My Haiku

To get into the school spirit, I wrote this Haiku!


First Day

The school bus is near

New shoes, sharp pencils and nerves

Grins on ALL faces

Toolicious!

Here is my sweet sister, Krista. (Kris to me).

She has started a new blog featuring her wicked good recipes. You gotta check out her new site and yummy goodness right away!
Way to go Kris!

Here is a description from her site...

Taste Of Blue Sky
Additive Avoidance Cooking Made Easy: Shopping, cooking, eating, and snacking using the most whole forms of available food products, in simple, delicious ways. It is about avoiding additives, versus complete elimination. Preparing quick meals on a busy schedule calls for convenience. I attempt to combine the health of whole foods cooking with simple preparation. Browse the Additive Avoidance Tips, Pantry Suggestions, Serving Ideas, and over 150 satisfying recipes! Eat and feel better!

This is the breakfast she made Trev for Father's Day while we were visiting. Those sausages are homemade as are the "toolicious' pancakes and cocoa. Yes, "toolicious" is a word in our house. All the kids said it when they were little, I think you can figure out which words they combined.
And I'll use it now, because it's the perfect word for such a spread!

Have fun visitng:
Taste of Blue Sky

My Boy.

He was born on a hot summer afternoon. He came fast with only 3 hours of labor and no medication. We have a special connection that started the day he was born.

My heart actually aches a little looking back through these pictures. Maybe it's because he is my only boy, and that cute little cheeky face is now long and lean.

Happy 12th Birthday my sweet boy.
I am SO glad I get to be your mom!!!!

One last get-away.

Every summer we like to fit in a little trip to Leavenworth.
It is a small Bavarian village nestled in the Cascade mountains. Only 3 hours away, we travel to get delicious german sausages and tube the river. This time we fit in some mini-golf too, and of course had a great time! Our last little get-away before school starts next week.
Einfach fantastisch, or simply fantastic!

Monkey D's turn.
Mini-golfing in the heat.
That's my smart-alec girl.
My 3 beautiful monkeys.
The hat shop - always a fun stop.
My water-lovin' hubs in the waterfall.
REFRESHING!!
A few rapids made for some excitement.
Who's this? This dog loved Monkey A & Trev and wanted to be with them on their tubes instead of swimming the river with it's owner.






MB's little rest by the rocks.



Check out the view behind us!
It's a gorgeous place to take a float for the day.

"Plants Sing Soft Songs"

"The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth."
~Dorothy Frances Gurney, "Garden Thoughts"


I was out enjoying my garden and snapped a few pictures of the color and produce. Such green, green, green beauty!!!

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling." ~Mirabel Osler
"In my garden there is a large place for sentiment. My garden of flowers is also my garden of thoughts and dreams. The thoughts grow as freely as the flowers, and the dreams are as beautiful." ~Abram L. Urban
I love these zinnias. Pink after pink after pink until...sweet nonconformist orange showed up. Isn't orange just beautiful?

"God made rainy days so gardeners could get the housework done." ~Author Unknown

We planted grapes along the split rail surrounding our patio. We have 4 different seedless varieties, and here are the first to show! They are gorgeous, and oh-so-sweet!!






"Don't wear perfume in the garden - unless you want to be pollinated by bees." ~Anne Raver

I love red geraniums, especially with the creeping jenny and white bacopa. Our builder made this planter box in front of our house for me, instead of the usual slats to guard falling off the porch. We love to sit on that porch.

"Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity." ~Lindley Karstens

I also love the contrast of dusty miller against my black pots in front of the stairs. I found a fat ruffly leaf this year instead of the lacy kind. I hope to find it again next spring!

"I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day." ~F. Frankfort Moore


I grew watermelons! Isn't this melon the most amazing thing you've ever seen? I think they are absolutely beautiful!


This next quote is from one of my favorite people. I believe one day she will have a most glorious garden...




"Plants sing soft songs" -Monkey D
age 8, lover of foxgloves & hollyhocks

Lovin' Loon Lake!

Summer is time for fun and vacation, so of course that is what we have been up to. Lots of water this year and so many smiles.
Another slideshow for you! This vacation was so, so fun and we enjoyed ourselves so much. We will definitely visit this place again! Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Dworshak...That's where it's at!

We are back from some back-to-back camping trips. We made such GREAT memories!
Here's a taste of the first trip. Enjoy!!
Stay tuned for more pictures from our Montana lake camping trip.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Summatime

We are loving summer!

Here are a few pictures showing you some of the things we have been up to.

We started our summer break in Cody, Wyoming visiting my sister and her family. "The Cousins" are pictured at top. Actually our kids just say it like one word.."thecousins".

Here are the kids in Yellowstone! And there's Trev and Brandon having a "shoot out" in an old western town, and MD being so cute on my lap.

We spent the 4th of July with friends. Everyone had a great time swimming in Halverson's pool. We had a BBQ and enjoyed the day in the sun, ending it with a fantastic fireworks show in the evening.

And my hubs, Trev and I celebrated our 15 year Anniversary this month. WOW! We've made it this far! Trev picked me up in his Dad's old pick-up. It is the same one he picked me up in for our first date. We went to dinner, and then on a motorcycle ride, just like our first date. (See my March post "Spring is in the Air!" for details on that first date thing...:)

We also went kayaking with our friends the Hickmans and Halversons, and had a great time. I loved it, thanks Trev for such a memorable time!

Oh, and lastly, I just had to throw in this picture of Monkey C and Monkey D for ya.

They are goofy. So goofy.

Happy Summering!

Inspired - Part 2

A few weeks ago, I posted "Inspired".
What are the things in my life that give me encouragement, joy, peace and inspiration? A few weeks ago I shared some of these "constants" as I call them.
Are you ready for more? Here goes.

#4 - What calms me down and gives me peace? Simply...a cup of tea. When I am stressed, or tired, or a little on the "in-need-of-nurturing" side, I make myself a cup. Maybe it is because as I was growing up, my mom would make me tea whenever I was sick and feeling down. It was magic. It always made me feel better. My favorite tea? Stash decaf Vanilla Chai. Ahhhhh.
Heaven in a cup.

#5 - I am a shy person. A lot of people would disagree with that, but if you really know me, you know that this is true. I struggle to put myself out there, but enjoy it when I do. It is work for me. I can tell you without a doubt I would not be "out there" making friends and throwing parties if it wasn't for my best friend. This guy loves people. He is not afraid to go to anyone and start up a conversation. While passing the fishing hole once in my brother's neighborhood on the way to his house, we pulled over to the guy sitting on the grass with pole in hand. Window rolled down, my best friend said in his friendly, interested voice, "Caught any fish today?" This lead to a nice conversation with a sweet old man none of us knew. While chatting with him, my daughter asked from the back of the car..."Mommy? Why does daddy always talk to people he doesn't know?" Trevor has taught me that there is no reason not to say hi to people. Why not look someone in the eye and find out what their interests are, and even invite them over for dinner? There are lots of potential friends out there!
Not only does Trev encourage me to enjoy people, he inspires me to enjoy life. If you know my husband, have read his blog OR mine, you already know he likes to try a little bit of everything. We don't sit still for much, and whether he believes me or not...I do prefer it that way!

#6 - Flowers. Flowers. Flowers. I cannot lie to you. Flowers can bring me to tears. I can walk my garden every single day, looking over the growth or change. It gives me joy. Plain and simple, I am probably happiest around nature.
Though I do not grow hollyhocks, they hold a special place in my heart because they make me think of my childhood, always in my mom's and grandparent's gardens. My mom and hollyhock dolls. Now my girls know how to make them.
There is something about foxgloves that I adore. They are also my daughter's favorite, and she has loved them since she was 2, circling them in my garden catalogs.
Lavender is so hardy and fragrant, I can't help but be proud of it everytime I pass it by.
I dared to plant California poppies in my front rock garden last spring, knowing they spread like crazy. But I took a chance, and I can't regret the shocking bright bursts of orange and red that grow amidst the daylilies, wallflowers, bloodgrass, gaura, red carpet roses and more. I cannot tell you how many people stop their cars in front of our house to ask me what those beautiful flowers are and how they love to look at them.
There are SO many more I won't name, but if it blooms, I pretty much love it (with a few exceptions).
Ah, but roses. I think the roses are dearest to me. Who cannot love them. They do well here. I have a few separate rose gardens, and this year planted probably 10 new varieties to try out. Which ones bring the tears to my eyes? Ha. Well, I am loving these three...

1...VOLUPTUOUS: These beauties glow with bright color. The blooms are humongous, and they smell good. This is a new one to my garden and I am loving it.

2...DOUBLE DELIGHT: I have grown these for a while, and can't get enough of them. I added a few more to my new island. They are beautiful, the bush is nicely formed, and stays healthy, and the smell. Oh the smell. HEAVEN! You want to inhale these babies.

3...ANGEL FACE: I happened upon this one this year. I have always told myself I am not a purple rose person. This rose has changed me. Now I am an angel face purple rose person. :) The petals are ruffly and old fashioned looking and the color is beautiful. They smell so sweet. I was thrilled when showing it to my mom and she told me how she had planted an Angel Face once and loved it. Her father had told her to plant one because he loved them as well. Her father is my dear Grandpa "Hummingbird" whom I adore and miss like crazy. I have always wished I could show him my family and garden, but the sweet part is, I have been lucky enough to feel like he sees it all the time. Maybe he has seen my Angel Face and is smiling sweetly from above because I too, like to garden as he did.

Well, there you go. Sorry this post was so wordy, I guess it's hard for me not to gush about my husband and my roses.
Don't forget to stop and smell the you-know-whats!
Until next time...

Wild Wild West

Just came back from vacation!
We had a blast with my sister and her hubby in Cody! Here are just a few pics to share with ya'all.

(Come on...you can't tell me you haven't always wanted to take pictures like these!)

Inspired

I was thinking the other morning. Thinking of the "constants" in my life. The things that I continually look to for encouragement, joy, peace and inspiration. I had this running list in my head, and so I wrote it down. I thought I'd share my list with you, a peek into my little world and maybe some of the things that make me tick.
I'll start with 3 in no particular order, and in upcoming posts, I will share more. Just bear with me, it could be fun.

#1. As you know, I play tennis. I love tennis. I'm kind of addicted to it. Sometimes I play twice in one day, and my elbow will start to ache. Ibuprofen is my friend. Look at these lovely ladies in the photo. I don't know them personally, but I DO get the awesome opportunity to play with Betty, Cora Jane and Marty. These are ladies I met at the club, and they are all in their 80's. I think the oldest is 87. They can't move as fast as I can, but boy, can they hammer a dadgum green fuzzy ball. They call me dear, and little girl. One of them claims I "beat up on her" after I won our match, then turned around and hugged me. These ladies are my tennis inspiration. Not Ana Ivanovic or Maria Sharapova. I know I will never play like them, but maybe I can play like Betty when I am 87!
#2. We don't have cable t.v. No, we don't have satellite either. Close your gaping mouth, and let me finish. We have not had cable for many years. We don't even watch t.v. with an antenna. So, I am not going to be able to follow any "Idol" or "Lost" commentary. We watch DVD's of our favorite movies and kids shows, but have found that when we have been paying for cable, it ends up being a waste of money. We simply don't watch much t.v., we enjoy other things more I guess. But there are 2 t.v. series I simply can't do without. After a long day, and in need of a laugh, these are the 2 I pop in. MASH. I know, can you believe it? I remember hearing the song come on our t.v. as a kid and my dad rushing in to watch his favorite show. I didn't much get it then, but I love it now. My favorites are the first few seasons when Col. Blake and Frank Burns' characters are still on. I think I relate to the bumbling, not-so-clever but lovable Henry Blake. So call me old fashioned, but I love the cozy, homey feeling I get while laughing at the smart, one-of-a-kind humor on MASH.
If I'm not in the mood for MASH, but need a good laugh, I turn to Everybody Loves Raymond. Who can't relate to the crazy mother in law, or mother, and just the zany, warm, funny family dynamic of this show? It's clever. I love it.

#3. Lastly I would like to share with you a photo. This special picture is near and dear to my heart. Just a warning...it is a silly photo and in it are 3 of my dear childhood friends, who do look at this blog (if only occasionally). So I apologize in advanced if they are surprised to find themselves here on my blog with upturned noses and 80's hair. The photo itself is special, as are the people in it.
Toe, Stubs, Jill-Pill & me. Grade school through high school, different colleges and now miles apart, each one of us.
A few years back, I went through a dark, and well...dark time. We'll save the story for another day (maybe), but as I was grasping for peace, for a source of strength to get me through, I came upon this picture in one of my old albums, and I laughed. I had forgotten how to laugh, and this unfamiliar sound coming from my own lips startled me. But it was much needed, and as I studied the photo, I started to gain a new strength. I actually framed it in a little mahogany stained frame and put it by my bedside. I believe it sat there for a year or so. It was a great source of inspiration to me. First because it made me laugh. But more importantly, these wonderful, amazing, beautiful women had all suffered. And they lived. And they were laughing now. If they could, could I? I placed them by my bedside to help me every day.
So, I apologize to my sweet friends if I have embarrassed you in any way. But this picture, and you in it, and all those who have suffered and lived to tell the tale (which I understand is probably most of us) have been and continue to be an inspiration. I gather strength and hope and determination and laughter from all of you. It helps me get through the prickly thorns in this rosebush of life. (See why I relate to a bumbling not-so-clever character? - I just came up with that rosebush thing...)

So, there you go. Three things that are important to me. Three little peeks at what makes me tick. A few of my "constants."
Keep laughing!
Until next time...