Semper Fi!!!!!

We are so very proud. Tonight was Michael's Senior Awards Night. He received the Semper Fidelis Award. Here's a little background:

The "Semper Fidelis" Award

High school musicians embody many virtues that we, as Marines, admire. By and large, a high school musician is someone who gives 110 percent throughout the year. Not only does the young musician have to maintain a high degree of proficiency with an instrument through practice and rehearsal, but he or she has to maintain passing grades and devote time to the extracurricular needs of the band or orchestra. In doing so, the high school musician displays traits that Marines consider essential to being a good leader...endurance, knowledge, unselfishness, dependability, enthusiasm and loyalty. To help high schools promote recognition of achievements and sacrifices their musicians make, the Marine Corps provides the “Semper Fidelis Music Award,” a tradition that dates back to the days of John Philip Sousa and his role in making the Marine Corps Band the premiere musical unit it is today — The President’s Own. The award need not be geared toward the top-notch instrumentalist who may be receiving music scholarships, but can be used to recognize your competent musician who has shown yearly improvement, dedication and enthusiasm.

And here are a few a Kodak moments!

The "Semper Fidelis" Award
For Musical Excellence
Presented to
Michael Chafatelli
by the United States Marines Youth Foundation, Inc.
and the Marine Corps League
In Recognition of Diligence,
Dedication and Musical Excellence as a Performing
High School Bandsman and Soloist
on this 21st day of May, 2008

WTG Mikey!!! We love you!!

See ya next time!

Teacher Power!!

To all my fellow teacher friends out there....this guy says it ALL!!!! I LOVE IT!!!




See ya next time!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all my mom friends out there! Being a mom is a hard job. The whole time you are raising your little ones, you are hoping that you are doing it right. You are hoping that when your kids get older that they will be good people and that you have made a connection with them that will last a life time. This is a job that you don't know if you are doing well until years later. No one gives you annual reviews. There are no merit raises to let you know you are doing a good job. You just do your best and hope your kids love you and turn out to be the good people you want them to be.

Today is Mother's Day and my three children gave me cards that were so wonderful, they brought me to tears. Cards they picked out and bought themselves, now that they are growing into young adults. I hope you don't mind if I share.

Anthony

I hope your Mother's Day is
all sunshine and smiles!
Love,
Anthony

*************

Michael

There's very a special bond
between
a Mother and a Son --
A bond that
with each passing year,
becomes a stronger one --
It's made of
happy memories,
Of confidences shared,
Of things a mother's done to show
she understood and cared.
And though
that bond's unspoken,
it's both warm and very real.
And this son hopes that his mother knows
that's how he'll always feel.

I love you, Mom.
Thanks for always being there for me.
Your son,
Michael

*************

Kristi

Now that I'm older, I can see
even more clearly how truly lucky
I've been to have a mother like you.
You gave me independence,
but let me know you were there for me.
You let me learn from my own decisions
and my own mistakes
and helped me become my own person.
So I want to say thank you
from the bottom of my heart
and to say that my love
and respect for you
just keep growing all the time.

I love you so much.
Thanks for everything you've done for me.
Love,
Kristi

Needless to say, I had a wonderful Mother's Day. I sure hope you all did too!!

See ya next time!

Painting....again

When we first looked at this house to move to, one of the first things we thought was, This place needs a paint job and some new shutters. The shutters were broken, the paint was so old, faded and ugly that it was hard to tell exactly what color it was or USED to be. Gray? Blue? So now, we've been here about a month and we've decided to get the job done.
Here's a before picture:



We went to Lowe's and picked out a color that would cover in one coat. We certainly didn't want to do this job twice. We chose a blue color and had them mix it. It looked a little bright in the 5 gallon can but we brought it home to get started early the next morning. Pouring it out in the paint pan, it still looked a bit too bright. On our road, our neighbors homes are all muted, neutral colors and the more we looked at this color in the pan, the brighter it became. We started on the back of the house and did a small section. OMG, it was BRIGHT! This was Paas Easter egg blue!! It was HIDEOUS!!! We let it dry...and it didn't get any better. Take a look:

I could NOT subject my neighbors to THAT! They'd have to wear sunglasses every time they left their house!! So, I went back to Lowe's to see if there was anything they could do with this color to make it darker, since of course they can't refund your money once the paint is mixed and taken out of the store. The lady there was very nice. I made sure to stress that this was NOT the store's fault. There was no mistake made...I actually CHOSE this HIDEOUS color!

Me: I hope you can make this better. I can't believe how bright this was on the house. I mean this is just HIDEOUS! Can you imagine having a WHOLE HOUSE painted with THIS hideous Easter egg blue???

The Lowe's Lady: Actually, my sister's house is this color.

Me: Well, it's just that my block seems to be very neutral. You know, grays, whites, beiges and we just want to fit in. We're new to the neighborhood. We couldn't go too light because we want to be able to cover the color that's already on the house.

Yes...I was blabbering. I was back peddling. I was tripping over myself trying to explain after just insulting this woman's sister's house. She saw that I was embarrassed and let me off the hook by telling me that her sister lives in California and people use bolder colors out there. LOL And that you can see her house from three blocks away but it kinda grows on you. LOL

Finally, armed with a MUCH better color we painted for two straight days. The house is blue with white trim and will have white shutters once they come in. Here are the after pictures:


Ignore that puddle of blue on the lawn. That's where I accidentally dumped the paint bucket. I think it came out great and two of my neighbors commented that they loved the color. I can't wait to get the shutters up. I think that will finish it off nicely.

Finally the shutters came in!

And while waiting for the shutters, I painted the shed to match. :)





See ya next time!

Michael Skates...Mom Prays

This is hard for me to watch. Probably hard for any mom to watch. Michael is attempting what is called, in the skating world, a 7-set. A 7-set consists of flinging your body down a flight of seven steps while trying to keep yourself on a 2 and a half foot board with wheels, landing with your feet on the board at the bottom and neatly rolling away into super stardom of the skating world. Sounds fun, don't ya think??

These attempts were caught on video. If you're squeamish, these videos are not for you. Consider yourself warned. Viewer discretion is advised. LOL










Sweet Victory!!!!!!

After this day of skating, my boy came home sweaty, dirty, bruised, scraped, bloody and limping...... he looked like he'd been mugged. By the time I was done patching him up he looked like he was part mummy. Knees, elbows, hands.... :o(

But when asked if it was worth it, his answer was OHHHHH YEEEAHHHHH!!!! LOL

See ya next time! :o)

"The Whistler"

Before we made the big move to the new house, we were able to bring over boxes that had been packed a little at a time while the previous tenant was moving out a little at a time. Sounds confusing but she was moving out on the top floor while I was moving in on the bottom floor.

One very nice sunny day, Michael and I were at the new house with a load of boxes and had unloaded them all into the house. The house was empty. The street was quiet since it was the middle of the week and the middle of the day and probably everyone was at work. We were sitting on the front porch taking a breather when I heard a whistle. A whistle like kind you hear a construction worker make at a pretty woman. It was so quiet that you could hear it loud and clear and yet no one was around. It was kinda creepy. It felt like someone had been watching from inside their house, lurking in the shadows, behind their curtain and now was whistling that sexy, inappropriate kind of whistle that just makes you uncomfortable. We heard it a few more times and that was weird enough for me. I told Michael I was getting creeped out and we went home.

Yesterday, I found out who "The Whistler" is. It was the first REALLY nice day since we moved in and I opened all the windows for the first time. Suddenly there it was again. THAT whistle. And again....and then a different kind of whistle, like calling a dog....and then....

*SQUAWK* Pretty bird...pretty bird.

Apparently, my neighbor has a very talented bird and SHE opened HER windows yesterday too. LOL

See ya next time! :o)

Home Sweet Home

Well, we are finally in our new home. What a relief! The furniture is placed where we want it. The rooms are set up the way we want them. Yes, there are still boxes everywhere, but those will be taken care of over time. My kitchen is set up..that was fun, figuring out the best places to put dishes and cups and all that kitchen stuff. UNpacking is SO much more fun than packing! LOL

The boys are loving that they can get up later and get home earlier from school now that we are so close. There is a grocery store, literally about 90 seconds from my house. The first morning we were here, Steve went to the store for something easy for breakfast...cinnamon rolls, YUM. He said, Honey, I turned on the van and I was at the store! LOL

Taco is LOVING having a fenced in yard and no tether. On the nice days I have left the back door open for fresh air and he just came in and out as he pleased. There are lots of trees and with the trees come lots of squirrels and birds that he chases. The squirrels come right onto our back deck and look in the door. It's so cool. Can Taco come out and play? LOL They play tag...but Taco is always "It". LOL

The boxes are being emptied and are going out the door. TV, internet and phone are hooked up. Slowly but surely this house is turning into our home.

See ya next time! :o)