A Happy 32nd Birthday.

My birthday spanned two days this year. I just realized I loaded the pictures in the wrong order, so get ready for me to skip around a bit. Skipping is fun!


On my actual birthday, I woke up, got the girls ready and off to school and opened a couple of cards and the package Melanie sent me. I love birthday mail! I love getting mail any day. The package arrived at least a full week early, but it had "do not open until your birthday" written on all sides of the box, so I obeyed.

This adorable apron was inside the box! It's perfect! When Mel called me a little bit later to wish me a happy birthday, she asked if I got the present. She told me that when she saw it, my name was written all over it. I concurred!


After I got all cleaned up, dressed and ready for the day, my visiting teachers dropped by with some beautiful freshly picked roses and a plate of cookies. Two of the things I love the most!
(Well, flowers and treats in general.)

By then, I had less than two hours before Ryan had to leave for work, so he was kind enough to keep Oliver at home so I could run off and do my own thing for a bit. I went to Target and Ross just to look around at stuff. I love what I find when I'm in my zone, just happy and wandering around.


I found this Beatles mug at Ross. Just for me. Only $3.99. I couldn't "help" but help myself.

It turned out that my sister, Erin, found this mug for me at another Ross location. It's so nice having an extra pair of eyes at stores around town. =)


I found and adopted these cute Halloween sprinkles at Target. And to think I almost missed them! They were in the $1 section up front and I only went over there as an afterthought on my way out. Bingo! Just what I needed to amp up the birthday cheer.

I came home, Ryan went to work and Ollie went down for a nap. Actually, I think I took part of a nap with him. Then I got up and enjoyed the silence for a while before the girls came home. I love my quiet afternoons!

At about 5:00, I drove the kids over to Ryan's parents' for a little fairy party they had been planning with Grandma Shirley. From what I heard after the fact, they all dressed up pretty and played fun games and ate and such. Oliver played with Grandpa so I could go out with Renee. The girls spent the night over there, but Ryan picked Ollie up after work and took him home.

Renee and I went to see Gavin (my brother) doing stand-up comedy at the Bull's Head Pub. He was quite funny! I don't know how people do that! So much to memorize - and delivery is key! He was opening for a friend of his, Heath Harmison, who was also very amusing. Megan (my little sister) was also there, operating the video camera for them. Renee and I shared some spinach artichoke dip and split a French dip sandwich. I guess we were in the mood for dip. The food was not my favorite. It was a very fun night. After the comedy, we stayed for a bit to support the Dueling Pianos. It wasn't just pianos- they also sang and there was a drummer, who happened to be a former Capital High student. I think he was a year or two my junior. We didn't expect that the drummer would be their best singer, but he was. I was very impressed! They took requests for a while, then we decided to take off. We went back to Renee's, where her husband was playing poker with his buddies. Renee and I slipped outside for a little walking and talking. It was getting late, and I'm getting old, so we called it a night and I headed home. It was such a fun time while it lasted!



Alrighty then. This is where I messed up the photo chronology. And I like order so much, too...

Ryan had previously arranged to have some friends and family come over to my parents' house for cake the evening before my birthday.

Earlier that day I was watching my very good friend, Becky, get a beautiful tattoo of flowers and a butterfly installed on her leg. The artist prodded at me a bit, wondering why I didn't want to get a tattoo. I just said I've never wanted one. By the time I had to leave, he had dropped the idea of persuading me to get one and suggested I could get some "stuff" pierced. "Stuff?", I asked. He told me I should get my nipples pierced - that my husband would like that. Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's one of the things he's always wanted but was afraid to ask!

Anyway, Becky was telling me that since she needed to go back into work after the tattoo was finished that she probably wouldn't be able to make it to my party. Uh... what party? She thought Ryan had told me by then. Not so much. =) She said she had asked him if it was intended to be a surprise, and he hadn't acted like it.

Fast forward to that night >> After dinner at home, Ryan announced that we were all heading to my party! What a surprise! ;) We went to my mom's for a yummy cake Ryan had fashioned solely out of mint chocolate chip ice cream and crushed Oreos. So fresh!

I was so excited to have Maria and Renee show up! I didn't know what or whom to expect! So all together it was my parents, my grandma, Gavin, Maren & Maisie, Megan & Fletcher and, of course, Ryan and the kidlets.


It's either her 311th or her 32nd birthday. Based on her posture, I can't tell which.


Little Maisie brought a few party hats to help heighten the excitement.



That's the back of Maria's head sitting on the recliner. (Her body was also sitting on the recliner, and was/is presently connected to her head. ) From left: My mom, Renee, Megan, Maisie, Gavin, Maren, Me, Jane. Backs to the camera: Cora and Ollie. Fletcher also pictured in right-hand corner. Not pictured: Grandma and my step-dad, Brad. What a nice little gathering of people I love to be with.


Ryan and the kids made this fun poster for me. They worked so hard on it. He plowed through my whole collection of pictures weeks ahead of time and ordered many of them for this top secret project. The best part? Whenever I croak, they already have a collage handy to display at my funeral!



Here's some material evidence of my birthday.

The sweet cards from loved ones near and far...


My friends know me too well. Renee gave me a cute bracelet, along with a sampling of one of my favorite kinds of candy. I don't get why people don't like Circus Peanuts. Pure sugar (and cute in shape and color!) with a perfect melt-in-your-face texture. What's not to love?

Maria gave me this cute Halloween plaque (is she calling me a witch?) ... and more Circus Peanuts! What a fun treat. Anyone who knows me knows no gift is complete without candy. :)
Yeehaw!


Maren, Gavin and Maisie gave me bacon scented lip balm, Turkish Delight (I'll have to try it while watching "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"!) and Tabasco Brand spicy chocolate. I need to give that a taste, and I'm wondering what would happen if I wore a heavy application of the Bacon Balm to choir this week. Yummy!

My parents gave me a card promising lunch or dinner out at our soonest convenience. (They took Ryan and me out to lunch at Mongolian BBQ the Monday following my B-day). Lastly, my Grandma Pinney gave me a nice card with some money for a treat.

Oh, and Ryan is "letting" me go get my hair colored and trimmed up as my present from him, if I ever decide where and when to make my appointment.

It was a happy birthday, and the treats and fun were plentiful. Another year down the drain. I mean that in the most optimistic way...

"Oh, it's a jolly 'oliday with (Ollie)..."

Since the girls are back in school I have oodles of time with Oliver. He's such a fun little buddy to have. The enthusiasm he freely exhibits for the world around him makes me smile. He's often pointing at things, squealing, "Mom, look!" Almost every day we go throw rocks in the river or canal. He loves it. When he asks for something, (like sprinkles for breakfast) and I say no, he musters his sweetest voice and most innocent eyes and questions, "why?" It's hard for me to not give in when he does this. It's just so stinking cute. Luckily, after I've explained why I've denied him permission to do something, I can usually divert his attention by talking about what other fun thing we can do instead.

I just wanted to post a variety of Ollie pics that summarize the last few weeks.

Trying on Daddy's sandals.

They almost fit!


Cheeseball



It's crazy how much his hair has grown in just a few weeks. Love his sweet face.



Reaching for the camera. He gets a kick out of taking pictures. But he usually has his fingers covering the lens or he's taking an extreme close-up of himself.



I told him to smile. He was more than happy to. :)


Lately, he has been obsessed with soap. He loves working his hands into a crazy lather.


He even got some on his shoulder. He's very thorough!





I can't believe my baby will be 3 next month! He's growing up too fast! But I love hearing what he has to say, now that he's been talking more and more. He just suddenly started speaking in complete, longish sentences. Not too long ago it was just sentence fragments. Whenever he sees me or anyone doing anything, he eagerly yells, "me try!" He's a very happy guy and I love him to pieces!

Slow Down, September! I Haven't Even Finished Telling About August!

I don't know where the gee golly time has been going the last few weeks! I can't keep up with everything.

August was rather busy. It was brimming with birthdays and friends and family and movies and parks and swimming and getting ready for school.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Jane turned a whopping 7 years old. On August 6th, two days after her birthday, we had one of Jane's friends and one of Cora's friends over for a little slumber party. The other two favorite friends Jane wanted to have come were out of town that weekend. I was just fine with that. =) I thought Jane would be a boob about the fact that only Maya could come, but it turned out the girls were pretty pumped just to have a friend each stay the night. They had pizza for dinner and I made mini cupcakes for them to decorate. They had a swell time doing that.

The girls watched a movie and played for a while before I steered them toward settling down for sleepy time. They were good and had a fun time.


Moving on to something else...


My sister Erin gave me an early birthday present while at Sunday dinner at my mom's house. What a fun surprise!

It's my very own beach towel! I don't think I've ever had my own personal beach towel. And she couldn't have found a more awesome one. Not that she was looking for a towel. She just saw it one day at the mall and thought of me and got it. She gave it to me about a month before my birthday so I could actually use it before summer was over. What a nice, thoughtful sister I have!

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Between Jane's and Cora's birthdays (they are 2 weeks apart), Erin made little cupcake bouquets for them. She got cute little buckets and fastened curly ribbons to the edges, made mini cupcakes, piped roses onto them and beautifully arranged them. Cora and Jane loved them!
So did I!


I wasn't fast enough with the camera. Both girls grabbed the middle cupcake out of her respective bouquet and devoured it before I got a decent shot of them.

Imagine how darling it looked with the center cupcake.

Whoops. Got the pictures out of order.


Just looking at it gave her a sugar rush.

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On Monday, August 16th, (the day after we returned home from Pocatello) the kids and I went "boating" at Black Canyon Reservoir with some of Ryan's family. Ryan was at work. Some of the gang went for a spin on the boat, which belongs to Ryan's parents. When it was our turn, we all climbed in and sat with anticipation as Shirley turned the key, which should have started the boat. Well, it didn't. She tried a few more times, to no avail. The battery just didn't have enough juice. They had to ask another guy with a boat for a jump start. He obliged. It took a bit to get it started that way, then it died out again as we were idling away from the dock. It was getting dark by then, so that was that. So much for Ollie's first boat ride.


Before the anticlimactic "boat ride", we had some fun in the sand and water.
Here's Jane in an ill-fitting hand-me-down suit.

Jane, Cora and cousin Malory.



Ollie making tracks in the shoreline.


Ollie and cousin Royce.


Cora made a mermaid out of Malory.



Then Cora and Malory made a tail for me. If that has ever been done to me before, I have no recollection of it.


I wish I could ever decide on some sunglasses. All the squinting I do is going to come back to haunt me one of these days.




The sunset from the motionless boat.

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Cora's 9th birthday was on the 19th. In the morning we went to Build-A-Bear. She chose the black bear with neon smiley faces and peace signs.

Later that afternoon, we went to Roaring Springs for our first time! That's what she really wanted to do, so Shirley treated us. My mom met us there with Fletcher. I also arranged for my friend Rachel to come and bring her girls since they'd been wanting to go all summer. Malory came, of course. Ryan's brother's kids were there, too. And Ryan's sister Bethany and little Royce. We had lots of fun. Sadly, no pictures...

When Roaring Springs closed, we met over at Ryan's parents' for pizza and donuts. Ryan worked during the day, but got off in time to stop in for the post-swimming celebration. Most everyone who was there at the water park couldn't stay for treats, so it was just Shirley, Malory, Ryan, Cora, Jane and Ollie for that. Cora didn't complain.

Earlier in the week, Jane and I had gone shopping for Cora's present. We got her a really cute Webkinz owl. She loved it. We also gave her a "how-to-draw-this-and-that" book. She is quite good at drawing, especially animals and fairies.

"Happy Birthday dear Cora. Happy Birthday to you!"


(I did not buy Jane a bikini. I do not condone bikinis for little girls. Shirley bought it out of desperation one time for her when they were going swimming at the Y and she didn't want to drive to our house to get their suits. This was apparently the only suit at the store in Jane's size. It did, in Shirley's defense, come with an overshirt, which is typically nowhere to be found. Anyway, this particular swimsuit is usually left at Shirley's for such occasions.)

In our hurry to get out the door and over to Shirley's, Jane forgot to bring her one-piece suit. We didn't realize this until we were almost ready to leave Shirley's for Roaring Springs. She'd been fiddling around with stuff at home and somehow missed my telling her to get ready to go. She knew where we were going, so I thought maybe she'd come prepared with swimming attire. That's what I get for assuming. Anyway, she would have been out of luck if that bikini hadn't been left at grandma's house. It was better than nothing. I guess.



No, Ollie isn't wearing a half shirt.

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Another thing I did in August was jog. I don't do it as much as I think I should, or for as long as I can, but at least it keeps me moving when I do.

Becky gave me her castoff ipod shuffle. Someone had given it to her, but she wanted a better ipod that would hold more music and would allow for organized playlists. I am content with randomness, so I was glad to accept her offering. I love free stuff! Thanks, Becky!

I have lots of good tunes on there now. And it helps SO much to listen to music when running. I find myself focusing on the songs instead of the steps I'm taking. I skip past some songs that make me want to lie down rather than exercise, but other than that I like not knowing what song is next. Each track is like a fun little surprise.

Erin found these adorable cupcake earbuds and gave me a pair a while back. They're not easy to run with because they keep falling out.


I switched over to these cute M&M ones for when I'm jogging. I doubt I will ever be taken seriously as a runner as long as I have cupcakes and candy coming out of my ears!

I wonder if they make candy corn earbuds... =D


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Seems like every time I load the pictures onto my computer, I find some that Cora or Jane took of their toys or their beloved hamsters.


I think Jane added a little too much bedding. I bet they love it that deep. It's like their own personal ball pit. Except it's shredded bedding and not balls.

Jane set up a teddy bear tea party and took pictures to prove it.


Here the little buggers are surfing the net.


And again with my netbook in a high chair of all places. Just because it's a small computer doesn't mean it's for babies.

I like how she set up the whole "desk". =)


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Tuesday, the 24th, was the first night of University Singers. I loved it! I will expound more on that later.

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The next morning was the girls' first day of school! In some ways I didn't want to believe it was that time already. But in other ways felt like it was perfect timing. I think school is good for everyone. So far, they are liking it. They are happy with their teachers and they like their pals. They are telling me they don't want to move. We've been slowly looking into buying our first home, and there just doesn't seem to be much around here with more than 3 bedrooms within our desired price range. We shall see, girls. We shall see.

After school, Cora had piano lessons. Those are taught by Ryan's sister at Shirley's house because she has a piano. After that, we had some dinner that Shirley made and decided to go with her to play at Ann Morrison Park. It was a very warm day.



We strategically remembered to bring swimsuits so the kids could get wet in the fountain.


We brought bikes for everyone; except me, because I don't have one.

A classic portrayal of the sisterly adoration Cora and Jane possess. Oh, how they love sharing times like these together!


Gorgeous blooms near the fountain.



I don't know why these snapshots turned out so hazy. Maybe it's a fog from all the goose poop strewn about on the ground.




I couldn't decide on just one or two pictures of the rainbow in the fountain. I just loved them all! I'd never seen a nearly full rainbow in the fountain spray before. I was in awe.

I like how there's a slice out of the rainbow where the water isn't.





Kinda looks like the water is coming out of my head!



After we were done at the fountain, we let the kids play at the playground a while.


Cora was off in her own little world on this bouncy duck.


I sure hope that's all I have to say about August, because I'm tired. Now I'm only half as behind as I was on my posts! Something like that.