When life hands you lemons...

You gotta make lemonade!  Maybe even a margarita...I could use a large margarita and I don't even drink! :)

I have definitely had better days, weeks, even months.....

Lemons...

I lost my job and have no income.....

Lemonade...

I get to look for a new job.  One that is a better fit for me and my family.

I get to spend extra time with my girls right now. I get to pick them up from school everyday.

I have time to focus on my photography.

I get to enjoy a beautiful sunrise and not have to rush off to work right away!

I have time to fix dinner every night...and bake lots of treats! :)

Well, I still have tons of lemons so I am off to make more lemonade!

The Grandkids!

Saturday night, I had the grandkids overnight.  It was also the night of the girls Ranger skating party.  I knew about both of them well ahead of time.  I just didn't put the two together on the same night!  Made for an interesting evening! 

The girls ice skated while the grandkids and I hung out.  Alyssa packed the kids dinners in their lunchboxes so they ate that.  Then we went into the snack room (which was heated!) and hung out in there for awhile.  The boys had treats (hot cocoa, licorice, pretzels and pop corn).  Then we went out and the boys stood on the benches by the glass windows so they could see the girls skating.  I didn't get any pictures of Alexandra, but I did get one of McKenzie saying "HI" to the boys!  

Mmmmmmm, treats!!  :)

Even Elizabeth had some treats!

Dinner!

After the skating was over, we headed over to the soccer side and watched the rest of the men's Rapids game.  Good game!  It was 11-8 Rapids win.  I was just able to watch the last few minutes.  They sent out an email saying all Rangers and their families get in free after the second half starts.  What they meant was all Rangers get in free whenever, parents have to pay.  I was not going to pay the $5 (which I did not bring, because I thought it was free) to get in and watch the grandkids run around.  I wasn't even able to really watch the game.  So the kids ran around in the entryway until there was five minutes left in the game and they took down the table so we could go in.  

We came home and got ready for bed.  Everybody was pretty tired, so bedtime went fast!  The kids even slept in!  Aiden and Ryan woke up about 9 and Elizabeth woke up about 9:45!!   We had breakfast and played for a bit.  Lunches, naps and snacks...more playtime...dinner/movie and home with the kids!  Long fun day!  I enjoy spending time with my grandkids, but they sure do wear me out! :)

It is now time for me to get us ready for bed!  School, work, and soccer tomorrow!

Wildlights at Woodland Park Zoo

The girls and I went to the Wildlights at the Woodland Park Zoo last night.  We got there in time to zip around the zoo for about 1 1/2 hours before they closed.  Then we went to the West gate where we bought our tickets for the Wildlights.  They opened the gates back up and we strolled around for a couple hours looking at all the lights.

When we first got there, this little guy was hanging out pretty close by.  He even stood there and posed! 

Next we saw the hippos!  They were out of the water and munching around looking for food.  They are so huge!!  I am always amazed when I see them.

 Just around the corner from the hippos, are these guys.  It was so fun to see the baby!  He is only a few months old.  I think he was born in August? maybe September.  It was pretty late (around 4pm) and pretty cold out, so most of the animals were in their enclosures getting ready for dinner.  It made it harder to see them, but we got to see a few.

We went to the elephants, but they were in their barn.  We could see them eating through their glass walls, but the reflection wouldn't let me get very many good pictures.  

These guys were also in their enclosure, which made getting their picture pretty hard, but I like this one.  He was just sitting there chilling out.

He kept going behind this rock and made it very hard to get his picture, but I like this one.

 We went to see the meerkats and the bats next.  The bats were very active.  They were hanging around and eating and moving all over the place!  Usually when we are there during the day, they are sleeping.  We must have timed it just right and caught them during breakfast! :)

I love the Komodo Dragons!  I also love getting the girls pictures by these ones! :)  I am very glad they tolerate me and all my picture requests! 

I took a couple of pictures of him while he was sleeping, and then I saw him wake up!  

We saw a few more animals and then it was time to leave so they could turn on the lights and we could go back in.

The girls standing by the bushes with ALL blue lights on them! 

This one was beautiful!  I loved the mountain and the twinkly lights!  It was so pretty!

Just across from the twinkly mountain, was the SEAHAWKS display!

There were even gorillas!

It was a fun night!  I took a bunch of other pictures and I am still going through them.  It was hard to take the night ones, but I am still working on it!  

It was a fun night.  I am glad we went.  We missed the Lights of Christmas at Warm Beach this year, and I am glad we tried the Wildlights at Woodland Park Zoo.

The girls start school again tomorrow, so we are getting ready.  It will be hard for them go tomorrow, since they have been staying up really late and sleeping in really late!  I will be glad to get back to some routine.

Jingle Bell Run

December 2013

Alexandra participated in her second 5K this year.  The first one she did was in October.  The girls and I did the Walk, Roll and Run 5K.  (Lots of fun!!)  Kyrene did the 5K with Alex in October and she was going to do the Jingle Bell Run with Alex also. Unfortunately, she was unable to make it at the last minute.  

There were 3,701 participants that ran or walked this 5k.  AMAZING!!  I could not believe the amount of people that were there!  It started and finished at Bellingham High School.  When they started to line up, Alex was at the front of the line.  (See her next to Santa in the first picture?!)  By the time the rest of the people got into line, she was about 10-12 rows back.  

This is Alexandra and Emmie coming around the final corner to the finish line!!  During the fall Cross Country season, Emmie was Alexandra's main competition.  She usually beat Alex by 15-50 seconds, but it was Alex's goal to catch up to her!  During the Jingle Bell Run, Alex did it!!!  She beat Emmie by just about one step!!  :)  

And they cross the finish line!!  Go Alex!!

They have her time clocked at 22.35, but I took this picture about 20 seconds after she crossed the finish line.  She was the 10th women to cross the finish line!  Out of 3,701 people!!!  Crazy fast!!  

I enjoyed taking pictures and watching her run! :)  She did amazing and I am very proud of her!

2014 is not starting very well for us...

On a sad note, my new year did not start off very well.  Both of the girls spent the night last night at friends houses.  As I went to bed, I took care of the cats like I always do.  Make sure the litter box is clean and they have food and water.  I find each of them and make sure the outside cats are outside (so they don't wake me up early to go out!)  and the inside cats are inside.  Checked them all and they were good.

When I woke up this morning, I wasn't able to find Four.  She likes to hide in corners, so sometimes it is a bit of hide and seek to find her.  She has been hanging out in a box in the hallway for the last week or so (before that, it was the top of the bookshelf in the livingroom).  I found her in my craft area this morning and she had passed away sometime in the night. :(  

We are very sad.  The girls have been crying since I told them tonight.  I am very sad and keep looking around for her.  We did not expect her to go so soon.  

She was our indoor only cat and she loved to come up to you and reach out her claws and try to grab your hand so you would pet her.  She would snuggle up next to you when you sat down and make you pet her.  She was very friendly and snuggly.  She would lay in the weirdest places! 

  I was rearranging our living room and she sprawled on top of the drawers I was trying to move. :)

We will miss you Four!!!