March Madness! Life4ce Fund Raiser

Our youth group did a fund raiser and we titled it March Madness. It really had nothing to do with the month of March, or the actually March madness basketball; but was more about madness/crazyness. The tables were all randomly decorated, each one representing something different and unique.Each table also had apetizers/snacks appropriate for the table decor. It was great fun to plan and decorate for. The entertainment was also very cool. We have several teens that are really good and stand-up comedian stuff. They kept us humorously entertained. The menu was the only thing we were serious about! Salad, Bread sticks, Million Dollar Spaghetti, green beans, carrots, and for dessert Cheesecake! Lots of decorating, cooking, serving, cleaning-up, and fun! (sorry some of my pictures are sideways...)

Spring Table

Easter



Baby shower

Happy Birthday!

Basketball (March madness)

Just Married!

Mexican

Our great volunteers/servers/entertainers.



More great staff/helpers/volunteers.

March 2011: New dog house, Big Birthday Bash, & Growing kids!

Well, March is long gone! But, better late than never. Now, on with the highlights....if I can remember them.

The kiddies ready for church.

Looking sharp!

Bear and his new house.
  


The birthday girl!

Yay for Birthdays! My delicious birthday meal and cake made by the lovely Stephanie P.

The beatifully set table!



I am blessed!

Family Day 2/24/11 Dodson Pass/ Middle of Nowhere

Today, the five of us (bear adventured with us) climbed into the jeep and headed north/east/south. Today for our lunch I grabbed an unopened box of kix cereal, goldfish crackers and water. Let me just tell you, there ain't no McDonalds on every corner out here. We first headed out to Willow Creek than on to Big Flat Road, up over Dodson Pass, down to 3^rd Fork road, through the town of Ola, through the town of Sweet and then Home again home again. Sounds simple huh? This little trip took around 4 hours (I think). Bear needed to stop a couple of times for a potty break and to stretch his legs. J This was his first adventure and he did very well!
And now for the pictures!



Ready to go... Carson, Kenzie and Bear.





Willow Creek





Willow Creek



A cool barn- somewhere in the middle of nowhere.



A potty break/exercise time for Bear





A fancy pantsy home on Big Flat Ranch-also in the
middle of nowhere.





Going over Dodson Pass.





Obvious





Never know when you might need a good fire truck...  middle
of nowhere... Third Fork Road.



Family Day 2/17/11 Owyhee Mtns, Murphy, Melba, Silver City-attempt.

Today we headed south, to the Owyhee Mountains. We explored the towns of Melba, Murphy, and Dan's Ferry. We attempted to reach Silver City- but alas we must wait until the snow melts and the roads are re-opened. We also briefly explored Givens Springs- a hot springs with history. They have turned it into a swimming pool, so there wasn't really much to see besides the historical sign.

We got lunch at Dan's Ferry, a glorified gas station… lunch consisted of fig newton's, peach rings (sugar-coated candy) and m&m's. Nutritious!

Murphy was our next town 2 visit. According to Wikipedia "Murphy is an unincorporated community in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. The county seat of Owyhee County, it is one of the smallest county seats nationwide." Estimated zip code population of the Murphy area in 2009 was 623 (according to http://www.city-data.com/zips/83650.html) Murphy does have a very nice, paved landing strip. So next time you are flying over you could just land there and check it out for yourself.
With great excitement we headed up toward Silver City, I had previously read online that the road was usually closed during the winter due to poor roads and lots of snow and whatever other reasons they might have in closing the road. We passed and videoed a mule deer family reunion… very cool!! I think we got about 12 miles on our 20 mile journey, passed a "road closed ahead" sign, and then we were faced by a sign that said: "If you travel beyond this point you will be responsible for cost of search and rescue." We turned around, with a promise to return in warmer weather.

We drove through Melba on our return home. Population 439 in the 2000 census (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melba,_Idaho) Interesting sight in this fine town was the residents parking jobs….just leave your car sticking out into the street… no big deal! Funny stuff!! We backed up just so I could get a picture of this spectacle.

Welcoming sign

The beautiful Owyhee Mountains

The Owyhee mountains from a little distance.

If it sounds to good to be true...

A back roads best friend!

Alrighty then... we turned around!

Evidently parking isn't a high priority to the fine folks
of Melba, Idaho.   

Bear- newest member of the family

Monday, February 7, 2011, our lives changed forever…. sounds dramatic huh…. actually we got a puppy. A free, pure-blood, black lab puppy- almost 8 weeks of age, joined our family. At first the kids were very apprehensive, but now they run and play with him. Carson named him Bear, a rather fitting name I think.
Our first few nights with him took me back to the newborn stage, awake every few hours, crying. Thankfully by night 3 he was sleeping through the night. (if only it were that quick with the baby humans) Now we are in the middle of potty training… Andy is working hard to get him to do his business in a specific part of the yard.
We were given a ginormous dog crate for him- Andy is a regular customer at The Coffee Shop and asked the owner if she knew of anyone wanting to sell a dog crate… she just happened to have one and give it to us. I guess all those $ 1.25 trips to The Coffee shop has paid off. J Actually, I think of it as our doggy miracle!
Bear received his first set of shots on the 16^th and did just fine. Andy held him still in the kitchen sink while I administered the medication. There is quite a difference between human skin and dog skin… the thickness was a little shocking.
Now for pictures of our cute little guy.


 

Getting his shot.  This quite possibly was harder on me than him.

Tucanos Brazilian Grill

 Yum-O!      Not a place to visit every weekend, but definitely nice for a special occasion!
Andy and I went the weekend before Valentine's Day. We had called ahead for reservations which was wise! It seemed like everyone else in the Boise area was also there for supper.

Tucanos had a V-day special so for a few extra dollars we chose to upgrade…. which basically meant: white table cloth, a couple of extra meats, chocolate covered strawberries, and you received a rose as you left. Nice!

You start with the Festival Salad Bar it is "all you care to eat" and has 60+ cold and hot items. Everything you could possibly imagine to put on your salad… even some things such as quail eggs, which I cannot imagine putting on my salad! Then when you're ready to be bombarded with cooked veggies, grilled pineapple, and multiple types of meat cooked in various fashions, you flip your little cue to green and the fun begins. When you need a break to catch your breath, you flip your cue to red. We were served 8-10 different types of meat: grilled shrimp, whitefish, filet mignon, chicken hearts (could not eat) and I just can't remember the others.

We also ordered Brazilian Lemonades… I had mango and Andy had guava. Delicious! I failed to get a picture of our chocolate covered strawberries, but they were also very tasty! And it was very cool to walk away with a yellow rose. J

Brazilian lemonaid

The "Cue"- red = we were DONE!





Carson's Photography- we did get a better picture- I just thought
this was funny  :)



Valentine Video

Well, after several attempts to upload a video to my blog, I have failed.  Probably due to the length of this epic film.  So, if you care to follow this link, you will find a video rivaled by none other.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqbfVqySvPQ

Disclaimer:  This video was taken before lunch and after leaving the house at 7:45 am, sitting through first service, fellowship/connection time, sunday school, and then second service.  
Despite what I say on the video, I do know all the names of our N.C. family. 
This is raw footage, unrehearsed, and undiscussed, although there was a scribbled script for the narrator.
Enjoy!