GGW 2008- WAS "BEACHY KEEN!"

I just returned late last night from GGW. We had an amazing time. Best yet!! The food was amazing! The house was gorgeous! The conversation was hilarious, emotional, and memorable. I can't believe the time has already came and went. The first day is always fun. Everyone is traveling, and coming in at different times. But we get all caught up, give lots of hugs, and we just can't seem to keep the grin off our faces. I got there first, after a long red-eye flight, followed by an hour ride in a little 10 passenger plane. I actually got to ride co-pilot. I was a bit nervous at first. The view out of the front window was beautiful. But flying over the Atlantic Ocean was a bit scary. Once we arrived at the adorable house, I visisted with Emily and Auntie Patty, and then they let me take a great nap. It was so quiet, and just heavenly. Later that day, everyone else arrived.


Auntie Patty's house is amazing. It isn't huge, but what it lacks for in size, it makes up in charm. And the house turned out to be just the perfect size. Here are a few pics of the house.



The second day was AWESOME! We went out on a sailboat. Sailing, on the Atlantic, OMG! It was fun, a bit scary, and oh so memorable. Thanks Aunt Patty! My sister has the better pics of us out on the sailboat, so I will post what I have. I can't wait to get the ones from her.



Before we went sailing, we had all got dressed in white and denim, to take so pictures. My sister has those pictures on her camera. We were lucky, because she borrowed a remote control for her camera. This allowed us to take group shots. This is one of our favorites! Later that night we had a fabulous dinner. I don't usually eat fish. My Aunt was serving swordfish, and everyone assurred me, I would like it. I decided to try it, and thought it was good. I was such a "big girl"! The cheesecake came later, and thats really why I'm a "big girl!" LOL! The next morning, we played a fun game. Allison broke us up into 2 teams. We then ran around outside for about 20 minutes chasing clues. Kind of like the Amazing Race show or something. When we came back Allison was all dressed up, and had taken Nanny hostage. It was then our job, to "free Nanny", by answering some trivia questions.
My mom and Aunt Patty, and Aunt Candy really should have won. They new more of the answers to the questions. However, they failed to play by the rules. They kept just blurting out answers, rather than raising there Nanny paddle. Therefore we would get to answer the question, and they had just blurted out the answer we didn't know. It was fun! We then decided it was probably going to be the best time to go to the beach. We all put on our Nantucket sweatshirts, packed some snacks, and off we went.



I just realized that I could have the events a bit twisted in my head as to exactly what things we did on which day???? But it doesn't really matter! The next day involved shopping downtown. It was pouring down rain, but that didn't stop us. We put on our raincoats and off we went. Our main mission is to find a gift for our "gift exchange" that we do every year. Nantucket is more expensive than other cities, so we had to raise the dollar amount to $20.00. I purchased a Nantucket hat and tee shirt. It was pretty cute! My Cousin Jo got my gift. I got the cutest little night shirt ever. It actually said Girls Getaway Nantucket on it. Auntie Candy picked it out, and it is perfect. We shopped and had a great lunch out. I had vegetarina chili, and grilled cornbread. Yum-o!
My favorite dinner was the night we ate out. Its this little restaraunt that serves only one thing on the menu. The menu changes nightly. The night that we went we had; lobster fritters, with apples, and caviar (they served me Roasted Red Pepper Soup instead. We called ahead) then a wonderful salad, followed by the most amazing meal ever.....Beef Wellington, with green beans, potatoes, then dessert. I don't know exactly what the flavors were that made everything so yummy. But they were the best green beans EVER!!! The most tender filet inside of the puff pastry. We could cut our filet with our fork. The potatoes were yummy! The dessert out of this world. So after all that food, I started to feel a bit sick. I have been on the Weight Watchers Plan for about 7 weeks. To make a long story short, and not too gross. The minute we got home, I threw up my 90$ meal. I would eat it again, even if I had to throw up again. We all finished our plates cuz they were so yummy. Im thinking because I had only been eating low fat, and fat free that all that just hit my stomach a bit too harsh.


I will post more later, this is taking forever!!

ISSUE OF THE DAY! PRO LIFE VS. PRO CHOICE

I realize that this can be a very sensitive subject. So let's discuss it that way. I know that there seems to be so many "grey areas" when talking about this particular issue. However, in my mind, it's real easy to make simple. God gives the gift of life, and life begins at conception. So it doesn't really matter how the baby was conceived, it has been conceived, and therefore is life. I am sure that if I was raped and became pregnant that would be a very trying, emotional, and most difficult thing to go thru. My only question is, would having an abortion make it better? I just don't believe so. I have heard some neat stories of fabulous people, who are doing great things with their life, who are a product of rape. God has a plan for everyones life. The fact that so many people are using abortion as a form of birth control is just sad. It's just too easy. It makes me sad. I don't think that Obama is all gung ho to kill babies, but he does support Pro Choice. That to be goes against the word of God. What do you think?

ISSUE OF THE DAY! - THE ECONOMY

Let's be real people! We have all lived above our means. It's hard not to wanna keep up with the Jones'. And sometimes, it's not even trying to keep up with the Jones' as much as it is keep our head above the water. But my point is simply this. How in the world is the poor state of our economy, President Bush's fault? Which leads me to the next question....who will help turn us around, McCain or Obama? Tell me what you are thinking. I still need to do some research myself!

Politics, Religion....Let's talk!

One of my very best friends asked me, "why does it seem that so many christians vote Republican?" I told her that my best guess was that it was because of what we consider the "moral issues", such as abortion, gay marriage....etc. She then asked, "do you think they would tend to just vote their party, or do they really look into the candidates?" So I am asking all of you. Who are you voting for and why? It's just about time to vote, and it's time to get real. I am 80% sure that I am voting for McCain. So prove your side, and let's have a grown-up discussion about all of the things you are not suppose to talk about.

Tina Fey is Funny!

Did anyone see Saturday Night Live? I don't watch it very much anymore, but I knew that Michael Phelps was hosting and I was curious. Anyways, Tina Fey came back to SNL to play Sara Palin, and oh my gosh, did she nail it. It was hilarious. I wish I could figure out how to download a video from You Tube. Maybe I will ask someone. Hang on Did I actually do it? Ok, let me see. Good luck!

Girls Get-A-Way 2008 - Nantucket!!!!

For the last 5 years, the "Bakken girls" have been getting together in Septmember, for our annual girls getaways! My sister, Shannon, came up with the concept. The first year was at her house in Vancouver, WA. My mom, and Shannon hosted a fantastic first getaway! The 2nd year we went to my Aunt Patty's house in Alpharetta, Georgia. Talk about fun, and more fun. Year 3 brought everyone to my house in fabulous Las Vegas. I would have to say, that I was also a great hostess with the mostess. Next, we went to sunny Los Gatos, California, where my Aunt Candy pampered us both on and off the beach. Year 5 took us back to the beautiful northwest. Instead of going back to Vancouver, my mom and sister decided we should move it to Seattle. We rented a beautiful home, and enjoyed all that Seattle has to offer. Now we are here.......it's my Aunt Patty's turn again. Instead of going back to Georgia, we are going to go to their summer home, in Nantucket!!! Yes, I know how lucky I am. I am sorry that you can't have tea with me and Kathy Lee. Lol! My cousins, Emily and Allison (Patty's oldest 2 daughters) are hosting, and Patty just has the priviledge of paying! I leave in 2 weeks. I cannot believe how fast the year goes by. Seattle, couldn't possibly have been 1 year ago already. Of course when we get back, I will tell you all about it, with stories and pictures. For now, I just wanted to make you salivate. Just kidding!

IT'S HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TIME AGAIN!

MOST OF YOU KNOW THAT MY GOOD LOOKIN' HUSBAND IS THE HEAD FOOTBALL COACH AT CHEYENNE HIGH SCHOOL. THEY HAVE BEEN PLAYING NOW FOR 2 WEEKS. LAST WEEKEND THEY WON 50-6 AND TONIGHT THEY BEAT WESTERN HIGH SCHOOL 56-0. NOT TOO BAD, HUH. THEY ARE EXPECTED TO DO GOOD THIS SEASON. HE HAS ABOUT 20 OR SO SENIORS ON HIS TEAM. ABOUT 6 KIDS HAVE ALREADY BEEN OFFERED SCHOLARSHIPS. IT'S FUN TO GO AROUND THE TEAM AND SEE HOW MUCH THEY LOVE AND RESPECT HIM. THEY ANSWER HIM, "YES SIR", OR "NO SIR". I AM PROUD OF THE WAY HE INVESTS INTO TODAYS KIDS. BOY DO THEY NEED IT. AMEN AND AMEN!

Funny pictures!

I was recently looking through some old photo boxes and I came across these. Dont you just love our hair. My friend, Colette, always had a better feather than me. I was always so jealous! I think in the picture where I am older, I am about 13? Madi just turned 13 yesterday, so it was fun to compare the pics! I like the "bob" hair style in the other picture better. We were much younger there, more like 8. I really did love my childhood. I had such good friends. We all knew each other for so long. Not as many people seemed to move back then. So many of us were friends from K-12. Well, just thought I would share the funny pics.

My Baby is Turning 13!

Madison Rae Anthony is turning the big 13! On September 2nd, 1995 the world was introduced to Madi Rae. What a day that was. We were living in Baltimore, Maryland at the time. Charles was playing football, and he was actually out of town for an away game. I had been having contractions for a day or so, but the doctor informed us that nothing was going to happen. I was just having Braxton Hicks contractions. So we agreed he should just go to his game. One of our good buddies from the team, Kenneth, didn't make the trip due to an injury. I was in our apartment going thru some mild contractions, when he knocked on the door asking to borrow some mayonaise. His wife was out of town visiting family. I told him about my contractions and he offered to hang with me. This was all on the 1st of September. Late at night, my pain got real bad, and he took me to the hospital. They sent me home, but they did give me a bit of a muscle relaxer or something to that affect. It made me real relaxed. I took a bath when we got back to my apartment and then laid on the couch. I fell asleep for a bit, and then I woke up from a contraction and I stood up cuz I couldn't handle the pain, and then bam....my water broke. We called my honey, my mom, and my Aunt Patty, and headed out the door. Charles was in Hamilton, Ontario. He had to take a taxi to the airport, then fly to Baltimore, then take another taxi over to the hospital. He made it just in time. What a crazy day it was for him. Now that I think about it, it was kind of a pre cursor to what life with Madi would be like. Fast paced, full of suprises and never a dull moment!
I am very proud of the young woman that Madi has become. It's not always easy parenting her. I've tried to learn to be more patient, which doesn't come that easy for me. But she loves God, and she is a good friend. She just started the 8th grade. Hopefully she will continue to do well in school. Some semesters are more of a struggle than others. She loves her softball team, "Lil Rebels". They have had a long break, but they start back up this week.
She is going to have a few friends go with her to the Mandalay Bay this weekend and do some swimming for her first party. Then next weekend she is going to have a sleepover with her softball team, for party number two. Hey ya only turn 13 once.
Did you notice how funny I looked in the above pictures. I forgot how fat I was right after I had her. She was worth every stretch mark, and now she is even worth every grey hair.