Saturday Morning Jam ~

A little impromptu jam between Jordyn and Daddy this morning...enjoy!

First Field Trip and a Royal Wedding ~

 Jordyn's first field trip was on Thursday...it was the Preschool, Kindergarten and First grades, and the kids had a blast!  The first stop was the city park for a picnic lunch and lots of playground fun...

 Then we headed over to the Gardens on Spring Creek, where they took a tour of the fabulous grounds, planted some sunflower seeds, and enjoyed the Children's Garden.

 It was a nice sunny day, which was a refreshing change...April has been filled with wind, snow, and extreme cold...so the kids lucked out with a beautiful day!  Look...no jackets!

 Our last stop on the trip, the Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream...hmmmm...decisions, decisions...

 Jordyn finally decided on the cotton candy ice cream with gummy bear sprinkles!  This place was awesome, all kinds of different toppings and the ice cream was super tasty...just look at those faces :)

 Im so glad i was able to tag along for her first field trip...it was a great way to end the week!

And speaking of the end of the week...it was the "big" wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on Friday, so naturally i tuned in.  How could i miss it?  I remember watching the day Charles and Diana married, we were on vacation visiting family out in Colorado, and my mom was watching in the wee hours of the morning, and so was i.  I know folks are tired of hearing about it, but im tired of hearing about politics, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes ( i can only take so much depressing, sad news)...so it was nice to escape to a beautiful fairytale wedding...and thats just what it was! 

 

Besides, it was history in the making, and i enjoyed all the glamour and pageantry.  Her dress was absolutely stunning, as was she...and Prince William looked rather handsome too!  It was quite different from the wedding of Charles and Dianna, it seemed more relaxed and they seemed very comfortable with each other.  

I wish them nothing but happiness ~

 This little collage is from Getty images, and the photo below was found on flickr (i forgot the source).

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Seventeen

Week Seventeen: Squirrel!!!
Saw this truckload of huskies, and they were beautiful.  

Naturally, they were totally distracted by a squirrel in a tree :)

Easter Fun At Great Grandmas ~

I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter...we sure did!  Sunday morning we woke to find lots of Easter loot for Jordyn...including a new doll with a set of pajamas, and a set of pajamas for Jordyn too.  She got 3 new Easter books, an Easter hot wheels car, a little lego toy and lots and lots and lots of candy!  The Easter bunny hid eggs all over the house, and Jordyn had fun hunting them down.

 The dinosaur eggs were doing battle on the kitchen table, but then it was time to pack them up and go to Great Grandma Anita's for brunch.

 There was another egg hunt at GG's only this time Jordyn was joined by her cousin Madi...

 This egg was out of reach, but Jordyn was determined to knock it out of the tree!

 She also spotted this lone tulip growing under the tree, which she thought was an egg at first, but then realized it was a flower.  None of our flowers are blooming yet, we're still getting snow, so it was great to be in town enjoying the nicer weather!

 Another egg score in the drain pipe...

 and then the girls sorted out their candy and compared their yummies!  Cori joined them for the second round of egg hunting, and then Jordyn and Madi played all afternoon outside in the sun.

 Here is a sweet shot of 4 generations...and then a shot of Jordyn with her Great Grandma Anita...isnt she beautiful!  It was a wonderful afternoon, and after a loooong winter, it was great to get some sunshine and see family~

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Sixteen

Week Sixteen : Spring Wishes

photo digitally manipulated in Photoshop

Eggs, Easter Preparations and More Eggs ~

 We've had a lot of fun leading up to Easter this week...Jordyn had a little egg hunt at her preschool and the kids had a great time, candy, bunnies, and an Easter bunny cake!  They also had a volunteer appreciation luncheon with lots of great food for all of us parents.

 Then we had a surprise visit from Justin's elementary school teacher Abby and her daughter, Jenny (Justin's old classmate).  There were a few years up here when it was just the 3 of them in the one room schoolhouse, which was grades K-6 (a big difference from the schools in LA where i grew up), so they were all pretty close.

 Next it was time to make our "traditional" peanut butter eggs...we discovered the recipe last year, and they were quite a hit, so we decided to make them again.

 Jordyn's favorite part was dipping them in chocolate...mostly i think she just liked getting into the chocolate :) 

 The Easter bunny stopped by Aunt LeAnns house early, so we went up there today for an egg hunt...Russell helped her with the high ones!

 And look how many she found...

 Later it was time to color eggs...40 to be exact...

 A big mess was made, but fun was had by all!

 Looks like we're all ready for the Easter bunny tomorrow...hope you have a fabulous Easter!

Peanut Butter Eggs Recipe

1 (16 ounce) package confectioners sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter (crunchy works well too)

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon milk

8 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon of shortening

Directions:  

Mix sugar, peanut butter, butter and milk until blended.  Shape into little eggs and freeze for 1 hour.   Put chocolate chips and shortening in a glass bowl and microwave for a few minutes, stirring ever minute until the chocolate is smooth and ready for dipping.  Using a long-tined fork, prick the bottom of the egg and dip in chocolate sauce until covered, then place on wax paper to set.  Use sprinkles to decorate, and enjoy! :)

Art and Arcade

 Friday was filled with lots of fun...there was art, ponies, slides, video games, pizza and more art!  We started off by visiting the Artist Association of Northern Colorado's National Art Exhibition, and i must say i was really impressed with the show.  It was a beautiful collection of work, and i wanted to take several pieces home!  If you are in the area, you should stop by and check it out.

 After the art exhibition, we headed over to Fort Fun!  We hadnt been there in months, so we decided it was time to go...besides "someone" had energy to burn, and we still had another art exhibit to visit, so we figured this was the place!

 Jordyn had fun spending all of her tokens...there was the wacky gator game...

 the helicopter ride and skee ball...

 and Jordyn's favorite...the slide!

 Afterwords, we cashed in her tickets and picked out an adorable prize...can you guess what it was? :)

 Next, we had pizza and beer...Yum!

 And finally, our last stop in town for the evening, our friend Sarah's MFA exhibition!

 This piece really needs to be viewed in person...there are so many figures and forms within the sculpture, that the photo doesnt do it justice.  Thats why ive included a few perspectives of it.

 and here's the peanut gallery...

 Ive only included Sarah's work here, but the entire show was interesting and worth the visit.  Congrats on all of your hard work Sarah...we're all proud of you! 

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Fifteen

Week Fifteen: Cozy Quilt
Jordyn napping in her I-spy quilt...soooo cozy!  Digitally painted in Photoshop.

Daddy Day at Preschool ~

 Today was Daddy day at Jordyn's preschool, which turns out to be "mommys day" as i got to stay home and didnt have to drive in this snowy weather.  Of course, i had to make breakfast and get Jordyn ready for school, so there was no sleeping in...and then i had to go outside to knock the snow off of our awning (twice) and also gather firewood to bring in (and all before 8am)...so technically, not really a "mommys day" after all.
 I went upstairs to wake up Jordyn and reminded her it was Daddy day at preschool and she raced downstairs to tell Daddy it was time to get up for school!  She climbed in to cuddle and i captured this sweet moment...

 All and all, we got about 8 inches of snow...and most of it has melted already...but i still enjoyed my day off.  I relaxed with a nice cup of coffee and lounged in my pj's while reading the Golden Compass by Philip Pullman.  Ive seen the movie, but since its a trilogy (and they arent making any more movies), id like to know the whole story.
  And now id like to share some photos from this weeks activities...

 Jordyn spent Tuesday "helping" grandma get the ditches cleared and the yard raked.  You can see her hard at work here in the wheelbarrow...thankfully i checked her later that evening, as i found a tick on her from all that rolling around...yuck...ticks just creep me out!

 Monday was gorgeous outside, so we spent most of the day outside!  Jordyn did lots of climbing while i brought out my sketchbook to doodle.  I thought i would drag out my dusty, like new, watercolor pencils.  Well, naturally Jordyn had to get in on the action, so i showed her how the watercolor pencils work, and this is what we doodled.  I think my daughter is hooked on keeping an art journal...which is awesome! 

 

 And here is my latest practice piece from my explorations in watercolor.  I need to stop shying away from color and heavier paint applications...every time i lay down some color i tend to thin it out with too much water.  The more i play with the paints the less intimidated i become...so ill just keep on it :)