Yep - Missing Day 135....

 

Day 136 Home
Here's just a peek at the graduation announcements we received this year. Holy canoli! In the end I think we counted 15! Most came with party invitations so we turned that into several fun evenings. On one hand, our bank account felt the effects of so many well-deserved gifts, but on the other hand, our hearts felt full with thoughts of all these kids who've touched our lives!

Day 137 Home
Look at my new computer! Steve used his post-season soccer money to buy me this as a Mother's Day/Christmas present! Gotta love the guy - working hard but always thinking of me and of the kids!

Day 138 Cashmere, WA
Lyndsi and I spent the day in Cashmere watching Dylan's last track meet of the year. I've really begun to enjoy track events - maybe because I enjoy watching Dylan! This picture shows his thrower's relay team. Kids who normally are involved in throwing events took part in a running relay. His team came in 2nd place. Dylan was the only team member who typically runs and throws. The other 3 kids only throw! Not bad team!

Day 139 Home
That's my Dylan! Dressed in his Boy Scout, Class A uniform - with his Zags socks! Unfortunately, I embarrassed him when I said I wanted a picture so he went and changed. Sigh....just a phase, mom, just a phase!

Day 140 Home
Have you met our parakeet, Perky? He's quite a character: not friendly to us but loved his best friend, Ricky - a zebra finch without a mate. Ricky died and Perky started abandoning his cage (which we would leave open during the day, in the basement) to join us upstairs. He'd perch on the chandelier above our dining room table, not letting us near him but wanting to be near us. So we moved his cage upstairs, locked his door open, and let him have free reign of the living/dining area. Now he's happy as can be - he sings with the birds in the morning, naps in the afternoon, and coos to himself in his mirror!



Day 141 Home
Lucy loves Dylan's bed! This is where she goes when we vacuum, when there's thunder, and when she's in trouble. In the winter she sleeps under the covers. She like Lyndsi's bed, too, but Lyndsi tends to move a lot so Lucy gets kicked out!

 

And yet another day missing! What is going on?

Day 143 Virginia Grainger Elementary
It's the Orchestra's Concert Night! Amazing! I'm so impressed with what Lyndsi and the other orchestra members have learned in the year that they've been involved with the strings program at school! This year, Ms. Ridenour added cellos to the mix so it's beginning to sound really good. Lyndsi and her friend, Quinn dressed alike tonight. Can you tell who's who?

Day 144 Home
Meet the newest member of our family! This is Fred. Fred is a hand-me-down guinea pig. He came from our friends, The Vedders. Fred is the sweetest little guy! He loves to be held and have his chin rubbed. He also squeals with joy when we bring him little veggie treats!

Day 145 Home
Lucy isn't too sure about our friend, Fred!
 

Day 146 Home
Poor Daisy. Tigger gets a little aggressive sometimes. His claw created a huge hole in the side of poor Daisy. We've treated it and are now keeping Daisy isolated in the mud room.

Day 147 Omak Cemetery
The Boy Scouts put out flags on veterans' graves for Memorial Day every year. Grandpa Laycock's stone isn't marked with his military service so it is often missed. Since Dylan began performing this act of service, he's made sure to put a flag on Grandpa's grave. This year, Dylan wasn't able to put flags out with his troop so we went as a family to make sure all the family stones were properly marked.

 

Day 148 Home
I love Lucy's sleeping habits! This is her "bed" - a ripped up ottoman with a blanket on top.

Day 149 Omak
Grandma came to town! She brought Grandma Margaret to town to visit friends and to put flowers out on Grandpa's grave. This gave Grandma some grandchild time! We went to dinner and out for ice cream on one night she was here.

Day 150 Home

Look at my 2 newest treasures! Lyndsi and I spent the weekend in Spokane and did a little shopping before we left town. Erin convinced me to buy the cute little owl. Aren't his eyes so googly! I dug the lantern out of my parents garbage. Can you believe they were going to throw it away?

Day 151 Virginia Grainger Elementary
Grandparent's Day 2013! Lyndsi auditioned to play The Star Spangled Banner on the piano and Tanner Tugaw auditioned to sing The Star Spangled Banner. Both did so well that the judges said they should perform together. So they did! The kids worked with piano teacher Connie a couple of times and then performed in front of a full audience. They did so well! Towards the end of the song Lyndsi repeated a line of music and Tanner forgot where he was in the song so the crowd sang along with him to finish up. It brought tears to my eyes! I was happy that Nana and Papa were able to drive over to watch Lyndsi's performance.

 

 

Day 152 Salmon Creek Coffee Company, Okanogan
Today was Okanogan Days, our town's annual birthday celebration. There's a parade and a pancake feed in the morning accompanied by music and other entertainment throughout the day. Lyndsi marched in the parade with the Girl Scouts and then played with the orchestra at the coffee shop after the parade. Nana and Papa stayed to watch, along with the rest of the family.

I'm not sure what happened here. We don't have Day 153! I know there was one at some point but now it's gone. Oh well.

Day 154 Home
I love a man who cooks...and cleans....so thankful! I love this man for many other reasons but this is what I caught him doing tonight!



Day 155 Virginia Grainger Elementary
Meet Bruce! Bruce is a volunteer for Methow Valley Arts, which is a non-profit arts group. Bruce is a teaching artist who comes to paint with our second graders every year. He teaches them a bit about Georgia O'Keefe and about watercolors and watercolor techniques. Then the kids have time to create their own masterpieces. Bruce then chooses 10 paintings to take to Mid-Valley Hospital, frames them, and hangs them in the hall where they stay for a year. These 4 kiddos were in my class this year and are proudly displaying their paintings, which will be hanging in the hospital.



 



Day 156 Home
Grandpa Richard and Teresa came to visit us tonight. They were passing through on their way from the westside to Newport. We got to visit and have a lovely dinner at the Breadline. They are both working on finally retiring and selling their home in Alaska. They'll then move to a condo in Sequim, WA.  We enjoyed their visit and are looking forward to them living closer to us in the future.

 

 

 

Summer is Here!

So I don't have any excuses for being so far behind.....right? Sigh......And to top it all off, I missed a day in my picture taking. Boy am I failing! Let's see if I can make it all better before summer is over!

Day 119 Home
Lyndsi was all dressed and ready for her 4th grade music program! The kids played their recorders and sounded fabulous!

Day 120
Lyndsi and I took a walk to the park this evening. I love when the weather starts getting nice enough and the days are long enough so that we can do this. I had fun watching the cartwheels!

Day 121
Tonight it was Dylan's turn to perform! We spent the evening listening to the middle school and high school music students as they created beautiful music together! Dylan played his trumpet in the band. Even Steve had a part in the show!

Day 122
Tonight was track night. Lyndsi and I drove to the Methow to watch Dylan's track meet. This is the first year that Dylan has been in track so it's been fun for all of us to learn about the different events. After this meet, the kids and I had dinner at the Twisp River Pub in Twisp. Yum!

Day 123
Dylan went to the Middle School Spring Frolic Dance tonight. I snuck in behind him to take a few pictures! This was the only one I was allowed to take....but, Dylan is smiling! Kind of.....you also see Jordan Marbach, Max Cheeseman, Jaric Cook, and Cody Hawley posing patiently!

Day 124
Lyndsi's note to the Tooth Fairy. "Dear Tooth Fairy, I want you to leave my teeth under my pillow." Those are some bloody teeth!

Day 125
Bloomsday! A favorite family tradition! Dylan, Lyndsi and I drove to Spokane with Julia and Aidan O'Connor and Satya Kent. We started the race with Ali and Erin. Dylan took off and ran the race in 1 hour 12 minutes. Wow! Lyndsi and I were a bit slower at 2 hours 24 minutes (or something like that!). This is a shot of Doomsday Hill.

Day 126
Lyndsi made me this gorgeous bouquet of flowers and leaves from our yard. It's so cute! I love seeing it sitting on our kitchen counter.

Day 127
Here's my newest owl! Ali and Erin gave this to me for an early Mother's Day present. Isn't he cute! He's in my kitchen right now but he'll go outside to chime his pretty sounds later in the spring.

Day 128
Family Night at Camp Progress! Steve has been at camp with his 6th graders all week so Lyndsi and I drove up to spend the evening with him. We watched the skits and had some dinner. The weather has been very warm so the sun made the whole evening even better!

Day 129
Lyndsi got her recital outfit at her dance class tonight. It's so pretty! And she looks so beautiful in it.

 

Day 130
Pigs! Freddy's on the right. He's growing up into a good sized pig!

Day 131
Mike Wilson bought this old Corvette and totally rehauled it! It's so pretty and he worked so hard on it! He took it to the car show in Omak today and ended up winning for his category and People's Choice. We had the chance to stop by and visit after the kids' soccer games.

Day 132
Mother's Day! Here I am with my precious babies! We all had a busy day of yard work, fishing, and dinner at El Portal. It was fabulous!

Day 133
Part of Dylan's gift to me for Mother's Day...I'm number 1!

Day 134
Another track meet. Again in the Methow! This time I was able to watch Dylan throw discus. Not bad for such a skinny guy!

A Little Time to Post a Few Pictures

Day 105 DQ in Omak
Gotta love those report cards! The beauty of our kids going to 2 different schools is that report cards come home on 2 different days. That means we get Blizzards 2 different times!!! This was Lyndsi's celebration for a job well done!

Day 106 VG Elementary Okanogan
The flags fly at half mast to honor and remember the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Such a horrible story.

Day 107 Okanogan Middle School track
This is Dylan's first track meet! And mine too! He's competing in discus, 2 by 2 relay, 200, and hurdles.

Day 108 Home
This is our dining room....actually, this is Dylan's personal fund-raising project for his trip to Washington DC. He's been collecting used ink cartridges and laser toner cartridges to recycle for money. This will be his 3rd mailing and so far he's made about $50. Not bad for an easy job!

Day 109 The Andrews' Trailer
Meet Fred.....Dylan's fair pig. Yep - we've become piggy raisers....don't like it but I'm willing to try it for Dylan's sake. He wants to raise and sell a pig at the county fair so I'll support him. The money he makes will go to pay for the pig and its room and board and into his college fund. Thank you to the Andrews family for making this possible. They are feeding and housing the pig for us. Don't think our neighbors would appreciate a pig pen next to the chicken coop!

Day 110 Our Home
Look at that cute face! This owly guy was an Easter gift from Mom and Dad. He makes me smile!

Day 111 Home
Knock, knock! It's raining out here! Tigger would prefer to be a house rooster....not happening buddy!

Day 112 Home
Dylan got this Jeep from Grandma on his 3rd birthday. He was terrified of it for a while! Steve painted it purple for Lyndsi when she started using it. Ten years later and it's still going strong! Makes me laugh to see Dylan doing bogeys in the street and Lyndsi hauling her dolls around the yard!

Day 113 Home
Lucy buried something! Her dirty nose gives away her little secret every time! One of these days one of us will be working out in the yard and we'll come across some funny little toy in a dirt pile somewhere! Then Lucy will look sheepish, take the toy, and secretly hide it somewhere else. She works hard to be sneaky but we usually catch her in the act!

Day 114 Home
Life is crazy! Steve is trying to keep us organized. He's chosen a few recipes, done the shopping and is ready to prepare our dinners over the next few days. Thank you!!!

Day 115 Omak Eastside Park
Lyndsi had a game tonight so Lucy and I cheered her on. Lucy loves getting out of the house in the evenings!

Day 116 The Andrews' Home
Meet Goofy. Goofy was born to one of the Andrews family's cows. He was kicked in the head as a newborn and hasn't been able to get himself on his feet. So, the Andrews' took him in - first to their home, then to his own pen. They've been bottle feeding him and trying to get him to stand so he can join his herd. Good luck, Goofy!

Day 117 Salmon Creek Coffee Company
Heidi Weston had a 40th birthday party with an 80's theme. This guy....Cam....came rollerskating down our Main Street from his home, and into the party. Gotta love him! I think he's lucky he didn't get beat up or arrested on the way! Personally, I love the fact that his son is in my class and his daughter is in Steve's class. I bet they're proud of their papa!

Sunday Night Again!

Day 99 Home
The view out my kitchen window... Love it! The yellow of the Arrowleaf Balsamroot means it's spring!

Day 100 Home
See my owl ring? Lyndsi convinced Steve to buy it for me at Pike Place Market. I have the sweetest family in the world!

Day 101 Chelan, WA
Yep - I still like my scrapbooking! I only get crafty about twice a year, usually when someone hosts a retreat. This year we went to Chelan, WA and spent the weekend scrapping and eating.

Day 102 Chelan, WA
Lake Chelan - such a beautiful day!

Day 103 Chelan, WA
Here are my scrapbook buddies for the weekend....and our mess. Vicki Settle, Cathy MacDonald and Malee Shiflett

Day 104 Chelan, WA
The pool at our hotel was so cool! It was designed to look like a mountain lake. The slide resembles a rocky mountain. It was cold but there were still some brave kids swimming!