Gone Fishin'

GUEST POST BY DADDY: Ahhh, the glorious Snyder family pastime...NOT! For those that know me, fishing ain't my gig. I don't like fish, I don't eat fish, and I definitely DO NOT touch fish. I don't even like to swim around fish, they do their thing, and I do mine. I've lived the better part of the past 20 years by these rules and all was good in both our worlds...then came "the derby". Our community had a fishing derby for kids, and being that I love to do new things with my kids, I figured this would be fun. I mentioned it to my kids on a Tuesday, and they asked me twice a day every day until Saturday "Is today the day we go fishing?" or "How many sleeps till we go fishing?"

Very cute, and I thought deep in my heart that given my affliction for fish, I'd be able to put all that aside and help the kids fish. The day couldn't have been better, beautiful sunshine, no wind, nice and warm, but not too hot. We got to the park, borrowed our pole and they had bait and everything all set up (marshmellow bait, nice, no worms, that's another blog). Emery and Ty took turns "fishing" for about a half hour before we switched spots. They got tired and bored and started playing in the water, so I was left to cast and reel my way to a fish. After all, I promised them we would catch at least one (they dumped 3500 fish in the two ponds, we had to catch at LEAST one!)

So I sat there for the better part of another half hour sometimes holding my own, others looking like the captain of the reject fishing team (a couple casts even hit my feet). Just as the kids (and Dad) were about to give up (I just lost the little bobbler that keeps the line floating) our luck changed. FISH ON!!! Emery and Ty came running over, Ty did his work first, reeling in this giant monster of a fish as it was thrashing and jumping in and out of the water, and then he got tired, so big sister Emery came on and she reeled it in the rest of the way. The little girl did so well, even brought it up out of the water and everything.

Now for the fun part, Uncle Bob if you are reading this please keep the pink gloves and dress comments quiet. I REALLY don't like fish, and it's not just eating them, it's touching them. But all day I convinced myself I was cool, it's a small little trout, no teeth, no barbs to sting you, etc. I could handle it. Well when that beast of a fish looked me in the eye, something happened. All my positive thinking of "sure, I can take the fish off the hook" went out the window and no matter what, I couldn't bring myself to grab the darn thing! Luckily Ty had found some needlenose pliers on the shore and with those, and my foot, I was able to get the hook out of the fishes mouth, push the fish back into the water (I sure as HECK wasn't going to take it home and clean it) and we finished our fishing saga. See Uncle Bob, I didn't even need your stinkin gloves this time ;)

So that's that, my kids first fishing experience in the book. Will they remember the long morning of cast after cast without a bite? Not hardly. Will they remember all the times the line bobbed and they reeled it in only to find another bait theft had occured? Nope. They will remember a fun time playing down by the river with dad, and the fish they caught and got to reel in all by themselves. I think that's what I choose to remember too, 10 years from now does it matter how the fish got off the hook?

Here's hoping (and praying) that they learn to grab the fish by next year's derby!

Emery Layouts.

Just posting a couple more layouts I just did. Had lots on my desk to get done, weddings, birth announcements and design team stuff. Today will be toilets and laundry. Joy!

Wild Hair Boy

I just did took these pictures and designed this page today. Ty's not letting us cut his hair. Says he wants to grow it out. I personally think the little surfer boy hair cut would be cute on him...but the grow out would not be so fun. Especially since his hair sticks out everywhere. This 'do however was helped along with some hairspray. He loved it! (the product on the page is all Fancy Pants in this months Daisy Bucket Kit)

Going for a ride.

Just a quick picture of some play time around the house. And a funny story I have been meaning to share.

The other day Ty and Emery were in the back yard with some of their books "reading" them together. Mike pulls up from work and Ty comes running into the front yard very excited to share something with his dad. "Daddy, guess what were doing?" "What buddy" "We're having bible study". Aww...isnt that sweet Mike thinks, one second later Ty says; "And we're having beer!". Too funny, pretty sure Ty hasnt seen our bible study group throwing down beer. But funny none the less.

Email Problems

It has been brought to my attention that something isnt right with one of my email accounts.
If you have emailed me at my go-cougs.com account, I have not recieved it for probably a few weeks. Hence, no replies! Sorry. So if you want go ahead and email me at shannon@definingdetails.com that would be great, and I promise to reply.


Oh, this weekend was fun, but I came home with the stomach flu! Gross.

I'm out of here.

Im leaving my husband in a few hours with 3 sick kids for the whole weekend! Yes, I have a tad bit of guilt about leaving sickies...but Mike assures me it's no big deal! (and his mom is even out of town;) So I must go. Im heading towards Bend with a bunch of ladies from MOPS! Yeah! Hopefully when I get back the ear infections, colds and "pink eye" will be cleared up. As far as the pink eye goes, Dr. Mom has a feeling it really isnt pink eye but their treating it as if it might be. A nasty virus is going around our group of friends and one of the main symptoms besides a cold is icky eyes. Lovely!

Well, off I go. I leave you with this layout I did of Emery titled "Sad, but loved"

Journaling Reads:

Sad...because you fell off the jet ski trailer and got hurt.

Sad...because mommy is giving you no sympathy after several warnings not to play on it.

Sad...because I am taking this picture of you.

Sad...But loved enough for mom to tickle your belly to make you feel better.

Sad...But still beautiful.

Getting serious on you about immigration.

Yeah, honestly I dont know much about the subject, about the uproar, about what's going on right now. And I'll tell you why. I like to keep myself ignorant like a good woman should. JUST KIDDING!! (lisa I can see your hairs stand up right now ;) No, the real reason I dont know alot about the immigration issues in the news right now if because, I dont watch the news. One, I dont have time, and two...it makes me worry and stress about the future and I would rather Live in the Day you know?
Okay, with that all being said...I did however want to share with you a response Mike wrote to an aquantaince of his who emailed him a rather shocking opinion about immigrants.
I was very proud of my husband for speaking his mind to this guy that assumes because we are Christians and usually conservative on issues, that we would remotely be interested in his opinion. I wont share Jack's whole email (yes, I changed his name). But here is one quote from Jack that shocked me;
"I am of the opinion that we need to "mistreat" the illegal immigrants who are in this country, and make their capture and detainment so horrible that when we drop them out of parachutes into their homeland that they will have no desire to ever come back to this country, for fear of losing their life, and for the social contempt they will find if they dare to return."

And here is Mikes Response:
____________________________________________________
Jack, we don't see eye to eye on a lot of this stuff, so I normally don't respond, but this kind of made me sad to know this is how you think of other people.

Let's keep in mind, as history is clearly written, we are all immigrants here. None of our families were started in America, we came here, kicked the natives out, and took over. America is made up of people from all over the world, and I believe it's the one place, even though flawed, where a person has the greatest opportunity in life.
This is the only country were Christianity is so freely expressed and followed, without fear of prosecution or even worse in some cases.
Jesus clearly states in the Bible that "whatever you have done for the least of these, you have done for me". With that in mind, if Jesus were to come back to America today, do you think he would consider immigrants less than us? What gives us the right as Americans to say we are better than anyone? Have we become so arrogant that we now think we are the superior race or country? We are talking about human beings, ones that are loved by God, and ones that are looking for a place to call home, just like our forefathers did way back when. We ran from persecution for freedom of religion and freedom in general, and we fought together, as immigrants of this land, to make it our own. I don't understand how you can consider people from a different country lesser than yourself?
Paul teaches us that we are to consider others greater than ourselves.
If that is applied to everything in life, as God meant it to be, then I would say that we are to love these people and think of them greater than ourselves, to build each other up, and to spread the word of God to everyone.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love. It protects, trusts and hopes...that is why these people you speak of are coming here, for hope. After reading your email, you have taken a very strong stance against people and have taken verses out of context to support your position.

1 Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

That is speaking directly to your immediate family, not just those "in your house". So by your rationale in your reply, everyone not in your immediate family, or your house, would be considered infidels or unbelievers. That would include me and everyone else in America right now. Mexicans are not infidels or unbelievers, they are men and women just like us.

Now I realize that some are coming into the country illegally, but is that any worse than the ones we have here, "Americans" if you will, that are breaking the law every day? We have so much focus lately on "those that don't belong" but I would much rather take a Mexican worker that is coming here to earn an honest living and support his family over some idiot that was born here that is slinging cocaine to our kids. Our what about the child predators that our out there, great Americans themselves, right?

I don't know who this Lamm guy is, but if that is what he truly believes, than I believe he is an egotistical, ethnocentric, self-centered idiot who would make Hitler proud! We should all have one culture, and not celebrate our own? If having multiple cultures is going to destroy America, then I say let it happen. Because I don't want to be a part of any country that doesn't celebrate differences, or freedom!

Culture:
The totality of socially transmitted behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought.

Culture is not just what you do in your own country, it's what you do as a person, as a family, etc. Behavior patterns, arts, beliefs, and all other products of thought. The way you practice your belief in God is culture Jack. Whether you open your Christmas presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas is culture. The music you enjoy listening to is culture. It's ALL culture, so to actually say that we need to discourage multi-culturism is to say we all need to be the same. We need to believe the same thing, do the same thing, live the same way, etc. That is not freedom, it's fascism (A system of government marked by centralization of authority under a dictator, stringent socioeconomic controls, suppression of the opposition through terror and censorship, and typically a policy of belligerent nationalism and racism.)

I love your passion brother, but I am feeling it's misguided. Don't fall into the traps of guys like this, they are spreading un-Christian ideals and thoughts, and it's not becoming of any of us. Jesus spent his entire life here teaching us to LOVE each other, and then in the greatest act of love he died a brutal death for you, for me, and for the Mexicans. Remember, whatever you do to the least of those (in your
mind) you are doing to Christ. Don't let this hype destroy what God is doing in your life, don't consider yourself better then someone else just because they are from a different place. We all came from different places, if anyone should be pissed it's the Native Americans that now live in tiny "camps" across this country!

If you remove all your biases and prejudices regarding this issue, pray about it, and honestly think about the answer to this question, what would your answer be?

Would Jesus kick them out?

Mike
For those of you who want to read what the original email was about here's a link.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/lamm.asp

Little Fire Fighters

Took a trip to the fire station today with some friends. The kids all had fun in the big truck. Although were a bit shaken when the siren went off. Ty was a little stinker and knew momma was trying to get some good pics, so he refused to join the group for the last shot.

Having a Book Party!

I love children's books. My friend Nicole is now selling Usborne books. They are awesome for kids of all ages. Im having a party here tonight for her, but if you want to check out the books and order some she set up an On-Line party. Go to this link to check them out;

USBORNE BOOKS

They have the cutest Princess and fairy books.

A Girlfriend, A Skirt, Sore Gums, Eating Crow and a Tired Man

He: As we are getting out of the van at church yesterday, the little man said to me "mommy, maybe my girlfriend will be there today"...me, "who's your girlfriend?"...he, "the little girl that always plays with me.".
Too cute, still trying to figure out who she is though.

She: Can't stop wearing the new skirt and sandals she got. She loves summer clothes

She: Has a mouth full of teeth coming in. Cranky, snotty baby.

Me: Long Story Short; was upset about a client that stopped communications after recieving my long awaited "Henna" designs. Jumped to the conclusion that she was having them knocked off, or didnt like them and didnt want to tell me so. Oops...she was in the hospital, has some serious health problems. I'm feeling stupid. (although she doesnt know I jumped to conclusions, she thought I was just being patient.)

He: Always working on some sort of project around here...digging sprinklers, building trailers, making play forts. He's asleep on the couch right now.

Happy May Day!

A Sigh of Relief!

Okay, Mops is over for the month. I can now take a deep breath and dive into Invitations!!!!
My talk went okay I think. I am glad it is over. There was a small crowd this month so that was nice and a little more relaxed. My talk was titled "Dreaming while Mothering". It pretty much just was about how as mothers of small children we need to make sure not to shelve our own dreams and aspirations completely. To try to focus, if not for a small time each week on our own dreams, hobbies, goals etc. Although our mothering time takes up the bulk of it, if we forget about our own personal growth, then when the kiddos are gone in 18 years we can end up lost saying what's next. I talked a bit about my hobbies, and goals for each of them. And how those goals will continue to evolve with each stage my family goes through; pre-school years, school years and then empty nest. I hope I was encouraging for some women that don't feel like they have time for their own thing. I also talked about the GUILT that comes along with Motherhood and how I suffer from that every time I want to take a day away from the kids to go scrapbook, or every time I have a night filled with meetings with Brides. But how believing the guilt is legitimate is not always believing the truth. (something my mom recently taught me).
Anyways, now that that is over...on with working on my dream to be a world famous invitation designer (ha!).
Time you ask?? How do I have time for that. Well, this is how. My children have left me. No longer do they want to live in this house. They have informed me that they are staying with Grandma for 4 weeks. Last night I returned from my meeting to an almost empty house. Mike was home and Piper was asleep, but Emery and Ty were staying at grandma's! Wow, a new thing. We thought we might get a call from Ty saying he wanted to come home. But nope! I saw them for a few brief moments at Mops and then they were off to grandma's again, claiming they were staying for 4 weeks. Grandma says maybe one more night and then she'll be done! I think the waking up at 6am is enough for anyone.

Evidence of being spoiled by grandma and finally passing out at 9:30 pm

Over Committed? Maybe...

It is one of those weeks were I feel like I might be a bit over committed. I haven't been sleeping well, which is usually a sign that I am stressed about something. Could be the wedding designs due this week; the final orders due this week; the speech, newsletter and auction I have to prepare for MOPS tomorrow; the meeting I have tonight for a Women's retreat at church (oh by the way honey, I have a meeting tonight)...and add in the day to day stuff. Could be? Not sure I would function well without being so busy. Some how I seem to throw in some loads of laundry and get the family fed. The dusting however, does not get done. It's been a nice break this morning since Mike took Ty to work with him and Emery has pre-school. As I type this ,Mike calls and says Ty's attention span has just ran out and he wants to come home. We'll see how Emery does later this afternoon at daddy's work.

Anyway, I best leave and get my list done. Did I mention I have a speech to prepare...Okay, maybe Im a bit nervous. More on that in another post.

Just wanted to share some pictures of the work I am doing right now. I love orange! And Pips now that she is wearing her hair back. She hates it when mommy pulls her hair back...but she's so cute!

Here are the Easter Pics Mom.

Survivor!

Mike would win this hands down!

Suggestion for the next "Survivor" Series
Six married men will be dropped on an island for six weeks; each manwill have one car and 3 kids.
Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food. Each man must takecare of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework,complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend"bills with not enough money. In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week. Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives,and send cards out on time. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for school functions, find babysitters for one grown-up" event per month,and each December "make Christmas happen". Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a haircut appointment! He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care(weekend, evening, on a holiday or right when they're about to leave for vacation). They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spend the remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot until they are better, remembering to send in absentee information to school and get homework assignments. Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house,planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times. The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep, kitchen cleaned up and all chores, including laundry, are done.
There is only one TV among them, and a remote with dead batteries. Each Father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid song that comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.
The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, which they will applyto themselves either while driving or making three lunches. Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep their nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try to get through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties. They must explain what a tampon is when the 6-yr old boy finds it around.
Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, a tortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas. They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at leastonce to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.
He will need to read a book and then pray with the children each night without falling asleep, and then feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair each morning by 7:00. They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name and phone number. He also must know each child's weight at birth, length,time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.
Each father must have a loving, age appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss of me". The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last manwins only if.......he still has enough energy to be intimate with hisspouse at a moment's notice. If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 yrs...eventuall yearning the right to be called Mother!

Going On An Egg Hunt.

Here is a few of our Easter Egg hunt in the back yard. The kids kept asking when the Eggs would fall out of the sky. If you've seen Veggie Tales "The Easter Story" you'll know what they mean by falling out of the sky. Cassandra and Kenzi came over from next door while the kids were watching a movie and hid the eggs for me. The kids didn't have a clue. Next time they looked outside they saw that the eggs had fallen in our back yard!

Emery ran around crazy trying to get as many eggs in her basket. Ty on the other hand had to open each egg he found to see what was in it, before moving on to the next egg.

I'll have to post a picture of all of all the kids together in Easter Best. I took those on my film camera.

On The Move

Click on pictures to enlarge and read captions.

A Girl in a Red Hat

This one is for Angela...to make you laugh.
The hat I wore to a "Red Hat Party" for my friend Terri who turned 50.
I chose the "sassy cowgirl" hat as opposed to the "ladies who lunch" red hat.
Thanks for the pictures Cassandra.

Ava Kay

Congratulations to our dear friends Chris and Leslie on their newest arrival. And to big sister Maggie Jean. Ava's adorable, looks just like her daddy! But then again I remember Maggie looking alot like Chris too. Cant believe I missed seeing her by two days. Hope to see you all soon, and snuggle with this chubby little bundle of joy.

It's Official!!!

Time to put up the gate. She's Crawling!!!! Real Crawls!!!! It's adorable, and she's so proud of herself!!! 13.5 months and the girl is finally on the move!!!

My card reader is broken otherwise I would put a picture up. I'll try later! Just wanted to share.

Please remind me...

Please remind me the next time I try to teach Emery how to move her hips perfectly to the beat of a Lauryn Hill song that I am 31, not 21. I think I need hip replacement surgery.

Girls at the Mall

So when the boys were doing their Home Depot project, this is what the girls were doing; at the mall in search of the perfect Easter outfits. No luck at the mall...but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share a Picture Booth Moment with the girls.

School Girl

It's here! And here is Miss Emery on page 21.

Lil' Builder

The first Saturday of every month Home Depot puts on a workshop for little builders. It's Mike and Ty's special time together. This month was a grandparents workshop. Ty had been looking forward to building the Bird House they were advertising. However no one informed the public that the workshop was moved to a town 35 miles away. So after Mike gently complained they gave Ty his first HD apron and a kit to make his very own Tool Box. He was excited. They promply took it over to Grandpa's garage and began the building process. Grandma pulled out an old hammer she found and gave it to Ty. Turns out it was Mike's first hammer. How special. Ty has been carrying it around in his new tool box.

They're Moving...

I just typed this big long post and lost the hole Dang things...so now I am cranky.
This picture was taken just minutes after we stepped out of our van after a weekend in Seattle. Emery informed me that she wanted to live with Grandma and Grandpa "Beach", so they packed up the wagon full of Stuff...Including a dead branch, a sponge bob umbrella and one of Mike's 2x2s. Maybe the 2x2 was because Ty was really missing his daddy, but didn't know how to express that. Mike left last Thursday to San Fran. with our church youth group. They went to Battle Cry. So I decided last minute to head over to my parents house. The kids got some good playing time with Grandma on the beach. Piper, clung to Grandpa all weekend and I got some good Girl time with my girlfriends on Sunday. I met Annie, Jaime, Leah and Molly for lunch. Thanks girls it was fun. Them Molly and I headed off to Paper Source for some "paper shopping". The other ladies opted out of that adventure...not quite as into the love of paper as Mols and I are.

Mike returned on Tuesday so we are back to settling into the normal routine of life. Emery is on Spring Break right, so the real routine starts up again next week. DD is keeping me busy still, but I have delivered 4 weddings. That is the best part of the job...the finished product out the door and off my desk. And the final check of course. Mike and I are now in the process of trying to figure out the best way to organize the financial part of the business. How to track it best, tithe out of it, save some of it...yada yada. So Quicken and I will be spending some serious quality time together entering in 3 months of invoices and receipts. Fun!! Are you proud of me Kristie ;).

Well, I am probably boring you to death now...but just catching up. I'll leave you on a happy note. Piper is ALMOST crawling!!! I think it will be just a few more days! Yeah Pips!

Exciting News At the Daisy Bucket!

After a long time in Planning the girls at theDaisy Bucket have just released their new line of products. You can see them Here.


I Know I have been missing in action for a week. I'll give an update on our world later today when things slow down a bit. Crazy Busy!!! But Happy!

6am

It's just a part of our daily routine. Starts around 6 am with Ty the first one up, and snuggled on my side. Usually, when not taking a picture, I am squished in between Piper and Ty. Then it's Emery or Piper next. Cartoons start at about 7 in the hopes that Mom and Dad can get a few more minutes of shut-eye before we're out of bed around 7:30. I love these moments in the morning, although they are filled with some crankiness; "HOLD STILL...ROLL OVER AND GO BACK TO SLEEP...IT'S NOT MORNING YET!" "But the suns awake mommy."...sweet times. But 7am would be so much better.

Beauty at One

Just sharing another layout from the Daisy Bucket Kit this month.

Just An Update...

I haven't posted in a few days so I thought I would do a general update of things.

~ Piper has gained 9 oz. Huge for her!! We're pretty excited about that. She still hates her physical therapy but they are noticing some progress. More strength in her legs and she's transitioning to her knees better. Still not quite crawling yet...but standing better when we position her.
~ I have finished 3 out of my four weddings that were due this week. The bride for the fourth just got me their final proof so she's not expecting her's till next week! Yeah.
I also had a order for birth announcements due this week and samples for a new wedding. So I hired a friend to do the assembly work for the announcements. She had them back to me the next day. What a huge help that was, I'm hoping to use her more in the near future. Thanks Whit!
~ I got a request for custom samples for a bride in Virginia. Wow, when I asked her where she found my site she said she just did a google search and mine was one that came up. That makes me very happy!! Yeah Google! This should be a fun one. She is marrying a man from Bangladesh, so she wants a suttle Henna design on the invite. Fun, but I'll be hiring Mike for that part of the design.
~ I had Mike who is also my purchasing manager buy me a laser printer. I've been needing one for a while and I finally took the plunge. It should be here next week, I am so hoping it makes my envelope printing go smoother.
~I register Ty for Pre-school next month. I was thinking he would just be in the four year old class for two years since we wont start him in kindergarten til he is six. But I found out he has to be in the 3 year old class because their policy is they have to be Four by September 1st. He'll be Four September 3rd and before the start of school. But that's their policy. Although this will mean he will be in the class with all the kids he will eventually start kindergarten with, I am worried they will only be expecting 3 year old behavior and development out of him. And since he will be four I don't want that. I have been told that many of the boys that are in the 3 year old class are actually 4. We'll see, I think I will still talk it over with the director so I feel better about it.
~ Just to give you an update on the auctions we went to this weekend. The art auction raised over 15,000 for the Education Foundation and the Pie auction raised 5,400 for the youth in our church.

Okay, I think your all updated. Here's a layout of Ty I did for the March Daisy Bucket embellishment kit. A quick and easy one.

Up for Auction

So can you guess which one went for more?

We had two auctions to go to this weekend. The Annual Art Auction which raises money for the Education Foundation in our Town. And our church Pie Auction which raised money for the Youth to go to a Conference in San Francisco later on this month.
The first picture is a picture I took in Santa Fe. I was asked to donate it to the Art Auction. Having never had a photo of mine publicly displayed before, I was a bit nervous. But much relieved to see it went for $80 in the silent auction, and then another $55 for one unframed to a lady who wanted it badly, but was out bid.
The second picture is of a Whopper Pie Mike made for the church auction. It promptly sold for $150. Yup, you read right One Hundred and Fifty dollars Sold to the Highest Bidder!!! Mike's Mom!
So Mike beat me...not that it was a competition or anything ;). They were both for worthy causes. I shall now go dig into the Marionberry pie I bought!

Spring is Coming

Despite the brown grass, my bulbs are starting to come up...and spring training has started for the kids. They each got at least one hit off their pitcher and coach.

(oh, and it's Saturday, so Eme dressed herself...just in case you were wondering.)

The Next Generation...

...has no idea what a "tape" player is really for. Here's proof;