Acacia earns a slumber party

Acacia's horses all made it around the track and the prize was her choice. She picked a slumber party with 3 of her new friends. One did have to leave a little early as she had a big day the next day but the other two stayed ... and stayed and stayed! Up all night that is! I really do not have any idea what time they all finally fell asleep but it did seem like they were having fun.



This was taken right before we forced them to turn the lights off. If you look closely, they can barely hold their eyes open ... but they "had" to have a snack.



The next AM it took us a LONG time to wake them!! No one was really ready to move.













I made green pancakes for breakfast and there were non left!

Snyder / Fitzgerald Wedding

The day has finally arrived! I've been saving my black plastic serving spoons to give these guys since we moved into our new house here in Oregon! The weather was crappy, but I don't think Matt and Gail even noticed! It was a beautiful wedding and the reception was a lot of fun. Wedding bliss aside ... the chocolate fountain was the main attraction for me. Had I not learned what ghoush meant from my father on my own wedding night, I would have taken a cup and just placed it right in this fountain and drank the chocolate without any of the "condiments" that were strewn across the table for dipping into the fountain. I must admit, this photo does kind of look like Matt is checking out what might be down Gail's dress. But, maybe he humbly just has his eyes closed and is just waiting patiently ....



Here is Adia! I think she was enjoying this day of dress up! She even got to help light the unity candle!














Heather and Rod ... AKA Steelers fans ... Man, without kids in tow, they can cut a serious rug!!







This is the bride (Gail), Adia the flower girl and myself ... guest.








This is Randy and his photo op turn with the bride!

Click the link to see all the photos from the Snyder Wedding!

Slide show of the Synder Wedding!



Fun at the wedding!

DREAM '09

Acacia and I went to our church for the Mother Daughter DREAM slumber party! I did decide not to actually spend the night, although we certainly could have. It was a fun filled evening of activities, food and then watching a movie before we decided to pack up our sleeping bags and head home. It was a lot of fun and spending time alone with Acacia was really neat! Something we really do not get to do very often.


I realize it's hard to tell, but this was charades. They are ... cheerleaders









Watching the movie!

Uncle Tennis And Cousin Sax '09

Our first official house guests have come and gone. Uncle Tennis and Cousin Sax drove from NJ for a week long visit. This was cool as it allowed them to see the action packed lives we lead and also get some quality time with Acacia and Chris. We started the visit off right away. No time to rest! Day one = drive another hour (as if the first 20 or so to get here were not enough) to the Dells and spend the day in the water park! Luckily we got a room (even though we did not spend the night) so Chris could play Mario Kart on the TV and Ben could take a nap!






















Day two = hitting the links. Kevin, Randy and Ben played a round of golf on the course in our back yard. They cleverly left a cooler on our porch so when they hit the 12th fairway they had a nice refreshing beverage waiting for them! Once they finished up with their golf game they met us at the soccer field for Chris' practice. Then Randy, Kevin and Ben went to the Monona Terrace to watch the UW Jazz Band perform.




Day three was more golf (for Kevin anyway). Then they drove onto campus and met Randy and I on the Union Terrace for lunch outside on the water! Beautiful! Kevin and Ben then went on a two plus hour walking tour of the campus. Then, back to the soccer fields to see Acacia's practice and then over to the tennis courts for some action with Chris.


Day four - Randy, Kevin and Ben went to the UW Marching Band concert at the Kohl Center. This lasted a bit longer then anyone anticipated. Me and the kids went to swim lessons and then home hoping to hear Ben play his sax. But, they did not get back from the concert until after 11p. Chris had fallen asleep on the couch and Acacia was struggling with staying awake. Kevin and Ben were up around 6a Sat morning and on the road right away. It was a world wind visit but we think everyone had a great time! We hope to have more visitors!! Just ask Uncle Tennis and Cousin Sax about our nice weather! It only snowed the day they arrived! Then it was in the 60's and 70's the rest of the week!

Click the link to see all the photos from Uncle Tennis and Cousin Sax '09!

Slide show of Uncle Tennis and Cousin Sax'09!

Easter '09

Well, there is never a dull moment around here. We are running with our heads cut off but still managed to get the kids to an egg hunt and ran into some friends. How cool that is was not snowing! Then, Sunday AM they were both up (before the Easter Bunny was done) and this year after Acacia helped me clean up after the Easter hunt flurry ... I got .... the question .... Mom ... (heavy sigh) - is the Easter Bunny you and Dad? It kind of broke my heart. But, I managed to not have to give a concrete yes or no, but just told her to believe what she felt in her heart.





Click the link to see all the photos from Easter '09!

Slide show of the Easter '09!

Water Park

Gotta love when the kids don't have school and we all get to play!! We took a day off from work since the kids were off school and went to the Dells to one of their many water parks! We met up with some friends of ours and had a great two days of sliding adventures and fun!

Click the link to see all the photos from our couple days at the water park!

Slide show of the water park!

Dad's 50!! Huh? 70??

My Dad's birthday was on February 11th of this year. I had my card all selected and it was noted in my calender to remember to call and wish him happy birthday. I had it covered. A couple weeks before his birthday my mom called to remind me that Dad had a "big" birthday coming up. In my mind, I was like - wow ... my dad is going to be 50!! Amazing. Anyway, Mom had to get off the phone as Dad was walking in the room. I hung up and turned to Randy and said, "My Mom is planning a surprise 50th birthday party for my Dad." Randy's reply was pretty much what I expected ... "Really! That is cool ..." A couple days later I was talking to Chris and asked if he was going to go to Dad's 50th birthday party. He was not sure at that time. Finally - Yoli says ... "Your Dad can't be 50!!" I thought for a moment and said ... I suppose that would mean that he was 6 when I was born. Or that I am 18. I kind of like the thought of being 18 again, but really do not want to have to redo college. So, OK - my Dad is 60. Yoli corrected me again. Finally, it sunk in. He is 70! Your parents are not supposed to age - RIGHT? They will be there forever! Right? Anyway, Mom pulled it off! An AMAZING party. I honestly do not know how it all came together, but it did. The amount of food would have served 150 people. The musician had something for everyone, including a dummy (he was a ventriloquist). Dancing, eating and having a grand time was most certainly the theme for the night. Julianne made another amazing cake. She even has a very funny story about it that she should post on her blog (once her computer is moving a little faster)!!

Happy Birthday, Dad! Here's to another 50, 60 and 70 more!!! We all love you very much!!

Click the link to see all the photos of the evening!

Slide show of Dad's 70th birthday party!


This is Dad having just walked in. He saw the musician, all the guests and me! I was a surprise!! :)





This is Dad with his new, very spiffy walker from his son and daughter in law!! They are soooo funny!! :)













Here's Dad w/ a plate of delicious food. He got to eat about 2 bites before he was called away to receive his birthday advice from his friends. Never to return to the food :(


This is the cake Julianne made!! Yum!! Grass flavor!







Here is the family that was able to make the party! I know my family would have loved to be there but it just could not happen. Same thing for Valerie! But, we knew they were there in spirit! :)

Now, THAT'S a big snowman!!

This year we have received a bit of snow. So, what is the first thing you think of when you think snow? Well, assuming you have kids (or are a kid at heart), it's - Is there enough snow to build a snow man??? Yes, Acacia. There is enough snow to build a snow man ....


Those are tires on his head and a traffic cone for a nose .... he's big! Click on the image to see it bigger.

STEELERS WIN!!! AGAIN!!

Steelers? In the Super Bowl?? Again?? My My .... What a game! They won the play offs and Randy was bound and determined to have a Super Bowl party at our new house. But, wait ... we only have a small 27 inch tube TV. That just will not do. After a week of research he went for the three year payment plan and a 50 inch plasma, blu ray player and 6 speaker surround sound. Sadly, Randy's grandmother passed away and he had to fly to PA for the services leaving me to host the grand party. Saturday evening I decided to see if I could make the TV work, but just could not. I ended up having to call Randy for directions. With a bit of instruction (and a tweezer ...) we got it to work. YEAH! But, then Sunday, I turned it on again, found the pre game and was disgusted with the image quality. Even our old tube TV looked better. And, I could not get the surround sound to work. My stomach was in a knot as about 30 people were about to descend on me to watch this event and my TV looks and sounds like CRAP! I waited patiently for my first guests to arrive and quickly put Matt to work on the TV. I stood behind it, moving the rabbit ears around hoping to get the right spot and a good reception, when Matt asked if I had it on the correct channel. Well, dah - of course I did! The pre game was on! Hmmmm, turns out there is an analog channel AND a HD channel. If you turn your TV to the HD channel AND you have a nice new HD TV the signal comes in GREAT! AND if you turn your blu ray 6 speaker surround sound ON ... it too works GREAT!

So, our friends and neighbors all came over! We ate ribs, wings and bar b q and lots of sweets! A few beverages were consumed AND the Steelers WON! Thank GOD or we would have had to call the paramedics for Rod ... and Bryce (Rod's 6 year old son)!!

Acacia's 8!!

Nothing is ever really easy but this was not that bad! After MUCH turmoil ... Chuck E Cheeses? Bowling? Gymnastics?? Roller skating?? Acacia decided to follow in her friends footsteps and have a mock slumber party. What this entails is everyone coming over around 1p with sleeping bags, pillows, stuffed animals, PJ's .... and pretend like you are really having a sleep over. Only - at 4p - you pack up all your stuff and go home!! We did decorate your own cup cakes, opened presents and they watched a movie (in their sleeping bags) and ate chips and pop corn. I got them all those little eye patch things to block out the light so they could "sleep". They were down in the basement and with the blinds closed it was pretty darn dark! It was a great party! Over and done and I really did not have to do a whole lot! I even got out of cake decorating duty since they all did their own!




Click the link to see all the photos from this grand event. I was stupid, and did not take any of the actual "sleeping".

Slide show of Acacia's 8!!

Father / Daughter Dance '08

This year our church did the father/daughter dance as a luau! How fortunate for Acacia that her Auntie Valerie has recently returned from Hawaii and brought back all the necessary equipment one would need for a luau! For some reason, the coconut bra did not last the entire event, but everything else did. Including the white shirt to wear under everything because it was cold! Acacia and Randy met up with our friends Matt and Adia and had a great time!!







Click the link to see all the photos from this festive event.

Slide show of the father / daughter dance '08!!

Catholic School Week '08

So, this past week was Catholic School week. Kind of like Week of the Young Child from day care .... something fun each day. Crazy hair day, mismatched clothes day, PJ day .... One day was school colors day (blue and white). Now, tell me - does she look like she goes to Catholic school or what??