Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sunday Snapshot~ we're tryin'!

Ni Hao Yall
it may be spring, but we still have several inches of snow on the ground and some chilly winds. so when two people in our household were havin' a birthday the kids decided to throw an impromptu luau
we dug out the decor and they got in their bathing suits

some even decided to head out to the deck, but the Lil' Lady thought it too cold to be out dancin' in the dark!

yes, the First Lady even thought to put some sunscreen on.
did you know we all have a Hawaiian name? we had a blast finding out what ours was. even the dog had one!
we're tryin' so hard to be done with winter in these parts. our little party was a nice little taste of summer.
hopefully those warmer temps get here soon!

Friday, March 22, 2013

Favorite Photo Friday~ baseball

the long road
baseball.......sigh
oh how I miss it
only a few more weeks to go though and we'll be there
at least for practices. the boys have been practicing almost every day these last few months at the St. Paul Saints Academy and are more ready then they've ever been.
they've got their new gloves, their new bats...
some new skills...  
 we're just plain ready....can ya tell?
goin' on year 9 with these guys and each season just keeps getting better and better
look out though, cause there's another one comin' up from behind.
I can barely contain myself!

Monday, March 18, 2013

Sunday Snapshot~ goodbyes

Ni Hao Yall
it was a tough start to our new year. on January 27 we lost our Oliver Winston.
 at 18 years old he was a champ. i seriously thought we'd have him at least another year but that Sunday morning when i woke to go downstairs to check their food bowl he was hiding under the shoe table and struggling to breathe. as we waited for the vet to arrive we had time to say our goodbyes. 

 Boo...who'd been suffering from hyperthyroidism and getting worse and worse since Christmas, even came in to the office to say her goodbyes. she and Ollie were inseparable.
 i am so glad we had the opportunity to be with him to the very end.  
 then barely 3 weeks later our dear Boo Boo at 15 years old lost her battle.  she literally went completely blind and stopped eating within a 24 hour period. we couldn't bear to watch her falling down the steps and bumping into the walls. we knew it was time.
 i do believe she missed Oliver too. things just weren't quite right after he'd gone.
 now i prefer to think they're at least together.. curled up somewhere in the sun as i would always find them in the mornings.



 15 & 18 years is a long time to know someone. they were our first children, and our first responsibility. they watched our family grow, came along when we moved 4 times and were patient through it all. and gosh darn it it just hurts to know i won't ever see those beautiful eyes again.
but even as heart broken as we are right now, those years were totally worth it:)
 hopefully we'll have plenty of time before we have to say goodbye to any others. our little Tinkerbell is 17(on the lap below) but doing so well i tell the hubs that she's going to be the cat that makes it to twenty.
Lord thank you for these precious gifts we call our pets. they bring us such happiness and joy:)

Thursday, March 14, 2013

being there

this is my second year teaching at a .8 position and i love it. it means i have one full weekday off where i can just be there.
normally it's grandma or grandpa that get the kiddos off the bus (all 3 busses) and they are the ones who get to hear the stories of the day. i'm a bit jealous because by the time i get home from school story time is over and i usually get "fine" when I ask how their day was.
so at least for one day a week i get the scoop. the First Lady has so much energy when she gets home. she's just like a hurricane that's comin' through...
 and she can barely finish one story before starting on the next! i just grabbed the camera one day and took a few pictures while she was talking. she didn't even stop to ask why i was taking her picture!
these are the moments i want to remember though, because even though she might be ramblin' on about something so random that happened at lunch i want her to know that i'm listening.
hopefully five years from now she'll still want me to:)

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Sunday Snapshot~ my favorite photos lately.....

Ni Hao Yall
 
our smilin' First Lady and  our smilin' MoonPie
our second enjoying the after glow of a basket just made
our oldest takin' care of the Lil' Lady while waiting in line at the buffet
and a kindergartner at school rockin' his snowman collage just like everyone else. this kid amazes and humbles me every time he steps foot in my art room

Friday, March 8, 2013

and then there's New Years Eve 2012

diggin' out the hats and noise makers
ice cream sundaes for dessert

waiting patiently for the ball to drop back east


then gettin' their crazy on once the clock struck midnight!






 then headin' to bed
because some of us still had to get up early to clean up:)
Happy not so New Year!