robot cow barn

My dad is here visiting from Utah, bet you cant guess where we took him? To a Robot Milking Farm! Duane's uncle has the only milking farm here in Lancaster County that uses robots to milk the cows. It is really is quite impressive to watch. Duane had not been their yet so we took him and some of the kids friends. My dad had seen it last time he was here but it was fun to go see again. It is all run by computers and robots. The picture with my dad and Cameron is what the robot acutally looks like.

Tagged.....

Thanks Dawn! I am supposed to write 6 unspectacular quirks and then tag 6 others. I am having a hard time coming up with six, I guess if my family was here, they would probably have more than 6. :-) Here goes....

1. I hate being late................ yes, this is quirk but I think it is a good one. I dont like rushing around and showing up late. It stresses me out and gets me all worked up. I have passed this dear trait onto my children as well. You should hear them in the mornings as they are getting ready for school. :-)

2. Spotless House before vacations........ I have to clean my house and make sure everything is in perfect order before we can go on vacation. I will stay up till 1,2, or 3 in the morning if I have to making sure it is the way I want to find it when I coome home. I never understood why my mom would do this when we were growing up, now I understand. Thanks Mom! I love to comehome to a clean house!

3. Finishing a book...... When I start reading a book, I will read until I finish. I could stay up all night reading just so I can finish it. I can block out just about every distraction while reading.

4. Toys in right spot....... When we clean the kids toys, all the pieces have to go with the right thing. For example, all polly pocket shoes in one bag, all shirts in another, pants in another and so one. I like to know if any piece is missing so that I can look for it. When Taylor was little I let her take the farmer from her Little People set with us somewhere. She lost it. I was unable to buy another farmer without buying the whole thing, so I never let toys leave my house unless it was a McDonald's toy that I didnt care if it got lost. Duane always comments that I am to anal about this. :-)

5. Clothes on hangers.... Growing up, I did not have a closet. I had one in my room but my parents used it. They did not have a closet in their room. I always wanted to hang my clothes up. No room, so I had to have my clothes in drawers. I really disliked that. Well, this house has closets and most of our clothes are on hangers except under garments. I love it! Out of the dryer onto a hanger and almost never any ironing!

6. Cant carry a tune..... I love to sing but not very good. Taylor was telling me just last evening that I shouldnt sing because I dont do very well. She said since we are in the same family, we should be able to be honest with each other and it shouldnt hurt the others feelings. I was crushed but didnt let her know. I guess I will leave my singing to the shower or in the car by myself.

I guess it easier than I thought. I am sure I have many more quirks but will save them for another time. Now, I am to tag six people. A couple of mine will be the same as Dawn due to my blog list being very short at this time. I choose Trichelle, Erin, Natalie, Natalie, Cindee, Stacey. Have fun!

Time Flies..........

Wow! I cant believe how fast time flies. Three weeks and it is Christams Eve! I remember growing up and my Grandma Lowe would always say you know when you are getting old because the years are flying by. I remember thinking that WILL NEVER happen! Well.... I dont feel all that old, and DAYS NOT YEARS seem to be flying by!

For Thanksgiving, we hung out here at the house. We had Duane's parents over for a small ham dinner. (We had Thanksgiving on Friday with Duane's family). Duane was in charge of cooking the ham. I was in charge of the rest. We were trying to figure out what time everything would be done. He said he only needed a half hour. Duane's mom and I were surprised it would only take that long but he was in charge. We timed to have everything done, well....... the ham came out still cold. Duane was preplexed by this. We discovered it was supposed to cook 10 minutes for each pound. Duane read the label as a 3 pound ham, I put the ham in the oven and I said I know it was larger than a 3 pounder. It was, it was 8 pounds. He read the price per pound instead of the acutal pounds. :-) Thanks heavens for microwaves. Meal saved! It turned out delicious and we ate plenty.

Friday morning, well, late morning, Taylor and I headed out shopping. We didnt find to many good deals. She did at Limited Too! so we got a few things she needed there. We headed to Duane's parents for our Thanksgiving meal. The whole family but one nephew (working) was there. It was lots fun. Taylor ended up getting sick and complaining that her throat hurt to eat.

On Saturday morning, Taylor was supposed to go to gymnastics but she was still complaining. We took her to the doctor but the rapid strep test came back negative. She was all excited because she had scheduled a play date with a friend after Cameron's soccer game. Since the doctor said it was just a cold, Chloe and Taylor went shopping together. Paris Hilton was at the mall promoting her perfume. I guess there was huge crowd. Since Taylor and Chloe (who are both very small) were trying to see who she was, the security guard came over and told them to walk up the exit aisle so that they could see. He took them up to the front. Taylor's impression was "all she did was sit there and text message"! Taylor was trying to figure out who she was. How do you explain that one?! It was interesting anyway. No, she did not pay the $125 to see her like everyone else had to do!

Sunday was uneventful, on Monday Taylor had her friend Chloe come over to play. As we were getting ready to go to the gym, the doctor called. Taylor's strep was actually positive! oops! So far, Chloe hasnt came down with it. Yea! Taylor had to miss gym and school on Tuesday. Taylor and I went shopping again. I enjoy spending time with her and doing all the girly things. She is so much more girly than I ever was or will be, but it sure is fun. I am very grateful for oppurtunity to be a mom to such a wonderful girl!

On Wednesday, my sister- in - law, Dawn, called to let me know that Dad was heading to the hospital for some tests. They ended up keeping him overnight. He is good to come see us in two weeks! Yea! and now it brings us to another week gone by. Whew!

Time sure flies by................

snowing

It was one of those mornings when I really didnt want to get out of bed. I opened my eyes and looked out the window. It was white everywhere. I woke the kids to see the snow. Of course, their firsts words were "is it a snow day"? "Is it a two hour delay"? No, it was neither of those. They then began disussing their after school plans. I dont think they will have much to play in but it is beautiful seeing everything white especially the trees. I am enjoying watching the flurries come down. According to the farmers Alamanac, it is supposed to be a long white winter. I think they said this last year, too. We didnt get enough snow for the kids to wear their snow clothes but one day. I dont like shoveling or driving in the snow but I would love to have a good snowfall for the kids to play in. The neighbors have a big hill in their backyard. It is perfect for sledding. Even the parents join in, I feel it the next day but it is a good time. When my dad comes back we usually get a good snowfall. He is coming for Christmas, we may get a white one. Yea! The snow season in PA is usually in February/March. I guess it is time to go sit by the fireplace, read a book and enjoy my tea.

Go Jazz!!

On Sunday, Duane bought tickets to the Jazz vs 76's game tonight. The kids had not been to a real NBA game yet. Well..... Taylor did go when she was a baby but does not remember it. We were really excited to go watch the game. There is something about being in the arena and watching the game live. I need to back up and share some of Taylor's questions before the game. She probably wont like that I am typing this for others to read but it was kind of funny. She had several questions about the game. She asked where they play and if it is indoors? She asked what kind of shoes they wear? She asked how long the game is? It's not like we dont watch it on TV all the time! I think she may need more time out of the gym. :-) During the the game Cameron had to explain the difference between offense and defense to Taylor. She kept cheering but when she was, what she was saying made her seem like she was for the 76's. Cam got her straighten out pretty quickly. She made us have some good laughs at the game. Here is a picture before the game. Here is a shot during the game! Yea Jazz!

YEA! Jazz won! It didnt look like they were going to there for a while. They came through for us. People sitting around us knew we were Jazz fan's but didnt mind. They asked us few questions like where was Okur, if we knew anyone from the Jazz team, how did we become Jazz fans. The sad part was the fans booed Kyle Korver. It wasnt like he left the team, he was traded. We thought that was kind of strange. Felt kind of bad for him. Duane said they should have been cheering for him, he didnt make any shots.

This is the kids reaction post game and asked if they had fun! Yes, we would all love to go to another Jazz game. I guess we will have to wait till next year.

Dressing up!

Taylor had gymnastics this evening. One of the families from her team live minutes away from the gym. They invited some families over to go trick or treating as a group. While the kids were getting dressed we had pizza and chips.
Taylor and Cameron Hannah Montana A.K.A. Taylor, Bobba Fett A.K.A Cameron and Hannah's mom A.K.A. Shari

Here's some pictures of mother and daughter. The other is after kids got their loot! I guess I should say that Duane is in Australia and missed out on our fun this year.

One of Taylor's friends was dressed up like genie but her wig fell off. Her mom didn't want to carry it, so I put it on. I decided I needed to look like Hannah since I was her mom. Taylor and I both realized we do not make very good blondes! We had a good time. Afterwards the kids (there were 8 of them), dumped their candy on the floor. They then began trading away things they didn't like. It was fun watching them trade. One of the boys only likes Reeses candy. He ended up with only Reeses 37 different items. Another liked only M&M's. We parents were having a good time watching them. Taylor and Cameron did not come home with any candy that they would not eat. The kids had to play for awhile. The weather couldn't have been any nicer. It has been getting cold here lately, only getting up to the 40's. Today it got up in the mid 60's.

Carving Pumpkins

Here it is the day before Halloween and we havent carved our pumpkins yet. Actually, we had to go on a pumpkin hunt. We drove around trying to find some pumpkin stands but all they had was those funky ones that look more like squash to me. We finally found two for them. We hurried home so the fun could begin.

Here they are showing off their pumpkins, and then getting the lids made and then finally cleaning out the guts.

Here they are starting to work on the masterpiece.


This picture shows the finished art work. Cameron decided to have his pumpkin puking. He got the idea from an e-mail I recieved. Several of the boys in the neighborhood did the puking pumpkin thing! Taylor's mouth well....... I am not sure what happened there.

They had lots of fun carving and getting dirty. It was fun watching them. I had to help clean the insides out. I really didnt want to do that part but someone has too! :-)

You Gotta Be Kidding!!!

Taylor stayed home from school today due to being sick. We watched a couple of movies and played some games. Taylor wanted to play a game called You Gotta Be Kidding. It is a game where it asks you questions of would you rather do this or that, and also has different challenge options. The object is to get your guy to the top. In order for me to win, I had to let Taylor do a couple of things to me on the challenges that I drew. One was to let her write in lipstick on my forhead the word "GEEK". She couldn't believe I was letting her do it. The only thing bad was she picked a lipstick that does NOT wash off. I had to wear lots of makeup for a couple of days. I also had to let her draw a mustache and glasses on my face. Afterwards, she said I need to take a picture and show it on my blog. Taylor also decided that she had so much fun doing it to mom that she would do it to herself. She did a great job. We had fun hanging out together. She felt better the next day and was good to go to school.

Hershey Bears

Last evening the kids and I went to watch the Hershey Bears play. It was buy a ticket to the hockey game and get a free ticket for next summer to Hershey Park, can't pass up a deal like that. Also, it was Hershey Trick or Treat night so each kid got a bag of Hershey candy upon entering. Good Deal all around! I have not been to a game since Duane and I lived in California and way before kids. I remembered thinking at the time we saw the Ducks that the only thing they do is fight. At the Ducks game they didnt get into any fights so I didnt think it was all the fun to watch since I dont know the rules of a Hockey game. Well, last night the game had been only in play for about three minutes when off went the gloves, and helmets and these two guys were punching each other. The three referees were standing there watching it, not trying to stop it. I later learned as long as they are standing, it is okay but as soon as one goes down then it is over. I wish I would have taken a picture of the kids faces during this time. I didnt tell them ahead of time what to expect. Nothing else that exciting happened till in the third period, then the players were back at it again. One time there were 3 bears players and 2 rochester players in a fight. They all ended in the penalty box for five minutes. The game barely got started again and two more players were at it. Hershey Bears had 3 players in penalty and the other team had 2. It mellowed after that. The kids had fun at the game. Cameron wants to go to another game but he wants to sit on the front row this time.

Taylor Leigh Sell

Taylor has been tagged by her cousin Kimi. My job is to say five things that describe Taylor.

1. Taylor is a very sweet and loving little girl. She also is very smart. She does well in school. She is one of the top of her class. She loves to write, draw and read. She likes school and loves her teachers. I am so blessed to have her for my daughter. She lets me indulge in my hugs and kisses whenever I need them. She is always quick to say "Thanks" for this and that. She tells me that I will always be her best girlfriend.

2. She loves being with her family and doing family activities. She enjoys hanging with mom and dad, playing Yahtzee, Mexican Train or Pay Day etc.. She enjoys spending so much time with us that she usually ends up in our bed by morning time. She enjoys going on family vacation especially to the beach. One of her favorite things to do is climb the trees and see how fast she can go. Of course, the workers never think she will do very good due to her size. She always shocks them. They will let her do it again to see if she can break her record and also to draw other people over.

3. Taylor's heart belongs to gymnastics. She thinks all other sports look to hard. She really enjoys her gym time and friends. She never complains when she has to miss school, family or friend activities due to gym time. Her coaches say she is a very coachable kid and listens well. She is currently at the gym four days a week for four hours at a time. She is a Level 6 gymnast. Her first competition for this year is in November in Washington, D.C. She is very excited. Her best events seem to be Beam and Floor, she thinks this year it will be Bars. Her desire is to get past this year and make it to Level 7. At this next level, the gymnasts get their own floor, beam, and bar routine. She has made some wonderful friends from gymnastics and her team does a lot of activities outside together like movies, playdates, shopping, etc.... This picture shows all of her medals and trophies that she has won so far in her gym career. It is 52 medals and 8 trophies.

4. Taylor loves the computer. She has disovered online shopping. She sends me e-mails all the time with her wish lists. She also love You Tube. She is into music so she goes on here to learn the songs of her favorite singers. She also watches episodes of shows that she misses due to gym time. Another of her favorite web sites is Webkinz. She visits this site each day to take care of her pets and earn her some money.

5. She loves T.V. She has to have background noise on. As soon as she walks in the room, either the t.v. or radio goes on. She loves to watch the Disney station. Her favorites include Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, & Suite Life of Zach and Cody. She is also a big fan of America's Got Talent, & The Biggest Loser.

I asked Taylor who she wanted to tag and she picked Mallory, Sarah, & Jared! Have fun.

Husband Tag

Okay, I have been husband tagged. I am supposed to answer a bunch of questions, let the fun begin.

1. Where did you meet? We met at the AARC convention in Nashville, Tenn.

2. How long did you date before you were married? We met in December 1993, we married August 1995.

3. How long have you been married? It has been a wonderful 13 years, 2 months, 27 days. :-)

4. What does he do that surprises you? He knows I hate surprises but he still does little things just to get me all riled up. :-) He will tell me he got something for me but I have to wait till it comes giving enough hints that I have no clue what is could possibly be. He wont tell the kids because he knows they will tell me. :-) He also does things around the house like having the kids clean the basement, cleaning up after dinner, making beds in the morning. buying treats at the grocery store that I like and he doesn't. He is a definite keeper!!!

5. What is your favorite feature of his? His smile, his eyes light up and it makes me feel happy when I see him smiling.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? His way with words. I love to listen to him. He is able to express himself so well. The way he interacts with Taylor and Cameron, he knows how to listen and not react immediately.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? No, he does refer to me as his sweetie.

8. What is his favorite color? I am not really sure. Since I am guessing, I will say blue. I am going to have to ask. Let you know later.

9. What is his favorite food? He will eat just about anything. Favorite, hmmmm..... I am going to say a good juicy steak with excellent flavor.

10. What is his favorite sport? It depends on the time of the year. He loves sports. I can tell you what teams he likes, Philadelphia Eagles football, Utah Jazz basketball, Baltimore Orioles baseball, Penn State college football. He also likes Nascar, sprint cars, and Monster Trucks.

11. When and where was your first kiss? Nashville, Tenn.

12. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? Watch sports, play Yahtzee, or just hang together.

13. Do you have any children? Yes, two wonderful kids. Daughter Taylor and son Cameron.

14. Does he have a hidden talent? If it is hidden, how would I know about it? Yes, he does have talent in many areas. My favorite is listening to him play the piano. He is so fun to watch you can see that he truly loves to do it and it shows in his body movements. He is also an amazing color decorator. He can pick out things that I don't really think will look good but once it is on the wall or put where he thinks it should go, it really does look great! He picked out all the colors in our home.

15. How old is he? We were having this discussion last night. He was trying to make himself a year older than what he is. He is 45 years old.

16. Who said I love you first? I really don't remember who said it first. I know I was thinking it but was afraid to say. I am thinking he did.

17. What is his favorite type of music? He likes almost all kinds of music but his favorite would be Soft Rock.

18. What do I admire most about him? I admire him for how he is constantly trying to better himself both spiritually and professionally. He is always trying to figure out how to best provide for our family and yet allowing us to indulge in things we like to do. He also knows when and when not to push my buttons. He is an amazing father and husband.

19. Do you think he will read this? I told him I was making a blog spot for our family. I know he looked at it the first week. I think if I tell him I have made posts while he is away on a trip, he may come across it.

I guess I am supposed to tag someone, after seeing who Dawn tagged my only option is you Erin. I don't have many people on my blog spot list yet.

Happy Birthday Taylor

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAYLOR!!!! Taylor has now turned 9. She had asked for a birthday party at Justice for Girls. She wanted the Webkinz themed party. Yesterday, we had her party at Justice. She invited four friends from her gymnastics team. Each girl was given $100 Justice cash at the start of the party. They had their hair done in little up-do's. They played different games to try to earn more Justice cash. They had to pay $10 Justice cash to do Wishing Well. They stuck their hands into a well and pick out two surprises (lip gloss, notepads, highlighters, etc..) They played Wheel of Wow, Wacky Bingoz, Quizzy's Word Challenge. After they played the games, they added up their Justice cash and then was able to go spend it on Webkinz items or all the knick knack stuff they have available. On their way to go spend their money they had to do a little dance up the isle of the store. In Bingo, Taylor won and to get your money they had to be able to hear you yell "Bingo" at the back of the store. This really embarrassed Taylor. They gave her her money but her yell wasnt very loud. :-) Taylor doesnt like cake so after the party we went to Dairy Queen and let the girls get a treat of their choosing. It was a lot of fun, Taylor said it was more fun than she was expecting it to be. This picture was taken this morning before school, she has her new outfit that her friend Chesea gave her.

One of the games they played was Taylor had to be blindfolded. Her friends picked out any Webkinz in the store. Taylor had three guesses to figure out what each one was without any hints. She was able to get all four of them. The girls didnt think she would be able to do it. I think she surprised us all.

Here is the group Taylor, Brianna, Rosemary, Chelsea, and Chloe, showing off their hair do's.

Chloe knows Taylor loves pedicures so she gave her all the supplies she needs to get a pedicure at home. Taylor and I will be practicing on each other, yea!! I liked this present. :-)

Chelsea gave Taylor an outift that Taylor thinks is 'adorable'!

Taylor loves Barbies, Rosemary and Bri gave her Barbie stuff. Taylor was so excited.

Here they are spending their Justice cash. Each of the items were worth so much Justice cash. It was fun watching them shop and decide what they wanted to get.

Here they are doing the dance up the isle to start their shopping spree.

This is Taylor's up- do, the picture doesnt show but they braided the sides and twisted them into the top before putting it in the ponytail. It was cuter than the picture shows.

This is before the fun started.

Taylor has a "big" sister in gymnastics. On Saturday, her big sis came and watched her do her mini meet and gave her some balloons and a gift.

Corn Maze

On Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, Taylor had her first "mini" meet of her level 6 gymnastics career. She did very well in all four events, placing third in beam. The mini meet had the makings of real meet minus awards and other teams competing. She was to have had a a meet but it was cancelled due to low registrations. Her gym decided to have as close to a real meet as they could for they girls. It was a lot of fun. I forgot to take pcitures. oops. Afterwards, several families decided to have fun and go to a corn maze. The kids had a great time trying to figure their way around the maze.

We were hoping to go on a hay ride to pick pumpkins but we were to late. While we were waiting to see if we could go the kids decided to go in a big flower pot. I thought it would make a good picture. Here is Taylor with some of her gym friends.From Left to Right: Taylor, Chloe, Morgan, McKenzie, Chelsea, Brianna

Here is a group pictures of the kids we had leading us parents through the maze.

The true highlightof this whole adventure is the next two pictures. I am sure I will not be able to describe it the way it happened and make it make any sense but it will be a while before we all forget this. After we were done with the corn maze, the parents were sitting in an area of straw bales watching the kids do the Mine Shaft Slide, Straw Bale Maze, Pumkpin Bounce house, Mining for Gems etc....... We had been watching these goats who were up on this high platform. It was about 20-25 feet off the ground. The goats could go from one area to this platform and walk over to the roof of the barn. I am going to use daddy, mommy and two kid goats to keep my story straight. In order from the barn roof to the platform to the hill went mommy, two kids and daddy. Mommy kept pushing the kids into daddy to get him to move and he kept pushing back. Needless to say they were fighting and butting each other. All of the sudden one of the kids fell off the platform to the ground. It just laid there for a moment and then when of the workers went over it stood up, shook and took off running around. So, we were watching this goat run around all the people. All of the sudden we notice Cameron running around the corner laughing and guess who is chasing him, the goat. It was hilarious. Next the workers let out a dog to try to get the goat where it needed to be. The goat wasnt into doing what the dog wanted it to do so the dog chased it up this hill where the kids can go down the mine shaft slide and since the goat had no where to go, he went down the slide. The kids thought this was great. Eventually the goat got back in with his family. It kept us entertained for around 20 minutes. Even the kids quit playing and was watching the goat. This first picture is of the family before the all the excitement. The goat in front of the daddy on the ramp is the one that fell.

I took this picture afterwards to show how high the goats are off the ground. Taylor and Cameron are standing right under the platform.

Manheim Farm Show/Parade

Farm show week......................... Our community revolves around farm show week. Kids have a one half day and two full vacation days from school to help support our community. It is where most families do not cook dinner for the week and convene down at the farm show grounds for good food, fun and friendship. We have managed to make it there each evening so far. After my surgery that is the first place we stopped, I was wanting some chicken corn soup and a vanilla milk shake. Duane made me wait till dinner for the milk shake though. There are lots of eating venues here trying to raise money for their organizations like church youth groups, kids groups, community groups etc... On Tuesday evening, Cameron was in the kids tractor pulls. He pulled his wagon 13 feet, the winner in his age group went 35 feet. Cameron needs to practice for next year. He had fun anyway. The kids favorite part is going to the petting area and holding the newborn chicks. They could stay there all day. Here is some pictures of them holding the babies. Cameron holding a baby duck that born last Monday.

Cameron and Tayor holding baby chicks.

Taylor had her favorite little baby chick, she discovered it earlier in the day when her school class went to the farm show for a field trip. She wanted to go back and hold her "baby".

Another BIG part of Farm show week is the Manheim parade. There is no other community parade like this one. It is one of those parades that you would need to see to believe. They have every business in Manheim that owns a truck with a horn in this parade. They blow the horns the whole parade. The local fire departments put all of their trucks in it. Their are all local high school bands but it is the down home feel of this parade that makes it unique. My kids love the candy part the most. Before the parade the kids found some boxes to play in to bide their time. Duane's parents work at book store part time and we get to sit in front of their store for the parade since it is on main street. Great parade location. This parade is in the evening so it was a little chilly this year. It started to sprinkle just before the end of the parade but it was still fun to watch.

Cameron doing his favorite pose for me.

surgery

I had surgery this past Monday, Oct. 6 to remove cartiladge fragments from my elbow. A repeat surgery from 14 years ago. This pictures shows my elbow joint and the fragments removed. Duane told the kids the doctor took a picture of my butt crack while I was in surgery. If you look at the pcitures it is what it you think when you first look at it. :-) I will be in a sling till this Saturday and then I can remove the dressings. Yea! I forgot how hard it is do things with one arm. Getting ready for the day is the hardest. Taylor is glad to have mom home again and is my little helper. She has been very good to bring me sprite and food to snack on. She is also being very good about cleaning up around the house. I hope this continues after I am better.

Here is Taylor taking pictures of me for the blogspot and Duane decided he needed to be in the picture, too! Never a dull moment in this household!