Twistin' The Night Away

Ryan came home early from school during the week with a sore throat and 101 temperature. He then got to spend the next few days at home with fevers getting up to 103 and strep throat.

Fun! After his antibiotics kicked in, he was going a little "stir crazy". He's not one to sit around for very long. He wanted to go to Wal-Mart to get Twister. I'm not sure what prompted him to want to get it. So, we came home and played Twister for at least an hour. We would take turns - two people played, one person spun and the fourth person got to "take a break". It was fun. The person that won stayed in until they lost. After 3 matches or so, your muscles would start to burn a little. I don't remember Twister being as challenging when I was Ryan's age! And I enjoy doing yoga! We did have fun until my mom & brother came over to go out for dinner.

It was all smiles in the beginning of the evening:

Even our dogs thought it looked fun. (They always try to "join in" when I do yoga in the morning.) Sam snuck in under Doug. That's right Sam, it's right paw on yellow:

Ryan took this picture. Great view, don't ya' think? Um . . . not really . . .

Ryan starting out all twisted up:

Not sure what the face is all about - doesn't this look like the standard position for crab soccer? I remember playing that during gym class in Elementary School. Oh wait, I remember playing that just a year ago in Karate class.

Scott just chillin' with his left hand on green and his feet on blue. Too bad he couldn't get those feet switched around.

Ryan and Scott waiting for the next set of instructions.

Bowling Fun - Again

Last weekend, we decided to go bowling. We paid for the lane for an hour and had fun rolling that ball down the lane to knock down those pins. We play just for the fun of it, and don't really pay too much attention to the score - thank goodnes, because I'm not a very good bowler. This time we had more room to actually spread out & enjoy being there. Last time we went, it was so crowded. There was nobody on the lanes next to us this time, it was much nicer.

Scott, Shawn & I watching Ryan taking his turn.

Ryan relaxing on the couch between turns:

All of our balls, waiting for their turn:

Ryan's turn:

Shawn getting ready for his turn:


Doug aiming for the last two pins:

Scott's turn:

Getting ready for my turn:

Of course, what is bowling without pizza? The pizza was really good. We also had the sampler appetizer platter. It was quite tasty too.

Doug, Melissa & Scott, getting ready to leave after completing our hour of bowling:

The boys couldn't resist playing on this bike rack as we were leaving the bowling alley. Well, actually, they were patiently waiting for me to take a picture of a bench in front of the building.
Always on the "look-out" for interesting photos, I saw this bench set against beautiful tiles and immediately wanted to photograph it.
Scott offered to help with the photograph of the bench by posing on it for me. What do you think, better alone or with my model on it?

Love My "Boys"

I have always been surrounded by boys. Having all brothers and no sisters, it started out that way. Now, I live with my husband, son, nephew and two male dogs. I'm convinced that our lizards are all male also! These days "my boys" refers to our two wonderful beagles. I think everyone should have a good dog in their life. They can add so much to your life. The absolute best feeling is walking in your door and seeing those tails wagging like mad because they are genuinely happy to see you. As a matter of fact, there isn't much that isn't genuine about a dog. They do what they do because they want to do it, not because they think it will make you like them better or because they will get a raise for doing so. Since I haven't posted for a bit, I decided today would be a little piece about "my boys". (I was also inspired to do so because we bought them something silly - which you will see at the end.) This is a bit of a long entry with lots of pictures.

A brand new puppy for Christmas. Santa brought us our first beagle. He is the best dog I have ever owned:

Hardly anyone can resist a new puppy. This is my mom with our new Beagle on Christmas Day:

And my dad with our new puppy, also on Christmas Day:

Ryan & Ranger have been great friends from the beginning:

Then, when Ranger was a year and a half, we rescued Sam (9 months old). The two of them have gotten along great - just like brothers. They do get into scuffles every now & then, mostly when Ranger is trying to boss Sam around. For the most part, they play fight and get along. They don't even fight over food.

One day, I couldn't find Ryan or the dogs. I searched and searched. Then I heard laughing coming from my closet and there they were. I've heard it said before, Every boy needs a dog, and I believe it to be true.

This is one of my favorite moments. We hadn't had Sam very long & the two boys were still trying to figure each other out. I call this picture Doggie Bunk Bed. One was laying under the pillow and one on top. I got a good laugh out of this one before I took the picture.

For as long as I can remember, my Dad has affectionately called dogs "knotheads". Well, we dont' know what Sam got into or did, but if you look very closely at the top of his head, he literally is a "knothead".
The boys cuddling together under my computer desk. I'm not sure Ranger is really enjoying this. They did stay like this for about 30 minutes, so it must not have been to uncomfortable.

During the summer time, they even enjoying swimming with us. Here is Sam "tolerating" us putting him on the board.
Ranger being a good sport with goggles on. Ranger actually loves to swim. He will jump in and swim around a bit on his own.
Patiently waiting for their food:

Doug may not appreciate this picture, but it cracks me up. Taking a nap on the couch. Sam is a rather large Beagle and really hasn't figured out that he is big. He will try to fit in anywhere he can. Both of his legs are hanging off the couch, not touching the floor. He was asleep like that until I took the picture, then when I was done, he went right back to sleep.

Ahhhhh, the beloved tomato. This is one of their favorite toys to play with. They will chase each other around the house for hours playing with it. As soon as one gets it from the other, the chase begins again.

Ranger was meant to live with me. In the winter months he gets very cold and wants to cuddle all the time. He decided Scott looked like a good place to cuddle and warm up. Scott didn't complain at all. Instead, he enjoyed the moment.

The other day, we stopped in at Old Navy to check out their clearance items for us. They had some doggie clothes on sale. Mind you, I love my dogs, but don't treat them like humans. Usually we look at the doggie clothes and laugh at the silly things they put on them. Well, they had the coolest hoodies. We bought one for each of the dogs. They are soft and warm just like sweatshirts.

Happy New Year 2009

My family has a lot of traditions from Halloween through New Years. Every year on New Years Eve, my family gathers at my house to celebrate. Everyone brings favorite foods to snack on during the evening, favorite games to play and stories to share. We always have a great time. We leave the evening pretty open and just let everyone do what they would like.
As usual, there was plenty of food. We had sushi, chili cheese sandwiches, chips with salsa or queso dip, chocolate candies, cookies and much more. My kitchen was pretty full with all the yummy foods.
We also have plenty of activities. There is always something to do in our house. We had Rock Band going on in the front room, Mexican Train Dominos at the kitchen table, and Apples to Apples in the Family Room. In addition, we had some impromptu activities break out including a pillow fight, dart tag and Nintendo Ds. Something for everyone. And if you didn't feel like playing something, there is always plenty of visiting and chatting whenever my family gets together.

Ryan and Annie playing Nintendo Ds together. I'm not sure what game is going on right now, but they had a lot of fun playing together:

Ben, Ryan & Baylee broke out in a mini pillow fight for a while:
Doug, Scott and Ryan started a game of dart tag:
Scott was having a hard time finding some of the darts he kept getting hit with:

Ben couldn't resist the fun & joined in:

"Rockstars" Doug, Ben & Scott:

Angela concentrating on Mexican Train Dominos:
Finally it was almost midnight. We went outside for the countdown. Scott is looking a little cold waiting for midnight:
Every year we are the only ones making noise in my neighborhood. Go Scott Go!
Ryan ringing in the new year:
Ben & Baylee making some noise:
Doug & Ryan:
Finally a happy new year to all from Ryan & I: