Halloween 2011

My Jack O Lantern

Orie's puking Jack O Lantern

Katie's Toothless Wonder Jack O Lantern

Hello all you trick or treaters! Here are the Goudges's pumpkin creations for this year.  Happy Halloween!

Wow! It's been a long time!!

Hey gang...sorry it's been soo long between posts. Let me tell you a few things that have been happening the past few months.  I got a job in April!! Answer to prayer for us as a family that's for sure. I am now employed at Ahern Rentals here in Las Vegas, where I work as an Inside Sales Representative.  The hours are perfect for me 7:30am-4:00pm Moday thru Friday.  I'll have to admit, getting back into the working jive hasn't been easy after 18 months of not working, but I'm handling it just fine now.  Juggling work, housework, grocery shopping, being a mom, and wife is exhausting at times, but I'm loving our lives right now. I am also a faciliator at our church's women's Bible study which Im just soo excited about.

The end of July and the month of August we brought my mom out for a long visit which was soo awesome to have her here. We did alot of the tourist stuff and took in quite a bit of the sights around Vegas. I'll post pictures when I learn to get them off of my phone and on to the computer. We have a great girl time and just plan lovin' on my mom! While mom was here, Jack & Janeen came down for a visit as well.  Wow what a whirl wind weekend that was!! BINGO, yard salin', swap meet and shoppin'!  What more could a girl ask for?

Katie started her Junior year at Centennial High School and she's doin' great!  This past summer was a busy one for her.  She went a Youth retreat to CA for the weekend, and then was home for a few days and went and spent the week in St. George with one of her besties.  After that, her bestie came down here and spent the week with us, which was just awesome!  Then one week later, Katie packed up her bags again and spent a week and a half in CA and AZ visiting her family and friends....then school started.  We were all glad to have the "normalcy" back into our lives. If there is such a thing!!

Orie is doin' great as usual. He found on this past Monday, that he will be getting "promoted" to a new area at Shift 4.  He's been with the company for three years now, and being management in the support department.  He is now moving over to advanced installations which he's been wanting to do in a long time.  He is soo excited for the move which should be happening in the next few weeks. I am soo proud of him, he's such a good provider for us. He and Katie are going to Christian Basics classes together on Tuesday night at church.  A good learning tool for Katie, and a good refresher for Orie.

Well,  I've pretty much shared everything that been going on in our lives here in sunny Las Vegas. Once I can get my pictures off of my camera, I'll be back in full force!

Love to all,

Cyndi

Shift 4 Family Picnic

Alright, alright it's been a while since I've lasted posted.  Since March I'm started a new job as a Inside Sales Rep for Ahern Rental here in Vegas. I've been there for 3 weeks already.  Honestly, it's been quite a change from being a housewife to a working woman again.  I start work at 5am and work until 1:30pm. Love getting home about the same time as Katie, but hate the fact I have to go to bed at 7:00pm everything to get my 8 hours of beauty sleep (and I mean beauty sleep) cuz past 8pm I tend to become a little bit sleepy and grumpy.  So to save everyone from the drama, I head off to bed. But, it is nice to be back in the work force and getting a paycheck again.  I am loving what I'm doing too which makes it easy to go to work everyday.

Today, Orie's work had their annual Family Picnic and we - meaning Orie, Katie, myself, Buddie and Sadie all went and had a wonderful time.  This years theme was family carnival. So there were fair games to play, bounce houses, and volleyball plus the food....what a spread:  BBQ ribs, chicken fingers, BBQ chicken, corn dogs, corn on the cob, hamburger, fresh fruit, baked beans, salads, cotton candy, deep fried twinkies and oreos, ice cream, slushies, soda, and my personal fav cheesy mac and cheese!  We packed a bowl for the dogs for water, but they got a few goodies too such as the bones from the ribs....they were satisfied as well.

Here a family picture of us. I love it, so on the way home, I had Orie stop at Walgreens and print a few extra copies of it. One for our desks and the others to scrapbook.

The photographer fell in love with Buddie and took a couple of shots of him.  I love it! My baby boy is getting soo old looking!  Look at all of his white hair. He's such a lover!!

Notice there are no pictures of Sadie, cuz everytime he took a picture, Sadie thought the flash was lightening and was looking for a place to hide.  She's soo brave - NOT!

Well folks, it's getting late and I need to hit the hay. 

Have a blessed day!

Cyndi

Ever soo loved!

Not only did Katie's great grandmother come down for the weekend, but so did Orie's mom and stepdad. It was soo awesome to have a house full of people to celebrate our daughter's 16th birthday.  Thank you for making this weekend extra special!

Grandpa Jack

Getting ready for the party!

Grandma Janeen and Panda after a long night of partying!

New Look in Katie's Bedroom

When Katie and her great grandmother Elsie were out for the day, she got to pick out a new comforter set. It's soo cute and looks very inviting. Wouldn't you agree?  Thanks Grandma Elsie for the special gifts and making my birthday ever soo special.

A very special lady

Katie's Surprise Birthday Party & 3rd Birthday Cake!

Saturday, March 19th was busy. Katie's great grandma Elsie took Katie out shopping while we put the final touches on Katie's surprise party. We reserved 4 lanes at the Santa Fe Bowling Alley for the teens to play cosmic bowling.

What? Seriously? What are you doing here? What????

Michelle Sandoval crowning the Birthday Princess!

She is loving every minute of it!

Cosmic bowling, glow in the dark necklaces, bracelets and markers. There wasn't a dull moment in the house!

Along with Cosmic Bowling, we also had them do Funky Bowling!  Whata riot!! Here is bowling through your teammates legs!

Katie's 3rd and final birthday cake.

Jeremy & Britany Black did an amazing job on this cake. Not only was it beautiful it was delicious as well.

Not only did we celebrate Katie's birthday, but on the 19th was Celeste's 15th birthday so we made this night a double celebration!  Happy Birthday Girls!

The birthday guests and the birthday girls. WOW what a special was had by all!

Katie's 2nd Birthday Cake

On Friday, March 18th, while we were at Lone Mountain's Got Talent we celebrated Katie's birthday with the whole congregation singing Happy Birthday, not once but TWICE in one night. Katie was soo shocked and embarrassed, it was awesome!

Lynn from Lynn's Lavish Cakes made this gorgeous cake for Katie!  Too pretty to eat!

Here's the Birthday Girl totally embarrassed while singing Happy Birthday to her!

Calvary Chapel Lone Mountain's Got Talent Show

Holy smokies it's Friday already! Jack and Janeen are comin' down from Salt Lake City and Katie's great grandma Elsie was drivin' down for the weekend to celebrate Katie's birthday and watch the Lone Mountain's Got Talent.

Katie was in a play with some of the youth group and it's was called "The Lighthouse."  The kiddos did a great job even if I have to say so myself! Katie was the character of death in the play....it was very powerful.

St Patrick's Day Celebration

Oh my gosh! There was one day between Katie's Birthday and her birthday weekend and that holiday was St. Patrick's Day. What could I do to make St. Patrick's Day rememorable this year?? I got it! I made homemade hashbrowns, chopped up some ham and added alot of cheese and  a flair of green to celebrate the Irish! Here are the results! Orie said, it was playin' with his mind and
can't look at it and eat it at the same time! BINGO!

Oh yummah!

Cheesy Hashbrows and Ham n Green Peas

Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!!

Katie's Sweet 16/Golden Birthday

March 16, 2011 was Katie's Sweet 16 and Golden birthday. The Sandovals and The Goudges went out to the Fiesta Casino Feast Buffet and celebrated our daughter's special day. We kept asking Katie what she wanted to do for her birthday and she didn't give us much to go on....so I guess the party planner had her work cut out for her!  heeeee haaaaaa maahhhhhhh (evil laugh from Cyndi)

Awww she was soo surprised when the wait staff came out and sang to her.

Birthday cake #1

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting!

A Surprise in St George

On Saturday, March 12, 2011 was Katie's great grandmother, Elise celebrated her 85th birthday. Her friends and church family threw a surprise birthday party ice cream social in her honor. She was soo surprised when Katie walked up and wished her a happy birthday. It was soo delightful spending time with old friends and family.

Listen to this playlist: cgoudge's Playlist

It's been goin' around!

Well, the past few weeks have been nothing more than not feeling good and stuffy noses. Orie started off the madness with the cold and sinus thing. So, I was diligent with lotsa lysol and keeping the windows open I thought I got past it, but  didn't. Must have been Orie's power snoring at night that passed the nasty germ! Cuz I even washed the sheets after he was sick. Woke up on Saturday morning feeling like the last drop of energy was being sucked out of my body and my head was about to explode from sinus pressure.  By Sunday, I reverted back to the fetal position in my dark bedroom and hoping that the Lord would come back soon. My sinuses were so inflammed I couldn't breath through my nose at all. The worst part was the dizziness. 

Today (Tuesday) I have crawled out from under my rock of sickness to feeling almost back to normal. I'm still alittle weak, but breathing is soo much easier and the dizziness is gone. Priase God for that!

Other than that, not much else has been goin' on.

Have a great day.

Cyndi

Time flies...

It's been almost a month since I've last posted something, so now I feel guilty and will catch you up on a few things around the Goudge household.

Katie started her new school on January 24th. It has been a transition for her going from Tuacahn that has s total of 250 students, to a school with well over 3000 students! She is enjoying it though. She is thrilled cuz she is taking driver's ed this semester. Orie and I are cringing at the thought of her driving here in Vegas...now is when I wished I lived back home in Wisconsin out in the country where there isn't 6 to 8 lanes of traffic. Katie is also taking theatre and the other basic classes at Centennial High School.

Orie is working at Shift 4 and doing great. He loves his job. Since the company moved to its new location, it's just down the road 10 minutes so he doesn't have far to go and traffic isn't all that bad either. He's working 7 - 3:30 Monday - Friday. It's really nice having him home early.

Me? I'm still looking for employment. I've had a few interviews here, which all have said we will get back with you. So, praying God will provide there for that. Other than that, I've been doing some crafts again, sewing and scrapping to make the days go by faster.

Orie and Katie are involved in our church's Easter Play. Orie is playing Simon the Zealot and Katie is a dancer and one of the town's people - both had a few lines. They have been busy going to rehearsals every Tuesday and Thursday nights from now until Easter. I am excited for them, as they both are stepping out of their comfort levels to do this. Me? I'm one of their biggest supporters!

The puppies are doing well. Buddie is getting older and spends his days sleeping on his california king sized dog bed, while Sadie is always at my side.

Have a blessed day!

Cyndi

Doing the Vegas Thing

A couple of weeks ago, Orie took me out on a date. We went to the Red Rock Casino for dinner then drove towntown to the Belligio to see walk around the botanical gardens and then we watched two different programs of the dancing waters outside the Belligio. What an amazing night! It is still hard to believe that all of this is in our backyard.

This is gorgeous at night!

Inside the botanical gardens....

More of the dancing waters

Looks like a postcard!

Oh how I love this man.

Beautiful

Inside Belligio notice the ceiling.....

Close up of the lights on the ceiling.

He's soo amazing!

This boat is actually sitting in water.

The baby rabbits playing in the field.

Mama Chia Pet Rabbit that stood 15 feet tall...watching her babies play.

Look at all of the gold under this guys feet.

We had an amazing night. Looking forward to our next adventure.

Snow? Las Vegas?

Well, yesterday am I woke up and it was just starting to snow. Went in and took a shower and it was really coming down. Turned the news on and schools were closed, and there were numerous accidents in and around town. So, decided to grab the camera and snap a few pictures. It snowed pretty much most of the morning then by afternoon it stopped. I'm not quite sure how much snow we got, but Sadie enjoyed going out in it and jumping around like the crazy dog that she is....