I wishyou were mine...

this photography thing is burning a hole in my empty pockets. I can only ebay my way to so much. I have two photography workshops in June...and this sweet piece of glass would make my attempts seem...less...less hopeless.

then there was you...and all else paled in comparison...

wait, shouldn't I be saying that to my husband? eh, he knows how I feel about him...this is something else...something new...like your first crush in high school...y'know when your world is spinning and you know that you just wouldn't have the strength to take a breath unless you were in the room together. That's how this lens makes me feel...and yet...this lens is the High School Jock and he always ends up with the Cheerleader...and I'm on the debate team and play cricket...what am I talking about...I never liked the jock...I preferred the bookish guy who read Thoreau.

So much for analogy...

always bring spare clothes"hey Paisley...put your foot on this...."

bwahahahahahahaha!wet wet wet!

Sisters can be so mean! The last laugh however was on Piper because Paisley revelled in the fountain's cool spray until she was well and truly drenched. Time to set up the sprinkler at home!

za zoo

Whats Memorial Weekend without a trip to the zoo!

The Grizzly Coast - wow...those bears were in fighting form! I love this exhibit, being up close and personal with the bears without fear..(I have a fear...long story, Montana, continental divide hike, grizzly sees kiwi, ignores kiwi much to kiwis delight, kiwi cries remaining 5 miles of hike and vows never to hike in them hills again)...anywho...this exhibit is COOL!

'ello Mr Bear...
and of course there were the TAKIN...the girls love the Takin...seeing that they are from China and look wierd as all get out!

We also enjoyed the Africa exhibit, it's only in town each summer due to the extreme temps in Minnesota in the Winter. Our zoo is host to a lot of cold weather animals, the hot ones have to come for vacation only...then they get to go south like all the old people in the winter! Piper loves the giraffes and zebras, she calls them Melman and Marty(courtesy of Madagasgar the movie)

Piper and nakie Paisley scoping for a better view of Marty and Melman.

no kiddin' here are the Snowflowers in pure thespian mode. I kid you not, they are 'putting on a show' for me. I fear that one day they will pack up their bags and hop a greyhound bus to the Big Apple! I keep telling them they live in the mini-apple and that should be enough! It's drama drama drama over at our house, eh, whaddya do!Paisley can sing the first few lines of one of the songs from the movie Enchanted...and there is ALWAYS a battle of "me first" when it's time to put on a show for Mummy & Daddy.

the Golden Globe for best pout goes to...Paisley Rose in...'me first...a tale of two sisters'

we are in troubledeep deep trouble. the kid wants to get married. I mean seriously seriously married. Who the groom is is of no consequence, what matters is the dress, the flowers, the veil, and of course the footwear! What happened to my tomboy? She's gone all princessy. BTW..this outfit was completely designed and put together by Miss Piper...where she got the idea about a veil is beyond me..she's one Disney movie away from serious trouble!

HOTMay in Minnesota is weird. Last Saturday it was so cold at soccer that we were all bundled up in fleeces and blankets...then a few days later it hits 100! I don't know what's going on. all I know is the kids need a pool to paddle in and I'm not comfortable packing away the winter clothes yet. crazy.

"nummy!""there's a party in my tummy, so yummy so yummy"

Paisley hasn't been eating very well for the past week or so since her two year molars started coming in. She will drink, but she just isn't havin' it with the food thing. So...tonight I thought I'd try a recipe from this goddess of domestication and VOILA...the kid chowed down...did I say CHOW, I meant...DEVOURED! Thanks Pioneer Woman...you sexy beast, kitchen maestro, gastro-extraordinaire, your 'chicken spaghetti' was scrumdiddlyumptious!

secret thanks to NYC Momma who tried out this recipe and blogged about how good it was, without her recommendation I probably wouldn't have attempted it!

fab.u.lous darhlingI can't imagine where my girls got their 'flair' for the dramatic?? It's beyond my wildest comprehension! Piper is our resident thespian, and Paisley her willing understudy. We are in DEEP DEEP trouble with these two!

ehem, girls, can I get my sunglasses back please!

"big fences make good neighbors"

I never thought I'd ever hear my husband use a quote from a Disney movie, but he pulled this one out of his repertoire this week when we signed the contract on our new privacy fence(to keep the crazy neighbors at bay). I guess watching Little Mermaid II 327 times had it's impact!

I prayed and I prayed

and GOD shined his light down from Heaven

and whispered to me

In this, you shall find salvation.

..and so it was to be.

waxing poetic How much damage can a two year old do with a jar candle?

holy freakin' waxballs Batman!

what time did this all occur? Check out the clock on the stove...

'innocents' my arse...the children are plotting the destruction of their parents sanity!
Just so you all know....it took a looooooong time to get about 40% of the wax out. We'll have to try to get the rest out in the morning. Mike and I could barely keep a straight face...as horrendous as it was, it was pretty bloody funny....but we don't want 'them' to think that do we!

movin' upPiper's 'graduation' was today, she's movin' on up to the pre-school fours class in the fall and the children had a little concert this morning in celebration.We could not have asked for a better teacher than Mrs Chabot, as you can see, Piper adores her.

a fun filled weekend the birthday girl
Last weekend was a blur ...Nana & Papa came in from Denver to spend the weekend with the girls, we started off with Paisley's 2nd 2nd birthday party..we had a great time with a bunch of wonderful friendsthis one featured an Olivia inspired cake, and Paisley got to wear the fancy Olivia dress our friend Jen made for her. The cakes were deliciouso...mmmmmmm.
Saturday was Piper's soccer game...it was cold and windy but the kids did great. No photos from that game, but here's one from practice. The kids are really getting the hang of it.

RECITAL TIME

Saturday night we saw Piper's ballet recital...it was TWO HOURS LONG...thats about 90 minutes longer than what is considered bearable! She did a great job though and enjoyed being on stage with all her friends.

TA~DA..the big finale

We stopped at a cool restaurant on our way home and had a fantastic dinner on the lake.

for Mothers Day on Sunday we had brunch at one of our favorite places, drove around the lakes and took a trolley ride.

The trolley at Linden Hills

Mike and his Mom

LEAPERToday Piper was accidentally put into a 'make-up' class 3 levels higher than she currently is at gymnastics. I knew something was up when the girls looked at least two years older and a good 12 inches taller. Still, the coach let her train with them for 25 minutes and then put her into another class on the floor for the remainder of the lesson. The second class was also filled with much bigger and older girls but Piper did her very best to keep up. I was a bit worried about her feeling overwhelmed, but at the end of the class both of the coaches came up to me and told me to put Piper into the 'leaper' class which is two levels higher than her current class. I guess they are interested in putting her on the 'team'. We'll see. I signed her up for the summer classes and if she wants to try out at the end of summer we will consider it. I was really impressed what the girls at those levels were doing, handstands and cartwheels on the beam, handstands on the vault, and uneven bar work that looks downright crazy! Uhem...she is only four...I wonder if this is too soon to get so serious?

i.want.to.go.home.

yeah yeah, Happy Mothers Day...yadda yadda yadda. I'm homesick and there's nothing I can do about it. Do you know how many Mother's Days I've spent with my Mum since 1991? ONE. In 18 bloody years...terrific stuff huh.

On Friday we had a fencing contractor out to quote on the F.U fence we need to put up along the boundary line...can you guess how much it is going to cost? I wont be specific, but it equals two adult tickets to New Zealand(their summer). Fan.bloody.tastic!

Loads going on over the weekend, Piper's ballet recital, visit from the Colorado grandparents, Paisley's 2nd 2nd Birthday party...I'll post about that later, but right now I'm in a lamenting mood.

CRAZY NEIGHBORS

Just as we get news that the nicest neighbors on the street are moving away, our resident crazy neighbors are back in business. Remember last summer when the crazy lady next door threatened me with a citizens arrest because our dog was giving her migraines...well she's baaaaaaaack!

We might just have to take the hit, lose money on this house and get the HELL out of Dodge! It infuriates me because she came up to me when I was out in the cul de sac with the girls, and told me I needed to put the dog 'away' because she had been barking all day! uhem, I'd been home half an hour and the poor dog had been kenneled for four hours! She crazy!

Our other option, since moving is pretty much out of the question due to the market being so...and let me use this phrase "in the shitter" these days, is to build a FENCE! A nice big F-U fence along our property line. Take that! The only thing is, that would take a HUGE slice out of any plan to go to New Zealand in the near future.

CRAP ON A STICK!

I don't know how they do it?

So...after years of being hobby-less, I have decided to pick up photography as my new passtime. I've spent two years fiddling around with my first DSLR and am just confident enough to start shooting outside of the little green box. My question is...how do people afford this? I know plenty of blogging Momma's walking around with 3-4K worth of photography gear, but that's just not realistic for me! Then one of the best photographers I have ever met uses some pretty basic eqipment and gets the VERY BEST results I have ever seen. Conundrum? Oui!

The software needed to post process photos seems to be more like a puzzle...which programs work best with which operating systems. Then which program complements another, which has one thing that the one you thought had everything doesn't actually have, unless of course you have the upgraded version, the free downloadable add on .....ugh, I'm confused already.

So...input please. I have a VERY basic version of photoshop...Photoshop 7. Do I need Photoshop Lightroom? Do I need the fancier version of PS7 - CS4? Who freaking knows. I'm taking two photography classes this summer, and I REALLY want to have the right programs in place so that I'm not behind.

I'm also thankfull to a really talented Minneapolis photographer who has been giving me advice on the side. She's amazing, and if you live in the Twin Cities, get her to take photos of your kids...she is amazing!

So, I'm asking for advice..

SAD

Today my wonderful neighbor told us that they are listing their house for sale. I'm happy for them that they will be moving, but I am selfishly sad that our favorite people in the world wont be 50 yards away. I will miss that our girls won't be able to play with the twins every day. I want to move as well, but we have more money in this moneypit than what it's currently worth so we are stuck.
On top of that, my semi annual bout of homesickness for New Zealand has been playing havoc with my emotions.
I really enjoy aspects of the USA, but it's not HOME.

MY MUSEMy muse is a green striped monster with a mono brow that rivals Frida Kahlo's! Since Paisley missed out on birthday festivities on Wednesday we are having a little get together with some friends tonight. Then next week when Nana & Papa are here we will have a 'party'. I still think the occasion called for cake, I asked our local Supermarket to make a Brobee cake but they wouldn't because he is a licensed character, so I convinced them to ice the cake green and sell me the icing so I could finish the job myself.I'm not very handy with an icing bag, but I did my best. The horns are rice crispies covered in red fondant and placed on long lollipop sticks into the cake. I did buy a nifty 'hair' tip for the brow...that was my favorite tool. It's not perfect but I'm guessing Paisley will think it's pretty cool. Once again, my little 5 year old point and shoot is not behaving, so we have some fuzzy and blurry photos, and I just got word that my new camera won't be here for a few weeks so get used to it!

Duff at Ace of Cakes would never hire me.