Happy Halloween!

I was looking for a photo of Bailey in one of his adorable Halloween costumes to post, but couldn't seem to find an electronic version of one. In my searching, I found this adorable photo of Chase Alyssa Tanquilut and Uncle Timmy. Is she not the most adorable little thing? This photo was taken on Tim's 40th birthday, so its a little out-dated. Chase turned 5 in August and just started kindergarten. I wish we could see her all dressed up for Halloween!

Series 7 Hell

Could there be any more binders on my dining room table? This is where I sit for at least 2 hours every night trying to study for the Series 7 exam. I have study materials from 3 separate sources. Trust me when I say a lot of trees died so that I might understand this information!
Tonight is OPTIONS, basically I've decided it's legalized gambling! I finally figured out how to diagram the options to find out the break-even points, the maximum gain and the maximum loss for the calls, puts, spreads and straddles. Yes, it sounds like a foreign language, but hopefully it will soon be as easy to understand as English!!!!

Wisdom For Life....

Proverbs 17:9
He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats or harps on a matter separates even close friends.

Sometimes its really good to go to church and have the pastor speaking directly to you, even with a thousand other people in the same room. This was the case today! I love how God has been granting my requests for "handwriting on the wall" recently.

There are several things happening in my life right now and I'm having a hard time keeping my seat belt fastened on the rollar coaster. Please pray that God will continue to show me the paths to take that align with His plans for my life! Any may I always remember to THINK before I speak (is it True, is it Helpful, is it Inspiring, is it Necessary, is it Kind?)!

~ Birthday Girl ~

Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday to You!
Happy Birthday Dear Maxine!
Happy Birthday to You!

Wishing you a wonderful birthday and a year full of joy and happiness that surpasses all prior years combined!
I love you dearly and am so grateful for our 20 years of friendship. I hope we celebrate the next 20 birthdays together!
Love Always,
Mabel

So-Long....Farewell....Auf Wiedersehen

This morning I said "goodbye" to my dear friend Chris, as we loaded up the moving truck with her belongings and sent her off to Portland where she has a great job opportunity waiting for her.
I will miss her greatly, but due to the fact she finally broke down and bought a cell phone (which trust me is a MIRACLE!) we can chat whenever we want - for FREE since we both have Verizon.
Since Portland is just a mere 2 1/2 hour drive down the freeway, I'm sure we'll still see each other, but it won't be the same as walking a block down the street to see her at the bank or running into her and Lisa at lunch. Those spontanious moments I will miss, along with our 8:30 weekend breakfasts and poker tourneys.
GLUCK - GLUCK - GLUCK Miss Lyons on your new endeavors. Know that you are wished the very best and that I can't wait to come check out the new digs and actually be let in the door!!!!

Seaside

The view from our room on Saturday as the sun rises and the moon sets over the Pacific.








Then 30 minutes later as the sun begins to shine. This is what we could see from every spot in our hotel room, with the exception of the bathroom. Breathtaking! We'd open the sliding glass door so we could hear the soothing sounds of the ocean.


Cannon Beach with Haystack Rock in the distance.








Last night's sunset in Seaside as we walked the Prom on our way to dinner.

It's my birthday

It's official...this is what 39 looks like!

After dreading the coming of this day, it turned out to be OK. Here's how my day played out.......

Got to work this morning and had my own personal quartet singing "happy birthday". Got some great gifts from some incredibly sweet and generous people including: eye art, home-made cookies, a cookie bouquet, candles, candy, amazing orchids, and other fun stuff.
Had a little surprise in the conference room around 11:30 when I walked in to 3/4 of the Fabulous Foursome singing, more presents and the all important chocolate-raspberry birthday cake inscribed with "Happy Birthday Babbs". Pretty cool (and tasty!).
When I got home Tim had flowers and a beautiful diamond pendant waiting for me. The evening was capped off by a fantastic steak dinner and fresh baked spice cake with cream cheese frosting (all done by Timmy himself). Yes, I am on sugar-overload today! Terri and Jay came over for dinner and it was a great evening with family & friends. The perfect way to finish out a darn good birthday.

Thank you to all who celebrated with me and made my birthday so special !!!

She's Beautiful!

My Beautiful Baby!

What a large tongue you have Bailey!

Katie Sue & Timmy Too!

The Adventures of Maxine & Mabel

Maxine & Mabel take on SFO to Celebrate 20 Years!

First we took a bus to Vancouver, Canada and then a Princess Cruise to San Francisco and then spent a few days in the City. Our tour group consisted mainly of retired folks. We were the youngest on the bus of 53 people, we figured the average age was 65-70. By the end of the trip (who am I kidding, after the first 5 minutes) the geriatric generation was completely on my nerves! It was an exercise in patience....which I don't have!
Hanging out with Terri is always fun. I forget how easy our friendship is and how we can have an entire conversation with just a look or three little words. I guess that comes after 20 years of friendship! Some of our experiences included massages on the ship, morning cocktails (and afternoon, and evening!), lots of food, interesting art, a trip on the Napa Valley Wine Train, sightseeing, shopping on the Wharf and Union Square and lots and lots of laughter. During our trip, we traveled on several modes of transportation: Bus, Ship, Train, Cable Car, Taxi, and Airplane. We packed a lot into 5 days and 4 nights!
Can't wait to experience our "anniversary" trip when we celebrate 40 years of friendship. Oh no....we'll be the geriatric generation then! Perish the thought!!!!

Sunrise

The morning sky from our back deck as seen through the eyes of Kaitlyn.

Poker Update

What are the chances that twice in the last three attempts, Kris (yes, that's Kris with a "K") would make it to the final table in a poker tournament? Well, if you said 100%, you'd be absolutely correct and probably shocked (as was I)!

My first trip to the final table a few weeks ago had me finishing in 8th place and winning back my $20 entry fee.

Yesterday, Chris, Dani and I all played in the tournament at Chips. It was Dani's first "real" poker tournament and she did remarkably well. She was cool as a cucumber! Chris and Kris both made it to the final table. I even confiscated some of Chris's chips. Apparently my teacher taught me well! I ended up finishing 5th in the tournament and won $47!!!!! Whoo Hoo!!!

You might as well JUMP!

No, it's not the Van Halen song.....it's the Lewis/Babbitt teenagers jumping off the back of the Instant Gratification last weekend. Each has a unique jumping style as the camera catches them mid-air on the way into the chilly lake!


I love this shot too! I think it is so cool how the kids reflection is seen in the water below.

High Schooler

Kaitlyn's first day of high school.....and she survived!

What a happy family!

Shelley Mauss Photography is responsible for this lovely family photo and for the brand new blog header above. She rocks!

A Day on the Lake

Kaitlyn sitting in her newly found floatie!

Kaitlyn & Derek jumping off the back of the boat.

Miss Shelley enjoying her first outing in the Instant Gratification.