Save the Date: Sat, Dec 5th, baby!

Evelyn has been officially bitten by the theater bug! After dance class, she came jumping up and down holding an audition flyer for her dance studio's production of Clara's Dream. Last year, she went with her girl scout troop to a performance. This year she wanted to be a part of it and dance the part of one of the angels. Evelyn and 3 of her dance buddies auditioned together last Friday night. We found out today, Evelyn and her 3 friends all made the cut. Let me know if you would like to join us. She will be performing on Dec 5 at 2:00 and 7:00 at Blue Valley Northwest High School. I think the tickets are about $7.00. They put on a great performance. Its perfect for young kids who might not sit through the entire Nutcracker. This is a shortened version, very enjoyable for both young and old.

Overnight at the Omaha Zoo with the Girl Scouts

Evelyn and I went with her girl scout troop to the Omaha zoo for an overnight in the zoo's aquarium. Our troop had the whole aquarium to ourselves for the night with sharks, penquins and all sorts of other fish. All 27 girls and their moms got an after hours private tour of the zoo from one of the zoo educators. I learned lots of interesting facts. Evelyn in in a pink shirt in the picture above.

Here is Evelyn posing in front of the animal nursery. The zookeeper is feeding a baby anteater. We also saw a baby gorilla. So cute.

Evelyn and Marth are camped out in the shark tunnel for the night. As you can see. they got a lot of sleep. I'm in the green air mattress bed next to Evelyn.

Here is a view from my bed that night. I rested in bed and took this photo, such a friendly fellow.

Another view from my bed. Amazingly, I slept quite peacefully. The sharks didn't bother me at all. It was all the noisy girls. At midnight the troop leader brought her can of whoop ass and everyone was quiet.

Celebrating Grandma's 67th B-day at the Circus, Baby!

Ticket to the circus 20 dollars, box of popcorn 7 dollars, horse cup with snowcone 12 dollars, Grandma smiling and having fun at the circus, priceless.

Grant and Chris loving every minute of it. Chris is thinking I can't believe I'm not home in my man cave watching football.

All sugared up and ready for the circus.

Our Thursday Night, Baby!

Have you ever wanted to train for the Olympics in your bathtub? Evelyn did tonight and watched the water go down the drain while under water with her goggles.

I'm so PROUD of Grant. He made his own Easy Mac!!! I came home from a run to find him finishing up fixing his own dinner. As he said when he was 2, "I do it myself."

Evelyn's Happy Place

Evelyn spends Tuesday afternoons at Miss Carol's Art in the Attic. Evelyn has made many cool things there. On this day she painted a really cool bowl. Miss Carol is oozing with creativity. Her attic reminds me of a magic place out of a storybook. Evelyn always has a blast there. I enjoy the art she brings home and the free 2 hours I have on Tuesday afternoon to myself, baby!

2nd Annual Dog Festival in PV.

Evelyn participating in the read to dogs booth at the Dog Festival. Hanna loved Evelyn reading to her. The sheep dog, Buckleigh is really cute. He is a senior citzen at 12 years old, very patient with those just learning to read.

This dog won best costume at the dog festival. I thought the poodle in the poodle skirt should have won.

Grant and Evelyn with Scooby Doo and Clifford at the Dog festival. Roy went too. He was a very well behaved dog except for stealing my hot dog. It was a beautiful day. We all got ice cream including Roy.

Watermelon With Our Neighbors.

Garrett and Scott are our next door neighbors and friends. We see them just about everyday unless one of us is on vacation. I vividly remember playing with three year old, Grant on the back porch, on a summer day shortly after moving into our house . Four year old, Garrett came out in his backyard yelling for Grant to play. Grant so proudly told me, "That's Garrett. My Friend." He ran off to play with his new playmate. I watched as he took a little baby step toward independence of making friends on his own and a little less relying on me. It will always be etched in my mind as a sweet moment.

Moxie Falls in Maine

Chris and I are in the upper right hand of this photo. This is probably not the safest thing we ever did. After hiking back to the car, we noticed a sign stating the river can rise within seconds, 3 to 5 feet. But this is the coolest picture I've ever been in. We went to Maine for a week long adventure. I've always wanted to visit Maine. It did not disappoint me. Loved the wilderness, the moose, the people, the shore and the picture postcard villages. Its easier to get there from Kansas City than I thought. We flew to Boston and drove a couple hours to reach Maine, not a bad drive at all. Southwest Airlines is now flying to Boston for about $200 round trip. Our brother-in-law, Darcy was the brillant photographer. Photo journalism major, Chris Roesner made him stand on a railing to take our picture. It doesn't matter if you get hurt or fall down a 90 foot waterfall as long as you get the picture, baby!

One Heck of a Salad, Baby!

This is my new favorite salad. We spent the Labor Day weekend at the Stottle's lake house at Tan-Tara. Jenny fixed us this salad the first night. I fixed it again when I got home. Chris and I both love it. Healthy and delicious, baby!
P.S. Forgot my suitcase for the weekend trip. No clothes but the ones on my back. Kind of romantic given it was our 12th year anniversay, don't you think?

BJ's Spinach Salad

1 cup canola oil

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

3 to 4 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne

Blend all above in a blender. Pour half on the salad and reserve the other half for individual use.

2 bags baby spinach

1 cup craisins

4oz feta or blue cheese

1/2 red onion, slice in rings

1/2 cup slivered almonds

4 strips crisp bacon

sliced mushrooms

hard boiled eggs

Toss and enjoy!

Roy enjoying our exotic tropical front porch, baby!

This is where I like to relax, drink a diet coke, write in my prayer journal or read a book. Please notice the exotic tropical palms purchased from Home Depot thriving on our porch in Prairie Village, Kansas. I wanted to go on an exotic tropical vacation this summer. Didn't happen. So I thought I would trick myself into believing I lived in an exotic tropical home by planting palms on my front porch. It worked quite well. Also, you must have cushions on all outdoor chairs. No one sat in these chairs before we put the cushions down. Try to make life as comfortable as you can, starting with some cushions, baby!