Lovely Lunch

Had my very first mammogram last week.  Not particularly fun, but I will say that the technician said there is less discomfort with the new 3D technology than with the old equipment.  So that was good.  She warned me that it's very common to be called back in for additional screening on your first mammo, since they have nothing to compare to.

So I wasn't too surprised when they wanted me to come back in for an ultrasound.  Not surprised, but a little worried.  Intellectually, I knew the odds were good it was nothing.  But still.  Occasionally the odds are not in your favor, right?  A lot of praying and trying to give up my worrying to God's capable hands.

And this dear man drove me to my appointment in Lewiston.  And took me out to a lovely lunch at a lovely restaurant.

My mama made me these boot cuffs.  (Thanks, mom!)

And we sat in these lovely, comfy chairs by this lovely fireplace looking out the windows at a lovely view.  And for a few minutes I forgot about my worry and just enjoyed a lunch date with my favorite guy.   It was lovely.  And he took me to my appointment and sat with me waiting and I was worried, but also trusting that whatever would come, would come.  And God and my wonderful husband would get me through it.

And it was all fine, of course.  And that was lovely.

Agreeable and Lucky

One of the highlights of the recent Boise trip was the stay in the hotel, of course!  Morgan loves pool time, but couldn't talk anyone into joining him the first night.

He talked one of his agreeable sisters, Nicole, into joining him the second day.  Ellea was watching a basketball game with her dad.  The rest of us need a break from basketball.  Just for a minute.

And they had fun.  I love it when one of my girls agrees to do something with their brother, when you know they're maybe just trying to be nice.  And they do that a lot.  So lucky, that boy.  And me, too.

Craziness Abounds

Glenn took some funny pictures on his phone while we were at the Boise basketball tournament.  My kids sure enjoy those luggage carts you can use at hotels, apparently.

Not sure where I was when this craziness took place.  Gratefully, somewhere else.  I'me sure the hotel staff really love this sort of behavior...... :)

Golden Corral

We ate at the Golden Corral for the first time ever while we were in Boise.  My children got ridiculously excited about all the options at this all-you-can-eat buffet.  Especially the dessert options.  (Me too - big surprise)

Of special interest was the chocolate fountain.  Whoever thought of installing that thing clearly is not the one to clean up the mess it makes.  My favorite was the strawberries.  Love a chocolate-covered strawberry.

This young man ate more dessert than entree items, I'm sure.  Cotton candy was one of many sugar splurges he made.  The mom in me wanted to tell him to eat more vegetables first, but I decided to not be a killjoy.  Just this once. :)

Special

Some families do lots of traveling by car.  Ours, not so much.  A four-hour drive to Boise is kind of a long time to us.  We might have to work on that.  But I've never been a huge fan of long car trips, so that might be tricky.

 

When boredom sets you, you start taking random pictures of the other passengers with mom's new phone.

Or fabulous selfies.....

So pretty!

And the shenanigans continue.....One of the Arby's sandwiches had a "special" sticker on it, so it promptly went on brother's forehead.  Go figure.

Cousin Love

We had a cute little visitor during our tournament games in Boise last weekend.  She and her family joined us for two of the games and Morgan and her really enjoyed one another.  He told me she's one of his favorite cousins.  :)

Little Kaitlyn decided she's going to play basketball someday soon.  She was actually a little annoyed during the game to see the players using the ball without her!

Look at that face.

Cute as a button!

Not sure what this face was about, but I love it!!  She's really concentrating.  I see future basketball star written all over her face!

Exhausting and Fun

We had a crazy busy, whirlwind, basketball-filled weekend in Boise this past.  Our fourth annual pilgrimage for the Catholic 8th grade tournament.  They won their first two games (woot, woot!), then lost one which put us in the "losers bracket."  Then they had to win the next three games to make it back to the championship round and they pulled it off!  That made for SEVEN games in less than 48 hours.  Crazy!

Sadly, the championship game was against the one team they lost to earlier in the tournament and they played their little hearts out, but didn't quite beat them.  It was so close!  They were sad.  Heck, the adults were sad, but they still walked away with the 2nd place trophy which is nothing to sneeze at.

Glenn giving them a pep talk after the final game.  Those were some sad girls.  Losing is hard.  Just like life.

Glenn and his assistant coaches.  Nicole and her classmate, Chaye, have helped him the past two years (after playing for him for two years).

Ellea's played for him for four years.  Not sure what next year will bring now that both our girls have "aged out."  Maybe switch to coaching boys since Morgan will be that age soon.  The kids insist he has to coach someone!  It's tradition!  It's fun!  (It's exhausting!!!)
 

Good job, girls!  You should be proud.  I am.

Clearing Things Up

My cute little man now has to wear specs.  He seems fine with it.  And he loves that he can actually see things a little clearer!

Such a handsome dude.  You can't tell in the picture but he picked out Nike frames that are black with lime green on the inside.  Very trendy, this boy.

And also a little strange sometimes, but we like him anyway! :)

More Cake Boss

Ellea received a cake decorating kit for Christmas and has been itching to use it.  She and her brother agreed to make cupcakes together.  These two don't always get along the best, but lately they've been very kind to one another (usually!) and I can't tell you how that warms my heart.

The project quickly became a cooking show!  These are some pretty cute hosts!

And then the frosting began.  Aren't they beautiful?!

Just like their creator. :-)

Cake Boss Jr.

I was out of town the night before the Superbowl and came home about halfway through the big game.  I was so impressed to see these beautiful cupcakes that Morgan made and decorated all by his lonesome!

It's hard to make out in the photo, but they say "Seahawks" around the outside of the plate.  The four in the middle have the number 12 on them for us, the "12th man."

They turned out super yummy.  And doesn't he look pleased with himself?!  I think we might have the next Cake Boss on our hands! :)

We were all a little sad (and shocked) by the how the game turned out.  (I'm no football fanatic, but I'll never understand why they didn't just run the ball.  You throw a ball in the air, odds go up that someone on the other team will catch it.  Seems obvious, but what do I know?)  At least we had some yummy chocolate cupcakes to console ourselves with.  Chocolate cupcakes can fix many of life's disappointments.  You can quote me on that.

Welcome to the 21st Century

It's official.... I'm finally in the 21st century with my very own smart phone.  I've had a Tracfone for the past several years, which you will be surprised to know has served me well.  Except that my most recent touch-screen model wouldn't let my husband, or many of my friends with a certain local cell phone carrier send me texts.  Oh, and I was on the phone the lovely Tracfone people for about 10 hours and spent several months trying to sort it out.  Except for that, it has treated me well.

Unfortunately, the phone still has lots of minutes on it and our girls are in need of a cell phone to use when they are away from home so I'll likely spend a few more hours with Tracfone trying to sort it out.  Yay.

So, here's my first selfie.  My husband is actually driving down the road at this point.  Do not try this at home.  We aren't very smart.

I don't have to tell you the camera portion of my new smart phone is my favorite part, so far.  Hopefully, I'll have even more pictures to share.  Won't my kids love that?!

After signing my life away on a two -year contract on my new Motorola phone, we celebrated with my favorite turkey sandwiches.  With a side of green peppers and extra mayonnaise, please.  Yumm!!

The moral of the story?
Tracfone is okay.
Smart phones are better.
Glenn and I are not very smart about the appropriate time for selfies.
I will be taking even more photos of my kids.
Turkey sandwiches with green pepper and lots of mayo are THE BOMB!
I have a new number.  If you want it, let me know.

Woman in the Lead

We were so happy that these two (and their sweet doggies) joined us for the sledding fun in January.  And so excited to witness their marriage in June.  Woohoo - family weddings - so much fun!!

Of course, they raced down the hill together.  Nothing like some healthy competition between a woman and her man....

Especially when the woman gets out in the lead!  I can't tell you how this race ended, but let's all assume that Jeanene won, okay?!  Okay.

Of Snow and Sledding

Some of our favorite Kaufman's came and joined us for a fun day of playing in the snow back when we had some.

The kids never tired of sledding down the hill.  That is one happy girl!

And the adults (and dogs) had a good time, too.

Phil was a good sport about driving the sledders back up the hill over and over and over again!

We discussed how when we were kids we would sled down the hill two or three times and be done because of the long walk back to the top.  These kiddos don't know how good they have it!

Most of the time, you drop them off at the top of the hill and they're waiting for you at the bottom by the time you circle back down!

But it sure is fun to see them all having such a great time with it.  We would do it again, if only it would snow.  Wait, snow?!  Why would I want it to snow?!!  Oh, because my kids want it to?  Oh, alright.  Just this once.