Happy Days :)

We are so excited that Eddie went to work this morning. We've been waiting a long time for this day to arrive. The only sad part is that now I have to drive myself to work every day (or take the bus, which stops right outside our door). I'm just glad that there is no snow on the ground.

Just a little update: Cassie, Chris, Kobie & Kale will be back in Vermont next Saturday. They are moving back from Georgia. We are happy they will be closer to us. Now, for a little while anyway, Eddie will have all his kids within a short distance. Next to come - we're not sure - either Alissa with have her baby girl, or Brittany will get married. We should have a winner by the end of May.

As for Eddie & I, we are doing fine. We miss everyone back in Arizona & love to hear from you. Now that we are both back to work, things should be looking up. I'm really enjoying my job at DHMC. I'm learning all about the kidney's & high blood pressure issues. The office is busy, which makes the days go by pretty fast. Keep us posted about the happenings back home. You know me, I love to hear the gossip.

Changes! Can you spot them?

So, we moved to New Hampshire and I decided that it was time for some changes. So . . .

Here the first one, which you should be able to spot right away. YEP, it's the new haircut. I decided it was time for me to quit thinking about it & just DO IT! I made an appointment with Shannon @ Split Ends (shop inside the medical center) & went up on my lunch hour one day. A few people knew, but most everyone else was totally surprised. They all seemed to like my new look. Also, check out the new clothes (you probably can't tell, but the pants are a size smaller :))

Now the hard part! There are two more changes that I had done.

Can you spot them?

Alissa's Baby Shower was . . .

suppose to be a surprise, but she had already figured it out. We love her anyway. We met at a pizza place in Bradford,VT called Colatina's. They had her birthday party there for the last two years, so everyone figured that if she was told it was for her birthday party she would not suspect anything. However, she outsmarted us!!!

Brittany & Amber made cute cupcakes for the party & handled the decorations.

They did an awesome job!

We missed you Cassie & know that you were with us in thought. We'll see you soon!

We had a good time eating salad & pizza & watching Alissa open her gifts.

Here are a few pictures of the "Mother To Be" opening her gifts.

This is going to be one well-dressed, spoiled baby girl.

A few of the guests watching Alissa open her gifts.

One The Move Once Again!

We packed up the house & got ready to move back across country to New Hampshire.

Thanks George & Colleen for all your help!

Saying "Goodbye"is always the hardest, especially with it's your mom & dad. I really miss them & can't wait to see them again soon. Thanks for all your help & support.

We left Arizona on Wednesday, March 4th right after lunch & traveled to Van Horn, Texas. We spent the night there & ate breakfast at this little truck stop. I just had to take a picture of this place because they did not have any Pepsi products at all (not even in the little store). If any of you know me, you know that Pepsi is my drink of choice & this is the first time I have come across a place that sold only Coke products. I had to walk over to the station next door to get my Pepsi for the road. Imagine that - I could not have made it through the day without my Pepsi.

We spent the next few days traveling through Texas, Lousiana, Mississippi, Alabama & then into Georgia. We arrived in Alpharetta, Georgia on Saturday morning. Cassie & Chris, along with Kobie & Kale, live in Georgia at this time. We got there just in time to see Kobie play an inning of baseball. He's quite the little sports fellow. Brittany had been staying with Cassie, enjoy some sister time. We spent the night with them & we left Sunday morning, bringing Brittany with us this time, to head up north. We got lucky & had good weather all day Sunday. On Monday, we had rain & a little snow in Conneticut, but by the time we reached New Hampshire the snow had stopped & the roads were clear. We had no trouble with either vehicle on the road & feel we made really good time. I'm also very grateful that Brittany was able to come back with us & help me drive. This was the first time I actually had to drive a vehicle for this distance. I have always had the privilege of being the passenger & keeping the driver (Eddie) awake. She actually drive quite a bit & I appreciate that very much. We love having her around.

more later . . .

Remembering Mom, Grandma & Friend

Eddie has always had a heart of gold & that is something that I've always admired about him. He misses his mother very much & talks about her often. She passed away August 5, 2008 after a battle with Parkinson's Disease & the beginning of memory loss. He had a hard time seeing his mother the way she was, but is grateful that we decided to come home to care for her the last few months of her life. Although some people tell us that we need to decide where we want to live (back east or out west), we feel that sometimes things happen that you have no control over & we do what we feel is best for us. Eddie did not want his mother to be without a headstone (his father has decided not to purchase one until he passed away), so he went about getting one ready for her. He bought the wood, glued the pieces together & cut it into the shape he wanted. He had Jill (thanks Jill for your help-It means a lot to us) do the lettering for him. He attached the lettering & sealed it together & went to the cemetary to put in up for his mother. This is the outcome.

He had a hard time putting it up. He dug the hole & situated the wood & started to pack the dirt around it. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes & tells me that he has done this before - probably in his dreams. I then told him that it's obvious that he was suppose to do this for his mother. After he finished, he called his father & his brother Davy to come out to the cemetary & take a look at it. You did a wonderful job! I am so proud of you for always wanting to do something to cheer someone else up.

We miss you.

A Man & His Treasures!

Eddie is very proud of each one of his children & wants them to know that he loves them very much. Although it does not show all the time, he really has a hard time being away from them. He tries to talk to them often & usually succeeds. He tells me all the time that "he feels he failed as a father", but I don't see that. In my opinion, he has been a wonderful father given the circumstances that he has been handed in life. Hang in there honey - we love you. We all know that you have made a lot of sacrifices & you will be greatly rewarded when the time is right. Here is the latest picture we have of him & all six of his children. Back Row: sons Cameron & Brice, Front Row: daughters Brittany, Alissa, Cassie & Amber.

GIM Secretaries (The Ole Gang)

Can you believe these folks once had the joy of working with me?

They are (from left to right)

Back Row: Kristen, Janet, Me, Carolyn, Mike

Front Row: Koren, Heidi, Annette, Melodie

Sitting: Margo

When I first went to work at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, this was the "ole gang" that I worked with. We had won some award (sorry I don't remember what is was, but I know it had something to do with the "Bear" Margo is holding.) Some have moved to different departments & some have simply moved away. It was a joy working with each of them. Koren misses me so much, she just can't wait for me to come work for her (thanks for the job - I'll see you in March).

Birthday?

Happy Birthday Honey! I love you!

On January 25th my wonderful husband had another birthday.

He's fifty-something.

Also, Happy Birthday to:

My sister Lori - January 21st

My mom - January 23rd

My brother-in-law George - January 29th

Hope everyone had a wonderful day.

It's Official!

We're leaving bright, sunny Arizona, for this . . .

We will be heading back to Vermont/New Hampshire at the beginning of March. I say Vermont/New Hampshire cuz we're not sure where we want to live - New Hampshire has no sales tax, but Vermont is a little cheaper. I will be starting work on March 16th (thanks Koren for the job) & hopefully Eddie will begin working shortly after that. I'm not real excited to go, but we have to go where the work (for Eddie - I can get job anywhere) will be. He's pretty grumpy when he's not working, and he hasn't worked since November. We'll miss everyone here, & I'll have to find a volleyball team to go watch - maybe Hanover High School or Dartmouth College. Hopefully the snow will stop & the wonderful "mud season" will start. On a good note (for me, anyway), I won't have to put up with the Arizona summer heat. I'll be thinking of everyone while I enjoy nice cool (but sometimes humid) weather. Hopefully Cassie & Chris will visit so we can take their boat on the lake.

More later . . .

AHH - The Memories . . .

I was looking through pictures on my computer today & came across these. Back in 2004, when we lived in Wilder, Vermont, Brittany lived with us for awhile. If I remember correctly, she had to go out of town training for a whole week & didn't want to miss her FAVORITE soap opera. This is what we found laid out on her bed after she had gone. She had laid out the tapes along with 2 pages of instructions. It was just too cute. I hope her dad (Eddie) was able to tape everything correctly for her - I don't remember if there was a problem or not when she returned home. Notice how neatly everything is laid out -complete with the remote controls.

Notice how she labeled a tape for each day of the week.

Two

Complete

Pages

of

Instructions

You are definitely ONE OF A KIND!

The Cushing Family

Our Cassie & Chris, two wonderful people, made just for each other. We know you have been through alot & have been with you in spirit the whole way. Stay strong & things will turn out just like they are suppose to. We love you both & hope to see you soon.

Our #1 grandson Kobie, 5 years old. Born in March 2003.

An apple of his grandpa's eyes.

Cassie swears that Kobie waited to be born until we arrived in Vermont. We moved from Arizona to Vermont in March of 2003 & Kobie was born 2 days after we arrived.

We love you very much.

Kobie & Grandpa (2003)


Next came Kale, born June 2007.
Another apple of his grandpa's eyes.
We love you very much.

Kale & Grandpa (2008)

Disneyland continued . . .

Since I was not able to connect with the site in CA, I'll just summarize the highlights. Here is Becka posing with Ariel. I think this was the best part of the trip for her.

On Thursday, we spent a lot of time in California Adventure. One of our favorite rides is

"Soarin Over California".

Becka wanted to sit in the first row so bad that I had to ask to be able to sit there. They, very happily, let us sit in the middle section on the front row. She was in heaven.

(I would recommend this ride to anyone - I'll even go with you!!)

Another fun ride for Becka (it made me sick) was the Grizzy River Run. Becka calls this the Grrrr ride. Although she does get car sick, she did not get sick on this ride at all. Hmmmmm.


Becka liked this ride so much - she went on it 5 times on Thursday. I could only go 1 time & that was enough for me. I just can't take the spinning around all the time!

On Friday, we were so tired. we went back to the parks & went on a couple of rides that we really wanted to (I think this was the day I made her go on It's a Smal World with me - she was totally bored with that ride). We went back to our hotel at around 2:00 & Becka was content to swim until suppertime. We had a really good time & I'm ready to go again! Anyone ready?

Becka says . . .

it should be called "Disneyline" instead of Disneyland.

However, we are having a really good time here at the magical kingdom. Sorry guys, but yesterday I couldn't get my computer to find my camera disk. I did get some good pictures yesterday, & hopefully I'll be able to access them once we get home. Becka really liked her airplane flight! She got to meet the Captain & First Officer, & take a look inside the cockpit. As for the rest of the day, after we checked into our hotel, Becka couldn't wait to cross the street & head into Disneyland. We rode Indiana Jones (Becka did not like this ride), climbed Tarzan's Treehouse, went to Pirates of the Carribean, visited the Haunted House, went to Toon Town & visited Goofy's, Minnie & Mickey's houses. After riding the train around the park 1 1/2 times, we headed over to California Adventure to Soarin over California. We decided that was enough, and of course Becka wanted to swim, so we went back to the hotel & swam for a little while. Becka was so tired - when I went to move her under the covers she wouldn't wake up.

That was the 1st day. On the 2nd day we were awakened at 5:30 am to the fire alarm going off in our hotel. We quickly got dressed & joined everyone else outside. We later found at the the sprinkler system had built up too much pressure & needed to release. It could have picked a better time! We got ready for the day & headed over to the parks. Our first visit (of course) was Pirates of the Carrabean. We were the first ones to ride today & had a boat all to ourselves. We had to ride 3 times (yes, right in a row) before I could talk her out of going on. We then headed to Splash Mountain & only had to wait about 5 minutes. We didn't get too wet. We then went on Winnie the Pool, which I had to talk Becka into going on. We shopped a little bit & headed to California Adventure, where we spent the rest of the day.

"Pirates of the Carribean"

Riding "Jumpin Jellyfish" in California Adventure.

Waiting to see "It's Tough To Be A Bug".

Sitting down to ride "Soaring Over California".

AND NOW FOR THE HIGHLIGHT OF OUR DAY!

We had reservations at Ariel's Grotto. For those of you who do not know, Ariel is Becka's favorite princess. We ate a "very" expensive meal (but worth it). Right before we were seated, they took a photo of Becka with Ariel

(Sorry we can't post that picture - we'll bring it home.)

She actually posed with the characters this time.

with Snow White

with Belle

with Cinderella

with Jasmine

We also got to ride Toy Story - which was a lot of fun. Finally - we made the calls we needed to make, went back to the hotel, went swimming for about 20 minutes, took our baths, untangeled our hair & watch cartoons. We are going to sleep now (actually Becka is long gone) & looking forward to tomorrow.

Mr. & Mrs. Aaron Smith

Alissa Norton & Aaron Smith were married on August 30, 2008. They wanted to be married in "the woods", so they cleared a spot that the minister recorded as "The Chapel In The Woods."
We will be getting our 3rd gandchild in May 2009. Thanks Alissa & Aaron! We're so happy for you & will track the due date on this site so your dad will be able to remember.



Proud Dad was very happy to be able to walk his daughter down the aisle. Thanks Alissa for giving him that opportunity.

Bridemaids Amber, Cassie & Brittany are waiting patiently for the ceremony to begin.

This is our Brittany & Ben. They have been living in Florida & are leaving for Switzerland next week. We're going to miss them, but we've hooked up with Skype.com to keep in touch. We'll be able to visit just as if they are sitting in the same room with us. We wish them a safe journey, & (don't worry Brit) I'll be out to see you.

We love you both!

Dad & Lisa

Getting to know you . . .

I have been getting to know my great nephews & nieces lately. It's a real treat for me.

Here I am with Paisley Papa & Cole Woods on their blessing day.

Thanks guys for letting me share this day with you.

Parker & Quinn (with Grandma Rocha) brought me a much needed fan to my office.

Here is how I'm getting Parker to like me - buying her treats.

Grandma & Grandpa Robinson, Quinn, Parker & myself are enjoying a PHS Volleyball Game.

GO Riders!