Puppet show...

When Chris got home, Ruby was cleaning the toy room and wanted to do a puppet show. We finished cleaning and then got it all out and she rehearsed while Chris was finishing cleaning downstairs. It was so darling. She and Alice took turns and of course Alice's wasn't that involved, but she did a good job, she had five finger puppets, and one by one, they got sick and then there was only four...then three...then two...then one...then none! She didn't count five or four, but she got it right once it was three, two and one. I was surprised she came up with that all on her own. Ruby's was about a family on a walk, the brother gets hit by a car and taken to "the children's hospital". Here are some quotes because I had to take notes after watching her rehearsal, I knew it was going to have to be recorded somehow...

"So he had a broken leg and he want to the children's hospital and layed down with the doctor. The doctor said, "what's your trouble, boy?" and the boy said, "I got bad news, I got a broken leg." (doctor:) "oh no, that's the baddest thing in this hospital, don't worry, we'll have you back together soon. All we have to do is cut open your leg, and you have to wait here for thirty four days." The doctor walked away."

Then the family must have been reunited, and the puppet show turned into a musical, here's the song she sang with all the family members on her fingers again...

"Rainbows are in the sky,
each day I wonder if you are here.
We love our family super, super much,
we want to keep our family each day.
Our mom is working in the kitchen.
We are a fun, fun family.
We hate to break it to you,
when the rain comes,
it's okay cause the rainbow will come out.
We'll have some fun together.
We'll help you everyday,
each day we'll help you,
even if you're broken hearted
each day we'll help you."

Then she closed the curtains and we clapped as she came out and took a bow.

I think we'll definitely do some more things with puppets tomorrow. What fun!

Farewell to Summer...

Chris, who is rarely the instigator of long periods of fun held on weekends (Saturday is his only day to do a lot of responsible stuff, so he doesn't part with responsible Saturday time casually), called me from work on Friday afternoon and told me that the weather was going to be nice all weekend and he wanted to have some friends over to play pickleball. I had plans with my mom, but we were going to be gone in the early evening, so I told him yes. Then he sent out the invite, and scheduled it for 1PM, which wasn't what I had in mind, but there was no taking it back, so I went with it. Kids and wives were invited too, after all.

Here's his invite (I didn't even know who he invited, just figured it out as they showed up!):

When: Sat 09-27 1:00 PM
Where: Party Central (AKA: Pierce household)
What: Pickle Ball and Ping Pong Tournament
Why: Because I gots to.
Who: Only the best of the best

Be there or be square. The Summer is almost over and Saturday is supposed to be nice. Be prepared to draw a partner and experience a vigorous tournament of pong and pickle. Team names will be a requirement. There will be a first place prize of righteous magnitude. Rules & regs will be posted but can be changed to my benefit any time I feel like it. Bring some BBQ materials if you would like. I will have some salmon and beef patties and tons of chicken breast. I also have a huge slab of King Salmon caught a couple weeks ago in Alaska that will be cooked to perfection. I don’t have a lot of e-mails for people in the ward so forward this to whoever you think would like to come. It would be nice to get an RSVP so I know who to expect. I will not be checking e-mail after 5:00 tonight so please call my cell phone.

You could miss this event, but then you will be black listed.

So we had a fun afternoon of barbecuing and the boys (and Kristin) played pickleball and ping pong, and the kids had fun and I gabbed with my mom and girlfriends. I'm so glad he had the idea to do it and we could enjoy what is likely to be the final sunny weekend of the year. I hope not, but we are all gearing up for the dreary that is to come.

AARRRGHHHH...

I don't know the cliche that I'm not thinking of, but it has something to do with hair and it refers to when people get in their minds to do something really uncharacteristic of themselves. This recently happened to my husband, and I am still in mourning.

I have some things that I save on our DVR. Not many. Most I am getting around to watching, and once I watch, I delete. Most of what we have recorded are kid's shows, a season or two of The Office and the most recent General Conference. I always delete extra stuff when we get low on hours, and we typically keep about thirty hours open.

I had one thing saved, the past few months that I have watched with equal delight numerous times, and that I wanted to watch with my mother. It was the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance. It was even protected, so it couldn't be deleted without some additional effort.

CHRIS DELETED EVERYTHING...he kept like one of each kid's show and that is that. What was he thinking!? He has never deleted anything, I didn't even know he knew how! We have like eighty hours open for no reason. All the Oprah episodes that I would have watched on a lonely sewing night and my precious SYTYCD...GONE.

It's been days and I'm still so affected every time I turn on the television.

Dear Oprah...

I was writing my pal Oprah a letter the other day. It had to do with organ donation (surprise!) and I had to do a little research in order to learn more about the statistics. I was shocked to think that the national consent rate for organ donation by a deceased person is only 69%. You know that this means that there may have been a baby with a healthy heart that has passed away tragically while Mia has been waiting for her heart, and the heart went to the grave. End of story. (I am aware of two babies who have passed away recently that weren't likely eligible for donation, so please, I'm aware, it's not always an option!) This statistic is killing me, because I'm almost certain that if a person could see a picture of another person, sick in bed and waiting, and know that 6,000 people will die this year because the wait was too long, they'd make a different choice. INFORMATION IS POWER. So...in the interest of defying ignorance, please read below...

Nearly 100,000 men, women and children are waiting for organs for transplantation in the United States (kidneys, livers, hearts, lungs, pancreas and intestines).

Thousands more need eyes and tissues such as heart-valves, skin and bone.
One organ donor can save up to eight lives. One tissue donor can save or improve the quality of life for up to 50 people.

Nationwide, 69 percent of the families consent to organ donation. (Source: HRSA Breakthrough Collaborative)

Each day, an average of 18 people who are waiting for organs in the United States, die because no organs could be found for them. This means that each year, more than 6,000 people die in the United States waiting for organ transplants.

Every 13 minutes, a new name is added to the national waiting list for organs in the United States.

If while you are reading this, you are thinking of a reason to yourself as to why you would choose not to do this, please read the myths and facts here. Also, know many times (depends on the state) it is your next of kin who will be consulted if the opportunity presents itself (I hope not) for your organs to be harvested. Your driver's license stating you are an organ donor might not be enough. You need to make your loved ones aware of your wishes.

Depending on your state laws, you can sign up here to donate life. In WA and MT, you just enter your driver's lisence number and birthdate and if you are already signed up through the DMV, your info will pop up and you can update it and stuff.

Raves...

As if Amy Butler wasn't already spoiling me with her fabulous fabric , paper crafts and sewing patterns, she now has designed the most darling dishes for Mikasa, "Vintage Botanica". If I had money to spend on something as frivolous as this, I would, I really love it. Another thing I just discovered is a hair product by Bumble and Bumble. It is a remedy for my hair training nightmare that I'm still determined to conquer. It is a hair powder spray that is BROWN to match my hair color!

I haven't tried it yet, but the ladies at the salon tonight were raving about it and I figured if it can help me buy some more time without washing my hair and not looking greasy, I'll take it.

So here's the update on the hair training. I am pretty comfortable now on day two if I don't rinse or anything. I don't so much wear my hair down, but I can roll it into a clip in the back and look somewhat presentable...I even wear my day two hair to church now. I sometimes have to rinse my bang area (this will be cured by the spray I am told), but there are days when I literally am in awe of how normal my hair looks on day two. Definite progress. Before, the grease in my hair could have been stripped and measured at the end of day one, and if I missed a shower for some reason, I'd literally be tormented by itchy, greasy scalp all day long. I would lose sleep that night LITERALLY over how horrible my scalp felt.

So...at the salon tonight I was telling Armani that she told me it would happen fast, and IT ISN'T fast. She said that it will take like 4-6 months (I'm at 3) and I might take longer because I'm sort of taking the slow route by rinsing as often as I am. Anyway, she was singing my praises and swears that she can tell a difference in my hair already. I didn't think my hair was greasy at all, because today was a wash day, but she said that the grease in my hair resembles most of the salon workers on day 4 or 5.

Anyway, bring on the spray, because I have successfully bought myself an extra day and I'm thrilled!

Get out your tissue...

I am dying! Mimi and John and little Mia were on the news a second time recently and I missed it! I just realized that the link to the news segment was on her donation blog, and I have been really dying to see it. Mimi had already done a segment for the rival news channel, but it wasn't as well done and the interviewer in this case (Komo 4's Alissa Jaffey) asked one question that started the tears flowing. She asked, "What is it like to have a little one in the hospital waiting for a heart transplant?" See what followed here.

My blog address...

So my blog address is kind of lame. Really lame. Here's why...

My friend Jodi has an email address (now her blog address) like that with her last name and then zoo afterward. I think she said that she stole the idea from her sister Mindy's email address, also my friend. So when I decided to create a blog, I didn't put much thought into it like many people do. I hadn't ever been to any personal blogs other than my friend Amy's, and I just went for it without really thinking much of it.

So my blog address is very copycat and unoriginal, but that's not the worst part...we are NOT A ZOO at all! It totally does not fit my family. I only have two kids (grimace), they are three years a part (thank goodness), the youngest is turning three in a few weeks (I'm in denial) and they are just pretty mild...or at least not zoo like in the slightest.

If I could easily change my address and not annoy the readers, I would...but I can't (right?). Anyway, Jodi and Mindy...thanks for the loaner blog address name!

Alice, go get your lovies...

We were leaving for my folks' house for one night, and I told the girls to go get their lovies. Alice called me from the top of the stairs in this labored voice, "Mooooommm, HELP ME!"

When I saw her, she had the biggest armful of every last neglected and unloved stuffed animal she posesses...but no "blankie star" and no "puppy," the two essential lovies.

I forgot to say in my post about her below that she is really into "I can't know how" and "I can know how." I don't know where she heard this phrase, but she says it all day long.

Notice in this pic...the forever on her body skirt that I made. She still wants it everyday!

Letterboxing...

For our Friday fieldtrip last week we went to a local park to do some letterboxing. This is a low-tech, older version of geocaching. It was a lot of fun, there were four letterboxes in the park and the kids did a great job of following the clues to find each of them. It was a little confusing at some points, but we did find them all! I'm so glad that I found (or she found me) this nice girl who arranges all these fieldtrips. She and her friends and their kids do this every Friday and we will definitely be joining them.

Listening to clues

What's inside?

The first letterbox had a butterfly stamp inside.

Alice let me take some pics of her while we were out walking.

Hurrying to the next clue.

The experienced letterboxers!

Max...

We've been dogsitting. It has been fun for the us to have a little dog around the house. He's had to wear doggie diapers because he has had an accident the first day and that was not something I wanted to repeat. He's really cute and very ready for cuddles. He slept with me one night, but I don't sleep well with small things (can't sleep with my own babies either) so he was in his crate at night after that. I like it when I say "Max and Ruby...".

Lemonade stand...

So because my kids saw hundreds of treats dropped off at our house and they were told, "that is for baby Mia", they have taken to wanting any treat they do have to be for baby Mia. It's funny. Ruby wanted to do another lemonade stand, and so we made a sign. Then she decided it would be for baby Mia, so she wrote that on there and then wanted me to write the rest. It was a sweet thought, and we did the stand and as usual I gave the money to the kids before they got to the stand and then they gave it to the kids and took their lemonade. So we didn't really raise any money, but it was still a fun thing for the kids to do.

The beauty of stands at my house is it takes only like fifteen minutes to sell through our stock. We live by a Jr. High and we set up around the last bell and we sell to the first people who walk by on their way home.

Bake sale...

I know I haven't been very present on my blog for about a week. It was such a fun week because my friends and I organized a bake sale to benefit baby Mia. We made a lot of money! It was really fun to take my turn at the booth because it is nice to have other people feel for a cause that means a lot to you, and that's how it was. Some people would even tear up. We had many generous people donate and many who just enjoyed some good, homemade treats. We got the blog address out there at the same time, and from what I understand that has led to some donating there as well. It was a good week...we made about $3000 in about 27 hours. (That doesn't include all the people who donated their baking time, but that time was spread over a whole lot of people.) I love seeing the generosity that people posess.

Sheri and Jessica working it.

Shrek the Musical

So I had heard so much great buzz about the show, and I knew that they premiered the musical in Seattle and were Broadway bound, so I had to catch the show before it left town. I got my tix for less than face value and managed a matinee show with my mom! We were both very impressed and entertained. I loved the costuming...especially the dragon. The set was very involved and impressive and it was all just charming. Kendra...you'll have to catch it!

I love Alice...

Alice is so funny right now. Well not really. If I am being honest, I have to try really hard to remember the funny parts with all the pouting, whining, clinging and crying...but this is not a post about those struggles...

Alice knows exactly how to use the word "just". She uses it to minimize the impact of things...like, "I'll just have one candy" or when I'm asking her to go get her shoes on so we can leave, "I just hafta go on the swing again," or "just a sec". She says it with that face that is reassuring me that she's totally all over my request, it will just have to wait until she's done doing just one more little thing. Another way she minimizes things is to say, "a little bit" even when she has no intention of limiting herself. She'll say things like, "I just need to play a little bit more." It's really endearing.

Alice has taken to wishing people "Happy Birthday" often, like in situations where it would be appropriate to say, "I love you" she'll say, "Happy Birthday Mama, I love you!" Then I say, "Happy Birthday Alice, I love you too." So birthday greetings are now an expression of love at our house.

Alice is full of stalling tactics. Today, Chris and I were cuddling in bed and we needed a minute to hash through a little disagreement, so we asked the girls for a few private moments. Alice came up with several ways that she could postpone her separation from us by helping us with things. There was a fan on a low setting, and she said, "Do you want the fan a little bit or low?" Hmmmm. We were looking at each other wondering what answer would earn us the quickest privacy, and Chris said, "low" which to Alice meant off...so she had to cross the room and helpfully oblige by turning off the fan. This really was just a tactic she used to keep us closer to her a minute longer. She does this at bedtime too, and she knows that I'm a sucker for conversation, so she'll start asking me little questions and whatever to get me to stay longer.

Sometimes I feel bad because our lives so revolve around Ruby. Alice is friends with the siblings of Ruby's friends, and she loves them and doesn't know the difference, but it really is a tag-a-long situation more than a playdate for her specifically. We were watching a video of Ruby's dance recital and we kept pointing out all the people that we knew in each of the dances, and Alice kept asking, "where's my dance?"

So...I'm putting her in dance. She's going to be three in October, and I'll enroll her in a little combo class and she'll be so pleased. It is a year sooner than I enrolled Ruby, but Ruby didn't have an older sibling to compare herself to. I know Alice will love her own little dance class, and it will be super cute in the end!

Surprise!

Ruby: Mom, Alice and I made you a surprise.

Me: I can't wait to see it

(Usually such surprises are a made bed, a cleaned up room...)

Ruby leads me up the stairs to her bedroom where she proudly says, "Open your eyes!"

Her work left to right: self portrait, Alice, Mickey Mouse clubhouse, cat, sunshine, another self portrait.

Usually this would be a welcome sight, but Ruby used an entire glue stick to adhere this to her walls. Whoops. (Why does my paint and walls looks so hideous in pictures? The wainscoting looks yellow and the wall looks bright...it isn't at all like that for real.)

Anyway, this was 24 hours ago and we haven't had the heart to take it down. She is so happy about her work.

Date to the fair...

It dawned on me a few weeks ago that we can't really use babysitters now that we have the missionaries living with us. This was a HUGE realization, as we typically use them at least once a week, sometimes more. I had to get creative, so my friend Anne and I arranged a swap.

Chris and I wanted to go to the fair and shop all the vendor booths. We found so many great things...their sales pitches are so convincing! We bought a hose nozzle that Chris thinks might change his life, I got a steamer to revolutionize my ironing world (I never iron, but there are some things that I would iron if I thought it would look good...usually fancier things that don't iron well, but the steam will be wonderful), and we bought a maginail art nailpolish kit so we can get fancier with the girls' nails (I am really loving the product, we used it today and the girls are thrilled and it was easy and looks really cute...they have a referral program, so if you are going to buy some...comment and I'll email you my address!!). We were close to buying a 20 foot aluminum flag pole, but we decided we better check with our home owners association first, and Chris was impressed by several other garage/man things and I tried on some fake hair extensions that would be a lot of fun if there weren't a million other things to spend $100 on.

One other thing we did was write our signature on a card and then they analyzed our personalities. I love stuff like that, it's just so random and yet often times kind of right on. Here's what Chris' signature said about him...

You enjoy sharing happiness with others.
You have a natural talent for business matters.
You have a good head for business.
You are sensitive to the needs of others.
You display your likes and dislikes with assurance.
You enjoy sincere compliments but dislike flattery.
You are somewhat eccentric at times.
You like to be in control at all times.
You have the courage to instigate change.
You are admired by others.

I'd say that all of the above is true. Here's mine (given my previous post, the first one is funny)...

You are sometimes a bit disorganized.
You often gain what you want through logic and your powers of persuasion.
Your manner is tough and no nonsense but your spirit is kindly.
You are a steadfast dependable friend and can be trusted.
You are able to accept what life brings and you like change.
You possess a youthful quality.
You are always willing to give a great deal of yourself.
Your willingness to work is one of your greatest assets.
You are open minded and adaptable in most situations.
Your levelheadedness gives you the ability to handle situations well.

There's something about some random machine saying, "this is what you are" that actually appeals as much as praise from a good friend. Maybe not. Maybe we just all need a little more praise than we get or something, so the computer will do? I don't know, it was just kind of fun to see what "televac" said about both of us.

Perception...

Do you ever have someone label you in a way that could not be further off base? So recently my friend Jen commented on my blog about my before and after transformation of a kitchen desk area, and she said, "Made me feel a tad bit better knowing someone as organized as you needed some organization, lol." I have been waiting for a slew of other comments to follow hers setting her straight because I feel like I am the LEAST organized person in the entire world. I roll so easily in chaos, it isn't even funny.

So this is a person who has known me for the past five years. Here's why I think she views me as organized (oh, it sounds so good...i wish it were true)...

1. My husband is a surface clean freak. He's not a deep cleaner (though he has taken to mopping) but at the end of everyday, everything is in the right place and there really isn't any clutter to speak of. So, very few people have had the opportunity to see my house not looking superficially "organized". What they don't know is that if it is out of sight, it is clean for Chris...so if it doesn't' have a place or he doesn't know what that place is, he'll find a place out of sight and that is where it will go. Still, typically, my house looks pretty picked up (I can't say clean, because that would suggest it was dusted, etc.)

2. I am a passionate organizer of people and events or gatherings. Maybe this obsession of mine would lead someone to believe that I am otherwise organized.

The irony here is that JEN IS ORGANIZED! Maybe she's fooled me by being organized in the same areas as I am, but from all appearances, the girl has her junk together.

Jen, I love that you think I am organized, but come on...I go out in public with kids whose faces aren't wiped clean and they have bed head! All our clothes are wrinkled from sitting in a folding pile for too long...and most of the time we have to get dressed in the laundry room because that's where the clothes are, my car is like a journal of everything we've done in the past month...remnant of shopping trips, snacks, meals, mail, you name it floating around my car. I run late, have three Sunday papers on my front porch and three checkbooks going with no idea where even one of them is.

Anyway, that was the shocker of the century that there is any being on the earth that would put me in the organized category, and I love it! Anyone with similar experiences?

Picky eating...

I'm not a picky eater, but the other day it occurred to me that I have never tried French Dressing. I was at Top Foods and was awarded this "free dinner" that gave me one free soda, frozen pizza, salad mix and salad dressing. Apparently, they'd awarded a few such freebies because all the qualifying items were very picked over. The only salad dressing left was French Dressing, so I left the store sans dressing.

Then last night, I went to Phantom of the Opera with a close friend, and she was going to order muscles for her meal, but the waitress let her know that it was a LOT of muscles for one person. I told her I wasn't going to be any help, because I've never even tried a muscle...or an oyster...or rabbit meat (they eat it all the time in Spain, but I passed, bunnies are for cuddling), or saurkraut. Those things have never passed my lips. I'm sure French dressing isn't so bad, I might give it a try next time someone offers me a free bottle, but the other things are better left alone. I'll be thinking about other things I may not have tried, but what I want to know is what have you not tried!? Am I alone or is this normal. I have a friend who had never tried hummus, a fact I found appauling because I love hummus. I made her try some and she claims she didn't like it (impossible), so I know others do it...do you?

Puppy love...

Alice has two main lovies, "puppy" and "blankie star". Puppy is darling. I love puppy too. Blankie star is really just a $15 carters blanket, the really soft one in pink with stars on it that probably every little girl Alice's age has. If I sound a little anti-blankie, it is probably because I made her a darling quilt that I would love to see her carry over her shoulder and snuggle with.

Anyway, puppy was mauled by our dog Stone, and lost his nose. While puppy was out of commission, Alice left blankie star an hour north, and went days without any lovies (thanks Oma for sending blankie star).
I finally fixed puppy's nose today. Fixed in the sense that it won't leak batting anymore, but not in the sense of restoring puppy to his once darling look. Alice isn't satisfied with his new look but she is going to get used to it.
A few Alice-isms while I'm at it. When Alice doesn't want to do something or she really doesn't know how to do it, she says, "I can't know how."

Yesterday when we were getting ready for church, she was anxious to get there because Chris and Ruby had already left. She said, "I want to go with daddy to church." Putting on my shoes, I said, "we'll go in just a minute." Then she said, "but mommy, I can't know how to drive!" Alice is full of questions, and sometimes I don't know the answers...especially when she asks me questions about other people. If I say, "I don't know," she'll say, "just tell me!" She and Ruby are super buddies (and often enemies), and yesterday at church, Alice was sitting on Ruby's lap facing Ruby and they couldn't stop laughing! It was the kind of laughing where you know that you should stop but you can't. It was hard to fault them, but it was distracting.

Before and Ahhhhhhfter...

So we moved into this house a year and a half ago. The house is equipped with so much storage, I just wanted to become an organized person upon entering the new place. I tried to pack in a deliberate way so that unpacking would be simpler and more organized, and I wanted to have a place for everything. I achieved this in some regards. I mean, the place where we keep the games for example is pretty organized...how often do you really mess with the games, right? However, some of the more frequently used areas have gotten out of control, and some "extra" areas that we didn't really use, gradually cluttered up with the junk of life. We had 5-7 junk drawers in our kitchen...no joke.

This is the cabinet that hangs above the desk in our kitchen. The desk has three drawers and a drawer meant to be a filing drawer, you know with hanging folders and what not...anyway, all junk. I took to the task of organizing it all on Saturday. I'm not done, (I have a laundry basket full of all the junk that is 1/2 way sorted and still needs to all be organized into a place where it belongs) but I have a good start, and some things are done.

Before...

After...I always think it is funny when the before pictures are taken in horrible lighting with bad posture and no makeup, and then the after pictures are taken with ideal everything...I decided to keep with that idea to really drive home the drastic difference!

This is my homeschooling cabinet, and on the top shelf in those boxes are all our sick fixes. I still have room for more things, and I know where everything is, and I have one of those magazine holders filled with all the stuff that I have prepared for future homeschool, and things that we are still working on...so we just pull it down and voila...homeschool begins.

Here are the empty drawers. Now I get to actually take to the task of removing all the horrid drawer liners that the previous owner glued in. I started this project when we took possession, but as much as I hated them, I really needed to get some unpacking done, and these drawer liners take some serious time and effort...especially when there are 26 drawers to attack!

Do the Puyallup...

Today we took home school to the fair! It was a rare morning with Mimi in town, so we got to go with she and her kids. It was fun to see the kids observe the various animals. Right when we walked up to the barns, there were some really big cows walking back into the barn. There was one that was stopped for kids to pet. Then we went inside and Mimi and I noticed that the cows looked really overdue for a milking...as a fellow-lactator, we were really feeling it for them. Then, the worst lactation situation I have ever witnessed, and definitely a wee bit disturbing...a mama pig nursing 9 little ones. She wasn't even "letting down" they were just harassing her body for purposes of pacifying themselves! It was horrible, her little nipples looked all stretched and raw, though you'd never know it bothered her, I think she was sleeping. Having been a pacifier before (yes, Ruby would NOT do anything but cry for ten months unless she was latched) I was a little mad at the greedy piglets. We came across a sheep that was being cleaned and brushed for competition, and then one that was getting a wool trim. The man doing the trimming was really nice, and he cut off some of the wool and handed it to the kids for them to feel. They really liked feeling it until someone pointed out that it might not be the cleanest thing in the world. At that point, Ruby was done...I hope someday I can do some 4-H with the girls. Ruby was really impressed by aisles and aisles of cats that were at the fair with their little 4-H owners. One let us pet her cat. I would want to do it with bunnies. I love bunnies. So does Ru. She got to pet one for quite awhile, and she was very aware of all the little hands that were all over the bunny, so she asked the lady holding the bunny if it needed a little rest, and the lady said yes, so Ruby backed away and just watched. Ruby and Alice are both really interested in little chicks (we call them "peep peeps"), I think I'd like to do a little learning with them about the life cycle of a chicken.

Mimi took Ruby and her kids on the giant slide. Alice wanted to go too, but I was in serious STICKER SHOCK as it cost $15 for five tickets, and that ride was 5 tickets...FIVE DOLLARS! NO WAY!
Ruby is in the front car with Alice and Ellie just behind her. We took a chance that the little ones would be ready for this ride, and they did great! They looked a little terrified during the whole ride, but they got off happy!We came across this monkey, and the kids were really interested in it. Unfortunately, we caught it just before they were done.


Random playing...

I should add that Alice wears the skirt that I made her EVERY SINGLE DAY. No exaggerating. It is not an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation. As soon as she wakes up, she says, "Where's my flower skirt?" and on it goes. She has worn that thing with ever patterned shirt imaginable, because while the skirt doesn't get too dirty, her shirts cannot be repeated. I will say that as the seamstress, it is gratifying that she likes it so much...so I don't work too hard to dissuade her. Ruby likes it too, but she's all excited about her new fall clothes, so she's into rotation. She has to wear the skirt more often than she'd like because it is cuter when they both have them on!

Rachel, Hermana Alvord...

I can't believe I forgot to give you a shout out. I know it's not like some kind of honor or anything, and I'm sure you didn't notice...maybe you didn't even read that post, but I read your blog, and if you did a similar post and forgot me, I'd totally notice! So here goes...

Rachel and I were roommates in Barcelona (served half of my mission in one ward, it is true...I was born and died there, with two areas in between)...the second time. We were both training if I remember right...she trained the infamous Colby and Blanco...am I right? That would be one reason why my memories of Rachel are among my fondest. I loved Rachel's calm demeanor as a missionary, even with two insanely high strung companions, she was just always level headed and happy, but not happy in a fake way, she's just a real person, and a content person. I loved that you had a guy writing you from home, and I loved your beautiful reception when you two got married! I remember teaching Greta's family with you, and sitting at that table while Greta's mom ate CHICKEN BONES! Crunch, crunch. I want to say that Hna Ellis took your place and Monica stayed behind, and I remember that being a bit of a shock to Blanco's system. If it weren't so late, I'd be posting pics. I loved serving with you because I got you for two months and at the end there, I had a new companion every month. With so many greenies circulating through that training "trap" I was always grateful for the other senior companion in the apartment.

Why I can't park in the garage...

Someone donated a ping pong table to the garage sale for Mia. It didn't sell, and so I kept it to list on craigslist. Chris got home from his motorcycle (death) ride and decided he wanted to buy it, and a week or so later the Elders moved in. Turns out, Elder Keddington is a ping pong champ (literally, he said if he wanted to be on the olympic team, he could likely focus and make that happen...as it is he has a $50k scholarship to some U in TX). So in this picture, you see them playing two on one...the one being Elder Christensen, who rotated with our usual, Elder Zika for two nights. I'm sitting on the other side of the house and I can hear the hoots and hollers all the way in here. Funny stuff. I really don't mind at all, if you know me, you know that I thrive on social interaction, and since Chris is the opposite, I always try to spoon feed him the lighthearted, non-hard working side of life. The driveway parking space and male rivalry sounds coming from the garage are like a drug to satisfy my addiction to play--for everyone.

They saved him from his 10PM hanging of roman shades. Not that I don't love my hardworking, task mastering man, I do...but sometimes I think he's going to lose his mind if he doesn't play a little. Maybe I under estimate the power of his play time with the girls. For me, that seems like a fulfilling of a responsibility to them, but maybe that is all he needs.

Labor Day at Cama Beach...

We went up north to Camano Island State Park and camped in little cabins at Cama beach last weekend. We planned the trip with our old friends that go back as far as kindergarten. So it was Kelly and Danny and their little guy Aksel, Sandy and Adam and their baby Addison, Eden and Ben and Leisha, whose husband couldn't make it. I really valued the weekend for having time with Leisha and Eden. I keep in closer contact with Kelly and Sandy, and it was just nice to have the time to catch up more with Leisha and Eden. When we get together in groups, it isn't usually the greatest for one on one conversation, and this was the perfect opportunity for that. We'll do it every year.

The campground won't be revisited by our group. It was stunningly beautiful and the cabins were clean, warm and cozy, but they don't allow fire pits for each individual cabin. Just one fire for the whole camp, and it was too far from our cabin to sit around at night by the fire, and too cold to stay up outside, so we were in bed early and missed out on some of that camping fire time.

That said, is the NW not literally one of the most gorgeous places on this planet? Seriously, we could camp dozens of places within an hour of our home and have this kind of amazing beauty. I love summers in Seattle!

Eden and Ben playing like kids on the swings. Does "kissing cousins" mean anything to anyone but me?

Ruby adores Aksel, and I think the feeling is mutual. She loves to watch after him and give him things that make him happy. I think she might have a gift giving love language.

Everyone but me. This is the little area we sat at in front of our cabins...would have been better with fire in the middle!

Chris, the master dad on the beach with the girls, flying a kite while laying down. Boy do they adore him.

I've turned over a lot of rocks in my time and I've never seen crabs with these markings. We saw several this time. Cool looking, huh?

Aksel

Chris and the girls heading for the part of the beach where there are larger rocks and more crabs. We had fun!

Adam, Sandy and Addison

Aksel, Kelly and Danny

Ruby used shells to hold her little crab finds. Here she has two tiny little hermit crabs.

The men played some mean horseshoes. That must be a ringer he just threw...look at that form!

Aksel, Alice and Ruby enjoying a yogurt treat.

Do you think I like taking pictures of this guy?

I LOVE this pic of Sandy and Kelly with their little ones. I'm still getting used to the idea of my old friends who were once throwing down toe touches and wearing nose plugs at swimming lessons with me...HAVING CHILDREN! Here's proof!

This slide show won't interest most, but as long as any of my camping partners want to save the pics, it will be here!