... while watching her baby sis grow up.

I definitely got a hot little sister, (both of them are hot of course.) But really Kathryn looked amazing for her senior prom, and I might add that her date was looking pretty sharp himself. I was so proud of her, she just looked stunning. They had fun, (from what I hear.) The ball was in Tacoma at the Temple Theatre, and then her group all went bowling. Some of them kept their dresses on which made it all the more fun. She is so cute, I love ya tons pookie!

China Earthquake

I have a very dear friend who lives in China near where the earthquake hit hardest. He is fine and has been able to assist in the rescue work, but there is an overwhelming amount of destruction. Here is a video from the first few minuets of the quake. It breaks my heart. I wish I could be there to help. For now though, prayers will have to do.
There is one more video where you might see someone you know.

... to Bullwinkle's!

Only my second time going there, but this was by far the most enjoyable. Some dear friends from Centralia met me in Tacoma at Red Robin's for dinner. When we finished dinner we were not satisfied to just say goodbye and head home, we wanted some excitement. Bullwinkle's seemed to have the excitement we needed. We got a little turned around getting there which of course is half the fun. We rode the something-or-other, and then duked it out on the go-karts. (And yes I was talking pictures while driving.) I have no idea who "won," but I got turned around a couple of times and had to get help moving the kart. The best part of the evening was watching Taryn attempt to do a flip on the trampoline thing. Whew, it was a work out just watching her! (P.S. Happy birthday Taryn!! I love you!) It was just so nice to see everyone, I look forward to hanging out with them again!

... to see the Silk Road Journey.

My talented cousin Brandon is an accomplished musician, entrepreneur, farmer, and photographer, among other things. Yesterday was the opening of his photo exhibit, A Silk Road Journey, in Glazer's in Seattle. The photos are from his trips to Kazakstan and Russia over the past two years with Crimson Bridge. He did an outstanding job to say the least! I was thoroughly impressed! His photos were developed using Lithe, which makes the developing process longer and makes each picture unique. He added creative captions, food and beverages for visitors. Everything was very professional. Great job Brandon! I enjoyed it.
P.S. If no one else buys Orphan kids #1 (or maybe it was #2) I will buy it!

... to a long and kinda boring graduation.

I have never been to a college graduation ceremony before so this was definitely an experience. My dear friend Alejandra graduated from Northwest University with a bachelors in Nursing. The ceremony itself started out cool. The student speaker was good, but then the special awards began... they kept going and going and going.... And then there was a special song, and then they had another speaker who was a little confusing, oh and I forgot there were a few songs we all sang and then finally... (I'm sure I am missing another hour of something) finally the diplomas were awarded to those whose sweat and toil had gone long unnoticed until now. Unfortunately the nursing group was near the end so we had to listen to a gazillion names!! Congratulations Alejandra!! You have earned it!! I love ya!
After the ceremony finally came to an end, we headed over to Devin's house for a time of fellowship and honoring Alejandra. The food was amazing of course!!
Me and Alejandra
Alejandra's fiance', Devin and her. Good times. By the way, they are getting married August 16!!! I am so excited to be the Maid of Honor!!)

... to a very Muffy Birthday!

Wahoo!!! It was Kathryn's Birthday on the 29th and she is a whopping 19 now!! Congrats Kathryn on making it this far. Since I did not give you a birthday card this will have to do.
Little Muff (aka Kathryn) you are so awesome!! I love you like the sun misses the flower! I have enjoyed seeing you grow and mature now, even in the past year. It makes me proud to see how you are pursuing swimming and even biking. That encourages me to do more. I know you can do great things Kathryn if you make up your mind to do it! So make up your mind!!! I am sooo glad that you will be with me on the home team. I need you! So I am excited to see what you are going to do this upcoming year, and if you want to do the Ironman, girl you can do it!! Ciao!! ~Meggie-poo

... to CB Auction 08

It is that time of year again, where we make tasty desserts and bring our fat wallets. Last year I just came to support everyone, but this year I am participating in CB. I got to be a part of the whole thing! This year was different from past years because we had a new location and catering service donated. It was such a blessing! We had a packed house, we actually had to set up more tables! The desserts looked amazing, and there was some nice things people could bid on. Again this year, I did not get the tea set that I wanted. Sniff, sniff... We had a lot of fun though, just being together, meeting people and supporting each other. We raised a little over $7 grand, which is well needed for the teams. We have teams going out to Africa, Asia, Kazakstan, Mexico and Auburn; so we need to raise a boat load of money!

... to SImply Thai.

My family can be really excited about trying something new and different. But there are certain things they are just a little hesitant to jump on board with. Thai food was one of them. I LOVE Thai food. It is by far one of my favorite kinds of food. I have been trying for months maybe even years to get my family to go out to Thai food. No way. Not even on my birthday could I get them to take me out to Thai food. 

    There is a game in our game closet that is unlike any other game we own. The victor gets to choose his spoils. Seriously. Before the game begins everyone writes down what the want if they win. I wrote down that I wanted to go to Simply Thai for dinner with my family. As you might guess, I won. So my family had to all go out to Simply Thai.

Turns out daddy actually likes Thai food. Alison did enjoy the food despite her facial expression.
The whole trip turned out to be quite tasty!

... to find a wedding dress!!!

I went wedding dress shopping today with Alejandra. Yeah, don't worry I'm not the one getting married. One of my best friends, Alejandra, is getting married this August!! I'm so excited!!! So we went dress shopping today along with her mom and her future mother-in-law.

First stop was David's Bridal, which we had actually stopped in at before but they didn't have one of the dresses Alejandra liked. Our number one choice: The Grecian Princess. It's my favorite, probably something I might like whenever I get around to getting married. The second dress was very similar but we didnt like the bubble look at the bottom.

Second stop, Bellevue Bridal Boutique, where she used to work for awhile. After wading through the size 24's and overly beaded dresses, we ended up finding a few that might work and narrowed it down to two that we liked here. This one we all really like but it will have to undertake several alterations. Alejandra made me try it on so that she could fuss with it better. (I really did not look good in it, I blended in with the dress!) The other one (which is more like my third choice) had a cool bodice, but I think it had too much beading, and it has buttons; I really don't like buttons. Tough decisions!!! In the end, Alejandra decided to go home and think about it. She really like the one at David's which was around $350, but she is also in love with the one in Bellevue which could be close to $800 with alterations and a rush order. Choices, choices, choices. It must be tough to be a bride!

... to devastation and ruin.

Don't let the title scare you. Devastation and ruin is just the name of the game. This is a childhood memory game that my sisters and I played all the time with our dad and he used to play it when he was a young tike. Since I was babysitting four kids this weekend we thought it would be a good time to take a stroll down memory lane and bust out devastation and ruin. That is the name the kids gave the game, we just called it dominoes and marbles before. I like devastation and ruin better though.
This is how it goes. First build your helpless little village out of dominoes. The battlefield is the wood floor in the kitchen.
Second gather your marbles, take position, aim, and fire. The weapon of choice is a vacuum attachment.
Watch the sleeping village fall prey to annihilation and destruction.
It is a blast (no pun intended) to play with kids. They thoroughly enjoyed causing devastation and ruin.