One Step Closer

Today was the day...

The dreaded driving test...

Another day closer to total independence...

A little bit farther away from mom...

He passed!!

He's pretending to hold up his new license, but it was shoved in the back and he didn't want to take it out just for a picture. Besides, he had a soccer game to get to!!Doesn't he know this is the last license I'll be getting with my child??

How important it is for me to document these occasions??

Remember all the firsts with the first child?? I was always so excited for Ashleigh to do the next thing. Even just to see what she'd do next! Everything was so new and exciting!!

Now I'm noticing all of the lasts. And it's not so exciting!!!

I'm really proud and happy for him, but I'm going to miss those one-sided conversations that we had on our little drives together.

And Like a Good Neighbor...

We have one of these.

Got this at a garage sale about ten years ago. One of my better purchases, according to my husband, and all for the bargain price of $40.00. It's been very faithful, serving us and our neighbors well. My neighbor, Ken, has one of these babies...

It makes my husband swoon. That is, if husbands actually do such a thing.

Yesterday morning I woke up to this...

My wonderful neighbor brought over his "toy" tractor and did this for me while I was at work. It took him 30 minutes. This would have taken my hubby 2 days.

Bless his heart!

Thank you Mr. V.! Not only for making my garden pretty, but for saving my hardworking hubby hours of labor.

Planting to follow!!

Getting Back to my Roots

Found a parsley plant growing in my garden yesterday. Amongst the weeds it battled on, something growing from a random seed, strewn carelessly about.

I wanted to make sure I dug it up before the garden was plowed, so I did that and transplanted it to a little enamelware container.

My pioneer roots kicked in and I decided to get out the dehydrator and do a little preserving.I cut back most of the plant, separated and snipped, and lay the pieces on the drying racks.

Plugged it in outside yesterday afternoon and then. yes. ForGot all about it until I saw it outside the door this morning! But my trusty dryer was ever watchful (and it was rainy last night, which helped!) and I opened it up to find this...

Hello, beautiful, green loveliness!!

Now I have a full jar of fresh, dried parsley! Some of you may not get the excitement over this, but let me tell you...it's wonderful!!!!

The plant will continue to grow back and I'll continue to dry and be very, very happy!!

Providence and the Pioneer Woman

Last year at this time, hubby and I were in Las Vegas for this...http://http://iwishiwereawalton.blogspot.com/2009/04/country-music-awards.html I was more than a little dissappointed when he wasn't interested in going again this year:(

But I got over it soon enough when Tami, http://http://theladyinthestonehouse.blogspot.com/ called and invited me to go on a little road trip with her and a few friends. We were working on our taxes and had so much work to do in the yard on what was supposed to be a beautiful weekend, that I actually told her I wouldn't be able to go with and to give the spot to someone else (insert gasp!).

I talked to her again on Fri or Sat and the seat hadn't been filled. Said that if it was raining, I'd be at her house by noon or go without me (another gasp!). My Jesus is such a smartie!!! He sent in the clouds and a few little drops here and there and I knew I was supposed to go on this little trip!! This Pioneer Woman, http://http://thepioneerwoman.com/, was coming to the Seattle area and we were going to meet her!!!!!!

We had to stop at the local General Store so thatKelly, http://http://soleobsessionfootwear.blogspot.com/could pick up her cookbook...she likes to support the local economy!

We all piled into Tami's car and headed down the highway! Went straight to the bookstore to pick up our tickets. We were in group E. They didn't start lining up group A for a few hours, so we had lots of time to hit Alderwood Mall and do a little shopping!! Notice our purchases are not pictured...that is to protect our husbands!

Got a group shot just as we were leaving. It was starting to rain and blow and getting a little bit icky out. This after we'd worked so hard to look beautiful.

We got to the bookstore and had dinner at a nearby restaurant and then proceeded to have our picture taken in this shoebox! Believe me when I say that the outside picture was much better than the inside!!! Ree has talked about Spanx on her blog before, but not one of us had any on which was the reason we didn't all fit in the booth! There was a woman looking on with fascination and she'd finally had enough of our histerics and offered to take our photo!

Later we presented the booth photo to Ree with all of our signatures and blog info!! I'm sure we'll be hearing from her soon!

We met some lovely people in line, including a new blogger friend, Jenn ,at www.seizingtheday.com. She and her hubby were so nice !

Finally the big moment arrived and we were with the Pioneer herself! She is so tiny!!! So kind!!! So real!!!! We were asking how to go about finding the right size Spanx (if you've ever bought them you know our difficulty!) And she says, "well I wear a size ? (I will never put anyone's actual size in!). Blurted it right out there in front of God and everyone! We gasped in horror at her honesty! Tami asked, "where does it all go? It has to go somewhere!" She said, "it goes to my back", leaned forward and said,"here, feel"!!!!!! Bonded us for life it did!!

She was so sweet!!

I think she likes me...look how close we are...maybe it's because I own so many of her books!!

This is her oldest daughter, whom we had met earlier that night. She is a long, lean beauty! I thinks she's only 13, but I felt pretty small, I mean short, next to her.

After asking permission from Ree, we found her again and asked her to sign our books also. She happily complied and even let us take a few photos! You can tell what a great mom Ree is by the way her daughter handled herself. So polite, kind and she didn't even laugh at us for chasing her all over the store, just to get a photo and autograph.

She was adorable in her Wranglers and denim shirt, but the boots sent me swooning!!!!! These babies rocked!!!

And speaking of shoes, we were all thankful for our comfortable shoes from Kelly's store! They did us proud!!



Miss Leslie is on the left, and she is the blond one in the photo's. You can learn more about her here,http://http://leslieisverbose.blogspot.com/

It was a really fun day and I'm so glad I went! Even better than the Country Music Awards!!!

The Beginning and the End???

There once was a boy named Tyler.

His very first word was ball.

He loved all sports, but early on baseball and basketball were his favorites.

He started playing basketball in the house and the backyard. He had a hoop in his room and he and his daddy would play for hours. Closet doors were damaged, carpeting worn down. But it was a lot of fun!!

He played for the YMCA, he played AAU, he played Boys and Girls Club, he traveled all over, and he played school ball... until this year. 13 years of basketball, only to quit his sophomore year. His coaches asked him to play. They came to our home and spent time trying to convince him. No go. Mom cried.

Baseball was his first true love. We had a long entry that went into the family room clear to the back of the house. Prime ball field. He and dad played for hours and hours. He was only two when they started this fun!!! A bat broke once and speared the ceiling. Fortunately no one was hurt! Mariner games galore, the All-Star game, the Home-run Derby, autographs, clubhouse visits, the first game at Safeco field, Diamond Club seats. This boy LOVED baseball. He played all the time. Made the Select team for Lynden at age 8. Was MVP. Quit after 3rd grade. The varsity coach at the high school has asked him to play for him every year. He was good. I think his dad cried.

Football. Not exactly his sport, but again, coaches asking him to play. He's played two seasons...4th grade and 7th grade. The high school coach still calls every summer asking him to play.
He played soccer spring and fall for years. Quit for about 4 years and then played again in 8th grade. Really enjoyed it and was excited to play in high school, but ended up not playing his freshman year. He is playing this year...Yea!!!... but only because we told him he had to do something...job, volunteer, sport. He chose soccer and seems to be enjoying it, but probably won't play again. Sadness.

I love having uniforms hanging in my laundry room. It saddens me greatly that this will probably be the last time.

I LOVE high school sports and more than that, LOVE watching my son play. He has been given such a gift, yet chooses not to use it.

Tyler...you're a stinker!

Easter and Birthdays!

A little gallery of Easter fun!!!!

I still do Easter baskets, but not every year. Last year I was very lazy and left them in the garage! Had to do something this year!!!

Ashleigh came home for the day and went to our old church. Brian,Tyler and I went to CTK. Lovely service! What a joy to celebrate the risen Lord!!

We went to the Burkes for dinner. Lynda always sets such a pretty table! We were joined by her brother and family and her SIL's sister. Lot's of fun! I don't know what he's so happy about...we were not getting along at home!! He is so cute though and my how tall he's gotten!!! Love that little lamb!

Lynda bought a 22 lb ham.....BIG!!! I cooked it at my house and brought it over. I hope my hair isn't touching it!!

After dinner we played a few games. 14 random questions that we had to answer about ourselves and then others had to read and guess who it was. Found out a few things about some people that I never would have guessed!!!

After that we played an Ashleigh/college game. One person writes a sentence, passes it on and that person has to draw a picture representing the sentence. The first sentence is folded over, passed on and the next person has to write a sentence based on the picture! It's pretty fun to hear how different the two sentences can be!!

We also celebrated Brian's birthday. Happy 48th sweetie!!!!

Tyler and Keaton played a little one on one and later all the guys played basketball, baseball, Frisbee and did a little long boarding.

The girls cleaned up, sat on the couch and watched Martha Stewart bloopers. Hilarious! Maybe you had to be there!!!

In honor of B's birthday, Amsa did a little make-over on Brian...his hair anyway! Now before you go thinking what a sport he is, which he is, but... He loves having his hair combed, head rubbed, etc. so he was actually quite enjoying this. I did leave out the picture with the barrettes though!!!!

We had such a great time with these dear friends!!

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter also!!

Playing Catch-Up

It's been so long since I've posted...sorry about that!!

Time is flying by, and I've been so busy with work. I'd much rather read everyone else's posts than post my own, so that's what I've been doing!!! You're all so interesting, and, well...I'm not lately!!!!

Last weekend was Ashleigh's 21st birthday, and as I'm writing this I realize I don't even have a picture of her on this post. Bad mommy.

Hubby and I went down to Seattle to spend the day with her and take her to the Food and Wine show at Qwest Field. Had a great time, but forgot to take my camera in with me...of course!

We started the day by going to Fremont where we encountered the Fremont Troll. Handsome isn't he? He actually lives under the Aurora Bridge and if you google him it says that he has been eating small children since 1990!!!

We went to the Fremont market, which was a lot of fun. Pretty granola, but a lot of antiques too. I got an old camera and an old athletic letter, both of which I collect. Again, no pictures... Loved this little guy's outfit! So bright and cheery on a dreary day!! Love the boots!

Hula hoops were BIG!! More than one booth of these! There was a man playing the guitar and these kids were having the best time! My photo of their faces didn't turn out so hot! I think there's a pattern here!!

This little old man was playing the piano-ragtime! He must have been 90, the tiniest thing, with a big bandage on his neck!!! Had a little tip jar and was raking in the money! Notice he's wearing knickers and really long socks! Skinny little legs!!

We ended the day with an ice cream cake from Baskin Robins and eating it with her aunts. She's always wanted an ice cream cake and at $28.00 knows why she never got one!!!! You're only "21" once though!!! Met up with aunt and uncle at Red Robin's for dinner and they took her back home. A fun day! (Hope she thought so!)

Had to throw in this pic of the fabric I picked up the week before. It's called "Whimsey" by Moda and is so cute and colorful. I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I love looking at it!!

Yesterday Lynda called and asked what I was doing that day. I said the dreaded Wal-mart (dis- like that store immensely), Costco, Joann's and Haggen. She had to do the same things so we went together...which made it SOOO much more fun!!!!

We spent way too much at Wal-Mart, whose prices have gone up considerably, and then went to Costco. The peach pies are out and we had the bakery lady take our picture.

A little background on the peach pie....Lynda came over to pre-garage sale at my house when we were getting ready to move and we had such a nice visit that I asked her if she wanted to come in for some peach pie. It's her favorite!! To speed things up and because I can't remember every detail, she asked me right then and there if I would be her best friend!!! She said I had her at pie!!!! We've been best friends ever since...thank you sweet Jesus!!

Anyway, we had a moment in Costco and had to celebrate with a photo!!

In the book aisle we met these lovely ladies, Shari and Katherine. We were talking about a book and got to talking with each other and formed an immediate friendship!!!! My husband says this is such a girl thing!!! We talked for 15 minutes, exchanged cards and emails, hugged and went on our way...guys would never do this!!!!

They live in the town where I grew up, are best friends, and visiting colleges with one daughter at the college of another daughter. Told them about the Farm Chicks show and hope to see them there!!

Today, hubby and I went to Kent and Karen's to look at their chicken coop. By now most of you have seen Heather's (see Farm Chicks post) and now I want one too!!!

Look how inviting her porch is!!! She has such an eye for vintage treasures!

And, she has a cellar!!! I covet this cellar!! What beauty lies on those shelves!! Pickles, beans, tomatoes!!!! Aren't they beautiful?? Yum!!


She also has a greenhouse where her tomato seeds are just starting to grow out of the soil. Cows in the field, chickens in the coop and her family all safe and warm...until the soccer game!!!

Thanks for sharing Karen and Kent!

Brian, Tyler, Max and Jesse headed down to Seattle for a Sounders game. It's nasty weather...even had snow for a bit today!! Ashleigh's on her way up from Seattle to spend Easter with us. And, I'm getting ready for Easter here. We're getting together with some dear friends and look forward to spending the day with them...maybe I'll even get some pictures!!

Good Friday service last night. So solomn, so sad. Why do they call it Good Friday? Good for me, but poor Jesus and poor Mary to have to watch her son die such a horrific death. I'm so anxious for tomorrow's service which will be such a celebration of victory over death. It's my prayer that all of you will be part of a Resurrection service tomorrow.

Have a blessed Easter!!

He is Risen!!!