Day 84 Home
Here it is! My new phone! The kids got tired of watching me try to text using only 9 keys so Steve sneakily got me a new phone for Christmas. Nothing fancy but definitely an upgrade to my 5 year old tracfone!

Day 85 Home
The moon is trying to peek over Jackass Butte (yep.....that's the name of the little mountain we see from our East facing window!) We have great sunrises in the mornings over this little butte as well.

Day 86 Omak Eastside Complex
And it begins.....soccer has started in the Okanogan Valley! That means that several hundred children and their parents meet up at these fields throughout the week For us it feels like home away from home...not...

Day 87 Okanogan Middle School Cafeteria
Tonight was Dylan's Knowledge Bowl Banquet. Good food and a rousing match between parents and students. Parents win - yep, we're still smarter than middle schoolers! Whew....

Day 88 Home
Twas the night before Spring Break, and all through the house, the only creatures stirring were in the kitchen losing their money! Steve and some of his teaching friends have a somewhat regular poker night about every couple of weeks. None of their families have to worry about going broke, though, I think they bet nickels!

Day 89 Home
This year's batch of Easter Eggs! So pretty! I particularly like the little chicks on top.

Day 90 The Wilson's Backyard
The kids plan and implement an egg hunt for our wonderful neighbors every Easter. They started this our first Easter in our home. Their daughter had gone off to college and Dylan was saddened to think that the Easter Bunny didn't visit the Wilsons anymore. He and Lyndsi filled some plastic eggs with the candy they had gotten in their Easter baskets and hid the eggs in the Wilson's backyard.  The kids then knocked on the front door and gave Mike and Janet 2 baskets, telling them that they had seen the Easter Bunny in their backyard. Mike and Janet were great sports, found the eggs, and a tradition was born!
 

Day 91 Home
Best Spring Break weather ever!

Day 92 Home
Our lovely green toilet in our lovely green and gold bathroom started leaking. Lyndsi safely took up residence in the bathtub as she offered her assistance to Steve. And, yes, this IS our main bathroom!

Day 93 Home
Still leaking! Turns out there is a crack in the toilet and we now own a pretty white toilet in our green and gold bathroom. One step at a time!

Day 94 The American Girl Store in Lynwood
First stop on our Seattle road trip - Alderwood Mall and the American Girl Store! Lyndsi's Kirsten doll is getting an updo. The one and only time Lyndsi's doll will get such a thing!

Day 95 Pacific Science Center in Seattle
Steve in enthralled with the nanomagnet thingys....wish I could remember what they were called!

Day 96 Marination Ma Kai in Alki
Finally! We made it to Ma Kai on Alki Beach! Robyn was bartending so we, with Kim, my parents, Erin, and Kim's mom Betty came for dinner. Such a fun place with a beautiful view!

Day 97 Magnolia neighborhood coffeeshop in Seattle
It's a rainy Sunday and these Americanos hit the spot. Mom, Erin, Lyndsi and I came to check out the neighborhood and stopped to warm up in this open coffeeshop.

Day 98 Omak Dairy Queen
So glad we have kids who get good grades and comments on their report cards! And I'm so glad report cards come out 4 times a year. And I'm so glad the kids are in 2 different schools so their report cards come home on 2 different days, about a week apart from each other. I'm so glad because we have started a bit of a tradition that we get Blizzards from Dairy Queen on report card day - as long as the grades are good. That means we can get up to 8 Blizzards every school year! Yum! This time, Max was with us. His report card was good so he got a Blizzard, too! Dylan's looking smart for the camera!

I'm Cruising Now!

Yep - I missed a day....sigh....and I was doing so well! Day 70 is not here and never will be, though I'm sure something very exciting happened that day!

 



Day 66 Home
Both kids doing the dishes! Now that's not something we see much of around here!

Day 67 Home
Steve's been collecting matchbooks since he was a young teenager. We emptied his jar recently and look at what was right on top! Look closely....it's his mom and dad!

Day 68 River's Edge in Okanogan
Today is the Boy Scout Pancake Feed. The boys make pancakes, eggs, and ham and sell tickets to community members. People in the area look forward to the yummy food and the boys make some good money doing it.

Day 69 Klepec's House
We got a call that Dean's pig was having babies. I have always wanted to watch babies be born so we piled in the car and went out to witness the births. I even helped by catching some little babies!

Day 71 Home
Steve's been perfecting his garlic growing for a few years now. This year he had a beautiful crop! So, I learned to braid garlic! It was fun and I look forward to doing it again with this year's crop.

Day 72 Home
An ironing board? We have one? Yep, I pull this beauty out about once a year!

Day 73 Home
I know it's beginning to sound a bit gruesome but I took another picture of "Ruth". We had her cremated so we could decide what to do with her at another time. Steve picked up her ashes today

Day 74 Home
What a beautiful sunrise! I love when I get up early enough to see this! Ignore the date on the photo - I still haven't fixed that little problem!

Day 75 Omak McDonalds
My lunch date! Dylan wasn't too impressed with the cute little heart chicken nugget he found in his lunch!

Day 76 Home
Those pesky little leprechauns! This year they made a huge mess of all our shoes and left some lovely candy on our table!

Day 77 Virginia Grainger Elementary
This is my second grade class this year. They are performing the fable Tug of War in the style of an opera. I love our second grade performances every year!

Day 78 Home
Fruity Pebbles are gluten-free! I've known this for quite some time and secretly enjoy a bowl now and then. They aren't my favorite sugary cereal (that would be Fruit Loops!) but they are what I can eat right now!

Day 79 Our Garage
It's Girl Scout cookie time! These are the cookies we have ordered to sell at Wal-Mart and Safeway. 180 boxes!

Day 80 Wal-Mart in Omak
Selling cookies!

 

Day 81 Home
Monster Band is fantastic! Once a year, the middle school band and choir students from the valley all spend a day together and work under some very talented conductors, learning new songs and techniques, and then putting on a performance for parents in the evening. It was a great show!

Day 82 Okanogan SportsPlex
Steve's the assistant soccer coach for the boys this year. He and Dean have a pretty good partnership going!

Day 83 Home
Look what I found at Safeway! They've expanded their gluten-free section and I'm so excited! 

 

 
 



I Know It's Easter But.....

But I have some updating to do! I'll get Easter pictures on here eventually!

 





Day 54 Okanogan Middle School Cafeteria
It's Girl Scout World Thinking Day! Our troop created a short presentation on England and shared it with other Girl Scouts in our area. It's always fun to get all the girls together!

Day 55 Home
Hmmm....apparently Dylan prefers my robes to his...

Day 56 Home
Ruthie's not feeling so well these days. She's developed a painful growth along her shoulder and neck area. It's making it hard for her to get around and to eat. I shot this picture because I wanted to document Ruth's beautiful eyelashes. They're gorgeous and long!

Day 57 Home
Dad and Dylan went to Spokane for the weekend for a basketball game. Lyndsi and I spent the weekend home alone. These were the sweet notes we found on our pillows!

Day 58 Home
This is Ruthie's bowl. We had to have her put to sleep this evening. She was in so much pain and we hated to see her suffering. Rest in peace, Ruthie.



 Day 59
Yummy brownies made my Erin Radke! MMMMMM...

Day 60 V.G. Elementary
It's Read Across America Day! The National Honor Society students spent the day with the elementary kids. This is Zoe Cheeseman reading a fun book to some of my students. They loved her!

 

Day 61 Home
Aaah... the chickens are back in their coop! They've spent the winter under the deck where they had a bit of room to move around. I'm so happy they are back in their coop and away from the house!

Day 62 Okanogan Middle School
Look closely and you'll see Dylan at the front of the bus. He and the other pep band members spent part of the weekend at the state basketball tournament in Yakima. I was waiting in the parking lot to pick him up.

Day 63 Home
Little drummer boy - this is what I was greeted with when I got home today, and what I'm greeted with on many other days. Dylan's a pretty good drummer.......but those drums are LOUD!

Day 64 Home
Wasn't Ruth a pretty dog? When I was looking through our pictures I found this. It was taken when Ruth was at school to become a service dog.

Day 65 Home
Meet Bob and Freddy! Dylan got these little guys for his birthday in December. Actually, Dylan got Freddy and Lyndsi got Bob so that Freddy wouldn't be lonely!

A Quick Look Back

Day 47
Go Bulldogs! The Okanogan boys' basketball team was the Caribou Trail League's Champions this year. What an exciting season!

Day 48
Cupid's Potion! We made this fun float in my class for Valentine's Day. I brought home the leftovers and made them for Dylan, Lyndsi, Steve and Jenna Radke over the weekend. They're sure cute!

Day 49
Meet Samsun! Dylan is dog-sitting this cutie for the weekend. I have a thing for German Shepherds anyway and then I met Samsun. I think I need one for myself!

Day 50
Did I show you the pretty flowers I got for Valentine's Day? Lyndsi and Steve picked these out for me and had them set up for me when I got home from school on the 13th. I love flowers!

Day 51
And these flowers came from my parents! How did I get so lucky this year?

Day 52
Lyndsi is taking ballet this year. She's not in love with the class but I think she likes the dancing!

Day 53
Lyndsi is my bedmate tonight. Dylan and Steve are off at Polar Bear Camp for Boy Scouts so Lyndsi and I have the evening to ourselves. I think I'd rather be home in my warm bed than in a tent.....brrrr!
 

Yawwwwwnn...

Just a few photos before bed....

Day 42
Lucy was my ride-a-long buddy tonight. I had a few errands to run and she volunteered to come along. Nice to have someone to talk to between stops!

Day 43
I was sure Dylan had thrown this little marshamallow at someone and missed. And then left it in my purse... as it turns out, he placed it in my purse intentionally...as a joke...I find it kind of sweet!
 

Day 44
Lyndsi wanted lemon cookies for her Valentine's Day party at school. I couldn't taste the cookies but the frosting was sure yummy!

Day 45
I know the date on the photo is the 13th but it really was taken on the 14th! Which was the 45th day of this challenge. The time on the camera is a bit off! Anyway, this is our Valentine loot. The flowers are mine, from Lyndsi. Most of the other goodies belong to the kids, though there are a couple in there for me and one for Steve!
 

Day 46
It's Kids' Night Out! Dylan and a few kids from school put on a Kids' Night Out babysitting night to raise money for their upcoming trip to Washington DC. The event was over 2 nights and they raised $300! By the end of the second night, the babysitters were pretty tired!