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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

12 Day of Christmas

So if you don't read the whole post today (yes, I know I'm long winded -hehehe), make sure that you read the part about how the school "lost" one of my kids yesterday. Really :)

We had a FABULOUS day yesterday!! My dad couldn't get to his job site (show), so he came back home and got the day off. Well, off but not paid. Anyway, because it snowed yesterday up in the coastal mountains, he said that we should drive up there with the little boys before Joe's afternoon kindergarten started. It was a FABULOUS idea!

There was about a foot or more of snow once we got to the top of the mountain. And we only got stuck a little bit. My dad has MAD driving skills, so I wasn't really worried. Not that much. One time our rear end came dangerously close to the edge of the mountain, and I started to get a little bit worried. But then some nice guys came by and offered to pull us out - LOL. I'm sure glad Heavenly Father was watching out for us that day. hehehe.

Here's some pics from our trip. Look at those incredible snow covered trees. I just LOVE Oregon scenery.









Me in the snow. I figured out how to use the timer on my new camera :) And it's not a tie, it's a scarf - LOL!

My dad. My sister thought he looked like a mountain man - hehehe.
Jimmy. He's a bit cold. At one point, I looked over, and his pants and come undone, and were around his ankles and he was screaming. Poor kid. He has permanent plumbers butt.

This kid makes the FUNNIEST faces. I just LOVE my Joe Joe faces - hehehe. He should be a cartoon character.

No really, they did have fun. These pictures were just taken right before we decided to head back home. That's why they're so frozen looking. LOL. Here's Jimmy.

These were a bit earlier, when they were still happy and warm-ish

And here I am, with my hair hider and all - hehehe.


Joe forgot to put on his coat when he first got out of the truck. We didn't realize it for the first few minutes. Poor kid. He was much warmer once we realized it.





It was a relatively easy drive up the mountain, but when we got ready to go, it was a bit more tricky. We had to go up a slight hill, in over a foot of snow. We were going back and forth in the road, and we were fish tailing pretty bad. Good thing my dad is an EXCELLENT driver.

But we did get stuck a few times. My dad brought a shovel (genious!) so he was able to dig us out most of the times.

Yeah, see those dirty parts in the snow on the bottom left? That's where we were before they guys pulled us out. Close to the drop off. Wow! It doesn't really look like a drop off, but those green snow covered trees are really tall, and they start down in the drop off.


And here's the nice guys who pulled out our truck. My dad said that he really had it, that it was just seconds from coming out by itself, and while I believe him, I really did feel a bit better that they were there, with the truck hooked up to their truck. I knew I wasn't gonna go over the edge.
It really was a fun snow trip. We made it home just a bit late, and Joe was 10 minutes late for kindergarten. When we got back in cell range, I found a message from the school saying that Eme needed to come home because she was coughing so bad. She has Asthma, and whenever she gets a cold, she gets a HUGE coughing fit. Most kids get sniffles. She coughs till she almost pukes. Poor little girl.

Oh yeah, one more story. So I had an appointment at 2:00, and my dad was watching Jimmy (3) and Eme (7 - remember, she came home sick). I got back at 3:11, and my mom was off work already. And Tom was home. Weird. The bus doesn't get there until 3:50. I asked how he got home so fast. My dad said he'd been there for an hour. Now I was really confused.

After calling the school to find out what happened, and talking to his teacher, here's what I found out. On Mondays, Tom's class goes to the library last period. They take their backpacks, and line them up in the hall before they go to the library. Then they walk to the library room, and their teacher stays in the classroom. The library teachers release them to the bus after school.

Well, Tom missed the part where he was supposed to leave his backpack and go to the library. He got his backpack, and went to the bus line. Obviously, no one was there. He figured that he missed the bus, and WALKED HOME!!! He had to cross a major highway to get here, too! Highway 101 is a 5 lane highway. Luckily there's a stoplight with a crosswalk, but STILL, he's 9!!!

But the part that upset me most is that NO ONE AT SCHOOL KNEW HE WAS MISSING. What's up with that? How do you lose a kid, and not even know they're gone. I'm gonna have to go into school tomorrow and talk with the office about it. Tom was safe, and it all turned out fine, but what if it hadn't been Tom? Or what if he'd got hit crossing the road? Or taken on the way home? Not a great thing, school people. You really can't lose kids. Not good!

Woohoo! It's my day at the Orchard!!!


And just for today, my store is on sale for 50% off!!!!! So, now's the time to buy that WordArt you REALLY want. You know you want it :) Click HERE to go to my store.
And check out this CUTE series that I decided to make for you guys. AND YOU GET IT ALL AT ONCE!!! Aren't I nice!!! Click HERE to go to Scraporchard to get the zip file. It's in my store, but it's FREE. Just make sure you're signed into the store to get it.

And you know me, I can't just do something easy. I have to take it further than really necessary. So, here's a DIFFERENT version of the same series. But it's only available on my blog. Click HERE to grab it from my box.net account. And as always, please leave some love if you like my work.


27 comments:

Rubypat said...

As usual you have excelled yourself. Thank you for sharing your talent, your thoughts and photos. I bet you can't wait for the next three days to be gone!

shelly c said...

Thank you for the different versions, love your wordarts! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow! Two free wordart packs. Thanks so much! I love them, as always. Scarey story about the school. My oldest starts kindergarten next year, and that's the kind of thing I'm already worried about!

Kim

Stefani said...

Those pictures are GORGEOUS! I'm so jealous...I'm sitting here looking out my window at the beautiful grey-ness of sleet-filled DFW. Ahhhh...December in North Texas :). You ARE outdoing yourself with the different versions though - but we'll take them! lol! Thanks!!

Anonymous said...

Just love to read your adventures! Your parents must be awesome! Love the pics of the snow covered trees and of course your boys! Love the WA! TFS! Merry Christmas to you and your family!
Scrappingmamaw aka KYhawk2

xashee's corner said...

GREAT pictures they share so much snow fun!!! Thank you for sharing your AWESOME day!! You are all having snow much fun!! hehe I LOVE your wordart and thank you soooo verry much for sharing your WONDERFUL talent!!! Happy Holidays to you! :D

Jessica said...

That is a REALLY scary thing...about school! I can't believe that! I think I would have SEVERAL talks with the office tomorrow, the teacher too!

Thanks for sharing your many talents!

Bethany said...

Hehehe, I accidentally double posted on my blog. Prepublishing can get ya if you're not careful - LOL! Here are the 3 comments that were posted on the wrong post (which were not linked up or working at all - oops)

Blogger annamarie said...

I just love your blog. Your word-art and freebies are just fabulous!!! Thanks so much!

December 16, 2008 7:22 AM

Blogger Jody said...

I must be too early as none of the links are working. I will try later.

Is it harder for you to sleep these days knowing DH will be home in a few days?

December 16, 2008 8:49 AM

Blogger Stefani said...

I can't imagine how she forgot to link the image?!? What a complete slacker! I mean, with the crazy day she had yesterday and the double word art she's giving away, Christmas parties at school this week, Christmas next, dh coming home, and oh yeah, the kids still have to be fed! I don't think she's got anything on her mind! LOL! (Bethany, I hope you know that I'm completely and TOTALLY kidding - you have more irons in the fire than anyone I "know"!)

Anyway, if you scroll down to her next post, you'll see a hyperlink to the boxnet acct where she has this AWESOME freebie! Seek and ye shall find! :)

Crissie said...

You are making me tired! LOL!! You've been busy and you still take the time to spoil us...and I thank you for it. Glad to know that your lost child adventure ended in the best possible way. I also loved the snow pictures. Here in Phoenix we only get rain (or sometimes hail) so it's lovely to see.

Linda said...

Thanks so much for BOTH versions.

Sharon Kay said...

How scary about your son! I am NOT surprised. Sad to say. I got a few phone calls over the years telling me my son was not at school and they wanted to know why. I would ask "are you sure?" and they said "you don't know where he is?" (to me!)... and I would tell them I DROPPED HIM OFF AT THE FRONT DOOR AND HE WENT INSIDE...they'd call the teacher...oh yeah he's here. duh... scare me for no reason!

I'm curious why you changed from homeschooling to public school? I'm in my 2nd year of homeschooling...it's nice to know I don't have those kind of worries (and those awful bullies!) any more.

TY for the word art...I'm shopping your store today!

Kristi M. said...

You totally need to post what kind of camera you bought. I am in need of a new one and yours takes great pictures. Thanks for the freebie. I downloaded it this morning!

Anonymous said...

Hello Bethany,

Great pictures. Here (Belgium) snow has come 3 weeks ago... and gone long ago!
Good to hear your son is OK. I had a similar story last year and was glad I didn't know it happened until it was over. My husband went to pick up the kids, and one was missing. One lady said that his mum (ME!)had come and picked him up. So he called me and asked casually if it was me or him picking up the kids, and I thought he'd gone crazy because we'd discussed it an hour earlier. The lady at school was green. But apparently my son was just playing somewhere safe and they had just not seen him... Aaargh. They took extra care checking him out in the following weeks!

Anonymous said...

As usual you are brilliant.. Thank you for sharing... Not long now until your hubby gets home... I bet your smile just gets a bit bigger everyday.

Sammi xx

one cute blog said...

First off, those pictures are gorgeous!!! Once the snow hits here, I never leave home to enjoy it because I'm a big fraidy cat, and I've lived here (Idaho) my whole life! LOL What a terrible story about the school. I would be livid.

Rose said...

Love love love your pics, Oregon is beautiful!! And your dad looks very young, he must love what he does! Thanks for the freebie ;)

Pattycakes said...

Thank you for sharing this!! :)

Rachel said...

Ty Ty!! So glad your son is okay, that would have really made me mad! Hopefully the school is reseptive when you talk to them.
Good luck!
Merry Christmas

Anonymous said...

What a fun time! The photos are breathtaking! How beautiful it must've been in person. Glad your son was okay. Whew! As always, Thank you so much for sharing your talent! Great WA! Happy Holidays to you & yours!

Crys Tom said...

thanks for the word art--great as usual!!!! What a story!!! beautiful pictures tho.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for all of this fabulous WA!

Looks beautiful in the mountains of Oregon.

Anonymous said...

These are such wonderful thoughts! Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

OMG what stunning scenery, I'd love to experience a snowy day like that! Down under where I am its gearing up to be very hot summer.
Thank you for sharing your word art, its perfect :o)

Knowly said...

Thank you. I can't wait to add these to my Christmas layouts.

Pam said...

Thank you for the word art!! Love your blog and all your stories!! Great pictures, too!

Vicki said...

Thanks so much!

Anonymous said...

I love this wordart pack! Thanks so much!