The Expressions of a Penguin

Carter and Lilly were studying penguins at school, so one day they made these little guys. I fell in love at first sight and thought they were the cutest things so I had to share them with you!

The first thing I said when they brought them home is that they will break if you try and play with them....did they listen?..............nope

So here are the remains of our little friends....................


So cute huh?!

Biking Dimple Dell

What a wonderful day to be out! Kris, Scott, Jeff, and I went biking in the Dimple Dale canyon... thingy. Here we are getting our gear out of the cars and making sure all bikes are working properly. This is Scott's bike...we haven't even ridden yet and look how dirty it is. Now that's extreme! ;0) Cute Jeff! Here's my bike and pack. Notice how they match so well! Even in the great outdoors a girl has to look out for her fashion sense...jk But do notice the kick stand....that embarrasses the guys...totally not cool apparently! ;0)Kris, Me, and Jeff before we take off.Kris, Scott, and Jeff.It was a bit muddy and icy in some areas but that just made for more fun. The terrain was mostly sandy with chunky rocks intermixed which made for a more unstable ride but a softer landing...well, if you missed the rocks anyway. Here's some of the sandy area where you can kind of see that horses have come and gone. We're just taking a break from the hill we just came up.

Looking for more fun stuff we decided to get off the trails and head down whatever parts looked clear enough for the bikes. Here's Kris, the visible one. If you look closely I am "in" the bush...not just behind. This next part was a really steep hill that we wanted to try and attempt. Scott went first....he seemed to be the guinea pig for the night, to make sure it was.....safe?.... This is me looking down the hill wondering how I was going to do this. Kris is in the background laughing....probably at me.

So here I go....maybe.....wait, wait.. Kris, should go first.He starts on a level point to get his bearings, then he's off.He makes it down in one piece. It's was a lot steeper than it looks here. Scott's at the bottom getting the best view.Then I tried again. I'm leveled out and on my way........eeeeeek!I make it! No worries. So did Jeff but he had the camera so there are no pictures of his victory.

So after this we did some up and downs, nothing too exciting until Scott got a little idea to see if he could limbo this fence post with his bike and go down the steep hill on the other side. We looked at the clearance and said there was no way. Scott was more optimistic and to my surprise, actually tried. LOL! Jeff was below getting the shot and thankfully he did! We all held our breath as we watched. There was silence until "ow!" Here is Scott at the perfect moment of getting stuck under the log fence! So hilarious! Gotta love a Go-getter!!! So if the first attempt was a dud then for sure try again....at least that was Scott's thinking. He backed up and went again....But no......hahahahahahahahah! He got stuck, again! Kris and I decided to help out by lifting the fence which gave him enough clearance to head down the hill. :0) Nothing like team work!He's down, but needless to say, he was the only one to try that this time. :0)The onlookers....

Another crazy hill. Scott went first of course.Kris and I discussing who will go next....

Apparently me.Kris' turn.

We all make it down this one too and keep riding some more. Crazy fun! In this picture I look like I'm dying to keep up. It would have been nice of Jeff to let me know he was snapping one so I could at least look leisurely cool.... :0) I was probably cussing my gears. They kept shifting when I didn't want them to. Good ol' Scotty and the beautiful mountains in the background! Kris and a "good ol' time" look written all over his face. This was another massive hill. Scott was the only one that did this one. I wanted to try it but after climbing the hill we opted for another route. Still, it was a good one. I asked, "How steep do you think this is?" Kris answered, "We call that 90 degrees....."

Here goes Scott... We actually got this one on film possibly expecting a crash but nope.

Not sure about this one....

It began to get a little dark which made the venture a little more challenging. :0)We did a few more great hills and then it was off to the road to make our way back to the cars. It was very dark by then so we road single file "up" the road hoping to not get hit by a car. (Yes, you heard right, Up! It kinda sucked..) But we all managed. Scott was very kind and helped me the last bit of the way by pushing me on my back pack while riding next to me. Crazy strong I would say! I wanted so badly to stop and rest but I thought as long as he's pushing me and himself up the hill I can at least keep going...

The ride was great but getting to do it with great friends was even better!

Monumental Day for Carter and Lilly

Today was beautiful and sunny, so what better thing to do than play outside?! Ayla and Carter were playing at friend's houses being the socials bees that they are and Lilly stayed home to help Dad fix the shed. (and can I tell you how glad I am that the shed is finally fixed? It's only taken like 6 months....) So we thought it would be a good time to work on Lilly's bike riding skills since there was only one child to focus on. I admit that Jeff and I haven't done the best at teaching them to ride a bike so I think they're late bloomers with it but better late than never right?!

My neighbor Ellen gave the ingenious idea of letting her use Ayla's small bike without the training wheels and see how she did because on this little bike she could touch the ground. I don't know why I didn't think of that.... Anyway, it worked and Lilly was riding it in no time! Then Carter came home and tried the same thing and he did it too! Here's Jeff taking off Lilly's training wheels to her big bike. She graduated in one day!!Jeff of couse had to take a test ride... He's pretty cute! Looks like it's good to go!And here's Lilly on the big bike all by herself!I am so proud of them!! They were pretty happy themselves and had to make phone calls to family members to share their wonderful news. Ayla, on the other hand, still wasn't too sure of the idea. She tried it, then came back and said in her little cute Ayla voice with arms folded and head turned to the side in refusal.. "If you don't put my training wheels back then I'm never riding this bike again!" Jeff and I laughed! We love our three mushkins!!

Valentine's Day Gathering

Jeff and I aren't much celebrators of the this holiday in which you are to show your love for your significant other once a year. We don't really boycott the idea but it's just not something we really worry about. Especially since our anniversary is this month also.

The kids love it though, so we like to do something a little special for them....like spending "family time" sharing their candy with them that they get from school.....yum! ;0) But seriously, I like to do little things like shape their food into hearts and color their milk pink.

But this year someone came up with the idea of having a get-together at our place Valentines evening. I really have no idea who started this rumor....it always seems to work that way...

To be honest, my first thoughts were...."There's going to be how many kids?" and "We're planning on playing some game called Guitar Hero....?" But I was optimistic to the idea and tried to come up with a plan so that all the toys stayed neat and organized and got back into their labeled containers, (I think I might be a little more anal about it than most people but I try and cope with my weakness so thanks for being patient guests), and the second priority was to have anyone willing to bring other games so I could avoid this Guitar Hero thing.

Our guests showed up at 7:00, well most....the Slaughs were a bit late but they were bringing the dessert so all was forgiven... ;0)... a yummy chocolate heart shaped cake and cute pink iced cupcakes. The Wilsons brought their famous home-made lasagna, the Beldins brought heart shaped pizza for the kids, garlic bread, and brownies, Annie brought a yummy salad, and we provided the drinks. The eating came first and the feast was delicious. Every part of it! Thanks everyone!

So that meant it was game time. I glued myself to the kitchen table chair while others fought over the instruments....?? Some of us stayed at the table and played some card games and rummaged through some of my scrapbooks. Not the most exciting but it was good company. Here's Kris, Jeff, and Annie jammin' out.
Here's Jeff, "You wanna play Lace....?" uh.........nope.Carolyn ditched me to play Guitar Hero! I thought to myself "What is with this game. There's no way I'm coordinated enough to play...."Britt followed in the footsteps of the stars...
And Annie continued to rock out!
Even Ayla was enjoying the music. So cute!!While people were taking their turns playing, the others were randomly doing other things...

Here's Steve and Oliver testing the height of the ceiling... ;0)Here's Savanna talking with our dog, Jack. He wasn't that excited about being in his "house" but he survived. He got to clean up all the crumbs when the party was over. This is Gracie :0)Here's Oliver again. He's enjoying the chap stick he found. As the girls took over Guitar Hero, the boys took over the kitchen to gab....this was their "No girls allowed" stance I guess...Looks like a great time right! That's what they wanted you to think! ;0)
Gotta love 'em!
Here's Hudson wondering where Buzz is I'm sure... ;0) He likes Buzz Lightyear apparently.....A LOT!Jeff was being so sweet and helped me keep the crumbs to a minimum. Isn't he the best?!About half way through the night I was again, asked if I wanted to play this Guitar Hero.... I finally agreed I would try it and see what all the fuss was about. It only took about 5 seconds and I was hooked!!
Here are some valentine moments for the night......

Savanna giving her daddy Sean a big KISS!
And the best one........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Nothing says love like this one! :0) Love ya Hailey and Steve! The night brought much more fun into the late night hours and folks left around 1:30 am. I admit I was mostly playing the guitar. Thanks so much Sean, Britt, and Annie for sharing your toys! hee hee........ It was a great time as always!!