Christmas 2011

This year Curtis and I went to Pennsylvania to see my side of the family for Christmas. We caught a flight on Christmas Eve at 6 a.m. - Thanks again to Shawn Henderson for taking us at such an early hour. You rock, dude. Also, a big thank you to Mario for keeping our PUPPERS!

Saturday, December 24th - CHRISTMAS EVE:

Ava didn't remember Curt and I, however, she is such a lovable little lady that she quickly accepted our place in her life. She LOVED Curt's whisker kisses. lol SO cute.

Ava and Mommy

Mom made steaks for dinner Christmas Eve, DELICIOUS!

 There are some LARGE gifts under this tree!

Grandma Char is gonna get Ava!

Bouncy, Bouncy.

If Krystal didn't do it fast enough, Ava would start bouncing on her own.

Okay, so I take this and tear it? Can't I just play with the paper?

Sunday, December 25th - CHRISTMAS:

Christmas morning. I love Violet!

Mom almost didn't see that she got $$$ on the outside of her present.
Krystal had to point it out, super funny. 

Ava's sleepy.

Ava loves the camera!

Great Grandma Irene and Ava!

Four Generations

Charlotte (Grandmother), Krystal (mother), Irene (Great Grandmother)

Ava (super cute)

Ava loves playing with Grandma

Monday, December 26th:

We spend the entire day with my brother, Pat. He came up to pick us up, we went down to Titusville for lunch. The boys wanted chinese, so I conceded. It's always hard to eat chinese being gluten intolerant, but it was a buffet - I ate salad, fruit, a couple "chinese" items and drank my favorite hot tea.

Then we went over to Pat's to watch movies. We watched Rango - great movie!!! I didn't have any idea what to expect, but it was cute. I fell asleep while they watched Open Season 3. I wanted to see that movie, but it was a great afternoon anyway! ;-)

We went up to mom's for dinner. Pork chops, gluten free macaroni and cheese, home-made applesauce, cottage cheese, and green beans! DELICIOUS!

Krystal had to work, so we didn't get to see her or Ava.

I love my husband!

Tuesdsay, December 27th:

Gram came up to visit after her doctor's appointment at about 11. We left about 12:30 to go to Arby's and a movie. We went to Cranberry Mall, which is so small these days. It saddens me when businesses close.  We watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. It was a good movie. It is clear that Tom Cruise is getting older, he takes far fewer risks in his actions these days. He almost seemed tame in this movie. It wasn't as action packed as we expected, but we liked the movie.

We rushed home for dinner with the family before Ashley arrived. 

It was so nice to visit with Ashley, I missed her so much. She is such a great young lady. I'm so thankful for such a wonderful family. Ash stayed for a couple hours before going home. 

I added this one because she is just so pretty!

Aunt Leen, can you please pick me up?

Curt and I... geeks!

Wednesday, December 28th:

We woke to a couple inches of snow. It was beautiful. It continued to snow most of the day, which was fantastic. I loved it! We went back up to Cranberry with Krystal, Ava and Pat. We found some pretty good deals at Ollies, then met up with Katie and Ashley for dinner at Bob Evans! 

We went back to mom's and spent a little more time with Ava before they had to go home. 

Aunt Leen loves her niece Ava (and visa versa)! 

Check out the shirt ;-)

Uncle Curtis and Ava

Uncle Curtis, bouncy bouncy!

Peek-a-boo!

Thursday, December 29th:

We got up at 5:30 and were out the door by 6 a.m. - however, we had some car problems and didn't actually leave until 6:30 a.m.  The roads were snow-covered from the day before; however, they were clear enough for safe driving. Gram and Mom dropped us off at the airport - we boarded and make it to Cleveland and Kansas City with no problems.

When we got back to KC, we had to find our car. That was fun. Mario had sent us a text after he took it to parking for us. It took us 20 minutes to find that darn car, though. His directions were perfectly clear, we just didn't understand them. lol. We couldn't wait to see our puppers!

We went over to Carol's to spend the night. We went out to dinner with them at 54th Street Bar and Grill. There is just something comforting about greasy bar food. lol We stayed at Carol and Ed's for 2 days before heading up to Shenandoah, IA.

Saturday, December 31st:

We dropped our dogs off at the puppy sitter - a student keeps them for us! It's great.  Then drove up to Shen to meet up with everyone. The hotel was a crappy hotel with poor service, but we had a great time! We ate, played pitch, and just plain enjoyed life! It was wonderful.  We had "christmas" since we hadn't been here to exchange gifts. Our family is extremely generous. Curt and I felt like we had received way more than we needed --- thank you all so very much. The pool wasn't working, so Shelby had to "swim" in the heart shaped hot tub! She didn't seem to mind, though. LOL. I wish I had taken pictures!

Curt and I wish you a very happy new year. We love you all so very much!

Birthday Weekend

We have had a great weekend. We drove down to Kansas City Friday night to meet the family for a late birthday dinner for Jerry at LoneStar. Curt and I had delicious steaks, baked potato, and I had broccoli.

Shelby is four now and full of energy and a ton of fun. She is really growing up. It is nice to be able to communicate with her. She has so many great thoughts going on in that bran of hers. She is just soooo cute.

On Saturday, we went to breakfast with Mom and Dad Spencer at Corner Cafe in Riverside. I order a Gringo Omlette. It was spicy and wonderful. Curt ordered a medium order of biscuits and gravy, but it could have fed the whole table. He ate all but a bite or two. Craaazy.

We met up with Cara, Jerry and Shelby to exchange birthday gifts. We gave Jerry some smoker spices and hickory briquettes. Curt got a nice sweater, a new (old) phone, a pair of shoes, The Day After Tomorrow blueray and airplane tickets to PA! Charleen got a candle, breadmaker and some gluten free bread mixes and a plane ticket to PA. Curt and I have not exchanged gifts, yet.

It is both a blessing and a curse to have four birthdays from November 25th - December 28th, not to mention Christmas.

Thanks-giving

This year, we had much to be thankful for. We are extremely grateful for friends and family who are always there to support us in times of need.


We are thankful for many things:

1. Both of us have jobs we love
2. We have two absolutely amazing puppers
3. We are deeply in-love with each other
4. We have supportive friends and family
5. I have had successful laser-hair removal treatments
6. I am beginning the weight-loss journey
7. We have a roof over our head
8. We have stability
9. We are success at work
10. We have warm weather in November
11. We have great cars
12. I'm excited for our upcoming PA visit.

We had a wonderful thanksgivings weekend with the Spencer side of the family. It was wonderful.

It would my first Thanksgiving as a Gluten-free person. It wasn't as difficult as I had imagined it to be. Many of the foods were prepred without wheat, flour, and gluten for me. We spent the time at the lake house. We spent time with Carol and Ed; Cara, Jerry, Dustin and Shelby; and Grandma Betty and Peg. It was great.

We, of course, played lots of PITCH! I had one day where I was on the winning team for EVERY game; then the next day, I was on the losing team for EVERY game. Yeah, it was interesting. :O) It's such a fun game, I'm glad I learned how to play.

We made "TURKEY'S" and "Pilgrim's Hat's" for fun.  Ours were a little different to ensure the gluten free aspect, but they were essentially this look. It was pretty fun.

 

Here were the pilgrim hats that Carol made:

Curt and I are competing to see who can read the Fallen series by Lauren Kate first. We have both read Fallen and are now reading Torment. They are good reads. The competition isn't necessary, but fun.

An update

We have had extremely busy lives these last few months. It seems that we are always on the go - without much to show for it.

Charleen Teaching:

My second year at Tarkio High School is exceptional. I absolutely love my jobs. My students constantly challenge and motivate me. I appreciate their hard work and strength. It's amazing the difference a year makes in the relationships in the building. Students already know what to expect from me and they "think" they have me all figured, which makes them behave in a very different way. It's hard to explain, but if you are an educator, you understand.

This year I took on the JH Cheer sponsor position, which has kept me exceptionally busy. Football season wasn't nearly as hectic as basketball season since there weren't as many games. We have so many basketball games that we get in about one practice a week. It shows, too. The girls were doing very well, but without practices, the are beginning to struggle. I can see a direct correlation. We have such an amazing team, I am thankful for these 5 young ladies.

Curtis Programming:

Curtis LOVES his work. He is successful and really understands his projects, which makes his day more enjoyable. I'm grateful for this. He has been there since November of 2009, so it's coming up on 2 years of working with this company. I'm glad that he is happy there. He has gotten several promotions and has worked hard to earn every one. He is a great web programmer.

Missing Family:

We rarely get to see family much living here in NWMO. It's hard sometimes, because honestly, we don't really have many friends here yet. I have lived here for a year, but people are not really as open as I thought they would be. They have their friends and family and don't seem to be all that interested in getting to know anyone new. Curt is very shy, which makes people unsure sometimes. I wish everyone could see how amazing he is!

Laser Hair Removal:

I have now had 4 of the 6 treatments and have noticed significant changes in hair growth. I am feeling extremely happy and confident with the progress. I know that people still judge me when they see it, but I also know that it is not who I am. This is a new revelation for me, honestly. I struggled trying to overcompensate for this hideous part of my life, but honestly, I wish I had realized that it really doesn't matter what others think of your appearance - what matters is how you behave.

Family Planning:

Curtis and I are still unsure of what our future holds in this department. We are discussing the possibility of starting a family, but have not decided how quickly we want that to happen. We are both very happy with our life together right now. Bringing a baby into the mix will change the dynamics completely - in so many wonderful ways - we just want to make sure we are ready to move into that next chapter.

Many Upcoming Decisions:

Carol is retiring in December of 2013, which gives Curtis and I a year to decide what we are going to do about the house in Kansas City. It could become a rental property, but we aren't prepared financially for a renter to completely take us to the cleaner and even when someone seems to be a perfect fit, it might not work out. We are open to many possibilities right now, though.

Education:

I am planning to go back to school to get my masters degree. I have been toying with the idea for quite some time, but I think we are finally in a position where I could begin to take classes without too much interference.

Holidays:

We are going to spend Thanksgiving with the Spencer side of the family at the lake. We are very much looking forward to 5 days of relaxing!

We are going to spend Christmas with the McCrea side of the family. We are flying into PA Christmas Eve and leaving the 29th. We will then spend New Year's Eve with the Spencer clan. Busy holidays, but I am VERY much looking forward to seeing my niece Ava.

My Niece:

Ava has gotten so big and I can't believe how much of her life I am missing. I wish I could see her more often. This three times a year thing is for the birds; however, short of moving to PA, this is the way it has to be. I guess she is beginning to talk and get her teeth. She is crawling like a mad-woman, too! Can't wait to see her in 5.5 weeks!!!

We LOVE and MISS family and friends who we don't see as often as we'd like. We are forever grateful for you and for your love.

Vacation July 8-18, 2011

We left the pups with Grandma and Grandpa Spencer July 5th and spent a week at home waiting for vacation to begin. Curt worked long hours preparing to take 10 days away from work.

We left July 8th and heading North toward Des Moines, IA. We checked into our hotel excited for the start of our vacation.

SATURDAY:
In Des Moines, we went to breakfast with Jamie Reinert at Corner Cafe in Urbandale, IA. She is a friend via another friend. We had never met before. She is such a great lady and I'm glad to have met her.  She has such a great personality and love for life!

Curt ordered two slices of french toast; they were HUGE! He almost couldn't finish them, they were so big!

After breakfast, we drove 5 hours to Chicago. We stopped and had a picnic on Lake Michigan before heading into the city. The first stop was The Skydeck at Willis Tower! It was AMAZING!

After we left the skydeck, we went to dinner at Aurella's for pizza. I ate a delicious gluten free pizza and LOVED every bite of it. We decided to take the "L" to the John Hancock Observatory. We were there just before sunset and it was gorgeous. We took so many amazing photos, check my facebook if interested.

We decided that we would walk down to Navy Pier. It wasn't far and was a beautiful walk. It wasn't too hot and we walked down tree covered streets, which was perfect. We walked along the water and almost got ran over by a biker who wasn't paying attention. The sand on the beach was so hot that I was worried that my feet were burning.

Navy Pier was beautiful and crowded. We watched a comedy show briefly and enjoyed fireworks over the water. The skyline was stunning at night.

We headed to our hotel and crashed, we were exhausted.

SUNDAY:
We got up and went to the Adler Planetarium. We parked at Soldier Field and walked over to the planetarium. It was pretty cool. We watched a very neat 3D movie about the galaxies. Lots of interesting factoids all over. Curt did the alter gravity test and he said it was a very cool feeling to feel weightless.

We went to the Shedd Aquarium next as came highly recommended by SO many people. It was spectacular. There were so many different species and it was so awesome. We watched a dolphin show, too. It was fun. I'm glad that it was recommended. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit. There was almost too much to see in our short visit. We could have easily spent much more time exploring the aquarium. The Jellies exhibit was amazing!! Most definitely one of favorite parts.

The last stop in Chicago was the Field Museum. They have a REALLY amazing Egyptian exhibit. We walked the nature trail. I realized far too late that we could have spent the entire day in this museum alone. I had no idea what was in store for us. We were pleasantly surprised by all that was there to discover. We did not have nearly enough time to enjoy all the exhibits. We did have a great time, though.

FYI: If you EVER go to a city that offers the city pass and you plan to visit some of the attractions, purchase a CITY PASS. Not only does it save you tons of money, it also allows you to cut to the front of the line. At many of these attractions, we were able to skip the hour or more line! It was a great way to get to see all the things we wanted to see in a timely manner!

We had a picnic before heading to South Bend, Indiana where we toured the campus of Notre Dame. Curt really enjoyed the tour of the campus.  If ever in the area, be sure to stop at "Between the Buns" and try their ribs! They were delicious! Curtis ordered fish and chips -- wow, they were HUGE. The food was so good. It was a nice little detour.

We stayed in Sandusky, Ohio that night to meet my family at Cedar Point the following day.

MONDAY:
Cedar Point was AWESOME!  We started the day standing in line for 45 minutes to ride the Raptor. Nearly as soon as we had gotten off the Raptor, a HUGE thunderstorm hit. The thunderstorm brought with it 70 mph winds and some hale. We decided that it was a great excuse to have lunch. We went to a great place called "Pink." There wasn't a single seat in the house. I got a burger without a bun and all the fixin's. It was YUMMY. We managed to get a table with 3 chairs for the 6 of us, but it was great to have a place to be.

We stood in line to ride Top Thrill Dragster, which takes you from 0 to 125mph in less than 3 seconds. It was crazy! The first people to go up after the storm didn't make it all the way around and ended up coming back and going again. It was INSANE! The track bends at a 90 degree angle straight into the air about 500 feet (I think that number is right) twists you around and winds you back down all going record speeds. AMAZING.  We also rode The Corkscrew, PowerTower, Millenium Force, Maverick, and Blue Streak. PowerTower almost was the end of me. It was RIDICULOUS. It took you up 240 feet in the air, holds you for 5 seconds, then forces you toward the ground. I thought I was going to DIE! It was crazy awesome and terrifying. Not sure I'm brave enough to EVER do that again.

As with every amusement park, there are a few "water rides" that are available to the ride only side. I'll tell you that these are the BEST dry water rides I have ever been on. We got drenched. Seriously. It looked like we had jumped in the lake, clothes and all. It was crazy.  The first was Snake River Falls. It is your typical stand on the bridge and get wet by the riders, but this one... wow. We rode the ride and got very wet, but then we went and stood on the bridge. The first time wasn't all that great, we got wet, but nothing to write home about. Everyone went rushing off to the next ride, but Curt and I wanted to stay and have another boat come through and splash us. This time... a WALL OF WATER pushed us back and we were completely saturated. It was insane. The wall of water literally pushed us back a step or two as it rushed passed us. Curt and I loved it!  Thunder Canyon was cool because there were five waterfalls that were intense. My brother, Pat, got completely pummeled by the set of three. It was awesome. Poor Curt made us go again because he hadn't gotten wet at all on that ride. Not that he wasn't already plenty soaked.

TUESDAY:
We went to Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Of course, there aren't any cameras or photos permitted, so this is all we were able to manage. We did get a picture of the bus, too; however, I can't seem to find that picture right now. It was pretty awesome. I had no idea how large the inside of this museum is. We spent a good 4 or 5 hours exploring this 6 level wonder. Definitely must go, if you are in the Cleveland area.

After we left there, we went to meet my family for dinner at my mom's house in PA. It was wonderful to be back "home" for a while. We were tired from our adventures and slept well that night. :)

WEDNESDAY:
You can't be a "tourist" of Titusville, PA without riding the OC&T. The train ride lasts about 3 hours and has a wonderful historic guide through the oil history of that area. I had been on this as a child, but it was neat to hear it all again now that I am an adult. The scenery was beautiful, completely nature filled. The cold air around the frigid creek gave us a much needed reprieve from the heat.

This first picture is of replica of the original oil wells that would have been present during the Oil Boom.

 Curtis looking spectacular posing for yet another picture for me. :)

 We really enjoyed this train ride.

 They caution you NOT to put anything out the window because they are old and will fall down. Since they are such old windows, they are heavy and unstable. :) We heeded his warning. Just in case.

 They have an open car where you can stand and let the wind blow through your hair and get a better view of the sites. It was a perfect day for this - not too hot and nice and breezy.  We were traveling at the high speed of 20 mph. They said that they are permitted to travel as fast as 25 mph, but they never risk it. :)

THURSDAY:
We met a high school friend, Rachel Stevenson, for lunch at Perk Place. I guess it has been there for quite some time, but I had never been there before. We had a delicious meal. It was wonderful to see Rachel again. We have caught up via facebook, but there is something uniquely special about a face-to-face encounter. I am glad that we were able to catch up.

My mom invited my siblings and gram for dinner Thursday. My mom is the BEST cook and I absolutely love to eat at her house. She made a delicious gluten free macaroni and cheese for me. It was our first encounter with gluten free pasta, but it was spectacular. I absolutely loved it. It was nice to have all my family together. It reminded me of when we all lived together when I was a kid. It made me feel very happy and special.

It was important for my mom to have time to get to know Curt, so we spent a lot of time hanging out at her house. I wanted mom to be able to see what an amazing man he is. This is the longest they have been together and it was a great time to get to know each other.

My beautiful niece, Ava, is getting so big. She turned 4 months on the 17th, which is CRAZY. She is growing so fast and I am missing so much.

FRIDAY:
We wanted a relaxing day with family, so we planned to go to Erie for a picnic. However, schedules changed and it ended up being just Curt and I that went. We took a picnic and at on the beach. We also swam. It was in the 80s and the water was chilly, but we had a great time. We spent several hours just relaxing by the water.

Then dinner with Chad and Lisa Best at Rum Runners. We sat outside with a view of the lake. The temps were perfect and the food was delicious. I got walleye (supposedly fresh from the lake) and Curt ordered crab cakes. Lisa and I are friends from high school. We were on a traveling drama team together. Seeing her today reminded me how much I love her. She is such a great girl. We have so many awesome memories together. Have you ever had a friend who you are able to immediately pick up where you left off and it feel like it hasn't been 10+ years since we have seen each other? This is Lisa. I wish we lived closer, I would like to spend more time with her.

After dinner we went for ice cream at Denny's Ice Cream Stand. Don't mistake it for the restaurant chain, it is a great little mom and pop place. It's got the tasty-freeze feel to it, if that makes sense to you. Curt ordered a NERDS flurry, HILARIOUS. He loved it!


SATURDAY:
Mom has wanted us to get some family pictures for a long time. We were all there, so we did. It was great. Ava was so well behaved, she only fussed a little. She is such a good girl. We had the guys wear black and the girls wear purple. we looked great.

Left to Right: front row: Brad, Ava, Mom
Back Row: Pat, Krystal, Charleen, Curt

We went back to mom's to take a nap. I wasn't feeling real well and wanted to rest. We invited Pat back up for dinner then we were going to spend time with him. We decided to go see Transformers 3D. It was just the three of us. It was SUCH a great movie. I loved it! I ended up getting REALLY sick that night, but slept it off and was fine the next morning.

SUNDAY:
Mom made us a going away breakfast. Gram and Pat came up to send us off. Krystal had to work, sadly. Then we hit the road.  We decided to drive through to Indianapolis and stay there for the night. We got to our hotel about 6 p.m. and quickly found a place to eat. We had dinner at Indy's. If you are ever in the area, this place is a family restaurant. It is well priced, huge portions, and fun memorabilia on the walls.

We had an adventure with the toilet in the hotel room, which was entertaining. The hose came out of the slot and was spraying out onto the floor. I lifted the lid to see what was wrong and a full-strength stream shot into the shower and sprayed Curt and I. It was HILARIOUS. Curt fixed it quickly.

I do have to say that this place had the BEST shower head that we had see the entire vacation.

MONDAY:
Driving, driving, driving. Lunch in St. Louis at a delicious mexican restaurant at Los Tres Amigos. We got to Kansas City about 5 and had dinner with mom and dad Spencer at Corner Cafe.Then stopped for ice cream with Amanda, Shawn, Tyler and Lucy Henderson at Sheridans. It was so hot that we couldn't eat outside like we normally do, but it was still nice to visit with everyone.

We got home about 9 that night and found that our air conditioner was not working. It was a sweltering 85 degrees of hot, stagnant air and it only got worse as the week continued. It was Friday before it was fixed, quite a welcome home. ;)

We had a wonderful vacation and are looking forward to many, many more.

Upcoming Vacation

I am excited to say that I think that the laser hair removal is really going to work for me. I can already see a spot where the hair has stopped growing! It's really exciting. The pain is totally worth it, if I can get rid of this unsightly mess.

We left our pups with Mom and Dad Spencer until we return from our trip the 18th. I am sad today to be home without them. Curt has to work like normal and here I am home alone for the first time in 2.5 years. It seems so strange to NOT have the dogs here with me. They are my family and I miss them.

We had another wonderful weekend at the lake with family. I am so glad that we can go down there as often as we do. It's wonderful.

Our dryer broke last night. Yep, we have to replace the dryer band. We got creative with the laundry last night and hung it in all our door frames. It worked. Clothes are all dry. lol.The part is super cheap, so we shouldn't have any problems getting it fixed.

We leave on Friday for our trip. I don't know how I will do my blog while I am gone. I have it on my phone, I may upload things every day. I apologize in advance for the inconsistency of the blog, I will just play it by ear.

I have started working out. I downloaded 4 apps that last 5 minutes each: Daily abs, cardio, arms, and butt. I have done the workout every morning and evening for 4 days now! I know it's not much, but its more than I was doing. I'm super excited about that. I'm working on it. Last week I decided that I have to do this for myself, not for anyone else, but for myself. I want to look better and feel better. If I don't do it, I am letting myself down. Curt has worked out with me one night. He is still hurting from the abs workout we did three nights ago. It's a good workout. I'm excited to see results.


Since our trip is Friday, I imagine this week will drag on for forever! ;-) it's like waiting for Christmas when you know you are getting the best present in the world. This will be the first time Curt and I will spend a week completely just the two of us. We have always had our puppers or friends or someone around. It's exciting to have this time with him.

We have so many cool things planned for our trip and we have so  much down time, too! It's going to be a great combinations for FUN and relaxing! I can't wait! I love my life. I can't wait to see my family.