I'm it!

I don't think I've ever done a post without pictures! But hey, I was tagged, so here goes:

A- Attached or single: Attached


B- Best Friends: Doug and my kids, my parents and siblings


C- Cake or Pie: Pie, fresh peach or strawberry in summer, pecan in the fall


D- Day of choice: Sunday, I love just spending the day together with no distractions


E- Essential item: Jeans, I live in them!


F- Favorite color: Any shade of blue


G- Gummy bears or worms: I don't love either, but like cinnamon bears, does that count?


H- Hometown: Arvada, Colorado


I- Indulgences: Ice cream in summer and hot chocolate in winter, every night!


J- January or July: Definitely July! Summer is my favorite time of year.


K- Kids: 4, Austin, Sydney, Jordan and London


L- Life is not complete without: A wonderful family to spend it with!


M - Marriage Date: August 19, 1993


N- Number of Siblings: 4, 2 brothers and 2 sisters


O- Oranges or apples: Oranges, I love the juice!


P- Phobias or fears: Mice, large spiders and big dogs on the loose!


Q- Quotes: "No other success can compensate for failure in the home." --David O. McKay


R- Reason to smile: We have so many blessings!


S- Season: Summer, I love the colors of flowers and the sound of kids playing outside.


T- Tag three friends: Jenifer, Lindsay, Jen, Anj, and anyone else who wants to be it! (I know that was more than 3, but I'm not the accountant in the family!)


U- Unknown fact about me: I have 2 extra ribs. (Weird, I know.)


V - Very favorite store: Crate & Barrel, they have the coolest stuff!


W- Worst habit: I bite my nails.


X- X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound, they remind me of babies, x-rays remind me of the dentist!


Y- Your favorite food: Fresh fruit with a good dip


Z- Zodiac: Leo

Surprise

Sydney's 2nd grade
class went on a
field trip to a tree farm
today. At the
end of their tour,
they were each
given a pansy
plant to take home.
Her first thought
was to give it to me
for Mother's Day.
When I picked her up
after school, she was
trying to hide it
under her coat.
She asked if I could
see what was underneath.
I had seen a flower, so I told her.
She was bummed and pulled it out
and said, I was going to give it to you
for Mother's Day. I thought she might
change her mind, but
next thing I knew, she had placed it
on the window sill in the kitchen.
The surprise wasn't such a surprise,
but the thought sure didn't mean
any less. It was so sweet.

Beauty shop

Jordan tried her hand
at hairstyling today.
London was
more than willing
to be her
guinea pig.
After all, Jordan told her
she was going to look
beautiful!

When it was

finished,

Jordan showed

her the mirror

and she

admired herself

for awhile.
It's so fun

having a big

sister, isn't it?

Sunshine and "woses"

London picked

these daffodils

from the flower bed

the other day.

When she called them

"woses", I just couldn't

correct her. It was too cute.

Once they

were her own,

they just

couldn't stay

in the glass of

water.

They had to go outside

and play with her.

Hog wild

One of the kids'
favorite things
to do is to have
motorcycle
rides
with their dad
around the
neighborhood.
Yesterday was
such a
beautiful day
they all
jumped at the
chance.
Sydney wanted to go first. She's been waiting for an opportunity to
ride for weeks now!

This was Jordan's first time
going for more than just a
spin around the street.
She loved it!





Austin's a pro,
he gets to ride
this way to school
whenever the
weather's nice.

The kids all
think it's a blast,
and Doug likes
being able to
share one of his
favorite
pasttimes
with
the family.

Coolest thing EVER!

So, tonight, as I was finishing dinner dishes,

Jordan was looking out the front window.

She comes over and says to me,

"Mom, there's an owl in our tree."

Yeah, right, I said.

If you know Jordan, you know

she's full of practical jokes.

But just to humor her, I went and looked.

And sure enough,

there in our tree sat a

Great Horned Owl.

How cool is that??

This was our view from the window.

Doug told me to go outside

and get some more pictures.

As soon as I sneaked around the corner,

his eyes were riveted on me.

I took a few photos,

then got a little too close, I guess,

because he ruffled up his feathers. . .

looked around one more time,

and took off,

with a few robins following him.

He flew around our street awhile,

and landed in our trees a few more times.

It was so exciting for the kids to watch!

We all enjoyed it.

Ups and downs

Here is our forecast, compliments of

Weatherbug.com.

Isnt' it crazy?

Only in Colorful Colorado.

Tuesday
High: 75 Sunny...breezy. Highs 65 to 75. East winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the southwest 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 45 mph in the afternoon.

Tuesday Night
Low: 35 Mostly cloudy. A 50 percent chance of rain and snow after midnight. Breezy. Lows in the 30s. West winds 15 to 25 mph with gusts to around 45 mph becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph after midnight.

Wednesday
High: 45 Partly sunny. A chance of snow in the morning...then a chance of rain...snow with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Much colder. Highs 35 to 45. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

Wednesday Night
Low: 25 Mostly cloudy. Lows in the 20s. West winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the south after midnight.

Goodbye, mants!

It seems like every spring

the ants find their way

into our house.

We have to start being careful

about dropping crumbs on the floor

and spray them when we find them.

Well, London had another idea.

She loves animals.

After she found the ants,

she wanted to put them outside.

At first, she thought she could just

shoo them out, like a dog.

"Come on, mants

(that's what she thought they were called,

after hearing Jordan say we have 'some ants'.),

go on! Go outside! Go on!"

When that didn't work, she decided

to take them out on her finger

one by one.

"I Gotcha!", she would say happily.

Each one was carefully placed out

on the back step.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Homecoming

Sweet Jordan
decorated our
room for us
yesterday.
She hung up a
banner she had
made
with the words
"Good day" on it.

Doug and I
each got a
picture
made just
for us
on our side
of the bed.

An alligator adorned the

top of the tv, and a unicorn picture

graced the nightstand.

And a beautiful present

wrapped up with a bow

sat at the foot of the bed.

(nothing inside, just a pretty box).

It was so nice to come home to.

Oink!

I gave London pigtails

for the first time the other day.

When I was done, she thought for a minute.

Then she looked at me and said,

"Look, mom, I'm a piggie!

Bonk, bonk!"

We'll go back and review those

farm animals again

before preschool starts. :)

Fan club

The other night,

when the Nuggets

played the Suns,

we decided to

spring for the next level up

on our dish network subscription

and get the Altitude channel.

They show all the Nuggets games.

Sweet!

We're excited to cheer them on

and hope they continue to rock

for the rest of the season

(and beyond, we hope!).

Go, Denver!

Derby night

Last night was the

Pinewood Derby.

Austin's last one.

So, he wanted to make it good.

He decided to carve and paint

his car to look like

a sea serpent/dragon.

What do ya think?

He did a great job.

The anticipation was killer.
Finally, his turn was up.
They had to race and re-race,

it was a close call.

Shrek the sea serpent did pretty well!
Came home with 2nd place ribbon.

Good job, Austin!

Playing dress-up

London is all girl.

She adores getting

all the jewelry,

pretty dresses,

hats and makeup on

that she can.

Her sisters think that's great.

They love dressing her up.

She's like a little doll.

I know these days will pass by

way too fast.

But for now,

we enjoy every minute.

Still waiting. . .

The kids
have been
asking me
when the
first day of
spring was.
When it
finally
arrived, they
were so
excited.
The
daffodils
thought
it had come.





So did the tulips.
They've been
poking up from
the ground
for a couple of
weeks now.

Apparently, we've all

been mistaken.