Wordless Wednesday: Tractor ride

so glad it's springtime again...

My funny Valentine

My funny Valentine

Sweet comic Valentine

You make me smile with my heart

Your looks are laughable

Unphotographable

Yet you're my favourite work of art

Is your figure less than Greek

Is your mouth a little weak

When you open it to speak

Are you smart?

But don't change a hair for me

Not if you care for me

Stay little Valentine stay

Each day is Valentine's day

Hope you all had as great a Valentine's Day as I did... and as for the other Valentine- we'll be spending our "Valentine's Day" on the sunny beaches of Clearwater Florida next weekend! Woo Hoo!

Wordless Wednesday: Peanut

So cliche to be posting the ultrasound picture, but I couldn't help but be amazed again at the miraculous way life is created when we saw our little peanut today.

By the way- does anyone have any thoughts about peeing into cups? I was noticing today that I never seem to do it in a neat and tidy fashion. Is that even possible for a woman? Maybe you all have some tips that I don't know about.

Happy Wednesday!

If I were rich...

this is what I would buy.

Down South Road Trip DuJour!

I should post once more in January, at least. This blog is getting sad, no? I will try to do better.

Some of you may remember Adam and Jen Taylor of The Colony fame from the good 'ol days at The Brigham. Well, now they are Adam and Jen +3, and they were kind enough to let us crash at their sweet little house in Tennessee and see the sights when we got the road trip itch after Christmas.

We had an impromptu duck feeding after feeding the snakes and tarantulas in Adam's Science classroom. Ducks seemed tame after the trip to school...

We had a nice little nature hike in the forest. There just aren't as many hills and trees in Texas.

We visited the church with the huge wood carving of the Last Supper, heard the presentation and took a sneaky picture- then made a donation (because I felt a little guilty for the picture).

Then we saw the Parthenon.... in Nashville.... sort of like seeing the Mona Lisa in Kentucky or something...

It was actually a pretty cool thing. I wish they had a life sized cement replica of an ancient building in my hometown.

We slept in comfy hotel beds, and went swimming in the pool. Dave got his own roll away (which we were excited about) and they brought him a crib the next night in Memphis (which he was super excited about, but didn't really fit into).

And we ate the most fabulous egg and asparagus sandwich for breakfast at a restaurant called Bread & Company- which I have been craving ever since...

Before heading to Memphis we had to check out the Grand Ole Opry and the amazing Gaylord Opryland hotel (we didn't stay there, but the hotel was so cool inside- like it's own little town).

Then we checked out the real deal- the Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville (home of the original Grand Ole Opry). Even Mike got a little starstruck at standing on the stage where so many country stars became famous. It was a really cool place! (I must admit- I got a little teary eyed sitting in those old wooden pews when they show the little introduction video... and checking out the dressing rooms... and....)
And, of course, Dave totally rocked the Opry stage. He's going to be famous some day. Kid can hold a guitar.

On the way home we stopped in Memphis to check out Graceland and try out some real southern cookin'. And we didn't go to the Applebee's... or the China Buffet as one store clerk suggested. We did try Tennessee style fried pickles and collard greens somewhere near Union Ave. downtown.


We headed home, feeling satisfied with our excursion to the southland, making a pact to try and visit every state in the continental US in the next year. Dave was a trooper as we also visited every Piggly Wiggly in the states of Tennessee and Arkansas looking for a "See you at the Pig" t-shirt. We remained unsuccessful, but hope that future road trips will lead us to our ultimate happiness. The Piggly Shirt.

Oh, and Dave ate a sugar cookie as big as his head. The End.

I was injured... injured bad.

I'm not flipping you off (it's my fourth finger, anyway). And I'm not doing anything weird with masking tape or plastic baggies. I just had to show you how my hand showered the other day.

It's true. I had my first flesh wound that required medical intervention. I was making tamales with the leftover Christmas turkey. Dave started to gag (like he was going to throw up), and I turned around to watch Mike tend to him, when all of a sudden it wasn't just chilis I was chopping.

It's not the worst wound I've ever seen, but still pretty sweet to have a stitch through the bed of my fingernail. Hope you are all having a fabulous New Year filled with lots of resolutions and plans for the year. As for me, I'm trying to eat more mexican food. Tamales, anyone?

It's beginning to feel a little more like Christmas.

Getting the tree up definitely helps... even if it's not decorated yet:) Mike is done with school for the semester (yay!). Only one semester of grad school left (joy!), and all is well. Hope you all are having a lovely December.

A heart to heart with God.

D: Hey Heavenly Father, what are you doin' today? (pause)
Oh, wow.

Me: What'd he say?

D: He said he's juuuuust hangin' out.


It is Sunday, after all.

Wordless Wednesday: Holiday shopping

Mission Completed.

It's true.

I love food (in case you didn't know) and I just discovered the most wonderful thing on the whole dang planet. Cranberry orange cream cheese spread for your morning bagel. It is available for a limited time during the holiday season by the Lucerne brand at Tom Thumb (aka Safeway for you northwesterners). They also have a pumpkin spice seasonal flavor- which is a lesser product if you ask me, but still good. That's all I have, folks. Cream cheese. Enjoy!

It's a blog post. And ahhh helped!

As promised (several weeks ago) I will explain the depressing, sopping wet pictures of 2 sad children after a day at the children's museum.

You see, the children weren't sad to begin with. One of the struggles of parenthood I've found this past 3 and some odd years, is that even doing something fun can become a cry fest, and thus the fun thing becomes much less enjoyable.

We were, however, having a grand day at the Cowgirl Museum (home to the currently being renovated Museum of Science and History and Children's Discovery Museum), as you can clearly see.

To prove the fact that we were, at some point, actually having a good time there is a video of Dave and me riding this valiant steed floating around somewhere on this here interweb (which I can't retrieve due to lack of proper software).

We were leaving the museum, all hunky dory like, when one in our party (whom I will call Mr. Boo to protect his identity) ran out into the spitting fountain on the museum grounds. The older children, with their knowledge of social niceties regarding fully clothed public hydration, looked on in bewilderment. Then jealousy.

We shooed them into the water. We already had one wet kid. Why not make it three, eh?

They were reluctant in the beginning,

but soon came around to the idea that getting completely soaked in all of one's clothing in a public place can be fun.

Then they were (of course) sad to leave. Ahh, the dilemmas of parenthood. Scroll down if you need some reminding as to the outcome of this event.

Pulse check.

Dave informed me tonight (very matter of factly)

Mom, you're a human.

It's true. I'm not a super hero- nor am I dead. I promise that I will post again soon.

Hi. I graduated from college.

At the risk of sounding completely incompetent at life, I will tell you this story. Just to give you a good belly laugh.


If you're not on Facebook (ahem... loser... er.. heh. just kidding.) you may not know that I have been running some longer distances recently. My friend Krystal introduced me to a website called mapmyrun.com. I have enjoyed this website, and by enjoy I mean I have been obsessed with this website- mapping different runs in amazment of how the little arrows hug the curve of the street and feeling like I could run anywhere as far as my little map and arrows will allow (Crowley is the furthest I've gotten, so far). Anywho- I was mapping a route that ended up being 7.9 miles the other day. In my defense, it was late at night, and I am used to going to bed a little earlier now.

Faltering in my remembrance of decimals I asked Mike if 7.9 miles was pretty close to 8 miles.

He told me he was going to pretend like I didn't ask that question and kept reading his book.

Wordless Wednesday (I'll explain tomorrow).

Busy being fabulous.

We were lucky enough (lucky or blessed?) to be able to spend an amazing week in Colville, Washington this summer. We:
spent lots of time with Graaaandma and Graaaaaandapa (as Dave so lovingly renamed them)

checked out some cool scenery and machinery- neither of which is available in the area in which we now reside
took naps and passed out from sheer exhaustion


ate fabulous corn from Graaaandapa's garden (even Dave couldn't resist)

checked out Spokane

rode the old carousel at Riverfront Park and won at the ring grabbing game (at least I thought I was winning)
got rained on with our pals, the Villers

rode the Batmobile

ate snowcones on the train... in the rain... in our jackets... in August

wore life vests
in a canoe

got all tingly and serene on the glass like water at Lake Gillette

paddled

swam in a series of freezing bodies of water
coveted other people's lake homes

changed our frozen underpants in the woods saw Smokey the Bear

went to a real county fair, complete with pack goats

got disqualified from a rabbit show (Those judges are harsh. Crooked feet??? C'mon!)

petted a llama


border hopped

hiked in a foreign country... in flip flops (as per usual)

swam in a body of water that, apparently to Canadians is not cold, but to Texans is frigid

read books (I finished New Moon and Breaking Dawn. Dave read The Three Little Pigs 2,582,324 times. He has a very patient Grandma.)

waded in freezing water at the base of a tree fallen waterfall


swam in a freezing river

and then did back flips into it.

That's pretty much it. Our summer vacation was pretty dang wicked awesome sweet. Hope you all had good ones, too. BFFE. Stay cool and don't change. C-ya next year!