Our Sassy Ballerina

Heidi is taking dance again at New Hope Dance.  She seems to really like class and it's an easy way for her to see her BFF Lauren at least once a week.

I am amaze at how much older she looks this year compared to last years pictures.  What a big girl!

I really should find a picture from when I danced and post it next to this one. Wow, does she look like me here!

I love this picture because you can see all the sass in this girl even from this angle.

 Sass or no sass.  It sure was a long wait until it was her turn.  We arrived early and none of her friends were there yet.  You can see the boredom in her face.

After it was her turn there was just more waiting.  But this time she had lots of friends around.  Everything is better with friends!

What a cute group.  This is their silly face picture.  It will be part of the slide show at the end of the year.  They play it while everyone is gathering before the recital starts.

I can't wait to get the pictures back from the photographer.  Heidi, Lauren, and Lily took a Best Buddies picture that promises to be super cute.  They will be posted as soon as they come in!

My Love of Trees - Part One

I love trees.  Shawn loves trees.  Heidi loves trees.

We have a lot of trees in our yard.  Really.  A lot for a city lot.  At least 4 in the front and between 8 and 10 in the back.  And more to come if I have my way!

I will post about our Ginkgo trees and our lost apple tree and the tree that landed on my truck soon...

When you have as many trees as we do.  And when you live in an area where windy storms happen all spring and fall.  You end up with a lot of fallen branches.

Last summer I threatened to cut up all of the fallen branches which had gathered themselves behind my house and feed them to the yard waste man.

Shawn insisted he would burn them.

This spring the same fallen branches, plus a number of their new fallen branch friends, were still in a pile behind my house.

I cut them up.

And I fed them to the fire pit.  Jess helped.

Here is our beautiful, hot fire.

It was about 4 in the afternoon on a sunny, 75 degree day.  Not really the day to have a 7 foot tall flame in the back yard.

But oh well, it made Jess happy!

Who knew she was a closet pyromaniac??

Sneaky Pete Update

In October we adopted a kitten named Sneaky Pete.  We decided he would be an indoor cat since he has no fear at all.  I was worried he would run off and never find his way home.

He spend the winter in the house eating and playing and getting really big.

This cardboard scratcher is his favorite thing in the house.  He sits on it no matter where it is.

He also likes Heidi's headbands and toy cars.

I cannot believe how big he is. He sits almost as tall as Eddie now!  We figure he will celebrate his 1st birthday in May.

He sure has made himself at home.

But then spring came and he started to look out the window a lot. 

And the weekend Ryan and Jess moved in he ran out the door every time it opened.  I stopped counting at 30 times.

 So now, he is an out door cat.  And I am okay with that.

We took it slow.  First he spent the day on a harness but when I was not looking he got out of that.

Then he spent the day with someone watching him while outside.

After about two weeks he was on his own.  Now, he rarely leaves the yard and never goes beyond the house behind us and the house on the side of us. 

He really is an out door cat.  He is so happy going out side and he is happy to come in for cuddles, food, and water.

And for how big he is, I think he need the exercise!

Here is my post from when he first came home.  I cannot believe how big he is!

My Lettuce Garden

In my effort to be a bit more green, a bit more in touch with the earth, and to eat better, I plan to work a number of gardens in my yard.

I tried to grow lettuce last year but I was not good at watering it.  This year, my gardens are going to get a higher priority.

The same day I dug out the strawberries I hit the planter boxes by the back steps.

There are eight boxes but I am only taking on the top four right now.  I should also mention that Shawn plans to take out these planter boxes this summer but I am going to enjoy them while they are there.

They were a mess, like I said, I started them last year and then promptly neglected them.  I had my work cut out for me but it was a beautiful day and Jess was taking care of dinner so I dug in.

I dumped the super dry dirt into an old tub and started to wet it down.

This is my hose.  That I ran over with the van last summer.  Opps! 

I spent about 20 minutes adding dirt, adding water, mixing with my hands.  It was wonderful! 

They say playing in the dirt, gardening, is good for the sole. 

Having a big doppy dog around is good for the sole too! 

And completing a project is also good for the sole. 

I cannot wait until I am able to step out the back door and collect fresh lettuce to toss on a sandwich or serve with dinner!

Cheerleaders

Ryan, Jess, Willy, and Emily are staying with us for while.  Heidi think it's just great!  She likes to pretend they are her brother and sister.

 One afternoon the "sisters" set up their chairs at the bottom of the slide

to cheer on their "brother" as he went up

 and down the slide.

The cheer went like this:

Go Brother!
Go Brother!
We are Sisters!

Family Cook Out

A little under a year ago Shawn's dad moved to Arizona for work.  He has been able to make it home a few times since he moved but we do not see him very often.

When he arrived home this weekend we decided to have a cook out and get the family together at our place.

We had wonderful food and for the first time in cook out history we had no leftovers!

Margie had a lot of fun with the bubbles.

As did Kristen and Makayla

Renee enjoyed spending time with Ingrid and Brandon.

When Ingrid was done being shy she enjoyed spending time (and sharing chips) with Heidi and Emily.

Everyone stood around and visited.

Kids played in the sandbox with a dog.

And kids played with chalk on the driveway.

Johannah mugged for the camera.

Makayla looked beautiful, as always.

Cliff got to spend time with is buddy Pig.

And he ended the day with a huge Heidi hug.

It was such a beautiful day full of sunshine, good food, and family.

Yummy - Strawberries!

Yeah!  It's spring!  I was able to spend a few hours working out in the yard last week because Jessica made dinner.  What more could I have asked for??

I took this rare oppertunity to clean up my strawberry planter and get it ready to grow.

First I had to dig it out of it's winter hiding spot.

Wow, it's rough.

Then I moved it out into the yard.  This is where Shawn tells me I need to move it back to where I had it last year and already killed to grass.  Oops!

That's okay!  I like it right there on the edge of the driveway.

Oh, look!  Someone is bringing mom some lemonade. What a sweet girl!

Wait! What happened to the lemonade?  And where is Pinky's shirt?

Oh.  You weren't trying to be helpful.  I should have known. 

What a HAM!

Ok, back to work.

Much better!  I can't wait for fresh strawberries, I hope they grow soon...  Ah, who am I kidding?  They kids will eat them all as soon as they turn red.  Maybe I need to start another planter!  Hmm... I wonder if Shawn will be mad if I kill more grass in the name of yummy strawberries...

YUM!