Memorial Day

Memorial Day weekend started off with a bang. Saturday was day of multiple activities that seemed to grow exponentially as the day grew closer. Well not really, but so many activities were planned for that day that we had to turn down a few. I've never understood this phenomena. Most days are activity free but periodically I get these days where everyone is planning fun activities that we want to go to. What we ended up doing was a birthday party (Annalise) in the morning, a dance performance (Annalise) in the afternoon, and then another birthday party that night. That was all I could fit in that day, anything else added would have put me over the edge. :) The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet. We rested at home, visited with family and just generally had a nice weekend away from school and work.

The only pictures I took that weekend was of Annalise at her dance performance in the park. Three girls were supposed to dance but only two showed up. The teacher gave them the option to not dance, but they went ahead and did it anyway. I was pretty proud of them. They talked and decided (by themselves) how they were change the dance for two people. I thought they did very well -- but then I'm just a mom. But not a very good mom as I forgot the sunscreen. Poor Annalise had her first sunburn. It really wasn't that bad but Annalise doesn't (generally) get sunburns so I think she was surprised that it can hurt. She inherited Jeff's darker skin because if she had inherited my pale skin she would have learned that lesson a long time ago. Next time I'll do better -- I promise.

Spring Chorus Musical

On Wednesday, Annalise's school chorus had their spring musical. This is Annalise's second year doing chorus. It was tough for her because practice was before school. She is just not a morning person but I'm proud of her for sticking to it. Unfortunately this will be the last year of early chorus because the music teacher is retiring.

The kids had a lot of fun, and they did a good job. Last year they put on Alice of Wonderland. This year, because it was the last, the music teacher put together a medley of different songs they've performed in the past. Annalise was picked to be one of the dancers of "Land of a 1000 Dancers."

(Sorry about the quality of the pictures. My camera has a weak flash. I soooo want to buy a new camera -- one of these days I'll break down and get one. )

Just a short trip

Last weekend we drove up to Dunsmuir for a memorial service. It was for Jeff's grandmother who passed away last December. Dunsmuir is several hours away so we had to have some way to entertain the kids. Thank goodness we have a DVD player in the van. This is what they looked like for most of the ride.

The memorial service was very nice. An added bonus was that the girls did really well and behaved themselves -- which isn't a big surprise as they usually well behaved (in public). Though, initially they didn't want to go but their minds were quickly changed once they found out Aunt Jessica was going to be in town.

I just thought I would throw this in. This a view of Mount Shasta from the cemetary.

Afterwards we went back to Grandma's house for one last time before we all headed home. Robyn couldn't resist picking flowers. She was nice --- she shared with one and all. :)

Fairytale Town

This past week Robyn and I went with our friends to Fairytale Town. Fairytale Town is a children's play park that is based on fairytales and nursery rhymes. It was a beautiful day and the girls had a great time playing. We've been there before but it's been a couple years since the last visit. Annalise was sad because she couldn't go. Too bad Annalise, maybe next time all three of us can go together.

Flowers

Flowers are definetely one of my favorite things. Here are few pictures of flowers from my yard. The previous owners were big-time gardeners, so it's been nice enjoying the fruits of their labor.

This week we went to a local iris farm not too far outside of town. It was late in the blooming season so many of the plants didn't have flowers. We meant to go a couple weeks ago but weather and schedules kept getting in the way. But we were lucky, there were just enough plants in bloom so we could still enjoy seeing all the different types of irises.

Sure you can play

This was actually taken a couple of Sundays ago but I wanted to still share. Jeff's father (Grandpa C) has been in the hospital for the last couple of months due to a brain hemorrhage. He's doing much better and now he's in a rehabilitation center at Kaiser Vallejo. Anyway, Jeff & I came and brought Sunday dinner to share with Grandpa and the rest of the family. We weren't alone as there were other families were also in the dining room enjoying Sunday dinner.

After dinner, some of the kids started playing duck, duck, goose. It must have looked like a lot of fun as Robyn wanted to play too. Without hesitation, the others quickly let her and Annalise join in on the fun. I love how kids can be so open and instantly play with anyone! The game went on for awhile and everyone had a good time. Robyn was a bit confused at first as she just kept running around the circle and wouldn't sit down. Silly girl. :)

Here's a picture of Grandpa C and Grandma C. He's doing much better and is getting ready to come home soon!

Dixon May Fair 2009

This past month I entered a sweater in the Dixon May Fair with the hopes of winning a prize. I knew my odds were pretty good as there are usually only a few knitted items ever in the fair. Last year I entered in a cardigan in the County Fair and I won a blue ribbon, but this year I ended up with second place. I have to admit I was disappointed because so I wanted a blue ribbon again! On the up side though, I still end up with prize money -- $8 to be exact. Now I can go out to lunch -- but don't tell my kids because they will want to go to McDonalds.

So in order to find out that I won second place, we had to go to the fair. This particular excursion only included Robyn and I, as Annalise was still in school. Initially Robyn was excited about the fair but after an hour, or maybe it was an hour and a half, she had had enough. It was hot and, most importantly, I wouldn't buy her any souvenirs. I'm such a mean mom! :) Well, she must have been tired because she fell asleep in the car on the way home and we only live 20 minutes away! I guess that explains the crankiness.

Loop the Lagoon

On Saturday we participated in the Loop the Lagoon. It was a local race put on to benefit our school district. It's usually well attended but the weather was not cooperating that weekend as it was overcast and rainy.

I did the 2 mile walk with a friend from the gym. I think we did pretty good and we had a good time walking and chatting during the race. We decided next year we will try the 5k. I think a year will be enough time to train -- don't you?

Robyn was sad that she didn't get to do a race. I would have pushed her in the stroller but the course was too muddy! And, she wouldn't have lasted the two miles if we had let her walk. So sorry Robyn, you'll have to do the race next year.

Annalise did much better in her race (1/2 mile kids run) this year. She came in 11th overall and she came in 3rd in girls division. Last year she got distracted and ended up walking part of the race because she was chatting with a friend. Jeff made sure she was more focused this year! :) You can see him in the background of the photo coaching her on.

Sleeping Arrangements

Now, each girl has her own room -- with her very own bed. But ever since Robyn has moved to a big bed which was a year and half ago, they have periodically sleep together in the same room. Usually it's been in Robyn's room as she has a trundle bed underneath her bed and sleeping there doesn't mess up Annalise's bed (that's our theory but Annalise denies it.) This week, they decided they needed to sleep in the same bed. When I came home last night I thought this was how they positioned themselves while sleeping, but no, this is how they went to sleep.