New Plaster in Mom's Pool!

There has been a few reoccurring rust stains that keep appearing in the bottom of the pool and it was getting so rough especially on the edges of the steps that the only solution was to re-plaster.  Most of the work was done from February 7-10 but due to rainy weather some of it had to be postponed and it was finally refilled on the 25th.  They were also able to fix/fill a couple of spots where the cement had lifted away from the tiles (thanks rogue tree roots) with a special grout--now you can hardly see the problem spots! Anyway, after the pool was drained I had gone over to see the progress...the sandblasting part had already been done. I was a bit afraid of what the dogs would do because they normally sprint to the back yard and immediately jump in the pool...I'm not sure they'd even notice the water wasn't there, so this day I kept them on leashes just in case! Once I led them down the steps I let them play around in the empty pool--I think they were rather confused about the whole thing! The worst part was that all this work kept the girls from being able to swim until spring break (April 2011) because after the new plaster was done it had to be submersed in the water to cure for over a month and I didn't dare risk claw marks in it! This made going to "Gramma's" house a challenge because they would stand at the door begging, barking and whimpering to go out to swim and we couldn't let them! O-well, they've been spoiled (admittedly) and they lived through it obviously! The pool looks brand new again and the steps are no longer pumice stones for feet and swimsuits! :)

My 32nd Birthday!!!

This year my birthday (February 6th) ironically fell on Super Bowl Sunday (ironic because it is my FAVORITE day--Insert LOTS of sarcasm here!)  :)  So anyway, Kim Smith took me out for birthday dinner and drinks at BJ's Brewery (thinking because it was a sports bar it might actually be full of guys watching the game--sadly it was rather disappointing for that)!  We had a fun night though...Angela Westbay was able to join us for a while as well as Sarah Porter...later Kim's sister Courtney and her husband Corey came by for a drink too!  We laughed and just enjoyed good company for a few hours--it was all I wanted--not too much fuss to honor another year of age--Blah!  The next day I was invited over to Sherry and Matt's house so that they and Carter could give me my birthday presents!  Carter helped unwrap everything--he's hilarious!!! At one point he threw a piece of wrapping at me so I of-course, threw it back at him and pegged him right in the forehead!  He laughed, grabbed his forehead and then pointed at me saying "MoeMoe" (announcing blame)!  The paper fight lasted a few throws and then it was back to the gifts! Thanks guys!   :-)

Mom & Wayne's Ski Trip to Kirkwood...January 26th-29th!

Wayne's company, Power Engineering has a cabin in Kirkwood up near Tahoe.  The owners allow their employees to sign up for and use for free during the winter months!  Wayne reserved 4 days from Wednesday January 26th through Saturday January 29th 2011.  Wayne, Amy and Kailey went for all the days and Mom joined them for a couple too!!!  They had a good time and it looked like they had really great weather the entire time!!! 

Carters 2nd Birthday Gift--The Rakkiddo Shoe Wheel...

So...Carter is really into his shoes!  He seemed to go through a phase where not only did he want to wear shoes at ALL times, he wanted everyone to wear shoes at all times!  It was all fun and games until it was bath or bed time and he STILL didn't want to remove his shoes!  Anyway...Sherry has a slight shoe fetish as well and tends to cater to Carter's obsession--he seriously has SOOOO many pairs of shoes!  So for his birthday part of his gift from me included this super cool shoe carousel!!!  It can hold nearly 20 pairs of shoes and it spins so even Carter can pick out his own pair!  Of course, at the party it wasn't much of a hit because it came in a flat box (but that night after some assembly by Matt) it was MUCH cooler!!!  Carter learned to put his shoes in it and spin it!  :) 

Carter's 2nd Birthday Party!!!

Carter's 2nd birthday party was held at a little place called My Gym on Sunday January 23rd, 2011 at 4:30pm.  My Gym had all kinds of things for the little ones to play on...from a mini trampoline, ball pit, a zip line and all kinds of different swings hanging from the ceiling!  The kids were allowed supervised free play for 5-10 minutes then they were all called in to the middle circle where the two ladies would tell fun puppet stories or lead the kids in songs (they were REALLY good at keeping the kids attention!).  Then the kids were released back to free play again--this process continued for about an hour and it seems none of the kids got bored!  After the play it was time for pizza, cake, and presents.  All in all it seemed like all the little ones had a good time!

 

Carter turned 2 years old on Jan. 22nd, 2011!!!

On Saturday January 22nd, 2011 (Carter's true birthday) Sherry, Matt, Carter and Mom (aka: Grandma) all headed towards The Picture People at the mall for their family photo appointment. Sherry and Matt asked her to come along to help keep Carter's attention and help with the smiles. I hear that Carter actually cried the majority of the time and they were all surprised that good pictures came from such and ordeal! Once I got to see the pictures I was really impressed--you can't tell any tears were shed and there are a bunch of good shots! Luckily Sherry and Matt bought the CD of pictures so they have the rights to reproduce the photos (which in turn gave me the opportunity to nab them from Sherry's blog to show them off on mine!) :-)

First Bootcamp Injury...January 2011

So...I've been going to bootcamp now for a while and actually really LOVE it!  It is super fast paced and I always leave feeling accomplished with fatigued shaky muscles but this day I left with a little less--skin that is!!!  One of their favorite strength building exercises is called a plank were you are essentially in a push-up position on your toes, body strait but on elbows (usually).  This day we did a lot of different variations one after another!  We had to lift a leg, then add a row using elastic bands, then a rotation--long story short, we were propped on our elbows for a loooong time while we proceeded to grind them into the 1/4 inch mats on the gym floor!  By the end of the workout I don't think it would've mattered if we'd  have been positioned on  marshmallows...everybody's elbows were a mess!  The worst part, was that it took forever to heal because day after day band-aid or not I continued to rip it back open!

Random Cute Pics...Stolen from Sherry's Blog! Thanks!!! :)