Megan's last choir concert!!!!

Megan had her final choir concert of the year last night.  She isn't planning on being in choir next year so this may have been our last concert to go to. 

 My Dad arrived early yesterday morning so he and Bonnie got to join in on the fun.  I think maybe he wished that he had arrived today instead.  It was a really long show!!!!

 Megan sitting up in the stands waiting for her groups turn to go.

 She started off on the bottom row so we didn't have a very good view of her.

Luckily they moved around so we had a much better view then.  It made for a better picture!!!!!

 A close up.  Look how happy she looks to be there.

 Alex decided he needed to sneak in on the final picture of Megan and Olivia.

We had a great time at the show and the choirs have really improved during the year.  It was a really long show this time and it was really warm in there so we were anxious to get outside.  It looks like the school year is coming to an end quickly.  One more week to go and then it is summer break.  If only the sun would decide to come out for it!!!!!

Last Band Concert!!!!

Alex had his last band concert of the year on Tuesday night. 

 Megan and Bonnie getting excited for the show to start.

 Alex getting to his seat on stage. 

 Oh, they sound so good.  Much better than the first concert of the year was!!!!

The whole band has really improved throughout the year so this concert wasn't nearly as painful as the one in October.  Alex has really enjoyed playing the clarinet and has gotten a lot better at it.  Hopefully he continues playing next year.  We shall see!!!!!

Emerald Downs

Last Saturday we got up and didn't have any hot plans so we decided to head out to Emerald Downs for the day and watch some horse races. 

 We have gone a few times on Father's Day or other holidays but we realized this time that you should go on a normal day.  It is a lot cheaper and there were hardly any people there. 

 Mike and I waiting for the race to start.

 Mike figuring out which horse he wants to bet his dollar on and Alex being goofy.

 This is the horse that Alex and I bet on.  He wasn't following directions and he got kicked out of the race at the last minute.  Just our luck!!!!!!

 Alex just loves to get pictures taken.

He also took his book to read between races.  What a nerd!!!!!
We had a really fun day.  We didn't win any big money but I guess you can't get rich when you only bet a couple of dollars at a time. 

Monkey Mountain

So, I have known for a VERY long time that Mike and I have completely different opinions on what to do for fun but today was by far the topper!!!!!!
We decided on about Thursday last week that we should do something for fun this weekend since we would all be home and we had an extra day.  I quickly discovered that if you want to go camping on a holiday weekend that you need to plan that far before the day that you want to go.  There was literally not a state camp site open within the State of Washington.  Mike suggested that we go to something called the Ape Caves.  He went years, and I mean years, ago and said it was really fun.  It is only an hour and a half away and it is 1 1/2 miles of caves created from the lava of Mt. St. Helens that you can walk through.  Me, the one who can not stand outdoor activities like hiking, says ok.  Bad move on my part!!!!  I was then told by Megan that it was actually about 3 hours away and as Mike talked about how cool it was more he also leaked more information about what we were doing.  Now to me a 1 1/2 mile walk should take about 30 minutes tops.  No one informed me that we would basically be rock climbing and hiking through the wilderness for close to three hours.  Really,  I like white sand, crystal clear blue water, and sunshine.  I do not like Nature.....  I hate bugs, I can not stand rodents, I jump at the sight of baby snakes and hey bats, now that doesn't make my top ten list of things I like either.   So it is to late for me to do anything but complain for the entire day about what we are doing so we load up the car and head out. 

Alex, Megan, and Jake taking a nap before we even get there.  They had plenty of time.  Keep in mind our 1 1/2 hour drive was converted to 3 hours.

 We were hungry when we arrived.  That is what happens after a long drive.  We had some snacks to fuel up for this upcoming fun filled walk.

 This doesn't look to bad.  It is paved and only a small incline.  Ha Ha, we are barely at the entrance of the park.  Just wait for the fun to come!!!!!!

 Now, you might say that looks like a nice cave.  Oh yes, we walked down the stairs but since Mike had been there before, 15 years ago, he insisted this was not the right entrance so we come back out and decide to hike up hill for the next hour.  Yes, an hour I said and was it ever fun.  There were birds making noise, woodpeckers pecking on trees, and lots of tree stumps and rocks.  Luckily no sightings of rodents, snakes or bats.

 Are we close to the top so we can start our cave walk.  Hell no, we aren't even close.  You can tell because I am still smiling.

 You are seeing correctly,  we are now climbing a steep ladder down into a dark hole.  Um, not my kind of fun.  Did I mention sunshine and beaches?????

 We made it inside this cave.  Apparantely it is really cool.  Oh yeah, did I also mention we are at the end of it? We should have started at that first set of stairs.  We have now entered the exit and for the next two hours we are climbing up and down rocks and trying not to get killed while everyone else in there is coming at us.

 I also forgot to point out that not once was I told that perhaps wearing my good jeans and good clothes might not be a good idea. Oh, and showering before hand was a total waste of time.  It is dripping so much water inside that we had to wear our hoods.  Luckily we had some and as we were sliding down rocks all I could think was if I ruin my good jeans I am not going to be happy at all.  On the up side, I have owned a pair of hiking boots for atleast twenty years that still look brand new because I only wear them a couple of times a year.  That would be Christmas tree hunting at the nicely manicured tree farm and the couple of times that I go out in the snow.

 I also keep getting asked if I like how cool it is in here.  Um, I would have to look somewhere other than the ground to make sure I don't fall or that a rodent of some sort doesn't try to attack me.  You also can only see with your flashlights and lanterns, if you have them, so it is hard to see much of anything.  I would suggest taking lanterns for anyone who wishes to go our flashlights were not very bright. 

 Close to three hours later we are right back at those stairs that we started at.  I see sunlight, Yeah!!!!!  I am not really sure after 20+ years what made Mike think I would enjoy doing this at all but he did point out when we got back to the car that I can now say I have been there and I can almost guarantee that I will not be going back.  If I do I will have on my old clothes, a rain jacket, a lantern, and I will start at the entrance so that when we get to the end we can hike back down hill instead of an hour hike up hill!!!!!!

On the upside, these four had a great time so I guess my misery was worth it.  I can now say I have been there, I got my exercise for the day, and I didn't see one rodent or bat!!!!!
Apparentely it is a big thing to do because it was really busy inside the cave and when we came out it was packed.   For any of you that enjoy Washingtons outdoor activities you would probably really like this one.  Get there early and beat the rush. 
I will be the one waiting for you at the end with food!!!!!

Mother's Day

We had a fun Mother's Day around here.  We didn't do anything to exciting but we sure did enjoy the beautiful sunshine and had some good laughs.  We started off the day with Mike making breakfast.  It was really good but he normally makes breakfast on the weekend because he is much better at it than me.  I am not much of a breakfast eater and he and Alex are so they make some tasty stuff!!!!

We went and ran a bunch of errands, dropped off some presents and then stopped at Tacoma Boys on the way home to buy some steaks to BBQ for dinner.  Mike also did the BBQ and it was delicious.!!!!!

 Crazy Alex wanted a hamburger instead of steak so that's what he got and he really enjoyed it.

 We have a lot of very annoying birds around our house so Megan decided to scare them away with a BB gun.  She was having fun walking all around with that thing.  Sometimes she makes me nervous!!!!

 After dinner we decided to go bowling.  It wasn't very busy at all when we got there and Mom's got to bowl for free.  What a deal!!!!!!

 Mike and I at the bowling alley.

 Alex and I at the bowling alley.  Alex was so excited for another picture.

 Megan and I.  She never minds a picture!!!!!

I got some great presents also.  I got the cutest bag from the Keyes family with the kids pictures on it.  I just love it and can't wait to use it.  I also got a massage gift card from Mike, two smelly candles from Megan and a really nice home made card from Alex. 
After bowling we headed over to Tony and Suzy's for awhile to finish off our night.  It was a fun, relaxing day!!!!!

Driving all alone

I am not sure that I am ready for this at all but I guess no one asked my opinion so here she goes.  Out on a main road all by herself.  Who is going to be reminding her to slow down, stop before she hits the car in front of her, and pointing out that the red octogan signs mean to stop not just slow down????? 

 She is loading up for her first solo drive.

 Mike gave her the lecture before she pulled out.  The normal, no talking on your cell phone or texting while driving!!!!!

 Oh my,  she is on the road.  I was so glad when she made it back home still in one piece.

 She drove Alex to school this morning.  They seemed really excited when they were loading up.

 Are you kidding me.  They look like two ten year olds playing in the car.  Whose idea is this to let them go out all alone??????

This is the new car that I got.  It is a Dodge Neon.  I think it looks a lot like the Hyundai but it is different.  Maybe I should just start following Megan every time she leaves the house.  I am sure she would love that. :)

Birthday presents

Megan got all sorts of great Birthday presents.  Her friends gave her all of her favorite things.  Starbucks gift cards, hot tamales, skittles, jewelry and so much more.  Here are some of her gifts from the family.  She made out really good!!!!!

 She got the movie, Burlesque, from Alex.  We can now finally delete it from our DVR!!!!!

 Grandpa and Grandma Bonnie sent her money.  Always one of her favorite things.

 Kim sent this cool picture of her name.  She has always loved looking at these so it was great that she got one of her own.

 The Keye's family sent her this hilarious car shaped snow globe.  I really need to get a better picture because it is in a car shape with a picture of Megan inside of it so it looks like she is driving the car. 

 Heidi, Jacob and Jeff sent her this great 16 year old survival kit.  It had a nicely decorated gas can, an application for Taco Time, gift cards for Pep Boys and Costco gas, and a very nice card with an attractive man on it. :)

 Nana and Papa gave her money.  Always a hit!!!

 We gave her a car.  She got the Hyundai that I have been driving.  She didn't seem very excited about it at the time. 

But, as soon as she put her sign on the corvette she perked right up.  I guess she wanted to pick which car she got to drive. 
We went on Saturday and got the other car that we had bought for me to drive and then she seemed much happier about the Hyundai.  She quickly cleaned all of my stuff out of it and now refers to it as her car!!!!!
I think that Megan had a great Birthday weekend and got everything that she could have hoped for!!!!