Friday, May 30, 2008

Birthdays!!!

As promised!!!! Birthdays were a lot of fun this year. Layla's was first, and she turned 3 on May 22. For lunch, her dad took her to McDonald's. Shane says she ate three fries and then went and played on the playground. Evidently the Bowmans were there too and that's all she could talk about for several days. Even now, if you ask her, she will tell you how her dad took her to lunch at 'Old McDonald Had a Farm' and then she played with Kiana and Ki-Wyatt.

Seryn's first birthday was next, May 23. We all went out to dinner that night and the girls thought that was fun. And we had the best sopapias I've ever had!!

Lylli's birthday turned 6 on May 27. We had the family party on her birthday and the girls had a great time. They talked me into making red velvet cake, although the orange frosting doesn't look nearly as good with the cake as the white does. They also decided that the jewelry boxes from Grandma were their favorite presents! In fact, Layla carries hers around like a treasure chest and the girls will sit and watch the figuine spin as the music plays. (And Seryn dances.) Shane took Lylli out of school for lunch at Pizza Hut. They had a great time and I think the lunch thing could become a tradition. (Although I think it could end up being an expensive week in the future.) All in all, the week was busy but enjoyable and now I don't have to worry about birthdays again for a whole nother year!!






I also took some pictures of Seryn on her birthday (I do that with all the girls on their first birthday.) There were some really cute ones but I had to narrow it down . And I really couldn't decide between two of them. So I put them both on. I think she's pretty adorable and I'm glad she's a part of our family.



Friday, May 23, 2008

Track Day

Lylli had track day yesterday. Originally it was scheduled for May first, but we had a bad snow storm so they rescheduled. Unfortunately, we've been having a week of bad rain storms. But they have no more time to reschedule, so we did a little mini tack day inside. They had some stations in the lunch room, the gym, and even the music room. All in all, I think she had a fun time. And for those of you who know, Layla's birthday was yesterday, Seryn's is today, and Lylli's is on Tuesday, but I'll do birthday pictures on another post.


Lylli is second from the end in the pink with the red sweater around her waiste. She pulled very dilligent in the tug of war contest. She was always on the winning side and was very proud of the fact!

For those of you who don't know, Lylli has new tennis shoes that make her "the fastest girl in her class." The funny thing is, when she runs fast, she kicks her feet up. But I'm glad her shoes make her go so fast.

Friday, May 16, 2008

A Master in Counseling Education


Last night, Shane graduated with his Master's Degree in Counseling Education!!!!! Truly a wonderful night! Eight years in coming, he did it and I am so proud of him! Even though I think the hoods are a little silly, it's a great accomplishment. (But a part of me hopes he doesn't go for the Doctor thing. Not because of the stress but rather the silly hat they get:) ) Seriously though, I am so proud of him. He's accomplished a lot and we are ready for the change of pace. Not slower, necessarily, just different. He's such a strength to me, I can't imagine being able to support anyone like I did him. Simply because I was able to support him because he supported me too. One of the members of Shane's cohort mentioned last night that he hadn't seen Shane smiling so much since grad school started three years ago. Shane said, "Sometimes the end feels a lot like the beginning." Maybe because the end is only the start of something else and I am eager to start another journey as long as Shane is by my side! Congrats Handsome! I love you!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

Velvet and Fur

The first thought that comes to mind...


YUM!!!! I finally found a cake my girls like!! As some of you may know, my girls don't like cake, unless it's chocolate. (They eat almost anything if you tell them it's chocolate. Even the dark rye bread at Poor Boys. It's chocolate bread and they love it!) I've never made or even had Red Velvet Cake before but Shane has a client who wants it when she graduates his program. So I thought I'd do some research on it. I didn't think it was too spectacular; a red cake with a hint of chocolate. But the back story is interesting. Sometimes the red comes from beets, or food coloring. And originally, the red color came from the un-oxidized chocolate being mixed with the vinegar. Now-a-days it's hard to find un-oxidized chocolate so we use food coloring. (After all, beets in a cake just sounds weird.) Anyway, the frosting was strange too. Some people use a regular cream cheese frosting, but this one is butter and sugar mixed with a flour and milk paste with some vanilla. Don't hate it until you try it. The result with the cake is simply divine! And my girls love it. They each ate an entire piece! In fact, Lylli wants Red Velvet cupcakes for her birthday!!


I mentioned before that we got a new dog. So now we have two! Cowboy and Roper. Cowboy is a year old Border Collie/Blue tic Hound. Roper is a three year old Australian Shepherd/ Husky. Shane went up to the pound with his friend to look for her lost dog and found Cowboy instead. I'm still not sure how I got talked into it. Maybe it's one of those counselor's tricks or something. I don't know. Cowboy seems to be a decent dog and the two get along well, but heloves to play with the girls down the alley and is always jumping the fence. The dog can jump! Anyway, now he's always on a chain unless we're out there. He doesn't like it and I feel bad for him, but I'm tired of scouring the neighborhood looking for him.




Roper has the creepy eyes. And Cowboy has the soft fur.

Monday, May 5, 2008

Shane's Upcoming Graduation

Can you believe this is finally here?!! Shane has been going to school now for eight years and he will graduate next week with his Master's. It hardly seems possible. His last week of school was two weekends ago and I hate to say it, but he has almost been driving me crazy because he doesn't know what to do with his free time. But I'm sure he will fill it up quickly. He always does. He has started shooting bows and arrows with a friend and hopes to go bow hunting with his brother this fall. And he plans to do a 150 mile bike ride this summer. He also has several vacations planned. See, he hasn't had a school free summer in four years. The girls are thrilled to have Shane home more and I'm anxious to know what it's like to have a husband with a more normal schedule. I've included a copy of his graduation announcement. If anyone wants to join us, feel free.

University of Wyoming
Casper College Center

Please join us in celebrating
Shane Rager’s Graduation
Master’s in Counseling Education
Commencement Ceremony
Thursday, May 15, 2008
7:30 p.m., Casper Events Center
One Events Drive, Casper, Wyoming