weekend at the cabin

Two weekends ago we were invited up to our friends, Ron and Amy's cabin for a family weekend. We we headed up on Saturday around noon so that the kids could catch a cat nap on the way up, which they did. Since they were all rested they were rarin' to go once we arrived. They wasted no time digging into the toys and as soon as our other friends Lisa and Dan arrived, Tootie immediately made friends with Lisa. Aren't they cute together...matching blue eyes!

Audrey was enthralled with Lisa's chunky jewelry. I guess my el cheapo fake diamond pendant isn't nearly as interesting!

And here is Audrey's version of giving loves...leaning in to get a kiss!

This is Ron and Amy's little girl, Kaitlyn. Isn't she just a honey?!? She is such a sweet and polite little girl. Maybe she was just being shy around us, but she has way more manners than my two kids put together and she is only 20 mos old!

And this is Amy with her little Darlin'. You'll see more of Amy soon, just wait!


And this is our little fox friend that was scampering through the woods near their cabin.

Both Audrey and Kaitlyn had fun eating 'with' or should I say near each other.

I wish my kids had as good of eating habits are Kaitlyn. She eats all of her protein and veggies so well. Audrey is pretty good and will try most things and she will far out eat Grant. He is pretty much a pizza and chocolate milk kind of kid. He will eat lettuce salads now. Yeah! (isn't that just terrible that I have to be excited over a lettuce salad!)

Oh, and have you ever met...Genie (Gene Simmons daughter that is!) Check out that tongue...she could easily be an offspring of KISS!

Okay, she doesn't quite have the hair for it yet, but give her a couple of years. I think she may end up with some curls.

Here is our little fisherman's first success. He went out fishing with the big boys and had to come in and show me one of their trophy's. Not sure if he actually caught this one but he sure was proud of it!

I just love his little alfalfa sprout he was sporting all weekend. I bet they all thought I don't ever comb my kids hair! He has since received a hair cut an the mess is much more manageable now!

A big congratulations goes out to our friends Dan and Lisa who just got hitched this past weekend. Don't you think this would've made the best engagement picture?????

Okay, so once the kids were put to sleep, we poured a few drinks and Amy rolled out the ever famous karaoke machine. Amy just so happens to be the self proclaimed "Queen of Karaoke" see for yourself!

Oh, did I mention that she has a stash of hats and wigs that all must wear during the 'performance'? And this is a picture of 'Rocker Mama" on the lead guitar. Lisa is 4 1/2 mos pregnant with their first child (a boy) and you can not even tell! Lucky girl.

Two hot karaoke mamas!

Go ahead, show us your thang!

Boy, I am glad I had the camera this night. Keeps me from looking silly like the rest of the folk!

Did I just say silly...I meant distinguished. Nope...I really did mean silly!

This is Ron, Amy's (the cowgirl) hubby. Giddy-up Ron!

And this is the cowboy with my hubby the gangsta!

And here is the entire 'motley crew'!

And these last two were earlier in the day, but were two of my favorites. The pictures speak for themselves...simple and beautiful!

I suppose I better go make my son a milkshake since he has been begging me since 7 pm.

Night night, ya'll!

I ♥ Faces Week 9 - "Creative Crop"

I am sooooooo addicted to I ♥ Faces weekly photo contest. The themes are so fun and it gives me ideas and tips on how to take better pictures. I am really having fun learning how to make my camera take different pictures in different lights.

This weeks theme is "Creative Crop" For the kids entry I chose a picture I took of Grant in the tub back in September 2008 with my OLD point-n-shoot camera. I just really love the look on his face and how I captured the water spraying out of his mouth. And the little orange star floaty just adds a pop of color!
I have also attached the original photo which is pretty cute itself!

My adult entry for this weeks Creative Crop it a picture I took two weekends ago of my beautiful friend, Lisa. We were just talking while I was snapping away and I happened to capture this awesome picture. Isn't she just glowing??? Maybe that is because she is pregnant with her first child, (a boy) and due in July! Can't wait to meet and take MANY pictures of that little punkin'!

If you haven't alreay, you have to go check out all of the other beautiful entries at http://www.iheartfaces.blogspot.com/ or click on the link below.

helping heal a broken heart

As you all know, we lost our beloved kitty, Gabby, two weeks ago to kidney failure. It has been a road of heartache and healing for our family. Grant took the news pretty hard but of course he had the question I knew would be coming..."Can we get a new kitty?"
Well, everyone knows how much I love animals so I was the wrong person to ask that! On Monday I went to the Central Minnesota Animal Care and Control and adopted this little gem...


Her name is "Trixie" That was the name given to her at the shelter an the ironic thing was that when I decided I was ready to adopt another kitty, I planned on naming it the same name!

She took some time yesterday getting used to her new digs...the garage. It is like an amusement park for her. She has all sorts of things to climb on, in and under.


She wasted no time making her self at home and comfortable.

Then after she was all settled, I brought the kids home to meet her. The look on Grant's face was priceless! It just lit up and he was smiling from ear to ear. He was almost in disbelief that he actually had a new baby kitty! He kept saying, "Can we keep her allll day?" For Grant, that means forever and I told him, "Of Course we can keep her allll day!"

Both of the kids thought she was the "cats meow"! Ha...I am so funny :)

Tootie was literally squealing with delight at the sight of a kitty. Although she can't say it yet, I really do believe she misses chasing Gabby around and I know for a fact that this little kitten-cat is gonna get it's fair share of being chased!

As a matter of fact, here are the two detectives on their first case, "The Case of the Speedy Cat"

She is a little skiddish, but very friendly and I am sure she will warm up even more in the next few days.

I just love this picture of Grant and his new buddy. I can just tell they are going to be the best of friends. Isn't in amazing how much healing a new member of the family can bring? She won't ever replace the piece of my heart that is missing from losing Gibber Gabbers, but she sure has made it feel a lot better. I am so excited to give Trixie the best home and life she could ever imagine!