Dear Drunk Girls Who Sat Infront of Us Last Night

I would like to take this opportunity to express how much of a disgrace you are to the Sooner Nation...
First, it's football - not the club. Please leave tube top dresses and cowboy boots at home.
Secondly, I understand that in the student section at home- which you have probably sat for 6 years now, this being your 3rd senior year and all, that you prefer to stand during the game. I understand- I've sat in the student section before too. However, we're not at Owen Field and when you have people over the age of 75 sitting behind you, it is common courtesy to stay seated so they can also enjoy the game which they paid good money for. It is not polite to talk back to elders that nicely ask you to sit down so they can see. It is especially rude to curse about me to your friends for choosing to respect those behind me that have cheered for our Sooners much longer than we have.
Thirdly, please do not take advantage of your parents who pay both for your tuition and living expenses. Each of you spending over $60 on alcohol in one evening is quite ridiculous.
That brings me to my fourth point, please know your limits. When the "beer man" walks by- one at a time is plenty. He comes around often enough, so please don't feel in a rush to chug the last half of your beverage and obligate yourself to buy two more every 15 minutes. That is wasteful- and you don't have brain cells to go wasting around right now. Also, when you are struggling to find bills totaling $8, you have gone beyound your limit. Remember, 5 plus 4 does not equal 8.
And lastly, please do not come to the game if you are just going to get wasted and distract those around you all night. You can do the same at home, on your couch, for much less money.

Sincerely,
Lori

Hopes for Year #4

Thursday begins my fourth year of teaching. This year will be different in a lot of ways. Cameron is out of school and working full time and he leaves BEFORE I do everyday! I'll also be the After School Detention teacher this year. Hopefully my mean face will be mastered soon! 


I have a few hopes for this year... 


I hope that my students will feel loved by me. 
I hope they will feel important and valuable in my classroom. 
I hope that I have enough energy to give them the attention they deserve - even the quiet ones. 
I hope that only positive words will flow from my mouth so that when the negative ones appear they will be more meaningful. 
I hope my classroom is a place full of laughter and learning.
I hope to be an encourager to my colleagues.
I hope to be a cheerleader for my students. 
I hope that my students' well being will outweigh their potential test score. 
I hope that I will be more self reflective to learn what I need and what I can give as an educator. 


And most importantly... 
I hope I will leave at or before 5:00 everyday. 

Home Owners!

The past month has been a blur... we put in an offer on July 10th and closed on our new home July 31st! We got settled in really quickly thanks to a wonderful crew of family and friends! We painted the first night, had the carpets cleaned on Saturday and slept in the new house Saturday night, then moved the rest on Sunday! What a whirlwind. 


We are really happy, but still feel like we are playing "house" sometimes! Cameron is leaving the house early everyday for work now, and I have stayed busy putting things away and organizing the house. The clock is ticking because school starts next week! Eek! 


BEFORE: Painting over the rainbow of colors, cleaning up the AC leak, moving in:

AFTER: Partially moved in pics

COME SEE US!

Puppy Visit '09/Deck Construction

We are having so much fun with Heupel and Ellie! Garrett and Meghan did not get to stay long enough, but we are glad to keep the puppies for awhile! Garrett had to go back to Houston last week to prepare for camp and Meghan drove up to Kansas to stay with her sister and meet her baby niece! Heupel and Ellie have been at camp weiner-ville for about 10 days. The dogs get along great, but they sure do miss their mommy and daddy! Below is a picture of all six Hollingsworth Hounds :)

Ever since Phil and Christie moved into their house, they have known that the back deck needed to be replaced. Cameron had intentions of doing this last summer, but we ended up having hip surgery instead. This summer we finally tackled the project. We started by tearing down the existing deck which didn't take long considering most of it was rotted!

I was able to help some with the demolition, but once the construction started - it's been mostly the boys' project. Cameron is acting as foreman of this operation and is doing a great job! It's going to look great once it is totally done. I'll keep you posted :)

One Year Check Up in St Louis!

When we got back from Mexico we had two days at home to unpack, do laundry, and repack before heading back on the road to St. Louis! Cameron had his one year follow up appointment, and Christie had a 5 month check up. This visit was SO much easier and laid back then previous visits. No one was on crutches, wheelchairs, walkers... We got to visit all of our hot spots! We drove up on Monday - ate at Little Tokyo in Springfield (our favorite Japanese place!) We stopped at the biggest candy store ever to pick up some "Sassy Taffy"! Unloaded the car at the hotel and then drove down the street to Imo's (our favorite pizza in the world!) Somehow this trip always turns into a foodfest! Tuesday we slept in a little bit, then made our way to the hospital for the appts. I think the surgeon is a great person, but not very personable... is that just how surgeons are? Mostly introverted? Anyways, we were asking him about the screws in Cameron's hip. Last year he told us we should get them out after a year, now he's telling us they don't have to come out... We were confused so we asked for Madeline (she's another doctor that works with our surgeon) and she did a better job at guiding us to a decision. Cameron will probably go back in January when his mom goes for her one year check up, and have an out patient procedure to remove the screws. We hit up the mall that afternoon to our favorite food court (more japanese food!) then grabbed some White Castle on the way to see the Cardinals! It was the best weather ever to see a game. Cool with a little breeze and no rain! Plus the Cardinals beat the Tigers 11-2, so all around it was a stellar night (despite my White Castle burger being slimy by the time we got to the game...gross).

My Apologies...

So if you know me very well at all, you know that my last post really bothered me. The words were all spaced out weird, and not to mention how horrible the spacing on the pictures were! It did not look like that when I was drafting, but somehow in the publishing... ick. I did attempt to fix it, but then it started deleting pictures and I did not have the patience for it.
Anyways, I have a lot to catch up on with the blog. Here is a preview of what is to come:

• Check up in St. Louis
• Phil and Christie's deck
• Puppy Visit!
• 4th of July

Today I'm going with some friends to the dollar jewelry store. I'm excited!

Puerto Vallerta 2009

Summer is flying by! June was a busy month with lots of great highlights. We were able to travel to Puerto Vallerta with Mandy and Jeremy for a week! It was our first grown up vacation with friends and we had an awesome time.

We stayed at the Barcelo' resort which was about 20 minutes from downtown Puerta Vallerta. The beach was kinda rocky, so we mostly kicked it by the pool! As you can see, they had plenty to choose from! The pools also provided

lots of opportunities for people watching - my favorite part of all vacations. They had a kids pool, a large pool with a swim up bar, and another pool with bridge and waterfall. The views were amazing, and as with all vacations - you never

fully appreciate them until you are gone. The sunsets were incredible (I spared you by only posting one sunset pic...) We ate like kings and queens all week. I HIGHLY recommend going with the all-inclusive packages when staying at these resorts. If you order something you didn't like - no worries, just set it aside and order something else! American overinduldgence at its finest! Unfortunately, the vacation spoiled me a bit.

When we got home, I had to get used to things like paying for food and drink again. We hope to go back to Mexico again in a few years, so sign up now! The more the merrier!