Savannah's Spring Program

May 18th, 2009

I can't believe we are at the end of yet ANOTHER preschool year! Our daycare/preschool Small Wonders put together a wonderful Spring Program for the kids! They sang songs in English AND in Spanish (they have Spanish once a week). All ready to sing! I picked out my own outfit today!

Singing about a "fuzzy little bunny"

Singing the months of the year (in both English and Spanish)

Savannah was BY FAR the loudest singer in the group, it did not phase her ONE BIT to have a big crowd watching, and she did ALL the actions! Way to go baby girl! We LOVE to watch you shine!

This is Savannah with her best buddy Ashley! They are QUITE the pair and need to be reminded to "stay on task" when they start talking and giggling!

I DID IT!

New Fire Pit

May 16th, 2009

Ta-Daah! Here it is...the fire pit I've been wanting since we moved into our house (almost 5 years, but who's counting!?)!! I finally just went out and got one after talking about it for so long...not that it was too spendy or anything, I guess we were holding out for a deck - ahem, ahem...that may not happen for quite a while and for those of you who know me - I'm not good at waiting!

Savannah and I went shopping at Mendards...yep, two LADIES wandering around the MANLY store! It was fun, especially "getting out of the cart to try the patio furniture" (Savannah - in case you were worried I still need to be contained in a cart!). I loved the moon and stars theme! Bet we're gonna have F-U-N with this baby! I plan on being out there most evenings and of course have already invited all the neighbors to "come on over if you see it burnin'!"

Chalk Time!

Savannah and her buddy "L" are hard at work on the sidewalk and the driveway! MAN...I LOVE it when Summer is IN THE AIR!!Workin' so hard!
Ok...we'll take a QUICK break for a picture! Here they are! "L" is blue and Savannah is pink! They later colored them in with "clothes"! Too cute!

It's Official!

It's Spring on it's way to Summer when I can sit on my front steps (I affectionately call it a "stoop") and drink down a Mike's Hard Lemonade! I bet the neighbors are THRILLED to see that! WHOO!

Aiden Advances to GREEN Belt!

May 7th, 2009
Hoo-Ray Aiden Lee!!
He has been waiting a long time to become a Green Belt, and tonight, he DID IT! When you become a Green Belt, you are allowed to attend the "Advanced Class" which is where his brother Parker is! I have to admit, I was REALLY looking forward to it as well because it means I don't have to sit in the gym for 2 hours each Tuesday and Thursday night...only 1! This is a sport I really admire - it teaches the kids wonderful life skills in addition to defense skills. I have to admit, it looks pretty fun from the sidelines!!

This is a picture from part of his pattern. It's usually a 20-step movement with kicks, punches and yells! Another section of the test includes what they call "basic one-steps". Here he got to render a Jr. Blackbelt to the ground!

This is another one of the Basic One Steps...yes, Aiden got to throw Mr. M over his head!! Of COURSE it was Aiden's FAVORITE move (besides the board break!). Aiden's legs weren't even long enough to reach Mr. M's waist while standing, Mr. M had to bend down a little! What a great role model he is!

Here he is showing he learned his "combination kicks", I believe he had to learn numbers 6-10 and each number has between 3-5 kicks that have to be done in a specific order!The very last skill they preform is a board break and the color belt you are testing for determines what kind of break you have to do. Aiden did a running side kick (jumping over 2 of his classmates!) - he broke it on the first try!! YES!
My happy little man with Master Chris...he is so good to the kids! Way to go Aiden Lee!! We are SO PROUD OF YOU!!

Gramps Turns 90!!

May 1st, 2009
We started off the evening with supper at Duane's House of Pizza - which, for those of you that are NOT from around here, is THE BEST pizza place around & it's locally owned! After pizza, we raced back to my mom's house where G-ma Pat and G-pa Al were waiting and welcoming the arriving guests. Gramps didn't know it, but he was about to get a suprise party! It was a good night...his gift was a Karaoke machine and some CD's! He LOVES to sing! If I can figure out how, I'm gonna post part of a song he was playing for us at the bottom of this post...don't hold your breath though! ha! Gramps even entertained us with some piano playing and singing! What a HAM! He's one of the most amazing men I've ever met...love him so much! My mom (Pam) & Emmett...you may also know him as Mark :) Ashley and Savannah Rayne...Corby had to work late tonight - BUMMER! Grandma Pat and Grandpa Al are all smiles for the day! **WARNING*** Three Mischevious Boys At Play! My Cousin Grant & his darling girlfriend My Cousin Brady & his beautiful bride Angie-can't even tell she's preggers, can you? Lookin' good, Ang! Gramps and his children: Todd and Pam (my mom!) Me and My Gramps!

Here's the video...it's CUTE!

Easter 2009

Up for an egg hunt at home by 6:00 (the kids were all awake at some point during the night to let me know the "Easter Bunny WAS HERE!!" - yes, I made them get back in bed!!), church at 8:30, then brunch with Grandma Pam and Emmett at Granite City ~ yes, we waited in line for over an hour, BUT the food was DELICIOUS!! After brunch we had an egg hunt at Gma Pam's, followed by a trip to Gma Joey's (in West Fargo) for baskets and to pick her up to go see the HARLEM GLOBETROTTERS at the FargoDome! You can see from the pictures that people were NOT happy at this point...lack of sleep and crashing after multiple sugar rushes can take their toll! However, we DID get our second winds at the game - it was VERY FUN - and then back to Gma Joeys for a DELICIOUS supper! There was even a fruit basket! As soon as we walked into our door at 7:30 that night, the kids were strippin' down to get their jammies on (they all got a pair from the Easter Bunny!) and I put them STRAIGHT into bed....along with ChadSo, it was a lot, but the kids had a TON of FUN! Savannah kept saying, "Christ is Risen" and the boys would answer, "He has Risen INDEED!"...at least they got the true message of the day in all the hooplah!

Sweet Treat

We got a special suprise today from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Al!! They brought us TWO...count 'em TWO home made apple pies AND shells from the Gulf of Mexico AND bubbles from Texas!! HOW SWEET ARE THEY!?! The kids especially love it because it's the ONLY time when they get home made baked goods...yes, I'm a TERRIBLE mommy because I do NOT bake...no big secret.

Thanks SO MUCH Grandma and Grandpa...we are so BLESSED to have you in our lives! Love you!

Hippity~Hoppity Easter's On It's Way!!

Saturday April 11th, 2009
Well, it's that time of year again! Easter is here; however, the Easter Bunny is not going to be able to hide eggs outside AGAIN this year! The ground is VERY wet, and we still have SNOW! The kids and I had fun decorating those eggs though...you know, we've NEVER gotten around to EATING them!

Did you know that some of the egg dying kits don't work if your eggs are COLD!?! For pete's sake! We couldn't dye them last night because they were too hot from boiling them, the kids have been waiting ALL MORNING to do this and then I read on the box about them not being able to be cold AFTER pulling them out of the FRIDGE!!? So...out comes the hair dryer!
We're READY mom...as soon as you put that CAMERA down!!
"Do you like THIS ONE, mom?? I'm going to make it 'stripey'!!" Aiden spent a lot of time this year diligently and patiently PAINTING his eggs rather than just dumping them in the cups...AWESOME JOB BUDDY!

Parker likes to get CRAFTY! His creativity amazes me!!

Savannah loves GREEN this year...and smiley faces...

Our finished product!! HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!

Bowlin', Bowlin, Bowlin'!

Saturday April 11th, 2009

Another season of bowling has come and gone for these three boys! They started on the Jr. League together last year and had so much fun they just HAD TO be together again this year...together they make up the "X-Wing Fighters" (last year they were the Mighy Cheetah's)!! My mom and Emmett pick up Parker and Nicholas (who lives next door) every Saturday morning at 8:15 for this fun event and we can't thank them enough. This was my mother's brain child, and the boys have SO MUCH fun together - they are also enjoyable to listen to I hear! Lookin' good, Bubba! Parker increased his average this year and was also listed in THE PAPER for having a 426 series (ummm...I think this means that was the total of his three games for the day!).
STEEEEE-RIKE!!

Nicholas, Parker and Austin...what a crew! Good job guys, we are proud of you!!

In Honor of Grams...

My Grandpa Orris used Grams' memorial money to purchase new robes for our church choir. To be honest, I think the choir has used the same robes since I was a baby! These robes are special for many reasons (in addition to the fact that they honor my Grams!): 1. My Grams LOVED music - I have so many memories of her singing (in her almost tenor voice) and dancing...man, could my grams and gramps DANCE! 2. Her favorite color was blue (she was a Detroit Lions fan ALL THE WAY...see the color scheme of the robes?!) - although her favorite color to WEAR was red I recently learned! 3. If you look closely at the cross on the robes, you can see that it is actually a CELTIC cross - the circle behind the cross is a symbol of two things: the sun that the ancient Druids worshipped, and the circle of eternity - the endlessness of God's love. I'm sure you are all aware that my Grams was VERY Irish.

Anyway, last week the choir preformed a contata church service (that's where, for the most part, the entire service is sung - besides the readings of course!) and they wore these robes for the very first time. It was breathtaking...I spent lots of time trying to hold back my tears. I'm sure my Grams was quite proud that day...humming along....as she listened, from her place in heaven, to her daughter (pictured) sing her heart out in these BEAUTIFUL new robes!!

Is It Summer YET!?!?

One day last week, the kids and I had a little time to kill before going to see the Monsters vs. Aliens movie (in 3D!), so we stopped into KOHL's to see Grandma Joey. I know she likes it when I bring them in so she can "show them off" to her co-workers and I hadn't done that in a while! As we were headed back to the office area, Savannah spotted the SWIMSUITS....oh dear! Of course she "LOVED" almost ALL of them and of COURSE grandma let her pick TWO out (we "need" to have one for home and one that stays at daycare, you know - wink!). As soon as we got home from the movie she had this baby on and actually asked me to take her picture (suprised? Nope, me either). Since then, she's worn it almost daily after coming home from daycare!
I even got ruffles on my butt!
And MOM...look at this CUTE flower!!
THANKS GRANDMA JOEY!
I'm sure you'll be seeing pics of the other suit on here soon...it has MONKEYS on it!

Mr. Tie-Dye

This fun shirt was made by Aiden in his kindergarten class last week! He brought home a bag full of rubber bands the week before - he and I sat down and bunched up & banded the shirt - and sent it back to class. Can you IMAGINE having 24 kindergarteners running around with buckets full of dyed water!?! Ummm...again, I'm SO THANKFUL for those who can teach!! Lord knows I never could!

"Dentist Girl"

Saturday April 4th, 2009

Today Savannah woke up and dressed herself in this outfit. She came into my room and said, "Today am a DENTIST GIRL in this shirt and my name is Nikki". For the rest of the day she proceeded to clean our teeth, give us flouride treatments, pretended to wear a mask and INSISTED we call her Nikki....oh what fun!

Fun with Friends

During our second blizzard last week Tuesday, we had the neighbor boys over to play!

Parker and Nicholas playing DS

Savannah and Benny are ready to BOWL!

Aiden and Benny setting up the pins after a roll
What a HAM!
Then they switched to Martian Madness (as the wind and snow were whipping at the windows!!)

Savannah found mom's boots...