2-28 thru 2-22 catch up

2-28

This is a quick cell phone pic from our gorgeous afternoon on the mountain. Poppy and Meemom came up, and Poppy skiied with us. He took a few runs with Sam, who wanted to show him the Troll Bridge, and then went up the Basin Express with Ben and I, and we all took a few runs down midway. It was a really great afternoon!

2-27

Our last basketball Saturday for the season! Today I brought the treats for Sam's team, and I made these fun cookie/cupcake goodies. Yum!

Aunt Barbara, Aunt Brandy, Uncle Will, and Landen all came up to watch both boys' last games.

2-26

Friday night: AWANA night for the kids, date night for Ryan and I. We went to one of our favorites, the sushi place in town, for some yummy rolls.


2-25

A fun shot of Sam... He was out digging for fossils, and he was not supposed to be digging right there! While we 'discussed' where he should and should not be digging, I snapped this shot. I really like the lighting and composition. (Which surprised me, since I was pretty busy trying to get him to dig his hole elsewhere!)

2-24

My Valentine orchid. I really love the simplistic and long lasting beauty of orchids. I also like the color contrast of the pinkish purple with the green of the living room wall.

2-23

I have found Toby cuddled up with my slippers like this quite a bit lately! So far, he hasn't seemed to want to chew on them. Its tough to see, but he is also curled up in that right angle between the couch and ottoman where we frequently step on him. Silly doggy!

2-22

LegoMania at the library. This was Sam's first year to attend and to enter a Lego creation. He loved everything about this event... all the Lego creations, talking to all the kids and adults there, eating the Lego cake. He was entirely in his element... I see many LegoMania events in our future!

2-21 thru 2-14 Catch-Up

2-21

Sam and his new Glow Dome! The toy is really a lot of fun, and so was getting this shot! Sam was super cooperative and held still so I could keep the shutter open long enough.

2-20

Yet another basketball Saturday! The boys were glad to get back to it after their vacation hiatus. I like shooting in this gym, there is so much light! Ben was very focused on this free throw; if I remember correctly, he was 1 for 2.

2-19

On the way home from picking up the kids at school, I saw the sun streaking through the clouds at end of the street. This was a challenging shot to get, and I'm not quite sure I did it justice. The day was very gray and gloomy and the streaks of sun were so bright! Its hard not to over expose that contrast. But, I guess that's why I'm doing this project... to learn new skills!

2-18

A quick pic of the boys hanging out in the playroom with their favorite things: DS, books, Lego's. (Sam has tiny Lego people in his hands. Just ask him. He'll remember exactly which ones they are and what accessories go with them!)

2-17

The birthday boy blowing out candles! I was a little disappointed with this shot... it is perfectly focused on the candles, and my little candle-blower is a touch blurry. But, I still love his expression! And, no, he was not tired of celebrating his 7th birthday. Not at all!

2-16

I spent the day on Tuesday 2-16 doing laundry and catching up with life after our big vacation, Valentines Day, and Sam's birthday party. So, late the night of the 16th, I decorated for Sam's real birthday. Somewhere along the line, we started a tradition of hanging streamers from the door way of their bedroom so that they wake up to some fun decoration on their birthday. Well, this year we had plenty of decorations... from the surprise on the cruise and the festivities on 2-15, so I went all out decorating the house. This is what the breakfast table looked like. One thing I learned through this: Toby does NOT like balloons and will NOT go near them!

2-15

On Monday, 2-15, we had a surprise party for Sam at the bowling alley in CDA. It was President's Day (and Ryan's birthday) so most everyone was able to make it. Sam had expressed his desire for a "really special" birthday and let us know that he wanted a "surprise" as well. So, we were able to put this together at the last minute and have a really great time. (The bowling alley wasn't exactly pleased with us, but that's another story...)

2-14

Valentine's Day was our first day home after the big Disney trip. Lucky for us, Great-Grandma had sent these special Valentine treats for us to enjoy. We spent most of the day in our jammies, just relaxing, and my Valentine went out and picked up dinner (so I didn't have to cook!), and we all enjoyed the candies for dessert that evening.

2/13

2/13. Checking the safety info card... Sam informs me that he checks it on every plane. (Today's safety check pic is in Chicago... flight on route to Denver, then Spokane.) *by the time i could send this to post, we had already made it home!

2/12 b

Here's Sam on a ride simulator @ Disney Quest. It was fun to watch him bouncing around in the seat. It was also easy to get him to go on this 'coaster'!

2/12 a

2/12. The boys at Disney Quest! Five floors of interactive video gaming was a good end to our trip, especially because it was a cold rainy day. Florida has been having record cold temps... makes us thankful for our sunny days on the cruise!

2/11

Both boys really loved the classic... "it's a small world".

(Edited to add: We got free tickets to the parks from the hotel because our room was not ready and were stuck inside due to the strange cold snap in Florida. Our plan had been to hang out by the pool while we waited for check-in time. So, the concierge was kind and gave us extra tickets to the park. We went back to Magic Kingdom to do those few rides we hadn't been able to do before the cruise. It was a good way to spend a few hours and we kept warm walking and then ducking into rides or buildings!)

2/11

do you feel like you are here with us? (if you do, you're COLD!)

2/10

Our voyage back to Port Canaveral was rough, but thank goodness, these were NOT needed! (pic from safety drill)

Wed, 2/10 was our 'day at sea' on the cruise. It was windy but sunny on the deck. The kids hung out in their programs for most of the day, with a break at lunch for sushi.

2/9

Look who we ran into on Castaway Cay! Capt Jack sent us on our way for an awesome beach day... complete with snorkeling and sand castles.

Woke up in the Bahamas! (and the weather is perfect!)

We've set sail!

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Our stateroom had an amzing birthday surprise waiting for Ben and Sam from Aunt Jan and family!

We walked through the Mickey Ears to get on the ship!

This is soooo dark, but this is Sam @ the Sci-fi Drive-in where we ate dinner in cars and watched movies with the Greens.

Sam and Mason @ Sam's favorite... the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground.

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How I see the parks....

The Rooftop Lounge at Bay Lake Tower, where we watched fireworks tonight. Nice perk for members!

Epcot, before the rain. (We did pretty much all we had wanted to do before the rain... )

Buckle-ing up for Test Track. Does Sam look a little unsure? =)

Our view... that's Space Mountain and the castle at Magic Kingdom is above Sam's right ear.

Eating ice cream on Main Street USA at the Magic Kingdom. The boys selection was mint chocolate chip.... yum!

Joanna and I on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at the Magic Kingdom!

Here we are on the Magical Express! We arrived in Orlando after a long day of flying. Ready to start having fun tomorrow!

2-2 Groundhog's Day

Today's picture of Sam, Toby, and Toby's hedgehog is to commemorate Groundhog's Day. Sam learned about it at school yesterday and was excited to find out if "Punks-a-chubby" Phil came out of his "buhw-woh" to see his shadow or not. He actually knew it was Punxsutawney Phil but he said he forgets and sometimes calls him Punksachubby, which he thought was appropriate given what a ground hog looks like!

2-1

This is how Toby hangs out while Ryan and I watch TV. Its all fine and dandy until one of us (usually me) puts our feet down to get up and steps on poor Toby! Smart as he is, Toby does this almost every evening!