Tell Me More Linky:)

I am linking up with Amy at Step Into Second Grade for the Tell Me More Linky.  How fun!
Also, I am ALMOST (99) at 100 followers!!  Check back soon to enter my giveaway.  Thanks!

1.  The only sport (besides the Olympics) that I watch religiously is NFL football.  I never miss a game when my team is playing.......The Buffalo Bills!!  I have been a fan since elementary school when they had their golden years and stretch of 4 consecutive Super Bowl appearances (which they still hold the record for the most consecutive appearances by the way!).  

I remember being at a party in 6th grade for the Super Bowl (the infamous one where the Bills missed the field goal in the last seconds of the game to the Giants).  Well, it was 6th grade and ALL my friends were running around the house.  Not me!  I sat glued by the TV, biting my nails.  I still am in a terrible mood on Mondays when the Bills lose on Sunday (which is about half the Mondays September to January).  The game they lost to Dallas in Monday night football a couple years ago kept me up all night.  If you have a team you have loved for 25+years, you get it.  I always am the optimist and think this will be "THE YEAR".  But really, this will BE THE YEAR OF THE BILLS!  You just wait.

2.  I met my husband working at McDonald's.  He is a Bills fan too but not as much of an optimist as me:)  We started dating in 1996, the summer before I left for college.  We dated all through college even though he went to college two hours away.  He came down on weekends and I kept working at McDonald's (transferred to college town).  He would sleep in when I went to work at 4:30am every Saturday and Sunday!!  Men...they really need their rest:)  We were married in 2001 and he is my very best friend and makes me laugh everyday.

3.  Before kids came along, my only "kids" were my students and the cheerleaders I coached.  We went to nationals twice and it was a big deal.  Our school is only 750 students preK to 12th grade.   Our team rode a tour bus 14 hours each way to the competition.  The second time we went I was 7 months pregnant and we drove through the night.  When we arrived at the school the following morning, I got off the bus with no visible ankles and went to teach the rest of the day!!

Here is a picture of me in my 5th season coaching when I was 7 months pregnant with our daughter.  I love the dedication the picture shows as the team listens at one of our last practice sessions before leaving for nationals.  We never won nationals but it was an awesome experience.

4.  I am very goofy and have an obnoxious laugh.  I have been known to dance, sing, and cheer during teaching.  Here is a picture I came across of my husband and I fooling around with the camera one day after cheer practice.  I am attempting a jump:)

5.  I love the water and my daughter, Lilly, seems to have inherited that trait.  I have worked as a lifeguard at our local outdoor pool during the summer.  Here is my daughter at one year old in the pool where I work.

Here she is at her FIRST time off the board (3 years old):

 and at the beach:

My son, Charlie, is a little more cautious about everything including the water:

6.  My husband and I love the outdoors and our favorite vacations are in the woods.  We are going camping in two weeks.  It is a yearly tradition to go the third week of August and when I come back, there is one week to get ready before school starts.  Here are some pics of taking the kids hiking:

This is our daughter before Charlie came along...

Cabin with no running water!  This is our son:)  

7.  I have scoliosis and wore a brace to bed when I was a teenager.  It is manageable but I need to keep my core strong or I pull my back out easily.

8.  My newest addiction is kickboxing/MMA class that I do 2x a week.  I love kicking things:)

9.  I am a middle child of three girls.  My older sister is two years older and we used to fight like crazy. I have a seven inch scar on my forearm from when I was 11 years old and she tried to lock me out of the house.  I tried to stop the door and stuck my arms through the door window.  When I was 17, she slammed her bedroom door in my face but the only problem was that my ring finger was in the door jam.  It chopped off the end of my ring finger.  She had to pick it up and put it in a bag.  The doctors at the ER were able to sew the tip back on but it is still funny looking.  I do have a nail though.  I think you really do have the most nerve endings in your fingertips.  I can still feel the THROBBING!

10.  My dad passed away in his sleep at the age of 41 from a massive coronary.  It was an event so influential in my life that I often think of my life in two stages: before his death and after.  I was 17 and my youngest sister was only 10.  As I get closer to his age at the time of his death, I realize more and more how young he really was.

11.  Let's end on a happy note:  I have a few guilty pleasures I wrote about in another linky...they are Bachelor/Bachelorette, sweets (of any kind), and a good-can't-put-it-down-BOOK!

Well, I hope you had fun reading some interesting facts about me:)  I can't wait to read more about you!  Link up!!