Mom is Home!!

To start with I want to again thank everyone for the support and help through the past 8 plus weeks. My trip to Thermopolis was wonderful and I had a great experience but can honestly say I am glad to be home. During my trip of being away many things occured.... our niece Rachel went to Poland to lead and English camp and returned safely, Dennis and Deb are leaving this week for Poland and a wedding in England, and Brett is staying clean and has been reunited with his two girls and 17 year old son, and hopefully my best friend Becky Jo does not mind me sharing that she is pregnant with her 3rd child. I am so glad to have family and friends that I do and all the exciting things that God leads them to.

I have had no difficulty falling back into the mom role and the girls and Ken have had no problems allowing that role to be filled.

The girls did come for a week to visit in Thermopolis and I wanted to share a few pics of the Thermopolis scenery.

Theresa softball team from her Thermopolis

Two fawns that came to visit nightly at the house I was staying at.

Mikaela checking the sulfar water as well as Kayleen and Liz

It's the final countdown

This has been one of the toughest fights for this reporter to have to cover. We have seen both conventional and unconventional fighting styles from both of them and truly one of the strangest fights I have ever seen. I have immense admiration and respect for both of these fighters. They trained very hard for this bout and now it comes down to this final round. It is now or never, all or nothing, leave it all out in the ring tonight. These two have forgotten all about the bumps, bruises, and cuts and are ready to get this fight over with. The judges have the fight scored evenly through eleven rounds, so lets see who wants it more. The bell has rung and both fighters come out of their respected corners confidently. After eleven rounds this has become second nature for both of them. They meet in the middle of the ring and exchange some meaningless jabs. There was a rumor circulating that this fight was fixed, but anyone that has been watching would know that nothing could be farther from the truth. Theresa starts to move Ken back into the corner and starts working on his body with some mean hooks to his stomach. It is like she threw a roast in the crock pot and turned it up to high. Ken pushes her back and lands a couple of quick jabs, but I think he is grilled cheese. The two of them square off in the middle of the ring and it looks like they are both going to try and deliver the knockout punch. If either one of them lands this it will be all over. I cannot watch! OH NO! They both missed! I cannot believe this most unfortunate series of events. They both fall to the mat from the momentum of their misguided punches and have knocked themselves out. As I look around the ring in utter disbelief, I see "The Tude" is getting ill in the other corner. As the two fighters try and come to, Liz looks like she is in some serious pain. The ref has started to call both of the fighters down and is starting his count out...1....2.....Liz is calling out to Ken, but there is nothing he can do from his position....3.....4......Liz tries to call out to Mom, but she is not able to do anything........5...........6.....
....Liz is getting worse and is doubled over................7....................8...................Ken calls out to a friend who tries to get Liz to the hospital, but cannot move her. Luckily there is an ambulance here at the arena, so they whisk Liz off to the hospital.......9.......and in Theresa's corner they are getting ready to throw in the towel and in a surprising move Ken's corner stops them............10!
The arena is as quiet as ScotiaBank Place when the Avalanche kick the Senator's bottoms in hockey. Both of the fighters have lost and to come this far only to literally fall must be heart breaking for these two competitors. I guess that concludes our coverage of this fight and .....wait! Someone is entering the ring from between the bottom two ropes. It can't be....NO WAY! It is....it's.......it's....."Mood swing" Mikaela is doing her signature tumbling to the middle of the ring and she is grabbing the microphone being lowered from the ceiling. Let's listen in....."Before my Mom hit the mat she reached out and touched my hand thus "tagging out". "In doing so she relinquished her power to me and I declare myself the winner of this fight". "I am the only one that did not have a glove laid on me during the twelve weeks, so the belt is mine". There you have it folks and we have received word from the hospital that Liz just had the stomach flu and has made a full recovery. Unfortunately there is no cure from a broken heart delivered from a boy who remain nameless, so we will just call him Joey. Only time will heal that wound. This fight has been brought to by these fine sponsors: The two Christy's, Guitar Hero Queen K, Grandma L, Grandpa L, Opa, Older Den and Deb, Bev, Tman, Unk B and Ant S with the precious O, and Paulster. You all have no idea how much we are indebted to all of you. Sometimes it was watching the girls, a phone call, an e-mail, or a game of golf, but you all were a huge help to our family. Thank You from the bottoms of our hearts.

GO! Go now! Go now and leave me!

It looks like Theresa is pulling out her bag of tricks this round and Ken does not know if he is coming or going. After "The Tude" and "The Swinger" arrived at the fight, Theresa quickly whisked them off to her corner. This has turned out to be a brilliant strategy by Theresa by finding Kens one true weakness....being alone. She has discovered Kens kryptonite as he has been listless and uninspired these last three weeks. It appeared back in round eight that Ken had an insurmountable lead in this fight, but Theresa has played Ken like a Stradivarius. Enough fiddling around and lets get back to the fight. Ken had to back into the kitchen to try and cook up something to defend himself from this onslaught. He resorted to calling Theresa names like Chicken Fajita, but that did not seem to faze her. Then he dug deep and lashed out with Turkey Tetrazzini and that seemed to hurt her a bit. Then without hesitation he we went with a low blow, he didn't...not....oh yes he did, Cookies and Cream Malt. Theresa stumbled back into the ropes with a little drool coming from the corner of her mouth. She shook her head and stretched her jaw and charged at Ken with both fists a flayling. She smacked Ken with a game night with the girls and then a combination of a family walk, minus him, and girls only television show. He wouldn't understan. Ouch! I think Kens eyes have swollen shut and they are going to have to get some cold compresses on those puppies ASAP. I cannot see how the judges cannot have this fight scored equally between these two fighters. We have seen a lot of action and thrills throughout this fight which seemed like it would never end. When this fight started it seemed to drag on and on like a gay parade in San Francisco, but now the rounds seem to be flying by. Next week is the final round and it is up to those of you who read this dribble to decide who is the champion. Please do not vote per family lines for Kens family is much smaller and riding the fence and saying that they are both winners in my book. Gag! I believe both fighters have left everything they have out in the ring and the fight would not have been if they didn't find a way to make it work. The two of them will be pulling out all the punches in the final round, round 12.

Can they go the distance?

It is the middle of round ten of this scheduled twelve round fight and both fighters are looking strong. They both received assistance in their corners this round from new and old friends. The alone time this week for both fighters has seemed to rekindle a mutual respect and, dare I say, love for one another. They took this round to "feel" each other out and there was a lot of hugging and dancing out on the mat. We predict that this round will produce a lot of the same as they gear up and figure out how to deliver that knockout punch in the final two rounds. Both fighters will be rejuvenated in between rounds ten and eleven when they will receive that added boost with the arrival of fighting legends, Lizzy, "The Teen with Tude" and Mikaela, "The Mood Swinger". Both of these fighters have fought each other numerous times and have even tried to spar with Ken and Theresa only to find themselves grounded back to reality. The "Mood" and "Tude" may come back in need of attitude adjustments after being at Camp G.A.I.N. (Grandma Always Is Nicer) for two weeks. One is claiming to be homesick while the other one is holding out and refuses to show any sign of weakness. This reporter wonders where she gets that from.

Getting back to the fight at hand and a quick review of the highlights of round nine. Theresa had the upper hand this round showing her agility and fancy footwork. She danced around Ken like he was a statue. Ken usually is solid as a rock, but this round he had his foundation shaken and started to show signs of crumbling. By the end of the round he had gotten back into his groove and came back to his true form. Near the end of the round Theresa had some equipment malfunction when she had a blowout in the rear of her shoe. She tried to call Kens corner to get a spare, but Ken only heard "blowout". He tried to call her back and to no avail with all the noise in the arena. Luckily she text Kendra who is over in Kens corner and let him know that she had a replacement and a passerby was changing the blown shoe. Theresa did not get home until late in the round. She decided it was time to clean out her corner and got rid of a lot of dead weight by having a "garage sale". Items that were laying around not carrying their weight were traded or gone. Ken was seen in his corner between rounds practicing his golf swing. That is the way he ended the ninth round and how he started the beginning of the tenth round.

There will be fireworks at the end of round ten, but they are not going to come from these two fighters. We hope to see these two fighters finish strong and that they both walk away to fight another day. Ken has tried to land a couple of windmill punches, but Theresa has kept her guard up. Theresa started out this round a little sluggish after drinking some outdated orange juice. Ken is still looking puffy and red eyed, but he claims it to be allergies. Will there be a victor in this bout or do both of these fighters walk away with their own personal victories? Both fighters have shown signs of greatness and moments of weakness. You will be the judge of the winner as you vote in the final twelth round. GO KEN!! Hey, no bias or bribing of the judges. GO THERESA!!! Now stop that!

Ha, Ha, Ha..Oh Superman

We are now two-thirds the way through this fight and we have some sad news to report. You hope that the allegations are not true and that something like this will not rear its ugly head in your sport, but it has. At the end of the eight round one of the fighters tested positive for speed. We are not at liberty to tell you which one, but SHE showed 52 and the legal limit is 40. Sure there is going to be a fine, but she will not lose her license and will be able to continue to fight. Some other oddities between rounds eight and nine was Ken running back to the dressing room in Denver and shipping two priceless packages to Gma and Gpa L. Ken would not elaborate on what was in the packages besides saying, "A dance with Cinderella" and "butterfly kisses". On the way back to the ring you could visibly notice that Kens eyes were red and puffy. We hope that he has not fallen into the grasp of performance enhancement drugs and he said it was from watching "My Girl". In round eight both fighters looked good and it was a well reffed round by Kendra. She called it like she saw it and was more than fair to all parties involved. In Kens corner he had two huge supporters who will be dearly missed these next two rounds, but before leaving they told him, "Ken let the dogs out, ruff, ruff, ruff" (Just don't use any other names, true that L) Ken did receive a boost at the beginning of the round when the Breester abducted him and took him to dinner as a belated fathers day gift. Theresa is looking strong this week as she did last week. Last week she was given her midterm report and she is doing very well. They would love for her to come back and work their after she completes her last eight weeks. Ken is looking like popeye without his spinach. Ken looks like he has no wind beneath his wings. We shall see how these two fighters do now that it is just the two of them. I think we are going to see a lot of hugging and dancing in the middle of the ring from these two. Theresa may tie Ken up in the ropes and....well this is a family blog so I will leave the rest up to you. At night when you go out and look at the moon, know that I will be looking also and I hope to see the reflection of your face smiling at me.

one and won

That one / won was for you OPA. Round seven was not a very exciting round. Ken is showing signs of fatigue eventough he was off from work this round. He tried the training habits of Rocky Balboa in Rocky III and the karate kid in going old school in his training by prepping the house for painting when he prepared for this fight. Sand on, Sand off ladder balancing boy! The weather co-operated with Ken on the first two days and then some nasty cold front came down from where else, Canada! Forty degrees for a high in June and the mountains to the north got up to 15 inches of snow. As Ken says, the only two good things that ever came out of Canada is hockey and a very precious niece. Enough mushy talk lets get back to the fight. Theresa has been a step behind this round and seems to be at a slight disadvantage. She did not have any animals to take care of this week and was able to find the time and energy to go workout between rounds. Ken WON this round by bobbing, ducking, and weaving around everything Theresa threw at him. Watching Mikaela is not hard work, but keeping everybody fed and entertained is a cross hook that Theresa cannot defend. If both of these fighters are still standing at the end of this fight, then there will be no loser. It will all come down to how the judges score each round to determine the winner of this war. At the halfway point Ken has managed to stop the early bleeding inflicted by Theresa and Theresa has been able to dance her way back into the fight with some nifty combinations. The ultimate challenge comes for both fighters in the ninth and tenth round when we will be near the end of the fight and both fighters will be unleashing everything in their arsenal with no support from their respective corners. We will finally see what these two fighters are made of when they go head to head on their own. Theresa may gain an advantage here since she will have had more experience of being on her own in the previous rounds. In the other corner, Ken may be posting more blogs, going golfing more, or completing the many jobs he needs to get done around the house. In the final two rounds be sure to vote for who you think has WON this epic battle.

2008 Family Photos

Hard copies to come out soon! What a darn good looking family:)!! Love to all!

Home for the Weekend

I am glad to say really there is not to much to report. My fieldwork in Thermopolis is going good and we are heading into week 4. YEAH! Needless to say Ken is holding down the fort nicely and believe it or not I have no complaints. During the week after I get off from my site I go to the hot springs pool for and aerobics workout two nights, then I use the facilities wellness gym and work out two days a week. This is how I keep myself from getting depressed from being away from the family. I have learned so much in the following 3 weeks and really realized that even with all the academic education I am not ready to be on my own just yet.

Liz so far this summer has hung out with friends and started in the new youth ministries at church. She is loving this. This current week she is on a missions trip in South Dakota (Wounded Knee Reservation). They do not have phone service there except for emergencies. Guess what kind of call we got......yep it would be my kid who got the flu:) She is doing fine and has stuck it out but they made her call just we had a heads up. Liz also got a letter in the mail just before leaving stating she was accepted into another year of Casper Youth Orchestra playing her trombone. This was awesome!!

Mikaela has spent the summer lounging around the house. She goes to the movies with Riley and Christy once a week and had a sleepover with them this last week. She spent this week with dad trying to get the exterior house painted. This is not an easy task living in WY where the wind blows 350 days of the year. She has been a big help. Mikaela has even admitted to missing her big sister this week. Gymnastics continues and both girls head to Grandma and Grandpa Lights house on the 22nd to spend two weeks with them and their aunt and uncle and baby cousin Olivia.

Ken had the week off this week and as stated tried painting the house. I will keep you posted on this job.

I hope everyone is doing well...as the Anthony household still stands and no knock outs just yet!!!!

For whom the bell tolls

Fooouuurrr!.............Everything is white with little colored stars dancing around....Fiiiivvvveee!.......What? This cannot be. Ken is on the mat and the ref is counting him down. Get up KEN!!! Siixx!........Ken grabs the bottom rope and tries to pull himself up, but his legs feel like two cooked pasta noodles. He shakes his head to clear the cobwebs as the ref asks him, " Are you going to burn the ribs tonight?" "What?? Come again?" He says, " Are you ready to fight?" "Uh,yes, I am ready to fight." Obviously Theresa's added support in her corner between the fourth and fifth round did her a world of good. Ken lost the fifth round when he let his guard down and torched the ribs. She unleashed a flurry of punches to his head like she was beating a rug. When the dust cleared Ken was staggering wondering where he was and it was to late to defend himself. Then she unleashed the knock down blow to his cheek that cut a gash into his manhood. During the graduation melee, comments were made about Ken and Ken would say that this was a low blow, but that would open the door to a ton of inappropriate jokes. We are now in the midst of the sixth round and both fighters are seeming tentative. Neither one wants to make a mistake so they are both dancing around with a few jabs here and there. Theresa has Toby in her corner this week and he is giving her an added boost. The hospital that she is at in Thermopolis is giving her ample opportunities to prove herself and she is proving herself to be up to the challenge. Ken has the added support of Opa in his corner this round and the last. He will head out on Friday and then Ken will be off next week to be with Mikaela. Liz will be heading up to S. Dakota on a mission trip. It looks like Ken will have the upper hand in the next round and both fighters will be challenged in rounds nine and ten when the girls will be with Gma and Gpa in Missouri. Though the bell came close to tolling for Ken in this last round it appears that things have equalled themselves out once again and that it is any ones bout to be one.

Graduation Day

This past weekend was full of lots of events for Graduation. We had our class ceremony and fun awards were given, I of course got mother hen award. I actually take great pride in this title! My parents (mom and dad Light) as well as Deb, Dennis, and Neal came into town. Everyone joined me for the class ceremony. Then it was home for pizza and off to the grad ceremony. Two hours later I have the fake diploma in hand and ready to party for the night. This consisted of dragging the entire family out after 10pm to listen to a band and have a few drinks. Nice but we were ready to call it a night. Whats the saying if the music is to loud you are too old, in this case if you cant understand the words the band is singing its time to retire. Dont get me wrong it was nice but just not my style. Saturday, was busy preparing for an open house for family and friends. I am so greatful to have mom, dad, and Deb around because I basically did nothing. They are so awesome (Thanks again guys!). Not as many people showed up but the ones that did it was a good relaxing time in the fresh air and with food and drinks to go along (again, thanks mom and dad). Not to mention that Kendra and her mom were here and did lots too. Like napping on the trampoline so Dad Light could hose them down. Love you! Here are some pictures of the wonderful weekend.

A special thanks to my friends and family for all there support in the past few years...this has been a wonderful adventure and now it is time to open some new doors for me and my family.

Its off to Thermopolis for 8 weeks on Tuesday! I will keep you posted.

Class Ceremony with the Girls!

Guitar Hero played by Deb Anthony during the evening

Kendra and Shelley(her mom)getting hosed down by Dad Light

Its time to graduate

Mom and Dad Light with the Graduate

Mom Light entertains Liz on the Tramp

Bar-B-Q or Charbroil???

Just when you think the boxing match has ended with Theresa down with the last punch you better wake up. Ken has been coming in with some good blows and showing his stuff and impressing the crowd until........

Saturday Night dinner, Ken was going to cook dinner (I get sick of cooking everynight, so I figured he could handle a little grilling) he started the grill and was going to slow cook the Ribs ($20.00 ribs mind you). He got it all set up and headed down to the yard to do some yard work in our gorgous spring weather. The porch filled with smoke and flames were starting to grow up the side of my house (the house is fine). He informed me the ribs were ready, and what was I fixing for a side dish (as he was filtering the house out from smoke). As we sat down he dug into the nicely charcoaled ribs to find the insides RAW (yes folks when you flame broil ribs it only cooks the outside, but my loving husband did not think of this). So we had noodles with corn and lunch meat ham instead. He was suppose to cook for mothers day the following day but I figured I better cook for myself as the beef may not get cooked thoroughly:)

With this being said I am buying the girls lunchables for the next 8 weeks to ensure the get a healthy cooked meal.

With all this said I remind all you that I am back in the ring ready to win this round! (all with love). Do not fret, if you are coming to the open house this weekend to celebrate my graduation Ken will not be in charge of the Bar-B-Q!

I love you dear husband!!

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers Day (belated) to all my family and friends that celebrated this wonderful day. To my sister who celebrated her first mothers day with her beautiful family, Kristy Barr who celebrated her first "official" mothers day, and all the mothers who have been doing this for many years and pregnant with their next one (becky Jo:).

It is important for me to say how special Mom Light is to me...as she has supported me, given advice, and been a friend in the past several years. I dont think I could ever show how much her love is for me and my family!!!

Love to everyone.

Here are some pictures because not only is it mothers day but I celebrated my 34th birthday. I had the pleasure of celerbrating this time with my family and Kendra as her 20th birthday was celebrated on May 13th.

Misc. Pictures

I have finally downloaded a few pictures of the girls so that I could post them.

Liz and "bob" the trombone at band recital.

Track day for the girls...only got a couple of pics though.

Finals week

Wow I did not realize how long it had been since I had last posted a blog. I do have some pictures to post too. Where has the time gone??? This week is my official last week of classes and next week is finals. Then it is time to party before heading out for 8 weeks. (thermopolis rotation). Ken thinks he has won this boxing match but just wait for 8 weeks of #####.

Updates on girls: Liz had a band concert and did very well. She took a growth assessment test to see how she has done through the school year. From the beginning of the year she to the end of the year she went up 24 pts in math and 8 pts in reading. These scores are awesome! Here comes junior high:( both girls had track day this week and Liz took 2nd in 100meter run (again this is not like her, she hates running)

Mikaela: Took 2nd in two areas of track day but had melt down in the afternoon because mom was not there (this is the first meet I have missed in 3 years). She is now doing back hand springs in gymnastics and progressiving nicely with piano.

Pictures will be posted later.

Hope everyone is well and I will post again real soon

Ring the #%*! bell

Theresa has Ken up against the ropes and is being merciless with her combinations to his mind. Tonight Ken was informed that if the weather does not let up, Theresa may not be coming home until Saturday. OUCH! Would someone nudge the time keeper because I think he has fallen asleep this round. If Ken does not get his guard up he could be taking a canvas nap. He looks like he needs to go sit in his corner on his little stool and have the trainer tell him that he can win this fight. The last round it was the youngest who was having a hard time with Mom being gone and this round it is the oldest. I guess the next round is Kens. His bedroom has become the Motel 6 and yes, they do leave a light on for you. (There are scary things in the dark or so I am told) It is pretty much impossible to get a good night sleep in a queen bed with two dogs, a daughter who practices karate moves in her sleep, a cat who wants to be on your head, and another daughter who can strip all the blankets off the bed with a quarter roll. The cat and Ken usually do not get along, but since he is feeding him, He is now his best buddy. The dog Ojo will not eat when Theresa is not home, but a couple of days of not eating has cured that problem. The newest addition, Toby, is still a pup and is in his own little world. He will do something he is not supposed to and you can see Ojo roll her eyes and shake her head in disappointment. Ken better get his mind back into this fight and remember to keep his guard up because he does not know what is going to be thrown at him next. Ken and Theresa wouldn't be able to get through these rounds if it was not for all the wonderful people that they have in their corners. Whether it is a phone call, email, instant message, or just stopping by they are all huge boosts to these two. Though they haven't had to call on some of you yet, it is a huge relief knowing that you all are there. Tune in next time for "Whom the Bell Tolls" to see if Ken makes it out of this round standing.

Epic battle - round 4

If you have been following this seesaw battle between these two seasoned fighters than you know that Ken took the lead in the third round. At the end of the third Theresa came back with a flurry of punches which made Ken weak in the knees when she caught a bad cold at the end of her trip. She would later go to the doctor to find out that she had bronchitis which is hard on her with her previous lung problems, so the judges awarded her a couple of extra pity points. She also came home to both of her girls being sick and that was a hit below the belt.
We now move ahead to this round which finds Theresa springing out of her corner with a look of determination on her face. She is floating like a butterfly and acting like an OT. Maybe it is knowing that this is the last week away before her eight week rotation at the end of May or that she did not leave as explicit notes for Ken as she has in the past. I think we will see what Ken is really made of this round. The girls have a light schedule this week which will give Ken a huge advantage, but Theresa has strategically maneuvered the cookbooks and recipes to a place where Ken cannot find them. Sucker punch! Ken knows some of the recipes, but beef stroganoff can easily become, "Uh...Dad? Can we order a pizza?" We will see if he can remember to keep his cooking mitts up after this blow. Ken is coming out of his corner looking a little to comfortable in his apron. Luckily between rounds he was able to get in a little male bonding out on the golf course and seems to be getting his hairy manly legs back underneath him. If he has to have his nails painted, do another french braid, (which he thought was a type of bread at a fancy bakery), or go buy any type of feminine product we could see him hit the mat for an extended period of time. We will know how this round is going to play out by Thursday, so tune in to see who is left standing.

Throwing in the Towel

Where to begin....

I truly thought I was ready to throw in the white towel and surrender....but not just yet! Ken is doing a wonderful job and keeping things together as I am venturing out into the unkown. If I have another women say how amazing my husband is I think I am going to start to get a little suspicious:) (just kidding) He is amazing and the girls and I would not be where we are today if it were not for him.

Ok enough about that...lets talk Long Beach, CA. Awesome is the one word I could use to sum it up. We arrived at around 2pm and went to opening ceremony at an Occupational Therapy Conference we returned to the Queen Mary Hotel at around 10pm. Attended the conference all day on Fri. and had dinner at PF Changs (chinese). Returned back to the hotel and had wine and walked the (haunted) ship for the night returning for bed at around 1am. On Sat. we went cruising in the rental car to Hunting Beach where we played in the hot sun and lived life to the fullest. Had lunch on the Pier at Rubys and then headed to Knotts Berry Farm for a wonderful dinner with my fabulous father-in-law and Sandy. Then it was back to the hotel to pack and prepare for an early flight home. There are many stories in between but I choose not to write them all as I would probably bore you and my hands would be tired. We drove home in the mini-van with extra luggage and 6 adult women (this was fun).

(Dinner at PF Changs) (Roomates with Queen Mary behind us)

When I returned home Mikaela had the flu and I ended up with Bronchitis.

The girls are doing great. Today is Mikaela's 8th birthday!!!..and we hope to finish the year out with a bang!!

One more rotation starting this Monday in Billings MT.

Please keep the prayers coming as this has not been easy but we have all grown in our own way and our love is stronger then ever right now!

Love to all

An epic battle

In this bout of two equally talented fighters we have seen a split decision from the judges so far. The first round unanimously went to Theresa when she was in Gillette for a week and her young inexperienced opponent forgot to take the laundry out of the dryer. The second round Ken battled back with a definitive win when he masterfully navigated an overbooked week of children's events. We are now in the middle of the third round and Theresa has taken a hard hit to the jaw for being gone on their wedding anniversary..OUCH! I do not know if she will be able to get up from that shot. Things are really stacked against Theresa this round with it snowing in Casper and her being in seventy degree weather out in Long Beach. Theresa is letting her guard down by enjoying a day at the beach while Ken keeps throwing jabs and hooks by going to the grocery store, doing laundry, and getting the kids to events on time. Let's hope she gets her head back into this match before she has to throw in the (beach) towel. Uh-Oh, It looks like a T.K.O. that's right (T)heresa, (K)endra, and (O)pa are going out to dinner tonight while Ken and the girls are having mac and cheese and hot dogs. I do not see how Theresa could pull this round out, but luckily for her there is still nine more rounds after this. She will be up in Billings, MT at the end of this month for round four and we will see what these two are really made of, because then she is off to Thermopolis for the last eight rounds. You better get the smelling salts ready and another bag of buttered popcorn because it is going to be a long bout that neither of them wants to lose. In two weeks we will update you on round four of this epic twelve round battle.

This next line is for Opa: It is an outdoor venue so we hope it does not reign and that Ken will continue to rein, so that Theresa does not tighten the rains on Ken. lol

Invitation!

GRADUATION DAY FOR THERESA ANTHONY

MAY 16TH, 2008 AT 7PM

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU WILL BE COMING INTO TOWN. WE WILL ALSO BE HAVING AN OPEN HOUSE...WATCH FOR MAILED INVITATIONS!

Where did the time go......

I have been back for a little over a week now and have just finally been able to find a minute to post an update. My week in Worland for physical disability was awesome!! I found that I truly enjoy the hospital setting when it is not me laying in the bed. Also old people ROCK (even when they are crabby)! I returned home safely on Friday only to attend the Spring chili bingo at the kids school. I was greeted nicely and told what an awesome husband I have...not only was he mister mom for a week but he pulled on Spring chili bingo with only a few issues and they were only noticable by him. The house was still standing and everyone did very well with only a few melt downs.

My host for the week was also very wonderful and it was nice and relaxing. I do not like being away from home but it is nice to know that you truly are needed and not just around because you can multi task.

What this week entails..... Not only do we have gymnastic, band practice, and church throughout the week but it is once again soccer season. Liz starts up this week so now we go Mon-Thurs with an activity everyday. I cannot wait until May!!!

This week I am off to California for an Occupational Therapy conference. I leave on Weds night and return on Sun. I will be going with some friends for school. During my visit I will be also visiting with my father in law and Sandi for some socializing. Then I return only to leave again at the end of april for my last one week rotation in Billings MT.

Love to all

All points bulletin

HELP!!! This is an all points bulletin. I have lost the following items: My mind, time, sleep, and temporarily my wife. The last time these items were seen with me was around Sunday afternoon. If you locate any of these items, besides the wife, do not try and apprehend them on your own for they maybe armed and dangerous. In case you have not guessed, Theresa is doing her field work in Worland this week. Even though she has been gone for only 3 days it seems like a month. I swapped schedules with a couple of guys so I could be here in town all week. Wait..Shhhh! Did you hear that? I think that is the sound of my wife laughing echoing around the void in my head where my brain used to be. What has brought me to this state of temporary insanity? When you combine the gymnastics, dinner preparation, dishes, cleaning up around the house, band practice, youth group, PTO, wasp nest the size of a regulation football in your attic, dog messing in the house because you got home late, work, showering children, homework, potty training a puppy, earring holes closing up and then having to re-open them, carpet cleaning, animals that refuse to eat, and the minor meltdowns of girls who miss there mom. The frustrating thing on the meltdowns is that they do not tell you that they are crying because they miss mom, NOOOO!!! you have to play the guessing game and this game usually begins 30 minutes after they were supposed to in bed. The youngest one came out on Sunday night and said that I had forgot to turn on her radio and the tears started to flow. I told her I was sorry and that I would happily come and turn it on. Fifteen minutes later through the blubbering and sniffles I was finally able to get a confession out of her that she missed mom. It is hard to play good cop, bad cop when it is just yourself. All is going well and we only have two more nights and the cleaning crew I hired will be here on Friday afternoon.

Purity Class

Liz has attended a 7 week class through our church for young adults. This class is about staying pure and how to deal with the challenges sex through prayer and self-confidence. At the end of the session they had a ring ceremony and acknowledge that they will lead the life of abstinence until marriage. At this time mom and dad had the privelage of putting a purity ring on her finger and praying for her. We ask all of you in her life to also pray that this is the life she will continue to follow and that the challenges that are to come will be made easier with the Lord and all us by her side. Her daddy cried like a baby!! It has been decided that when the time comes for marriage he will not be allowed to make any type of speech:) Now that is the love of a father!

Weakened Trip

Not to much to report for the weekend. We headed to Thermopolis (hot springs) Wyoming. This is a 2 1/2 hour drive from Casper. Purpose of the trip was to see the house and meet the neighbors of the couple that she will be house sitting for when she is away on her 8 week rotation this summer. We spent 20 minutes in the hot springs and then headed back for home. The couple is very nice and this worked out great for them and us. They leave the 2nd week of May and I arrive at the end of May, I will finish my rotation in July and they return home in August. The town is small and very homey. I will be heading in the same direction over Easter weekend for my physical disability rotation in Worland WY. This is another one week adventure that leaves the girls and husband to fend for themselves. I will update you on how they handle this trip when I return.

Party Time

A 13 year old party is always best when everyone remembers to wear deodorant:) The house was packed with 17; 12 and 13 year olds going through puberty...this was not only entertaining but would have made a great experimental project. All in all in was great, we did a scavenger hunt and the kids brought back 36 non parishable items to give to Joshua Storehouse (shelter facility in our town), we played giant jenga, sardines (hide and go seek game), and did a little dancin where mom and dad showed off their moves!!! Now this was true entertainment. Cake and Ice cream was the traditional event of the eveing. Except Liz got introduced to having to take the first bite without her hands...these are what you call real friends.

(first bite without hands)

(gift time surrounded by friends)

13 at last!

Today was the big day...thank you to everyone who helped to make it special, I do not believe the phone has stopped ringing since I walked in the door at 4pm. The big party is on Saturday but here is a picture of the birthday girl today!

Gymnastics Meet

Yep another gym meet. This was Mikaela's last time as a level 3, after this weekend she officially moves to level 4. This entails all new routines on all equipment. At this meet she took first over all her team. Out of 20 girls in different teams she took a 2nd, 3rd, and 5th. It was a good meet and judged very hard.

It's the Final Countdown

I think it was Frank Sinatra that summoned it up best when he said, "And now, the end is near" My father reminded me of one of the first times he ever met Liz and she was pushing on my rear-end trying to get me into her playhouse we had set up in the living room. She got me in and then joined me inside which made it a full house. It seems like only yesterday that she was helping Theresa and I paint our house in preperation for sale. Theresa and I were painting the shed to match the house when the dog came by with green handprints on his black coat. As I followed the trail down the path along the side of the house I came to the large tree by the front door also decorated in small green handprints. As I came up the newly stained porch with green handprint highlights I encountered a blond haired, blue eyed, three foot nuthin little girl with green hands, shirt, shorts, legs, and shoes. All those things were fixable and were cleaned up with some soap and water, but I don't know how to stop the next couple of hours from coming. I have faith that Theresa and I have done a good job teaching, learning, and raising Liz to be an awesome young woman who will continue to make me proud that I am her father. It will take me some time to loosen the grip on the reigns, but she proves to me everyday that she can and will make the right choices in the challenges she will face in the near future. She did not learn to ride a bike until we let go and went inside and she tried what we had taught her. Love You Lizzy more than you know and always remember you were chosen.

Love, Dad

Mikaela Spring pictures

Definitely has her Daddy's eyes!

Liz School Spring Picture

2 more days until she is officially a teen!

These are her spring school pics. Copies will be mailed soon!

Revolve Tour 2008

This past weekend we headed to Denver. This weekend was the weekend of the Revolve Tour, this is a teen/mom function and I can honestly say was well worth it. Liz and I (along with Kendra/sister; Carley/friend from school; Brenda/Kendra's Grandma; Rhonda/Kendra's step-mom; Tiffany) attended the event together. This is a women of faith conference that talks to girls about self-esteem; the difference between boys and girls at this age; and how to let Jesus guide us and live through Him. Liz bought the place out....new girl teen bible; magazine; bag; books; and a t-shirt, this is all thanks to grandma and grandpa Light and Opa as well as lots of babysitting:) Special speakers were....Max and daughter Lucado, Natalie Grant (awesome!), KJ-52, and Hawk Nelson (girls go crazy over this one), Chad Eastman (excellent speaker on boys). This was a two day event and both Liz and I came back spritually filled and emotionally ready to deal with new life issues (like the boy down the street giving her flowers and is a bikini swimsuite really appropiate at this age).

Mom and Liz partying hard!Kendra and Liz loving every moment!

Mikaela and dad were very busy as well....they went out to dinner and played at fat city (indoor spend all your money on video games, putt-putt golf, and a foam ball room.

On Sunday, the girls went to church with Deb and Dennis and family, Ken got stuck home (no car keys to dads car) and I took a visit to see Brett( he is doing well and making excellent progress).

Then it was a slow drive back to Casper in the newly fallen snow.

Dad 's preparation

As the doorbell rang tonight I got a cold feeling down my spine and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. Something was wrong or was about to go wrong. As my little girl answered the door I caught the glimpse of a male figure standing in front of the door hiding behind flowers. Not a carnation or a daisy, but three roses to which my little girls face matched the colors of the pink and red ones. I quickly ran to the closet to obtain my emergency-boy-come-a-calling kit. I ripped off the plastic cover and flung the lid open with reckless abandon. No time to read the instructions. I was relying on Fatherly instinct now as I put the rubber gloves and pulled the gun and file out of the box. As my daughter stood talking to this animal I knew I had little time. I began to franticly file the serial number off the gun and laid it on the table. Not wanting to appear as inhospitable I asked this degenerate to give me a hand and to place the gun back into the box for me. He asked what it was for and I told him future evidence,...accident,...I mean insurance. Unfortunately I am going to have to buy another twenty kits for Lizzy over the next couple of years and then I will have to get ready for the youngest one. He really is a nice young guy, but Liz nor her parents are ready for her to date yet.

Sincerely, Ken,9mm dad

Valentines Day

Okay...this day was not to come for a long time, but it happened anyway! Liz recieved her first Valentine from a boy, and no it was not one of thoughs cutesie cards you get at school. This is from a boy down the street and Liz says there is no "crush" on either side of the friendship but I think the flowers she recieved today said lots lots more. She turned about 7 shades of red.Try not to tease....this was so darn cute!

HAPPY VALENTINES TO EVERYONE!
I spent the evening baking 70 cupcakes for school parties today, so now it is time to hit the school books.

Toby Fits In

Toby (Yorkie) has adjusted nicely. Of course it is like having an infant back in the house:) Ojo was not liking this idea at first.....but now.....it is her new best friend. Instead of "chase" the kitty its "get" the puppy. She is so gentle with him and he fights back (just barely got his first tooth).

The cat is ok with him until the other day when he so nicely found the cats tail and assumed it was a chew toy!

Welcome Toby

Some call me crazy some call me insane...I just call myself busy:) We have added a new addition to the family as of 2-6-2008. We call him Toby and he is adjusting nicely. This pet will be Mikaela's, she makes a good mommy, however I have not been able to convince her that if Toby sleeps during the day he will not sleep during the night. Life for me would not be fun if I did not have some kind of craziness all the time. Enjoy the pictures:

Judges Cup

Sorry the blogs are coming so slow...school is currently occupying my life and the other half is with the family.

This past weekend was another gymnastics meet. Here is a video clip of how she did. She took 9th out of 22 girls aging up to 9 years old. Their team to overall champions for the 4th time this season. We have one more in March and then it is down time. With her scores she is now eligble to move up to level 4 this Spring. Most kids do not get to move up until they are 9 but Mikaela's team of girls are very motivated.

Enjoy the clip and I will try to stay updated on the blog. After the meet we had a get together with my classmates here at the house, this consisted of board games, WII machine time, and just hanging out until midnight or so. This was wonderful and I am so glad to have the small group as classmates and the unit we have become.

http://s249.photobucket.com/albums/gg231/babybean-33/?action=view&current=385b26b7.pbr

Love to all

Cat in the Toilet

I thought this was fun....our cat gets its water out of our toilet and the other day I had the camera and walked in on him getting a drink. Here are a couple of pictures of the cats reaction:

Ingnore the stamp dates on the pictures, these were just taken a few days ago.







(This pictures says: OOPS BUSTED AGAIN!)

What the New Year has to Bring

All I can say is the new year has come and gone and I am sitting here trying to figure out where it went. We had a very calm break with lots of catching up on crafts, enjoyable reading, and family fun. Now I am sad to say that is officially over for the time being. I am in full swing at school and so are the kids. It is crazy to say the least, I was completely not prepared to return to school last week, and every evening of my first week back was full of activities. We literally had something every night this week and did not get home until 9-9:30 each evening. As a mom I try to be sure we are home doing nothing atleast 2days a week, this did not happen this week.

The weekend however was filled with family fun activities and it paid for the week of not seeing each other. We went ice skating, movies, and a get together with moms friends from school. When we went ice skating we got the pleasure to take Riley (4years old and part of the family, I have had her in the daycare since she was just shy of 3 months old and she has continued to be a part of our lives). It was fun to watch how Liz and improved and Mikaela as well and then to watch Riley who has never been on skates. Dad took Mikaela to see the new Veggie Tale movie and next week I am taking Liz to see a movie. Kendra (our new house roomate also joined in on the family fun)

As for this week we are slowing down again and hopefully getting into a routine.

Side note on kids....Mikaela is as stubborn as always and keeps me on my toes, when it comes to Liz she is still the best 12 year old a mother/father could ask for, except for I can say Ken and I are officially in what is called the eye-rolling stage and we are now part of the "dumb parents" club. They both test boundaries daily:)

Ken has applied for two jobs in the past couple of weeks and we are waiting to hear from them (I will keep you posted).

Today we are in -8 degree weather and snow...it is a day to sit on the couch and watch movies.

Love and miss to all!

Merry Christmas

Okay so Christmas is actually over but.... I figured I better make a post. We headed to Denver and spent this time with Opa, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Dennis, Rachel, and Neal. It was a white Christmas while we were there and we did many things to keep ourselves busy. During our visit the kids went to a trampoline facility and played for awhile, then it was off to a movie. Dennis' family purchased a Wii machine while we were there so we did lots of that.

For Christmas everyone got what they wanted and a wonderful time....Deb did the twelve days of Christmas and it was the hit of Christmas Eve. Both sides of family were more then generous this Christmas and words cannot express how thankful we are to have the Anthony side and Light side in our lifes!!! The support that we have is overflowing and it is the true meaning of what family stands for! It was also nice to see Rachel while she was home for the holidays. I also had the opportunity to chat with dad Light and my sister Stacy on Christmas this made it all GOOD! Our visit with Opa was to short but he will be returning to visit us in May.

We did purchase a new video camera so I am excited to send some videos that are actually decent in the near future.

Not to much to report...during this time all activities come to an end and the kids are out of school, so it is our time to organize and refocus on family time.

School for me will not go back into session until January 14th and the kids return on the 9th. The Fall semester I passed with 3 B's and 2 A's, Liz made honor roll with all A's and 1 B. Mikaela does not get grades yet but is moving forward nicely!

I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas!

Love to all

state gymnastics meet

Last night was the final night of gymnastics meets until March:)!!! Mikaela did a fantastic job. She took 2nd on vault and 4th on beam this is out 14 girls in her age bracket.
I have video clips this time so click play and enjoy.

winter fun

Last weekend was our first good snow fall for the winter season. We took the girls out in the back to have snowball fights and make snow angels. Afterwards we came in and had some hot cocoa!

This week consisted of school projects due for Theresa and holiday fun for the girls. All of us get a winter break until January 8th. I am so excited to have this time to be a family again.


I hope everyone is doing well and I am thinking of you all always.

(Mikaela making snow angels)

(mom and girls having a snowball fight)

Drumming cirlce performance 12-06-07

These video clips are of the drumming circle, I hope you are able to view them.

You have to be in the 4th, 5th, or 6th grade to try out for drumming circle. Mikaela was invited to be the drumming circle "mascot". She goes to all practices and attends all performances. She fills in when a drummer is not in attendance. Liz plays several parts and please exuse getting the directors "behind" in several shots (she moves around alot).

Congratulations Liz

Liz had tryouts on Dec. 4th for the CYO (Casper Youth Orchestra). She has been practicing her trombone very hard and has even gone in extra hours at school to get help from her band teacher. With that being said.........

She got in!!! This is grades 6th-12th and is a challenge to get into. You have to be invited to tryout first of all and then you have to compete against others who have been playing a lot longer. She will be one of the youngest but the director says she has only heard good things about her motivation and strive to work at things that hard for her.

We are very proud!

Congratulations Baby girl on a job well done!!!!!!

Love MOM, DAD, and MIKAELA!

whirl wind

This weekend left me breathless....but as momma Light pointed out I always make time for myself and God.

Friday came and went as we did a little Christmas shopping and then got home to bed to get ready for a very crazy Saturday.

Saturday morning I was up by 6am and off to a womens community group at 7am to focus on my life, God, and to enjoy a little scrapbooking. Then at 10am it was off to Liz's last volleyball game. Whew they kicked butt and took names!!! I am sad to see the season end but on the same note am glad to have that time back that was used for practices and weekend games. Then its home for lunch and showers only to head out again for a 1pm gymnastics meet with Mikaela. She took 2nd place all around and 1st place on floor. Also took 2nd place on bars, beam, and vault. Nothing more to make a momma proud! Nope not done yet...this got over at 4:30pm and we headed to the event center to see Oregon Trail (the girls school) get awards for Lego Robotics. Our school took championship and are now invited to Altanta, Georgia for Nationals.http://www.usfirst.org/community/fll/default.aspx (this is a website explaining lego robotics a little more). After this we headed to the Eastridge shopping mall with the "Drumming Circle" They performed at the mall until 7:30pm (both girls are involved, Liz being a drummer and Mikaela being a Mascot). Now its time for home and to bed only to get up the next morning and head to church. If you are exhausted just reading this...you can only imagine how Ken and I feel physically:) We love it and would not change it for the world. Next weekend: a weekend for Ken and Theresa!!!!

If I have learned anything in the past months....if you cant find out who you are and do something for yourself you cannot be a good mother or wife. If you and your husband do not have a "relationship" you may struggle to have a good family. Find time alone and with your spouse just to remember why you have children!

This upcoming week is my next rotation for fieldwork, lucky for me I get to stay in Casper. I will let you know how it goes. This is our mental health rotation, I am very excited!

Love to all!!!

I am posting pictures from this weekend on the Walgreens website (to many to add to this). Watch for you invite to see these photos. If you do not get an invite let me know so I can get it to you!

Dad's defense

This is an unbiased description of what truly occured in Theresa's absence. Ken had to work on Monday and Tuesday and take care of all the things that Theresa usually does. Ken was told about the towels in the dryer when he was watching the Denver Bronco game and thus is not responsible for anything told to him during that time. While Theresa was in Gillette lounging around and eating bon bons, Ken had to cook, clean, vacuum, shuttle kids around, coach volleyball, counsel his girls, attend PTO meetings, and teach a Wednesday night church group. All in which made Ken and the girls wonder how in the blazes does Mom go to school, pull straight A's, and get all the housework done. We all realized how much we rely on her and how much more we all could be doing to make her life easier. She was truly missed, but it was great to have the one on one time with my girls.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends and family!!!!

Volleyball

Here are a few pictures of Liz playing volleyball....I am coaching and for this last game Ken stepped in and coached for me. Thanks Aunt Debby for taking pictures for me!!!

Survived

Mom has returned home. Last week was an adventure, and it is one I could do again! I stayed with a family in Wright WY and they were awesome. It was definitely an experience to sit back and watch another family without having to be involved. There were 3 teenage girls, mom, and dad. Oh yah and one bathroom for everyone:) They treated me very well. The fieldwork experience was also more then I could ask for. I was in the school district and got to observe how Occupational Therapy works in the educational setting. The kids in this setting were a blast and the benefits they get from OT is unexplainable. It was not all good though...I have come to really dislike the school district and the philosophy, what happened to putting kids needs first! Nope now its all about who is gonna get paid for what services. I want to work with pediatrics but I think I will steer clear of the school district setting.

Now you ask how did my family do.... It was wonderful, they found out just how much mom does:) (bonus for me not for them) I realized how much they can do without me!!! Wow...do I hear a win win situation here? The only thing I realized not to do when leaving Ken in charge is give verbal directions without writing them down. Example....Ken please rotate the last load of laundry and put the stuff in the wash into the drier (this was stated to him on Sunday before me leaving town). When I returned home on Friday evening, and he could not find towels for family we had in town I discovered the laundry was not rotated. Why.....it was not written down! Of course I did write down to take the trash out on Friday and that did not get done either???? The last story would be that a mother does need to remind children to shower, fathers do not! By Wednesday dad realized Mikaela had not showered since Sunday.

I am blessed to have them all and would not change for the world!

My next rotation in December is here in Casper...no traveling for this one yahoo!

Thanks to everyone for all the support!

leaving home(:

Well not for good....this is the weekend before my first fieldwork rotation for school. I will be in Gillette WY (2hrs away) from Monday-Friday. All though very excited, very nervous at the same time. Ken will be here with the girls and I know between the three of them they will survive! I will try to keep the blog posted while I am away...more so the girls can follow my days. Ken has a road ahead of him(he has no idea how active the girls truly are during the week) I will enjoy sitting back and letting him take the ride.

Liz has been active in volleyball and drumming cirlce, her new thing this weekend was to go the "link". This is a Christian facility to give the younger kids a place to go that is safe and fun. They have a chance to connect with others. She loved it but had way to much coffee...this is what happens when they get out of moms site for a couple of hours:) She is loving life right now, she struggles with her friends at school, but her friends that have moved onto JR High still keep her going...and going...and going. Come Mondays she is beat! It is good to see her involved and enjoying life in a healthy manner.

Mikaela has had two gymnastics competitions.Nov. 3rd she took 7th overall out of 23 girls. And today we are not sure I will post that later. She is being kind of mean to mom right now but I think it is because she is nervous about me leaving and this is her way of dealing with it.

The rest of the weekend will be spend lounging out with the family. They are taking me out to dinner tonight.

I will keep the blog updated during the week.

Love to all


Oh Belated 21st birthday to our niece Rachel...Atleast the gift made it on time:)