feast day in room 6!

yesterday was the big "feast" day in gabe's class! i am happy to report the stew was fabulous! all of the huge chunks of veggies cooked down, and all the flavors just married right together...i was really surprised when i took my first bite, i was half expecting to have to gag it down...it looked a little scary---but i should know by now, most of the time the food with the most disgusting appearance, usually turns out tasting pretty darn good!! along with the feast, the kids sang a couple of songs, read a poem, and shared what they were most thankful for! the kids also made costumes to wear during the feast....though most of them were shed long before the feast actually took place.

as you can tell from my little native american's face, he was not very impressed with the whole costume thing....he's just a little too cool for all of that! but as you can see, grady thought the costume was awesome!!!!!
happy thanksgiving, everyone!!! we love you and miss you all!!! don't eat too much turkey!!!

and we all still have our fingers!

today gabe's class had their prep day for their big thanksgiving feast! when mr. davis first contacted me to put together a team of parents for prep day, i just assumed the prep would be done by the parents...assuming has once again fooled me! so, today a group of 25 second graders were armed with veggie peelers and paring knives...oh yes, you read me right, knives! fortunately the only casualty was my child---he gets his gracefulness from his dear old mom! the kids actually did a great job...they were very careful, and really listened when one of the parents would tell them a "safer" way to do something! shawn had the day off, so he came along for the slicin' and dicin' fun! the soup will simmer all night and tomorrow we go back for the big taste test! the kids are very excited to see how all their hard work will taste..and to be honest so am i! i'll let you know!

wow, what a view!

yesterday, late afternoon, we headed down to picnic point beach! we had our bellies full of potato soup, fully rested from our afternoon nap, and ready to enjoy what was left of a perfect afternoon! we didn't do anything terribly exciting at the beach...we just enjoyed walking along the beach, enjoying the spectacular sunset and the quiet! it made me so happy that God shared his artwork with us! it was an amazing sunset....i just wanted to share it with you!

what a pair! like father, like son!

oh, i forgot to mention, we did have a little excitement at the beach! gabe decided to head into the water to grab his football!! don't tell him...but, the waves would have actually brought the ball back to him......patience my child!! needless to say...he was a little chilly, but his ball was safe!

bursting with excitement!!! ha!!

this week hasn't been the least bit exciting....which in most cases is a good thing! we've been taking it easy...gabe had a buddy over on tuesday, they were out for veteran's day, tuesday evening, we went to spiro's for gabe's end of the season soccer party, grady had a buddy over on wednesday, shannon came over for dinner and wii play one night, thursday, i went to the ymca and became thoroughly annoyed with cardio machine stealing people!, and grady and i went grocery shopping this morning...see what i mean bursting at the seams with excitement! with the end of soccer last weekend, i was hoping to do something super exciting this weekend, but it looks like that plan has been twarted by yard work! there are also mechanics up for boeing...i.e. the reason we had the pleasure of shannon's visit!...so it is a good idea to stay close to work in case anything should arise! we may try to hit the beach...after all it is only a 30 second drive! i hope everyone is having a great week...hopefully a little more exciting than ours!!!

some serious wii play going on....charlie and gabe in a heated game of baseball!

the fireballs end of the season pizza party!!

masterpiece complete....josiah and grady finished the puzzle with only a little help from mom!

go mudballs!!..oh, i meant go fireballs!!!

go mudballs!!!...oh i mean fireballs!!!

on saturday, the fireballs had their last soccer game....and it was muddy! it has been raining pretty much everyday for the last 4 days, so the field resembled a mud wrestling ring! the boys just ate it up.....they were sooo muddy, most of them got stripped down to their fruit of the looms before they got to enter anyone's vehicle! i have no idea of the score, i'm pretty sure we didn't win...but i have not laughed this hard in a long time...so that counts for like 50 scores! everytime the boys would kick the ball, someone would get a face full of mud, their was a lot of slippin' and slidin', and in order for a goalie to stop the ball he would have to one stop slidin' long enough to get to the ball, but being boys he would then need to lay on it!! oh, they had a great time! at first when i saw the field, being a complete neat freak, i was less than impressed with what i knew was about to happen, but after i accepted the inevitable mess, i just enjoyed the free mud show! this was definitely the best end to a soccer season i could have imagined....we don't know the score, but we know we ended the season with 10 very happy (and muddy) seven year olds...and after all isn't that what life is all about!

no, it hasn't been 10 years.....has it??

yes, 10 years ago today, i had the wonderful opportunity to marry my best friend and the man of my dreams...what a lucky gal!! the title fits our 10 years marriage perfectly...it does not at all seem like it has been 10 years....time really does fly when you are having fun! i know that if we were not happy the last decade would have lasted forever! luckily, shawn and i have a great relationship...we are friends as much as husband and wife--we tease and are serious, we laugh and cry together, we are comfortable working out together (sweat rings and all) or all dressed up for a night without kiddos! now, i would be lying if i said we always agree, never, ever argue, and always see eye to eye on everything--but, i think it has been our differences that has kept us so close! i am thankful to God for putting shawn into my life....he is a great husband, wonderful friend, and the best father i could ever have imagined for my two boys! i look forward to the next 65 years----yep, on the day we got married we agreed to 75 years....shawn will be a young 99 and me a youthful 95 years old---hey anything is possible!

just call us betty and bobby crocker!

this morning, grady and i were feeling frisky! we had a pumpkin itchin' to be baked! gabe loves pumpkin pie, almost as much as aunt greta--fresh from the fridge...the colder the better! so, a few weeks ago, he asked me if i would make a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin...not from the good ol' libby's can! so being the world's best mom (who happens to suffer from bouts of insanity!), i said sure....we'll wait until we are done with the ones we carve! well, that day was today...we took grady's little pumpkin from his preschool patch visit, and baked her up! not only did we make our own pumpkin puree, but we also made our own pie crust...not one from the refrigerator section at your friendly neighborhood grocer! grady and i had a blast....he is such a great sous chef...i think he may have found his calling! we have yet to taste this little beauty, but it sure looks scrumptious! we even did some dandy handiwork on the top of the pie...aren't we feeling very betty today??!!

i only cry American tears!

the 2nd graders, waving old glory!! (sorry it is so dark....the gym was dark for the assembly!)

today, i had the wonderful pleasure of doing 2 of my favorite things at once! i got to watch gabe in a music concert and listen to songs about this great nation! now, as most of you know i ooze red, white and blue! i have dedicated one room in my home to my patriotic heart, but this week i will be completely honest i have felt a little less than patriotic--thankfully, a group of elementary students helped me to find my way back! first, you may be wondering why are you feeling unpatriotic this week....well, first my top choice for president--didn't get voted in (not to worry, i am willing to give 'ol obama a chance--even if he is going to tax every bit of my google stock earnings--poo!), secondly, my choice for governor in wa. didn't get voted in either! bummer! but thirdly is probably my biggest disappointment--the medical assisted suicide proposition went through up here--my own personal opinion--i feel this is wrong no matter what...but i have never been in that position---it's just my opinion! so, after tuesday night, i just felt like my vote didn't matter, my two cents didn't count this time (a major pity party!) so gabe's veteran's day assembly was just what this red, white, and blue gal needed! i was reminded how many people have fought for my freedom....my freedom to write this blog, my freedom to go to the church i choose, my freedom to read the bible, my freedom to marry whom i choose, my freedom to own my own house, my freedom to wear what i choose, my freedom to say what i want--my freedom to get to vote--even if it doesn't always go my way! gabe's class sang the song "Grand Old Flag"--which happens to be one of my favorites, but my favorite song that was sung today was by a group of 4th graders, it was entitled, "I Only Cry American Tears". so today my motto is ,"i don't cry blue state tears, i don't cry red state tears----i only cry American tears!" this is the UNITED States of America--and i am darned proud to say I'M AN AMERICAN!

p.s. thanks for listening to my rant...i feel much better! i hope i didn't offend any of my followers:)

love, ajf

grady's new 'do

i know, i know, why did i cut all of grady's
beautiful, wavy hair??? i know i will be
disowned by at least half of our families...
but he asked me to do it!!! you try telling
a face like this "no"! he has been asking
for this haircut for a whole week, and in
a 3 year old's life this is forever! so, on
sunday night....we did it!!! he was so
happy....i have to admit, the long, crazy,
just jumped out of bed hair was really
starting to grow on me, and of course
shawn loved it, but we aren't the ones
wearing it, so his wish was my command
...at least when it came to his hair!
it grows! when i was cutting hair, i can't
tell you how many kids would sit in my
chair and cry, just over their hair. parents
would be angry....oh the drama over hair!
they would put me in the middle of it...i hated
that! i always sided with the parents, after all
they were paying, but secretly my heart always
went with the kids! so i made up my mind that
as long as what my kids wanted to do with their
hair was within reason, i would let them make
the decisions! grady woke up this morning and i
couldn't help but laugh...he didn't look like my
little guy anymore!! he was so excited to put gel
in his hair...we'll see how long this lasts! the way
i see it... he's a stinkin' cutie no matter what
his hair looks like!

the remains!!! during his haircut, he kept saying,"goodbye long hair, goodbye!!"

fun forest!

fun forest!

after the game today, we headed to downtown seattle for some fresh fruit, veggies and fish! we also made a pit stop by the fun forest at the seattle center so the boys could ride some rides! the boys (mainly gabe!) has been begging us to ride rides at the fun forest every time we are down there with visitors! each time, we have said no for various reasons and each time it has resulted in a prolonged sulking session! so today with our afternoon free, it being somewhat rainy, and the fact we were in the neighborhood we decided to surprise him with this outing! so we are officially the best parents---for today! the boys had a blast! the rode several rides - bumper cars, mini roller coaster, flying dumbo ride, and some thing that took them way up in the air and back down! after reclaiming ourselves as the best parents in the world, we headed down to the pike place market! that place is always busy, but you can tell we are not in the height of tourist season...you could actually walk through with out being knocked around! our visitors from this summer can appreciate this! we grabbed tons of fruit - that will sure to please- some veggies - the asparagus was scrumptious tonight!- and some fresh alaskan cod! we also did a little christmas shopping....but i can't post that dandy find! it was a nice, touristy afternoon!!!

grady's soccer game!

today was the big day....grady's one and only soccer game! well, while we do not have the next david beckham yet....i think grady had a good time! he kicked the ball a couple of times, but he was definitely more interested in spinning around until he was completely dizzy! hey, he's three years old...what do you expect! the game only lasted 20 minutes (thank goodness!) which was more than enough time for the boys! unfortuately, i am unable to report the score as each team was very generous in scoring for each other! i think it may have been 6-4, but honestly that is purely a guess! the kids had a great time--and that is the only score i am worried about at 3 years old!

the fireballs vs. the navy seals

some fancy footwork by gabe!

the fireballs played their nemesis today, the navy seals! this meeting didn't end any better than the other two meetings either...final score 7-1. bummer! with the score it may seem our boys weren't even trying, but that was not at all the case...the boys had some great passes, and several goal attempts, their boys were just better. at the end of the game, their coach finally let us in on their secret to success......they had a professional soccer player come in to a few of their practices to show the boys some goalie, scoring, and passing techniques. well, with that newly acquired information, i don't think the boys took the loss too hard! it sure made the parents feel better! the fireballs have one more game next weekend, i'm not sure who we are playing, but hopefully we can end on a good note! keep your fingers crossed!