New talents

Dean has picked up on playing the guitar... well sort of. Ok, he plays the guitar like a 2 year old, but he looks really cool doing it. It's a small guitar that Gavin bought at a yard sale last fall, but never used, and has recently been discovered by Dean.




So adorable. Meanwhile, this morning I took a class for military spouses, where we learned to do/make mosaic tiles. Here's my near-finished product:


I still have to wipe off some of the extra grout and then seal it tomorrow. Kinda pretty and it was a fun class.

the big ol 2-8

Yup, I'm old. Well, old-ish. Tonight, the lovely St. Patrick's Day night, I aged gracefully to the big 28. My big celebration for the day was a fantastic mother/daughter pedicure at the mall. The oh-so adorable Lily and I picked out pink polish and sat side by side to get our toesies painted. So much fun, I can't believe I forgot the camera at home!

Well here is an after picture:

Am I upset that Lily's nails are way cuter than mine? Yes, but it is my birthday, and I will make the best of it!

Happy St Patty's everyone!

Tri-ing

Triathlon count-down T minus 7 weeks! I am tri-ing to learn how to ride this scary bike, tri-ing to become a better swimmer, and also to run a 5k in 20 mins.
Here is my fancy tri bike:



And me feeling much more confident after adjusting some things and having a nice 10 mile ride:

Growing up Lily

It's a difficult life for her. Being super cute and super adorable, being the only little girl in the house, and now starting preschool.

Gavin was is very proud of her.

And its going to be tough separating the dynamic duo.

She had a great first day, and even ran into one girl from her ballet class. She impressed the teachers who thought she was just 'amazing'. Love her!

Circus time!

About 2 weeks ago now I took the kiddos to the circus. (I know, 2 weeks ago??!?, what is up with the procrastination? Well, working on double the college classes and my first triathlon, along with the whole wisdom teeth thing got me a little behind) Anywho, we didn't get the greatest pics, but there were a couple of the kids' reactions of the show were priceless:

The circus definitely isn't what I remembered it to be. Yes, there were elephants and even lions, but there was also a lady with a whole lotta cats doing tricks. No, not tigers, I mean cats, as in alley or house - cats. Weird. Mostly we saw a lot of acrobatics, more like a Las Vegas kind of a thing rather than the high flying trapeze I was awaiting.

This is my favorite pic... she is so in shock!

A really fun time, we also took lots of video, but I won't bore you with it here.

When is spring going to be here?

Waiting and waiting for spring this year. It seems like this winter is just dragging on. Snow, and more snow, and nothing blooming in my garden. We planted some day lilies in the fall and I keep hoping to see a little peak of green in my dirt patch. Nothing yet, but our ugly bushes have been ripped up and I have big plans for a beautiful and floral look this year.
I am training for a sprint triathlon to be held May 2, 2010... and I want some warm sun to train in! Of course I know that the moment it starts to get hot and humid I will be missing the snow days. C'est la vie.

It's gonna be great

I have huge plans for this week. My triathlon bike is ready to be picked up at the bike shop, the Jeep is getting fixed plus all of the regular maintenance, I started two new classes, oh yeah... and I am getting 2 of my remaining 3 wisdom teeth pulled on Wednesday. That means I better hurry up and get a weeks worth of stuff done by tomorrow (Tuesday). I have already taken 2 tests, done 1 discussion board, and I am working on 1 homework assignment.
Honestly, I think I work best with this kind of pressure. If it weren't for this short deadline, I probably wouldn't have been so far ahead in my homework.
Well, wish me a speedy recovery, and I will write you all when I am feeling better.

A Monumental Day

This is one for the record books. Yesterday, February 3, 2010, I was able to put all of Lily's hair into one ponytail. It did take a bunch of hair products, but that is beside the point.


That's it. Just thought you should know.

Snow Day!

The snow is finally here!

Well, so far it's more like snow crystals rather than actual snow... but tonight we are supposed to get some of the fluffy stuff.

Here Gav and I are ready to go play:
Lily is ready too!

Winter Wonderland!

Lily just threw a snow ball at me and she's laughing at me now:

Snow Monster!!!

A perfect snow ball!

Ahhhh Organization

I finally ordered a fancy, heavy duty filing cabinet. An expensive, locking, solution to all of our worries and needs. Ok, well maybe not all of our worries and needs, but at least we will know where our paperwork is.
So here is the beginning scene of our new, organized lives:

(basically a bunch of black painted slabs of wood with random stickers on them)
I have never had directions that were so incredibly polite! It blew me away how many times the word 'please' was written.
This is my "organized mess", trying to figure out what is going to go where.

And this... Ta Da... is the finished product. It only took 2 days and a whole lot of "No Dean! --AND-- Lily, the Social Security cards are not for coloring!".

;)

Organization can be such a blessing.