Visit from Grampa Husker and Grandma Becky

Grampa Husker and Grandma Becky were kind enough to arrange their spring (not technically spring but February in Arizona is basically spring when compared to February in Nebraska) trip to conveniently overlap with mommy's 2nd annual ski vacation with Auntie Adrienne.  This was helpful for Scott and allowed Grampa and Grandma some extra time with the little ladies in our house.

Relaxing morning time with Grampa and his coffee.

After coffee time each morning, Grampa and Natalie went outside to water the flowers they planted earlier in the week.

Daily trips to the park.  "Grampa come on.  Hiding."

Natalie really had fun saying "Ready.  Set. Go." and then pushing Grampa down the slide.

Playing soccer in the front yard with Grandma Becky!

Playing soccer is hard work.

The silly sisters.

Katie plays a cut-throat game of Cadoo with Grampa and Grandma while Natalie screams for attention in background.

Impromptu cello concert.

Getting ready to head home.

Thanks for all the fun times!!!  We love you!!!!!!!  Come back soon!

2013 Ostrich Festival

After a weekend of crazy weather, we braved the Ostrich Festival on Sunday morning, bright and early.  Miss Katie was a great sport and volunteered to ride rides with Natalie or Maddie when an adult was needed (although the carnival people didn't always allow this).  Natalie loved all the smells, noises, small kid rides and funnel cake.

First time on carousel

Katie in front, Vince and Maddie in back.

 

Scott and long-time friend, Vince

All the girls inside the purple dragon (think tea cups).

A tight squeeze on the "Hoppin Roo" ride before we left.

Birthday wishes

Someone sent me birthday wishes and told me they hoped I got spoiled for my birthday.  Looking at these pictures, I am positive that not only did I get spoiled, but I am spoiled.  I've got 2 wonderful kids, 3 perfect part-time jobs, my health and even got to spend part of my birthday celebrating with my parents for the first time in so long none of us could remember the last time it happened.

Special thanks to Grandma Becky for making my giant birthday cookie cake despite having an ear and sinus infection (which she at one point described as feeling like knives in her skull), to Katie for meticulously designing and decorating it, to Grandpa Larry and Gramma Judy for spontaneously watching the kids on Saturday night so we could go out for dinner and drinks as just adults, and of course, to Scott for the free tank of gas (woot woot!) and for taking me out to dinner at a restaurant full of stuffed animals and comical drinks and a tour of Queen Creek.  Also, many thanks to our good friends who live just down the street for letting us crash by their house on our way home for one last drink and a fantastically fun acoustic sing-along.

Suburban Suds family bottling party

Our Experimental Porter was ready for bottling while my parents were in town, so we put them to work on the bottling line.  My dad helped package the bottled beers.  My mom took photos of the process.

Step 1: sanitize everything.

Step 2: give audience members snack.

Step 3: open the fermenting bucket and take a whiff (and photo) of your nearly finished product.

Step 4: have husband with very long arms get siphon going.  Learn a funny story from my dad about one time when my Grandma Schwisow was trying to siphon homebrew when she was younger.  Long story short: she ended up accidentally getting drunk on Sunday morning right before my Grandpa came to pick her up for church.

Step 5: bottle the first of 54 potentially delicious 12-oz beers.

Step 6: encourage the bottle capper to smile for a pic.

Step 7: put audience members to work.

Step 8: pour every last drop of liquid goodness into a bottle.  For the record, I am not sweating like a pig but rather just came inside from fixing the downspout in the backyard during a rain storm.

Step 9: clean up the giant mess in your kitchen.

The Suburban Suds Experimental Porter (name TBD) will be ready for tasting on March 17, 2013.  I have high hopes for my conveniently timed St. Patty's Day beer batch.

Girls weekend in Steamboat Springs

Quick weekend getaway to Steamboat Springs, Colorado with my sister and 3 of her friends...

Day 1: in search of fresh pow from the storm the day before

We found some ourselves some ankle-deep pow.

On the back side, at the bottom of the Alarm Clock run.

A quick change in weather forced us into the trees to avoid wind and snow.

Orange power lunch: mac and cheese, orange slices, coke and beer.

Life is good.

The newest Coloradoian (?)

Which way?
Please note the person crumbled up and missing a ski just next to the pole
holding the CAUTION sign.

Scott's next sport?

Reflections and laundry baskets

We found Natalie sitting happily in Katie's empty laundry basket one morning reading a book...

A few days later, I found Natalie behind her bedroom door giving herself kisses in the mirror....

All-State Katie

After just her second year of playing cello, Katie was nominated by her teacher and accepted into the Arizona Elementary (k-6) and Junior High (7-8) School All-State Orchestra.

Unfortunately, they were fairly strict on the cameras allowed in the performance, so we weren't able to get many pictures of her.  Plus, because we were unable to find a babysitter, that meant that we were juggling a cranky little kid who had been in the car for an hour and was quickly approaching dinner/bed time + still another hour ride home.

It was a fabulous concert and Katie says she had a great time doing it.  Win-win!

You can barely see her, but she is sitting just behind the kid in the red shirt.

Auntie Adrienne's Lost Dutchman

Auntie Adrienne decided to come out for a quick weekend and run the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon.  Turns out that was the same weekend Scott had signed up to ride in his 24-Hours in the Old Pueblo mountain bike race.

Playing at the park the day before the race

We woke Nat up at 6:30, threw her in the car in her jammies and headed for the race.  Lucky for her, the parking lot was far away and there were school bus (BUS!!!!!) shuttles to ride in.  If it hadn't been so early, I think this would have been crazy exciting for her.

Shuttle took us from parking lot to race.
Nat's first school bus ride!!!

While standing near the finish line for an undisclosed amount of time wearing her "I love my Auntie" shirt, Natalie cheered everyone on by yelling "YAAAY" or sometimes "almost there" and occasionally, if she saw someone walking, she would yell "FASTER" -- which was slightly embarrassing but also very comical.  She kept watching the crowd for Auntie Adrienne and saying quietly "blue hat, red shirt."

As soon as she saw Auntie Adrienne come around the corner, she took off and started swimming upstream by running towards her yelling "Auntie Adrienne, Auntie Adrienne -- almost there."  She tried to run with Adrienne the last 0.2 miles but kept tripping over her feet, so Auntie picked her up and ran with her to the finish line.  Both had giant smiles.  

It was perfect.

Crossing the finish line with Auntie Adrienne!

Trying on Auntie Adrienne's race "necklace."

It's hard work running a half-marathon 

Scott's 24-hour mountain bike race ended at noon on Sunday and he made the hour drive home shortly after.  He came in the door during Natalie's nap, took about 10 steps, laid down on the carpet in the family room and simply said "french fries."  So once Natalie woke up from her nap, we all headed to our newest local brewery for beers and fries.

So less than 6 hours after returning home from the race + 2 beers, 2 plates of french fries, a half-dozen wings, this is what Scott looked like...