Moose on the loose!!

I got woken up rather abruptly this morning, and normally this would be a big NO-NO because I am not a morning person, at all.... But then I hear...."get up, there's moose outside in our yard"..... At first I thought I was just dreaming, but the realization that this was something I NEVER would dream about dawned suddenly and I leaped out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt, grabbed my camera bag and was upstairs before I had barely opened my eyes. And low and behold.... the were TWO moose outside. By the time I got the lens on my camera, etc. they were down the street, but got some pictures of them just the same.

"Mama" and "Baby" (as I have named them) endulged on a neighbor's tree for breakfast.

They soon got spooked by the garbage man as he made his way down the road, and took off back up our street.

They decided to run for cover.....

Mama ended up going around the block and in the yards BEHIND our house....

...and Baby ended up going into our neighbors backyard...

...but took a while to figure out how to get back out!!

Poor Baby!! "Mama, help me!" If you look closely in the picture below, you can see her head on the other side of the fence.

In the end, I think they found their way back together. And they lived happily ever after...... I hope.....

Hunter's 1st Spring Soccer Game

A few weeks back we were blessed with some BEAUTIFUL spring weather, and it fell on a soccer day - YEAH!! This was Hunter's first game this spring (he missed the real first one because he was sick with the flu), and since I had my new camera, I was excited to try it out during some "action sports".

It was an early morning game and a little brisk, so after a little warming up, they were ready to roll! Go Green Giants!!!

They played hard - grass stains and all. I couldn't tell you if they won or not - they're all winners in my eyes.

Picture Week

This past week was picture week at the dance. Since Shianne is in 6 different group dances, and I'm not rich, I decided to try and get some of my own pictures with my new camera. Now, I know next to nothing about photography, so the first few didn't turn out very good. I didn't want to use the flash, and mess up the real photographers photos, or make him mad. After that I talked to a very knowledgable friend (thank you Angela) and they rest turned out better.

Anyway, here are Shianne's group dance photos. Again, the first few aren't the best - I am still learning....



"Michelle" (by The Beatles) - Ballet




"Start the Party" - Hip Hop



"Party" - Tap"Let 'er Rip" (Shooting Starz) - Tap

"Soul Army" (Shooting Starz) - Hip Hop





Then we got to perform all of them (except for ballet) at Northtown Mall today!! Shianne LOVED it - she loves performing anywhere. =) My little Dancing Queen.....

Shianne's 9th Birthday

It has come to my attention that my daughter, bless her soul, knows too many people. lol.... I say this only because when it comes to her birthday, the celebration seems to stretch out longer every year. We end up having different functions for different "groups" of friends and family. It won't be long and it'll be a week long party!!

I really can't complain though, because she's my daughter. And I'd do almost anything for her. It's hard for me to believe that she's 9 years old now. She's at the age when birthdays are really special - she is old enough to now exactly what time she was born, and waits and cherishs that moment. But young enough to still be thrilled and excited for the party, balloons, and cake. How many more years will we get like that?? I'll take them now while I can.

One week before her birthday we (Brian, Hunter, and I) went out to buy her present. Now, Hunter is 5 1/2, and knows the importance of "secrets" - so I assumed that I could trust him not to tell Shianne what we had bought for her. And sure enough, he was true to his word! Nope, he did NOT tell her what we bought. Instead he told her, "Shianne, do NOT look in the shed - there is a surprise in there!"..... hahaha!! What a little turd! =) So of course, then we had to give it to her early. She was definately surprised!!

Her first party took place at Polka Dot Pottery with her "dancing girls". All but one of them were able to make it, and they had a great time painting pottery, giggling and telling stories, and eating cupcakes. It was great to see them all doing something other than dancing, and they all have such cute little personalities.

The next day she got to have her friend Alexis over for most of the day. She came to watch Shianne dance, then we ran some errands, and went home to get ready for the Birthday BBQ. The girls had fun doing their "girly things" then got a chance to take a few spins on the 4-wheeler. Later that evening we had the big family/friends BBQ. Brian BBQ'd up lots of yummy hamburgers and hotdogs, and we had lots of side dishes too. The kids all had fun riding bikes, scooters, playing basketball, and jumping on the trampoline. As soon as everyone was done eating, we let Shianne dig in to her presents. She got some wonderful gifts from everyone - Thank You all for coming!
On Monday evening, her Uncle David came up to our house. Much to her surprise and glee, he was there to pick her up and take her to dinner. She was thrilled!!!! When asked where she wanted to go, she said, "chinese"... so off they went. It was probably the most special "gift" she got this year - she loves her Uncle very much, and she certainly felt like the grown-up girl she is quickly becoming.

Happy Birthday sweet girl!! Mommy & Daddy love you very much.....

Easter Weekend 2009

Our Easter weekend was a little different from years past. Typically we spend the day in Moses Lake at Aunt Diane's. Due to all of the extracurricular activities that all of our kids are in, we were unable to attend on Saturday (which is the day we all agreed on 2 years ago because we didn't like being gone all of Sunday). So next year we're switching back to Sunday in Moses Lake. Aunt Diane missed us!! And we missed her, too....

So our Easter dinner was at our house this year on Sunday. Nothing fancy. No ham - we had meatballs instead. Of course, it's not Easter without Aunt Diane's cheesy potatoes, and as she'd passed on the recipe a few years back, we had those as well (never as good as her's though!). "Dinner" was quick - the kids are always antsy to get outside for the egg hunt. Add on top of that the threatening rain, and we all ate fast.

Soon the parents headed out to hide all the eggs in the back yard. Since the grass hasn't grown much yet, hiding spots were limited. So we resorted finally to just tossing the eggs into the middle of the yard. The kids kept poking their heads outside to cheat and spy, and Brian threatened to put a "doggie surprise" in some of the eggs. No, he didn't really do it.... =)

Instead of letting the kids out in just a free-for-all, we set them out with specific instructions - to only grab certain eggs each time. Example: Go out and find 4 blue eggs.... Go out and find 3 eggs with patterns.... etc.... It made it a little more challenging and fun for them, but then it REALLY was trying to rain so we had them collect the rest then come inside.

Of course, then begins the "wheeling and dealing"..... I'll give you this for that, and so on. Overall they did very well, and were even GIVING some of their candy away!

It was a nice relaxing day. I tried to get a nice family photo after all our guests had left, but by then Shianne and Hunter were having meltdowns, so I gave up and crawled in bed with a good book (see my other blog for that...).

Happy Easter Everyone!!!