SNOWPOCALYPSE!

It snowed on Tuesday, much to my dismay. So, I did what every other washatonian did that fateful day, I ran to the store to stock up on supplies, got gas in my car, and bought a sled before they sold out! The kids had so much fun! The snow only lasted a couple of days after it was done, but they were so happy to play in it! We're definetly taking a sledding trip to the mountains to have more fun before the snow is gone for the year.

Christmas!

Christmas was great this year, we all got what we wanted and there was minimal fit throwing. I made a wonderful Christmas breakfast, and then we went to joe's for the rest of the day. All in all, it was good times. And yes, this is what I REALLY look like in the morning. Oh how my co-workers would shudder to see this.

Texas

I recently went to Texas to see my sister, I took lots of wonderful pictures, especially of dude and princess, but this is my favorite one! I love how everything has stars on it! They even included the sewer systems! But I guess I shouldn't find it so funny, after all....washington puts pictures of salmon on EVERYTHING! Getting to the point.....Texas was great! We hit all the local hot spots. Rudy's, chick-fila,the outlet mall,etc... The trip went by too quickly, and now I'm sad that I didn't see the alamo.

My tiny kittie

This is my Bobby Hill. He's only 1, but he's allready two times bigger than the older cats I deal with at work. He's very sweet, but I still can't manage to get a picture of him with his eyes open....they're green, and he looks like he's wearing eyeliner.....he's very attatched to pat, and since I'm going to texas for 4 days, that's a good thing.

Thank You Aziz

Turkey Day was great.............Moving on.............
We put up Christmas lights today! We did a pretty damn good job if I do say so myself. You can't see the star on the front porch, it shines too bright for my camera.
Pat wants to get an inflatable frosty the snowman for the front yard. I think that would be a bit much, plus we live in a really windy area, and I don't want to fix the thing twelve times a day when it blows over.
Anyhoo.....Behold the glory of my lairy fights!

Oh Great Pumpkin!

This is Pat's artful masterpiece. He spent two days carving it , because of the intricate detail. You can't see them, but there are three ghosts carved in the back, and when the lights are out the ghosts cast shadows onto the wall. Impressive, I know! We had many a trick-or-treator commenting on our wonderfull pumpkins, but pat's was by far the best and most complimented.

I'd better get this done before christmas

Justin's pumpkin

Ian's pumpkin

My pumpkin

Halloween was very nice this year. The weather was great, and I had the cutest boys! Ian was a vampire, and Justin was woody from toy story! We went to lots of houses this year since it wasn't freezing! And the boys got more candy than they could eat in a year. I couldn't put up a pic of Pat's pumpkin, so the next blog that I do will be an ode to his greatness.

It Is Time!

Wednesday was the first day of school! On Tuesday we had a day of haircuts, milkshakes, some time at the red park, and baja fresh for dinner!

Ian loves his new school and his new teacher, and he was stylin on his first day!

I have three days off work, and I'm making the most of it. So here, I blogged, now you can stop complaining.

So A Normal Day

I just thought I'd post this little video to show what my mornings are like as of late. The boys have decided that the sooner they get outside, the better. I have put restrictions on how early they can go out. Hey, the neighbors have to get a break sometime. So, this is it, my normal life with two boys.

Once more into the forge

So, last wednesday, I boldly jumped back into the workforce. I now work at petsmart making more than minimum wage, which is no small feat when you consider my lack of experience and the craptacular economy.
I'm not sure of my title at petsmart, I was hired on as a pet care specialist, but I think they decided that my mad cashiering skillz couldn't be ignored, because all I've done is be a cashier. But that's okay, I like being a cashier better than having to clean up various forms of animal poop anyway.
I like working there, I get to see all the cute puppies that come into the store, and everyone there is really nice to me. I'm just excited that I'll have extra money for christmas this year! Guitar hero 5, you will be mine! HA!

More on colorado

Going to Colorado was an epic journey....

We had Tornado's, heat, mosquitos, torrential downpours,

and the adventure of 11 people sharing 3 bathrooms.

And even though the kids seemed to be in a constant feeding

frenzy, it was great fun.

colorado

So, this is my video of our grand adventure at the pirate pool....arrrr.

I've been busy and I haven't gotten around to posting pictures, until now! Let the blogging commence!

Summer is HERE!

Even though there are 8 more days left in our school year, I am declaring it to be summertime!

Here are Ian and Justin demonstrating their slip-n-slide skills. Ian was afraid to use the slip-n-slide the first day we had it, but the next day he caught on real fast and wouldn't stop...until it was time to eat. Justin is showing the proper technique of putting your arms out in front of you while sliding down , he just can't seem to lower himself to the ground, must be all that antigravity in joe's back yard.

We are planning many dangerous and exciting adventures this summer. We are going to go up north to sally's house and allow the boys to wreak havoc in her world for a day. We will go camping, neptune have mercy on our souls. And we will go to colorado for the all boy and one girl insanity convention. 'Twill be good times had by all.

Another day full of useless knowledge

Yesterday, we decided to head over to the water resource center since they were having a wildlife expo, and it was free, who can argue with that price?!

We got to see a real owl up close, and I have to admit, it was a little freaky. It just stood there...menacingly. And it's head rotated like on the exorcist. creepy.

The kids had fun exploring the building and finding out how wetlands work and all that hippy northwest stuff. We were just glad that the place had a.c !

The wildlife expo happened right before we left, and it was a major hit.

The reptile guy had an African gaboon viper

A western diamondback rattlesnake

Cobras, black mambas, lizards, Asian chameleons, an alligator, and one huge python that had to be 15 feet long!

Unfortunately, I didn't think this day would be exciting, so the pictures I have are from the Internet because I was a dumass and didn't bring my camera.

I learned many things from the herpetologist. First of all, there's no way that you could not hear a rattlesnake! Those things are super loud when they shake their rattles! Secondly, the best place to get bit by a snake is in your butt. Third, the African gaboon viper is the only snake in the world that soaks water up through it's scales, it has the longest fangs of any snake, it can go for a year without eating, it can strike at 90 miles an hour, and it can kill a man in less than 15 minutes. Fourthly, I learned that a room full of kids and spitting venomous snakes don't mix very well. There was more than one child screaming in terror that had to be removed. The best was when the snake guy almost got bit twice by the rattlesnake, and once by the cobra. I almost peed my pants. Ian thought it was great. He pet the black mamba, and the python, and the alligator.

Justin thought the snakes were evil. He's truly my son.

Easter fun

Even though Easter was very wet, windy, and cold we still had fun. The neighbors hid eggs in the front yard for the kids! They were way excited! Here's a little video of the hunt!

They hunted for eggs at Joe's too. Then we went and had chinese...yummy.And I do have to mention, in passing, that I made a wonderful Easter breakfast! We had pineapple, two kinds of grapes(now that's fancy!) , ham, deviled eggs, hash browns, and a little dish from heaven called an egg bacon bake. It's made in individual custard cups, the bottom layer is bread crumbs mixed with butter, the next layer is sliced up hard-boiled eggs, the next layer is a mixture of sour cream,minced onions, cooked & chopped bacon, paprika, salt & pepper, and then the top layer is cheddar cheese! You bake them in the oven until the cheese is melted, and I'm telling you it was delightful! It sounds gross, but it really was super yummy! So, that was that, we all ate like kings yesterday, and I'm not sure how I will top myself for the next holiday feast!

Spring break is here. I don't have any funny photos, or new fangled videos to post. I'm just starting to relax, and I'm reveling in the fact that I don't have to leave the house at all for an entire week!
It's raining here, and the temp is around 35. So I have absolutely no desire to do anything. The kids have runny noses, and pat has been running a fever off and on for two weeks.
But things aren't all bad. We had tacos tonight!
And tacos+starks=happiness!

Top Ten List

Top Ten Things I WILL NOT Miss When I Move Out Of My Apartment:
#10 - Speed Bumps Every 15 Feet. Seriously, I think
I've suffered some drain bramage from years of jarring
car rides.
# 9 - Living right by an outdoor basketball court.
# 8 - Lawn guys using their leaf blowers to cover my
patio in dirt once a week.
# 7 - Drunken brawls in the parking lot. The freaks come
out at night, and they like to fight by my car.
# 6 - Picking up packages at the front office.
# 5 - The lack of parking. You can't even have people over!
# 4 - Baseboard heating, wow it sucks.
# 3 - Having upstairs neighbors that stomp all day and night!
# 2 - Dealing with a crazy manager who's bent on total
control, and thinks that children should be seen not heard.
# 1 - Sharing one washer and dryer with six other tenants!
I can't say how many times I've had to wait days before I
could get my clothes clean!

holiday recap

Our Christmas started on Christmas eve. We went to Noni's house, the kids opened their presents from her, and we had a wonderful turkey dinner!
The next morning we opened presents at home, the kids loved all their presents even the clothes! Then we had a huge christmas breakfast before going over to Joe's house for more presents! The boys got everything they could ever want for Christmas. Me and Pat got new pots and pans, which we uber needed, and we also got a kitchen-aide mixer! Woo-Hoo! I used it for the first time last weekend making frosting for Justin's B-day cake! It was awesome!
Anyway, we did the rest of our Christmas celebration on new years day when Pat's grandma Sally was in town. We went to the embassy suites in portland and opened presents. Pat took the kids swimming at the indoor pool, the kids went nuts! They loved it, of course, what kid wouldn't want to go swimming in a heated indoor pool when there's still snow on the ground?!
So that's that, my holiday recap is complete, now we can move on.