Our Whole World....

Visit with Santa...

2011-12-20T10:38:00.002-09:00

Word to the wise, the best day to visit Santa Clause is on Black Friday. While everyone else is pepper spraying each other for a $2 waffle iron, Santa is available and there's never a line! ;O)

Christmas Photos...

2011-12-18T15:43:00.002-09:00

Dave bought me some photography lighting for Christmas and I managed to get it out of him early on the pretense that I would put it to good use taking Owen's Christmas photos. The alternative, is going to Sears and spending $25 on a sitting fee (which is good all year, but, we rarely use it more than once) and if I remember correctly, they make you buy a $150 package in order to get the photo cd with copyrights. So, see, I'm SAVING him money already! ;O) One sitting fee and package at Sears should have cancelled out the cost of the lighting, but, because we are here in AK, they take total advantage and the shipping ends up being as much as the light kit itself!!! So, I'll have to keep forcing photo shoots to make up for it I guess!!

Now I just have to get these on some sort of Christmas Card and get a letter written...I may be sending out Happy New Year cards instead! ;O)

These was one of the two good ones I got from the last impromptu photo shoot (I posted the other one in his 5-year look back post)...

Cars 2 Birthday...

2011-12-18T13:54:00.000-09:00

I bribed Owen into another photo shoot this morning...I wanted a picture of him in front of this birthday decoration we had on the wall before I took it down. He was less than cooperative today and that made me flustered enough that I didn't notice how bad the lighting was...I watched a few youtube videos...but, apparently, that's not enough!! ;O)

I really loved this one, but, the lighting was especially bad...I tried to reduce the saturation so he wasn't so blindingly white against the background!! I am going to keep working at it, but, thought I'd share it anyway.

I have so many more to fix, I'll share them as I finish them up!!

Owen's Officially Five...

2011-12-10T21:20:00.000-09:00

In honor of my baby no longer being a baby, I thought I'd share some pictures that we used for his birthday celebration at school. I had to provide one picture for each year to show the class while we talked about what he did and what he was like that year. Here's the pics I used this year:

2 Days Old

1 year-January 12, 2008 (Maui)

2 years-August 1, 2009

3 years-October 8, 2010 (Butte, MT)

4 years-April 6, 2011 (Disney World)

5 years (Almost)-November 19, 2011

It's a Healthy Baby....

2011-11-04T17:34:00.000-08:00

GIRL!!!!! I was so sure this was another baby boy, it honestly never crossed my mind I'd end up with a little girl, I'm in absolute shock and still trying to come to terms! ;O) She is a trouble maker already and is going to keep her big brother hopping I do believe!!

I was SO excited for the "4-D" sonogram we were scheduled for, but, instead, he spent most of his time in 2-D mode anyway. So, here's another grainy shot of our baby girl.

The sonogram guy waited until the end to get a good shot of her face and by that point she'd had all she was going to tolerate. The picture below is the best he was able to do. The rest of them have both her arms crossed in front of her face!! The one thing we're sure about...she has all 10 fingers! ;O)

And just because I think its crazy how much these two look alike, I thought I'd show a picture of Owen and his new sister at the same age!! I think they BOTH are going to be little Daddy mini-mes...I just get the chore of making them and he gets all the credit! ;O)

Halloween!

2011-11-04T08:51:00.001-08:00

So, Owen was SUPPOSED to be Bumble Bee from Transformers for Halloween this year. We even did a little photo shoot in the backyard in September with that costume!!

Instead, he INSISTED on wearing last year's costume come Halloween night!! I could barely get the hood over his head and then he was mad because I made him wear his coat over his costume. He cried and told me that nobody would be able to see the costume...dude, it was 20 degrees that night and it's not like I could fit a winter coat UNDER the costume that is almost 2 sizes too small!! Goof ball! He finally gave in when we told him he could answer the door for the other trick-or-treaters as a "dinosaur". He really enjoyed that part, but, instead of giving each kid 2 pieces of candy, he gave the girls 2 handfuls!!! Such a typical man!!

His uncle dressed up and went out with him. Owen was thrilled to have him there!

Snow!!

2011-11-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

We FINALLY got a little snow this past weekend...woohoo!! Dave went out to put away the last of the stuff laying around the yard in preparation for winter while Owen supervised, sledded, and enjoyed some hot chocolate by the fire! ;O) Don't you love that hat? Dave bought that for me before Owen ever existed as a joke. But, Owen thinks its the greatest thing ever made! It pays to keep stuff every once in a while I guess!!

Pumpkin Patch...

2011-10-22T09:39:00.001-08:00

Well, a pumpkin patch Alaska style anyway!! The Reindeer Farm in Palmer put on their first Halloween event this year and we decided to go. We had such a great time!! O.k., so the pumpkin patch left a little to be desired...they had about a 50 pumpkins tossed out in the field to choose from...it was kind of pitiful! But, they did have a hay maze, pony rides, a tractor pulled hay ride, and of course, we got to feed the reindeer! We also had a chance to check out the elk herd they have there now and a couple of bull moose they've rescued.

USMC...

2011-10-22T09:32:00.002-08:00

I think this turned out to be a super cute shot. Gram thought Owen and my Uncle Bill needed matching beenies. Owen doesn't quite grasp the difference between the Marines and all the other branches of the military yet, but, he does know how proud we are of the heros in our family! Plus, anything to look more like his uncle is a winner in his book!

Big Brother...

2011-10-22T09:29:00.001-08:00

We bought this shirt as a subtle hint to the family about the baby, but, nobody picked up on it! My uncle even told Owen that now all he needed was a little brother or sister to go with it...hello!!! ;O) Anyway, Owen knows what it says and wears it as often as I can get it washed. He's really excited for this baby to get here and he insists that if it's a boy, we have to name him "Engine"! I'm not so sure about that, but, we will know what the baby is going to be in less than 2 weeks!! Things have changed SO much since I was pregnant with Owen. We get a "4D" sonogram with this baby, I guess that's standard now. Last time, you only got a "3D" sonogram if you were considered high risk and I don't think "4D" even existed! Nothing like making me feel even older than I already do!!

Remembering the Tonsillectomy....

2011-09-17T12:07:00.001-08:00

So, as you all know, the tonsillectomy was extremely traumatic for all of us. But, I thought I'd share a few shots from the whole ordeal and just write-up what occurred for posterity sake!

The night before the surgery, we got a phone call around 8pm telling us that instead of being at the hospital an hour prior like we were originally told, they needed us there TWO hours early...not a big deal right, well, unfortunately, Owen's surgery was at 7:30am! I was less than impressed to say the least!

We made it, but, that just meant we had to wait and worry for TWO long hours! We were lucky to have a coworker of Dave's wife as our pre-op nurse. She was wonderful and between her and the other staff, it helped calm our nerves some. We didn't think to get a picture, but, when they took Owen back for the surgery, they put him in a Radio Flyer wagon!! It was so cute! He didn't even look back at us!!!

From the time they took him from us to the time the doctor came out to tell us all had gone well was just under 30 minutes! It was hard to believe that they could knock him out, take his tonsils and adenoids and be done that fast. I barely had time to start panicking/worrying! :O) Below is Owen after his surgery in his dad's arms. I was the one to go back in the room with him while he came to from the surgery and it was hard to see. But, his recovery nurse gave him a little bit of pain meds and he went back to sleep and woke up just a few minutes later back to his old self...well, as close as he could be post-surgery!

We got him home early Thursday afternoon and started him on his pain meds...acetaminophen with codeine every 3 hours around the clock. By Friday, I knew something wasn't right with the meds and called the doctor not once, but twice, in hopes he'd give us something else. I was blown off both times and told that there was no alternatives and to increase the frequency of the dosages. I was so groggy and stressed at that point that I followed through, but, I regretted it. By Saturday night, Owen was angry and mean, he hadn't spoke a single word since his surgery...just grunted, and had yet to eat or drink anything voluntarily. We'd gotten maybe 5 ounces of liquid down him in 3 days. I made a command decision that he was done with the prescription meds and gave him Advil instead. He immediately perked up and started playing and I think even ate an ice cream sandwich. We had a good night although he continued to be in pain and we went to sleep that night in hopes that we'd turned a corner. We continued to wake him up every couple of hours for another dose of Advil and I think it was that night that he woke up and was screaming in pain (which was typical, he struggled to deal with the pain every time we had to wake him up). I was holding him and rubbing his back waiting for the medicine to kick in when he looked at me and said, "Mommy, you need to calm me down!". I don't know what I was doing that wasn't adequate, but, I was just informed I had to step it up!

Here's a couple shots of the poor kiddo the days after the surgery. We made him get out of bed and get dressed to watch movies downstairs in hopes it would perk him up to be moving around...we were wrong.

Sunday morning, just 4 days after the surgery, Owen woke-up puking blood. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life. There was blood ALL over the bathroom and he seemed to be losing such a large volume and so fast, we weren't sure if he would make it to the hospital if we drove him. We made the decision to go ahead and get him as close as we could and call for emergency help on the road if necessary. He did o.k. in the truck and they moved us right through and back to a room in the ER where he started vomiting the blood again. They gave him some anti-vomiting meds and an IV and he was able to stop the vomiting and fell asleep. They called our ENT who had performed the surgery, but, couldn't get an answer. The on-call ENT refused to come in because Owen wasn't his patient. I was SO mad and terrified. I can't believe they'd prefer to leave a 4 year old sit in an emergency room rather than come in and check on someone else's surgical patient. Two and a half hours later, our ENT finally called, but, didn't bother to come in to see him. We were told to go home and hopefully it wouldn't happen again. Nice huh! On Monday I had to call the doctors office and throw a tantrum until they prescribed a new straight high dosage acetaminophen. Why couldn't they have done that when I called on Friday!!

Here's our little dude in the ER. He was so brave and even tolerated them having to poke him 3 times to start the IV!

I took Owen to see my rolfer the following Tuesday and had him use his cold laser on Owen's throat. The results were unbelievable! Just hours after the laser treatment, Owen was drinking AND EATING voluntarily!!!! The first time for either since the surgery! He was also full of energy and TALKING and PLAYING!! It was such a relief!! We did a second treatment that Friday with the rolfer and because Owen continued to have pain in his jaw joints, we also took him to see a doctor in our naturopaths office that does cranial sacral therapy. He worked on the plates in his head as well as the muscles in his shoulders and upper back. He said that they were so tight and knotted up that he couldn't believe he hadn't complained about his back. After a couple visits with him, we haven't heard any complaints about Owen's jaw and are happy to report that he's back to himself!! I'm so thankful for naturopathic medicine treatments/remedies!!!

Coming Soon....

2011-09-17T11:16:00.001-08:00

For those of you that don't already know....we're expecting Baby Number 2 next spring!! We're excited, but, mostly, just overwhelmed! This little buggar is making it tough on me to be on the computer, so, posting is probably going to be far and few between! I'm still taking pictures though!! I'll have to catch-up at a later date I suppose.

Lots of Catching Up!!!

2011-09-17T11:13:00.002-08:00

I have TONS of photos to share from the past few months, but, figured I'd start with the few I've already edited. Right after Dave's parents headed home, my Dad and Mitzi came up for a visit. We headed over to Hatcher Pass for a hike and Dave took lots of pictures. I thought these were the best of the bunch and more importantly, already edited them! :O)

Dave was playing with the Black and White Mode on the camera...I'm going to have to take the camera rights away from him I think!! If he'd done them in color, I could have converted to B&W, but, I don't know how to convert back to color. So, what you see is what I've got!

Owen Skating Video...

2011-09-17T11:04:00.001-08:00

I think we've texted this to most of you, but, I just think its the cutest thing ever. We're hoping that Owen will play on the hockey team this October, but, thanks to a "Learn To Play Hockey" class that was more like hockey boot camp for 12 year olds, his confidence is low. Dave will have to work with him this month if he can find the time!! I hope this posts, if you can't see it, please let me know!

Randoms...

2011-07-09T20:14:00.000-08:00

I edited both of these photos the other night and just now remembered them...

I took this one a couple weeks ago. Owen had a long day fishing with dad and wanted to watch t.v. on his little dvd player (not sure why thats a thrill). Anyway, Dave came downstairs and was talking to me while I worked on dinner. I don't know how much time had passed when I finally realized we hadn't heard from Owen. Dave doesn't realize how much excitement fishing can be for a little boy...he was absolutely exhausted!! Of course, pants were off as soon as he walked through the door...when is he going to outgrow this "stage"!!!

This is just a shot from our photo shoot the other day. I missed it when I first edited the photos, but, caught it later and especially like it for some reason. I think because its truly how our little man looks without a cheesy picture grin on his face...plus, I love how the pink in his cheeks shows! ;O)

What does $250 Buy You....

2011-07-09T20:07:00.000-08:00

Hockey gear for a four-year-old!! O.k., not really, we already had the "expensive" parts...his skates and helmet...thank goodness!! I just had to share these shots of Owen in his gear, I couldn't decide between the two photos, so, you get them both. We were just trying everything on, so, don't mind the tags. All I can say is this kid better get a scholarship out of this!

There was a guy in the store that had two kids in hockey...we'd have to re-finance the house for a second one! ;O) Owen is absolutely ecstatic though, so, hopefully it's as fun to him on the ice as it is at home!! We'll keep you posted...

Lil' Kicker...

2011-07-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

I have tons of photos to go through from our 4th, but, couldn't resist posting these really quick. I took them of Owen after soccer practice today. He's sure enjoying it, he starts hockey on Tuesday and is super stoked! It's only a 3-week class, but, I'm hoping he gets a lot out of it in preparation for hockey season in September! ;O)

Gold Cord Lake...

2011-07-05T13:13:00.000-08:00

We stayed close to home this holiday weekend, so, to make up for it, we tried to get out and do something every day. On Friday we saw Cars 2...they've really made this one a boy movie. I enjoyed it, but, thought it was a little dark and very James Bondish...they even killed off a few cars!!

On Saturday, we headed up to Hatcher Pass and hiked around for a few hours. We typically just make our own trail up behind Independence Mine, but, this time, Dave decided we try something new and hike up to Gold Cord Lake. It was a fairly steep hill, but, the trail weaved back and forth and made it a lot easier. Of course, the scenery didn't hurt either!!

They've done a really nice job on the trail and even have bridges built in here and there where necessary.

There was a lot of low hanging fog on the way up the mountain, but, it cleared as we approached the top and we got to see more and more of the mountains.

Owen led the way all the way up and seemed to really enjoy the hike. But, he was definitely worn out by the time we headed back downhill and thought we should carry him...fat chance of that, he's too big!!

The lake was absolutely breathtaking and the water was so clear...all those brown rocks you see in the picture below are under water, crazy huh!

Of course, no trip to Hatcher Pass is complete in Owen's mind without taking some time to play on the little mine train they have on display (I don't know the technical term for this thing, but, I'm sure Dave will correct me when he reads this!).

Magic Kingdom Part 2...

2011-07-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

We had SO much fun at Disney, I'm already so ready to go back. The weather was amazing, we were never bored, and Owen was thrilled. Can't ask for more right!! We really took advantage of the park hopper tickets and the late hours at Magic Kingdom and pretty much visited it every night after spending the day at one of the other parks. There was so much to do there, I couldn't get over it. When Dave and I went last time (pre-Owen) our focus was so different. We totally bypassed all the little people rides and that cuts out quite a bit of the park. But, of course, that wasn't an option this time!

Shawn and I spent a lot of time waiting for Dave and Owen....Owen was totally infatuated with the Toy Story ride in Tomorrowland and would have just rode it over and over if we'd have let him. So, Shawnie and I amused ourselves by taking pictures with this random dude under the Astro Orbiter ride...I don't know why, but, we thought we were really funny! ;O)

Owen's other infatuation was the monorail that toured the park. I know he rode it at least 3 times while we were there. It was funny what he found exciting!!

My all-time favorite ride out of all the parks is and always will be Space Mountain...Thunder Mountain comes in a close second however! ;O) Dave does not love Space Mountain, but, Shawnie was up to going on it with me. We had the craziest experience, right as we were ending the ride the whole thing shut down, it totally made our vacation!! We were literally ready to turn into the room where you get out of the car when it happened, so, unlike the rest of the riders, we weren't out anything...which made it better. Plus, they give you this ultimate Fast Pass to ride any ride at any time to make up for it. This is Shawnie and I waiting for them to let us out...

This is a picture of all the tracks inside with the light on, crazy huh!! Notice the car with people in it in the upper left of the photo...that was just one car behind us...they had to take the stairs all the way down along with all the others trapped behind us. Can you imagine!! We saw some HUGE people there! I can't imagine how they extricate them from the ride! Anyway, it was a total thrill to get to see the inside of this ride, I probably would have been less amused if I'd been one of the ones who stood in line for over an hour however! ;O)

If I had to guess, I'd say Splash Mountain was Dave's favorite. We did everything to try and talk Owen into going on this one, but, he just wasn't having it! We got sidetracked and missed Shawnie and Dave during the drop, but, snapped this photo of them as they rounded the corner at the end of the ride.

Alright, I'll be back with more pictures...I still have Busch Gardens and Sea World left...I may have taken too many photos! ;O)

Magic Kingdom...

2011-07-03T18:21:00.001-08:00

I think I mentioned it before, but, I made the BIG mistake of hitting the Animal Kingdom on our first day in Disney. Owen was devastated...there was not a castle anywhere to be seen!!! The idea behind my decision was that the Animal Kingdom closed at 5pm, so, we could do our thing and then go to a nice dinner and still be in bed at a decent hour. Fortunately, since we had the park hopper option and the Magic Kingdom is open until midnight, we were able to head over after dinner.

Owen was thrilled beyond words when he got his first glimpse of the castle. To this day, if you mention Disney, he turns and says, "Thats where the magic begins you know..."! I think I've mentioned that before, but, it amuses me to no end every time he works it into the conversation! ;O)

One of the first rides Owen went on was Dumbo. Shawn and I amused ourselves by taking pictures in one of the cars they had on display while Dave and Owen rode the real thing. We had to fight off a spanish speaking family with about a dozen kids just for her to sit in it...in fact, I think there was one playing on the floor by Shawn's legs when I took this shot! ;O)

After the ride, Owen got his chance for a shot in the Dumbo car...

This is Shawnie preparing to watch one of the many 3D shows in the park, I think it was Mickey's Philharmagic...I love that show, it hasn't changed at all even though its been there forever, but, I still think it's fun to watch!!

We of course had to get this kid some ears. I took this picture after it got dark so the ears are kind of blurry, but, thought it was still cute of Owen.

Of course, a trip to the Magic Kingdom isn't complete without watching the light show at night!!

Shawnie actually took better pics of the fireworks with her Iphone....but, I had fun playing with some of the settings on my camera.

I have more pictures from Magic Kingdom, but, I'm worried Blogger will freeze up if I put them all in one post. I'll split into two parts...

Epcot...

2011-07-03T17:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, I'm still weeding through these...I'm getting there though! ;O)

We really only spent one day at Epcot, it's really not that kid oriented and has very few rides. Although, we did the Soarin' ride for the first time and we all really enjoyed it. Dave and I ran out of time last time we were in Orlando and figured we didn't miss out on much, but, we were wrong!!

I get such a kick out of all the topiaries in the parks. They are absolutely amazing, I can't imagine the time and energy and care that go into these things. Everyone got tired of taking pictures in front of them, but, where will you ever see this kind of thing again!

We spent a lot of time waiting in line for food or drinks at Epcot. I kept Shawnie and Owen entertained by making them take even more pictures! ;O)

We managed to get photos with the Donald from Mexico while we were there, but, it was a long wait too. I thought this was a cute shot of Owen while he sat in the shade patiently watching the other kiddos get to meet Donald.

One last picture of us being goofy...how many people can you fit in a photo booth? ;O)

First You Tube Video...

2011-06-23T11:24:00.002-08:00

Yaaay!! I figured out how to use IVideo and have created a YouTube account. I'm hoping that between the two, I can start posting videos of this kid. This one in particular I wanted everyone to see...or actually hear...for themselves!! Make sure you have the volume up, this kid is so all boy!

Gram Turns 90...

2011-06-17T21:49:00.002-08:00

O.k., last pictures, then I will be back to Disney pics!!

Oh, I keep meaning to point out that I found a new owl background for this blog, isn't it cute? I still preferred the first one, but, haven't been able to find it since it was deleted during the shake-up at "Cutest Blog on the Block". I still need to change the header, but, that will have to wait until I come up with something...

On to the photos, these were taken on my grandmother's 90th birthday, the first week of May. She's still so independent, it blows me away!! I hope, if I live to be her age, I will be as feisty and self-sufficient as she is!

My mom was able to break away from work and fly up to surprise Gram just in time. We didn't do anything too spectacular, but, we had dinner at my house and just enjoyed some time together. Shawn refused to wait to do a photo with all of us in it. So, this is a 2-parter. I wish Dave had told me I had no neck when he took this photo though!! I would have angled differently! ;O)

Sharp Shooter...

2011-06-17T21:42:00.001-08:00

Dave practically raced to the store to get Owen a bb gun after the success he'd had with him on the 22. So, here's a shot of them shooting together in the backyard. Owen just loves anything guns. I can't decide if it's a father like son thing or just a generic boy thing... ;O)

This one was taken the same day. This kid cracks me up so much. How many kids do you know that argue with you about wanting to wear their safety gear. Owen insists on wearing his ear muffs almost any time he's outside. Of course, I forgot to put a bike helmet on him...we never wore one as kids and I have a heck of a time remembering to put Owen in one!! Now that we've dug out the helmet, he has both his bike and hockey helmet on his handle bars...Owen's insistence, not mine!! Guess he's prepared for anything!

Never Forget...

2011-06-17T21:27:00.000-08:00

We spent Memorial Day as we always do, on base, paying our respects to my grandfathers as well as all the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. It was a nice service, but, I couldn't help but notice, as I did last year, how many new grave stones speckle the cemetery. It really brings the war close to home when you look up and realize there are more parents and young wives and babies who will never meet their fathers grieving than there are families like us there to remember grandfathers, one of which made it home and had the chance to grow old. I'll be glad when all our troops are home. But, as always, we need to make a point to never forget those who gave some and those that gave all...

There was a lot of remodeling done to the cemetery a few years back and in doing so, they eliminated a most of the parking. So, while we waited, we took some pictures with Gram. I try to never miss an opportunity to get a picture with her and Owen. They definitely have a special bond.

Max...

2011-06-17T20:35:00.000-08:00

I meant to throw this picture in with the Photo Shoot shots...doesn't Max crack you up. This is how we keep him from digging under the fence in the backyard and escaping!! We put this collar on him and he can't mentally compensate for the extra width to dig his hole diameter accordingly. It works wonders!! ;O) Prior to using this collar, we had considered everything from electrifying the chain link portion (which is the back-half where he usually does his digging), installing one of the invisible fences, or even biting the bullet and fortifying the entire fence like we did the kennel with 2x4s, chicken wire, and gravel.

Dave actually purchased this inflatable collar a while back as a substitute for the plastic cone from the vet's office when Max had pestered Shawnie's Dudley one time too many and ended up with a drain in his side. Initially, I was really mad about the collar because, if I recall correctly, it was $75!! (Petco doubles the price of everything in their store up here in comparison to their website prices...nice huh!) Anyway, now I don't care if it was $500!! It was worth EVERY penny! ;O) Since I started putting this on him, he hasn't escaped once!! You have no idea how obnoxious it is to be out in the yard with the dog and as soon as you turn your back he's on the other side of the $12,000 fence staring at you with a smirk in his eyes!! He doesn't even run away!!! He just wants you to know he could if he wanted to! It's like having a rebellious teenager in the house!!! Anyway, just had to share our ridiculous solution to a ridiculous problem!!

Photo Shoot!

2011-06-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post!! It's been so busy, I can't seem to stay on top of things ever...I swear, I just don't know how everyone else seems to do it!! Anyway, I"ll try working my way from the most recent pics back. Although, I still have a ton of photos from our trip to Florida I want to share!! I need more time in the day!

Owen had an eye appointment today and although the doctor is still convinced he's near sighted, she's decided that his eyes are equally near sighted now and therefore, she decided that we can continue without the glasses and not check on him again for a year...woohoo! I was TERRIBLE about making him wear those stupid things and am glad he doesn't have one more thing to make him a target when he goes to school. I think that birth mark under his nose is enough to deal with!

Anyway, we spent the morning running additional errands and since it was such amazing weather, we skipped his nap and spent some much needed time in the sun. I even talked Owen into a photo shoot with a promise we'd go to the park afterwards. He was pretty cooperative and I think I got a few cute shots. I didn't realize until I edited the photos however, how wrinkly his shorts were! They were stuffed in the back of his closet since they get worn so infrequently...oops! :O)

Owen starts soccer tomorrow morning and is absolutely ecstatic. I probably won't take pictures tomorrow, but, will soon after I am more familiar and no how much I can get away with! Hope you're all enjoying the weekend!

Photo Pass Pics...

2011-05-08T14:46:00.001-08:00

We went ahead and bought the Photo Pass cd partly because there were a few pictures that turned out better than our own and partly because you could add the characters signatures to the photos and other fun borders!

This one of Owen with Lightning was a must-have. The car would rev his engine and get pretty loud. When you stood by the cars, the noise was pretty deafening thanks to an overhang above the cars. So, in the shots Dave got, Owen had one hand covering his ear. I was thrilled to see that the Photo Pass people got a shot before the noise started!

How cute is this shot with Mickey's signature! ;O)

The only down side was that you could only put one signature per photo. I have to figure out how to photoshop Winnie-the-Pooh's signature in to Shawn's photo!

First Time Shooting!

2011-05-08T13:50:00.002-08:00

I was out of town on a girl's weekend last weekend and Dave decided to take our little man shooting for the first time. We'd hoped to do it last summer, but, it seemed like every time we had the opportunity, it would pour on us.

I was proud of Dave for getting these shots...he went alone and had to use a tripod and everything. Owen was absolutely in heaven. He was so proud he finally got to shoot with his dad and seemed to love every second of it. He was still beaming when I got home. I asked him which gun he preferred shooting and he told me the rifle...go figure! ;O)

MGM

2011-05-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

We didn't end up spending much time at all at MGM. It's not got a lot of rides, mostly shows that require you to stand in line for an hour just to get a seat. So, we kind of skipped out on the main portions of the park by doing so. However, we did make a point for Owen to ride the new Toy Story ride there, which was incredible!!! And Shawn and Dave rode the Rock'N'Roller Coaster. Shawnie really wanted to do the Tower of Terror, but, Dave and I both turned her down...

I did take her picture in a Goofy hat though! ;O)

You got to love the city scapes in MGM, the pictures certainly turn out realistic looking!

This is Dave and Owen on one of the Disney Shuttle buses coming back from the park. I swear, if all we had done was ride the shuttle buses, Owen would have completely happy!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T12:43:00.001-08:00

Hope you are all enjoying the day!! We kind of did our Easter celebration last night with my family and are having a lazy day today. We dyed eggs at my aunts house with Owen's 5 cousins and new baby cousin (close enough to be a cousin anyway). It's funny how an only child slides into a room with 6 other kiddos as if he spends every day with them...he absolutely loves Sherry's kids and honestly, you wouldn't really know he wasn't one of hers to look at them. He's right between the 2 youngest and gets along with all of them. Of course, he still wants to take baby Makenna home with us every time we leave! ;O)

This morning we found a basket full of goodies from the Easter Bunny and lots of hidden eggs, although, Owen seems to think it was us. He doesn't seem to have any thought that there's such a thing as an Easter Bunny. Not sure how we blew that one. Oh well, one less thing to confess as he gets older! ;O)

Souveniers!

2011-04-24T12:23:00.001-08:00

I have lots more photos to go through of our trip, but, I just haven't had the motivation. I thought I'd post a couple pictures of the "loot" Owen came home with in the mean time.

So, these cars were more my thing than his I think, I told him he could pick 3 initially, but, they weren't the ones I wanted him to pick! ;O) So, I sent him back for 3 more later...still, not exactly my top choices, but I had to let it go! I'd never seen cars like these before. They had a car for every Disney character you could imagine, they even have a Star Wars line! From the left, Owen chose Pluto, Wall-E, the pig from Toy Story (I think anyway), Nemo, and scale size models of the monorail and the shuttle bus we took to the parks. There were SO many to choose from and I can tell you, only 2 of the 6 he picked were on my favorites list!! I really wanted him to get a Mickey car, but, he wasn't having it...I didn't think we needed the monorail or shuttle bus for sure!!

We of course got him some ears with his name embroidered on the back and a Mickey sweatshirt..."Shampu" he picked himself. He's usually into little stuffdies and I told him he could pick one Shamu to take home, I didn't expect him to pick the biggest one in the store!! What can you do! We'd already planned to bring home a second piece of luggage, so, it wasn't the end of the world, but, definitely not convenient!! ;O)

Character Parade...

2011-04-15T18:53:00.000-08:00

Owen was so funny about the characters he'd take pictures with and who he would refuse to get close to! But, he was thrilled with the ones he visited!

Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

2011-04-15T11:24:00.000-08:00

For the first 7 nights, we stayed at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort a Mexican/Mayan themed resort right between the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios/Epcot. Shawn was really disappointed in the room size for the price, but having stayed in the Animal Kingdom Lodge during our previous trip, Dave and I knew what to expect and were pleased. The room itself was tiny, outdated, and could have been cleaner. But, the grounds were amazing and I would definitely stay here again. Plus, you're really paying for the bus service to and from all the parks (which is just SUPER convenient), the early openings/late closings just for resort guests, and most importantly during peak season...Fast Passes!! The fast passes saved our whole trip, it would have been miserable to stand in the lines...some of the wait times were as much as 90 minutes, but with our passes, we'd wait no more than 5 or 10 minutes.

Here's some pictures of the hotel grounds....

I love how the Disney hotels are kind of an "experience", they definitely go the extra mile customer service wise and all the details of their resorts are amazing!

Owen LOVED the pool area...I didn't take too many pictures there, but, it was pretty amazing. They had a playground off to the left of this Mayan temple and a water slide that wrapped around the temple and emptied right on the right side of the picture. To the right of the pool was an area for the little ones where they had water that squirted out of the ground to run around in...know what I am talking about? There was also a hot tub and a bar as well as two additional pools on the grounds. We could have just spent our vacation at the pool!

This is just a random extra...there were lizards EVERYWHERE!! I counted 7 between the hotel and the car one day. Owen really enjoyed them. You should have heard the croaking at night, there must have been hundreds or even thousands of frogs there too, although, we only ever saw one! We also saw 2 hummingbirds while we were there, I just LOVE them!

We're Back from Disney World!!

2011-04-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

We survived the trip and are glad to be back home! We had SO much fun and I don't know about Dave and Shawnie, but I know I didn't realize how much I needed a vacation until we got there!

We went down on the red-eye and had I known what I know now, I would have come back on the red-eye as well. We had just one plane change in Seattle and then direct from there to Orlando...that leg of the flight was just 5 hours on the way down, but, 6 hours on the way back with a 6 hour layover in Seattle!!! Owen did awesome as expected on the flights, but, that layover in Seattle on the way back about did him in...of course, he was sound asleep before the plane ever hit the runway (literally!!) in Seattle and slept the entire 4 hour flight home. In fact, he was mad we woke him up for the landing!

Here he is in Orlando when we arrived...so many people commented about him as he walked around the airports in his monster jammies, it was funny! He was SO excited and so were we...it was high 70s when we landed around 7pm there and the weather only got better! We had one rainy day, but, I think the temps were in the upper 80s to lower 90s the rest of the time. It was beautiful!!

We hit the Animal Kingdom first...big mistake, I thought it would be nice to take it easy the first day, but, Owen thought he'd been ripped off when "the castle" wasn't there. We had fun, but, definitely shouldn't have started there. We made it through the park pretty quickly and then back to the room for a nap and thankfully, with the park hopper tickets...we were off to the Magic Kingdom later that night. Did you know that Magic Kingdom is open until midnight regularly!!! It worked out great considering that was just 8pm our time!

Owen got a huge kick out of the rides at all the parks and thankfully, was just barely the 42" required for most of the rides. We couldn't talk him into the Bug's Life 3D movie at Animal Kingdom or Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom, but, he pretty much did everything else he was tall enough to ride.

For a long time he was telling us that the TriceraTop Spin was his favorite ride of them all...its like Dumbo where it goes up in the air and spins in a slow circle. Not too exciting if you ask me...of course, that was taken care of after we road Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin where you shoot aliens as you ride in a space cruiser.

We blew it and missed the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom, but, Owen loved all the other activities in Dinoland.

This tree with all the animals carved in it always fascinates me! Owen was less than impressed however!

I think we all enjoyed the Kilimanjaro Safari...of course, by then, our feet were killing us!!

Those Eyes...

2011-03-27T06:00:00.002-08:00

So, there's something about the bathroom lighting (well, actually the natural light that comes through the bathroom window), that just seems to emphasize Owen's eyes. I'm fascinated with his eyes, they're such a beautiful color...but, they don't come from his dad nor I. I spend a lot of time contemplating what layer of the family tree brought those eyes to him!

Anyway, I grabbed my camera and tried to capture those big brown puppy dog eyes! This is how it went....

As usual he started out cooperative...

then things began to deteriorate....

until I got this....

He is seriously the orneriest little boy I've ever met!! I guess life would be boring if he did EVERYTHING (or even SOME) of what I asked! ;O)

Just Because Pictures...

2011-03-26T08:20:00.000-08:00

I just thought these were cute...this is Owen talking to my mom and brother on the phone. He's taken up answering the phone on his own these days when we're in another room. So far, he's only caught his dad, Auntie Shawn, and I. But, it's only a matter of time...when I called he told me that he was home alone!!! That's what I want him to tell strangers! His dad was in the driveway chipping ice...I'm not sure that qualifies as home alone!!

Since my dad was here and was encouraging Owen to ride his snow machine, Owen's decided maybe it isn't so bad...Dave's had him out several times and he really does an awesome job. Most kids his age struggle with steering, Owen has that down to a science. I think it's just keeping a consistent hold on the throttle now.

One Last Picture from Dad's Trip...

2011-03-26T08:14:00.002-08:00

Owen sure enjoyed my dad while he was here and was not happy that he was leaving! He's looking forward to his next visit already! ;O)

First Flight...

2011-03-12T10:34:00.000-09:00

Well, in a private aircraft anyway! Dad took Owen and I up for Owen's first private plane ride while he was here visiting. We had quite a bit of high winds while Dad was here, it was really usual and got old really quick. But, it cleared in time for Dad to get quite a bit of flying in which I think he was pretty thrilled about. I wasn't super excited about flying, but, I was really glad I went. I had forgotten how much fun it is!

Here's the three of us before take off...

Here's the boys...Dad was surprised how much shorter he was then Uncle Doc when he saw this photo...you'd think by now he'd be used to it!

This is the goofy grin Owen had on his face the ENTIRE flight! So funny, he absolutely loved every minute of it and asked constantly when Gramps was going to take him up again. I think Uncle Doc has a new flying partner! ;O)

Thought I'd throw in a view shot...this is downtown Eagle River...notice the SNOW! Yuck, it was 8 degrees when I looked this morning, its been warming up to the low 30s during the day though. Things are slowly starting to melt a little. Probably better than all going at once, when that happens, the sewer drains tend to stay frozen and all the snow melt ends up flooding the streets.

This is after we landed. Doesn't Owen look like a serious flyer in this shot? He's so funny!

Little Builder...

2011-03-12T10:05:00.000-09:00

Dave decided Owen NEEDED one of the building kits that Lowes sells and got him a few tools to go with it the other day. Owen was so excited and ready to get started. First he put on ear protection (we don't know why, but, he thinks that its a necessity any time you're in the garage...safety first I suppose!), then he started by measuring his snow machine...I just don't get boys and tools!

I couldn't resist a close-up...he looks like a chipmunk with these things on!!! Of course, the fact that he tripped on the stairs coming inside and skidded on his face earlier in the day, just makes him look all that much more pitiful! ;O)

I couldn't resist this picture...these are the supervisors...despite the hammering and other noises, they both insisted on coming into the garage and monitoring the situation...

And this is our goof-ball with the finished product along side his newest (at the time) prized possession, a lego motor home...I swear, I'll never understand. Don't you love this face...nothing like hamming it up! The older he gets the less cooperative he becomes and the more he amuses himself with trying to frustrate his mother!

Snow, Snow, and MORE Snow...

2011-03-12T09:23:00.000-09:00

We had such a rainy, miserable summer prior to a pretty cold winter and quite frankly, I'm starting to go a little crazy!! Between the stress at work and the cold temps, I definitely have the worst case of cabin fever I've ever experienced!! I typically enjoy our winters, but, this has just gotten to be too much. We have had a lot of sunshine lately though and that's made it a bit easier. Here's some pictures of my fur babies and the not-so-fur baby out playing in the snow!

Doesn't Max look like he's in deep thought? He cracks me up. It's hard to get a picture of him where he doesn't look like he's in pain or worried. Those satellite ears are always standing straight up!

Daisy is so hard to photograph. It's like she knows what your doing and takes off before you can get the shot. Fortunately, my little "dinosaur" is a ham and willing to pose with her long enough to get a shot.

Visit From My Dad...

2011-03-12T09:07:00.003-09:00

My dad came up for a visit a couple weeks ago and Owen and I drug him to the museum/Imaginarium to start-off his trip!! Owen was so excited to see him, he was too wound up to stop at any of the displays for very long. But, it was still fun and a good outing!

I've been swamped with work and been doing it both at the office and any free time I have at home. I'm way behind on posting pics as usual!!! I'm going to try and catch-up today (I'm too burnt out to work and hoping this will be the break I need!!).

Hockey Game

2011-01-29T21:10:00.000-09:00

Dave and Shawnie finally had an early game tonight so Owen and I went to watch. My pics didn't all turn out so hot, but, hopefully, you get the idea...

These two are a little blurry...Dave hurried me on this one! Hopefully we'll have a chance to get one with Dave again this season, otherwise, Dave's going to have to gear-up at home! That will teach him to hurry me!!!

This one's blurry too, but, it was still funny...Melanie stuffed her two kids into their dad's bag and Owen into Dave's. They were supposed to lay still until their dads opened them in the locker room. All 3 were so wiggly, both guys figured it out!

Lost Sledding Pics...

2011-01-22T15:23:00.000-09:00

I just emptied my other camera and found some more pictures of a sledding day in December...back when the snow was better for it! Owen's kind of a dare devil and loves to go down on his belly.

But, his favorite is when he gets to sled with his dad. Here they were still trying to pack the snow down, so, it's hard to tell that they were actually moving!

Shawn got Owen a snowmachine sled for his birthday and he MUCH prefers it to the real thing!!

Snow Days...

2011-01-22T13:30:00.000-09:00

So, after coming to the realization that I have yet to take any pictures this month, I decided to do a little "shoot" that I've been meaning to do for quite some time. Owen was less than cooperative...in fact, you'd think he was a crack baby the way he wiggled!! Anyway, this was the best I could do...we'll try again when I get the footprints mounted onto one sheet of paper. Can you believe how big that foot of his is now!!

We've had a ton of snow since Thursday...I would guess we are up to close to a foot and it's coming down hard again today. It's almost a welcome site, we've had a month of temps hovering right around zero...that gets old really quick!! So, with temps in the balmy 20s, we headed out to play...Im still working on my photography skills thanks to Kelby Training, but, my lighting has at least improved! I have to review my notes, but, I think I had it on a setting meant for landscape type photos, so, everything is a bit blurry for my taste...I guess I'll have to keep practicing, Owen will be thrilled! ;O)

The dogs love to play in the snow, but, they especially love it when we come out to play with them. Here's Daisy taking a snow bath...where's her head you wonder, it's somewhere under the snow...she cracks me up!

It's so hard to capture how warm and loving Max's little face truly is in a picture. Every time you bring the camera out, he seems to tense up. Outside, it's even hard to get any pictures of him because he moves so fast (talk about a polar opposite to Daisy...hehe)!! Anyway, here he is with his nose under the snow taking a break with me. Those eyes are almost the same color of the snow!

I made Dave take this shot of me and the pups after they'd worn themselves out and were relaxing with me. I'm totally thrilled with this picture...I just love my little fur babies!! ;O)

So Few Pictures!

2011-01-20T21:00:00.000-09:00

I just found out that the server that holds the blog background I was using is getting moved this month and for whatever reason, the background is no longer available. I'm so bummed!! It was such cute owls!! I haven't found anything I love, so, I settled on this fall background. I'll keep watching for something better.

In the meantime, I figured I'd better post some photos. But, can you believe I haven't taken any since the beginning of the year!! Things have gotten hectic at work and most of what's left of my free time has been spent on the Kelby Training website learning new stuff about my camera and the professional version of Photoshop that I got recently (thanks to Big Will!). So, hopefully, when I do start taking some photos, the quality will be much improved!!

Anyway, onto the photos....this is the only shot I took of Owen Christmas morning! Can you believe it? I got too busy helping him unwrap. He was so excited that santa ate his cookie and drank his milk, we had trouble getting him excited about the gifts. He's so funny. We still haven't sold him on the snowmachine, but, the train table that santa brought was a big hit and has minimized a lot of work on our part of setting up the tracks!

I think the dogs enjoyed Christmas most of all...they crack me up!

For New Years, Jose and Vanessa brought their kiddos over along with a TON of fireworks. The municipality made an exception this year and allowed them within city limits on New Years Eve. Owen loved it despite his serious look!

Just a couple stories for you...the first one happened today. I let Owen out with the dogs into the backyard to play in the new snow (we got around 4 inches today). I shut the door and thought to myself how nice it was that I could feel safe putting them all out without constant supervision. I checked back a few minutes later to find the mother and baby moose that hangs out in our neighborhood less than 10 feet from Owen and Daisy on the other side of the now 4 foot chain link fence (thanks to a hill on the neighbors side and the packed snow it was probably even less than that). I about had a heart attack. I hollered for Owen to come in and he and Daisy did start walking towards the house, but, neither were in a hurry. I screamed for Max and he came bolting up from the opposite side of the yard...I have no idea what he was doing exactly. I asked Owen what he was thinking standing so close to the moose and he informed me he was telling them that they were naughty because they were tearing up the tree (aka eating the bark). He's been scolded at school apparently and was none too happy that the moose weren't following the rules!! I shook for ever after that one...guess I didn't take into account moose when I let them all out!!! The moose must not have been too upset, Daisy was right with Owen, but didn't seem to even know the moose were there and as soon as Owen started walking towards me, both moose laid down and hung-out for quite a while right in the same spot.

O.k., so, onto Dave's story from the other day....I asked Owen to clean his room and after he got started I went to take a shower. Dave checked in on him every now and then and eventually, Owen told Dave that he was done. But, when he went in to verify, Dave found one more thing that needed cleaned-up and called Owen back to the room. Owen came in and after his dad pointed out the mess, Owen let out a heavy sigh and said, "O.k., one more time, you ask me again, I spank your butt". How's that for turning the tables!!

Trimming the Tree...

2010-12-23T18:24:00.000-09:00

O.k., so this will be the last post for tonight...we're off to do some skating. But, thought I'd share this last one with you...I tried to get both dogs in with the boys, but, Max decided it was a great opportunity for a belly rub. Those are his legs sticking out the side!! ;O)

First (and Hopefully Last) Skate Recital...

2010-12-23T18:17:00.000-09:00

O.k., so if ever there was a time that I was glad I didn't have a girl, it was last weekend!!! We sat through 2 hours of figure skating performances....yuck!! It's one thing to watch your kid, it's a whole other to watch 2 minutes of your child and an hour and 58 minutes of everyone else's!!! We would have left after Owen's routine was over, but, we stayed to watch Charlee who put on quite a show and so that Owen and Dave could skate afterwards.

Isn't Owen the cutest little skating Rudolph you've ever seen??? :O)

Missed some...

2010-12-23T17:57:00.000-09:00

Just found a few more already edited...this is Owen and Dave playing Rock Band. Owen loves to do the drums and has pretty good rhythm! He takes it SO seriously! We plan to get him into some guitar lessons this spring/summer. Just have to find a good teacher.

Owen needed some reindeer antlers for his skating recital. He was a little more thrilled with them then I had hoped and insisted on wearing them home from the store. A little while later, I came around the corner to find this....poor dog!!! Of course, I had to take pictures before I put her out of her misery! ;O)

Some Miscellaneous Shots...

2010-12-23T17:52:00.001-09:00

I've been editing photos here and there, but, I am SO behind...so, here's a few in an attempt to catch-up...

Daisy insists on getting behind the curtain as much as possible. Doesn't she crack you up?

I was messing around with Owen after we got home from his photo shoot at Sears and snapped these pics. How'd we end up with such a cutie pie! ;O)

Some shots from Owen's skate lessons...I have pictures from their recital last weekend yet to be edited. (Owen's in orange with a white helmet)

Back to Photoshopping...

Lunar Eclipse...

2010-12-23T17:45:00.000-09:00

Dave set-up his tripod in the driveway on Monday and braved the cold to get some shots of the eclipse. They turned out pretty awesome, so, I thought I'd share. Owen got a big kick out of it and got to stay up until the moon was about half-way obscured. We're pretty lucky to get to see it, the eclipse only happens once every 400 years!

10:25

10:39

10:52

11:01

11:12

11:20

11:28

11:30

11:37

11:43

11:51

12:07

12:22

Happy Birthday To You....

2010-12-16T21:36:00.000-09:00

We finally got to have Owen's birthday this past weekend. He seemed to have a lot of fun. Owen picked a Cars theme and it worked out really well. For the kids party, I sent them home with a goodie bag and a cupcake in one of those fun Cars tins that Target happen to have in their dollar bins. The cupcake fit perfect! I was really proud of myself for that idea! ;O)

The kid's portion was at a gymnastics gym in town. They had this foam pit thing that the kids couldn't get enough of. It was really funny to watch them try to move around in it!

I think Owen would have been happy doing nothing else!

The second room in the gym had these two long trampolines. The kids loved running up and down on them. We had fun, but, it wasn't at all like I had anticipated. In the past (and how it was portrayed in the description on their website), a coach was supposed to take them from equipment to equipment and kind of show them how to use it and instigate different games. Our "coach" sat on her rear and texted on her phone the whole time while the kids had a free for all. Fortunately, all the parents there were hands-on and the kids had a good time regardless!

We went home and had pizza and cake with the family. It was nice to have a break from so many kiddos, Owen had 8 friends show to his party! You could tell he was super overwhelmed though because around 6pm he asked to go to bed and watch t.v.. He went upstairs and never came back down while the rest of us visited!! That's so not like him, he's usually such a social bug!!

I have lots more photos to post, just have to sort through them. Hope you all have a happy Friday!

Visit with Santa...

2010-11-26T19:10:00.000-09:00

After the photo shoot, Dave and Owen went down to get a drink while I waited to pay for my photos. Owen was an absolute ANGEL today for the photos, which, considering how backed up they were, was a huge relief. So, when Dave came back and said there was a really great santa set-up with no line we decided it was worth a shot. I usually take Owen to Nordstrom for santa photos. But, there's always a ridiculous line and it is always hot and right in the middle of the store. So, I thought it was worth a shot to just get it over with. The Sears santa was AMAZING! He was great with Owen and I didn't even have to be in the photo this year! They make you pay for each individual electronic photo there where the other one gave you all of the shots they take on a disk...but, there was no wait and we didn't have to fight the crowds at 5th Avenue! So, that was worth the minimal pictures!!

People were out in huge volumes this year, the past few years, Dave and I have left the house around 10am and basically had the town to ourselves because all the doorbuster shoppers were shopped out...not this year!! Hope thats a sign of an improving economy...either that, or we are all broke and hopeful for a deal!

Picture Day!!!

2010-11-26T19:00:00.000-09:00

So, I had the brilliant idea of getting Owen's photos done today with the thought that everyone else would be doing some Black Friday shopping...I'm apparently not the only one with this plan in mind!! It was busier than I've ever SEEN!!

I'm posting all of the photos I liked out of the shoot. Let me know if there's any you would like printed and I will email you the full sized (pixel wise these are way small so that they open faster) versions. It's cheaper to buy a package with the cd as an add-on then just the cd these days. So, I did order some wallets and a 3 1/2 by 5 for everyone. I'm just not sure which ones...I at least have an idea and will guess as to which ones they are...

#4 (i think this is a wallet)

#9 (This was our pick for the 3 1/2 x5...I LOVE this pose!)

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15 (I think this is the other wallet)

#17

#19

#20

#21

#22

#25

#27

Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T18:05:00.000-09:00

We had a good Thanksgiving dinner out at my Uncle Bill and Aunt Amy's house this year. Owen loves to go out and wrestle with Bill. We didn't stay too long in hopes of getting Owen home in time for a nap, but, we still managed to over eat!!

Owen was posed out by the time I asked him to take a photo with Aunt Amy, so, unfortunately, this is the best we could get!

Owen's Acting Debut!

2010-11-26T17:30:00.000-09:00

O.k., it may be more like his standing debut while whispering...in public...but, it's more than some of them did. Montessori is all about being independent and making your own choices and then learning from your mistakes. So, it was up to the individual kiddos as to whether or not they chose to say their line or have one of the older kids do it for them. I would have been so irritated if we were packed into a crowded classroom to see my kid just stand there while another one spoke for him!!! Fortunately for Owen, he manned up, well, kind of!!! He's going through a stage where he gets real quiet if he's not super confident...it's super annoying! But, hopefully, it will pass! (Dave edited this one for me...note the fancy title page...super impressive!)

Here's a couple stills I took. Owen was the moose in the play. I have no idea what he said...I should get the script from his teacher to interpret...

Cracking Eggs...

2010-11-26T16:18:00.002-09:00

O.k., so videos aren't my thing...I'm terrible at taking them and it turns out, I'm terrible at editing them. Even the color is weird, Dave thinks I may have had it on a night setting. Who knows! Anyway, I was telling my mom (months ago) what a serious cook Owen is and she wanted to see him cracking eggs...so, here you go mom! Hopefully, you can make out what's happening!!!

Sorry for my voice over...it's annoying, I'm well aware..but, I haven't figured out how to take that or the background out without missing out on his voice at the end!

Dave uploaded all the video that was on our camcorder earlier this week so that I could get Owen's acting debut on there. We found this video from October along with a bunch more dating all the way back to 2008!!! I'm going to see what I can do to post better...it requires learning a whole new program, so, be patient with me!! Hope you all had a great and safe T-Day!!

Last Day of Fishing...

2010-11-07T14:31:00.002-09:00

Dave took Owen out to Willow for one last fishing trip the first weekend of October. Geoff, Mark, and Lynne all went out with him along with Molly and George.... Those dogs crack me up. Both Molly and Roxy cannot stand for Geoff or Jared to be out in the water without them. They pace and whine and worry the whole time. It's the sweetest thing I've ever seen. But, it makes for one very full boat (or jet ski...whichever the case may be) when the dogs decide they NEED to be out there to supervise! Owen had a blast though and caught quite a few trout. Notice how bundled up he had to be to do it though!!!

O.k., I'm all caught up, phew!!! That was a lot of pictures!!! We've had relatively high temps (mid-30s) all weekend. But, the temperature must have dropped because we now have big fluffy flakes falling pretty hard out of nowhere....wish us luck on the drive into work tomorrow!!!

What Dave's Been Up To...

2010-11-07T14:23:00.001-09:00

Shawn, Jenna and Geoff bought Dave a gift card for one instructor led flight for his birthday. Dave finally got around to using it a couple weeks back and has the flying bug all over again. Uncle Doc doesn't help the issue either. He took Dave flying while we all got stuff prepped for Auntie Shawn Day. These are the photos Uncle Doc took....of course, Geoff and Jared are thinking up a pilot's license too which isn't helping my cause!!!

Check out our grass, not looking too shabby! Of course, this was before the snow hit....

One last shot of Dave after he'd helped pilot the plane...he looks a little too comfortable, doesn't he? :o)

Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center...Through Owen's Eyes

2010-11-07T14:00:00.002-09:00

So, the biggest part of going through the photos on the old camera was weeding through the enormous number of photos Owen took at the Alaska Conservation Center in Portage. I thought I'd share a few...

This elk was performing for the females and in doing so, kept throwing around the wood in this pile. He eventually got the tree you see him lifting here, stuck in his antlers. Owen seemed to enjoy him as this was where the biggest bulk of pictures were taken!!!

This photo cracks me up. This is what Owen saw when Dave and Anthony were taking the shot seen about four down in this post (click on it to go back).

Owen really got a kick out of this little porcupine too. Poor guy, wasn't in a very big enclosure and seemed really stressed.

More Fishing...

2010-11-07T13:47:00.001-09:00

Dave talked his dad into getting a fishing license while he was here and tried to make the most of it. I believe these pictures are from their trip to Kepler-Bradley lakes in Palmer. I have to give it to them, they were dedicated despite the less than ideal temperatures. It looks like it was beautiful out there though. We didn't get any of the bright red leaves on our cranberries.

Tourists in Town Square....

2010-11-07T13:40:00.000-09:00

We met up with some of Dave's work friends downtown the first Friday in September and played tourists in Town Square. I love all of the flowers, but, never take the time to go play. So, this was a special (but kind of cold) treat!!

Owen cracks me up, as long as there's dirt, he doesn't care where we go! Reminds me of his dad!!! ;O)

Fish On!

2010-11-07T13:36:00.001-09:00

This is one of the pictures off of the old camera that I'm finally getting to! Dave took Owen out to fish on Fire Lake the last weekend in August and managed to catch this big ol' ugly pike!! It poured rain and I believe this is the trip that the two of them only managed to survive about 10 minutes before I got the call to pick them back up. It was worth it for this shot though! ;O)

Birds of a Feather..

2010-11-07T11:12:00.001-09:00

Friday night Owen came into the office just to play with the bird. Owen got sick of the impromptu "photo shoot" I was doing of the two of them and decided to read his book. The bird got a kick out of the book too...

The bird took a break to love on Owen (it's hard to tell, but, here he's rubbing Owen's cheek with his beak).

These pictures just cracked me up...I don't know who enjoyed the book more!

Pumpkin Carving...

2010-11-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

We had Auntie Shawn day a couple weekends back and had fun carving pumpkins afterwards. Owen was a hands-on man this year, although, he didn't quite get the concept of following the lines on the templates we had...he's more of an abstract kind of guy....I love his shirt though, I need a better picture of him in it though...the eyes are googly and they move around!

I love how Owen has to be right in the middle of everything, especially when it comes to his dad. Dave had a bit of trouble working around his help!!! ;O)

One last shot of the goofy kid...

So, I'm sure you've noticed that we don't have any "after" photos of the pumpkins. That would be thanks to these two...

We carved two pumpkins that Sunday (Shawn had her own that she bought a Mr. Potatoe Head kit for and then Geoff assembled it for her...I didn't think to get a picture...it was lame) and had a third I planned to finish some time during the week so that it was ready for Halloween the next weekend. Well, come Thursday afternoon I noticed our pumpkins were gone!! At first, I thought they had succumb to the evil doings of local hoodlums! But, it became pretty apparent when I found the pumpkin crumbs in the yard that it was a different kind of trickster! The moose were back on Saturday looking for more...fortunately, our 3rd pumpkin was safe inside!!! I don't mind the moose eating them AFTER Halloween, but, considering I spent more than $10 a piece, I was not amused!! I haven't seen a moose in our neighborhood for months prior and hadn't crossed my mind that it would be a problem. Last year it was December before they ate the darn pumpkins. And for those of you that were wondering...there was no snow on Thursday so there were no hoof prints to tip me off...oh, and by the way, the 3rd pumpkin is still sitting on the porch totally untouched. No doubt it will warm up and rot without any takers!!! ;O)

Special Treat for Halloween...

2010-11-04T18:07:00.001-08:00

RD called Dave up around noon on Saturday and asked where we were at. They were at the rink with Charlee and figured we'd be there already. Not so much...we hadn't even thought about the Halloween skate they do. So, we packed Owen up and headed over, we never would pass up a chance to hang out with Charlee! Owen wasn't real thrilled at first, but, Dave got him one of the metal stands they have for the little guys and he regained some confidence. We have him scheduled to start skate lessons in a couple weeks...between that and soccer, we'll be pretty busy chauffeuring him around...and so it begins I suppose!

Anyway, I don't normally post pictures of other peoples kiddos...but, since she's in disguise, i figured it was probably o.k. this one time...note that Owen is probably still a bit shorter...even with his skates on!! That girl is one tall little cutie!

My Two Favorite Boys...

2010-11-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

Owen was playing with my old camera just a bit ago and brought it up to me while I was playing on the computer. I offered to upload the pics for him...I've been meaning to deal with this camera for months...there's pictures from way back in September on here still!!!

Anyway, I found this picture that Dave must have taken and think it's too good not to share...how can you not love a picture with these two in it? :O)

It's snowed ALL DAY long here today, but, is hovering around 34 degrees. I left super early to run a few errands before picking up Owen and I'm glad I did. It was mostly just rain in town (warmer at 36 degrees), but, the roads from Ft. Rich north were pretty rough. We're all home and safe for the night though thankfully and enjoying the snow falling from inside!!! Hope you all enjoy your Friday and have a safe weekend!

One Last Picture...

2010-11-04T06:00:00.015-08:00

Shawn will kill me when she sees I posted this picture. But, I absolutely love Owen's expression...I can see him at 20 with his crazie auntie and the same expression...hehehe...

I forgot to mention the flight to and from Washington in my last post. Owen was so funny. First of all, it had been almost 2 years since I had flown last and I was a wreck. I absolutely hate to fly and having not flown for so long made it even worse. If it had been any longer, I swear I would have put on a similar scene to the one Meg Ryan did in that movie French Kiss when she was in the airplane simulator!!!

Anyway, Owen was absolutely ecstatic about going on the plane, especially after Alex had been here and told him about flying up. But, a few weeks out he started pointing to the private planes at Merril Field and asking if we were going to fly in a "wittle pwane" that goes "swowy". At first, I tried to explain that the planes were much bigger and very fast, but, that it didn't feel fast. I quickly realized that my detailed explanation wasn't helping the situation and started agreeing with him. I didn't really think much of it until the day of our flight. Owen was so nervous, his entire demeanor had changed and he kept repeatedly asking me over and over if it was a small plane and if it was slow. When we got to the airport, every employee and every passenger would bring up the big plane he was going to get to fly on and how fast it would go. I kept shushing them and explaining that we were taking the slow, small, plane. It was kind of funny looking back. Anyway, by the time we got seated, Owen was super quite and still. When we started down the runway and the engine roared he grabbed both Shawn and I and white knuckled our arms. The face he made was absolutely priceless...had I known, I totally would have been ready with the camera!!! By the time we were at altitude, he had calmed down and enjoyed every bit of the rest of our flights and couldn't have behaved any better. His biggest thrill though was the bathrooms and he made sure we visited one on every plane...do you know how difficult it is to fit two people in one of those these days...it's awkward, even if one of those people are pint sized!!!

Owen can't wait to go again though and asks constantly about it. I feel bad that Owen was so nervous to begin the trip, I am sure he was just feeding off my nerves before we left, but, I just couldn't help it!

Shawn informed us when we got home that Owen made the flights seem shorter...which was an especially shocking statement considering two days into the trip she informed me that she was going to go home and take some "Me days'. Between the four of us girls, we had 4 kiddos under 4 years old! Sammee and Owen are just a few months apart and had this crazy love/hate relationship thing going. They fought constantly, but, still wanted to be around each other. It was kind of a weird experience. Trapping them in a car together for a 5 hour drive was not the best way to start out a trip either (or end it for that matter!). But, I was really glad that Owen got to meet all of the kids. He still asks about Sammee and when she's coming to stay at his house! I have pictures of all the kids together, but, didn't figure their parents would appreciate me posting them.

Butte Visit...

2010-11-03T20:15:00.002-08:00

We had so much fun in Butte with Shawnie, but it was way too short of a trip. I made up my mind that we needed to fly into Washington and drive over from there to avoid the nightmare trip Shawn and I experienced last time. There's only one or two flights into Missoula a day, so, if you miss your flight, you're pretty much tough out of luck. Probably wouldn't have been a bad idea had we driven the same evening we flew into Spokane. But, instead, we waited until the next day and got a late start to boot. We barely ended up with a day and a half in Butte and most of the full day was spent on campus and at Shawn's presentation...I made Owen go watch with me and he was thrilled to tell everyone that he watched "Sawnies pesenteetion".

Afterwards, we did little photo shoots around campus. Owen was less than cooperative with pictures and it was kind of cold with some wind and rain. So, I took what I could get!! I was so thrilled to take Owen back to our school it was a lot of fun to kind of come full circle.

This sign is outside what was kind of our "home" building for our department. I just realized I didn't think to do the same for Dave's building...whoops, guess he should have come with us! ;O)

Here's Shawn after defending her project in front of the board. She was thrilled to find out she passed after she realized that this wasn't just a regular check the box type thing....she said she would have made a bigger effort had she realized it could have cost her the degree. But, I'm willing to bet that she wouldn't have done one thing extra regardless. This way she didn't stress it! ;O) She actually did awesome and I thought, especially considering the direction (or lack there of) that good ol' Kumar provided, she couldn't have done any better!

This is RuthAnne, Shawn, and Rikki (with Addison) at Jade and RuthAnne's house....which by the way was AAAAAAmazing!!! Absolutely gorgeous. We were very impressed. Poor RuthAnne had her baby right around 10 days after we left. We have such great timing...we were there just a few weeks before she had Karissa on our last visit!!!

What's a visit to Butte without a Blue Raspberry Sloda from Bonanza Freeze!!! Rik and I were thrilled to introduce Sammee and Owen to them. I'm not sure the kids appreciated them like we wanted them to though! But, I did get this shot of Owen pointing to the WinaMucka burger for Dave. Where they came up with that is beyond me...I can't imagine there's that many Winnemucca grown college kids at Tech!

I'm excited to get back again some day soon. There was lots we'd hoped to do while we were there, but, just didn't have the time. We are so fortunate to have such great friends and there's just something about Butte that makes me feel like I'm home...you know short of the excessive pollution caused by the mines and of course, the pit that's supposed to overflow in the near future with millions of gallons of acidic water...besides that it feels like home!!! ;O)

Monkey Time!!!

2010-09-27T06:00:00.001-08:00

My mom sent this monkey costume up for Owen to play with a couple of weeks ago. Owen really likes it, but, I'm not sure it's going to trump the "dinosaur" costume he picked for Halloween. I wanted to do a photo shoot with it anyway though and managed to talk Owen into it on Saturday afternoon. Isn't this too funny. It looks like Curious George to me!

This was one of the first shots of our "shoot" and he wasn't real thrilled with me at the time. But, it's still one of my favorites. You have no idea how often I see this look! Haha!

Owen's favorite part is the big belly...doesn't it crack you up!

Alright, I need to go through the pictures on my other camera now...wish me luck...Owen took close dozens of photos at the Wildlife Park!!!

It's Starting to Feel A Lot Like Christmas....

2010-09-26T12:55:00.004-08:00

Guess what it did here today....

It's been snowing off and on all day...

Problem being, I have been trying to help Owen put his birthday in perspective by saying it isn't until "there's snow"....guess what.....

He's super hyper and I'm having trouble bringing him down from his "birthday high"!! Oops...who knew!! It hasn't snowed in September in years! Owen passed some time today being artsy, he takes everything so seriously and has a purpose for everything he does. I still wonder where he came from considering his two engineer parents!! Hope you are all having a warmer day than we are (it's above freezing, but feels cold with the snow falling!!!)!

AK Wildlife Conservation Center...

2010-09-26T06:00:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we all loaded up in the truck and took a trip down to Girdwood. The goal was to hit the Wildlife Center in Portage and the Double Musky for dinner. I'd never been to either one and was pretty excited to check them out. The restaurant was less than spectacular in my opinion, but, I did enjoy the Wildlife Center. You definitely get much closer to the animals here than the ones at the zoo!

Owen's eyes are really squinty here, but, I loved this picture of the bear watching him. This bear was a cutie and made you want to reach in and hug her....until, you looked at the size of her paws and the claws on the end of them!!! She was a talker though, one of the employees happened to be standing there throwing some treats to her. This one waited for the food to come right to her instead of getting up for what she missed and would groan every now and then for more.

These are mostly pictures of the views, it seemed like the backdrop for this property was amazing regardless of which direction you were looking. We'd had several days of heavy low hanging fog and this day was no exception. But, we were lucky, Girdwood and Portage seemed to be the only sunny spot in the state...it was nice to see some blue sky even if the drive there and back was dark and dreary!

Owen had a blast with my camera, I haven't downloaded those yet, but, I'm interested to see what he saw from his perspective. So....I took two cameras....and yet, I still didn't end up with one...figure that out! Like father, like son, I suppose!

The elk and the caribou were in rut and pretty feisty! They were hollering at us the whole time we were there and kept a very close watch of their perimeters. I'd never heard either one talk before, so, I thought it was pretty cool...I think Owen was impressed too!

More Visitors...

2010-09-25T20:14:00.001-08:00

We had a good time while Dave's parents were here last week and got to enjoy some of the beautiful fall weather we were having...which of course means, tons of pictures!!

Owen and I took them to the Eagle River Nature Center the first Friday they were here. The weather couldn't have been better! I don't think any of these need explanation, I just liked them!

Hatcher Pass...2010

2010-09-12T15:21:00.002-08:00

We just got back from our annual drive up to Hatcher Pass followed by lunch at DQ! It was an amazing day and we had a good time. Owen's been a bit of a pill since our visitors left and still isn't entirely back to himself. So, we didn't hike around as much as I had anticipated. But, we still had fun. It was almost too beautiful though. All of our pictures turned out kind of bright and we are squinting so bad, we all look like we have our eyes closed in the pics without sunglasses!!!

This looks like Owen is posing as a little teapot, but, he was actually pointing to the little marmot at the end of the bridge. We must have seen a half dozen of the little guys today. It was awesome, I don't know that I've ever seen one up there, let alone as close as we got to them today!

We used the timer to get a few family shots...if it hadn't been so bright out, these would have turned out really cute! Oh well, nice to have us all in the same photo regardless!

Hope you all have a great week!!! It's going to be a long one for me...I have a training on Thursday that's going to add an extra day to the week! Yuck, another short weekend!

Sneak Peek...

2010-09-10T20:58:00.002-08:00

O.k., I just couldn't resist sharing one picture of Owen in this year's costume. Today has been absolutely amazing and our fall colors kind of come and went already, at least, in our yard. All this rain has really put a damper on all the plants and trees. It seems like they are all ready to give up for this year already. I noticed the cranberries out back are this icky brown/red color instead of bright red and most of the leaves are gone. Things just barely started changing color last week, but, to look at them, you'd think it had been below freezing for weeks...and yet, we haven't even dipped to 40 yet as far as I know! Anyway, point being, I like to get Owen's Halloween costume pictures while there are still some fall colors around. So, we took advantage of the beautiful weather and did a photo shoot and then went for a bike ride. Owen's doing awesome on his bike, we're working on the brakes now...he reminds me of my sister, he tends to leap off if it gets going too fast!!

Alright, enough talk, here's the sneak peek. I'll mail out my favorite pictures to everyone when it gets closer to Halloween....

I realize this is a dragon costume, but, Owen was convinced it was a dinosaur. So, we're just going with that....hey, it saved us a ton of money in shipping to buy it local and I had it in time to get the pictures I wanted! ;O)

Visitors from Utah...

2010-09-10T12:57:00.002-08:00

Amanda and Curtis came up with their two kiddos, Alex and Natalie, to visit this past week. We took tons of pics of the kids together, but, I don't like to post other kid's photos on here. So, I'll just share the ones of our kiddo!

We hauled them all out of the house bright and early on Sunday, despite their long day of flying and late night, and ran down to Seward. We stopped at Exit Glacier first. I can't believe how far the glacier has receded since I was here last!!!! I think it's been since right before Dave and I got married that I've stopped here...over 7 years ago. Anyway, it's still beautiful and fun to hike to. Owen was excited to get close to the "snow". Such a goof ball!

Curtis was in charge of taking the photo of all of us together, but, I don't think he pushed the button hard enough...so, this is the closest shot we got.

After stopping for a lunch break at Ray's, we headed over to the Sea Life Center. It was a lot of fun. Although, I was looking forward to the Sea Otters and surprised to see they didn't have any. I hope that means they've all been released. I think this was Owen's first trip down there and he really enjoyed it. Although, his favorite part was the fake boat at the front of the center... He wouldn't let me take a decent pic, but, he would have been just as happy if we looked around and he got to stay and play in it the whole time.

I'm not exactly looking spectacular here, but, I thought it was a funny picture of this goofy kid!

The belugas were in on our way back through, so, we stopped at Bird Point and watched them for a bit. I had never seen these little whales before, Dave says they've been there forever. Regardless, Owen thought it was fun to pose with them. They are too cute.

We headed over to the park one night to wear the kids out some...some of the bigger kids took over the playground equipment...

Dave and Owen took advantage of the amazing weather this morning to spend some time together fishing. When Owen was getting dressed, he decided Dave needed to wear his Bass Pro-Shop t-shirt and OU hat to match Owen. It's a bit nippy here today despite some sunshine, so, Dave compromised with a sweatshirt that was the same color. Owen was thrilled they matched so closely regardless. It was really cute!!

I think I have a few more pictures to share on the other camera. I'll probably wait until tomorrow to post those. Hope you all have a great weekend!

More Pics...

2010-08-29T21:59:00.001-08:00

I'm so proud of myself for not only taking more pictures lately (mostly I've been enjoying playing with my new camera!), but, also, getting them posted!! So, I thought I'd wrap-up through the end of today with Uncle Doc's B-day pics and a few I missed in earlier posts.

We moved the bird cage upstairs to the office since we seem to spend more time in our rooms and on the computer than downstairs these days. He seems happier, but, he's still plucking feathers a little bit. He definitely gets more attention this way though. Owen even makes sure to cover him and tell him goodnight before bed each evening. I'm not sure the bird appreciates it all that much, but, Owen loves to be able to do it!

Owen was so excited to go to the fair on Friday. I was gathering up stuff to take including a hat and gloves, just in case (it was cold enough to use them for sure!), and Owen grabbed them up and put them on. He didn't care what he was forced to wear as long as it got him out the door...he looked like such a punk with his hat like this!

Yesterday evening, he was running around the house without his pants (as usual). But, this time, decided he needed sunglasses too. He reminded me so much of Tom Cruise in Risky Business, it was cracking me up. I tried to get him to run and slide, but, he just wasn't getting it. I did get the pose below though...not sure what that was about!

When I download pics onto the computer from my camera, Owen always wants to go through them with me and inevitably, asks for more pictures of him. This is one of those shots. I just love how this camera captures his eyes. Those big brown puppy eyes fascinate me, I would love to know where in the family tree they came from...it certainly isn't direct from Dave nor I!

Uncle Doc got to pick dinner for his birthday. So, we went to JDs (our only bbq restaurant!) and Cold Stone afterward for ice cream. I grabbed the camera and got a few shots of everyone while we were finishing up our ice cream. We had a good time, as always, with everyone.

The boys were less than cooperative....as usual...Owen's learning from them too. He was to the right of Dave, but, refused to come any closer or look at the camera. So, I cropped him out!

Before we left for dinner, Owen informed us that we were taking "his truck" to Eagle River for dinner. He was real upset that we forced him to take our truck. I'm thinking there's a good chance "his truck" wouldn't make it out of the neighborhood with all three of us in it, let alone reach highway speeds! ;O) Try to convince him of that though!

The sun shocked us all and made an appearance this afternoon. We desperately needed it, our backyard was a lake after the heavy downpour we got yesterday!! I'm hoping it's had some time to recover and dry out. This picture of our front yard makes it look far greener and lush than it truly is...it's still mostly weeds, but, we have had quite a bit of growth over the last couple days.

Hope you all have a great week...I start the countdown tomorrow...these days, I'm just glad to get through each day!

More Fishing Pics..

2010-08-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Dave took Owen out for a quick trip around Fire Lake yesterday. Unfortunately, it was raining so hard and was so miserable by the time we got there, they lasted less than 10 minutes before I had a call to pick them up! Dave was hoping to take Owen out to Willow after his nap, but, the rain only got heavier and Owen SO wasn't interested after his morning out. Dave at least made up for his last round of bad pics with this one. Owen loves to fish and takes it so seriously. That boy can be so committed when it's something he loves, it's really funny. We're working on starting him in hockey this October, but, after our trip to the rink on Wednesday, Owen doesn't want to skate any more because "the ice is too swippery". He skated awesome and if we could just get him to stand up on his own (which he totally could do but chooses not to), he'd qualify for the team this year. We're going to have to talk someone into going with us to get him motivated again or start lessons over. I'm not real thrilled with that idea since it means racing home from work to get him suited up and on the ice twice a week. Hope you all had a great weekend. We're going to finish ours off with dinner for Uncle Doc's birthday. Should be fun!

State Fair!

2010-08-28T09:04:00.001-08:00

Dave managed to sneak out of work for a couple of hours and take Owen and I to the fair yesterday. It was so nice to go on a day when there wasn't a huge crowd. It was only the second day and during work/school got out, so, we could even walk down the paths without being elbow to elbow with people! Of course, the weather sure didn't cooperate. It varied from sprinkling to a light rain the whole time. I was pretty soaked by the time we got back...I stepped in a puddle real early on and my feet were soaked through and my pants were wet about 6 inches up my leg!! Dave and Owen seemed to make it home much dryer! I'm not sure how that happened!

Owen has been talking about the Ferris Wheel for weeks!!! So, it was our first stop after we arrived. We finally have some relief now that it's out of his system!!

O.k., I look like a drown rat in this pic, but, I just love all the flowers and topiaries they have at the fair every year!

Usually the line is so crazy long, we don't even attempt going in the petting zoo. But, this year, we didn't have to wait long at all! Owen had a blast, they had ponies, goats, baby cows, and even little piglets. Owen's favorite was the pigs, but they wouldn't hold still long enough to pet. They were hilarious and would grunt and holler at him every time he touched them.

I think our favorite part of the whole fair (a close second is the food of course!!) is the barn animals. This year, Owen was a lot more willing to walk up and pet them on his own. There were a whole lot of really sweet goats. I think I need one! I told Dave they could hang out in the back and keep the lawn mowed (if we ever get it to grow!!).

Owen enjoyed the pony rides so much last year, we had to stop again this time. He wasn't sure at first, but, his pony also had a bit of an attitude. I liked him though, he was spunky! ;O) After the owner come up and scolded him and patted him on the butt, he and Owen both settled in and Owen really enjoyed the rest of the ride.

Just one last picture on our way out. That's Owen's new picture face. I'm not so sure I'm thrilled about it!! ;O)

Willow Day!

2010-08-26T13:13:00.002-08:00

This past weekend, we spent most of Sunday out at Mark and Lynne's new cabin on Rainbow Lake. It is absolutely amazing out there and their "cabin" is really a beautiful three story house that a family was living in before they bought it. Shawn and I are going to call it the "mansion on the lake"! They even have two garages one's at least a two car and the other one looks like it was meant for a huge ocean boat or motorhome. It's really an amazing piece of property!!

The weather was absolutely amazing all day long too! Dave and Geoff took owen fishing in Dave's new boat. They were gone for hours, but, this is the best pic of the TWO Dave took!

Mark took Owen out for some jet skiing when they got back. Owen told Mark to take him "swowy" but, then, Owen made him switch jet skis because the first one was too slow! Owen has no idea how lucky he is!!

Of course, Owen was out cold before we could get out of the driveway practically!! We headed back home around 5 and straight into the biggest rain storm I've ever seen up here. The boat was so full of water by the time we got home that Dave and I had trouble unloading it!! There was even a hail storm and lightning. There was hail/snow all over the ground when we went through the main part of Wasilla. It was so crazy!! We've had the strangest storms lately. It's like a cloud burst, but with unbelievable volumes of water and lightning...we never get lightning and I've seen it three separate days this week alone!

I forgot about these...Dave picked the boat up Saturday afternoon and it was all we could do to get Owen back out of it. He was so excited, he's wanted a boat all summer. It even started to rain and he was whining about getting cold, but, wouldn't get out. I'll bet he was in there more than an hour while Dave and I cleaned the garage!!

Hope you all have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend!!!

Yard and Dinos!

2010-08-26T12:57:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd post these real quick and get them out of the way.

First up, the yard that is quickly becoming a never ending money pit....we hydroseeded on the 15th and are starting to see some growth...mainly mold/moss in the back though!!! So much for the daily rain showers being an asset! So frustrating!!! Last night was the first time we watered back there since we put down the seed 11 days ago and it is just slimy back there!!! I guess we're back to square one...

Here's the front, I still have high hopes for it. We're starting to see some growth and I'm hoping we have a pretty thick cover by the time it freezes (we're probably just a couple weeks away now, its getting down below 45 pretty regularly during the night).

I was fascinated by this hydroseeder. Considering the space it had to cover, it didn't seem like a very big operation. No comments on our paint job on the fence!!! We'll fix it eventually... Our poor trees though! Mom had them up against the house when we moved in and Dave dug them up and replanted them. They probably would have recovered fully had it not been for the moose that came through the following winter! The one on the left is an apple and the one on the right is a lilac in case you can't tell! ;O)

Here's the way the back started out!! It rained so hard that night and the following week that I thought it would wash it all away. Its still there just pounded in the dirt and still wet!!!

Just a goofy shot of Dave doing his thing...

This is the one successful thing we did accomplish...the kennel!! Let me tell you, our little Houdini (sp?) isn't getting out of this one! We lined the whole thing with that landscape paper to keep the weeds out (so that they wouldn't grow up around the wire) and then stapled chicken wire to the 4x4s around the edges of the kennel. The 4x4s are then screwed to the fence and the chicken wire which runs down the back of them and then onto the ground, was covered in about a foot of gravel (we may have bought too much!!). If that doesn't stop him, we're going to go ahead and put the electric fence back in (its strung along those yellow posts) and of course, we upgraded that to the horse wire instead of just the dog wire. He knows it if he hits that let me tell you...you can here him scream all of the way inside the house!!! The turd did however figure out how to flip up the gate closure and let himself out that way, so we have cinder blocks holding that closed. Figures he'd find a weak spot!! This took the most time out of everything by far!!! Of course, shoveling wet gravel into a wheelbarrow after it's rained on it all night (making it like 10x heavier, I swear!!) tends to do draw out the process!!!!

Last Friday, we took Owen to see the Walking with Dinosaurs show that came to town. I can't imagine how much it must have cost to get these things up here, they're huge!! Owen loved it and so did we, although, it's definitely geared towards a slightly older audience. I wasn't going to take any pictures, but, Owen was taking some with my camera and I decided I might as well share what he and I got. I took my old camera with me which doesn't have night photo capabilities, so, these are kind of rough, but, you'll get the idea at least.

This flying dino (you'll have to ask Owen what it's called!) was dropped from the rafters and then they had video screens up (see upper right of photo) to rein-act what he looked like flying in his natural environment. It was pretty cool!

The lighting was kind of funky, so most of our pics look like this one.

This one gives you an idea of the size of these bad boys...that's a grown man standing next to him. You can also see the stand that these things moved on, Dave and I were fascinated by how they did it. His legs moved to look like he was walking too, but he's definitely supported by the stand and that's what truly propelled him. Even their eyes blinked though!!!

In my opinion, this T-Rex was the best one! She was so loud!!! To give you a little more perspective there are at least two sections of seats behind her and the light you see in the back, thats people standing above the lower mezzanine seats. When she stood up all of the way, her head was as high as the first row in the second mezzanine.

These are pics just from the second half of the show, I didn't take pics of anything from the first half. Owen had an absolute blast and wanted to go back the next day. Although, the night after the show, you could tell he was totally overstimulated by the whole thing he kind of had a glazed look for a while and just did not act like himself! It was pretty funny!

More Yard Work...A Little Less Rain

2010-08-15T18:34:00.001-08:00

So, I think it rained all night and looked like it might rain any minute for the majority of the day, but, it gave us a break to finish our yard work and now looks almost like sunshine out there. Of course, that would be because Dave is in the midst of finishing up hydroseeding the entire yard. No doubt, it will be dry and in the 70's for the next two weeks...those of you local will know who to thank!!! R.D. stopped by today and mentioned that we did in fact break the record for most consecutive days of rain at 28 days so far in Anchorage...I'm guessing it rained on into the morning this morning to put us at 29 and of course, the day is still young, there's 6 more hours of possible rain left in the day!!! It's been absolutely miserable and made finishing this yard a nightmare. We basically gave up and decided to just hydroseed what's here while the machine is free. Everyone, please say a little prayer for us that this was a good choice!!

O.k., on to that kid of ours...he has worked his little heart out and not gotten a nap the last two days. He's fallen asleep around 5 both evenings (in fact, he's still asleep now, I need to go get him up) absolutely exhausted.

Here's the proof...he finally conked out on the couch watching cartoons yesterday (and same for today). He looks so innocent when he's sleeping, don't you think? As if it's never crossed his mind to stuff a mirror up his nose!!! :O)

I wanted Dave to take us to dinner last night after we had given up in the yard, since there was no way I was cooking. Unfortunately, Owen was so tired and crabby from no nap that we just ended up ordering pizza. I did somehow find the energy to bake cookies (glad I did it last night, because it is all I can do to type this blog entry tonight!!!). Owen helped after he woke up, he's so funny, his nose was so close I was worried it might get caught in the blender!!!

We picked up a few heavy duty yard tools in the spring, including this shovel. I'm really glad now that we did. Will left some that were all plastic behind for him, but, Max got to most of those. This is a wagon that used to be Will's too. They had some heavier duty kid's wheelbarrows earlier in the summer at Home Depot, had I realized that Owen had outgrown this one by so much, I would have grabbed it for him!

The size didn't phase him though, he took his job very seriously. We had about a quarter of the dump truck left to do this morning, so, it was still over an hours worth of work to finish.

Doesn't he crack you up? He kept telling Dave, "we have lots of work to do". It was so funny!

He did finally loose interest in the rocks, so we set him up with a board full of nails to pound. I think if he had a smaller hammer, he would have been more interested. As it was, he preferred pulling the nails back out of the board instead of pounding them in!!

Alright, I am completely out of steam and my fingers really hurt!! Hope you all have a great week. I'll try to post some pics of the yard later this week. Just figured, that you'd rather see this kiddo more!!

Rain, Rain, Go Away....

2010-08-14T21:52:00.001-08:00

I can't find the exact statistics, but, I know Fairbanks had the second rainiest July in history this year and I believe if Anchorage didn't get the same, we at least got the record for the most consecutive days of rain. It seems to me, we'll have even more records broken for the month of August!!! Between rain clouds, Dave and I have desperately been trying to get a handle on our yard. If all goes well, we'll hydro-seed tomorrow. But, it isn't because we're truly ready to do it, we're just running out of time. Shawn keeps reporting snow on the tops of the mountains...she's certainly not helping our stress levels any! ;O) Regardless, we're definitely in for an early winter! I'm honestly surprised we haven't had a freeze yet....this after some report on the news said global warming is providing Fairbanks with a longer growing season...I'd like to see the statistics on that!

Anyway, on to photos. Dave rented a skid steer last weekend to finish up the heavy work. We spent Saturday night in the ER waiting for xrays of the side view mirror Owen stuck up his nose...that's a post in of itself...so we didn't exactly get a head-start or have our hearts in it. But, Dave worked his little heart out with the help of his co-pilot...

Daisy just cracks me up. Both her and Max were terrified of the skid steer, but, as soon it was off, she laid down and took a nap in the shovel. I tried to get a shot of that, but, she moved before I could get back with the camera.

We also had Duds and Elroy at some point last week. Doesn't Dudley crack you up?? It doesn't matter where you sit, as soon as you get comfortable, you see that big ol' butt of his backing up to sit on you. You'd think he'd have some sort of back-up siren on that rear! He especially loves Dave for some reason and got off my lap to sit with him as soon as Dave looked settled. We just had them for one night, which, is probably just enough. They are so hairy!!

This is just a shot of my goofy kid...I have no idea what the purpose of this pose was...he asked for the picture...he just cracks me up!! Notice the lack of pants. He spent a whole lot of the summer in the house because he refused to put his pants back on. We'd be outside and after a while he'd go in to go to the bathroom or who knows what only to come back out with his rain boots on and without his pants. He is such a strange one!!!

I thought this was such a cute shot of our little trouble maker. Unfortunately, his face was COVERED in chocolate from an ice cream cone he had eaten before going out to play. You have NO idea how much Photoshopping this took!! Note the ground...picture this EVERYWHERE, so thick and tall, you can't see our 80 pound Daisy laying in the yard....it's all gone now!!! Now if we could just get the grass to grow before the weeds have the chance to grow back!!! Wish us luck!

Hope you are all having a great weekend. We've still got a long weekend ahead of us. Dave and I spent most of the day today shoveling a dump truck full of gravel and spreading it in the kennel, but, we still have more to move before we can bring in the hydroseeder. I did manage to get a few more shots of Owen though and I will try to share those tomorrow if get the feeling back in my hands by then! ;O)

Air Show...

2010-08-02T06:00:00.026-08:00

We spent the day at the air show this past weekend. It was fun, but, the crowd was absolutely overwhelming. It took us at least 30 minutes to get parked once we got on base and then the line to get your bags searched before you could enter was at least another hour...and, that's before it really got busy!! I was so excited, but, this may be my last visit after this little experience. It was worth it though, Owen loved absolutely every minute...you'd have thought we took him to Disney World!

In typical man fashion, Dave had my fancy new camera (I should have brought my old one too, so I could take pictures!!) and most of the over 150 photos he shot were of the planes. But, I did manage to get it away from him long enough to get a few of Owen....

We couldn't get anywhere near the runways to watch the shows, so we sat way back on the tarmac and tried to at least see what was happening in the air. Right before we left, we figured out that we would have had a far better view had we sat in the bed of the truck in the parking lot...live and learn!! After we got back to the truck Owen turned to me and said, "Owen take the airplane home" referring to the Blue Angel we bought him and I told him that yes, it was his to keep. He looked back at me and asked, "it's a toy"? He's so funny. I guess he thought it was the real deal up to that point. I'm not sure if it's because the planes look so small in the air or the fact that the toy we bought was a lot nicer than his typical toy planes (it's really heavy weight metal). He just cracks me up! He's carried it around with him everywhere since!!

Owen LOVED walking through the aircraft they had available. It was all we could do to keep up with him as he ran from one plane to the next!

This was a rare opportunity...Owen got to sit inside a tank, I sat with him and couldn't believe the lack of leg room. Your knees, especially on a tall dude would touch the seats on the row across from you. Not exactly a luxurious way to travel!

Owen hung in through the whole show, but was out in seconds after Dave started up the truck. We headed over to Shawnie's for dinner and left him in the truck for well over an hour while we worked in the yard.

O.k., I guess I'll share a couple pics of airplanes....these are of the Canadian Snowbirds. We tried to stick it out to see the Blue Angels, but, they performed over an hour late at the very end of the show and we'd already sat in the truck waiting for them for an hour and a half. Plus, Owen and I were kind of done...I'd already had to pee in the parking lot between vehicles twice!!!! Put some outhouses in the parking lot people!!!!

This is one of the F-22s that we watched from the parking lot. Every time one of these flew over the vehicles, it set off a ton of sensitive car alarms....I'm willing to bet there was more than one dead battery out there by the time the show was over!!!

F-22s in formation...

I'm not sure what this big guy in front is, but, they did say it's really old, but still carries cargo for the military around the state. I was surprised how low it could fly considering its size! But, the really cool one is the little plane in the background. I believe it is a Stinson (not sure which model) from WWI and is thought to be the last of its kind in flying condition.

I have more pictures from my birthday dinner I'll share tomorrow! Hope you are all having a wonderful week!!

New Camera....yaaay!!!!

2010-08-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

Owen is so artsy fartsy sometimes, it cracks me up. He painted another picture the other day and wanted it hung up on the wall immediately. I'm not sure what he likes better, the painting or the mess that goes along with it!!

Dave got me a new camera for my birthday and I am SO excited!! Although, it will be a while before I'm super comfortable with it. Fortunately, he started me out on a really good point and shoot Cannon, so, it's pretty similar in a lot of ways to my new SLR Cannon...hopefully, that will help shorten my learning curve!!

Here's some random shots playing with the new one....

This one was a request by Owen for a "picture of my eyes"...see why I think he's artsy fartsy!! So funny!

Fourth of July Weekend Continued...

2010-07-12T06:00:00.001-08:00

The weather was so bad over the holiday weekend that it really put a damper on too much outside fun. Sunday we decided to kill some time and run into town to see the 3D version of Toy Story. Owen loved it, but, I thought it was kind of dark and sinister for a kids movie!! I definitely don't intend to buy it as I don't want to have to watch it over and over again....I'll get nightmares from this one for sure!!! That baby was SOOO creepy!! Who thinks this stuff up!

Monday the sun came out of nowhere and it was downright hot!! Dave and I jumped on the opportunity and attempted to get the fence stained. It was a total disaster starting with the color!!!! I picked it, which just makes it worse! I thought it was the same color that we used on our old house...brown with red hues. Not so much...more like red, with red hues!!

Owen helped us out and took the whole thing very seriously.

Unfortunately, Dave and I lost track of time (as the fence took freaking FOREVER!!) and Owen eventually got sick of painting in the heat. He went inside and watched a movie while Dave and I finished (not really...finished the bucket of stain anyway). This is how Dave found him when he went in to check on him!! The pillowcase in his lap, by the way, is the "super hero cape" that he insisted on taking with him when he and Dave went shopping earlier that morning!! ;O) I don't know if Dave talked him out of taking it inside the stores or not!!!

This is me wrapping up the last of the bucket of stain....Dave helped by taking pictures.... Later, I decided to head to the store before making a huge effort to clean-up because I knew I'd crash and not get my errands done if I showered and/or sat down at all. It wasn't until after I got home (4 cashiers and a whole lot of looks later) that I realized that I looked like I had just beat the living snot out of someone and was covered in their blood. The stain is just about the same shade as dry blood and I had it splattered EVERYWHERE!!! Even when I took my pants off to shower later that night, I mistakenly thought I had cut myself when I saw stain on my leg. That's how similar to blood it looked! Oops...hehe...maybe should have at least scrubbed it off my face or tried to explain to the unusally quiet cashiers that kept staring at me!!

New Visitors...Or at Least One New Visitor!

2010-07-12T05:00:00.001-08:00

Owen and I were heading down the stairs one morning this weekend and guess who we saw in the neighbors yard!!! A baby moose!!! We ran to the window and saw that of course, momma moose was right there with her!! I grabbed my camera and tried to open the door to get a better shot, but, momma wasn't having it and came stomping up our driveway (not fast, just forcefully!) to get between me and baby. But, she relaxed when I shut the door and started drinking out of the puddles in our driveway. So, baby came over to check out what she was doing. Isn't she a cutie (I think it's a she anyway), she was so nosey and in no hurry to leave.

They seemed so comfortable here in our neighborhood that it made me think momma had been here before.

In fact, I'm wondering if she's the same momma that came by in the winter of 2008 with her little boy to eat the pumpkins we'd left out for them after Halloween. The same little boy that charged up on my 2-foot, lighted, faux spruce moose and head-butted him while his mom was eating!!! (My moose has never been the same!!) I hope so anyway, we haven't seen either one of them since then and I'd like to think they are both doing well. Plus, this new baby seems to have a very strong "little man syndrome" type personality just like the last one!! ;O)

Hope you are all doing well!! I'm looking forward to having another week down this month. I'll be glad when August rolls around!!

Fourth of July Weekend...

2010-07-11T19:33:00.000-08:00

We had a busy weekend over the holiday!!! Friday Dave got off work early, so, Owen, Grandma, and I met in him in Palmer for lunch. We had a good time, but, while Gram and I were grocery shopping, Dave fought to get Owen down for a nap to no avail. So, it was kind of a rough evening.

Saturday, we headed north to meet up with Geoff, Jenna, Mark, and Lynne for a little fishing. Everyone was still waking up by the time we got out there. So, Geoff met us and the boys tried out a few different lakes. Here's Owen in his camping gear...I was worried about him hooking himself since this was his first time out with the real thing. But, changed my mind at the last minute and didn't put a helmet and googgles on him! Yes, that was really my initial plan....safety first! ;O) It was raining so, he had a hood on anyway and we made him keep his glasses on. We figured that was probably sufficient. Actually, it was really those of us around him that should have been more prepared!!!

Here's a very serious shot of Dave out in his full-on waders, despite the fact that there was no sign of life on that lake!! Well, that's not entirely true, we did see the cutest little beaver paddling around. He was so nosy and even swam over the top of Dave's line!

Here's Geoff in a very picturesque setting...it was cold and rainy and I was really bored, so, we had a few extra photos than we may have gotten otherwise! ;O)

We headed back to the camp site on Nancy Lake after coming up empty handed and the boys borrowed Mark's boat. They had a lot more luck out there and Owen "caught" his first fish! He was SO excited and told us how "big" they all were.

After they got back to the campsite, we had dinner with everyone and Mark worked the last bit of energy right out of Owen...literally! In the middle of dinner Owen told us that he "tan't eat any more" and then insisted on making this super obnoxious noise. I scolded him for it and threatened to put him in the truck, but, he continued. So, Dave tried, still the same response. Dave finally put him in the truck, with no tears or arguments from Owen, and he went right to sleep. It was so funny!! It was like that noise he was making was all that was keeping him awake and he just couldn't stop!! I think he was actually glad to have been put down where it was warm and quiet!! It was all we could do to wake him back up later when we got on the road again!!!

We're Back!

2010-06-14T08:19:00.001-08:00

I have a bunch of pictures to share from our weekend in Fairbanks, but figured I better get these photos from last week posted first!!! Owen went through a phase where he insisted on taking his helmet to bed with him at night...I don't know why. Anyway, eventually, he decided he needed to wear it too. The helmet suddenly "disappeared" one night right after that, but, not before I got this picture....doesn't he crack you up! I wish I could read his mind sometimes!!

This was just a shot on the porch one morning when we were goofing around with the camera. I love his little grin!

Hope you are all having a great week! We're SO glad to be home! I feel bad for Dave having to go straight back to work. Owen and I are barely up and around this morning. There's no way you could have pried me out of bed at 6!!

I'll try to download and post the pictures from Fairbanks later today.

Fairbanks!!

2010-06-14T06:00:00.004-08:00

We had such a good weekend in Fairbanks. Although, I do remember now why we don't drive the 5-6 hours very often...there's really nothing there that we don't have here and nothing but trees between!!!! Dave had a blast at his shoot though and Owen and I had fun fishing and playing neon put-put. The weather was miserable, it was a weird humid cold and rained the majority of the time. But, there were a few breaks here and there, so we got to be outside enough of the time. I have tons of photos, so, be prepared! ;O)

We fished at Chena River while Dave was shooting. Owen was so serious about it and shocked we didn't get a fish! ;O) Of course, he was using his "Cars" pole with a tire for bait! It was best though as he threw the line behind him more than in front!

It rained for an hour and a half straight during Dave's shoot, so they were all pretty soaked. But, Dave was definitely the least prepared!! Even his shirt was soaked through.

We stopped at Pioneer Park (formerly Alaskaland) on Saturday night. It was drizzling and really cold, so we did everything in a hurry. But, we got to ride the train and it totally made Owen's whole weekend.

The park outside was almost just as fun too...

Isn't this fish hilarious. Owen thought this was great. When he saw the picture today, he told me it was a naughty fish...he cracks me up.

We stopped at one last rest stop on our way home and took a last few pictures. Owen did amazing on the drive back and forth. The stay in Fairbanks was pretty rough, but, he was really lacking sleep. We had to move rooms on Friday night at 10:30 because of a wedding reception that was blasting music. So, he didn't get to sleep until 11 and we had to be up around 6 the next morning to get Dave to his shoot on time.

Home of the Free, Because of the Brave...

2010-05-31T20:05:00.000-08:00

We headed out to the Memorial Day Service on Fort Rich today to honor those that paid the ultimate price for our freedom and those still sacrificing for us today. We have so many men and women from the Anchorage bases over in Iraq right now, they had to substitute rifles for the typical cannons in the 21 gun salute and we didn't have a fly over in the missing man formation at all, which was a disappointment. But, the weather was beautiful and the speakers were good. My not so favorite congressman, Don Young, gave an unexpectedly profound speech. He told us all to take a deep breath and as we exhaled, he reminded us that we can breathe freely because of those who gave their lives and to remember that not only on Memorial Day, but every day. This day is always tough on me. I miss my grandfather and the ceremony is so similar to what they did for his funeral, it's like we re-live it every year. We place the flowers on his grave and then, have to walk across the whole cemetery where my other grandfather lies, who we never even got to meet, because he lost his life in Vietnam. It's hard to think about all the families still losing loved ones today and knowing how many people those losses will affect...

Field Trip Day!!!

2010-05-27T20:26:00.000-08:00

I got to go with Owen's class to the Planetarium today!!! It was a lot of fun and the kids did awesome. It was way too much to ask of this age group. They had to sit quietly through a movie about telescopes and then a presentation on the solar system. It was shocking that they could all behave so well. Of course, all but three kids had at least one parent there with them...says something about the type of family sending their kids to this school! We had more than one adult for every kid!! We needed it though, I swear, I don't know how those teachers keep up with that much energy!! The weather was awesome too....77 in the shade! It was crazy hot!!! We had pizza at Goose Lake next to UAA for lunch and when we walked passed the lake and a couple of ducks, I overheard the teacher tell one of the parents that the class walked to the duck pond across from the school yesterday. I would guess that little outing has something to do with the conversation Owen and I had earlier that morning when we passed Westchester Lagoon full of ducks. He pointed them out to me and then said, "you need to put those ducks up mommy". I tried to explain the concept of "wild", but I think it's fair to assume that he thinks I've lost my mind....

The best part of the whole trip for Owen was the bus ride....they could have skipped everything else and just driven him around town, you would have thought it was a limo! What you wouldn't have thought about was the fact that out of the 25 little ones on the bus, not one of them could even come close to putting their feet on the floor. That doesn't seem like a big deal until you ride in a school bus again...they are bumpy and tend to rock from side to side and to add insult to injury, this particular bus driver would wait to the last second to decide to stop for a red light and then have to slam on the brakes!! Trying to keep 25 little ones from bouncing right out of their seats was challenging enough to wear us out all on its own!!!! ;O)

Just An Update...

2010-05-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

We've all been so sick and so tired lately, pictures of my little troublemaker are very far and few between. But, I snapped these pictures of him yesterday when he was asking to watch his 3-D Bob movie from the Aliens vs. Monsters DVD pack. He totally doesn't get it, but, he loves to wear the glasses for just about any reason! Hope you all have a great week. Owen's school has got a shake-up this coming week. His teacher is leaving and won't be replaced until July 1st. The new teacher is moving up from Colorado to take the position. So weird to me! Anyway, Owen has a week off from school the first week of June, so, I guess I too will get some time off...if only we are all healthy it will be fun!

Guess What Owen Got Today....

2010-04-23T13:25:00.001-08:00

I have a few more pictures to share, although, I'm realizing how pathetic I am about getting shots of my munchkin. We had a nice birthday party for Dave this weekend and Owen got to play with Charlee and Jeda. But, I was too sick to even think about digging out my camera. What can you do. It seems like special events are the only time I take photos anymore, so I hate that I fell down on the job!!

Anyway, this is our little turd in his Halloween costume. He's been quite a handful the last month or so and has spent a lot of time thinking about his behavior alone in his room. Well, when you are a little manipulator and a thinker to boot, you don't just sit in your room without working up a plan! ;O) So, every time he's really in trouble, he gets the stool and pulls his costume down from the top of his closet and puts it on. Then he comes downstairs and asks for "a big hug" and tells me "I wuv you mommy". Fortunately, I have experience with this little trick thanks to my wonderful sister who reminds me more and more of my little troublemaker with every new "plan" he devises!!! Anyway, it just cracks me up because I know he thinks this costume puts him over the top on the cute meter as you can tell from this picture!!!

This picture is mostly for my mom. Shawn, Owen, and I brought dinner out for Gram on Easter and spent some time visiting. Dave had been at an indoor shoot and was sick to his stomach because the ventilation in the building wasn't working properly. One more reason to look forward to spring I suppose, the outdoor range! ;O)

And finally....the grand finale. Dave came home from work sick earlier today and he grabbed Owen's new glasses on the way! Owen had an eye checkup about two weeks ago where they decided he's fully recovered from his lazy eye, but, one eye has improved faster than the other. He's got one right where it's supposed to be at a 2 (don't remember if its "+" or "-") and the other is at 3.5. So, they want him to wear glasses now to correct the problem and prevent the need to wear them as an adult. I believe it is extremely short term, like just a few months. But, I have to say, he was made to wear glasses...although, he looks so grown up! ;O) We had a tough time picking the frames. 2/3 of all the glasses were pink and had something fun on them like stars and hearts engraved in the sides. The best we could do for a boy is blue frames with little sponge bob's on the inside of the things that go behind your ears. What the hay!! Being a boy sucks in that department! Thank goodness their toys make up for it!!!!

Hope you are all having a great day and looking forward to the weekend. We had snow yesterday and this morning, but it's cleared up and is back up to 50 degrees. Let's hope it stays that way!!! Shawnie's running a half-marathon tomorrow in Tennessee, so think good thoughts for her tomorrow! Hopefully, Dad is taking over my job as picture taker.....she loves pictures of herself at the end of the races.....;O)

More Catching Up....

2010-04-05T05:00:00.001-08:00

Just thought I'd toss all of these into one post. We've been so busy, and quite frankly, so run down, I haven't taken many photos the past few months. But, here's a few highlights....

Owen's school recently called us into a meeting to discuss the fact that they are a 5-day program and they weren't aware that Owen was only going to attend 3 days a week. Never mind that he had been attending just 3 days a week for the past four months. Anyway, we agreed to start taking him 4 days a week beginning in March, but they had so many days off, he really only had one full week anyway. This picture was taken on a day that they were closed for parent/teacher conferences, we had such a good day. Do you think he could be any more relaxed? To this day, Max is his constant companion and does not let him out of his sight. They're so cute together, when they're both being nice anyway! Max seems to think that because Owen plays so rough with him, he should be able to be just as rough back. It makes for an interesting scenario, you'd think they were brothers as much as they argue!!! ;O) Just as an fyi, Owen's teacher pulled her claim that he was "falling behind" at our parent/teacher conference, but did say he wouldn't participate in the one on one "lessons" that the teachers do with the kids and it made it difficult for her to tell where he stood academically. We had a long talk with him (and started taking away things) and now he participates in lessons all day long. His teacher seems shocked with the overnight change...it would have been nice to know these things earlier so we could have nipped it in the bud!

We're waiting for a montessori program that's supposed to open just around the corner sometime around the end of August to see what we think. It's going to be taught by 2 teachers formerly from Owen's school and a retired elementary teacher. Plus, they are going to have a Spanish teacher on staff and next summer, they are having a 10-week Spanish intensive camp which is awesome because all of the kids around here are eligible for the Spanish immersion program. I'm hoping we like the school and can move him, it would literally cost us half of what we're paying now and we wouldn't have to take Owen on the highway at all. In the meantime, we're going to leave him where he's at and hope for the best with this other school.

Just a cute shot of our bubble boy! He' so goofy, I love his little grin.

Hockey is over and Dave's team one first place!!!! Unfortunately, the championship game was during nap time, so Owen and I missed it. But, Dave brought the trophy home for us to see...they have to share it with the whole team. The best part of the win was that it was against the team that the girl tripped Dave and tore that thingy in his knee....talk about vindicated! ;O) Now, if there were only some reward money to cover the MRI!!!

Hope you are all having a good week!