We have a winner!

Myranda took first place in her age group at the art exhibition with her Eagle made of a recycled plastic drink bottle. Her accomplishment was also mentioned in every class at her school during the reading of the school news bulletin.

She will be able to pick up her art work on Sunday along with a gift basket for winning.

We are very proud of her. Way to go Myranda!

Movie night

We are on one of those "rent movies through the mail" programs. Going to the movie theater with four people is something we rarely find the money or time for. But we looove to watch movies. The problem is, so many of them are.... well, not so great. BUT... We watched a couple of movies recently that were so good, I wanted to recommend them to everyone.

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The Blind Side

Yeah it's based on a true story, and unless you live under a rock you have seen clips from the movie along with clips from Sandra Bullock's acceptance speech at the Oscar's.... just before she was blind sided by her no good cheatin, two timin, double dealin, mean, mistreatin "lovin" man.

Yeah it really should fall under the category of a "chick flick"... But... Even if you are guy, I think you will enjoy this movie. David was quite skeptical, and he liked it. I think that guys who are Dads will find it tugs at their heartstrings more so than those without kids.

The acting was really good. I thought the kids in the movie did a really great job. Sometimes it's hard for child actors to really keep me "in" the movie. But with The Blind Side, I was sucked right into the plot and stayed there til the end.

Oh... and have the kleenex handy... I think I cried pretty much through the whole thing!

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Sherlock Holmes

I really hoped this movie was going to be good... and it was even better than I had hoped! It was long, but we never felt like it was dragging. It had some great action scenes, and lots of early scientific invention type stuff.

Sherlock Holmes' character was done in such a way that he retained all the quirks that make him Sherlock Holmes.... but there was no drug use as an explanation for his unique abilities. I got the feeling they were going with more of an OCD type heightened awareness. This as well as no real sexy scenes makes it a great family movie. (Yes there is one scene where Holmes is tied up with no clothes, just a pillow over his.... self.... but you have probably already seen that on the trailers that have run near constantly on public television.) There really is no more to it than what they showed in the trailer, and we did not feel uncomfortable letting the kids watch the movie.

I really really hope they make a sequel because I want to know what happens next for Holmes and Watson.
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To sum things up... If you are thinking of having a movie night, and don't want to waste your time on a movie that ends up being just "so-so", rent one of these... or better yet both of them! I think you will be happy.

A whole lot of trimmin goin on

We have been having some really nice weather the past few days. One of the things David has worked on is trimming some of the tree limbs.... We have A LOT of trees that need trimmed.

This particular tree also needed to be topped so as to un-endanger the phone line.

Look at that growing pile! I sense a bonfire in our future.

Art Project

Myranda made this cute bald eagle out of an old plastic soda or water bottle. The project is entered in an art exhibition in Kettle Falls. I was really proud of her vision and think the project turned out great.

Happy Birthday, David

The love of my life, my soul mate, turns 40 today. I'm not sure if he feels it's a big deal or not. He has not said much about it... and the other day it seemed like he forgot his birthday was coming up.

The number isn't a big deal to me, but the day is. I can't imagine the world without him, so the day he came into it is definitely one to celebrate.

Happy birthday honey, I love you... always and forever.

And maybe now you can stop calling me your "old lady" for another ten months.

~ Jen

For Paul and Mira

We have a new niece! Baby Claire was born just after midnight today.

I remember the wonderful excitement, apprehension and chaos of a new born baby. I think every parent will agree after the fact, that it all goes by too fast. So I would like to dedicate this song by Darius Rucker to Paul and Mira. We are so happy for you both.

God bless your little family.

If the embedded video does not work for you, click here, or for a live version that is also very good, click here.

Thanks Easter Bunny!

Plenty of sugar, hidden eggs to find, baseball gloves and tennis balls for playing catch.... now we just need some nice weather.

Wishing all of you a peacefull Easter filled with love and happiness.