February Days

February was a crazy month and lots going on. Lanna finished up basketball, just barely, as a February snow storm made getting to her last tournament a fun excursion.

Maggie's Dinner

Maggie has become such a responsible young lady and is just so fun to be around. We left directions for her to get dinner in the oven cooking before we got home, and here she is with the dinner ready to eat.

Maggie's first solo dinner: roast, potatoes and carrots.

Valentine's Day Dinner

We enjoyed a low key Valentine's Day dinner at home with the family. The girls got some candy (Mom and Dad did too) and everyone helped make a wonderful turkey dinner. Very nice evening.

Valentine's Day, 2011: Lanna, Carol, Dan and Maggie.

Geocaching

We got in a day of geocaching as well, hitting a few new hides around town. A few of these were very clever and took a bit to find. Still waiting for a little better weather to do more caching.

Maggie reaching up to grab the cache.

Lanna concentrating on extracting the cache.

Opening in the tree the girls were reaching into.
In the end, mom had to take it out and put it back.

Timber Barons League Medals

Maggie's soccer team, Timber Barons 98, took first place in their league last fall, and were finally awarded their medals. The CYSA board invited them, and a boys team that won their league as well, to be acknowledged and have some celebratory cake. It was great to see all the girls together again, and they are all excited to start training and playing together soon.

Maggie with her teammates awaiting her medal.

Maggie receiving her medal from Coach John and Coach Carol.

February Snow!

We were surprised with a February snow storm that closed school for two days and made for some fun. It was pretty and fun to watch, but thankfully did not last too long. Maggie and I went out to play in the snow while Dan and Lanna were at practice. What was supposed to be 2" became 8" in about 5 hours, as the snow fell like crazy. And while the kids enjoyed the day off, the last day of school is now scheduled for June 21st!

Maggie making snow angels.

Self portrait in the snow.

Maggie making her snowman with heavy snow falling.

Finished product.

Father Daughter Ball, 2011

February 27th was the annual Father Daughter Ball put on by the Longview Parks and Recreation. It is a very popular event and the girls look forward to it every year. This year, Dan and the girls headed to the Back Stage Cafe' with not only Mike and Madeline Julian, but Tate and Peyton Seals, and David and Brooke Walling. It is a big deal for the girls to pick out new dresses, get their hair done, have dinner and spend the evening with Dad.

Maggie getting her hair done.

Finished hair-do.

Lanna getting her hair done.

Maggie and Dan, 2011.

Lanna and Dan, 2011.

Maggie, Dan and Lanna, 2011.

Mom, on the other hand, gets a night to herself! It's a win-win for everyone! Judy, Heather and I headed off to have dinner and drinks at a local restaurant, followed by playing some xbox and fun times.

Judy and Carol enjoying a taste of Heather's drink.

Panther Basketball 2010-2011

Maggie's basketball team, the Longview Panthers, finished their season a few weekends ago in Seaside, OR. The season was a lot of fun, more wins than loses, and anticipation of many good things to come in the future. And while the girls had a good time playing on the court together, they had good times goofing off during practices, hanging out in between games and running amuck at the hotel during our last tournament. Here are some pictures of Maggie and her teammates.

Maggie going up for two points.

Maggie fighting for the ball with Laurel and Regan ready to help!

Maggie and Kaylee running a play.

Maggie and Auni running a play.

Maggie guarding the inbounds with Lanna, Jo and Simone watching.

Maggie splitting the defense with a bounce pass to Zsaleh.

Maggie's strength was her defense, as she shows here.

Peyton and Lanna, the photographers at Seaside.

Coaches Shannon and Kelly, two great gals to be on the bench with.

Zsaleh and her mama Kelly....

So glad we had both of them at our Seaside tournament.

Here I am with Laurel, either coaching or explaining

how to do the tango, while Maggie looks on.

Maggie getting the pass from Kaylee, while Skylar looks on.

Yes, as a matter of fact, all three coaches are talking at the same time!

Maggie and Mom...the reason I coach!

Regan and Maggie, fun at the arcade.

"Maggie, just smile and let me do all the talking."

"Okay Regan!"

Regan, Laurel, Auni and Maggie at the arcade.

Someone thought it would be great to get the girls fake teeth..

I have to say it was pretty funny, and some looked a little too real.

Laurel & Auni (left); Regan (Nanny McPhee) & Zsaleh (right).

Skylar & Kaylee (right); Maggie & Kennedy (left).

2010-2011 Panthers:

Coaches: Shannon, Kelly & Carol

Players: Kennedy, Kaylee, Laurel, Auni, Zsaleh, Regan, Maggie & Skylar

1st Place Battleground Tournament

3rd Place Seaside Tournament

Finishing 2010

As always, I seem to get too far behind and fail to keep up to date on our family blog. Of course, I don't want to add new stuff until the older stuff gets posted, and then I just get farther and farther behind. Sigh...Well, here is a brief recap of the 2010 holiday season for the Ruiz Family.

Christmas

The holiday season approached much too fast, as typical, but we managed to slow things down and enjoy time together as a family. The house was decorated nicely this year and we enjoyed many Christmas movies together, although no snow this Christmas (thankfully). The girls received some baking stuff from a coworker and enjoyed making Christmas goodies.

Maggie and Lanna showing off the goods.

Christmas morning, the girls woke us up every half hour between 2:00 a.m. and 5:00, when we finally gave in and sleep walked down stairs to open gifts (and drink much needed coffee). I think they were worse this year than when they were 5 & 6 years old!

Still looking bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5:06 a.m.

Maggie got clothes...just what a (teen) girl wants!

Lanna was very excited for her new camera.

New Years at Sunriver!

After a nice Christmas at home, we packed our bags and headed to Sunriver, OR for a week in Central Oregon and the snow. It was a great time, relaxing with friends, enjoying the snow, and playing the Micheal Jackson Experience on the Wii. It should be noted that Lanna is the master of this game, consistently beating us all.

We tried our hand at snow shoeing (okay, but not a fun as skiing), headed up to Mt. Bachelor where the girls got a chance to ski for the first time, and headed into Bend a time or two.

The kid gang in Sunriver: Cameron, Riley,

Madeline, Maggie and Lanna

Dan and Carol on a hike in the snow.

Sledding outside our house.

Snowshoeing in the dark.

Maggie (not pictured), Carol, Lanna

and Dan on the ski lift.

Carol at the top of a run, Bend/Sunriver in the background.

Self portrait at McMenamins in Bend.
The adult gang: Dan and Carol in front, Mike and Dawn in back.

Goodbye 2010!!!!