2013 Year in Review

I can honestly say with the addition of Facebook and social media like Instagram, etc... That it gets harder and harder to try and keep up with a blog. I mean, all the information that anyone needs is already out there floating around in cyberspace already, right. I look back and read some of my friends blogs, their trials, vacations, kids lives, daily lives and I'm thankful to know so many people even if I'm not actively involved much in their lives anymore. So to keep some people who might be blog lurking my way up to date, I will do a 2013 yearly review.

January

Crazy awesome photoshoot with by my friend Nathalie and including my awesome mare Zena.

 

 

February

Aidan turned 9! I made him a cake from scratch (Call of Duty Theme), carved out the fondant myself, and he had a bunch of kids from school over to make it a special day!

 

March

My son is competing in Wahset! He is doing amazing on my husbands horse Ginger. In this picture he had only been riding for 6 months!!

 

May

My High School team made state! We ended up finishing 8th, however they did an awesome job!

 

June

Chris and I joined a new drill team. The CC Riders are a lot of fun, we look amazing and we really seem to ride fast! :)

 

August

We went to California for a horse competition at Woodside. We also found some time to go to the beach. Can't be work all the time, right?

 

 

 

 

 

November

We took family Photos. Pretty happy with how they turned out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's My Birthday!!

And man I feel spoiled! I spent the weekend at a judging clinic for drill. When I came home, my wonderful man had Salmon and Scallops waiting for me.

Then on my actual birthday, we had a 9am Championship game in which we won 4-2. Epic!!!!

Nice shirt right?!!! After the game we cheered on some friends at MRC. And then shopping, and oh yeah, another great dinner.

What a great day!

Getting My Beach On!

We were invited to go riding on the beach! A first for us. Seriously a real beach ride!

Sounds cool right. It was! However, it had its drawbacks. Such as... The tide. Evil... In and Out... White Creasty Foam...Tide.

However this scary tide did not detour Ginger, who was a beast! Even when Chris rode her up to a dead whale.

I think my favorite part was watching Chris race down the beach. He was so happy, and smiling the whole time. I however was babysitting Princess Dandy Hooves who was scared to step on the crabs, the seaweed, the sand, the tide, etc....

Chinese Lanterns

Do you see those dots? Yes the two, teeny tiny dots. Chris and I were able to see somebody releasing Chinese Lanterns last night. Was actually a fantastic thing to see. When they were high enough the light would just wink out. Pretty cool and yet at the same time I wondered if the lantern hit the ground with nobody around, would it make a sound? Hmmm....

Spring Cleaning

What? It's not spring? September you say? Where the heck has the time gone? I re-read my blog today. Yup, start to finish. What else is there for a gal to do when she sits in a car for two hours while commuting home? I have to say, I'm quite disappointed in myself. Disappointed the I didn't keep writing. Disappointed that I didn't post more. I was quite fascinated by the events I re-read. Yes, that is what happened that year. Why does it seem like time truly travels so fast. I need my life on DVR.

2013-01-17 Year In Review

I have been bad, terribly bad, or good maybe. So good that I haven't had time to blog. Is it the addiction of facebook? Maybe the overwhelming soccer games and horseback riding practices I have every week? Or possibly, the countless hours of Toddlers and Tiaras, Dance Moms, and other such shows that have sucked me in and made me not post on the blog. I will have to do better. I need to do better. To recap 2012, It was a glorious year. I had 2 boys in Junior High, and one in grade school. My High School Equestrian Team made state! My drill team placed several firsts, seconds, thirds, fifths, etc... Was a really good year. I will attach some of my favorite pictures.

January

I got a new Camera.

Yup, a Canon EOS 60D. Do I like it? Not sure yet, it's got so many buttons, settings, difficulties, lol! I'm still trying to figure it out. I used it for the first time on Christmas. Here are some of the goods.


The boys.



Aidan with his godparents Karen and Dave



Dante



Wickett



Jac

Godparents are great!

We spent Christmas Eve with Aidan's godparents. Dave and Karen are such wonderful people. I know that I appreciate any time that he gets to spend with them, and anytime he goes on a special trip whether to the cabin or fishing, he'll talk about the experience even years later. What a great joy to have them in our lives.

Happy New Year!

Holy cow, it's 2012 already? Where did all the time go? What a busy year. Yes, already! So, to catch up on the last six months, Aidan started 2nd grade, and is doing challenge. Keagan is in 8th grade, Brennon in 9th grade, and they both are attending the same junior high which I'm sure they are not very enthused about. Chris and I are busy working, riding, playing soccer, surviving, did I mention redoing our floor? Yeah, one of those things. Not quite sure what happened, but it involves the complete redo of our flooring in our living room. Lots of changes.

Happy 15th Anniversary

Tonight Chris and I had one of the best dinners ever! We ate at Pasta Freska, a quaint little restaurant on Westlake Ave in Seattle. The menu.........well, it was something we had to guess for ourselves! The Chef Mike was wonderful, I know we had eggplant parmesan as a starter. Then, next came a salad, while we both drank fresh Strawberry Lemonade with actual chunks of Strawberries floating around. Next came a manicotti with chicken dish for Chris while I had a duck or turkey meatball in mushroom sauce with broccoli inside! After that came the garlic bread and spaghetti, and then tuna and rice for Chris and halibut and rice for me. Then..........yes, more! Giant Alaska Tiger prawns that had been grilled and coated in spices along with a handmade chai iced coffee (yes I had coffee!) with vanilla in it. Another surprise that Mike threw together. Dessert was a sliver of Carrot Cake, a sliver of heavily alcoholed Tiramisu, and two small scoops of sherbert. My goodness, was too much to eat! Fantastic and wonderful! Love ya babe!

Busy, Busy Life

We have been busy. I'm not talking once a week busy, I'm talking seven days a week each hour is filled, lucky to get 6 hours of sleep each night busy. And, it's good. I feel good, of course, some days I'm really tired, but I look forward to each day's activities of either soccer, swimming, zumba, horses, skating, or whatever else we decide to do. Need to take some pictures soon to post.

Brakes Away

My husband is changing the brakes on my car. I asked him "You know I drive this car right?" He said "So?". I said, "Do you even know how to change brakes?" He said "We'll find out."

Aidan and Jac

Evidently, our 6 year old has a fascination for our 10 year old Russell. Unfortunately, the desire is not shared and whenever Aidan feels like Jac is in need of atttention, she kindly pulls her lips back from her snaggly and short teeth and snarls like a wilderbeast. What about this makes kids want to do it more??
Well, last weekend was a turning point. Evidently Aidan thought that Jac should try on the muzzle that we have for our 4 year old Shephard to help prevent him from barking. Jac immediately disliked the idea and popped Aidan in the nose with her teeth. And yes, I said popped because I think she could have done at lot worse. He had a couple of teeth marks but the worst of it was a bloody nose. As a parent I was thinking this was a good thing and maybe poor Jac would have some peace.
Nope, the next day Aidan tried to make amends by popping her with a punch balloon in the head. Jac thought that was nice and burst said balloon with her teeth. Joy.

Really Two Months???/

I know, what can I possibly have been doing instead of updating my blog religiously??? You're right, I've been slacking, I joined 5 soccer teams that play 3 times a week, and have been trying my hand at Zumba, or I should say trying my leg, because at the end of January, I tore a calf muscle. What's that feel like? Well, let's see when you go to step and all the muscle tissue, fat, and just weight of your bone moves down that leg it hurts....painfully. However, after just a week and a half I was right back at Zumba, and light soccer. Oh, and of course horseback riding. However, a week and a half ago, while playing a soccer game on a Sunday, I tore the other calf muscle, the right one this time. *sigh* So, I was back to watching my hubby play games, no zumba, and totally being bored out of my mind. At least with this one, I could walk, but it sure is plainful to run. I did try to play on it this past Tuesday, and almost made it the whole 40 minutes without feeling like I was a beginner, but in the last 5 minutes I felt the pain, again. Ugh so frustrating.

Avatar 3d

What a way to end 2009. Let me just say that this was the best movie I've seen in a long time. The 3 hours went by so fast, the animation was spectacular, and the story line actually made me cry. Worth the money!

Merry Christmas

Now I'm succumbing to the lovely after Christmas feast hangover, and just relishing the fact that even though my boys are annoying and I'd like to hear them less, I'm glad that they are active happy and healthy boys. We spent all day setting up laptops, and listening to them fight over legos, video games, and general boy nonsense. Love it all! Can't wait for a little me time though with either Avatar or Sherlock Holmes.

Laundry Floor Redo

Chris and I spent most of thanksgiving ripping up linoleum and getting down on our knees and laying tile. We had some leftover 6x6 from the kitchen, so I just had to find some 12x12 that went with it. After much long and hard looking I decided on a slightly pinkish red tile that was less than $14 a box! (Yup, I went cheap!) I don't think it turned out so bad, but was a long 5 days without the washer/dryer!

Look at the before pic, I think even the camera didn't want to take the picture!

Chris was an expert gluer!

Look at that tile cutting job!

Chris did a fabulous transition from the hallway to the laundry room!

Now if only I can paint that storm door!

Happy Thanksgiving!

So Chris and I spent most of the day in our laundry room re-tiling the floor. We use to have laminate, but our wonderful dogs, thought that the laminate looked better shredded by the back door. Hence, we have gone with tile. They better not shred it. We saved money by using some left over 6x6 porcelain tile that is like a neutral tannish color, and I spent $45 on tile on sale at Home Depot. Kinda like a light sunset red. It doesn't look overly garish. We plan on repainting, and I'll post a pic soon!
Thanksgiving dinner was spent at our good friend Nathalie and Hanks house. She had her three kids and my 3 kids and was a great time! Her turkey was fantastic, they loved my yams, and we spendt some time playing *gasp* board games with the kids. They were pretty upset we didn't let them play video games.

New Moon

I never thought that I would be so excited to watch the second movie in the Twilight series. Not only was I disappointed by the first movie. I was eager to mock and make fun of the awkward wayward teenagers. I also found Edward to be a totally weird fit, as I have other hotties in mind to make such a 'beautiful' person. But, as the date for New Moon drew closer, my anticipation rose. The trailers with Jacob (hottie!) and the wolves made me totally want to see the movie. Not only did I want to see it, I wanted to show my anticipation by buying a shirt. Katie and I showed up before the movie at Hot Topic. What shirt did I want? The one with Jacob showing his abs, or the nice conservative Team Jacob shirt with his head and a wolf saying???? Which one could I wear to work? Which one could I have more fun with? Hmmmmm, I chose both. I literally had the sales associate take one of the shirts off of the store manequin (it was the last one!) I was so excited! I felt like a cougar who had just trapped her prey (animal reference! haha!). We had fun watching the movie, I had fun making fun of Edward. And I'm sure I hooted and hollered when Jacob displayed his abs. *sigh* awwww to be a teenager again.

2009 Fall Soccer Champs

Boo-Yah! That's us, was a really tough season, I'm really glad that we won the final game. We did not have the best season, and was actually shocked that we made it in the finals. The team that we beat had an 8-0 season. I think I was most impressed with the girls this year as we rarely had a sub for any of the games and had to play the whole game, wish it did more for me! LOL!