Cowgirls

When the girls were here, Coach Cindy took them all horseback riding. Bug had Smokey the Pokey and Coach Cindy had Adi, a cranky horse who kicked everyone and had gas!

Fearless Foursome and the Mascot

Kayla and Renee made the girls, and Zak, these super cute custom shirts to celebrate their Fearless Foursome Friendship! Nicknames (Shooter, Giggles, Shorty, Bug and Mascot) on the front and #'s on the back!

Shoot your eye out

While the girls were here this week, they did some bb gun shooting. We dragged a big piece of ice up from the creek and shot at it.

Xmas Hilarity

We were all snuggled on the couch this morning trying to keep warm because its 29 degrees here and we can't turn on the heat for fear it will catch the tree on fire (we have a wall heater). While laying on the couch, Drew lost his new iphone. So he jumps up and starts looking thru all the blankets and under the couch cushions.

He couldn't find it and was getting irritated as only Drew can....

So we all jump up and start tearing thru the couch. We couldn't find it so Jim called it and we were all really quiet to listen to it vibrate.

Drew had his head on the couch listening.

Sure enough, the phone had fallen into the body of the couch and when we turned the couch over, we could see it lite up!

We had to cut the bottom of the couch open to rescue the phone!

All while giggling and waking up Grandma who could hear all the commotion!

Xmas Wishes

Here are some xmas images from the cabin on xmas eve! We are up early drinking tea and eating pumpkin cookies!

Falcon

This is our latest toy for the cabin - a remote control falcon! Grandma got it for an early xmas toy. Grace and I were having a ball flying it around outside. And Ahi wasn't sure it wasn't real and would chase it around barking!

Menace on the Road

Yesterday Grace and I headed to the cabin for two weeks!

Our job was to stop and get a xmas tree. Which is great, but they wouldn't help us tie it on the truck because of liability concerns! We figured that would happen and we were prepared with ropes and straps. But being prepared and having skills to tie down a tree is totally different!

We got the tree on the top of the rig with no problem and we started using straps to tie it down. We couldn't get the first strap to crank down so we had to abandon it. The second strap worked. We wrapped it around the trunk and then cranked it down.

Then a rope went around the middle of the tree and tied down to the roof rack.

Then we decided we needed a third tie down, so we used another rope to tie down the base that was nailed onto the tree.

And then......off we went!

It was touch and go but we made it 45 more minutes to the cabin. But the tree ended up about 6 inches farther back on the top of the truck then when we started!

Sleepy

While Grace is at science camp, Daisy has taken over her whole bed. This morning she woke up on the "edge of the world".

Science Camp

Grace is off to science camp all week with her 6th grade class. She was all ready and left with smiles.

It was a hoot to watch these kids. There was about 70 kids all waiting in line with all their "gear". Their "gear" is what cracked me up. You had kids with bags bigger then they were and bigger than the bags we took on a two week trip to Europe. You had kids with so many bags and other stuff that they were dropping things as they walked along without even realizing it. You had kids with sleeping bags bigger than my Mini Cooper. You had kids whose sleeping bags and pillows were coming undone and dragging on the ground.

Grace was neat and organized with all her gear in a backpacking backpack and her sleeping bag in a stuff sack strapped to the bag. Here hands were completely free because all her stuff was carried on her back. She needed no help and was completely self contained. She may not be the best speller in the world but she has real life skills!

TNDC White Elephant Edition

Last week was our second annual TNDC White Elephant Party.

And a hilarious time was had by all. Highlights included the leisure suit that Bug got but that Marty then stole. And the "butthead" mask that Marty wore with the suit while holding the shake weight!

The only thing that would have been better is if Kyle would have given up his new t-shirt and Jim would have given up his new watch! Put it all together and Marty would have had quite the sexy look!

Coach and Player

These are great pics!

First is the "after" picture. Grace at 12 with Coach Cindy on her back.



Then this the "before" pic. Grace at 6 on Coach Cindy's back!

Champs!

FINALLY! Grace's team won the championship game in the their tournament this weekend. It was a long time in coming and desperately needed!

Their last four tournaments ended like this:

* Lost consolation game
* Lost championship game in overtime and shoot outs
* Lost championship game in overtime and shoot outs
* Lost championship game in overtime and shoot outs

It has been a long hard road. But they played great and they earned this one!

Merry, snuggly Xmas!

Jim and I helped Heather make these great fleece tie blankets for her kids for xmas! They all turned out so great that I want to make more for us!

Cooking Class

Last weekend, my mom and I took a holiday desserts cooking class. We made:

* Pumpkin chiffon pie
* Apple gallette (a rustic french pie)
* Pumpkin cheesecake

I learned a bunch of new things, including how to make Swiss meringue - which is cooked to avoid eating raw eggs.

OMG - it's one of "those" days

I happily got up at the crack of dawn this morning and headed out to go to the gym. I had a great nite of rest and was ready for my day....

I had a new xmas CD and was listening to it in the mini on the way in to work/gym. I liked it but should have thought the day was starting a little weird when it made me super sleepy! Oh well - I just changed to the radio and was pumped up for my spin workout that I had planned.

So...I get to the gym and start looking thru my gym bag for my ipod that has my spin workout on it. In digging around, I take out my boots for the day ---- AND that's when I notice, I have two different black suede boots - one is a 1/4 inch heel and one is a FOUR inch heel! Either would have looked good with the dress I am wearing for a business lunch I have today --- BUT one of each just won't do it!

Luckily I run into a co-worker at the gym and she offers to let me use the boots she is wearing for my lunch meeting - so at 11:30 am I will go to her office and get her boots for a couple hours! But in the meantime, I am wearing a lovely pair of asic running shoes with black tights and a black dress.

I was hoping that was going to be the end of the speed bumps in my day, but it seems that it's just going to be one of those day: I dropped my xmas boxes while bringing them into the office, it took my computer two attempts to start up this morning, my ipad wouldn't connect to the server, my hands are so dry they are cracking....

I think I am going to stay in my office til lunch and then come back from lunch and change into my yoga clothes for the rest of the day!

Carne Asada

Today we went to the local Mexican Market to get some carne asada to make tacos for dinner. I walked back to the meat section and was horrified so Grace and I left to look at the produce aisle.

When Jim and Drew showed up, they had FOUR POUNDS of carne asada! FOUR POUNDS for the two of them and Grace! Jim was telling to butcher to put some back and Drew was telling the butcher to add more to the bag!

So they cooked it up for dinner and then there was so much meat, it took both of them to cut it up.

The other pic is my pile of tofu!

The tacos had meat or tofu and then were topped with:

* Cabbage slaw mixed with cilantro, radishes, lime zest, lime juice and olive oil

* Non fat greek yogurt mixed with salt and pepper and lime juice

* Salsa verde

* Mexican cheese

YUM!

and the verdict is in....

No fracture! A little rehab after being off of it for two weeks and then he is good to go!

Fracture or No Fracture

After 2 xrays and an MRI, we will find out today if Drew's foot is fractured! Stay tuned!

My Best Friends

I love these two doggies! They are the two most trusty friends that anyone could have! This pic is taken down at the creek behind the cabin. They had been running and digging and were soooooo happy!

Family Pic

This is suppose to be our family pic for our xmas card. I had the bright idea that it would be cool to show the height difference in all of us. But when I saw the pic, I suddenly had a HUGE body image problem....I felt like a chubby dwarf!

Seriously, I am a normal size woman, the rest of them are mutations.....long and lean!

Me - 5 feet 4 inches
Grace - 5 feet 7 inches
Drew - 6 feet 3 inches
Jim - 6 feet 4 inches

If there was cosmetic surgery to make a person taller, I think I would do it!

Morning Hike

It is a beautiful day in the mountains. Grace and I went for a hike with the dogs. These are pics of my two favorite trees in the forest, Grace shooting a bb gun, a mushroom and my doggies!

Welcome!

Sam, Jack and Mimi dressed the cabin "welcome" bear for winter!

New Bed!

We got Ahi new bed for the cabin because she gets so sad if we forget her bed in SJ.

But here she is in Daisy's bed while the new bed is empty 12 inches away!

New Recipe Book

I do a lot of cooking. We eat at home most nites and we eat home cooked meals. I love to read cooking magazines and cookbooks. In fact, I always check out cookbooks from the library when I check out novels.

But my recipes have been a mess. Some are in cookbooks but some are in the back of the knife drawer.

So this weekend, while Grace and I were at the cabin, I got all my recipes organized. At my mom's suggestion, I used a 3 ring binder for my loose recipes and I love it! Grace decorated the cover and the inside and I went thru all my recipes and taped in the ones I really like.

Next up - go thru a dozen cooking magazines and cut out the yummy recipes!

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving this year was at my folk's house. My Auntie Patty and Uncle Dave were here from Kentucky. And my brother and family were here from EDH. We sadly missed Grandma Anna and Grandpa Roy who were home sick.

I love these pics of Auntie Patty and all her great nieces and nephews (less Drew who was on the couch).

And what an awesome pic of Jim, channelling his inner hillbilly while drinking mint juleps with Uncle Dave.

Truly a good time had by all!

A Thanksgiving Miracle

We rescued this dog today. It was walking around outside my parents home. She was clearly an old doggie and could not hear. Her tag said "Muttville, Senior Dog Rescue."

We went to great lengths to find her family and when we were not successful, Muttville came to get her to foster her until her family came forward.

Just as Muttville was going to drive her away, a Thanksgiving Miracle occur ed!

Her family drove around the corner and screamed, "did you find a dog?" Sure enough, it was their elderly dog who got loose when the turkey started burning and the mom opened the door to let the smoke out.

Her name is Lotta and she is safe at home with her family!

I am thankful for all my doggies!

Artsy Fartsy

Check out what I put together this weekend!

Biebs goes on the Road

It is time for another birthday on Gracie's soccer team. That means Justin Bieber is on the move. Monday nite a bunch of the girls dressed in black and went slinking thru the neighborhood with Biebs, a poster of Biebs, a container of cheese balls and a Justin Bieber toothbrush!

Snip Snip

Murray got a haircut! Most of his yak like fur is gone and he is free of burrs! And....so handsome!

Delusions of pot roast?

If any of you ever had any delusions that I would ever eat meat again, you would have liked to see me put a pot roast in the crockpot this morning.

I opened the package, dumped it in the crock pot (without even touching it) and promptly started gagging.....ran to the sink, almost threw up and then stood there with my eyes watering!

I still had to throw veggies on top so I cut them up and then threw them on top without looking into the crockpot.

It was like a skit from SNL making fun of vegetarians.

Practice practice practice

I was just sitting at my desk waiting for a document to download, so I took the time to practice my sign language alphabet. I am so bad at it that I started laughing out loud at myself!

I am getting the sense that without a class, this is going to be impossible.

So far - I know "a" thru "l", "what" and "poop"!

New Boots

I have been meaning to post a pic of my new boots. The kids gave them a thumbs down but I kept them because they are so different than what I have. They are gray - not blue like they look in this pic and I have tons of new gray clothes to wear with them.

Great Aunt Rosemary

Jim's Great Aunt Rosemary died yesterday. She was 90 years old and she was an amazing woman.

She was Jim's Dad's Dad's youngest sister. She was much younger than Jim's Grandpa. He died about 25 years ago at age 84. She was the last of that generation. Now Jim's Dad, Roy, is the oldest member of the family.

I am just glad the Grace has some of her kick ass DNA because this was one tough and feisty woman!