Brians Graduation from Washington Youth Academy

He is graduated and home! His graduation was in Bremerton so it was a long day.. a little over 2 hours there... picked up his stuff from the academy at 7:30 am.. then we all went out to breakfast...then over to the high school for the graduation... we were there right when they opened the door at 9 am so we were able to get pretty good seats...the place filled up fast. They started right at ten.. as with all graduations there were a lot of people doing a lot of speaking and many thank you's.

I did record one speech.. give by Colonel Pettit, it was a very heart felt speech and very touching. You can tell the people who work with these kids do it because they care.. and they want to make a difference.. and they really do. 121 kids... high risk... came to WYA for many different reasons but for many of the kids it was their last chance. There are kids who were getting into crime.. gangs... dropping out of school.. very low grades... horrible attitudes... and yet This man spoke of kids who in 6 months went up 6 full grade levels... one child there lost 92 pounds.. in 6 months... these kids, when given what WYA gave them...were able to work so very hard and to change their lives in 6 months. I will forever be grateful for the differences I see in my son... for the chances they have given him and the things they have taught him. I look forward to watching him use the skills and knowledge he has gained while at WYA to continue making changes in his life and in others. I have always known that Brian can do it.. and WYA showed/taught him that he can.

One of my favorite parts... yes I cried in it.. I cried like a baby through the whole thing.. was when they showed a video of before and after photos... I enjoyed watching the video and seeing how much each person had changed.. not only did they all get short hair.. but you can see in their eyes a different attitude... the best part though was watching and listening to the group of cadets as they watched their own photos and that of their friends... you could tell from the sounds and pointing that there was shock and surprise at who they themselves had been and had become.

Washington Youth Academy... Thank you.. to each and ever person involved. If this sounds like something that might be good for your child.. I highly suggest looking into it.. and I do believe it is offered in other states too. On the main page there is a drop down list of other states so you can find one near you.

Washington Youth Academy

Posted some pictures here Flickr

and some videos here youtube

Great Weekend

Christmas Lights
Originally uploaded by glass_identities

We had a wonderful weekend... very relaxing and calm and fun. Starting to really feel the holiday spirit. Last weekend we put up all the lights and decorated but it was so hectic trying to get it all done.. that it just did not have the right feeling. This weekend we relaxed... started a puzzle... had some pizza...played some board games... watched a movie.. went out on Saturday night to check out Christmas lights.. the one above was the best we found.. besides ours....ok no they are a lot better.... and then on Sunday we went into town.. took some photos on the way in because the freeway was totally stopped due to a lot of accidents all in one area... the roads were really slippery... Dave bought me my birthday present... a really fun camera that takes great videos too *thank you so very much*... and then we went to visit his parents... and found the route with the most snow to come home on... there are some photos on my flickr page. All in all it was just a wonderful relaxing weekend... today the kids have a snow day.. I am guessing it was pretty icy in town today since there is really no snow here at the house.

Be sure to click "here" to view more photos of our weekend.

thanks,
Michelle

Lanees shop

See something you love you can click on it to buy it right from here.. or you can click here to visit her shop and see even more of her beautiful work.

LaneesCrochet

Unique Gifts

Lights, Camera, Cookies

Lights, camera, cookies.... now everyone has everything they need to get the house and yard decorated for Christmas. We also need some hot cocoa... Yesterday the kids and I tried to get the HUGE tree in the yard decorated.. that did not go so well....Dave and I are going to work on some different ideas this weekend without so much help... we did get all of the Christmas stuff out of storage and the sheds and the attic... also bought a bunch more... have a list of things we still want/need but we have started with what we have.

recipe for these sugar cookies.. they will melt in your mouth.
cream together
1 cup soft butter
1/2 cup powedered sugar
1/2 cup regular sugar
mix in
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cream of tarter
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour

sometimes I will add a bit of almond flavor with the vanilla

mix it all together and roll into small balls...flatten on the cookie sheet with the bottom of a drinking glass that has been dipped in sugar... bake in 350 degree oven for about 6 minutes.. it really depends on your oven.. you want to get them out right before the edges start to brown.


We did get our Christmas village all set up...
sad that we were not able to get one of the home depot houses to put in it.. they sold out super quick... who would have thought.. lol guess we are not the only rednecks spending too much time and money there.





We also got the tree up and pretty much done.. I think I want to string some pop corn (anyone with hints on the best way to do that please leave a comment) and put it on there... I did add some beautiful red ribbon... but so far I have not gotten it "just right" so it may end up coming back off. We have so many boxes in the living room that it is hard to tell how things really look... will have to wait until we get some more done and get the boxes out of the way.

Awesome

I always wonder if anyone really reads my blog.. I know I have some great friends who read it and family peeks at it.. sometimes there are comments and sometimes there are none... I keep getting new followers...*waves hi to each of them* thank you for the follow. Today I was on twitter and noticed that a friend tweeted about her blog post... which has something about one of my blog posts in it. It is totally awesome to find links to my blog on other peoples blogs...Thank you thank you Thank you!!! Now please go take a look at her blog which you can find right Here!