There's not much that can make the stomach flu tolerable. But puppy snuggles come close.

Captain Veda's pirate party... Aaaarggh!

Veda's request was for a pirate themed birthday party, and deliver we did! Here are the invitations.

Captain Veda with some of her mates. 23 kids in all!!

The kids at the start of the treasure hunt.

Travis and I reading the next Treasure hunt clue.

I should have taken a picture of the house before the wind blew off some of our flags. You get the picture though.
The pirates coming back for their next clue.
X marks the spot! Now we dig!
The booty!



Some of the roughest toughest buccaneers we know.
Pirates are starvin! Time for cake!
Happy Birthday to you...



Cap'n Filthy Scar Knockboots and his sidekick Girdy Joe Rose
Some pirate-ettes taking a little breather in the sun.
What is any pirate without a parrot? This was an honored guest - Bonzai. She was a very social sweet bird who flew from shoulder to shoulder, even taking samples off our plates. She was the hit of the party.
This is the cutest little swashbuckler I've ever seen. Great idea Veda!

Happy Birthday to Veda

I'm still in denial that my little girl is now seven. Seven sounds soooo old! Can it be? Thankfully I really LIKE this seven year old and the girl she is becoming.

In school she is learning to tell time, so we thought an appropriate gift would be a watch. She loves it and has already gotten so much faster at reading the time.

Who knew that idogs are actually pretty cool! Way to go Dad. Good gift. I would have never thought of it. Now she can listen to her ipod without headphones.



We had a birthday party a few days after the actual birthday. photos to come soon.

Our Easter 2010

We got to share in some new traditions this year thanks to our friends. This was a first for us - an Easter hunt of chocolate, candy, and exotic fruits and vegetables. You can guess what got nabbed up first. :)

Eve is thrilled with her eggplant.
Yuum, is that a dragon fruit??

Auntie H gets this amazing RED dye from the Ukraine. These were my favorite eggs by far.

On Easter Sunday we joined our friends at their church for a service and an Easter egg hunt.


The bunny brought bubbles!

Our favorite and best

am lucky that I really LIKE the kids my kids like. They have some sweet little friends. Here are some of our favorite and best friends.

Veda, Max, Rosie, Eve, and Meredith watching a movie while the adults enjoy a yummy and quiet dinner party.

These are two of our favorite girls and sisters that are just our girls' ages, Kepler and Canyon.
Kepler, Veda, Canyon, Eve
Kepler is Veda's best friend in her class. They are so sweet to each other. I love this whole family.



Luke D. and Veda go way back... all the way to preschool where they got busted for kissing during nap time. They are still best buds, and much to my relief the romance has cooled.
These are quite possibly the cutest little 4 year old girls in the history of the world. Ella and Eve hit it off on the first day of preschool. They even have to coordinate their outfits for school each day so (God forbid) one doesn't wear pants while the other is wearing a skirt!!
Another preschool sweety and close friend to Eve, Mei Mei. This is pajama day at school for the letter "P".
Some friends running off the last of the day's energy at sunset. This was Valentine's Day and about 4 of our closest friends ended up at the same burger joint for dinner just by coincidence. It was such a "small island" moment.

Finally, we have eggs!

long awaited event happened last week - our chickens started laying! Veda and Eve take turns doing the chicken chores in the morning before school, now which includes collecting the eggs. It's been a great project for them.

Just a week later we are getting up to 6 eggs a day! Here the girls are enjoying their first breakfast of our own eggs.