Trantina Family

2008-06-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my 20-yr class reunion. Several of us made a girl's weekend out of it and had a lot of fun. It was so nice to see everyone and amazing how little everyone had changed. I literally have known several of them since I was in kindergarten.

On the way home, I feel on the escalator in the LR airport. Needless to say, I'm on the couch with a knee brace and crutches. It's looking like I've punctured the ligament in my knee. We won't know for sure until next week when they can do an MRI.

I guess that is what I get for having so much fun!!

As soon as J gets me settled upstairs, I've got ton of pictures to catch everyone up on!

Tax Season is OVER!

2008-04-16T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's over and I don't have to think about it again for a year. For all of you very unorganized people, get ORGANIZED! It sure does make my life easier! Mason's birthday is tomorrow. I can't believe he is eight.

Last week, both sons of my friend from Lonoke, Dana Anderson, were in a car accident. They were on their way to church and flipped their vehicle. Josh, the oldest was wearing his seatbelt and walked away with minor injuries. Jordan, the youngest, was not as lucky. He was not wearing his seatbelt (WEAR YOUR SEATBELT!) and was thrown from the car. He is still in ICU, but will eventually be fine. They had to remove his spleen and he was on a respirator for a while. Dana and I go back a long way. She and I used to work at Blue Cross together and have always kept in touch even after she left. Matter of fact, she is the one that drove me to the hospital when I went into labor with Mason and stayed until Jeremy got there. She has been to Florida several times since we've moved..by herself, with her husband and with the whole family. Please keep their family in your prayers. Below is the latest email that I received from her mother.

The doctors had been watching a fluid buildup around the lung that was bruised for several days and decided today to put a tube in to drain the fluid. The doctor in the radiology department performed the task under mild sedation in his room. This is supposed to help with his breathing. The tube will be left in until there is no drainage from the lung. Doctors removed the tube from his nose and he is very happy about that. He had a liquid breakfast and was told late this evening that he could eat anything he wanted and if it wasn't on the hospital menu the family could bring it in to him......needless to say, his family went to Arby's and picked up his supper. I don't know how much of it he ate since he hasn't had anything in his stomach for 8 days.

He is still in Critical Care Unit 18 and we don't know when he will be moved. He is still in a lot of pain but has been sitting in a chair for 45 minutes to an hour for the past two days or so. I'm sure the place where they inserted the tube will be another sore spot for him. We all feel blessed by God that Jordan is doing as good as he is but we also know that he has some painful times ahead as the fractures, bruises and surgery scars heal. Please keep Jordan, Josh, Dana, Teddy and all of the family and extended family in your prayers.
Thanks and ALWAYS BUCKLE UP!!
Sissy

Can you believe Mitchell is almost as tall as me?

2008-04-06T15:09:00.000-07:00

Tax Season is almost OVER!

2008-04-06T13:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm almost back again. This tax season took me a little bit by surprise. I have worked lots of hours with very few days off. I'll know to be a little more prepared next year! Since Christmas, Jeremy and I spent a week in Vegas in January. Jan came down and kept the kids. Mitchell broke his collar bone playing football the night before we got back home. So I literally got out of the car to get right back in to spend three hours at the ER. Everyone has fully recovered including Papaw!

We were able to spend some time with Stephanie while we were home for Christmas. She is doing great! There is a picture of her and the kids in the Christmas photos. Since Christmas, she has had an additional surgery on her legs. I talked to her last week, and she has thrown her walker in for a cane! Thanks to everyone who still thinks about her!

Mason has been busy with baseball and Mitchell is getting ready to start spring soccer. He had to sit out of the rest of basketball and all of track due to his injury. We are all ready for him to get back into sports and relieve some energy!

Jason and Christy came down for Easter. It was a quick trip for them, but we had a lot of fun. It was actually pretty laid back and relaxing. Mitchell and Ethan are growing up so fast and it's almost like having two extra men in the house when they are here.

One more week and I'm free again! I can't wait. My house is filthy, my kids are enjoying the unorganized chaos, and my dog really misses me!

I've posted pictures in the album from Christmas, Easter and my new garden!

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-27T17:04:00.000-08:00

I just realized that there are a stack of Christmas cards sitting on my counter in Florida that I forgot to drop in the mail before leaving for AR. For those of you that did not get yours this year - I'm so sorry! We've had a great time in AR and will be returning home tomorrow. We were able to visit with my grandma and grandpa on Sunday. My parents and sister with her kids were there as well. Saw lots of friends, ate lots of food and even made a stop at the old work place. For those of you that have been asking, Stephanie looks amazing! I have a great picture of her and the kids. She's hoping to go back to school a few hours a week next month. She can't stay in the classroom alone, but anything to get her out of the house! I'll post Christmas pictures when we get back home and I get everything downloaded.

JAT Trailer

2007-12-19T18:18:00.000-08:00

This post is for my father-in-law. Jeremy's having email difficulties...

Honor Roll Elite

2007-12-11T18:43:00.000-08:00

Mitchell was awarded today with being on the Honor roll elite. He, along with six others, made straight A's!

I've been elfed

2007-12-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

In case you missed this...
http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1270791203

2007-12-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

Mason was in a Christmas musical at church on Saturday night. He was one of the three kings. It was really cute and they had fun. I put some pictures in the photo album. He has 1st reconciliation (confession) tomorrow night. He's ready to get it over with. He say's he is ready to confess and become clean! There's no telling what the priest hears on these first confessions!

Next to my baby...I have a few new pictures of Beignet. We have really bonded lately...he loves me! His four pound body has not faired well with the few cold days that we had. He got a new sweater and stayed under the blanket. On my days off, he follows me around everywhere. It's funny, because I know that he sleeps most of the day when I work. He's constantly following me up and down the stairs. He gets to the point where he will stop at the top of the stairs waiting to see if I'm coming back up or if it's worth the trip back down again.

Mitchell has a new girlfriend. This time it's one that we know and approve of! Information is very limited at press time...

Emerald Coast Soccer team so far is undefeated! Last year the school did not win a single game. Way to go ECMS!

2007-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

You Are a Christmas Sweater!

Over the top, colorful, and totally flashy.
You're not afraid to be a little tacky.

What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You?

Sunset

2007-11-29T19:23:00.000-08:00

I took these pictures of the sunset a few weeks ago.

2007-11-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been this long since I've posted. We made it through Mitchell's birthday, Halloween and Thanksgiving and now gearing up for Christmas. This was the first year that Mitchell did not trick-or-treat. He turned into a teenager over night and his feet are now officially larger than mine!

We stayed here for Thanksgiving. My parents were here the weekend before, but it was just us for the holiday. I cooked the whole meal for the first time! Turkey was moist, dressing delicious and no one died! Jeremy and I celebrated our 14th anniversary over the weekend.

Check out the photo album. There's lots of new pics of the boys. Thought I would throw in a rare pic of myself with my cute little dog!

Our crazy life

2007-09-12T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sure it's the same for most everyone as well, but it's CRAZY around here! Both boys have multiple functions going on. Mitchell is in cross country and soccer and on top of soccer, Mason joined the Boy Scouts this year. So, we literally have something every day of the week. AND of course, Jeremy is all of a sudden too busy at work to help run everyone around! Today, we went from driving 45 miles away after school to Mitchell's meet to driving back to Mason's soccer practice and then Mitchell had religion class at the church. We almost skipped religion because we were so tired, but that's the one he needs the most! Mason is more excited about his scout "uniform" and camping at the zoo more than anything. There's alot of pieces to the uniform so I'm sure it's going to be pleasant around here every week the night before they meet trying to round everything back up. Mitchell had is first cross country meet today and he placed 9th out of 43. I thought this was great considering he is the lowest grade of the three grades competing. As always, it was a mad dash out of work to pick Mason up and drive 45 miles to the meet by 3:00, so I forgot my camera. They have another meet on Saturday and I'll have to get some pics.

Begina, a friend from Arkansas, is having her baby today. Can't wait to see the current post!

Stephanie is doing so much better. She has moved to rehab and I actually talked to her over the weekend. Her dad said their goal was to have her back teaching in January!

Mason is already planning his halloween costume. I sure miss the Arkansas halloween party these days. I actually have a family member that enjoys dressing up without putting up a fight!

Pre-Algebra

2007-09-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

Okay, it's been a really long time since I've been in Algebra. Mitchell tested high enough to move up a year in math so we are taking 7th grade Pre-algebra this year. I overheard Jeremy tell his dad the other night that he has been looking forward to helping Mitchell with higher math. I don't think that was on my list of things to look forward to when I had kids! Anyway, we are spending lots of time on Algebra! Jeremy and I actually both enjoy Algebra so it's getting to a point where we both want to help with homework. I know...don't we have anything else to do? The other night Jeremy called his dad to figure out a word problem! Poor Mason, it's like we pull straws on who gets to help with Algebra vs who gets to go over substraction!

Soccer starts tomorrow and cross country meets start next week. We are getting ready to be quite busy.

Stephanie update

2007-09-01T15:25:00.001-07:00

For those non Arkansans that are not on an update email, Stephanie is finally doing much better. It's been a long week and I've spent a lot of time on the phone/email. She ended up breaking both femurs, several bones in her right foot and hand, lacerated liver and had bleeding in her brain. She had 11 units of blood and the doctors said that only about 60% survive the condition that she came in. When I talked to her husband on Thursday, she had been in surgery for 8 hrs just putting the pins in her legs and they had just started on her hand. They removed the probe from her head that had been monitoring the bleeding in the brain on yesterday and started waking her up from the medical induced coma today. She's been alert several times today and has spoken a few words. The pain is really bad, so they are gradually bringing her out. They've told her that she was in a car accident and about her legs and she seems to understand. Everything has gone in her favor from the beginning. If all goes well, she may be out of ICU tomorrow and in a rehab hospital within 7-10 days. The doctors and nurses are calling her "their miracle". The trucking company has accepted full responsibility and relieved any financial stress that they were beginning to worry about. The communities are been amazing, with blood drives, school prayers and just an outpoor of affection. We are truly blessed.

On a lighter note...

2007-08-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

This one is a long one...it's been a packed month. The news of Stephanie yesterday pretty much stopped me in my tracks. Up until then, we have been going ninety to nothing for the past month. We ended the summer with three weeks full of visitors. After the Arkansas boys fishing trip, Stephanie, along with her mom and sister were here for a week. As always, she insisted on keeping the boys a couple of days while I was at work. And as always, I've been bored out of my mind all summer with nothing to do at work until the last three weeks and it got crazy. It always seem to work out like that...if I want to take off, it's almost impossible. If I don't have anything to do, then I have all the time in the world. So, looking back, I did not get to spend near the amount of time with her as I would have liked. We did run into some other friends from Conway, the Nichols when we were at dinner with Stephanie. They were also in Destin for vacation.

Tom and Rhonda Hambuchen were here as well. Jeremy was out of town that week so they came over for dinner the Friday before they left. They brought several hermit crabs to live with us so that they would not have to travel back to Conway. Their daughter was completely freaked out by the crab legs. She said they looked like big spiders and did not want anything to do with them...that is until she saw the cute butter dishes that came with them. She had a half cup of butter and her tiny piece of crab was still there when we cleaned up! She did enjoy dressing Beignet up. I have to admit, he looked rather handsome!

Next was Jason and Christy. Jason won a trip through the store. Mason is determined that he now wants to grow up and work at a gas station so that he can win cool trips. He could not believe that he got to stay at his hotel for free AND they had their own cleaning lady! I promise...we do get him out. I tried to convince him that he not only had to work at the store, but he had to own it as well. Doesn't matter...Uncle Jason is his new idol. They were only here for the weekend, but we had a wonderful time. Since they were childless, Christy and I got to go fishing with the boys. What a treat. It's always so fun to take someone that has never been before. She got to see dolphin and flying fish and just to experience being out in the water where it's so peaceful. Not to mention the great nap on the way back to shore that I ALWAYS experience! We were able to have an "adult" dinner and just sit back and enjoy.

Next was Jennifer and Paul Welter. Once again, work was CRAZY! The bigger boys went fishing on Tuesday and my boys stayed and played on the beach with them the next two days. Kevin Graham and his family were visiting his in-laws in Panama City Beach the same week. We all met and went on the pirate cruise and to dinner afterwards. We had so much fun as always. There are several pictures on the photo link. Tropical storm Erin was headed to Texas which gave us some pretty good waves. Paul rented a surf board and now Mitchell is dead set that this is what he wants to spend his summer earnings on. He just has to convince his dad.

Speaking of dad...he has bonded with the newest addition to our family. He has gone from "my" dog to "the" dog. Those of you that know Jeremy, know that this is huge!
It's hard not to like the little thing! He's so smart...can already sit, speak, house broken, rings a bell to go out and we are working on laying down. He weighs 2.8 lbs!

School started last week. Mason likes his teacher and Mitchell is now changing classes for the first time. We got great news from the middle school. He tested high enough on his standardized test to be a grade ahead in math. They started a college prep math course this year and he qualified. They had to have at least ten students participate. So, he started pre-algebra this year. This means that he is on track to start high school credits next year and will be able to start taking college credits in the 11th grade. At anytime over the years, we can pull out and go back to advance math. Mitchell is also running on the cross country team.

Well, I think that's about it for the month of August. Hopefully things will settle down a bit for September!

Life

2007-08-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

A very dear friend of mine, Stephanie, was seriously hurt in a car accident yesterday on her way to teach her 3rd grade class. She is still in trauma ICU in a medically induced coma. She has several surgeries ahead of her and a long way to recovery, but she's still here. She started out babysitting for me seven years ago in Arkansas when she was in college and the boys were little. She taught at Mitchell's pre-school and kept both the boys during the summers for me. It started out that she was just the babysitter, but grew into a wonderful friendship and the kids adore her. She was just here with her mom and sister a few weeks ago. I found out late last night and told the boys this morning. I told them that Momma T was going to watch the news and let us know if they had any more information and that I would have more when they got out of school. Mason said that it may be on our news tonight. After explaining to him that it was only going to be on Arkansas news, he looked up and asked "So did the bridge that collapsed, did that happen in Florida?". I then had to explain that the bridge was really big news and that it was on everyones news channel. He then replied, "But momma, this IS really big news..." Please keep her in your prayers, she is very dear to all of us.

Beignet

2007-08-07T18:28:00.000-07:00

This is probably the only time in 16 years that I have completely gone against my husbands wishes, but I did. I hope he realizes that and gets over it soon. The boys and I picked up an addition to our family, Beignet. He's a 3lb maltipoo (cross between a maltese and a poodle). He won't get much bigger than this. His mom and dad were both between 5-6 pounds. We got him yesterday and I told Jeremy today. He thinks that I'm lying, so I'm glad we have lots of company this weekend. The boys were so excited when we picked him up and have really done well with him. It's actually got them off of the computer and tv for a couple of days. Honestly, how can you just not adore this little thing? Mason is concerned that his dad is going to "break up with me". Mitchell says he is going to be mad and will probably never get over it. But, he has offered to talk to him for me hoping it will help me out. Oh well! So far he's the lap dog that I've always wanted...I just have to keep taking him from the boys.

Braces

2007-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Mitchell got braces on Monday. He went into it thinking that it would not be a big deal, but he's actually had a rough couple of days. He had to go back in today because he had two brackets pop off last night that was apparantly pretty painful. Of course he told me that I should I have put up with the crying when he was little and not let him chew on his cloth diapers. He said that if I would have just let him cry it out for three nights in a row, he would not be going through this now! I told him that now may be a good time to realize that I'm right and start listening to me! Oh, and of course...he got camo colors.

Boys Trip

2007-08-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

We had a group of Arkansas guys come down this weekend for a fishing trip...Friends Paul & Gerard and Jeremy's uncle Joe and cousin Justin. They had a great trip on Saturday and almost caught their limit. We all went to the Fish House for dinner Saturday night. The fishing was not as good on Sunday. I think everyone was pretty worn out. Final tally...15 red snapper, 3 grouper, 1 trigger and 1 king mackeral. Not too bad for one weekend! There are more pics of the fish in the photo album link on the right.

Date Night

2007-07-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Mason and I had a lovely date night tonight. The kid loves sushi and has been begging me to take him. He just needs to get the chopsticks down instead of slurping it all up with a spoon! Dinner is usually not a time that we particularly get along. He is a complete slob when it comes to food, no manners and it drives me insane. I apologize now to his wife because I've tried everything to break his bad habits. But, tonight he was on his best behavior and we had a great time. We ended the night with a walk along the beach. When I mentioned what a great date it had been, he looked at me and said, "I don't think that would be a good decision- a seven year old dating a 37 year old". He then went on to say, "I think that would not be a very good choice to make." And of course continues on his merry little way without skipping a beat! I also learned tonight that the reason that the Spanish people can't cross the border in Mexico is because of the KKK...Did anyone else know this??

WE HAVE A LICENSE!!!!!!!

2007-07-20T16:11:00.000-07:00

This has been such a long process! As most of you know, Jeremy started the first of the year to get his license to be a certified building contractor in Florida. He's studied, passed his test on the first try and we found out today that our 20 page application has been approved! Woo Hoo!

JAT Specialites, LLC is now an official certified building contractor!

I'm BACK!!!

2007-07-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I know that most of you think I just gave up on this whole bogging thing...truth is, I got a new PC and had not written my login or password down anywhere. I did not remember that had created my blog with an old work email address (I never do this?) and basically had locked myself out of my blog for months now. Blog help could not help because I kept giving them the wrong email address! Anyway, it just dawned on me and here I am again!

Lets see.. what's been happening? Mitchell graduated from 5th grade and will be moving to the middle school next year. Mason will be going into the 2nd grade. We've had lots of visitors this summer with still more to come. Check out the photo link on the right for pics. We went to a family reunion in Arkansas over the 4th of July. It's always such a long trip and we are exhausted when we get back. Jeremy's dad, Jan, retired so Mitchell stayed with him for three weeks. We are meeting Jason & Christy in Orange Beach next weekend to retrieve him. Three weeks has been a really long time! It took two weeks for Mason to even ask about him. He finally admitted last night that although he did not miss him, it was "boring" without him being around. I'm sure it won't take long to get back to the normal fighting.

Another exciting thing is that they have begun planning for my 20 year class reunion next year. Boy does that make you feel a little aged. I have touched based with so many friends that I have not talked to in years. It's always amazing how when you have good friends, you can go forever without talking and when you do, you just pick right up like time has not passed.

Disney

2007-01-08T12:09:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to Disney over Thanksgiving weekend. Boy, were we worn out by the time we got home! Four days of four different theme parks! You don't realize how young your kids are until you go somewhere like that. Poor Mason, struggled to keep up by the end of the trip. My feet hurt, so I know his were killing him! All in all, we had a great time and the weather turned out wonderful. I was a little disappointed that neither of them were interested in Cinderella's castle and any character that we would happen to come across. I guess they are too old, or at least old enough to pretend they are interested. They were all about the fast rides and hero figures! And of course, Mason was all about the food...cotton candy, icees, popcorn, hot dogs.

Kidney stones...

2006-11-07T19:25:00.000-08:00

Jeremy had a kidney stone, but he won't let me write about it. Scared me to death. We ended up at the ER, he refused all the meds, and we will have to move back to Conway closer to his mother if he ever really gets terminally ill. The boys found it quite hilarious.

Tulleride Mountain Film Festival

2006-11-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

The Mountain Film Festival was held this past weekend at WaterColor. This is such a cool thing to go to. It's out of Tulleride, Colorado and they show independent films outside on a huge screen. Everyone brings their blankets and lawn chairs. There's always good fall food like gumbo, chili, hot spiced rum, coffee or cocoa (with a little shot of something that keeps you really warm!) It's so different not living in a dry county anymore!

The shows are all about community and culture and peace and just really "feel good" documentaries. A lot of the time, the filmmakers will be there and you can meet them afterwards. I had to beg Jeremy to go last year for one night. This year he asked me three weeks in advance to make sure I got tickets to go both nights. He has decided that this is where he will get his "culture" for the year. Considering my family lives for the Discovery channel...this is right up their alley! Which is fine with me...I just sit back and eat...and drink...and drink...There's just something about a full moon, 50 degree temperatures, a really warm blanket and a shot in your cocoa!

There's always something from a third world country that shows how simplistic their lives are and really makes you think about the craziness that you surround your self in. They showed a man from Mongolia building a Yurt for a neighbor. How he had to make his ax, wheelbarrow and all his tools before he got started. This was really neat for us, considering Jeremy's good friend, Kevin Murphy, actually lives in one in Idaho. He worked for a company that built Yurt's when he lived in Port Townsend, WA. Anyway, that may not sound neat to everyone, but it's really a great experience.

So, Sunday afternoon, the kids had been outside playing together for several hours without screaming, kicking, hitting or spitting on one another. (This is a rarity around here lately). I look out and they both have their BB guns and have shot every bird that has landed in the yard. Not only have they shot them, they plucked all of their feathers off and was planning on having bird stew.

I nicely tried to explain that I preferred my birds processed, I already had a chicken thawing, and they really needed to wash their hands.

Halloween

2006-11-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

Holidays are so much fun around here. This year, we tried something new and went to BayTowne. This is a little village in the Sandestin resort about 10 minutes from the house. It sits on the Bay and the village surrounds this little lagoon. There are restaurants, shops, etc. Anyway, it's a really neat place to go. If you have not been, make sure we take you when you come to visit. We ate dinner outside on the patio at Mango's overlooking the lagoon. There's a picture of the sunset over the marina. The village was all decorated and had spooky music playing. Mitchell is getting a little too "cool" to be dressing up. He did have this funny baseball mask on, but I did not get any pictures. It was something that was easily stuffed in my bag in case he got there and dressing up was not the "cool" thing to be doing. But of course, his mother is always right...he kept it on most of the night and got just as much candy as Mason. Mason on the other hand has been planning his outfit for weeks. He is so into wrestling. Of course, this is something that I've never allowed either of the kids to watch. Not knowing that their wonderful father was letting them watch the whole time. So this past Spring, I gave in and bought Mason the wrestling figurines for his birthday that he had been begging for. And of course, he has just about worn them out! He plays with them non-stop. Anyway...the one figurine I won't let him have is the Undertaker. It's really gross and the guy has his tongue stuck out. So, you guessed it. Mason dressed up as a wrestler and called himself a wrestler until Halloween afternoon when he magically turned into the UNDERTAKER!

Mason...Mason...Mason

2006-11-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

There are days that I really wonder where this child came from. Surely I'm not the only mother that feels this way at times. It just happens that my "times" are getting closer and closer together! At least twice a day, sometimes more, everyday for the past four years, I remind him that I do not put his napkin next to his plate just for the heck of it. It's there so that he does not constantly wipe his hands down his shirt, along his pants, back up his freakin neak and what's left gets lost on the floor. This is everytime we eat. I'm not overreacting here, he ends up so dirty even after a snack that I won't even let him sit on the furniture without changing clothes. So, let's figure it up...I have reminded him at least 3 thousand two hundred and eighty five times. So, the other day as I was "gently" yelling at him to use his freakin napkin, he yells back that I was putting too much pressure on him. PRESSURE????? Where does he come up with that? He actually told me that I put too much pressure on him to use his napkin.

I was making him eat out on the porch until he could eat neatly and not make such a mess. Well, that apparantly was fine with him. And if it was too cold or dark, he just would not eat. So I then decided that he could just sweep the floor after he ate...have you ever seen a six year old sweep??? Strike two. So today, I decided that he could vacuum everyday after his snack. Which would actually help me out. After 45 minutes of him screwing around and me about to have a stroke, he finally finished. All he had to say was "This is awesome". I GIVE UP!!!

A few extra summer fishing pics...

2006-10-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Just thought since I was in the fishing spirit that I would post a few shots from over the summer. I don't know why I don't have these out here already. Top are Michelle's crew. She caught a shark, but I'm sure that anyone that lives within any surrounding states of Arkansas know that by now! I think she was a little excited!

Jeremy took Jack, one of his favorite concrete crew members, along when Chris and Kara came into town. Jack is holding what was left of a very large grouper after a shark bit the body off as Chris was reeling it in. I still have not seen a shark - lots of dolphins, turtles and flying fish - but no sharks!

Don't forget to check out the Trantina photo link to the right. I added a 2006 visitor album with lot more pics.

It's a record gag grouper!

2006-10-05T16:42:00.000-07:00

Jan and Donna came for a very welcomed visit. They were here to see the boys first soccer games for the season. Jeremy was so excited when he found out that she wanted to go fishing. Jan hooked into what everyone thought was a huge fish. It had to be...he was struggling to reel it in, Jeremy was over there helping, and they both were sweating and red faced. Jeremy could see it coming up and thought it was a really big gag grouper which are gray. To everyone's surprise, Jan reeled up (probaby about 90 feet) some structure that was at the bottom of the gulf. I would say they were both a little pissy after that! It was hilarious!
After the previous trip that I was on, I was ready to catch some keepers! We caught a ton of red snapper, but Donna caught the only keeper of the day.

The biggest Grouper ever!

2006-10-05T16:40:00.000-07:00

This summer has been packed with moving into the house and lots of visiters. I finally got to go on a fishing trip and not get left behind! Of course, as always, I caught the BIGGEST fish! This thing was a monster! It was the largest grouper that has been caught on our boat so far. We took our old landlord and neighbor, Jim and caught a ton of fish. It was amazing! I had just caught two really big fish when I hooked the one that Jeremy is holding. I tried to reel it in, but I was too exhausted and Jeremy had to take over. Mitchell could barely hold it up for a picture when we got back.

How deep does a well have to be???

2006-10-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well, all of us that know Jeremy, know that he loves to save a few $'s anyway that he can. Since you have to water year-round in Florida, he (along with the advice of a 70-yr old neighbor) has decided that we are going to dig a well to hook the sprinkler up to - the OLD FASHIONED way. So the neighbor let us "borrow" his well digger thing. It's actually pretty interesting, but appears that it will be dug when Jeremy turns 70. I'm sure that you notice Mason and I are no where to be found! They have to drill this pipe that has holes in the end of it over and over until you get deep enough. There's more to it than that, but everything else was a little over my head.

Surf's up

2006-08-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

The boys and a few of their friends took surfing lessons last weekend. They lucked out and actually had some decent waves to practice on. Mitchell got up and looked like a professional - long hair and all! Mason got up briefly - so briefly that I could not even catch it on camera! Oh well, he got a kick out of getting to strap the surf board around his ankle! The dolphins seemed to be amused by all the commotion. Several of the pictures you can see them in the background. They just stayed out right behind the boys and swam back and forth. It was a pretty neat sight. Go the Trantina photo album (link on right) to view pictures.

We are back from the dead!

2006-08-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I have pretty good excuses. We finally made it into the house mid-July. We were without internet, phone and TV for almost four weeks. Right before moving in, a friend of mine from AR - Dana Anderson came for a visit. After moving in, Jeremy's sister Michelle came with her family, the next week, his sister Kara and her family were here and then the next we managed a quick trip home. All of Jeremy's siblings were home (Carissa from Alaska and Kara from Dallas). It was the weekend for St Joseph bazaar and the kids got to see alot of their friends and I was able to squeeze in a quick lunch with my Ya-Ya buddies from Blue Cross. We stopped by my grandma's house in Risen on the way home. I had not been there in a long time! There is just never enough time to get everything in. The kids started school on August 3rd, so it's been a pretty busy month. I think we are starting to settle down a bit. We also could not find the charger to the digital camera and I finally unpacked it last week. I took a few pictures of the house with my camera and will get some better ones posted soon. I set up a link on the right that you can go to and check them out - Trantina Photo album.

Alligators & Tropical Storm Alberto

2006-06-12T18:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we saw our first alligator yesterday. We live a short walk from the bay. We've been letting Mitchell go fishing and trapping crab as long as he takes a walkie-talkie. Mason wanted to go yesterday so I got a chair and a book and went with them for a little while. Someone had already put a large crab trap in the water. I was sitting there and out of the corner of my eye, I see something pop up by the crab trap. I yelled at Mitchell and can you believe it? It was a darn alligator! It was not a large one, but it was still probably four foot long. It scared me to death. Especially since the kids are always wading out in the water because you can walk forever and it's only knee deep. We stayed another 30 minutes or so watching to see what it was going to do. I guess it was catching the crab. It stayed close to the same spot the whole time we were there. I was just wondering where it's momma was! So, poor Mitchell...that's the last time he get's to go down by himself!

We are waiting out the first tropical storm of the season. We have not had rain in so long, that everyone is actually excited about the storm. We are to the left of the storm and may miss it but we are hoping for some rain tonight. It was a little windy this afternoon but mostly blue skies. The surf is up and there are double red flags.

I forgot to mention in the Memorial Day post that Mason lost his first tooth that weekend. He kept saying that he wanted it to fall out when Momma T and Papaw were here. We were on the beach and he spit it out in the water. It's a good thing that we are friends with the tooth fairy and were able to cut a deal...

2006-05-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

What a fun and relaxing Memorial weekend we had. Jan, Donna, Jason, Christy and the kids all came down on Thursday. After postponing the guys fishing trip on Friday due to a trailer malfunction, they finally were able to hit the seas on Saturday. They caught a ton of fish, but only a few "keepers". From what I understand, Ethan caught the first and largest keeper of the day. Jason caught an eel and Mitchell hooked a 4-foot shark. The girls just sat on the beach, caught a few rays, ate and drank. Nothing wrong with that! It was so good to see Ethan, Shannon and Joshua. Ethan is so grown, Shannon thinks she is and Joshua is one cuddly little baby.

2006-05-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

2006-05-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Getting closer every week...

2006-05-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

The architectural beams are done on the porch. Instead of using spindles on the porch, we are using copper poles that will be horizontal. Probably like four about a few inches apart. I'm desperately trying to be a little different, because you all know that I can't stand to have something that someone already has! It's very hard around here. I swear, they are just a bunch of freakin expensive cookie cutter houses! Plus Hamid snuck around behind my back and painted another one of their houses the same color as mine! I was pretty ticked! I have to say that mine looks better! The pine ceiling is up in the living and dining room. Jeremy has a guy named Ron that is awesome. Just wait until I post pictures of my closest...I have thirty individual slots for my shoes! They hung interior doors today and all the trim should be finished by tomorrow. Air conditioning is coming Monday and they should start painting the inside next week as well. Jeremy is laying hardi-backer (or whatever it is) this weekend to get ready for the tile.

On a side note, the snakes are terrible here. Fortunately, I have not had the pleasure of running into one yet. But, we have pygmy rattlers, rattle snakes and just all kinds of them. We went to dinner last weekend with some friends. She told me that she made her son (same age as Mason) take a shower in the outdoor shower last Thursday night. She was inside the house and she heard him scream. A three fooot snake had crawled in the shower, we are assuming to get some water, and then crawled back out when he screamed. Can you believe that? I would have had a heart attack. They caught it and it was not poisonous. It would not have mattered to me because I would have been dead anyway. So, Jeremy and I looked at our outdoor shower for a long time the other night trying to figure out how to keep the critters out while we are in there. I don't think he is near as concerned as I am!

Cookin' up some crabs!

2006-05-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

Ever since we moved here, Mitchell has been begging me to cook crab that he catches down at the bay. Every time he asks, I continue to explain that it takes a TON of bluecrab to make a meal. Our neighbor gave him five crab traps and he has been catching them and freezing for fishing bait. Not that I think he has ever caught a fish off of crab, but what do I know! This past weekend, he had a friend, Devin, spend the night. I was so tired of going through the whole routine every weekend, that I boiled up the crab that they caught and made them eat it! We still are not true Floridians. I personally like my crab legs pretty big and VERY clean...no eyes looking at me as I'm trying to pull out the piece of meat that is as big as my pinky finger nail. Well, after a few minutes a realizing that there was not going to be enough to go around...we grilled hot dogs!

Updated house pics

2006-04-16T18:20:00.000-07:00

Sheet rock is finished. Trim and roof should be started this week. Finally found a new cabinet maker. He drove up on a harley so wish us luck.

Easter

2006-04-16T18:02:00.000-07:00

We had lunch with Rhonda and Hamid for Easter. Her sister, Debbie, came over and their dad and step-mom came down from Alabama. The weather was perfect - low 80's with a great breeze all afternoon. The kids had an egg hunt and of course our drama queen, Mason, had to have a breakdown because not only did Mitchell get coke at lunch, but he also got more eggs in the hunt!

pics...Mason having a meltdown
Jaden, Rhonda and Hamids son, is eating with Mitchell and Mason on their front porch.
Starting with me and going clockwise is Debbie- Rhonda's sister, Hamid, Chris-a neighbor, Rhonda, Vickie-her stepmom and Bobby-her dad.
Mitchell sporting his long hair that his dad is so fond of!

More birthday pics

2006-04-16T17:54:00.001-07:00

More pictures from our night at the Track. One of the holes had a giraffe drinking out of the water. You would think that they could have come up with a different position! Oh well, we got a good laugh.

2006-04-16T17:54:00.000-07:00

More pictures from our night at the track.

Mason turns 6!

2006-04-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

Finally, Mason's birthday has arrived. I believe that he has been counting down the days since Valentine's day. We have heard at least ten times today that his birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated with the Joodi's by going to the "Track" in Destin on friday night. We played putt-putt golf and rode the wooden go cart track. Yesterday, we took the boat to Destin harbor. The water was beautiful. This time of year, you can watch the water turn colors. The warmer it gets, the more blue the water becomes. It is so pretty and crystal clear. The spring is definatly the best time to see the water, but it is still a little to cool for me! We made a homemade birthday cake this year. It may not look as good as a store bought one, but it sure tastes a heck of a lot better.

The baseball player

2006-03-26T07:09:00.000-08:00

Mason is the only one we have playing baseball this year since Mitchell decided not to play. He is playing for the White Sox and as always t-ball is loads of fun at 9:00 every Saturday morning.

New house pics

2006-03-26T07:03:00.000-08:00

The house is coming along. You can now see more of how the porches are going to be on the front and back. They are going to start painting the outside this week and hanging sheetrock. Next week they are going to start the roof.

1st fishing trip of 2006

2006-03-23T17:50:00.000-08:00

March Sunday 19 2006 was my first fishing trip this year. Once again I caught the biggest fish of the day. It was a red grouper. It weighed 11lb 11oz. We had two sharks on but unforntonly they broke off. The fish I cought was a three man fish. I hooked it, this guy named jack got it off the bottom, my dad realed it in, and Hamid video taped us. Once I am the king and my dad is my servent.

love mitchell

Building our house

2006-03-16T19:32:00.000-08:00

Well, the house is well on it's way. Hopefully we will be in by the end of May. It's a lot different than what we are used to in Arkansas, but the style has finally grown on me and I'm really excited. Everything here is so laid back and casual. What else would you expect from the beach? We are halfway through building and Jeremy and I are still speaking. We actually may make it through this! I need to post updated pictures. These are a few weeks old. The bottom picture is the back of the house and will be screened in all the way to the top. Y0u can double click on any of the pictures and they will enlarge for all of us that can't see that small!