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Friday, July 30, 2010

Turkeys

This last week, Jeremy and his dad were finally able to bring over one of the 1967 Beetles to the garage. They also brought along all his tools, compressor, and what not. Yay! Uncle Roy has a welder. Here's to hoping one of these things gets to be road worthy soon.
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Um, I'm sure the fenders are somewhere in the garage. I know they are. I just don't know which garage.
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I made him pose with it. I tried to get him to lean forward, hands on his knees, back arched, and lips pouty... but, you can see that failed. Pin up, he is not.

Meanwhile, Roy and Barb's garden is doing pretty danged good. We've been able to fresh greens for salads anytime we want for several weeks now. Yellow zucchini, too! Yum!
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While Jeremy and his Dad were playing garage monkeys, I was working on cheesecake truffles. Oh, yes. I have another blog now. It's even more random than this one. But I will be posting my recipes and possibly my crafting ventures over there. When I can remember. So, my cheesecake truffle post is over at Dainty and Psychotic.

Potato has a couple of new favorite hobbies.
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One is doing her Daddy's hair. Brush it forward. Brush it back. Brush it forward. Blow. Brush.
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For some strange reason, she also likes pretending the small space between my glider and the side table is a tunnel. Sure thing, kid. Whatever you say.

While we were out running errands the other day, I looked down at the floor board and thought, "All this shot is missing is a fast food burger wrapper for truly American feel." Still, I like it. Okay. I wouldn't like it if there was a fast food wrapper. Maybe.
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We also took Potato to the park.
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I seriously love this shot.
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She's also discovered how to un-click the top part of her car seat straps. This is super fun while cruising down the interstate at 60mph. This photo was taken while waiting for Daddy who had run into the store real quick. Not at 60mph.
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Do you remember walking along a garden hose like a tight rope as a kid?
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She's already doing this, at two!
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Thursday, July 22, 2010

Visits from Distant Relatives

By distant, I mean that I live in WA and they live in CO. Earlier this month, my Uncle Clint came to visit with his family.
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I hadn't seen him in about 15 years, so I was really excited. Plus, I was getting to meet my tiny cousin for the first time! Technically, she's my only real first cousin. All others are biologically second or third cousins. There is also about 7months difference between little A and my Potato Wedge. Neither of the girls wanted to cooperate for group pictures.
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They did okay though when Amy came into the picture. Kind of.
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Clint, Amy, Debbie, and Little A arrived sometime around 1130pm thanks to some scheduling issues. But they got here safe. Clint asked me right off the bat, "Do you have something against civilization??" lol The answer is Yes. Especially after living in Tacoma for 3 years. It's a good thing they have GPS in the rental van. Sweet Little A, she didn't have a problem letting this entirely new person get her out of her car seat and snuggle. Well, until we got inside and she saw Mama. Ah, the advantages of sleepy toddlers. Amy, Clint, and I stayed up til about 3am just talking.
Potato got up first in the morning. So I got up, got her dressed and took her walking outside while we let the others wake. When we came back after saying hi to the puppy dog, they were all up and in the living room. The girls got along so well. It was sweet. Little A even showed Potato how to use her Sit n Spin.
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They hugged each other so enthusiastically, they toppled right onto the floor after the flash went off!
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Potato also helped Amy and Little A get ready for the day.
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Potato really like Amy, who is quite sweet.
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Potato shared her coloring books, and her rabbit ears.
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At some point, the girls found some balloons left over from Potato's birthday. This cracks me up every time I watch it.

When it was about time for them to leave, Potato and Little A began plotting how to ditch the rest of us.
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They finished the visit with several hugs, like good friends and loving cousins.
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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

One Thousand, Eight Hundred Twenty Five Days

That was the exact the age my son was as of 6:41am on July 13th. In other words, my one and only boy is now 5 years old.
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Bear and his sisters were spending some of their summer with their Ammie, near the Dam. My plan was for Jeremy, Potato, and I to leave our house by 7am to make it there by 11am. For some strange reason, my alarm did not go off, and we didn't even wake up until 6:50. Okay. That's a lie. I was leaping out of bed in a slightly panicked state at 6:50am. Jeremy just rolled back over to bed after I announced "We're supposed to be leaving in 10 minutes!" We pulled out of the drive at about 8:17am. Turkeys have no sense of get up and move your bum mornings.
Still, I figured a 12:30 arrival wouldn't be too bad. It wouldn't have been. I realize now that I am still not used to not traveling straight on through with maybe a quick trip into a drive-thru. MapQuest, from my old address, used to indicate my drive would be just over 4hrs. I usually made it in 3.5 hours. Without speeding. Okay. Without speeding more than five over. But Jeremy needed a pit stop, and Potato needed a changing. Then there was the quick run into Ephrata's Safeway for berries. When we thought we were ready to go, the Audi wouldn't start. Two attempts for jumping, a phone call to his dad, and about an hour and a half later we were on the road again. The problem? The gear shifter was not all the way in park. Something about things not being aligned just perfect after the transmission install. We did not arrive into town until about 3, I think. Oh! We did stop to give a guy a ride into town. The fuel guage in their off-roader is faulty, and they ran out of gas. Funny enough, they're from our side of the state!

Our little Bear was so happy to see us. He's gotten taller even in just a few short weeks. He'll be due for another hair cut before... he starts school. Okay, I am not going to think about that just yet.
Bear loved his cake! He is such a strawberry and blueberry fanatic. He saw something similar with raspberries instead of strawberries, and decided that was the cake he wanted.
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The theme of this year's birthday was once again SpiderMan. I won't be surprised if it is again next year.
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These masks mildly disturb me.
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This year, Bear received his very first heavy duty remote control car. His dad got him the Land Rover with big wheels for all sorts of terrain.
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My little man has the funniest facial expressions.
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He got a lot of new Hot Wheels. I might have gone slightly overboard with the awesomeness. I couldn't resist all the cool cars!
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Funny enough, despite other guests being there, Bear was the only boy child. After he opened all his gifts, Bear presented a gift to each girl. Potato got a soft baby doll, while the older girls each got beachy barbies.
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When we drove home the next day, I noticed the lake was just about the calmest I've ever seen it.
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My little Bear is such a sweet kid. He is so caring. Each morning when he hears Potato first wake, his primary goal is to make her laugh right off the bat. His older sisters find him a bit troublesome at times, when he only wants to play with them. He loves sports, cars, and anything else that goes VROOOOOM! He loves fruits and veggies for snack. He hates carrots. He's a cheese fiend. He's my snuggly Bear. He has the sweetest smile. He always gives the craziest and wackiest faces.
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Friday, July 9, 2010

Fireworks and Family

Something incredible and unprecedented happened on the 4th of July this year. For the first time in 15 years, Jeremy had Independence Day off! He's always had to work at least a few hours. But this year, the day was totally ours. Unfortunately, he did have to be at work at 5:30am. I tried to convince him to call in sick. "Oh man, I must have had some potato salad that sat out a little too long." People get food poisoning quite a bit, right? It's common enough to be believable. But, no, no. Go to work he must, and did.

Jeremy really wanted to see his best friend, Brent, on the 4th. They don't often have coordinating days off. Usually just two days a month actually. Plus, Brent's birthday was the 3rd. So we packed up the swimsuits, towels, and sun block to head south to Long Beach. Poor Katie, she could not avoid a visit from her most detested acquirement of marriage to Brent.... Jeremy.

I know alot of people who say Ocean Shores is the place to go. No, thanks. I love Long Beach. The town itself is just so much better. Bunches better. There's more to explore, and it just plain feels better. Ocean Shores kinda has... well, a scuzzy kind of feel. Compared to Long Beach. Compared to other places, I'm sure it's the Emerald City.

Sadly, on the way to Long Beach, we just knew the weather was not going to be a splendid utopia of sunshine and blue skies. Sadly, on the way there, I discovered that the denim jackets I had planned on Potato and I wearing had been leaked upon by an open valve on the cooler... and turned fuzzy. What the frick?? They had only been in there a week! Quite plainly, I was seriously miffed at this. I love my denim jacket dang nabbed it. Do you know how hard it is to find a denim jacket in my size, a style I like, and at $30?? (Well, ok, they cleaned up nicely. Really. No discoloring or smells. Yay for white vinegar!) Jeremy was sweet, and practical. He couldn't very well let his girls get chilled. So, Potato and I each got brand new pink Long Beach sweaters as soon as we rolled in to town. He takes such good care of us.
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Then, Jeremy got on the horn in an attempt to locate Brent. They were already down on the beach. No surprise there, really.
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Despite having been there before, we decided to walk the town some more. We were going to pop into Marsh's? It's a curiosity shop of sorts. Most importantly, it is the famed home of Jake the Alligator Man. Fellow blogger,Twila Jean, is a fan. Anyhow, we did not make it in there this time around because it was Insanely crowded. Not stroller friendly in the least. I think if we go there on the 30th, Potato gets the umbrella stroller. At least it can be folded and walked much friendlier.
We did however, at my insistence, get pictures in front of the giant skillet. Yay! Touristy. (Ahem- Notice, new pretty pink sweaters.)
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One gal was even nice enough to take a picture of all three of us.
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They also had free horse drawn carriage tours. No, we did not go. Maybe next time?
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After a bit more walking, and peeking into kite shops, we headed down to the beach. Brent said he was about a mile down the beach from the entrance. So, we thought, "Hey, Brent made it that far with is Dodge Stratus. We can make it in the van. It's done chain only conditions on nearly bald tires." So down we went. Wow, he was down there a ways. More than a mile, I'm almost certain. We almost turned back around, but then we saw him and figured, "It's only another 30ft." The boys said hello, then promptly began setting up. (See! The back of my van is organized!)
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Potato baby was excited to see all that sandy beach. Oh, and all that "wa-her." Baby loves water.
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As soon as Jeremy was thoroughly distracted by his kite, baby girl and I kicked off our shoes and made a run for the water. Yes, it was a cloudy covered day, with skies like you only see here in the PNW. That brightly varied gray sky, where you still feel the heat beaming through. There was a bit of a breeze, and you could smell the next wave of rain in the air. We didn't care. This was the ocean. This was our paradise. We were going to enjoy splashing our feet in the water. Unfortunately, we came across a Huge piece of broken glass. Fortunately, I saw it before it became a problem for us, and hopefully anybody else. Like good little citizens of earth, we (I) gingerly retrieved it from the surf, and took it back to the van for disposal.
Unfortunately, this meant our water time was cut. I was minding Potato, and she was minding Daddy's kite flying.
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Brent's dog, Bubby, was minding it also. Oh, how he wanted that kite. If only it would swoop down low enough. That fat, little beagle jumped with all his might. I was impressed. Still, no matter how low Jeremy swooped down to torment the little dog, his jumps were just to short. Then the kite went for a swan dive. Just out of reach of Bubby's lead.
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Jeremy decided the winds were getting a bit crazy for flying. He didn't have anymore strings if these snapped, and didn't feel like adding the tails. So, out came the paddle ball. Potato was so cute. She saw that Brent's little shovel was blue and about the same size as their paddles. She ran to get it, and eagerly ran back to join in the game. They would set the ball on there, and she'd fling it to them. She's so smart.
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And cute.
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About 5pm, we all decided it was time to head out for dinner. So we packed up. Brent and Katie went ahead of us, and came back before we got to driving. The water was coming up to the vehicles, and people weren't moving them. Okay. It was one car being the biggest pain. A Toyota Camry owner. Surprised? I'm not. So Brent said we should try to go the other exit further down. Then Brent got the Stratus stuck. The good thing about the beach, people are generally really friendly and helpful. As soon as it was clear he was stuck, several people came over to help, including a guy with a Jeep. With a bit of a dig and a tug, he was free.
Off we went back towards the Toyota. We actually did fine. Jeremy drove the van into wet sand while the waves were out. It got a little iffy, but the van pulled through. We even made it quite a bit past the Toyota. Then we hit trouble. Soft, dry, deep sand. I opened my door to the view of sand just inches below the van. But, behold! A 2x4. Obviously, this had been left behind by previously trapped travelers, for it's mate was on the other side of the van. I immediately got down in the sand and began digging out the tires. Jeremy used a borrowed shovel to dig out the other side. I realized I was screwing up my skirt and brand new sweater. Off they went into the van, and I continued digging in my swimsuit. (Jeremy claims this got a lot of spectators. They were probably blinded by my whiteness.) We tried wedging the wood under the tire for it to grip in hopes of backing out. It wasn't going to happen. The tires were just spinning, and a puff of exertion was coming from under the hood. The van was high centered. I moved to the front to begin digging out the front end as far back as I could reach. Jeremy was getting in there with a borrowed shovel. But there was still more sand. In fact, the van was high centered at the axle. Score.
Along came a man with a jeep, and a chain. He'd already pulled numerous people out that day. I suspect he enjoys it some. I probably would, too. So after a bit of contemplation as to how the chain should be wrapped around the front end, it was secured. Jeremy told me to quickly jump into the seat and get it started, cause this guy was ready to pull. Ta-Da! Once pulled to packed sand, the gentleman disconnected and drove off for his next adventure. He was part of a group that had an Enormous pile of wood going for a bon fire later. Any scrap they could find, and every pallet they could get. In fact, they took one guys entire pickup bed of pallets and scrap wood to add as repayment for getting his butt out. I'm ashamed I didn't get pictures of the pile, or of being buried in the sand. I was little preoccupied by the incoming surf.
I did get photos of my van afterwards, though.
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While we were digging, Katie came to tell us they couldn't get around the Toyota. They were going to try to wait for when the tide went back out. So, Jeremy and I decided we would head down to Astoria for dinner. Why the heck not? It's practically right there, anyway. That's quite the bridge they've got there. We drove around a little while, trying to decided what sort of food we were feeling up to, and what looked good.
We found the Flavel House.
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The Old County Jail, which is now Film Museum. How cool is that?
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Some darling little houses.
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The Liberty Theater. Isn't it grand looking?
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I don't know what the story is behind this house.... but I want it.
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We finally settled on a restaurant with a water front view, called Pier 11.
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The view was gorgeous. There were even a couple of seals bobbing about and playing nearby. The menu looked spectacular. Jeremy had such a hard time deciding.
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It's a really great little place. The wait staff was super friendly. The chef, who also owns the joint, even ok'd ordering off the Lunch Specials menu despite it being after 6pm. So I opted for a seafood mix in a phyllo wrap, with asparagus and rice. It was sooooo yummy.
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Jeremy ordered the steak, medium to medium rare. I swear to you, this is the first time a steak has ever been brought in front of Jeremy the way he asked it without having to cook it himself. In fact, he said it was one of the best steaks he's ever had. High praise, coming from him, I assure you.
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Joey was enjoying the view, her crayons, and the steak as well.

With our bellies feeling incredibly full, we headed out and back to the van. If Jeremy hadn't been scheduled for 530am, we might have stayed to enjoy the fireworks display. However, we had to head home. It was cool though. We got to see miles and hours of celebrations, and several grand finales. When we got home about midnight, some of the neighbors were even still lighting off.

It was a long day, and a really good one.
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