Who needs 7-Eleven when you've got 9-Eleven?

Picture me, Nolan (nine), and Nick (eleven) in the car yesterday afternoon...

Nick- "Mom, I'm going to open up a store on our front lawn over the summer."

Me-"Really, a store?"

Nick- "Yup, I'm going to buy candy from the dollar store and split it up into little cups and sell 'em for 25 cents. I should probably sell juice or lemonade too... I'll need a good cooler for that."

Me-"Hmmm...that sounds quite interesting." (Thinking to myself, at least this kid thinks of something to sell that someone might actually want to buy. No egg rolls for this kid!)

Nolan- "Oooh...Ooooh...Ooooh... Can I work at the store too?"

Nick- "Um, ya, I guess you can work there..... But don't forget, I'm the manager!"



So, if you're in the market to purchase some Mike n' Ikes, Milk Duds, or Gobstoppers and wish to wash them down with some lemonade that is stored in a good cooler....Be sure to stop by our place this Summer!

Time well spent

What a weekend...

Sunshine so warm if felt like a Summer day.

Two great girlfriends to help me spend my weekend away.

Countless Woodinville wineries offering up small sips of their best wines, delicious appetizers, and live music.

Getting to break out my favorite capris for the first time this Spring!

A picnic with friends on a grassy lawn dappled with sunlight after a day of wine tasting.

LOTS of laughter. My friends are funny... I'm sure it's not just the wine.

Driving home into my driveway only to be greated by a little blonde headed boy with a big grin on his face jumping up and down with joy that his mom is home. (BEST PART OF WEEKEND BY FAR)

A wonderful hubby who enjoyed his weekend with his boys BBQ'ing and hiking.

These are only a few examples of how wonderful my weekend turned out to be. It was a nice escape, relaxing, and fun. Now if only I had remembered to bring my camera! Total rookie move... I need more practice with weekends away. :)

And the Fun Continues.....

Today, I hung out with my boys, my nieces, and nephews who spent the night last night. It was a full house. It takes me a little while to adjust to having six kidlets in the house, but they are all fun and entertaining in their own way. And THEY were having fun, and that's what sleep overs are all about!


Next, I plan on taking my boys out for an ice-cream cone to celebrate another day of Spring Break. YUM.


Tommorow it's my turn for a little fun. My friends, Marianne and Shannon, and I will be embarking on a whirlwind girls weekend. I'm so stoked about getting away with these two even if it's only for 2 days. We will be spending the night up in Woodinville and visiting a few wineries at an event called the "Passport to Woodinville". We will be sipping different varieties of wines and thoroughly enjoying some delicious food in the sunshine that is about to grace our skies.
And when we aren't at the wineries, we will be within walking distance to some fabulous shopping. Happiness abounds!

Life is good.

Mo happiness....

1. It's so nice not eating lunch all by my lonesome this week.

Gotta love Spring break.

Today, the boys and I drove to Tacoma to take Connor out to lunch.

We had fun at the "Rock" chowin' on pizza.

Thanks Connor, we loved seeing you today!

2. We mourned the loss of our ancient washer and dryer for about 13 minutes a couple weeks ago.

Then we mourned the fact that we practically had to take out a loan out to purchase new ones...

But the mourning stopped as soon as I turned those babies on.

HOLY COW!

I'm in love with my new dirt extracting, high speed-spinning, super duper drying beauties.

I had no idea a HUGE load of laundry could possibly dry in under 35 minutes!

My old dryer took at least 70 minutes to dry one load of laundry.
I hate to think about how much time I've wasted waiting for our tidy whities to dry over the last 17 years.

Isn't it funny how the littlest things in life can bring such joy?

A whole lot a happy

This is a week of happy.

I'm lucky to say many things have made me happy this week and there are a few happy moments up my sleeve.

First... It's Spring Break and I'm LOVING it! Time spent with my boys just makes me plain happy. No doubt about it, bring a smile to my face, happy.

So far this week we have.....

Had a movie night. "Alvin and the Chimpmunks" had us laughing out loud. It's pretty cute.
Spent a day in downtown Seattle pretending to be tourists. Always a good time.
Dug for some change and spent some time at the local arcade. Boys dig that for sure.
Put on our lovely bowling shoes and had a fun afternoon at the bowling alley. STRIKE!
Who knows what the rest of the week will bring. I'm hoping for some sunshine and more fun.

Karen's Birthday made me happy, knowing she was touched by my post made me happy, and the fact she didn't hate me for posting some photos from way back made me very happy!

Next.... My good friend, Brenda, with whom I work at the pharmacy has decided to stay and not leave to go to another pharmacy. Hip Hip Hooray for us!! I was so bummed to hear that she might take another position at a pharmacy closer to her home, but she chose to stay because she knows she's happy where she is and because her not-so-healthy father is nearby if he needs her.
I just love this gal, she makes work fun and she is so great at what she does... She is such a positive person and I think she makes me a better person just by being around her.


Today, marks the one week point for my latest push at getting healthier. My sister-in-law, Shannon, and my friend, Bill, asked if I'd be interested in joining their attempts at getting in shape. I think this was the push I needed to get me going. There is nothing more motivating than knowing you have to report to others on your progress. We all told eachother what our goals were, how we planned on achieving those goals, and then every single night we have to email our progress reports. SCARY! But, so far, it seems to be working because I'm 2.4 pounds lighter than last week and I feel better about myself and have more energy. All good things.

So... Happiness abounds and I'll bask in it's glow

More happiness to follow...check back soon to get the latest installments.

Happy Birthday Karen

Happy, Happy Birthday to the most loyal, hilarious, compassionate, caring, crazy, and wonderful friend a gal could ask for.

Happy 33rd Karen!

Here are 33 facts about my dear friend...

1-I met her when she was only three years old.

2-She had and probably still has her baby blanket that she so lovingly referred to as "wubbie".

3-She is an amazing ballet dancer. 16 years or so of dancing will do that.

4-She makes the funniest monkey face I've ever seen. And I saw it a lot as a child!

5-Karen is BY FAR, the most hilarious individual I know. It's all in the way she speaks.

6-She once referred to her chest as "Shock and Awe" and I almost drove off the side of the road from laughing so hard. (see what I mean, funny! her word choice skills are stellar!)

7-She is allergic to apples.

8-We threw a small party for the neighborhood kids when I was about 11, and we served skittles and gave wheelbarrow rides to our guests. We also encouraged everyone to "Mingle"! :)

(Karen and me camping in 1982, Being wacky circa 1987, typical day w/Karen-198?)

9-She has the tiniest little toe nails on her pinky toes! You practically need a magnifying glass to see them!


10-We once had a contest to see who could walk barefoot on the hot asphalt street the longest. It was a scorching Summer day! Look what boredom can lead kids to do.


11-We also tried to make a swimming pool out of a large cardboard box lined with plastic. Key word there is "tried".


12-We killed a cricket that we named Jimminey, buried him, and made a song up about him... we both still know the lyrics.


13-We loved to choreograph dances in her basement to the rocking tunes from Abba. (most of the dances started out with a fancy cart wheel as we entered the room!) We were totally rad.


14-We used to drive around the Kirkland waterfront while listening to Depeche Mode- hoping to see some cute guys.


15-She was the best Maid of Honor- EVER!

(Karen & Brad's engagement photo-1997 Karen's Senior photo-1993)

(Karen being the best Maid of Honor ever - Jan. 1993)

16-Her mom had a garage sale one time and we thought it would be a fantastic idea to make and sell egg rolls. What?? What kid sells egg rolls? Why not cookies? Weird kids from Renton that's who!

17-Karen has a phobia of driving off bridges into water.


18-I can't eat a egg salad sandwich without thinking about her. (Her mom would always make them whenever we went to Lake Wa. for an afternoon of swimming)


19-She is by far one of the most loving mothers I have ever known. She was born to be a mom.


20-She is a fabulous teacher!


21-She was always afraid to spend the whole night in our backyard camp outs. We always ended up going back inside to the safety of the house. :)



22-She makes the best salads I've ever had. And her homemade croutons are to die for.


23-When we used to play "house" as kids, she always pretended that her husband's name was Tom.


24-She wrote a poem about scotch tape that was published in our high school year book.

(Look at the little Freshman- 1989)

25-We went camping together at least once a year and each time holds a funny memory. (New inventions, vomit, boys... I won't go into the details.)

26-Christmas at her house was like someone winning the lottery. She had mountains of gifts to show me each year.


27-She loved "life", and by that I mean the boardgame Life. I actually had to hide the game because I was so sick of playing it with her. I told her I had "lost" it somewhere. Nice, huh?


28-There is a booth in a DQ in Renton that we claimed as "ours" because we would always sit there every time we rode our bikes for a "full meal deal".


29-She has amazing taste in clothing and always looks put together & absolutely beautiful.


30-One of her in-laws thinks she is Puerto Rican... And Karen has no intention of telling her the truth. (She's part Canadian and part Portuguese and has the best skin tone around!)



31-That girl is FLEXIBLE! I think she can still do the splits and I KNOW she can reach far beyond her toes- I'm extremely jealous, as is my hubby.



32-She's got amazing decorating taste- her home is lovely and welcoming.


33-She is a friend that anyone would be grateful to have... and I count my lucky stars that she was introduced into my life when I was only seven years old and that I get the pleasure of calling her my friend until my dying day.

I hope you spend this day doing something you enjoy. Maybe listening to a little Abba? Perhaps a lunch that includes egg rolls? Whatever you end up doing, have a happy day and remember that you are loved more than you know!

Two Wild and Crazy Guys

It's that time of year again... Crazy Hair Day at school. My boys absolutely love this day... They knew exactly what they wanted done.

Isn't he handsome?

He could really hurt someone if he ran into them by accident.

My little porcupine boy!

Still getting the paint out from under my fingernails!

Last weekend was pretty much consumed by me measuring, leveling, marking lines, taping, then painting Nicholas' bedroom...

But I think the outcome was worth it. I know for certain Nicholas LOVES it...so my time was well spent.

We painted his room the main brown color a little over a year ago because he wanted a brown room...go figure?

Well, it looked pretty good, but it was lacking the fun factor that a young boy's room requires.

So, We decided to paint a big band of tan with a border of two smaller blue stripes.

I really like it, because Nick is able to hang up all his posters, pictures, and general stuff within the lighter tan portion and it looks great.

Painting the lighter color also lightened up his room which before reminded me very much of a cave. Way too dark and depressing for me.

My next project is to paint black to match his bed. I think I'll paint the drawer fronts the same blue color as the stripes on the wall and replace the knobs.


I think this room will be a great place for this creative kid to grow up into his teenage years, which dare I say are just around the corner? YIKES!
Just the other day, he mentioned to me that he is no longer a little kid...he is a tweener!
How did that happen?

Motherhood is Funnier Than Fiction

All you mommies out there in need of a good laugh MUST check out this site.

http://inthemotherhood.msn.com/

My friend, Marianne, told me about this site on MSN called In The Motherhood. It's a bunch of small video episodes of actual mom experiences that were submitted by real moms. The 'moms' are portrayed by actessses Chelsea Handler, Jenny McCarthy, and the girl from King of Queens. These gals are so bloomin' funny!!

SNOW!

Snow in the Spring?

Just a few days ago I was out basking in the warm sunshine while mowing the lawn...

What is going on?

Pretty, pretty Spring day.

This is the reaction you get after you tell your boys that they have a two hour school delay!

Nicholas always likes to push the sledding limits... He turned his into a make shift snowboard.

Nolan had to follow Nicholas' lead. Sitting on sleds is just so last season!

(said in a very somber way with many nose sniffles...)

"Nicholas threw a snowball in my eye and it hurt real bad."


Ahhh.... the joys of boys!

Despite this being the last picture on the post...we truly had a lot of FUN this morning with the two extra hours the school district allotted us. Snowballs, snow angels, sledding, and hot chocolate rounded out our morning.

And according to the weather guy... he says there may be more snow on the way!

HOORAY!!

We can't say we never win anything anymore...

Yesterday, Connor called from work to say....

"Hey, Kel... I just won a ham today."

"I didn't really want to win a ham, but I noticed the entry forms in the cafeteria yesterday at work...I thought what the heck...and filled one out."

"I'll be bringing the ham home tomorrow."


Why can't we win the lottery, free concert tickets, or even a free snapple? I guess when you and maybe two other people fill out an entry form to win a ham- your odds of winning are pretty good.

Our Budding Artist!

Nicholas entered the "Reflections" contest at school this year. Reflections is a national program that invites school kids of all ages to participate by creating visual art, literature, photography, dance, or film production. Each year there is a different theme that the art work is supposed to be based on.

This year's theme was..."I can make a difference by..."

He came up with this beautiful sketching of a bird house in a birch tree. I. Love. it. I know I'm biased because he IS my kid, but, really... I think it's great! I love all of the texture he put into the the details. He had to write a statement on the back of his entry that supported how it fit the theme. He wrote "I can make a difference by making a wildlife habitat for birds because most of those places are being torn down."

His entry was chosen among thousands of other entries to advance to the district level. He was stoked to find that out!

This boy has always loved art and has always had a knack for drawing. His uncle Todd's artistic ability somehow found it's way through the gene pool and ended up giving Nick the artist's touch!

Respect your elders

Here's a birthday shout out to a great friend of ours who just happens to be turning the big 40 today!

Happy Birthday Rob!! (Or the "muffin man" as my boys so lovingly refer to him.)

Everyone should have a friend like Rob. You can always count on this guy to make you smile. When I think of Rob, I think of a funny, kooky, outdoorsy, hard-working, practical joker, fun-loving, never boring, generous guy all rolled into one fantastic friend!

Did you know, that 40 years ago, on the blessed year you graced this planet...

Gasoline only cost 34 cents a gallon?? Oh those were the days!
The average income was $7850?
The first Big Mac went on sale at McDonalds?
London Bridge was sold for 1 million dollars and then re-erected in Arizona?
Planet of The Apes was a number one movie at the box office?

I hope you spend this day exactly how you want to and that the next 40 years bring you much happiness, good health, continued friendships, and fond memories. We love ya!

(Sorry Rob, these are the only photos of you I could find because most of my photos are locked up in my broken computer... the first one was while we were on vacation on Lake Roosevelt, and other two were both taken in 1992 at Disneyland! Rob loved the Dumbo ride!!---Connor demanded multimedia so I had to deliver!)

You no longer have to imagine us on vacation!

Here of some shots we took while on vacation last month in Disney World.

First stop...The Magic Kingdom!

Chip or Dale in the All American parade on Main Street

Nolan in his metalic, light up Mickey ears...very cool to see at night!


My guys posing up in The Swiss Family Robinson's Tree house



Busted! Probably for having too much fun...




A little preview of what we'll see on the road in about 5 years. YIKES!






Nolan and I LOVE this ride! We went on Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad about seven or eight times.






Nolan and his pal Chip... or is this Dale? You'll have to ask Nolan, he's the only one that can tell them apart.




NEXT DAY..... ANIMAL KINGDOM! Happy B-day to Nolan!


Tree of Life. This thing is HUGE and has carvings of animals all over it.







My boys looking like they like eachother. Thank goodness they really do!

I LOVED this ride too... Expedition Everest. Fast, Scary, Dark, Backwards, big thrill, the best.

Nick and Connor do not agree. Nolan liked it enough to go on it twice!

We met Rafiki from Lion King

Kinda sad.....but this is the only photo of mom. I'm always the one behind the lens.

On safari in "Africa"

This was a highlight of the Animal Kingdom, Nolan couldn't stop taking photos--lots to see!

Self explanatory






HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS (sick Nick and Nurse Mom did not make it there this day)

"Honey We Shrunk the Nolan" playing on the magnified playground.

It was a neat playground!

Tower or TERROR

HOTEL SHOTS

Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter is where we stayed. Beautiful grounds situated next to the river.

We took these boats up the river to Down Town Disney almost every evening for some grub and shopping fun. It was relaxing and lots of fun!

Our hotel's swimming pool. This cool dragon water slide was the the deciding factor for Nick and Nolan choosing this hotel. Too bad it was closed for 6 out of 7 days of our stay!

Oh! Another shot of me! Those are my toes. (and Nolan)

We did get to use the neighboring hotel's pool while ours was closed and actually, it turned out to be a whole lot nicer and the water slide was longer and more fun for the boys!

Nolan about to splash into the pool off of the slide!

So... There's a taste of what we did while on vacation. I'm a little disappointed in my photographer skills this time around. Seems like a missed a bunch of good opportunites. Didn't take ANY in Epcot or Down town Disney. OOPS. Too busy shopping I guess.

Babies Babies Babies UPDATE

We interupt this blogging broadcast to bring you breaking news on the baby front.

Sister-in-law, Sarah, as mentioned in previous post... called to say she will have to go out and buy a whole new baby wardrobe. Her little new bundle arriving in July is going to be a BOY! And boys just don't look so swell in pink frillies.

We are thrilled for her and Josh! Savannah is going to be such a wonderful big sister to her little brother. Congratulations to you all!