Drum Roll Please...Spring Break '09

Any guesses where we flew off to for Spring Break??? If you said sunny Arizona...you'd be correct! Since my parents and both of my brothers and their families are all now living in the Phoenix area, it made sense for us to head down their way for some fun in the sun and get together for a Rydin Family Reunion.

We said goodbye to our furry babies and flew down on a Friday afternoon. Josie Grandma had a wonderful dinner waiting for us when arrived at their house. That probably didn't need to be said because Josie Grandma and Grampa always feed us as if we just got rescued from a desert island...there is no shortage of foodies!

Saturday morning, we headed to the Renaissance Festival. Have you ever been to a Renaissance Festival? You should really go to one...if only to fully appreciate the modern convenience of throwing on a pair of shorts and a tank top! The outfits that the regulars wear are amazing. Heavy layers and layers upon layers. And it was hot. And everyone calls each other M'lord and M'lady. While we were waiting for the gates to open, the Royal Court addresses the crowd and some of the entertainers come out to...entertain. The bagpiper on the left was about 7 ft. tall and probably weighed a good 120 lbs. And yes, the photo is black and white because somehow I flipped to B/W mode on the camera without even knowing it.

This guy was pretty amazing. So were his tights. Hahaha...just kidding. I love how this shows Dextre with his umbrella on his unicycle on the high rope and behind him is the painting of Dextre with his umbrella on his unicycle on the high rope.

This is Maiden Hayley, wearing as much of a wench costume as she could muster. And no, I do not believe they had sunglasses back in medieval times. Or Abercrombie & Fitch. I think this was right after one of the Renaissance dudes walked up to her and stuttered something in his medieval language like, "Thou art wondrous fair, M'lady!" which roughly translated meant, "Hot damn, can I get your phone number!"

Anywayyyyy, there was lots of food to eat, shoppes to browse, jousting knights to cheer for, privies to visit (ahem!) and elephants to ride. Sorry, there will be no photographs of someone riding on an elephant. We just can't go there. You can ask someone about riding on an elephant, but I guarantee that someone will not even pretend to know what you are talking about.

Moving on. Sunday of our visit, we had the big Rydin Family Reunion. Ummm...well...hold on..oh wait, this was from another Rydin Family Reunion... ...in 1998! Ha! Had you goin' there, huh?

Yes, Danny and Karin are missing from that shot because Danny had to stay home and work and Glen hadn't met his wife Karin yet!

Here we all are! The Rydin mob-scene. That's what we like to call these shots where everyone gathers in for the photo. Closer....squish together more....move over some...THERE! Say cheese! L to R: Cody (17), Allison (15), Grampa, Taylor (almost 19), Karin, Joy, Glen, Keith, Dano, Brian (15), Hayley (16), Diane and Josie Grandma. We have about 15 more of these in varying degrees of smiling, not smiling, squinting, leaning, blocking each other and I think there is one that cut poor Cody in half!

Josie Grandma made me very, very happy and got a carrot cake from Costco. The angels sang a song of glory when we cut into this baby! Sorry...I got carried away with dessert first! Can you blame me?

This is my brother Glen's wife Karin and my hubba bubba.

This is Glen's son Cody talking grill-talk with Grampa.

Glen is a chef and Cody is following in his footsteps and already pursuing a future in cooking. Cody told me about his possibly being on a Top Chef for younger chefs. Could anything he said to me make me any happier? I love me some Top Chef!

Josie Grandma and Hayley. I used to think Josie Grandma was so tall, but your perspective changes when your kids grow as tall as your parents (and you.)

Chef Cody and Josie Grandma. Cody is taller than she is.

We grew up playing games, so what better way to spend some time than good old Yahtzee?

Uncle Keith thought he was going to blow us all away with his mad Yahtzee skillz...

...but I think you can tell from the smirks on our faces, it was not to be. I'm pretty sure Uncle Keith was counting up his dice for a 12 on his Chance there. Heh heh...

Like I said, the food never stops at Josie Grandma and Grampa's house. The brats, lovingly arranged on the grill.

Nobody does pork and beef roast slow-cooked like my Mama.

Though she taught me and now give her a run for her money on the whole pork-roast thing. Just sayin'...

We all ate outside since it was perfect weather. This was the kids table. Our kids are all in their mid to late teens now.

We're going to have to allow them at the grown-ups table soon. Actually, Taylor did take his spot at the grown-ups table.

We had to get shots of the just the grandkids together. Ahhh, I crack myself up! Again, circa 1998. (As if you couldn't tell from my mad scrapbooking skillz...nice die-cut flowers on those corner cuts Diane! Heh..) But seriously, can you stand it? Just look at those cute babies!!!

And look at them now! Sigh. They do grow up fast! And they're still cute!

I thought Hayley had long legs. Allison might have her beat by an inch or two. And yes, Hayley is doing that thing with her fingers behind Brian's head. I think secretly...he knew.

Let's try this again. Perhaps just letting them be themselves... Nope. Okay then. Time to pull out the big guns.

I may or may not have resorted to fart humor...

What? You've never had to resort to fart humor to get The Shot? Whatever.

Hayley can't handle it!

Neither can Brian.

Well, it was a lot of fun trying to get a photo of these jokers!

While we love Josie Grandma and Grampa and we love hanging out at their house, the real attraction is the pool. Don't worry, Josie Grandma and Grampa feel the same way. They love us, but when it's pool time, it's POOL TIME!!!! (Scroll all the way down on that link to fully understand Noodle Soup!)

There was a lot of this: The worshipping of the sun. For comparison purposes only, that is my lily white leg in the forefront of the photo. Please refrain from all comments regarding "Casper the ghost" and "Owwwww, its BLiNDinG my eyes!!!" and "Gosh mom...you're so white!" Yeah, I've heard 'em all. They're very hurtful. Just kidding...I totally embrace my lily white-ness, even when sitting next to my tan daughter.

There was a lot of this: The girl-child is a mermaid. She can hold her breath for-EVER under water.

There was a lot of this:

See previous statement about the holding of the breath.

There was a lot of this: Uncle Keith is the Cruise Director. He is the Ringleader. He is Uncle Keith. Don't ever change!

Now, these two are sneaky. Perhaps a bit camera-shy. But Allison and Cody are no match for Aunt Diane, who pretended to not be taking a photo when she snapped this one! But Keith's son Taylor...he was a worthy adversary. I could not sneak a good shot of him.

His father, on the other hand...not so camera-shy.

"Uncle Keith, Veech vay to Muscle Beach?"

"Zees vay?"

"Ohhhh, eez eet zat vay?"

"Ohhh, vee are already at zee Muscle Beach!!"

Good times! These two are a pair to draw to. I remember commenting to Keith's wife Joy, as we watched our hubbies saunter off to get into mischief, "It's probably a good thing we don't live close to each other because we'd have to take turns babysitting those two!"

Joy laughed and agreed.

We also shopped til we dropped, we bowled, we played some serious Gin, I finally got to get a Cherry-Limeaid at Sonic (which did not disappoint) and there was plenty of golf to keep everyone happy. Sigh, we had a fun, relaxing time in beautiful Arizona. Then we had to say goodbye and come home. =(

Thank you Josie Grandma and Grampa for everything! We miss all you Rydins!

P.S. We think the next Rydin Family Reunion should be up in Washington. Just sayin'...

Big Windows and Dumb Birds

I'm going to begin and end this post with beauty (because the middle isn't pretty.) This is just a smattering of my Bleeding Heart plant. The blossoms are like little hanging jewels....hundreds of them! I love this plant. It is so vibrant and pretty and no matter what I do to it, it comes back even better than it was. Hearty doesn't begin to describe this gem.

Now, on to the ugly side of life here at the Liebel Ranch.

(I'm warning you now that one of the following photos may disturb some of you. There, you've been warned.)

This is part of the back of our house. We have these honkin' big windows. And living in the PNW, of course we have birds. Lots of not-so-bright birds. Now, before you think I'm all mean, realize that I go out every day to check to see if there are eggs in the nest that a very talented bird wove into the underside of our bedroom deck. (For the record, yes there are three of the most beautiful bright blue eggs I've ever seen!)

I really hope this wasn't their Mama. Because she is the latest dumb bird to fly full force into those big honkin' windows and subsequently break her wee little neck. How do I know her neck is broken?

Exhibit A: Sorry, but that is not a natural positioning of the neck on any bird I've seen. Sigh...we've discovered many a twisted little birdie in this area of the backyard. But we also find them under Dano's office window and the dining room window in the front. Seriously, they hit really hard and they leave little feathers hanging sadly on the windows from the impact. My windows have become windows of death. So, my apologies for grossing you out. Just keeping it real here! Let's move on to more beauty and happiness, shall we?

This is the beautiful Mr. and Mrs. Riggins. They're in love (like I really needed to add THAT!)

Welllll, my Missy Laura and her Corey are leaving this cuteness.... ...AND THEY'LL BE HERE FOR A VISIT IN FOUR DAYS!!!

I know, how can they possibly leave those furry babies (what is it with the long, lush tails in that family???) but I think we'll be able to show them a good time. Missy Laura, for taunting purposes only, here is a little teaser of what is to come... FPN (Fire Pit Nights) ~ PNW style! We cannot wait! See you on Thursday!!!

Happy Mother's Day to My Mama

This is one of my favorite photos: That's me, sitting on my mama's lap. Circa 1970.

For the record, I never called my mama "Mom." She was always "Mommy" and that evolved into "Mama."

And this is my mama with all three of her babies: Glen, Keith and Diane. My mama was quite the hottie boombalottie, huh? August 1970 ~ Mesa Verde National Park

My mama had a mama, too. That is her, my grandma, on the left. And that is my mama on the right, rockin' the frosted shag...SO the happening "Do" back in '71. Long Beach, California

Modeling our bling. People have always said I look like my mama. They're right! Caribbean Cruise ~ 2005

Three generations ~ Josie Grandma, Hayley and I. Marysville, Washington ~ 2008

So, it might seem like my mama has changed over the years, but I don't think so.

Case in point: My mama (in 1964) holding a 12 pounder. My mama (in 2009) holding a 12 pounder.

See? She looks the same!

Thanks for being my mama all these years ~ the one I still love to call just about every day to chat and laugh with. Happy Mother's Day! I'll call you later on!

How can you tell...

...when a Boxer is living in your home??? This is the sliding door leading out onto the kitchen deck. It would appear I've been slacking in my window washing duties. However, I've decided to wait until our houseguest goes home to give them a good scrub.

This is Boscoe. He and Abby got to be friends when she stayed at his house when we went to Phoenix for Spring Break (update on that next week!) Seriously, I could stare at this face all day. He is so expressive and it changes constantly.

Boscoe is a big boy. BIG BOY. He's laying in front of a sliding door here. Sizeable young man.

He has the coolest paws. They're huge. But check out his nails. People pay good money for a pedicure like that!

This was mid-yawn. Sigh. Can you stand it?

I usually don't ask my houseguests to help with the dishes, but Boscoe was more than happy to help with the Au Gratin bowl. He was quite thorough. He worked the bowl like this for five minutes.

After cleaning up the dinner dishes, we went outside for some of this. Boscoe likes to run and fetch the tennis ball, so we throw the ball over and over and over until he tires out.

Because of his rather powerful jaws, I wait until he drops the ball so I can throw it again. He cracks me up because he'll drop it and it'll roll an inch and he'll stare it down and then pounce on it.

A profile of the boy. He has one of those faces only a mother could love. I'm his foster mother this week and I'm in love.

He has this deep ridge between his eyes. Brian's finger is completely nestled in there.

This is what Boscoe would have looked like if his ears had been cropped Boxer style.

This is what he would have looked like if he had played Sally Field's part in the Flying Nun. You don't honestly expect us to not play with the ears, do you?

Living the life of a big dog is exhausting. It must be a Boxer trait because our foster-pup Sasha sleeps exactly like this, too.

But that position only lasts so long before...

...he really gets comfy. Then he goes upstairs and snuggles in Brian's bed for the night.

Sigh. Hayley has volleyball Regionals all this weekend, so I'm not going to be around to play with the big boy. We'll have to have some good tennis ball time before his mama arrives on Monday to take him home.

Sniffle sniffle...

Back by popular demand...

...actually it would seem by very popular demand!

Let's be honest here: I don't think anyone reads my little blog. (Insert lonely, sad face here.) I get very few comments and you know who you are (Hi Josie Grandma and Missy Laura...love you!) So, I just figured nobody else cared about what us PNW Liebel's were up to. Then I started getting verbal comments from Dano and Brian and Josie Grandma. Basically (and I'm totally paraphasing here:) "People have inquiring minds! They want you to update your dang blog!"

So, since Spring has sprung in these here parts, first I updated the banner. Above, is a glimpse of our luscious flowering trees that now line our property. If you're nice, perhaps I'll post a photo of the current state of the landscaping soon. It's pretty. And it's cool. It's pretty cool. Heh heh.

This was just a teaser of future blog updates. I have to head out to do errands, etc. We have volleyball Regionals Saturday and Sunday. And since I can't do a blog post without a photo, behold: Just a little taste of what we've been up to this week. I know! Can you stand it???? His name is Boscoe and I'll tell you all about him later on.

For the Josies...

I figured I'd post our new dining room this way because it would take forever to upload photos into emails! So, without further delay, I give you... ...the new Dining Room!

And really, it isn't quite finished. Those black "bee" hooks on the wall will soon be gone. Just as soon as we find the perfect mirror to go above the sideboard. And the chandelier is going to be replaced with something, oh I don't know....pleasing to the eye! (i.e. we don't like this one. It is ugly.) And we will be painting the walls. But for now, I'm pretty content.

Anyway, this is the dining room set we fell in love with. This is the table without the leaf..that is why the two chairs are in the corners. Can you see the inlay detail? No?

How's this? I think this is what sold me on the set: The chairs are upholstered in this yummy fabric, yet the outside backs of the chairs have the matching wood inlay from the table. Because sometimes, kitties (not mine, of course) like to stretchhhhhh and then their claws get stuck in the upholstery on the back of the chair. This is also commonly known as "the sharpening of the claws." Problem averted. Because one never likes their new dining room chairs to be used as a scratching post.

Then we have the sideboard. Buffet. Whatever you choose to call it.

I call it "luvah." So does Abby. She likes that all her china fits inside and she still hasn't put a thing in the drawers yet.

It would appear I've embarrassed the Boy by making him sit and model at the table. Then again, I'm not the one with a fern growing out of my head, am I? Sorry, Brian knows I totally planned that shot. By the way, that is my "Butler's Pantry" through that doorway. Since I don't have a butler, I like to call it the "Bar." Anybody thirsty?

I am funny about artwork. I like family photos. Other than that, there isn't much out there that I want to look at every day. Except for one artist. We love Albert Bierstadt. We have one of his prints of the Sierra's in our bedroom and we thought something similar would look good in the dining room. And we would never get bored with it because it would remind us of our favorite area to camp. We came across this in the same store we found the dining room set in. It is a print of Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. I guess you can take the Liebels out of the Sierra's...but you can't take the Sierra's out of the Liebels!

Hold on just a minute...just what is this??? This is certainly not acceptable. No. Never. Ever.

What was it they say about curiosity and the cat? She's very cute. Very naughty, but cute.

So, this concludes our tour. I hope you enjoyed it. Josie Grandma and Grampa, you may now return to your nice, warm pool in your nice, warm climate. I've made up a schematic. Trust me, this was nothing. I believe we counted at least 20 Josie friends in the pool a little later on...and they ALL HAD NOODLES!

It's not like I'm jealous or anything. =)

TESTING...1...2...3

Hello from lovely Spokane! Hayley is playing in the PNQ Volleyball Tournament this weekend and I'm chaperoning eleven 16 yr. old young ladies! They played awesome today, so they are still in the gold bracket for tomorrow's matches. Wish them luck...they're trying to earn a bid to go to Junior Nationals in July! GO NORTHSHORE 16 BLACK! (This post was done from my phone so if it is funky...hey, I tried!) Have a great weekend!

Happy Monday!

Now THIS is the way to start off the week! Welcome home Ashlynn and Tami!

And in other baby-related news, we also got word that our nephew Chris and his sweet wife Julie welcomed Baby #3 to their family this fine morning! Congratulations Chris, Julie, and BIG sisters Athena and Zoe...and welcome to the world John Patrick Liebel!

It is a good day indeed!

One Year Ago Today...

~~~ 3/8/08 ~~~

...We were down in sunny SoCal for the wedding of our niece, Laura and her Prince Charming, Corey. That day, they became Mr. and Mrs. Corey Riggins. (You must go to their blog and check out the slideshow of the day!)

Everyone jumped for joy... Haha...that just had to be said. Seriously though, after being apart for so long while Corey was being a Navy man in a submarine and Laura was learning to be (and became) an awesome Pediatric RNP, it was so nice to see these two lovebirds finally have their day.

It was stunningly beautiful, from beginning to end. Check out the ballroom for the reception: And that wasn't even half of the room! It took my breath away.

My Laura let me help her with all things paper for her wedding. We made all the invitations, menu cards, place cards, table numbers and programs. It was truly a labor of love...one which I'm ready to take on again. (Ahem, that means you Andrew! And Matt! and Stephanie! Hint hint...) Can you tell the Liebel family enjoys weddings?!

Then of course, there was the cake: Lordy lordy, this was to die for! The best part is that I just talked to Laura on the phone a few minutes ago and she was sitting outside the bakery while Corey ran in to pick up their 1st Anniversary cake! How cool...the bakery provided an exact copy of the top tier of their wedding cake. No freezer burn for them! Me = Jealouuuuusss.

So, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to you, Mr. & Mrs. Riggins! We miss you like crazy! We love and adore you!

Now, on another note...we got 4 inches of snow last night. But the good news is that the sun is out and is melting the snow away! Mother Nature...she's a fickle one, no?

Have an awesome day!