California Natives

Graduation Day

2011-02-12T13:03:00.005-05:00

Today is Graduation Day. Thanks to the age of technology I am able to still watch and feel a part of the commencement today, via live web cam. It has been a long road to finish up my teaching degree, but today I can say I have finished. It is a lifelong dream that I have had, since a small child to be a teacher. I have worked in that role all my life, whether as a Junior Kindergarten Teacher, Substitute Teacher or a Mom, but now I actually have the degree to back it up.

I now possess a few degrees....AA in Education from Crafton Hills College, BA in Liberal Arts from Cal State San Bernardino, and Post Baccalaureate Teacher Preparation Program-Elementary Education. I am hoping to be able to have my own classroom this Fall, which would be the culmination of all this hard work.

One Warm Day in February

2011-02-09T22:06:00.008-05:00

A few days ago, we had an unusual day where the temp was 65 degrees!! Being it has been bitterly cold winter, Carlie and I enjoyed the day and went to the beach on base for some fun.

Carlie showing off her awesome ballet skills

Perfect prop for a picture

My little girl is growing up

Love the colors in this picture!

It was wonderful to not have to wear a coat and be able to soak in the warm sun!

Pajama Glam Party

2011-02-09T21:50:00.006-05:00

A group of us got together to throw a pajama glam party for Shawn. Shawn has been battling cancer for several years, and we wanted to show her how much we love and support her.

Everyone came in their pjs...glammed up of course, and we had a

great time dipping in the chocolate fountain and watching a movie.

Me with the guest of honor

The yummy chocolate fountain!

The Girls

Kelly, Lynda, Mary, Daysi, Orsi, Sandi, Darlyn, Shawn, Carol, Sharon

I think I should update the Family picture!

2010-06-04T14:40:00.004-04:00

Its Been About a Year

2010-05-31T13:28:00.003-04:00

I happened upon my blog today, and felt a little guilt, as it has been almost a year since I updated! I must admit FB is so much easier to post on and keep up with! It is almost time for Carlie to have her birthday again, but the title of the post will be "Carlie turns 12"! Where does time go??? I am feeling a little nostalgic for the earlier years where my girls were little....those days are long ago! 17, almost 12, almost 15.....oh my! Here they are, getting so grown up!

Carlie turns 11

2009-06-20T20:46:00.003-04:00

Carlie turned 11 on June 18th. She had a drive-in movie theater party with her friends;complete with cardboard cars and a concession stand! It is hard to believe how time has flown! She is still our sweet, happy go lucky little girl! Happy Birthday Carlie Baby!

Ashley's 16th Birthday Party

2009-04-12T20:30:00.013-04:00

This year for Ashley's 16th birthday, we wanted to do something different and fun. We started at 9 am, got all the girls in their shirts and headed off for Mt. Vernon Inn. We had had a great lunch, and were waited on by colonial waitressess. We then split into 2 teams, the Daffodils and the Daisies! We had a scavenger hunt, through the gift shops, searching for various clues. The Daisies won that hunt! We then went to Old Town Alexandria, and did a scavenger hunt looking for clues from the lives of John Carlyle and George Washington. The Daffodils won that hunt. All the girls received Starbuck gift cards as their prize. We then went for Smoothies, and shopping at Pentagon City Mall. After shopping, we got pizza and headed to Theodore Roosevelt Island for a picnic pizza. The girls had fun posing for pictures, and playing hide and seek. To finish off the day, we went to The Melting Pot for dessert. I had made a topsy turvy cake for Ashley's birthday, but the girls were to stuffed to touch it! All in all it was a Great Day! Ashley and her topsy turvy cake!

Dessert at The Melting Pot!

Theodore Roosevelt Island

Having Fun

Old Town Alexandria

Mt. Vernon Inn

Getting Ready to start our day!

Carlie's Room Make-over

2009-02-24T09:55:00.009-05:00

Our youngest daughter has decided the days of pink and Tinkerbell have come and gone! She informed us that since she will be in middle-school next year, she should have a room that reflects this age.

Good-bye Pink and Frilly

Good-bye Fairy net
Hello Blue and Green!
The Wall of awards!

Tim's childhood dresser, that has seen many different colors over the years!

The blue on the wall is really fabulous!

It looks better in real life!

Doesn't this picture fit in so well with the color

combo?

Tha hanging letters, that injured my finger!

How could the hammer mistake my finger for a nail?!

Carlie loves her new space!!

Happy Valentines

2009-02-13T17:20:00.005-05:00

Look what showed up at our door yesterday!

We were so surprised that the man of the house would send yummy treats to all his girls! He had even done this while out of town on travel!

Since he was coming home that evening, we only ate the box of chocolate strawberries, and saved the boquet for him to see!

It was de-lish.............

Christmas in California

2009-01-01T20:05:00.010-05:00

Snow was on the ground in Southern California, when we landed! It was colder here than Maryland! My brother Mike and I

Jet Lag

4 generations at our favorite place to eat

Granlunds!

Hiking in Joshua Tree

The whole gang:Grandpa Grandma Tim Carol Ashley Bethany Carlie Mike Christie Megan Collin and Joshua

Christmas Day

Corvettes in San Deigo

Hotel Del Coronado in San Deigo

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-16T09:06:00.015-05:00

We opened presents early this year....as we will be a Grandpa and Grandma's for Christmas!

Bethany got her wish...a TV w/DVD for her room...I guess Santa thought she had been good this year!

Ashley is into music, music and more music...she can now play all she wants with headphones on!!

Carlie awaiting the anticipation of what could be in the box!

Watch out Hannah Montanna....here I come!!!!!

Come in for a Christmas Tour..........

Step on in....sit down and have a mug of hot cocoa!

We apologize for the small tree...but we kept it more low scale this year, since we will be gone!

The Candy Tree...one of my favorite!

I bought these ornaments at my favorite candy store in CA..Granlunds.

This tree is our collection of places we visit tree.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,

The Pooles

Tim Carol Ashley Bethany and Carlie

Ashley in Marching Band

2008-11-20T17:39:00.003-05:00

Ashley is in the Great Mills Marching Band this year! She usually plays the clarinet, but they needed an extra barritone player, so that is what she played. She has done a really great job, and the band put on a great half time show at the football games. Ashley compete in many band competitions throughout the Fall and has enjoyed every minute of it!

The Magic of Forty!

2008-11-10T08:37:00.005-05:00

Hitting a certain age can cause one to stop and take pause. I have just reached the big 40! I have been saying that today's 40 is the new 30, but I have to admit I am still in shock over turning what I had always considered middle aged.
So in turning 40, I started to think about what that meant! Today, I don't feel how I thought 40 would feel. I don't feel old, and yet I know I am not young anymore either. I would like to think with this age has come some wisdom, as I have been around the block a "couple times" now. I have been through hard times and have survived! I have stored up wonderful memories from the past 40 years, that are mine to keep! I have a wonderful husband, three fabulous girls, a loving family and some incredibly special friends. Its been at times a long journey, but yet in retrospect an incredibly swift journey. So to quote " Maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had, and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.”

This quote will always work too-"
“35 is a very attractive age. London society is full of women of the very highest birth who have, of their own free choice, remained thirty-five for years.”

So here are some things I have been told by fellow 40 somethings: "You will make it through", "It's not that bad", "I feel more in control at 40 and happy with myself", "You don't look 40 at all" (I like that one),"It's about time you joined us" and "40 is great"! So I guess I will just embrace it and move on...........................................

National Junior Honor Society

2008-10-15T20:50:00.006-04:00

Tonight Bethany was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society at Spring Ridge Middle School. To be asked to be in the Society, you have to have a 3.5 or better (Bethany has a 4.0-okay parents can brag a little) and have been a leader in your community. We are very proud of her and her friends who made it in!

Allison, Ashley, Amanda, Krista, Michelle,(not sure), Bethany!

Fall is in the Air

2008-09-21T16:41:00.005-04:00

One of my favorite holidays is HALLOWEEN! I know this could cause a big theological debate, but for me it is harmless, spooky fun! As soon as the weather turns cooler, the girls and I look forward to setting out the Fall and Halloween decorations, in anticipation for our annual Halloween Sleepover Party. This has been a tradition we started, when we moved here 5 years ago, and one the girls always beg to keep, along with our annual pilgrimage to Hershey Park in the Dark (but that is another blog episode).
This year we made these cute little countdown to Halloween treat bags. Each girl will take turns taking a bag off the tree, starting on October 1 st and counting down to Halloween. Each bag has some treats in it to enjoy!

We had a lot of fun creating these!

We hung them on the tree in our family room
it gives it a festive look!

It's SOCCER Season

2008-09-21T16:32:00.004-04:00

The Blue Lightnings

It's that time of year again for Soccer! This year we only have one brave daughter who decided to play the sport! The Oldest one is way to busy, and the Middle one, just doesn't care to run around a field chasing a ball!

Carlie is a great runner and enjoys the sport! Last game she

got shoved to the ground by a bigger girl, but popped right back up, and later on the side lines a team mate fell right on top of her-poor girl had some aches after that. The season has been off to a slaughter so far, but we are hopeful that they can turn that around!

My Re-done Laundry Room

2008-09-05T12:35:00.005-04:00

As many of you know, as much as I love my house, there has been one room, that just was not thought about much by the house designer....The Laundry room. I finally came up with solution, to be able to separate out the clothes, and not have to wash on a daily basis, due to lack of space. Tim kindly lowered the shelf that the builder had installed (we added the cabinets) and now I have room to set some wonderful containers to hold the various categories of clothes. This small fix, has made me very happy to once again do the laundry!

I am still working on getting the front load washer/dryer in the beautiful color of red, or maybe mystic blue......ahhh one can dream. My dryer came with our house in Ridgecrest, and it must be at least 20 years old, that thing just won't die!

Our washing machine, is the only new laundry appliance I have ever had, and it is almost 13 years old! Who says they don't make things to last!!

MY BIG FAT LIP

2008-09-05T12:26:00.002-04:00

On Sunday night, during an imprompty icecream party, for Carlie's Daddy's birthday, Carlie got an unexpected surprise! While having loads of fun chasing a ball around on the trampoline, with about 6 other girls, Carlie's chin connected with her friend's head, resulting in THIS. Carlie's front tooth, went right through her bottom lip, causing her to swell up to proportions-that did not allow for going to school on Monday. The doctor has put her on antibiotics, and we are happy to say, she looks much better!

A Tired and in Pain Little Girl

17 Years Today!!!!

2008-08-24T21:46:00.005-04:00

Today is our 17th Anniversary! Wow..time sure does fly by! We decided to do something out of the ordinary, and something I had always wanted to do...ride a Segway! Tim and I took a 3 hour segway tour of DC as our anniversary present to each other this year. We had a great time visiting the White House, monuments, Capitol, Ford's Theater, and many other sites. This was definately the way to get around DC! There was even a lady who looked to be about 80, who was taking the tour as well. So it just goes to show you can still have fun, when you get older!

Our Vacation to Cancun 2008

2008-07-24T19:20:00.000-04:00

Bethany is a TEENAGER!

2008-07-19T12:31:00.002-04:00

Bethany is a TEENAGER!

2008-07-19T11:50:00.007-04:00

July 20th 1995 at 10:50pm, west coast time Bethany Brooke Poole entered the world! The world has never been the same since! She came looking like a little Sumo wrestler-black hair, red face, chubby cheeks(8lbs 10 oz), and grew into a beautiful curly haired, long lash little charmer. She could of been the next Shirley Temple when she was 3. It is hard to believe it is 13 years later and she is growing into a young lady. We are very proud of who you have become and know God has great plans for you in the future.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BETHY BOO!

Luau Slumber Party

2008-06-23T08:45:00.008-04:00

Carlie had a Luau Slumber party for her 10th birthday this year.She invited the girls from her class and a few other close friends.

We took the girls to the pool on base to swim(or get them tired..ha ha), and then came back to the house for our luau feast. We played fun games like, walk across the hot lava, hula hoop race, limbo, and of course the wacking of the pinata. We then had volcano cake and icecream, and ventured inside to sleep(yeah right!)

It was a fun and memorable day!

2008-06-17T18:48:00.001-04:00

If you would like to leave Carlie a birthday wish, just click on the comment button below and post one!

Carlie is 10!

2008-06-17T18:13:00.004-04:00

10 years ago on June 18th, our family was blest with a beautiful, small(compared to her sisters), bundle of joy! Carlie has been an energetic, happy, fun, caring, sweet girl for all of her 10 years. Being our youngest, we tend to still think of her as our baby, even though she tells us she is getting older. How could have 10 years gone by so quickly? DOUBLE DIGITS! I am still in shock. Carlie is terribly excited about this milestone in her life. I as a Mom am a little sad that she has to grow up.....

Here are 10 Things we love about Carlie:

1. She always says "I love you Mom" several times a day.
2. She is full of energy-if the energizer bunny is looking for a replacement, she is your girl!
3.She loves Jesus with all her heart!
4. She is a friend you want to have-she will take care of you and love you no matter what .
5. She is extremely talented on the Wii, Playstation, Nintendo DS...and competitive(must get that from her dad) .
6.She is a terribly picky eater..but with all her good qualities, we can overlook that.
7.She is musically talented..singing,piano,violin, dancing.
8.She truly cares about other people and their feelings.
9.She always has a smile on her face, even in the morning.
10. There is no one else on earth like her, and we are so glad she is ours!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-16T14:40:00.003-04:00

Tim we all want you to know that we think you are a GREAT dad! You show such extreme patience with all your girls (and we know that can be hard), are willing to help with whatever or whenever, and still act like a kid at heart (especially when competing on the Wii or Playstation)! We love you and think you are the best!

It's A Sad Day.......

2008-06-09T20:56:00.003-04:00

As many of you know, Carlie is a, shall we say, challenged ( um..picky) eater. We were thrilled this winter, when we could all go to Panera and eat together, usually Carlie requires a separate restaurant drive by. Carlie found out she LOVED Panera's Tomato Soup! It became her favorite restaurant! It was a SAD day last week, when we went and found the Tomato Soup has been removed for a Summer seasonal soup. Carlie just had bread that day. I told Panera they had broken my child's heart. We are hoping it returns this Fall!

Doesn't she look so happy!

Charter School Smith Island Adventure!

2008-06-05T19:37:00.003-04:00

Carlie's 4/5th class got to go on a 3 day trip to Smith Island, an island in the Chesapeake Bay. While they were there, they got to learn all kind of things about the bay,crabs,marshes,and water. What a wonderful experience! Enjoy the pictures!

The Awakening

2008-06-05T18:52:00.005-04:00

The National Harbor is finally open...to some extent. They have brought in the sculpture "The Awakening". I had seen a movie years ago with this sculpture, and was excited to see that they had moved it to the National Harbor. The girls enjoyed climbing all over him.

SOCCER

2008-04-29T09:03:00.008-04:00

The girls are all doing Spring soccer this year. Ashley and Bethany are on the same team, which makes getting them all to practice a litte easier. Ash and Beth's team is called the Pyromaniacs...yes Ashley chose the name again this year.

Both of the girls love to play Defender, but Bethany has ventured up to being a striker and almost scoring a goal.

Carlie is on the U10 and still plays co-ed, although her team is a majority of girls. I feel bad but I don't even know her team name, I have not got to see any of Carlie's games yet, as I have been gone every weekend. Tim tells me she does great. I am looking forward to watching one this weekend!

Ashley is into wearing crazy socks. Especially crazy argyle ones!

DiscipleNow 2008

2008-04-29T08:53:00.007-04:00

This past weekend, our church and 2 others hosted Disciple Now. This is a weekend event where youth kids get together to get fired up about being a Chirstian, and to dig a little deeper into what that means. We had a fabulous speaker for the weekend, Jacque who really laid out some great messages for the kids to think about. Also he was extremely funny. We hosted a group of 8 middle school girls...need I say more!

Our girls really enjoyed the weekend and learned a lot. Here are some pictures of the girls during their free time that weekend.

YOU AND YOUR GIRL

2008-04-25T16:29:00.002-04:00

Last weekend, my friend Shawn and I took our girls: Ashley, Bethany, Krista, and Dorothy to a lifeway conference called, You and Your Girl. It was in Fredericksburg VA. so we made a weekend of it. Friday night we spent shopping and going to The Melting Pot, for Ashley's B-day, as well as a few other food choices!
The conference was a really neat time for girls and their moms to fellowship and learn some things that will help us all be better Moms and daughters. There were some really great speakers-Vicki Courtney and Jackie Kendall. They also had great music with Lindsay Kane, the girls got a picture with her. It was a great experience.

Ashley's 15th Birthday Party

2008-04-14T13:59:00.008-04:00

Last Friday night,
Ashley celebrated her 15th birthday, with a Bunco party. Once your kids become teenagers, it gets harder to come up with fun themes, but I think we did. The girls had a blast playing Bunco and winning prizes. The fact that you got a "Loser" prize was a concept they all found fun! We made Bunco cupcakes, and had all kinds of snacks. The girls slept over...if you call it sleep, and Ashley had a great time!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-03-23T19:25:00.001-04:00

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T19:03:00.005-04:00

It never amazes me how quickly time flies by. Here are a couple pictures of Easters just a couple years ago.....

and the slide show of Easter today. Happy Easter Everyone!

It's the Easter Bunny

2008-03-22T14:07:00.002-04:00

Here comes Peter cottontail, hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its way.......
While at the Amish farmstand today, we gave in and bought a cute little white rabbit, who the girls have affectionately named "Mozart".

Happy Easter Everyone!

Basement Addition

2008-03-12T09:36:00.003-04:00

We have added the piece of furniture we have searched for, for a LONG time. We finally have our game area finished, complete with game shelves to hold the games and coke machine. We had friends over to test it out, and it is now a fun area in our basement. Do you see a "Movie & Coke" theme going on!

It is Finished....

2008-03-12T09:26:00.007-04:00

A while ago, you may remeber Tim was remolding our basement bathroom, by installing a tub. You may remeber the graphic thumb pictures! I am happy to announce the bathroom is finished! We hired a plumber to do the tub, but Tim got to do the drywall, crown moulding , and painting. Ashley has now happily claimed the room as "hers".

COKE....IT'S THE REAL THING!

Farewell ...Hello

2008-02-20T15:43:00.007-05:00

Tim had his farewell party at Outback today! It was great to see how much he was appreciated. Everyone had something kind to say and how much they appreciated his hard work! Congratulations Tim! We are proud of you...and know you will do a great job in your new position!

Valentines Day

2008-02-20T08:34:00.003-05:00

Valentine's Day started out with a phone call at 5:45am, saying today was a snow day! Once told the girls all snuggled back into their beds for some extra hours of sleep! Later when they got up we had our yearly scavenger hunt to find their Valentine Presents. Since they were little girls we have always done a Valentine scavenger hunt, and it seems they still haven't out grown it!

Carlie's class had a party on Friday, so we brought in our chocolate fountain, which was a big hit!

Tim sent chocolate strawberries to us for Valentines, which were very much enjoyed!

Ashley's Simpler Makeover

2008-01-31T20:09:00.001-05:00

Ashley talked us into letting her put up Black chalkboard paint on her walls..I was skeptical....but it turned out really cute. She has enjoyed gettting to "Color" on her walls..something all kids dream of.Can you tell she is into Music!

Tim the Tool Man Taylor

2008-01-31T19:54:00.001-05:00

Careful these images may be graphic!!!!
Okay, so the pictures got uploaded backwards.

Here is Tim's thumb, after being split open by a sledge hammer. It has already been sewn up. With 5 count them, stitches! The story.... Well we decided that we needed to add a tub/shower to the powder room basement. With 3 girls, we could kick ourselves for taking it out of the original plan. We opted for just the powder room...who knew Tim would make the basement beautiful and we would like living down there? Well we hired some plumbers for estimates...and they varied quite a bit. Tim decided, how hard could it be to bust up some 4 inch concrete floor to get to the already there pipes? Well, harder than it looks! Especially, with a spike and a sledgehammer! Needless to say,we are hiring a plumber, but Tim has insisted on getting to frame the walls. He starts tomorrow..say a quick prayer of safety for him!

Tim cutting into the cement....off to a very dusty start.

Tim outside of the room expansion.....looking dusty, but having fun. This is before the thumb splitting, of course he is still smiling in the after picture too. What a sport!

The Room Make-over

2008-01-31T19:26:00.000-05:00

Okay we have finished Bethany's room makeover. Yes, it did take a little time and effort to make the room the pre-teen dream room. Bethany is thrilled with it and says it is exactly what she wanted. I included a picture of what the old Wizard of Oz room looked like-and now the transformed dot room. It is definately a bright and cheerful place for Bethany to have friends over in. We took many ideas from the Pottery Barn catalogue for a fraction of the price.

Our favorite part of the room makeover is the wall bulletin board. This took a little creative effort, but is a great focal point.

The new twin bed has a trundle bed underneath, perfect for slumber parties! Can you tell Bethany loves-Green and Blue!

Leave us a comment on how you think it turned out!

New Places in D.C.

2008-01-22T09:45:00.001-05:00

This past weekend, we decided to go to DC and visit some places we hadn't been, and believe me we have been to most places. Our favorite was Roosevelt Island...who knew such a beautiful memorial existed on the island. We are going back in the Spring, when the water fountains will hopefully be running.
We also stopped(we have driven by many times) Iwo Jima memorial, and the Netherlands Carillion,both really neat. In the summer, they have bell concerts at the Carillion.
Tim had always wanted to get up close to the Air Force Memorial...so he did. We realize no matter how many times we go into DC, there is always something fun to see and do.

Interior Decorating

2008-01-15T10:07:00.000-05:00

There is something I passionately love to do...decorate rooms! Bethany decided as she is entering the teen years this July(yikes) that she is ready for a change in decor. Sadly Wizard of Oz is being packed away for a more hip type of hang out place. As the first picture shows, I spent most of yesterday painting out the room...not fun, but great exercise! Stay posted for the transformation to take place...we are still working on the after picture! One of our favorite channels is HGTV(home and garden TV), so here is our own version of "Room Makeover".

Carribean Cruise 2007!

2008-01-03T18:37:00.001-05:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-01T21:05:00.001-05:00

Disasters

2007-12-17T09:38:00.000-05:00

This past week in the Poole Household has been an interesting one. We have had a couple disasters take place, starting last Tuesday night. Tim went to play volleyball with the church, and came home with a twisted ankle. At first, when I heard the news through our youngest daughter, who got a hold of Daddy's cell phone and in hushed tones revealed that her Daddy had once again hurt himself playing church sports, I thought nothing of it. When Tim finally hobbled in the door with an ankle swelled up to the size of a large grapefruit, we knew we should take him in. After being in the ER until midnight, we arrived home with a splint, medication, and a "go see your foot Dr.". We are very fortunate to have a family friend who is a foot doctor. He told Tim its just a good sprain, with torn ligaments. Time will be the healer. So a week later, we are still waiting for time to be the healer, as he can hardly walk without crutches. Disaster number #1.
Disaster number #2.
Sunday we had a wonderful Christmas Open House. The day before I was finishing up last minute baking. I turned the oven on early Saturday morning, anticipating finishing up the last couple cakes. Unfortunately, I had forgotten the sheets of Divinity I had left in the oven the night before, to dry. I am in the office and start to smell something burning, and immediately remember the Divinity. Smoke is covering the bottom floor of our house, as I scream for help. No one comes. I open the oven to be greeted with a massive burst of black smoke and flames. I shut the oven off and scream for help, as I run to open the door for air. Opening the door sets off the burglar alarm, and now everyone is up and screaming fire as the smoke rushes to the second floor. I hear thumping and crashing as my invalid husband tries to hop on one foot to the kitchen. In his quick thinking, he grabs the sink nozzle and sprays out the fire. He is overcome by smoke, and is laying on the floor (where there is a little breathable air left) and is trying to scoot himself to the deck to breathe. I grab his arm and slide him across the floor and out the door. During all of this, our middle daughter has to use the bathroom-but can't go in our house, so she runs down the street to friends asking if she can go to the bathroom, because her house is on fire. 12 hours later, we have a working oven, the party went off beautifully, and we can now look back and laugh. This is definitely a Christmas memory, we will always remember. I am no longer allowed to make Divinity.

Family Pictures 2007

2007-12-08T21:41:00.001-05:00

Christmas 2007

2007-12-08T21:39:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas 2007

One of the blessings of this time of year is the chance it gives us to connect with you, our family and friends! So sit back grab a caramel macchiato (my personal favorite) and we will give you a whirlwind tour of the year 2007.

As many of you know, at the beginning of the year, we had been looking into moving to Georgia. Tim had applied for a position at Warner Robins Air Force Base, which seemed like a sure thing, so we took a road trip with some friends to see what we thought about Georgia. We loved the area, the houses, the church, our realtor, and were completely sold on the idea, but it wasn't in God's plan for that time. The base had a hiring freeze right before Tim was processed through. We were a little disappointed, but it all has worked out, as Tim was offered a new position here at PAX, which has moved him higher up the pay and position scale. This seems to be a good career move, so we are glad.

Since we had been planning to move in the summer, we didn't plan a big vacation. We let the girls attend church summer camp in South Carolina, and fit in a trip to Grandpa and Grandma's cabin in Minnesota. We had a lot of fun doing the usual boating, fishing, and skiing. Bethany and Carlie both got up on skis this year. Ashley is still not sure about doing that, but had fun riding the Sea Do on her own. On our way home, we stopped off in Chicago and fulfilled a dream of Carlie, Bethany, and mine, we had always wanted to visit the "American Girl Place". We rode the train into Chicago, and arrived bright and early as the doors to "dreamland" opened. We spent the day attending the "American Girl Music Revue", having lunch with the dolls in the café, and picking out a new outfit for the dolls. Tim was a great sport and wandered Chicago, while we took all the time we needed. If you have a daughter, I highly recommend this adventure.

The start of the school year brought some changes in our household. Ashley started high school. I know you are thinking Tim and Carol cannot possibly be old enough to have a child that old; we think the same thing! We were very proud of her as she was 1 of 48 kids in the county who had the GPA requirement to be asked to be in the STEM program at the school. (Science Technology Engineering and Math). This is a new program partnered with the base to start training kids in the Technology areas, so they can take over the future jobs in this area, hopefully for the Government. They have put a lot of money into this program to give the kids hands on training in these specific fields. Ashley is with this small group of kids (only 28 chose to attend) for her Algebra II, Geometry, and Chemistry classes, after that she transitions into the main high school classes of Spanish 2, Honors English, History, and Band II. She carries a demanding work load, but has remained on the Honor roll with a high GPA. She still loves music and is playing the piano, hand bells, clairinet, and singing on the Praise Team at church. She just finished playing clarinet for the All County Honors Band, which put on a very impressive concert. Bethany, also was selected for the Honors Band at the Middle School level, and was the only 7^th grade clarinet player from her school. Bethany still plays the piano as well, and has a knack for picking up tunes very quickly. Both girls continue to play soccer and had a great season as defensive players for their teams. Their lives are very busy as they continue to be involved in a variety of activities.

Carlie also had a change this year, as she went from being home-schooled to attending the new public charter school, which opened this year. She has a wonderful teacher and is in a 4^th/5^th grade combo class. She continues to love to write stories and songs, and dreams of being the next singing sensation. She sings in the chorus at school and will also be taking violin. Carlie has really been faithful with her piano practice and has become quite the little pianist. Do you see a theme with our kids? They all really love MUSIC.

Since I am not homeschooling this year, I have gone back to substituting for the school district, and have expanded my piano students to 10, which keep me busy. I have felt like a single parent for much of this year, as Tim has continued to do a lot of world traveling. He has had many business trips and has certainly logged in many airline miles. He loves the foreign travel, but we love it when he is home for a few weeks in a row.

For Christmas this year we are going to try another cruise. We will be leaving from Miami and cruising the Key west and Cozumel. On the way home we will be stopping off in Daytona Beach for a couple days, so Tim can visit the NASA Space Center. We are looking forward to just getting away and hanging out as a family.

If you want to visit the East Coast give us a call, we have loved having friends and family visit!

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Remember what this season is all about!

From Our Family to Yours,

Tim Carol Ashley Bethany and Carlie

Ice Skating Fun

2007-12-07T12:16:00.001-05:00

One of the Poole Family traditions, since we have moved to the East Coast, is to go ice-skating at the Sculpture Garden in DC. We all started out with grand visions of how fun this would be. I only lasted 10 minutes, due to a foot injury, Ashley lasted about 45 ( complaining the whole time of how bad the skates hurt her foot), Bethany lasted until Tim knocked her over, and wouldn't stop teasing her, and Carlie and Tim almost went the full 2 hour session. We are thinking that this is a tradition that may be on the chopping block.......

Gingerbread Fun

2007-12-07T11:59:00.001-05:00

Last night, we had Carlie's Girl Scout Troop over for a Christmas party. The girls had a lot of fun decorating Gingerbread houses, which turned out so cute. They also had a round robin gift exchange. Some of the girls, had a hard time believing they could "steal" the present from another girl. Others had no problem with this idea. All in all it was a fun night.

It's Snowing in Maryland

2007-12-05T19:19:00.000-05:00

December 5,2007

Today we had a beautiful blanket of snow cover our yard. The kids even had enough to make a snowman! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....We also have finished decorating and now get to sit back and enjoy the season! Enjoy the snow pictures.

Christmas is Coming

2007-11-16T08:11:00.000-05:00

Christmas is one of our favorite times of year. We celebrate the birth of our Lord and the sacrifice He made by coming to earth. We also love the transformation the house makes as it puts on its holiday apparel. For all of you out there who love decorating, baking, and organizing it all, I have found a great website to help keep you on track. It is calledhttp://www.organizedchristmas.com and has fabulous trackers, planners, printouts, recipes, and ideas to count you down to Christmas. Just thought I would share this, hope it helps you have a more organized Christmas.

Trip to Hershey

2007-10-23T20:29:00.000-04:00

We had a great time in Hershey this past weekend. We had some friends follow us up and hang out with us, at our annual haunts. We started with the usual meal at Cracker Barrell, always exciting to get a chance to look in the gift shop! After full bellies, we headed into York, and went on the Wolfgang Chocolate Tour, hence the hairnets. The good thing is everyone looked dorky together. We got to watch chocolate covered pretzels being made, and sample at the end. We always enjoy watching the process. Due to rain on Friday, we spent Saturday at the park. Our girls have all decided that roller coasters are fun ( it has taken a while to get to this belief), and so we had a blast riding the various ones. We left the park around 11pm and by the time we got home it was 2:30am. Let's just say Tim ate a lot of sunflower seeds and drank a lot of Coke to keep him going. All inAll in was a fun time.

Annual Halloween Party

2007-10-15T11:05:00.000-04:00

Halloween Party 2007

Each year we let the girls have an annual Halloween Party. They each get to choose 3 friends to come and sleepover. We do have friends that we know don't celebrate Halloween-so please know we respect your views, and we try to choose from friends who are okay with a Halloween Party. We just love dressing up and having a fun time with it. This year Carlie is the "White Witch from Narnia", Bethany is "Elizabeth Swan-Pirates of the Carribean", and Ashley is a fairy. We made some fun crafts, had some fun games, and ate lots of yummy treats. For breakfast we had pancakes in the shape of pumpkins and bats. It was a lot of fun.

Grand Opening-"Bethy & Becca's Salon"

2007-10-10T10:17:00.000-04:00

Okay, all you men out there, who never can find a great hairstylist...your worries are over! Announcing the GRAND OPENING of "BETHY & BECCA'S SALON". Two new hairstylist are bursting out in the Lexington Park area, as the HOTTEST place in town to get a do. As you can tell by the look on the man getting his hair done, he is so overcome by emotion, that he can't contain himself. You also can experience this type of elation. Call up the salon to set up an appointment for your one of a kind hairdo. Appointments taken daily, after school.

Fall-Our Favorite Time of Year

2007-09-26T13:04:00.000-04:00

Our family loves the fall season of the East Coast! Coming from California, we never experienced the splendor of the colors and the crisp air. Since we have moved here we take an annual trip to the chocolate mecca of the world HERSHEY PARK-to experience "Hershey Park in the Dark". Sometimes we take this trip by ourselves, sometimes with friends and family, but it is definately a trip to take. This is how our annual fall pilgrimage goes: We head up to PA. Stop for lunch at one of the several local Cracker Barrels, with full bellies we then meander through York County.....stopping at fun places like Wolfgang Candy shop(free tour and chocolate), Harley Davision Factory ( your kids need to be a little older to get in here), up to Litiz for Wilburs Chocolate, Sturgis Pretzel Tour( oldest working pretzel factory in the country, where you can roll your own pretzel, and receive a certificate), through Intercourse(this is a name of a town) to sample relishes, veggies, jams at The Intercourse Canning Co., also a quick stop at the Intercourse Pretzel shop(you can roll your own pretzel there too), there is also a Longaberger accesories shop next door, and finally up to Hershey. We sometime do the theme park, sometimes we just do the free trick or treating, but it is always fun. The next day we spend wandering through the Amish country side, stopping at local farms for pumpkins, squash, baked goods, etc.... and then take our yearly pictures in the beautiful fall glory of the Pennsylvania countryside. If you are into covered bridges, you can stop at the Lancaster Visitor Center to get a guided map of the covered bridges in the area. They are wonderful backdrops for pictures. We are looking forward to our annual trip in a few weeks. We hope we have inspired some of you to want to take a trip of your own. Happy Fall! Here are some past pics of our trips.

Had a Great Trip

2007-09-21T18:55:00.001-04:00

T got back from Germany with lots of stories, beautiful pictures, and a cold. Guess it can't all be perfect. The highlight of his trip was visiting "The fairytale castle" in Germany. I would masacare the name Neuschwanstien..something like that. He could spell it, but he is not around. They modeled the Disneyworld castle after it. Here are some pictures. KY Transplants-I have lots of chocolate for you...and even a Dark Chocolate Toblerone Bar. Let me know when you have a few minutes to drop by!!

The Collection So Far......

2007-09-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

KY Transplants, in this picture is lots of chocolate. T has been collecting it so I can bribe you to come over and show me the advanced features of using the blog. Do we have any takers? T says he thinks he has enough to have a Chocolate feast with you.....I don't know. I told him to collect some more just in case.

Tim's Trip to Germany...so far

2007-09-07T20:58:00.000-04:00

Tim is on a 2 week travel duty to Germany. I use the word "duty" very loosely, as he is enjoying it immensely. The only down side is he has to attend meetings, and doesn't have enough time to sight see. Here is the view out of his first hotel window....I am thinking pretty nice. He got a kick out of the name of this hotel, it is called the"Bad" hotel. We are not quite sure, why such a lovely place would be called bad. It is a little cool and rainy there right now, we didn't think of that as it is so hot here, so Tim is wishing he had brought a jacket and some warmer clothes to sight- see in.

He has promised to bring home a varitey of goodies-gummi bears, Toblerone, and assorted chocolates.....who likes chocolate?Belgium?

We will post some more pictures when he gets back next week.

Found the Photo

2007-09-02T17:45:00.000-04:00

Sorry R-couldn't resist. Here is the "black lip and teeth" picture from T's Over the Hill cake last year. I must say the photo doesn't do justice, to the color you really were. I think you had wiped some of it off.

Who me? Another year older!

2007-08-30T22:08:00.000-04:00

Yes, Tim is another year older today. August 31st. As he had his big over the hill party last year, we are going more low key. (Sorry I couldn't get to the pictures of a KY transplant, whose lips turned a lovely shade of black from last year's frosting.) We decided to give presents early, so Daddy could go play his new Playstation2 game, late into the evening hours. We are going to go up to Famous Dave's to celebrate tomorrow, and hit the mall to use some gift cards. Happy Birthday!

I Will Be Here

2007-08-23T22:12:00.000-04:00

This song "I Will be Here" is playing at the top of the playlist today. This is the song sang for me during our wedding. Even though he was nervous, he did a great job. Listen to the words in the song. This is "Our Song"

August 24, 1991-It's been 16 wonderful years

2007-08-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

Today marks the 16th anniversary of the day I married the most wonderful man in the world. (Yes, I am a little partial!) He proposed at an ice skating rink in Palm Springs, on Christmas Eve, by sliding up on his knees on the ice and holding out a ring. How could I refuse. Eight months later we were married, on August 24th, and took a wonderful honeymoon tour of the Hawaiian Islands.

When they say opposites attract, this is true, and its a good thing. I am high maintenance, easily excitable, quick tempered-to which my husband has the patience of a saint. Then to be blessed with 3 daughters, and still have patience, is a remarkable quality. Our life together has had many ups and downs, laughter and tears, but sharing it together is what it is all about.

(Sorry the photos are blurry, but the computer tech is on travel still, and the scanner is acting up. My children say we look very young and thin.....I am wondering, as opposed to what?)

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.......

2007-08-22T14:43:00.000-04:00

Okay, well maybe not the most wonderful time of the year....but pretty close. As my kid's freedom was coming to a close today, my was becoming wide open. I braved the dark morning hours with my middle daughter (as Daddy is in Florida) and sent her off to 7th grade. Don't adjust your screen, yes it is rather dark at 6:30 in the morning. All of you who know by trait I am not a morning person, will know what a sacrifice this was for me! Next older daughter left for the big 1st day of high school!!!! How can we be old enough to have a high schooler you ask, I don't know either! She is in the STEM program this year, and has some big challenges ahead of her. Then youngest daughter was dropped off at the new Charter School, sporting her uniform( navy, white, and khaki color outfits-oh the choices!). I celebrated my day by going to Starbucks and getting a carmel macchiatto. Yum-0! I entered Target to pick up a few school supplies we hadn't got, and was pleasantly surprised by the emptiness of the store-early mornings do have their advantages! While I do miss having youngest daughter home with me, we did enjoy homeschooling last year, I know the girls were excited of the prospects the new year holds. All have come home with smiles on their faces, and have had a great first day of school. I hope all your "first day backs" went as well.
-C

Minnesota Vacation

2007-08-14T16:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of our trip to visit Grandpa and Grandma Brown's Cabin on Lake Vermillion. We had a lot of fun riding the sea doos, waterskiing, boating, fishing, etc... Tim had a ball being in charge of the nightly fire, check out his pyro pictures...does he look a little too happy? We also had the chance to swing by Chicago to fulfill a dream of going to the American Girl Place. We had sooooooooooooo much fun, even mommy. Its fun to be a girl. On our way home the highlight was our flat tire. Who needs State Farm, when you have Tim. He enjoyed learning how to change the tire on the Yukon. We left Ashley for an extra week at the cabin and will picking her up from DCA on Saturday.

Joining the ranks of Bloggers

2007-08-13T22:41:00.000-04:00

Okay, we have seen quite a few friends using
this new technology( probably not that new, but for
us it is) and we are determined to give it a try.
Be patient with us as we figure all of this out.
We may not be as advanced with our blog as
some of you out there, at least until I get computer
genius husband working on this, but we will
do our best to post some interesting tidbits happening
in the life of the "California Natives". So here's
our start.................stay tuned for more.