Officially an Adult

Brie and Skyler trying to light Alexxa's candles.

Alexxa's German Chocolate Cake - YUMMMMY!

Alexxa making a wish.

Adam helping Alexxa with her cards and presents.

Brie, Alexxa and Adam.

Alexxa turned the big 18 on Friday. As always, it is not just one day of celebration, but several. On Alexxa's actual birthday she went to Folsom Lake for Senior Cut Day. Not only did she get to miss school on her actual birthday, but she got to lounge around on the beach all day (must be nice). On Saturday, Alexxa's Grandmother and Grandy had a family get together at Grandy's house (She will actually have one more birthday party with just her friends-can you believe it!). Nana, Papa, Bret, Amy, Brie, Adam, Robb, Lynn, Cory, Todd and I attended. Poor Austin couldn't attend because he had to work. Grandmother made roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans, homemade gravy and German chocolate cake. It was quite the feast.

As always, Lexx was spoiled rotten and enjoyed every second of it. A BIG thanks to everyone who helped Alexxa celebrate her special day.

Things I'm thankful for today:

A three day weekend

Any occasion to celebrate

Little puppies that love to snuggle

Golden Empire League MVP...

Golden Sierra High School Team MVP and Golden Empire league Academic All Star; these are the awards that Alexxa took home last night. Coach said that it is an unwritten rule that the first place teams girls get league recognition, but Golden Empire League girls soccer broke the mold and voted unanimously (11 of 11 coaches) for Alexxa to receive league honors. What an outstanding night and a testament to all of Alexxa's hard work.

What I'm thankful for today:
Having my kids home safe and sound.
Long conversations with my honey.
A loving supportive family.

Cause That's How We Roll

Todd and I decided to watch the first stage of the Amgen Bicycle race last weekend cause we are cool like that and had nothing better to do. We ventured up to Cool to check out all the festivities and then decided that there were too many people and that we could enjoy the race a little closer to home. That being said, we grabbed our chairs, camera, puppy and water and headed out to the actual town of Pilot Hill where we set up camp in front of the old fire station. After waiting for approximately two hours, the bicyclist came racing by at the speed of light. The total time to pass by us might have been two minutes. I do have to admit it was pretty awesome to see all the bicyclist and support vehicles. Todd said it wasn't a bicycle race, it was a police parade. They must have had 150 motorcycle cops precede the racers, as well as helicopters, ambulances and the teams support vehicles. I took over 100 pictures, but thought I would just post a few so you could get an idea of what it was like. Amazing!

If you want to check out the entire race go to this web page

http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/

Loki waiting and waiting for the bicyclist and then finally giving up.

The front four in the race, none of them actually won this stage.

The peloton (group of main riders in a bicycle race).
Lance Armstrong is in the middle picture with yellow rimmed
glasses on.

Things I'm thankful for today:
Spending the day with my honey kayaking.
Spending time with Anne and Dennis kayaking.
Spending time in bed recuperating from kayaking :P

Can I Get a "Woot Woot"

Austin just looked up his grades online and was ecstatic to see that he had passed his Calculus and English class. It's a big deal for him as he had a super hard instructor in math, and struggled with classes last semester.

A big CONGRATULATIONS Austin!

Things I'm thankful for today:

Austin not having to retake calculus.

Austin visiting with me when he comes home from work.

Austin :)

ReDONKulous!

I'll just warn you right here and now, this month is going to be Alexxa month. I proclaim it! With this being her Senior year, May being her birth month, Prom, soccer playoffs and graduation, you are going to get a large dose of Lexx for the next few posts. So you already knew that she received a couple scholarships, well on Thursday the local newspaper did a nice writeup on her and her soccer skills and then on Saturday she had prom and was a Prom princess. Mom and dad got to chauffeur, and because we had four hours in between the time we dropped Cory and Lexx off, we decided to go to the drive ins and watch Iron Man 2 (Good movie, but not as good as the first). I believe this is the first date since last years prom. So maybe its not all about Lexx, but darn near most is.

What I'm thankful for today:

Date night with my man

Being able to sleep in

My family getting home safely

She's In The Money

Todd, Austin and I had the pleasure of attending Golden Sierra's Scholarship Night. When I was in high school, you used to have to sit through a horribly long graduation ceremony, only to have one or two braniac kids take home all the loot, but schools got smart and separated this portion of graduation into its own ceremony. So, Alexxa received notice that she would be a recipient of a scholarship and so Todd and I were excited to go and get her some money (finally money that wasn't ours!). Driving up to the high school we took guesses at what scholarship she had won...we all agreed it would have something to do with soccer. What would be your guess? Are you dying to know?

The ceremony started off with Alexxa receiving a CSF Lifetime Membership certificate and pin for being in CSF for at least 6 semesters. She then received a scholarship from Marshall Medical for $500 to help her pursue her interest in nursing/medicine and the evening ended with her receiving another scholarship from Cool Charity for her outstanding community service for $200. No soccer scholarship, it went to a wonderful little gal who plays recreational soccer and refs here on the divide. We are so proud of Alexxa and all her hard work, and we are equally as proud of Austin for going to support his baby sister at her event - even if we did have to bribe him with Chinese Buffet :)

What I'm thankful for today:

The most awesome family ever

Cheesy potatoes - otherwise called potatoes au gratin

Movies with a good message

Potty Training, Again

While we love our little silky terrier, Thor, he still likes to leave his "mark". We have tried to train him, reprimand him, kick him outside, all to no avail. He'll bark and bark until you let him in and boom all of a sudden he is inside and marks his territory. In an attempt to stop this nasty little habit, Todd and I came up with a game plan. First, we put doggy diapers on him and then a onesie. We thought he would totally hate it and try and remove the above aforementioned, wrong. He actually thinks that he is something else and prances around like he is little king of the household. Who dislikes the diaper, us. Yep 'cause we have to change it. And here I thought I was through with diapers 15 years ago. I guess I was wrong.

What I'm thankful for today:

Nonfat, decaf, grande Tuxedos

Eating a nice dinner with the hubby

Relaxing after a long day of work

Random

Just a daily dose of cuteness. Random, I know.

What I'm thankful for today:

Thursdays, 'cause it's one day closer to the weekend.

Homemade grasshopper cupcakes...yummm yummm.

My dvd player...it's my friend when everyone is gone.

Yummmmmmy

Chickens before they went into the oven.

Chickens after they were cooked.

The meal, minus the strawberry dream pie.

So as I said in my post before, I made dinner for the fam. Lexx was my assistant and we had a great time cooking together. On the menu for the night was chicken wrapped asparagus, red potatoes, salad and strawberry dream pie. See what you think.

What I'm thankful for today:
Spending time with my mom and dad
Two responsible kids
My hubby