Do you speak "English" or "American"?

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.

Like Father, Like Daughters

Ok, so one day...I skipped across the house into the family room to find this....

What you can't see in this picture is the dog lying next to Emma...of course....asleep too!

He's a BIG Turkey!

This year for Justin's 35th birthday I sent him on a guys trip to Nashville! He went to the NWTF (aka...Turkey Covention) at the Grand o'l Opry Hotel. He had a blast. My cousin from Kentucky met him there and a few other friends. Here is a sneak peek at his trip...

Trip to Epcot

Here is a quick shot of the girls at Epcot.

The missing teeth....

Grace will break the "Tooth Fairy" tonight!! She lost two teeth in the same day. Both have been loose for a week or so. She lost the bottom one first by wiggle and jiggling it. The second tooth...the one on top...she lost in a wrestling match, that went wrong, with her sister. After all the commotion had died down we noticed that both of our girls have the same teeth missing.

Here is a picture to commemorate the occasion!

Look out! She's a Yellow Belt!

Grace did it! Today she tested and made Yellow Belt. She was so cute! We are very excited for her and extreamly proud of all of her hard work!


Here she is testing.....

Breaking her first wood board...

Receiving her Yellow Belt from Master Pate...

Keep up the hard work Grace. We love you much! You are an AMAZING and TALENTED young lady!

Super Bowl Mania

For the past 8 years my Mom and Dad have attended the Super Bowl. This year it was right in our back yard...well really at Raymond James Stadium. Which is just a hop, skip and a jump away. With all the festivities being so close, Justin and I got to be a part of the action. Here we are attending one of the media conferences. It his conference Bruce Springstein and the E Street

Band were there. The main attraction of the Half Time Show!

I the same conference we got to see Faith Hill and John Legend who were part pre-game show.

We also got to go to the Hard Rock Hotel Super Bowl Party that was held the Friday before. Here are a couple of pictures from that.

Family Resemblance

I was going through some photos and I noticed a "Strange Resemblance".

Do you see it???

Kathy (My Mom's Senior Picture) / Crystal (My Senior Picture)

Crystal (1st grade) / Emma (Crystal's daughter - 1st grade)

A little fun...

I was reading a friends blog and decided I wanted to steal a post and fill in my own answers!

How long have you been together? We've been married for 9 years and 11 months
How long did you know each other before you started dating? a couple of weeks
Who asked who out? Justin asked me out
Who' s siblings do you see the most? I think we see each others siblings about the same
Do you have any children together? Yes - 2 girls - Emma (age 7) Grace (age 6)
What about pets? We have had many but right now we only have an English Cocker Spaniel (dog) named Nick.
Did you go to the same school? Same college... yes!
Are you from the same home town? Nope
Who is the most sensitive? Justin (believe it or not)
Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chilies or Panera Bread...it is a toss up
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? hum...probably would be Indiana
Who does the cooking? We share it but Justin might have me beat...he likes to cook
Who is more social? This is easy....Crystal
Who is the neat freak? easy again....Crystal...I have major OCD
Who is the most stubborn? Crystal :(
Who wakes up earlier? Justin...ususally by 20 to 30 mins or so.
Where was your first date? Pizza Hut
Who has the bigger family? Immediate - the same - Extended - Crystal...by far!!!
Do you get flowers often? No :(
How do you spend the holidays? usually at home
Who eats more? Justin usually but he eats a lot more healthier. If it is really good though I might have him beat! :)
Who is the better singer? Crystal
Who does the laundry? Both
Who’s better with the computer? Crystal
Who drives when you are together? Usually Justin
Who eats more sweets? Justin
Who cries more? Probably Crystal

Sooooo Proud of our Girls!

Both of our Girls made Honor Roll. We are so proud of all of their hard work!

Here comes the BRIDE...

I am a notory in the State of Florida. Therefore the State of Florida gives me the rights to Wed. Here I am performing my first.

This is Julio and Tina Torres. I have known Julio for about 15 years now. I was honred to be a part of the grand occasion.

I have to say that it is touching to think that you have effected two persons lives forever. Hopefully for the positive! :)

They are an amazing couple and I wish them lots of love.

Crystal struck by a car!!!

Yep, it is true! I was hit by a car on Friday, Jan.16, 2009 as a pedestrian.

Justin and I had went to Panera Bread for breakfast. Around 10 we left. As we were crossing the Parking lot street we saw a car stop at the end of the lane to turn on to the road we were crossing. We kept crossing and he kept coming. At first we thought the he was going to go around us but he kept turning into us. It was too late...I took out the drivers side of his car. He hit me hard enough to completely remove his mirror. It flew over my head and the car. Justin caught me to keep me from falling to the ground. The EMS and police came. I decided not to go to the Emergency room and to go to a Urgent Care facility instead. After a few x-rays the Doctor said I just had some bad deep bruising and that I would be sore for a little while. I am very grateful because it could have been so much worse. It easily could have been one of my girls. I posted a few pictures of the drama. As a side note, the young man was only 18. He was very sorry, very nice and very polite. He works at Panera until he is to be deployed via Army. He was as shaken up about the accident as I was.

As a side note...I did not post any pictures of my bruises because they have not surfaced yet. Because they are to the bone it will take a few days for them to appear. Maybe then I will take a few pictures and post.

Grace and TKD Class

Grace is now taking taekwondo class. I think we have found something that she enjoys and is great at. Master Pate says that she has a very strong kick. It is also very good exercise. I am thinking I need to start doing it.:) Enjoy the pictures...

ICE

Durning our trip to Orlando we also went a saw "ICE" at the Gaylord Palms. All I can say is WOW!!!!! It is so amazing and large. They actually have blueprints to put it all together. We took a ton of pictures. Some of the ice is colored ice, some is not. The girls got to slide down the "Ice Slide". Because they keep it a 9 degrees they give you a parka to wear. After we looked at al the "ICE" we walked around the hotel. A few of the pictures are of things we saw on our walk-a-bout!

After the holidays, the Stalker Family decided to take a little trip to Orlando. This is one evening when we did "Disney's Aloha Dinner Show". It was a great show. The kids had a great time. We also took the time to ride the tram to all the local resorts. There are a few pictures of the "Grand Floridian". Every year they do a Gingerbread house. It is life size. It also smells terrific.

New Years 2009

This year we were invited to go to a friends house in Orlando area. They have a great area (60+ acres) for fireworks and a bond fire. We had a fantastic time. The kids loved it. We are so grateful for super friends! It was the perfect way to bring in the NEW YEAR!

Christmas 2008

We had a super great Christmas! Here are a few pictures taken. You will see us playing with all our toys and spending time with family.

Nick at the Emergency Vet

If you have noticed the time this was posted you will note it is around 1:15 AM. That is because we have had to take our dog Nick to the EMERGENCY VET. Apparently we have poisoned him with the flea and tick medication we gave him around 5pm this afternoon!

We noticed around 9:30pm that he started drooling. By 11pm the drool was so bad I could have mopped the floors in it. So off to the vet we go. When we get there they check all of his vital signs and they tell us all are good. A young Vet comes in and looks at him and tells us that there is nothing they can do for him....after we had washed off his flea and tick application it is a waiting game. So he sent us home to watch him and to make sure he did not get any worse. It would just need to run it's course.

So here is a picture of him...smile and all.

Ya know, not every dog gets a $85 Christmas Present!

My Elf -n- Family

Gingerbread Elf for Grace

One of Grace's "Family Project's" for her Kindergarten class was to decorate a paper Gingerbread Man. We just finished him up...

Girls School Pictures for 2008-09

Well here they are...school pictures for Emma's 2nd grade year and Grace's Kindergarten year. Why is it that school pictures are like Drivers License pictures...they just never look good??? The kids look as cute as ever but the pictures are too dark. Grace's hair looks the same color as her shirt.:) Did I happen to mention these are re-takes!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year...

To be a "Stalker" you must love Christmas.
I love the decorations, the madness of shopping and the

crazy Christmas schedules that go along with it.

The Christmas songs are just an added bonus!
Even though it always seem to be the best and the worst time of the year, it just is magical.
I also love the fact that it is a special time to refocus on Christ.

I took some pictures of the house all decorated up this year. Justin always does such an amazing job. I hope you enjoy them. Sorry they are a little blurry...I am a terrible picture taker. :)

Merry Christmas!