AI

I did not get to watch American Idol last night as Jaxson and I made a trip up to Salt Lake to visit Stacey. So naturally, I read the recap today on msnbc.com. My favorite excerpt from the recap is below:

This year’s Kellie Pickler?
Jamie Lynn Ward definitely belongs on some sort of television show. A 17-year-old from Reidsville, North Carolina, she dreams of being this year’s Kellie Pickler, complete with the straight-out-of-the Lifetime-Channel back story. She lives with her grandmother and takes care of her father — who’s paralyzed because he caught his wife cheating on him, shot her and then himself.

Ward says that if she wins, she’ll buy her grandmother a one-story house so it’ll be easier for her dad to get around. That would make her a candidate for “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” though the nature of the shooting may not quite offer the feel-good scenario that the producers of that show usually have in mind. But it was that back story that got her to Hollywood, since her voice is a lot rawer than even Pickler’s was at this stage of the completion.

In other news, Quinn had his first mid-term in Game Studies the other day. He aced it. He got a 98.5%. I'm very proud.

Control Freak

I use to always hate to drive with Dana as one of my passengers because she would always freak out and think I was two seconds away from crashing the car and killing everyone in it. It drove me crazy. Stacey was the same way. She has this thing she does too, where she extends her arm straight out in front of her like she is a policeman trying to stop traffic. Somehow this helps her feel that I am not going to slam into the car in front of me. I never understood why they were like this. Then the unthinkable happened. I became the same way. I have no idea how it happened. Maybe it is from being a passenger (with Quinn) more often than before. But now I hate to sit shot gun. I have turned into the back seat driver crazy person that I always thought Dana and Stacey were. Quinn can attest to this. He does not like to drive with me and usually sets limits that he will only drive if I promise not to freak out. I try my hardest.

Last night, I took a late night shuttle from the airport to the house. A little old man was our driver. He told me to go ahead and jump up front with him. A huge mistake. As soon as I sat down I realized this. I knew that the 45 minute ride would be pure torture because I would not be in control. However, it was too late. I could not jump out of the front seat and get into the back of the van without offending the man. So I endured. I tried close my eyes and not think about it. But that just made it worse. I needed to see where we were going. Needless to say, I was on edge the whole time. Of course, it didn't help that the old man waited until the last possible moment to make all lane changes. I was in constant fear that he would miss all of our turn offs. He did fine. He got me to my house in one piece and in decent time. Bottom line: I need to trust more.

PS: On a side note, both Dana and Stephanie told me today after reading my post, that they think Quinn is a crazy driver too and can understand why I am a back seat driver with him. So no I feel slightly justified in my craziness.

New Obsessions

I have a lot of spare time on my hands right now. Mainly, because when I'm in Utah I'm sans Quinn so things are a little boring and I usually just relax by playing with my niece and nephews and watching some TV. And when, I'm home in Plano, Quinn is either at school or doing homework and oh yeah, that's right I don't know anyone else there...so I get to watch a lot of TV there too. I'm not complaining because with all this down time I've been able to discover a few new (at least to me) gems in the entertainment industry.

My first discovery came in Plano, where we have Bravo. We did not have this channel in Utah. So one night I flipped to it and saw "Top Chef." Immediately, I was hooked. I love a reality show based on food and cooking. They were having a marathon so obviously I ended up watching until two in the morning. The only bad thing is that new episodes of "Top Chef" air on Wednesday when I am in Utah and don't have access to Bravo. But never fear, I am just constantly on the look out for the repeat to be aired on the weekend when I'm home.

My latest discovery happened last night. All the kids where in bed as well as Ryan who was tired from a late night of homework the night before. Dana was also busy with homework. So I was left alone to pass the time. I flipped to the food network and "Ace of Cakes" was on. This is a great show. Genius really. I could watch that bakery for hours. They make the most creative delicious looking cakes. It just makes me wish I lived in Baltimore so that one day I could commission them to bake me a cake in the shape of a dog, yak or a Chinese take out box (all featured on last nights episode). Check out their website. It is truly amazing.

I highly recommend both shows if you have some free time on your hands.

Pink

Some of you may remember that the blog was originally pink. There was a bit of an uproar over it when a few of my friends convinced Quinn that he could not maintain his masculinity and have a pink blog at the same time. So I changed it. Well, almost 12 months later, Quinn has yet to post or even comment on the blog. So, alas, I am taking it back. Thanks to my friend Joe who helped me change it to the beautiful pink blog that you see today. I appreciate the help!

Multi-purpose

We have found another use for our bathroom as is evident by the picture below. The counter in the bathroom is pretty much the only flat surface we have. So this weekend Quinn decided to put it to good use by also using it as a desk. How cute is that?
I guess we need to buy a desk at some point.

Quinn spent this weekend working on his homework for his art class. He had to draw a frame of Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future: Part III. I think at first, this class was a bit intimadating for Quinn, but I for one think he did a fabulous job for not having any art experience. Take a look for yourself. Below is the frame he had to draw.
And here is his drawing. Mind you, this is not the final product. He finished it after I left last night but I wanted to share anyway.

Ice Storm

The weather so far in Texas has been interesting. Two nights ago we slept with our window open. Then yesterday it was in the 60's all afternoon and I had the windows open. Then in a matter of about 2 hours the temperature plummeted. If all goes as the weather stations are predicting, we will be experiencing our first Texas ice storm tonight and tomorrow. It should be interesting. Although, I will say the news was freaking me out a bit last night with how bad it could get. But we went to the grocery store and and bought some food in case the roads are too treacherous for us to go out this weekend. Maybe if I get really lucky, my flight will be cancelled tomorrow night and I can delay my return to Utah for another day.

Quinn is heading out to the Guildhall this morning to get some homework done. I'm going to stay here and finish up the last details of unpacking. It is just the odds and ends left.

Jaxson and Joseph's Birthday Party

I'm late getting this up, due to the move, but I thought the Arnett's still might enjoy seeing them. Below are pics of the boys enjoying their combined birthday party.

Jaxson enjoying his gifts.

Quinn is intently studying Joseph's gift of Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Best Day Ever

Last night we decided to go up to the StoneBriar Mall which is just up the road from us to price Washers at Sears. I made the greatest discovery to date. There is a Cheesecake Factory at the Mall--not five minutes from my house. I almost passed out with excitement and Quinn didn't know what to do with me. Anyway, obviously we stopped in and got cheesecake to go. It was delish!!!

In other news, here is a pick of the view from our balcony. It is a little chilly today so the swans and geese aren't anywhere to be seen. But I can't wait for it to warm up for a bit and go soak up a bit of sun on the beach.

Pics from the trip

Here are a few pics from the trip.

Here we are in front of the U-Haul at a gas station in Texas. Quinn did a great job driving the U-Haul and towing the Lancer behind it.

This is our first night in Plano. Here we are in front of the Guildhall where Quinn will be spending most of his days --and nights too!

Tomorrow I'll post pics of the apt. complex if I can find the USB converter thing (technical, I know) that is packed away somewhere.

Texas

We made it! It was a long few days but we are finally here and moved in to our apartment.

Last Friday Quinn and my dad spent all day packing the U-haul. They did a great job. So far it looks like everything made it in one piece.

Quinn's parents flew in Friday night to help us make the trek. We had hoped to leave early Saturday morning but had a few set backs. By the time we got our car on the trailer, we discovered that the trailer had a flat tire. So we made a trip to the U-Haul office and were delayed a couple of hours. But all in all the first day of driving was fun. We drove through quite a bit of Quinn's mission on the way out and I learned a lot about fun towns like Helper, UT. The first day we drove as far as Moriarty, New Mexico. It was still surprisingly cold there.

Sunday we started out early for Texas. We stopped for lunch in Amarillo. Sunday's drive was bit more boring. Just a lot of flat land to look at so I actually slept. I felt bad leaving Quinn by himself driving the U-Haul but he said he didn't mind. We finally arrived in Plano Sunday evening a little before 7 pm. So we were all able to get a nice nights sleep before we started hauling boxes.

Monday Quinn headed off for orientations while Serge, Vicky and I started unloading the U-Haul. In 2 1/2 hours we had almost everything out except for the mattress, the dryer and the couch. We left the big heavy stuff for when Quinn was done with orientation so we could use his muscles. Later that night, Quinn's parents took us out to dinner for a celebratory dinner. It was delicious and fun.

Today Quinn headed off for his first real day of class. I dropped off Quinn's parents at the airport and then tried to get some work done. It's been a few days since I've checked the email. This afternoon I'll just spend unpacking and making our apartment feel more like a home.

Our apartment is small but nice. I was very pleasantly surprised with the location and property. From our balcony we have a great view of the lake and the swans. And from our bedroom window we have a nice few of the pool.

So far so good. We are loving our first few days of Plano. I'll post pictures soon. We love and miss you all!

Stay tuned for more adventures...

Zuma

Today warrants a second post. I went home for lunch to check on Quinn post-dentist. He seems to be doing well. With about 15 minutes left in my lunch break I sat down to play a little Zuma. Now, I've been obsessed with this game for the past 3+ months. While in VA I finally overcame my nemesis -- level 9 --and had little trouble beating levels 10 and 11. All that was left was level 12. So I started up over lunch. I ended up having the game of my life and not being able to put the control down, I became late for work. But it was for a good cause, I finally beat the game!!! I am so excited. But I couldn't even enjoy the moment because I just throw the controller down and ran out of the house due to the time. But I plan on fully reveling in the achievement when I get home.

A New Year

We had a busy but fun weekend. My nephew spent the weekend with us visiting his cousin Jaxson. Saturday Jaxson wasn't feeling very good so Quinn and I took Joseph out with us while we ran errands. It was a good time and good practice for us at being pseudo-parents for the day.

Sunday the family was able to go up and visit Stacey. She seemed to be doing great. It is Jaxson's birthday today so we got to celebrate it on Sunday with Stacey. She had a cake and gifts for him. He loved them. Below is a picture of Jaxson with Stacey at his early birthday party.


I had to say my first goodbyes here in Utah since I won't be able to get another visit in with Stacey before the move. I must admit I got a little misty eyed. I'm going to miss everyone here. After the visit all of us drove back down to Orem and had a New Years Eve dinner. Dana, Ryan, Joseph and Sadie spent the night with us too. So we all stayed up until midnight and were able to celebrate the New Year together.

Monday the fun continued. Dad made everyone breakfast. Then we got a babysitter for the kids and headed off to the movies. We saw Casino Royale. My Dad loved it just like I knew he would and then we went to lunch at Brick Oven. Too much fun was had and little packing. I guess I'll have to make up for it tonight.

Currently, Quinn is at the dentist having all of his fillings replaced. He called me after they had given him his second dose of numbing juice and he could barely talk. This is going to be fun. Hopefully, I can get some good pictures of him to post.

Also, today Jaxson Carter Shepherd turns 2. He has brought so much love and joy into my life and all of our family. I think I'm slightly attached to him since I've been living with him the last few months and I was fortunate to be there when he was born and it was the most amazing experience and one that I will never forget. Later this week I'll post pictures from his birthday party. We are having a combined party with Joseph who turns 4 on the 7th.