Back From Phoenix...And It Is Snowing!

We are back from Phoenix after a great week of fun and sun. It was 90 degrees every day but Monday when it was only 75. It was just beautiful although on Saturday Andrew and I thought we were going to pass out at the baseball game. It was hot, hot! But I am not complaining as it was snowing when I took Reagan to daycare this morning.

Here is a summary of our trip...

Tuesday, March 17
Reagan did really great on both plane rides as we had to go to Chicago and then to Phoenix. She was so excited to be on the plane and loved looking out the window. She also wore a shirt with sequins on it so when the sun hit it just right it made all these great colors on the ceiling of the plane. She thought it was great although the other passengers probably were sick since it looked like a disco ball.


Once we got to Grandma and Grandpa's, Ava and Oliver were there and the games began. They all had such a great time playing together. It was a lot of activity though! I am not sure I could handle two kids. :)

That night Andrew and I went out with my sister and her husband for some corned beef and cabbage and to watch Notre Dame play hoops in the NIT.

Wednesday...
Grandpa, Andrew, Lisa, Ava and Reagan went to the zoo. It was a good time as we saw all the animals, rode on the merry-go-round and the sky ride and fed the giraffes. They also had a new aquarium there which the girls got to touch the starfish. Reagan was not too into that, but she loved feeding the giraffe. Weird girl.



That night, everyone went to see the Royals play the Mariners. They have a merry-go-round at the baseball park so the kids went on it about 10 times. It was a lot of fun although I have no idea who won the game - I bet I did not see one pitch.


Thursday...
We went to the Mariners/Cubs game and Notre Dame alum Aaron Heilman pitched great. My friends Meghan and Tara from USTA National met us there and we all had a great time. I also got my photo with Ronnie Woo Woo (Cubs fams will know who he is). Someone actually joked that he looks like Sammy Sosa's father which I thought was pretty funny. We then went to watch Texas/Minnesota play hoops, although that was a pretty bad game. Oh well.


Friday...
We started the day at Chuck E. Cheese with the kids. Enough said.


Andrew and I went to see the new Indians stadium while Reagan stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and her cousins. The new stadium was really new as it looked like it was not even finished. We heard that it was actually not supposed to be done until next year, but the Indians got kicked out of their Florida home early and had to come to Arizona this year. It is in the middle of nowhere and the way they have the stadium set up was crazy as the practice fields and locker rooms are so far away from the playing field. I was not impressed.

Then we headed over to see Andrew's aunt and uncle and cousin. Unfortunately, Reagan once again did not stay awake for much of her visit over there as the same thing happened last year. Sorry Dennis, Tricia and Cole. We had a nice time seeing all of them, although it was much too short. We look forward to seeing them again in May.

Saturday...
Andrew, my dad and I headed back to the Indians stadium as they played the Dodgers. It was the biggest crowd of the year and the hottest day of my life. It was blazing hot in there. My shirt was soaking by the bottom of the second inning. It was a fast game until we had to leave in the bottom of the seventh when the bats got hot and they couldn't get anyone out.


We then had a nice family dinner as all my relatives who were in town were there. My sister and her family had left, but not to worry as my cousin brought his daughter over to play with Reagan. Maya was so good with Reagan. There were about 20 of us there and then the ladies had a little jewelry party to help launch my new endeavors. Thank you everyone for your support. It was really fun.

Sunday...
We were supposed to go to the Grand Canyon, but we hadn't sat down the first five days we were there so we decided to stay close to home. We went to this outdoor fountain at Westgate Mall and then came home and went swimming. It was a very nice and relaxing day after going 100 miles a hour at the beginning of the trip.


Monday...
Dad, Andrew and I went to Scottsdale to see the Mariners and the Giants. I love that park. It is so nice and we were fortunate to see Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum pitch six innings. We then hurried back home so we could watch Dancing With The Stars (more on that later).

Tuesday...
We headed out early Tuesday morning as we had to fly to Dallas and then to Minneapolis. Reagan was thrilled to be on the plane again and when we got to Dallas she got to ride the tram. On the way from Dallas to Minneapolis, we had to go through a pretty severe cold front and the plane was bouncing everywhere. The people on the plane were a little nervous and Reagan was saying, "This is fun." Not really as for about 15 seconds I thought we were going to be the next story on the nightly news. But we made it and were just happy to finally get home.


Wednesday...
It is snowing, but luckily the battery in my camera is dead so I will not have to depress anyone with those shots.

We had a wonderful time and now it is back to work.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

Dancing With The Stars - Week 2

Week two is in the books and here is a brief synopsis of the show. Many dancers really improved this week. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the dances.

In my Dancing With The Stars pool, I went with Shawn and Gilles to post the highest scores and both did great. I went for the safe bet in week one and they both delivered. They will be there until the end. The other great dance was Melissa. She will also be around for a long time. She is just beautiful.

The biggest surprise tonight was Ty Murray. He was really good. About 1,000 times better than the first week. I thought he was definitely going to be the first to go, but I think he will be safe now. I also think Steve Wozniak will be safe because he is so likeable. He is an awful dancer, but he is so full of life and the people will appreciate that.

Steve O decided to be a jackass and will be the first to go (or at least I hope). He is worthless.

Denise Richards still continues to stink. I thought they judged her way too high tonight. She is definitely the biggest disappointment of the season - right up there with Kim Kardashian in my book. Lil Kim was good. David Alan Greer was OK. I actually thought he would be better. Belinda Carlyle was better but boring. Lawrence Taylor was a lot better, but he still has really heavy feet. He is no Warren Sapp.

Last, but not least, Chuck is smokin' hot (looks like Matt Leinart so that cannot hurt), but as soon as he was done I told Andrew that he really did not dance that much. The judges agreed with that too. He and Julianne will stick around for a long time (unless they have to start a tour or something). I hope they are around for a while because he is really easy on the eyes.

Did I get everyone? I feel like I am missing someone. If so, then they were not memorable and should not even be mentioned.

First to go - Steve O.

Need to pack...

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

More Reagan Photos!

Here are a couple of new Reagan photos for you to enjoy!

We are headed out to Arizona tomorrow so I am sure I will be updating the photo galleries often.

Some brief news about us....

My Lia Sophia Open House was a success and I am looking forward to really getting the business going once I get back from Arizona. Remember...think about booking a party! You get a ton of great jewelry at a fraction of the cost. I can do single orders as well.

Andrew's hockey team won the league so they are the #1 seed heading into the playoffs which start April 2.

I will write my Dancing With The Stars review later tonight. I need to get home. It is on in a hour. Ugh!

Gotta "go, go, go,"

Reagan's mom

Dancing With The Stars Opening Night

Opening Night of Dancing With The Stars is in the books. Here is my running diary of tonight's festivities. I look forward to next Monday already.

I really like the new set, although Shawn Johnson almost fell down the stairs at the start of the night.

Samantha's brown dress is amazing. She always looks incredible. I wish she was not so annoying.

Speaking of looking amazing - Edyta is stunning. Andrew was pleased with her choice of outfits, meaning there was nothing much to it, so that means I will get to keep watching the show on the high definition TV until she is eliminated. :)

On with the show...

Lil' Kim- Loved how they talked about her first seeing the show while she was in prison. I also loved when she said she wanted to be a black Barbie. And the booty on that girl...almost in the same league as Kim Kardashian. She was a much better dancer than Kim was. She should get 7s and will do pretty well in the contest I am thinking. She is kind of annoying, but she could never be as annoying as partner Derek. I am not sure what it is about him, but I cannot stand him.

Pricilla Presley or I mean Belinda Carlisle - She looks just like Pricilla Presley. It is uncanny. Unfortunately for her she is not nearly as good as Pricilla Presley. I think it is going to be a short stay for her. Her dance was boring and too slow. She should get 5s and 6s. By the way...what is World Smooth Champion?

Lawrence Taylor and Edyta - Andrew loved Edyta's comment, "I always bring seduction to the dance floor," which Andrew responded "Good decision by her." Unfortunately, I think I am going to have a short life watching the show on the high def TV because he is terrible. Edyta was able to distract and cover up how terrible he was, but there are other worse men so I think he might survive until week 5 or 6. Andrew was really disappointed when LT admitted that was the best dance he had. Why do they always put her with awful people?

Steve O - He was hilarious. Terrible but entertaining. He might have a bigger following than what I anticipated. It was funny when he said he was very caucasian.

Gilles Marini - HOT, HOT, HOT. He was definitely my biggest surprise of the evening. He was very good and once again HOT, HOT, HOT. I might need to see Sex in the City after tonight. I thought Cheryl did a really good job on the choreography. They will go very far, especially if they go for the sex appeal like they did tonight.

Sidenote...Samantha...shut up. You are so embarrassing.

Chuck and Julianne-- I thought they were amazing. They are just a stunning couple and he is absolutely one of the hottest men I have ever seen. I think they scored them extremely low because I think they don't want people to think it is a fix. They will be one of the three last couples for sure. He was extremely talented on the waltz. I wonder if that will change with the Latin dances. She is breathtaking.

Holly Madison - Andrew thought she had way too many clothes on. I thought she was kind of stiff. She has potential as they were OK for only 4 days of practice. I would have given them 6s, which is what they received. Andrew said they only got 6s because of her bust line and that must be worth an extra point or two each week.

Ty Murray - I love him although he has no personality. He is really sweet, just totally out of his element. I give him props for trying it and I think he was roped into the whole thing by Jewel so it is a bummer that she got hurt and cannot compete. I think he is going to be the first one to go so it is a good think that they booked Jewel to sing on the first results show next week so they can ride off into the sunset together and be over with the whole thing. I hope he makes it another week because I think he really tries hard, but I do not see it happening.

Shawn Johnson - She was my pick to click from the start and she did not disappoint. In fact, she was better than I expected. She was awesome. So beautiful and she seemed so much older than 17. She will definitely be in the final two. Just amazing.

Steve Wozniak - He is absolutely terrible, but he is having so much fun which will keep him around until at least week three I think. Good for him to get out there and try something that obviously is really challenging to him. Like he really needs to do this...he is one of the richest men in the world (Andrew's iphone is ringing...thanks Steve). The real story of this couple was Karina's outfit. Wow...not much left to the imagination. At least she will be done early so she can keep planning her wedding to Maks (more about that later).

David Alan Grier - He was a better dancer than I thought, but I am with Kym and do not find him one bit funny. I feel bad for her as it is going to be a long 3 months.

Denise Richards - Definitely the biggest disappointment of the night. I thought she would be so much better. She falls into the same category as Kim Kardashian last year. She was just so awkward. Perhaps the biggest disappointment about her was the fact that she looked awful. She is gorgeous, but did not look good tonight. About Maks...he is really attractive, but he must be a total $^%*%^(^ as he always degrades his partners and makes them cry. I hope Karina is ready for a lifetime of that. I wouldn't be too excited about it. I have kind of soured on Maks again.

Melissa - She was really good especially for only having 48 hours to prepare. She is a ringer though with all of her dance background. Good for her. She deserves something positive after Jason dumped her like that. This will be a great opportunity for her. And she has the sympathy factor so I think she will last a while.

That is my summary of the first night. Overall, the stars were not very good and only a few stood out - Shawn, Gilles, Melissa and Chuck. To recap, my first to leave will be Ty Murray.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

Dancing With The Stars Starts Tonight!

It is finally here. After waiting almost six months, tonight is the start of Dancing With The Stars. Of course not without controversy, but bad press is good press when you are talking reality TV or really anything in life. The latest is that jilted Bachelor fiancee Melissa is taking Nancy O'Dell's place on the show. Wouldn't it be great if Jason (the guy who dumped her) was introduced as her partner for the next 12 weeks? I am sure that will not happen, but it would definitely be a great opening night shocker. I cannot wait to see how everyone else does. I am expecting big things from Denise Richards, Shawn Johnson and Chuck Wicks. We will see who else surprises me -either good or bad. Check back tonight with my analysis.

The weekend was busy. I worked all weekend at the Tennis on Campus Section Championships. Andrew had a hockey game on Saturday night in which they won 4-1. He was credited with an assist, although I have no idea how since he did not even touch the puck during the sequence, but oh well. Maybe the one extra point will allow him to make his incentives...just kidding! Spent last night watching "my shows" as Reagan calls them and trying to figure out this whole jewelry thing. To be honest, it is stressing me out since they do not give very good directions. I am sure it will all work out - don't forget about my open house on Saturday from 11 a.m.- 1 p.m.

Lots going on this week with T-Wolves games and tennis matches, my open house, a date at the Water Park of America and a gymnastics meet. Ugh. Then we leave on Tuesday for Arizona. Can't wait for that!

Here is a new photo of Reagan from Andrew's hockey game.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

A Bad Start For Dancing With The Stars

Dancing With The Stars Season 8 is off to a very bad start as Jewel and Nancy O'Dell quit today before the show even began due to injuries. Jewel has two fractured tibias from all the practice and Nancy O'Dell suffered a knee injury and has to have surgery.

There have already been a long line of injuries with the celebrities just in the four weeks leading up to Monday's opening show. I think they are going to have to look into this because it really put everyone in a pickle losing two dancers before Monday's opener, not to mention just the sheer fact that people are getting injured. It gives you a totally new respect for all of the dancers. They all must be in amazing shape.

Hugh Hefner's former girlfriend Holly Madison is taking Jewel's place and I am not sure what they are going to do about Nancy O'Dell. Maybe it will be a good opportunity to get a better star on there, although who is going to be able to be on at the drop of a hat? I would love to see Chelsea Handler of Chelsea Lately on there. I think she is pretty hilarious. Maybe Nancy Pelosi would like to be on there since she is doing nothing in her current job, but I digress.

Not many weekend plans for us. Andrew has a hockey game on Saturday night. I have to work at the Tennis on Campus Championships all weekend and study up on lia sophia before my open house next weekend. Reagan does not have big plans either.

We have a busy week ahead and then leave on the 17th to go to Arizona. We cannot wait.

Gotta "go, go, go"
Reagan's mom

Sunday Best

Here is how Reagan insisted she go to church on Sunday. I am sure the congregation was wondering who dressed this girl....

Gotta "go, go, go,"

Reagan's mom

Reagan And Her Best Friend Corby

Reagan asked that I post a picture of her best friend Corby to her Web site.

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom

Reagan's Latest Story

Reagan asked me to post her latest story. She is scaring me as she is starting to take after her mother. Enjoy...

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by, Reagan

Gotta "go, go, go,"
Reagan's mom