Right Place, Right Time

We couldn't believe our good fortune when Keith was driving by a neighbor's house last week. The man was wheeling these out to the lane and Keith commented on how neat they were and what might he be doing with them? The neighbor told him he was going to put them out by the main road and put a FREE sign by them, but if we were interested we could just take them. I think my husband finally "gets" me!

These make me smile every time I see them. I love their colors, the little bits of rust, the fenders, the matching metallic seats and handlebars, the perfect sounding bell on the blue bike (which Jaeden thought he could commandeer for his own bike - as if!).

The coveted and treasured bell

Boo has even ridden it around a few times. They are in great shape (in spite of the rust) for how old they must be.

I recently saw a saying that I love - "My heart will always be ~ in a little cottage by the sea." Yup, these would be perfect by said cottage. ♥♥♥

A Wonderful 4th!

Being on the lake this year for the 4th of July certainly spoiled us! We had the best fireworks show I've ever seen. There was a panoramic view of fireworks going off in every direction. The only problem was knowing where to look so you wouldn't miss it all.

We even had a ton of our own that was set off at the end of the dock. I was too busy oohing and ahhhing to remember to take pics of them.

Yahoo!

A few weeks ago, I rented a 2011 Mustang convertible and took Brooklyn and niece Kayla up to Seattle to shop for the day before Kayla went to visit cousins in AZ. We dragged Kayla into a bunch of stores and were constantly giving her things to try on. She was an awesome sport about it all and indulged her aunt for the day. We enjoyed lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and made sure to take a piece of cheesecake home with us. A great memory!

Summer and Lovin' It!

One of Jaeden and Brooklyn's favorite things to do is tubing behind the boat on our lake.

Right after their ride, they talked me into going out with Brooklyn. Suffice it to say that for the next 4 days, any time I moved my arms I was reminded of what I'd done. Ouch! Note to self: since I no longer carry a baby in each arm, I must work the arms out more.

Berrylicious

Our local berry stand just opened today! We had to make a u-turn and pick up a flat of strawberries for ourselves.

Don't they look positively yummy? There is nothing like local strawberries. They are red and juicy all the way through! No white in the middle like other strawberries. The lady at the berry stand said they're about a week later than usual due to the cooler weather we've been having. Strawberries will be here 3 more weeks before the raspberries are picked. Berry season goes all too quickly!

Around the Yard

It has been fun working on our "upper" yard. It was a wild jumble of plants and weeds until recently. We inherited a bunch of rhododendrons from Keith's aunt and uncle who have raised them for years. They have now formed the border of this little garden area nearest the road. The hanging thing was already there - we just moved it and raised it higher. It will be adorned with little hanging baskets and maybe some bird feeders soon. We transplanted a few rose bushes.
Keith and I created a little seating area with the picket fence in the background to camouflage the electrical box. Most of the plants we put in were from a show we did a while back. I need to find something pretty to climb it and fill in. Any suggestions? There are already a few purple plants along it. The maple is in front of the telephone pole to eventually hide it with a salvaged door (from our last house) leaning against the pole. The cement bench was rescued from our neighbor's garbage pile. Yes, I realize the pillars underneath are crooked - must fix... The wire triangle will be graced with climbing English Ivy as soon as I can find some. The pavers are leftovers from a landscaping job Keith did. We'll fill them in with gravel. It's meant to be a bit rustic and cottage-like.
We've planted lavender on either side of the bench, purple campanula, a small boxwood hedge and existing huckleberry that needs some shearing. I found the cutest little metal gate to go between the two huckleberry. I'll post a picture when I remember to take one. It'll look prettier when we get some bark spread around, too.

What do you think so far?

More flowers from the yard. It's always fun to see what comes up this time of year.

Love the afternoon sun on these beautiful smelling roses.

Another Wedding

Last week, I had the opportunity to help prep and serve food for a wedding of some friends of ours. The wedding was held at the Schmidt House in Tumwater, WA.

A pretty little pool strewn with flowers

The amazingly talented Kathy, mother-of-the-bride, with a brother-in-law whose wedding we attended last year.

The beautiful, beaming bride, Kati with her father

Can you feel the love???

Kati & Forrest

The wonderful buffet for the guests

I wish I had taken a picture of the crab cakes and salmon tarts that the mother-of-the-bride made.
What you can't see is how delicious everything was! The cakes were also made by the mother. Lemon with raspberries and lemon curd (the best ever!), chocolate decadence, white chocolate and strawberries, hummingbird cake, etc.
All of the bouquets and flowers were done by an aunt of the bride. This family is truly filled with the most talented, kind-hearted, sweet people. It was such a pleasure working with all of them and getting to know them a little better! Of course, spending time with the family's first grand-baby who was just 3 weeks old was a wonderful plus!

More wedding pics can be found here.

Puyallup Fair

We took the two younger kids out of school an hour or two early so that Uncle Fred and Aunt Jolene could take them to the state fair on the 14th. Jordan had already been with his cousin Kayla.

The fair isn't complete without a ride on the Ferris Wheel.

Great views

Fred and Jolene enjoying the ride

I was amazed that the kids were game for going on all the rides they did. They're finally tall enough to go on almost everything. Uncle Fred had a blast watching them!

We had a great time at the fair! Of course, I didn't join the kids on all the rides or else I would've been rather sick by the end of the night. Did you go to any fairs this summer?

Surprise!

That's the name of this 3 week old colt. Our friend Diane invited us over to see the little guy yesterday.

The kids had a great time feeding, petting, and leading him around.

His mom is Luna. The kids rode her here.

Snack time.

Surprise was aptly named because he definitely was one. No one knew Luna was expecting until Surprise showed up late one night. He's a sweetie pie! The kids look forward to seeing him more and getting to ride Luna again when she's ready.

It reminded me of growing up around horses on my grandma and grandpa's farm. Those were the days!

Old Friends

We had friends visit us a couple of weekends ago from Eastern Washington. They're so faithful about coming to visit us at least once a year. The kids always get along great!

Brice bicycled with Keith in '91 (?) from WA to AZ. Brice & Leann own a very successful bicycle shop in a university town. For a wedding gift, they gave me a bicycle. Isn't that great? It's so fitting.
Funny thing is that I knew Leann's brother in AZ long before I even knew Keith and met Brice & Leann. I probably even saw Leann at her brother's wedding and never knew it!

Growth

Click on the house picture to see how our flower beds have changed!

Edited to add: I've changed my other blog to invited readers only ('cause I'm not updating it anymore), so if you're still interested in seeing the change, just email us and I'll give you a password. Thanks!

Our 4th of July

It was a HOT one here in WA! In the 90's. Keith and Jordan worked all day on a big project so I took Jaeden and Brooklyn for the day down to Portland, OR. We went to a couple of stores, had lunch at IKEA, and then decided it'd be nice to dip our toes in the water somewhere.

We crossed back into WA and visited the cute little towns of Camas and Washougal, along the Columbia River, where we found a place to walk down to the water. A lot of the beaches looked crowded and crowds were the last thing I wanted to deal with so this place looked just right! I believe that is Mt. Hood in the distance (correct me if I'm wrong).

We wished this little cafe was open. It looked so fun and right on the water! We'll have to go back.

Isn't the name even fun? Love the sign! Almost made me think of being in the Caribbean again.

Trying to keep cool.

This beautiful, sweet puppers wanted to play with the kids. They were waiting to load the boat onto the trailer and she snuck out once to come say hi to the kids. Kinda funny how quiet she was sneaking away, and then her owner noticed! See how she's looking longingly at the kids splashing in the water?
Sweet hands. If you look closely, you'll see she's a nail-biter! Is that a given maybe 'cause she was a thumb sucker? I know I had that bad habit as a kid (nail biting - not thumbsucking). Jordan does it, too. If they only knew what they were really chewing on!

So refreshing!

It felt funny and unreal that it was the 4th. Usually we're together as a family for the day. We still had a nice day, though. Hope you did, too!

On the Lake

Jaeden & Uncle Jerry

Keith & Boo

Jordan

And yes, here in Western Washington we wear clothes out on the lake 'cause it's cold!

Mayfield Lake Park

We camped here last weekend. We had a great time! We had a partial view through the trees down to the water. Once our campsite was set up, the kids got their bikes out and went for a ride.

We were glad to have gone mid-week because hardly anyone was there and the park had lots of great trails/roads to ride on.
This was just down around the corner from our site. It was a great lake to go sea-dooing on. More pictures of that next.