More Soccer!

It was a beautiful fall day for team pictures this year, and I managed to snap a few of my own as well.

Gift from my honey...

My husband, bless his heart, has a hard time with gifts. He either: 1) doesn't know what to buy, 2) knows what he wants to buy, but waits until the last minute, or 3) knows what he THINKS he wants to buy, but gets the wrong thing. lol...
Over the years, he has learned that when it comes to getting me a gift, he's better off to let me pick it out myself. So this year he told me what he PLANNED on as my gift, and that we would all go to get it. Of course, this involved a lot of research on my part. I wanted to make sure I got what I really needed for a good price!

A week after my birthday we finally made the trek down to Best Buy and I got a new lens for my camera. A Canon EFS 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS! It was EXACTLY what I've been wanting, and for a great price!


As soon as we got home I HAD to try it out. Like when a little kid gets a new toy - that's all they want to do! So here are a few shots I took of Shianne just before dusk on our back deck. Our deck is 20 feet long, and since this is a zoom lens I had to stand on the opposite of the deck to get these - and I didn't use zoom!

Spokane Interstate Fair

Every year for my birthday the great city of Spokane puts on a fair -- okay, it's not for me, but it is always on my birthday. :) One of my favorite birthday traditions is to go and enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells of the Spokane Interstate Fair. No matter your age, it's good fun for all.

Hunter got to see a REAL race car!! Dale Earnhart Jr.'s car!!

We decided to try out the Demolition Derby this year. That was interesting, and we probably won't waste our money on it again next year.

The kids aren't totally sold on the rides yet, so we decided to start out small. Hunter thought it was so cool to drive around and around in a circle. Shianne, on the other hand, did not! lol...



We decided to try something a little more "thrilling" for Shianne's sake, and put them on this rollarcoaster. It was a huge hit with both of them!


Shianne still wanted to try something a bit bigger, so we went with the Yo-Yo. This used to be one of my favorites as a kid. Once they got in the air though, she looked like she wanted off. She did good and toughed it out, but afterwards said it was a little too high for her. Maybe next year...



Of course, no day at the Fair is complete unless you ride on the Merry-go-round.




Another year at the Fair - and another birthday - in the books!

School Picture Day

The kids recently had picture day at school. I've never been a big fan of school pictures - they remind me of mug shots. So I got a few of my own pictures before they headed off to school. Enjoy!

Baby Shower Cake

I have been in awe over the new fondant cakes, and decided that I wanted to try one of my own. I found some books at our local library that have awesome cookies, cupcakes and cake designs in them, along with recipes, instructions and techniques - everything you need to know to make them.

With a dear friend's baby shower coming up I thought I would volunteer to make the cake - easy enough, right? Wrong! lol... I picked out something that was probably fairly advanced for cake-making. I'm not typically a "cake" girl, and after this I am more certain than ever that I am a "cookie & cupcake" girl.












I also made some cookies for the shower, because I wasn't sure how the cake was going to turn out. These were lots of fun to make, and actually turned out really yummy! Like I said, I'm more of a cupcake and cookie girl!

Soccer 2009 - Green Giants!

September 12th was Hunter's first soccer game of this season. It was a beautiful warm day and lucky for us his game was at 9:45am, so it was perfect outside. Our team consists of 5 boys from last years team plus 2 new boys. It's great to see how much they have progressed since last year - even while they've been playing baseball all summer! Our team is a force to be reckoned with, that's for sure. Of course, we have some great coaches and helpers which I feel really helps to round out the boys. They get a little different teaching style from each one, but this helps the boys overall. We've had 2 games so far, and our record is 2-0 (but we're not supposed to be keeping track... lol...). And I have to brag and say they've both been blowouts!

Hunter is really starting to get more coordinated with his feet and thinking fast. His passing and dribbling skills have really improved. Last weekend I got there just in time to see him dribble the ball all the way down the field and score on his own!

Needless to say, the games have been really fun. We have a great group of parents that cheer and encourage the boys. We couldn't have asked for a better team!