Too Big...Too Fast!!

Alright...I have a confession to make...
I {do not} want my girls to grow up!!!
It seems as though each stage that we enter upon is such a great one that I want to stay there forever
(and the older they get, the older I get, and the more gray hair's Jas gets).
Try as I may, the girls are in fact getting older, thus bringing us to more fun activities.
Case in Point:
A's First Dance Recital.
She began taking lessons at a local church a few months back one night a week with her bestest bud from school.
It is a total crack up to watch...ten 5-6 year olds trying to find their {rhythm} and look so cool while doing it.
Anyhow, after sitting through 10 weeks of rehearsals the big night had
FINALLY
arrived.
I quickly invited my Aunt Shawna to join us for a 'french-braid' party.
(have I mentioned yet that a pony tail is about as fancy as this momma gets.
Lucky for me...
I have an aunt who more than makes up for my inability to 'do' hair.

Secretly, A loves it when she gets her hair done by anyone else but me.

SURPRISE OF THE NIGHT!!!
Jas' mom and dad suprised us by making the 3-hour drive over to watch their first granddaughter in her first recital.
This meant so much to all of us to have them share part in A's special night.
My heart welled up so big when I answered the knock at the door that night.
They are sure special people...and my girls are blessed with wonderful grandparents...
on both sides!

Had took FULL ADVANTAGE of them and their laps.
It is sure hard to get a picture of this busy little girl that isn't blurry...
she DOES NOT STOP MOVING!!
Honest...she is a little 'goer.'

How cute is my little 'robin?'
It is hard to tell, but she is even cuter with her {picket-fence} smile.
Two missing on the bottom and one incredibly loose one on top.

Here they are...
What do you call a group of robins?
A gaggle??? A flock???
I don't know...but they sure are cute!

TA DA!!
Here is my little chick-a-dee spreading her wings and getting ready to
{dance}.

In the meantime, while all of the 'birdies' were stretching their wings...my older brother, Rar (a lifelong nickname), and dear friend, Margee, were chumming it up together.
Pretty Cute!
We were also blessed with the pressence of a dear neighbor and my mom, NiNi.
A had her own cheering section.

While performing, A had the most serious look on her face...not once did she crack a smile.
She was very concentrated on the task at hand.

And just like that...the show was over.
Take your 'bow.'

Oobie Doo (another crazy nickname) presented A with tulips in her most favorite color, PURPLE!!!

Jas and I were so proud of her and her accomplishment...
made me think ahead to graduations...YIKES!!!

She sure is a pretty special little girl.

Of course, not to be outdone...
here's lil sister, Had, sporting A's bird beak/hat.

This girl will do anything for a laugh.

As soon as she decided it wasn't fun being a bird anymore, she took the strap off of the beak and decided that a mustache was much more {her style}.
CRAZY GIRL!!

I can only imagine what this one will have in store for us at her 'recitals.'

We followed up the recital with a trip to DQ for some Peanut Buster Parfaits, Blizzards and Ice Cream Sundaes.

What a fun night this was for the Skaug Family....
Full of Smiles, Family, Friends, Memories and Laughter.

{my disclaimer}
I tried to attach video of A's performance to this post...but I am not 100% sure of how to do it...so be on the lookout in the future for it...

Day Well Spent...

As if I didn't have enough going on in my semi-crazy-busy life,
I was recently approached about taking on a new adventure...
and it involves two of my favorite things:
plants and people.
(I'll share more later as details emerge)
A definite perk to this new project was getting to attend the
Seattle Flower and Garden Show
in Seattle last Friday.
I called up one of the sweetest lady's I know and asked her to join me for a day of
flowers, vegetables, plant seminars, display gardens and inspiration.
(essentially a tease of spring but inside a giant convention center...
which is good because I think the high for last Friday was 32').

I took a lot of random photos of anything that interested me and caught my eye.
Here are a few of my favorite plants that I saw.

This particular is a Sedum and is called
'Baby Tears."
I love how dainty 'she' is and 'her' fresh green color really drew my attention in the display that she was in.

This plant is also a part of the Sedum family...
and while the other was small and dainty,
this one was monstrous and mammoth.
It was about 4 1/2 feet tall.

This was an incredible, white wisteria tree...
and while this picture does not do it justice,
mark my word, it was I.N.C.R.E.D.I.B.L.E!!

Oh, and I think I have yet to share that the majority of my favorite plants almost always have white flowers.
I love the contrast that white flowers have against whatever shade green their foliage is...
they really stand out in a garden.

On the contrary, this one is a hellebore and was such a deep purple it was almost black on the underside

(which, if you're familiar with hellebores, you know that the underside is their 'face')

And they bloom in the late winter providing a much needed notion that spring is on it's way.

This is a tiny, little fairy garden display that a local nursery had created.
How cute is that?

Oh, and the plant on the right hand side of the garden is a
"Baby Tears."
Sure do love that chartreuse color.

Now among having a vast array of unique and beautiful plants,
there was also some very fun and creative gifts to purchase.

I instantly fell in love with these little goats.
They are about as cute as they get...
but at $35 a piece, I just couldn't do it...
but they were C.U.T.E.

Again, forgive me for this not being the best of pictures, but you get the idea.
They are 'turtle tables.'The theme of this years show and display gardens was a
Storybook theme.
These tables were a part of the
"Wind and the Willows" garden...
as were these hand-blown cattails.One of my favorite booths was this man's:

He is the designer and builder of the most amazing and one-of-a-kind
outbuildings.
This, for instance, is one of his chicken-coops.
Only problem:
it cost over $3200.00

Worth every penny if you've got the cash...
only problem...
I DON'T!
{this sold within the first hour of the show's opening}

But it IS right up my alley,
and I DO have a crafty hubb.
Needless to say, I am now on the lookout for
dilapidated barns that need to be torn down
so that we can design and build our own.

He also created and built these fun 'cold frames,'
which is a great way to start your plants early and protect them from the frost and crazy winter weather.

This building was a part of another display nursery;
Christianson's Nursery
(I'll be visiting soon).I am amazed that they build these displays,
only to be deconstructed a few days later after the show is over.
I {LOVE} this bike!!!
Especially since it has their delivery service advertised on it.

Another great and original idea that I was drawn to was this
'retired' shipping crate 'reinvented' into a potting shed/playhouse.

Do you love it?

I DO!!!
But I already have a potting shed that I love...
so maybe someday.

I did good and resisted almost all of my spending temptations...
with a few exceptions.

THIS!!
I do love me some peonies!
And look...
it's white to boot.It'll be a few seasons before she actually blooms,
but it will be SO WORTH THE WAIT.
In the mean time,
I bought this cute little primrose to set on my mantle.
We need a little spring in our home.

And look at all of the blooms coming...

A part of my attending the show was to listen to a few different seminars in a variety of different topics.
I think I sat through 6 of them...
5 of them were FANTASTIC
and I took LOTS AND LOTS OF NOTES!

Now I must get to organizing them :-)
I am eager to start this new project and I am really looking forward to meeting some new people in the process. I am also {beyond} eager to get into my own garden and flower beds and utilize some of the new techniques and ideas that I learned.
***Actually, I spent a few hours yesterday in my front flower beds,
cleaning them up.
rearranging them,
planting my new peony
and daydreaming of warmer, sunny days to come***
{did I mention it was raining yesterday while I was out there...I must be desperate for spring}

Thanks Ree...Great Idea!

Quick...I've only got a minute!
The girls are watching our favorite movie,
'Despicable Me.'
Seen it?
You should!!!
It's downright adorable!
SO in this quick minute, I decided to check out the other blogs that I read...and came across
The Pioneer Woman,
Ree Drummond,
and her blog.
She is, in one word,
FANTASTIC.
And she is a terrific writer...
and also the kind of woman that you wish lived next door
(that has nothing to do with the fact that she appears to be an incredible cook).
Her latest blog is devoted to pictures that she had on her cell phone and the idea that no one ever does anything with them...
'LIGHT BULB!'
She's right...or at least I haven't done anything with mine.
So here goes...
Get Ready...
lots of {random} pictures
and with just quick commentary.
Here goes:

This is A 'fishing' in a rubbermaid.
Oh this girl...and her imagination.

No commentary necessary.

Oh how I miss those chunky baby cheeks!

Some cupcakes that I made for a bake sale a few years back to help raise money for the sweetest little girl, Shaylee.

Blurry, I know...

but this is the first time that A had ever wrote 'I love you.'

Had and I earning our 'keep' around this place...
getting our 'mow-on.'

I don't know who she gets this from.

On a visit to Dawn's home to visit her new brood of babies.

A visit to the dentist.
Say "AHHHHH!"

Bikini Baristas?
You got nothing on Gardening in your undies.

I can't share with you the caption I would like to on this particular photo...
...sorry.

A very rare 'before' picture...
remodeling our dining room the spring of 2009.
Start to finish...3 weeks.

Getting closer.

Our motivation to finish in 3 weeks...
Had's first birthday.
I highly recommend throwing a party on the date that you want your project done...The three loves of my life!!!
(he is such an incredible daddy to our little girls)

From my garden...
notice the double swirls.

Eating breakfast in the garden
These raspberries belonged to Jas' Grandma Emily.
We moved them here when they moved out of their home and they have been
THRIVING!!
I think of her EVERY time we are enjoying them.

Driving out the gravel road at our river property...
Had loved the thrill of no carseat.
***shortly after this photo was taken,
her expression changed, as we put her back into her carseat***

Had exchanging {smooches} with Jill, our neighbors dog.
They were both such puppies.

A proudly showing off her prized winning (not really) purple broccoli.
How cool is that?
Great way to get your kids to eat more veggies.

And finally,
at least for this installation of cell pics,
Had looking a little nervous after being caught devouring my
Skinny Cow fudge bar.
Almost didn't see her,
she is wearing camouflage after all.

When I first began downloading pics for this post,
I had over 50...
so I have decided to do a few installments of cell pics to share with you.
Stay Tuned...