Long Distance Shopping…Sister Style!

An interesting thing happened last night at our house. My 11-year-old daughter and my almost 26-year-old  daughter went shopping together. The weird thing is that one of them lives in New Jersey and one lives in Texas. But nonetheless, they went shopping together and appearantly found some great bargins on sale at Limited Too! Now I heard Miss Em chattering on the phone to someone and just assumed it was Jen - they do that alot…talk, talk, talk, talk. I wasn’t paying any attention to the conversation at all and probabaly would have caught on much quicker had I listened more carefully.

After Jen and Em hung up, Jen called me or maybe Em gave me the phone, or maybe Jen was talking to her dad and he gave me the phone - totally besides the point. But I ended up talking to Jen and she told me she just bought Em some clothes.  Cool, I thought - hope they fit. Hope it’s something Em will wear to school - another thought. Boy you’re brave buying something for an 11-year old without their approval… the thoughts rambled on.

But you know, these girls are pretty smart. Who needs the mall to have a good time, to find a bargin, or to spend a little cash?? Not my girls - now that they’ve discovered the “Wish List” online! Seems all Emily had to do was go online to her favorite store and pick out some cute fashions. Jen was also online at the same time and checking out Emily’s outfits from her wish list. Together they made their selections and purchased with the help of a discount coupon! So the purchase was made in New Jersey, the coupon came from El Paso, Texas, and the outfits will be shipped to Winchester, KY! Now that’s just way too cool! Technology - keeping families together once again!

 

Sundown over the Franklin Mountains

Update - Changed blog theme - need more space for pictures. Check back soon for beautiful shot of El Paso sunset. Need to upload again.

The above picture was a shot taken off the back porch in El Paso. We caught the sun just as it was creeping behind the mountains and creating catus shadows…just beautiful! Great shot, JB!

Just Arrived…More Grippo’s - Thanks Mom!

How do you know if your mother is reading your blog???? She sends you what you are craving the most! I came home from work the other day to a huge box full of double-bag Grippo’s - yes, the large bags - the largest you can get (that I know about).  My Mom, upon reading my blog took pity me in my state of Grippo depression and sent me a care package. It was wonderful!

So now, I am set for at least a few more weeks of the best bar-b-que chips ever. I have a few bags hidden at the office, a few bags hidden in the bedroom, and a bag in the kitchen and a bag in my briefcase. So I am totally covered for the time being!

Gee, this is great! Thanks, Mom!

My Last Bag of Grippo’s

I am addicted to Grippo bar-b-q potato chips! They are the best ever - just the right blend of hot and a mild sweetness. I can eat whole bags of these things in one sitting. When I was a teenager and driving myself to high school, I’d stop every morning at Babe’s and get a bag and an Ale8. For those of you who don’t about Babe’s - you’ve missed out on a classic. Babe’s is a ”Mayberry” type store located in a small community called Trapp. And if you don’t know about Ale8s, you’ve missed out on another classic - a KY home grown soft drink with lots of ginger and sugar. Delicious!

Anyway, back to the Grippo’s. My problem is that I can’t find them here in El Paso. I went into total depression - no Grippo’s! So a few weeks ago when we were in KY, my ever-so-smart husband brought me back several extra bags! And today - I’m down to my last bag. Now I can’t decide to open up the bag and devour it down or save it for a special occation. I kept the bag hidden (yes, I do hide food) in the bedroom for a few days and keep staring at it. It’s a beautiful sight - the red bag with black writing and the little Grippo dude holding a bag of chips. Just gazing at the bag brings a huge smile to my face. Isn’t it wierd how such little thigs can change your mood in an instant. Now I don’t know if I love these things so much because they are really that good or if I just miss home and they remind me of my home and so many wonderful memories. Either way - I’m still down to my last bag. What to do???

It’s a beautiful Saturday moring here in El Paso. It’s supposed to get up to 100 degrees today - like I said - a beautiful day. I’ve been dowloading MP3’s all night and here I sit in the floor in the middle of a sunbeam blazing through the window listening to Nickelback,  typing this post, and glaring at my last bag of Grippo’s. If I only had an Ale8, life would be almost perfect.

 The chips win! I’m just going to sit here and listening to my music, basking in the sunshine and eat my Grippo’s! The laundry will just have to wait - the last bag of Grippo’s are calling!

Ethan’s Fancy Dance Moves

Ethan Dancing

This is a cute video of Ethan dancing to “If You’re Happy & You Know It”. Be warned - he makes up his own hand motions!

Lincoln Shows Off for the Family!

Lincoln Walking

Here’s a cute video of Lincoln walking at Nana’s house.

I stand corrected!

It seems I mis-reported Miss Emily’s Science Fair award. Her correct prize was 5th Grade - First Place for Chemistry - not first place in her class. Sorry Em - I’ll get it right eventually!

I am sooooo far behind…

Life has certainly been busy, busy here lately. I’m so far behind on posting that’s it’s embarrassing! But at last a quiet minute (well, not really so quiet) to get caught up and to brag just a bit. You see, that’s what blogs are for - for bragging about whatever you like. And I definately have some bragging to do today!

First of all, I’m going to start with our oldest - Jeffrey. Not really for any particular reason, but I always seem to have to do things in some sort of order. So I start with Jeffrey and end with Emily. (Maybe that’s a peek at some weird personality trait that I’ve been hiding all these years.)

The Law School Graduate!

We recently traveled to Nashville to attend the Vanderbilt Law School graduation ceremony. Yes, Jeffrey graduated from Law School in May! Yeah - way to go son! Of course we knew when he was about 8 years old that he would accomplish this - so it’s really no surprise. We knew he do it. But we are certainly proud of him. He has worked and studied very hard - now just one more big test to go! One thing is for sure though, that diploma should have Chemenn’s name on it too! He couldn’t have made it without her! Check out the pictures below and see Chemenn’s blog for more photos. It was a great day!

 

More Adventures in the Big Apple (or somewhere in Jersey!)

This just in…a late Easter picture of Beautiful Jen and WIld Man Ethan. The ever photogenic Jen is smiling, but Wild Man just wasn’t in to the photo shoot. But hey, his little vest is adorable!

Next we have pictures of the ever-adventurous Wild Man and his Dad on their first Father and Sons campout! What a blast! And then the little Dude takes in the circus in New York. See I told you it’s been a busy, busy few months!

The Typhoon Boy!

This takes us to Elder Alex serving in the typhoon season of the Philippines. And unfortunately I have no pictures to share. But it seems the small village where he is serving was pretty much wiped out by storms. They estimated the town would be without power for about 2 months. The storm was pretty stong, but all the members and missionaries were accounted for and safe. There was an accident with his companion, who fell and cut his arm. He’s fine, though. Alex carried him to the hospital through the storm and we assumed got his arm sewed up - but Alex’s note really didn’t say that. All in all - they are fine and are having fun with all the excitement! But here’s a picture of Alex in case you don’t remember what he looks like.

 

 

The Science Fair

Now comes Emily…she’s been very busy at school and getting ready for summer. She recently competed in the science fair and won First Place, Blue Ribbon for her class. It was quite exciting. (And a little messy…)

 

And last but certainly not least - The Mother’s Day Surprise!!!!

We wanted something special for our Mom’s this year. Being so far away now has not been fun. We knew we would be in Nashville for Jeffrey’s graduation and decided to drive on up to KY to surprise the grandmothers. And I must say, I think they were very surprised! It was so nice to have all the kids (except Alex of course) all together and to see the grandparents! We had a blast on the farm and Nana and Aunt Darlene couldn’t believe how the little ones had grown. Check out the pics below:

 

The Scorpions Freak Me Out!

The weather here in El Paso is great! The sun is always shining - a bit windy sometimes - but always sunny. We’ve been here for about 6 weeks so far and there’s been no rain, no clouds, nothing but bright sun shine. I have to put my sunglasses on before walking out of the house it’s so bright!

But there is one thing here that is totally freaking me out and that is the scorpions! They are everywhere. They are small, some are white, some are light brown. But all of them make me cringe. Now I come from Kentucky where we have spiders, bugs of all sorts, and even snakes. I can handle those - well not the snakes so much. But these scorpions are scary! I don’t think they are deadly or anything, but the thought of a scorpion coming in the house really freaks me out.

I didn’t believe everyone when they first told me about them. The people at work are trying to fill me in on all the El Paso culture and just casually mentioned that I may see a few. And that they would even come into the house as it warms up. I just laughed and thought how weird - until I saw my first & second scorpion right outside my front door one night. Then I lost it…..

We don’t walk in the house without shoes on now and we definately don’t go outside without shoes. The soles on my house shoes (you know, the cute brown ones with the big bear face on them!) are already wearing out from so much use now. Then a couple of weeks ago, Emily spotted something a little weird on our bedroom ceiling… She called for me to come upstairs and take a look. And sure enough, there was a scoprion in the house and crawling on the bedroom ceiling.

Well that was it… enough is enough. So a friend at work mixed up some really potent stuff that is supposed to keep the scoprions at bay for a long time and brought it to me. It must have been some really good stuff because after Jeff sprayed the house inside and out -  his legs and arms broke out with a rash like I’ve never seen before. He’s not really allergic to much - but this stuff got the best of him. I guess it will be worth it if it keeps those scorpions at bay!

 

Ethan visits KY!

I was going through my pictures and came across these of Jen & family when they visited us before the “big move”! Can’t believe I forgot to get them posted! That Ethan is talking so much and is such a flirt! He’s growing into quite a little boy now, with that blond hair and mischeivous smile, such a doll! He especially loved Ollie’s play house and Granny’s chocolate cupcakes!

Happy Easter from all of us!

Here are some Easter pictures of the “scattered” Chugg family!! Pictures are from the Texans, the New Yorkers, and from the Nashville crew - you figure it out! (But you know that KY will always be our home - no matter where we go!) The Philipino Chugg is doing just fine - he’s eating rice, walking alot, and says it’s very hot there - but is in otherwise good spirits. We haven’t received any pictures from the Philippines yet…but maybe soon! Check out the Easter festivities below! Chemenn has more pics on her blog, too! Mr. Ethan & family enjoyed a day at the circus for Easter and we’re hoping to get some pictures of that very soon too! (Hint, Jen!!!)

We’re Here….Sunny El Paso!

Well, we finally made it to El Paso. Actually we’ve been here a couple of weeks, but I’m just now getting around to posting some pictures. It’s very sunny and warm down here! We left KY in a snow storm and we’ve not had a cloudy day since we’ve been here. Well, except for the sand storm, it’s been beautiful weather. The mornings and evenings are cool, but during the day it’s very nice….hitting about 80 degrees! I guess that’s why they call El Paso the “Sun City”.

Here are some pictures we’ve taken so far. We’re hoping to venture out more pretty soon and will get more pictures posted.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

We celebrated Lincoln’s first birthday this week. He will officially turn one year old on February 28th, which is his Mom’s birthday also! He had a teddy bear cake made especially for him by his Granny! (Thanks, Gran!) Emily and Chemenn decorated with balloons and streamers - everything was so festive! It’s so great to have the kids home, even if it’s just for a weekend. That Lincoln is so adorable and he has turned into Mr. Personality! He’s the center of attention where ever we go and of course is already drawing the attention of all the young ladies! (Especially at restaurants!) Check out the pictures below to see some of the fun! More pictures are posted at the family website and at Shutterfly.

Boy Scouts learn about Computers!

We recently participated in a Boy Scout Merit Badge Fair where we taught the Computer merit badge. About 100+ young scouts participated from several different troops and counties. Above are some pictures of our group as they learned about using the Internet and how to post information on blogs. I’m  not sure they were very interested.

Breakfast with Mitt!

Jeffrey, Chemenn, & Lincoln recently enjoyed a pancake breakfast with Mitt Romney on one of his last campaign stops before suspending his bid for the presidential run. It was little Lincoln’s first political rally and he seemed to enjoy it tremendously. He even made his TV debut on Fox News that night! But don’t be sad that Mitt’s out of the running this time. I’m sure we’ll see his name again (2012)!