My May Studio Calico layouts

Grammie, I'm determined to get this layout or another layout with Grandjack in it published. I'll be sure to let you know who, what, when, and where when it happens.

The happenings in April and May.....

We've been really busy lately, but I thought I'd better update with some pics.

The last weekend in April we took out the trailer for the first time. We went to Prineville Reservoir and had a lot of fun.

Morgan climbed her very first tree. I asked her what we should name it and she declared... "and I shall call it.... tree". Very funny.

I live on a dirt road, so it was a big deal that Morgan wanted to ride her trike. And look... she is already too big for it. We have plans to get her a big girl bike before we head back to Prineville Reservoir in June.

Unfortunately, I had my camera ISO on 1600 and didn't notice it, so every photo of Payton catching her first fish were overexposed, so I made this one black and white. It was a catfish so we let it go, but she reeled it in herself! Very cool.

Please excuse the binkie and the bottle in these two pics. She had her moments of fun, but PJ was sick... we just didn't realize it before we left. We caught this horrible cold. I didn't have my voice for almost 2 weeks! Poor PJ was a bit under the weather but the trailer worked awesome, because the extra crying, etc., didn't even bug me! :)



Eric took our family photo. He did a pretty good job!

On the 3rd we went to Krysta's birthday party. Her party theme was Hannah Montana so of course Morgan had to go and wear her hair down.... no wig needed for this kid!

The other day Morgan brought me this picture and said... this is me, riding a lion. And it totally is!

Last Saturday we had an irrigation issue with a neighbor's ditch overflowing and another neighbor not taking their water when they were supposed to, so our driveway was a bit flooded. The kids certainly didn't mind, so they put their galoshes on and dashed outside to enjoy it.

Morgan drove through it.

Morgan jumped in it. They even through rocks. And poor PJ wore her little self out! I walked into the living room later to find this:

hee heeeee!

On Mother's Day I asked to go to town and do a little shopping. We bombarded the Old Mill District and went to Red Robin for lunch. When we got home I got busy putting away my purchases when I realized I was missing 3 of my 5 for $25 panties I'd just bought at Victoria's Secret. After much searching I found this:

Yeppers. And she did that one on her own.

The other day the girls were playing with homemade playdough (which is the BEST kind, by the way) and Morgan told me she made a butterfly:

Again... it totally is! I am so excited by the artistic flair she has! This really is an exciting time for me. I just look forward to her creations so much! She really is quite talented.

The skies then parted and the sun came OUT. And it's been HOT. So of course it was time to break out the water toys.

And that's where the kids have been the last few days. Tomorrow will be more of the same.

Today, Saturday the 17th, was also a banner day for Morgan. She was invited to her first birthday party with a school friend. It was just the birthday girl and two little friends, but it was a ton of fun. She got a big trampoline so of course the kids played with that.... and they just had fun as 4 year old kids do. It was nice to chat with other mom's and play with other kids that we don't normally play with on the weekends. Morgan had a lot of fun with Kelsey, and the birthday girl, Maren.

And that's it for the last few weeks!

P.S. Goldie is still around, but alas, of course, MAMA has been designated as the bowl cleaner. The kids still get a big kick out of feeding her..... HIM every night, and this fish still cooperates. They love to watch him take a bite and spit his food out. He's really quite entertaining at chow time.

Next up? Steve is taking a promotional exam and test on Monday which could make him a captain. Cross your fingers for him. We want them to hire the right guy for the job, and we want that guy to be Steve. Actually.... I do anyway. Steve is a bit uncertain if it's time yet. He's enjoying the current position, and the higher you go, the more paperwork you are in charge of. This brings about the question.... do you HAVE to want to go up the ladder? Can't you just be satisfied where you are? Because if it was about the money, wouldn't everyone want to be chief? So.... let's hope he finds the path he was meant to take.

Also coming up is another camping trip to Prineville Reservoir. No worries here EXCEPT that we are camping from Tuesday to Friday, driving home, dropping off the trailer, and THEN zipping to Portland for the weekend and the Rose Festival. Why? All I can tell you is that I was not in charge of scheduling that one or I wouldn't have. The good thing is that the trailer can sit until you are ready to unload it, so it's just a matter of cleaning out the food. That said, let's hope I can get my laundry organized before we go. Camping clothes for camping, and city clothes ready and waiting to be tossed in the car for a trip to Portland.

Lastly... mark your calendars. Morgan's first ballet recital is on June 20 and June 21 at 7pm at the Redmond High School. The upside is that it's about 2 1/2 minutes and is going to be quite hysterical. The bad thing is that it costs something like $12 for each adult to go and she's the first 2 minutes in a big show with the entire Redmond School of Dance. Ayiyiyi. She has two dates set, so you can either go to the first, where she doesn't know what to expect, or the second, when she does. Both should be entertaining. And have I mentioned that I somehow volunteered to make the costumes for all 7 girls? Yes I did? Why? I don't know.... but for this first year, the 3 year old class, the parent's are in charge of the costumes. So I'm making them. The song is "the bear went over the mountain" and Payton has been watching the routine, and sings and does an almost better job than Morgan, which is sweet and sad at the same time, because it will be 1 1/2 years before she gets a chance to go to class.....

I'm a writer!

Check it out:

www.truenorthparenting.com

And click on the Mother's Day card from the heart midway down the home page. That's me!

I was approached to contribute to this local parenting magazine and I am quite honored! 6 issues per year are in print, and I think the May issue is one of them. It's a free publication so I'm going to have to find it somewhere.

It has a lot of great resources for Central Oregon parents and I couldn't be more excited to be part of it!

:)