Experiencing life Kerrie Meyer style

Hello?

2010-10-18T11:01:00.000-06:00

Is anyone here?

Happy Birthday Tracy Renae Hirsch Ferber!

2010-06-17T07:19:00.003-06:00

Dear Friend,
I hope you don't mind, but I irrigated your lawn this morning. You might want to let TruGreen know I found a few mushrooms. Nothing serious though. Also, your neighbors sure get up early....and say "35?" loudly. I also think I heard someone cough in your house and that made me pee my pants a little. If someone asks you to a pic-nic, offer to bring forks - all 300 of them.

Love you! Happy Birthday!!

"You're supposed to laugh a lot...."

2010-06-14T22:47:00.001-06:00

Shake it! (until it hurts....)

2010-06-02T22:14:00.000-06:00

Claire gets her ears pierced!!!

2010-05-23T20:34:00.003-06:00

Here is the video of Claire getting her ears pierced. Notice the cough before they do it? I totally thought she was going to throw up. :) You see her cry, but it didn't last long. I brought some chocolate with - and once she got the chocolate she was golden. She's VERY proud of her new earrings and CAN NOT wait to show them off!

Because Aisha did it and I thought it was fun.....

2010-05-02T00:31:00.002-06:00

Here are the instructions:
1. Put your iPod on shuffle. (In my case, BlackBerry)
2. Press forward for each question.
3. Use the song title as the answer to the questions even if it doesn't make sense.

How do you feel today? "Me and Charlie Talking," Miranda Lambert

What your outlook on life? "Time of your life." Green Day

What does your family think of you? "Already gone," Sugarland

What do your friends think of you? "You're in love," Wilson Phillips

What do your exes think of you? "Party for two," Shania Twain & Billy Currington

How's your love live? "Everyday is a winding road," Sheryl Crow

How will your love life be in the future? "International Harvester," Craig Morgan

Will you get married? "Kiss a Girl," Keith Urban :....ummmm, pass

Are you good at school? "Lover, Lover" Jerrod Niemann

Will you be successful? "Don't forget to remember me," Carrie Underwood

What song should they play on your birthday? "Shari Ann," Bryan White (Close...Kerrie Anne)

The soundtrack of your life? "How Bout You," Eric Church

You and your best friends are? "Better Life," Keith Urban

Happy times: "Who's your Daddy?," Toby Keith (I don't know why I have this on here. I don't even like that song.....Next)

Sad times: "Prayin' for Daylight," Rascal Flatts

Every day: "Light On," David Cook

For tomorrow: "Do you believe me now," Jimmy Wayne

For you: "Days Go By," Keith Urban

What does next year have in store for me? "Up on the Ridge," Dierks Bentley

What do I say when life gets too hard? "Must be doing something right," Billy Currington (What the hell?)

What song will I dance to at my wedding? "Awful, Beautiful Life," Darryl Worley

What do you want as your career? "Faster Car," Keith Urban

Your favorite saying? "Hell Yeah," Montgomery Gentry (That works)

How will I die? "Need you now," Lady Antebellum

Perfect Timing

2010-04-11T01:52:00.003-06:00

On Saturday evening we went for a drive around Lake Madison. We'd gone for supper and then decided that we'd take a drive before settling in for the night. I asked Justin to run by the house quick so I could get my camera. I'm not sure the timing could have been any better for these pictures. The lake was like glass - well - until the kids threw rock after rock after rock in there. It was beautiful. Check it out. The colors were fantastic! I thought they only had sunsets like this in West Texas. I stand corrected.

Purple bangs

2010-04-09T12:26:00.001-06:00

See! I had them. Had. HAD. They lasted one wash. Boo! But they were pretty - while they lasted.

Easter

2010-04-05T20:04:00.007-06:00

We had a great Easter at the Meyer house. The bunny was able to hide the eggs outside this year because it was so nice! When the kids woke up, they were shocked to find bunny prints outside their doors.

They followed them down the stairs......Through the dining room....Through the kitchen.....And out the back door.The big kids were so cute. They would find an egg and put it in their basket. Then they'd find another and put it in Jack's basket. I thought Claire was going to end up with zero with as many as she gave Jack. Jack was sure happy with himself when he found one on his own!

I got the kids each a dozen eggs to color. I know - what on earth do you do with 3 dozen eggs once they are colored? I'm not sure, but they sure were pretty. Here were some of Claire's.

Natey's

And Jack's

They had so much fun coloring them!

After lunch, Justin took the kids for a drive while I worked on my taxes. I KNOW! I'm getting them done - trying, at least.

There you have it - Easter!

ABCs of Me

2010-04-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm doing this because it was on Sarah's blog....and I liked it. You can call me a copy cat. I've been called worse. Let's go!

A - Age: 35. I'm staying at 35. I refuse to add any more numbers.

B - Bed size: Queen. I'd super, duper love a King though.

C - Chore you hate: All of them. Come check out my house and see for yourself. (Actually, please don't.)

D - Dog's name: Drake. He's not my dog, he's Justin's.

E - Essential start your day item: Dt. Caffeine Free Mt. Dew

F - Favorite color: I like pink, but I'm growing closer to green.

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Platinum I guess.

H - Height: 5'1 ....and W sure as hell better not be weight.......

I - Instruments you play: Spoons. Ok, I just made that up.

J - Juice: Grape juice

K - Kid(s): 3

L - Living arrangements: Husband and 3 kids

M - Mom's name: Sue

N - Nicknames: Ker by most of my family and friends. Woody by friends made from about 1992 until 1997. KA by my Grandmother.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: 3 times after I had kids.

P - Pet Peeve: There are so many.

Q - Quote: Life is a balance of holding on and letting go. -Keith Urban

R - Right handed or left handed: Severely Right

S - Siblings: Sister Shannon and (step) Brother Matthew

T - Time you wake up: 7....and I hate it.

U - Underwear: Uh.....isn't it the law at my age.....of 35?

V - Vegetable you dislike: Pea's. Yuck!

W - Ways you run late: Poor time management. (Thank you for not being Weight)

X - X-rays you've had: Teeth and an elbow when I was a kid.

Y - Yummy food you make: Hmmm, I'm not sure. I'm an ok cook though.

Z - Zoo favorite: Zebras and Giraffes.

Globetrobbers

2010-03-30T19:56:00.005-06:00

That's how my kids say it - Globetrobbers. No how many times I correct them - Globetrobbers.

Justin and I got Nathan a ticket to see the Globetrotters for Christmas. We'd watched them on Amazing Race, so he was pretty jacked to get to see them in person. I also got Justin and Nathan tickets to what was called a "Magic Pass". This allowed them to play some games, hang out with the players and get some autographs. Nathan was THRILLED! He had such a great time! Here are some pictures that I ~~stole~~ borrowed.

They had so much fun! When Nathan came home, he was talking a mile a minute - telling me every.single.thing that happened. ;)

Next time.....I'm going. =)

Shhhhhhh.......

2010-03-24T08:57:00.002-06:00

This morning when I went to get Natey up for school, I couldn't resist taking Jack's picture. He sleeps like this all the time and I thought today would be the perfect day to capture it.

Awwww - sweet slumber......

State A Champs - Twice IS nice!

2010-03-22T08:11:00.004-06:00

What a game! It was horrible to sit though. I mean, I would have loved it had it been any other team than the Bulldogs. :) Natey, Claire and I went to Sioux Falls after I got off work on Saturday to watch the championship game of the State A's. We met Linda and her family there. I hadn't seen them in a while, so it was great to get caught up.

I was so nervous! I wasn't sure if the Bulldogs could beat Rapid City's St. Thomas More. I've never seen them play, so not knowing what they were like was killing me. Our boys played their hearts out. We were behind the whole first and second periods. I really wanted the boys to win this one.

On Thursday, I had a few people in my chair at work that were cheering against the Bulldogs. For whatever reason, this seemed to be a theme. We lost one game this season, one. Yet, everyone seemed to count us out. Why? I just don't get it.

Anyway, here is a video of the boys as they won. I love it!

Here is a picture of the fans rushing the court. Fun!

Nathan's favorite player this year is #14, Michael Sullivan. A couple weeks ago, the Bulldogs had an autograph signing session. Nathan drew Michael a picture. Last Wednesday the Elementary kids had a pep rally. The receptionist told Nathan that Micheal wanted him to hang out with him at the pep rally and that he had something for him. Well, at the pep rally someone else chose Michael, so Nathan didn't get to talk to him. He did, however, choose Michael's brother to hang out with. I mean, if you can't have the real deal then a brother will do. ;)

After the championship game, Nathan wanted to go to the floor to look for "Sully". We saw him cut the net and then being interviewed by one of the local news stations. Afterwards, we asked if Michael would mind taking a picture with Nathan.

It makes me so happy when the high school boys are so kind to their small fans.

As we were getting ready to leave, Sully's Aunt stopped Nathan and asked if he was the one that drew the picture for Michael. When he said yes, she offered him her button with Michael's picture on it. For reals yall - he was so, so excited. Before we knew it, Michael was tapping Natey on the shoulder asking if he'd take one more picture with him for Sully's mom. A really great moment for Nathan.

Here he is with his team button, Sully's button, and one heck of a smile.

Congratulations Madison Bulldogs.

What a wonderful repeat!

SO! FUNNY! (and look for my boyfriend)

2010-03-08T13:58:00.002-06:00

Natey's favorite Winter Olympic athlete

2010-03-03T15:46:00.002-06:00

Shaun White

Surgery

2010-03-02T10:16:00.005-06:00

Nathan had his tonsils taken out Monday. To say that I was uneasy about it really is an understatement. I'm not sure why, but I really felt that I was getting signs that it wasn't a good idea. First he had a low grade temp of 99.8 on Friday night. He wasn't feeling all that great that night. I figured we'd just play it by ear. Then Saturday night I looked at his throat. Sure enough he was getting white spots - again

Ok, so here's the back story since I haven't blogged in a while. On December 15th, I took Nathan to the doctor and he had strep. He had it again near New Year's Eve(ish). Then in late January or early February, he got croup. Full out croup. The barky cough, can't breathe, croup. I didn't realize a child his age would get it. I mean, I knew he could get croup, but struggling to breathe? You could hear every gasp he took. Not fun! I thought it came in a form of a bad cold for kids age. Guess not. Justin took him to the doctor, and Dr. Henry said he'd call a ENT and see if he'd like to take a look at Nathan to see if maybe he should have his tonsils removed. A week or so later I got the call. I took him to see Dr. Jensen in Sioux Falls and he decided that removing his tonsils would be the best thing for him. We were very happy to hear that.

Sunday I called the hospital because I didn't want to take Natey to Sioux Falls at 6:30am to have to turn around and come back home. I ended up speaking to Dr. Jensen. I told him that Nathan had white spots on his tonsils again. He said we'd go ahead with the surgery as long as Natey didn't take a turn for the worst. When he woke up Monday morning, his tonsils were speckled with white, but he didn't have a fever, so we went to Sioux falls.

The poor thing was nervous. I guess he felt sick in the van on the way down, but he never told us until much later. We walked in the doors at the Surgical Tower and were greeted by the woman at the desk. All of a sudden Nathan was gagging hard core. Poor little guy. He'd worked himself up so much internally that he almost threw up. Justin rushed him to the bathroom where Nathan finally calmed himself down. When they came out of the bathroom, they took us right to his room.

A nurse came in to asses him to make sure he was well enough to have surgery. He didn't have a fever and was calming down. They gave him a few gifts which seemed to make things better for him. They asked him to change in to some special pajamas and then someone would be back in the room shortly. Natey - LOVED - the pj's and really wanted to bring them home.

After he changed, Sarah came in the room. She gave him some toys to play with and showed him some pictures of what would happen to him. She was really great with him. During her schpiel the anesthesiologist came in. He was super nice too and very calming. He felt that Nathan was good to go for surgery but wanted to give him some medicine to help his nerves. As a result, it would probably take a little longer for him to wake up in recovery, but it would be helpful in the long run. Dr. Jensen also made an appearance.

(Natey, Grandma Sharelle and I made this blanket for him the day before surgery. He loves it!)

It didn't take long for him to get loopy after taking the medicine. He was watching Monsters Vs. Aliens and blurted out "HA!!! THAT'S A BOY!" For reals - I was crying laughing. It was so funny - and so random. He was totally looped. Not long after, they came and wheeled him away for surgery.Tom came and showed us to some snacks. We took them back to the room and waited. It wasn't long before the doctor came in to tell us that the surgery went well and that Natey was in recovery. We knew it would be an hour(ish) long wait, so waited we did. Justin read and I would read, almost fall asleep, text, check facebook, stand up, sit down, go to the bathroom, text, facebook, and read.

An hour passed. An hour and 15 minutes passed. I was done with everything that was keeping me occupied. I stood at the window feeling the sunshine of my face. Finally someone came from the recovery room to say that Nathan was ok, but having a hard time waking up. "He's asking for you Mom, so we'd like for you to come with us. Dad, you stay here and we'll call you with an update."

We walked quickly to where we needed to be. It felt like it took forever. The man, naturally, was much taller than I, so I had to take three steps to his one....and he was bookin' it. Seeing your child after surgery is by far the worst part. Nathan was hooked up to machines and was somewhat combative. He wanted to rub his eyes, and for whatever reason, the nurses didn't want him to. He tried to get out of the bed a couple of times. After he saw me he really wanted his dad. They needed him to eat a popsicle, and the poor thing tried. He kept dropping it everywhere. He was so, so tired. He would put it in his mouth and let go of the stick. It would fall out of his mouth onto his blankets and he wouldn't be able to find it.

Finally, after spending over 2 hours in recovery, we got to go back to the room. He was so, so happy to see Justin - and Justin was happy to see him. Natey slept again for over an hour. When he woke up enough, they gave him some medication. Half an hour later he was ready to rock and roll. He decided that that day was top 3 of him being funny. (Listen, anyone could be funny with the medication he was on!)

Poor guy threw up in the van before we even left Sioux Falls. Then he slept - again.

When he got home, he was beyond happy to find cards and balloons waiting for him. Two of his babysitters (who happen to be twin sisters) brought him over a balloon tied to M&M's. Later in the evening, Dawson and Tracy came by with some balloons, a card Dawson made in school, and a gift for him. To say that he felt special is a complete understatement. Yesterday he got a few more cards in the mail and even a $5 dollar bill from our friend Lucy. Thanks Luce!

So, thank you to all of you that facebooked me. I was calmed by every ones well wishes and wishes of encouragement. I really do have the best friends and family.

A chip off the old block

2010-02-27T23:28:00.001-06:00

We are fine!

2010-02-16T17:32:00.000-06:00

That will be $10 Michele.

I love fast cash!

From our family to yours

2009-12-20T10:51:00.004-06:00

Greetings from Claire

My Mom said people liked my Christmas letter better than hers, so I'm writing it again. I'm 4 this year and can still do almost anything. I can write my name. I learned that in pre-school. I go there Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Friday is show and tell day. Next year I'll be big enough to go to Natey's school. I'm so excited about that!

Natey's my biggest brother. He's 7 and loves 2nd grade. He's good at drawing and reading. He doesn't like math much. He really likes sports - all sports. This summer he was in Coach Pitch baseball. I tried to watch him, but it was funner to play at the park. Natey went to football camp, too. He loves football. He really does. He lost teeth over the year and also grew some. I try to pull on mine to see if they'll come out. If they come out then the tooth fairy comes. I think I've seen her before. Natey's a good big brother and he's nice to me most of the time.
My littest brother is Jack-a-Roo. He just turned 3 years old. We had a birthday party for him and Mom made animal cupcakes. He loves animals. He doesn't have therapy friends anymore. He's all better. I'm glad that Roos is my littest brother because Momma says that if he was my biggest brother then he'd be an only child. I'm glad he's the littlest. Did you know that he jumps a lot? He does. He smiles a lot too - even when he's in trouble. the other day he was getting in trouble and Momma was telling him NO!. He just reached up and honked her nose. He did that. I love him and miss him when I'm at school.

This summer we did some fn things. We got to spend a day at the Omaha Zoo again. My Daddy got a new truck in Omaha, so we went to the zoo. Daddy also took Natey to his first Angel's game at The Cities. Mom, Roo and I went swimming at the motel and then ordered Chinese in the room while Daddy and Natey were at the game. Jack poured out his pop on the carpet. Mommy was not happy. We also went to The Mall of America. Aunt Shannon sent us tickets to ride as many rides as we wanted. It was super fun.

We went to Aunt Shannon's house for a weekend, too. Daddy went fishing with Uncle Jim and caught a big fish. It was fun to see Evie and Izzie. I miss them.

My Aunt Lynn had a baby in October. She's Baby Kyra. I love her. She's my other girl. When I went to see her, I made sure to take my baby doll to show her. We'll play with it when she's bigger. Baby Kyra has two brothers just like me; Spencer and Zachary. We're the same.

This spring we had some bad news. My Papa Gary got his angel wings and had to go live in Heaven. We are so sad about it. Sometimes I play games and have Papa as one of the players. Mostly I let him win. I also send orange pop to him in Heaven. I think he likes it. We sure do miss our Papa.

My Dad is a bigger cop this year. He's a Detective Sergeant cop. It's a big deal. My Mom still works at the salon. She colored my hair pink for Halloween. I was Strawberry Shortcake.

As for me, I like to color and play with my brothers. I'm really good at taking care of them. I got a bike for my birthday this year. I'm good at riding it with my training wheels. When I get in trouble I have dramatic melt downs and I tell my Mom and Dad that I WANT MY GRANDMA! That's what I do.

I've got to go. Roo said he's get me a juice box and I just heard a crash in the kitchen. Merry Christmas!

Love,
Claire

Oh Christmas Tree

2009-12-14T20:46:00.008-06:00

We finally got our tree up last night. I had to run to the store - twice - before the project was complete, but it's up. Justin and I put the lights, tensile and beads on, and then it was time for the kids to finish it off. They had a blast - well, Nathan and Claire had a good time, but Jack Had! A! Blast!

Here he is adding a bit more to what looks to be an already overpopulated spot.

And then you get "I DID IT!"
Beautiful!
That cracks me up. I actually took a picture of it with my cell phone and now it's my wallpaper. Love it!

Then Claire and Nathan wanted to point out their favorite ornaments.
Then we had to take a gazillion with each child "in the middle".
You can't tell that Jack loved every. single. second. of it. Can you?

Claire's Preschool program

2009-12-06T23:57:00.007-06:00

Claire had her preschool program Sunday. It was - adorable. The kids were so cute. Mrs. Poncelette led them out to the stage and before long all of the kids are waving at their parents. It makes me smile just thinking of it. I didn't take any video to show you, but it was cute.

She was very proud of her dress. It came with a matching one for her doll. Cute, cute, cute!

She and I were alone this weekend. Justin and the boys went to Aberdeen for our nieces baptism. Claire and I had a good time. We started a project that isn't quite done. I promise to blog about it before it's old news - like 10 years old.

This girl says some of the funniest things. Her imagination is more than wild. She pretends more than any other child I know. For instance, we'll go to the grocery store and she'll say, "I've never been here before". Then she'll look at me with her big brown eyes and say, "pretend". Then I'm expected to say something like, "You'll really like it. They have almost anything you want inside." A remark like that will make her smile from ear to ear.

Yesterday she was playing with a doll and it seemed if maybe the doll was on the phone with someone? I'm not sure. Anyway, she said "Well it's in Madison, South Dakota (although she says it more like Southa Koda). You go to Koda - and go south." Priceless!

....because when you think you can do it better, you should

2009-11-21T20:41:00.002-06:00

mostly because I think she's cute.....

2009-11-19T19:57:00.002-06:00

Pictures taken - check

2009-11-18T07:56:00.003-06:00

Monday afternoon I took the kids to Black's to get their pictures taken. Jack had his birthday photo shoot and then they took the kids Christmas card picture.

I spent the afternoon wrapping 3 boxes in Christmas wrapping paper and packing things to take. I took a little tree as well. I also made some snacks for the kids to eat while I was picking out the pictures. I made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and packed some cheese balls. I packed a juice box for each of them too.

I can! not! wait for you guys to see the pictures. Jack had a blast! They got some adorable pictures. I hate waiting for them to come in. It's the worst part.

The picture above is from Black's blog. He's a bit of a Peachy Pie fan and called her Princess the whole time. The boys walked in and he said "Where is my Princess". You should have seen his princess bat her eyes and twirl around. Lordy.

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T21:37:00.005-06:00

Halloween 2009 was a success! The day before, it snowed. Not just snow, but it snowed snow balls. Snow chunks. It was crazy. It was cold and wet.

Not today though. Nope. It was perfect. I don't think we reached 60, but we had sunshine and that's almost as good.

I've been waiting for Halloween for weeks. We decided that Claire would be Strawberry Shortcake and my mind went crazy. I decided that I wanted to color her hair pink. Anyone can put on a wig or spray that crap on their hair. Pink hair it would be!

Here she is getting ready for her transformation.
One of my co-workers, Natae, helped me apply the pink. I needed it put on quickly and Natae was willing to help, so I took her up on it.After the color was done I put her hair in rollers. Such a happy camper.As if life could get any better.....
She got to sit under the dryer which made her SUPER happy. She loved it!Then it was time to get her costume on. She was so excited! We got the dress on, the tights. I put on her hat and she wasn't all too excited anymore. I took it off to air-brush some cheeks on her. She wasn't overly fond of that either. I think she'd had her fill of mommy/daughter time. She even mentioned missing her brothers.

Finally, it was time to put on her fake lashes and her look would be complete. She asked me not to, but being the Halloween Mommy Dearest that I am, I just....kinda....did it. And got this fab pic.
And then down came the tears. Not only did she not want the hat, or make-up, she REALLY didn't want the lashes. At all. She cried and cried. Did I mention that I air-brushed her make-up? Yeah. Well she finally quit crying and decided that the hat would work out just fine. (I kinda told her that she'd have to wear her stocking hat if she didn't choose this one and then NOBODY would know what she was supposed to be. See? Halloween Mommy Dearest. I'm not proud of it. Well, not super proud of it, at least.)

The end result.

Strawberry Shortcake!

Here are all the kids. Nathan was a baseball player. I tried to explain to him that Halloween wasn't career day, but he didn't care. He wanted to be a baseball player anyway. And really, he took one for the team last year. He was the Tin Man. His friends would walk by with super cool costumes as Nathan tried to hide behind the nearest tree - because he was the Tin Man. So baseball player it was.

If you asked Jack what he was he'd tell you a bat. After all, he had wings. :) A devil wasn't a stretch for him, that's for sure. He had a b*l*a*s*t trick-or-treating. He loved every second of it. He asked almost everyone if we could come in their house. It was pretty funny. One guy said, "Maybe you can come in, I don't know, maybe next week". I'm almost positive Jack penciled him in.
Here is the gang: Dawson, Caymen, Claire, Nathan and Jack.Here are the kids with their loot. For reals - nobody needs that much candy. But! We'll take it. ;)

Pumpkin painting

2009-10-20T21:46:00.002-06:00

Monday we picked out our pumpkins. Each of the kids picked one out (and loved every second of it...) and then I chose one. I don't think I'll be able to carve the one that Jack picked, so I thought I better get a 'stand-by'.

We also got mini pumpkins for them to paint. They had a blast!!

You know what?

2009-10-15T18:39:00.002-06:00

You're Cranky!

(Do you love how he says it with a big, fat, smile?)

Do you love it?

2009-10-06T06:39:00.004-06:00

I got my hair cut and colored Sunday night. Do you love it as much as I do? The red is HD again and again Justin doesn't like it. But I sure do. Oh! And do you love the self portrait? It drives me crazy when I see a self portrait, but I had to. HAD TO! :)
Oh yeah! Here are my blue nails. Speaking of blue, Jack told me yesterday that he liked my byou (blue) hair. Um, close sweetie. :)

You know you're tired when....

2009-10-05T08:44:00.002-06:00

You fall asleep giving yourself a neb.

Butterflies

2009-09-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

This has been such a fun project at our house. I hope the kids want to do it again next year. The only draw back is that the caterpillars and chrysalis' don't smell all that great. Other than that, the life of a Monarch is unbelievable.

We started with these little guys....Jack couldn't get enough of them.

When they are ready to make a chrysalis, they make a J, like this.

Then they shed their skin and made a chrysalis. Remember?Before they get ready to hatch, it would appear that they turn black. However, the chrysalis isn't black at all, it's just the black of the Monarch's wings that you see.She the wings?The chrysalis is actually clear.Here are a couple of them after they hatched.You have to make sure their wings are fully dried before you try to set them free. Here is one that we took out too soon.I ended up bringing it back in so the wings could dry more.

Did you know they migrate to Mexico? If you have a 2nd grader you sure do.

Did you know that you can tell the difference between boys and girls? Here is a picture of a boy. I didn't make the caption big enough, but it says "This is how you can tell it's a boy. There is a swelling in the line." I had no idea!

And would you believe that I got video of one hatching? You'll be able to hear that I'm a little excited about it. Ok, so I was a lot excited about it. I couldn't believe that I got video of one making the chrysalis and coming out.

What a wonderful, beautiful and simply amazing process!

DSU Homecoming Parade

2009-09-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

On Friday I was super nervous what kind of weather we'd be having on Saturday for the parade. I told the kids that I'd take them rain or shine. Thank you Jesus for giving us shine. :)

I called Grandma Sandy and Papa Ken that morning to see if they'd want to sit with us. The kids thought it was a great idea. Tracy and her kids were in the parade, so we were happy to save them a spot.

It was cute - Natey woke up Saturday morning and was in a panic because "WHAT IF DAWSON HAS TO WALK IN FRONT OF A FIRE TRUCK????". Dawson isn't a fan of loud noises and Natey was so worried that his buddy's parade experience would be ruined due to a fire truck. Luckily, Dawson wasn't near a fire truck.

How about some visual aids. Here the kids are waiting for the parade to start.I'm telling you, Jack is a total gamer. He's playing Chuzzle on my phone.Here is the Madison High School Marching Band. They sounded great! I really love the bands.The Rost girls made appearances at different times in the parade. Amber stood with us until Shayla went by. I love me some Amber.Check out this cool truck. I don't know who owns it, but it's awesome!The Dueul High School band was there too, and not that I have interest in them, but I loved their outfits the most. :)The families of the 211th walked in the parade. I think we got a half a bag of candy from them. The kids L*O*V*E*D it! Here are Tracy and Caymen.

And Katie and Braelyn.

Remember when the Shriners had those itty bitty motorcycles? Well they are movin' on up. I wonder how many hours they spent practicing this?

Natey's right, totally cool!

Later that day, Tracy and I went to Sioux Falls. I had a blast. I even got my nails done. Other than doing them myself, I've never had them done 'professionally'. It was fun - and now I have blue tips. :) Check out Tracy's blog to find out about her parade experience.

Once bitten, twice shy

2009-09-21T13:44:00.006-06:00

I chose to believe that when Ferber came back from his last deployment that he was home for good. In my brain I knew that wasn't right, but I let my heart believe it. I guess it was just easier that way.

Here we are again. Although this deployment isn't for as long, it's just as hard. For some reason I thought it would be easier. I don't have a clue why I thought it was going to be, but I did.

We had supper with Tracy and Ferber last Thursday night. It was just like old times. The boys ganged up against us and Tracy and I acted as if it weren't happening. When we left that night, we decided that we weren't going to say good-bye, not yet.

I wasn't going to go to the Activation Ceremony. I didn't like it in 2003, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it in 2009. Then, I realized that I was being selfish. It wasn't about what I wanted to do, or not do in this case. It was about showing my friend(s) that I support them and care for them.

So Natey and I went. I did well through most of the ceremony. Then I lost it....and I couldn't get it back. Heath is a police officer and works with Justin when he's not on active duty with the guards. He spoke at the ceremony. He got chocked up - and that's when I lost it.Here are a few other pictures from the ceremony. Caymen wasn't really into it. She was into seeing what Grandma Sandy was doing, then what we were doing, then what her Mom and Dad were doing - and so forth. ;)
No matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get this picture to go the other way. So there.

I was so very proud of our community. I was happy that the gym was just as packed for this as it would be for a basketball game.This young kid, 18 or 19 years old, was being interviewed right in front of us. I couldn't hear all of what he was saying, but Ferber confirmed that this kid just finished up Basic and volunteered to go with the unit. He's 18 or 19 years old! I couldn't commit to a basket of nachos when I was his age. His actions are commendable.Natey spoke to Grandma Sharelle that night. He told her all about the ceremony. I don't know exactly how the conversation went, but Nathan couldn't believe the "Governor of Pierre" was there.

And so was John Thune.

Both men shook hands with all the soldiers. I was very happy to see that they looked each and every one in the eye and said Thank You to them. Nicely done gentlemen.

Here are a few more that I loved......

Saying good-bye to Ferber on Saturday night sucked. I bawled and bawled. Natey and Claire gave him a hug too, and said good-bye. Poor Natey bawled all the way home. When we got home he said "I missed my dad when he worked at the fair for a week. We won't see Mark again until Clarie's in kindergarten" as tears fell from his face.

I thought this time would be different. I thought it would be easier. I've been friends with this man for 12 years. He's been my buddy for an awful long time. And I was wrong. It hurts - again.

I asked Tracy to take a picture of Ferber and I before we went to the football game Friday night. I didn't want to wait and take it on Saturday when I knew for sure I'd have cry eyes.

Not many things or people can bump Keith Urban off my wallpaper. However, this did.

Pray for Ferber, Heath, and the 111 other soldiers of the 211th Guard Unit. Pray for Peace for their families.....and friends.

Science at the Meyer house

2009-09-15T06:00:00.000-06:00

Natey's 2nd grade class has been busy raising caterpillars to butterflies in their room. Nathan could get extra credit by bringing caterpillars to school, but instead, he thought it was more important to show the process to Claire and Jack.

One day we went caterpillar hunting and found 7 of them. I've never done this, so it's been as much fun for me as it has been for the kids. Even Jack's into it.

We've been waiting for the caterpillars to make their chrysalis'. Can you believe I caught one in action? Holy smokes I was excited!!! Natey says they'll stay in their chrysalis for 10-14 days before they hatch into beautiful butterflies. I'm SO excited!!! Stay tuned!

September 11th

2009-09-11T00:04:00.004-06:00

There are 2,823 reasons to remember this day.

2,823.

Remember it.

Honor them.

Do.
Not.
Forget.

Remembering Chad

2009-09-02T06:00:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, I took Nathan and Claire to Sioux Falls to see the Canaries play. None of us had ever been to a game, so the excitement level was through the roof.Chad Mechels' children got to throw out the first pitch.

After the kids threw out their pitch, the announcer told the crowd how he was Chad's roommate in college and started to read a poem. I was already a bit emotional watching the kids, but when this guy read his poem, it was game over. I lost it. Bawled like a baby - and turned off the camera.We had a great time. There were some girls from the US Women's Softball team there as well.

It was a bit chilly so we didn't stay for the whole game, but we enjoyed sitting in a group of people that loved Chad and wanted to show support for his wife and children. It was a fun time and I'm very, very glad we went.

2009-09-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Do you remember that I said that Jack has become a gamer? I'm not even kidding.

It's bad.

Bad.

Don't even make the mistake of thinking that you're getting on his computer. It would be a huge mistake. He'll scold you, throw a fit, maybe even hit you, then tell on you.

It's bad.

Bad.

But really, when the kid says the word computer like a foreign exchange student, who wouldn't give him a turn?

First day of school

2009-08-30T20:38:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures of the kids on their first days of school. Nathan started 2nd grade last Thursday and Claire started her second year of pre-school on Friday. They were both excited. Natey really likes his teacher again this year. Claire not only likes her teacher, but she also likes that her new classroom is in the big school. Last year her pre-school was across the street from the school, so they would have to walk across the street to get to gym and music. This will be better for sure. In the first picture it kinda look like Claire's gone gangster, but she really hasn't. :)

Nathan has decided that he wants to wear his hair a little longer for a while. He likes to spike it up a bit (like Jeff from Big Brother) to give it some style.

So far - so good!

Trampoline = FUN!!!

2009-08-24T12:08:00.006-06:00

When I was young, the people next door and across the street from us had a trampoline. My sister and I spent countless hours jumping and playing games with our friends day in and out.

As you know, Natey is a gamer. He doesn't want to go outside and ride his bike because 'it's too hot'. He doesn't want to go play catch outside because 'it's booooring'. He has a million excuses as to why he doesn't want to do anything other than be inside the house all day.

That got me thinking. I decided to price trampolines and found out they were kind of an expensive toy. Expensive, maybe, but great for exercise.

I found one on sale on Friday and went to Sioux Falls and bought it. On Saturday Tracy and Grandma Karen (Tracy's mom) came over to help me put it together. I read on the Internet that some guy put it together on his own so I thought the 3 of us for sure could handle it together.

At the end when you're putting on the springs, things get a bit tricky. Thankfully, right at that point, Ferber and Grandpa Randy walked in. Yes!

Finally it was time to jump, jump, jump!

I love this one!
Here is Tracy taking her turn. She even did a front flip.
I put on facebook that I was a back flippin' fool. That, of course, peaked your curiosity. Well wonder no longer. Justin informed me that it was only a half back flip, but until he shows me his back flip, I'm taking it. (Actually, today I landed on my feet....mostly because I ROCK!)

We had the tramp for less than 24 hours and Natey can do this.

We're having so much fun!!

Trip to Bemidji

2009-08-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

The weekend of the 8th we went to Bemidji. Natey kept saying Burmidji and it was cracking me up. I forgot my camera, so all these pictures are from my phone.

It took us six and a half hours to get to my sisters house. The kids traveled very well. We were quite surprised. We left on a Saturday and came back on Monday. On Saturday, Justin, my brother-in-law, and one of his friends went fishing. I sent him a message and asked him if they were catching anything. He sent me back this picture.....

I started bawling. Apparently it was harder for me than it was for him. It was something I know he would have called his dad about. The conversation would have gone like this... "I caught a 6 pound bass todaay - what did you do?". I was so happy for Justin I bawled then beamed.

While the guys were out fishing, Shannon and I took the kids to a place called the Science Center. It was really cool. The kids had a great time.

Here are some pictures.....

Here is Claire "building something".

The kids were scared to death of this guy. He was walking around the center like he owned the place. You could tell where he was because not far from him/her you'd hear a shrieking Meyer.I found it interesting that they were scared to death of a turtle they could by far out run, but they enjoyed the rabbit and .... whatever that other thing was. YUCK!Remember the Spirograph? This is the same idea just a much grander scale. It was fun!

Here are the kids (minus Jack) in the astronaut cutout.

Nathan

Evie

Claire

Izzie

Before we went to the Science Center, Claire and Izzie had a picnic on this fun table at my sister's house.

Izzie was a huge Aunt Kerrie fan. She's so stinkin' cute!

When Izzie was a toddler, she was quite the spit fire. She went from one thing to the next getting herself into trouble. After we got home from Shannon's, Nathan said "Mom, Izzie isn't naughty any more". That may or may not be the case, but it wouldn't hurt her to say a quiet Thank You to Jack for taking any of the naughty attention off of her and putting it on himself. As you can see in this picture, he provided the entertainment for our family that weekend.Before we left Bemidji, we took some pictures with Paul Bunyan and Babe.The next time we make the trip, we'll have to stay longer. It's beautiful country up there, but not near warm enough for me. The next time we go, I'll for sure remember my camera, too. We had such a good time in spite of it.

The Twin Cities

2009-08-17T00:13:00.001-06:00

Here are some things you've missed due to me not blogging. Jack has become a gamer. Yeah, he's 2 1/2 and addicted to the computer and anything else that he can get his hands on. If I can't find my cell phone the first place I look is Jack's hands.

We went to the Cities the weekend of August 1st. These wind farms creep me out. I'm not talkin' a little - I'm talking BIG TIME.Do they have to be so big and slow and.....creepy? Ack!

The motel we stayed in was beautiful. I've never stayed in a Hilton, but it was very nice - and inexpensive. Jack could have sat here all day.....

One guess at what was out there......

That's right. The airport. It's a very busy airport, so about every 30 seconds to a minute he'd clap and say "Come meeere! Dare's another one!!!" He was in heaven.

Justin took Natey to his first Angel's game. I wasn't sure if Nathan would watch the whole game or if he'd get bored. I sent his PSP with him just in case. Justin said he was content through the whole game. He loved every second of it. Justin was kind enough to take a few pictures for me. Mike Napoli is Nathan's favorite player - or one of them at least. He's the catcher. He signed Nathan's ball. Natey was beside himself with excitement because there were a couple of other kids standing next to him with their Twins garb on and Mike only signed Natey's ball. I would guess it was because Natey had his Angel's stuff on. He loved it!

While they were at the game the little kids and I went swimming. The pool was just the right temp and the kids had a ball.

The next day we went school clothes shopping and then to the Mall of America. My sister sent us passes for the rides so the kids could hardly wait to get there and ride, ride, ride.

At first Justin had the camera, but his shots were, um, interesting at best. Here are a couple of examples:
It's ok, you can laugh. I did. I decided to take the camera back so I'd know what I was getting. I got Justin and his mini-me's and a bunch of other fun stuff. We had a super duper great weekend!

Taylor Swift Pranks Keith Urban

2009-08-12T22:29:00.001-06:00

Did you see this? I'm pretty sure I would have pee'd myself if I were Keith. They were kinda scary! Good one though. You've gotta love a girl that can run with the big dogs.

When the end result is the same

2009-07-26T08:24:00.002-06:00

When we got the call about my father-in-law, our lives changed. We all knew that it would. I started to hyperventilate. Justin was calm. He went down to his knees, but he remained calm. He was on the phone with his Mom until I heard "Hi ________, my name is Justin and I'm with the Madison Police Department. Can you please tell me what you know?" He was obviously talking to someone in law enforcement.

I immediately called Tracy. What was in my head was clear as a bell, however, what was coming out of my mouth was not. "Ker! Ker! I don't know what you're saying. You have to calm down." I was crying and coughing and trying really hard not to throw up. She told me she'd be right over. At that point I believe she understood enough that Gary was gone, but I'm not sure how much more she was able to understand.

Justin got off the phone with his Mom and started packing his things. He called his work to let them know he would be gone for a while. All I could think of was 'if he's leaving, who on earth is going to tell the children?'.

I've never experienced shock like I did that night.

Many times when I was a dispatcher I'd have to send an officer over to someones house to let them know of a death in their family. I'm curious by nature. You can call it nosey if you want - I don't care. I call it curious because I actually care about the information that I'm getting. I think if you're nosey you're just getting information to feed your need to be in the know. That's not me.

One time Justin went with an officer to give a death message to someone I ended up becoming friends with later in life. Their daughter/sister was killed in a car accident out near Rapid City. I wanted to know every detail. I wanted to know if they fell to their knees when they heard the news. I wanted to know if he gave them a hug - to let them know that he cared. I wanted to be able to feel a part of what they were going through.

The shock of never seeing my father-in-law again was very hard for me. He and I sparred so much that I wasn't positive that he knew that I loved him. I didn't realize how much I loved him until he was gone.

When I got back to work, I felt comfort in talking about my loss. It was hard at first, but then I realized the more I talked about it the better I felt. I started to wonder and ponder a question; is it easier to lose someone the way we lost Gary, suddenly in an accident or to be able to say good-bye but watch them die of an illness that possibly robs them of who they are?

One day my dear friend Lucy and I went out for lunch. Her uncle had been battling cancer for a good year plus at that time. She'd just gotten news that his cancer was back and the prognosis didn't seem good. I asked her the question that I'd been pondering. She said she didn't know, but she knew it was hard to watch her uncle go through such a rough time.

From the start of Uncle Paul's cancer, I'd been there for Lucy. At the same time she was going through that, her dad found out he had prostate cancer. Her Dad's prognosis was much better than Paul's. Her dad had surgery and recovered with no problems. Paul wasn't as lucky. His cancer started in his lungs - as a non smoker. After that was taken care of, it came back in his brain. They were able to remove that tumor with no problem. Then, it came back "like a carpet on his brain", as Lucy explained it to me.

It seemed she and I would get the answer to the question she and I both now pondered.

On July 13th, Paul went Home. He was surrounded by family and was given the gift of love by so many. What was even better was that he too was able to give gifts of love to them as well. He'd been pretty out of it but somehow found the strength to thank his caregivers. He gave Lucy a hug, patted her on the back, and thanked her for taking care of him. He died the next night.

I went to Paul's prayer service, never knowing the man that was being honored and remembered. I was there for my friend and her family. I heard high school kids talking about their ROTC instructor whom they respected more than themselves. I heard from Paul's family who knew that his death ended his suffering, but left an open wound in their hearts - their souls.

I would have loved to have been able to say good-bye to Gary. I would have loved to tell him that even though many days he was a huge pain in my ass - I still loved him like my own father.

I'm glad that Gary didn't have to suffer. I'm sorry that Paul did.

I realized when the end result is the same, so is the pain left behind.

Whole lotta nothin'

2009-07-06T21:27:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure why I keep this blog. I mean, I'm not going to delete it, but I don't really feel like writing on it anymore. I'm busy. It was fun when I had time to do it. Most of the times I don't think of it - unless there is a KU even I think you should know about.

You came in droves when my father-in-law passed away. That was nice.

I feel like I have more to say about that - and will at some point.

Random.

Ramble.

Justin and I are taking the kids to Minneapolis on Aug. 1st. Justin and Nathan will see an Angle's baseball game. Nathan is pee your pants excited. It was all he could talk about today. He even thanked Justin for taking him - and it's a month away. The little kids and I will do something else while they are at the game. During the weekend we'll hit the Mall of America too. Should be fun.

I've been really busy at the salon. That's been great. Sure hurts my legs though. At night my legs jump like crazy from standing up all day.

I've lost 3 pounds. Three. I guess it's better than gaining, but.....3. I bet it would come off faster if I would exercise.

OH! I was just about to sign off when I realized I wanted to tell you this. Guess who I met in Pierre this weekend? None other than Sarah. It was sure nice to meet you. Sorry again for Jack whacking you in the face...on more than one occasion. He's kinda naughty like that. Next time we'll visit instead of watch fireworks. =)

I think that's it.

For now.

Sound Bites - Keith Urban style

2009-07-03T00:09:00.000-06:00

Sound Bites - Taylor Swift style

2009-07-02T00:05:00.001-06:00

Picture slide-show

2009-07-01T06:25:00.000-06:00

Concert pictures

2009-06-29T23:19:00.005-06:00

I'm working on getting my pictures the way I want them. Until then, these will have to do.

I know - everyone hates a tease.

~Yum~

Video blog - KU concert

2009-06-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

Father's Day

2009-06-21T14:14:00.004-06:00

Today we're celebrating Father's Day. It's another first that we must go through. I worried that Justin wouldn't be able to let us celebrate him being a great Dad and husband due to not being able to spend Father's day the way he'd like to,with his dad.

We're getting through it.

In honor of Gary and Justin, I'd like to post this really great song by Keith Urban called Song for Dad. I've also posted the lyrics below.

We miss him - more than we knew we could. I'm just so thankful that Gary was able to see what a wonderful man his son became and an even better father.

I love you, Justin, and I sincerely feel your pain.

Lately I've been noticing

I say the same things he used to say

And I even find myself acting the very same way

I tap my fingers on the table

To the rhythm in my soul

And I jingle the car keys

When I'm ready to go

When I look in the mirror

He's right there in my eyes

Starin' back at me and I realize

The older I get

The more I can see

How much he loved my mother and my brother and me

And he did the best that he could

And I only hope when I have my own family

That everyday I see

A little more of my father in me

There were times I thought he was bein'

Just a little bit hard on me

But now I understand he was makin' me

Become the man he knew that I could be

In everything he ever did

He always did with love

And I'm proud today to say I'm his son

When somebody says I hope I get to meet your dad

I just smile and say you already have (so true)

The older I get

The more I can see

How much he loved my mother and my brother and me

And he did the best that he could

And I only hope when I have my own family

That everyday I see

A little more of my father in me

He's in my eyes

My heart, my soul

My hands, my pride

And when I feel alone

And I think I can't go on

I hear him sayin' "Son you'll be alright"

Everything's gonna be alright"

Yes it is

The older I get

The more I can see

That he loved my mother and my brother and me

And he did the best that he could

And I only hope when I have my own family

That everyday I see

Oh I hope I see

I hope everyday I see

A little more of my father in me

I hope everyday I see in me

In me

I hope everyday I see

A little more of my father in me

Believe me, summer's here

2009-06-11T20:36:00.003-06:00

If you live in SD, you'd never know that summer was here by the weather we've been having. I told one of my TX friends that our high was 65 the other day and he said that it hasn't even been that cold at night where he lives.

Although I'm not talking about the weather in my title, a little warmth would be fabulous. Today when I got off work it was perfect. Keeping it like that would be nice.

The reason I know summer is here is because I'm booked at work for at least a week in advance. When I go to work on Tuesday, I'm usually booked for that week. It's not a horrible problem to have - that's for sure. However, it does make me so, so tired. On Wednesday we had a color class (that was awesome btw) from 9-noon. Then I worked from noon until about 8:45 (by the time I got out of there). Standing for almost 10 hours straight *KILLS*! Thankfully, Shayla came for a haircut and wanted to make my night, so she swept my hair for me. Such a sweet girl.

Since we're so busy, I worked early this morning and am scheduled to go in early Friday and Saturday, too.

Phew!

Summer sure pays well, but it SURE makes me tired!

I LOVE FACEBOOK!

2009-06-10T21:48:00.002-06:00

When I bought my BlackBerry back in August, the sales woman told me that Facebook came standard on my phone. It didn't matter to me, I hardly used it.

Who knew how much that would change in almost a years time? Crazy!

My best friend from elementary school found me a few months ago on there. Catching up with her was beyond great. It felt like home. I loved it.

Now I've found 3 other friends that she and I hung out with too. SO! MUCH! FUN! I love reconnecting with them. The last time we were all in school together was when I was in the 7th grade....in 1987. Talking to each of them has brought back so many fond memories. It was a time of big hair, mullets, denim jackets and many nights spent at the skating rink.

Memories.

All thanks to Facebook.

Did you know

2009-06-09T21:51:00.004-06:00

In 17 days I'm going to be looking at HIM?

I'm sorry. Did I say looking? I meant listening.

Oh good lord - just look at him. Whew!

Oh!

And did you know that Taylor Swift will get things started that night?

Oh my goodness I'm so excited!!!!

This means war

2009-06-08T11:21:00.005-06:00

After reading the title did ya kinda wish I was going to go off on a tirade? I know. It's only because I'm good like that.

On Saturday we met these beautiful people in Sioux Falls for supper. The lovely lady is Justin's cousin, Amanda. Nathan *loves* him some Amanda. Actually, we didn't tell him that Justin and I were meeting them because he would have insisted on going....and he wasn't invited. That adorable man with her is Scott, her boyfriend. They are such a sweet couple and we love to get together with them whenever we can. (I totally stole that picture from her facebook. If you're reading this, Mandy, I hope you don't care.) =)Scott made mention that he might move to WY for his job. Justin gave him a look much like he's giving me in this next picture.

Justin's a little protective of Amanda. They've always been close, like brother and sister close. Hopefully Scott won't have to move to WY - we'll see.

Anyway, lets get to what this post is about. Remember this post? Well it lasted about a month. I was happy to lose 4 pounds, but I guess I wasn't as ready as I thought I was to be committed to losing weight.

However, last night Amanda posted the following picture of Justin and I on facebook. Take a gander.....

Ack! I can hardly look at myself in that picture. Ish! I know that I'm over weight, but Eeek! I told Justin I was going to print that horrible picture out and put it on the fridge so that I'm reminded why I need to be on a diet.

So, I'm back to counting calories. I really do hate it, but it works. It's unbelievable how many calories are in things.

If you're not my facebook friend, you probably don't know that I went off caffeine a week ago today. I had to. I was getting migraines again. The headaches I get from going off the caffeine are nothing compared to the ones I get when I drink caffeine. Plus, this way I don't drink near as much pop. I've been drinking decaf tea with Splenda™ in it. (Seriously, the ™ cracked me up.) Today after lunch I wanted something sweet. Normally I would eat cookies or something just as healthy. Instead I'm chewing gum. It works. If I'm hungry when I'm cooking and I don't have fruit or veggies to eat, I chew gum to keep me occupied until we eat. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Anyway, I'm back in the game and I thought you'd want to know. Aren't you glad you stopped today?

What you've missed

2009-06-03T08:11:00.005-06:00

Nathan and I went and watched two of his favorite people run track in Sioux Falls. It was SUCH a big deal to him. The boys got first in their heat.

Out with the Old......

In with the new!

I started saving money at Christmas to buy Justin this new TV for his birthday (May 18th). His Mom and Dad wanted to go in on it with me as well. I saved. I planned. I researched. Finally, I bought the TV on Monday, May 4. Justin's parents were coming to our house that weekend to celebrate Nathan's birthday. Justin's dad was going to put it all together and we were going to surprise him with it that Friday night. To say that I was excited is a complete understatement. Tuesday I went to work and told every single client about my purchase and impending surprise.

Then Tuesday night at 9:30, Justin's Mom called to tell us that Gary had been killed in an accident.

I didn't want the TV anymore. I didn't want it in our house. I didn't care about it.

While I was in Pierre for the funeral, Sharelle (Justin's Mom) said that I had to go through with the surprise. Ferber agreed to put it together. He felt it was the least he could do for Justin.

Justin got home a bit after 1 on the 16th. It was all hooked up. He'd found out he was getting a gift - a surprise, but he had no idea it would be this. He thought it was going to be a new grill. SURPRISE!

He was - shocked - for sure. I told him that this gift was extra special because his dad knew about it and was beyond excited to get to see his face when he saw it. Of coarse, down came the tears. It was - super, duper special.

Moving on.....

Coach pitch baseball has started. Nathan loves it. Here he is being the catcher.

They've played 2 games so far. They've lost both - by one point each game. Such a bummer.

Here are two of Natey's biggest fans.

We went to Pierre this past weekend. It was bright and sunny. The weather was perfect. You for sure needed your shades..........and if you don't have your own, your sisters will work just fine.

Peach took a break from her day to sip on a soft drink.

Later that night we made S'mores. YUM!

And last but not least

LOOK WHAT MOVED IN NEXT DOOR!!!!!

Healing

2009-05-20T08:06:00.004-06:00

We're trying to figure out our new normal in life. It's not easy. We really hit a rough patch. Loosing Gary was so unexpected and so sad.

Gary and his family are very close. He was a man of few words. He listened way more than he actually spoke. He was a very gentle man - soft spoken. As you can see, he had a smile that lit up a room, however, he wasn't always easy to smile.

I met Gary October 31, 1997. Justin and I had just gone to a Garth Brooks concert in Sioux Falls. After the concert it was time to meet the family. YIKES! Being a child of divorce, I found it strange that his parents were still married. (Crazy - I know.) After I met Gary I told Justin that he was a cute little Santa (he was wearing a Santa hat on top of his cowboy hat).

From that day on, Gary loved to razz me. We're talking about 12 years of razzing. Some days it got old. Very old. Some days it hurt my feelings. Some days I'd bite back with all the venom I had in me - then I felt horrible.

Gary loved his family. He called Justin sometimes 3 times a day. Some days it drove me crazy. Most days. Gary used to call the house phone, but then must have gotten word that it was driving me crazy, so started to call Justin's cell. That made it better.

Then Gary died.

I would do anything to make that phone ring. Anything.

The second that Justin told me about his dad, all I could think was "did he know that beyond everything I loved him?" It still puts a pit in my stomach.

The morning of the viewing I reached out to my friend, Jamie Mechels. If anyone has felt the intense feeling that I'm feeling, she has. She's dealt with Chad's death with grace and poise. I needed her help. I needed her words. I needed a pep talk.

She said, "It's hard not to remember the bad thoughts or the arguments that you've had with with your loved one. It's going to be hard, but it's going to get better. It's changed my outlook on everything." The most poignant words she said were these; "Life can change in an instant, and you never know when that instant is going to be. The only thing I can do, is move forward and try not to regret the bad times, but to remember the good times. It's hard to do, but it will come." That spoke to me - volumes.

Thank you, Jamie, for the words that I needed to hear.

Before I wrap this up, I want to say Thank You to every single person that e-mailed me, text me, called and sent their condolences on Facebook. The outreach of support was overwhelming. I wish I could fill your hearts the way that you helped fill ours. Until you go through it, you'll never know the important roll you played in our healing. Thank you.

May 5th, 9:30PM

2009-05-06T02:26:00.000-06:00

I had other things that I wanted to write about, but none are as important as this post is.

May 5th, 2009 at 9:30PM will forever be burned in my mind.

Justin's Mother called our house at that moment to tell us that Justin's Dad had been killed in a vehicle accident.

May 5th, 2009 has forever changed the man that my husband is. It will forever change the wonderful woman that my mother-in-law is. It will change the life of my sister-in-law who is pregnant.

We don't know the details of the accident at this time.

Within 15 minutes, an officer was at our door with tears pouring out of his eyes grieving with Justin. Before I knew it, Tracy was at my door and scooping Justin and I up in her arms. Within a half hour of the call, Justin was on his way to Pierre to be with his Mom. Not long after that, a friend came over that I'd had a falling out with about a year and a half ago. He put his feelings aside and came to be with me, his friends wife.

In a few hours I'm going to have to break Nathan's heart. He's a self proclaimed "Papa Fan". I doubt that Claire is going to understand, but she'll more than likely react the way others around her react.

How am I going to do this? How am I going to tell Nathan?

I'll get through it I guess. I'll do the best I can do. It's all I've got.

I'm going to cancel my appointments for Wednesday and stay home with the kids. After that - I'm not sure. If I'm not behind my chair - I'm not getting paid...an ENORMOUS downfall of being self employed.

We were lucky enough to see my father-in-law this past Friday and Saturday. We had plans to see him again this Friday. Nathan's birthday is Sunday and we were going to have his party on Saturday. We'll have to see what happens.

Please pray for the entire Meyer family. We are all hurting right now.

So please, pray.

Wild weekend

2009-04-27T08:20:00.005-06:00

We had a wild and fun weekend. It started with my nephews coming Friday night. Their parents needed to go to SF, so the boys stayed with us that evening until one of them returned late that evening - which my kids loved.

Saturday started bright and early at the salon. It was my last weekend of prom hair for the season. I'm not a fan of prom hair - or wedding hair for that matter - but I do it. My prom girls ROCKED on Saturday. None of them were fussy and their hair looked great. It was nice - and even a little fun.

I worked an hour late on Saturday to get in as many styles as I could. After that it was time for Caymen's birthday party. It's hard for me to believe that she's only 3. She's as tall or maybe even taller than Claire and can do just as much as she can. I can't understand her as well as I can Claire - which is the only reminder that is really is 3.

We woke up to snow that morning. I actually didn't mind it because the night Tracy was in labor with Caymen - it snowed. It actually warmed my heart to see the snow because of the memory of her being born. Crazy, I know.

Caymen loves her some Kerrie, which always makes me smile. When she first started to want to use the phone, she wanted to call me. I eat up all the Caymen attention that she gives me. It warms my heart. Caymen is also the president of the Claire fan club. They love each other like crazy. Caymen is always the first one to greet Claire and Jack when we get to daycare.

I think she enjoyed her birthday. Here are some pictures.

Sunday afternoon we had Claire's spring concert. She missed her one at Christmas due to illness. I wasn't sure how she'd do, but she did great! The first picture was taken by Just Mom. Thanks! The others, as you'll be able to tell, were taken by me. :)Here is a picture of Roo with his hair done for the concert. He really needs a hair cut. I wonder who could help him out?After the concert I took Nathan and Claire to the circus. Here they are in the van - ready to go.The circus was fun...well mostly fun. To say that Claire is terrified of clowns is putting it mildly. Holy buckets! She turned and ran from me at one point. She didn't mind the clowns when they were doing a skit, but she DID! NOT! want them near her - that was for sure.

And these last two pictures? Well, they are just for pure amusement. :)

A rainbow connection

2009-04-23T20:38:00.004-06:00

Did you see the rainbow last night? I'm going to tell you why I can't get enough of this kid. It's because when he saw the rainbow he said "Mom! This is the perfect birthday gift for Claire and Earth Day."

There are days that I just want to eat him up!

Claire turns 4!!!

2009-04-22T07:36:00.005-06:00

On Saturday I was very careful to say 'Peach, this is only your party. Your birthday is Wednesday.' I really thought it was sinking in... Until yesterday morning when I said "Who's REAL birthday is it tomorrow?" She got a HUGE smile on her face, threw her arms up in the air and said "CAYMEN!!!!"

Today, my love, is your birthday. You bring my life such joy. From your big, sparkling eyes to your perfect lisp. I love all of you. You fought back from being septic when you were only 2 months old - a fight that scared us to death.

You make our house complete - even with the drama that oozes out of your body. There are days when I worry what my life will be like in 10 years, but for now - you are simply the best.

We love you so, so much. I'm so glad that God chose me to be your Mom. Today we celebrate the day you were born 4 years ago. We give you gifts to show our love. However, today I celebrate the perfect gift that was given to me - 4 years ago today. We love you.

Birthday party

2009-04-20T00:06:00.005-06:00

We had Peach E. Pie's birthday party this weekend. Her actual birthday is Wednesday. She'll (somehow) be 4. It's unbelievable to me how time flies. 4? Wowzer.

We had a princess birthday party at the bowling alley. I was amazed at how well the kids did. Nathan and Dawson bowled 5 games on their own while the 7 party goers didn't quite make it to their 10th frame. Everyone had a good time though.

The real deal

2009-04-17T06:00:00.002-06:00

Claire was reading me a story the other day. (Make sure to notice the story book that she was reading from.) She told me about the "Hundred naked Wood" where Winnie the Pooh lives.

I just about peed laughing.

I stopped her and asked her to read it again.

THIS, people, this is Experiencing life Kerrie Meyer style.

PS: She dressed herself and combed her hair herself that day. (giggle)

PSS: Don't miss the post under this one. The video cracked me up.

Jerry's kids?

2009-04-16T21:15:00.004-06:00

Here is a video I took at Easter. My Mom and Roger came to spend the night with us and brought Mom's new scooter. The kids COULD! NOT! WAIT! to ride it.

Let me set the scene. As you probably know, we live across from McDonald's. As you'll see in the video, the restaurant was very busy on Easter.

At one time during the day we had Nathan and Claire driving and riding the scooter while Jack was being pushed in Mom's wheelchair by his Papa. I was positive that the patrons of McDonald's were wondering if we were having a telethon for the Children's Miracle Network in my front yard or something. My goodness. At least they had fun.

The Zoo

2009-04-13T21:55:00.004-06:00

Hi there. I know - it's been a little bit. I want to tell you about our Easter, but I'm going to tell you about our trip to the zoo first.

Today I took the kids with me to do my running around in Sioux Falls. Jack makes this task MUCH harder than it needs to be. First of all, we have to stop and talk to all the 'babies' he sees. Now, they could be 3 year olds, but nonetheless - his babies. He was trying to coax a 'five' (or pibe as he says it) out of a youngster in the beauty supply house.

The problem with Jack is that he doesn't listen....to anyone. I'm not used to that. Nathan and Claire have always been pretty well behaved, but Jack?, well, Jack is a different cat.

After suffering through two supply stores, the party store, and Wal-Mart, it was time for a surprise trip to the zoo.

Jack loves animals. It's his life goal to know exactly what Drake (our outside dog) is doing every single moment of the day. Usually he finds him sleeping in the back yard. He'll come and grab my hand and whisper "Meer! I show you something!" He loves that dog (as long as it's from a distance).

Jack was introduced to a video called "A day at the San Diego Zoo" at Tracy's house. We made the $5 purchase and were able to empty the dishwasher without the help of Jack. Ever since - he's loved animals. We buy him animal book after animal book. In therapy he's golden - as long as it has to do with animals.

I knew this trip would be up his alley.

And it was.

Nathan really liked this camel. I didn't bring my camera, so these pictures are from my phone. Natey thought this camel was trying to "look handsome" for his picture. He might be right. He looks very proud.
Jack loved the monkey's. There was a baby there that was adorable. I tried to get a picture of it, but it didn't turn out too well. He doesn't look near as small as he actually was.
There was an even smaller monkey hangin' out with its Momma. I took the picture, but black and black don't really show that well.
However, once you lighten the picture, you see near her right foot - is her precious little baby.
Here are Jack and Claire enjoying themselves. They were so stinkin' cute!
I loved the giraffes. I was curious though; one was light brown and the other was dark. Anyone know why? They were sure beautiful.
Jack really, really loved the bears. Claire was pretty much done by then, so we had to tear him away from the bears. He wasn't happy about it.
He found this gong thing that made him pretty happy. Getting a picture of him was near impossible. This was the best of many.
And last but not least - the tigers. They were pretty active today. They freaked Natey out. He wasn't a fan....well that's not totally true - he liked them from a distance.
It was the perfect day for a trip to the zoo. All the animals were out and moving around. Usually we go in July when it's so hot all they do is lay in the shade - which is never close to where you are.

Jack offered each animal a high pibe, but we had no takers. Well, an ostrich almost took him up on it and gave Nathan a heart attack. Thankfully the SCREAM! that Nathan let out scared the ostrich. He was positive that Jack could have lost an eye. Good old 'do as you're told, Nathan' saved the day.

Say hello

2009-04-07T06:55:00.002-06:00

To my adorable new friend!

The multitasker

2009-04-06T06:00:00.000-06:00

This weekend Jack learned to wink and give thumbs up.
Well, kinda sorta.
:)

Victoria, I figured out your Secret

2009-04-02T21:08:00.005-06:00

Who knew a pretty pink bottle could hold so much power? I never knew. I bought this when we were in Rapid City. It's contents are liquid gold.

Claire marches to the beat of her own drum. I have no idea where she gets it. Ahem.

This bottle of pretty pink potion will make her do just about anything. Here are a few examples:

Me: Claire, it's time for a bath.

Claire: I DON'T WANT A BATH!!!

Me: If you take a bath, I'll put the pretty pink lotion on you.

Splash.

Me: Claire, it's time to brush your hair.

Claire: I DON'T WANT TO BRUSH MY HAIR!!!

Me: If you brush your hair, I'll put the pretty pink lotion on you.

You get the picture.

So, Victoria, your Secret is out of the bag at our house.

Um....another cut

2009-04-01T09:01:00.003-06:00

Remember last October when I gave my finger a bit of lipo? Well, I did the same kind of thing yesterday. The only difference is that I didn't cut the skin off all the way.

I was kind if in a hurry, not bad but it was 4:30 and I get a little freaky if I'm still with a client at that time. Anyway, I was going to layer my clients hair when *YEOUCH*!

Then blood.

Instead of being thinner, I made it chubby. I'm not sure if I did the right thing, but the skin was kinda laying over, so I stuck it back on. I don't know. I guess it will work. Well....we'll see how well it works in about an hour and a half when I get to work.

Today's gotta be better than that!

I can't talk

2009-03-31T06:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not in today.

I'm out.

Out where?

Buying his........new CD.

Goodness golly he is hot!

Defying Gravity!

I promise, not even a blizzard will keep me from it.

GO TEAM! :D

Random, random, random

2009-03-30T12:11:00.006-06:00

Look what was hanging on our neighbors house the other day. I just about freaked when Justin pointed it out to me. ACK!!!!

On our way out to Rapid, I like to take pictures of a billboard that has my father-in-laws picture on it. Ok, so maybe it isn't him, but that's what I think he looked like in the 70's......if I only had more of a reference for you. Believe me, it's good stuff.

Here are the kids wearing my beer goggles. I got them to wear on St. Patrick's day, but it was kind of a sad time for me so I didn't wear them much. The kids sure enjoyed them though.

Nathan said "These are rootbeer glasses, right?" Um, of coarse they are. Duh.

I'm not exactly sure what Peach was doing in this picture, but I just thought it was a cute picture of her. Totally fits under 'Random, random, random'.

Here is a picture of one of Nathan's latest obsessions. His name is Ben. He got his Eagle Scout pin yesterday. We were invited to his ceremony and wouldn't have missed it. Nathan LOVES him some Ben. They did a slide show and Nathan hardly blinked. I was sure he was going to ask to be in Boy Scouts. Not as much. He asked when Ben could come over and play Wii with him.

The end.

Saying good-bye

2009-03-19T00:04:00.001-06:00

Tuesday night I worked a little late so I could have most of Wednesday off to go to Chad's funeral. Visitation was Tuesday night, so after I got off work I called Justin to make sure he was able to go with me. He was already at the funeral home.

I got in my vehicle which was about 3 or 4 blocks away. The second I turned to go to the funeral home, the anxiety level in my body reached an all time high. It had been hours since I last ate, yet I felt like I was going to vomit. I knew going to the visitation would be tough, but tough doesn't convey how hard it actually was.

The officers stayed with Chad's body 24 hours a day from the time they found him until they put him in the earth. When I got in the funeral home there were officers in their honor guard dress uniforms. They looked great, but it was too much for my feelings. I instantly started to cry.

I walked in the room where Chad was and I was immediately overwhelmed with sorrow. There were quite a few people in there, but my eyes were fixated on Chad's son. Even though I hadn't seen him in almost a year, it was quite obviously him because he looked just like Chad.

As we made our way to the casket, I saw some other people doing the same thing. I noticed a little girl. I turned to Justin and asked if it was Chad's daughter. He didn't know. By the time I asked the question and turned back around, there was the little girl stroking Chad's head.

It was - more than I could deal with. Not only was I getting a glimpse of Chad in a casket, but I was also seeing his little girl showing love and affection to her father.

I - lost - it.

A lady turned to me and put her hand on my shoulder. She said "Do you need a hug? You do need a hug." There I stood in a random woman's arms. I didn't know who she was, but I assumed she must have been a family member of his. She squeezed and squeezed and finally let go. It turned out that the lady was Chad's sister. What a caring woman.

It was time for the guys to switch places. It was all so Military like - and again too much for me. I stood there sobbing. Justin touched my shoulder, giving me love and support.

We went to the casket. People told me how good he looked. I know it could have been worse, but to me it didn't look like him. Thankfully it's not burned into my memory. We didn't stand there long. We walked to a hallway where Justin and I embraced. Having him there helped so much.

I needed to go home so that I could be with the kids. I drove home and wept and wept. I couldn't get the image of Chad's daughter out of my head. I closed my eyes and I could see her so lovingly stroke her fathers head. I couldn't help but wonder if she was able to understand at 7 years old that her daddy won't be coming home anymore?

It was a long exhausting night.

I had hopes of sleeping in on Wednesday, but that didn't happen. I woke up at 6:15 and couldn't go back to sleep. I knew Chad's funeral would be hard for me, but I kind of just wanted to get it over with. I'd cried so many tears and had that feeling in the pit of my stomach since Sunday morning - I just wanted to be done with it.

The funeral was hard, harder than I expected. I could hear his wife wailing in the front row. I imagined her grief and felt like I could understand it on the same level. It could have been me in her chair. It could have been my husband. The tears just kept coming.

We went to the cemetery to say our final goodbye's. Other than when they close the casket, it's my least favorite part. It makes me sad to leave them all alone out there. I know he's not there, but still.....

Chad wasn't a perfect guy buy any stretch of the imagination. He was human and he made mistakes. He was serious about his job. Sometimes too serious. I don't know all the facts about what happened the day he died - I'm not sure I ever will.

Once you have feared for someones life, you love and respect them on a whole different level. I was his dispatcher for 4 years. I was his lifeline. Even if he hadn't been my friend, the fact that I'd been responsible for his safety at one time would have resulted in the same emotion.

It's time to start the healing process. It's going to take a while. This has been all I've thought of for 3 solid days. I know I'll cope in my own time and in my own way.

Chad's funeral is a day I'll never forget. It's also a day I hope to never EVER repeat.

God bless you, Chad. I'm going to miss you.

Happy Patrick's Day

2009-03-17T06:49:00.004-06:00

She

wants to wish you a Happy Patrick's Day.
It's more this kind of Patrick

than this kind......

but really it's just the thought.

One final thought

2009-03-15T21:01:00.003-06:00

A friend of mine was killed today in the line of duty. He went to help someone and that someone shot him dead.

He has a wife and two children ages 7 and 3.

First we got news that he'd been shot and that it was bad. About 40 minutes later we got the call that said he didn't make it.

I hadn't verbally talked to him in just over a year, but we've communicated via facebook. On the way down to Dawson's birthday party, I passed him on the Interstate and we both waved. That was the last time I actually saw him.

I know he knew that he was my friend. I know that I was his friend. I just wish I would have seen him one last time.

We didn't have the friendship where we spoke on the phone or stopped at the others house when we weren't working. When I was a dispatcher he always - and I do mean always - stopped to see me or called if he was out. It might have been for just a minute, but he always made personal contact.

If you view the last video blog I did from dispatch, forward it to 6:18. I was talking about him.

He was such a nice guy who loved his family and loved his job. When he started, we weren't quite sure how to say his last name, Mechels. I started calling him Mechels sounds like Speckles. Finally I came clean to him and told him that if he'd ever heard someone refer to him like that, that it was only because we couldn't remember how to say his name. He thought it was great. I always addressed him in that manner - Chad Mechels sounds like Speckles.

Death is hard for me - period. However, when the death is a parallel to me it's horrible. He was my age. He has the same job as my husband. His two kids are the same ages of two of my kids.

I feel it to the core.

If I knew I'd never see him again, this is what I would have said....

Chad Mechels sounds like Speckles, thank you for making me laugh. Thank you for saying your sorry when you thought you were wrong. Thank you for loving your job like nobody else could - nobody. Thank you, Chad, for your service and dedication.

I'm gonna miss him. I really, really am.

Is it late or early?

2009-03-10T05:14:00.002-06:00

Claire woke me up at 4 o'clock this morning. She declared that she was done sleeping. I strongly disagreed. I put her back to bed and then went back to my bed.

That didn't last long.

Finally I decided to lay down with her for a while. That didn't go well either. She insisted on tucking me in and giving me her babies. She offered to read me a book, but I declined.

In the next room you could hear a never ending coughing Jack. Jack would cough then Claire would cough. She'd look at me with her big, brown, sparkly eyes and say "I'm coughing just like Jack". She was so proud. Me? Getting more tired by the minute.

As I laid in her bad with her I found that I needed more medicine myself. My throat was itching and my nose was running like a faucet.

Finally I got up to give another round of cough medicine. Jack first, then Claire, then me.

I decided that laying in bed with Claire wasn't going to work. She wouldn't stop 'taking care of me'. As cute as it was, I really wanted her to go back to sleep.

I came down to the computer. Checked out CNN, People, Kelo and Facebook. Claire started yelling from her room "THERE IS A LADYBUG IN HERE!!!" Turns out it was really just a screw on the heat register. She was positive that I was wrong and she was right. Since that didn't work in her favor, she yelled "MOMMY, I HAVE A NOSE RUNNER!" I encouraged her to grab a Kleenex that is right next to her bed. "GREAT IDEA" she said.

Sigh

Finally at 6:22 she got out of bed. She said "Maybe I should just watch some TV?" Sure. Why not? Who needs sleep anyway?

What a weekend!

2009-03-09T00:34:00.000-06:00

Wowza - what a weekend we had.

Friday night, Nathan and I went with Tracy and Dawson to the boys basketball game in Sioux Falls. It was so much fun. Nathan wore his shirt all weekend long. We won the game by about a million.

Ok, so maybe not a million, but close. So that was the District game and now we move on to Regions. That's where we'll meet Sioux Falls Christian. If you need to be reminded of that game, view this. We beat them here at home, but beating them in Sioux Falls might be something else. Eeek! I'm so nervous about it and I have nothing to do with it. Crazy!

Here is a team picture.

I know - it's a little hard to see the boys, but I had to get everyone in there.

Here are two of my favorite boys to watch.

The boy on the lefts name is Tony. The boy on the right is Chad. I talked to Tony's mom one day when she was in the salon. He comes from such a wonderful family. I don't know Chad's parents. Well, everyone knows his mom because she works at the post office. She's very nice. :) Both of these guys are going to school at SDSU next year. I assume they'll red shirt, which I hate, but maybe someday we'll get to see them play in college. That would be fun.

Ok, so that was Friday. Saturday I worked until about 3. After work I came home and we loaded up and went to Brookings. Nathan had a birthday party to go to on Sunday and buying gifts in this town is a challenge. We found a gift and then went out for supper. We had a good time.

Sunday morning Justin's dad called and wanted to know if we wanted to meet in Huron for a late lunch / early supper. Well Natey had that party, but also wanted to see Papa and Grandma. We told him to go to the party for a while then we'd pick him up on the way out of town. Justin's Mom, Sharelle, didn't know of the plan. It was a surprise for her. When we got to town Justin had Claire call Grandma to see if she wanted to have lunch. Well, Claire had pizza for 'lunch', so she just told Grandma "I had pizza for lunch". It was pretty funny. Poor Grandma was confused and Papa wasn't near her to sort things out for her. Finally, Justin got the phone back from Claire and told Grandma that as a surprise we were getting together for lunch / supper. Justin's dad called his late brothers wife and she came and drank coffee with us. It was so much fun! (PS: If a late breakfast is brunch, what is a late lunch?)

Our next basketball game is on Tuesday. I'm so excited because Justin is coming with us. FUN! Natey was beyond excited - of coarse. So that was it - our fun weekend.

The grand prize

2009-03-07T00:19:00.003-06:00

I pulled off something very cool.

One of Nathan's friends at school got all the boys from the basketball team to sign a shirt for him. This little boy quickly became the envy of many.

Tuesday night Nathan went home sad because he didn't get his picture taken with any of the players. I didn't have my camera - but I did have an idea.

One of the girls that does the stats used to babysit the kids. She pretty much has superstar status at our house.

I bought Nathan a shirt and asked Shelby if she would be able to get the boys to sign the shirt for Nathan. She and the boys were more than happy to do it.

One of the star players was going to give Nathan the shirt, but he was in the locker room and so Shelby gave it to him on her own. He was - BEYOND - excited. He wanted to wear it immediately.

And so he did. He was on cloud 9. He was very excited to show off the shirt 'his friend Shelby' gave him. He couldn't have been prouder.

...because I can't get enough of him

2009-03-06T00:08:00.001-06:00

....because some things in life are ABSOLUTELY worth revisiting

2009-03-05T06:00:00.001-06:00

Do Wednesdays make you this tired too?

2009-03-04T00:09:00.000-06:00

Let's talk Bachelor

2009-03-03T06:21:00.000-06:00

You're what, Claire?

2009-03-02T00:33:00.000-06:00

I lost a follower

2009-02-27T03:28:00.002-06:00

Blogger has a feature in which you can become a follower of my blog.

I don't know when, but I lost a follower.

Maybe that person got sick of Experiencing life Kerrie Meyer style.

I can totally see why.

I'm sick of Experience life Kerrie Meyer style, too.

Another.....

2009-02-24T13:06:00.001-06:00

Video blog

2009-02-23T17:25:00.002-06:00

Thanks for asking

2009-02-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Many of you have asked about Mom's appointment. She had the MRI and then we met with the doctor Monday afternoon. He said the MRI showed what he expected of chronic MS. Her brain and spinal cord are shrinking. The reason she has so much problems with her legs is because of the shrinkage of her spinal cord.

At this time she doesn't have any active lesions, but she does have scar tissue from the one that's caused her memory problem. I wasn't sure how long a lesion was active so I asked him. He said they are active anywhere from a week to a month. Sometimes the brain recovers from them and you'd never know they were there. Other times they cause scar tissue and cause long term damage.

He switched some of her medications around and also put her on Aricept, which is a drug for Alzheimers. I really hope it works. He said that the dementia will just get worse, but hopefully the Aricept will slow it down.

They give my mom a test each time she's there. They ask her such questions as the county she's in, the day of the week, the date - those type of things. Last time she answered the day wrong, but the girl didn't call her on it. She's not good at lists either. They are hard for her and rile her up. This time she did ok with the list. She got all the things right. The hard part for her, and for me watching, was the date. She had no idea what day it was. She said "I didn't watch TV last night, so I don't know what day it is." She didn't want to guess either. They asked her the date. It made me so sad to see her struggle. Then she said "Well, I know it's February. Maybe I can figure it out. Ok, I know that Valentine's Day is February 15th and it was on a Thursday." I closed my eyes and wished I was anywhere but there. She'd just gotten the day of the week wrong and even the littlest amount of stress makes her memory worse.

When the nurse left the room, Mom said "I think I did better on that test then the last time we were here." She was incorrect. She did better the last time. She also told the nurse that she didn't seem to forget things as much as she was in the past. Incorrect again.

It was hard. I just don't understand why MS wasn't enough. Why dementia too? I just don't get it. Don't get me wrong; I'm glad she's alive and we don't have to visit her in a cemetery, but for crying out loud!

Anyway, that's how her appointment went. I know things could be worse - I know that. She's only 63 years old and sometimes can't remember not what she ate for lunch - but IF she ate lunch.

Thanks for asking - I sincerely appreciate it.

Fancy was her name

2009-02-19T07:41:00.003-06:00

Yesterday when I was getting Claire ready to go to Tracy's, she wanted to wear a skirt. I told her she'd have to wear some tights because it was cold out. I said "How about you wear this dress?" It was her Christmas dress that she never got to wear because she was sick. She was b*e*y*o*n*d excited. She said "I've GOT to wear this dress. Tracy will think I'm BEAUTIFUL!" Sure enough - she did. ;)

Video blog

2009-02-16T08:21:00.002-06:00

25 things

2009-02-13T06:00:00.000-06:00

Since I'm such a facebook junkie, I'll post my 25 things on here too. Not all of you are able to see my facebook account.

Here are 25 things you may or may not know about me:
1. I'm scared of the dark.

2. I hate it when I open too many windows on the computer and they stack themselves. If I wanted them stacked - I would have stacked them.

3. If there are two light switches to a room and the lights are off, I need *both* switches to be down.

4. If I mow the grass and see one piece of grass sticking up that I missed, I'll cut across the whole lawn to cut it. It reminds me of hair and the need to be even.

5. I can't say the word caterpillar. I say it cal-a-pitter.

6. I've been in quite a few car accidents, but never when I was driving.

7. I hate it when someone asks me where I'm from. I don't have an answer. I've lived more years in SD, but somehow I still feel like I'm *from* Texas.

8. PS: I was born in Texas and lived there for 13 years.

9. My first friend in Milbank was Kellie Schneider.

10. I left Texas as a popular girl with many friends. When I got to Milbank, people called me a Whore. One boy pushed me down in the mud and two others spit in my face. Fun times.

11. I can't roll my r's - no matter how hard I try.

12. I will always regret and never forget May 24, 1992. (If you don't understand this, please don't ask me.)

13. The only time I feel confident is when I'm at work.

14. I wish I could have one more child. I can't without in-vitro.

15. I'm obsessed with food in my teeth. I carry a mirror to check my teeth after I eat. Thank you braces.

16. I swore I was heading back to Texas after high school. I've moved many places since then - but never OUT of South Dakota.

17. My favorite eye color is brown.

18. I love Keith Urban - in case you didn't know. I've been to 3 of his concerts. June will make 4.

19. I'm only 5'1" in real life, but in my brain I'm 6 foot tall and bullet proof.

20. If I could choose a different profession, I would like to be a nurse. One catch, I don't really like the sight of blood.

21. Many of my family members didn't think I would amount to much as an adult. It feel great to have proved them wrong.

22. I think my house might be haunted. Two of my three kids have seen or talked to 'someone'. I catch 'things' in my peripheral vision often.

23. Growing up I loved Dr. Pepper. Now I can't stand the taste of it. Ick!

24. When I was in the 8th grade my math teacher looked up my dress. I didn't know until the boy behind me tapped me on the shoulder and told me. Thank you Cory Folk.

25. I wish I knew who I was. When I think I have it figured out, I'm proven wrong.

He loves me!

2009-02-12T19:25:00.002-06:00

How nice of my boyfriend to do this for me. Watch it very close.

What is it exactly?

2009-02-12T00:07:00.004-06:00

I know this happens to a lot of hair people (I'm not even sure what to call myself anymore, Amber), but people tell me things that I'm not sure they'd even tell their best friend. I feel like I give advice all day long. I'm not saying it's all good, I'm just saying that I do it all day long.

I've had a client call my husband corrupt without even knowing that he was my husband. She's mad at him for putting her husband in prison. I try to understand her, but no matter if it was a family business, selling drugs out of your house is illegal. That doesn't make my husband corrupt. Strange.

I had a guy tell me that he was arrested for DUI and plead with the cop to let him go. After all, he was only a block and a half away from his house. I totally understood - there should be a part in that law that reads 'you're only guilty if you are farther than a 3 block radius from your home'. Kinda like tag. If you're 3 blocks or closer to your house - you're on base. Are ya KIDDIN' me? Thankfully the cop that busted him wasn't Justin. He was embarrassed to learn that I had been a dispatcher. He said "Here I am bashing the cops while you were a dispatcher". He clearly didn't know the half of it.

People tell me strange stuff. I listen. I have no filter, so I tell them what I think - good, bad, or indifferent. I think some people might not even care for my mad hair cutting skills (ha), they just want me to talk to them.

Sometimes I swear I'm being punk'ed. For real. One lady told me that she was married to a dwarf and I'm positive I could count her teeth on both hands. I had one lady who has zero teeth in her mouth who's maybe in her mid 40's tell me about her husband who's 74 years old. She's just mad at the world because she's sick of taking care of him. Um - did she not know that life would come to this when she married him? Did she think that she would time warp and somehow become the same age as him? Strange!

In turn, I think my definition of nosey is different than most others. If you sit in my chair and I think something is wrong with you, I'm going to ask you what's wrong and if there is anything I can do to help. I ask my clients a million questions to get to know them better. Most of them are shocked that I remember 90% of it at their next visit - even if it has been months prior. Is it being nosey? In my opinion, no. I'm just interested. If that's what you consider nosey - that's fine.

Anyway, I just thing it's interesting. Do you tell your hair person your life story too?

Video Blog - YAY!

2009-02-10T14:40:00.002-06:00

She loves him THIS! much

2009-02-03T06:00:00.001-06:00

This and that - take 6

2009-02-02T08:35:00.002-06:00

I guess I took a couple of weeks off from blogging. I just don't have the time that I used to to sit and actually type out what's in my brain. I blog in my head, but when I sit down I either don't feel like it or by that time - what I've blogged about in my head no longer matters. Here are some things that you've missed.

Nathan, Jack and I all got some sort of sinus infection. Jack, of coarse, needed some help from a nebulizer to get better. We ran out of the medicine and Nathan was concerned. I had to run to the salon one night and on my way out Justin asked if I could buy him some toothpaste while I was out. Nathan ran up to me and said "Mom, where are you going to get Dad's toothpaste?" "Lewis" I answered. He said "Good. While you're there could you get Jack some nebulizer medicine? He really needs it." I seriously just about cried. "I can't just buy it, sweetie. The doctor has to write it down on a piece of paper before they'll give it to me" I told him. Obviously disappointed, he hung his head and said "Shoot. He really needs that." I promised to call the doctor and get him more. That boy is something else. He has a real - true - heart of gold.

Justin has tried to get Jack nebs at our doctors office here before, but they won't give them to him without hearing him wheeze. I really do understand that they can't just hand out medications when they don't see the symptoms, but can't they at least listen to the parent and go off of what they say? Apparently not at our clinic.

Last Tuesday I took Jack to see my favorite doctor, Dr. Henry, in Sioux Falls. He walked in and asked what Jack needed to be seen for. I told him that Jack needed more nebulizers to help get over his illness. We talked about the possibility, again, that he might have asthma. He wanted to know if I THOUGHT (hmmm - a doctor wanted to know what a mother thought? That's why I love him...) Jack needed a neb every day to help him breath. I told him that I didn't think that was the case for now, but he for sure needs a neb every time he gets sick. Not a problem. He wrote me a prescription for a year of nebs and told me to call him if I need him. Dr. Henry - I heart you! Jack's doing much better and that's what's important.

On Saturday night, Justin and I went out for supper with one of Justin's coworkers to celebrate his birthday. We've never been out with this couple before. Keep in mind I worked with this person for 8 years myself, so we've been family friends for a while. We had so much fun. I laughed and laughed and laughed. We're going to challenge them in Wii bowling - mostly so I can watch Rob be a dork. =)

Yesterday one of Natey's little buddies came to the door to see if he could come to his house for a Super Bowl party. It was really sweet, but Natey already had plans. He'd only been counting the days/hours/minutes for about a week. I thought it was sweet that this little boy wanted to invite Natey, but I also found it strange that he waited until 5 hours before the game started. ;)

Anyway, we went to Tracy's for the Super Bowl party and had a good time. There were babies everywhere and I was in heaven. A couple there had twins. How nice of them to have two to spread the love. One was dressed in a Bronco onesie and the other a Vikings onesie. I held baby Bronco and that's what I called her. They were PRECIOUS! The kids had A! BLAST!

So - that's what's been going on at our house.

One month down

2009-01-31T16:29:00.002-06:00

pounds

G*O*N*E!!

Sing it if you know it

2009-01-29T00:58:00.001-06:00

'Sweet Thing'

2009-01-16T22:13:00.001-06:00

Will I see him in 2009?

Oh yes. YES I WILL.
Sweet Thing

Because it's me - why else?

2009-01-14T23:44:00.002-06:00

Tuesday I let one of my co-workers borrow my van. She wanted to give a client a ride home but her car was in the shop. I said "Here! Just take the van!" and never thought another thing of it. She got back to the salon about 2:30ish. The blizzard that hit started around, oh, 2:30ish.

I went out to start the van about 4:30ish. To my horror, I noticed the passenger side door all the way open. All The Way Open. At first I thought I was walking up on a crime scene. When I got to the van and looked inside, I realized that wasn't it.

There was a good inch of snow in anything that could catch it - ie: portable DVD player, car seats, front seats - fun stuff like that. EVERY SINGLE THING had snow on it. EVERYTHING. I just about started crying.

I grabbed the portable DVD player and rushed back in the salon. I grabbed my hair dryer and blew it off and let the heat sit on it for a minute. Then I put it in my cupboard to dry overnight.

I pulled my co-worker to the side and asked if she'd locked the van with the remote. She had. "Did you do it with gloves on?" I asked. She had. In doing so, she opened up the sliding door.

I can't imagine how nobody saw the door open to my van. I parked half a block away from the Police Department. I'm shocked that NOBODY either reported it or shut the damn door. Seriously? In a town where I answered 911 calls for 8 years. 911 calls where the person on the other line wanted to report a dog barking - you know - a REAL emergency. Nobody drove by my van and thought it was odd that there was an inch of snow in there and the door was wide open? Nobody? Holy shit!

Thinking that that was bad enough, I took the little kids to Tracy's Wednesday for daycare. The snow plow had pushed a very nice windrow of snow up to her driveway - blocking it. Looking back, I'm not really sure why I thought this was smart, but I plowed right through it. It was hard - like ice. I busted up the under part of my van.

Why, you say? Why did this happen?

Why else?

Because it's me - that's why.

New color = YAY!!!!!

2009-01-14T08:02:00.005-06:00

Yesterday I got my hair colored. After being at my in-laws at Christmas, I decided I didn't want all the red that had accumulated in my hair. I'd done my hair in the bedroom at their house where there is a ton of natural light. I couldn't believe the color of my hair. There was so much red in it.

Last time I colored my hair, I wanted really thick, strong red streaks. In order to get them that way we had to bleach out parts of my hair and then put color on them. Well, it didn't work out exactly the way I wanted. The person that was doing my hair kinda freaked and didn't leave the bleach on my hair as long as she should have. In the end, I had to put a semi-permanent color over it that had a ton of red in it to match those streaks. It just didn't look good. Actually, last time I thought my hair turned out rather purple. So very nice (in a NOT REALLY kind of way). Here, see for yourself.
Finally I decided it was time to color my hair again. I didn't really want to go back blond - that was Justin's suggestion. I just don't feel like a blond person anymore. I just wanted to be brown. A rich, chocolate brown. Like you open up your Hersey's candy bar - brown.

I realize if you don't do hair then you probably don't understand what an undertaking this is. I wanted to do a bleach wash on my hair, but I didn't know how. One of my friends from high school does hair in the City's and I figured she must have had to have done one by now. I e-mailed her and told her what I wanted to do and she gave me her opinion of how to achieve the color I wanted.

First, I had to do the bleach wash. The poor woman that was doing my hair JUST about died. She likes hair to be low key - and easy. Poor thing was just freaking out about it all. Anyway, we did the bleach wash - twice. Then I put a product called Pre-Art in my hair to even out the porosity - so that my hair wouldn't turn jet black the second the color hit it. Here is what the bleach wash made me look like.

It left me a really ugly orange color. I knew that it was going to do that - and I needed it to. Hair color is tricky. In order to be a warm chocolate brown, I needed my hair to be an ugly yellow/orange color. I sent this picture to Tracy yesterday. "OH wow!" was her response. Ha!

After lifting my hair, LaVoy put 5AV in my hair with 20 volume peroxide. Oh! After I did the two bleach washes - you should have seen my hair. It looked harsh....frizzy. It doesn't feel too bad today, but yesterday = wowza.

Ok, so she put the 5AV on my hair and left it for 20 minutes. We washed it out and the top of my head looked - not right. I couldn't figure out why that didn't work. Well, I should have mixed a batch of 5AV with 10 volume for my new growth. So - one of the other girls put that on the top of my head for about 10 minutes or so. It's PERFECT and I LOVE IT!!

Here is a picture I took of it yesterday. It's not a good picture because I took it with my phone. What you can see is that there is no red in my hair - just brown. What you can also see is my face - with no make up. Not a speck. I worked all day with no make up on. Nice.

BUT my hair is EXACTLY the way I wanted it. GO TEAM - and Paula rocks...all the way from Minnesota!

I'm a monster!

2009-01-09T07:28:00.004-06:00

I'm not surprised. I've done this before.

Now that I'm counting calories - I'm the calorie Nazi. I knew it would happen. I start to watch food others put in their mouth and wonder if they know what they're doing.

Last night I met Tracy at McDonald's. (I'm not going to tell you why, but I hope she posts about it today.) Before going there, I'd only consumed 464 calories. I'm allowed 1250 a day. I had a feeling that my remaining 786 calories wouldn't go far at a fast food restaurant.

I was talking to one of my clients about it and wondered what on earth I'd eat there? Not a salad. I'm not sure what it is about their salads, but they are yuck. They give me a horrible stomach ache too. Ick. My client suggested a snack wrap. Good call! I like those things.

I didn't get to eat breakfast yesterday due to my poor time management. That's something I should be just as psycho about fixing. One thing at a time I guess.

Anyway, we've hit another slow time in the salon, so I was able to come home for lunch yesterday. I didn't want tuna - AGAIN - so I made myself an egg sandwich. That's where I used 464 calories. The good thing about it was that it I ate around 1pm and I knew I'd be hungry by 5:30, but not starving.

So this is what I had: 1 Ranch snack rap, 1 small fry, 1 small sprite. I was full - and didn't need any more food. But then - everyone else got ice cream. I know I didn't have to, but if all my friend jumped off a bridge...duh. Bloop! So add a hot caramel sundae to that and you get.... 1000 calories - even. For ONE meal, people.

HO-LY CAT SMOKES!

Anyway, today I started my day better. I had two farm fresh eggs that came from these chickens. That's 180 calories. Tracy and I have plans to take Nathan and Dawson to the game tonight in Lennox, so I'll need to save all the calories I can. I think I'll take an apple with me to work, so at least I'll have that.

For today is a better calorie counting day. :0)

Happy weekend! GO DOGS!!!

I didn't expect That!

2009-01-07T09:19:00.003-06:00

Last night when I got home, I was beyond hungry. I forgot to take an apple to work and I was starving. Before I put anything in my mouth, I looked at the calorie counter (I love you - but hate you) to see what number I was at. I was doing well so I ate as I was cooking. Normally I would eat while cooking and then eat with the family too. No more of that.

I was cooking and Nathan came to me and said that he wanted to be on a diet too. DAMN IT! I knew that when I talked about being on a 'diet' that I didn't want Claire to hear me. I don't want her to udder those words until she's in college. I've had food issues since I was in 8th grade - along with a warped self image - and I don't ever want my kids to go through that.

I told Nathan when we were in Pierre that after the New Year we were going to start eating healthy. I didn't want to tell him I was going to 'diet'. Somehow he heard me. Maybe I even said it right to him - I don't remember.

He told me that he didn't think Daddy and I needed to go on a diet because we were just the right size. Such a sweet boy. Love him.

Last night he came to the kitchen and told me that he wanted to be on a diet because he was a little too fat. I just about died. I knew I had to play my cards right - but how?

I asked him if someone was making fun of him at school. He said no. "How about at the center?" I asked. "No" he said.

He wanted to be on a diet and insisted he was too fat. It broke my heart. I told him that I thought he was perfect.

He started crying.

I asked him if he wanted me to measure his food like I did mine the night before. He thought about it and then said yes. About two minutes later he changed his mind.

He also asked me to not tell his daddy that he wanted to be on a diet.

I have no idea what it was about. Thankfully it's all passed and he was better today.

I totally didn't see it coming though.

I'm responsible

2009-01-05T18:46:00.002-06:00

Today - I'm taking responsibility for the food that I put in my mouth. I'm tracking my daily calorie intake on this website.

In 1999 I lost 30 pounds before I got married. I took the same approach. I counted calories and exercised 6 days a week. That won't happen this time. I, more than likely, won't exercise 6 days a week. I just don't have the time. Ok, so that's an excuse. I could wake up an hour earlier to exercise, but I'm not sure that I will. I could exercise after the kids go to bed, but I'm too tired by then. Bottom line - I will exercise when I can.

I like the website because you put in your current height and weight. They come up with what your goal weight should be. They gave mine as 119 pounds. I don't really have a huge desire to get down to 119. I don't really have a magical number in mind. I just know that my current number isn't it.

The website asks you to put in a date as a goal to accomplish your weight loss. I don't have one of those either. They put my goal date as Oct. 30th. We'll see.

You may see me eating something that you might not think I should be eating. It's ok. My diet isn't for you, it's for me. I know that there will be days when I eat more calories than I should. I'm ok with that - because I know that I'll do better tomorrow.

I guess the good thing is that I've maintained this weight for a few years now. If I eat less, eat better, and exercise I should make progress.

I'm ready. I'm really ready.

Experiencing life Kerrie Meyer style

Hello?

Happy Birthday Tracy Renae Hirsch Ferber!

"You're supposed to laugh a lot...."

Shake it! (until it hurts....)

Claire gets her ears pierced!!!

Because Aisha did it and I thought it was fun.....

Perfect Timing

Purple bangs

Easter

ABCs of Me

Globetro*bb*ers

Shhhhhhh.......

State A Champs - Twice IS nice!

SO! FUNNY! (and look for my boyfriend)

Natey's favorite Winter Olympic athlete

Surgery

A chip off the old block

We are fine!

From our family to yours

Oh Christmas Tree

Claire's Preschool program

....because when you *think* you can do it better, you should

mostly because I think she's cute.....

Pictures taken - check

Halloween 2009

Pumpkin painting

You know what?

Do you love it?

You know you're tired when....

Butterflies

DSU Homecoming Parade

Once bitten, twice shy

Science at the Meyer house

September 11th

Remembering Chad

First day of school

Trampoline = FUN!!!

Trip to Bemidji

The Twin Cities

Taylor Swift Pranks Keith Urban

When the end result is the same

Whole lotta nothin'

Sound Bites - Keith Urban style

Sound Bites - Taylor Swift style

Picture slide-show

Concert pictures

Video blog - KU concert

Father's Day

Believe me, summer's here

I LOVE FACEBOOK!

Did you know

This means war

What you've missed

Healing

May 5th, 9:30PM

Wild weekend

A rainbow connection

Claire turns 4!!!

Birthday party

The real deal

Jerry's kids?

The Zoo

Say hello

The multitasker

Victoria, I figured out your Secret

Um....another cut

I can't talk

Random, random, random

Saying good-bye

Happy *Patrick's* Day

One final thought

Is it late or early?

What a weekend!

The grand prize

...because I can't get enough of him

....because some things in life are ABSOLUTELY worth revisiting

Do Wednesdays make you *this* tired too?

Let's talk Bachelor

You're what, Claire?

Globetrobbers

....because when you think you can do it better, you should

Happy Patrick's Day

Do Wednesdays make you this tired too?