Hanging out in SoCal...

... I have been spending time with my family in California this weekend - and having a great time! I did manage to sneak off to the Scrapbook Expo in Ontario on Friday, so that was fun. Here are some pictures I've taken:


I needed to touch up my toe nail polish, so Brandon wanted some polish, too. After I did his toes, he was ready for his fingers to be painted, but that's where the line was drawn.

After the Scrapbook Expo Friday, I met some of the ladies I went on the SoCal 2 Provo bus tour with last year, for dinner. It was so much fun to catch up with them!

Dad picked up turtle food at the local grocery store - red things are their favorites! They are now eught years old and are so big and heavy, I can't pick them up any more.


Tonight, we headed to the beach en masse for some Gina's pizza and some sand time.




Tomorrow we are going apple picking!

Soccer, sleep, bling and baseball...

Xan actually didn't cry the ENTIRE soccer game this weekend. He actually managed to kick and run a bit before he realized he was participating and started crying aain. Will was on the field again, for moral support.



He even did the soccer boogie now and then while he waited at the line of scrimmage.

Rodney thinks this photo is funny and should be posted here. I have no comment.


I spent more than 6 hours blinging the Elvis costume on Sunday. I got the cape and belt buckle done. I still have the front of the jumpsuit and the pant legs.


Will's team finally had its first win - 15-12. The boys played very well. Will had several great hits and did very well at first base again.


Xan, for lack of other entertainment, climbed all over the bleachers during the game. In between climbs he kept yanking up his shorts. These are his favorite shorts even though they are a size or two too big.

Walking in honor of Aunt Lois...

Pen Air is a huge sponsor of the Pensacola Light the Night Walk fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and the employees were out in full force. Rodney and the boys joined me in downtown Pensacola so that we could walk in honor for Rodney's Great Aunt Lois, who just passed away from Leukemia last week. Gold ballons are carried by those walking in memory of someone, white balloons are carried by survivors and red balloons are carried by supporters. Pen Air raised $21,425 through casual days (paying $3 to wear jeans), BBQs, bake sales, raffles and more. About 400 people walked through downtown at dusk, with the ballons flickering with little LED lights. Our shirts were also glow-in-the-dark, but it was too light to see them well.



Can you find the four Guthrie's in this photo?
Our thoughts and prayers are with Aunt Lois, who we hope is in a happy, pain-free place, and to all of her family, who has had a tough year this year.

Soccer game, hot sauce and dinosaurs ...

Xan had his first soccer game on Saturday, and he aactually played onthe field - against his Will. Will was allowed on the field to help him get used to playing. I promised Will that he and Xan could each get a cheap Lego toy if Xan played int he game, so Will took his assignment very seriously. After laughter and cajoling didn;t work, Will took the bull by the horns - actually the Xan by the shoulders - and pushed him around the field at the ball. Apparently this method is effective - Xan scored a goal. Or maybe it was Will who scored the goal by shoving xan;s legs in to it. It's hard to tell, but we all cheered like crazy in the hopes it would be enough encouragement for Xan. Mmmm... not so much.





I've been busy at work. Pen Air now has an "It" advertising campaign, like "enjoy it," "build it," "live it," etc. At the last minute we decided to sponsor a BBQ, so we chose to give away hot sauce to the attendees. In an hour I designed this label, which mirrors our ad campaign.



Tonight Rodney, the boys and I headed to the Pensacola Civic Center to see the BBC's 'Walking with Dinosaurs" show. It was very good, with life-sized puppets and great infomation about dinosaurs. Here are the boys waiting for the show, and the best photos I could take at a distance in low light without a flash.


Checking out the I-110 overpass and Pensacola Bay from three stories up - this photo is for YOU Mom!

This week...

Will got an email address this week. I won't post it on here because I don't want him spammed, but if you want his email address, just email me and I will give it to you. If you're family and you haven't heard from him yet, and you know I have your email address, check your spam filter. Since his account is new it has got some tougher restictions. He loves getting email, but because he is so new to typing it takes him quite a while to get just one sentence typed. So, if you don't hear from him, know that he read your email and will get back to you soon.


Xan, on the other hand, sticks with his favorite toys for entertainment - Legos. Tonight he thought he'd use Ripley as a mountain - and was pretty proud of himself.



Tomorrow he dresses up in uniform and plays his first soccer game. Well, he's supposed to play his first soccer game. We'll see if he cries through it instead....

Sorry for the delay in posting some pictures. We have, as usual, been busy. Will has baseball practice or a game four nights a week and Xan has soccer practice on Thuirsdays, still - and he cried through the whole thing last week. I am not sure what to do about that at this point.


Will is doing very well in baseball. He is playing first base very well, making good decisions and plays. He's also been getting very good at hitting.



I have been busy at work - the days fly by, which is what I like. Here is a photo of me speaking at the Gulf Breeze, FL, Women in Business Luncheon Friday.

This past week...

... sorry for the delay with updated pictures, but we've been pretty busy!

Will has continued with his second grade career in Mrs. Hunt's class. Open House was Thursday night and I headed over to the school with Will. He was very proud of two of his pictures that went with his essays: One of me in the hospital when I had Xan (note Will peeking through the door's window) and of his "banana pigs." Hopefully you will also be able to read what he wrote in the "All About Me" assignment.




Some of you may have gotten an email about Will's fundraiser at school. If you feel inclined, please order, as he will get credit towards prizes for whatever he sells. Will also started baseball practice this week. Rodney is the assistant coach of Will's team and they will have practice every Wednesday and Friday, with games on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays through November.

Xan has moved in to the 3-year-old room at preschool and seems to be doing well there. He had soccer practice again this Thursday and he participated in everything with very little crying, Rodney said (I was at the Open House with Will, so I will have to take his word for it).

Rodney has been doing well on his Body for Life diet and exercise program. He has lost about 11 pounds in the past two weeks. He has also been gearing up for hunting season, watching those horrible bow hunting cable shows as often as I let him, sometimes with his 70-pound lap dog with him.



I have been very busy at work, with K2R and doing some copywriting. I am looking forward to flying home for the Columbus Day weekend next month. Hooray for Federal Holidays!!!

Xan's first soccer practice...

... Xan had his first team sport practice today. He's playing soccer at the church across the street from our neighborhood. It's the first time the league has had a 3-year-old level, but they came out in droves. Xan is the tallest and most skilled player, but he only played the last 15 minutes. He cried the first 45 minutes. Dad was in charge of getting him to practice at 5:30 p.m. I got a call at 5:40 p.m. - "He won't play, he won't stop crying!" So, after being home for five minutes or so, I had to rush over to calm Rodney and Xan down. Xan wanted NO part of the running, the dribbling around cones or the stretching. But when it was time to kick the ball in to the goal... oh yeah! He was ready for that. When it was time for a bath, the shin guards proved to be too much...