It's a Girl!

Contratulations to Dawn, Joe and the boys on the arrival of a healthy baby girl, Ashley Marie! We have all been anxiously waiting the arrival of the newest Papesh and are thrilled she is here:) We can't wait to be a part of her life and watch her grow! Best Wishes and much love!

Sleep and Read...

This is for those who don't have Facebook. I'm beginning to love Facebook and all the fun catching up with old friends and family members. Anyways, my cousin posted some questions yesterday, on Facebook, that you could ask your children to answer about their "moms." The answers her kids gave were hilarious and made my day, so I decided to ask my girls the same questions to see what they were say. I didn't think their answers would be as funny as my cousin's kids who are younger, but it was worth a shot. Below are the questions with Lauren and Emily's answers:

1. What is something mom always says to you?
L- You're grounded :)
E- Clean up your room

2. What makes mom happy?
L- When I do well in school
E- My smile and hugs

3. What makes mom sad?
L- When I lie to you
E - Us not doing what we're supposed to do


4. How does your mom make you laugh?
L-When you do something funny
E -by dancing


5. What was your mommy like as a child?
L-a trouble maker:)
E - popular

6. How old is your mom?
L-37
E-37


7. How tall is your mom?
L-5 feet
E-5'1"


8. What is her favorite thing to do?
L-read and sleep
E-play volleyball and spend time with family

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
L- sleep or read
E - read


10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
L- reading
E -singing


11. What is your mom really good at?
L- sleeping and going to school
E- bowling on the Wii


12. What is your mom not very good at?
L- exercising
E- dancing

13. What does your mom do for a job?
L- teacher
E- teach


14.What is your mom's favorite food?
L- Spaghetti
E- corn


15.What makes you proud of your mom?
L- that she is hardworking and deals with us
E- when she takes care of Lauren and me


16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
L- SpongeBob
E- Tweedy

17. What do you and your mom do together?
L- we talk and go shopping
E- we play the Wii and go outside


18. How are you and your mom the same?
L-we both get into trouble
E- we both like corn


19. How are you and your mom different?
L-I lie/you don’t
E- You’re older than me


20. How do you know your mom loves you?
L- you tell me all the time
E- you give me hugs and you’re nice to me


21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
L-that he is becoming Catholic
E- his big belly

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
L- church
E- Genji's

So, as you can see, according to Lauren all I do is sleep and read:) I was afraid she was going to throw me harder under the bus, but she wasn't too negative towards me. Being the main parent and disciplinarian, she and I tend to butt head very often. Anyways, I hope you enjoy a few laughs, at my expense:)

Rite of Election

Dennis, Lauren, and Emily have been attending classes this past year to become Catholic. They have had to attend classes every Sunday and on special days. Last Sunday was the Rite of Election which was held at St. Mary's Cathedral in Saginaw. It was a special ceremony in which Bishop Carlson presided and they (Dennis, Lauren, and Emily) wrote their names in the book of enrollment for the Easter Vigil Rite. During the Easter Vigil Rite, Dennis and the girls will receive the sacraments of Baptism and First Eucharist. They are all very excited and have enjoyed learning more about the Catholic faith and God, so please add them to your prayers as they enter this new phase in their lives.

Below is a picture of Bishop Carlson with Dennis, Lauren, and Emily.

Jump

We spent this past weekend in Dearborn to attend a dance convention with Emily and her teammates from the Extreme Dance Arts center. The dance convention is hosted by the company "Jump - The Alternative Convention". We had a long but fun filled weekend, which almost wasn't!

On Friday, Emily didn't have school so she went to work with me. Right before we left the house she said her stomach was upset, but that was it. I checked her forehead, but it wasn't warm at all. During the morning, she sat at the computer all droopy eyed. Then, around lunch time, she started to get sick and began throwing up in the bathroom! After she was done, she went back to my classroom and laid down on a mat to rest while my students were eating lunch. She laid there for most of the day and periodically continued to get sick! My students were so awesome, as I was having a difficult time with the smell! We all know how I am about smells:) One of them even told me, "Mrs. Bojo you can walk away, I'll take care of Emily." And a different one took care of getting rid of the trash bags filled with unpleasantness, as well! They were so sweet!

Anyways, after work, Dennis and I decided to head down to Dearborn anyways, praying it was only a 24 hour bug. She continued to get sick in the car on the way down, as well! We got down there around 7pm and headed out to dinner at Red Robin. During dinner, Emily finally started to perk up, as she began to get mad that she hadn't eaten all day. She finally ate some carrots and Gatorade, so I knew she was starting to feel good.

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel, scouted out where Emily would need to be the next morning, and then headed to bed, as we had to be at the welcome meeting at 7:45a.m.

The welcome meeting went great, as they introduced the dance teachers for the weekend. The teachers that Emily would be working with were: Mandy Moore, who choreographs for American Idol and has been on the Drew Carey show, Misha Gabriel who has danced and choreographed for Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake, Mike Minery who produced the off Broadway show "Slide", Kim McSwain who has worked with Britnay Spears and NSync, Doug Caldwell who has worked in the movies: Mr. and Mrs. Smith, 13 going on 30, and The Sweetest Thing, and Katy Spreadbury who has worked with Ben Vereen and Karen Ziemba. Needless to say, these teachers were excellent and Emily was excited to be working with such great teachers.

The convention consisted of dance classes with these instructors from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days, with an hour off for lunch. It was a long day for them, but I will say that I was extremely proud of Emily. She enjoyed each class and instructor, didn't complain about the work, and gave her all for the entire time. There were several other student that I saw crying and complaining, but Emily didn't, which made me proud.

For some reason, so many younger people, these days, feel that school, dance, whatever should be easy! I get so frustrated when my students or daughters have that attitude! So, it was nice to see her work hard and stay positive throughout the weekend! Dennis and I were just glad she wasn't sick and could participate.

On a side note, Saturday after Emily's last class, I talked Dennis into taking us to the Somerset Mall. We love this mall and love to shop there, as they have so many different stores. Anyways, I had promised the girls that we could eat at PF Chang's for dinner. This is a restaurant that I have wanted to eat at for a long time and just never have, so we got a take out menu Saturday before hand and all selected our entrees. When we arrived at the restaurant I asked if we could make a reservation or be put on the waiting list. The girl replied, "sure, our first opening is at 11:30." I said, "p.m." to which she replied, "Yeah!" The current time was 6 p.m. so there was no way in the world we would last until almost midnight, nor would we want to eat that late. So, we still haven't eaten at PF Chang's, but I promised the girls that we would go this summer and eat there. Hopefully I can talked my two Somerset buddies into going with me:)

Happy early Anniversary to us!

Dennis and I will celebrate 16 years of marriage in 27 days, which I consider an amazing feat, considering how difficult marriage can be! I look forward to many more years together.

Anyways, we, or more correctly I, decided that for our anniversary we would do something together as a family. So, I bought tickets for all of us to see the Harlem Globetrotters:) I remember as a kid going and I loved it! So, I bought tickets that were right down on the floor so we would have great seats!

This past Thursday, we went out to eat at Applebees and then headed to the show. We got there alittle early, as Dennis wouldn't have it any other way:) Before the game started we ran into one of the teachers that I work with and her son, as well as several of my students! We even sat 4 seat down from one of my 5th graders! His grandpa asked if he could get an A for being there:) I said sure, if he writes a paper about teamwork and basketball. That didn't fly with my student. Most kids now-a-days detest writing!

All I can say is that everyone needs to see them at least once in their life! It is such a great family show and fun time! We didn't stop laughing all night. They are just so comical with the basketball and each other! I loved it and the girls had a blast, even though neither of them much care for basketball!

At one point, the coach from the Washington Generals, the team the Globetrotters play, started messing with Lauren calling her the "Princess of Booing"! We were booing for the Generals, as they were cheating to try to win the game. The show lasted about 2 hours and then they had an autograph session afterwards. We bought the girls a program, basketball, and lanyard, so they had all the players autograph there things. I was able to get some pictures as well!

Christmas 2008

The Bojo's Year in Review

Since I haven't posted yet this month, I saw it fitting to post on the last day of the month and year. Also, Dawn's last post was her favorites from the past year, so I thought I do something like that, as well. Just alittle different. This is a highlight of the past year in our lives. Thank you to all our friends and families for being a part of our lives, we love you all!

2008 was my 3rd year of teaching at Saint Elizabeth. I feel extremely blessed that God has led me to this job, which I almost didn't get. Not many people know this but, I had just finished a grueling round of interviews and second interviews for Bullock Creek schools when Gabbie called me to come in for a second interview for Saint Elizabeth. I had to teach a lesson to some parents and students; aargh! I had to figure out what to teach that would be quick, easy, meaningful, and wow them! I spent a couple days getting it all together only to wake up the morning of the interview and just dread going. I called my neighbor/friend and told her I didn't think I was going to go. I didn't want to go through all that again, it was to much stress. She convinced me that I would always regret not going. So, I guess I owe my job to her:) Thanks, Anglea!

February brought a milestone anniversary for Dennis and I. We celebrated our 15th year of wedded bliss:) I'll be the first one to admit that is hasn't always been a bed of roses, but I wouldn't do this with anyone but Dennis. He may drive me nuts and make me want to cry at times, but he always makes me laugh! He has supported me in my life when we've had to make difficult decisions. He stood behind me when I quit my cushy job at the credit union (where I could take naps, do homework, surf the Internet, and do basically anything) to go back to school and follow my dream of becoming a teacher. He also stood with me as I a returned to the Catholic faith and supported bringing our children into the faith. Low and behold, he has followed suit! Without any nagging from me, I might say! So, now we have talked about renewing our wedding vows and having our marriage blessed in the Catholic church. My dad jokingly told me to make sure this marriage is going to last, because as of right now, according to the Catholic church, I'm not married.

In May, Emily decided that she wanted to try out for the competitive dance team where she dances. She tried out in May and we didn't find out until the end of June that she had made the team. She was so excited and I was proud of her. We approached this with a try and see attitude. We would give it one year to see if she liked it and we could afford it. So far, so good!

We had quite a busy summer! First, we flew to Florida for 10 days to spend time with Dennis' family. While we all had a lot of fun, I will admit that 10 days was just too long! We went to Busch Gardens, Clearwater Beach, the Nickelodeon hotel, and visited with friends and family. The girls hadn't been to Florida in several years, so we were due to visit. They love everything about Florida, especially the warm weather and beaches!

Then a few days after getting home from Florida, I boarded yet another plane and headed to New York City with 3 of my girlfriends from work. I've never had so much fun, although it was especially difficult for me to board another plane, after both flights, to and from, Florida were rough. Dawn was the lucky one to sit next to me and she did a terrific job of keeping my mind off of the plane, although it didn't stop my trips to the restroom:) We had so much fun, I would do it all over again. It was nonstop fun, laughter, excitement, and good times! We visited and did many things that I hadn't done in my prior trips, so I was glad. If you want a recap of this trip you will have to click on my past posts for a more detailed version of what we did!

In July, Lauren began Driver's Education classes! Boy, was that a treat! I believe both Dennis and I lost some sleep and years off our lives! She has never had any prior experience with driving before, so this was all new. She did and does well driving. She hasn't done much driving lately, as I won't let her drive on the snow yet. She needs to become more experienced before we cross that bridge:)


Also in July, we took the plunge and had a big above ground pool installed in our backyard. Both girls love to swim and that inflatable pool just wasn't cutting it. Again, this was another experience in itself that was a joy to go through, between mad neighbors, late pool installers, broken filters, and no power! Several weeks after getting it installed, we finally were able to swim and enjoy it. I'm glad we got it!

This summer, Dennis and I also played summer and fall softball. We enjoy playing this together and with all our friends. I'll admit I didn't play as much this past year, as we had so many people on our team, but I plan on playing more next year. It is a great way to get some exercise and spend time with friends. We have a good group of friends who aren't too competitive, which makes for good times!

In October, Lauren had her first Homecoming dance, as she couldn't attend her Freshman dance. Her and I had so much fun finding just the right dress, shoes, and all. We made Dennis go with us, to warm the bench:) I think he enjoyed himself as he sat there and said yes or no to each dress. Lauren values his opinion alot, so I'm glad he went, even though towards the end, I was getting the evil eyes! She attended the dance with her then boyfriend, Jeremy, and they went to eat at Spencer's Restaurant and drove around in a limo. For her first experience, I'll say it was a good one.

We rounded out the end of this year with our yearly trip to Bronner's with our neighbors and friends, the Lupisella. Every year we go out to eat and then take the kids to Bronner's for an ornament. This year, we went to Genji's, which turned out okay for me, thankfully. I haven't had the best of luck eating there as I break out in hives after each meal. I decided to not eat any meat and that must be the trick, as I didn't break out in any hives and wasn't sick afterwards. So, now I can eat at one of my favorite restaurants again!

The kids always love going to Bronner's, even Lauren. I always worry that somethings will be too boring for her because of her age, but I guess Bronner's is ageless. She picked out an ornament that was in the shape of an old fashioned candy snowflake and Emily picked out a dance ornament. Our neighbors have two young kids, 2 & 3, who love to run wild! The youngest one, Avery, has always been on the "plump" side and she cracked us up when she picked her ornament. She picked a pig and wouldn't give it up, only to break it when she got home:(

For our school Christmas program this year, my kids, all 6 of them, were going to sing a song and sign it at the same time. They had learned the song pretty easily, until we introduced the signing. They ended up concentrating so much on the signing that they didn't sing. Our Daycare director, Jill, knows sign language and was so good teaching my students the song. I swear she needs to be a teacher, as she is so kind, patient, and understanding with kids! Thanks Jill for taking time out of your day to teach my students! They enjoyed themselves and I know their parents did as well!

We had a good Christmas; the girls got a Wii among many other things and I got a new camera, as mine died! Dennis got a new watch and thing for his truck. We spent several days at my parent's house visiting with my sisters and their children. A good time was had by all!

Lastly, Dennis and I have both decided to live a healthier 2009 as we have both begun to exercise. Dennis gets up every morning at 5:30am to exercise with his friend Jason, which I'm proud of him for! I couldn't get up that early to exercise! I usually exercise when I get home from school with my friend Anglea. She is 6 years younger than me and kicks my butt on the cardio machines! The first day I stepped onto the elliptical machines I thought I was going to die after only 3 minutes! I managed to make it to 5 minutes, but that was it!

I'll post pictures in the next couple of days, as my goal was to get this written before the end of the night. So, here's wishing everyone a Happy New Year and see you all in 2009. A special "Hello" to Kentucky from Dennis!