In the Jungle the mighty jungle........

"Hello down there?" "Any birds happen to fall down from the feeder?"

I spy a little bird.

Phew, what a long day! It's nice to take a nap.


Victoria and Gingham are having fun going outside now. They can't get enough of it! I can't beleive it. We couldn't get them near a door since we got them and now they beg to go out. Victoria is always sitting by the door in the morning and then in the evening and she wines and wines to go out. She's becoming quite the bird stalker. I have to watch them now, they are getting more gutsy to go further away from the house. I have been calling Gingham a circus monkey now that she has more energy and likes to show off. Gingham loves to run up and down the stairs about 5-10 times every morning, run around the couch when we are watching t.v and she just likes attention. Our little circus monkey; she looks like marcel from Friends. Just thought I would share some cute cat photos. I always enjoy a nice pet photo now and then. Hope you do to.

Still good news

Well, I didn't get the job I interviewed for. I really wanted the job, but in a way didn't either. I'm not quite ready for full time so it's ok. Really good things may come from it though. I was talking to one of the people who interviewed me and she said they may use me on some projects or promotions now that they know my background more. That way I can get some more experience. I work at such a cool place. So really good things are happening even though I didn't get the job.

We are getting some much needed rain. We had a nice thunderstorm this morning. We could use some more rain still.

Cordelia got her first tooth. It's not all the way out yet. Only a little speck of white is visible, but it's coming.

I did like the Indiana Jones movie. I read a review the other day that said if you compare it to the other movies you will hate it. So I watched it just as is and thought it was good. It's a good movie to see in the theatres if you want to see something fun. There were a couple of weird parts, but overall I liked it. I'm not sure if Fred Rion would like it so I think I'll take him to an animated movie instead soon. He wants to see the new Pixar movie. I'm not sure when it comes out though.

So that's whats new here. Not much. Cordelia is trying to eat the chair. The cold metal probably feels good on her gums. So I better go and take care of her. Later.

Happy Memorial Day

This weekend we went to Andrew's and AJ's graduation open houses. We have been waiting forever for some rain and of course this was the day it decided to rain. Andrew's party was outside so we didn't stay long. Then we went to AJ's at the Seven Seas. The boys were anxious to get there because they knew they were going swimming. They have a really nice pool for little kids. Later, the conversation turned to hypnosis and dad showed everyone how to lift someone through hypnosis. We always did this at slumber parties. AJ really had to think about how this was possible. It was a good time.
The other day I was walking towards our front door and something was falling towards me and almost hit me in the head. It fell on the ground and I almost stepped on it. I looked down and it was a baby bird. When I got to the porch another baby bird was there and he just ran from me. There were a few baby birds out, learning how to fly. It was fun to watch. The one on the porch wasn't going anywhere so I snapped some pictures.





I worked this morning. I saw the flyover from the Veteran's Cemetery ceremony. I left work just after 1:00 when the Memorial Day ceremony was also getting done. It took me a half an hour to get past the Veteran's Cemetery. They actually stopped the traffic on Hwy 1806 to let people out. It's hard to tell from the picture, but there are cars lined all the way up the hill. There were so many motorcycles there too. I think the Freedom Riders always take part in the Memorial Day ceremony. It was a yucky rainy morning, but it looked like they still had a good turnout.

A nice day for a walk around town.

I love Monkey's! I mean, who can't love a leemer? So cute. They look so mischevious.

This peacock was outside of it's cage and just hanging out.

I have never seen a tortoise this big before! He's huge!

Awww, the cute little ducklings.

A look at the Snake river from the east. Some parts you can see the drop off to the falls.

The walk along the falls is called the Greenbelt.

Not sure what kind of tree this is but, it has beautiful flowers and the trees are everywhere.

Today was my day off of work and I decided to get out and relax around town. I went down by the falls on the snake river and then walked around the downtown area. After that, I decided to go to the zoo. I was pretty dissapointed in the zoo here, it's probably half the size of Bismarck's. Not much to see in it. It was a beautiful day today and needed to enjoy it before we get our rain for the rest of the week. Bah.

Beautiful weekend

We spent a lot of time outside this weekend. It was so nice out. Yesterday the boys and I were rollerblading. Rion loves rollerblading. I got so much done this weekend which feels good. We have been so busy that I haven't had time to do anything around the house lately. I also started a couple of projects today. I tease Fred that I use power tools more than he does. I hung a couple of poles in the back entryway closet to hang jackets on and I am also making some benches for the entryway. Our jackets were hanging in the laundry room so now I'm thinking about what my next project will be in that now empty space. Probably some shelving since this house lacks on storage space. Hope everyone else had a nice weekend.

Hello :)

Life has been busy as of late, but I've still found some moments to relax. Last weekend my friends and I grilled. We made beer can chicken. Don't know if you've heard of it but, you basically stick a beer can in a chicken and let it roast. It was really really good!! Very tender. Very yummy. We had a lot of good food, which was nice. It was also my friend Eric's b-day, so we went out for a few drinks after supper. Good fun.
This week I moved all my stuff to my friend's house in the suburbs (in between Allendale and Grand Rapids). I'll be here for a little over a month as I wait for my apartment, which should be ready mid-June. I'm excited to move in. It's really cute. Quite urban, which will be a new experience for sure. Exciting though :) It's on the sixth floor, has hardwood floors, a non-functional old fireplace, painted walls, and big windows. The view is awesome. I can't wait to get settled in there!! It's fun living with my friends in the mean time though. An all guy house, but it's SO much better than living with girls!!! I'm so glad I'm done with my previous arrangement. It was getting too stressful. My old roomy, Kim was over here last night, and it was alright. I think we are just glad we aren't living with each other anymore. I haven't seen Lesley in a while, but we've been busy.
Classes are going alright. My geology class has a lot of field trips, so it's nice to get out of the classroom a bit. This week we went to a water filtration plant. It was pretty neat. My other class is okay. My last gen ed (thank god). The class sounds like it's going to have a lot of work, but that's alright.

OH... mom: my brandy alexanders turned out great! My friend loved them! He said that I combined two of the best things in the world: brandy and ice cream (haha). For the second batch I didn't have enough vanilla ice cream, so we threw in a couple scoops of "moose tracks" ice cream and that was REALLY tasty! It kind of gave it a fudge twist. Might want to try it some time ;) And again, my friends love the taco salad. Always a hit, especially on those summer days.... and the next day :)
Not too much else going on... I'm finally getting settled in here. I moved the last of my stuff in yesterday, and organized my belongings. I'm still looking for a few random things, but they'll surface eventually. I cleaned the living room today. All their gaming controllers and counsels were spread all over the place... and that bugs me SO much (got to take care that stuff plus, my Wii was in the mix of it all).Between everyone here there is a ridiculous amount of gaming systems here (No doubles though, haha). I actually found that weird. I brought three systems, and they were three that weren't here before. Weird. So yeah...my friend's are enjoying the Wii at their place for awhile. :)
Well, I suppose, I better get some of my homework done...

Crazy week

I am so glad last week is over. Now I can finally get back to slacking off and blogging. Yah right.

On Saturday I set up for a show at the Civic Center. It was pretty slow and I didn't make much. Grandpa and Grandma brought the boys and they had a lot of fun. It was suppose to be a family fun expo and they had inflatables for the kids to play on. Torii was asleep when I got home. I worked my butt off getting ready for that show so I was pretty dissappointed with the turnout. So I wore myself out and when that happens I usually get sick. I had a mild cough last week and it came on strong on Saturday and by the end of the show I could barely talk. My voice is still pretty rough today.

Sunday was suppose to be a nice day, but I felt kind of crummy. Fred did cook breakfast, lunch and dinner for me. That's what I said I wanted for Mother's Day. I also had work to do on Sunday as I had to finish a portfolio for my job interview. It was due today. So I had to work on that and make three copies of everything. I was still working on it this morning, but I got it done.

Today and tomorrow I am at HQ for our annual meeting so I turned in my portfolio while there. This week will probably be busy also since I am not at the park for two days which puts me behind there. It's ok, I can handle that. Work is starting to get busy. I can't believe next week is already Memorial Weekend!

Kelly-I got the cookies. Thank you! Very good! I loved the mini sugar cookies. I think you have inherited mom's talent for sugar cookies. I still can't figure out the secret. Mine never turn out. The cookies lasted about 20 minutes. I shared with the boys.

So now you're caught up with me. Oh yah, and it snowed on Saturday. Will summer ever come?

Awwwwwww.

Brian & I have noticed this black female cat walking around the neighborhood for the last 2 weeks. We didn't know if she was abandoned or not and I just named her Salem, of course. Brian came home from a bike ride and said he saw "Salem" in one of the townhome's that's still under construction, and she's with her kittens. What?! Kittens? I went to go check it out and she has
7 kittens. There is one white one, full black one and then the rest are tiger striped. Of course the animal shelters are all closed right now and no one to call. If I call the police dispatch they would just say to call the humane society tommorow or animal impound. Of course I want to keep one but with our crazy cats now, that just wouldn't fly. When I first approached "Salem" she was very aggressive and then after I stayed with her, I was able to pet her and pick up her kittens. Brian thinks the kittens are only 2 or 3 days old being they have their eyes open but can't really walk right now. The mama cat reminds me so much of my Salem, she's very soft, with a nice jet black shiney coat. She's very pretty. She loved me petting her while her kittens were playing or she was feeding them. She started to purr later on and was so content. I left some water for her overnight, and we gave her some food. She was really hungry and thirsty so she and the kittens should be ok until tommorow. Before I go to work tommorow I'll check on her and then call the humane society to pick them up.

Summer finally here?

We were outside yesterday because it was so nice out. I really wore them out because Cordelia fell asleep shortly after we got inside. Then Torii fell asleep next to me on the couch while he was playing Playstation. And about 10 minutes before those two got up, Fred Rion fell asleep. It's so nice to be able to be outside playing. I should have been doing yard work, but I was tired before we even got outside and I just laid in the grass with Cordelia.

Put up your dukes

Torii is such a ham. Vicki found these boxing gloves at a rummage sale. I had to get a picture and I told Torii to give me a mean face and he hammed it up. He is so funny.

Brian testing out the new grill. He's cooking the burgers and I get to make the purple cows. We missed the BBQ days. Mmmmmm good food.

Rhubarb Cake

Somebody made this for MOPS and it is really good. I don't normally like rhubarb, but this was sooooo good.

1 box of white cake mix (she actually used yellow)
1 pt of whipping cream
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 cup sugar
3 cup rhubarb

Mix cake as directed. Pour in sprayed 9X13. Sprinkle rhubarb and nuts over. Sprinkle sugar over. Pour whipping cream on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until the center doesn't jiggle.

Peach Smoothies

2 Cups Milk
2 Cups frozen unsweetened sliced peaches
1/4 Cup orange juice concentrate
2 Tablespoons sugar
5 ice cubes

In a blender, combine all ingredients; cover and process until mixture is smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.


~I tried this recipe last night and brian loved it. I think it tastes like something from Orange Julius. I think a little Rum in it could give a little extra kick; I haven't tried it yet in the smoothie but maybe next time. :-)

Selling onesies

On Saturday I had a table at a Relay for Life fundraiser. I didn't sell a whole lot, but it was a good experience. At least I made my money back from the table fee and a little more. I am doing a show in two weeks that is geared towards families so I hope to do good at that one. This was a good experience though. I learned somethings and want to do somethings differently at the next show. The picture is of my display. I am going to get some things from mom and dad for the next show to jazz up the display a little. I do like how the hanging onesies turned out so people could see that one had a front and back design.

So now I am waiting for my refund check to come so I can order a bunch more onesies. Then I have to work my butt off to get reading for that show. At least I have some inventory now so I don't have to work quite hard as I did for this first show.

Not much else is going on. The weather will not warm up. I'm so sick of being inside. Cordelia is crawling now. It's not a full out crawl, but she can get to what she wants. At our last MOPS meeting we had a speaker come in about reading to kids. She told us to read books to our kids that are above their reading level. They will understand you reading it even if it's too hard for them to read. Which makes sense. Today Rion wanted me to read The Spiderwick Chronicles to him. (I think Kelly got it for him? Thanks!) It's just a part of one of the books and he really liked it. So we may go to the bookstore and pick up the whole version. In the meantime we started reading Harry Potter. Between mom and I we have all the books. So we started that tonight before bedtime. Knowing how the series ends, it will be fun to read them all over again. I know I'm a nerd.

The boys stayed overnight at Grandpa and Grandma's house last week. They had a lot of fun. I had to make fruit salad for them because they liked it so much. They sure went through it fast.

"Who in the dictionary wants to know?"

"You better look in the bathtub, it must be a stranger in there." "Mertyl May, see who the stranger is in the bathtub."

"Elwood P. Dowd, let me give you my card."

"He's a 6ft. rabbit." said the Dr.
"No, now he's 6ft 3 1/2inches, let's stick to the facts now." Mr. Dowd

I wanted to go out and get some errands done, I had my shoes and jacket on and I went to look over at the t.v when I heard "Charlie's Place," in the voice of James Stewart. I could only think of one show. Sure enough, it's Harvey. I haven't seen it in awhile and of course I sat down on the couch with my shoes and jacket still on. The movie is almost over and I just took my shoes and jacket off. I guess I'm staying home for a little longer to watch it. Errands will have to wait.

Old Time Fun

The weather here has been so fabulous!!! Yesterday was around 80 degrees!! I went for a walk with a couple friends at a park downtown and then got some ice cream. It was nice. On Saturday some friends had a barbecue. Good food. We played whiffle ball haha. It was fun :) Not much else to report. Just enjoying my last week of school and the amazing weather! :)

Alternative Breaks Group

So this is the entire AB group. I just wanted to post this to see if you could find me:P Kind of a "Where's Waldo" game :P

Trip to Twin Falls, Idaho. 2 1/2 hr drive

These little lizards are everywhere. It's amazing we didn't step on them.

We decided to take a drive to Twin Falls on saturday and do some exploring. We heard of the bridge and wanted to check it out. The bridge is called the Perrine bridge. It's really neat when we were coming up to the city. We were driving through mostly a desert area and we started looking for the bridge because we couldn't see it but, we could see the city. All of a sudden we could see a huge gorge and then the bridge appears. We couldn't wait to get to the bottom. When we drove to the bottom of the gorge, there's a couple of golf courses and lots of picnic area. We were reading about the bridge and I guess this bridge is the only bridge in the U.S that Base Jumping is still legal without a permit. So, we will have to go back in the summer to see some base jumpers. Also, Evel Knievel tried to jump the canyon in 1974 but was un-succesful. The bridge is 1500 feet across and almost 500 ft. above the snake river below. We also went to the Shoshone Falls which are about 2 miles east of Twin Falls. I can't wait to go back in the summer and see it again. I bet its even more pretty.

April Fools

I was going to do this on April 1st, but it just didn't happen. So I did it tonight finally. The kids thought it was fun.

For dinner tonight they got to choose:

cupcakes

or chicken nuggets with peas and carrots and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Gee, I wonder what they picked?

They, of course, picked the cupcakes which actually is meatloaf and mashed potatoes with food coloring. The other meal is all junk food. The chicken nuggets are a peanut butter candy, kind of like a Butterfinger. Peas and carrots are Sixlets. And the mashed potatoes and gravy is ice cream with caramel sauce.

Torii would not touch the fake mashed potatoes and gravy. He did discover the peas and carrots quickly. I took video but it's a couple of minutes long so it would take more time than I'm willing to wait to upload to the blog. It was pretty funny.

Young Indiana Jones

I found this hat that I had used for Halloween a couple of years ago. When I saw it I knew I had to give it to Fred Rion. When he saw it he asked if it was Indiana Jones' hat. I said of course it is. So he had to play his Indiana Jones game and wear the hat.

He also was pretending to be Indiana Jones. If the clip goes too fast, he's pretending a wall is falling down and he has to grab his hat quick. I wish I could have got him singing the theme music too. It's pretty funny.