'Tis the Season

After the last post, the kids asked if I would "PLEASE put something happy out on the blog to show something fun from the weekend." So, on a happier note:

One day, we took just an ordinary porch decoration.

Combined it with a little creativity.....

A little bit of sweat.....

Added in just a tad bit of goofing around.....


And what did we get????

SPOOKY!!!!!!

A Bummer Blog

What started out to be a pretty relaxing weekend around the house ended on a particularly somber note. After almost 12 years, we had to say goodbye to our Maggie last night. She wandered away from the house late in the afternoon and was hit by a car up on the busy corner just a block and a half away from the house. The person who hit her left her laying there. (I wonder what it is like to go through life being such a selfish coward?!). But, on a more encouraging note, two other gracious souls actually stopped to help her; Will happened upon them while he was out driving around looking for her. Unfortunately, at the emergency vet the x-rays revealed internal injuries that were too severe and the vet said she would likely not survive the night. We had to make the tough call....it was afwful. The kids are doing better, but they were pretty devastated last night. We were up pretty last last night and decided to stay home today and take a "mental health" day. We spent the day going to Michaels to buy some supplies and came home and started a memory box of her. We'll miss you Maggie-tail-waggie!!!

Another year goes by

School photos came home this week. Fun to compare to last year's photos to see how much they have all changed. Most noteable is the fact that Nick is now officially way too cool to smile!!!

Emma

Sara

Oldies but goodies!!!

In my ongoing quest to get these photos organized on the computer, I came across a couple more fun videos. These were from August 2003...made us all totally laugh out loud!! The kids got a kick out of them too, but mostly because of how sweet and affectionate they were with one another!! (when exactly did that become "uncool"?!) Other than age about six years, I'm not sure Nick has changed much at all!

Whew!! What a day....

The day started off a busy one! I chaperoned on Nick's first field trip of the year to the Oregon Zoo. I had a group of five very energetic 2nd graders to keep track of....NOT easy!! It was pretty chilly up in those West Hills, but NO rain :-) We wandered around for a few hours, had lunch and arrived back at the school with about 45 mins left of their school day. The kids all had a blast. I had one little guy in my group who had never been to the zoo!! Sometimes we forget how lucky we are. Nick....getting up close and personal with a Penguin!!

The main attraction of the day is below--Samdura, the baby elephant born in August.

The evening ended with the girls going to their first official Girls Recreational Team workout!!! They gave it a try last week and decided they really liked it! So now they will go every Wed from 5-7pm (in addition to the Mon class). They are SO wiped out by the time they get home--ate dinner, showered, and put themselves to bed....gotta love that!!

Meet Buddy and Samantha

Two more members of the family:

This is Buddy.

And....

this is Samantha!

Not siblings, but both about a year and a half old. Originally we had hoped they would be strictly indoor cats because we lost our last cat to a coyote. But once they got out accidentally, they got a taste of the great outdoors there was no turning back! So, we do our best to coax them in every night and when we can't get them in we cross our fingers that they will re-appear the next morning for one more day in the Pardy house. As you can imagine, the kids are pretty darned attached. Samatha spends every night curled up on a pillow between the girls' head.

Haircut Day!

How can you drop $50 in the blink of an eye? Take everyone for a haircut!!! It started with that, and then it was off to find Halloween costumes. Happy to say: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Also found a few new seasonal decorations for around the house. We'll spend a little time tomorrow getting them all put out.

Pumpkin Patch Pilgrimage

The kids did not have school on Friday, so we thought it would be a good day to get to the pumpkin patch (provided the weather would cooperate). We made plans to go with the MacMillian family, some long time friends we had not seen for quite some time. The afternoon turned out to be a perfect Fall day. And it also turns out that going on a weekday afternoon is perfect as well....not so crowded any many of the activities are free!!

The kids had a blast--they spent a couple of hours selecting pumpkins, playing on the hay slide, and running around through the hay maze. After the pumpkin patch we came back home and all had dinner together. Fun way to start the long weekend!!!

More....

Just cleaning off the desk and came across the photos from gymnastics taken toward the end of last school year. Each year they close out the gymnastics year with a "mini-Olympics" performance, and the outfits they have on are the uniforms for the performance. It's a little different evey year, and this year they tied into the Summer Olympic theme. It is really a fun event to watch. They all get a trophy and their 15 seconds of fame!

All three have all moved up to the next level this year. In fact, the girls' coach is really trying to "encourage" the girls to move to yet the next level which is the first level of girls team gymnastics. The classes bump up to two hour sessions (versus and hour and fifteen mins) and there are two competitions per year. They are luke warm to the idea, mostly because it interferes with coming home and watching Hannah Montana and riding scooters. With a little more encouragement they may make the leap!! As for Nick....some pretty remarkable physical skill and strength for a guy his age, but not quite matched by his ability to focus on the task at hand. Perhaps another year and he will be ready to transition to the Junior Trainers team (boys competitive team). Most of all, it is such a great form of exercise and activity for them. And best of all, the gym comes to the school two days a week to pick them up and take them back to the center for their classes. Pretty slick deal!!

Who KNEW??!!

So really....it is THAT easy!!!!

Because I will never hear the end of it, I am now obligated to provide equal billing and get some pics of the girls out here right away!! These photos were taken on the first day of school.

Summer came late and didn't seem to stay long. The month of September was beautiful....but the rain is officially here as of today!! Hard to believe it is already October and the hunt for the perfect Halloween costume will soon be under way.

Today marks the end of the first month of school....so far, so good!! Emma and Sara are in fourth grade, Nick is in the second. They all really like their teachers this year and they seem to be rising to the new challenges they face.

We manage to keep plenty busy between juggling three different classes worth of homework requirements, piano lessons, a couple of days a week of gymnastics for all three, and the multitude of playdates and other social opportunities that come their way. The weeks can be a blur!!

Signing off for now....more soon!!!

Just Getting Started!!

This will be a test for me on so many levels:

1. Can I figure out how to set this thing up?
2. Do I have the staying power to keep it updated?
3. Will anyone really read it??? :-O

So here goes.....

As I was flipping through photos on the computer tonight, trying to organize and make sense of the randomness of them all, I came across some that I knew needed to take on a new life form. Someone else needs to appreciate them besides us!! And what better way to procrastinate one project then to start a new one!!

But sending photos and video clips get cumbersome as they tend to clog up other people's "pipes". So why not get on the "blog wagon"?? It just makes sense (if I can figure it out!!)

So, here is the first precious moment. Granted, a bit out of date (almost three years ago to be exact) but one well worth sharing.



(press the arrow to play the video!!)

If I am successful at this first one, I will be inspired to come back for more. Here goes........