ALL the kiddos

When I was a kid, we would go to visit my aunt, uncle, and cousins in Rhode Island. We have multiple photos of all five of us, and I LOVE THOSE PHOTOS. They're some of my favorite childhood photos.

So now, some of my favorite photos are of all my nieces and nephews together, on the couch. Here's the latest, from about 2 or 3 weeks ago:

Donna's Blog Challenge!

Name 5 favorite television shows:
That 70s Show
M*A*S*H
NCIS (all of 'em, but I like the original best, then NY, then Miami)
Grey's Anatomy
House

Name 4 favorite memories:
The day Laurel surprised me with a trip to Europe
The days my nieces and nephews were born (all of 'em!)
Watching Enoch being born
The day I got the call for my current job (after being unemployed for six months)

Name 3 things you want to do before you die:
See every state
Buy my own home
Get married

Give 2 names that you would use NOW if you were going to have a new addition to the family:
Um... not likely, but Chloë is a strong option. I've never thought of boys' names. (odd... I don't think I ever realized that before.)

Name the one thing that you're working on now to improve your life:
I am striving to be more positive.

Some Random Summer 07 pics

Some pics from the park and around the house...






Here are all the cousins on the Decker side:

Camryn, Cory, Matthew, Heather, Elizabeth, Eric, and Adam. This was taken at Matthew's birthday party in July 2007.

How much have I changed in 10 years?

You've Changed 36% in 10 Years

Ah, the past! You may not remember it well - because you're still living in it. While you've changed some, you may want to update your wardrobe, music collection and circle of friends.

How Much Have You Changed in 10 Years?

Ack! Cynthia tagged me!

Instructions: These are the rules…. each player starts with 7 random facts about themselves on their Blog. People who are tagged need to blog 7 facts about themselves and post the rules as well. At the end of their blog list 7 people you are tagging. Let them know that they are tagged by leaving them a comment.

Hmmm. Seven things.

1. I used to have VERY short hair (slightly longer and permed on the top, but almost buzzed on the sides). And I used blue gel on the short part. Hey, it was the 80s!

2. I've never really had a garden. One year, I grew zinnias. That was it.

3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE coffee but almost never drink it.

4. I have double piercings in each ear, but rarely wear any earrings any more.

5. I have a mole between my fingers on my right hand, and I absolutely hate it.

6. I have a new guilty pleasure: watching "Mind of Mencia" on Comedy Central. I blame Amy and Steve.

7. The only reason I have long hair is because I don't know what else to do with it. My hair is very very straight, and it refuses to "do" anything.

I am tagging: Parkie, Hoopy, Tigger, Melissa, Steve, Missy, and Amy G!

My new pic

OK. this is the first photo a 4-year old has taken of me that I've liked. Enoch took this pic of me, and while it may be a teeny bit blurry (because he was so close to me), I actually like how it came out. Try not to focus too much on the wrinkles and such. ;)

Is it my imagination, or does the angle of the shot make my nose look enormous? (or at least bigger than it is?)

It's OVER!

Well, graduation is over!

I personally think it went off without a hitch. We shall see if everyone else has the same opinion.

The only things that went awry were that the grads brought beach balls (which is very NORMAL). However, someone brought an ENORMOUS beach ball that was big enough that ten people could all touch it at the same time. When they took it away, the grads BOOED, right during the keynote speaker's address. The poor speaker thought she had done something wrong!

Now I just have to get them all certified, and send in the diploma order. ACK! (I'm nervous about this, too!)

The Professional Pouter!

How cute is she... really? Of course, she has been trained by the best of the best (Cory).

Registration wasn't so bad, but COMMENCEMENT...

Well, registration week wasn't too bad. It was busy, but not too super-busy. Next semester, they're talking about instituting college-wide online registration. So, we'd only have to deal with students who had problems registering.

Sounds better and better!

Now, Commencement is this weekend. That is a hugely stress-inducing thing for people around here. I'm concerned that I'll do something wrong and people will go ballistic on me. I don't think I will, but the paranoia is setting in.

Wish me luck! (That I won't have to throttle anyone before Sunday!)

Registration

OK. Today's the first day of registration for the Fall 2007 semester. Seeing as how I'm an Assistant Registrar, this is kind of our "thing". Registration so far hasn't been too bad. A couple of students were blocked from their classes due to lack of prerequisites, but so far it hasn't been too bad.

I'm not looking forward to Thursday or Friday. They're saying that by that time in the week, we won't even be able to go to the bathroom. Um... I WILL be going to the bathroom. Just try and stop me!

Over all, it's still going well. I'm still liking it... still liking the coworkers... so far, so good. Let's hope I'm not jinxing myself.

The New Job!

Well, my new job is going well. So far, so good!

But, it IS spring recess. Who knows what will happen next week? Ack! I think I'll stop thinking about it!

The job is Assistant Registrar for Degree Audit. I'm still getting acclimated and learning the computer systems.

Up next is finding my own place. I have a couple of appointments set for tonight. I really want a place that has at least some of the utilities included! It gets so cold here, I don't want to pay for heat!

The Johnsons in Cambridge

Left to Right: Liz, Aunt Lucille, Uncle Al, Craig, and Seth. Jasper's in the carriage, but you can barely see him. We went to Legal Seafood for lunch... YUMMY! It was a great day!

Jasper!

Well, I went to Rhode Island last week to visit Uncle Al and Aunt Lucille. It was a WONDERFUL trip, and we went to Cambridge on Saturday to see Craig, Liz, Jasper, and Seth. So, here's Jasper:

He's gorgeous! And what a good baby! Craig and Liz are definitely blessed!

January pics of the Benjamins

Cory & Camryn at the dinner table

Cory on the dome in the playground on Jan 1, 2007.

It was SO warm out, we went out to play to work out some of their cabin fever!

Camryn has started climbing in her tub of toys.
At first, she couldn't get out under her own power, but now she can!
It took about a month of her getting stuck before she figured it out.

Some pics of January 2007

Well, the Decker kids were in rare form when I visited in January.

Here's Erik. He kept running around to see the photo display on the camera's screen as soon as the red-eye reduction light flashed on, and I kept getting partial shots of his face. Oops!

Elizabeth did NOT want to give me a good pose. This was the best image I could get.

Heather

Adam was grabbing his tongue. He thought it was funny and wouldn't stop. So, here he is:

Christmas 2006

Well, here it is. Cory's fourth and Camryn's second Christmas. Cory made a gingerbread house out of graham crackers at pre-K. Camryn got into opening the presents a little bit, but once she started exploring one gift, she didn't want to let it go. Cory, on the other hand, had NO such problems. ;) Pop-pop and Grandmom Decker came up late on the 24th so they could be here for gift-opening on Christmas morning.


Oh, yeah... and Camryn was petrified of Santa. I am assuming she'll get over that in the future.












Here's Camy with Grandmom Decker:










And Cory watching TV with Pop-pop in the recliner:










I think this is my favorite picture of Camryn from the whole Christmas season. I think you'll see why:

Birthdays, 2006

Camryn had her first tastes of birthday cake in December 2006. Mommy and Aunt Lynnie had their birthday on 12/15, and Camryn's first birthday was on 12/21. She REALLY enjoyed the cake... and she sniffed each bite before she ate it.

Bathtime is FUN!

Well, Cory decided to "do" Camryn's hair in the bathtub one night. It was HYSTERICAL! Mommy tried to do Cory's hair, but I personally think she might have too much hair to do this to it!

Cory got her ears pierced!

Well, Cory started off all excited, but when the women popped the holes in her ears, she screamed loud enough to pierce OUR ears! She had asked several times before to get her ears pierced, but changed her mind at the last minute every time. This time, she went through with it.

The ladies at the ear-piercing place were smart... they took TWO people to pierce at exactly the same time, so there was no piercing the second ear on an already-traumatized little girl. :)

BEFORE:
She looks so... eager and excited, doesn't she? All ready?












AFTER:
She cried so hard, I cried! (But can you see the teeny little bit of bling? No more boring gold dots, unless that's what you want!)

Ahhhh, but the magical power of ice cream (and running into her friend, Griffin) helped stem the crying. (Thanks, Griffin!!!)

Thanksgiving 2006 and Thereabouts

Well, Thanksgiving 2006 was our one and only Thanksgiving in upstate NY. Around this time, Camryn also rode the merry-go-round at the Carousel Center Mall for the first time. She wasn't too sure about it, and held on to Aunt Lynnie for dear life most of the time. The ride ended JUST in time... if it had lasted any longer, I think she might have started crying.

We had Thanksgiving dinner pretty late. So, we all went to the park to kill some time. It was a little chilly, but not too bad. The girls had a BALL on the swings!

We also had a bit of an unconventional menu. We had... praline-stuffed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, veggies, and CRAB. Since it was "just us", we figured crab would be a nice departure from the ordinary. I think it was a great idea. (Good thinking, Laurel!)