Happy Valentine's Day!

Today is the day that a lot of people honor/cherish a loved one. We, the Trotter family, have really never made this day a HUGE deal. We do a few little things for the kids, but not a lot. I'm not into fighting the crowds to get the best restaurant or see how many flowers my hubby can buy me. It's just another day to me, with a little extra trinket for the babies and little extra loving for my husband to let him know how much he means to me. For those of you who LOVE this day, I truly hope you enjoy it and have the best Valentine's Day ever! :) Lots of love from the Trotter bunch!

Catch up time:

I am trying to think of all the things that I need to say, but it's been so long that it would take forever to catch up to all. So...I'll just hit the most current highlights! :)

It's been basketball season! I do love some basketball, but find my time strained to get to watch all I would like! Jake has been playing for the MS. Doesn't play a whole lot, but does some great stuff when he is out there. He made a 3 pointer a couple of games ago and almost made another! Very exciting! Yes, I'm the loud mom in the stains cheering everyone on and mouthing the refs for bad calls...well, usually yelling because they miss so MUCH! I sometimes wonder WHERE the refs come from! haha!

My favorite thing this basketball season is THE DALLAS MAVERICKS!!! This season we invested along with some friends into season tickets! We have a friend that is in a group that has 3 seats on the 10th row, next to the Mavericks bench. We have sat in these seats many times, but have never "purchased" season tickets. The Thompson's and The Trotter's decided to go in with the group and purchase 1 seat of the 4. Which basically means, we get to go to every 4th home game! Now betweent the 2 families, we had to split those games also!) Over all we get to go to about 11-12 games and IT'S BEEN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! I just love to be in that type of atmosphere! We go with the Thompson's to 3 of the games. We've taken Hayley, Jake, and Carson too. We had one special game...

On January 17th, we took Carson to the Mav's game for his 7th birthday. He wanted an autograph from Dirk. So...being the mom that I am, we made a sign that said "It's my 7th birthday. CAn I have an autograph?" He decorated it with basketballs and spelled out Dirk's name. It was on a posterboard! At the beginning of the game (yes, we got there early) and he went down and stood behind the Mavericks bench as they were warming up. Sadly, they were on the opposite end of the court. As a mom, one of our biggest fears is for our kids to be disappointed. It was a huge gamble to do this on his birthday, seeing that he could EASILY NOT get an autograph...but who am I to discourage a determined 7 yo. haha! When the game was about to start, the aisle guard (that's what I call them), told him he had to go back to his seat, but to come back at Half time. So we enjoyed the rest of the first half, made a trip to the Pro Shop and purchased him a Mavs basketball outfit and Jake a basketball. We enjoyed the halftime show and about 6 minutes of the half time show, Carson took his sign and went back down to his spot! The fans in our area were cheering him on...it was so cute!!!

Carson stood down there in his Mavs jersey, Mavs Hat (thanks Jen!) and held his sign up above his head for the whole 5 minutes! I don't know how he did it! Actually, he turned around and started up the steps, but I urged him to stay. When he turned around, he missed JET walking by right where he had been..urgh!!!! Since he was only 10 rows away, I didn't feel the urge to protectively watch him with my eagle eye. Robbie and I were talking about the night and laughing at how determined Carson was to get this autograph. I turned around and looked at Carson....and there was MARK CUBAN talking to my son! (of course, I don't think he realized WHO that was at that point!) I grabbed my camera and took a snap shot of Mark giving Carson a "high five" and saying "Happy Birrhday Man!" THAT WAS SO AWESOME!!! Carson came back up to the seat with several rows around us, cheering him on!!!! haha!! It was so cool!!! We were elated and cheering the Mavs on again. This guy in a business suit approached us about 4 minutes later...he asked if he could take Carson's sign, get it signed by Dirk and mail it back to us. He gave us his business card and took Robbie's phone number and said he would call tomorrow and get our address. He looked me right in the eye and said, "I promise to take care of this for you!" We graciously thanked him and I think our smiles were so HUGE! Carson was excited and disappointed...he wanted his jersey signed, not his poster! We told him we would frame the poster for him!

On to Cheering on the Mavs...needless to say, we were on cloud 9 and having an amazing time. 4th quarter was starting and Carson and I needed some munchies. We go get some popcorn. We had just returned to our seats and the "suit guy" returned with our sign. We were a little confused, thinking they were going to mail it, but anxiously waited to see what he had to say. He said, "I'm sorry, but I didn't get the sign, signed...but I think I have something better." He pulls out an autographed basketball signed by Dirk!!! He said, "Happy Birthday from the Mavericks! We hope you have enjoyed it tonight!" IT WAS AMAZING!!!

Jake busted Carson's bubble, by immediately saying, "you know you can't play with that ball, don't you". Carson said, "Why not? " and we all started laughing and then the mommy roll had to kick in and explain that one! haha!

It was a great night!!!! One we will never forget! GO MAVS!!!

We hope next season to have a chance to go to more games!!! :)

Thank you Mark Cuban and the whole Mavs organization!

Year 2009

It's been forever since I've been on here. I will try to get some stuff posted VERY SOON! Reading other blogs has inspired me to do a better job! :)

Weekend with my family!

My cousin Amy and her daughter Lauren.


When we went back to Newport for Robbie's reunion last week, we also got to visit with all our family. Robbie's dad and brother. My aunts and cousins. My Brother and my nephew that brought my great nephew. It was fun! Here are a few photos.
Lauren, Aunt Lucenia, and Hayley

Aunt Lucenia, Aunt Georgia and my mom

(Carson peeking around the corner)

My cousin's sweet boy...

Logan and his bubba teeth

A Sunday with the Trotter's

After church today, we worked outside! Robbie worked on putting in a "dripping" system for our flowerbeds. Grace and I worked in the flowerbeds. :) Grace loves to help plant flowers and be outside. Carson wanted to help, but didn't want to help! haha! He kept asking what he could do, but NEVER wanted to do anything I suggested! So he was our talker. Occasionally, he would sidetrack Grace in to playing with him. I was using this small shovel to help dig the terribly hard, dry ground...Carson and Grace would find a small pile of dirt and make "sandcastles". (You can tell we LOVE the beach!) Needless to say, it REALLY wasn't a sandcastle, since they only had a couple of handfuls of loose dirt...but so cute to listen to.

We took a break from planting (because it actually got warm today and we were sweating). We decided to carve some pumpkins. I cut the top of one off for Carson and Grace. At first they wouldn't TOUCH the "pumpkin guts" but after a few minutes of staring at it and realizing I wasn't going to do it right then, they started to stick their hands in the pumpkin! It was so fun watching their faces touch the slime goo. They are not quite old enough to complete gut the pumpkin, but they did their best. So...Mom got to finish them. haha! (Robbie is still working on the drip system). We borrowed Robbie's Iphone, because he has a program that you can change a pumpkins face. Anyway, we found several "faces" that we wanted to carve. So, mom, the great pleaser I am, attempted to carve the faces they picked out. Only one nose I messed up! haha! The rest weren't so bad. Once they were finished, Hayley, Carson and Grace wanted to take pictures with them. So...here they are! :)

Class of 1988-Newport High School

This weekend, our family traveled to Newport, Arkansas...the town both Robbie and I graduated from and the place we call "Home". 2008 is Robbie's 20th year class reunion. I believe he graduated with around 165 people in his class---Newport High School. We were so excited to go to the reunion, to show our kids the school we both attended. (Yes, I'm the grade under Robbie).

We all left town on Thursday night when Robbie got off work (around 6pm) Nothing like being stuck in the Trotter bus for 6 hours! (Trotter Bus=my chevy suburban) We checked all the kids out of school on Friday--since the reunion actually started Friday night.

Friday Night 6pm--Attend NHS football game (Newport vs. Osceola)

Saturday 11:00am--Tour our old school

Saturday 12:00am--Eat lunch together

Saturday 6:00pm-11:00pm--Reunion at Newport Country Club

The football game was fun---even if we did lose. One of my classmates is an assistant coach for Newport. I saw several of my classmates who had kids playing football for Newport. So many "adults" from my past church and teachers from my school. It was really cool. Of course, our kids all wanted NHS shirts, so we headed to the local Walgreen's and picked some up! (Cheerleaders were already sold out!) We were all decked out in our Newport gear (no...I didn't take a picture! I forgot the camera!) Now, the drill team was not what it was like when we went there. The crowd was less, the band was less (but really good, for the size of it)...Our school went from a huge 4AA school to Small 3AA. (brackets go all the way to 7AA now in Arkansas)

Needless to say, it was all quite interesting! Kids had a great time (except Grace-who wanted to play with her cousin, instead of being with us! haha!)

Saturday, we met up at the school to tour our old stomping grounds. Coach Ronnie Brown (who was the assistant prinicipal when we were there--and now is the Superintedent) met us up there and unlocked the doors for us. The auditorium had changed some. Padded seats and a new stage. The graduating class this year only has 88 kids--pretty shocking! He said half the kids, but twice the problems. It's sad to think of your hometown dying...or changing for the worse. The middle class died in our town...they all left. You have the really wealthy (well, for Newport standards) or the really low class. Very few middle class. There were TONS of middle class when we were in school. They were having so much trouble with the kids--they all have assigned seats in the auditorium for assemblies.

My kids REALLY liked going to the school. We walked up and down the halls-pointing to rooms and telling stories about certain teachers. (there is NO MORE TYPING CLASS!! haha) Still has a study hall! :) The old Band Building was now administration building and they built a new Band Building! Very nice! We did get to sneak down to the Junior High area too (yes they are connected by a hallway...doors are there now, but not locked! Sweet! That was a HUGE trip down memory lane!!!

The trees have grown so much all over town! When we left 15 years ago (something like that) the trees were there, but still growing. Now they are SO TALL and beautiful! I think we have a really beautiful campus for a small town.

We did get to go to the cafeteria too. All along the walls are each classes graduating composite. My grandmother's class is up there (1939). The classes are almost completely around the cafeteria now! I saw both of my brother's class, Robbie's and mine. (Our parents didn't attend Newport). It was very cool to see my grandmother hanging on the wall! :)

Each graduating class usually left a "donation/marker" to their school. My class left signs that great schools and show them the way to our school from an intersection. Robbie's class made flower beds that line the front of the main building. Robbie remembers helping plant flowers/bushes in them. Needless to say, his class needs to give some more money to plant new things and help with the upkeep! haha!!! Actually, one side looked very good, while the other...well...didn't do so well...as you can see in the picture.

I took our picture in front of the main doors at the school. Made me proud. Even Coach Brown snuck in a picture or two!

Saturday afternoon, we visited with family and rested. Some out of town family showed up to see us...since we hardly ever make it that far north anymore. My cousin Amy Whitehead Williams, picked up ALL my kids and took them to her house to spend the night, so I wouldn't have to worry about them driving my mom and aunt crazy. PLUS they wanted to spend time with their cousins, Lauren and Logan. Now that Hayley is driving (which she drove at least 2 hours both ways for us! yippee!), she drove Lauren and Jake to watch a movie in Cabot, Arkansas (where my cousin lives). They had a good time!

Robbie had a ummm....a class that didn't connect as well as some (like mine! :)---but the ones that did show up....I had a ball with and it was so much fun to catch up with them! I couldn't believe all the guys that served in the military that were there. Over half! Pretty amazing! So proud of all those guys! I also saw some of the "genuines" aka older generation--older even when I was in HS! Some of them were long time customers of my dads and I had to stop and say hi to them. Very bittersweet, since Dad isn't with us anymore.

It's hard to believe it's been 8 years that my dad died. We did go out to the cemetary that afternoon...my dad...my grandparents...one of Robbie's classmates...aunt and uncle. Memories were flooding my brain the whole time...also listening and watching my kids react to this experience. Carson and Grace did not know any of the loved ones we were meeting. So it was hard for them to understand. Hayley, bless her loving heart, remembered "papaw pig" and "Pop". She LOVED her Pop! We all did...still miss him so much.

Random thought-----OMG--I tried Fried Green Beans for the first time and they were absolutely amazing!! Especially dipped in Ranch dressing!

Anyways, after 11:00pm, we met up with a couple of friends that graduated with me! One of my best friends in the whole world...drove 40 miles at midnight to come hang out with me! So sweet! We had a blast. Of course at that time of night, the only place we could go was this Bar/Club. It wasn't in the greatest part of town---but so entertaining....wow...you never know what walks of life you will see in places like that. We laughed so hard that night at each other and our environment! haha! We finally left about 3am. It was an amazing evening!

Well, I've typed forever! Need to get off and get the babies ready for bed! Until we meet again...

J

Shopping Day

Today, Hayley and I headed towards Dallas with our friends, Kathy and Emilee. It's football season and with football season comes HOMECOMING! We've all been there and done that...and remember the fun and frustration of finding the right dress. Denison has a Homecoming dance, so we needed to go buy a dress. Most of the time, Hayley wants a short dress, except for Prom. She wants to stay cool and be able to move and DANCE! We decided to go to Plano, not Frisco today. Didn't want to battle the crowd at Stonebrier in Frisco! haha! We like Collin Creek Mall...still big enough, but not nears as busy. Plus Hayley and Emilee said it has a Panda Express!!! :)

It was a fun but exhausting day. Started off in JC Penney's. Umm....we tried some on. It's funny how designers think the saggy front is cute...looked like a formal maternity dress to me! heehee!! After Hayley tried on about 6 dresses, Emilee loved the first one she tried on (so did we!), we purchased Emilee's and moved on to Dillards. Kathy and I found us a couple of chairs in the dressing rooms and watched/judged/praised all 50 thousand dresses she tried on. (Actually, Kathy and I kept throwing really crazy ones at her, just for fun! She was a trouper!) Even the Hot pink with black and white stripes! haha! She actually decided on the 2nd one she tried on. It's blue and short...that's about all I can say. haha! I'll get pictures up here soon. We then went to Charlotte Russe, Forever 21, and Macy's...just to make sure we didn't miss out on "the" dress. We didn't!!!! We hit the jackpot at Dillards. (Sadly, the dress was in Denison...she had already tried it on once about 2 weeks ago!) haha! That's the way it goes!

Anyway. She is happy, I am happy, if she is happy. All is well, that ends well.

Oh yeah, I happened to swing by the Disney Store, since it boasted signs of 25% of Halloween costumes. heehee! Carson still needed one! So, I browsed through all the sales and came across a Jack Sparrow costume that was 40% off! YEAH!! I was so excited! I bought him the costume and the hat with dreadlocks! He was so excited when he saw it tonight! Even Grace was excited for him! She tried it on too! It is absolutely adorable...as much as a dreadlock pirate can be! haha!

Now, I am resting on the couch, with my feet propped up and enjoying watching the old TV. I also received a great idea from an old High School friend, Doug Tapp. He knows a class that has a website for website for their reunions and information! It's a great way to keep in touch. Of course, I immediately checked in to it...and I'm addicted to it! Now I have to get it all organized. But it's coming together! Well, I'm tired, so I'll get off for now. Love to all!
Janaga

Dallas World Aquarium

Today I took 3 of the 4 kids to the Dallas World Aquarium. Hayley was more interested in hanging with her friends today. haha! We went to the Aquarium before school started and the price of the place for my HUGE family...well, let's just say for $30 more dollars, we can go all year for free with a membership! haha! So, I decided to take them again today. We had a great time. It was a little more crowded, but still doable!

One of our main goals today, was to see the Manatees! Last time, they stayed hidden and we were a little disappointed. We could see their shadows under water, but never came close to the HUGE GLASS. Today...we weren't! The came up close and personal in the underground tank. Felt like we could kiss them. It was really neat!Here is my picture of the Manatee...

Grace was dying to take a picture...so this is her picture of the manatee...

I guess we got the head and the tail! hahaha! Believe me, the middle is so huge!!!! They are eating very well. It's amazing to watch them swim/float around.

Another fun thing we did was catch butterflies. The kids loved this. The butterflies would just crawl right up on their fingers and flutter their wings. One butterfly had been picked up enough, we guessed, because it kept flying/jumping off our fingers.

It was a great day!!! More pictures later!