*Sigh*

He gives me back scratches for no reason.
He grabs my neck and hugs me in the morning when I wake him up for school...before he even opens his eyes.
He told me a few nights ago that I always look beautiful when I go out on a date with Dad.
He compliments every dinner I make...even when his plate has barely been touched.
He says "I love you Mom" at completely random times and for no apparent reason...almost daily.

And he keeps growing up...

And some day another girl will get his attention...
And she will be so lucky because he is such a great guy...

And I will be a little bit sad...

Springtime Soup

Found this soup recipe in an All You magazine.
It turned out perfect for spring weather...not too heavy, but nice and filling...and very easy!!

Tortellini and White Bean Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
2 ribs celery, sliced
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups chicken broth
16 oz fresh cheese or meat tortellini
1 15 oz can white beans, drained and rinsed
salt, optional

Warm oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add celery, tomatoes and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until celery begins to soften.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Stir in broth and bring soup to a boil.  Carefully add tortellini and beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until soup is heated through and tortellini are tender.

Season with salt if desired.  Serve immediately.

A couple of notes:
I didn't add the salt because I thought the chicken broth salted it enough.
At the end, after I added the tortellini, I also added torn pieces of baby spinach.  Once they had wilted, I served the soup....with butter and garlic french bread.

Yum!

Oh the Irony...

...or is it coincidence?
Never have been completely clear on that, but one or the other applies here today.

Track injury.
Yes, hurdles.
Remember yesterday's post?

Hannah fell while warming up on the hurdles at her track meet yesterday afternoon.
She could barely  move her arm at the elbow and this morning it was swollen!
Yikes!
We went in for an x-ray and thankfully there's no sign of any break.
Most likely she sprained a ligament at the elbow.
She'll wear a sling for a while and take ibuprofen when its necessary.
If its still painful in a week we'll check for a hairline fracture, but she should be good to go.
Crisis averted!

P.S.  The robin is STILL at it!!!!

Middle School Track

With spring comes track season.
Hannah enjoyed volleyball in the fall, and had planned on taking part in track as well.
They get to choose different events to participate in and she chose the 100m, 200m and 100m hurdles.
I missed her first meet, but was able to attend the next one.
She was nervous and I remember being nervous at my track meets in 7th grade.
Hannah was nervous about the racing, but I think I was more nervous about...well...this...
...the hair...the outfit (but I'll take those legs back please)...

Remind me to stop being so judgmental about the length of anyone's shorts anymore...
And by the way, those wings on my shirt did not help.

Anyhoo, what I love about her coaches is they encourage the kids to be concerned with their personal best...not what the other runners are doing.
This is important - especially for the first year runners!

The first event she ran was hurdles.
Kuddos to her because even though I'm posing next to one, I was never brave enough to jump over them!

Guess what?
She beat her personal best by two seconds (and the girl next to her, but that's not important right?  :))

Next was the 100m

I should have tried running with my eyes closed...

And finally, the 200m

 Where were all these cool bright shoes when I was a kid?

Yea Hannah! (you passed someone again...just saying...)
Just as with volleyball, I'm so proud of her for trying something new and being a part of new school activities/opportunities.
It's just the beginning!

Robin or Dodo Bird?

He looks like one and acts like another!
And what the heck?
What is it with our house and birds anyway?
Last year Mohawk and now this crazy robin?

A robin started hitting our window yesterday.

I thought it was a random hit and he'd be done, but of course not!
This morning, he's STILL attacking...he's been at this now for one and a half days!
His routine basically consists of this...

Step 1: Fly to the window

 Step 2: Attack...something

 Step 3: Realize the futility of the mission

 Step 4: Return to base

 Step 5:  Prepare to Repeat...over and over and over and over...

So as I'm taking pictures, I notice he's got a buddy watching on in the tree.

On further investigation, I realize that this could be a female (apparently they look basically the same).  So, either it's his girl and he thinks he's defending her from, well, himself, or he's got a friend hanging out probably mocking him or egging him on!  ha!
I'm going with the mate theory, and I can certainly appreciate his chivalry, but seriously, now I know where the term "bird brain" comes from.

It's going to be interesting (and slightly annoying) to see how long this goes on.
I'm going to spare you any images of the absolute mess (think white and drippy - ewww!) he's leaving on our windows and the bbq pit cover.

And, as Donald asked this morning...
WHERE IS THAT CAT WHEN YOU NEED HIM?!?

Loretta's in the Ground!

And on a separate note, I just wanted to say that without a doubt, this is the hardest working man I know...

...a good man loved so much by his family!

:)

Texas Time

I had a chance to head to Texas last week to spend some time with my dad who's been ill, as well as meet my sweet niece for the first time!

This wasn't a typical Texas Whirlwind Tour...I went alone and only stayed in Austin.  Definitely not the usual travel arrangements.

My time with Dad/Spop/Spike included my awesome stepmom Vicki and my little sister Stephanie!  It was so nice to just hang out, the four of us, and catch up.

My dad has had some tough months.  He's been dealing with COPD and now chemo.  It was good medicine for him to have some time with his "dotters"!

Living in the mild Northwest for as long as I have has made me a whimp spoiled me, so going to Texas in April when the temps were "only" in the low 80's was fantastic!  I could feel the heat and humidity that will be coming soon though.

Of course a trip to Austin wouldn't be complete without some outdoor dining and beer drinking!  So we headed down to Uncle Billy's on Barton Springs Road...one of my very favorite areas of Austin...so many memories!!!

The original "Parker Girls"!

My dad and his sweet wife Vicki

A most delicious plate of nachos and a cold Hefeweizen

I'm just loving this hat!

I headed next to stay with my sister-in-law and brother-in-law and their PRECIOUS little girl Rosie...my niece!!

If you look up the definition of 'adorable', you're probably going to see this...

It was a wonderful visit!  Good food, good drinks, loads of laughing and even a chance to be a "night nanny!"  ;)

Time went by quickly and it was time to go home.
I don't think I have to go into too much detail to express that my children AND my husband were all glad to see me back in Yakima!!

Meet Loretta

Do you remember Larry?
Of course you do!!

Well, this is Loretta.

Isn't she lovely?

Jenelle brought her home from school the other day already named...I thought that was pretty clever choice!

What I couldn't believe was that two years has already passed since Ivan brought home Larry!
Two years!  Time flies sooo fast!

We'll be planting her in the garden soon (Loretta...not Jenelle :)) and will keep you all informed of her progress!

Easter

Happy Easter!
The day has started out sunny and beautiful...perfect!!

Yesterday was egg dying time!
We tried a new PAAS kit this year...it included cooking oil with the vinegar and water to create a marbling effect.
It was slick and messy as you might expect, but it did create some pretty cool eggs!

First we boiled 27 eggs!
6 each was just not enough, so now we have many many eggs in the fridge to eat!
I'm probably going to die from high cholesterol because in this house, the kids like the white and I eat the yoke!

The girls went first and created some pretty eggs!!

Even big kids like to dye eggs!!

Then Ivan took his turn and his eggs came out very manly...just as he wanted them too!

The Easter nests were laid (thanks Judy for letting my kids strip your Forsythia of it's gorgeous yellow blooms!  What?  You didn't know they did that?  I guess it's a good thing you don't read this blog!)  :)

On Easter morning, Ivan was up before us and waiting on the couch.
The girls slept in until 8am!
Surprises were waiting...

...and hunting commenced (with Sanchez's help)...

...with puffy sleepy faces...

 ...and bed heads!

And of course, 'you know who' had to see what all the action was about...

We hope your baskets are full of blessings!

Peace!