Good 'ole pumpkin carving

today i got a wild hair and decided to let the kids carve pumkins for halloween.
they have asked every year and i always come up with some excuse not to. so this year i thought it would be nice to try it. they each pick out their own pumkin at the store. then they decided on the design.












i think they had fun. it was messy and alot of work on my end but all in all we'll prolly do it again next year. i must say they turned out pretty good too.

jess :-P

All Grown Up

today caleb and art went deer hunting. caleb had gone to sit in the stand with art a few time in the past but this was the first year ti go and use his own gun. ( thats right, he has his own riffle )

so this morning around 8 i got a text message from art. caleb SHOT is first deer.





Caleb was so excited. Baileigh went on and on about how we were gunna have deer meat. i'm so proud of my little deer hunter that he got a deer on his first real trip out.

jess :-P

girls just want to have fun . . . .

Saturday night our ward had a Halloween Party. I never dress up and Baileigh begged me to. So this is what I came up with. I had alot of fun getting ready. It's funny how I can remember wearing this stuff the first time around and now its back and i found this stuff in stores now.

jess :-P

oh here's a pic of Baileigh and Hailey.

must post GOOD news . . .

i guess the whole point of a blog is to post updates, news (good), and just plain venting.

so with that said i must do some of those very things.

UPDATE - the kids are back at school and very excited about the latest fund raiser for school. so if anyone out there wants some very yummy cookie dough (hint hint).

NEWS - today i was off from work and spent most of the day studying. yep i did just that and it did help me to take a quiz in the much dreaded pathophysiology class. (i got a 86) it made me smile, especially that i was freaking out and the class average was 67.

VENTING - well, since my last post was about how much i disliked my Internet class i think i will say something nice. I GOT A 86 !!! now this is just a quiz but a step in the right direction for me.

thanks for the words of encouragement from my honey, friends, and fellow bloggers. it means a lot.

pathophysiology STINKS

ok . . so i'm taking 3 classes on the Internet. i must admit that i thought they would be a cake walk. (so not) i have never read a chapter in a school book EVER.

in high school i did what i had to do to graduate. i did take some honors classes but i still just listened in class and took notes. i knew going into this that i would have to do it on my own. i guess i thought that the teachers would post notes each week and then we would take a test . . . LOL

i guess i was dreaming. i do like 2 of my classes. i'm learning how to use the computer more effectively, and nurse assessment so interesting to me. but the other just STINKS. i can't really think of one nice thing to say about it right now. i have know idea why lamar thought this class would be a good Internet class. there is a lot material and no real guidance. i can't wait till dec 19th to take the final and be done.

ok there.
jess

it's a milestone . . . .

here i am about two years since i started this blog and i finally made it to 50. its hard to believe that i really got here . . lol

anyway there is a real reason for this blog. yesterday was my first day at Lamar. though it was not a real class day it was orientation for my Internet classes. the first started at nine. because i didn't want to be late i left early. i got there about an hour early and had to wait by the door. it's been 8 years since the last time i was in school. it really makes me nervous. i want to do good and finish my RN. this is a BIG step for me. i'm jumping right into it and taking 12 hours. i only have to drive to campus two nights a week. the Internet classes i'm taking are going to be alot of work. i think my study skills need improvement and i hope that i can hang in there. wish me luck .

jess :-P

it's here again . . .

yep . . .summer is coming to an end and we will soon be sending the kids back to school.
i promised myself that i would avoid the malls on tax free weekend but something (maybe a wild hair) got me there. in fact i even braved a school shopping trip and two kids and no husband.
art's sister, allison had her baby on friday. so i decided that we would make the most of our beaumont trip and try and get some shopping done before the crowds.
i think it payed off or something like that LOL. i was able to make a pretty good dent in school clothes. we hit JC Penney, Maci's, Academy, and Target. i can offically say that the only thing lacking are those darn red colored pencils.
our kids are starting to get excited about school . . i think. baileigh is going to be in the first grade this year and caleb the 4th. i can't believe that they are getting so big. . . . now i'm really starting to feel my age.

jess :-P

vacation at last . . . . .

so we went on vacation this week... we had a great time. this year annette and jamie colemen and their kids came with us. cassity and anna are about the same ages as caleb and baileigh so we thought it would be nice to invite them to go with us to schlitterbahn.
we met early monday morning and headed out. we got to schlitterbahn about 11:30. we checked in to the hotel and had a bite to eat. the kids had a good time and after about 6 hours at the park we called a day and got cleaned up. we all went to eat at a place called Clear Springs Restaurant. it was good and had pretty darn good onion rings. after we stuffed ourselves we went back to the hotel. i must let you know that we did stay at one of the resorts at schlitterbahn so we were able to use the swimming pools late. we took advantage and the kids had fun.
tuesday morning we started early. we got to the gate before they opened and rode the dragons revenge first thing. our kid had been looking forward to it ever since we told them we were going to schlitterbahn. Tuesday we stayed at the park until around 7:30. after a quick meal at whataburger we drove into san antonio. the gordons were nice enough to let us crash at their pad for a couple of nights. thanks angie and greg !!
wednesday was my birthday. my 30th birthday. we kept it low key and spent the day at seaworld. afterwards we went to chris madrids for my favorite san antonio burger. they are the best. though i didn't get a cake for my birthday i did get some cake batter ice cream from coldstone.
thursday was our last day at sea world. we went to the water park and saw the shows we had missed the day before. we ate pizza at the gordons and stayed up late.
this morning we ended our vacation and headed back before lunch. we stopped at the usual places and had lunch/dinner at red robin in houston. we even braved IKEA and houston 5:00 traffic.
i am so grateful that we were able take the kids on a small vacation and spend time with friends and family. thanks annette, jamie, cassity, anna, angie, greg, mackenzi, maci, maryn, and meg

jess :-P

husband tag

1. What is his name? Arthur Ray Ruggles Jr or ART for short

2. Who eats more? Art

3. Who said I love you first? this has been an on going thing for 11 years now. i say it ws me but if you ask him he'll tell you it was him.

4. Who is taller? Art

5. Who is smarter?
i think i could get in trouble if i answer this so . . . i'll go with we both have are strengths

6. Who is more sensitive? me

7. Who does the laundry? me most of the time. art does help out

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Art

9. Who pays the bills? me

10. Who cooks more? i do but art pulls his own

11. Who is more stubborn? its 50/50

12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? gosh . . .once again i'll say 50/50

13. Who has more siblings? me

14. Who wears the pants in the family? weeach fit in one leg of those pants

15. What do you like to do together? in the past 11 years i think that has changed. prolly just sspending time together

16. Who eats more sweets? i think we both have are days

17. Guilty pleasures? maple nut goodies

18. How did you meet? at the singles branch at church

19. Who proposed? Art

20. What is his best feature? his beautiful blue eyes

21. What is his best quality? he is thoughtful and a great dad


i love you art. thanks for 11 great years


jess :-P

trying out a new toy . .

ok so here is the big anouncement you have all been waiting for. . . . .
drum roll please



i got a NEW laptop. thats right i got a new laptop.
i'm going back to school this fall and sunce iam taking 3 internet classes i decided that we needed to do something about our computer. while out in beaumont one weekend we were at best buy and the sales guy told me about a few and what he would get. i thought about it couple says and then went and bought it all by myself. i love it so far. though the only real thing i have done is get in the internet and pay a few bills, i can tell it will be of good use for school. (not to mention that i put a blogger bubby right on my desk top so it is always looking at me reminding me i need to blog something.

so there you go, my big announcement. stay tuned you never know when big news may come.
jess :-P

a picnic at the park . . . .

today we went on a picnic . . . .
ok,ok. so it wasn't at an outdoor park, but we did go to FORD park.

today was exxonmobil's annual family fun day. we headed out about 12, after art got a few ( and i mean few) hours of sleep. they sure know how to have a good time. they rent the whole thing. they check you in and give you a wrist band then its a free for all. they provide lunch and there are a few vendor booths. of course we got about 5 free bags and the ever popular paddle ball set.
inside ford arena they have carnival type games and just about every inflatable slide and climbing thing you can imagine.





this year caleb tried the rock climbing wall. i must say that my 9 year old won't be going on any mountain climbing trips for a while. he did try his hardest.


this year they added a electric bull. caleb and baileigh rode and it looked like a good time. baileigh beat caleb though and stayed on for more than 8 seconds.




the kiddos had a good time and they are looking forward to next year.

jess :-P

stay tuned . . .

i have BIG news.

you'll never know when i'll share it.

i'll keep you wondering till you can't take it any more then i'll lay it all out.

you won't want to miss this.
:-P

jess

an additon to the family . . .

back in june we traveled to san antonio to vist the gordons. when we got there we found that maci was watching her class pet (a gerbil) for a few weeks.
baileigh of course loved the animal. (she loves all animals.) angie said that she was going to get caleb and baileigh one. i thought she was kidding so i did not protest.
a week later when angie and the girls were down, angie surprised us all with gift cards for both kids and told them it was to buy a hamster or gerbil. i guess since i never said no i guess i got what i had coming to me.
a few days later art took the kids to pets smart to pick out a new friend.




as far as hamsters go it is kinds cute. kinda looks like cookies and cream.

jess :-P

ode to swimming . . .

the kiddos again are doing swimming lessons this year. they really have come along way. to think that last year baileigh didn't really want to put her face in the water.





as they end their first week i thought i would share a couple pics. they are quite the swimmers and baileigh even jumped into the deep end and swam all the way to the swallow. caleb is also quite the swimmer. he would be even better if we could just get him to open his eyes.

jess:-P

two days in a row . . . .

ok so its day two on my blogging streak. don't hold your breath everyone this maybe a once in a lifetime thing . . .LOL


i am working this weekend and i worked last weekend so some how i ended up with 2 days off in a row. how that happened i'm not sure. anyway, yesterday i shampooed my carpet and i was grossed out by the amount of dirt and trash that came up. i can't believe that we have been walking around on that stuff. NASTY. it makes me want to vacuum a few times a day.

so today, i was off again and this time i took it easy. i watched movies with the kiddos and let the piano man tune the piano. he must have known i would pay him what ever he charged cause he sure makes a lot of money for one hour of work. but the piano does sound better and caleb was glad. art and i are thinking about putting it up for sale. it is pretty old and will not keep a tune.

i am working on a slide show of pictures from the past year. i spent about an hour down loading pictures and then our wonderful computer kicked me off. so, i really don't have time tonight to do it all again. i promise to try again soon.



i did come across a cute pic of me and art. this june we had our 11 year anniversary. i can't believe it has been 11 years. time has gone by so fast. i love you, art.
thanks for all you do for me and our family. you are my best friend and i could not be who i am today without you. you mean so much to me. remember who said it first (ME). love you !!

jess :-P

a blog on blogging

ok ok ok i know it has been way too long since i last blogged. i could name about a million reasons why but it really come down to the fact that i''m too lazy to take the time to sit down and do it.

when i do sit at the computer these days its to pay bills, check emails and the occasional late night chat.

our computer is not the best in the world, so half the time it is so slow you really just want to do what has to be done and move along. so pictures are a no no right now cause cause there is just not enough time to sit and wait and wait and wait. hopefully with the start of a new school year we be able to get something new.

so here is a small recap of what has been going in the past year or so since my last blog. humm . . . .

last summer we went on a VERY big family vacation. the whole ruggles family (15 of us) went on a disney cruise. we had a blast and the kiddos still talk about it.
after the vacation of a lifetime caleb and baileigh started school. baileigh started kindergarten and caleb 3rd grade. the both enjoyed the year and i could not believe that our little girl is going up.

caleb started piano lessons and after a few fights to get him to practice he turned into quite the player. he played baseball in the spring and will be moving up to kid pitch next year.

baileigh loved her kindergarten teacher mrs.lapray. she was so lucky to have so many good kids in her class. i hope she continues to. baileigh took ballet, tap and tumbling again this year. she really loves to perform in front of everyone.

at the beginning of the year art and i decided to make an addition to our family. that's right after much talk and tears we decided to try for another baby. we did set a time frame though. who knew that it would only take one month. we were both scared about started over with a new baby. we told the kids about it when i was 6 weeks. they were very excited and talked about it all the time. one week after we told the kids i found out that i had miscarried. it was very hard to tell the kids that there would be no baby in oct. a few days after the miscarriage i found out that i have a herniation and ruptured disc in my neck that makes my arm and hand hurt. after 2 epidural steroid injections i am feeling much better. i know that i will always have to be careful. as for the baby thing . . . it is within our preset deadline so will just have to see what happens.

art has been up to the same old same old. he continues to watch what he eats and tries to maintain his weight. he has done a great job. i think he is starting to get nervous about turning the big 40 next year. i will have to plan something really nice for him.

so here we are. it summertime again. the kids are getting excited about our small vacation this year. at the end of the month we are planning to go to schiltterbahn and sea world. i must say i am excited to get away for awhile before i start school again in the fall. yep . . . starting aug. i will be taking classes towards my RN degree. i will be returning after 8 years off. wish me luck.

ok so there you go a BLOG. maybe the next one won't be a year from now.

jess :-P