Thank you, Laura... such wonderful sentiments! :-) Our weather has been crazy, too... but we half expected it. Last year, we were already laying out soaker hoses and starting to water...and this year, we've gotten so much rain that we're completely saturated! We're just now able to get in and cut grass, and talk about tall! It's hard on the mowers, I'm sure, but what can you do?! If it's grass, it has to be kept mowed at least semi-regularly... and if it's garden beds, they must be kept weeded or the grasses, thistles and other nasties take over! So, we're darned if we do and darned if we don't! Mother's Day was nice... calls from my kids, and the husband made a nice dinner... while I spent the day relaxing, for the most part. There are certain chores that must be done regardless of what day it is, like cleaning and feeding dogs and other animals, but that's no big deal... I have it down to a science! ;-) I finally got the old guy to help me get photos off my camera, so I thought I'd share a few this morning... Here's a mama and her twins... My very best mouser... I call her Vixen! The next generation of excellent mousers... one of Vixen's 3 little ones... Walking from the shade garden area toward the new rose arbor... A young Peony Tree in the dappled shade garden... notice the rambler rose runners everywhere on the ground! Closeup of the flower from the Peony Tree... Another Peony Tree in the front yard... north side... And this is a Trillium that opened white and is turning a pale pink shade. It's among a patch of purple flowered hybrid Trillium I planted several years ago... you can see the mottled leaves of the hybrid... I didn't plant the white one, though... And finally, the first of the Irises are starting! I hope you enjoyed a walk around the yards with me... stick around as all the roses begin blooming and other perennials begin to color the gardens a wonderful rainbow of scented color! Thanks, Al... I can finally view Youtube, but the monitor I'm using has no sound on board... for a girl with a technological genius as a husband, I'm always the last to get upgraded! Would you believe I'm still using Windows XP?! I desperately need an upgrade to Windows 7, which should be coming shortly... when he has time to upgrade me. :-) It's kind of like being the plumber with the leaky toilet handle that sticks, or the barber that doesn't have time to cut his own hair... when you're in the business, you're last in line! :-) It looks to be another gorgeous day... sunny and hot with strong humidity... I may spend some time weeding and edging today, instead of killing myself cutting grass! Hope everyone has a lovely day! And... Happy Gardening!

1) What is the first thing you'd do or buy for your home . . . or would you sell it and buy another? If so, where? DH and kids would never want to move. But if they were agreeable, I'd move to a house in our neighborhood that had larger bedrooms, a real guest room, a larger living room, a real home office, and a really nice finished basement with real windows and a door to the back yard. And a screen porch overlooking a not-too-big, but bigger-than-ours back yard. 2) What is the first thing you'd do or buy for your spouse or SO? I know that many of us have kids, but to keep this game reasonably short, let's not go there now . . . so just your spouse/SO: A new BMW. 3) What the FIRST foreign country you'd plan a trip to . . . and do NOT tell us "around the world!" (LOL) . . . let this be a more specific answer: Does St. Bart's count as a foreign country? 4) What first charity would you donate a significant amount of money to, or start one of your own for what cause? This is too hard! I'd have to split over several. 5) What is the FIRST big thing you'd do for YOU? Hire a housecleaner once a week and a chef to make dinner every night! 6) OK, are you still following the rules ;^D ?? I know there would be many other purchases and trips, and we'd all save a big chunk of the money, too, but what ONE other thing would you spend some that money on? My 3 kids' college tuitions. Just starting on DS #1 this fall! Can't imagine what it will cost when we get to DD, who is still only 9.

Kath, it is very, very difficult to find sled dog rides in the Anchorage/Wasilla area during Iditarod and Fur Rendezvous (another huge event in the same timeframe) time. Just about anyone with sled dogs is either running the race, helping someone who is running the race or a volunteer for the race. We really lucked out. Found a small company who does custom tours. The owner, Candice, made some phone calls and finagled her way into Vern's very busy day. He's done 14 Iditarods and at 60, is retired from racing but he sponsors other racers. He helps them prepare, loans them dogs, etc. So we got to spend some time at Vern's kennels, check out a sled up close that was all packed for a gal named Nancy Yoshida who was going to race for the first time this year. Unfortunately Nancy took a hard spill on a notoriously dangerous part of the Iditarod trail called The Steps and had to scratch from the race. So, long story short ... we had a custom tour created for us by Candice at Salmon Berry tours. She's a great gal! Jodi- Here is a link that might be useful: Salmon Berry Tours

I don't know if I sold out of not, but I let DS go to the Rainforest Cafe yesterday. I went with, to see for myself. If I couldn't have gone, I would not have let him go. Four classes of 4th graders went - 80 nine-year olds! Oh my! It would have been better with just one class, it was hard to hear the "docent." But she was good, the tour was informative. Just very short, I think they did well, but could have done better. Talked about the elephants and the gorillas (they have animated animals), poaching and other threats, conservation... but didn't talk at all about the many aquariums. Then the kids descended on the gift shop - and materialism is what is came down to at the end. :o( And the restaurant was opening for regular lunch business as we were wrapping up. DS was mad at me because I wouldn't give him money to buy some junk. But he was over it by the time he got home, hehe. On the up side, I enjoyed the day with my son. With him being the oldest, and two of the four still at home with me all day, I don't get to do his school stuff much. It takes a lot of effort and coordination for me to get to the school. I had a very generous friend watch the little ones for 5 hours! She's so good to me. I really appreciated the chance to see him with his friends and to eat lunch with him. And, when they fed the kids lunch, they served the adults the same thing at no charge. So I went expecting to have to pay big $$ for my meal, and it ended up free (even if it was pizza, chicken nuggets and fries). I give the day a solid 'B.' However, on the movie for the K-er, he's not going. I sent the note to the teacher Monday saying "it is our opinion that a class trip to a popular movie is an inappropriate use of school time and resources. We would prefer to have field trips that are educational and interactive." Signed both DH and my names. I will keep DS home in the morning, and take him in when they return for the activities. I will also stay and help out. (Thankful that I have a couple friends to swap kids for these kinds of things.) I want to send a similar note to the principal as well. Just so they know at least some parents are watching. And that is the scoop. Oh, and I think I'll take all the kids to Rainforest for lunch while they are on winter break. It really was cute.