Can't believe he is 14!

Our oldest grandbaby turns 14 today! It doesn't seem real at times. I'm not that old! lol! He was born in California and I will never forget getting the phone call from Ryan just before midnight that he was born!The day they moved up here was one of the best days of our lives. I remember them getting out of the car and I instantly fell in love with Andrew! Here he is meeting his papa.... and they've been buddies ever since....
Andrew is so kind, compassionate, loving, sensitive, and sweet. He is funny with a great sense of humor. He has very strong emotions that run deep. He adores his family. He hooked us with the first meeting! His smile and eyes light up my life and I don't remember life without him! He is growing up into a young man with a deep love for the Lord and wants to always do right. He is a great teenager and a good kid. He excels in school and loves his youth group! I love you Andrew, and happy birthday! Thank you, God, for Andrew....our first baby blessing! Here are some of my favorite pictures of Andrew growing up.... it was hard to pick just a few!

Andrew scoring a goal in soccer! I love the happiness on his face!

At his first high school football game!....

and with his sweet dog Sandy... he sure loves her!
Andrew watching his dad's play off game.... his serious looks...

Some holidays and his many faces....
Quite a difference from 1997 and 2009!2004 and then 2008....

Through the years his sparkling eyes have remained the same.....

He loves dancing.... and he's always been super good!!!!
A few more pics.....
He broke his leg on the trampoline and this is not a happy face....
here he is yawning at his birthday party.... lol!
The circus at his school he was a strong man.... love this!
Toby loves Andrew.... here his arm is around him and he is kissing him! awwww...

Andrew's first Seahawk game!
Thanks for indulging me. I love this baby boy! I love my grandkids! They rock!

Yesterday I took Lauren to her swimming lesson and she passed to level 2! She was so happy!! We picked up Maddie and came home.... they took a shower and Papa made us breakfast! The girls played and played. They dressed up as doctors wearing my "Snap Fitness" t-shirts.
They worked on me and papa. Have you ever had a bandaid across the bottom of your toes? It does feel weird when your toes are stuck together. That is what I got.
Here is what papa got....The girls had some noodle soup before going home.... reluctantly going home. lol
I would have kept them around but we had to go to Capono and Angie's for dinner. It was very comfortable and very fun! Great food! Her parents came over for awhile and Papa and him shared "heart" stories. He just had a stint put in. We really did enjoy ourselves and the kids are the cutest and nicest kids (besides my grandkids)! I am looking forward to babysitting. The older one is 10 and he is Dylan's clone! He likes sports, wrestling, video games, talks in his sleep, is short. It's weird.

Well.... this is a long one.... mostly pictures which I hope you enjoyed! Have a blessed Sunday! xoxo

short, sweet, to the point...

Today will be shorter than yesterday. It is raining. Lauren spent the night and we had a girls night. We had broiled steak and baked potatoes for dinner. She rubbed lotion on my feet, painted my toes, rubbed and scratched my back. Isn't life grand? Then I did the same to her. It was fun.... watched and sang to Sound of Music and had popcorn! Watched some Hannah Montana, too. I love that corny show! We went to bed and she read me 4 books. She is an amazing reader. She slept with me all night. Papa got home from work late and slept in his chair. Today she has swimming lessons. That's about it. This afternoon we go to Capono's for dinner. It is the family I will be babysitting for! Lanny works with Capono and he is one of Kevon's best friends. I start on Monday!
The picture of the day is 2-27-04 of Parker and Patrick at the Pinewood Derby! How sweet.

Have a wonderful weekend! xoxo

Supporting causes; heart disease, Marines, Fridays... but not our Governor!

We are all suppose to wear red today. I have red. I can do that. And we got some pretty happy news yesterday! Our Justin is coming home from Afghanistan within a few weeks! I don't think there is anyone happier than his wife, Denika!!!I sometimes wonder where time went when I think of Justin as a baby...
Next thing you know he is a teenager just a few years ago....
Now he is a marine???? It seems so crazy!
But this will be the scene in North Carolina soon!

I am pretty excited but still worried about the other guys over there... especially Justin Simmons. Keep him in your prayers.

Well... I found this frustrating. Politics tick me off!!! I think we should get rid of everyone and start from scratch! Or the ones elected take HUGE pay cuts! They should not be paid the outrageous amounts they get. The President gets over $400,000 a year plus $50,000 a year for "expenses". Wow.... most don't even make $50,000 a year. Our governor makes $166,000, the 8th highest in the county... and Congressmen make over $165,000. wow.... again. Not even including all the tax payer paid perks they get... mansion, cars, travel, entertainment, etc... (Did you know Arnold is the highest paid governor in the nation and doesn't take a salary? He puts his salary all back into the state budget!)
Why am I going off on this? The news today:

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A measure to temporarily suspend the tax-limiting constraints placed on lawmakers by a voter-approved initiative was signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday. Gregoire signed the bill just days after the Legislature approved the measure. The measure takes effect immediately.

Why do we even vote when the governor can change things with a movement of her pen??? We had voted that they need 2/3 of the majority to raise taxes (of course she promised no new taxes in November... whatever)..... and now she changed it until 2011! So she has free reign until then. Crazy, I tell ya, just crazy!!! ok.... I feel better. Venting is good.

Strange day yesterday. I picked up mom and we went to Mary's. Mary wasn't looking so good. She had been in urgent care the day before and her ankles are swollen. Her coloring isn't good either. But she had to get blood drawn. We get there and they never got a lab slip from Dr. Hoovler. Mary was NOT happy. That was a wasted trip. So we went to Walmart and she decided to stay in the van. Mom and I did the shopping. Next was DQ... Mary had a craving for chicken strips. They were good but she didn't eat much. Got her mail.... talked to the lady in the office (mom is #22 now on the waiting list!) and took Mary home. I am worried about her!!!! When I took mom home we decided to change her livingroom. Wasn't in the plan... but why not? Put her TV under the window for a change. Looks great and from her chair she can see down the hall, out the window, in the kitchen, the fire place, etc.. It was fun working with a pro. She really is when it comes to rearranging furniture!
Oh... we had the weirdest experience. Mom was looking out the window from her view and said "Oh, look....it is pouring out there." I said "No it's not... it is sunny!" From my viewpoint it was sunny and clear. I thought she was nuts and she thought I was! We stood up to check it out.. and we were both right! Out of the same window it was pouring and a few feet away sunshiny! Sooo cool. The best part of my day was spending the time with my mom. It was awesome! We shared lots of laughs. Asked dad's picture what he thought... I quoted him "Doesn't matter what I think, you're going to change it again." lol!
Came home and then Amanda called.... Andrew got a little rock in his eye and had to go to urgent care! Ouch! He is fine now. I stayed with Lauren until Ry got home from work. See? Nothing turned out as I planned. But it turned out ok anyway! I got to see a grandbabies! ;D

Today I am cleaning house. Over at mom's I got the bug to clean. Papa worked hard all week and deserves a clean house! Picking up Lauren girl after to school and having a Lauren/mam night! We'll probably watch Sound of Music.... again!!! The production Annie is at the high school. My bff Candice offered to take her... she has 4 front row seats. Her student plays Annie. We'll see how the wind blows.

Yesterdays puzzle was Screwdriver.

I have a new puzzle today.... you have to come up with the famous name that replaces this rhyme.... example: FORGE PUSH would be GEORGE BUSH. Can anyone get them all?
1. RID TWEEZER
2. MUDDY RACKET
3. CURL KNIVES
4. SHEET FOES
5. SPRUCE LEARN
6. DEAD MUTTONS
7. PARIAH MARRY
8 SNARL DINER
9. SHIMMY BARTER
10. STUBBY WRECKER
11. STARK TABLE
12. JET FIDDLER

Good luck!

Have a great Friday, everyone.... and may God protect and bless your comings and goings!!!

Weather to Expect:
Widespread rain will be around all day long. The steady rain will turn over to scattered showers overnight, setting us up for a drier and sunnier weekend.
A few showers will linger into Saturday with temperatures around 50 degrees.
We will see a return of spring like weather once again for the second half of your weekend.
Morning clouds will turn to mostly sunny skies on Sunday with highs holding in the mid 50s.
We stay dry on Monday with clouds on the increase.
Another round of showers moves in on Tuesday.

Dressed for the girl....

Yesterday was a great day! I felt better than I had all week.... and first stop was my mom's. Fixed her tv again.... she couldn't get the sound on. Then I had to program my aunt's new phone number in all 4 phones! lol! Next I gave her another lesson on her cell phone. A repeat lesson. She is so funny. I told Amanda that is what they have to look forward to with me. She said "You won't have a tv!" I knew she would take care of me. haha!
Next, I went to Maddie's school. Basically it really wasn't a program. Dylan and I sat at a table with 3 girls and listened to them read.... Maddie included. It was nice though. Then our class went to another room and watched a movie about dinosaurs.... with Dylan critiquing it in my ear the whole time. I did learn something. Only land animals are called dinosaurs... the ones that fly and swim are not. hmmmm. That is different. Maddie refused to let me take pictures so I took one after I took them home of me! I made sure to wear Maddie's favorite shirt of mine and the necklace she made me for Christmas. And she noticed both at school and was very happy. Never hurts to take a few extra steps to make someone happy.


It feels like spring in the air and it is still February. Here are some pictures and sounds I took yesterday! I was talking to my cat in this video... I do that cuz I am crazy. I even warned the bird because the cat was out. I should have kept my mouth shut so you could hear the birds!


On the way home I took pictures while driving... how safe is that? lol! This is on the bridge of the little island.... see the sun?????
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy....... (oh, you can't see the shoulders but you can see the sun on my face... I am sure there is another song for that.)
On our road the trees are starting to bud.... but I don't think you can tell by the pictures.
Quickly drove by a tree... but it was pretty. Another sign of spring.
My daffodils are coming up!
The tree in my front yard.....
And back yard....
Another sign of spring.... bird feathers at my door.
Well.... those are my first signs of spring!

Today I have an outing with Miss Mary to take her for blood work and shopping. I've missed her! It's been awhile.Today is also two birthdays!!! Meghan's sister is having a birthday... happy birthday Lauren! She's a sweetheart!!!!
Also.... my cousin Kathy's husband, Brian, is celebrating his birthday today too!
Happy birthday to you!!!! He's the funny Irishman in the family!Well.... yesterday's puzzle was "Chicken Burritos".... today's is a household object:

C D R R R S V W

_ _ _ E _ _ _ I _ E _

Good luck!

Have an awesome day today and may the Son shine in... face it with a grin!

Weather to Expect:
Temperatures are in the 40s as you get out the door this morning with scattered showers. Showers will be on the decrease throughout the day with some sunbreaks this afternoon.
A stronger storm is moving in later tonight bringing steady rain and stronger wind after dinner.
Steady rain and wind will hold through tomorrow morning as this storm moves through. We will turn back over to showers Friday afternoon with high temperatures in the mid 50s.
For the upcoming weekend, a few showers will be hanging out Saturday and into early Sunday morning. Some sun will also be breaking out between the showers with high temperatures holding in the 50s.