the mandel 5

Well, tomorrow it will probably be all dried up. Can't believe how excited I was that the park I like to shoot at had a little trickle of water.

I just spent an hour doing this . So click to enlarge and enjoy the thought that was put into it. Then slap me for wasting valuable time!

The kids and I went bowling with Grandma Verna today. Then she made us a yummy lunch. We haven't been bowling in a few years so it was pretty funny to watch. During one turn, Logan ran up, threw his ball, and we watched it roll down the lane next to ours. Another time, he dropped it, got frustrated, and kicked it down the lane. The kids love Grandma's flower garden. Nathan asked to bring some home.

I can't believe it's been a year since sweet Keira was born! Today I took the kids to her 1st birthday party at Under the Sea. The kids had a BLAST! I had Ariel in class. :) Keira wasn't paying atttention so big sis Kylie blew out her candle. Once she got a taste of icing, she was paying attention! Aarrghhhh! Mermaids! Happy Birthday, baby Keira!!

The studio stuff is set up tonight so the kids put on a "show" on the "stage." Then I asked them to jump. Every time I try this shot, it goes something like this: I count to three, Logan jumps, and then 2 seconds later, long after I've snapped my picture, Nathan jumps. and the girls after their show...

So, COC is starting a free family movie night for staff and their families once a month. Tonight they showed Ratatouille. The man in charge said he hopes to occasionally have guests come who worked on the movies. Sounds like fun. He said to invite friends and neighbors so I will definitely post about it on the studio blog when it gets closer to the next date. We went with Grace and Alex. After the movie, Rob showed us his classroom. It's nice to be able to picture where he is teaching on Wednesdays. The Mandels don't just walk into a room, we take it over with authority.

Thanks to those of you who voted. And thanks for not selecting answer #5! At least it was just a trial. Did anyone hack into it? I tried and tried to vote more than once but couldn't. Logan always has his mouth open and his tongue out when he is concentrating. Tonight he was coloring his big Cars book from Grantie and was completely into it. His coloring has gotten so much better - maybe because he can see? These pictures were taken in like 1 minute. I don't have to sit around and wait for the tongue to stick out. As soon as he picks up a crayon, the tongue assumes it's concentration position.

I am trying out a new poll script to use on my studio blog. Please vote and then try to vote again and then try to cheat and clear your cookies and vote again. See if you can crack it! Thanks! polls - Take Our Poll

That's right. I have five tickets that have to be used by the end of the month. I realize that's only 10 days away but I really thought we'd use them. We are just out of free time for the month. The first person to speak up gets 'em! :)

Before I forget, due to spammers, I changed the comments so that everyone can still leave one, but I have to approve them before they are published. So if they don't show up right away, it was still submitted, I just have to click "publish" on my end. One spam comment that was left had a link to an adult site! What's the world coming to?? We finally all got together to celebrate Brady's birthday tonight. He's pictured here with the board members of his fan club. I forgot to tell a couple of funny things about Logan's glasses. For starters, while he was trying on samples, Nathan stood there in the office and sobbed because he could not get glasses, too. It was so bad, I had to take Nathan home. When Logan first tried on his new specs, I asked if he could see better and he said yes. I said, "Turn and look at me." He did. And then in a disappointed voice, said, "You look the same, Mom." On the way home, we talked about how to tak...

Logan got a little bit cuter today. He got his first pair of glasses. According to the doctor, his vision is horrible like his mommy's and he'll probably need glasses forever. I can't wait to see how well he hits a baseball once he can actually SEE it.

For Valentine's Day, I was going to write the story of how Rob and I met for those of you who entered my world post y2k. But it didn't take me long to realize there isn't much of a story. Especially since I have been following P-Dub's 30 part romantic saga over on The Pioneer Woman . And besides, I tell stories with pictures, not words. So, here is a little stroll down Rob and Mitzi Memory Lane. But if you want the story, here it is: We met in 1996 when we were hired to teach math and history on the same 7th grade team at Seco. We started dating in November and kept it a secret from everyone at work except for Josanne for a year and a half. When we finally told our colleagues, students, and principal that we were dating, we also told them we were getting married. After that, 4 other couples from school got married. We were such trend setters. Now on to the pictures.....we'll start with the dating period... oooh...look...this one has a date....Christmas 19...