Crazy Kids

What do you get when you take two crazy kids and give them a shoe box?

THIS!

time passes, but nothing ever changes

It's been a while since I've blogged. And for my one fan out there (hey mom!), I give my dearest apologies. Life is...well, you know. So here is an update of what's been going on:

Blake just turned 7 and one of her big presents this year was a drum set! She's in the garage right this second "jamming". She also is loving first grade. Her teacher keeps things fun!

Ranen on the other hand is not loving 5th grade. His studies are getting more intense and the fact that he's growning up is a bit stressful for him! But he still loves drawing, video games and all things WWE related. We took the whole family to Smackdown a couple of weeks ago. This was one happy boy!

Chris is doing well. He's still looking for a job. Times are tough, but at least he found a new hobby! He's been ripping apart the back yard. He wants to build a miniature greenhouse! He's determined to successfully grow peppers. Perhaps next year...

And me? Well, last month I started with a new group at work. I am now working along a couple of designers updating college identities! It's very exciting and everyday brings something new.

The pets are all doing fine and I guess we're all just trying to get the most out of each sunny day before winter sets in. There's a lot coming up: Blake has a field trip to a pumpkin patch, Ranen is having his 5th grade concert and Chris and I may have a date night planned! Until then!

Who done it?

It was an ordinary afternoon in an ordinary driveway when we discovered the decapitated remains of Tiger. The children were in shock. I was in horror. And the culprit came back to the scene of the crime!

Zoo

Last week Chris and I chaperoned Blake's Kindergarten class to the Portland Zoo. Even though it was wet, we had a flippen good time all thanks to Chris. I have to admit that he is the "fun" grownup in our house and it came in handy with the four girls we were in charge of.

We nicknamed the small group the Pink Polar Bears. We had chants, a special hand bump/firework jester and growl. We saw tons of animals and even threw in a game of tag. It was exhausting, but totally worth it.

OMSI

This weekend was beyond disappointing. No sun. No sun at all. What's up with that?

So yesterday, Blake and I went to our go-to Portland blah day place...OMSI. It's been a while since our last visit and we thought we've done/seen everything. But once again OMSI had a few surprises for us.

The first was this huge T-REX skeleton.


The paleontology lab was open so we touched lots of fossils. The holograph room was open as well. They have a hologram of a microscope. If you look in the microscope you see an image. It blew me away.

The Chem lab was open as well so we tried out a few stations. Previously Blake was too antsy to sit through a 6 step process, but she was excited to do an experiment more then one time.


We rocked the safety goggles!

And upstairs, in the 6 and under room, I caught a glimpse of something rare. Something that I may never see again.

It was hard to get visual proof...


It was elusive/invasive and tricky.


But if you look closely, you can see my daughter dressed up in a chipmunk vest.

Rockin'

Last weekend Chris brought home Band Hero.


We were all in awe. This game is flipping addictive. If the kids were to spend the same amount of time playing on real instruments, then we could totally go on tour as a real band!


We already have our favorite rock star poses.



And our youngest has declared that she wants to take real drum lessons. Cool.

Garden

I have to give Chris some big props.

He worked his butt off in March/April taking out the two trees in the front and making the raised bed, garden ready. This meant digging out the layers of dirt, weed blocker, and pebbles and putting in layers of compost. One day I offered to help shovel and after 1/3 of the truck bed was emptied I was achy and done. It's back breaking work so today when Chris geeked out about eating the first veggie from the garden, a radish, I geeked along with him.


They are a still a bit small, but he needed to thin them out a bit. This year is the first for us and radishes and also for broccoli.


It blows my mind when I see how a veggie actually grows! You mean they don't just magically appear on the supermarket floor??

But what I'm really excited for are the strawberries!


So a big thanks to Chris for doing such a great job on my garden!

Happy Mothers Day...to me!

I can't believe this is my first post in 2010. Where on earth have I been and why haven't I been blogging? Well, to put it in a nutshell...work has been kicking my ass and the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was to sit in front of another computer. But the big deadline has come and gone and though things are still crazy, it's not 12 hr day crazy. So I'm back and just in time for summer fun. Here's a quick run down of what's been happening at the homestead.

Me: Work. I hate to admit but that's been the dominating 'theme' since January. Nuf Said.

Chief: He had a vasectomy on Monday and is doing well. I even made him a "sorry about your balls" cake. Ahhh the things you do for love. :-) He's still in a couple of bands and my hero for being in charge of the garden. He plans on starting back on the job hunt once he can walk without waddling!

Thumbs: 4th grade is almost over and both C and I are a little freaked at how fast he's growing up. He is still way into his drawing classes. I find these random drawings all over the house that make my mouth drop. We are just happy that he has a passion other than video games!

Smalls: Well, this one is ready for kindergarten to be over with. She wants to be a first grader! She's in love with wresting (help me) and Zhu Zhu pets. She tries so hard to be independent but there are moments, like today, when she just needs a hug from her mommy!

The dogs: Both are doing well and getting along. There are times when I see Noro licking Hershey's face. It makes me giddy until Noro then tries to hump Hershey. Ahhh brotherly love.

Here are the kids before the St. John's parade.


Mothers...have a most excellent day! You all deserve it!