Then there was one..no wait there's two!

The gerbil saga continues...if you see a public sign posted at all Pet Smart stores that says "No Gerbils to be Sold to Members of the Norris Household" don't be surprised!

It all began yesterday when I was getting our house spic and span for a realtor open house. I moved the gerbils to the garage so they didn't gross out any visitors. Then today Sydney came up to me and said, "Mom...somebody, I don't know who, left the door to the gerbil cage open and Junior is missing." I said, "Syd when did you leave the door open?" "No...not me Mom, somebody that I don't know who." "Syd, tell me the truth, did YOU leave the cage door open?" "Yes..." "When?" "Yesterday" "Well I'm pretty sure Junior is long gone by now."

The funny thing is that the other gerbil (Henry) was still in the cage, after over 24 hours of potential freedom staring him in the face he was hanging out in his wood chips with food and water readily available (smart gerbil).

So these sad girls searched the garage, the yard, the neighborhood, and then they made "missing" signs to hang all around the block..."I am missing, if found call..."

But then (of course this has a happy ending) he was spotted in the garage (behind our freezer that doesn't work anymore) captured and returned safely home!

Whew, one Norris gerbil saved from an untimely death, I think it's a new record!

Preschool Grad & Kindergarten Prep

Sydney graduated from All About Kids Preschool on Wednesday (May 28th).

CONGRATS GRAD!!!

Syd's teacher Miss Sharon

Classmates (including Colton Petzinger (right) who is currently on Syd's list of prospective husbands :)

Crazy clowns who gave us nightmares for days :)

The performance.

The certificate ceremony, when Miss S asked Syd what she wants to be when she grows up Sydney said 'a teacher'. Nice standard answer unlike some of the other kids who wanted to be Spiderman or a tomato!

And the next day it was off to the doctor to get all the immunizations Syd needs to start kindergarten...5 SHOTS IN ONE DAY (poor Syd)! Kallie & I didn't want Syd to feel left out so Kallie got 2 shots and I got 1.

When the doctor did Sydney's exam he said, "Um...is that a leotard?" "Yes" "Well, we're going to have to get that off so I can look at your tummy." I guess I should have thought about accessibility issues during a well child check, but we all know Syd would NOT be feeling well if she DIDN'T have a leotard on!

Preparing for the torture, notice the numbing ointment on their arms...does it really help???

War wounds and stickers for bravery!!!

Compose...

My friend Betsy started a photography blog called "Compose". Each week she gives a photography assignment and everyone posts their completed project. If you want to check it out at www.composephoto.blogspot.com. I decided to post my weekly assignments here as well...hopefully they will get MUCH better as time goes on!!!

This week we were supposed to take an image for the specific purpose of black and white.


PS- I messed up my blog template and don't know how to fix it, so plain and boring is what we get until Amy can help me...that's what I get for staying up late, my brain starts malfunctioning!

{TOP 5} Tuesday...U T A H !

We decided to spend a nice long Memorial Day weekend visiting our families in Utah...

We had a great time (as usual) and I had fun taking a few photos before my camera battery died. And as I have said before, I have a problem with grabbing the wrong charger (this is a hazard when you have 2 cameras). So, when I got home I got out my trusty Sharpie and marked which charger goes with which camera so I won't ever be photo handicapped again. The reason I was so sad that this happened was Dan's mom had a tree that had a beautiful little nest with 4 perfect little aqua blue robin eggs in it...oh how I wanted to take a hundred pictures of it (not really) and instead I got none (poor me). I think I will go buy an extra battery so this never happens to me again!!!

For today... the {TOP 5} things we did in Utah that I DID get pictures of!!!

#5- Yard work
Ok, we didn't do very much yard work (we did help my parents a little) but mostly we get to look at the beautiful fruits of their labors...


#4- Roley-Poley (sp???) Bug Hunts!
The more you can catch the better, the trick is getting them all to stay in your hands!


#3- Tree Climbing at Grandma Sherry's
Kallie
Cousin Kelsey
Sydney (can she even see out of those eyes???)
One nest of robins that had hatched the day before (still mad about the blue eggs in the other nest).

#2- Grandpa Charlie's birthday barbecue in the rain...Kamie saves the day by finding shelter from the storm! She would build an ark too if she needed to :)
#1- The highlight of the trip for me was taking my cute grandpa out to breakfast for his birthday. Nothin' better than Denny's right?!?

Not sure why I look half asleep in every photo???

Joslynn polishing off her 3rd...wait 4th...plate of pancakes!

And the annoying party horns that I love to buy, it's not a true party without them!

See you all again in a few weeks!!!

The Count Down is On!

sleeping in, bike rides, swim lessons, picnics in the park, lemonade stands, parades, friends, barbeque's, splash parks, no spelling tests, sunscreen, swing sets...

5 days 'til schools out!!!

I'm as excited as my girls!

Tuesday {TOP 5}...reasons to get photoshop!

Please understand what a Photoshop wanna-be I am! I have no idea what I'm doing, I understand there are almost unlimited possibilities, most (almost all) of which I have no idea how to do. But oh man, I want to learn really bad! If only I lived in a place I could take some classes...maybe I'll order some DVD tutorials (know any good ones?). But for today, I read Pioneer Woman Photography, I torment my sister and I mess around...and it is so fun!!!

So today, here are five (very novice) examples of why you should all get photoshop!

#5 Before

#5 After

#4 Before

#4 After

#3 Before

#3 After

#2 Before

#2 After
#1 Before
#1 AfterDon't laugh...I am well aware of the fact that I don't really know what I'm doing and that I have a bazillion things to learn! However, I am having fun messin'!

Shoshone Falls

It may look like we're at Niagra, but we are really at Shoshone Falls in Twin (pretty much the same thing I know)! Sometimes when you're bored on the island you drive to Twin Falls for some real excitement!

Friday, May 16th

Totally last minute & Totally worth it!

Oh the things you can do...

When it's warm outside!!! (Yipee!)

**You can host an outdoor BAH (business after hours) at the office. What great support from a great community! (Where there's alcohol, they will come :)

JoDee, Jared, Janie & Kim

(Although I look like it in this photo...I have NOT been drinking :)

**You can play water hop scotch (thanks Wheeler family)!

**You can stick leaves to your forehead because there are actually leaves on the trees that you can pick, yay!

Bridger Rand- the one and only! What a cute kid!

**You can have a camp out...ok this is indoors, but pretending is almost as good as the real thing!