Rescued

We experienced something tonight that I don't think I've ever experienced before. I wish I had pictures to share but check Amy's blog over the next few days - I'm sure she'll get some up. She took some great shots.

On my way home from work I noticed a small crowd outside the Cheeseman's house so, being the nosy friend that I am, I stopped to ask what was going on. About that time Amy came out of her house with her camera (I knew then that this wasn't some horrible emergency!) and she told me that there was a young hawk of some sort trapped in her yard. As it turns out, Anya, the Cheeseman's big lab/husky mix, had pinned the large bird to the ground and was investigating it. No one was quite sure how she caught it! Someone was just driving by and saw her with it - apparently she took a few pecks to the head before she released the bird!

The red tailed hawk (we learned it's species from the Fish and Game officer) had an injured wing and couldn't get itself off the ground.

I ran home and picked up Steve and Dylan and we made it back in time to watch the rescue of the beautiful bird. When the officer caught the poor thing, he brought it back to the truck and we were all able to see it up close. Amazing! I do wish I'd had my camera but it's probably better that I didn't. The hawk was terrified and my flashing would have stressed him more.

Hopefully one of the local vets will take the hawk in and nurse it back to health. She's wonderful and often volunteers her time for this sort of thing.

In other news....

Dylan has another basketball game tomorrow. Wish him luck!

The Birthday Boys

As you can see from this picture, we had some fun last weekend! Steve and Jeff have birthdays 2 days apart so we've started a new tradition of going to the Wagon Wheel in Malott for a combined birthday dinner. They have a scrumptious steak dinner on Friday nights and usually the small tavern is packed for steak night. There weren't many customers this night so we had a lot of attention from the owner and bartender. Cheers to small towns!

Dylan played in his second basketball game last Saturday and his third today. His darn anxiety issues sure get in the way of him having fun on the court! Last week Dylan told the coach he was too nervous to play right away so the coach didn't put him in until the 4th quarter. Again, Dylan played well and showed a lot of potential for being a star in the game. I shot a few photos but gym lighting is horrible! I deleted the pictures from both the camera and the computer.

We saw a little more of Dylan in today's game. He played off and on for much of the second half. Though his wringing hands tell the audience that he is a bundle of nerves on the court, Dylan tells me that playing is more fun than sitting on the bench. Imagine that! If only he would remember that from week to week!

Today's game was extra special because Nana and Papa showed up to surprise the kids. They didn't want Dylan to know they were coming because they didn't want him to get too anxious so we just kept if from both kids. I love surprising them like that!

We lucked out with their visit because it was also Pinewood Derby day so Dylan got to show off his racing skills today as well as his basketball skills. Fourth place this year so no trip to Districts, but fun all the same. Lyndsi and Steve shared a car so they both got to race, too. No winners there either!

Can you tell who's car is whose? Hee hee!

Amy told me of a movie about Pinewood Derby races where the dads got into the race more than the boys did. I think they may have used our pack as the inspiration for that one! It's so funny to watch how excited the dads get over their own cars.

Because of my dad's allergy to our dog my parents stayed in a hotel. They chose a very nice hotel in Omak called the Peppertree Inn http://www.peppertreeomak.com/. We had a great time using their pool and hot tub and just visiting.

We currently have an uncomfortable little one. Lyndsi's been running a 102-103 temp since yesterday. I was able to get it down to normal for about a half hour today but it shot right back up this afternoon. I'm staying home with her tomorrow so hopefully she'll be able to get back to her normal self. Poor thing - She just lays in our bed alternating between sleep and wanting to sleep.

Check out this cool place! I've lived here for 13 years and didn't know you could walk back in here. Amy wrote about this in her blog so I wanted to go look for myself. I drug the kids and Steve with me when I went. I can't remember the name but it's a sort of bird refuge. The bald eagles perch here for the night. We saw 5 bald eagles but the kids were so noisy that they kept flying away before we could get up close enough to admire their beauty! If you come visit, I'll take you there! Unfortunately, summer brings lots of poison oak. We'll see this spring how it looks!

He's Our Birthday Boy!

Yes, I'm the proud wife of a 39 year old man......and you thought I was talking about Dylan. So sweet!



Steve has officially been 39 since 5:58 pm. He's getting old!!! We went to dinner last night with the kids' free pizza coupons so we called that Steve's dinner out. Tonight we had a nice, but not fancy, dinner and then Steve and Dylan went to Cub Scouts. I made peanut butter cookies per Steve's request - he's not a huge cake fan - so we put a candle in the middle and sang our little hearts out! The kids get so excited for birthdays. They love creating a surprise for us!



Speaking of surprises, Lyndsi woke me up with breakfast in bed on Sunday. That is one of the surprises both kids like to give us. My breakfast this weekend was sliced bananas in milk with a sprinkling of sugar and a big glass of milk. Hmmmmm....... Very sweet - the act and the breakfast!



Guess what? Lyndsi lost one of her loose teeth!!! Finally! Both of her bottom front teeth are so loose they are twisted backwards! I'm sure I've written about these teeth before but I don't know how to post the link. Anyway, one finally dropped from her mouth! Actually, it disappeared from her mouth. She was brushing her teeth the other night and noticed that it was gone. I assume she swallowed it but we're just not sure where it ended up. And, no, I don't plan on doing any digging to find it! The tooth fairy came and delivered a goody despite the lack of the tooth under the pillow.

Meet Sue! Anutie Erin gave Dylan this dinosaur model. He put it together on Sunday and now Sue sits in the middle of our dining room table. Nice centerpiece, huh?

Dylan played in his first basketball game last weekend. Whew! We weren't sure we were going to get him out there! Those darn old anxiety monsters reared their heads and it took most of the game for Dylan to relax enough to go out on the court. The last 5 minutes, 9 seconds to be exact!

To give you an idea of how nervous he was I have a little story for you. One evening last week I greeted Dylan after basketball practice with a big grin and a "How'd it go?". I quickly noticed the glum look and the tears in the eyes and my mother lion took over. "What's wrong????" I exclaimed. Poor little Dylan - his answer shocked me! "I got put on the 4th grade team....." boo hoo, boo hoo.... Yep, 3rd grade Dylan was saddened by the fact that his coach saw some potential in him and placed him with the 4th graders! I was so tickled I almost couldn't console the poor little guy. Anyway, something about the act of being put on a better team triggered some panic and it really threw Dylan for a loop. There are some of his friends on the team, both 3rd and 4th graders, so I thought that would make it all good. Not so! I'm hoping that next game will be easier.


Blog Overhaul
I've been experimenting with other looks for the blog. Now that I understand how the whole thing works, it's kind of fun to try new backgrounds and sounds. My friend, Michelle, started her own family blog and she has a beautiful song playing. So I copied it! I think it 's perfect!

Happy New Year!

It's Been A Long Time!

I know, I know - it's been too long. I'm sorry! The holidays seem to do this to me. I love the gift buying and wrapping and baking and card sending and concerts and and and..... anyway, I get so focused on all that and everything else get shoved aside! Plus, someone added me as a friend on Facebook not too long ago and so I've been trying to figure that out. So much going on!

We've had such fun! December is a blur but I know we enjoyed it all. Dylan was in a parade; Lyndsi and I watched the parade; Steve and I attended his staff party; Dylan turned 9; Lyndsi had a Christmas program; it was darn cold; it snowed; we had our annual Cookie and Beer Exchange; we celebrated Winter Solstice; we drove to Spokane - now that was a lot of snow! We celebrated Christmas Eve with Linda and Rod; we celebrated Christmas with my family; we had lunch with Steve's dad; we shopped; we built snow forts; we saw movies; we ate; we ate; we ate; we went to The Swingin' Doors; We rocked out on the Wii; we took 6 hours to get home from Spokane in the snow; we went sledding; I had a pedicure; we went across the street for New Year's Eve..... I guess that brings us to January!

I know I blogged Dylan's birthday and Lyndsi's program but I don't think I wrote about our holiday party. We celebrate the holidays in a slightly different way here in Okanogan. Steve and I put a little twist on the traditional cookie exchange. We ask everyone to bring their favorite or unique beers and their favorite holiday cookies. We put out snacky foods and other drinks and invite everyone we know and then we all eat, drink and be merry! This year we held the party the day after school got out. That was great because I didn't have to worry about work so I could just enjoy myself. I was even ready when the first person walked through the door! I don't think that's ever happened before!

It's always fun to see the varieties of beers and cookies that come and go. Everyone leaves with a nice bucketful of cookies and at least a 6 pack of good beer to enjoy over the holidays. I'm not sure what the favorite was this year but the most unique (and rednecky) was definitely the 6 pack of Olympia beer and package of Safeway sandwich cookies brought by our dear friend, Keith!

We left for Spokane on the 23rd.

What a fun week we had! Robyn, Kim and Erin were all available for entertainment purposes and we loved the time we spent with them. My mom and dad made the holiday special with their decorations and food and game playing. My dad has taken up bread baking on his outdoor brick oven. It looks lovely and I hear it takes wonderful! He has promised to try a gluten-free variety for me!

We spent Christmas Eve at Linda's. It was low-key year because of all the snow - Have I mentioned the snow yer? Wow! Spokane had 61 inches of snow when we left. That's a lot! They've had more since then as well! Sure was a pretty, white Christmas! - so anyway, the Laycock family decided to abstain from our traditional gift exchange and party for the year. Linda, Rod, and us ate a yummy dinner of chili, opened presents and watched "Mama Mia". It was a nice relaxing evening.

The snow in my parents' backyard! It was quite a trek to the swingset. Yep - there's a slide in there somewhere!

Upon leaving Linda's, we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service. Dylan has only been to a Christmas Eve service once and Lyndsi has never been so I was excited to have them take part in the candlelight service of my childhood. I couldn't wait to sing with the choir! Unfortunately, the snow kept most of the choir stranded at home but the small congregation did their best to sound good! Dylan liked trying to out do Erin's rendition of "Gloooooooooooooria" and Lyndsi fell asleep.

Before we got to church we stopped by the Bryan's house. Steve spent a good chunk of his childhood with this family so it was nice to be able to introduce our children to them.

The kids got up bright and early on Christmas morning. Santa and the family spoiled us all - again. Between the 2 grandmas and the 3 aunties - the kids got lots of toys and the family got a Wii system with several games. We spent the day playing games and learning to drum on Rock Band. I'm addicted! I can't wait to try out my Wii Fit!

Steve's dad met us for lunch the day after Christmas. We haven't seen him in over a year so it was good to catch up. He and Steve had a great conversation about high cholesteral and family medical history!

It snowed off and on during our visit to Spokane so it stood to reason that we would encounter a huge storm the day we decided to come home. Our 3 hour trip home took 6 hours but we made it safe and sound.

Since we've been home, the kids have spent a lot of time outside sledding and building a snow fort in the burms on our driveway.

We spent New Year's with our good friends across the street. They had a nice crowd and the evening was an especially fun way to say good bye to 2008 and hello to 2009.

Yesterday we took the kids ice skating in Winthrop. I have only been on skates one other time in my life! I was OK on the ice as long as I had a hand to hold but as soon as that hand was gone, I froze! Lyndsi and Dylan, however, had no fear! Dylan was playing tag before long and Lyndsi was scooting along the middle of the ice, oblivious to the speed skaters racing by her! Them Morrison-Nelsons met us there and Theresa R. came with us. It was a blast! We went back to the MN cabin after skating for some of Gary's fabulous chili. Aaaaah - that's my kind of winter play! Thank you MN family!

Lyndsi and Steve getting their skate feet under them!

The girls with Lynell - she knew what she was doing!

Dylan loved the ice!

Off they go!

So here we are today - a living room full of Christmas ornaments waiting to be boxed away, a few bills to pay AND Christmas cards to still send. Yes, I still have my stack of cards sitting here to put in the mailbox. So.... if you haven't received a card from us, please don't take us off your list for next year! I promise I'll get them out soon!