Eurovision 2010

Anyone ever heard of Eurovision? Probably not if you live in the United States. I hadn't heard of it either until last year. I would probably still be in the dark if it weren't for my cousin's husband who is from Denmark.

Eurovision is like the original American Idol. Eurovision has been around since like the '50's. It's humongously popular in Europe. I am sure that's an understatement.

Cos has gotten all of us into watching it via the Internet. Last year they had this huge Eurovision party at their house, it was lots of fun voting for who we thought should win. Obviously we couldn't call in, since the US doesn't participate.

This year my cousin Gina, Cos and Chey attended the Eurovision 2010 finals in Oslo, Norway! (They happened to be in Denmark at the time and Norway is just a hop and a skip away.)

Check out Eurovision either at their own website, or on youtube. There's tons of videos there.

In case you are wondering....Germany was this year's winner.

I'd post the video--- but I'm a loser and don't know how.

Goodbye Montessori, and Thank You.

Last night was Kylee's end of the year program for the Montessori School. Her class sang 3 different songs, they were too cute!

The program was at the Little Theater at Silver High. My girls (especially Krysten) absolutely love this statue of the Fighting Colt that is in front of the school. They wave excitedly everytime we pass by the school. (FYI: The school mascot is the Fighting Colts, colors are blue and silver)Doesn't everyone want to have a picture of their child with her hand up the nether regions of a horse?

The Montessori School ended up being a great opportunity for Kylee this year. She was challenged academically and was able to move at her own pace (which was pretty fast!). She knows all 7 continents, she can count to 100, skip count by 10's, the list goes on and on.

Next year we have enrolled her in the PreK program in the Cobre Schools.

*gasp*

It's a full preK program, not a DD preschool. It's also FREE! They will be learning academic stuff through play and socialization. As Kylee gets older she will be needing the structure of public school classrooms.

Did I mention it's free?

Kylee is very excited about her new school. Since we technically live in the Cobre district she will get to ride the bus to school. She calls it her 'bus school'.

Thank you Miss Melanie and Miss Cherry, we appreciate all you've done for Kylee this year. She will miss you guys! Thank you Guadalupe Montessori School.

Biker Babes

The girls absolutely love to go for rides with Daddy on his motorcycle.

Mogollon Baldy trip

My dear hubby left early this morning. He won't be back until next Saturday.

Where is he going you ask?

Here is where he's going. To the top of the tallest mountain in the Gila Wilderness. Mogollon Baldy, elevation 10, 702 feet.

Some of you might be wondering how to say Gila or Mogollon, since ya'll ain't from these parts. :)

Mogollon: gringo way: muggy-own

spanish: mo-ho-yon. (g's are h's and ll's are y's.)

Gila: hee-la. if you say gee-la, people will laugh.

Aaron and his crew are clearing the trail that leads up to the top of Mogollon Baldy so they can pack the lookout in next week. During the winter with the heavy snows, many rocks and trees end up obstructing the trail so every year it needs to be cleared.

The lookout stays up there all summer watching for smokes which indicate fires. Don't worry, they don't live in the tower, there's a cabin for them to stay in.

I'll share pictures of his trip when he gets back :)

I heart Pioneer Woman

Ya'll know I don't cook.


The thought of having to cook really sends cold shivers up my spine and causes me to freeze in terror.

Despite this terror, I love reading cookbooks and looking at the pictures. I love watching Food Network and I'm a total Rachael Ray junkie.

But once in a blue moon I get a wild hair to cook something. It usually is met with mixed reactions from my family. Aaron gets scared- cuz he's really picky and I like cooking new and odd things. Tracey enjoys it- she gets to eat something new and fun. The little ones- well, mixed reactions from them.

Last night I ventured into the unknown and made Pioneer Woman's Grilled Pineapple Chicken Quesadillas.

I won't tell you how many times I ran to check her website to make sure I was doing it right. I love her step-by-step recipes with pictures. Almost makes them idiot proof. Almost.

The quesadillas were a success. Success is determined by the percentage of my family who actually consumes my food.

Last night= 100%


Hooray for me!

Lunch Money Lessons

I've had a wee bit of trouble this semester remember to send Tracey lunch money. Well, it's actually been a team effort. Half the time she forgets to tell me she needs lunch money, and the rest of the time I just forget to send it with her.

Her entire school years I have had the fortune to be able to write a check at the last minute before I kick her out of the car at school, or send it thru interschool mail.

Now she attends a different school....in a different district....in a different town.

Lunch Money Lesson #1--I have learned that after a week of charging lunches they know longer give you a hot lunch. Instead they give you Peanut Butter & Jelly Uncrustables. The poor child has eaten more of these this year than any human should be subjected to.

This last time she told me several times she needed money. But of course I kept forgetting to write her a check.

Lesson #2 After PB&J Uncrustables don't work, they demote you to bread and cheese.

Poor child has a loser lunch money mom.

Okay, I Admit It, I'm Obsessed

I have a new obsession. I've discovered StatCounter.com. What a fantabulous site, especially if you're kinda weird and wacked like me!! heehee...hoohoo...

Anyhoo, this thing not only keeps track of the number of hits on your site (which I totally love that I get visitors), but it also tells me where in the world all of you are!

THANK YOU!!! to all of my visitors. It gives me warm fuzzies to know that there are people out there showing even a remote interest in my blog. Please, please leave me a comment or follow me. I would so totally love that!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for stopping by. I hope you come back again. (Maybe I should change the title of my post to "Ya'll Come Back Now, Ya Hear!")

I so totally love that. It also helps feed my obsession of looking at maps.

I also totally love that a bunch of visitors to my blog are from all around the world. There's one person that must be on a cruise ship cuz the map showed them out in the middle of the ocean!

I hope I'm not creeping anyone out.

My hubs says it's creepy.

I say it's cool.

How many times did I say 'totally love'? I'm such a child of the 90's.

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I am so bummed that I can't get a picture of the map to paste in here. *sniff*

My Mother's Day Weekend

Up until recently I had no idea what the March of Dimes was all about. In case you don't know either- March of Dimes is an organization whose mission is to improve the health of babies, by preventing birth defects, premature births, and infant mortality.

The girls and I wanted to honor Gabrielle and celebrate Samantha, so we joined my SIL at the March of Dimes event this past Mother's Day weekend in Albuquerque.

If you get the opportunity I encourage you to donate or walk in an event near you.

Meet my niece Samantha! She's doing so totally awesome!!

The gang.

Jones/Hill cousins.

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For my new readers: Last year my nieces were born 12 weeks early. Unfortunately Gabrielle only lived 13 days. Samantha is now 14 months old.

Nighty Night!

One of my worst fears

To Whom It May Concern:

I am sooooooooooooooooo sorry for running over your dog. Please accept my apology from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely,

Dayna

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One of my worse fears (besides something happening to the kids) is hitting a dog, or watching a dog get hit by a car. I seriously have some deep rooted issues about this. It stems back to the time when I saw my mother-in-law's dog get run over by a speeding pickup truck.

I will try to go to great lengths to avoid a dog in the road. Whenever I see dogs running in the street my stomach clenches up in knots. I just can't stand it. I don't even want to go running along our road because the dogs go with me and I'm afraid they might get hit by a car.

So last night when my fears came true I was just sick. I cried all the way home.

There were 2 dogs lying in the road- one in each lane. I didn't see the black one (it was nighttime) in my lane until it was too late. And it was a big dog.

I can still hear the sound of my car hitting..... *sniffle*

My only consolation is the fact that the dog was already dead when I ran over it. I would have been a complete emotional wreck if I'd have been the one that killed it.

Last night I dreamed that the dogs were okay.

Tour of the Gila

It's always been fun to watch the Tour of the Gila. Especially the downtown criterion on Saturday. Back in college I first became interested in the bike races because...well...because these boys have some nice legs! And when you're 20 and you're female, what else do you need? Throw in some athletic competition, an element of danger, and a dash of awe and I'm all for it.

It's so cool to watch the racers downtown, especially coming down Broadway and make that turn onto Bullard Street! My apologies to those of you who are unfamiliar with our fair town. Just rest assured that this sight is a thing to behold. Imaging 50+ bicyclists bunched together, racing at speeds upwards of 40 mph as they race down a hill and make the turn that is just barely big enough for them to make the turn safely. Let me tell ya, you'd best get your toes away from the curb or else someone's gonna hit them!! They are that close.

The Tour of the Gila always creates a buzz in town. There's lovers and there's haters. I'm a lover myself. I love watching them all over town during the 5 days they're here. I don't mind the delays or all the people on bikes in the streets. I enjoy this part of what makes Silver City unique. Even my girls got into the spirit. Everytime they'd see someone on a bike, Krysten would yell out "bike racer, bike racer!"

The past 2 years the Tour of the Gila notoriety has been bumped up a few notches, thanks mostly to the appearance of the best racer on the planet- Lance Armstrong!!! Last year was his first time to come and I totally became Lance-obsessed. I followed his twitter, his facebook, his everything.

All of us had a great time watching the races. The girls loved watching the bike racers too.

Lance, if you're reading this (HA!), please know that there's is a certain 4 yr old little girl who adores you and yells your name everytime she sees someone on a bike!

Oh,... and Lance...I know that it boils down to strategy and all....but us here in li'l ole' Silver City would love to see you win our race. We like Levi and all and we know he's your friend and teammate, but...I'm just sayin' :)