There's Just Somethin...

About a boy and his dog!

Isaac and griffin are two peas in a pod. They love to snuggle and Griffin gives Isaac lots of kisses every night before bed. He tells me all the time how glad he is that we have a dog.



Make-Up Girl

She loves to wear make-up....and she does it all by herself :)

Nothin

There isn't much to report around here. I have a couple things to post and will do it soon, just don't' feel up to it today, plus it doesn't seem like anyone really looks at this thing anymore, so since it's mostly for me I will get around to updating when I feel like it. =]

Tiny Twi-hard

Briana LOVES the Twilight Saga, but if you ask her if she is on team Edward or team Jacob her answer is Emmett....this girl loves Emmett!!! But she does also like Edward.

More Updates...

It's been a while since we had anything to post, but alas, when I go away with the kids David has a little time to play. So visit the home blog if you want to see what he did:

www.houseofhortons.blogspot.com

Submarine

Isaac the scientist built this "submarine" using his imagination and some things he found around the house. How smart is he?!

Self Discipline = Weight Loss

I decided to finally get serious about losing the "baby weight". I ate healthy and hit the gym 5 days a week over the past few months, and have lost almost 30 pounds.
I went from 150+ lbs to 125 lbs and I feel GREAT!
It is embarrassing to post the before pic, but it was me...the old me, and I never want to look that way again!!!

Santa 'n' Me

We Will Miss Him...

Strider 11.02.01 to 10.16.09

Our hearts go out to our next door neighbors Brian, Aileen, and Alex Grabill who lost a dear family member yesterday. Since moving into our home 2 years ago Strider had become not only a friend, but also an unofficial member of our family. We would often buy him treats that Isaac and Briana would feed him through the backyard fence. They would play with him and snuggle him every time they got the chance. They also loved his tricks.

He was a great, gentle dog and loved my kids.

I will miss seeing him sitting in the backyard, staring at my house, waiting for us to come outside with the treats. I know that the kids (and David and I too) will miss him a bunch.

Since their blog is private, I copied this directly from it and posted it below:

(I hope they don't mind)

"Words cannot express the depth of loss we feel today as we report that our beloved four-legged son, Strider, has passed away. What started as what we believed was the typical "ate something he shouldn't have" tummy distressed turned into a discovery of a malignant cancer that was running through his body. A large mass attached the wall of his abdomen and numerous masses in his GI tract. There was no option to remove the large mass and based on consultation with the Vet Surgeon and we determined the best option was to let him go peacefully.
Strider was the kind of Labrador that made those that met him want a Labrador. He was kind, gentle, wise, noble, soft, and laid back (that last one was very unlabrador like!). He taught us so much - more than most humans in our lives - he made us better parents for Alex. better friends, and better people. He impacted every life he touched. Please share a word, a thought, a story, or a feeling to add to this obituary.
Strider. We love you so very much. Thank you for all that you did for us. We don't want to continue with life without you, but we must, we will, and we will keep you in our hearts (and on our black clothing for some time)."

New Moon Trailer

OMG!!!

I CAN"T WAIT to see this movie!!

New 'New Moon' Trailer

Truisms

My friend put this on her blog and I've read it a bunch of times and I decided just to copy it here. It's scary how true they are. I'm posting it here for your viewing pleasure so enjoy:
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Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
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I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?
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Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.
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I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
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The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.
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Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but deliberately choose not to be friends with?
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There is a great need for sarcasm font.
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Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw it.
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I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.
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How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
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I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.
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I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
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The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.
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"Lol" has gone from meaning "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".
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I have a hard time discerning the fine line between boredom and hunger.
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Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".
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How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?
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I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!
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Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies".
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While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.
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MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
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Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
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I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.
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Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
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I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
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Bad decisions make good stories.
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Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!
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Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?
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If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.
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Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....
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You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.
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Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.
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There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.
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I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my huge document that I swear I did not make any changes to.
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"Hand wash only" means I will never wash this, ever.
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I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'
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While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.
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I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and runaway?
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I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.
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I like all of the music on my Ipod, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs.
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Why is a school zone 15 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...
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As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.
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Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
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It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.
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I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
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Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.
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The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fatty before dinner.
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Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...
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It really ticks me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.
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I wonder if cops ever get ticked at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.
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What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?
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My four year old son asked me the other day in the car "Mom, what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How do I respond to that?
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Was learning cursive really necessary?
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More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
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Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no Internet or message boards or faq's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

Holy Corolla!

MSRP: $18,698

Sale Price: $17,224

Dealer Incentive: $1,750 OFF

Toyota's Graduate Program: $1,000 OFF

Government C.A.R.S. Program: $ 4,500 OFF

Getting a Brand New $18,689 Toyota Corolla for $9,974: PRICELESS

We "traded" in our 1993 Chevy pickup truck using the Cash for Clunkers program set up by the government.

Did You Know Video

Here is a little something to think about:

http://www.schooltube.com/video/25514/Did-You-Know-30

Empty Nest

By the time I left for work at 5:30 the last two birds were gone. The kids were kind of sad, but yet excited at the same time that now their babies knew how to fly. Now it's time to clean up after them!

Home Improvement

I posted an update on the house blog, so check it out:

http://www.houseofhortons.blogspot.com/

Babies No Longer

Our babies are getting so big! They are trying to fly, so it won't be long until they are gone. We aren't sure if we will let them nest there again next year (since they leave messes on the porch) but who knows!

UPDATE::: As of 2 pm this afternoon we are down to 2 babies out of 4...which means that 2 of them have learned to fly and are now off on their own...and the other 2 are trying!!

We Have Babies

The eggs hatched and we have 4 , maybe 5 little baby birds in the nest by our front door

The kide enjoy watching them.

Tornados In Erie?

Picture this:

Isaac is playing in the back yard on the deck in the rain when he hears the neighbor say "hey, did you see that? I think it's a funnel cloud!" Now for those of you who know Isaac you know that his little bum went absolutely numb. He LOVES tornadoes and pretty much ANY natural disaster.

In the meantime I am in the bathroom getting ready for work and David comes in and gives me a kiss saying "If we aren't back by the time you go to work have a good time we love you." I asked him where we was going and he said that the neighbor told him there was a funnel cloud and they were going to go see it. So he jumped in the car with the kids, picked up the next-door neighbor and took off to see the tornado.

Just before they left the power went out and I guess it was out for over an hour or so. When I got in the truck to head to work I caught the end of a tornado warning telling people to take precautions. People were pulled over left and right on the roads with their cameras and cell phones out taking pictures. This guy at work got an AWESOME picture. Here is one that a friend had, one that our neighbor took, and a video clip of my amateur storm chaser.

Yesterday we had another tornado warning for clouds that were forming right over us in Erie.

We never thought we'd see a single tornado let alone have all this happen in a couple days! It's been pretty cool, just ask Isaac!

Someone New

Meet : Calamari

He is the newest member of our household. (he's not a member of the family since studies show fish don't have feelings...ask any vegetarian).

He is a Siamese Fighting Fish.

We had an African Dwarf Frog named Kermit that we'd had since January, but he passed away while we were on vacation. We held a small service in the half bath this morning with a short eulogy followed by a flush into the unknown. The kids were sad, but are excited with our new little guy. Here's hoping he lasts b/c we haven't any luck with fish in the past!

Spring Has Sprung...Finally

We left for California and things were just starting to green up. When we got back everything had leaves and the neighborhood looks beautiful (except for the never-ending construction of the new homes going up across the street). We kept seeing this bird fly away yesterday and didn't think too much of it until this morning. I decided to look up and here is what I found:

Isaac is really hoping the bird has some eggs up there and that we will possibly get to see some little babies in the near future. We're crossing our fingers!