... that was a blast! We just didn't have enough time to hang out! So, Leyden and I will take a short road trip that weekend to hook up with the other Grigsby/Buckner girls.

In March, I will fly to Tulsa, Oklahoma for the NALS Professional Development Conference. I will be leading a discussion on marketing while I'm there, and I can't wait to see all my NALS friends! It is always fun to bounce ideas off each other and get re-charged for another year.

We have planned a trip to Virginia in May, when Leyden gets out of school. I'm not sure what the cheerleading schedule will be, if Leyden makes the squad, so this may all have to change. Dad has planned a three-day, two-night stay at a resort in Williamsburg, and then we plan to have a visit with our Leyden cousins. Hopefully, we won't have to change these plans, because Virginia is one of our favorite vacation spots!

Leyden has enjoyed corresponding with her Leyden cousins in Australia. It has been interesting to see the handmade cards that Jade and Skyler have made, and see the sweet messages they wrote. Leyden is one of very few cousins that Jade and Skyler have, and since they are close in age it is exciting to be penpals!

Well, I must go for now... there is homework to finish and dishes to be done. Hopefully I can keep up the regular posting!!!

Oh, deer!

Brad was fortunate to be able to go hunting some this deer season, and he shot two does several weeks ago. He had them processed at a place that makes jerky, and I have to admit that I was a little skeptical about how the meat would taste since we've never used this processor before. Let me just say... it is FABULOUS! The jerky is delicious, and the meat we've eaten so far doesn't have a "gamey" taste at all! Saturday night, I made meatball subs using ground venison, and they were yummy! Last night, I made deer spaghetti, and it tasted so much better than spaghetti made with ground beef. Tonight, Brad made his "special recipe" chili with ground venison, and it was wonderful. I'm looking forward to grilling tenderloin and cooking cube steak!

Last night when I was cooking spaghetti, I wasn't confident that the spaghetti sauce was going to taste as good as usual. I also wasn't sure how the garlic bread would be, because I sprinkled some Parmesan/Romano cheese on top before I toasted it. So, I said, "A couple of these things are 'experimental' and I can't guarantee how good they will taste." Leyden replied, "Am I gonna get some disease or something if I eat it?"

And they wonder why I don't like to cook!

Wii Had a Great Christmas! (Despite the Camel Incident!)

I haven't written a post in several months, mostly because of laziness. There are plenty of posts swimming around in my head, I just need to force myself to type them. Now that we have a laptop, you'd think I'd have more time to write posts. Instead, I check Facebook. So, I'm going to tell you about our Christmas now (long post alert!), and maybe later I'll catch you up on what we've been doing since September.

As you probably guessed from the title, Leyden got a Wii from Santa for Christmas. It was a total shock to her, I believe, because she had asked for a North Face jacket (which she didn't get) and a new straightening iron for her hair (my parents gave her one). We were pretty surprised, too, because we knew that Leyden was having a tough school year and was trying really hard, but WOW, a Wii? Santa brought three games with the Wii... WiiSports, WiiPlay, and MarioKart. He made sure Leyden had enough controllers and nunchuks and even a steering wheel. The funniest part about the Wii? Brad and I have enjoyed it as much as Leyden. We are having a bowling tournament while I write. And another funny thing about the Wii? The Miis we made! They really do look kind of like us.

Leyden's grandparents took her to Orlando for a week after Christmas, so she also got 6 days of theme parks for Christmas. I think she's worn out! (Leyden just hijacked my computer and finished that sentence for me... I was going to say she's tired of roller coasters!) Needless to say, Leyden had one of the best Christmases ever.

ha ha i did it again
That would be Leyden...

So, here are a few pictures from our Christmas...

This is Leyden with Santa at the Zoo:
This is me, Leyden and Brad on the train (picture taken by an elf):This is a picture of Leyden riding the camel at the Zoo:

Isn't he cute? I dont thinnk hes CUTE of all things

Ahem, that was Leyden again.
And his feet were so BIG... and the bottom is soft, not what you'd expect. its ME again im suprised he didnt kick me with that soft and cute foot. Okay, Leyden...
So I guess by now you're wondering about the camel incident... well, after Leyden's ride, we walked to the fence and the handler said we could pet it. i hate that THING its not a camel its a MONSTER!!! Sorry... Leyden keeps typing while I'm bowling... so anyway, Leyden made a pretty Christmas necklace with wooden beads at a craft table at the Zoo, and while I was taking pictures, the camel leaned over and snatched the necklace right off her neck and ate a few of the beads. Now you understand why she thinks the camel is a monster. Below is a picture of her necklace that the camel ate (which we turned into a keepsake Christmas ornament - the kind that Hallmark could never replicate). It's missing a green bead and a snowflake bead, and one of the bells was a little crushed...

heres the evedence!

Leyden was a little upset about the incident, but the sweet lady at the craft table bought Leyden another necklace kit and when we got home, she made her new necklace. In the end she decided that all's well that ends well. I don't think she'll ever befriend another camel, though!

An elf named Renzee came to see us for the second year in a row. Renzee was much less michievous this year, and he mostly hung out with Milky Way, our longhorn statue that sits by the fireplace.

About a year ago, my parents got Leyden a cell phone. For Christmas this year, they got her every pre-teen's dream gift... a cell phone with a full keyboard and unlimited texting. (I told them if they didn't get unlimited texting, they'd be sorry.) Leyden was THRILLED, to say the least!

I'll be the first to admit that my daughter is spoiled... but at least she's grateful. Plus, it gives me more stuff to take away if she misbehaves! (I'm thinking that taking away the cell phone will be the worst. punishment. ever. And the Wii will be icing on the cake. Added incentive for making good grades!)

I was off work the week of Christmas, so Leyden and I got to hang out. We went to the movies on Christmas Eve to see The Tale of Despereaux, a book that we both read and thoroughly enjoyed. The movie did not disappoint! The day after Christmas, we went to the movies again to see Marley and Me, which was good, but sad. We wore matching outfits one day... it won't be long until she she'll roll her eyes at the thought!

One day Leyden went ice skating. I got a little sad when she tried on my figure skates and they fit her.
We enjoyed hearing Leyden play The First Noel at her Christmas piano recital. She did an excellent job, and we were all very proud of her. This is her third year of lessons, and I think she is progressing nicely.You probably realize that there is never a dull moment with Leyden around. Here is a picture of her trying on her stocking...

She then posed for a nice picture...

One day before Christmas Brad and I cleaned out the garage. Leyden found an umbrella that attaches to a beach chair, and she got Brad to put it on the handlebars of her bike. She rode around like that for a while, until the wind broke the umbrella off. She got a few compliments on her ingenuity!

Here is Leyden as an elf...

Brad let Leyden shoot at birds and squirrels with the BB gun in the backyard. I don't think they were ever close to shooting anything because Blue kept chasing their targets out of the trees.
The same day they shot the BB gun, we all played horse shoes. Leyden's pretty good!

Brad and I celebrated our 8th anniversary on January 1st. We got married 01-01-01 in Gatlinburg, Tennesse. We were very lucky to be able to go back to Gatlinburg the second weekend in December with two other couples, and we had a great time with our friends playing in the snow, shopping, and eating good food.

When I look back on the past eight years, I realize that it hasn't always been easy, but it has definitely been worth it. I am so grateful to God for putting Brad in our lives.

Well, that covers the past few weeks! Hopefully, I'll get you filled in on the events of fall. It has been a whirlwind of activity around here, and I enjoyed my time off work the past couple of weeks. Now it's time to get back in the saddle and get busy!

Happy New Year!