More in Memory of Gpa Barrow Photos

Gpa Barrow Funeral

Jiliann turns 15! Happy Birthday Baby!

My birthday cake... well it looks like a cake :-)

Jiliann had a very nice birthday, we appreciate everyone who was able to attend in person and in heart! From her birthday monies, Jiliann bought herself a new pair of boots (REALLY CUTE!) and a new pair of shoes and some makeup. Thank you everyone!

Oh by the by the roses and teddy bear are from her boy friend Daniel... whom I have never met, and wonder if he actually exists?!?

Oh and a really good helpful tip... WHAT EVER YOU DO... DONT EVER wash birthday candles in the dishwasher !! They melt, and your husband will get really mad! :-)

Phoenix AZ, NASCAR trip 11/07 thru 11/10/08

MORE NASCAR photos on my facebook page... I guess just search for Angela Stringer?


Our trip was fun, it was great seeing Glynna, Chad and the kids on Friday night. Dinner at Iggy's was so much fun! Kyle loved the sauce, he poured it all over his chicken last night... Glynna maybe that is the secret to getting our kids to eat our cooking Iggy's sauce! LOL

The race was great, the weather was beautiful. I LOVE ARIZONA!! It was always a childhood wish to live in Arizona, it didn't dissapoint me... I am sure in the summer the heat is terrible but in November it is amazing!

Our trip in the car was really not bad at all, I took a book by my favorite author Dean Koontz read the whole thing. We had a great time.

I look forward to 2 years when we go back to California with the kids!

We always knew she was a pricness...

This is a 2007 photo of Jiliann at a Kingspoint banquet, with her friend Kashandra (who is also stunning!)... but I needed a photo of her, for her fun news, Jiliann was nominated the Pasco High School Homecoming Princess... she is so excited! I am so excited for her, I had to share! I may be predjudiced but I think she is a beauty :-) Definately a spoiled brat... but a beauty non the less... and I love her unconditionally.

Saying Good Bye to a Friend

I can't do this without crying... so here I sit and bawl. Tom and I sadly had to put Roxi down. It was an excruciatingly painful decision but the right one for us and for our dogs. Roxi and Ginger have been getting into fights more and more often.

Here is the straw that broke the camels back... the Saturday, 08/30/08 after moving all day, we decided to go out to dinner. We had invited Jiliann to go with us but she just wanted to stay home (Kyle was at work). While at dinner, I did not hear my cell phone ring 4 times, it was in my purse tucked under the table. When we were finished eating and getting ready to go, I picked up my purse to leave it was ringing again. Jiliann is bawling into the phone, I can hardly understand her but I catch that the dogs have been fighting they wont stop... there is blood everywhere... they are killing each other bla bla bla. Anyway, long story short, we chose to put Roxi down because even though she is a wonderful dog for humans she is also the most aggressive toward other animals, if there is another animal on the outside of the fence she takes out her frustration and agravation out on Ginger. Therefore, sadly we had to make the difficult decision to put her down. And take Ginger to the vet to check out her war wounds, most were superficial but the doctor put her on antibiotics and had me ice her leg which was pretty beaten up and swollen from bite marks.

Honestly, Roxi was my favorite... she was smart, desperate to please, obediant... and we loved her. Good bye sweet girl, thank you for the 4 years of loyalty and love you gave us.

Ginger is getting all of the attention and I truly belive she thinks "Roxi? Who's Roxi?!" Ginger is in spoiled dog paradise these days... and loving every minute of it!

On a different note... Good news is we are all settled and happily cohabitating again :-)

The kids have settled into the school routine, it is nice to be home... it just feels right and good.

MOVING!!!

It's finally here... the kids and I will be moving back in with Tom over Labor Day weekend. I am excited and overwhelmed. There is so much to do! Anyway... Rome wasn't built in a day I guess, LOL

Tom's brother Bob will be renting my house for a while. That is such a blessing for me, I won't have to worry about it, I know that he will take care of it. Life is so weird and wonderful and fascinating and at times awful... but it just amazes me how I always seem to be taken care of. Tom and I had decided to get back together... I think it was early July... we had planned to be back in the same house before school started, well time was getting short, and we really hadn't been getting as much done as we wanted... One weekend I had some extra time, this wasn't planned, it was just a last minute decision, I just had some time so one weekend I just decided to completely clean out my garage and at least get that stuff over to Toms, we took a pick up load of stuff over... completely cleaning out my garage. The VERY NEXT WEEK Tom's brother Bob asked him if there was room in his garage for his stuff because he and his wife were separating and he was moving out. Tom said "no, my garage is full but Angie has room in her garage." Let me just make this story short... I don't belive in coincidences at all! Everything has just fallen into place, after we told Bob that he could store his stuff in the garage we all came to natural conclusion that if he wanted he could rent my house... so I guess prayers are answered. Tom the kids and I will be back together, and Bob will have a place to stay as long as he needs... and I won't have to worry about my house :-) Crazy life!

Silverwood Theme Park

Kyle took Tom, Jiliann and I to Silverwood theme park on Saturday... well he paid for the tickets, I paid for gas and food :-) Anyway, I thought that was pretty awesome of him to pay for us to go.

It was VERY HOT, and the crowds were enormouse only 2 weekends before school starts... anyway, we had a great time! Silverwood has a new extreme ride called Aftershock! Holy Cow!!! Well actually comapred to INSANE or EXSCREAM it is a baby ride... but it was scary for us! There are two VERY TALL towers and you are suspended horizontal to the ground and then released so you are flying through this ride at around 65 mph through two loops and then you are racing up the second tower where you are facing horizontal to the sky... to which you are released again backwards at 65 miles per hour through said loops to once again be facing down horizontal to the earth when thankfully the ride slowly comes to an end. Jiliann did one very long continous scream... and then when it was over... she responded with "That was fun! Lets do it again!!" Tom said he wouldn't go again! LOL!! He rode in the front with Kyle on two other roller coasters... so it's not like he is a chicken or anything... but that ride was pretty intense! LOL... Here is the actual Silverwood explanation of Aftershock... they do a better job than I did.

Fasten Your Seatbelts. . . Aftershock is OPEN!
Aftershock is finally here, the metal monster that will dominate the skies over Silverwood. This 191 foot tall beast is really two thrills in one, because not only does it take you forwards through a cobra roll and inverted loop at over 65 mph, but backwards as well!
Once you board, the cars will slowly move backwards up the starting tower until you’re staring straight at the ground at nearly 190 feet in the air. Then gravity will take over and pull you 177 feet straight down as you reach speeds of 65 miles per hour! You’ll twist and turn though mind-blowing loops and rolls until you reach the second tower. This time, you’ll be looking at the sky as the coaster pulls you upward at a 90 degree angle, only to release and send you barreling through the whole thing backwards!

The Stats:
Make & Model:
Vekoma / Giant Inverted Boomerang
Height:
191 Feet
Longest Drop:
177 Feet
Top Speed:
65.6 MPH
Inversions:
3
Max. Vertical Angle:
90 Degrees
Max G-Forces:
4.5
Duration:
1:32
Scheduled Opening:
July of 2008

More Reunion Photos

Wish I had taken more photos, but the 2008 Barrow Family Reunion was so much fun! The campground was really nice, swimming in the warm swimming pool was fun. Family & Food was Fabulous!

I miss all of you already! It was great having cousin Kyle there, seeing Kim and Sonya was great too... wish I had taken more time to visit with everyone.

Enjoyed my visit with Amanda... love ya girly girl!

Blaine & Bryn's teriyaki chicken thighs were delicious as always! Tom enjoyed teasing Duncan with offering to sell his giant knife, for Duncan's knife collection... how did that come out anyway?

2008 Barrow Family Reunion

Kyle & Bee

Kyle is such a boy... First of all he LOVES this cat... I mean he really LOVES this cat... and she loves him. Her name is Bee and we got her last October, Kyle named her Ben, but I wasn't going for that, so I started calling her "B" for Ben... anyway it caught on and we all call her Bee now.. Anyway, this post is about Kyle torturing her with stupid stuff like this silly newspaper hat, he put a rubber band around the neck to hold it on and then made her pose for it. Lets just say she wasn't happy about this at all, she actually howled and tried to bite him :-) I think he deserved it!

But hey take a look at Kyle's hair cut, what do you think? I can't remember the last time he has had short hair, he has had his shaggy mop for a few years now... but all of a sudden he just wants it all gone (he wanted a job).

How Things Are Coming Along...

Tom the kids and I have been working on his house trying to get it ready for us to move back in. We painted closets and moved things back into them. We pulled out the upstairs bathroom tub, and will be purchasing a new tub and wall unit this weekend to install. We plan to install a new vent and light in the downstairs bathroom and prepare it for a new shower stall and a new coat of paint. Kyle's bedroom has been cleaned out and is vacuumed and ready to move back in, Jiliann's room is all but ready for her to move back in too... actually those are the only rooms ready, we have a LOT of work to do, a little over whelming, but manageable :-)

Then on top of that, I came home Monday to my sod literally floating... no exaggeration it was floating 4 to 6 inches above where it should have been, walking on it was like walking on a water bed! Tom, Kyle and I dug a 4 ft by 4 ft hole and found my main water line had a leak... Tom proceeded to try and fix it... he tried three times (swear to heaven, this is the FIRST thing that I am aware of that Tom has been unable to fix! The man is a genius, and not being able to fix that was... lets put it nicely PISSING HIM OFF!!!) So I told him not to worry about it, I would call a plumber... so the next day and $124 later my water main is fixed. The plumber did say that Tom did everything correct, it is just the way the pipe was in the ground that made it really tough to fix.

Imporant Family News

We wanted everyone to find out at the same time, so we are posting it on our blog, Tom and I are getting back together before the end of summer, after a lot of thought consideration, and agreement from our entire immediate family, we know it is the right thing... we have worked through a lot of issues over the last 11 months, and I believe we have made some positive changes, and we have all agreed to get back together... yes even Jiliann, she loves this neighborhood (it is full of teenage boys!) so honestly and pathetically that is the only reason she wants to stay in this house... but Jiliann knows that us being a family again is the best for all of us. Families aren't perfect, we have our stuff, but this is my family and we need to be back together.

Unfortunately before we just move back over there, we are working on getting some things done at Toms, but our plan is to be back over there before school starts. Kyle has wanted to return to Tom's since we left, he is absolutely thrilled to be going back home. Of course I am a little nervous... but there are so many reasons why Tom and I should be together, that I have no doubt that it is the right thing for me and the kids... and for Tom I hope too.

Just an FYI, I don't have my cell phone so if you have been trying to call me, I haven't had it since Friday... sorry.

Happy 4th of July & more random thoughts...

Hi all~

Pretty uneventful day, Todd had Kyle and Jiliann so Tom and I had the day to ourselves. We went to McDonald's for lunch... that was our highlight! LOL

Thursday, I took 1/2 a day off and went and picked up Kyle and took him to the mall for his birthday. He bought a new pair of "kicks" or for those of us over 16, shoes, and a skateboard deck. I can't believe my baby is 16!!! Crazy stuff!

The 4 of us helped Tom's dad move on Saturday... it is a long process, as he has a LOT of stuff and he is 78 years old. He is getting help from his kids, Tom and Bob went and helped on Friday morning, they moved 3 truck loads, and the weekend before, he had a crew of us to help... but he still has a lot of stuff left to move, and then a lot of cleaning to do.

Oh by the by... if you actually read this far down, you will learn that Tom and I are moving back in together before school starts. I am happy and anxious at the same time, Kyle is thrilled, he has wanted to move back since we left... and Jiliann is being stubborn about the whole thing, but I think she has finally accepted that it is not about her but about what is best for our family :-) We have some things we have to get done, we plan on finishing up both bathrooms and painting... we will see how that goes... oh and on top of all that, there is a family reunion coming up.

Love you guys!

Favorite Family Photo

June 2007, Wallowa Lake Oregon -- We are on top of a mountain, it was a beautiful warm sunny day about 3,000 feet lower... however up here there was still snow! We had a great time, the kids (the adult type too) had a snow ball fight. We fed the prairie dogs... not sure if that is really what they are called. Oh and the kids, walked on the Alpine meadow... that was a big no no!!! I guess I should have read the giant bill boards at the base of the mountain before going up the tram... oh well, I got some amazing shots!! LOL