Girl's Night Out!

Ok, so it's not that often that Myranda and I have a night on the town... just us with no kids! It was awesome... well until the next morning anyway! We started out with the idea that we would just hangout at her place - then we thought "hey no kids, why stay in". Before the night could start we had to make a pit stop to pick up a few things. Myranda wanted a new pair of sandles and I needed more mousse so we decided that a short shopping trip was in order. Since we weren't in a hurry to get to where we were going we took a little detoured ... I had decided that I wanted to look for some new summer tops that I can wear at the office, so there I am trying on a this really cool shirt - i get it over my head (both arms in at this point) when I decided that I'll be able to get it on, but then it wouldn't be coming off! It was one of those "you have to be there" type situations, but we laughed about it all night long! Next stop: dinner! We weren't really that hungry but decided that it was the next logical step. Since neither one of us has really be out for a night on the town in a long time, we were like two lost tourists! The liquid portion of dinner was great - gotta love those margaritas! Our waiter was a riot, either he was really forgetful or had really bad pick-up lines (the jury is still out on that one)! The next stop was supposed to be the casiono... however, due to a detour, some directional challenges, and a lack of road signs (probley because our detour took us out to the back forty where they didn't have paved roads) it took us a little longer than expected to get to our destination. Have to say, the detour was worth every drop of gas. I think we found the house that Hansel & Gretel were locked in (in the forest) - - we found the house that's in every horror movie (the one with the creepy guy who collects skulls of dead cows & bulls) - - passed by a house that had goats living in it (yes, that's right - they lived in the house)... it was quite the journey. At this point we were both pretty sure that we were not going in the right direction. Nevertheless, we continued... our two lane paved road turned into a two-way unpaved road, and then slowly narrowed to only one lane. Just as the sun set we noticed that the road signs had disappeared. Eventually we did get back to civilization... and eventually we did make it to the casino. Now since we weren't in Vegas, what happened at the casino does not have to stay at the casino... so here it is: shortly after walking in and stopping to observe a blackjack game, security showed up and had a beef with some drunken gambler - some guy hit it big at a game of roulette (minimum bet was $100 and he must have had 15-20 chips on the red 5) and then didn't even crack a smile - I lost $20 - Myranda won $35. After a long night of lights and noise we were both ready for the quiet silence of home. We walked out of the casiono, hit dead air, heard a massive crack of thunder, both looked at each other and made a mad dash to the car. We made it just in time - not two seconds after we got in the car did a HUGE hail storm hit us. It was definately a night that won't be forgotten!

Emma Plays Soccer

Well, just like the title says, Emma is playing soccer this summer... and Mom's the coach!! My girls are so adorable. There are nine other little girls on her team - all under the age of 4! Since this is the first year that they can actually play soccer on a team they are all a little lost out there. It's not a competative event by any means... some girls are right in there - others a little more shy - some totally uninterested unless their mom's playing too. All in all, they're all doing great.

Our first game, this little girl on our team is running down the field with the ball when out of nowhere the other team comes and takes the ball from her... and there it was - the funniest quote of the year - the girl looks up at me and while tears are rolling down her cheek she says to me "coach you have to tell their coach that that girl needs a time out - she took my ball and didn't ask". So classic! I'm sure all parents out there can appreciate that one.

Each week the girls seem to be getting a little more involved.. although some kids are still totally terrified to touch the thing.

*pictures on the way.

Emma Gets A Dog

It was a warm summer's day this May 24 when the family piled into the car. After months of begging (on Emma's part), I finally agreed to a dog. Of course it helps if you ask for something when mom is still half asleep (note to those who need something... if you catch me in the morning before my first cup of tea, I will agree to just about anything). You see usually when I wake up in the morning it takes a little while before I'm actually aware of what you're asking me - by that time I'm sure I've agreed to 50 or 60 different things that I don't actually agree with - but at this stage of the day I'm not yet aware of it. Usually my day begins with a "mom can I.... " and as I'm wiping the sleep out of my eyes I reply "uh-huh"... the cheers of joy not yet enough to wake me. This process is likely to repeat itself a number of times before a question so silly snaps me into reality. However, somehow today I think I might have actually been awake when the doggie question came.

Anyway, like I was saying we piled into the car in search of this puppy. It was a beautiful day for a drive, which was a good thing because we ended up going to a kennel about 1.5 hours away! Emma and I were lucky enough to be able to veg-out for the majority of the ride... but wow, did she spring to life when we got there. I wasn't really too into the idea of getting a dog until we got there... but the little guy was so darn cute I just couldn't leave him behind.

Emma and Jack were so cute on the way back. They were like two peas in a pod - immediately cuddled together in the car seat. I didn't bring my camera with me on the ride, but I've got some shots of them in the backyard...

Happy 80th Oma

Sorry for the massive delay in postings... life has been extremely busy. I'm in the process of sending out all of my past clients a letter to let them know of my switch in brokerages, working long hours at the office, trying to have a life outside of work... and oh, celebrating birthdays. Two weekends ago Oma celebrated her 80th birthday. It was awesome... all of us (cousins, aunts, uncles & Pastor Rolf) gathered together for a birthday dinner. Everyone had a scripture from the bible memorized (except Lydia & I who weren't aware that it was supposed to be memorized) to present to Oma. She was in her glory.

Since my mom, Emma and I had a few mintues to spare before everyone showed up for the birthday dinner, we decided to do some exploring. I got some really cute pictures of my mom and Emma.... take a look:

Best Birthday

Ok, so I have to give a big thanks to everyone for the amazing birthday this year! It all started with a visit from Summer... she's such a brave girl... she flew out here all by herself! On my birthday Emma, Summer, Brian, Holy, Lisa and I all went tobogganing. It was so wicked! I know I've lived here for three years, but this was the first trip to Snow Valley... and for all of you who have never been I highly recommend going tubing there. The four of us (Summer, Lisa, Holy and I) got into these little innertubes and flew down the hill - must have been 80k/hr. It was totally insane... I loved it! After a trip down the chute, we took off to the "chicken chute" where Emma was chillin' (her and Brian were tobogganing there). We hung out here for a few hours, playing with the girls... and when us big kids got tired, we watched the little ones slide down and climb back up (thumbs up to Summer who taught Emma how to pull the tube up the hill). After a day of fun in the snow we all headed back to Brian's house for some hot chocolate and home-made clam chowder (Donna you make awesome soup, you can cook for me anytime). The girls had a blast running around the house with Brian while us ladies relaxed by the fire (to be totally honest I was beat - I didn't have the energy to move). Just as we all seemed to be fading away, Brian surprises me with a cake... wow, did those girls have energy after that! But the night didn't end there... after Brian's the girls and I were off to Myranda's place for a birthday dinner. She made an amazing meal... and another cake! Emma was so excited that I had "two birthdays". The three girls got to play while Myranda and I relaxed and enjoyed the evening.

For me the birthday celebrations didn't end there... the girls and I headed to Oma's for a weekend of family time... post on that to follow! Just have to say, I love my family!