Welcome!

I just wanted to write a quick

WELCOME!

To Jenise and Mark who have started their own family blog!

I am very thrilled that they are now on board the blogger and am looking forward to seeing all the pictures they will be posting! I have included a link to their blog under my "links" section to make it easier! Now my "Tanya" link won't seem so lonely!

Now if I can just get my other family members to get their own blogs started . . . hint, hint, hint!

Random . . .

Went out to get the mail and noticed this little "guy" hanging from my lamp at the front entrance. Huge!

Here is my "professional" attempt to show you how big this guy really was. . . in numbers I am thinking close to three inches long!

He wasn't moving at all and then I started to wonder if it was dead, caught in a spider's web or something. So I poked him with that trusty pencil . . .

Nope! Wasn't dead! I will assume this is some form of warning. I think I'll just leave the little guy alone!

Game Night with the Boys :) !

I have to admit, it has been one of those days. Haven't had much energy, haven't felt all to well and just trying to get through the day and get through the house work.

Hayden has been feeling under the weather all day too and Tyler didn't really want to go outside so the boys were playing computer and Wii and Hayden laid around and read a lot. Kurt was away at work all day and Hailey went to help and the atmosphere was pretty drab. I actually found myself sitting at the computer and realizing that the boys had been on the Wii for a long time. I hadn't really seen them in a while and didn't feel good about that! So, I went down and suggested maybe playing a board game . . . they jumped at the chance. Since Hayden's head hurt I suggested something that didn't make a lot of noise . . .that knocked out Buckaroo and Trouble, Cage Bingo and Disney Yahtzee, Tyler suggested Candy Land (argh) but we all decided on Life! I like this game because it has a beginning and an ending, unlike Monopoly which can drag on forever - perfect to play with kids!


Willow was helping out with the instructions! This game was a lot of fun and Hayden ended up the winner by over 1.5 million more than me and Tyler, Tyler was second and I lost. I'm okay with it!

I didn't want to play life again so Hayden suggested a game he absolutely LOVES, Dragonology!

Hayden has a certain stealth about himself with this game but I have to admit it was very close! We toned the game down just a little for Tyler because there are some moves in this game (the card is called "confusion") where you can annihilate another player and knew he wasn't ready for that and Hayden also used an attack card(swoop) in a positive way for Tyler and it was the perfect example of good sportsmanship!

It was a heated battle between Hayden and I and we were not pulling out any stops! There was Hypnotizing, Swooping, Master Clawing and Deja Vu-ing all over the place. No idle threats were thrown and we knew a blood bath was a complete possibility! We were no longer Mother and Son, we were Master Dragonologists fighting to the death!

After over 2 hours of intense strategy and ruthlessness, Tyler was the victor! He was the happiest kid on the block! When you win at this game you get the huge honor of getting to write your name on a special list that is included on the game board in a special little envelope. Tyler was jumping all over the place! He stopped jumping long enough to sign his name!

In case you wanted to know, I won second and Hayden was third. It was a close match, he only had two spaces to move but I rolled the Dragons Eye and victory was mine! (well, at least I beat Hayden)! It was loads of fun and it beat watching a movie any day. The boys and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and really we all won because we got to spend the evening together and shared some special times! Hopefully next time Kurt and Hailey can join us too!

Picture Day for Tyler

I like to have a little fun with Tyler at his own expense sometimes! Tyler is the sort of kid who likes everything "just so". He is VERY particular about how his hair is combed. He gets highly irritated if I do anything to it but a side part.

He had picture day on Tuesday so I put a little bit of gel in his hair (to his chagrin) to keep it in place until he had his picture taken. I decided to take the liberty to see if maybe he wanted to try another style . . . .


As you can see, he wasn't too keen on this one . . . I tried to give him the idea that it didn't look too bad. He was actually being a good sport he just couldn't take looking at himself like that so he closed his eyes!

Now he feels much better! I thought he looked rather nice too.

Now I am patiently awaiting the arrival of his pictures. It will probably take about a month for them to come back. Hayden and Hailey have had their pictures taken at school too. Hailey's have come back and I am pleased, they turned out very well and I almost cried because she is just growing up way too fast. Hayden's should be here anytime. So, as soon as they all are here I will get them out to family! Hope you enjoy watching them grow as much as I do!

Nampa Nights with Dad!

I feel bad because I am posting this sooooo late! This has been a crazy/busy couple of weeks and I am very tired today but know I need to get this post up!
Here are some pictures from Nampa Nights on the 10th of September. This was the last Nampa Nights of the season and I was a little sad about it. I was hoping to be able to attend as many of these as possible but I only managed to get out to two. Hopefully next year will work a little better!

This was a special Nampa Nights just for the fact that my Dad came with me and the kids! I had heard that the band specialized in 50's type music and I knew that was right up my Dad's alley! I remember listening to 50's rock and roll quite a bit when I was a kid so I was looking forward to hearing some of the oldies but goodies myself!

The trip was entertaining with Dad at the wheel! As we headed into Nampa from out of the country roads he immediately pulled his hat to the side and squatted down at the wheel. If I remember right he even kind of stuck his tongue partially out of the side of his mouth. Nampa in the past has always been known for it's gang activity and Dad was pretending to be a "low rider" I think. It caught me and the kids off guard - yes, Dad can be funny!


This was the band of the evening, "The Fabulous Chancellors" - they were a fun band although some notes that were hit vocally, I believe, weren't the notes intended but all in all they put on a good show. As we walked into the sitting area, I believe they were playing "The Great Pretender" - which I definitely remember from childhood!

I was a little sad that they didn't play as many of the 50's songs that I was hoping for. They had some 60's and a few early 70's mixed in there but I caught my Dad singing and tapping his foot often so I think he was enjoying himself!

It was great to see that both Tanya's parents were there. I have spoke with her mother before this but I hadn't seen her Dad since Tanya and I used to hang around back in High School! And of course I didn't see either of them much back then because Tanya had me and our other friend Shar Todd out delivering Avon all the time! :)

Tyler had a good time too, Grandpa had brought some pop and Rob had bought the kids some ice cream and there were free ice pops given out so as long as there is sweet treats, Tyler is a happy camper!

The crowd was a pretty good size again this time. Everyone is pretty relaxed and just sits back and enjoys themselves.

Kurt at work, of course!

Hailey being social!

Forcing Tanya to have her picture taken with Rob . . . see how it feels to be on the other side of the lens my dear!!!! What pressure!

During a break Kurt stepped back and chatted with us a bit. Nice to get a chance to chat and shoot the breeze!

Tyler with his ice cream . . . this sure looked tasty!

Now I forced Dad to have his picture taken with me. Thanks to Hailey for snapping the shot! I wanted proof for Dad that you could step outside and have fun!!!! Just kidding Dad, I know you do go outside to get the mail!

Zach and Hayden doing what they do best - reading and electronic things!

These last couple of shots aren't so good. I had to shut the flash off so it wouldn't make the pictures too dark since it was dusk out but for some reason when I do that the pictures always seem to be blurry.

This is after the show and the musicians are tearing down their instruments and the kids are trying to help tear down the sound equipment.

This last shot here is actually of Kurt starting to pack up the board. I thought it looked interesting because it almost looks as though some yellow bolt of lightning is striking him in the neck. Don't worry, he survived!

I sure hope you have enjoyed the post on my last Nampa Nights of the season! I am sure there will be more interesting things to share with you this year!

City Harvest Festival - Downtown Boise

This was an interesting day . . . this is the first time I have ever gone to one of Kurt's jobs from start to finish and all I can say is, Wow! I was pretty nervous about it because it was out of my comfort zone but I desperately wanted to spend some time together as a family and also get an idea of what Kurt's work day was like, and that I did!

This was the first time I have been in downtown Boise in about 3 years! I am not the best traveller in the world and even worse if it has to do with a lot of traffic and the possibility of interstate driving but thankfully, we could get downtown without the interstate for the most part and the drive went "swimmingly" well ( except for about 30 seconds when Kurt tried to get on the interstate but that's another blog in itself)!

We arrived at the Center on the Grove and it was already bustling with people starting to set up chairs and tables, a silent auction area, an alcoholic beverage area and Rob, Tanya and their kids Zach and Gloria were starting on setting up the equipment. I knew it was going to be a long day but I was up for it! I think I was worried more about Tyler because he hadn't been to an event like this either and I wasn't sure how he was going to handle it.

Since I don't know ANYTHING about setting up sound equipment and lighting, Tyler and I took a lot of walks to check things out in the surrounding area. I enjoyed it and so did Tyler.

Here is a sign of the events for the day.

Just a few shots around the stage where the setting up was happening and other things!
Kurt, Tanya and Hailey.

Tyler thought it was a blast to jump across the stage from one section of bolts to another. I actually tried to get him to go for a walk at this point but he declined, this was too fun!

The kids are great at helping. They really enjoy helping their dad. They actually know what they are doing. I felt a little useless but it was fun to watch.

This setting up process took hours. I am amazed at all the equipment needed for such a small stage. There was going to be a total of three different bands sharing the stage and there just didn't seem to be room for that!

The guys from Onomatopoeia showed up first and got all of their equipment on the stage. They were the main act and so everyone else had to fit their stuff in and around theirs!

At this point Tyler and I took another walk. It was really unique down here. We were in this little courtyard surrounded by skyscrapers. Tyler found this very interesting.

When we walked up to this Wells Fargo building Tyler asked if this was a real Skyscraper and he said he had never seen one in real life before . . . I don't know about that . . .

So, I told him to walk up to it and touch it and we will get a picture of him touching his first skyscraper!

We walked a little farther past the building and took a gander up the street - the city is an interesting place! This was looking to the right . . .

Looking to the left!

There was a neat grass area here and I wished I would have brought a football or a baseball and some mitts - would have been a great catching area. Tyler was content to just do a lot of running on the concrete edging!

Another cool thing down there was they had these beautiful and huge plant containers! If I could have I would have backed the truck up and hauled them all away - some were down-right gorgeous!

This sculpture was interesting.

I wanted these containers BAD! I wanted to take a picture of them to drool over, made Tyler be my point of interest! He was so cooperative!

Back by the stage - Hi Zach and Hayden!

Tyler and I went for another walk in a different direction. Found this amazing sculpture of a man panning for gold. Almost the whole sculpture was made out of barbwire fencing! I know! I didn't realize it at first but when we started to take a closer look it was really neat. Tyler is attempting to steal his gold nugget!

This place had a lot of stairs and different levels - Ty liked it here!

Hmmmmm - wonder who's hand that is?

Tyler took the camera and took a few shots of things he liked.

Here is the first group, the Lounge Lizards - they were from a place called "The School of Rock" which I think is an actually school for kids to learn how to play rock -n- roll music. They were cute. The little guy on the drums was pretty good!

The second act was the Boise Opera. I didn't think I would enjoy it but I did. Their voices were great and they sung favorites like, Figaro and Carmen. Beautiful voices.

The third group I enjoyed immensely. They were the Giant Leprechauns and they played Irish fiddle music and I could have listened to them all day. A few of the men told dry jokes and were funny. Made you want to get up and do a jig. But, unlike Kurt at past events, I controlled myself and didn't dance in front of others.

Then, the last group of the night! I don't know exactly what kind of music they play, it is somewhat jazzy, funky, type music but these guys are spectacular! I don't think I quit smiling the whole time. They have so much energy and you can tell that they enjoy what they are doing. Committed Events has worked with these guys before and they have got to be some of the nicest musicians I have ever met.

The kids did have time to hang out and chat, walk around, play with things Zach had brought, meet new people and eventually eat. Did I mention besides it being very hot, sticky and humid that we nearly starved to death? It seemed ironic since it was a Harvest Festival and they were BBQ-ing chicken and corn and such but thankfully Tanya ordered a pizza!

I have gained a lot of respect for what Kurt, Rob and Tanya do for a living. I honestly don't think I have the stamina to do this on a continual basis but it was very interesting and I will definitely go again when I have the opportunity. All in all we all had a good time. I didn't get any pictures of things being torn down but if you go to the top left hand corner and click on "Tanya" you can find on her blog a whole bunch of different pictures and comments.