Wii & FOOSBALL

When all of the fun was done at the school, plus it was getting way too cold for me and Butch, it was time to come home for snacks and Wii. However we did have a bit of a problem and usually I try to stay out of them. The problem lies in that they all have the Alpha personality and so someone's feelings usually gets hurt. Forturnately these kids are really good kids and can work things out for themselves. They are now having loads of fun playing foosball. Never a dull moment around our house and I love it!

2 HANDSOME BOYS, 2 GORGEOUS GIRLS & DARN CUTE PUG

Oh man was it gorgeous today. Freeze your nunnies off cold though. Our day started off with mom actually getting the chance to sleep in and Mimi and dad heading for the slopes up at Snoqualmie. Dad later reported that Mimi lasted for three runs before hunger struck and they came home. Dad said that Mimi ate 99% of the adult size clam chower and half of his french dip sandwich at their usual pit stop before coming home.

Next thing I knew the girl was home and watching tv. "I think not" I said to the girl. "We are going outside while the weather is beautifully clear" I added. It is supposed to start clouding up tomorrow and we are supposed to get some snow for a few days. Not sure about the snow as things change on a dime up here but you can best bet it will be darn cold, cloudy and rainy.

So outside we went and there was Shad, Blake and Halli. Off to the school ground we all went. The kids had loads of fun playing wall ball, riding their bike and scooter, playing on the playground equipment and racing across the field. Then Butch somehow got caught up in the soccer netting. Poor little fella. Then the boys decided to make up a new game. Playing soccer with a basketball. Go figure!

WHAT A DAY! PHEW!

My day started off great with my visit with Lisa. We did a whirlwind tour of Seattle. It got a bit stressful when I came home and opened up our e-mail. Another *&^%$ form to fill out for our homestudy update.

Many moons ago when dad was young and not so bright, he was at the wrong place, wrong time and wrong people, he was arrested and had to spend the night in the pokey. When it came time to adopt Mimi, he called the courthouse and asked for the report to which he was told that they don't keep those kind of records for any length of time and so they would just fax him a letter to which they did just that. Now there is a form to fill out. ARGH!

Way back around Halloween last year was when our update homestudy was done. About a week before Christmas was when Mike our homestudy guy wrote to say that he needed our original homestudy to complete his job. Should he not have had it by then? It was our 2nd homestudy with this man. A little over a week ago dad got ALL of the papers Mike asked for and sent them into Mike. Last Monday dad called to see if Mike had sent everything to Bal Jagat and the man said he had just sent it in that morning. HE LIED! As of yesterday the man has yet to send our paperwork in! Everything is due by March 5th. Egads. Dad who is normally mild mannered lit his fuse and laid into the guy. Apparently Mike and Bal Jagat are now talking.

I just had to call Emily and Nathan's mom Lisa and share all of this. She said that Mike has yet to do their post homestudy update for Emily who has been home nearly 2 two years already.

So therefore I thought that I would drink a bit and have some chocolate. Ate a couple of pieces of the chocolate, closed the box and made the mistake of leaving it on my side table next to my recliner. When I came back downstairs, Butch had polished the rest of the box off. Great, now I have a dog with chocolate poisoning. He's a sturdy little fella and nothing bad happened thank goodness.

Then last night was the parent meeting at the gym. Dad and I take turns going as only 1 parent needs to attend. We went through the usual stuff such as what we as parents could do to help our child along and the importance of conditioning for the athlete. Then the big news came.

Most of the people in the gymnastic world knew this info and it was all over the news up here in the northwest.

At the end of the this month , our gym had a competition set up with the Top Notch gym in Portland. The guy who owns the gym also owns a cheerleading team. He is also on the gymnastic board that sets up the competitions for the regionals and national competition.

Well.......last week we got news that he was arrested for........possession of child pornography on his computer. Needless to say our trip to Portland was cancelled. I think that was a good idea, don't you? He is now in jail, cannot be anywhere near children including his own, career is shot.

A short while back both he and his wife bought a 7 year lease for the gym. The gym is up for sale now so whoever purchases it is locked into a 7 year lease.

One of the parents asked about the regionals that was/is to be taking place in Portland this year. Since this man was in charge of putting the money in for the location and he got arrested, his position in the gymnastic world is on hold and our Coach Debbie is the only one talking to him now, she found out that he NEVER MADE THE DOWN PAYMENT for the gym location for the regionals. Coach Debbie says that Missy (don't know her) from Utah has stepped up to take this man's place. That has some of the parents up in arms cause it may mean that the regionals will be held in Utah. Which means more $$$$ for us to dole out. Airfare/hotel you know. Things are still up in the air.

As of now a lot of things are up in the air for the Putney's. I can't wait for some of it to come on down.

ME 'N' LISA

Lisa and I met each other way back in the late 80's when we both worked for Soka University in Calabasas. Soka University is now in Aliso Viejo, California.

Lisa was my boss back then. That's when we were all young, single and free with very little responsiblities.

At that time Lisa was living in Japan working for the Soka Women's Junior College and coming out to California to work at the Soka University here during the summer months when we had exchange students from Japan. Oh my gawd we had so much fun back then.

Then eventually just through time we parted ways and lost contact with each other. Lo and behold along comes FB and I found her on it! We were able to re-connect again.

Long story short, before moving to Japan, Lisa grew up with her family in Texas. Her dad is from the Phillipines and her mom is from Japan. Her mom passed away several years ago and here dad wanted to move back to the Phillipines. So Lisa is here to take care of the family business of selling their home in Texas.

Just the other day I recieved a e-mail from her stating that she will be coming through Sea-Tac on her way to Texas via Denver and she has a 5 hour layover, so I met her at the airport and we did a whirlwind tour of Seattle since she has never been here.

First she had to go through customs so that cut out about an hour of our time. Then it was onto the lightrail and into downtown Seattle where I took her to see the Space Needle and Pike's Place Market. Of course we had to make a stop at Beechers for some of their famous mac 'n' cheese. OMG it is delicious.

Then it was on to the market and guys at the famous fish stand where they throw the fish and yell did a special yell just for her.

We made it back to the airport just in time for her to catch her connecting flight to Denver. As a present from Japan, she gave me a couple calendars and this huge box of Wasabi Flavored Kit Kat Bars. She says that it is really tasty. I'll have to trust her for now. I've heard about them before but have never seen it.

If things work out, I hope to be going to China for our next chili pepper via of Japan and staying with Lisa and her family for several days. I really want to see my mom's family also as I have not seen them since my mom passed away back in 2003. I miss them terribly.

Unfortunately we will not be able to see our California Friends then but we will definitely coming down to California sometime at the end of the year. Hopefully for Allyn's Fall Disney get together.

GOOD NEWS

There is nothing wrong with the girl so to speak. No fever, weight stable (49 lbs still), BP & pulse normal, O2 saturation 92%, lungs clear. So why the cough??? Nobody knows. My assumption is that it is possibly post nasal drip. The doc says that basically there is nothing much we could do except give her some children's claritin and monitor her cough.

There is a lot of viruses going on around here. Halli, Cal, Olivia, and Micah came down with strep throat. Micah also had pink eye over the weekend. Then at the doctor's office we saw a couple of other kids in there also. That's what happens when it gets cold up here. There is not much going outside as it is freezing cold. Although I have Mimi going out when it is not rainning so she is outside more than her friends. So I guess we are pretty lucky that she has not coming down with anything more than a cough. I can deal with that.

AT THE DOC 'S

Although Mimi does not have a fever, her appetite is normal, energy
has slowed down a little, she has had this nasty cough for the past
several day. Mucinex cough syrup has helped to suppress it but it just
won't go away. So here we sit at the doctor office. I have a sinking
feeling that she may have a touch of Bronchitis.

VALENTINES DAY

This has been a whirlwind weekend with birthday parties and Valentine Celebrations. Today I thought that I would surprise dad with lunch at Anthony's Home Port. Contrary to the picture on FB, dad was/is a happy man.

The musical dog is what dad got for his Valentine present from none other than me! I also brought some Moose Munch for him to share with his co-workers. Dad said that both presents were a hit at the office. I recieved my favorite bath powder "Oscar Dela Rente". I love smelling good when I go to bed at night. Mimi recieved a ton of Valentine cards and candy from her friends and video and book from dad and I.

When practice was over tonight, Rhonda and I thought that it would be a great idea to take the girls to the nearby newly remodeled McDonald's for their Valentine dinner. Dad joined in with us on the celebration. We pracitically had the whole place to ourselves. Imagine that!