Happy 4th!

We had a quiet Independence Day, trying to keep Taryn's nap schedule in-tact.  That still allowed us to visit Beaverton's community celebration in the early afternoon.  Amber was able to jump in the bouncy house and slide before they closed it.

 We grilled in the back yard and the Sandi's family joined us for dessert.

Then we celebrated our country's birth and no bed time with fireworks.

Amber really liked our little fireworks display. The noise was sometimes too much for her but she LOVED the sparklers. 

 This was Taryn's first experience with fireworks (she slept through it last year) and gave it about a 5 out of 10.(She's a tough critic.  I loved every minute of it.)

Our grand finale:

We didn't get to bed until almost midnight.  Our neighbors had a pretty good show of their own that we saw from our upstairs window.  Even Taryn was interested in all the pretty lights across the street.

Our New Piano!

We just got a piano!  A friend moved and decided to give it away.  Sandi jumped on the opportunity.  It's all tuned and ready to make music.

not a movie, just a picture of a cute little
Taryn playing the piano

Amber and sheepy playing the piano

Sandi was playing a few songs tonight and I can't express how warm our house feels with music drifting through the rooms. 

The beauty of this gift is that it is already 'broken-in' (it's about 50-years old). Come on down and plunk away at the keys.  Compose a melody, scratch out a tune, play 'Desperado' or 'Chopsticks' or Bethoven's 9th, perform a recital, gather around and sing Christmas Carols, whatever you want.  This piano is here to make music with you.

St Patrick's Day

One of my favorite quotes is "There are two kinds of people: those who are Irish and those who want to be Irish."  Today we celebrated our heritage.

 I have to give my wee lass, Taryn Mackenzie, top billing because she is the most Irish of us all.

To celebrate, I looked up authentic Irish meals.  Colcannon Irish potatoes came to the top.  Basically, it is mashed potatoes with sauteed leeks, onion and cabbage.  How can you go wrong when the directions have you make a divot at the top of the mound for melted butter?  There's even an Irish song about it called Colcannon! 

We topped it off with sausages and Irish Soda Bread.

If you join us for dinner March 17th, we'll be happy to have you join us.

Our family

It snowed Monday morning with a thin blanket of snow.  Before the snow melted, Sandi (under Amber's supervision) made our snowman family.

Daddy

Mommy

Amber

Taryn (this one made me laugh)

This little guy is Olaf (pronounced Oooo-laf by Amber).  Apparently, he is a member of the family now.


 The director posing with her creation.

Budding artist

We put grandpa's table to good use the day we got it.  Amber does all her crafts and drawings on it.  It has a permanent spot by the kitchen table so she can always be apart of what is going on, and we can always admire her latest master-piece.

Silly little girl

 

So cute, I can't help myself.

Sisters

Having the girls play nicely together is sometimes a little difficult.  This is why we celebrate those special moments (literally) that no one is crying and everyone is happy.  They are so cute together!