In memory of Dr. Russell

I'm saddened to report that Dr. Rex Russell passed away today. He was a retired radiologist & an exceptional man. I'm so glad I had the chance to work with him. He had a heart of gold & was ALWAYS SMILING. Once I started working at Sparks, we quickly realized we shared a few common interests. In college, he played football for Oklahoma State. He was a die hard fan, like my father, & loved talking about it with me. It's not everyday in Arkansas, that you find someone who loves OSU... He was very generous in offering his 50 yard line tickets the few times he couldn't make it to the games. I was only able to use them once, but man, they were good seats! He also was friends with my grandfather (my mom's dad). My Pappy was the first person to sell Dr. Russell his longhorns. I would have given anything if Pappy was still alive to know that Dr. Russell & I worked together... He will be missed by many, many people.

Dr. Russell, your Sparks family loves you & will miss you...

I HEART ELECTRICITY!! please stay on....

UGH, WHAT A DAY!!!

First & foremost, I would like to give a HUGE SHOUT OUT to HEATHER KOHLER for being my only "blogger" friend & ONLY Fort Smith family member to be so kind to offer us shelter from the storm. It brings a tear to my eye....(I'm not sure if it's because I'm so touched by your generosity or because you're the only one who cares). Regardless, the tears are present. Heart you HK! :)

Where was I....? As I reported earlier, our power went out at 2 a.m. this morning. I went to work most of the day, worrying constantly what I was going to do & where Dylan & I were going to stay. My parents both called worrying about us (although their weather is much worse than ours) & my dad even offered to drive down here & take us home with him or put us up in a hotel....SO SWEET! My boss, Debbie Lashley, insisted that Dylan & I stay with her. She could detect a damsel in distress...not to mention she loves us! :) I packed our bags & we were ready for the slumber party. Since Debbie was still at work, we headed to Target to roam around (for hours) since we had nowhere else to go. While we were shopping, I got a phone call saying that our power had finally came back on. Dylan was a little disappointed we weren't going to Lash's house, but once we got home, we were both so relieved to be here!

Thank you to all my friends & co-workers that offered to take us in. It really & truly means so much!! I love you all! I know a lot of people were & are without power & my heart goes out to you all....IT SUCKS!! And speaking of sucking, why must Ryan be at the fire station every time we are without power?? Remember how Dylan & I spent Christmas day? All alone & in the dark.... Seriously, this must stop. Come on mother nature, work with me!

Who knows what tonight's weather will bring...Everyone stay warm & be safe!!

**Ami & Rachel (my sistas), I hope you get your power back on soon...

We're thinking about you**

Wanted: Electricity

Well, our power went out about 2:00 this morning & BBBBRRRRR it is cold in there! I'm hoping the electric company will get it back on today while I'm at work. If not, I'm taking applications for anyone willing & wanting to put up a really cool girl & a precious 3 year old for the night.....DOG OPTIONAL! :)

Dad, I may let you come get us after all!

Nursery Rhymes by Dylan...

"Single Ladies"

Dylan loves the song "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. It is hilarious to hear her sing it, but she has made a few minor adjustments to the lyrics. For the very few of you that don't know this song, the lyrics are "Cuz if you liked it then you should have put a ring on it.....".

And now here are Dylan's lyrics..."You better like it before you put a ring on it."
It cracks us up to hear her sing this. Afterall, there's a lot of truth in her version too.....advice from a 3 year old! :)

"All the single ladies, all the single ladies...."

Meatball & the Jumpolene....

As soon as Dylan got home from school on Friday, she pulled her little chair up to the kitchen cabinet & got Meatball some dog treats. She loves making him do his tricks for them....over & over! Her newest trick is to get something he wants (food) & run through the house as he chases her. She will do this FOREVER...& he will chase her FOREVER! That's what ended up happening on Friday, except when she got tired, she jumped into her Jumpolene. She thought it was going to be a resting spot, but to everyone's surprise, Meatball jumped right in behind her! She thought this was hysterical!! She has tried & tried on numerous occasions to get him to join her in the Jumpolene. After he FINALLY scored the treat that had been clenched in her fist, he bailed out & to my knowledge, hasn't been back in since....although, nothing would surprise me about that dog when we aren't home! For those of you that don't know Mr. Meatball Rains, he has quite the personality! We couldn't ask for a better big brother though!!

(Yes, C.A......Meatball is her brother!! hee hee hee)


Here are some pictures....

Please excuse the MOUNTAIN 'O' LAUNDRY on the table. I have paid off one large bill on Mission: "Budget 2009" (YAY) but we are sure missing Maria Abuela, our cleaning lady/laundry do'er.... (BOOOOO) :( Also, I realize the brown pants she's wearing don't match or belong to her, but she had milk spilled on her at school, so here we are....

OH NO SHE DIDN'T ....

A bit of advice.......

When you have been having a medical problem for WEEKS, even sometimes MONTHS, do not wait until the middle of the night to seek medical attention. SERIOUSLY!! The people who get called in to help you don't want to hear that you have had this problem "for weeks" or you would have came in earlier but you "didn't want to miss Grey's Anatomy"........ O.M.G.! Did she really just say that? Yes, yes she did. So 'lucky' me got to get out of bed at 3:30 a.m. so she wouldn't miss Grey's Anatomy!!! :( Guess what, honey! I missed Grey's Anatomy too & now I'm missing my zzzzz's! (Of course I didn't say that, but trust me, I was thinking it.... along with a few other things)

**Disregard the previous rant if you are suffering terribly or if you are having a life threatening emergency. I, then, would be more than happy to get out of bed to help you! NO WORRIES....**

Besties Reunited

Until Saturday, it had been since January 6th (Dylan's bday) since Dylan & Braxton had seen each other. Saying they missed each other is an understatement! I'm going to try to remember to video it when they first see each other. It is hysterical...& annoying after a bit. They both shrill scream at the top of their lungs. Sometimes this goes on FOREVER! I wish someone would get that excited to see me (other than Meatball). Anyway, they had a grand ole time playing with Dylan's new Elefun game, jumping in the Jumpolene, & having snack time in the tent. Be sure & watch the video at the very bottom of this post. They did this over & over & over again!! The "Jumpolene" is definitely the prize Christmas toy. Way to go Santa!! ; )

Catching Butterflies.... :)

Wonder whose idea this was?

So proud of their brilliant idea!

Jumping to their hearts content...

Taking a break!

Bowling with Brax...

(I am back blogging....bare with me. I still haven't done Dylan's birthday party blog...ugh! I have started several times, but never finished. Maybe this week? We'll see....)

On Dylan's actual birthday, we were invited to go bowling with Josh, Mary, & Braxton. Dylan & Braxton weren't in the best of moods for some reason. They both had fun, but didn't really love waiting their turns...especially the birthday girl. Dylan's attention span lasted until the 7th frame & then she became a little unruly, constantly begging to go play the arcade games. We left after the first game, although we paid for 2. What were we thinking, Josh??? And yes, I let her play a few games despite the fit she threw. After all, it was her birthday!!

A Night Out....

After a very, very long week, I decided that I needed a night out of the house. Kaitlyn came over to watch Dylan, so Ryan & I headed to Shogun for some Sushi. Let me tell you...it was DELISH! I tried the Volcano Roll (minus the cucumbers). It was fabulous! And I did try some of Ryan's 'raw' Tuna. I'm a cooked sushi fan, but it was really good........ After dinner, we went to watch Gran Torino. Thankfully we went to get our tickets before we ate (my bright idea). I have never seen the box office line SO long. Seriously, it was almost to Price Cutter!! Unbelievable! Anyway back to Gran Torino.......LOVED IT!! I really wasn't sure going into it, but since Ryan didn't look ecstatic when I mentioned Bride Wars, I figured "what the heck". I'm so glad we went. The language might be a little offensive to some, but I loved it all. I give it 2 thumbs up. GO SEE IT!

THE INGREDIENTS TO MY HAPPY NIGHT:

i heart sushi

i heart gran torino

i heart kaitlyn

This is Kaitlyn, Dylan's babysitter. I work with her mom, Stacia & Dylan is big buddies with her little brother, Kade. Dylan always gets so excited when she knows Kaitlyn is coming over "to play". We are SOOOOOO thankful for you Kaitlyn...you seriously have no idea!