SPRING BREAK - DAY 1

Jonathan sporting a new haircut (bribed with a new pair of shoes).

Celie and Rica getting reacquainted.

***********************************************************

Loren and I and David and Crystal took the kids to the Yuma County Fair. After going through the animal barns and some 4-H exhibits, the kids each tried their hand at decorating their own cupcake.

Celie chowing down!

Miranda working on a gumdrop.

Alyssa showing off her creation.

Not to be outdone by the girls, Jonathan decorated one too!


We then entered an area designed just for kids to learn more about agriculture and just have some (free) fun.

Miranda headed straight for the sand box.

Celie did an excellent job with the hula hoop.

Jonathan tried his hand at milking a cow. He also dressed a scarecrow and roped a calf.

Alyssa and Miranda painted some beautiful flowers.

Celie really liked the pink pedal tractor.

Jonathan won this prize with his dynamite aim (and making a water run for the operator).

Miranda discovered that some of these things are a little difficult to get out of!

**************************************************************************

After spending all afternoon at the fair, we headed to Round Table Pizza for dinner and then home to watch a movie.

SHUFFLEBOARD TOURNAMENT

Our last shuffleboard tournament each year is a "novelty" tournament. We play two frames sitting on chairs, two frames playing with our left hand, two frames where we score only if the puck lands on a line, and two frames where we only score if we land in the "kitchen" (which is normally a minus 10). Anyway, we had a lot of fun and I had one of my best games with a score of 64.

The Ref...

Shooting left-handed...

Shooting from a sitting position is quite awkward!!

What form!!!

SPRING FLOWERS

Just had to share this picture of cactus flowers. We walk past a lot of these when we are out walking the dogs and it never ceases to amaze me just how beautiful they are.

RICA AND CHICA

What a beautiful little girl!

Tennis anyone?

Couldn't resist snapping this picture of Rica sound asleep in their toy box. How cute can you get?

Loren and I attended the Idaho Picnic today with our friends Claudia and Allen from Idaho Falls. Allen retired from the City of Idaho Falls and Claudia is a retired teacher. They are a lot of fun!! (Claudia's cousin, Diane Blume (Garcia), worked for Loren at the Idaho Department of Administration - small world). We didn't know another soul at the picnic but had a good time anyway. Next year we will invite more of our Idaho friends!

OBEDIENCE TRAINING

I have been taking Rica to Basic Obedience Training for the last seven weeks and tonight she graduated!! She learned to heel, sit, down, stay, and come. We started the class with seven dogs and tonight "graduated" only three - Rica, a border collie and a blue heeler. Here she is with her graduation certificate (she is completely exhausted after the hour-long class!!).

CRAFT WORKSHOP

When we first started coming to the park they had craft workshops every Monday afternoon but hadn't had any for the last few years so I volunteered to try and get some going this year. This afternoon 13 of us made No-Sew Fleece Ponchos. It only took about 1-1/2 hours and they all turned out really nice. It was a little too warm (88 degrees) to be wearing them though!

YUMA KENNEL CLUB AKC DOG SHOW

I showed Chica at the Yuma Kennel Club AKC Dog Show this morning. It was a first for both of us and we learned a lot and had a blast! She got First Place and Best of Breed ribbons for the Chihauhau group and First Place ribbon for the Toy group (she was the only Toy in the competition) but lost out Best of Show to the Border Collie. She also got a nice "silver" canister for her doggie treats.
Strutting our stuff...

The exam...

The competition....

The result....

Updated Photo

Here is an updated photo of Chica and Rica. They love sitting in front of our little electric fireplace on cool mornings. We just weighed Chica and she tipped the scale at 49.1 ounces! We are still keeping our fingers crossed that she will reach 4 pounds so we can breed her. It is amazing how patient Rica is with Chica, especially considering she is still a puppy herself!

They play really cute together (haven't had one major skirmish!).

CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE HANSEN HOUSE

David showing off his new USMC fleece blanket.

Crystal is learning to play guitar so we got her a beginners book - Good Luck Crystal!

My very handsome grandson Jonathan.

Jonathan with some of his gifts from Grandma and Grandpa.

How cute can you get? (left to right: Celie, Alyssa, Miranda).

Alyssa with her new books.

Alyssa was tickled pink with her new boombox.

Bubble wrap was as big a hit as the actual present!

Celie was thrilled with her new books.

Miranda was in heaven with twins.

Showing Grandma her curtsy.

SHUFFLEBOARD

Shuffleboard is something both Loren and I enjoy but this was a first for me -- both teams scored over 100 points! My partner and I made it all the way to the finals but lost that last, all-important game. Oh well, there's always next time.

Mom's 80th Birthday

David and I drove up to southeast Idaho, and Heidi came down from Boise, to celebrate my Mom's 80th birthday. My brother and sister-in-law, Zac and Tami Parris, hosted a wonderful brunch. There was a really good turnout and everyone had a good time. Thanks again Zac and Tami!!

Mom (Zola Parris) with her beautiful birthday cake.

Mom was standing on the steps -- she is NOT taller than I am!

Cold and snowing... luckily Heidi brought an extra sweater for me!

The roads were rather treacherous at times but David did an amazing job driving to and from Idaho.

Beautiful winter scenery.

LITTLE SISTER FOR RICA

Rica has a new little sister we picked up on Sunday. She is 4 months old and weighs 2 pounds. It is a lot of fun watching the two of them romp although baby Chica makes Rica look huge!

How could we possibly resist this face?

Pretty tiny... almost fits in one hand!

Always ready for a comfortable lap!

KATHLEEN

This is probably the hardest bit of news I have had to post to date. My sister, Kathleen Cutright, passed away on October 25. She was only 54 years old. I will miss her every day but know she is finally at peace. Loren, David, Crystal and I drove up to Pocatello to attend the memorial service. Heidi also came down from Boise.

KIPPER

It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you that we lost Kipper on October 7. We adopted Kipper from the Humane Society in Boise in September of 1993. She was a wonderful dog, with a great personality, and brought a lot of joy into our lives. She is gone but will never be forgotten.

YUMA SUNSET

I was out walking Rica and had to run back to the house for my camera so I could capture this beautiful sunset!