Fun times together

Lily spending quality time with her niece. Aren't they a couple peaches?



Brenda and Lily having a moment of not-killing-eachother. That is nice, isn't it? We visited the caves, the ice age, two museums of fun together. It can get a little overwhelming trying to give everyone what they "need".



Big Bret taking a moment to rest up from all the fun.



I dressed Lily up in the atire from the India area of the museum. Bret and the girls were at the Omnimax movie while we hung out together and spent some much needed quality time together.



One of the activities for the day... origami. Bret made a tapeless wallet, and Brenda made a... box I think. We also got to make cherry blossom trees. We have done that before but no one remembered but ME. Weird.

It was nice for Bret and me to take the girls out to the day and let them spread their wings. Exhausting but nice.

Bowling With the Troop

What does it say for me if I cannot bowl 100 while using the 3rd graders' bowling alley bumpers? I think it just says that I am out of practice... or something.

So two hours of bowling, pizza, soda, cupcakes, and tons of fun. That is what those little girls were made of.

It seems like every day now...

It seems like we are at the tennis courts every day. Either I am there with Bret, or the girls ask me to take them, sometimes they bring friends. Sometimes friends show up. The girls have decided they don't want to take friends anymore because it cuts into their tennis time when they have to entertain other's needs. Interesting observation.



When they need a break from the tennis courts, they head to the park across the way. So there is something for us all to do all the time.

COSI overnight

We stopped for McDonald's on the way, because it was cheaper AND more food than the $8.00 meal COSI offered. We arrived on time and the fun began.
We played with slimy snot
Examined our yucky bodies in the Grossology exhibit,
Conquered space,
Rode the tight rope unicycle,
Played with Gadgets,
Learned about Progress,
Saw an IMAX about Jane Goodall's Chimps,
Learned about the weather,
Explored our inner psyche,
Had a one hour dance party,
and so much more.

Back home, cranky, ready to go on with life...

The Most Amazing Brownies at Dairy Queen

Awww. Most of my Brownies will be bridging to Juniors in a few weeks. I have a new leader that would be interested in joining our troop to lead the Brownies that don't bridge over so we can stay together. That is good news.

My Adult Helper, because I am the ONLY leader of the troop for now. Well I AM thankful to have an Adult Helper in my troop. Her daughter was snack leader today. She called me up to see if it would be ok to take the girls to Dairy Queen for snack. We decided to bring the whole meeting to Dairy Queen. We earned our badge while sipping on slushies and blizzards. Bret says it is tied between this Dairy Queen meeting and the puppet meeting for the best of the year. But what fun the girls had. I LOVE Girl Scouts. I wish I was a Girl Scout with a cool leader when I was little!!!!! (Yes I am living vicariously through my kids. But so far they don't seem to mind.)

Wild Women Unite Again...

So when I head to the studio, each time, this is my favorite thing to see... it is the amazing genie. I know, right? Totally inspiring.



Jenny made the face. Jessie, her daughter, made the fairy.



Kim's gorgeous flower, and Charlene's dancing girl inspired by her spirit doll she made at my and Donna's December Circle.



The piece with the om sign on it is Betsy's of course. Total DUH to that one. Mrs. World Peace Yoga Guru!!!! Donna, the mother I wish I was and aspire to be, hers is the green one with the heart shape with streamers. Mine is the flower happily enduring the wind. Those are butterflies flying up into the sky. That flower looks just like me doesn't it?? It does. So there!! I am a painting genius! hahaha. Well it was fun!


The drum will sit on top. The border around the bottoms will be a drum too of course. It IS circle. And the moons will be differnt phases when completed. But what a work of art already!

Six red TOES... what a sweety!

Can you see that sixth toe attached to her pinkie toe? Not a great picture for the view. But what a sweety with her red painted toenails. That is what happens to kids with teen parents. LOL.

The Sculpture and Marley

So I have had this "scupture" since I was a teenager. I think it belonged to my sister once. A few years back, when we were only married for a couple years, Bret had it fixed for me because it had a crack in it. It used to hang on the wall but it is too heavy now. It just sits on my dresser here. So I finally got to cleaning off the mess of papers and toys and such on my dresser and there it sat all prim and proper. Marley saw it. She looked at it for a minute then said, "Um Mom, where am I??" lol. So when I put it on the bed to dust the dresser she lay down next to it and put her arm around the sculpture. "Look Mom, I am with you and Daddy now!"

My ad for a Healthier and Happier YOU...

(Bret and I after a tennis match together.)

Ladies (and men too), you might say how can afford the time/money/energy whatever to spare for exercising on a regualar basis. I am so busy working/raising kids/taking care of the house/blah blah blah. I submit to you, how can you afford NOT to?

"One of the most overlooked things that people can do to make themselves happier is to exercise regularly. Vigorous regular exercise is a pretty good anti-depressant, and it just helps you feel better about yourself and your life overall. When you exercise regularly, you tone your body and metabolism, regulates stress hormones like cortisol, and promotes the release of endorphins (morphine-like substances that your body naturally releases when you exercise)."
http://www.mentalhelp.net/poc/view_doc.php?type=doc&id=28510&cn=288

I wanted to take a moment to recite 10 real great benefits of strength training, and exercising in general...
1) Increased Metabolic Rate- adding muscle increases our metabolism naturally.

2) Increasing and Restoring Bone Density- prevent and fight osteoporosis by building strong bones.

3) Increased Lean Muscle Mass- each pound of lean muscle mass burns 35-50 calories per day.

4) Injury Prevention- a solid foundation strengthens our bones, ligaments, and tendons.

5) Improved Balance- strong leg and core muscles help stabilize us.

6) Decreased Risk of Coronary Disease- strength training can reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

7) Aids Rehabilitation and Recovery- the best way to strengthen and recover from an injury is to slowly build your strength around the injured area.

8) Enhanced Performance in Sports, Exercise and Life In General- climbing stairs, carrying the kids, or walking with your spouse becomes more enjoyable.

9) Aging Gracefully- strong muscles build a strong body. Strength training and fitness can help keep aging bodies in well-working condition.

10) Feeling Better and Looking Better- strength training reduces overall body fat, it tones our muscles and it builds confidence.

Take a moment or two from your day and exercise. I go with a friend to the gym 3 times a week. It is a great time for us to catch up on our lives, and cause eachother a little pain and sweat at the same time.

Aren't we just the coolest cats ever? Or something like that...

This is my piece of the puzzle from Circle. It is a work in progress obviously. But what better time than a bunch of good friends getting together with paint and wood? Really? Well we do more than that. But let's not talk about the potions and spells. (haha. Just kidding, Deborah. :-)



Here is the art "puzzle". None of it is finished yet. We are so magnificant that it takes time for this kind of genius. lol. Brenda, Bret, and Lily are always jealous when I leave for circle since they got to attend the one in December at my house. December will come again soon enough. Well not soon enough for them, maybe.

Family Sunday

Brenda is having such a great time playing tennis. Bret came out with us to make it a family day today. We are all wore out. Even Lily got a chance to toss the ball around. In the end we came home with an extra 4 balls so we will have more to work with next time.



See Bret sporting that new bike? Her new bike from last year got stolen. I told her we can't afford to get her a new bike this year. She pouted and fussed until we came up with a compromise. I told her that desert costs me about $.50 a day. So if she would do without snacks and deserts until it added up to the bike I will buy her the bike. She is at day 2 and swears now that she has the bike she magically has no desire for desert. And I have pumpkin pie...

Spring Break...

Well spring break for the school across the street means sleepovers. So we are busy keeping other people's kids occupied with our fun this week. It is good for my girls to have a busy week of friends. We will go back to normal next week... whatever that means.

Easter...

This year we chose not to go to the community Easter Egg Hunt. We were able to go to the homeschool Easter Egg Hunt this time instead. It is held after Easter to save on candy. Everyone brings some candy to share, Laura brings hundreds of plastic eggs that she saves each year, the teens set out the eggs and random candies, and the kids hunt eggs. There was so much candy to be had that I put a bunch of it away when we got home. Bret remarked after the hunt, "Wow, there was no pushing and shuving. And there was still lots of candy for everyone!" Last year, the girls got ONE egg of candy all together. And someone even stole Brenda's basket with her chocolate Easter bunny in it. :-( Still after all the festive candy for the day, the girls wanted to know what was for desert after dinner. lol.



Lily found a egg with a prize paper in it. She got to choose one of the prize Easter baskets filled with toys. Chalk, bubbles, crayons, playdough, etc. She was estatic. And she even met a friend. What luck for her.



At home we dyed our own eggs. Lily finished quickly, but then realized there was no more fun to be had while the other girls were working dilegently on their colors. So she decided to redye her eggs again several times more to keep the fun going.



Family Fun magazine had a great recipe for devilled eggs that look like little chicks in cracked eggs. The girls got a kick out of eating the devilled eggs when they were done.

Designer-Apprentice

Two dresses, shorts, and cowboy boots. Who would believe this girl woke up and dressed herself? She's a natural!

Martha and George

We (Marley and I) set out to read to bed tonight. I picked up

Martha and George

and asked her if Dad had read her this book yet. She said no because the words were too small. The man needs reading glasses but refuses to admit it. It is an ongoing joke in the house. Anyway, I digress...

We read onto the second chapter when George decided he wanted to be the first of his species to fly. I asked Marley what species Martha and George were. She shrugged, so I added that means what kind of animal are Martha and George? She says, Potosaurus. They were two hippopotomus'. I think she mixed up hippo and dinosaurs to come up with her own new breed.

The plant disaster

When I first saw my day lilies cut off from the tops, I thought there was a cat eating my plant! It was only the one bucket so I just kept an eye out. A day passed and nothing. Then all of a sudden, Marley had a friend over and I came outside to find a bunch of my plants trimmed down to stubs. Marley has been gardening, evidentally... Some day I will smile at these days. Some day. She is not destructive, the word is CREATIVE. Sigh.

New Improved Space...

Our new family room. We got rid of some toys and Bret's two leather chairs. Otherwise, all the furniture still fits! Go figure.



Brittany and Josh's new room... AKA the future play room... or the sewing room depending how long Josh and Brittany stay. LOL. We will install the door in the next week I hope.



We even found space for Lily to have a small play room. It is already a disaster. And I didn't even finish setting up the floor pieces yet. Lily couldn't wait. She invited her friend right over and they went to work turning the room into a whirlwind of toys.

Co Sleeping

He tells us, put her back in the bassinet. She is GOING to get used to sleeping by herself... Famous last words. Tehehehehe.

Oh but to have a family room again...

Today is the day. I will primer and paint my new wall. That paint BETTER match the other walls in the room! lol. Then I am kicking all of Josh's belongings (except Callie of course) out to their new room. Maybe we will have a family movie day on our couches in our new family room... maybe. More to follow.

Brenda's turn

Everyone got a turn to feed the baby, one day at a time. Then suddenly Lily got the idea that this meant each day forever someone would get a turn to feed her. Not so, appearantly. Hahaha. Those little girls can't keep away from that baby's face. They are everywhere she is. I remember when Lily was born. Four year old Bret was SOOOO excited to have a baby in the house. That was all she could think about. Now four year old Lily is the biggest thorn in Bret's butt! Callie will be too before too long. lol.

Shadow Day

So at Girl Scouts this week, I wanted to have my Brownie girls earn their Plants try-it badge. But for some reason my Try-It book skips 20 or so pages of try-its. There is a website online I could go to see the Try-It requirements as well, but that website was down too. So I made up what we would do. We planted marigold and petunia seeds that I had from MY garden last year. We painted empty yogurt cups so we could plant our flowers when they sprout. We learned about trees, the animals that live in them, where trees come from, etc. We went outside and gathered old leaves from last year's fall and tried to identify them. Here is Bret and a friend making shadow buddies while I was cleaning up. What fun!

Time at the park with friends...

Lily and Jamie at the park hanging out together. Every day I listen to, can we call up Jamie, can Jamie come over, can we go see if Jamie can play? And tears every time we head back home again. Poor thing, it is hard to be little.

Last pool night of the school year

A 12 year old boy drowned at the pool last night. It was the last night of the year that the school pool was opened. We left to the locker room early to shower and change when I heard a bunch of commotion. I didn't see it, so I don't know what happened exactly. He is at Children's in critical condition right now, says the news.

Here is what I do know. There are two teen life guards on duty for every family pool night. There are also two pool supervisor adults at every family pool night. An adult swimmer was the first one to see this boy and pull him out of the water. He had been in the water at least a minute floating.

My kids are on swim team. They swim well. But I am always at the pool watching. Don't leave your kids to swim under someone else's supervision. At least not in this town. This is not the first incident of this kind. Who's fault was it that this boy stayed in the water that long? The life guards, who I was told were passing a ball between eachother across the pool? The pool supervisers, who were chatting with eachother? The parent who sent her twelve year old kid off to the pool with his younger brother who seemed to be around 5-7 years old?

Even Marley swims well. She is four and can swim the length of the pool just fine. But that doesn't mean she can't drown. Someone could jump on top of her accidentally. Someone could throw a hard toy and hit her. She could swim to the end of the pool and hit her head on the edge. You can't be everywhere with your kids, I know that... but in this town you better be at the pool with them.