OCTOBER!!

I really love this time of year! It's perfect running weather!

So here is my faculty shot when I started coaching again in 2007. So young, so naive, and so optimistic!! Lots has changed in 2 years! I graduated (in liberal arts, of all the useful and productive majors available)...that's FYI for Aimee! I got married...again. This time, I am soooooo much happier! My husband GETS me! and that is a challenge for some men. No names mentioned! Also I have a new job in the athletic department of my now Alma Mater, Southern Virginia University. I am the WOMAN. I mean I have an official title, but basically I do all the things that men can't do. Make photocopies, send faxes, figure out invoicing, etc. But I actually love it because of all the POWER I have now. Nothing gets done without just a little help from me. For some reason that makes me feel needed and as a mom, being needed is pretty much what makes us tick. Not that anyone ever admits that...sorry.
So here is a picture of me now that I am happily working and married. Frankly I think the before was a little better, but this is what reaching your goals looks like. I forget why I was in such a hurry!!! Anyway, I really am excited to have a little vacation tomorrow. We are having a Cosgriff family reunion. Just the parents and my siblings and their families. We are going to stay in a big old cabin in Gatlinburg Tennessee. I am really looking forward to some peaceful relaxation. I really do intend on taking lots of pictures. That is never my strong suit, but I am DETERMINED to create some tangible memories this time!! We leave in the morning!!

summer blah blah blah

I am really annoyed. I agreed that Ellie could go to her Dad's for the summer since he moved out West and BOY do I regret it now! Not just for the typical "I miss her" reason although...I MISS HER!! But also because she won't even CALL me!! And of course his voicemailbox is full and so I can't even leave messages! I asked for his address and he won't even give me that. It's so obnoxious!
anyway, I have decided that I don't like the summer-time. Here's why:
1. I am always worried that I am going to have to put on a swimming suit and I will be too pale and fat.
2. I have no students around to get my mind off my own problems and I miss them!!
3. I have too many plans and not enough time or money to do any of them!
4. Work is boring in the summer and I don't feel productive enough.
5. Did I mention Ellie is gone?

So anyway, that's my whine session! yay!

This past weekend my sister Sam, Paul, and I went to a little party with an old high school friend. We hadn't seen this guy in 14 years!! He's been pretty far away. It was weird though. I didn't have anything in common with him anymore and he had all these other buddies there who wanted to drink and jam by the fire. Not our thing. I don't do either.
It was kinda disappointing.
On the other hand, Paul's friend Joey came along with his wife, Tyla and his parents and we had a lot of fun even though I had to work and didn't get to play with them as much. It was the third weekend in a row we got to see the Waxters (Joey's parents) and that made it that much more fun!!

Pretty soon our family is growing...woah woah woah...I am not pregnant or anything! But Paul's brother, Matthew is coming to live with us now that he is home from his mission. This will be interesting. Maybe he and Sam will help each other to be more social...or maybe they will at least have each other to be antisocial with!! ha ha ha!!

I am excited because this weekend we are going to D.C. and staying with Holly and Ben Burningham...They are SOOOO much fun! and we get to hang out with Derek and Cheryl Maggard a little bit while we are up there. We are going to the temple and to a Nationals game and we're going to watch the fireworks from the Mall!! Woo-hoo! Friday cannot get here soon enough!

Southern Virginia University earns Director's Cup from USCAA

Here is a picture of me with some of my fellow coaches this summer. We got our picture taken for the SVU blog because we earned points towards winning the director's cup in the USCAA. That's the athletic association for small colleges that we belong to. My cross-country teams were both 2nd at the national meet this year and so we earned the most points for the school.

A few pictures! Miraculously (thanks to Coleen)

Here's a picture from a couple months ago when Paul and I spent the day up at Appomattox Courthouse. Paul really loves history so he is always wanting to go visit historical sites. He prefers battlefields, so this was a compromise.

Here are some pictures of a recent weekend when Mom and Dad visited us. We went to a place called Goshen and had a nice cookout. My neice, Maddy spent the school year with Mom and Dad. She is 15 now and Ellie is 10 but they get along really well.
Here is Paul, me, Dad, Mom, and Jeremy. We are sitting around doing what we do. nothing.
Sometimes Charlie lets me hold him and doesn't cry immediately...give him time. I make him cranky for some reason.
Look at his face...He's just waiting to burst into tears again!!
This is a nice shot of Ellie holding Charlie. This was at our house later that same day.

North Carolina

We got to go to North Carolina the last two weekends. Paul's brother, Matthew (known in our house as "THE FOO" just got home from his 2 year mission in Omaha, Nebraska. Ellie and I were really excited to finally meet him as he is Paul's only brother and left just before Paul and I met. I took some pictures but had a computer gliche and can't get them downloaded. We were really lucky and Paul's old stake president let us stay at his lake house where Ellie and I enjoyed a little swimming. Apparently the McKinney men don't care much for the water!!
This past weekend we went without Ellie because she has gone to spend the summer months with her Dad who recently moved to Arizona. She is excited about it especially because there is a swimming pool across the street from their new house.
Anyway, Paul's friend, Joey and his wife, Tyla were in town and we got to spend a fun two days with them. We hiked up a trail to a waterfall and I almost stepped on a copperhead. I did a little dance when they told me!! Not a happy dance, but rather a scaredy-cat dance.
We got fed a TON of yummy food and visited Paul's home ward. We skipped Sunday School to catch up with old friends. I felt a little guilty except the bishop and stake president were right there skipping with us!! Hopefully I can figure out how to put the pictures up soon!!

Graduation...FINALLY

When I entered my "last" semester at JMU, I never expected an additional 10 years before I finally got my bachelor's degree, but that is exactly what happened. I found out I was pregnant with Ellie about 3 weeks into the semester and had to take a medical withdrawal. I pass out every time I puke and I puked A LOT. Anyway, we moved so that my ex could finish his school and I didn't go to school again till we divorced. I took a semester of classes at a community college but I didn't really know what I needed to take and then I got remarried and quit again. Finally I enrolled again with an online program, but weeks before it was starting, I found out my husband wanted a divorce and I had to start working full-time (for the first time ever). Two years after that, I was determined to finish that darn degree so I decided to go to Southern Virginia University since it was a small school and my brother lived nearby. 3 semesters and look how happy I am!! That's one of my best friends, Holly. Now my goal is to get Paul finished too!

a post is a post no matter how small

Blogging is not my forte. Reading other peoples' blogs is definitely more fun. And I am terrible at taking pictures. That's my apology.
Paul and I moved into a new ward and new town recently. It' s only 15 minutes from Buena Vista, but we are really enjoying Lexington. One of the first things we did was plan a party. We invited a few friends and Paul really got excited about hosting "Olympic" events. He handcrafted a ping pong table out of plywood, screws, and green paint. He put up a dart board and he forced us to eat twizzlers faster than our buddies. Look at his crazy clothes!! What a nut-job. I did help though. I ate all the chocolate that went into the candy wrapper medals. I also did an ear-splitting rendition of the star-spangled banner. They let me finish singing the whole song. My family never allows that kind of behavior.