Sledding

This is a great action shot from our snow trips over the holidays!

Rain

This is a poem that Gracie wrote last nite all on her own. For a kid who had trouble learning how to read last year....this is amazing!


Rain
-----
Night
Dark
Water dripping off of trees
Silent nights
Who, who
An owl in a tree
Silent
Drip Drop, Drip Drop, Drip Drop
Dark
Wet
Cold
Drip drip
Drop drop
Silent rain
Sparkling all over
Silent skies
Hush
Shhhhh, shhhh

Guess What?

Don't tell Drew and Gracie but they are getting these t-shirts in their easter baskets! This pink one is mine. Drew's is black and Gracie's is red and white! This totally makes me laugh out loud because we are always saying...."Guess What? Chicken Butt!"

Keith

I am going to see my back up husband for my birthday.....Keith Urban! Just got tickets to his concert in June!

Mud Fight

When we were at the cabin, the kids spent hours buuilding "Pine Village" which included a waterfall, little huts and a lake. When they were done, they had a mud fight! There was mud EVERYWHERE! My brother had to pick it out of Jackson's ears!

Bleh!

We spent the week at the cabin with my brother's family and had a GREAT time! My niece, who is now 8 months old, was delightful! She loved to stand in the corner of the couch and watch everything going on.

Junie B update

An xray is scheduled for March 9.

Due date is March 18 or 19!

Junie B Jones

"My name is Junie B. Jones. The B stands of Beatrice. Except I don't like Beatrice. I just like B and that's all. "

These are the beginning lines from books by my favorite children's author, Barbara Park. She writes the June B. Jones series which is targeted towards kindergarten and 1st grade students. The main character is Junie B who is a spunky littel girl who has a hard time keeping her slightly outrageous personaility under control. Some of the titles of her books include:

* Junie B Jones and the Stinky Smelly School Bus
* Junie B Jones and Handsome Warren
* Junie B Jones Almost a Flower Girl (in which she wished that the girl who was chosen to be the flower girl got a really bad case of lice she could take her job!)
* June B Jones Boss of the Lunchroom (in which she was thrilled to be wearing a hair net!)

This little girl is full vigor and constantly getting herself in a predicament! We read the books out loud as a family and laugh out loud at them.

So.....you are wondering why I am telling you this.....

Read this:

"My name is Junie B. The B stands for Bulldog. Except I don't like Bulldog. I just like B and that's all."

Got it?

I think I found the name for my bulldog.... JUNIE B!

What do you think?

Uninspired and self-absorbed

I have been catching some flak from my friends because of my less then prolific blogging lately. And I have to tell you that there are two reasons: I have not been inspired and I have been sort of self absorbed.

First of all, my life has been a bit dull so I have had no inpiration to blog the boring details of day to day life.

Secondly, I have been a bit obsessed about my new running shoes. For those of you who know me well, know that I get a bit weird about getting new running shoes. I love getting new running shoes and it is a big event in my life. There are three reasons for this: (1) I love the fact that I have run enough to wear out a pair of shoes and (2) I know my shoes are worn out once I start getting aches and pains and when I get new shoes those aches and pains go away and (3) I am a girl and girls like to buy new things!

So in early January I am all fired up and make the trip to buy a new pair of shoes. I purchase asics like I always do. The next day I get up and go for a run.....only to find that the shoes hurt my feet. Actually to be more accurate, these shoes killed the top of my right toe. This is not normal because usually I put on my new shoes, run and they are great! So I tried for 3 weeks to "wear them in". By the end of the 3 weeks my toe was killing me and hurt in every shoe I wore. So I talked to the folks at asics and sweet talked the manager of Sport Authority into taking back a pair of used shoes with no receipt. I have had the shoes new for almost 3 weeks but I have NOT been wearing them. I want my foot to heal all the way before I try them. If the pain comes back when I try them, they are gettting tossed and I will go try a new model.

So you see...I have been spending my free time fretting about my shoes and not blogging. Strange...I know....

But not to worry....the old shoes are not hurting my foot, so I am getting back to the blogging....

Snoring

This is what Daisy Mae does during girls weekend. After a nice long walk, she lays on her back and starts snoring.....oh the life of a yellow lab! I want to be one in my next life.

Bones and Dynamite

This is a pic from the scrapbooking weekend of me holding up Gracie's Bones and Dynamite album front page. It is kind of hard to see but in the lower left corner is a skeleton and the red sticks on the right are dynamite! The picture in the middle is of her in Las Vegas driving a car with red lips on the front and she has this funny smirk on her face that says..."Just try to mess with me!"

Albino Deer

So here is the albino deer. Can you believe how white it is?

Next pic for scrapbook

This is the next pic I need to put in the "Bones and Dynamite" scrapbook. Since Gracie got her bike in September, she has been on rides around Angel Island, thru San Francisco, across the Golden Gate Bridge, in the Sierra Mountains and from San Jose to Los Gatos! She can ride up to 16 miles in one day which is quite an accomplishment when you are seven!

Girls Scrapbooking Weekend

I spent the weekend at the cabin with two of my girlfriends who scrapbook. We have been talking about this weekend for over a year - but it was delayed due to pregnancies and little babies that they both had.

We literally scrapbooked all weekend. I did a school album for both kids that I am really happy with. I just did 2 to 4 pages per school year, which included pics of the first day of school, their school pic and a class pic. It is really neat to be able to flip a couple pages and see them grow up and see their classmates in the class pics grow up also.

The other album that I started was Gracie's "Bones and Dynamite" album. (If you are a loyal blog reader, you know that this is her nickname.) This is an album that I have done that captures her spirit. I am really pleased at how it has turned out. It highlights:

* her being "power bait girl" (power bait is what you use to catch trout) - in the pic she is wearing a pink hello kitty bathing suit and converse high tops!
* her swimming with dolphins in Hawaii - including a pic of her kissing a dolphin
* her 3 years of playing soccer
* her and her best friend Maddie
* her freakishly long tongue
* her ability at 7 years old to hike 6 miles to 9000 feet!

She truly is made of bones and dynamite! I am going to continue to add pages as she grows up. I hope that she will be able to look back it years from now and realize what a strong person she is and has been.

While at the cabin we were lucky to see an albino deeer that has been hanging around the area. I had read about the deer in the local paper but never thought I would see it. I had walked into the bedroom and looked out the window and was SHOCKED when I saw a pure white deer in the lot next to our house. I ran and got some carrots and went out to the deck. The minute I threw a carrot out the deer came over with no reservation. He ate 10 to 15 carrots while we took pictures. As soon as I have a digital pic, I will post it as you will not believe it!

Twins or Triplets?

Another doggy ultrasound was done and the mom is knocked up! There are two puppies for sure but maybe three! I have to fill out a puppy application and submit to be considered for puppy ownership. These people mean business.

Dog gestation is 9 weeks - so if all goes well, the puppies should be born at the beginning of April. Then if they stay with their mom for about 8 weeks, I could potentially have a new puppy for my 4oth birthday in mid-June!

Ultrasound results!

Freaked you out with that title....didn't I???

Not my ultrasound but the ultrasound on the french bulldog who may be the mother of my next puppy! They did an ultrasound this past weekend and it was too early to tell, so they will do one again next week.

Will keep you posted.

sick???

Had the funniest conversation with Drew the other nite at dinner. He was talking about a girl in his class that really bugs him. He was very dramatically showing us how she coughs all over the place, doesn't cover her mouth, spit flying, etc. Being the ever diplomatic parents that we are, Jim responds, "well maybe she is sick and she can't help it". Drew responds right back...."she is not sick.... SHE IS DISEASED!". We cracked up. He was obviously disgusted.