"Views from a Stalker"

2011 Stalker Christmas Card

2012-01-13T14:39:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012 New Year!!!!!

2012-01-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

Nothing says Happy New Year like being in the Smoky Mountains with people you love.

Justin, myself and the kids rung in the new year with Wendell, Lisa, Jimmy, Tammy, Brooklyn & Preslee !

We had so much fun!

Here is a picture we took at Cades Cove of an 8 point hiding in the woods.

Here is a little closer....

Another picture of Cades Cove. It is just so beautiful.

Here is a picture of us getting ready for a a little racing action!

Wendell and Lisa loving each other BEFORE the race.... :)

Emma with her racing hat on!

Grace smack talking!

Wendell burning rubber and making us eat his dust!

Jimmy passing Justin....

Us in the cabin, hanging out. Justin has just learned of a new game on his phone called "Mouse Trap"....thanks Jimmy! And the look on my face is makes me what to say, "No way!" but really, I have no clue what we were talking about. Even though....it might have been me telling Jimmy I was going to the tool store with him! LOL!!! He hE hE!

The "Goof Troop"! The girls just love each other. They have a very special friendship.

And here is the whole gang together on the last night at the Comedy Barn!

Happy New Years!

Christmas Reflections - 2011

2012-01-13T14:04:00.000-05:00

Christmas time is always a super special time around the house. It is a time to reflect even more on the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ and the love we have for each other.

The girls have always gotten PJ's on Christmas Eve. Justin and I thought it would be funny to give the girls "Footie Pajamas" this year. The look on Emma's face is her figuring out what kind of PJ's those are. He hE hE hE! LOL!

Here they are dressed for bed. They look so cute! This picture reminds me of Ralphie, on "A Christmas Story" when he had to go try on the bunny suite his Aunt had made him.

This was the tree on Christmas day right before we opened all the goodness up.

This year for Christmas, Dave and Marti joined us. We just love them! They are like another set of Grandparents to Emma and Grace. We are so blessed to have them in our lives. They are wonderful people who truly add joy to the family.....and they have a GREAT sense of humor too! You will find out soon....

This is Emma and Grace on Christmas morning. Because Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, we went to church first thing and then came back home to open presents.

Here are a few snap shots of people opening gifts.

A few gag gifts....

Daddy got some hair, Marty got a pregnancy test, Dave got some new teeth, and Momma got some snore strips!

Justin got me an really nice ammo vest!

Here are two cool cats from the the same alley! MEOW!

Christmas was a blessed and wonderful time of the year for us!

The Nativity

2011-12-18T18:52:00.001-05:00

Our church has been putting on "The Festival of the Nativy" for the past couple of years. It is a display of diferent nativities from all over the world.

Here is a snap shot of one of the rooms inside. It is just beautiful.

This is our families Nativity on Display. My Mother-In-Law gave it to us. It is a Nativity Village Set.

It is really pretty but they always make it look even more amazing.

Check out the website if you would like to visit it next year. It is FREE and open to the public.

http://www.brandonnativity.com/

And a Happy Thanksgiving to you too!

2011-12-18T18:29:00.001-05:00

I can't believe I forgot to take pictures this year of Thanksgiving. I guess I was having such a good time with family and friends I totally forgot. This year we had special friends all the way from Canada, Marti and Dave. We just love them!

We are so grateful for such good people in our lives. The Lord has truly surrounded our family with so many people who love us. We know they love us not only by the words they speak but by the actions they show. Our family is also blessed by having the gospel in our lives. Our hearts are over filled with the love we share for the gospel and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Camping a Disney

2011-12-18T17:42:00.000-05:00

The kids got a full week off of school for the Thanksgiving holiday. One of the activities we did to make the time with each other extra special was camping at Disney.

We went with some of our favorite people...The Hunter Family. While we were there we enjoyed this awesome pool...

Here we are burning our sticks to get the ready for some good ol' marshmellows! YUMMY!

By the looks of this picture, you would think we slept on top of the car. he he he he!

Here are a couple of our "Country Condo's"...

Here is Justin getting the fire ready...

We took the golf cart and drove it everywhere. We also went to the night time sign along. I wish I would have remembered to take more pictures.

We had a great time but I will say, the older I get the more I enjoy my own bed. :)

BIG annoucement regarding the 2011 Science Fair

2011-11-19T20:55:00.000-05:00

Emma won 3rd place OVER ALL at the 2011 Charter School Science Fair Competition. We are so proud of her!!! She did a super good job.

This is Emma with the first judge. She sat with her for 10 minutes or more.

This is the winners circle. (So to speak.)

This is the first picture I snapped after they had announced her name.

She is amazing at controlling her excitement because I was almost into tears!

1st, 2nd & 3rd place.

This is the Middle School kids. 1st 2nd & 3rd.

Emma with her Science Teacher, Mr. Grey.

Family photo. We were all so excited and proud of Emma. Mimi and Papa are always so supportive.

Emma with the winning Science Project, trophy and the $25 cash prize.

Congratulations Emma!

Go Team GO!

2011-11-03T10:18:00.000-04:00

The girls have joined the schools Cheerleading sqaud. They are so cute!

I will post again when the uniforms and Pom Poms come in. :)

Bringing Home my Baby Bummble Bee's...

2011-10-31T13:34:00.001-04:00

Happy Halloween Ya'll.

We won 1st place in the family category of the costume contest.

This year we looked BEEautiful.

Here are the girls with some "Spook"tacular friends!

A little "Disney Dream"....

2011-10-27T17:48:00.012-04:00

We went on a ship! What an awesome trip...

Kizoa slideshow: 2011 Disney Cruise - Slideshow

We visited this place...

and Castaway Cay...

Had some fun on these...

and did a lot of play...

We partied with these people...

And ate with them too...

Wanna see more pictures, by all means do...

UPDATE on 2011 Science Fair Project

2011-10-25T08:05:00.000-04:00

This baby......

got this baby....

and we are so proud of this baby...

Emma, you ROCK!

All my rowdy friends are coming over tonight....

2011-10-16T20:19:00.001-04:00

I found this really cute picture of the girls with a bunch of their friends. This was right before Emma cut her hair for "Locks of Love".

Love all these girl! Emma and Grace have been blessed with amazing friends.

Oh My! My baby has turned 9!

2011-10-16T20:16:00.000-04:00

I can't believe it....our baby girl has turned 9. She is turning into an amazing young lady. She is full of spunk, super sweet but yet not afraid to stand up for what she believes in.

Grace had one big request this year for her birthday....she really wanted to go to "Texas de Brazil" Resturant. It is one of her favorites.

We had the family over a little later to celebrate...

Grace loves CHOCOLATE! She gets that from her Daddy. :)

Grandma and Grandad Stalker showing her love!

Mimi and Papa showing the love!

Mom and Dad showing the love!

Emma showing the love!

Presents!!!

Another Present!!!!!! Yeah for new wheels!

Grace loves to design clothes. That she gets from her Momma. :) Those are design kits she is holding up.

She got a DSI-XL with all her B-Day money.

Happy Birthday Grace! You are a delight to have as a daughter. We love you! Every inch!

Emma's Science Project 2011

2011-10-16T19:50:00.000-04:00

This year Emma tested different types of window protection to see which one holds up best. It was a great experiment and we are looking forward to seeing how it does in competition. We will keep you posted.

Safety Patrol 101

2011-09-27T11:59:00.000-04:00

1. Have good grades.

2. Be polite.

3. Respectful & Courteous

4. Be a leader.

These are just some of the qualities of a Safety Patrol.

Emma has been recognized by 2 different schools as an exemplary student.

It makes us PROUD PARENTS!

FALLing in Love....

2011-09-17T18:41:00.000-04:00

.....with Autumn.

I love the colors of fall. They are bright and beautiful.

Next to Christmas it is my favorite time to decorate.

Going Hybrid....well kinda!

2011-09-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

Check out our new ride...

This baby runs 10 mph, is Candy Apple Red and gets amazing gas mileage!

This ride can make anyone look good! :)

Events of Wal-Mart

2011-09-07T19:58:00.003-04:00

Ya know how there is a website called "People of Wal-Mart"??? Well I am thinking they should expand it and add, "Events of Wal-Mart".

AND HERE IS A GOOD EVENT TO START WITH.....

Today I went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things before the girls got home from school. With-in 2 minutes of me being in the store the fire alarm starts going off. With-in the next minute an associate comes over the intercom that a mandatory evacuation is in order and all customers and employees are to exit the front of the building immediately. Soooooo, everyone starts heading out of the front doors with their shopping buggies and unpaid mechandise. They had to make another announcement to remind people to leave their buggies inside the store. Hello People???? Really??? You need to be reminded of this?

While we were standing outside waiting for the Fire Depart to give the green light to return to our normal shopping habits, a woman approached me and asked why everyone was standing out side. I told her and her reply was, "Only in Gibsonton".

(For those of you who are unfamiliar with the area, Gibsonton kinda has the reputation of being "White Trash". It is also "Carnie Town". Many of the Carnival people live in the area. But don't let their appearance fool ya.....they are RICH!!!! Thanks to you and I who visit there shows and attractions ever year.)

Now back to the lady who said, "Only in Gibsonton"....

let me describe what she looked like...she was tattooed from head to toe, she was in major need of changing the oil in her hair and her clothes looked like they had never seen the inside of a washing machine. I have a feeling the woman was not from Beverly Hills. Gibsonton had NOTHING on her.

Well, anyways... 25 minutes later the "All Clear" was given and we all returned inside as happy shoppers!

Can I have some more PLEASE???

2011-09-05T19:40:00.000-04:00

We always give the dogs a small scoop of icecream anytime we have it at home. Maggie has learn to clean her plate quickly and then ask for more. She always brings us her plate when she is done. It is hard to tell a face that cute no. :)

New School Year 2011-2012

2011-09-05T19:28:00.001-04:00

We are so excited about school starting....EVEN the GIRLS are. Why, you might ask??? The girls are going to a brand NEW one this year! The girls got accepted into Winthrop Charter. It goes K- 6 this year and K-8 next year (Phase II). Here is an artist rendering of the school...

This Charter School is a college preparatory school which means that a foreign language (Spanish) must be taken every year....even in Kindergarten. They set very high standards and create a personal learn plan for each student. Uniforms are also mandatory.We are now 2 weeks into the year and the girls are still loving it.

Here is a picture of one of the girls class rooms...

Here is a picture of Grace and her teacher, Mr. "G"... I forgot to take a picture of Emma and her teacher. :(

Emma is in 5th and Grace is in 3rd this year. Ever since they have started school, we have always taken them out for breakfast on there first day of school. The girls always get to pick where we go. This year they wanted McDonald's.

Here's to another fun and successful year!

Gordon B. Hinkley

2011-08-15T08:29:00.000-04:00

Justin and I watched a great movie last night on Gordon B. Hinkley. What an amazing man. He was a feisty man. (A little stinker in his youth.) Yet he was so loving, caring and thoughtful. But most importantly, his testimony of Jesus Christ was firm and without waver and so absolute. The Lord picks courageous men to lead others back to him.

Go Rays!

2011-08-12T09:43:00.001-04:00

Or maybe NOT! They got beat....badly! But we had a great time cheering for them with these people...

not to worry...THEY ARE STALKERS TOO! hehehehehe!

We also happen to be there with 900 or so other Mormons. :) It was Mormon Night at the Ray's Game! Here are a few of my other snap shots...

The Rays are pitching....

I love the Ray's Mickey!

Emma's 10th Birthday

2011-07-25T12:57:00.001-04:00

And what did Emma want to do?? BOWLING! Emma loves to bowl. The rest of us had a great time too. This is how the party adds up...

Bowling + Pizza + Cake + Game Cards + Presents + Family =

A Super Great Party

This is Emma right after she bowled a STRIKE!

Emma wanted to go to Chilis for Lunch.

Happy 10th Birthday Emma!

We love you very much!

Just call us CRAZY! We have done it again!

2011-07-24T22:11:00.000-04:00

And THIS is what we have gotten!!!!

Maggie Lou Stalker

Born: April 29, 2011

Miniature Schnauzer

Yep! We have added another addition to our family.

our tally goes as follows....

one fish with 9 lives

one white hamster

2 small dogs

and a partridge and a pare tree!

A 4th of July Celebration, Something Tragic and a little vacation.

2011-07-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

We had so much fun last year in Kentucky going to the lake and spending it with family, this was the ONLY thing the girls requested to do this year for summer break. So we thought that the 4th of July week would be the perfect time to go. All started out GREAT. We celebrated the 4th on Sunday with tons of Fire Works. They were just beautiful. In all, I think we shot over $500 worth. It was a big display to say the least. :)

I also went with my cousins wife to her mothers home. It is the oldest home in the county. I was in total amazement.

This is the Smoke house and the old barn.

This is the stone that the women would use to get on the horses.

The original fire place.

The stair case that goes up to the second story.

The second story loft.

The holes they used to put the barrel of the guns through to shoot any unwanted guest.

This goes down to the basement. It use to house the slaves who worked the farm. It has a dirt floor and wood (Log) sides for walls.

This is a picture of the out side of the house. The left side is were most of the pictures came from. The right side was added on to a few years after the original home was built.

Here are some Mules that call this property home.

On the 4th of July, we went around to my Uncle Doug's and Aunt Margie's house for a small family celebration.

This, unfortunately, would be the last living photo of my Uncle Doug.

He passed away the next morning in a logging accident. Justin and his two sons were by his side. This is a picture of where the accident took place.

They had his log truck lead the funeral procession. Some of the guys in town came and had it cleaned up.

The funeral line was over a mile long. Justin and I are the 2nd car in the line. If you look close you can see the line of cars.

Justin was asked to perform the funeral and grave side service. The spirit was very strong and he did a wonderful job at honoring my Uncle. It was another testament to me of just how blessed I am to have Justin in my life. To share with you my thoughts on my uncle, Uncle Doug was one of the greatest men I know. He was so loving and kind hearted. I never heard him talk foul of anyone. He was the kind of man that would go with out just to make sure you had it. He loved his wife passionately and his kids and grandkids with all his heart. He had a wonderful personality and full of pranks and jokes to go with it. I will miss him so much but know that he know has much work to do on the other side of the vale.

To close our week in Kentucky we did take a day and night and go to the lake. We had a great time and had lots of laughter and smile but a since of somberness hung over. Here are a couple of pictures that captured some fun.

My Cousin Lorie and Wendell and his wife Lisa.

Emma and Grace had just come down the slide on the back of the party barge.

Riding the tube!

A couple of the cousins.

Us all hanging out.

2011 Youth Pioneer Trek

2011-07-23T16:14:00.000-04:00

Justin and I got to participate on the Youth Pioneer Trek. We had a BLAST!!! In order to go we had the dress the part. Thank goodness for my Mother-In-Law! I am not for sure if I would have gotten my two weeks of sewing done in 3 days if it had not been for her.

She did an amazing job on Justin's "BISHOPS" vest. It turn out so beautiful.

This is part of my costume..... I did the skirt, apron, and bonnet. I bought the shirt.:)

This year I was in charge of the leather making craft. We did leather bracelets with the kids names on them. They turned out so cute.

Justin was asked to do a shooting activity. All the kids got to shoot a .22 at some cans. Another thing he was asked to do was to be a trail "BISHOP". Part of his responsibility was to bury the pretend babies that had died on the trail. He did such a great job.

A Great Time, Friends & Place...The GREAT Smoky Mountains!

2011-06-20T12:07:00.000-04:00

We rented a cabin and called some of our favorite people and headed to the Smoky Mountains for some awesome fun!

The girls were so excited to spend time with there cousins. They are all like "4 peas in a pod".

Here is the cabin we stayed in....it was about 10 minutes from town. In the winter, if you don't have 4 wheel drive you can not get up to it.

We went up to Cades Cove. It is a beautiful area with lots of wild life. We saw a total of 12 bears....11 black bears and 1 bare butt!!! LOL! No worries...it was not Justin's...it was a baby playing in the creek. :)

Here is a picture of a big MAMA bear....

She had a total of 3 babies. They were so cute. I can't believe how close we were to them. They were on one of the walking trails just hanging out. It was AMAZING!

Here is the Gordon family. Jimmy and I are first cousins. We just love them all and enjoyed spending every moment with them. We are looking forward to our next trip that is already planned.

Here is a silly picture of us!

We try going to the Smoky Mountains about every other year. Here are a few pictures WHY....

It is just breath taking!

We did a little racing....I sat out on the last race to get some great pictures.

This is them getting out of the cars...You can tell by the smiles on their faces just how much fun they had.

What a great mini vacation! Thanks to Jimmy and Tammy (& the girls) for making it super special.

A time for reflection...

2011-05-21T13:42:00.001-04:00

Many new, but for those who did not, One of my Uncles recently passed away.

Tim was such a great man. When I was younger, him and I had a very close relationship. In some ways he was like a big brother, in other ways, like a second father figure. He will be greatly missed. After 3 years of a lot of pain and suffering, his battle with cancer is finally over. With my understanding of the scriptures, I know he is in a far better place.

The picture below is of Justin and Tim last summer at the lake. They were being funny and trying to reinact the seen from RV (with Robin Williams) with the "HOSE SPREADER".

The same week Tim passed, I had two other Uncles and a cousin go into the hospital. One with a stroke, the other for sugery to remove his spleen and the top of his pancreas. My cousin was in sever motorcyle accident coming home from work. He is still in the hospital, stable yet in broken shape. The doctors have said he is lucky to be alive.

Needless to say, the passed week or so has been a very emotional and reflective time for me. I have thought long and hard about the all men (immediate and extended family members) in my life and just how blessed I am. (I am sure you can tell by some of my most recent post.) I am so greatful for each and everyone one of them. I love them all very much, including those special ladies in my life too. It doesn't get much more important than family. And I am greatful to my Mom for instilling that in me from a very early age.

It's a hamster! Not a rat!

2011-05-16T22:29:00.000-04:00

This is Lucy. The newest addition to our home.

She is a very cute and friendly hamster.

Emma and Grace just love her. And so does Tucker!

He likes to get up on the chair and watch her run on her wheel.

The kind of Son parents pray to raise.

2011-05-16T21:45:00.000-04:00

Justin is an amazing son to his parents. He is the kind of son parents pray for. He is obedient, extremely intelligent, trust worthy, forgiving, Christ serving, loving and very generous. He is also the kind of son who never asks, wants or expects a handout and never takes his parents for granted.

Here are some examples of just how great he is...

Justin served a mission for the church when he was 19 years old. To show responsibility and to lighten the burden on his parents, he worked and saved up to pay for his mission clothes, bike and other things needed for his mission.
Never got in trouble with the law.
Has never drank or smoked.
Became an Eagle Scout at age 14. He would have gotten it a little earlier but he was also active with the Masons at the same time.
Married in the Temple / church.
Is a responsible parent to his kids.

Here is a picture of Justin recently serving his parents.

The guy next to Justin is one of our Superintendents / Project Managers that works for us. Both guys worked extremely hard all day gutting Justin's parents kitchen to get it ready for a remodel.

Bob and Melanie are blessed parents to have a son like Justin. And I am so grateful to be the lucky girl he chose to give his heart too!

Could I get some fancy foot wear to go with that?

2011-05-16T20:50:00.001-04:00

You bet! Here you go....

Justin has been having some pains in his stomach area for about the past year now. After multiple doctor's visits and many test and medications, nothing seemed to be working. They could not find the problem. So a scope down the throat was needed. Justin got some really fancy socks and a super nice blue shirt out of it.

Woo Hoo! All of Justin's fashion dreams have now been full filled!

Doesn't he look so excited??? He just could not contain himself! So much so, they had to sedate him. :)

Turns out...the lining in his stomach has been compromised. (Stomach lining has a raw spot on it.) With 2 different kinds of medication for 6 weeks, he should be all better.

If you build it, they will come!

2011-05-16T20:33:00.000-04:00

Girls Camp 2011 has come and gone again. This year, this was our theme...

I am the Brandon Stake Girls Camp Director. I absolutely LOVE my calling. It allows me to work with some really amazing women and spend a week with some super great young women. I feel so blessed to be trusted by the Lord to help spiritual mold his children. We spend a week with the girls doing spiritually fun stuff.

This year for the YCL's, I thought it would be a great experience to take them on an airboat ride. The girls had some much fun and really got to see just how beautiful Florida's nature is.

One of our activities was to build a cake based on a story from the Old Testament. The cakes turned out so good. Here is a picture of 3 of the cakes.

Noah's Ark , Jonah and the Whale & The Garden of Eden

The girls are also given the opportunity to get on the shooting range. Wow can some of the girls shoot! I am so impressed. We talk about protection, not only from a physical stand point but from a spiritual side as well. Thanks to Justin, my father-in-law Bob, and Al Russo for always helping with this activity. It is a highlight of the week.

For our service project, we built this...

On the last night of camp, this is what I got out of the shower to find.... my bunk had been attached by caution tape!

Here is a picture of the entire group! I am so lucky to get to know all of our Stakes Young Women! I just love them!

Twister!

2011-04-13T15:13:00.000-04:00

March was a tuff weather month for our area of Florida. We had odd weather and lots of rain. This included...

But ours was no movie! It was the REAL DEAL. The tornado touched down about 5 miles from our house. Here is a picture and a short movie clip....

This USE to be a fruit market stand

Here is a video clip of us driving through the hit area with in about 20 minutes of it touching down. It was just coincidence that we drove through that day.

Happy 12th Anniversary!

2011-04-13T14:59:00.000-04:00

Justin and I celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary. We are lucky people to have found each other.

A few things I love about Justin....

He is kind

a gentleman

loving father

hard worker

has an amazing testimony of Jesus Christ

smart

liked by others

not selfish

puts up with me

and loves me

Thanks Skeeter for all you do. You are a GREAT man!

Justin and I celebrated our anniversary at one of our favorite places on Earth......Disney!

The above picture is of a gift from a friend. She is very creative and thoughtful. It was so cute I had a hard time allowing it to be used.

Grace goes to "Cracker Country"....

2011-04-12T14:13:00.000-04:00

Grace got to go to "Cracker Country" this year for her 2nd grade field trip.

Here she is making a candle from Bee's wax.

And here is a class picture. May I say, Grace's teacher "ROCKS"!!! Grace LOVES her!

Strawberries....Yummy! Yummy!

2011-03-21T16:19:00.000-04:00

A big THANK YOU to our friend who allowed us to indulge! We picked, ate, cut, ate, canned and ate strawberries until our bellies were full. Man I love this time of the year in Florida!

NEW vehicle to us.

2011-03-21T15:01:00.002-04:00

We have been talking about purchasing a SUV (with the 3rd row) for a while. We really needed a vehicle that would carry more people. I so dislike having to take more than one vehicle when extended family members go somewhere with us.

Considering this was going to be a 3rd vehicle we bought used. We have been looking for a while (because I am picky and CHEAP) and with much searching & waiting we FINALLY found this....

It was an older man who owned it and could no longer drive real well. It has been taken good care of and is fully loaded with low miles. We got it for $3,000+ less than what most used ones are going for. Anyone who knows me knows I love a great deal. My first thought was it was too good to be true. It turned out to be an answer to our prayers. We went and looked at it and the the biggest thing it needed was a set of new tires. It does have leather seating, which most people would love, but not me. I am going to have the seats recovered with cloth. Leather in Florida, to me, makes for a hot, slippery and sweaty seat.

With gas prices back on the rise, our Carolla is still our favorite car! :)

One year older and wiser too!

2011-03-21T14:39:00.001-04:00

Justin had a birthday! I love it when Justin or the girls have birthdays. I love planning fun stuff and shopping for birthday surprises.

So for Justin birthday this year he got more Pilot lessons and a new flight instructor. :)

Justin has been taking pilot lessons. Bank in November, the guy he was taking them from left the company to be a full time private pilot. So lessons had been on hold for Justin. Well.....not any more. He is back flying. I found another instructor that he likes just as much as the other one. He is also learning to take off and land on a grass field. This is a little more difficult and challenging and Justin is loving every minute of it.

Here is a picture of Justin getting ready to fly. He is going through all the pre-flight stuff.

Justin's goal is to someday have his own plane. Not for sure how I feel about this just yet. It's a scary thought.

Happy Birthday Justin! I hope to celebrate MANY more with you.

Cakes, Cakes, and MORE Cakes!

2011-02-21T19:39:00.000-05:00

In January, I did 3 wedding cakes. They are fun to do, but I am always a nervous wreck.....I am so afraid they won't taste good or the will turn out ugly. This is why they are done at no charge. :)

1st Place at the Science Fair

2011-02-21T18:42:00.001-05:00

This was the first year a science project was due at the Stalker house. We attended a "Science Fair" information class held at the school, then picked our topic and then begin work.

AND GUESS WHAT???????...... Emma won first place over all the other 4th graders. She was so excited and we were so proud of her. She worked really hard on the project. And believe it or not, it was kinda fun!

Congratulations Emma!!! You are awesome!

Here is Emma with a few other kids from her school who went to Districts too after winning at school level.

Emma, you are awesome and just so "d-a-r-n" cute!!!!

A Christmas Cruise

2011-02-19T10:34:00.000-05:00

This year for Christmas we went on a Cruise with some of our favorite people! We love this family so much and truly enjoy spending every moment we get with them. They are AWESOME!

The cruise took us to 3 different countries ( Belize, Honduras and Mexico) and to the Florida Keys. We had a great time and are looking forward to our next cruise in October.

There were so many pictures I put them on a slide show. Enjoy!

Big Apple!

2011-02-19T10:33:00.002-05:00

No TURKEY for Thanksgiving this year! We had an APPLE! A BIG Apple. We went to New York. We had such a wonderful time. We went to all the tourist hot spots and even did some shopping too. Some of my family from Kentucky were part of a 4H group that was in NYC the same time we were. This allowed us to spend some time with them. Watching the Macy's day parade with them was a highlight.

Some other highlights...
Girls playing on the big floor piano at FAO Schwarz
Going to the Tiffany Store and buying a few things
Dylan's Candy Shop
Eating a hot dog on the street
Riding in a subway
Statue of Liberty
Memorial for the World Trade Centers
Going to Harlem!
Yep! That is right....we got off on the wrong stop and ended up in Harlem. It took us a couple of blocks to realize what we had done. Then a nice lady approached us to help guide us back to the subway. Apparently she could tell we were in the wrong area. :) But believe it or not Harlem was one of the cleanest areas we saw.

Here are some pictures to show our fun...

Another Blessed day

2011-02-18T15:15:00.000-05:00

Grace got baptized on October 5, 2010. We are so excited and proud of her decision. She is a young lady who is amazingly spiritually strong. It was such a beautiful day. Many friends and family camp to see this very special occasion. The room was FULL.

We love you Grace! You are a sweet daughter of Heavenly Father. We are so glad to be the one's raising you for him.

Famous for the day!

2011-02-18T15:01:00.001-05:00

Hollywood Studios for the day! We had a great time and the kids were involved in everything! And when I say the kids......I mean Justin too. :)

Rodeo Drive!

Doing a little Hulla Hooping!

Here is Justin in a pretend movie. It was Pearl Harbor.

And of course... the Stalker family with their favorite monster!

A little summer vacation.....

2010-10-25T14:01:00.004-04:00

We had not been to Kentucky for a while so this summer it was at the top of our "MUST DO" list. May I say We had a blast! We decided to fly into Lexington this time. It truly is beautiful horse country. Another cool thing about Lexington is this castle. It was once rumored to be built by Lee Majors (The Fall Guy) an actor from the 80's, who was building it for Farrah Faucet. That was just a rumor from fairy tail land. It was really built by a wealthy developer for his new bride. They had traveled to Europe for their honeymoon. She fell in love with the castles so Mr. Martin (the wealthy developer) built her one.
The homes are so beautiful.

One thing we did this time was go to "Dale Hollow Lake" and go camping and cruise the lake. We had SOOOOOOO much fun. We had a picnic on the lake and the girls got to do some tubing. My cousins even got to ski. Emma wanted to but her feet were too small for the ski's.

After the lake we drove over to my Aunt Sue and Uncle Malcolm's house. It was so nice getting to visit with them. My Uncle is amazing cook and has many cook books from all over. My Aunt was born with a green thumb and has plants that I could never imagine so big. I really enjoyed spending time with them.

That same day we took the girls to the ferry. This is the only working free ferry in the State of Kentucky.

Here is a slide show of the fun!

Emma turns 9!!!!

2010-10-25T13:36:00.007-04:00

This year Emma wanted an "Alice in Wonderland" themed party. It was a lot of fun putting it together and turned out super cute.

This is a candy bar we did.

Then of course the food bar.

Picture of her opening gifts with some friends. They have bathing suites on because we did a 30 foot water slide down the back hill. They had the best time with it. I think even a few adults got in on the action.

Here is the party tent prior to party.

We even did the cupcake route. Just like the movie.

Here she is on the actual date of her birthday. That is granddad sitting in the background.

Emma wanted to go to the Japanese Steak House.....this is the "cake" they brought out to her.
They even TRIED to sing Happy Birthday. It was so funny, but very thoughtful.

Emma and Grace waiting for the rice. :)

Happy Birthday Emma! I hope you have at least 90 more! Love you lots!

Us and our 32 kids go to Nauvoo!

2010-06-24T11:09:00.017-04:00

Justin and I were bless to be able to go to with the Stake Youth to Nauvoo. We pulled the luggage and food trailer with our truck. The trip was an amazing experience and we loved every minute of it. It was such a testimony builder of the Early church history. Here are a few things we got to see and do...

We took a little side adventure through Nashville. We got to see "Music Row" and the "Ryman" aka Original "Grand Ol' Opry".

We got to drive by the St. Louis Arch.

One of our greatest moments was to be able to work in the Nauvoo Temple.

We also got to go to Carthage and see the jail that Joseph Smith was held at. He fell out of the 2nd story window after being shot. We also got to see the original door that has the bullet holes through it.
Justin and I standing in front of the Nauvoo Temple.

One of Justin's highlights was visiting the "Browning" house. This is the home of Jonathon Browning the Founder of Browning Guns. We got to see his work shop and some of the early weapons he built.

One of the highlights for the girls was getting to see the BYU Ambassadors.

The most difficult thing we did was going on a 3 mile Trek. It was a huge struggle. I have so much respect for the early saints who had to pull a hand cart. I really don't know if I could have done it.

This picture was taken right before we got our carts and the journey began.

Here is what the carts looked like.

This is just a small sampling of what we ALL went through.

The trip was one of the most exciting trips I have ever been on. We learned a lot and enjoyed spending it with the youth. Justin and I are looking forward to taking our girls back so they can experience the same feelings and things we did.

End of the 2009 -2010 School Year

2010-06-09T20:14:00.005-04:00

Another school year has past and the girls will be moving on to the 4th and 2nd grade. This year I did these cute shirts up for them. Their classmates got to sign the back.

Because the girls school does a form of tag teaching they have two teachers each. Theses are the gifts we did for them...

For the past 3 years we have had Karyn as our PTA President. She has done an amazing job and will be greatly missed. It is official now and the torch has been pasted on to me.

This is a gift that was given to Karyn to say thanks for all the hard work. It is a quilt of t-shirts that have been used at the school while she has served in the PTA.

The Florida Keys

2010-06-09T19:37:00.018-04:00

Our company was invited to attend a pre-bid in Marathon, Florida. That is right in the middle of the Florida Keys. And since it was the day before Memorial Weekend we thought we would make a mini vacation out of it.

We stayed here.....The Hammocks.

This is the view from our room....

We wanted to do something different so we decided to rent a boat and go snorkeling.

Here is a picture of the girls as we are going out to "Sombrero Reef".

When we got there (4 miles out) it was busy. It is an amazing place to see LOTS of fish.

All 4 of us snorkeled.

Here is Justin...

Emma and Grace

On our way out a whole group of dolphins played with us. They thought it was fun to swim around us.

At the resort they had Large Lizards everywhere....

We also got to see a couple of Mermaids.

Even though the kids were "Crabby" (LOL Get it??) we all had a great time!

Tim and Lady A

2010-05-09T20:55:00.004-04:00

Tim McGraw and Lady A came into concert on Friday. My Mom was able to get us a couple of media passes so the 4 of us had awesome seats and even had access to the Sound Mixer area for some great shots directly infront of the stage.

May I say Lady A sounded super fantastic. They are one of my favorite groups!

What happens in Vegas......beats you back home!!

2010-05-07T09:54:00.016-04:00

Justin and I took a little mini vacation to Vegas to celebrate our fantastic years of marriage together. We had a lot of fun but missed the girls so much. It was our first get-a-way without them. 9 years ago this past March was our last vacation with just the two of us. The longest we have ever gone without our girls in a night. But needless to say we survived and had a great time. We met up with some friends of ours. Robin, Shawn and Kim. They are from Kentucky and had never been to Vegas like us. Together we had a ton of fun, laughed a lot, walked a lot and did a lot of U-turns......A LOT! (Most of you will not get that but they will. LOL)

We not only visited the "Strip" but also visited the Hoover Dam. It was amazing. While at the dam we took some "dam pictures", had some "dam ice cream" and seen some "dam expensive gifts". But all-in-all we had a "dam good time".

Justin and I also took the opportunity to visit the Las Vegas Temple. It was so pretty. We are so glad we were able to work this in.

If you watch "PAWN STARS" then you probably recognize the sign below. We went to the pawn shop where the show is filmed. We did get to see the "Old Man" and a few items that have been on the show.

Here is a picture of the Stratosphere. We saw 2 people bungee jump off.

Here is a picture of the hotel "New York, New York".

This is the Luxor. We went to a Carrot Top show here. He was very funny.

This is the Excalibur. It sits right next to the Luxor.

This is the Bellagio where you always here about the fountains. We got to see 2 fountain shows.

This is a picture of the INSIDE to Paris. It is so beautiful.

This is Caesar's Palace. It think it was one of my favorite.

This is also inside of Caeser's Palace. Cher does a show there. In Vegas this show is known as C--Her. They had some of her clothes on display. All I can say....Oh my!

2010 Girls Camp - Camp DIVA

2010-05-06T09:34:00.003-04:00

I am the Stake Girls Camp Director for our church. That basically means that I am over the youth (ages 12 - 17) girls camp for about 100 girls in our area. This has to be one of the most rewarding callings I have ever had. It was a lot of work but a ton of fun! I also got work with an amzing group of women who served on my team.Camp was over spring break. It was at the family camping facilities on Deseret Ranches. The camp site was fantastic. You can check out our website at http://www.ldsbrandonstake.com/ for more pictures.

I can't wait till next year!!!!

Spring Flowers for Mom

2010-04-09T15:31:00.003-04:00

Now that it is spring time, wild flowers are blooming everywhere. Emma Loves wild flowers just as much as I do and has had a great time picking them and making bouquets. She has a real talent. Here is a picture of the bouquet she brought me home today.

Thanks Emma! You make my day!

I love ya muches and bunches kiddo!

Soccer Time!

2010-03-30T17:12:00.004-04:00

Emma and Grace are playing soccer. They are having a ton of fun! Both are pretty good considering this is their first season. Emma makes a great forward and Grace is a super defender and goalie. Justin has helped out as a line judge and did a little coaching in one of the games. All in all it has been fun for the whole family!

Taylor and Kellie

2010-03-25T09:18:00.007-04:00

We went to the Taylor Swift and Kellie Pickler concert. It was GREAT!!!

The girls really wanted to go. The night before they asked us if we had gotten tickets. Unfortunately for us we had not. It was a SOLD OUT concert. The next day I called my Mom to see if she could help us out. OF COURSE SHE COULD. As the girls say, "Mimi knows everybody"! Mom made a phone and the next thing I know we have ground seats almost next to the stage. We still had to pay for them, but it was so worth it. That afternoon I picked the girls up from school. The FIRST thing out of their mouth, "Did you get tickets?" I told them NO! (he he he he) They were so sad and upset. Then I laughed and told them, "OK...I got the tickets!" They were so excited! They know every song. They sang the entire night. Emma even sent a text to Taylor Swift and it made it up on the jumbo tron. (So did several hundred others. ) But it made Emma's night to see that.

Justin and I even enjoyed the show. We now know why she has won entertainer of the year. Here are some pictures!

Look up in the air!

2010-03-24T20:39:00.006-04:00

For Christmas, Justin got pilot lessons. This is his first day. He was so excited! He has talked about getting them for a long time. We do a lot of traveling all over the state so getting them should work out real handy.

The video is Justin's take off. He is not fly the plane during the take off but shortly there after he is.

Here he is just before. He was SOOOO excited!

In this picture he is checking out the plane. They have to go over it and make sure all is in proper working order. The plane is a Cessna 172.

In the lobby of the airport, they have a mock plane you can sit inside. The girls LOVED it! They had just as much fun as Justin did.

Grace's trip "Under the Sea"

2010-03-24T20:29:00.006-04:00

Grace had a field trip to the "Florida Aquarium".

It was a great trip for the kids and they got to see a lot of Florida's natural ocean life.

Grace loves to learn so she was taking it all in.

It was a fun day!

Christmas in the Smokies

2010-01-01T19:45:00.013-05:00

This year we celebrated Christmas in the Smoky Mountains with our family.A total of 24 of us where there. It included Justin, me and the girls, my parents, Justin's parents, Justin's brother and his wife and kids, her parents, brother, 2 sisters and there families.

We rented a huge cabin. It was BEAUTIFUL.

As part of my Christmas gift to everyone...I embroidered new Christmas stockings for every person. They took up the entire mantle.
With 24 people, there were a LOT of Christmas presents!

Did I mention a LOT??!!??!!

The senery was beautiful. We had the opportunity to stop and get some great family shots.

Here is a cute picture of the girls with their cousin Leah.

The girls just had to put on one of their outfits they got for Christmas.

It was a highly entertaining week in many aspects. We got to visit "The Comedy Barn" and the "Black Bear Jamboree". All in all... we had a FANTASTIC time. We also got to play in the snow and throw plenty of snowballs at each other. You don't get to do that in FLORIDA!!! The girls even got to do a little sledding.

Christmas Lane 2009

2009-12-13T21:30:00.002-05:00

2009-12-12T15:08:00.002-05:00

First day of New Moon! 9:40am showing. We had such a great time. Justin was a great sport and went too. The following week, on Wednesday we all (plus a few more) went back with our kids. Our group was so big we took up a whole row and then some! :)

This was a fantastic time with some fabulous Friends!

We are all looking forward to June when the Twilight Saga continues.

Christmas Nativity 2009

2009-12-12T14:44:00.008-05:00

This year our church put on "Festival of the Nativity". It was really beautiful. Our whole family got to take part in it in some way. above is a picture of Justin and the girls playing in the live Nativity. Justin was Joseph, Grace was a Shepherd and Emma was a Wise Man.

I was part of the Group Choir and the Woman's Choir. This is a picture taken right after one of my performances. The girls also were asked to sing in Children's Choir. They did an amazing job. We were so proud of them.

Part of the Nativity was the reading of Luke.

Local TV New Station "10's Connect" had several media personalities do

the readings. Here is a picture of my Mom with Reginald Roundtree. He has been bring us the news for 20 plus years now. They had 2 other guys from "10's Connect" read as well. They were both meteorologist.

Letter that evening, I was on seen on the news and the festival was talked about. :)

The "Festival Of The Nativity" will be a annual thing. When you get a chance, check out the website:

www.BrandonNativity.com

Tucker Einstein Stalker

2009-11-28T14:50:00.003-05:00

Ok....so our plan was not to get another dog until AFTER Christmas.........we did not stick to the plan very well at all!!!!!

2 weeks later.... Tucker Einstein Stalker is now apart of our family.

He is as cute as a button and FULL of ENERGY. It has been 10 years since we have had a puppy in the house. All in all, he is doing very well. Believe it or not we actually thought at first he was already potty trained....2 days later he had his first accident and realized that we had not taken him out in a while. So WE are going through training too. :) But other than that...he is doing super good!

He is only about 14 weeks old. He is a hybrid (breed) which means that his parents are pure breed (Registered American Cocker Spaniel and a Registered Mini-Schnauzer) but they mixed the 2 breeds to make them hypoallergenic and have little to no shedding. Thus creating a "Schnocker" hybrid.

(Him being hyproallergenic is a good thing considering that Graces allergies and asthma have gotten worse.)

Here is a cute picture of him...even though he is much cuter in person. Note the eybrows which is how he got his middle name. :)

Rest in Peace Nick

2009-11-10T15:18:00.007-05:00

We are sad to say that our family pet of 10 1/2 years past away

November 7, 2009 around 5:00pm.

Justin and I got Nick a month after we were married.

We walked into the pet store and right away saw his big floppy ears.

He was solid white and had a ton of hair.

He was so happy.

In other words...it did not take much to convince us to pick him.

Nick was such a good pet. He was mild tempered, always happy, well behaved and full of love.

A year ago Nick got very sick. We took him to the doctor and after many test we determined that he had some kind of infection. We also discovered that he had Heart worms and a tumor on his spleen. All things were treated and taken care of except the tumor. We were told it maybe cancer so there was no reason to operate. A year later his body gave up. He had been getting weaker and weaker for the past couple of months. The last week we kept pushing the issue off hoping an praying he would go on his on. The picture below was taken about 30 mins. prior to him being put to sleep. It broke our heart to make the decision but we knew it was for the best.

He will be greatly missed!

Nick Stalker

January 17, 1999 - November 7, 2009

Halloween 2009

2009-11-10T15:09:00.005-05:00

We were Pirates this year!!
We had a huge group of friends that gathered to go "TRICK or TREATing"
We brought home a lot of "TREATing" that night. WOW!

We had our church festival the day before Halloween. Our booth was a treasure hunt.

It too was a "golly of a good time"!

Not So Scary Mickey 2009

2009-11-10T12:36:00.008-05:00

Another visit to Disney!!!! We love Disney! It has got to be one of the best parts to living in Florida.....Mickey lives close by. :)

We went again for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween party. It is always fun and we always come home with tons of candy.

We did our traditional thing and went with some of our closest friends....The Hunter Family! We love spending time with them. They are are always FUN!!!!

Here is Justin and I in the Buzz Light year ride.

Here are all the kids singing and dancing with Goofy, Stitch and Pluto.

We decided to lock the kids up with Zurg!

Emma's 3rd Grade Field Trip

2009-11-10T12:28:00.005-05:00

Agriculture Department at the Florida State Fair Grounds

She got to learn about beef, seeds, worms, bees and fibers. She had lots of fun and learned a lot.

Here she is with her friend Ryanne. They got to make a candle from bee's wax.

Crystal is doing WHAT???

2009-10-22T12:29:00.009-04:00

Life has been CRAZY busy!

But if you know me, you know that busy is good. When I am busy is when I do my best work. What makes this all even better is that I am gearing up for the HOLIDAYS.

With 2 birthdays this month, Halloween, another birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and then New years...the rest of the year will be a blurrrrrrrrrr. :)

To add to all the special holidays, here is the scoop on the rest of my schedule....

The most important!!! I am a Mom. The girls keep me pretty busy with all the little things. Both of the girls have (what seems like to me) lots of homework everyday. That takes at least an hour. With subjects like math, English and LOTS of Reading. Justin is great at helping out when he can. Then there is the extra stuff like, Emma being Class Representative. She was so excited and nervous. It was so cute to see her want and achieve something that she wanted so much. She had to write a paragraph about herself, read it to the class and then everyone had to vote. The scary thing is that she was the only girl who ran against 3 boys. Her class is mostly boys which she thought would swing the vote. Being Class Representative makes her part of the Student Counsel. She has meetings after school about twice a month. On top of that she is apart of a study group that meets twice a week for 2 hours after school. Both of the girls will be starting soccer soon to add to the madness.

I am a wife. This one comes easy for me, thanks to the great man I married. There are a few areas I wish I was better at...like doing the dishes and laundry. Another area Justin is great at helping out. I am luck to be married to my best friend.

I help run our business. I am very lucky that I get to work with my husband. We get asked all the time how we make that work. Honesty, I think it is magic. Where one lacks the other excels. That makes us a great team. Amazingly it works great for us.

I am a "Class Room Mom". I volunteer 2 times a week in Grace's class. I enjoy it. I get to help the kids with their reading test, read books, help make fun stuff and best of all, spend a little extra time with Grace. She is a great student!

I am V.P. of Membership of the PTA at the girls school. I am having a great time with this and serve with a great group of women. They all have an amazing dedication to the school, but most impressive is their dedication to their own families. It has been time consuming at moments but, (with a pat on the back) I have increased our membership by many.

I am still Ward Chorister for our church. And I am still loving this calling. I do wish it was easier to get people to come to choir practise though. :) But I understand how busy life is for everyone.

I am "Stake Young Woman Camp Director" for our church. This one is a biggie but so far it has been an amazing experience. Basically, I will in charge of just over 100 girls who will attend a week of camp over their Spring Break. We are starting to plan already. We have a theme, a place, and several activities already planned out. I am sure I will blog about it more in April 2010.

THAT IS IT. That is my, totally satisfying, full plate. I hope I did not bore you too much! By the way....the picture at the top is my school picture taken for this year. It brought back memories. The last school picture I had done was almost 15 years ago!

The Nick Hotel

2009-10-12T17:28:00.015-04:00

This year Grace wanted to go to the Nick Hotel in Orlando for her birthday. We kept telling her they were all booked up. So Friday came and we picked the girls up from school. We told them we had to run a few errands after school. That always gets them in a bad mood. So we start driving and talking, girls grumbling, and the next thing we know Grace is asleep. Perfect! She has no idea we are driving her to the hotel she has been begging to stay at. Watch the video...she was so suprised when she woke up. :)
Here is the girls bedroom...
Here they are having fun on the bunkbeds...

While we were there we went to the Nick Studio. It is basically the old school game show, "Double Dare"

We got to see a girl get slimed. Both the girls had a fantastic time!

Grace Turns 7

2009-10-12T17:07:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to Grace! She turned 7 on October 4 this year. We had a fun little birthday party for her. She asked for 2 main things. One of them was an ice cream cake. Thanks to DQ for doing one JUST the way SHE wanted it. A pretty Princess with pink trim. The second thing was to stay at the Nick Hotel in Orlando. I will post it separately.

Here she is with a few of her gifts. I can't believe has fast time goes by. I love how independent and opinionated she is. She makes us smile!

Anyways....We love you much Grace!

UPDATE on the "Baby Squirrels"...

2009-10-12T11:51:00.005-04:00

The squirrels are doing Super Great! They are now living in the tress where they belong. It was fun raising them but it has been even more exciting to see them released and playing in the trees for the first time. They LOVE it. They even have squirrel friends already! I think our squirrels are popular because they have the hook up on great food! :) Not to mention the squirrel condo Justin built them. It rocks! (Not Pictured.)

New "TEMPORARY" Addition to our family!

2009-09-09T16:13:00.004-04:00

We are raising baby squirrels. They fell out of their nest and the mom would not take them back.

We are having a heck of a time keeping the girls away from them. They would love nothing more than to stay home all day and hold them.

They are really cute and I hope we give them a fighting chance.

We'll keep you posted. :)

Summer Swimming

2009-09-01T21:30:00.002-04:00

Thanks to a bad economy, we still have not put in a pool. BUT lucky for the girls we have amazing neighbors who love us enough to share theirs! The girls swam about 2 - 3 times a week. They are amazing swimmers and if it were possible they would have grown fins already.

Thanks SOOO much Kathy and Rich for letting the girls splash in your pool!

1st day of the '09-'10 school year!

2009-08-25T22:41:00.003-04:00

The girls are now in 1st and 3rd grade. They were so excited for school to start.

Emma is growing up...she did not want us to walk her to class this morning. Grace on the other hand was all for it. We did the traditional "Daddy - Daughter Breakfast" which included Mommy this year! (This year I was dressed and ready to go, unlike the past. LOL)

We hope this year will be as great as the last.

My "BABY" is famous!

2009-08-09T16:08:00.003-04:00

Grace was in the Osprey Observer Newspaper this week! Here is the article...

Categorized Sports
Pate’s Tae Kwon Do Academy Post Success at National Tournament
Posted on 08 August 2009 by Tamas Mondovics

For the third year in a row, students of Pate’s Tae Kwon Do Academy in Riverview attended the 2009 AAU Tae Kwon Do National Tournament held at the Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale last month. The size of this year’s tournament, was approximately 1,800 competitors and was broken down into the following categories: novice, intermediate, advanced and black belt. The academy earned two gold and one silver medal as well as three bronze medals, which speaks highly of the academy’s strength in the sport.
First place winners in the Sparring competitions were 10-year-old Nigel Hart and 6-year-old Grace Stalker. While also sparring, 10-year-old Chasen Brown placed third. Twelve-year-old Mikeala Hemenway placed second Sparring and third in Forms. In the adult competition, Trish Hemenway placed third in Sparring and Forms. All of the students reside in Riverview, while Hart has been training at the academy for the past four years.
Not surprised by the success of his students, Head Instructor Robert Pate was very pleased of his team’s performance. “Our students competed in Olympic-style Sparring and Forms and always work hard to produce great results when participating in tournaments,” Pate said, adding, “They are proud and feel a great sense of accomplishment.”
Pate’s Tae Kwon Do Academy, located at 11266 Boyette Rd. in Riverview, focuses on the teaching of self-defense, self-discipline and physical conditioning, which are being taught to both children and adults, while offering martial arts classes in the evenings for the whole family. After-school care and summer camps for children are also a part of the program. “For our after-school program, we offer transportation from several schools in Riverview, and the children participate in martial arts classes every day,” Pate said.
Pate has been studying martial arts for over 20 years and, in 1992, won Grand Champion at the USA Tae Kwon Do Championships in Jacksonville, Florida. He also won a silver medal at the 1994 World Tae Kwon Do Championships in London, England. “My passion is to share my expertise in Tae Kwon Do and to motivate and encourage my students toward a true sense of self-accomplishment,” he said, mentioning that some of the many benefits of his martial arts program include enhanced self-esteem, confidence, discipline, the learning of self-defense and strengthening of the mind and body.
While celebrating the recent success, the students looked forward to training for the upcoming competition scheduled to be held in at Walt Disney World in October.
For more information about Pate’s Tae Kwon Do Academy, please visit http://www.patesmartialarts.com/ or call the academy at 758-3934.

link:
http://www.ospreyobserver.com/2009/08/pates-tae-kwon-do-academy-post-success-at-national-tournament/

Last "Summer HooHa" before school starts back!

2009-08-05T13:59:00.013-04:00

We decided to take another trip to Orando. This is to be our last "Summer HooHa" before school starts back. We are apart of a vacation club. So we booked the weekend and hung out by the pool.

The girls got to pet an alligator. It was 6 feet long. It had its mouth taped up so it could not bite.

They also had many pool side activities for the girls. Here is a picture of Emma in a Hula Hoop contest. She did not win, but she gave them a run for their money. She lasted for a good long while.

We got to meet David Archuleta!!!

2009-08-04T22:54:00.004-04:00

On Thursday, July 30th, 2009 David Archuleta came to our church for a Musical Fireside.

As many of you know we are Mormon and David is too! The young lady who is with him is his pianist. She is a member as well. It was so an amazing.

He spoke about his life and then shared his "American Idol" experience.

He also sang 4 songs:

Army's of Helaman,

Be Still My Soul,

The Spirit of God &

How Great Thou Art.

When the Fireside was over we all got to go and have our picture taken with him!

Thanks David for a once in a lifetime opportunity!

Emma got baptized!

2009-07-27T20:41:00.009-04:00

Emma was baptized on Sunday, July 12th. It was also her birthday. It was such a special day for her and for the whole family. We are so proud of her and her decision. She is a very special spirit!

This is her batismal program:

This is a few pictures of the display table set up out side of the room. We placed pictures and a book for everyone to sign.

This is a picture of the room where it all took place.

A family photo of us that day!

4th of July 2009

2009-07-27T20:28:00.008-04:00

This year we spent the 4th at home and with our neighbors!

We had a great time shooting off LOTS of fireworks.

This is Emma, Kathy, Richie and a friend of Kathy's from New Jersey.

The next day our neighbors left with their family and friends on a cruise. They had a limo come and pick them up. The girls thought it was really cool and wanted to know when THEY would get to ride in one. :)

Grace placed first at Nationals

2009-07-27T20:16:00.006-04:00

We got to spend a week in Fort Lauderdale watching a few friends kick some butt!

Grace place first in her division!

We have a NATIONAL CHAMPION in Tae Kwon DO!

It's raining FISH???

2009-06-22T14:55:00.000-04:00

It rained so much the other day that fish got in our street in front of the house. Here is a short video of us out having fun with it. When the rain finally stopped we spend about 30 mins. picking up the stranded catfish in our area to put back in the pond.

Family in from Kentucky

2009-06-22T14:12:00.000-04:00

This summer we also have had some family come down from Kentucky.

It is my cousin from my Mom's side, Jimmy, Tammy, Brooklyn, Preslee, Brianna, and Judy.

We have really enjoyed having them around.

All the normal Florida things have been done like, Disney and more Disney, Down Town Disney (including eating at T-Rex), the beach, going shopping at IKEA and lounging around.

Grace is now an ORANGE belt in TKD

2009-06-22T13:52:00.000-04:00

Grace is now an ORANGE belt. She has done very well. One more belt and she will not longer be considered a beginner. Here is a picture of the belt rankings. Of course Black belt is the best.

White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Purple, Brown, Red, Red black striped, Black

Here is a picture of Grace being rewarded with an Orange Belt and her

breaking a board with her hand...

She was just recently in another compition, "The Sunshine State Games", and got gold.

Take me out to the BALL GAMES...

2009-06-22T13:34:00.000-04:00

Of course a summer classic is Baseball. Living in Florida we have many minor league teams. We also have a friend we go to church with who plays for the Tampa Yankees. We are hoping one day he makes it to the Big League. Here is a video of him pitching....

Here are a few great shots of him as well...

Also the girls went to another baseball game with Justin and his parents. It was a fund raiser for the Shrinners. They got there picture take with the fezz...

Day At The Beach

2009-06-22T13:29:00.000-04:00

To commemorate "Summer Break", the girls went to the beach with many of there friends. It was a beautiful day. The picture above is all of them piled up in the back of the truck heading back to the pavilion for a picnic.

Cakes and more cakes!

2009-06-22T13:12:00.000-04:00

As many of you know I like to decorate and bakes cakes for fun. Here are a few cakes I was asked to do... This is a smaller Wedding Cake done for the Young Women of our Church. A friend of mine asked me to bake this so she could demostrate that the cake is only beautiful and worthy of being eaten' if hands had not been all over it. Like the Young Woman's bodies...they are only worthy of a good Young Man if they keep themself morally clean. It was a great visual lesson and the girls enjoyed it a lot. They also enjoyed eating the cake! :)

Here is another Wedding cake I did as a wedding gift for some friends of ours daughter's wedding this month. Tiana's wedding was beautiful and everyone was very happy with the cake. I also did a Groom's cake. I had decorated starfish as a Bride and Groom. As you can probably tell it was a beach wedding. That took place at sun down.

Emma's off to the 3rd Grade!

2009-06-22T13:05:00.000-04:00

Justin and I can hardly believe we have a daughter who is going into the 3rd grade. It seems like yesterday that Emma was just born. The days, weeks, months and years are going by so fast.

Emma is such a great student. She is very well mannered and has lost of friends. We go no where without Emma knowing someone or someone knowing her. This year she was on the schools Colt Honor Roll. We are so proud of her accomplishments. What a beautiful, smart and fun young lady is is turning out to be.

Kindergarten Graduate

2009-06-22T12:58:00.000-04:00

Grace has offically graduated from Kindergarten.

She is a sharp student and was on the "Kinder-Colt" Honor Roll the entire year!

Here is her Class Photo. She is on the top left corner.

Here she is with her teacher, Mrs. Hurst.

PROM

2009-06-22T12:52:00.001-04:00

Our Church has a prom every year. This year it was put on "Hawaiian" style. Here is a picture of the guys who valet parked the kids cars. From Left to right: Adam, Justin, Doug, Mark, Chris & Eddie. They have a blast and it is always fun to hear about what they learn about the kids cars. They say that about 90% of the vehicles always have the check engine light on. :)

Memorial weekend at Disney!

2009-06-22T11:38:00.000-04:00

This year for Memorial Weekend we took a trip to a Disney Resort. We stayed at the "Disney's Beach Club Resort" We enjoyed just hanging out. A few things we did...

Played at the pool...The "Beach Club" is know for its fantastic pool area. They have a huge Pirate Ship that has a huge water slide. They also have a lazy river and a beach area.

Down Town Disney...We went to several shops and was going to have dinner at T-Rex or The Rain Forst Cafe but it was a 3 hour wait and decided to go somewhere else. We also got caught in a terrible rainstorm with no umbrella.

Breakfast with Goofy and Friends...this was neat fun. We had breakfast with Goofy, Donald and Minnie.

We also had a great view from our suite...

Here is a link to the resorts website:

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/beach-club-resort/

We had a lot of fun at the resort but I have to say the best time was the night we got caught in the rain. We were soaked! Nothing...and I do mean nothing...on us was dry. The kids and us laughed so hard at how wet we were. It was one of those special moments in a families life that we will NEVER forget.

Daddy's got a little red wagon!

2009-06-22T11:07:00.000-04:00

Ok, so Justin has been looking for a while at the little wagons everytime we go to a Lowes, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, etc. (You get the picture!). He says, "Oh, I'm ONLY looking."....well look no further! At a recent trip to the Tractor Supply store Justin could not hold back any further. Apparently it was a great buy and it was calling his name! He claims we have lots of things we can use it for. I am sure it will come in handy but this is not what I had in mind....

The red wagon has turned out to be a lot of fun for the girls and Justin is enjoying pulling them around. They make me smile too! I can't recall any other uses so far but I am sure Justin will put it to use as some point.

Grace gets a hair cut...

2009-06-22T10:57:00.000-04:00

Grace and I were in major need of a "Mom and Daughter Day"! Spending it at a Beauty Parlor is aways a perfect way! Grace had not had a formal hair cut in a long while. The salon that we went to is the "Official" salon for the Tampa Bay Bucaneers Cheerleaders. Grace thought that was great bonus. We had a lot of fun. I took a few shots of Grace and her new style...

Emma's Chorus Program

2009-05-07T10:44:00.000-04:00

Emma had her final Chorus Program before school ended. It had a Disney Theme. It was intitled, "Disney Dazzle". The kids all did a fabulous job. Emma was fantastic. I think Justin and I will have a life time singer on our hands.

These kids have tryouts to see who is good enough to make the choir. You must be in at least the 2nd grade to even qualify. The younger group is the Colt Chorus and the older group is the Stallions. We are so very proud of Emma for trying out and accomplishing her goal.

Emma had a huge fan base there that night. In attendance just to see her was:

Mom, Dad, Sister, Mimi, Papa, Grandma, Granddad, Kathy and Rich (neighbors).

Then of course, Emma knows EVERYONE in school. So she had many friends there. I am thinking she is going to go into politics one day. We always run into someone that Emma knows in public. Emma knows no strangers!

Way to go Emma! We love you much!

Emma and Grace's 2009 Class Photo

2009-04-27T21:39:00.000-04:00

Grace is a State Champion in Tae Kwon Do

2009-04-27T21:11:00.000-04:00

This past weekend was the Florida State Tae Kwon Do Tournament.

I am happy to report that Grace got 1st in Sparing and 3rd in Forms.

Here she is with her Gold and Bronze metals.

She has will now be going to Nationals. To our advantage it is going to be held in Ft. Lauderdale this year in July.

Look at our cute Easter Bunny!!!!

2009-04-16T16:05:00.000-04:00

Ain't he cute???

Here comes Peter Cotton Tail...

2009-04-14T21:42:00.000-04:00

We had a great Easter. This year we spent in with Grandma and Grandad Stalker, Mimi and Papa and our fabulous neighbors, Rich, Kathy, Joey and Richie. We had dinner at our house and then hid 280 Easter Eggs for the girls. At one point we had run out of room to hid them so we just laid them out on the ground. :)

Emma should become a dentist

2009-04-14T21:29:00.000-04:00

Emma should become a dentist because she spends a lot of time there....

Poor her! She is the best brusher in the family but yet she has the worst teeth.

Here she is back in the chair...

Grace's 1st Taekwondo Tournament

2009-04-14T21:16:00.000-04:00

Grace did fantastic! She got 1st in forms and tied for 3rd in fighting. We were so proud of her! We made shirts that said " TEAM GRACE" to show our support.

I got BOOBS!

2009-04-14T21:13:00.001-04:00

Enough said!

Do you speak "English" or "American"?

2009-04-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

We have super great friends from England. They came by to spend some time with us before crossing the "pond" as they say. Here are some funny pictures.