THE BEST OF TIMES

Starting Clean Up

2012-01-28T22:43:00.000-08:00

We went out today to start cleaning up our yard from last week's storms. We lost a lot of trees in our yard so we decided to make one big pile in the back. I don't think that we realized how big of a pile it was going to end up being. :)
We got some new firewood for the fire pit this summer.

It was easier to load the big stuff into the quad and drive it up to the pile.

Megan and Olivia helping unload onto the big pile.

This is only part of the yard. We still have another corner to get done but we got tired. We originally were thinking about burning all of this when the burn ban gets lifted but I think we have way to much. Time to go to Plan B. We need a wood chipper.

What a week

2012-01-22T09:33:00.000-08:00

What a long week we have had around here. The weather can't seem to make up it's mind and it has caused all sorts of problems. The kids went to school late on Tuesday because of the weather and they haven't made it back since. We have had rain, snow, ice, wind and more rain in such a short amount of time. We lost power at about 7:00 am Thursday morning and it just came back on after Midnight Sunday. Luckily we have a generator so we had heat and we have a gas cooktop so we could make some snacks. It was an interesting week. Hopefully next week goes a little better. :)

By Tuesday night is was snowing pretty good which meant no school on Wednesday.

Alex was so excited because he finally got us to play some games with him.

We got up Wednesday morning to about 8 inches of snow.

On Thursday morning we woke up to no power and a whole lot of ice. It was really pretty on the trees but we lost a lot of branches in our yard and a few of our really nice trees are now ruined.

It did look neat while it was here.

On Friday it was dark all day. It was a weird fog mixed with rain and ice.

Saturday started clean up. The neighbor had a tree come down on his shed so Mike and Alex went over to help him get it off before it did anymore damage.

Now we can get ready for floods. The rain is coming down and melting all of this snow.

Sunday morning and Alex is in heaven. Our power finally came back on a little after midnight and he has been in xbox withdrawal since Thursday. Hopefully it stays on for good now. It was kind of fun not having power for awhile but after three days it is nice to be able to make coffee and turn on our lights. I am so excited to use my hair dryer today!!!!!!!

Mike's Birthday

2012-01-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday was Mike's birthday. He was in Spokane working so we didn't get to do anything for it until he got home on Friday night.
We made Birthday dinner.

He got a new Blu-Ray and the Green Lantern movie from the kids and I and a bunch of cards and gift cards from the Keyes,Jim and Marilyn, Kim, Peggy, and my Dad and Bonnie.

I didn't know what he would want for dessert so we had Lemon Cheesecake

and frosted chocolate brownies.

On Saturday night we went to the Outback for dinner with Tony and Suzy. They got him the Iron Man 2 Blue Ray movie and Barb got him Transformers 3 so we have some of his favorites to watch now.

After dinner we went moonlight bowling with a bunch of Mike's friends. There were 13 of us total and I was really good about remembering my camera. I didn't take a single picture though because I forgot that I had taken it until we got home. Oops. Just imagine us bowling here!!!!!

I think Mike had a fun birthday weekend. One more year and we can do it all again.

Birthday Weekend

2012-01-08T21:58:00.000-08:00

This was Alex's birthday weekend and we did all sorts of fun stuff. It didn't seem like it was ever going to be over. :)He really wanted to go bowling but we weren't going to have time so we had to start the weekend out on Thursday night. We went to Paradise bowl where Mike's league plays and we played three games. It was alot of fun and Alex got a lot better as the games went on.

Mike just loves it when he gets attacked by these two.

We were having a soda break while it was Mike's turn to bowl.

Friday was Alex's actual birthday so I woke him for school and he picked cinnamon toast for breakfast.

He arrived home from school with this huge bunch of balloons. Stefanie and family sent them to him at school so he got to take them around with him all day!!!!

He was having fun playing in them.

He got a lot of presents on Friday night while he had a few friends over. He got the game Apples to Apples, a Target gift card, some Amazon gift certificates, a new light for his kindle, a couple of movies that he wanted and a new bowling ball.

He wanted one of the fancy Costco chocolate cakes but I am way to cheap to pay that much so I found a recipe on line that said it was the same thing. It looked pretty darn good when it got done but it was a little dry. It didn't seem to stop the boys from eating it but I wasn't to happy. I did figure out that my oven is broken so I have decided to blame that instead!!

The boys stayed up most of the night playing Apples to Apples, watching movies and playing way to much x-box.

After everyone went home on Saturday night we went to the movie. We saw We bought a zoo. It was a great movie. Alex really enjoyed it and we managed to polish off two buckets of popcorn and three soda's.

On Sunday we met Tony and Suzy at the Olive Garden. It was alot of fun and Alex really likes it there.

Tony and Suzy. Somehow Megan can get Tony to look at the camera and he just gives me funny faces. I think he likes her more. :)

Megan and I at lunch.

Our final excitement for the weekend was going to get Alex's hair cut. It has been driving him crazy and we haven't had time to go so once Mike left for Spokane we headed to the mall.

I think that Alex had a really fun weekend and got to do everything that he wanted. Hopefully being a teenager agrees with him.

Happy 13th Birthday Alex!!!!!

2012-01-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

It is so hard to believe but our little Alex has officially become a teenager. He turned 13 on January 6th. Where has the time gone? He has really grown up over the past few years and it has been so much fun to watch so I decided to learn how to use my scanner and post his last 13 wonderful years in pictures. :)
April 1999, The last picture of him and my Mom. I cherish this one. It has sat out in my house ever since it was taken!!!!!

August of 2000. A perfect trip to Hawaii for Stefanie and Jeffs Wedding.

July 2001. He got a new scooter to try out.

2002 Hard to believe he is three already.

2003, so cute.

He loved his sister in 2004.

2005 brought a lot of lost teeth.

They were mostly back in 2006

2007 was all about Kenny Chesney. He loved "You think my tractor's sexy!!!"

I don't know what happen in 2008 but the baby boy look is gone.

Great fashion sense in '09.

He had a thing against hair cuts in 2010.

2011, he turned 12. Last year as a kid!!!!!

Friday, January 6, 2012. An official teenager. What will we do now?

It has been so much fun to watch Alex as he grows. I think he is starting to get some height now so next year could be exciting. I will keep you posted.

Tony's Award

2012-01-07T22:23:00.000-08:00

Our friend Tony got an award at the Tacoma Sportsman Club so we went down to surprise him when he got it.

We are waiting outside so he doesn't know we are there. They give out awards every January but they don't announce who is getting them so it was a surprise to him. He got the Larry Beckmann award. I think he was really excited about it. He even had to say a few words which I don't think he really liked.

I just thought this picture was cute. Megan was in charge of the camera as usual. I guess it should be manly not cute.

I think he is going to hang it over his mantle in the living room. It is going to look so good. It was fun to go down and watch him get it. He does so much work at the club and is down there all the time volunteering his time. He really deserved to be recognized for all of his constant hard work. Congratulations Tony!!!!!!

4 years later!!!!!

2012-01-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

Megan has been working on this table runner for 4 long years. Every Christmas she gets it out and works on it for awhile and as soon as the holiday is over it gets put away. For some reason this year she was determined to finish it.

It was after Christmas before it was done but she did finish it and it turned out so good. It looks great and we still have it out just so that we can admire how beautiful it is. :)

Look at the detail work. Crazy!!!!!!

Boy, it looks so good on our table. I don't even want to put it away. She is going to be so mad when it gets spilled on!!!!!

Christmas Evening

2011-12-26T23:33:00.001-08:00

We had our normal Christmas dinner at our house. It is always so much fun to have everyone over. I am not sure why we don't see everyone more during the year since we all live within miles of each other but for some reason Christmas dinner seems to be the time to get together.

Megan and Alex waiting for everyone to arrive. I am taking pictures because I am so on top of it this year that everything is done and we are just watching the clock.

It is 5:00 p.m. and everyone is here right on time to eat. Oh, we have a problem. I was so with it that my turkey said it was done at 4:00 so I turned it down to keep it warm and went on with my day. Well, at 5:00 when Mike went to cut it it was not even close to being done. Oops. That would be my fault. The good news is that we ate more of the appetizers than normal and it made everyone really hungry by the time the turkey was actually finished. :)

Sandy and Leighton. She is just so cute and it was her 6 month birthday. Luckily she just eats rice cereal so she got to eat on time!!!!!!

Bill and Aaron looking for some pre-dinner snacks.

So darn cute.......

Oh yeah, It is 6:30 and we are finally eating dinner. I think everyone was starving.

Brianne and Phil. Rest time after all of that turkey.

Megan was so excited to get to play with Leighton. She just loves babies!!!!!

We had another great Christmas and even though dinner was so late I think everyone had fun. I had to send dessert home though since it was bed time by the time we finished eating.

Thanks to everyone for coming and Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

Christmas Breakfast

2011-12-26T23:15:00.000-08:00

After we finished opening our gifts at home we headed down to Jim and Marilyn's house to open more packages with them and have breakfast. As usual they were very kind to everyone and we all got some great gifts.
Megan and Alex when we first arrived.

Alex got a kindle touch. He has been wanting one for so long and he was really exicted. He plugged it in immediately to charge it and has already bought a few books. He got three gift cards to buy books with so that has been great. He has a list all ready to buy.

Megan got a really cute smiley face key chain that opens up and a lot of cash. She was so excited about both.

Somehow I got them all to stand still for a bunch of pictures so beware. There are alot of them on here but I liked them all!!!!!!

I am not sure how excited Mike was about this one but it turned out pretty cute.

Everyone is even looking at the camera at the same time.

Mike was tired of smiling so he made me be in one.

We even set up the timer and this is only the second try. Very impressive.

We ate breakfast after my picture taking was done. It was so good.

Alex and Jessie.

Mike with his folks.

We had a great morning and had fun spending it with Jim and Marilyn.

It's time to go back home and make a turkey for dinner!!!!!!!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-26T22:49:00.000-08:00

We normally open our Christmas gifts on Christmas Eve but this year we decided to mix everything up and opened them on Christmas morning with our Santa gifts. We had to wake Megan and Alex up at 8:00 so that we would have time to open them before we went to Jim and Marilyn's for breakfast. I guess we should have stuck with opening them on Christmas Eve. :)

They are both ready to hand everything out.

Megan with her huge pile of gifts.

Alex with all of his. They both get so many great things. It always surprises me.

I have a huge pile of gifts also. I made out great. I got so many things and I loved all of them.

Santa was good to Mike. He got long socks and a bottle of Black Velvet. He will be nice and warm working in the snow in Spokane.

Megan got a whole bunch of her favorite shower gel, hand lotion and body spray from Santa.

I got a great scarf from my Dad and Bonnie. They obviously know that I am always cold.

Alex and Megan both busy opening everything.

Mike got the cowboy boots that he has wanted forever.

Alex got a new bike. I got annoyed at his bike while he was in California over the summer and I sold it at a garage sale while he was gone. I guess I should have just rolled it out to the shed because his new bike cost a lot more than I sold his old one for!!!!!! :)

We got so many great things from everyone that we couldn't spend the day with. It was a great morning and we appreciate all of our wonderful gifts. Thank you to everyone that is so far away!!!!!!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-26T22:05:00.000-08:00

This year we got to do things a little bit different. My Dad and Bonnie were lucky enough to get to go to Stefanie's house in California for Christmas so that meant we were free on Christmas Eve. Our good friends Tony and Suzy were nice enough to invite us to their family dinner at Suzy's Mom's house and we had a great time. They are always so much fun to do things with and they always think of us when Holiday's come around.
Alex at Barb's house. He is trying his hardest not to have to help us!!!!!!

Megan, Suzy, Sherri, Daria, and Alex before dinner. Sherri is Suzy's cousin and Daria is her girlfriend. They are both so nice and so much fun.

It is dinner time. Everyone sitting at the table.

Another good picture of everyone eating.

Barb and Megan relaxing after dinner.

Megan holding Suzy's wine. Sherri's brother works at a college and one of the classes made wine so they had three bottles of the same type of wine to compare so everyone had three glasses to taste test. They were all good but you could definately tell a difference between them.

The boys playing chess while the girls rest and watch everyone open some gifts.

Very intense games. Who will win????? Suzy's Brother, Sean made it home from Washington D.C. for Christmas. He is a great chess player so he is supervising!!!!

Alex convinced everyone to play board games so he is getting out Apples to Apples while Tony and Mike get mad at me for taking their picture!!!!

Everyone but Megan is playing the game. Yes, you heard that correctly that means I am playing. I really don't like games but I played and didn't even complain.

We had a great time and really enjoyed getting to spend the evening with everyone. They are all always so nice to us and are a lot of fun. We really appreciated the invitation and the great evening. Thank you so much for having us!!!!!!!!!

Leavenworth

2011-12-18T08:57:00.001-08:00

We headed over to Leavenworth to watch the tree lighting on Saturday. Alex was at his friends house so he didn't want to go with us so it was just Mike, Megan, Jake and me. We had all sorts of fun!!!!!
Megan was taking pictures out the window on the way. It is a pretty drive when you get to the snow but I am not much of a car rider so it would be really nice for me if it wasn't so far away. :)

We finally made it and after 30 minutes of driving around looking for parking we gave up and found a pay lot. We had no idea how much it cost, the sign just said pay in the office, so we went to pay and it was only $5.00. That seemed like nothing after driving around for so long.

There were so many people there. It was packed already at 2:00 pm and the tree lighting wasn't until 4:30.

We found some snacks. Jake likes Bratwursts and Mike found the best kettle corn. It was so good. We went back at 5:00 to buy some to bring home and they had closed already so no more snacks for us. We were not to happy!!!!!

Mike and I. It was so cold. I have on three jackets, a scarf, gloves, lots of socks, big shoes and I am still numb. Burrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!

We decided it was time for some hot chocolate. It was really good but my fingers were still frozen. We should have asked if we could just rest our hands in the hot water.

I was trying to get a picture of Megan and Jake before they turned on all of the lights but I think the guy behind them thought I was trying to get his picture. It cracks me up because I didn't even notice him until I got home and put the pictures on the computer. Now I can't stop laughing about it. He looks very happy to be there.

They lit up the tree. It looked really cool. They sure use a lot of lights in that little city. It is so pretty when everything gets turned on.

All of the lights are on now. It looks so festive.

Jake and Megan before we head back to the car.

We made it back to the car and I officially can't feel my toes. Megan wasn't to happy about the cold either but she warmed up pretty quick. Luckily Mike's fancy truck has seat warmers so my buns were burning before I knew it. Yeah!!!!

Apparentely Megan and Jake had a rough day. They both fell asleep on the way home.

We had a really fun day. We tried to go in some of the shops but it was so busy that we didn't make it into all of them. I always say it would be fun to go there sometime when it wasn't so busy but we have never done that. I need to put it on the very long list of things to do.

Ugly Sweaters

2011-12-17T23:01:00.000-08:00

Ugly sweaters seem to be the new thing. We have figured out that they are hard to find and they are very expensive when you are buying them to wear for a joke. Luckily Megan's friend Olivia's Grandma has tons of these sweaters and she was willing to share them will all of the girls.
It was ugly sweater day at school on Wednesday.

Megan and Jake ready to go to the ugly Christmas sweater birthday party they were invited to on Friday night.

I think we are done with these sweaters now so we have to give them back to Grandma. It was so nice of her to loan them to all of the girls.

Winter Concert

2011-12-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

Megan had her winter choir concert on Wednesday. It was really good and we got to listen to alot of Christmas music.
The pretty tree they had all decorated.

Last time Alex and I only got there about 20 minutes early and we couldn't even see so this time we just stayed when we dropped off Megan. We had to wait for an hour but we got really good seats!!!!!

Olivia was on the wrong side of the stage so this was the best picture I could get.

I had a better shot of Megan but she made all sorts of funny faces. :)

They have a pretty big choir. This is all of them.

They sounded really good and they all seemed to have a good time so it was fun to watch. Now they are all ready for Christmas break!!!!!!

Tolo

2011-12-03T21:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight is the Tolo dance at Roger's. We dropped everyone off at 8:00 and the dance lasts until 11:00 and then they are all coming back here to watch Christmas Vacation.
Olivia got over to the house at about 2:30 today so that they could get ready and Jake and Dalton arrived around 4:30.

Mike took the four of them down to the mall so that they could get a picture with Santa in their matching outfits.

Megan and Olivia after they got back home.

Olivia and Dalton.

Jake, Megan, Olivia, and Dalton before everyone else arrived.

Jake and Megan.

They wanted to eat dinner at home instead of going out so I turned our living room into a dining room and made spaghetti for them before the dance.

Savannah, Nick, Megan, Jake, Hunter, Gillian, Dalton, and Olivia. We are headed out the door. Everyone got in their stretches before we left so hopefully we won't have any pulled muscles when they get home.

I sure hope they are having fun!!!!!!!!!

Victorian Christmas

2011-12-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

Megan and I went downtown to the Victorian Country Christmas last night. We never seem to buy anything but it is still fun to go down for the evening.
I think we normally go just to take pictures and buy kettle corn.

Megan did really enjoy the booth where they were making the candles. I remember when we used to stand and watch them make those forever with my Mom and Grandma so it cracked me up that she was enjoying them so much.

They do have pretty fun decorations outside so we take pictures of them all.

What a cute deer Megan found in the middle of the fair grounds. :)

We had a fun time walking around and we got our popcorn so it was a good night.

Christmas Decorating

2011-12-01T18:46:00.001-08:00

It is starting to look a lot like Christmas around our house. We got most of our decorations up this week and it is looking good. We just have to do our outside lights and we should be good to go.
Megan and her new boyfriend, Frosty.

Alex and his friend Bryce did the tree in the family room.

Megan did the lights around the windows and put our tree in the front room together.

Those lights were sure exhausting. I guess she needed a rest in between jobs!!!!!

The finished tree by Alex. It turned out great!!!!!!

Megan eventually woke up and got her tree together. I had to decorate it but she got it all put together and fluffed up.

Hopefully we can do some of our outdoor lights this weekend before the rain returns.

Cabin

2011-11-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

We headed up toward Crystal Mountain on Saturday to go and visit Bill, Sandy and family at their cabin.
Megan and Alex outside the cabin.

It is so pretty up there. We had to get another family photo. We got one in this same spot last year. :)

Bill made panini sandwiches. He had a lot of help from Sandy making them but they were sure delicious.

Megan had a great time playing with Leighton. She is getting so big already.

We had a great afternoon getting to visit with everyone and catch up. It was so great to get to talk with Jami and Justin and see Brianne, Phil and Leighton. We always have such a great time with Bill and Sandy and all of their family. We really enjoyed getting to go up and visit. Thank you so much for the invitation once again!!!!!

Early Christmas.....

2011-11-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

My Dad and Bonnie are lucky enough to get to spend Christmas in California with Stefanie and family this year so we had them over for dinner on Friday to have an early Christmas with them here.
We ate dinner. Mostly left overs from Thanksgiving plus Prime Rib that Mike made on the rotisserie. It was really good.

Alex worked on his gingerbread house all night.

Megan worked on hers most of the evening also.

This was the best tree that we had to put their gifts under. It seemed to get the job done!!!

Bonnie opening her gifts.

My Dad opening his gifts.

We had a fun day not doing much at all and enjoyed our early Christmas dinner and gifts. I am so glad that they get to spend Christmas in California with the Keyes family. I wish we could join them!!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2011-11-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

We had a very fun and busy Thanksgiving around here.
Megan go up early to get a start on the fun.

We watched the parade on tv while I made lunch.

We ate lunch. I just wanted to have turkey for sandwiches on Friday so once again I guess I made to much for the four of us. The good news is that no one made fun of me this year!!!!

It was tasty!!!!!!

We went and saw the movie "Jack and Jill" after we ate. Notice that we weren't full enough to pass up the tub of popcorn that we also got our free refill on. It was so good.

After the movie we headed over to Tony and Suzy's house. We got to eat again and it was delicious.

After dinner everyone decided to play the game "Apples to Apples". I am not much of a game person so I got to be the waitress. It worked out perfect.

We had another great Thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for and we are so lucky to have such great friends and family to get to spend the day with.

Band Concert

2011-11-22T12:13:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to Alex's first band concert. They did really good but you can tell they are a beginning band. They have only been playing since September though so they sounded great when you look at it that way. :)
This would be the first time he has had a pair of pants on in a year and he complained all night about the long sleeves and how hot he was.

Mike and Megan were really excited to go watch.

It was hard to get any decent pictures of the playing since they all sit down and he was in the second row. This is the best that Megan could get.

Don't they look excited?

It was a fun night and it will be great to see how much better they have gotten by the time the next concert comes around.

Halloween

2011-11-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Halloween around here but it seems that the kids have gotten to old to dress up and go out trick or treating. I guess that saves me some money from buying costumes and from being cold outside going door to door but it also means that I don't get to raid their big buckets of candy when they get home. I didn't get a single twix bar this year!!!!!!
Megan and Olivia went over to Jake's house to hand out candy. He lives in a large neighborhood and gets a lot more trick or treaters than we do. We didn't get a single one at our house this year. Alex and I stayed home to pass out candy and we got no one. I eventually made Alex go outside and knock on the door just so I could say I had one!!!!!

We sprayed the girls hair orange to be festive but I have realized that is something we should have done outside. It has taken me two days to get the orange haze off of everything in my bathroom. It is everywhere!!

Megan took her camera out yesterday and got some more cool pictures. This is our pumpkin on our porch that we never got carved. The good news is that it should last through Thanksgiving now.

She took our one decoration that we had out and put it on the fence. :)

She got some good one's of Alex with this leaf. Sometimes they are so funny.

We had a fun Halloween even though we didn't get to hand out any of our candy. Good thing we didn't buy to much of it.

On the road

2011-10-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

I took Megan out to practice driving after dark and I quickly decided (after sailing through the first stop sign that we came to like it was nothing more than a big red decoration on the side of the road) that if I was going to die an early death that I might as well go out with my favorite snack, a fountain Diet Coke from McDonalds so, we headed toward downtown and went to get one. She did pretty good driving after my corinary that I had about the stop sign so we drove around on the back roads for about an hour before heading home for solid ground.
Her first fast food drive thru as the driver. I felt much better after we made it through the line and I had my cool refreshing beverage to sip on for the rest of the ride.

Her, "I KNOW" smirk. Everytime I pointed something out, like don't hit the cars on the side of the road or, you might want to turn a little sharper as to stay out of the on coming traffics lane, this is the smirk that I got. Luckily we made it home in one piece and she was getting much better as we kept going. She thinks she is driving to the football game tonight but I am not to sure about the rain yet. I don't know how many more fountain soda's I can afford to buy to make sure I don't have a heart attack!!!!!! I will keep you posted.

OH NO!!!!!

2011-10-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

Oh yes, Megan got her driver's permit yesterday. She was really excited about it and I am not to sure. First of all, It makes me feel very old and second of all, after riding with her last night I fear you might be reading my obituary in the paper pretty soon!!!!!
We made it to the DMV and we are waiting for Megan's turn.

Here she is taking her test. She passed with flying colors.

Picture time. She is looking all nice and pretty.

They really gave it to her.....

I wasn't gutsy enough to let her drive us home at 5:00 in the evening so we waited and went out after dark for her first drive.

Stay tuned for our scary drive photo's!!!!!!

First Concert

2011-10-26T22:25:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Megan's first choir concert at Roger's.
She is all ready to go. They have to wear all black.

Alex and I got bored waiting for it to start so we took goofy pictures of him.

The seating in the auditorium was awful so we couldn't see a thing. I don't know who designed that place but it was ridiculous. We couldn't see any of rhe students that sang solo's and we could only see the top row of the choirs and a few people spread around. It depended which gaps we could see through. This is the best picture I could get of Olivia.

This is the most that we could see Megan. It wasn't the whole time though. If the people in front of us moved at all they would block her. I got lucky and got this picture before a head moved into my way.

All of the choirs were really good and after the concert they all go to Red Robin. That place was crazy but it was fun and Megan was excited to go. Luckily the choir teacher calls ahead and pre-warns them so they keep enough workers on for the night. I think everyone in the restaurant had something to do with Roger's.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T21:28:00.001-07:00

We went to the pumpkin patch today to sling some pumpkins and get some good ones to carve. It was a nice afternoon with no rain and a tiny bit of sunshine. It was really muddy but dry!!!!

We are in line to buy our pumpkins to sling.

Alex being his normal clingy self!!!!!

Alex was first to go. He bought six pumpkins and just about fell on three of them. It was pretty funny.

Megan was up second. She had good form but she only did a couple of pumpkins.

Mike was last up and got really close to the target. Unfortunately, he missed on all six of his also.

Our annual picture in the pumpkin barn.

One of the many huge hay spiders.

Mike and I at the same spider.

Here are the pumpkins they picked out. Perfect for carving!!!!!!

Now, it's goofy time in the corn!!!!!

Megan and I. We lost Alex somewhere in that corn!!!!!

Megan is waiting for us to pay for our pumpkins by taking her own pictures. I have to go check out what all she got. She always gets good ones.

We had lots of fun getting pumpkins and playing outside while it was dry. Back inside we go for the week. Rain in the forecast again!!!!!!!

Halloween Party Snacks

2011-10-23T11:16:00.000-07:00

Megan and Olivia have been having scary movie night every Saturday night this month and last night was no exception. There are about 15 kids that go over to Olivia's house and eat pizza and snacks and watch scary movies so today the girls were in charge of scary cupcakes. They cooked them last night and this morning they decorated them.
They even let Alex help which never happens!!!!!

These are the finished scary spiders.

The finished worms in dirt.

They were so excited to get to eat their creations and it sounds like they were a hit at the party. Now to start planning what to make for next weekend!!!!!!

So Nice!!!!

2011-10-23T11:05:00.000-07:00

It is always so nice when the guys want to help the girls with their girly stuff. Megan was having a hard time with her nail polish on Friday night and Tony was nice enough to do it for her.
It turned out perfectly. Sometimes it's good that these guys are such perfectionists. Even when painting fingernails they want them to look perfect!!!!!

Math Genius

2011-10-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Megan came home from school today with a coupon for Cold Stone. She got the math student of the month in her class today.

She was so excited about winning it that we had to go use it as soon as we were done eating dinner.

They both got a tasty little ice cream and I only had to pay for one of them.

Beware I may put a "my child is student of the month" sticker on the back of my car. I want to fit in with everyone else that has such smart kids. I think they get alot of their brain power from me!! :)

Funny Dogs

2011-10-11T20:33:00.001-07:00

Megan's friend, Olivia, got a new dog so they brought it over so that we could see it. It is so tiny that I was positive that Hershey was going to eat it for an appetizer.

Hershey was scared of this little thing. Everytime it would get close Hershey would run. It was pretty funny. The whole dog is smaller than Hershey's head!!!!!

Sleepy Head.....

2011-10-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much how Megan looks everyday after school but today she had a nice pose.
She doesn't normally sleep with her hand in her pocket!!!!!!

Love this weather!!!!!

2011-10-04T18:03:00.001-07:00

Mike and Tony talked Megan into washing their trucks on Sunday. It was pretty nice out when they were negotiating but by the time Megan went out to wash them it had started to rain. If you blink your eyes around here it can go from beautiful sunshine to horrible rain!!!!!
It was a bit wet when she started with Tony's truck.

The good news is that it didn't take as much water to wash.

It was raining a bit better by the time she got to Mike's truck.

Turential downpour for the work truck. I told Megan all she needed was some shampoo and she could have showered out there.

The good news is that all three trucks looked beautiful when she was done!!!!!

Fair Time

2011-10-04T17:46:00.000-07:00

Well, once again I didn't do to good with my camera. I normally take lots of funny pictures at the fair of the set up because it cracks me up how people cram in but I forgot my camera this year. Megan came down a million times and I never had my camera either so the only pictures I have are of one night that Mike and Alex came so that Alex could ride the Extreme Scream for the first time.
Alex is excited to get on the ride. They stopped at the warehouse to say Hi.

There they are. Up in the sky!!!!!

Everyone is still in one piece. Alex didn't even cry. I am sure I heard him screaming but he says that wasn't him!!!!!

They are off the ride. Alex really liked it and was ready to go again.

Next year I will try to remember my camera so I get more exciting pictures.

Back to School!!!!!

2011-09-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Megan and Alex went back to school today. They were both a little nervous since they are starting new schools but at the end of the day they both had a great time!!!!!
We were up at 5:30 am to make sure we had plenty of time. Alex was the first one downstairs and ready to go.

Megan made it down after she was done primping. It seems to take girls a little longer than it does boys. :)

We even had time for delicious hot home made pillsbury cinnamon rolls. Well, I guess they weren't technically homemade since all I had to do was pop open the can.

Megan is ready to head to school. She is in 10th grade at Roger's High School this year. I don't know when she grew up so much. She is starting to make me feel old!!!!!

Alex seems to have grown some over the summer. He is almost taller than Megan now.

Alex all ready to go. He is in 7th grade at Ballou Junior High. I am plum out of Elementary school age kids. I really am getting old!!!!!!

Alex getting on the bus. I don't think he was to happy about me taking this one but I didn't really give him a choice.

Megan's version of a yellow school bus. She is riding to school in the mornings with our neighbor Caitlin. I realized after they took off down the road that it was the first time Megan had driven away with one of her friends. I am not to sure how much I like that either. :)

I had to hide at the corner and zoom in my camera to get a picture of Alex getting off the bus after school. I didn't think he would be to happy with me if I was sitting at the stop sign waiting for him like a first grader so I was stealth like and hid behind a fence. Sometimes I crack myself up.

I went to Roger's to pick Megan up after school. This is her and Jake after a long day.

On our way home from the first day as a high schooler. She seems to have made it through without any problems.

Homework already!!!!!!!!! She didn't seem to happy about this part.

I think they both had a great first day and are looking forward to another fun year. Alex really liked having different classes and he was excited about all of his lunch choices. Megan just seemed to enjoy her day and was happy to get to spend some time with her friends after school. I had a lonely day at home but did manage to accomplish alot.

I think it's going to be a good year. We will keep you posted!!!!!

Happy Anniversary Tony and Suzy

2011-08-26T22:16:00.000-07:00

On Sunday afternoon we headed down to Tacoma to try out a new restaurant for Tony and Suzy's 12th Anniversary. We had a few mishaps while we were there and I am not sure that everyone enjoyed the food but I really liked mine and Suzy liked hers so we decided that was all that mattered.
Tony couldn't even complain about getting his picture taken this time!!!!!!

We walked down the water for a few minutes after we ate. We had to stop to check out the huge yachts that we all wished that we owned.

Megan got a hold of my camera so here are a couple of her pictures.

Tacoma Dome.

We went to watch the guys bowl after we left Tacoma then Mike and Tony went to the 21 21 for beers while the rest of us went to the frozen yogurt shop downtown then we dropped the kids off at home and Suzy and I met up with the guys for a drink.

It was a fun afternoon and evening. Hopefully Tony and Suzy enjoyed their Anniversary.

Peggy came for a visit!!!!!!

2011-08-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

I really haven't been doing to good with my camera. Peggy came for a visit last weekend and I did a horrible job getting pictures. I don't know what my problem was but after she left I realized I hadn't gotten to many good ones. Here is what I did get:
She arrived either really late Wednesday night or really early Thursday morning depending how you look at it. We went to breakfast on Thursday morning with Paula and Francie. They are old friends of Peggys. It was great to get to see them and for them to catch up and show off pictures of their grandkids. Thursday afternoon we made a Costco run for our BBQ on Friday night and then we met up with my Dad and Kay back at our house and had Taco Time for dinner. On Friday morning Peggy, Megan, and Alex all headed to the Tacoma Mall to meet up with another old friend of Peggy's. I met up with them after a meeting that I had to go to. We had lunch and visited and then did some quick shopping at the mall and headed home to get ready for our BBQ. Brianne, Phil and Leighton were the first to arrive. There was a fight over who got to hold Leighton first but Peggy won. This would be where I finally remembered to get my camera out.

Brianne, Peggy, Leighton, and Kay.

Bill, Phil, Sandy, Brianne and Leighton. Here would be where I put my camera away to early. I missed getting pictures of everyone else who came. We also had Jami, Justin, Kay, Tony, Olivia, Suzy and Barb. I was really slacking off!!!!!!!

We had a really busy day of visiting on Saturday. We got up at the crack of dawn and went down to the farmer's market in Puyallup to meet another one of Peggy's long time friends. We were there at 9:00 a.m. and walked around and visited until about 11:00 a.m. We headed to Tukwila then to meet Jean and Karen for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We arrived right on time and had a great visit with them. We also had Karen's daughter Lauren, my Dad, and Bonnie join us.

Lauren, Karen, and Jean.

We headed back home so that we could see Bill and Steve. It was a beautiful day out so we got to sit outside for awhile and visit. It was a great afternoon.

Saturday night we headed to the wedding of Shana's daughter. The wedding was the reason that Peggy had come this particular weekend so we really had to make sure to get there. Shana is Peggy's niece on Curt's side of the family so we got to see alot of Curt's family also which was great. It was nice to see everyone and for Peggy to get to catch up with them all.

Dubby and Shana are Curt's brother Dwights kids. It was Shana's daughter that was getting married. After the reception we made one more stop at Taco Time. It was 10:00 pm by this time but it was Peggy's last chance for a taco salad before she had to go home on Sunday morning.

Unfortunately we had to get up early on Sunday morning to take Peggy to the airport. This was not the best part of her trip. We made it all the way to the airport before we started crying so that was progress but of course we broke down after we got out of the car. It is always so much fun to go and pick her up and it is never any fun to have to take her back. We have a great time when any of our family comes to visit and this trip was no exception. It was a perfect weekend!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Tony

2011-08-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

We got to go out for pizza at Farrelli's for Tony's birthday. We didn't do to good with our pictures so there aren't to many and we didn't get any of the whole group. I need to pay better attention next time.
Mike, Tony and his brother Erik

He got a drill that he had been wanting from Barb.

Alex got a hold of the camera. He got a picture of himself and nothing else.

Tony and Mike.

Hopefully Tony had a great birthday!!!!!!!

Alex's Skateboard

2011-08-26T21:22:00.001-07:00

Alex saved up his money and had a garage sale so that he could buy himself a new skateboard. He had a great time on Cameron's all summer so when he got home he decided he should have one also.
We went to the mall and he picked out the skateboard that he wanted and the perfect helmet.
Then he came home and built himself a ramp.
It took up half of our driveway!!!!!!
He is really enjoying his new skateboard and getting good on it. I think he needs a better ramp but I guess this one will do for now. :)

Brand new smile!!!!!

2011-08-08T23:17:00.000-07:00

Today was the big day. Megan got her braces off this morning and she was so excited.
We are ready to go and it's only 9:30 in the morning.
The last picture at home with her and Alex and her braces!!!!!
We have this same picture in the Orthodontist office on the day that she was getting the braces on. She was much happier today.
Holy smokes they are quick. They are off already.
She got a cup full of all of the candy that she wasn't allowed to eat with her braces on. The candy is gone already!!!!!!
Megan loves teriyaki chicken and rice and she always complained about how the rice got stuck in her braces so we went for lunch today. Not one complaint!!!!!!
She also requested corn on the cob for dinner. It has always been one of her favorites and she couldn't eat it. We tried to cut it off for her but she would always tell us it wasn't the same so she was very excited for dinner tonight.
She said her teeth felt really strange all day. They are slippery. Tomorrow we go back to get her retainers but atleast she won't have the braces anymore.

The Lighthouse

2011-08-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Today would have been the 12 year anniversary of my Mom's passing and I have never posted anything on here about it before but my sister, Stefanie, posts the best article every year on this date. I love to go back and re-read it throughout the year and I especially love to read it on this day. It makes me cry almost every time, even after this long, but I love to remember when it was first published in the Puyallup Herald Newspaper and how proud I was to have been one of the family members that are referred to. It was a truly special article written by an incredible friend. I love to constantly remember the good times with my Mom and talk about how much fun we all had and remember her as often as possible. As Stefanie says below, she talks about our Mom all the time and many of her friends never had the chance to meet her. I have the same issue but still talk about her as if she is here often. Perhaps this will explain a bit more how much she was loved by so many.
Thanks Stefanie for letting me steal your post!!!!!!

Tomorrow marks the 12-year anniversary of my mom's death. Even after 12 years, it is a hard day to get through. On my mom's birthday I am able to remember happy times and to celebrate her life, during the holidays I have Jeff & the kids and new traditions that make me happy, and on ordinary days when I think of her it's usually something happy or funny that I'm thinking about. BUT, tomorrow, just brings back memories of a very sad day and time in my life.

I like to read and share this article, though, because it tells a little bit of who my mom was. I luckily have met and made new friends throughout the years, but they unfortunately never had the privilege of meeting my mom. They hear me talk about her and my family, but not like this. This article tells a little bit more about her and the type of person she was.

So, for everyone that didn't know my mom, but hears me talk about her, I hope you'll feel like you know a little bit more about who she was and where I'm coming from. For all of you that did know her, love her and miss her, I hope you'll take a minute to remember her and how special she was!

The article was written and published in the Puyallup Herald by a good friend of my mom's shortly after her death......

Friend passes quietly........by Rick Roff
Rena-Jean Schrader was a lighthouse that shines no more.

She was my greatest fan.
But that's only a tiny beginning to this story about Rena-Jean Schrader, who passed away two weeks ago.
Rena was my greatest fan because she always read my columns in the Herald and thought they were wonderful -- no matter how bad they were. But my greatest fan also knew I was my own worst critic, and I think she found this as a way of balancing the equation for me.
As much as I appreciated my greatest fan, I always knew Rena was many greater things to me, and to far many more people.
Rena was not a president's daughter or a Hollywood movie star. She was not a professional athlete or a rock musician. She did not flaunt herself before cameras or in courtrooms. Rena did not seek the limelight, have blue hair, wear rings in her nose or tattoos on her arms. She did not appear on the front pages of newspapers, on CNN or MTV.
Heaven forbid Rena would have done these things, because we most likely would not have known her or been supported by her; we would not have had a chance to benefit from her love, or love her in return. And what a waste that would have been. What a travesty. What a tremendous loss.
Lucky for us, Rena was a wife, mother, grandmother, sister, relative and best friend to those who were closest to her. She also was a teacher and protector of children, a Christian and a person who cherished the life she led, knowing all the time there were few greater things in the world than her devoted husband and family.
Who knows how many lives Rena influenced, through her teaching or her everyday life? Children become parents, who have children, who have more children.
People like Rena leave a mark on others that travels on forever, a mark that traces through generations. That's why people like Rena are so valuable when they are here, so missed when they are not.
For those who did not know her well, or who had never heard of her, you will marvel in Rena, because she was really something to behold.
Rena-Jean Schrader was a light-house.
Everyone has a lighthouse in their lives. Everyone has had someone to lean on and who lit the way when things seemed darkest. That was Rena.
If you had a chance to know her, you were fortunate, because you likely benefited from her guiding light, her optimism, her vitality and her smile.
And, if you knew her, you surely gained from the love she had with her husband. One day their cherished relationship was inseparable in mind, spirit and body, and the next day, life reminded us how tragic and fragile -- how absolutely precious -- such a relationship can be.
My ... how dark it seems right now without this lighthouse.
The heavens cried these enormous tears the day she said goodbye. But as sad as it was, the world of those who knew Rena took the time to stop for a moment.
Everything became a little more precious. Trees and clouds seemed as though they were painted in the sky. Appearances of children and people were breathtaking. Things so important in our lives suddenly paled. Life, as Rena and we knew it, came to a screeching halt, as if commemorating the moment.
As her best friend took her hand, Rena took her final breath. She was with those who loved her when she left us -- the way it should be. But as it always is when someone dies, there was so much that couldn't be said, that shouldn't be true ... so much living to be done, so many things to be shared.
We all, at some point in our lives, experience the loss of someone close, and when it happens, the holes that remain are enormous. Time makes things a little more bearable, as it heals the wounds of those who are left behind.
There are a lot of holes today that require filling -- as attested to the more than 400 people who attended the memorial in Puyallup last week.
There are many, many wounds that need healing. These things will happen, but in the meantime, the world will mourn for the bright lighthouse that was Rena-Jean Schrader.
This is why, late at night with my wife -- Rena's best friend -- we stare into the blackness wishing for the light we know will never come.

Unfortunately Rick Roff, the friend that wrote this article, passed away suddenly a little over five years ago. I like thinking about the two of them together, in heaven, looking over all of us. My own angels!

My mom.....

What a great summer!!!!!

2011-08-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

Megan and Alex have made it home from California. They had a wonderful 6 week vacation that was filled with a ton of fun stuff. There are so many pictures that I could have posted them forever so I had to just pick a few from everything. Be prepared. It's going to be long.
Megan left on June 23rd with Bonnie and Kate and met up with my Dad at Stefanie's house. They headed off for a week in Solvang from there.

My Dad and Bonnie.

Bonnie, Megan, Kate and Grandpa. I think they were at a castle.

Alex and I headed to Disneyland to start off his vacation. We left on June 29th and spent a couple of days at Disneyland and the Hollywood walk of fame.

Alex picked the stars walk and we spent a few hours checking out all of the names on the stars. It was really a lot of fun.

We all met back at Stefanie's and then the real fun started for the kids. I had to head back home, Bonnie and Kate had to come home and my Dad went back to his house. It left Stefanie with a house full of kids!!!!!!!

They went to Balboa Park. Look at how cute they are. :)

They found a cool tree for everyone to climb.

The back of everyone as they go over the bridge.

Rena found a cool spinning ride.

Alex was having a great time.

Cameron in the sunshine.

Alex and Stefanie.

Maleah is so darn cute.

They spent a very full day at Legoland.

I was told there were cool lego things everywhere.

The girls with Darth Vader. Megan had to tell me who it was. :)

The boys with the same guy.

They had some fun rides.

Stefanie and Maleah riding an airplane.

Maleah loves rides and Rena isn't to fond of them so here is everyone minus Rena.

They went to the water park side after they were done with the rides. Megan was in charge of watching the stuff.

Water teeter totter.

They seemed to like this one from what I am told but you will notice Rena is still missing. She is laying out getting a great tan!!!!!

Jeff decided to help the kids make a 2 liter bottle rocket. I guess it worked because they all had a good time with it.

Crazy boys!!!!!

They painted the girls bedroom. No more stripes. Pretty pastel green now. Megan loves to paint. They also painted Cameron's room but I don't have any pictures of that one. :)

Rena and Maleah even got to do some of the work.

Another day was spent at the zoo. They had a great time here as well.

They found all sorts of funny animal things.

Cameron is popping out of the fake water.

Maleah and some giraffes.

Lunch break!!!!!!

They spent a lot of time outside playing in the cul-de-sac at Stefanies. They also got to roast a lot of marshmallows and eat a ton of smores. Rena pulled the wagon down to the cul-de-sac.

They hung from trees in the neighborhood.

They took breaks inside during the day.

They ate whatever they could find in the kitchen.

They swam at the community pool as often as they possibly could. Sometimes they even had to take time for a quick snooze down there.

What a fun little group. Good thing people are lighter in the water.

They built a fort in the house that they slept in for three nights. They got to go to a lot of different beaches and play in the sand, go in the water, and do some shopping.

They saw a sand castle competition.

Checking out the sand castles.

Megan and Alex at the beach.

Alex and Cameron

Rena got buried.

Megan and Alex had such a good time with everyone. They love going to visit and getting to play with everyone and getting to do so many things. They came home on August 3rd and they are ready to go back already.

Thank you Stefanie, Jeff, Cameron, Rena, and Maleah for letting them stay so long. They had a great time!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Barb!!!!!

2011-07-17T09:25:00.000-07:00

We had a BBQ for my friend Suzy's Mom, Barb on Friday night. All she wanted for her birthday was a BBQ and bon fire so since we have a fire pit and a bbq we had it here. I always love to have parties and all I had to do for this one was clean my house so it was so easy. Suzy and her cousin Sherry brought over all of the food and drinks during the day so I literally had nothing to do but sit around and clean up my house.
Barb was so excited to have everyone over. :)

Suzy and Barb at the fire. She also got to open her presents while sitting at the fire and I think she really liked them all. She got a kindle from Tony, Suzy and Sean (Suzy's brother). A day at the Seattle market and the Bellevue flower garden from Sherry and an Amazon gift card for her kindle from us.

Sherry and Daria at the fire. They were a lot of fun. They are both so funny.

Houston (Tony's Dad), Maggie (Houston's friend), Tony, and Mike sitting at the fire. I think that everyone had a good time and hopefully Barb enjoyed her birthday.

18 years.....

2011-07-16T23:03:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was our Anniversary so on Saturday, when the sun was out, we went down to the Tacoma Waterfront and ate at Katie Downs and then drove around the park and 5 mile drive.
We stopped at the lookouts on the drive and got a few pictures. We always end up with an arm in our pictures. :)

It was fun to eat at a bar. Megan and Alex are still at Stefanie and Jeff's house so we had a kid free day.

Mike really liked these Raccoons that kept coming up to the car. I think that people must normally feed them because they walked right up and sat like they were waiting for something. We had to stop for a picture but we didn't have anything to feed them. I still think they look like huge rats but Mike thought it was pretty cool.

Time to go

2011-07-10T08:58:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I had to head home on Monday. I had such a fun weekend but it went by to fast as usual. I packed a lot into a few days and had a great time!!!!!
I think the kids were really sad to see me go. :)

I know Stef and my Dad were!!!!!!

Stefanie and I in front of Jeff's beautiful flowers.

Last picture at the airport. I really had to go home.

I always have so much fun with everyone and I love the weather in California. It's a perfect mix between sunshine and heat. I can't wait to go back!!!!!

It's Sunday already!!!!!

2011-07-03T17:54:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe but it is Sunday already. We have been so busy that the days are just flying by.
We went to Oceanside Pier for lunch and some bike riding.

We went to Ruby's for lunch at the end of the pier. The kids got their own table.

All of the big people got a table to themselves also. Unfortunately it was right across the walk way from a table full of loud kids. :)

Another nice stranger took a picture of all of us after lunch.

After lunch we went down to the boardwalk to rent bicycles that held 6 people. Anyone under 18 had to wear a helmet. None of the kids were to excited about that.

Megan and Kate pedelled from the back seat of one of the bikes.

This is how fancy the bikes are. We rented two of them in order to fit everyone.

After we got off of the bikes everyone had sore buns and legs. It will be fun to see if everyone can walk ok tomorrow.

Rena, Maleah and Bonnie needed water after we were done.

Jeff finally smiled a perfect smile for a picture. He was so excited about that!!!!!!!

We have had another fun day playing around. We are headed to the pool now to watch the kids do some swimming!!!!!

Saturday fun!!!!

2011-07-02T21:00:00.001-07:00

We had another busy exciting and fun day. We started off at a 4th of July parade that Maleah and Rena were marching in.
Here is everyone sitting on the curb waiting. We had no problem getting good seats. The streets were bare!!!!!!!

The parade was almost as bare as the street seating. Some of the 90 year olds that were trying to walk the whole thing really should have been in cars being driven!!!!!!

My Dad and Megan waiting for the excitement to start!!!!!!

Megan, Grandpa, Cameron and Alex.

Bonnie, Kate, and Jeff. They were showing their support with the flags.

Stefanie and Megan looking as beautiful as ever!!!!!!!

Alex and Cameron.

Rena was marching perfectly.

Maleah had the routine down great.

After the parade they got metals. We headed home to make lunch and then it was off for the second half of our day.

We went to the mall so that Maleah could build a bear. That is what she picked to do for her birthday present so we made a trip out to get it done. She is filling up her bear here.

It took us awhile to find the perfect outfit. She picked out the shoes that she liked for the bear and after 5 different outfits she picked the perfect one.

This is Fluffy the bear. This is one of the outfits she picked but it wasn't the final choice. I guess I forgot to get another picture.

After we got back home we made dinner and while Jeff was busy on the grill we were doing some dancing in the living room. Maleah and Grandpa were busting a move!!!

We had another great day and we are enjoying all of our fun and the beautiful weather. Stay tuned for tomorrow, I am sure we will be doing something fun again!!!!!!

Friday fun.....

2011-07-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day running errand, swimming, and having a late birthday party...
Alex and Cameron ready to go to the pool

Maleah, Stefanie and Alex enjoying the sunshine and going swimming.

Maleah and I.

Rena, Alex, Maleah, and Cameron playing in the pool.

My Dad, Bonnie, Megan and Kate arrived at about 5:30. They had a long drive and were ready for some BBQ and swimming.

Jeff made it just in time to eat. He had a long day at work. :)

Dad and Bonnie.

We sat out by the fire in the court yard when we got home from swimming.

Kate and Maleah waiting to open birthday presents.

Rena, Megan, and Jeff being silly.

Happy Birthday Maleah!!!!!!!

We all had cupcakes and sat by the fire all night. It was a great day and we got a lot done. Tomorrow is the parade so stay tuned for more.

The Happiest Place on Earth!!!!!

2011-07-01T21:54:00.000-07:00

We made it to Disneyland. What a fun filled day!!!!!
We didn't get to many pictures of us without my arm in it so we got excited when we found someone to take one of us with Mickey when we made it through the door.

The beginning of our day. We had a great time and it was so nice out.

Alex in front of the Castle.

Oh, there is my arm again. It is in most of our pictures. Good thing I have those monkey arms!!!!!

It's a small world!!!!!! Alex didn't believe me that it was a requirement to go on this ride. He went on it even though he was sure I was full of it. :)

We went on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and some very nice guys offered to take our picture. You will notice that my arm is not in this one!!!!!

Another line. We spent a lot of time in those.

We went to watch the parade at 4:00 and Alex decided to lay his head down for a minute. He woke up at 5:00. He missed the parade but he got a second wind for the last half of our day.

We climbed the Tarzan tree.

Alex got money from his Nana and Papa for vacation and he bought himself this t-shirt and this leggo for he and Cameron to put together. He was really excited about both and he shopped around all day to find exactly what he wanted.

Alex really wanted to climb the lego wall.

We are waiting for the fireworks show.

We bought Stefanie a cotton candy to take with us. She seemed to like it when she was eating it at 1:00 am.

The fireworks show was really good. We had such a fun day. We went on every ride, ate all day, and walked until our feet were numb. It was perfect.

We are back in the rental car and on the road to Stefanie and Jeff's. We arrived on their front door steps just before midnight.

Alex and I had the best two days just doing whatever we wanted. Now it's time for our fun filled weekend. Stay tuned for everything. We have tons of fun planned!!!!!

Our first day of vacation fun!!!!!!

2011-07-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Alex and I headed to California for our vacation on Wednesday. We flew into Burbank and spent the day touring California, went to Disneyland on Thursday and met up with everyone at Stefanie and Jeff's house on Friday.
We got up at 2:30 am on Wednesday morning and left the house at 4:00 am. Who knows what I was thinking when I decided the earliest flight available would be a good idea. We are at the parking lot dropping off our car and it's only 4:45 in the morning!!!!!

We finally made it onto the plane at 6:00 am. Sunshine here we come!!!!!!

We got our rental car and our luggage and headed to the Hollywood walk of fame. Alex got to pick everything that we did on Wednesday and Thursday and this was first on his list of to do's. He picked to eat lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen.

The mall at the Kodak Theatre.

Kirstie Alley's star. Alex took a picture of everyone that he recognized.

This is about our 100th picture of a star. Alex was really excited when we found Ozzy Osbourne's but I didn't get a very good picture of it.

After the stars we loaded back up into our fancy rental car and off to find our hotel by Disneyland. We found it pretty easy with my 10 mapquests that I had printed out to take with us. First on the list was swimming.

Alex swimming. He loves the water.

We went to the new Transformers movie next. Alex loved this one. He has been waiting for months for it to come out. We found a great theatre across the street from Disneyland that only held 45 people to each theatre and had the best seats ever. They were so comfortable!!!!

We walked over to Downtown Disneyland after the movie. We thought we should get our souvenier shopping in first so we wouldn't have to waste any time with that on Thursday.

We walked around downtown for a long time then walked back toward the hotel. We ate dinner at Denny's at 10:00 pm and then went to the hotel to get some rest before our big day.

We had a great day and got to do so much. We were both definately tired by the time we finally went to bed!!!!!!

They are on the way to California

2011-06-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

Megan headed to California a bit earlier this summer. She flew out on Thursday with Bonnie and Kate. They are going to a resort for a week and then Alex and I will fly in to meet everyone back at Stefanie's house.
Megan and Kate are all ready to go. We are just missing Bonnie.

We found Bonnie and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Everyone made it to California just a few hours later. I hope they all have a great vacation.

Last Day of School!!!!!!

2011-06-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

It was a big day. We have one finishing up Junior High and moving on to the High School and one going from Elementary to Junior High. Everyone is so excited.
Megan was ready to go to school in record time.

Megan and Olivia ready for their last trip to school as 9th graders.

Alex is already dressed for 7th grade. He is showing his support for Ballou before he even gets there!!!!!

His last trip to the bus. I was a bit sad this morning also at the bus stop. I have become very good waving friends with the little old man that drives the bus. He always is so nice and waves to me in the morning and today we gave him a bag of cookies for his last day and he even smiled back at me and said thank you. I guess those good old days are gone. :)

Last day of 6th Grade!!!!!!

2011-06-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

On Alex's last day of school they had a lot of things going on for the 6th graders. It was their last day of Elementary School and they had a very busy few hours.
They started off the day with a Hula Breakfast.

They all lined up and headed to the gym for an awards assembly.

Alex loves to sit still for assemblies. :)

He got a presidential award for all of his improvements between the 4th and 6th grade.

He was really excited about it. It is even signed by President Obama.

Alex really enjoyed 6th grade but he is really excited to be going to the Junior High next year. I am not to sure how much he is going to like having to get up so early but I guess that's what happens when you get older!!!!!

Father's Day

2011-06-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy Father's Day around here. I am a bit late on posting it but here it is anyway.
We had a real fancy gourmet breakfast. Strawberry Crepes and Sausage. :)

We opened gifts from the kids. Alex got pretzels and duct tape. He keeps getting in trouble for using all of Mike's duct tape to make wallets so he got Mike a whole new role.

Then, we went to the Rainier's baseball game with Tony, Suzy, Suzy's Dad and her stepmom.

We are waiting for the game to start.

Alex and I eating some of our snacks.

Megan and Alex having a great afternoon.

After the game we went and saw Jim and Marilyn and then went to Tony and Suzy's for a BBQ. We had a fun day and I think Mike enjoyed everything that we got to do.

Dance Time!!!!!!!!!

2011-06-16T19:27:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to dance time. Everyone looked so good and so excited. Luckily it wasn't raining outside so we got some great pictures.
Megan looking so beautiful!!!!!!

All dressed and ready to go!!!! :)

Maggie and Olivia looking beautiful as ever.

Megan and Maggie.

Megan and Jake. I'm not to sure about this!!!!!!

Megan and Jake again.

Olivia and Dalton. Don't worry it's just sparkling cider.

The whole group. What a good looking bunch of kids. :)

Olivia, Megan and Gillian.

Sam, Olivia, Megan, Gillian, and Bailey.

The whole group. They were really good posers!!!!

I don't know if Megan was too excited about this one.

Megan and Alex.

They are off to dinner at the Black Angus. I told Megan I was going to show up there to take pictures but she didn't look to excited about that so I didn't do it. Stay tuned though because they had a professional photographer at the house also and she is giving us her pictures which I am sure are much better than mine so there will be more to come. Stay tuned!!!!!!!!

Dance Day Preparations!!!!!!

2011-06-16T19:14:00.001-07:00

We had a very busy day around here. It's dance day.
The girls went to school this morning and Meribeth, Olivia's Mom, picked them up early and took them over to get their hair done. I met them there when they were almost done.
Megan getting her hair done.

Olivia is so excited about how good hers looks.

Maggie had hers put up all the way with some very pretty sparkles.

Megan checking out her progress.

The hair is all done. Time to move onto the make-up.

Olivia's Boyfriends Mom is a make up artist for Gene Juarez and she offered to do all of the girls make up.

Here they are when they were all done. All three girls looked so good with their fancy hair and make up. Just wait until you see them in their dresses. :)

Dance preparations have begun

2011-06-15T22:42:00.000-07:00

Megan and Gillian went after school today to get their nails done for the dance tomorrow night. All I asked was that Megan take my camera and get a few pictures for me because I was at work. These would be the only two pictures that she got. Let me re-phrase, she took about 60 pictures at Gillian's house but she got 2 of their nails!!!!!
Gillian at the nail shop.

The finished nails. They look really cute and will match their dresses nicely.

Maybe next time she could take a few better pictures. Good thing I am off work early tomorrow so I can use my own camera!!!!!

Megan's award night

2011-06-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

Another night of our busy week. We had an awards presentation for Megan at Ballou. She got two awards and was very excited about them both.

Megan, Gillian, and Olivia

The whole group of friends that were at the presentation. They all hang out together whenever possible!!!!!!!!

Alex waiting for the show to start.

Maggie and Olivia getting the Presidential award. If you have a 3.5 grade point or better you get this one.

All of the 9th graders got to sing a goodbye song.

Megan got a Presidential award also.

Same award again.

Megan and Gillian both got two awards. They got the Bruin Ambassador and Presidential Award. It was an extremely long presentation show but the kids seemed to have fun and enjoyed it.

Bowling Awards

2011-06-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

This was the last weekend of bowling for this session. We went out to watch the guys bowl and then they got some awards.
Megan and Suzy are really paying attention!!!!!! :)

Suzy, Megan, and Barb. Still not paying attention!!!!!!

Mike won three awards. He got highest handicap series, 4th highest game, and some bracket points thing. He won over $50 which he was excited about. He did really good last night too. His first game was a 246. They could have used that last weekend but it was still good to get it last night.

Tony wouldn't let me get a picture of him so this is what the smarties did everytime I told them to smile. Aren't they funny?

Tony won three awards also. I am not sure what all they were.

They finally agreed to let me get a loving picture of the two of them and as soon as I said to smile this is what I got. I gave up. They still think they are funny. I will get them when they least expect it. :)

Lunch with the Wolfe family...

2011-06-13T20:36:00.000-07:00

My friend Joe's daughter was graduating from Emeral Ridge this past weekend and his family came into town for it so we got to go to lunch with them on Sunday. It has been about eight years since we have seen them so it was great to get to catch up.
We went to the Mazatlan because Joe always loved Mexican food. We got their first so I got a picture of Mike and Megan waiting.

Alex and I on the other side of the table.

They arrived. Donna, Bill, Lisa, Lori and Brianne.

Donna and Lisa

Everyone outside before we had to go.

We spent three hours at lunch and had a great time catching up. Everyone looks exactly the same, it was like we just saw them yesterday. Brianne has turned into such a beautiful girl. She reminds me so much of her Dad. He would be so proud of her!!!!!

Megan's last choir concert.....

2011-06-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

We have a busy couple of weeks as the school year comes to an end. We started the madness with Megan's last choir concert at Ballou.
Alex is so excited for the show to start.

The girls decided they were thirsty before the began so they drank my diet coke!!!!

They feel better now that my soda is gone. They are all ready to sing beautiful tunes.

Don't they look cute. It's so much fun to watch them all and they have really improved since the first of the year. It really sounded good this time!!!!!! :)

Bowling League

2011-06-05T22:08:00.000-07:00

Mike and Tony are on a bowling league this year and they have done great. They were playing tonight for first place of this session so we all went out to watch. It wasn't their best night and they ended up losing in the end but they still did really good and next week they will play for 3rd and 4th of the entire league.
Mike has the high score for the whole league so far so he is excited about that. He had some great weeks and got some huge scores.

Mike and Tony. I didn't do very good getting any front shots of them because I didn't want to distract them while they were concentrating.

Here is the whole team. Tony, Brian, and Mike. Brian is another friend of theirs from the Sportsman's Club. He is a really nice guy also. They all have had alot of fun playing together.

The guys and part of the cheering section.

Here is the cheering section. Suzy, Barb, Megan, Alex and Me.

It has been fun getting to go out and watch the guys. They have had a great season. We will see how it turns out next week!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner

2011-06-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

After our busy day at the zoo we decided to go to the waterfront and eat dinner. Unfortunately if you don't want to go fancy and you have people under the age of 21 with you then your choice is the Ram. We all like the Ram but we have one on South Hill also. We still managed to have a good time and we were so full when we left.
Megan deciding what she wants. Does she want chicken strips with dipping sauce or without. That is the big question. She went without in case you were wondering. :)

Alex always has a hard time deciding. His big decision is what kind of cheese is it that he likes on his plain bacon cheeseburger. Tough decisions!!!!!

Megan was not happy that Mike was so close to her for a picture.

Alex was just tired of getting his picture taken.

We had fun at dinner and now it's off to Bowling.

Pt. Defiance Zoo

2011-06-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy day today. We got up this morning (slowly as always) and realized we really had nothing to do for the day and it was suppose to be nice out so Mike decided we should make a trip to the zoo. I really am not sure when I was ata the zoo last but we had a good time and got to see a lot of animals.
We made it!!! We also realized that if you want to park a car at the zoo on one of the only dry days of the year that you should get there before 1:30 in the afternoon. :)

Mike and Megan at one of the 100 exhibits that we saw.

I keep seeing ads on everything for a "scoop on the poop" exhibit so we went and saw that. It was not to impressive.

Some very large wooden shark teeth.

We had to take a snack break and Alex got a hold of the camera.

Megan and I in front of some funny animal. I am not sure which one though.

Megan and Alex at the puffkins

Everyone really like this guy. He was just out walking around like he owned the place.

Those are Sea Otter's behind us if you can't tell. :)

The kids thought it was funny that they were so short next to the life size height of the polar bear.

Alex told us when we pulled in the parking lot that they had Reindeer and I told him he didn't know what he was talking about. I was obviously wrong because here they are. That really ticks me off!!!!!!! :)

This was a big animal but I can't remember what it is. It is behind the guys being goofy.

We went into the bird zone and you could buy a stick with food on it so they would fly right up to you. Megan and Alex both got to hold the stick with the bird on it for awhile.

We were getting ready to head out after our day of fun so I tried to get a picture of the beautiful view but it didn't really work. It was really pretty from here but you can't tell on my picture.

We had a fun time at the zoo and have really enjoyed the weather this weekend. I sure hope that it sticks around for awhile.

New Truck

2011-06-05T21:26:00.001-07:00

We have another new (to us) vehicle at our house. We have been very busy changing around all of our cars, trucks, trailers, and work vehicles. Mike has been wanting a new truck for years and his Dad was selling his so it seemed liked a good time to buy a newer one.
Here is the old one. We have had it forever and it has been great but the back seat is a bit small and the kids are getting a bit big. The two weren't working out so well.

Here is the new one. Definately a nicer truck and it has so much more room inside. The kids can stretch our their legs now and we don't have to listen to anyone complain the entire time we are in it. Mike is really happy to have a newer truck with more space that runs a lot better and has a lot less miles. It seems to have been a good purchase. :)

It's Back!!!!!

2011-06-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mike finally went back to work after a long 8 weeks on Tuesday. It is so strange to come home and have this same truck back in our driveway. He seemed excited to get to go back so I think it has all worked out.
He is working at the yard in Kent now which isn't much farther away than the Lakewood yard was so that worked out also. I think that he is really happy to be back. I don't think he was liking being off for so long.

Creative Night

2011-06-01T19:58:00.000-07:00

Alex had creative night at school so he decided at 4:00 that he should go and it started at 6:00 so he had to be very quick to decide what he wanted to do. He has really been into making some cool oragami things lately but he always goes back to the lego's so he decided to go with a whole lego battle theme.
You had to take your stuff to the school and they set you up with a spot on the table for you to display your creative project.

Here is his lego battle. He had all sorts of cool stuff and all of the boys that were there really liked it.

He was getting annoyed that everyone was playing with them and one boy kept breaking them so he is making a sign that said "Do not touch." I thought it was kind of funny when I noticed what he was doing.

Alex's Last Concert

2011-06-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Alex had his last concert at Woodland last week. He was not happy about having to stand for a whole hour and getting so hot but it was a good show and I enjoyed watching it from the comfort of my metal chair
They had singing, dancing, gymnastics and talking.

Megan had a great time!!!!!

All of the sixth grade classes. There is a lot of kids!!!!!

Doesn't he look so happy to be there? He is so funny. The show was good and it was the last one as an Elementary student. It's off to the big land of Junior High next year.

Walk down memory lane

2011-05-22T21:51:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went to Ocean Shores yesterday for the day and I haven't been there in so long. When I was younger we used to go all the time. It felt like every weekend we would head down and my Dad would help work on my Grandma Dee's house that she was building and Stefanie and I would run to the park across the empty lot next door. Stefanie and I would take turns sleeping in the bathtub while they were working on the house and we would get to do so many fun things. I remember complaining all the time about having to go and now when I think back on it we really had so much fun. We would rent mopeds and sometimes get to ride horses on the beach. We got to go bowling alot because there wasn't much else to do and we always went to the kite shop. We went clam digging at the crack of dawn and my Grandma would make clam chowder and fried clams while Grandma Dee would make pork chops and chilli. We would laugh at how someone had to hold the rabbit ears covered in foil to get the tv to work and how if the wind shifted the wrong way the fireplace would fill the entire house with smoke in record time. We loved to stay at the Gittchee Goomie because the rooms were two stories and we liked the Polynesian because it was a really nice place. We would go for breakfast at a funny restaurant and gift shop on the corner and we would eat dinner at the Homeport because it had a good salad bar for my Dad. Needless to say it doesn't look the same at all but I still had a great time telling the kids about everything as we drove around all day. Welcome to Aberdeen!!!!!!

This was a pizza place at one point that I remember stopping at on the way home sometimes. It is a Mexican place now.

We would stop at McDonald's alot on our way to the Ocean to use the restroom and get a snack. It was the only thing that was there back then. Now it's just stuck in the middle of a busy shopping center.

This is the bar that we used to have to stop at on our way into town to pick up my Grandma Dee. It is a run down condemned building now. We thought that was pretty funny. It doesn't look the same at all!!!!!! :)

Welcome to Ocean Shores. About the only thing that still looked the same.

The restaurant with the salad bar that my Dad loved. We ate here pretty often.

The only grocery store still. It looks exactly the same except that there is a strip mall right next to it now and a McDonald's across the street.

Here is where we used to rent mopeds. Megan really wanted to do this but you have to have a driver's license. I think that maybe my Dad and Curt used to rent these and then drive them down to the beach for all of the girls to ride because I know we were riding them well before we had driver's licenses.

The Shilo Inns is in the place that our breakfast stop used to be and a cute little gift shop. It is a really nice hotel but just not the same.

We spent a lot of time at this bowling alley. I think back then it was only .99 cents to play a game so it was cheap entertainment. I don't think the whole strip mall was attached to it then. I guess it is growing up.

The family fun center. They had bumper cars and an ice cream shop.

The Sands hotel. We stayed here alot because it had a good sized pool. It looked a lot nicer when we would stay there. It is just kind of scary looking now. :)

The local pizza joint. They had tasty pizza.

The Polynesian Resort. How funny to call it a Resort. It was a nice place though and it still looks pretty good. I think they kept it up better than the Sands.

This used to be the Gitchee Gommie. It was a fun place to stay. I always remember getting crab and my Grandma standing in the kitchen all day cracking it while we all ate it as fast as she got it done. I am not sure that she ever got to eat any of it. This was a great doughnut shop at one point. We would get up early and go down for hot doughnuts with lots of sprinkles. It doesn't look so good now.

My Grandma Dee's house. We had a lot of fun in there. Who ever bought it has sure done a nice job keeping it looking nice.

The Jetty. We spent a lot of time climbing those rocks and playing in the freezing cold water.

We dug up alot of these clams at 4:00 am. That was never the highlight of my weekend but I sure did love the clam chowder that my Grandma made with them. It was soooooo good.

This was not there when we used to go. We just found this on accident. It's a movie theatre with new movies. How fun would that be on a freezing cold winter day?

We had so much fun and the kids were laughing at me all day as I told them about all of things we used to do. They both want to go back and spend a weekend and do all of the activites so we are planning a trip this summer to re-live my funnest childhood memories. They might be sorry by the time the weekend is over!!!!!!

A day at the ocean

2011-05-22T10:25:00.000-07:00

Megan, Alex and I headed down to Ocean Shores today to go to a memorial service for Heidi's Uncle. They had a nice family get together (we crashed it) at a house that they rented and then all went to the jetty to spread her Uncle's ashes and spend some time there. It was a really nice day.
It was a pretty nice day out. It was windy but I think you get that at the ocean no matter what.

Alex and Jacob playing with Ranger.

Megan and Heidi all ready to go.

Heidi and Jacob. He is getting to big!!!!!!

Megan and Alex when we got to the beach.

Alex and Jacob up on the hill.

Megan and I out in the breeze.

We climbed up the rocks to watch them spread the ashes.

Megan was the official photographer so she has her camera in all of our pictures. She got some really good pictures so I hope they enjoy them.

The kids made a teeter tooter and used Alex as the weight in the middle. It was pretty funny.

Jacob and Jeff when we are getting ready to head back to the house.

We went back and had some lunch and talked to everyone for awhile and then headed back to the beach to fly some kites.

Alex had been asking to buy a kite all day so he was really happy to hear the Jeff had 3 of them.

After the beach we went back to Heidi's hotel so the kids could swim.

They had a lot of fun swimming around.

We had so much fun with everyone for the day. It was a nice service for all of them and we had a great time getting to see everyone and play around all day long.

What to do with the hair?????

2011-05-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Megan is having all sorts of problems deciding what to do with her hair for the 9th grade dance. We have tried a couple of different styles but none have been what she wanted so we are trying some more today.
We started with the curlers. They look so pretty.

To much curls she thought.

Then we have the side twist. It was cute but still not what she was thinking.

This is a side brade. It looked cute but needs some more practice. I didn't think I did to bad for a first attempt but we would have to work on it some. It still wasn't her favorite though so we are changing our plans. More practice shots to come!!!!!

Alot of dresses

2011-05-14T22:36:00.000-07:00

I took Megan shopping for her dress for the dance today. I don't think that she thought I would buy her what she wanted so we took Olivia and Gillian for her back up.
Gillian and Olivia waiting while Megan tries on the first 100 dresses she found.

This one was a big no no.

We all liked this one so it made the maybe pile.

This one was my favorite but I got out numbered.

This one was the winner. All three girls thought it was the best one and Megan really liked it so it is what we went with. Now to get some shoes to go with it and we should be good to go. I guess it would help if we found out the actual date of the dance also. I will keep you posted.

Dance time!!!!

2011-05-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

I guess Megan is going to the 9th grade dance with a boy!!!!! She was planning on going with a whole group of people but now she seems to have a date. I am not sure Mike is to happy about this. :)
Megan went to her friend Gillian's house after school today for a sleep over and Jake just happens to be Gillian's neighbor so he posted these signs on her garage. I found out about this when I got onto facebook and Gillian had posted the pictures. Nice!!!!! Megan tried to tell me it had just happened but I know she is wrong. Needless to say she wants to go dress shopping tomorrow so I guess that's the plan. Good thing she already found a dress that she likes so it shouldn't be to much work.

Mother's Day

2011-05-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

As everyone knows, Sunday was Mother's Day. We didn't do to much around here for the day.
Mike made breakfast for everyone. We had all sorts of good stuff. He took this beautiful picture at the exact time that he said to turn around so it is a really nice one.

Mike and the kids bought me a new radio for the car. The radio that was in it was pretty fancy with a tape deck but I don't own any tapes anymore so they bought me this really nice CD Player. Mike put it in for me and it sounds great.

I got some really beautiful picture frames from the Keyes family but they were both broken. I think that I can glue them back together though and make them look perfect. They had the cutest pictures of me and the kids in them from their visit last month.

Megan and Alex are both getting so big. They are getting to that age where they really don't care to hang out with me so much so I spent most of the day watching tv, alone. The good news is that as soon as either one of them wants something I become their best friend!!!!!!

Alex and I in the morning before he decided it would be more fun to play with Conner for the day.

Megan and I were having some camera issues. All of our pictures were fuzzy. I think we were to close to the camera or we shouldn't have let Alex take the picture!!!!!!

We went to the cemetary and down to Marilyn's in the afternoon and then we got to go out for dinner at the Black Angus and go watch Mike's bowling league. He had record scores for the night so I think we were his good luck charm and the kids got to bowl a couple of games so it was a fun time.

Old and New

2011-05-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

I sold my Dodge Durango. I have really loved this car and I enjoy that it has so much room to take people with me when I need to but it just kills me every few days when I put $75 of gas into it to drive just myself back and forth to work so I made the hard decision to sell it and get a smaller car.

My final goodbye pictures.

This is the new car that I got to replace it. Well, I guess it isn't really new. It's a 2003 Hyandai Elantra. We looked at a ton of different cars and researched them all on the internet and out of everything we looked at this one had the best ratings and the lowest mileage so I think it was a good pick. I had been wanting to look at this type so I think that it worked out great.

Mike filled it with gas yesterday and it only cost $42 so we are already off to a good start and I have driven over 100 miles and it is still on full. The Durango would already be to almost a half of tank at 100 miles so I am excited to see how many miles I get out of a tank.

Megan's Sleepover

2011-05-07T19:36:00.001-07:00

I didn't do to good of a job getting pictures of the girls that stayed the night for Megan's birthday. They slept out in the trailer so it was nice and quiet in the house all night. Megan took the camera out with her but these were the only two pictures that she took.

These are some very crazy girls. They did manage to sleep in in the morning so it gave me plenty of time to make all of the breakfast food that they had asked for. I was very impressed with myself. :)

First we have cupcakes. I did make these the night before for the party but they wanted them for breakfast also so I am counting them.

Glazed doughnut muffins. I found this doughnut recipe in the same book as the cinnamon rolls that they wanted but you made these in muffin pans so they were really easy.

Cinnamon and sugar covered doughnut muffins.

What is left of the cinnamon rolls!! These are what they had really asked for and I forgot to take a picture of how good they looked before they ruined them and ate them all.

I think that Megan had a great birthday party weekend. It was alot of fun to have everyone over.

Birthday party time

2011-04-30T21:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight was Megan's birthday party with all of her friends. I always wonder what I have agreed to when it actually gets to the day of the party but this one was pretty easy. Since we lucked out and the rain stayed away today the kids all hung out outside the entire party. They played basketball and frisbee and sat by the camp fire. Worked out perfect for me. I had the whole house to myself. I am sure when all of the boys go home it will change since the girls are sleeping over but until then I am going to enjoy the quiet.
Megan, Olivia and a bunch of other kids.

They sat by the fire to eat their pizza and snacks and then ended up sitting out there once it got dark. It was chilly outside even though the rain stayed away.

Alex had his friend Bryce over so that he would have someone to entertain him. It kept him out of Megan and her friends hair all night.

She got a lot of presents from her friends and was having a great time opening them.

We had more funfetti cupcakes. Those seem to be Megan's favorites.

Here is the whole gang. They all seem like really nice kids and Megan sure has a lot of fun with them all. I hope that she had a fun party. I wonder what she will pick to do next year? We can only wait and see!!!!!

Choir Concert

2011-04-30T20:59:00.000-07:00

Megan had a choir contest today for school. They had to perform 2 songs and then go into a room and get feedback on how they did from one of the judges. It was fun to go and watch them and listen to how the judges scored their performance. They did a really good job so they had mostly good comments for them.
She is all ready to go. I don't think she was to happy to have to get up and get ready to go on a Saturday. :)

Megan, Gillian, and Olivia. They some how all ended up next to each other.

Here is the whole choir. They did a great job.

I kept trying to get a decent picture of them when the judge was talking to them but this was the best I could get. I think they were being goofy on purpose. They saw me trying to get a picture!!!!!! :)

I brought them back home after the contest to get ready for Megan's birthday party so they got to bring their nice vests and bow ties with them. Normally those are not allowed to leave the school.

Now it is party time. A whole house of 15 year olds is about to arrive!!!!!

Happy Birthday Megan!!!!!

2011-04-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

It is hard to believe but Megan is now 15 yrs. old. In just one short year she will be on the road driving. How did the time go by so fast?
We didn't do to much for her birthday since it was on a Wednesday but she is having all of her friends over on Saturday night so that will be fun.
Kim sent her these beautiful flowers. They were the first thing she saw in the morning when she came downstairs so we had to get a birthday picture.
After school, track, and work we met up with Jim and Marilyn down at the Happy Teriyaki. That was where she chose to go for dinner since we don't make it down there to often and it was so good. I am not sure why we don't make that long 15 minute drive more often.

Everyone made it to dinner. Alex is taking the picture. :)

She even got a few presents. She had gotten most of her gifts early this year since Kim was here on vacation and took her shopping and Jim and Marilyn, My Dad and Bonnie, and Mike and I had all given her money for her camera last month. Luckily she still had Stefanie and family, Peggy and Alex so she made out very good. She got this lovely story that Alex wrote for school from him. He typed it up and printed it out and put it in a very nice envelope for her. Sometimes I wonder about him but he was really excited about it.

Alex also gave her this cute tank top and a sweater and Mike and I gave her a new swimsuit and shorts for the summer. Someday we will see sunshine even if it means we have to travel to California to do it!!!!!

Stefanie, Jeff, Cameron, Rena and Maleah gave her this purse that she has had her eye on for months. She was so excited about it.

The Keyes also gave her these really cool picture holders that are shaped like flowers. They even sent along pictures for her to put on them. They were so cute.

Here is a shirt the Cameron, Rena and Maleah gave her. Perfect fit!!!!!

Jim, Marilyn and Alex watching Megan open her gifts.

She picked to have funfetti cupcakes so I baked them up and she had Mike bring her most of them to school for her friends at lunch and we took the rest to dinner with us. They were very tasty if I do say so.

She also got some cards, candy and cookies from her friends at school along with some balloon's that she had to carry around all day.

I think that she had a great day. It is hard to believe how fast she is growing up. She has turned into such a beautiful young lady. I am very proud of her.

Happy Birthday Megan!!!!!

Easter

2011-04-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter around our house. We pretty much did nothing productive all day. We had so much fun out in the weather on Saturday that we just sat inside and watched it rain all day on Sunday!!!!!
Alex was the first one up. He found a basket full of summer clothes and candy that the bunny had left for him.

He decided to rest until Megan got up. She is not an early riser!!!!!

Megan finally got up and found a basket from the bunny for her also. That nice bunny bought both of them shorts for the summer. I guess the bunny knows that the sun comes out in California so they will get to wear them eventually. :)

They are all ready to do some egg hunting. We could see signs of colored eggs all over the house.

I made breakfast and we even ate at our table. Those would be two things that rarely happen around here. Alex found a whole basket full of eggs. He was a busy little bee searching around.

Some of those eggs were really easy for them to find and some were a bit tougher. They were going to give up at one point and just wait until the egg started to smell in a few days and then track it down. I pointed out that wasn't a good idea so the search continued!!!!!

They finally found all of the eggs and put them in the container so that we could make deviled eggs for dinner.

Here is a shock. We had meal #2 at our table in the same day. We don't normally even eat two actual meals around here in a day much less do we sit at our table twice. It really was a special occasion. We had lots of deviled eggs and ham for dinner and we had enough left over that we won't have to cook for the next few days. I guess that means eating at the table is out. :)

Sunshine, Eggs and a Fire!!!!!

2011-04-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

Holy smokes it is hard to believe but we went an entire day without any rain and the temperature got clear up into the 60's. I know it's a sad day when you get so excited for 60 degree weather and get a sunburn from it but it was really nice out yesterday. No surprise that it is back to raining today but I guess we atleast had yesterday.
Look at how bright out it is and Megan is wearing a shirt with no sleeves. It was pretty funny to run our errands and see how many people were out in shorts, tank tops, and flip flops. Really, it was only in the 60's!!!!!!

We dyed our Easter eggs in the afternoon and they turned out great. The kids did an excellent job with them.

Alex made some very beautiful eggs and he wrote on all of them so that we would know which ones were his.

Megan and Alex trading colors as they finished their eggs.

The finished products. I can't wait to make some deviled eggs out of these beauties.

It was so nice out that we got a bunch of our yard work done and spent most of the day outside. It could be the end of August before we get to see the sun again so we did all that we could and then in the evening we had a fire and made smore's that were so tasty!!!!!

Alex with the BBQ stick all ready to roast something.

It was a fun day outside in the sunshine. It sure does put you in a much better mood. Good news is that I am right back to my crabby self today with the grey cold rainy weather back!!!!!

Oh no, It's Saturday......

2011-04-09T21:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our last day with Stefanie and the kids. We had so much fun the entire time that they were here and it went by so fast. I can't believe it's been 10 days already. We squeezed in all that we could today before we had to go to the airport. We went down to the daffodil parade. It wasn't raining out and Megan wanted to see her friends that were walking in it so we loaded up the car and went down.

We saw the Roger's band and then walked to 7-11 to get snacks.

Cameron and I taking our snack break.

We walked back to watch the rest of the parade with our icee's and chips.

Cameron, Alex, and Maleah found a spot to sit.

Maleah enjoyed her ride on Megan's shoulders.

When we got back home Mike set up the timer and we got a picture of everyone. It even turned out on the first try.

These crazy girls are so darn cute!!!!!!

Stefanie and I smiling for the camera.

Those crazy girls smiling again.

Alex and Cameron. It takes alot to get them to smile. :)

I just love these Keyes kids!!!!!

Me, Mike and Stefanie. We are just missing Jeff. I should have photoshoped him in.

All of the girls.

We went to Red Robin for dinner.

Cameron, Alex, and Rena.

Stefanie, Maleah, and Megan.

We had so much fun with everyone and we were so excited that they were coming and so unhappy about them going home. Good thing we are already planning our summer vacation.

It's a Party!!!!!

2011-04-08T20:59:00.001-07:00

We had a party tonight. The kids asked the other day if we could have a party tonight so I said sure not realizing how serious they were about it. They have been talking about it ever since and tonight when I got home from work they wanted to know what time it started. I told them to be ready at 5:00 pm and then I had to hurry. I got out some snacks, the ice bucket, drinks, and cups and started baking the cupcakes that I had promised Rena.

All of our guests arrived promptly at 5:00 and they were hungry and thirsty when they walked through the door.

Rena had even changed into her pretty party clothes.

Everyone went out to play basketball while I finished making the rest of our tasty food.

Megan and Maleah warming up on the couch.

The kids were not to excited but we watched the tribute to Dave Niehaus. It cut into our party time but it was still fun to watch it.

We danced the night away.

We had cupcakes and ice cream and we even lit a candle and sang happy party night to us.

Megan and Stefanie worked on Stefanie's homework. They are making a blog for one of Stefanie's classes and it is turning out great.

Stefanie had an early birthday present for Megan so we sang Happy Birthday to her with our cupcakes.

Stefanie made her this cool coin bank. She painted it herself and even put Megan's name on the side. It was so cute.

I think our party went great and everyone seemed to have a good time. It is going to be hard to say goodbye to everyone tomorrow. We have had so much fun!!!!!