Wednesday, November 21, 2007

How perfect?

Totally copying my cousin, Lisa. But hey! at least it's a post! Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!



You Belong in Paris



Stylish and expressive, you were meant for Paris.

The art, the fashion, the wine!

Whether you're enjoying the cafe life or a beautiful park...

You'll love living in the most chic place on earth.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

I'm here! I'm here!








I'm just a slacker with nothing interesting to say. But, thank you Lisa, for letting me know there's someone who reads my blog! Here's some pictures for you. And I'll try to think of something to say soon, I promise!

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Kayla's Dance Recital

In case you missed it...
Sorry about the shaking!
Kayla is the girl in the middle...



Brittany and Kayla


Brittany and Kayla
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I love this picture...

The kids


The kids
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Aren't they cute?

Cute hair


Cute hair
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
You can't see the glitter. She even had a little mascara and lip gloss (of course, she won't be allowed to wear make up until she's much older, but I made an exception for the show).

The Pepsi machine


The Pepsi machine
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Everyone was saying "Don't get the Pepsi machine in the picture", so here it is...

The web


The web
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Ok, this took an hour. But it looks cute...

The group


The group
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Everyone who went to Kayla's recital minus the twins who were taking the pictures.

My family


My family
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
How long has it been since you've seen all of us in a picture together?

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Star Wars Training


Star Wars Training
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I dont' have much to say, but I have some pictures to share at least. We went to LA for a family reunion and took a little side trip to Disneyland. The kids were really good!

Phil's sister, Lori with the kids

Love this picture...

Granny and the kids


Granny and the kids
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Great Granny Strickler. What a sweet lady! She let us take over her house and saved us a ton of money on hotel rooms. I don't know how she could stand the noise!

Use the force!


Use the force!
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Boys and Star Wars. I don't get it...

Love the laugh...


Love the laugh...
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Took a tickle to get the natural smile...

They're so cute when they're getting along!

They were getting along even AFTER Disneyland! And a nine hour car ride!

Ok, so not everyone wanted to pose for a picture!

Andy is getting so much older. I can tell a huge difference in his demeanor. He is more mellow and easy going, most of the time.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Almost 9


IMG_0848
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Wow, I thought I couldn't take a good portrait with my new digital. Guess that's not true. I had kind of regretted not getting a digital SLR, but now I'm thinking I like the new camera! Can you believe how grown up she looks? We french braided her hair after her bath and the next morning voila! Curls! Ok, so she has a fro when compared to her normal hair. And, some of the kids at school teased her. But, when she told me about it, I told her not to listen to other people. If she liked it, that was all that mattered. Do you know what she said? She told me she agreed with me and she thinks the girls at school will start copying her hair! Do I have a little trend setter on my hands?How cute is that? So, the next night we did it again! And tonight, the same. I'm going to get a lot of practice!

Our Tomatoes


IMG_0843
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
This is my favorite day of the year! Last day of frost. It's the day I get to decide what veggies I want to grow and plant the little suckers. This year I've decided to hold back and actually give the plants their recommended space. But don't they look too far apart? I can squeeze a few more in, right? That's what I thought last year! Anyway, here's a picture of our tomato garden. Four lonely little plants. One cherry, two medium, and a large size plant. Can't wait to see them in August!

Our herbs


IMG_0841
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
We took this picture for Kayla's teacher. She gets extra credit for planting. Basil, Dill, and Rosemary. Mmmmmm

Thursday, May 10, 2007

So...

I don't have much to say but at least I have pictures!! Enjoy...

Kayla's Recital Costume


Kayla's Recital Costume
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
She just got her costume. Her recital is in 6 weeks or so. I hope her stage fright isn't too bad...

Saturday at Linda's


Saturday at Linda's
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
She's getting so tall. I don't really notice it until I see pictures like this one...

Leading Sioux


Leading Sioux
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
She actually ran with the horse and remained in control. I'm so proud!

A new baby!


A new baby!
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Linda's neighbors have a new addition! Isn't she cute? Four weeks old...

Really riding for the first time

Okay, so she didn't actually take control of the horse, but she did let the other girls lead her around. I think next time she'll be brave enough to take the reigns.

Terrible 3's?


Terrible 3's?
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Who needs a scanner! This one's for Leah...

Friday, May 04, 2007

I'm free!

As of today, I am no longer a slave to that terrible little counter that is the camera department! I will no longer have to pay attention to those horrible pages with that screeching voice telling me some impatient person needs to pay a very late power bill. I will never have to give my opinion about what movie someone should rent because they don't feel like taking the time to read the back of the freaking box. I no longer have to listen to the b.s. stories about a movie skipping or stopping because they don't want to pay their very small late fee. I no longer have to look up the perfect seat for a terrible concert of some band I've never heard of, which only reminds me of how old I'm getting. I no longer have to hand over a photo developing order that is horribly poor quality due to an ancient machine that no one wants to spend money to fix and hope they don't get angry at me because their pictures are slightly green. I no longer have to pretend I don't know that I'm being called "Princess" behind my back and force myself to be friendly to those coworkers. I will no longer have to ring up that annoying old man for flowers. And, I will no longer worry about having to fight for my hours.

As of today, I will have my own office. I will make my own schedule. I will work with one very nice, mellow girl. I will work more closely with the managers I adore. I will hide away in my little hole and not have to tell every Joe Schmo where the bathroom is. I will work with numbers and computers. I will leave work every day promptly at 12:30, some days earlier if I feel like it. I will have more time to spend with my kids and more time to work on my garden and my house. But, I will have to go to bed at seven and get out of bed at three am. Small sacrafice to make for such a huge stress relief.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Our morning with Andy and Kayla

So, we only had Andy and Kayla this weekend. We decided to split up and have a little mother/daughter, father/son time. Kayla and I went to her Awana leader, Linda's house to learn about horses and Phil and Andy went dirt biking.

Linda had a bunch of girls over to teach them a little about caring for horses. She scheduled a vet visit and a farrier visit. The kids watched a demonstration from each guy. The farrier trimmed Fadina's hooves. (Fadina is a 13 year old Arabian). Then the vet showed the kids how to give vaccinations and let the kids give the horses their shots. Brave kids! The vet also filed (they call it floating) Sioux's teeth. (Sioux is a 31 year old Appaloosa. Linda also owns Cannon, a 28 year old Arabian). Kayla had a great time. She seems very comfortable around horses. All three of Linda's horses are very sweet, calm and friendly. They are also beautiful! She obviously takes very good care of them. Next Saturday Kayla and a few of her friends have been invited to go to Linda's again. This time they'll learn the more basic jobs of caring for a horse (brushing, feeding, etc.) and they might even get to ride! I'll post more pictures and video next week!

Andy and Phil had fun. I won't write much because I wasn't there. Andy told me he only crashed a few times. Great! They also saw a rattlesnake. They had some good quality guy time!

Kayla's day with Linda's horses


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This is Kayla and her friend Emma giving Cannon a hug with Linda's help...

Farrier Vet Day at Linda's


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 039
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Giving the horse a hug. Kayla, Cannon, Madison, Linda and Emma in front.

Sioux


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 003
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Trying to get Sioux (pronounced "Sue") to do her trick. "Show your teeth!"

Sioux and Kayla


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 004
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
She loves horses!

"Farrier Frank"


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 028
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Making horse shoes. He also made the girls rings out of horse shoe nails.

Farrier Vet Day at Linda's


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 012
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Frank, the farrier, demonstrating a horse manicure (or pedicure?) =)

Linda and Fadina


Farrier Vet Day at Linda's 034
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Linda is a very sweet lady. She's been very good with Kayla and all the kids love her.

Andy


Andy
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Andy and Phil spent the morning dirt biking and spending some time together. I'm glad. The boys don't get much one on one time with their dad. Isn't he cute?

Father and son


21730025
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Of course, "Father" was behind the camera.

Andy


21730024
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
At first I wasn't too thrilled about this but Phil is very careful and Andy is naturally a cautious kid. Plus he has a lot of good gear to protect him.

The joys of living in a desert...


21730017
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Phil says it was a rattler. They were dirt biking pretty close to where we live. Great...

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Andy, 10 Years Old!


Andy, 10 Years Old!
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Can you believe he has two digit's now??? He was just turning seven when I first met him! Wow, time flies! He decorated his own birthday cakes (although I'm the one who made the toothpaste colored frosting)...

The Birthday Chair


The Birthday Chair
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I'm not sure how it happened but Phil's chair became the birthday chair. They sit in it to open their presents. It must be because Dad is always in it and they think it's special...

Andy and Haley


Andy and Haley
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
They're so cute. I think someone has a crush...

Happy Cake Face


Happy Cake Face
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
Funny how cake can make them look like this.

The beans are taking over.


The beans are taking over.
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
We decided to use a grow light since I read it helps develop stronger plants. I'm hoping it will give the kids a good start when planting their little garden outside. One problem, the beans are out of control. And it snowed today. So, I'm hoping it warms up so we can move them outside before they grow into the light.

Friday, March 30, 2007

And so it begins...


The kids new garden
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
I let the kids pick out some seeds to start. They will be in charge of raising their own plants this year. Does corn grow around here? Where am I going to put 12 watermelon plants? Maybe I should have thought this through before we began! Oh well, it will be a good experience for them. Up until this year, I took care of the garden and they helped here and there. But this year they're old enough and they are so excited! As for me, I'll still have my tomatoes and squash, and maybe a few new things. Hopefully we can keep most of them alive to reap the benefits!

It was a cabbage...


It was a cabbage...
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
My poor daughter's school project got eaten by our cat. We're hoping it will survive...

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Good to be home...

Hi!
I've posted some of our pictures. Sorry they all have their own post. I haven't quite figured out how to put them together yet. It was a fun trip but it's good to be home. I've never appreciated our dry climate quite so much! We took two showers a day over there and still felt greasy! Beautiful place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there.
Enjoy the pictures. I'm off to unpack and do laundry...

Somewhere on the North Shore


Somewhere on the North Shore
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
What a pretty little town. It was hidden away in the middle of nowhere. This was one of my favorite pictures...

Road to Hana


Road to Hana
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
What a drive. Everything was so lush....

Three Bears?


Three Bears?
Originally uploaded by tktahoe17.
This waterfall was called something like "three bears". It was pretty but I had to fight the tour bus for a picture. These buses would just stop in the middle of the road and block traffic so their customers could take pictures. Not very safe to pass on a blind turn with sea cliffs....