What We Did in August

This if for anyone who wondered why we were MIA in August. If you didn't wonder, well, then I might question your choice of reading material.

J got 4 weeks of paternity leave. Did I mention that we love working for Microsoft? We tried to make the most of it. We got a lot of home projects done, like the girls room, a mini project in the kids bath (I'll blog about these later), and the garage organized (which I probably won't blog about). We also had a lot of fun doing things like...

contemplating the universe

loitering on the front porch

workin' a purple helmet while showing off some mad bike skills

testing gravity

cruising Puget Sound

cheering that there was a 'tennis' court at St. Edwards Park

getting ready to jump down that hole

figuing out how to get down

plotting a splash park take over

sun worshipping

posing

comparing melon sizes

back yard water ballooning

blue eyeing

dining alfresco

getting within spitting distance of a giraffe

riding a bronze elephant

sincerely hoping that none of the kids spring over the edge, because the Woodland Park Zoo sign clearly states that items cannot be retrieved

{brass} monkeying around

channeling our inner Tai Lung (Kung Fu Panda)

being matchy-matchy blue squared

tractoring

betting on the depth of Lake Washington

and testing the temperature of the water at Waverly Beach Park

being surprised
blocking traffic at Pike Place Market (with Uncle Jamie and Aunt Lauren)

hiding from the kids at the Museum of Flight

taking Twin Falls by storm

slaving over a hot stove


taping up our faces with Liam from Utah (because that's weird enough without commentary from me)

squinting

smelling a baby

and being too tuckered out from all our activities to actually make it into bed.

And that's just the stuff we took pictures of.

Ruffles

I woke up the other morning thoroughly uninspired by the contents of my closet, like maybe I haven't been wearing enough fuschia or something. The answer? Retail therapy. I headed out (solo!) determined to infuse my wardrobe with new life.

I became a little disconcerted though, after finding that I found a lot of the clothes kind of hideous, and also that there was no one to cry or ask to buy things or tell me it's time to go. I started trying things on. I will tell you that I have 15 lbs of baby fat left. And that 15 lbs made me really sad as I tried to find any shreds of personal style I had left.

I decided that maybe I needed to be shopping for a new body instead of new clothes. Then I decided that a new body would probably be a lot more expensive. And painful. So I stuck to the new clothes.

Shirts that are gathered at the bottom do not do me any favors.

I'm just saying.

Anyway, I found some appropriately cute, semi-flattering clothes, even though some have ruffles, which are very cute this season, and to which J remarked "Ruffles?? You're killling me!"

Good thing he's not the one wearing them.

Speaking of 15 lbs, though... Sweetie is a fussy one. Cute, to be sure. Sweet, definitely. But fu-ssy. I blame her tummy. It growls all the time and gives her gas. So, I've tried Mylicon, Gripe Water, and altering my diet. And by 'altering my diet' I mean cutting out any foods that taste good. So far it's no spicy food, no gassy food, no chocolate, and no dairy--which is bad, because I love all those food groups. Except maybe 'gassy.' Holiday baking/cooking is looking dismal, my friends. It's making me grumpy to know that about the only treat I can have is Jolly Ranchers. Not so jolly. The silver lining in all of this is that those last, sticky 15 lbs should slide off easily with my water, fruit, and rice diet.

And then those new, ruffle-y clothes will fit really great.

So much to tell, so little time

I lost my camera-computer cord. And I was about to deliver a very lame, well-thought-out explanation for my blogging absence when I, as a last ditch attempt, put my memory card directly into my computer. And it worked. And now I just look lame.

I have about a million things spilling out of my brain, but now I'm too tired to really blog. But, expect an upcoming barrage of posting from this chica.

For now, here are some dinner ideas. From me to you. These are this summer's favorite dishes. I was going to do a whole sidebar with recipes, but for now, here are just ideas. Let me know if you want the recipes and I'll put links on here.

Hawaiian Haystacks with coconut rice

Shrimp Scampi over Carribean Rice with steamed fresh zucchini and fresh fruit

Grilled Chicken and Peppers, brown rice cooked with broth, and fresh blueberries


Pulled Pork Sandwich, steamed broccoli, yogurt with fresh blueberries




Random Salad with a little of everything fresh we had in the fridge. See below.






Grilled chicken with vidalia onion, corn on the cob, pasta salad.



{Amazing} Basil lime fruit




Apricot Almond Pie

Okay, this is the thing, though. I need dinner ideas from you. Please post your favorite (easy) ideas, because I can use all the help I can get!!!

It Could Have Been Rusty and Marcela

Seriously. Had it not been for our interfering grandmas, it would have been 'Rusty' and 'Marcela' celebrating a decade of love last Thursday, instead of J and me. Hard to believe, I know (both the names and the 10th anniversary). So for a little posting fun (and despite the fact that Rusty and Marcela sound way less attractive), I think I'll call everyone by the names that could have been. And talk in third person.



To celebrate their anniversay (and the 81 degree heat wave), Rusty and Marcela spent the day on the beach at Jetty Island. I LOVE this picture of Rusty (as much for the fact that I can see he adores our kids that he's smiling at as the fact that I still find him totally hot). He's my lover, my main squeeze, my BFF. I adore this man, way more than the day that Rocky and Marcela got married. He makes me laugh every day, lightens my load, and is the most fun I've ever had with anyone, ever. In our time together, there's been nine addresses, three degrees, four states, bought three homes, four cars, two TVs (that's right, we JUST got our second one...to replace our nine year old 19 incher), and four darling kids.

Speaking of kids...

Rusty and Marcela had three kids--Lauren (or Luke), Nicholas (or Eva), and Miller (or Eden).

Then they had another, Alexandra (there was no boy name for her). She slept through Jetty Island. Rusty and Marcela were glad. She's kind of a fussy little one.

Lauren and Miller cuddled under a sun umbrella as we tried to trick Miller into napping.

I taught Nicholas the finer points of sandcastle building. There's a better picture of this activity, but it includes me, in a swimsuit. At seven weeks postpartum, I thought it best not to post. It's what Marcela would have wanted.

Nicholas and Lauren hauled a big piece of driftwood into the salty water for a boat. What creative children Marcela and Rusty have!

I'm not sure how Marcela got this magical picture where it appears we had the beach to ourselves--it was packed!! It was so cute, Miller went and snuggled up to Rusty's back because he was so chilly. It was, after all, only an 81 degree heat wave.

Marcela will never be able to get the sand out of this white swimsuit. It's now permanently embedded in the fabric. Marcela is a little sad because she adores this swimsuit, but, oh, well--the day was completely worth it.

Nicholas loved the ferry ride over to the island.

Miller wandered off just a few feet from us, but got confused with all the people and burst into tears. Other than that, he loved splashing in the water and throwing sand. Rusty and Marcela couldn't think of a better way to spend celebrating their marriage than spending the day with the small additions they'd made over the years.

But they had to do something romantic, right? How about a little Applebee's take out over candles and sparkling apple juice while rocking the baby? What can I say? Alexandra's got them on a short leash. Happy Anniversary!