Priorities

Fred and Jonathan went with me this morning for our weekly bike ride. As we were riding along, they both came to an abrupt halt. Both of my boys were standing at a bridge peering into a creek. What might have gotten their attention? Fish. That's right. We had to take a small break to look at fish.

As for me, I didn't really care about the fish.  While they checked the fish out, I played with my new toy.  I bought myself a speedometer for my bike.  Now I feel like a serious bike rider.

I had to laugh at Jonathan's bike riding attire.  Red helmet. Bright yellow shirt.  Blue shorts.  Black shoes with a splash of neon green.  Priceless.

Easter Clothes

There is nothing that I love more than Easter clothes.  I love getting my kids ready in matching clothes on Easter Sunday.  Then, I line them up and make them pose for pictures (usually, against their will).  I have such high expectations that I am always disappointed in my pictures.

This year, Easter Sunday fell on our church's General Conference.  The conference is televised from Salt Lake.  This means that we can stay home and watch it in our pj's.  I love General Conference, but I was sad that we wouldn't be getting dressed up in our new spring attire.  On the following Sunday, I made the kids get dressed up, and I took them outside for their "Easter" pictures.  Yes, that is the kind of mom I am.  Just ask my kids!

We were rushing to get them taken, so we wouldn't be late for church.  Once again, I was disappointed in my pictures.  Jonathan is frowning.  Jessica's blouse was too low.  I tied Jonathan's tie myself, and didn't know what I was doing.  It looks incredibly silly!  I had them stand in front of the neighbor's tree, because we didn't have any suitable landscape.  In hindsight, that is just odd, because their house shows up in the background.  Years from now, my kids are going to wonder why they are standing in front of the neighbor's house.  Oh, well!  I tried.

Bike Riding with My Guys

It is no secret that Jonathan and I love a good bike ride on a Saturday morning.  Fred and Jess, on the other hand, rarely ride their bikes.  I would venture to guess that Fred has only ridden his 3 times.  Jonathan and I invited Fred to go for a ride with us on Saturday morning.  We were so surprised when he actually said yes!

Jonathan took this picture of Fred and I.  Definitely not one his better shots.  However, it is proof that Fred really did go with us.  I think his bootie and legs were sore after the ride!

 I sure do love my boys, and I love getting out and playing on a Saturday morning.  Hopefully, Fred will go with us more often!

My Girls

There is a running joke at my office about all of the money that I spend on my dogs.  A co-worker is sure that my vet's office gets really excited when they see my number pop up on their caller ID.  We took the girls to the vet on Saturday morning.  $321 later, we learned that Mollie has seasonal allergies.  She came home with ear drops, and orders to take benadryl twice a day.  This is good news, because last year we thought she had a food allergy.  I've been feeding her organic dog food for a year!  We also learned that Gracie has arthritis. 

I came home with arthritis medicine and ear drops.  And, let's not forget the containers to gather fecal samples.  Mollie has a recheck in two weeks on her ears.  Then there is our Gracie, the vet's office left us a message today that her blood work came back with some sort of kidney issue.  We have to go back in 30 days to have another blood test.  And, did I mention that they get groomed on Wednesday (an estimated $90)?  It is a good thing that I love these crazy girls!  Actually, it's a good thing that Fred loves these girls! 

And, because I love these dogs so much, I got myself some UGLY dog walking shoes on Saturday.  Okay, I didn't get them because I love the girls.  I got them, because I thought that I could maximize my walks with the dogs.  We'll see if they work.  They certainly don't take the place of the gym, but I think they give your walks an extra little boost.

No pictures of the girls, because they are filthy!  I can't wait until Wednesday.  I love freshly groomed doggies!

Have You Ever?

 

Have you ever been shopping, and realized that you've started crying for no apparent reason?  That exact thing happened to me today.  I was walking through Kohls on my lunch hour.  I don't know my way around the Kohls in Carrollton, so I had accidentally wondered by the girls' department.  As I passed by, I felt emotions well up in my chest.  Before I knew it, I was tearing up.  How silly! I was confused for a couple of seconds, but I quickly found the cause of my distress. Speedo swimsuits. We used to frequent Kohls when Jess was on the swim team, because they had the best price on Speedo's.  Just seeing those little suits brought back memories.

As long as I live, I will never see anything cuter than a 6 year old in her "big girl" swimsuit and goggles on the starting block!  Oh, how I miss my little swimmer!

And the Winner is...

Jonathan had his Pinewood Derby this afternoon.  He was very excited to race his cool green car.

Jonathan had an extra-special guest.  Grady came out to watch.  Jonathan was very happy to have him there.

Jonathan's is the green car on the far right. 

Here is one of the races.  Jonathan's car is on the far left.  It was hard to take pictures, because each race lasted only a few seconds.

This one was a tie!

Jonathan was a big winner.  He had the fastest car out of all of the WEBELOS.  Overall his car came in third place.

Jonathan's car and trophy

Grady, Jonathan and Fred

Jonathan was so happy to have Fred and Grady there to cheer him on.  Good job, Buddy.  We're proud of you!

Day 9: Chronicles of Spring Break

The first day of spring brought snow, and lots of it!

A familiar scene... I can't believe how many times I've stepped out my front door this year, and taken this picture.

To commemorate the end of Spring Break, we had an Unbirthday Party (like in Alice in Wonderland - the cartoon version).  We enjoyed our cinnamon rolls on GI Joe and Twilight party plates.

An Unbirthday Party wouldn't be complete without presents.  Jonathan got Astro Boy DVD, a new baseball glove, and a Tony Hawk t-shirt with skateboards on it.  Jess got New Moon and a DVD about Forks - where the books and movies are set.  In addition, she got a Cheshire Cat (from Alice in Wonderland) shirt that she had admired earlier in the week.

I am so sad that Spring Break is over!  I wanted it to last forever!