Us

Us
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1

Thursday, July 5, 2012

The Great American Road Trip......

 WARNING! WARNING! REALLY LONG POST AHEAD! LOTS OF PHOTOS!!

 4 people
5 Bikes
15 days
7 States
2,300 miles
We went on a 15 days road trip and just got back. Man did we see lots! Capitals.....


Water in the shape of rivers, lakes and water falls.....


We also saw lots and lots of highway......It freaked me out when we wouldn't see anyone for hours upon hours.

We rented a house just a mile from Lake Coeur D' Alene in Northern Idaho. This house sat on the golf course. Let me count the ways in which I learned on this trip why I will NEVER live on a golf course; reason #1: The 5am wake up calls as they announce from the club house who is up to the tee. reason #2: The hazard of all the golf balls flying at you in the backyard. reason#3: stepping out of the shower and forgetting to close the bathroom window; enough said. reason#4: the profanity that comes from men as they miss the ball. tck! tck! tck!


Whenever we travel I always try to find something that is local to the area for us to try. I found this great stain glass making place so the girls and I took a class and LOVED it! I seriously would use this as my therapy if there was a studio near us.

I designed the heart, Ryanne made the circle and Morgan the dog bone. She might have been missing Macy!

The girls entered an Iron Kids run.....


We found lots of amazing places to try out the local food........

This Italian place was sooooo good. All organic and fresh from local gardens and such.

We got caught in more than one summer down pour.....It's OK cause we met this nice kid at the worship service in the park just before the storm hit. He's smiling because due to the humidity I am almost certain I had a fro.

We might have found a few pools on our trip and possibly even a really cool water park.

Oh and did I mention this trip all lead up to my husband doing his second full Iron Man? Ahhh..... yes some find a 3am wake up call, 52 degree air temperature and 56 degree water enjoyable; me not so much.

This is the freezing tundra at 4am right before the swim....

This is how we attempted to not freeze in the rain and cold while watching said insane father swim......

This is the lake as 2,400 athletes plunged in at the same time. Did I mention how much Dan likes his personal space?

His is the blue and white bag.......

Team Daddy......

Team I've been here for 11 hours and want to go home......

We found some furry friends along the way cause we missed our Macy back home.

Once again my husband not only survived his 14 hour straight work out he also shaved 20 minutes off his last time. So proud of you honey. I think your nuts still but oh so proud. And hey he looks pretty good for swimming 2.4 miles, riding 112 miles uphill in wind and running a marathon.

Our friends went and Frank did the race too! He also beat his time. So see there is more than one insane person in the world.

The day after the race it was Dan's mission to stop in every coffee house and drink, drink, drink his way through Idaho. He had been fasting from caffeine for the race so the coffee houses saw us coming and went "CHA-CHING!" Ha!

A few days later Dan proceeded to get back on a bike (seriously?) and take us on a 15 mile ride called The Trail of The Hiawatha.

There were lots of long dark tunnels....this one was 1.6 miles. You had to put a light on your bike which personally I thought was a joke. It only shown about 3 ft. in front of you if that so it was like,"Here's enough light to see the earth in front of you so you don't crash but not enough to see the bear charging at you ahead in the tunnel." Uh-huh that's what I thought too!

Did I mention all the long dark tunnels?Much to my families surprise I often sang through them to keep my mind off the wild life that could be in there.

See that bridge below? We rode down to it and crossed it. Uh huh yup' 240 ft. off the ground. Morgan is afraid of heights so she hit the bridge going about 35mph and never looked back.

Is that my child jumping in the picture to moon us? Sigh............

We then proceeded to Yellowstone where we rented a cabin for a few days.

The geysers there are amazing.....the water is unbelievable.  My photos do them no justice.

An oldie but a goodie. Dan and I tent camped and hiked around Yellowstone and the Tetons 15 years ago when we first got married so we thought it would be fun to take the girls back. Notice please that this time I did not sleep on the ground and had to take multiple doses of Aleeve after hikes. Ahhhh yes.......40 is coming like a freight train. LOL!

I kept waiting to stop someone who looked like they spoke English so they could take our picture. This really sweet couple walked up and I said,"Oh good you speak English can you take our picture?" Bless her heart she was from the South and started talking a mile a minute. I looked at Dan after they left and said,"I have NO idea what she just said!" Ha!

My pre-teen............

A buffalo terrorizing the town....see a connection? Shhh...don't tell her. I'm kidding!!

Dan taught the girls how to fly fish.

The play loft in the cabin became the girls fort.

Hello sweet pea......

Went to Cody Wyoming to attend our first rodeo. This was the view of the stadium from our hotel room.

I tried to fit in promise. It's just I don't own cowboy boots or wranglers. I thought the hat was kinda "country" or "farmy." Is that a word? Anyways, I stood out but what can I say...

You can take the girl out of California but you can't take the California out of the girl.

If your ever at a rodeo and don't feel like a true blue blooded American there is something wrong with you....

Then it started and I closed my eyes.....

peeked and then.......

closed my eyes again........

8 seconds becomes a life time when you are just wanting these full grown boys I mean men to stay on the gosh for saken bull!

I may have become a little obsessed with the whole rodeo life style. I may have asked Dan to buy me tickets to the Rodeo Championships in Vegas in October. OK I asked for tickets for two nights but that's it. Whaaaattt I didn't ask for all five nights.

Sadly after 15 days on the open road it all had to come to an end.......we missed our family and friends. Our home and pets and plus we were out of clean clothes.

Unfortunately we drove home through mounds of smoke and fires burning. So sad all the homes that were lost the last few weeks. :(

Until our next adventure Iron Man Dan, we love you and are oh so proud to have been your cheering section and travel companions. Next stop: The Caribbean! Yahooo! THE END!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Dance Moms, Easiest Cookie Recipe E-V-E-R and G.I. Joe Water Instructors.....

OK so is it just me or is she just beautiful! I mean inside and out. So here is our little dancer on her way to her first big recital. And by big I mean hours and hours of rehearsal and shows. Like 20 hours of being at the auditorium last week/weekend. It's OK though cause we survived and had a blast watching all the kids. Morgan does Jazz and Ballet.
In fact Morgan loved dance so much last year she is working on her daddy so she can take tap and pre-pointe next year as well.......he's still trying to get past how grown and pretty she looked with the make-up on.
Family and friends came out to watch and cheer her on. Sorry Mike and Sarah, your photo got lost somewhere. Sad face.
One thing I will say about the "dance mom" world (and you know who you are people) is this; stop acting like crazy dance moms. Stop cutting in line, taking seats that aren't yours, texting during the show even after they have asked us a Ga-zillion times to stop. And stop barking orders at other moms who are just as tired and stressed as you are. Our kids are watching us, our every move and so it's simple, do the right thing. The honorable thing, the respectful thing and just chill out. It's about the kids. OK off my soap box. Thank you, the end.
So now that summer is here and school is out. No more classes, art, dance, P.E.. No more early mornings or school paper work. No more meetings or running up and down the hill from one rehearsal to the other. I plan to eat my way through the summer with fun and easy to make recipes. This cookie recipe will change your life. OK maybe not change it but it sure will make it better. You have all these things in your cupboard now and they are FAST to make. Good for last minute company or friends with Gluten allergies. 
Throw 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup smooth peanut butter, 1 egg, and 1/2 cup chocolate chips in a bowl and mix. I like to add 1 tbsp. of honey and 1 tbsp. of vanilla to give it a little flavor boost. Then drop cookies in mounds on sheets and bake at 350 degrees for about 13 minutes. DELICOUS! 
So YUMMY too!

OK last rant. Went to the gym today and got in the pool. In walks a substitute teacher and what was my first thought? "Oh man, someone new. Boring. Yawn, stretch. Guess we are going to have to show her the ropes. Greeeeaaaaaaat."

 Uh-huh ya' I can't hardly lift my arms above my head and I'm ready for bed. My thought half way through class? "Who freakin' invited G.I Jane to teach water classes? I'm seriously thinking of reporting her. I mean who does she think she is coming in here all smiles and chatty through class as were running laps, the nerve of some people. I mean I might forgive her if my abs are tighter and my arms don't wave back at the neighbor tomorrow but unless that happens we are so NOT friends. Ha!"

Thursday, May 31, 2012

So Much To Blog So Little Time......

I finally took this mess of a spice cupboard and made it look like this.......
All the while thinking I should be tackling this pile..........or
Addressing the fact that the child and dog stand on the back of the couch.......
Been driving this cutie to a billion dance classes and dress rehearsals just so she's ready to wear........
this ballet outfit for Alice In Wonderland this weekend.
Went to get a bottle of nail polish and got side tracked organizing under my bathroom sink.......
Our sweet Ryanne got braces last week......
Made these three dimensional flowers and glued them to Thank You gift bags for dance teachers, our ES and Art teachers.
Took these bad boys.......
Along with these sweet treats......
Added some popcorn, sweet tarts and polka dot straws and VIOLA! Thank you gifts for worship leaders etc. who helped make our Married Life retreat so A-W-E-S-O-M-E last weekend!
This great lady who also happens to be a sister in Christ (Tina) made these beautiful cupcakes for our retreat. I bought clear boxes,  brown ribbon and then made a WHOLE BUNCH of 3D flowers and put it all together.
So when the couples checked into their rooms they were greeted with tasty treats & fresh roses (Thanks John & Tammy)
I heart being married!
Couples that faithfully show up to help in the madness in which we like to call Married Life! Pastor Bob Botsford and his wife came and spoke for the conference. It was so GOOD! So stinkin' GOOD!
After Ryanne got braces she said and I quote,"Mom I need a whole new look. Can I cut all my hair off?" So I took her and she cut 7" off. It's so her. Spunky and care free. Love it! Ryanne knew her daddy would be sad that she wanted to cut her hair so she said,"Mamma, daddy is NOT going to let me cut my hair so can you ask him for me and work you magic? I mean it's not like I'm asking to pierce my nose or anything." LOL! A. Pierce her nose? Is that coming? AND B. How does she know about my magic? *Sigh*
We are officially out of school and enjoying our warm weather. Popsicles & friends, lazy mornings, day trips, vacations, sandy toes, daddy's races, Ryanne and Dan's birthday. No classes, no books, no more teacher's dirty looks! I LOVE SUMMER!