My New Theme Song

Not much going on! We are going to look at a house tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes. Now take a minute to watch this video...becuase this is my life now and for the next 20 years. This is my new theme song. HA HA HA !!!

Never a Dull Moment!

Today has been a roller coaster. I took Jackson and Ella to go meet some new friends at the Book Store. We had coffee, looked at some books, and played with the train table. It would have been fun, except Jackson didn't want to be nice to anyone. So, as punishment for acting so ugly, he had to take a nap when we got home.

He wasn't in his room five minutes when I heard a blood curdling scream. I thought one of the dogs had bitten him. He cam running out, clutching his silky in one hand and holding the back of his head with the other. I felt his head and there was already a knot on it. I tried to get him to tell me what happened. All he managed to whimper was that he hit it on the window. I felt his head again and the knot was bigger. I tried to calm him down, but I was freaking out myself. The knot was getting bigger by the minute.

I frantically called Gary...like he could do anything at work. Then I loaded the kids in the car and set out to find an Urgent Care Clinic. Thank goodness there is one only about 10 minutes from our house. The Doctor checked out Jackson's head and said that he should be fine. We have to watch for all the typical stuff like nausea, slurred speech, etc. We also have to wake him up every two hours tonight. He should be fine though. The Doctor did say we should watch for strange behavior. What do you think...is this strange:

TGIF

Well what a Friday it has been! Chance had an early release day, so he was done with school before lunch. Gary also gets off around lunch on Fridays. So this afternoon, we split up. The boys went to the park and the girls went...where else? SHOPPING!

We had a nice surprise tonight. Our neighborhood was having its last gathering of the summer. The had a huge screen set up on the lawn of the park and played "Cars". I took the boys. They had so much fun. We sat on a blanket, ate some popcorn, and visited with neighbors. Gary stayed home to put Ella to bed and watch ESPN!

Tomorrow, I think we may go try to get some hiking in, but we're not sure yet. The news this week showed that Breckenridge got their first snow, which means we can't be that far behind. We figure we better go enjoy the mountains before it is too cold to get out. We'll let you know how our adventure goes!

A Day at the Zoo

Yesterday, Jackson, Ella, and I went to the zoo. We were supposed to meet some other stay-at-home moms, but only one showed up. We ended up splitting up from her. My kids were just a tad more lively than her daughter, so we moved a little faster. We had a great time though. Both kids were well behaved (A Miracle!) It was nice for us to get out of the apartment.

We have been to a ton of zoos over the years and this was one of the most interactive ones we've been too.They had lots of things out for the kids to touch. When we first arrived Jackson got to pet a snake and an alligator. We took a picture with the alligator, but I just couldn't bring myself to photograph the snake. I did touch it though, believe it or not. The things we do for our kids.

The kids other favorite thing

was a life size picture of a

polar bear. They look so tiny

standing next to it.

Monday night, I finished making one of Ella's outfits I was working on. Of course she had to wear it to the zoo, but not without giving a little fashion show and photo shoot first. What do you think? Do we have a future model in the family?

All in all we had a great day! Of course the kids were exhausted. But for some reason, they weren't the ones who crashed last night...But look who did:
I am working on getting all of our pictures put in an online album so y'all can see them all. As soon as I do, I'll let everybody know where to find them.

New Cars for a New Life!

Well, I am no longer one of "those people" as Jake says! We got rid of the van and Gary's "Pimp My Ride Monster Truck!"

We used the equity in Gary's truck to help lower what we owed on the van. We decreased our monthly payments and lowered our overall debt by almost $11,000.

Gary is now driving a red, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee! (Chance loves it b/c it is red). I have a silver, 2004 Saturn Vue. Both are all wheel drive (Good for the mountains and snow). We gave up some of the space we had in the van, but in all honesty, it was just more space to junk up.

The house is still for sale! Everyone keep praying! God has a plan, we know that! We just wish he would let us in on it! HA! Too bad it doesn't work that way! We are considering the possibility that we might have to lease it for a year. Tammy, our realtor, suggested waiting until the end of October and if it hasn't sold, putting it up for lease. We are thinking about it and praying about it! There are a lot of risks, but also a lot of benefits.

This week should be much of the same: homework, laundry...life! We love hearing from all of you! Talk to you soon!

Another Day, Another Dollar!

Not too much going on here! I am being a little lazy with the pictures. We really haven't taken any more good ones! The kids are good! Ella is talking up a storm. We just wish she would say something besides "Mama" & "Daddy" Who would have thought you could hate that word so much?

Chance is doing great in school! We should have Parent/Teacher conferences next month. He is making friends with the kids in his class, but nobody special! Right now everybody is his friend!

Then there is my Jackson! What can I say...He's just Jackson! Wild as ever! He is getting better at listening though.

I have found a stay at home mom group that gets together with the kids and does different kinds of things around Denver! So, next week are going to our first outing at the Zoo!

That's it for now! BYE

Quick Hello

Just wanted to let you all know we are well! I've had a few complaints about not writing enough, so here I am again. Not much going on here. School, homework, laundry. Same old Same Old! I have bought the cutest material to make Ella a X-mas dress. As soon as we get it made, I will post a picture.

This weekend we went to a harvest festival. The kids had so much fun riding the ponies, petting the animals, and doing a reverse bungee jump. I will try and post some of those pictures later this week.
I will talk to all of you soon.

Great Labor Day!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Labor Day! We had so much fun with my parents here. The kids were so excited to see family and I think it set mama and daddy's minds at ease that we really are okay!

Saturday morning we all met in Colorado Springs for the day! We took the kids to "The North Pole" which is an amusement park geared directly at small kids. They had so much fun!

Even Ella got to experience some of the rides! We learned that she is going to be a little dare devil! She wanted to go on every ride we saw. The good thing is we didn't have to say "no" too much.

After the amusement park we went to Pikes Peak! You can't go to Colorado Springs without seeing Pikes Peak. The kids loved the train ride up.

They were exhausted by the time we headed back down.

Sunday brought a whole lot more to do. We decided to split up the boys and the girls. The guys went to Estes Park to hike. However, if you ask the boys, their favorite part was feeding the chipmunks. Mama and I took Ella shopping. She was in Heaven (So were mama and I for that matter)!

Sunday night we all met back up at Trail Dust. For those of you who don't know, it is a steak house that has a 2 story slide for the kids.

And if that wasn't enough, there was also a band. So, needless to say the Tanksley kids danced the night away!

Monday morning Joel and Lawanna left early. We decided to spend the day riding around Evergreen, which is in the mountains right outside of Denver. This is where we have decided to look for a house (as soon as the other one sells!) We didn't find a house, but look what we did find:

These are just a few of the 11 elk we saw that day. I don't know who was more excited, the kids or Gary! It was a great way to end the weekend. It reminded us why we opted for this move. And it convinced us even more that Evergreen is where we want to live!

I guess that's it for now! Thanks for keeping up with this blog and for keeping us in your prayers. If y'all ever want any of these pictures, just let me know! I can e-mail them in a heartbeat! We miss you all! Talk to you soon!