Back Yard BBQ & yard work

Last Sunday, after working all night, I came home, headed right back downtown for Bloomsday & then came home & planned a BBQ for Greg's Birthday. We couldn't have asked for better weather & we were all able to hang out in the backyard & even played some badmitton. Here are some pictures from the party. We also spent a couple of days this week working out in the back yard. We removed all the old bark, added edging and planted grass seed to give us more grass & less area to weed. Take a look at the before & after pictures.


Greg's golfing birthday cake

Greg enjoying the sun

A friendly game of badmitton
Before the yard work

After the yard work

Award & Seattle

A few weeks ago my mom was awarded with the Horace Mann award for teaching exellence. She was one of only 50 people in the country to get this award. She gets to go to Illinois this summer to study Abraham Lincoln. We were all present when she was presented with the award. Congratulations Mom!


Over the weekend I headed to Seattle to visit my good friend Toni & her fiance. It was a nice relaxing weekend spent shopping ( I was a good girl) sightseeing, & eating good food. I even helped her make her wedding invitations. On Sunday we went to our first Mariners game of the year. The weather was good this weekend & the rain even held off until the 5th inning of the game (thank goodness for the retractable roof)! I get to head back to Seattle in 2 weeks to watch Toni get married. We are so happy for both of them! We love you guys!

Birthdays!!

Within 4 days time, both our nephew Elijah & I had birthdays. Elijah turned 1, I turned 29!! I'm starting to feel so old. For my birthday, Greg & I went to Players & Spectators did some bowling. I'm not very good but it's still fun. For dinner we went to Outback Steakhose with my family. The food was yummy. Then we all came back here to our house for cake, an ice cream one (my favorite). It took Greg awhile to light all those candles on the cake (ignore the logo on his shirt). From my parents I got a cool gardening book & some some roses for my garden. From my grandparents I got money (always a good gift). Greg got me the car seat covers for my car that I had been wanting which unfortunately didn't fit so have to go back. All in all, it was a good relaxing day.

Southern California

Last week I went to Southern California with my parents & our good friends the Moates. Their son Aaron flew down from St. Louis to meet us. We also met up with my 4 year old nephew Joey. We stayed in an amazing hotel right on the beach in Carlsbad, CA. We spent time walking up & down the beach, swimming in the pool, and eating at wonderful restaurants. We also went to Sea World & Disneyland. We all had a blast & didn't want to leave. We have even planned on going back there next spring break.

First Day of Spring?

Today is supposed to be the first day of spring. Instead of waking up to flowers and birds chirping, we wake up to the ground covered in SNOW!! I guess you can never plan on any kind of weather in the NW. On another note, Greg injured his shoulder playing basketball. Had an MRI yesterday & sees an orthopaedic surgeon tomorrow to get the results. We'll keep you updated.

Snow, Pepper & Blue Man Group!

This weekend we had one of the biggest snowstorms in a long time & actually broke a record of the most snowfall in a 24hr period of 13.7 inches! The record was 13 inches back in 1950! Needless to say, we have a lot of snow with more still to come! One good thing about all this snow is the excellent skiing. Last Monday I headed up to Mt. Spokane with my good friend Kara & her boyfriend Deater for a day of skiing. Although the hight was only 10 degrees the skiing was great & we all had an awesome time. Last night, despite the awful roads, Greg & I went to the Blue Man Group concert at the Spokane Arena last night. Although not as good as the one we saw in Las Vegas it was still awesome. The picture here is of a large instrument they play made entirely out of PVC piping. I definately recommend the show to anyone heading to Vegas or anytime they come through your town. On another note, Pepper went for some routine vaccines this week & ended up with an allergic reaction to either one of them or a combination of both of them. He ended up with welts all over his head & neck & around both eyes! We had to rush him back to the vets office for some steroids before it started affecting his breathing. He is much better now.

Home Improvement Projects

With Christmas over & Greg & I getting settled back into normal routines, it is time start knocking some items off the continually growing home improvement list. Greg & his dad spent two days adding lighting to the garage, installing a garbage disposal, putting together a new barbecue, & fixing some shingles that had come loose during a wind storm.