Classic "How'd She Do That?"

"Typical big sis, stealing my toys and the spotlight"

Big Girl

Josie's grown quite a bit and is now sporting blonde hair.

Celebrating Zach's Bday

We went out Sunday night.  It also happened to be Great Grandma and Grandpa's 58th Wedding Anniversary.

This is the same place where we shot the video of MM eating a lemon.  Josie gnaws on some cantaloupe in this pic.

           

Happy Bday Uncle Zach

Paintball and Pavers

Yesterday we went out to the Fightertown Paintball Park in Surprise.  Bobbins had gotten a pretty good Groupon deal, and my sister somehow talked our uncle into going, so the four of us got our gear and shot on.  Bobbins and Katie were unprepared, both wearing shorts and t-shirts, per the bad instructions they received from a call to the park.  Uncle Jack and I wore the same but weren't worried about getting hit.  Katie took this worrying to a new level.  The park has some pretty cool fields with shoothouses, bunkers, trenches, old vehicles (inc. a Winnebago that was a perfect snipers nest which I learned the hard way - twice), old gas pumps, and two old 1970s Sikorskys.  Bobbins and Katie made good use of one of the helo's to set up a defensive position.  Uncle Jack and I opted to attack from the left, which meant we were always 'killed' and out of of the game sooner.

The experience gave me a new appreciation for what third-world insurgents feel like fighting US forces, which have superior weapons and battle tactics.  We were amateurs with rented guns and equipment playing with some near-professionals outfitted to the T and carrying powerful automatic guns with scopes.  If everyone played with the same weapon, it might be a little more even, and fun.  My first game I got sniped from 75 yards away.

Some of our 'war wounds':

          

        

That night we went over to the condo for pizza and to help finish the backyard.  We had started the yard two weeks ago, and Zach and my dad made great progress.  It's all coming together nicely under Uncle Jack's design.

       

         

There's a Reason 'Bikes' is in the Title of this Blog

We ride our bikes a lot.  I love it.  People at work think I ride in just to save money (which is a large part of it), but I really just enjoy it.  I think we're passing it on to the girls.  I moby Josie on my chest and MM rides in a seat behind her mom.  We'd like to get one of those front facing seats that sits on the main crossbar and attaches to the handlebars.  In case someone needed an idea for MM's approaching 2nd birthday.

Last Sunday, for the first time, we hooked up the bike carrier on the Sequoia, loaded up the two wheelers and the dog, and headed down to the Arizona State Capitol.  There were only a couple other people milling around Wesley Bolin Plaza, a few tourists and some bums.  We looked at the monuments and rode around some of the neat old houses to the north and west.  It was overcast and a phenomenal day.

        

Garden 2011

Even though we might not be in this house a whole lot longer, we decided to do a garden again this year.  I'm hoping the basil, tomato, and two pepper plants come back from last year, but it's not looking promising.  That freeze we had in Feb. probably did them in.  But you never know.

This year we did some onions and spinach.  And giving in to Bobbins' love of roses, we put another rose bush at the left end.

      

Our Little Shopper

         

Bobbins amused by this; Bikes not so much.

Some funnies with love

Easter projects

I saw this crafty project in Women's Day ( thanks Terri for the subscription). If I was on top of things and read the magazine when it came in I would have had all the stuff ready for our moms group. Since that didn't happen here are the directions and you can find the time to have fun without me.

The last direction tells you that if you are going to fill up the egg with candy or jelly beans to use the xacto blade to cut through the napkin where the egg splits.

Wedding

Sat. night after the Nun Run, Bobbins and I attended the wedding of her high school friend, held at a huge, rich Lutheran church in Scottsdale.  Both of us were amazed at how short the ceremony was -- 20 minutes.  It was the first time in a while attending a non-Catholic church wedding.  The reception was held at a posh hall in the Arcadia neighborhood.  Good food but way too loud music and hardly any dance floor.  We had fun sitting with another of Bobbins' h.s. friends (also in the church moms group) and her husband.

         

Nun Run

This year's Nun Run was out in Tempe at Kiwanis Park.  I left early so Bobbins and the girls could eat breakfast before coming out.  One of the sisters ran the 10K, which is what I ran.  It was very cool and special to have MM cheer me on at the end.

            

          

          

Happy St. Patty's Day

               

Bedtime Reading

      

Watching Elmo

He may be the Devil for kids, but watching Elmo sure is a good way to occupy them a bit:

A little whimsical

Now that JoJo is sleeping through the night (its been 4 in a row) I decided to give up my day time nap. I am currently exhausted but I was able to find my creativity and created a little whimsical mobile for Marcelly's room. My inspiration actually came from the Pottery Barn kids catalogue. I absolutely love these birds. After looking high and low for something to buy I gave and and gave into myself. I really wanted a bird die cutter but since that is not cheap I opted for the circle cutter instead. This is what I came up with and I love it. So much so that I really want to make another one for JoJo. But then it might be over kill. I still want to make the birds, so maybe that can go in JoJo's room.
Cost break down:
Wire wreath 2.99
circle cutter 10.99 (used 40% off coupon)
string already owned
spray paint already owned
paper owned

Cute girls

ta da!

Do We Need to Fund That?

I liked this humdinger in a column on public funding of art & theatre, by James Lileks in the last issue of National Review:

"But even the people who profess a need for transgressive art and difficult, challenging theater will probably admit they'd rather watch Meet Me in St. Louis for the 15th time than sit through The Vagina Monologues performed with semaphore lamps by pre-op transsexuals."

RIP Dr. Nathanson

A titan of the pro-life movement, Bernard Nathanson, passed away recently.  This article is a pretty good run-down:

"Few people, if any, did more than Bernard Nathanson to undermine the right to life of unborn children by turning abortion from an unspeakable crime into a constitutionally protected liberty. Someday, when our law is reformed to honor the dignity and protect the right to life of every member of the human family, including children in the womb, historians will observe that few people did more than Bernard Nathanson to achieve that reversal."