Miscellaneous February Photos

WOW, I can't believe February is almost over! It was an eventful month for us and I have oh so many pictures I haven't posted yet. So over the rest of this week I'll be showing you all what we've been up to. I wish I had some pictures to show you what a great time Chase had a winter camp, but you know how kids can be! He forgot to use the camera I packed for him until the last day. And then, shall I say, "odd" pictures were taken and most of them without a flash. Oh well, he had fun...that's all that counts. I told him next time he goes I'm going with him as his photographer...all I got was a BIG eye roll!

Tanner marking off the days till his 9th birthday... so sweet. Making Valentines for his classmates

Creating his Valentine mailbox for the class party

We got Tanner Rock Band for his birthday. It was too large to wrap so he had to go on a treasure hunt to find it.
Here we are playing ... what a fun family activity! The Star Wars ship he built in ONE DAY!

His favorite book series...a gift from Oma and Poppa for his birthday

State Quarters collector book Valentine fun at school
The Valentine mailbox

Valentine gifts from Oma and Poppa....

Yes...Chase is "sniffing" the shirt...anything from Hollister smells soooo good!

OHHHH! Pop Tarts!Making Linzer cookie hearts

Tanner's cookie from mom

This is one of my favorite pictures. Troy is vacuuming for me! It was a Valentine gift of sorts. It's not that he never helps around the house, it's just usually my job and I'm fine with that. But when I caught him doing this without being asked it just melted my heart. What a sweetie!

I Heart Faces - Black and White

This week iheartfaces.blogspot.com is featuring black and white photos so I'd thought I'd join in.

I love this photo of my parents with the boys.

It was taken on a 20 degree day next to the river ... it was cold, but we had a blast!

Girl Time

Today I am looking forward to a little "girl time" with my friends. Movie: The Notebook
Wine...Idaho's finest
Kleenex ... lots!

So today at 1:00pm my girlfriends are coming over with some yummy treats and great conversation. I am really looking forward to this...especially after spending a 4 day weekend with 8 boys!
How do you like to spend time with friends?

Tanner's Birthday Party

The boy's spent some time at Wahooz playing video games...

Being silly...Then home for burgers...Playing Rock Band... Gifts....

And cake...

A few of his friends spent the night. Don't forget to brush!
They watched a movie, then ... I said ..."lights out boys".

(I must have said that at least 5 times! They would hush for a bit and then went back to their plans of staying up all night and giggling!

Tanner had a terrific 9th birthday with his buds! He has such a great group of friends. It will be fun to watch these boys grow up together.

Pizza with Grandpa

Tanner loves pizza...
Tanner and Grandpa

Eyes closed... enjoying every bite!

That is what he chooses E.V.E.R.Y. year for his birthday dinner...no exceptions!

Tanner is 9!!!

My baby turned 9 today. Where has the time gone??? We've had so much fun today...especially since it is a 4 day weekend. All in honor of him of course...no President's had anything to do with this vacation from school!

At our house, on your birthday, you get the special red plate and a waffle LOADED with whip cream and sprinkles for breakfast! YUM!

Tanner opened some gifts from Oma and Poppa and Chase first thing this morning...

~Brother Love~
Then we were off to find the Star Wars Lego set he's been wanting...found it at the first store we stopped at. Gotta love Target!

We are going out for pizza, T's favorite, for dinner tonight and then back home for cake and more presents! He's having a party and sleepover with his buddies on Sunday...so more pictures will be posted of the festivites soon.

On another note...Chase left for Winter Camp with our church middle school program. He is sooo excited, but a little bummed that he'll have to miss Tanner's party and Valentines day with us. I did sneak a few Valentine goodies into his bag though. They are going to have SO MUCH FUN!

Taking the "back" way...

I needed to do errands today... get Tanner's birthday gift, some hamster food, valentine candy and a few groceries. So where does one go to get all that? Walmart, of course! There is a Walmart here in town, right in the center of all the hub-bub. But I decided I was going to take the back way to the Walmart in the next town. I love going this way! It is refreshing to me to look at all the wide open space. I love the look of old barns and farm houses, cows and horses. I wasn't always this way.... but now it is my favorite part of living here!

This photo was taken in the morning right after the snow...

These were taken in the afternoon...snow didn't last long today.

People must have thought I was nuts! I was driving along and just pointing the camera at random things. I have to admit...I got some pretty good pictures through the windshield driving at 45 mph!

Do you have a "back" way you take to make your day a little more enjoyable? Have you ever really looked at what is around you while getting your errands done or do you just look straight ahead with a grumpy attitude because your to-do list is a mile long? Next time, try looking at all the beauty God has surrounded you with. Trust me...it will change your attitude...it sure did mine!

The Games Are Here!

Today we've been watching the Opening Ceremonies for the 2009 World Winter Games. It is so exciting to see the huge smiles on the faces of these athletes from 95 different nations. We've encountered some traffic blocks here in town while the torch has been run through, but that was fine by us. How cool it is to be right in the middle of all the excitement! And tomorrow we are looking forward in participating in some of the festivities. (Maybe we'll even be able to catch a glimpse of Kristi Yamaguchi, Maria Shriver, Kenny G., Scott Hamilton or one of the many famous people that are here supporting these awesome athletes!) Go Team USA!!!

The Countdown...

I can't believe my baby will be turning 9...Yikes! Where did the time go??? He is so cute each night as he climbs up on our kitchen chair to reach this chalk board and mark off the days till his birthday. He is sooo excited!

Super Bowl Fun...

We had fun at the Parker's this year watching the SuperBowl. None of our favorite teams were playing this year so we were rooting for the AZ Cardinal's. Gotta love Kurt Warner!

The kids... Troy and Chase absolutely "glued" to the game...couldn't even smile for a picture.

Tanner and Hayden

The gang cheering on the Card's

A little "praying" for a good call from the ref...

Carrie, Kym and Rachel

Yummy food...

Craig bbq'd the Best hotdogs!

A little backyard football for the guys...

It couldn't have been a better day! Unless of course the Cardinal's would have won!