Eaglecam

I posted this link on Facebook already - but if there are any of you who have not seen it yet, you must click here. It is a live webcam with an up-close and personal view of a bald eagle nest located on Hornby Island which is up in Canada (British Columbia). The nest had 2 eggs in it, one of which hatched on Wednesday the 28th. Still waiting for the other to hatch. I am sort of a wildlife fanatic, so I truly cannot get enough of these eagles! You can watch them feed the little eaglet, usually the mama sits on the nest but every once in a while, she squawks and in comes the male to give her a break. He feeds the baby, and does all the same chores as the mama. For me, this is more addicting than a soap opera. ;-) If you want more info about the eagles and the people responsible for putting up the camera, etc, click here.

Enjoy!

Haylie is 5!

Haylie's birthday this year was a 3-day extravaganza! It's really fun because the Clovis Rodeo parade always falls on the weekend of Haylie's birthday - so it has been a tradition to go to the parade Saturday morning. This year, we rode our bikes along the trail and it was so nice not to have to find a parking spot! We also stopped and got donuts on the way. Yum.



That afternoon, my mom and I took Haylie out to buy some things with the birthday money Grandma Jane gave her. While we were gone, Eric assembled Haylie's new big girl bike. She was soooo excited to get a big girl bike.



Here she is waiting for cake on Sunday (her actual birthday). She looks so big and grown up!



This is a good snapshot of her gifts. She also got a drawing board/easel from Ikea with chalkboard on one side and whiteboard on the other...that has been a big hit.


Monday she got to have a little party at preschool. I made cupcakes and Haylie got to choose 5 friends to sit with her at the birthday table. She chose Anna to be one of her 5...so sweet!

Happy birthday big girl! We love you!

Sequoia Day Trip

A couple weeks ago we decided to take a little day trip up to Sequoia National Park. It was a beautiful day up there...but we were surprised at how much snow was still on the ground!

That's Eric and Anna walking way up ahead and Haylie walking in front of me

Eric and the girls sitting on a giant stump. Notice Anna hanging on for dear life.

There is a tree that has fallen and the center is hollowed out and you can walk through it...very fun.

This is the same day...after we got home the girls wanted to play in the sprinklers

Silly

Amazing place we live...in the morning we're in the snow, in the afternoon we're playing in the water.

Punky Brewster

Do you remember Punky Brewster? I just tried to find a picture of her online but couldn't find any to really depict the Punky I remember. She always had mismatched, bright colored clothing. Sometimes she would have tights on and one leg would be yellow and the other purple, etc... So, this morning I told Haylie to put on something warm because it was supposed to rain today. She got dressed and came into the kitchen and my first thought was that she looked like Punky.

Pink tights with plaid shorts, a flowered top and a multicolored striped scarf. Oh, and you know, it's going to rain so let's put on our Crocs!

I have realized that with Haylie I have to pick my battles, and this is a battle I choose not to fight. So she went to school looking like Punky Brewster. The crazy thing is, I think she actually pulled it off...;-)

Spring Break

We decided that since Haylie is in school now, we would take advantage of Spring Break and go down to visit family in San Diego. Unfortunately, Eric still had to work, so he came down with us, picked up the piano, and headed back to Fresno. But the girls and I had fun visiting Grandpa Garry, Grandma Jo, Grandpa Terry, Grandma Jane, Uncle Gavin, Aunt Launa, Shea, Remi, and even Uncle Jeff, Aunt Jenn, Addison, Morgan, Westley and Sydney.

Haylie's preschool class had a "Spring Celebration" (Translation: Easter Party) where she got to make and wear bunny ears. Her teachers all had pink noses so when she got home she wanted me to give her a pink nose too...

And of course, then Anna wanted in on the bunny action...

We spent a few days in Temecula with Gavin and Launa and their girls. Our girls play so well together, it's so fun to hang out with them!

This picture was the best out of about 10 I took - I could never get them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time!

Grandpa Terry was reading a story to the girls off of his laptop - they loved it!

This is my first Ikea experience. I think it just might be the second happiest place on Earth. ;-)

The girls and I got home just in time for Easter. Eric set up an Easter Egg hunt outside.

Haylie is holding a toy chick that Eric got - it is activated by your skin - so when you put it in your palm, it chirps. Very cute (but also very annoying!)

Happy Easter!

Piano Update

Read this post about my piano if you haven't already.

I was so optimistic. My wonderful piano man called me the next day and told me that the piano was toast. Apparently I misunderstood - I thought he said most of the plastic pieces had been replaced...I think what he said was that a couple of the plastic pieces had been replaced. He replaced the two that were broken, but as he was putting them in, more broke, and it was like a chain reaction. He said they would all need to be replaced...and that would end up costing about $1500. Well, we only paid $200 for the piano...so...really wouldn't be worth it.

He said he knew a guy who knew a guy who was selling a small upright that was in really good condition. So I went to look at it and yes, it was in great condition, with one exception. They were smokers. Unfortunately, wood absorbs that smell and it is impossible to get it out. I just wouldn't be able to have that in my tiny house. So I left there feeling very discouraged, because it was indeed a beautiful piano. I called my mom and told her what was happening. She said "Well, I wish there was some way to get our piano up to you..." I thought, well, that's really nice but I just don't think that piano will go in my house...it is a tall upright. We started doing measurements and she said it was 4'6" tall. I didn't believe her...I remember that piano being much taller than me. Well, apparently I was remembering the piano from my childhood...it's not nearly as huge as I thought it was!

Sooo...one uhaul trailer over 325 miles later...we have a new piano.

What I love about this piano is that my grandmother purchased it for $50, and gave it to my parents. I learned how to play on this piano. My mom refinished it years ago and it is beautiful! Hooray!

Thanks Mom!

Really?

I got a new hair straightener recently. Here is a shot of the instruction manual. Check out the first bullet point. (Click on the picture to make it bigger)


Really? I can't use this while I'm sleeping? That's my favorite time to do my hair, dangit!