On being a woman

I found this quote on one of the blogs I stalk. Like many others, I have been inspired by an e-friend Stephanie Nielsen (nieniedialogues.blogspot.com) and her sister, Courtney (blog.cjanerun.com). I came across this quote and I had to repost it:

“There is in every true woman's heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity, but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.” -Washington Irving


So true, right girls? Don't mess with a woman!

Long Beach Half Marathon

This year the Long Beach Half Marathon was on October 12th -- what would be our beloved Ricky's 35th birthday. Be assured that the prankster was with us in spirit as we ended up being over an hour late (thanks to traffic) and barely squeaked by the start line as it was about to be closed off for the next race, the 5K. Ricky was also there with us (Tommy, Heather and me)as we ran our best races with a time of 2 hrs, 19 min, 48 sec. I think that averages a little over a ten minute mile for 13.1 miles. Our goal was 2 1/2 hours so we were very excited. :) Yay! And no one needed CPR! Double yay!

Oh, and make sure you check out our shirts...a cute heart with wings on the front and professionally Photo Shopped image of Ricky riding a steer on the back (except for Hunter--we put his picture of Ricky on the front so he could see it). Designed by the talented Megan and Christina. Megstina? Christegan? Boomnina? Good job, girls!

Happy Birthday, Jeff-wee!

We somehow managed to get all the "big Cooks" in for a picture with some "little Cooks" scattered here and there...even if some eyes are closed and we're not all facing the camera...we'll take it!

Art by Accident?

My camera settings got all messed up when I shoved my camera in my pocket at a party. I didn't realize it happened, though, until I took some pictures and tried to play them back.

To the untrained eye they might just look like blurry pictures. But, in actuality, they are my two really cute kids fighting with each other. Isn't that adorable? Ok, so they're just blurry pictures, but they are kinda cool, hu?

Don't worry, the fighting quickly changed to this...

Memory Lane

Being a pro now at this blogging thing, I decided to help my brotha (Jake) out and get him started with a page of his own (adayinthelifeofjakecook.blogspot.com). He loves staying connected with his friends/family and loves getting email. So, I searched my shutterfly account for any and all pictures I could find of Mr. Jake (you'll have to check his blog for those) and came across this album of oldies. (Heather scanned them and made me a little bound book for my birthday...I know, she rocks. Love ya, Heather!)

Anyway, I found some

really, really cute ones

(is that conceited to say I was cute?

I'm referring to past tense, not present tense,

so I think I'm okay...)

and........

this really really scary one

I'm posting special for Jessika

(the one right next to Heather)

of our dance performance with

"futuristic" theme...

or was it "streetwalkers"?

I can't quite remember.

We did win blue ribbons as you can see,

but it was obviously not for costume.

We chopped it!

Here's Emma's new haircut.

And here's Hunter in his uniform...t-shirt, swimming trunks & cowboy boots.

She's heeeeerrrrrrre...

Grandma Cook (my dad's mom) just moved to town. Here's one of her classic poses if you have never had the pleasure of meeting her. She's a fan of using the rolling pin as a weapon, but if that's not handy, a broomstick or fly swatter will do.

I like to tell the story that the first time I was ever cussed out was by none other than my very own grandma! I was about 7 years old and she had just taken me to Mervyn's to buy a new outfit for my birthday. I was so excited I wore it out of the store and when I got home, I started wrestling around on the floor with Zach and Jake. When Grandma saw what I was doing she yelled, "Jill! I work too G** D*** hard for my money! Get your a** up off the floor and out of those new clothes!" Yep. That's my granny...

As we've both gotten older I've become much closer to her. She doesn't really yell at me that much anymore unless I'm doing something I shouldn't like, open the oven to peek at the cookies while they're baking, or wash my hands in the kitchen sink instead of the bathroom sink...

But with all honesty, I'm really looking forward to seeing her more and learning more about her. Like, this morning for example, I stopped by to see her after I took Emma to school. If we didn't live in the same town, I probably never would have known that she likes to soak her vitamins in her coffee so they are easier to chew...Love you, Grandma!