I love my weekends!

And I'm never quite ready to be done with them!

This was a busy one - but lots of fun. The kids both played soccer in a tournament in Tonasket yesterday. We watched the first game at 9:00 am and the last game at 5:30 pm. Whew! I was more tired last night than I have been in a long time! I know, I know.....I wasn't the one playing soccer all day... but I sure walked a lot! The kids, being in different age groups, were separated by about 6 soccer fields. I think I walked the length of the park about 8 times! Quickly! Each game was 25 minutes long so I usually had just enough time to congratulate (or console) the player before I hoofed it to the next game. I was even a bit sore in the calf area today!

Lyndsi only played 2 games before her team was out of the tournament. It was the first tournament for all the players so I think they were a bit overwhelmed with all the commotion. None of them seemed too saddened by the fact that they got to go home just in time for lunch. Well.... Lyndsi didn't get to leave but she did get to play.

Dylan's team played hard and strong and ended up winning the tournament for the under 12 age group. Such excitement! This is the team who didn't win a single game in the fall - same boys! The elation on their faces was joy to a mama's heart...... and the tears in the coaches' eyes - priceless!

Unfortunately, there was some controversy to tinge the final few games. I never really did find out what the problem was. I just wanted to watch Dylan play a good game and to let him bask in his glory! Fortunately, I don't think the boys were aware of the tension so it was a fantastic end of the day for them.

May 14

Horrible picture! But such a fun experience! My friend, Julia, found these cute baby owls hanging out on a telephone pole. We went and watched them for quite a while this evening. We even had to divert traffic after one flew to the road!

May 15

Lyndsi and I spent the day running errands after her soccer game. One of our stops was at Shady Creek Nursery in Omak. They have a great koi pond the kids like to play around as I shop.

May 16

I love my potting table! Steve made this for me a couple of summers ago. We were rebuilding our deck and he used some of the old deck wood to make me a space to plant my spring pots. Some day I'll get a picture of it when it's all cleaned up and cute!

May 17

Did you know that Bigfoot lives on Desautel Pass outside Omak? Hee hee! Whenever we drive to Spokane from Omak/Okanogan, we have to look for this statue of Bigfoot. I was driving to Spokane for a doctor's appointment when he caught my eye. I wonder who put Bigfoot here?

May 18

A couple of my second grade cuties in costume for their operetta performance of The Three Little Pigs.

May 19

This is a watercolor painting Lyndsi did at school. The colors caught my eye and I had to take the picture!

May 20

And here is Dylan's artwork! This is a drawing of part of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

May 21

My sleeping beauties. I'm pretty sure I have other photos like this one but I just can't resist!

May 22

The winning team! The boys are in yellow - some of their youngest fans joined the picture. Yes, you are counting 4 coaches. Crazy - I know!

May 23

This is the 'desert' behind our yard. I love it out there in the spring! I can look out my kitchen window and see yellow and purple flowers everywhere. Unfortunately, a housing development is in the works and my desert won't be there for long.

More Pictures!

May 4

This beauty smells so good! Steve received this gorgeous basil from the ladies he works with as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. I love the smell of my kitchen right now!

May 5

This is my favorite view of the river. This picture doesn't do it justice! I actually prefer this spot in the fall but I couldn't resist this shot after a heavy rain turned everything gray and blue.

May 6

Lyndsi and her friends spent some time playing on the new playground toy at school. It's been quite a hit with the students! The really cool part of this equipment is that the money used to purchase it was raised by the students and the annual jogathon we hold in the fall. It took a few years to save up enough dough but we finally did it this year! Thank you to anyone who has ever donated to jogathon pledgees!

May 7

$1000 sitting in my kitchen! I find it hard to sleep with all this cash laying around! This is what we withdrew to pay for our new tent trailer - yippee! Yes.....we got a really good deal from some great friends....

May 8

The barebones of our rainsticks! This quarter's class for my Masters is a music class. One of our 'fun' projects was to create rainsticks. It really was fun!

May 9

The finished rainsticks. Mine is the blue one with poppies.

May 10

Happy Mother's Day to me! This is what I found in my kitchen when I returned from class on Sunday evening. I love the sleek look!

May 11

Dylan had his fourth grade music program tonight. The kids played well known tunes on xylophones. They also created their own compositions and played those for the audience. It was a short but sweet concert!

May 12

This is Hannah - Lucy's best neighborhood doggy friend! When we take walks, we always stop to talk to Hannah and to let the 2 dogs run wild for a few minutes! Ruth doesn't really care for the mayhem so she generally stands by us.

May 13

Here it is! Our very first trailer! We brought it home tonight. Thank you Denise and Scott!

Bloomsday Weekend

The weather was perfect for my favorite annual road race! The sun was shining but it was a chilly 40 or so degrees at the start. Yep - I was freezing! But I warmed up soon after the race started and stayed warm until the end. The last couple of Bloomsdays have seen some yucky, cold weather so this was a welcome change.

This year, Julia, Aidan, Dylan and I convinced Amy and Max to join us. It's so much fun to have newbies to show off for! Amy also pulled in friend April so our group of 7 had a great time watching the start of the race then boogying way back to our start spot several blocks down the road. Erin and her friends Ashley, Alex, and Ali (yes, famous Ali!) were with us as well so we did a lot of chatting while waiting to surge forward.

Julia, Amy, April and I stuck together through the run, finishing in 2 hours, 7 minutes (a great time for me!). The kids left us in the dust and finished in 1 hour 45 minutes, and Erin and her crew finished in just over 2 hours (I think!).

My only sadness for this year's event is that I didn't call my friend Denise. Denise and I started walking in Bloomsday together in high school and continued our tradition for many years. Since I've lived in Okanogan, it's been harder and harder to connect. Next year I'll make a stronger effort to restart our Bloomsday tradition.

Dylan and I rode to Spokane with Amy and Max on Saturday. The boys had 2 soccer games in Spokane. Their team has gotten so good! They didn't win their first game but the score difference of 1 point made it feel like they won! They, did, however, win their second game with a score difference of 3 points. Now that's a win! This is the second game they've won so they're starting to feel pretty good about themselves.

Here are more daily pictures.....

April 23

I fondly call this "Dylan's Basket". Dylan likes to have something to do in the bathroom. If he doesn't have a book to read, he destroys my bathroom! After a Dylan episode, I find toilet paper off the dispenser, cupboards and drawers pulled out, towels on the floor, bathtub toys dumped....if it's within Dylan's reach, it's fair game. I grumble when I talk to Dylan about it but I giggle to myself when I see it! And yes, that is the color of my floor and walls.....

April 24

Max and Dylan after their very first league soccer win! They were beaten horribly in the fall so this win is extra sweet!

April 25

Dylan loves to fish! He convinced Steve to take him and Lyndsi out fishing on Sunday morning. We ate this guy for an appetizer at dinner this night.

April 27

This is the view up the street from our driveway after a huge storm. Soccer was cancelled due to thunder and lightning. Couldn't help but be happy about that!

April 28

Reily stayed after school to play with Lyndsi while I finished up my work. Since Steve and I were both exhausted, we hit Taco Bell for dinner. The girls wanted their own spot.

April 29

Look at these loving hands! These are the hands of three school employees as they assist chicks in the hatching process. Lyndsi's teachers brought in an incubator and eggs and the class learned all about the growth of the chicks in the eggs as they waited for the babies to emerge. The teachers discovered that the shells of the eggs were so thick, the chicks couldn't hatch themselves. Amazingly, all but 2 chicks survived. I know it looks kind of icky but it was truly incredible to watch!

April 30

Cub Scout space derby competition. Cub Scouts don't just race little wooden cars. They also make and race boats and rockets!

May 1

Aidan, Dylan and Max on the slide in downtown Spokane. We stopped by the park after picking up our race numbers.

May 2

The reward after the race! Loved the big bags!

May 3

I love lilacs! They're pretty and they make the whole house smell good! At our old house, we had several big bushes outside our bedroom window so the breeze would always smell like lilacs. This little bush is finally starting to produce some blooms. I'm so excited!