Week half over...whew!

3.17.09
Myka and MiMi playing Wii - boxing to be specific. This thing is great. We just got one a few weeks ago, and my mom just got one, so we were showing her how to use it, and she was pretty good at the boxing - pulled a TKO on Myka.

3.18.09
Myka watching his Derby car race to the finish line...

A good team - after getting the 2nd place ribbon. Later that night, before bed, Myka said "We made a good team Dad!" (I went and got a tissue to wipe my eyes...snif)

(Greatest) Grandpa, Grandma, Papa, and Grandpa Larry at the Derby

FIRST PLACE! In this race... overall Myka's car finished 2nd in his Tiger Cub Den, and he got to go to the finals, which consisted of the top 3 cars in each Den, so a total of 12 in the finals, and his car finished 5th there. So we were all pretty proud. And it was a great experience for Myka to see how his effort paid off.

Whew - halfway through the week. Amen. Only 6 more weeks of school for me. Watching American Idol - wishing I could sing other than belting it out in the car. Should be going to bed since I was up at 5:30am for clinicals, but I am stubborn.

The super fast Derby car...

3.16.09

Well, still no luck with the lost pictures. I think my CF card for the camera became corrupt. If so, better the CF card than the camera. So I am still working on getting pics...

In the meantime, here is the car with a finished paint job. The thing had enough coating or whatever it was that it probably could have slid down the track just like this, but we did put some wheels on it.....

Well, crap.

I forgot to put up a picture last night, because I was so tired when we got home from dinner at my moms. But here is a picture I TOOK last night so that should count for something...

3.14.09

And today was a HUGE day for us, because it was the Pinewood Derby for Mykas Cub Scout pack. Myka and Josh worked so hard on the car, and Myka did a ton of it himself, which in and of itself is a big acomplishment - he had a great time doing it. And it paid off for him today. But I won't tell you how just yet because I have (had?) some great pictures from today, BUT something really screwy is going on with either my camera or my memory card so I am working on getting some pictures, then I'll make a nice post about our big "Derby Day".

We also had some special visitors here for it as well, Greatest Grandma and Greatest Grandpa from Georgia, and Papa came to watch.

THEN, later tonight about 7:45pm we were going out for celebratory ice cream, and we saw the SPACE SHUTTLE that had just launched. It was very cool! No I didn't have the camera, but I wish I did. But, trust me, it was super cool to be able so see it, even though we're on the other side of the state! It was just a stream of orange smoke, then we saw the flash of the rocket after it broke apart from the boosters.

So, all in all, a great day, but I am having some "Oh, crap" moments here hoping I can get my pictures back. Thank goodness Josh's dad was there taking pics too, so if I lost mine, I can get a copy of his.

Bring it up to date...

Ok. So, lets see what's gone on in the Massing household since September when I last updated. Whew. Lots really. So I'll go chronologically.... as best I can remember. Since I have lots of pics to share, I'll use some cool slideshows to save space!

October:
The three of us went "hiking" at the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve here in town. It was actually pretty cool - and we did get to see lots of neat things including several gators (baby ones too) and snakes. That's when that trusty zoom lens comes in handy. Then of course we had the normal Halloween festivities - Myka was a "army guy" and our annual pumpkin carving produced a Pirate pumpkin for Myka, and a ghost one for Josh. Then, I love the pics included below of Myka out in the yard catching butterflies. It's hard to see the butterflies in the pics but there are TONS of yellow ones all over!

Myka started Tiger Cubs back at the beginning of the school year and he LOVES it (not sure who is enjoying it more, Josh or Myka??) He's earned several beads, beltloops, badges and such. It's a great thing for the two of them to do together. We've done some cool activities like the Space Derby (had to build a rocket that would launch using rubber bands along a line), Cub/Parent camping trip, BB Gun shooting, and Woodworking project. They also have some cool things coming up where they'll go to a Radio station, and then next month a police station or something similar. In December, Josh and Myka planned the December activities for an Outdoors theme, and they planned leaf rubbing cards to deliver to Nursing home residents, and a trip to the Preserve where they learned from a guide about how animals adapt to the florida ecosystem. Pretty cool, so these are some pics from recent activities (there's quite a few).

Also in October Myka did his belt test is Tae Kwan Do to test for his yellow belt! He did awesome! I was so proud of him. It was such a big accomplishment for him. Unfortunately I lost most of my pics, my Josh's dad took some, I just don't have them on my computer.

November:
We had a great time going to Albany, GA for Thanksgiving to visit Grandma & Grandpa Harris, and the Harris family in Macon, GA too! I love seeing family and even though it was a short trip, we really had a great time! My uncle Mike and his wife Vienna litterally built their house themselves, and it is beautiful! Thats where we had Thanksgiving dinner, the food was fantastic!

December:
Whew! I finally finished my second semester of Nursing School and thankfully got all A's (praise the Lord!). I got a month's break before I just started my thrid semester this week. In December I also was able to get a PRN student nurse position at the hospital, will be about 1 or 2 days a week (8 hr shifts) and will be a good experience while in school, but not too much pressure. I do want to keep my grades up, and I know this semester will be even more challenging. But I had fantastic professors and I really learned so much. I just want the next 3 semester to go by quickly...

Myka got a two week break and our Christmas was pretty good, we even slept in a LOT (some days Myka and I slept in past 10am!). Josh's sister Jenn, & her boyfriend Ivan were here, so we had a houseful but it was great! Santa made a special appearance a few days before Christmas, and then he lost a bell off his suit right on our roof Christmas Eve! We spent Christmas morning here with Josh's family, then headed over to Mom's for Christmas dinner.

For Christmas, Myka really wanted this HUGE Hans Solo Star Wars ship. We had been telling him for a few months that it was very expensive, and we didn't think Mommy & Daddy would be able to get it. He even got teary eyed on Santa's lap about it this year (broke my heart!) but the good man pulled through and Myka was so excited to see that on Christmas Day!

It was hard to get back in the routine this week though, back to reality... So here it is, first week of January has come and gone. I start my full schedule of classes next week (Advanced Pharmacology, Adult I, and Mental Health in Nursing). I have two days of classes, one day of clinicals each week. Then I start my new job here in a few weeks so pray for me that I don't loose my sanity. Myka is back in the swing of school, and Josh's business is starting to pick up a bit. So from here on out, I'll try to keep posting regularly!