Christmas

to whomever is handing out the 'mother-of-the-year' award for 2007, i respectfully remove my name from the running. christmas day was SO insane i actually forgot to take a photo of either one of my children. mind you, we have a digital, 35mm AND a video camera... all were charged and ready to go. talk about feeling horrible. i mean what mother doesn't photograph her child's first christmas? ugh! perhaps this weekend i'll dress them both up in their christmas outfits they didn't get to wear and i'll photograph them. i'm hoping in 10 years i'll look back and actually forget they were taken on dec. 29 :)

since i was to work the day before & after christmas, we decided to host a luncheon at our home and all who were able were invited to attend. the plan, at first, was to welcome ryan's grandparents, aunt & cousin, my parents (if barry didn't have a baby by then), and our good friends here in town. i should learn by now NOT to make plans :)

after whining about not being able to see my siblings during the holidays, i was amazed how fate intervenes. jessie called and decided to leave columbia early on their way to alabama and stopped by fri. evening to stay over. i must say that girl has the best babies ever! josie was a delight as an infant and jack is just as content! i don't know how she does it, but she is definitely blessed. josie is talking so much and tried her best to keep up with warren. jack is really tall, has adorable dark hair, is babbling non-stop and has a smile that will melt your heart. we had a great visit and i decided the plan would be for me to take family photos of everyone who comes over in front of our tree. yep, you guess it... only one i took was of jessie's.



they left sat. morning to visit friends and go to mom & dad's. we relaxed, started preparations for our christmas and napped! i dearly love taking naps!

we then heard from carrie. she thought she would be able to come down christmas day and stay the night! i was elated! i called mom & dad and the plans changed again: lunch with ryan's family - dinner and drinks with mine and our friends. so far... so good!

sat. night we traveled to mom & dad's to celebrate dad's 60th birthday. barry had come up with a brilliant idea to buy replacement parts for the folk's pool table for christmas. therefore, ryan and jason worked on that table all night. they actually did a fantastic job (the store owner barry purchased the parts from recommended a professional - not a do-it-yourselfer!) and mom & dad are like little kids on christmas - literally :D

sun. we headed home and worked on more christmas preparations. we cleaned a bit, napped and enjoyed our day. then carrie called...
kelly had too much work to finish up before year's end, so she thought it would be easier if they came down christmas eve and stayed the night. okay, i can handle that - sounds good. called mom & dad and the new plan was....
breakfast with my family - lunch with ryan's - dinner with our friends. you feeling as crazy as i was? :)

mon. ryan went shopping for our feasts. i ended up not having to work, so i baked homemade bread, made an amazing trifle and kept the kids entertained. we decided that evening to attend a last-minute dinner party we were invited to. while upstairs getting ready i noticed a sharpie in the bathroom. i don't know about you, but a permanent marker is something we normally don't keep in our bathroom. i knew without even having to look that warren was in deep trouble. i opened the door to my office (where the sharpies are kept high up on a shelf) and my wonderful son had colored EVERY key on my computer keyboard a different color. he told me he thought i would think it was pretty. last week he spent an hour scrubbing crayon off of the hardwood floors - when do they learn?! needless to say, nothing is worse than giving your child a spanking on christmas eve - thankfully ryan had to do it... and if i were a betting person - warren won't write on anything ever again :D

we had planned to visit our friends for an hour - stayed 2.5. the kids were wonderful and we made it home in time to make dinner, breakfast to freeze until morning and get the kids to bed. ryan was able to get all of the presents out of hiding and place under the tree before carrie's arrived after 10. i didn't stay up much later, for i was exhausted.

christmas morning at 6 i put breakfast in the oven, made coffee and warren tumbled down the stairs. he couldn't believe santa came! i had him wake up ryan and ellie and the christmas wrapping paper destruction began! then carrie's kids appeared and chaos ensued. it was wonderful. mom & dad finally arrived, more paper everywhere, breakfast was eaten, kids destroyed the house and i already needed a nap. the 'plan' was for my family to leave at 1030, ryan's to arrive at 1230. they came a little after 11 :) after rushing around like headless chickens, we had a fantastic meal and a good visit. unfortunately i never had time to change. i donned my pajamas all day. was totally embarrassing - but at least i had time to brush my teeth :) they left at 2 - we took a long nap and welcomed our friends around 5.

overall it was a glorious day and we are still so thankful we had loving family to share it with. i think our plan is to sleep all weekend! :)
then we can remove all of the decorations and start all over again for mom's, ellie's, ryan's and warren's birthdays in january. great planning, huh?

have a wonderful new year!
and no, barry & brittany still haven't had their baby. :(

oh, and congrats to whoever wins that 'bleeping' award!

I PROMISE I've Been Good...

From Us... To You

for those of you i forgot to send cards to this year - or ran out of time :) ... merry christmas! (you should be able to click to enlarge)

Winter Wonderland

Let It Snow...

we awoke this morning to our first snowfall of the year. wasn't much - perhaps 3 inches - and over half has already melted; yet what a gorgeous site from inside our warm and toasty home! warren was able to play almost 30 minutes outside this afternoon and as soon as he came in said he HAD to have hot cocoa. sometimes it's not so bad growing up to be just like your mom.
ice arrived yesterday early morning and by the time we awoke the rain had turned it to slush. at 10am warren and i decided to travel so he could see santa (photo to follow later this week). he was a perfect gentleman even giving santa a hug before he left. i wanted to take ellie but fri. she was diagnosed with an ear infection, plus the weather, made it wise for us to keep her home. perhaps next year she will get to meet the big guy.
although i am a full-time employee at the paper, i have wed. off. couldn't be better. i'm quite lucky. this wed. mom and her new neighbor came down to tour our home and see the sights our small town has to offer. even though the pop. is around 4400, it's a pretty amazing town being the first settlement west of the mississippi. interesting architecture, ancient buildings, 6+ wineries, award-winning bed & breakfasts and unique shops bring the tourists in like you couldn't imagine. but hey, the locals can't afford the goods most shops offer - they need the tourists! at least if any of you out-of-towners decided to come enjoy ste. gen, the "counts' bed & breakfast" is always free :)
ellie and i took mom and sandy to my new fave restaurant and then the girls dropped us off at home while they galivanted around town. they went junkin' (my mom's term), then to the local meat shoppe and on the way home stopped at our favorite winery [www.chaumette.com].
sandy had her digital camera with her that day and took some shots i thought you would enjoy.
aren't the girls just darling?

Photos Below

I forgot... the one on the top right is Carrie :)

Memorable Photographs

my mother has never been one to organize photos. seriously - she has an old steamer-like trunk suitcase filled with loose pictures. every other year or so she tries to convince one of her daughters to help her organize them. we may have a pile of 'barry', another of 'family', etc. but none are ever placed in an album. everytime i see that suitcase it reminds me to put my own photos in albums! genetics...
this summer, for some strange reason, mom had a stack of old 8x10 pictures handy and i asked if i could have them to scan in and print out. took me 6 months, but i finally finished it this week. since my siblings never see this blog (brittany don't say anything to barry), i decided to order prints online of all the photos and give them to my sisters and brother for christmas. cost me only $2.67 for 24 4x6's thanks to snapfish.com. i'm telling you, it's a wonderful site!
i believe some of my family members may enjoy the following images. we have mom & dad as children, group photos and of course me. it's pretty amazing how one looks just like ellie.
enjoy and laugh out loud.

Over the river and through the woods...

holidays are always hectic in our family. honestly, it's hectic for any married couple with children. who do you go visit? when do you travel? what will the weather allow? etc.
with the arrival of barry's baby, Christmas falling on a tues., and jessie's traveling to alabama; i think it's the first year i won't be with my siblings at least some time during december. it hasn't hit me yet... but i'm certain come that tues. morning i'll be a babbling mess :)
to help ease my misery i worked diligently to find perfect gifts for the nieces and nephews. had planned to send the gifts via snail mail but my parents reminded me that the minute brittany's water breaks - they are north-bound.
this morning we decided to make the jaunt through the nastiest winter thunderstorm i've seen and headed to grandma & grandpa's. they provided an amazing meal - as always - and we had a good visit while constantly keeping ellie away from the wood stove and fireplace. we were able to drop our gifts off for them to distribute. worked out nicely.
grandma tried to soothe ellie's crabbiness so i had to take a picture of that.
and here is the watson's home decorated for the holidays...

The Coalier Kids

thought i would upload pics of carrie's darlings...
this is gram's preschool photo and the other is of georgia taken in november.

Only 21 days left! Ugh!

about my last positng...
first off, aunt sherri - we love your 'noisy' holiday decorations! i didn't want you to think we were complaining. :) keep them coming!
secondly, yes, my son wears his spiderman costume almost every weekend. no, he won't take it off and the only way we can touch it is if we unzip the back 20 times a day so he can go potty. ah, the joys of raising a dork...

the weather took a nasty turn over the weekend as i'm sure many of you tolerated as well. ellie had a fever/upset stomach from thurs. evening until sat. night, so we appreciated being kept indoors. grandma & grandpa came over sat. morning and grandma babysat so warren, ryan, grandpa and myself could enjoy the local Christmas Walk parade held downtown each year. was our first to witness and even though we froze our you-know-whats off, it was delightful. i thought i would take some photos the newspaper could possibly use but from where we stood EVERY photo has a sign in the back ground stating "missouri wine & beer!". was pretty humorous once you saw that sign above st. nick's head!

for example... here is the mayor and his wife (she owns the daycare our kids attend). needless to say - not one of my photos printed in this week's issue :)



we did have some excitement saturday evening. barry and brittany went to the hospital for she was having contractions. for 2 hours - while enduring the sad mizzou game - we were on pins and needles just watching the phone hoping it would ring. sure enough... false alarm. only a few more weeks left until baby grace makes her debut. i'm certain she will be beautiful!

dad had minor surgery yesterday morning for a hernia. all is well and he is being pampered by mom non-stop. if he is smart, he'll take advantage of it and prolong his recovery :)

and now for a little laughter to brighten your day...
yesterday i reminded warren's school to submit the children's 'letters to santa' so they could publish in the newspaper. when the family picked me up from work at 5, i asked warren if he told his teacher what he wanted from santa. he told me he wanted spiderman and some other toys i've never heard of. i asked if he wanted to santa to bring anything else for his family and he said he told his teacher ellie needed some 'little balls' (take that however you wish). i knew i set myself up for the next quesion... i asked what santa should bring mom & dad. he said, in all seriousness, "he can bring you a yo-yo, like me... and for dad, some garbage". :) what a kid.

Photos

Ellie's first Thanksgiving!


Each year Ryan's aunt buys us a 'noisy' Christmas gift to use for holiday decorations. First year was a "Tommy the Talking Snowman" which is light sensitive. Even when we put him up - in a Rubbermaid container in the garage - after the holiday season, we could hear him talking everytime we opened the garage door!
The next year was this... boy & girl teddy bears holding hands. They sing "Winter Wonderland" - each taking their own turn - then in harmony as their cheeks light up bright red. Both Warren and Ellie are fascinated by it! Thought this was a cute photo.


Our Christmas tree this year... too bad the ornaments & decor are too small. hahaha!

Turkey Day

thanksgiving this year was really nice. we ended up dining with ryan's maternal side of the family. the food was delicious and the company entertaining. there is always one person in every family that is notorious for making people laugh. warren ate more sweets than we knew about and ellie was truly scared of ryan's uncle. :) all in all it was a fun day but i really missed my family. we will be going to my parents this evening so i'm looking forward to catching up with them and hearing how their thanksgiving in columbia went.

on wed. ryan, ellie and i had some errands to run and first went to our fave hardware store. we usually go once a month or more and since sept. i've been salivating over this 9.5 foot artificial pre-lit Christmas tree. i have had a 7 ft. tree since college - it's beautiful and close to my heart. ryan detests it. i mean curses each year we start to assemble it. we've always talked about getting a new tree but how can you justify that kind of expense? especially during the holiday (gift/property tax) season! once we bought our new house and Christmas rolled around my beautiful tree looked like charlie brown's in our gargantuan parlor. last year we tried to help matters and ended up putting the tree on a milk crate. ha! the tree is so old the colors have faded from the ends of the branches - needless to say it's a chore to put it together. lest i mention the hundreds of lights i think HAVE to be wrapped around the branches.
so on wed. we stood and looked at the tree... and looked at the tree... and looked at it some more. we did it. we are now proud owners of a new fake tree! some of you have big trees, i'm certain. but for me - this was a big deal. i couldn't wait to put it up last night after we came home and it's amazing! full, lush, tall and actually takes up most of the room! and yeah, i did add more lights :)



the funniest part about the entire story is we go all out on decorating for the holidays and never have company! no one sees our hard work - but at least we like it :)

hope everyone had a great holiday!

Warren's Life These Days...

Proofin' Yeast

no, i ain't talkin' about bread :)
last week ellie suffered from diaper rash which normally would not be cause for alarm in infants. sat. morning while she and i played i noticed white spots on her tongue. those of you who know me well, realize i automatically assumed she was dying :) ryan did his best to soothe my anxiety by stating it was 'simply milk on her tastebuds'... that worked for a few hours.
many of you have found that there is one thing that can be your best friend AND your worst enemy... the wonderful world wide web. specifically webmd.com. mind you, the site offers a great service to viewers... but it's too easy to diagnose yourself with a serious ailment with simple symptoms. at least that is how is in my world :) by 2pm i could no longer stand the panic and yes... went to webmd.com. sure enough my fears were confirmed... my baby had thrush!
warren never had thrush and i knew absolutely nothing about it. ended up phoning the local er (see how smart i am becoming?) for advice and the dr. said to give her lotrimin and a&d ointment and then make an appt. mon. for her dr. to look at her tongue.
we now have a lovely medication we must dispense inside her cheeks 4 times a day. she is in great spirits, but wants to eat constantly and nighttime is a constant up and down rollercoaster. thankfully she should heal within 2 weeks and be back to normal. so you can see how exciting things are at our house!
warren is semi-behaving himself at school. he is now learning the letter 'd' and recently had his photo taken for the year (we had ellie pose with him). let us all pray they both have their eyes open and tried to smile. warren has been asking lately to make cookies for his teachers at school. not sure where that came from, but it looks as if this weekend he and i are on kitchen duty.
just wanted to share the latest in our world. in case i don't hear from you before next week... happy thanksgiving!
jlc

Halloween

had an interesting halloween... i believe warren must have eaten a ton of candy at school during his party for he acted as if he were on speed all night! ellie was much more subdued - yet she didn't have to really do anything but look cute. warren was adamant about being 'spiderman' this year. after messing with that mask for 2 hours i swore no more masks for his costume. too much hassle plus you can't even tell who he is... but knowing my son he went to every house saying "i'm warren counts. i'm 4 years old!". ellie was not too cooperative with her outfit. as you can see one of her socks have dissappeared and she REFUSED to wear the headband - hence the quick snap and the result of a baby appearing stoned. :) i promise we did not drug her - although i wish we would have her brother. ha!

Little Firefighter

Pigtails

My baby... FINALLY in pigtails!

Photos

living in a small town - as some of you know - is a challenge. seems as if a business closes every month. it is truly sad for oftentimes we grow to enjoy a certain shop and it's proprietor. this summer our ONLY one-hour photo developing studio closed its doors. due to frustration we sought out a solution on the wonderful world wide web. we found a site [www.snapfish.com] that is amazing. if any of you use a digital camera or film - like us old-timers - you should check it out. i've included our first photos from the site and i am thrilled with the way they turned out.

we are enjoying 'fall' weather finally. is a blessing to have the windows open, although ryan and ellie are constantly suffering from runny noses :) ellie turned 9 months old today and i'm stunned at how quickly time passes. warren is involved at 'safety' week at school. the fire department arrived this morning and actually let the kids hold the water hose. i can't wait to hear what he has to say when i get home this afternoon. i'm sure his adaptation of the day will be quite elaborate.

hope all are well!
jlc

Columbia

we were finally able - over the weekend - to visit the girls up north. was an exhausting trip, yet well worth it. baby jack is quiet, teeny-tiny, and loves to be held. of course since i haven't figured out to operate my birthday camera ryan gave me, i used up all of my memory on two photos before jack awoke. i'm certain, though, that i'll have photos from grandma sent to me any day now. we are all well. anxious for some cooler weather and the opportunity to work outdoors on the 'money pit' house and yard. warren is anxious to have gram come down for brittany's baby shower on the 20th and ellie is just anxious to have someone show her attention. she was elated to be with her cousins over the weekend and actually now has her first baby doll that jessie handed down. one look at that naked plastic baby and she starts giggling like you wouldn't believe! we hope all of you are well and loving life. i've attached two photos of the kids at jessie's over the weekend :)

Jackson Elliot

as many of you know, my sister Jessica delivered her second child, jackson elliot on thursday. i couldn't wait to share the photos!
born: 1:29am, weight: 8 lbs. 2 oz., 20 in. long

September

with september beginning i find myself in a catch -22 of sorts... i’m anxious for warren to begin his school-year curriculum and the concept of cooler weather... then i have to experience growing another year older. at least at the age of 33 i have a wonderful husband, gorgeous kids and a home to show for it :)
this year i was able to celebrate my birthday with my parents, sister and brother’s families. the attached photos show ellie and her dad on my birthday as well as another of her sitting on my lap.
we have all been really busy this month. warren is learning about patterns in preschool and has become fascinated with ‘ben ten’. :) ellie is amazing! she is now crawling, pulling up on everything, giving kisses and has her first tooth! the photo of her on grandpa watson’s lap is the day her tooth finaly arrived (090707). has been shocking to us as warren didn’t crawl until he was 10 months old! therefore our home looks like a penitentiary with closed doors, gates and barriers everywhere. so far she hasn’t bonked her forehead on the coffee table, but give her time. she’ll earn her stripes!
still waiting for jessie to have jack. i talked with her yesterday and she is so tired of being pregnant! :) she has been dilated for a few weeks but other than that, no other progression. her due date is sept. 28, so keep her in your thoughts that she delivers early!
barry’s wife, brittany, found out for certain that she is having a girl! i’m hosting a baby shower for her on oct. 20 if anyone wants to attend. nothing fancy, just lots of food, mizzou football on tv (maybe) and spoiling brittany and baby grace!
we hope you and yours are well!
jlc

Good Ol' Summertime

yes, it has been ages since i've posted. i believe a mother of two, working full-time has a justifiable excuse every now and again- even if her husband won't fall for it :)
the weather (and mosquitos) have been horrendous this summer. we have seldom left the house during the past few months. i truly feel sorry for all of you gorgeous pregnant women this time of year!
besides enduring the sweltering heat, we have kept busy nonetheless. seems when it rains (figuratively speaking - believe me!) it pours.
the homelife is definitely stressful:
we found out 2 years ago that warren was allergic to bee stings. the er doctor told us his ear - the size of a softball - would be fine; "just give him benadryl". thanks. that was really worth your outrageous bill. 3 weeks ago, the same week ellie was diagnosed with a respiratory infection, warren was stung on his big toe by a wasp. i dutifully poured benadryl down his throat. needless to say, within 24 hours he looked the offspring of myself and john merrick. it was so bad, his foot blistered and his toes turned purple. we ended up keeping him home from school to keep him off of it. the er doctor (we phoned this time - who said time makes us wiser?) told us to keep it "elevated and on ice". good luck with that. that simple statement made me laugh. after a week his foot appeared semi-normal and we anxiously sent him back to school.
ellie goes back to her doctor tomorrow for a follow-up. she still has her cold so i'm praying another round of meds may ease her discomfort.
ryan just finished 2 magazines and is currently constructing a tv stand for our new television. our home is too old to bother with mounting it on the wall so he is able to design something specific for our components. so far it looks fantastic!
i am looking forward to both jessie's & barry's family to come down this weekend. hopefully the weather will cool off somewhat.
i hope all of my readers are well. congrats again to seth & rebecca on beautiful baby logan!
jlc

The Famous Kelly Coalier

as i had mentioned previously, kelly was chosen as the main feature of the august issue of 'inside columbia'. my cousin's wife posted the cover on her site, and thought i would do the same :) you can check out more information or order a copy at insidecolumbia.net. doesn't carrie, gram and georgia just look adorable! ryan did an amazing job on the cover and the layout!

The Watson Clan

now that i'm beginning to get the hang of this 'blog', i thought i would let everyone know how the extended family is doing...

ma & pa: the parents are fantastic! mom retired from work in june and hasn't slowed down since. after constructing her new greenhouse this spring, she keeps quite busy tending to her numerous plants and flowers. lest i mention her weekly yard sale jaunts... dad is still teaching music lessons in farmington at 'music makers'. he seems to enjoy it and beams when he is able to discuss a student's improvement. i'm not certain how he is adjusting to having mom home 24/7 these days. they say a retired wife becomes the husband's full-time job...
dad has been asked to judge the fiddle contest in sedalia at the state fair this year. i believe he has agreed, so if anyone attends, you'll have to tell him he made the right decision :)

the coalier's: kelly, carrie, gram and georgia moved to ashland this spring - about 15 min. from columbia out in the country. they LOVE the country life and do not miss living in town at all. kelly is working 6 days a week at their shop, 'orchids & art'. he was recently commissioned to design the 'official' city of columbia t-shirt and the print depicts carrie and the kids. you'll have to check out the upcoming issues of 'inside columbia' to view the art. it's beautiful! carrie tends to the kids full-time and has her hands full! gram turned 3 in june and georgia just turned a year this month. it's hard to believe at times how quickly babies grow. georgia is now crawling and pulling herself up onto tables & chairs - she has the bumps and bruises to show for it! :) carrie has enrolled gram into preschool starting this school year. he will go 2-3 days a week and is so anxious to get his backpack and lunch box!

the harris': jason, jessie and josie are anxiously awaiting baby brother jackson - eta sept. 27 (jessie's birthday!). although i believe jessica has the most anticipation of any of them. i couldn't fathom being pregnant during the summer months! josie will be turning 2 in oct. she is the cutest thing ever! jessie's last day at 'addison's' was thurs. i believe her plans until the baby arrives is to get the house in order for the new addition. jason is a manager at chemical lawn co. (i can't recall the business name). he oftentimes works 6 days a week, so now that jessie is home full-time i'm positive she'll have dinner on the table for him nightly. ha! he is currently participating in a 30 yr. old soccer league on his time off.

the watson's: barry and brittany are still in kirksville with brittany having one more year of school until they move to columbia for her to finish her graduate studies. they are expecting a baby towards the end of dec. their ultrasound was 'inconclusive', therefore they will just have to wait and see what they are having. brittany is having a great pregnancy thus far and we are SO excited to see them this summer when they are able to come home and visit. barry will soon begin helping kelly at his shop in columbia. he will commute a few days a week, but it's worth it since he is learning everything to help kelly once they move to columbia next year. brittany has finished her summer research paper and will travel to pennsylvania to give a presentation. then they are off to canada for vacation.

someone please tell me how to keep mosquitos away! :) jlc

Waterbaby

on ellie's 6 month 'birthday' [071107] we traveled to mom and dad's for a morning visit. the weather was fantastic and we decided to take ellie for her first swim. she was elated as you can see!

Welcome Technology

well, i've done it. i've joined the masses to create a pseudo-website for the family. my cousin's wife started a blog for her upcoming birth and i thought it was brilliant. not only is it simple to use - it's free! :)
i vow this will not house a forum for political insights, religious beliefs or complaints about life. nor will i post the most viewed youtube clips or cartoons. my plan is to share with our loved ones the goings-on with our family in the hopes we can all keep in touch.
therefore, feel free to bookmark the page and return when you desire some entertainment. i'll try to keep current and post photos often.

on to family news...

daddy: ryan remains truly busy with the business as of late. besides the design of 'inside columbia' monthly [insidecolumbia.net] and the lodge of the four seasons magazine 'experience'; he has taken on 'ozarks magazine' which publishes each month as well [ozarksmagazine.com]. ryan has also begun to perfect his culinary skills. each evening he amazes me with a creative spin on a classic or something completely different. i have to admit i'm a pretty lucky girl.

mommy: i have returned to work full-time after taking maternity leave. was a terrifying change, yet i am enjoying work and the paycheck doesn't hurt either! i am working 4 days a week at the Herald [stegenherald.com] and continue as the 'bookkeeper' for rc design (although i'm not as up-to-date as i should be - sorry dad).

bubby: warren is your typical onery 4.5-year-old. he attends preschool 5 days a week (or else his parents would go insane) and i believe 'tries' to stay out of trouble. :) he is swimming under water now and has mastered the monkey bars on the play ground. he was recently evaluated by our parents as teachers instructor and scored extremely high for his age. he must get that from his dad :)

sissy: ellie is now 6 mos. old and darling as ever - that she gets from her mom :) she is sitting up, scooting backwards, rolling everywhere and jabbering nonstop like her brother. she is going to daycare 4 days a week and is fascinated by all of the other babies to play with. she never stops smiling, unless she is hungry and is certainly spoiled.

as my first attempt at 'blogging' i don't think i fared too badly. practice makes perfect, they say.
from (what i think HAS to be) the mosquito capital of the state - jlc