My Beautiful Cake!

We all had a wonderful time at Nana and Pa's today - thanks Mom!!! Just had to post this picture of the beautiful cake my Mom made me for my birthday. And, the best part... she made it with Diet Coke so it was only 2 points per piece. I thought is was absolutely gorgeous! And, my little dirty secret is... I didn't scrape off the frosting! Living dangerously here I know!

Mama Margie's Hands

I took this picture to enter into a contest titled "Hands". You can see her nails worn where she rubs them together.

Taylor and Bubbles have graduated!

Taylor and Bubbles completed their 8 week training class yesterday. They both worked very hard and they have come a long way. We are very impressed with Taylor's dedication and with Bubbles' desire to please her. Here they are after Bubbles received her diploma.
I love this picture because it shows how willing Bubbles is to work with Taylor. She was just waiting for her next command.
At the graduation they had a few games and competitions. Here, Taylor and Bubbles are going around the stools playing musical chairs. When the music stopped Taylor had to sit down and then get Bubbles to sit, too.
My favorite picture. After Miss Bonnie presented them with their diploma Taylor was so happy she bent over and gave Bubbles a kiss. She sure loves that little dog!

Taylor's Awards Assembly

Doesn't she look thrilled? LOL As always, Pete, Jesse and I sat through and hour of awards on Friday and this is how happy Tay was about it all. The thing is, she is actually really happy! She is just not a cheesy, posey, smiley kinda girl. So, anyway... She got a ton of awards, as always. She met her Accelerated Reading goal, actually more than doubled it. She just finished reading the last harry Potter Book. She also made the Principal's List, which is for a total of 95% or higher. She had straight A's this and last quarter. And, she also received a Citizenship Award. So, we were all very proud of her!

Two Wheelin' P.J.!

Well, as I was in my kitchen the other day I glanced outside and saw PJ cruise by on a 2 wheel bike!!! No training wheels! So, I grabbed my camera and ran out to get some pictures. He was so proud and happy. And his friends were all really excited, too. Here he is with Dayson, (PJ,) Alyson, and Dante.

Mama Margie's 85th Birthday

Sunday we spent celebrating with my grandma, who turns 85 tomorrow. She had a great time, lots of guests and family attended. Even her little sister, Alyce, came in from Missouri with her "friend" John. LOL

The pictures are:

Margie with my Mom and Dad, Jim and Mary

Margie with all the boys. Mine and my nephews.

Margie with the girls. Mine, Taylor and my almost, Aubrey.

Margie with me.

Margie and Alyce, her sister.

I won 3rd Place! YAY

I am so excited I took 3rd place in the contest with my water wheel photo!

Roadside Attraction

Took this pic of the "sprinklers" that run along a farm here in town. The theme of the contest I am thinking of entering is Roadside Attractions. Not sure about it. Pete says it's too boring. I may pass on this contest...we'll see.

Fun new dining room pics

Well, it is going on 5 days of rain here. So, I have been taking lots of inside pics. I thought I'd put these in my dining room.

Doors...

This is a pic I took to enter into a contest. The title of the contest is "Doors/openings"

Christmas scrap page

Just finished my Christmas scrap page of the kids. I plan to have one set out in a frame for every season. The kids were very involved in this one, looking over my shoulder and giving advice! LOL

Gingerbread house making

We made our gingerbread house last night. It was really the first one we have done and it went really well. Taylor was in charge of the frosting and the boys were fine with that. They were the "candy stickers". I even got a picture of Taylor almost smiling! The pic of PJ, though, looks like the camera focused on the house instead of him, hmmm... Jesse was interested, but not for long. Their cousin, Dominic, is here with us and they were very busy!

Got my new camera!!!

My new camera finally arrived yesterday! After a quick *not really* lesson from Pa, Jesse and I headed out to Freestone Park today. I tried to take pictures of him, but he thought we were there to play! Silly boy! Got some good ones, mostly messed around with my camera settings, though. This was my favorite. He was actually standing still!

Our new neighbor

Well, it seems with all the construction going on around here we have a new neighbor. At first there were two of them, but lately there's just this one. He looks really hungry and lonely. However, he has been brazenly walking the streets of our neighborhood. Turns out he cuts through from his old home and ends up right at our house! LOL I'm not sure how to feel about this. On one hand I know we have taken his home but on the other hand I worry for my kids and other small pets. But, seeing him this close made me feel better. I took this pic with my camera phone, so I was pretty close and he seems really mellow. He even got startled by a dog at one house he was poking around. I may call a rescue later and see what they think. He surely can't last long alone and in a "city" with no food. Oh, btw, I've named him Wylie.


UPDATE! Well, after geting a closer look I was able to look online and have discovered that my new friend is not a coyote. He is a wolf dog hybrid. I called a man from the rescue and he told me that the other one was hit by a car a week ago, so this guy is alone. Although, there is nthing to be done. If animal control gets him they will put him down, and the rescues are full. So, I will just hope for the best. Guess I should change his name. How about Los Lonely Boy?

Jesse

Well, my little one is the bravest of them all. He saw this bike and climbed right up on it. Up and down curbs, around corners, with no fear. Although, I worry that the fear only comes after the fall. So, how can I teach him to be careful without the pain that will come with the fall. I don't know. I guess that is part of life. I must let hiim learn on his own.

A new start on memories...

It seems that there is so much going on all the time that I feel as if I am *AWOL* sometimes.

I will try to step back and take a peek into the window of my life more often...