I didn't know it could be this much fun.

As a young single adult, I had a variety of good friends to hang out with, have fun with and pretty much just enjoy good laughs on a regular basis. However since being married, I have seriously lacked in the friend department. Except of course for the fact that I married my very bestest friend, who was always the best part of hanging out with friends. Because of him, I haven't entirely realized what I had been missing. Now, that isn't to say that I didn't have any friends at all. But good close friends were far and few between....or just living hundreds of miles away...Until I moved to this little place that everyone keeps asking me "Why Milk River?". Why? The short answer...because it just felt right.
About a year ago, I wrote somewhat of a similar post, about feeling like I had know the sisters here forever already. Now, it is so much more. Not only do I feel so at home with these women...I have these friends, like the kind I used to have as a young single adult. The kind that you are always looking for a reason to hang out together. But that's not all, they come with husbands who are so much like mine, so when we all get together...well...it's insanity. And they all have kids around the same age as mine...all except one couple(I won't name names...but their names ryhme), who haven't yet ventured into the kid zone. They are, however great with all of our kids running around, climbing on them, talking non stop to them, showing them everything and anything that they have created. So...either all these kids will show them how great it is to have kids...or it is a really great form of birthcontrol.
It is so great to have couple friends that we have so much in common with. We can all hang out together and have a great time. Or just the girls can get together and laugh. Or the boys can get together and....be boys. We trade babysitting so that the other can do whatever it is that they need to do. Our kids are all great friends. It really just is just like it used to be as a young single adult....only it's better, it's the complete kit and caboodle.
Last night we all got together for an informal FHE out at the Harty farm...way out in the middle of now where. We ate good food. The kids ran around all over the place. The men played on the quad and shot at pop cans on fence posts....some of us ladies took a few shots too. It's been awhile since I have held a gun, so I wanted my chance...and I blew one of those pop cans clear off the fence. Daniel was so proud of me, that he wanted to celebrate. Mostly us ladies sat around the fire and chatted and laughed. It was so much fun, I have already told everyone the next one is at the Courthouse on the 22nd of June. I realize, that living in town, there wont be any playing on the quad, or shooting guns...but we'll just have to find something else to entertain the boys...us ladies will be fine just laughing together. So if you happen to be in the Milk River area, or you are up for a drive and want to come hang with some of the greatest people around...you should come on over, just bring a salad.

I hate him!

I remember well when I was in elementary school that you either loved Wayne Gretzky (or the Oilers) or you loved Lanny McDonald (or the Flames). Both were great Canadian hockey players playing for Canadian hockey teams. And what made it even better was that they were playing for Alberta's rival teams during some of the greatest years of Alberta professional hockey. I remember kids saying things like "Gretzky is such a whiner". OK so that is really the only specific thing I can remember. But I do remember being frequently asked who I liked better Gretzky or Lanny. It was a big thing. I don't ever remember committing to one or the other, it really depended on who I was with. I'll admit it, I had no idea about anything hockey...not NHL hockey.
So just moments ago I had one of the young men form our ward at my house with his mom to pick some stuff up. Hanging on the hooks at the back door was a Washington Capitals Jersey with the name and number of Alexander Ovechkin to be sewn on. This young man sees it and exclaims "Oh, Ovechkin". I responded with, "Oh, are you an Ovechkin fan?" and he said "Yeah! I hate Crosby". I was immediately taken back to my days as a youth debating over Gretzky and Lanny. Maybe it's not quite the same thing. Sydney Crosby (Pittsburg Penguins) is a Canadian player, Ovechkin is a Russian. They are both playing for american hockey teams. They are both about the same age and at the same point in their hockey career. Where as Lanny was 8 years older and had 5 years on Wayne in his NHL career.
But...both Crosby and Ovechikin have been compared to some of the greatest hockey players that have ever lived. They are both great goal scorers, Both of them have their loyal following of fans who will swear that one is better than the other, or that one is humble and the other has a bit of an ego problem. They have both been big players on their respective teams, and with out them, some will say that their team would not be where they are today. Sound familiar?
So maybe it is the same debate, but different.

By the way....I am an Oilers fan these days and apparently I know enough about hockey these days to write a little blog post. Some day I'll share with you all my conversion story.

The Funniest Game on Earth

My friend who has 3 girls(and 1 boy) around the same age as mine talked me into signing Kathryn and Tansley up for T-Ball. It's only 6 games and all but two of them are in Milk River. That sounded really doable for me, considering that I rarely have a vehicle to go anywhere. Monday night was the "Big Game" as Kathryn referred to it. She was really excited and totally terrified at the same time. She came home from school in tears because she was so nervous. I said "You're crying? There's no crying in T-ball", well maybe not quite in those words. I did however calm her nerves and we headed off to the game. Tansley's first time at bat, she ran to third base. It took some coaxing to get her to run over to first base, and she was very near crying, but the first base coach gave her a big high five and that seemed to solve the problem. The entire game was a shmoz. Kids everywhere, running this way and that way, the ball going in almost any direction but the intended one. It was a great time. To see video you will have to go to my facebook page because the clips are too big to upload here, and I got tired of fighting with my computer trying to trim them down. I really need a program...any body know of a good free program for editing your videos?

07 T-Ball and Indian Guides

BUT I have pictures and a Bill Engvall clip about T-ball. Prepare yourself, you might pee yourself laughing. This is pretty much how it was(minus the angry mom...this time).

Kathryn and Tansley warming up

getting ready to play

Tansley thinking about going to get the ball

T-ball or Dancing?

concentrating

Art

This is what happens when...

1. your six year old forgets to put the markers away.
2. you have an almost 2 year old who likes the feeling of drawing on the souls of her feet...and apparently the rest of her body.

Kymberly's body art. She has only been out of the bath tub for about 15 minutes. I guess it's back to the tub!

***********************Update*********************

OK, can somebody tell me why this washable marker is not washing off?

Not so clean Kymberly. Faded? yes...off? definitely not! Was she just too clean so it really soaked in? What ever the reason, she might be in the tub for a while.

*********************** Update #2 ******************

OK, I give up. It's just going to have to wear off. At least it will all be hidden under her dress for church tomorrow.

She is just to darn cute

Some of you may have seen this on my facebook page. But not all of you are on facebook, or check it often enough to see what's going on(don't get me started on the live news feed...makes me crazy). So for anyone that hasn't seen this adorable picture, check it out...

Just reading the morning news

She makes me laugh. She is one of the funniest kids ever.

Birthday Cake Blunder

I thought I was being oh so smart when I started backing Tansley's birthday cake last night. First of all, I would be able to do it with out the "help" of the children, second it would have plenty of time to cool over night so that I could decorate it in the morning.

Tansley wanted a beehive cake. No problem I have this glass measuring bowl that I have frequently baked cakes in and have never had a problem....until last night. I did everything like I usually do. Used the same recipe, baked it for the same amount of time, poked it with my really long cake poker to test if it was done. And yet when it was time to turn the cake out...something was wrong. The cake was not coming out of the bowl. It always comes out easily, what is going on? So I stick a knife up the side...and then I realize that the bottom is not cooked all the way...and out comes the cake. Not only is the bottom not baked...neither is the middle, and now I have a volcano cake...and a big mess.

So I put the volcano cake in a cake pan and put it back in the oven to finish baking it. It was 11pm and I didn't want to start a new cake. The only thing that I can think of was that I used different margarine than I usually do. I don't know. But I really didn't want to try it again this morning. When Tansley saw the Volcano sitting on the counter she asked what happened to her cake. I told her I had a problem last night. I asked her if I could make her a different cake. She said that she wanted a flower cake. I can do that. I went to the grocery store and bought different margarine to make a new cake...a square cake and cupcakes. and this is what the final project looks like. Oh yes, I have some butterflies on wires to stick in it to make it look like they are flying around it.

A Sunday Walk

It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and evening, so we decided that we should go for a nice Sunday stroll. We drove down to the new train bridge, then walked across the train bridge. The girls were a bit freaked out at first because you could see through the grate down to the river below. They however got over that quickly and were running back and forth.

We then headed down to throw rocks in the river...the highlight of the evening. 

It was such a wonderful time together.

Simple.
Pleasant.
Muddy.
Dirty.
Enjoyable.
It was perfect.

Man, aren't these kids cute

And this is one good lookin' man