Sun in Seaside!

I seriously can't believe how gorgeous it is down here, all of the weathermen in Seattle should be fired! They said it would be stormy and high 50's and they could not have been more wrong! I know it sounds like I'm complaining, but I'm not :)

I drove down Friday with Emma and Kennedy, and Deanna and her girls joined us that night. Carl came down the next morning, and then cousin Duane joined us for a lovely dinner and beach bonfire. D and the girls left Sunday morning, and Tracy, Kenton and kellie arrived at 1:00. Carl took the kids golfing while we girls chatted and sat on the deck. We had a fabulous dinner of homemade enchiladas, guac and pico. YUM!

Today we hit the Nike outlet (ka-Ching!$!) and the town, beach bicycle rentals and ice cream. We are all taking a rest before we make spaghetti dinner.  It was an absolutely wonderful visit.  Various pics:

Pitter-Patter... my heart is happy.

We picked up Emma from camp yesterday and my heart immediately swelled with happiness - in more ways than one :)  I could not *wait* to see her and hug her and tell her I missed her (because I really did...), but her heart was swelling with happiness too.  She said she wished she could stay longer, that she couldn't wait to come back next year, and that she made a bajillion new friends!  Pitter patter, pitter patter.  The kids all had a camp t-shirt on, and everyone was signing each other's like a yearbook.  And Emma was pointing out this person, and that person, and this person's brother, and how she gave that one a piggyback ride, and how this young boy hugged her and said he'd miss her.  Pitter patter, pitter patter.  And so many kids had to hug Emma goodbye three times before we left, and it made my heart so happy that they loved her as much as I do, that they could see what a wonderful person she is and how she can light up a room.  Pitter patter, pitter patter.

And as we drove home, hearing all of the activities that she could remember, we stopped for fish and chips at Steamers at the base of the Narrows Bridge on a gorgeous sunny day in the Puget Sound.  And at the table Carl and I listened and watched her smile and our hearts went pitter patter, pitter patter.

The perils of my job...

See this blouse?  It's one of my favorites this summer.  The color and the waviness of the ruffles, perfect for me.

The fact that I fill it out so well?  Not so perfect.

See, I was working at the front counter today - helping all of the nice citizens pay their tickets - and there is a constant vacuum-type wind tunnel up there.  It blows up through the opening of the window (to keep us safe behind the bullet proof glass :O) and in the summer, it's a nice little breeze.  I usually enjoy it.  Today?  Not so much.

This young man came to pay with $20's and starts peeling them off to me, and they blow through and I'm grabbing at them like I was on a game show where they put you in a clear plexiglass box and blow money around wildly!  Sound fun?  Not today.

I was trying to do a good deed and re-ink the date stamp for my coworker's desk that I'm covering today.  Wouldn't that be a nice surprise to come back to on a busy Monday morning?  A fresh, gooey, juicy stamp ready to use?  Yeah.  Well, I  inked it up reaaaaaalllllll good and the pad was sitting right on my counter.  So when I grabbed wildly at all those 20's and bent over to catch one?  Smack dab right on the ruffles.  Damn those protruding ruffles :)

I drove my baby to camp yesterday.

And we both did really well.  I took some pictures of she and her friends, helped her set up her bunk, gave her more kisses than she wanted, and left while she joined a game of dodge ball.  You would not believe the view at this place!  Right on the Sound in a very rural part of our county, they are going to have an amazing time!

And today I already emailed her a CamperGram, and packed up a care package for delivery on Wednesday:

I miss her already and it's only been one day.  Here's looking forward to Saturday morning!!!

CHAMPIONS!

We scored 29 points out of 30 for our bracket, and shut out every team we played!  Not only did we win, but the girls played  V E R Y   W E L L ! ! !  Coach Adam was proud :)

Weekend photos

We've had a fun-filled soccer weekend (with a final game tomorrow morning at 8:30am) - but I just wanted to post a few photos of Emma and her teammates - because the camaraderie is so obvious.  Four of us came from last year's team, to an established team, and the girls welcomed our four like they were long lost friends.  It is so fun to watch them at this age: they are so chatty, they love to sing, and they giggle incessantly - super fun.  Last night after our game, a few of the parents and their girls came over to our house for pizza.  This is what it looked like in the backyard:

And this is what it looked like before this evening's game:

And this is Cooper and Vinnie:

Coopie loves to stand and box with the bigger dogs... he was giving Vinnie a love-tap on the nose :)

Wonderful Weekend

I had been looking forward to this weekend for about a month... for several reasons:  1) Emma would be coming home from her week-long trip to visit family; 2)  Said family would be coming back with her and staying the weekend; and 3) I'd have lunch with two dear junior/senior high friends:

Meet Kathy and Suzanne.  We went to school together from 7th-12th grade, had LOTS of good times.  I went out on my 16th birthday with Kathy in my new car.  Suzanne and I dated two boys who were best friends in 9th grade and we had lots of fun together.  Suzanne has lived in Switzerland since 1988 and has two handsome sons, and her Dad just happens to live over on the Olympic Peninsula (west of Seattle).  Kathy has worked for a prominent retailer for almost 20 years and just happened to transfer up here a few years back.  Funny how everything can come together and put friends in the same place, at the same time.  Thanks Facebook :)

Prior to that I had D & D staying the weekend - and first on the agenda was to get D1's hair cut.  I've been trying to get it cut in the vision I've had for her for about 15 years - and she finally let me take charge.  Before and after:

Isn't she super cute hottie pants??  Well, she already was... but I *love* the new hair :)

And this was later that day - loading up my VW at Ikea, just like the commercial with all that stuff strapped on the top - and then the beautiful evening in Kirkland.  Prior to all that Emma came home and it sure was great to have her back where she belongs.  I missed that girl of mine :)

Pool Party

We had a soccer bonding session (aka pool party) last weekend at Jim & Carrie's house - which is such a lovely spot to hang out, very warm and inviting, and the pool and backyard are just perfect for a party - thanks friends!  All but two girls were able to join us and Emma and I stayed for about 8 hours! :)  Lots of fun with Coach in the pool, and I shocked him by cannonballing him in my clothes when he wasn't looking - ha!

Coopie has a girlfriend!

And her name is *Pixie* !!!  Aren't they just soooo cute?

And just because I want to try uploading a video:

Celebrate Your Freedom!

I never used to truly pay attention to what this day means, except that it was two days before my birthday (and I would be counting down the hours to my party) and there were lots of fancy fireworks!  Let's be honest... I still think about my birthday coming up when it gets to the 4th, but as I've grown older, I really stop to think about the freedoms we enjoy by living in the USA - and most importantly, those who have given their lives so that I can live my freedom every single day.  Celebrate your freedom today!

Here's the biggest sparkler in my life (decked out in Party City's finest accoutrement)!

*Love* these new photos...

I was a winner on Becky Higgins' blog during the month of May's Big Photography Giveaway - and on Saturday Emma and I headed to a funky part of Seattle for our shoot.  We had such a fun time, just walking around Fremont and finding funky walls or cafes with chairs outside - we'd stop and take a few pics and then move on.   The very talented and generous photographer that captured these images is: Jolie Rodriguez. She is based on the East side of the Seattle/Puget Sound area, and if you would like some new family photos, I'd love to refer you to her... :)

Cousins

Quick post of a really cute picture that Raelyn posted on Facebook - these are Emma's cousins:  Haley, Cali & Raelyn - to say that Emma had a blast in Eagle River would be a *huuuuge* understatement :)

Blessed with Friendship

I've been moving to my new house since last Friday evening.  The weekend was a blur.  As always, Carl was the main packhorse and got the majority of the stuff done.  But I have to thank special friends who have helped so much.  Raph, for helping put together a ton of Ikea crap and moving big stuff; Dave & Kristy, who showed up without request to help lighten the load; Brian, for blessing me with his patience and meticulous eye for painting; and my dear friend Tracy - for so much.  She found this house for me, helped me through the 3.5 month buying process, put out many fires, and has been my steady-Eddie as pseudo-family.  Today, I got home from work, and walked in to this:

She purchased this set for me and had Brian put it together and set it up while I was at work today.  I left my dining set at home, and hadn't purchased one for Emma and me.  Thank you Tracy, and Brian, for your friendship.  I love you guys.

Lovin' the 3-day weekend!

I mean, how could you possibly NOT enjoy a 3 day weekend?? It's still very rainy and gloomy here in the Pacific NW, in fact, Friday evening by 6:30pm I was in my fleecy jammies and under the covers watching TV. Saturday started out with a massage (now I have a matching bruise on the other hip, last time it was the right hip), and then we spent the day at the Robillard's for a huge celebration: Jim's 50th birthday, Katie celebrating her commission into the Army and college graduation, and Katie's high school graduation! Wow! It was a lot of fun, and there was a yummilicious Mexcican buffet :)

Today started off with bacon sandwiches and coffee for breakfast a la Carl, then a nice walk with my girl and our dog. I even ran a few steps - don't fall over with laughter! Emma says she's going to get me in shape ;) We treated ourselves this weekend with Super Mario Galaxy 2 and just completed an hour of play - it's a really fun game we play as a family - Carl controls Mario, Emma is his sidekick, and I'm the director (yelling instructions!) :)

Tomorrow Emma and I are going to see Alice in Wonderland with Kennedy before it leaves the theater. I love me some Johnny Depp, so this movie is a must-see. Oh, and speaking of must see, SATC will be next weekend if we're not moving!!! Here's a recent picture just for fun - E & K being goofy at lunch :)

Fun weekend!

Boy, busy weekend here - but fun!  We had a neighbor friend, Jordyn, staying with us while her parents enjoyed a weekend away - and she and Emma had a great girls' weekend.  Jordyn straightened Emma's hair for her (much better than my work!) and that started a fun Friday evening "makeover" for them.

Saturday afternoon I took them up to the Family Fun Center for some go-kart riding and video games, then a fun dinner at Red Robin.  Coincidentally, they both recently purchased the same cute shirt at Aeropostale,  so of course they had to each wear it :)  Today we all went to see Shrek 4 and Kennedy joined us as well... fun weekend :)

More photos from the program...

Sorry, I had to create two different posts in order to incorporate the video.  Here's some cool shots of the stage, and the one with Emma in the bottom left corner with the yellow bandana and guitar (dancing around like a hillbilly) at "Splash Kingdom".