A Seattle New Year

We had a beautiful drive to Seattle yesterday. Even with this cranky kid in the back seat.

Celebrating New Years Eve with our two youngest girls at The Warwick Hotel in Downtown Seattle. We're going to watch the fireworks show at the Space Needle from the comfort o our hotel room.

Should be an awesome night!!

Happy New Year!

Everyday Exciting!

I recently read a blog post, and I can't even remember where now (boo), that talked about how blogging is about scrap-booking your life. (I wish I could remember who it was, so I could give credit where credit is due. So Sorry) It's about capturing all the memories of your life and keeping them in one cozy place for your kids to look back on and remember.

This blog is a scrapbook of my life. I am trying not to put too much pressure on myself to write posts that are full of meaning and wonder and make people think about life. (Or think that I am a good writer) That is just far too much pressure for me.

This is about me! This is about my life!

No Rules! No Worry!

I want a place where I can go and be who I am! (A little CA-RaZy)

(Come on Ry, Strike a pose!)

I want a place where I can tell about myself and my family!

I want a place where I can share what I am thinking and feeling!

I want a place where I can be a bit of a show off (wink, wink)!

(The view from our back patio)

For me... This is My Place! My place to share and remember. I want the kids to look back and see everything about their lives in the scrapbook that I have created here. I know it isn't much now, but hopefully in the years to come it will be much bigger and much better. I know there aren't a lot of readers, but for those of you that have chosen to join me on our journey, I thank you! If you are new here, Welcome! Thank you for sharing in this little place we like to call our

Everyday Exciting

Like the Good Ol' Days

Yesterday we spent the day at my parents house in Deer Park with ALL of my family. It's not very often that we get the whole family together so we usually go all out when we are all in one place. With everyone living in different parts of the country, it gets harder and harder to get everyone in one location.

For us, yesterday was Christmas and I love getting to celebrate Christmas twice.

We were lucky enough to have snow on the ground this year. A little over two feet of the powdery white goodness that is perfect for snowmobiling. My younger brother, JC, brought over his Ski doos and we spent enough time out in the fresh air to effectively freeze our fingers and noses.

It's been years since I rode one of these. We had them all the time when I was a kid, but things change and it seems like we have had less and less snow every year since I was 10. I was beyond excited to be out in the open air with the wind in my face and tree line flying by me. Once the boys had their turn doing tricks and making it look much harder than I remembered, I finally got a turn. I decided to ride the one my older brother, Rob, brought over because it was a little less powerful than JC's. I admit, I was a little intimidated by the supped up one that JC had (but not next time).

It was even better than I remembered. But, it was a little harder than I remembered. I guess the ones my parents owned 15 years ago weren't quite as heavy as these. These things were terribly hard to turn. I had to stand on the platform on one side and lean over with all my body weight to turn it. Even then, it was a much wider turn than I wanted. Oh well, At least I got where I was going.  And for the first time in my life I could say, "I don't weigh enough!" Boy, is my body paying for it today. My arms and legs are SO sore. I'll take that over going to the gym any day!

After a very long afternoon we retired to the living room to drink hot cocoa and watch Brave with the kids. Later in the evening everyone was back at the house and we opened our Christmas presents and played games and visited while eating the some of the best prime rib I've ever had.

Overall... Amazing Day.

Took me back to a time when things were simpler and I spent my entire winter break from school either out in the snow or on the couch watching movies and crocheting. Sometimes I wish I could be a kid again.

Happy Snow Day!

Inflection... and Pointing

Have you ever given thought to the way that you talk to people? I don't mean having good manners or whether or not you are nice to people. I am talking about the things you do and say... or the things you do when you say certain things...

Example: The other day I was talking to my step daughter about eye brows. (Don't ask why... you really don't want to know... OK I'll tell you. Mine are a little crooked... new girl at the salon. Boo!)
Anywhooooo... While I was talking I kept pointing to my eyebrows. Like she wouldn't know what I was talking about if I wasn't pointing at them. Duh... she knows what an eye brow is, but I couldn't say it without pointing. Weird. I was talking to my husband about a mixing bowl when I was baking something. I kept lifting it up to show him like he didn't know what a mixing bowl is.

I don't think people are stupid, gosh no! But maybe I have in my subconscious somewhere that if a person can see what I am talking about, they have a better chance of understanding.

And it's not just with objects!

After the eyebrow incident, I started paying attention to how I was saying things. I especially notice it when I read to Zoie. If you have read Are You My Mother as many times as I have, you may know exactly what I am talking about.

"He looked up he did not see her" 

"He looked down he did not see her"

Now tell me you didn't just do the same thing when you read that!?!? 

There is inflection in my voice. When I say up, my voice goes high. When I say down, my voice goes low. Why is that? Everyone uses inflection when they speak, don't they? But the pointing... do you ever catch yourself doing the same thing??

Now I probably won't change the way that I speak. I may, however, stop the pointing. I wonder if it makes people feel dumb? I don't know.  What are your thoughts?

Wonderful Christmas

I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas festivities!
We sure did!!

We spent Christmas Eve Evening with the kids making gingerbread houses. Talk about a new tradition., So Much Fun! We decided to make it a competition, where my parents judged the next day. We all kept our houses a secret from each other til we were done.

After a late start to our morning... Crazy I know!

We finally saw what Santa brought us in our stockings and opened our presents from the rest of the family. I think everyone had a great morning. I know I did.

The Aftermath!

Christmas in our house is always a nice relaxing day. 

We try not to go overboard with gifts for the kids. They each get 4 things (plus a gift from Santa). 

Something they WANT, something they NEED, something to WEAR, and something to READ.  

They know how many things they are getting and they understand (I hope) that we are shopping on a budget. It really forces me to put a lot of thought into their gifts and I think (hope) they have learned to appreciate that. I also hope that as they get older they will learn to appreciate the quality time we have spent together as a family and not the things that we bought them. :)

In the afternoon we spent some time with my parents, my sister and niece, and my cousins. 

Overall it was an amazing Christmas with family!

And... We get to do it all again tomorrow.

My parent, brothers, and sister and their families will be over tomorrow for the day to celebrate Christmas as a family. We are looking forward to another nice relaxing 'holiday'.

Holidazed

Can you believe it is Dec 22nd already?? -Where has the time gone?

Can you believe I have been MIA since August?? -Sorry, life just got away with me.

Can you believe we made it through Dec 21, 2012?? -Yay Us!

Things have been a little crazy in our neck of the woods. I can't even tell you where the time has gone, cause t's all a blur and I have no idea. But for now I am back and can't wait to share the holidays with you all.

It finally snowed here in the Pacific Northwest. So today, I am headed to Northern Idaho with my husband to plow some snow. Zoie loves hanging in the truck with us and we both live spending the day at work with Daddy.

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope it's great!

Embracing the Camera - September 6

It's a beautiful day here.

I was up at the crack of dawn. 

(Literally, cause that's when the dog was barking.)

But I'm glad, cause the sun is out and it is beautiful, clear morning.

Last week, the lovely Lynnette, of Photography by Lynnette gave my sister and I a beautiful picture from my sisters wedding. My sissy looked so wonderful on her wedding day. I truly love seeing her happy and this was a day full of it. Once all the stress cleared of course. (wink)

I'm not wearing the most flattering dress... but it was her day and she chose it :)

Ya, we cowgirl it up around these parts!

Go link up with Emily!

She would love to meet you all :)

My Sister's Wedding

Hello Lovelies!

As promised here is a little piece of my sisters wedding. 

The two very talented gals of Photography by Lynnette and Maggie Virgi Photography spent hours with us before, during, and after the ceremony to catch all of the nights best memories.

This video was put together by the lovely Tara Wright of Maggie Virgi Photography.
She especially did a great job when Maci refused to have her picture taken. Tara has an amazing ability to capture the most perfect candid shots. So talented!

I hope you enjoy this as much as we enjoyed the day.

You'll need to pause the music at the bottom of the blog to hear the song.

Easy like a Sunday Morning

I love mornings. I have learned to love my inability to sleep in. Sitting in the living room with my current book and a cup of coffee is sweet serenity. Even if only for a short time. It's something my mom used to do. I remember waking up early, cause I always have, and walking upstairs to see her reading a book in her blue wing back chair with her 'coffee'. Sometimes I would sit in the chair across from her and try to do the same thing. I was never able to keep still and quiet. I didn't understand what she was doing or why she enjoyed it until now.

I sit here and I can now completely understand and fully appreciate the morning quiet. I'd sit on the porch if there wasn't an imminent possibility that my feet would get licked to death by the dog. It's quiet here. No kids awake. No husband asking me what my plans for the day are. Not that I mind that, but I'm not yet ready in the early morning hours to think about my plans for the day. I want to get lost in the life of my current heroine and my cup a joe. If only for a few minutes.

It's usually not long after I wake up that I hear Zoie calling to us from her crib downstairs. This is a special time for her as well. Zach is usually the first to run down the stairs to rescue her from the confinement of the white bars of her little baby jail. She greets him with a huge toothless smile letting him
Know that she slept well and is ready to start her day. This is their special time. I rarely get greeted with the same smile if I am to get her first in the morning. It's her special time wither dad and she knows it.

I sit in the living room, just feet from the kitchen, and can hear her jabbering from her high chair. No doubt telling her daddy all about her dreams. She doesn't stop talking for at least the first half an hour. I often wish I knew what she was really saying. Oh to be lost in the dream world of a ten month old.

This morning we are off to pick green beans at Greenbluff. I have lots of canning to get done the next couple of weeks. Preparing to feed my family good wholesome food through the long winter we have here in the Inland Northwest. I remember doing this with my mom when I was growing up. Never fully appreciating it until now. I wish my mom was home to help me now, but she's probably on the east coast somewhere. Serving up drinks to unruly passengers and helping get everyone to their final destinations safely. Next year...

Weekend Recap

Hey Ya'll!
It was a busy busy weekend here as always.
We never seem to stop running.
I have high hopes that once fall rolls around things will slow down and have a bit more structure.
But who am I kidding?!?

Saturday we had services for my friend, Nick. It was a lovely service. And though the circumstances were not good, it was nice to see friends from my past that I have lost touch with. And also see family that we seem to see with far too much time between visits.

Sunday I got some work done around the house. Got my garden almost all weeded. Helped Zach take pictures of some houses for work. I even made it to Costco! On a Sunday! Eek! Then we spent the evening with friends and family for a wonderful dinner.

So.... not super busy. But we never seemed to slow down.

This week we have some new things in store. Zach has spent some time looking through my Recipes on Pinterest. He chose some new foods to try out for dinner throughout the week. I'm going to get started with that tomorrow evening and share what we have. Should make for a fun week.

Tonight we are having dinner with family and friends again! So Excited! My Aunt Jutta, who is from here, will be making one of my most favorite meals while she is in town. Bratwursts, German Potato Salad, Cucumber Salad. I can't wait!

So, that's it for now. I'm gonna leave you with a cutie pic :)

My niece, Maci-Moosa, who didn't want her pic taken.

She is nothing like me at all! 

And I stand to that :)

Dreams

I met the most interesting woman today. I met her through shopping on Craigslist. Now I know what you're thinking; "You met her on Craigslist? What could you possibly be thinking??"

But I'm not crazy! She was lovely. I bought a Little Tikes Rocking Horse from her for Zoie. She is cleaning house and cleaning out. Preparing for her families move to Florida. They are moving just because. Can you believe it? Can you think of a better reason?!? I sure can't.

She and her husband like the warm weather and surfing. Why not follow your dreams of living where you love to be outside? That's what it's really all about, isn't it? Following your dreams. I wish I was that brave. She was so inspirational. She knew exactly what she wanted out of life and she was working toward it.

I have dreams and goals and things I love. It doesn't take much more than a a goal and the ability to get off your butt to do what you want. That's all it really takes. Sure, it's scary! But what isn't these days?? We live in a time where everything is scary. People are scary, getting sick is scary, global warming is scary. Heck, even shopping on Craigslist is scary. But it doesn't have to be.

So... From here on out, I have a plan. To figure out what my real goals in life are and follow those to fulfill my dreams and have a happy heart.

What are your goals and dreams?
Are you following them?
How happy is your heart?

Maybe we all need to meet an inspirational woman to figure out that we can live however we want. Life is short. What will you do with yours?

Embrace the Camera - August 16

Hello Lovely Readers!

Welcome to my new readers!

For those of you new around here,
Thursday is the day we Embrace the Camera.

As mom's we are usually found behind the camera. This gives us the little extra push we need to get ourselves out from behind the camera and in front of it where our beautiful faces belong. You can read more about it here. Think Link-Up is hosted by the ever lovely Emily Anderson from The Anderson Crew.

So get yourself out there and go link up with Emily on
today's Embrace Post.

Today, I'd like to embrace my parents! On Monday, they celebrated their 35th Wedding Anniversary! Way to Go Mom and Dad!!! We all love you, for without you, there wouldn't be an us. My family is what it is today because of you and the values you taught me growing up. I couldn't be the mom I am today without the guidance and examples you have shown me. Thank You! 

Okay Ladies! 

Go Embrace the Camera!

A Friend

Sorry for my absence the last few days. I have been spending some time with my Aunt and my 2nd Aunt.

On Monday morning, my dear friend Nick lost his battle to cancer. It was a sad day for his family, friends, and all that were touched by him.

Nick was an amazing father of two young kiddos and husband to an amazing wife. This wonderful family has been a part if my life and a part of my families life for more than 25 years. He was my cousin's best friend growing up. His mom was like my Auntie. I don't have a single childhood memory of my cousin that doesn't include Nick. He too, was like my cousin. I will always have a special place in my heart for him.

Things will not be the same without him.
He will always be loved.
He will never be forgotten.

A Little Las Vegas

Things are finally starting to slow down around here... sort of.

The last few weeks have been ca-razy! 

It started off with Zach and I making a quick trip down to Vegas for the Furniture World Market.

That is where nearly all of the furniture vendors in the world have a store front. Twice a year, they hold a market for the worlds furniture buyers (Us) to see the new products arriving in the coming months.

How do I describe it?

HUGE!!!

Three HUGE buildings FULL of furniture!

I was in Home Decor Heaven.

I even found two things that are a must have ... for me anyway.

A chair for Zoie's room.

See that cool dresser in the background??  With the purple??

You can change out the color on the drawer!! 

How cool is that?!?

I think there were 6 colors to choose from.

The headboard and nightstands have the same feature. 

You can even put in your own pictures!
Love!

Also saw some bedding that I'm pretty sure Maci-Moose would die for.

Pink Camo!

Country Girl Must Have!!

It was a long few days full of lots of walking and testing out couches and recliners. Lots of dining room sets; you want to know the new thing in dining? Long tables. Everyone had them. Kitchen or dining tables that are only 32 or 36 inches wide, but up to 120 inches long. 

Very cool... if you have the space for it. 

I got a ton of new ideas for home decor. I love decor :)

And if you haven't noticed by shopping around online yet...

the current color to have is gray.

Get it ... Or Get Left Out!

~Enough Furniture~

The best part of our trip? 

I got to meet up with the lovely Kristine from The Foley Fam.

We met in person for the first time after being bloggy friends for almost 2 years!

How can I describe her?
AWESOME.SAUCE! (Her word, I like it) :)

Isn't she beautiful?!?

Plus... we got to eat this!

Well ... We Tried!

But after this pizza ...

We only ate about 1/2 of the dessert.

Love you girl! Can't wait to see you again in November!

We can get some of that Ube Ice Cream you can't stop talking about.

When Zach and I got home, we had exactly 2 days to get ready for my baby sisters wedding... that was happening in my front yard. Luckily my parents took care of a lot while we were gone. Thank you Parents!!

I'll try to get that blogged soon.

Til then, Peace Out Peeps!

... and a little sneak peak ...

Embracing the Camera - August 9

Good Thursday Morning!

As most of you know, Tuesday was my birthday.

WooooooHooooo for being 32!!

My Moose spent the night with us on Monday so she could be the first one to wake up and tell me Happy Birthday. #Swoon #Myheartisfull

We snapped this early morning pic under Maci's insistence.

See the bags under my eyes??

That is because Maci HAD to sleep on my bedroom floor right next to my bed. She needed to be the first to wake up and be the first to tell me Happy Birthday.

She just HAD to beat her Uncle :)

I had no idea she snored like a freight train! Where did that come from?? I think she snores worse than her Papa. We need to get those tonsils checked... Or maybe it's the gaping hole in the front of her mouth? 

Hope you all have a great day! 

Go link up with Emily.

You will meet some amazing women and find some great friends.

I did!