Crazy Little Thing Called Life

this and that.

This.

I bought the inappropriate bunnies.

Couldn't help it.  And actually, they fit right in.  (Whichever way they're hugging.)  

That.

I did NOT buy these.

I don't like Peeps anyway... but pancakes & syrup?!
Someone got paid to think of that.  It's almost as bad as the pumpkin spice Cheerios I saw last fall.
Blasphemy.

This.

I shared this one on Facebook.  She always looks like she's judging me.
(Actually, she looks like this about 90% of the time... but you see it, right?)

That.

When you open up your Cranberry/Almond Goodness Knows bar that you have for breakfast every single day...
and someone on quality control failed.  (Supposed to be 4 squares.)
And then you're sad because you're on a diet life changing nutrition plan... and that's your whole breakfast.

But then the very next morning...

This.

Justice!!

That.

Exactly how Rocket looks at Ian when he's eating yogurt.

The End.

 

the bunny poll.

So here is something light and fluffy because I'm sad that Iz and Shelby left for Missouri yesterday.
In an effort to cheer myself up, I took down all my Valentine decor... and started with Easter,
even though it's really late this year.

The other day in the store I saw this:

And at first I thought, "Oh cute!  Bunnies hugging!"
And then I was all "Oh blech... it's bunnies "huggggggging"!  
And then I couldn't unsee the "hugging".

They are bunnies, after all.  It's what they do.

So what do you see?  Hugging?  Or "Huggggggging"?

Happy Easter.  Nothing says He is Risen, like proliferating bunnies.

chillin' with my gnomies.

Literally.  Because it's so cold here.  And we have snow... so much there's been no school.
(Which Ian is loving.)

I think the whole gnome thing started at Christmas time for me.  TJ Maxx and Home Goods had such cute little
guys... I ended up a bit overrun in December.  Iz says they look like ZZ Top, and I'm ok with that.

Anyhoo... I watched a DIY YouTube video on how to make gnomes...

Gnome how-to part One

And if the link is being weird, just look up Little Cajun House on You Tube... the three part series is right there.

Then I went to Hobby Lobby, Michael's. and Joann's for supplies.
(Which are basically like crack houses to crafty people.)
I even bought myself a big girl glue gun, and a pair of fabric scissors.  (Amazon... and the best things ever.
Seriously, now I understand why people freak out when other people, who shall remain nameless, use their
fabric scissors to cut stuff that's not fabric.  And why my mom may have lost her shizz when I was little, and used
her good scissors to cut pins to make earrings for my Barbie.)
But I digress.

I got myself some faux fur, fabric, stuffing, felt for the nose, jars... all the stuff.

Shelby requested this one.  He's going with her to Missouri.

I had one.  Then there were 3.
Pretty soon there were 8.

There was a gnome assembly line in my kitchen yesterday.
They're so fun (and addicting) to make...

A Disney gnome for Miss Sandy.

St. Patrick's Day gnomes.  (Hide the green beer.)

An Easter gnome.

The Brothers Gray gnomes.  You know, for every day.

Wait.  That's Ian.  My 6' 4" gnome... minus the beard.

I made a CWU gnome for Belle... Valentine's Day gnomes...
I can't stop.
I'm not going to make more today.  Even if it's a snow day.
I'll let you know how that goes.

 

 

the obligatory travel post.

So Iz and I just got home from visiting his sister in Arizona for a few days.
We missed the wind and the snow at home.  Unfortunately, we got to see the rare days it rains in Arizona. lol
We had some beautiful weather too... and had such a great time.

But airplane travel deserves a blog post all its own.  So here goes.

The people I encountered in the airport:

Super polite Canadians.  (We flew Air Canada out of Vancouver).  They're so cute.
A couple of older ladies asked me a question in the Starbucks line, and they were all "excuse me", "eh", and giggly. 
Adorable.

The lady on the phone waiting for her Starbucks.
I truly wasn't trying to eavesdrop... but she was talking kinda loud.  And one second she's talking about cooking a whole chicken.
And the next second she's in tears.  Like wiping her eyes, crying.
So I'm not sure what happened with the chicken.

The knitter lady sitting in the terminal who couldn't find her patterns.  She told her husband she couldn't find them.
He grunted.  So she proceeded to phone her friend, Barb... and spoke loudly and at length about where her patterns could be.
(Barb didn't know either, just in case you're invested and wanted to know.)

The people I encountered on the plane:

"You're in my seat" guy. 
So Iz and I were in row 26.  This guy is telling the people behind us (IN ROW 27)...
that they're in his and his wife's seats... because they're in row 28.  Stay with me here.
They think they're in row 28 because it says so on their tickets.  They're telling the folks in row 27 they're in their seats.
Row 27 people look at their tickets and tell them it says row 20, not 28.
Guy looks at his ticket again, realizing he's not wearing his glasses... and yep, it's row 20.
So now everyone behind them has to back up 8 rows while they get to their correct seats.
*To be fair... they apologized the whole 8 rows.

"Count each row out loud and then act surprised when you find yours" guy.
"Sixteen....Seventeen....Eighteen....Nineteen.....Twenty.....Twenty-One......
Oh, sure here it is Alice...Row 22!"
And then they're tickled it's really there. 

"The leaner backer" guy.
I give him credit for not actually reclining.  But I swear he was the most fidgety, leaniest guy I've ever sat behind.
Like he was leaning back SO hard in his seat, and repositioning every 2.5 minutes.  
Flopping.  Flailing.  Very bizarre.  Can you break airplane seats?  Like snap them in half?  
My money's on this guy.

"Backpack swinger" guy.
(Not to be confused with "You must be on an Everest expedition with that gigantic/enormously stuffed backpack, where are
you hiding the Sherpa" guy.)
Now boarding time can be tricky.  It's a time for patience and a little grace.
But seriously...how can you not know that you are in danger of concussing people each time you turn around in the aisle?
Or that you actually ARE whacking people, and you don't apologize?
Can you tell I was in an aisle seat?  So many people's butts touched the back of my arm.
So. Many. People.

The classic "Make your bag fit in the overhead" guy.
He needs no explanation.  
Backpack swinger and Everest expedition guy often double in this category.

"Guy who smells like fish" guy.
He sat right behind me.  
Not like he just came from a swanky sushi bar or something.
Like he just came from the processing plant.

Also the classic "Pull back on every seat as you make your way down the aisle to the bathroom" guy.
I give a pass to older people who need it for balance.
But SOOOOOO many people do this.
Once a lady pulled my hair, and then had the nerve to look annoyed when I said "ouch!"

Also in the category of personal space invasion:
"Lean by your screen/butt in your face standing in the aisle waiting to get off the plane" guy.

The picture doesn't properly show butt/face proximity.  

And last, but not least... (and a new one for me)...
"A pinch between your cheek and gums then spit in the airsick bag" guy.
I kid you not.
And I think this young guy was fairly new to Skoal, as he had his whole face in the bag
while he horked and yakked.
My favorite part was when the flight attendant looked right at him, and just kept on walking.
I can only imagine the stuff they've seen.

Ok.  On the plus side:

Yes, yes... good looking guy with headphones.  But do you see what's next to him?
That's right, baby.  NOTHING.  
On our way to Phoenix, I may have had fish guy behind me and leaner backer guy in front of me...
but by golly, we had an empty seat between us!  Woohoo!
I honestly don't remember the last time that's happened.

And I got to watch 2 pretty good movies.
The Predator and Mission Impossible: Fallout.

More from our little trip to Arizona in another post.
Happy Thursday!

 

 

 

 

another graduation.

The whole two graduations in one summer thing... it's a lot.
Emotionally, I was a wreck.  
Plan your baby spacing now, folks.  The four years apart thing... bad idea.

Isabelle graduated from Lynden High School last June.

Oh my goodness, I miss her so much.  She's at Central Washington University.
Which is like a 3 1/2 hour drive.  She's the closest child in college I've ever had.
Ellensburg,WA is sooooo much closer than a plane ride to Iowa or New York.
And I still cry every time she goes back.  :)  So does she.
But we laugh at each other because we still cry, so that's better.

There was a beautiful baccalaureate service a couple of days before graduation.

It was gray, rainy and gross... so graduation was in the gym.  Ugh.  So it was super hot, crowded,
and no good pictures.

Aunt Carrie, Grandpa Dave & Grandma Colleen came out for graduation and the party.

Seriously, I don't have one picture of her with her cap on.  How did that happen?

We had a combined grad party for the girls the next day:

We had peony and rose bouquets on the tables.  Aren't they crazy pretty?
There's a peony farm not far from us, that evidently I hadn't known about for 20 of the years
I've lived here.
I ordered and planted two different tubers from them... and I'm really, REALLY hoping they come up.
In fact I will ugly cry if they don't.

It was such a fun day.  We had an open house, with tons of friends and family stopping by.
Lots of food... and no rain.
Special thanks to Sandy, my kitchen angel.  You are simply amazing.

Belle had to leave early in August...weeks ahead of the other students, because of volleyball.
She's doing great at Central.  Has a wonderful roommate (love you Josie)... had a good first quarter of classes
(and now has some weird ones, but whatever)... and volleyball conditioning has started.
She calls me to tell me how much it sucks to get up at 5am.
She calls me to tell me about her classes and teachers.
Once she called me to tell me about her chicken nuggets.
It's all good.

You can call me about your chicken nuggets any time.
Love you B.

 

 

graduation.

So now that we know what's going on with Shelby, things are moving pretty quickly.
She leaves with Iz for Missouri next month.  She bought a car over the weekend.
So much adulting.

When we went out to West Point last May for her graduation, the week was full of activities.

And holy crap, was it ever HOT.  Like humid, oven hot.  We don't have that here in Washington.

The first thing was the Superintendent's Reception.  Don't my kiddos clean up nice?
Pretty sure that's the first time Ian's been in tan pants and a tie.  Have to say he killed it.

The reception was done by regiment, because there's no way poor General Caslen and his wife could possibly host
1,000 cadets and their families at his house all at once.  Shelby's company was A1 (Go Avengers!)... so we were the first group.
(Not because she was A company, but because she was in the First Regiment.)
We waited in a LONG line for our turn to go into his house and shake hands with him and his wife, plus some other mucky mucks.
It was the cadet's duty to introduce his/her family to the General... and in a certain order.
When Shelby got to Ian, General Caslen asked him what year he was in school.  When he told him he was a freshman, the General asked
at what school.  And then his mouth dropped when Ian told him a freshman in High School.   And then I think he said something about seeing 
their basketball coach, lol.

Extra points to Iz for the suit in the heat.  After the receiving line to meet General Caslen, the reception was in the garden.

Love this picture of West Point.  If you ever go there, don't walk on the grass.
It's a thing.

I think the next event was an award's night... but I don't have any pictures.  
Shelby got a gold star (Distinguished Cadet Award) for her GPA.

The graduation parade was the day before graduation, on the Plain (The grass you can't walk on in the above picture.)
And it was HOT.  We got there super early to get good seats.  We knew where Shelby's company would be on the Plain,
(easier when your kid is in A1... they're the first ones to come out) so we could see her the whole time.

Bonus points if you can find her.  You'd think after 4 years, I could get a picture of her face, but I like a challenge.
And I know her bun.
The parade was just for Firsties (seniors) and by company.  Full dress, wool jackets.  I don't know how they did it.
Some poor girl in D company totally passed out and needed an ice blanket.

There she is!  

After the parade, there were more Academic awards... done by each department.

Shelby majored in Portuguese, so hers was the Department of Foreign Languages.
In the picture, she is receiving the Portuguese Military Language Award, from a Portuguese officer that she really liked,
but I don't know his name. :P
She also received a DFL Portuguese scroll.  It was pretty amazing.
And it was inside (air conditioning!)

Later that night was the Graduation Banquet.  A cadet could only have a certain number of tickets to this,
so Iz & I, Belle & Ian, and Aunt Carrie were able to attend.

Cadets wore their India Whites. :)

Such a fun night

And then it was graduation day!

Again, we got to Michie Stadium (where the football games are) really early.  Seating was assigned, but everyone said to get there
early, as security lines to get on base and into the stadium can be really long.  

Pretty sure she's the second one behind the third girl in a skirt.  And while that might sound ridiculous to you,
welcome to the world of 'Waldo Hunting'.  When WP posts pictures, the moms drive themselves crazy trying to find
their kid.  You get REALLY good at knowing the back of your daughter's head.  And her bun.
I found her once wearing full ACUs and a gas mask.  But I KNEW it was her.  (And I was right.)

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford gave the address.

Here she is receiving her diploma from Brig. Gen. Cindy Jebb, Dean of the Academic Board.
They had professional photographers taking photos of each cadet that you could purchase.

The hat toss was so cool.  Cadets put money and a note inside their covers.  Then little kids can run out afterwards and
pick up a hat.

And there you have it.  

Now she's a commissioned Second Lieutenant.  Go Shelby!  

 

 

 

She commissioned!

Yesterday was such an amazing day.  Shelby was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army.
This came after a very long journey of being told it wasn't going to happen...numerous Review Boards, and lots and LOTS
of waiting and praying.

We were so happy that Pastor Mike (on the left) was able to do the commissioning.  He's a retired Army chaplain that we've
known for years... he goes to our church.
Otherwise... we would have been in some random office, most likely down at Ft. Lewis,
and it would not have been as wonderful as having the ceremony at our home, in front of friends and family.

One of my most favorite pictures ever.  I'm so thankful that my Mom... who will be 93 next month, was able to be there.
(Thanks for the pics Karl & Karla!)

And just so you know, those shoulder board thingys are seriously tricky to put on.
Even though Iz got his on with no problem.

We even let Ian skip school.  He and Uncle Ned held the flag during the commissioning.
I had the flag flown over the US Capitol on my Dad's birthday, July 9.
He would be so incredibly proud... even to be outranked by his grand daughter. <3

We had friends & family over... and had brunch afterwards.  Because food is always a good thing.

And thank you so much to everyone who came and helped us celebrate.
Shelby Jacob, we are so proud of you!  
She's off to Ft. Leonard Wood in a few weeks for Military Police officer training.  
That will be for 17 weeks, and then she'll be posted to Ft. Riley, Kansas.  
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers! :)

Life, Guatemala, and my new flamingo.

So Luke and Hannah are currently down in Guatemala with a group from our church.  
I think it's their second time...

Seriously, my daughter in law can make a hard hat look good.
They got in some fun zip lining before they headed to Eagle's Nest... the orphanage our church has been working with for quite some time now.

Love this picture. :)

While they are in Guatemala, we are dog sitting their almost 6 month old German Shepherd hurricane.  Piranha.
Crazy @ss puppy.  Oh my word.

Oh Ellis is adorable.  And he does the head tilt thing every time you take his picture.
Which I do... all the time.  Because he's stinkin' cute.
He has these huge paws, and he gallops like a durpy pony.
He's a sweet boy who wants you to love him and rub his floppy ear.  


He also snarfs treats like a baby shark, and does this thing where he runs like a crazy chicken all through the house.
He's basically a 4 legged, furry, slinky toddler that you have to watch every second.
Or he will cruise the cat box for snacks.  

Rocket is torn between tolerance and wanting to play with him.
Mostly he just lays on the couch and sighs a lot.
Oh Ellis, we love you.

In other news, I was in Walmart yesterday.

Because I needed cat litter, bacon, 12 packs of orange kool-aid, and other assorted items.
And then I saw this:

You should know I did not walk into the store saying, 'I really need a giant stuffed flamingo in my life.'
But man, he was just so cute.  So I sent a picture of him to Belle (who said I do indeed, need a flamingo in my life.)

The next thing I know, he's in my cart... just riding along so nicely, like he belongs there.
And he made me happy.  So I could totally overlook the little kids who were pointing and saying,
"Hey Moooooooom!  Look at the big flamingo in that lady's cart!"
Jealous.

He's going to be my office flamingo.  I haven't named him yet.  Ideas?
(Do you think he looks like a Fernando?)