kismet art

07.08.09 @10:11:12 pm

Saw this idea on a favorite scrappers blog and thought it would be fun to join in.  Missed the am time because I was occupied with my 7 year old son, my 20 month old daughter, and my friend's 5 month old baby... don't know why I couldn't have stopped to take photos :)

So I tried it tonight.  And it worked.  Fewer people awake to take part but a little easier to capture the moment.  Pretty fun stuff (I love every time I see the clock turn to 12:34, geek that I am.)  So thanks Liz for suggesting this challenge.   

Ben was sleeping (no photo, would have woken him up.)

Emma was sleeping.

Even Elmo was sleeping.

And Kim and Dave, well, we were reading, as usual, but surprisingly neither of us was asleep holding our book up.

  Good night.

Let Freedom Ring

Happy 4th of July!

An Apple A Day

I know that President Obama is really helping to spread the word about eating fresh, locally grown ingredients (including the addition of a White House kitchen garden where fresh vegetables and herbs are being used in the daily menus.)

But don't you truly think that this future President of the United States is taking the terms fresh and locally grown just a little too far?

Oh, and did I mention that the apples are still green and off the ground?  Oh well, at least they're organic.

Summer Vacation Still Rocks, Really!

We are a week in to summer vacation and I still have no complaints.  Really.

Linguine With Clam Sauce- The Rachel Ray Way

Easy, yummy, light tasting (if you don't use 1/4 of oil recommended in this recipe and instead use a little of the olive oil that the anchovies come packed in) and oh so quick.  Dinner served in less than 30 minutes, try 15!!!  Seriously!!!  Enjoy.

The Recipe:

The ingredients:
The cooking:

The wine pouring:

The yummy fresh pasta:

The finished product (with a sprinkle of fresh parmesan cheese and flat leaf parsley.)

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there (hope you are getting a chance to relax and enjoy some time with your kids!)  Here is a recent layout I made to document Dave and Ben's sweet father-son relationship:

Dave's card:

A card for my dad:

And an ATC with my dad's baby picture:

And a card for my father-in-law:

We are getting ready to enjoy an early dinner of Salmon Wraps, cucumber/onion salad, Asian-Inspired Coleslaw and Peach/Blueberry Cobbler with local homemade vanilla ice cream.  And then a nap.

Top 13 Reasons Why I Am Happy That School is Out for the Summer

Please, whatever you do, do not refer back to this post two weeks down the road when you hear me saying "When does school start?"- I am going to try REALLY hard this summer to enjoy every day.  Even the days where I hear "now what?"  Even the days that it rains and we have to be inside.  Or it is blistering hot and we have to be inside.  So just don't "told you so" me, let me live in my sunshine filled bubble for a few more days...  So without further ado here is my top 13 reasons that I'm happy that school is out for the Summer:

1.  Less driving.

2.  No lunch packing (yes, I still feed everyone it is just easier to make a nice lunch when you don't have to stuff it all in little baggies in a lunch box.)

3.  No homework.  No helping with homework.  No looking for the homework you were just working on (summer reading does not count as homework, in fact I don't believe we will be able to keep this boys nose out of a book all summer.)  This is the smile of someone who does not have any homework in his near future:

4.  We can all stay in our jammies longer (or earlier if you just happen to "accidentally" wear them all day.)

5.  Ice Cream for dinner is perfectly acceptable.

6.  Lazy days to play with friends in the backyard.

7.  The smell of barbecue wafting through the windows.

8.  Sleeping outside in the tent and seeing all the stars.  

9. Pool parties.

10.  Special sounds you only hear in the summer: Crickets, fireworks, kid's laughing while running through the sprinkler, lawnmower's, music (we can often hear the summer concerts from the Cuthbert Amphitheater, several miles away.)

11.  No shoes (unless you really feel like wearing them.)

12.  Unplanned days and spontaneous moments.

13.  Staying up late- I can't tell you why but there is something so much more satisfying about staying up late in the summer than any other time of year.

Happy Summer Vacation!

At A Snail's Pace

It's a no school day, overcast and cool, and despite my caffeine intake I feel like I am moving through this Friday at a snail's pace- so enjoy Emma's foray into the garden to discover, well, a snail.

Quick Garden Fix

After looking at the mud pit (see this post) for a couple of weeks and getting more and more unnerved by it every day I decided to do something about it.

Amazing what moving a few potted plants around can do to improve both the view AND my mood.

Temporary fix, but a delight just the same.

Oregon Zoo Trip

This past Friday both first grade classes from my son's school took a bus trip to the Oregon Zoo in Portland.  First time Ben has ridden a far distance without us.  He loved the chartered bus (it even had a bathroom Mom!)- he read a book all the way there.  The reason for the trip was to both celebrate the end of the school year and to get a chance to see the animals all the children had been studying and writing reports about in school.  Ben chose to write his on the Dwarf Caiman- here is his drawing:

Here is the actual Dwarf Caiman at the Oregon Zoo- it was so still it didn't even look real.  I could take a few moments here to tell you every factoid I learned along with Ben about this reptile but instead I will let you off the hook... this time.

Here is Ben's face after seeing the Dwarf Caiman in person- he was pretty excited.

Here is Emma, our resident lover of all things monkey related sharing a moment with an orangutan. We really noticed the difference from last year- Emma wanted to get out of her stroller and really spend time looking at each animal, she would get really animated and "talk" about each one.Meerkat (makes me want to go watch some Meerkat Manor.)Snow cone break (did I mention it was over 90 degrees, at the end of May, in Oregon- go figure!)

We got to watch the new baby elephant bath and play with its mother, that was a fun treat for everyone.Ben feeding the Lorakeets.

One of the kids in our group said "Look, the bats don't like broccoli either", hard to get a good bat shot, they're fast and the bat cave is pretty dark.

Every time the jaguar walked past the glass Emma said "Hi, kitty kitty, meow-meow."

Zebras.  Dave had to ask us are they white with black stripes or black with white stripes.  I think we need to show him Madagascar again.

We had a fun day at the zoo although it was a bit crowded what with the other 3,000 students there, yes, I said 3,000, and I am not making that up- I asked at the gate.  And a little hot.  But a lot of laughing and amazement when encountering all the animals so close.  A little family vacation is just what we needed.