Skip to main content

week 29 in pictures

sunday: while killing time in portland, we were lucky enough to get to visit w/ my cousins and aunt and celebrate a special 2nd birthday. micah was very excited about the golf set he picked out to give him… and very concerned when he wasn’t “using it right”.088

a couple skinnies for the center slots of the offensive way to use the golf clubs wrong… they were not supposed to go in the pool and micah was not amused! LOL.

also, micah, in a tree, waiting and waiting for dave and shane to cross the finish line of the STP.091 092

finally! (shane was there too, but I didn’t have my camera ready fast enough. it’s hard to time it right.093

and cole and kat finishing w/ their entourage. they got much fanfare as they finished.094

wednesday: prepping for layla’s birthday party. we bought out michaels’ supply of lanterns.122

thursday: every now and then shane just needs to love on ginger.129

saturday: I had a TON of errands to run and I made the mistake of taking layla with me to spend some birthday money at target. OMG… she took for-ev-er… finally wound up with a bed for julie.2013-08-0612

also saturday: dave planned a little surprise party for me at fireside cellars. I though he and I were just going out, but then we got there, and lynn, miina, lisa, and my friend dave from high school were all there! I was SO surprised, and I had a ton of fun. it was a beautiful evening, and while we were there, we had an awesome balloon flyover.239

and then I have a bunch of instagrams:

part of my killing time in portland on sunday involved spending my lululemon gift card. layla and micah had to come along and micah was most excited about the display of yoga mats. not sure what was so great about them, but he was impressed…

084

every time I get to the bottom of a jar of nutella, I wish I had the long, flat, tongue of a dog. it’s true.097

found this on the wall. when I asked micah what it was, he said he was playing “stick the straw on the cup”. okay…102

fun at willis-tucker park.107

a nice mom at the park alerted me to the fact that I had a sticker on my back… at least it doesn’t say “kick me”.112

more park fun.

113

shane is always finding new and improved ways to torment his cat. apparently toby is an STP finisher.121

big display of ‘bacon’ goods at the party store.123

more party prep: we acquired feed sacks for the sack race. they had to try them out. micah didn’t want to race because he wanted to be the starter.134

the ‘food tent’ ready for the party.137

and… 1 hour before the party, this happened. right after the dog at the hot dog buns, and right before a guest arrived 36 minutes early… not awesome.141

me, after all the guests had gone, and kids were in bed. 229

and 3 big collages from layla’s party.2013-08-06272013-08-06282013-08-0629

book shots will be added after I get the pics back.

Comments

you may like...

white wine marinated pork chops recipe

this recipe comes from the weber’s REAL GRILLING cookbook and is my family’s recent favorite way to have pork chops. shane thinks these are the best food he’s ever eaten, and will generally eat 2!  i think layla asked for seconds as well, and micah pretended they weren’t on his plate… which is typical.  we’ve made them on the grill, or broiling in the oven, and both are equally good. 1/2 cup dry white wine 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh thyme (I have used dried as well, and it works fine) 1 tbsp minced garlic (think I used a clove, maybe two) 2 tsp kosher salt (this was a little much. I think the second time I made them I reduced it to 1.5 tsp.) 1 tsp freshly ground pepper pork chops (4 or 5) whisk ingredients together in a bowl. place pork chops in a large ziplock and pour in marinade. seal and turn several times. refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once or twice.  allow chops to stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before gril...

does home ec even exist anymore?

my last post got me thinking about how i somehow missed 'learning' all of those things which are essential in running a successful home. i'm wondering who dropped the ball on this (because, i can't possibly take responsibility for my own shortcomings here). i guess traditionally, one learns these things from their parents. i suppose i did learn a lot of my domestic skills at home. for example, the husband is supposed to eat the leftovers in the fridge. when making a bed, the 'top' of the top sheet goes down so that when you fold the edge over the blanket, the 'top' side is then up. why this matters when you are just going to cover the whole thing with a pillow and comforter is totally beyond me. but that's how you do it. so yes, my mother taught me how to iron, do laundry, clean a toilet, etc. my dad taught me how to plant a garden, mow a lawn, appreciate baseball, etc. and then there's home ec. do people still take home ec? i took it ...

week 33 in pictures

I don’t have a picture for sunday… will have to have one of the kids draw something. monday: here, we have layla, expressing her death-wish. her newfound talent in hula hooping is manifesting itself all over the place, and in odd, and sometimes precarious, positions. here, she’s balanced at the very top of the big, metal slide, which is balanced on top of the little plastic climber, which is on the edge of the deck. maybe the magic wand in her hand has cast some safety spell around her. she lived, but succeeded in giving me a heart attack first.   tuesday:      layla, micah and I took a picnic to the park. on the way back, micah was determined to carry the cooler. you can’t see it very well in the picture, but it also has 3 filled water bottles clipped to the front of the handle. he didn’t make it very far before he gave it back to me. wednesday:      notice what’s going on in the background of this picture: our backyard neighbors were h...

homemaking 101... ponderings, ramblings... the usual.

so i've been analyzing lately (because that's what i do) why i get so frustrated with myself, my shortcomings in the areas of housekeeping and organization, creativity, cooking, etc. it would seem that i'm trying to live up to the expectations of june cleaver, or my grandmother, or something equally unrealistic. no, i don't expect to push the vacuum and baste a turkey in heels and pearls, (besides, i have the roomba , remember?), but i do expect more of myself than i have been giving currently. why? i've been doing what i usually do when i have an issue i want to know more about; i check out every book the library has on the subject (organization problems anyone?). there are a LOT of books out there written by homemakers, for homemakers with a lot of different slants on the whole subject. interestingly enough, the view that disturbs me the most is not the one that suggests that God has decreed it so that women have no other calling than to be wives and mothers (alt...

smoothie-crazy!

I’ve always been into smoothies. but I kind of go in phases with them. there will be times that I have the ALL THE TIME, and then other times when I’ve forgotten about them and don’t have them at all. right now, I’m on a major smoothie kick. I was reminded of their sweet, wonderful yumminess a while back when I read a post on the pioneer woman’s site about smoothies . of course, she’s all photography-savvy and has a clean kitchen and whatnot, and I don’t, but this is my take on smoothies. actually, it’s just today’s take on smoothies. it changes daily, depending on what I have on hand or what I’m in the mood for. as you’ll notice, it’s also a shameless plug for my 3rd favorite kitchen appliance. (the first being my coffeemaker, obviously, and the second being my coffee grinder.) so today’s smoothie consisted of the segments of 1 clementine (I have a 5 lb. box that I need to use up before they are not so good… plus, I figure the vitamin c will not hurt me any.), a BUNCH of frozen raspb...