say, wha?

car rides with a three year do not dissapoint. i find it nearly impossible these days to simultaneously drive and roll on the floor while laughing out-loud, you know rotfwlol or whatever.
rowan always hits it out of the park at just the right times too, coincidence? or clever maneuvering?
tim was at the end of his rope with her when i got home from class-i mean steam was practically shooting out of his ears. top that with a trip to costco (where we always spend too much money) he was not in the mood.
enter rowan with song:

"roll roll, roll your boat out into the street.

mary mary me marry

life in out to sea"

then about five minutes later some gibberish led into:

rowan: 'i have a dream...mommy do you dream?' 

me: 'yup, about unicorns and narwalls (i was channeling mandy apparently)'

rowan: me too, i dream about unicorns and cheese'

tim: 'i believe the cheese part, but what do you think a unicorn is?'

rowan: 'liiike a hooorse, with sparkle shoes' 

tim: totally stumped she was on the right track when he doubted her, that is why he asked.

rowan: 'i forget what the things on hers heads looks like, take me to a farm so i can see?'

me and tim: chuckle chuckle

rowan: 'and hers vacuuuume and hers poop...'

me (interrupting): 'rainbows and glitter?'

rowan: 'no, baby unicorns. hers poop baby unicorns.'

tim: 'wait, your unicorn vacuums?'

how did i get so lucky?

drunk one-oh-one.

please don't lose followers, please don't lose followers, heck sometimes mama needs a beer too! ok, we are at the tale end of my drunken weekend of amazing-ness and i just had to share these photos that just graced my inbox. in case you were wondering, this first photo is what awesome looks like.

right: 'look, there actually was a quarter in their when i checked figuring it was just because it is what you do. that never happens!'

a more; also known as a chocolate sandwich aka s'more.

rowan experienced her first s'more tonight. it was glorious, aside from the what are you feeding me face she is making. she would alternate calling it a more and a chocolate sandwich, but either way she was a happy camper. before i show you the photos can i make you really jealous by mentioning the dinner of ribs, twice baked potatoes, pasta salad, french bread, and wine that preceded it? thanks mom! stella passed out from all of the fun slash food and we headed out to cook some marshmallows on the days yard work casualties. happy memorial day!

i can talk him in to almost anything.

tim is such a good sport<--and i say that through gritted teeth since he grumbled at me through the whole thing ('more pins in the wall? you're making a mess! the table will break.'); or rather he did it through them? haha, either way..after finding some more inspiration on my new favoritest most fabulous site ever pinterest.com, we set out to try this photo. it was a total success, so much in fact maybe we'll try it in non pajamas tomorrow.

love.

these kind of mondays are awesome.

tim is off, i see the sun trying to poke through, and we are being featured over at mama and the dudes.
as me and rowan snuggle on the couch with tom and jerry i am looking forward to some waffles and then heading outside to do some photos with sidewalk chalk. yea!
my shoulders are already peeling but my face is turning into a nice tan, i think i will start telling people we just got back from hawaii and make them insanely jealous. ok, totally kidding. see, i told you this monday was good!
later we are headed off to grandma's so i can address wedding invites and get them in the mail-once they are out i will finally reveal it here on the blog. i know you have been dyeing to see it right?
before i go, have you started your daily voting for stella yet? you can read instructions and find voting link here. we REALLY appreciate all of your help!
click here.

sasquatched.

it was a total fail this weekend photo wise, but can i really be expected to man a camera, drink a beer, and have a kick arse time all at once? no? ok, so glad you understand. so as a result of all of that there, i only got a few photos of us doing the sasquatch plus a handful of blurry phone photos-who was i kidding? like dave grohl's beautiful face was really going to turn out from a football stadium away at 11pm at night.
i am burnt and their is a inch of dirt on my feet in a flip flop pattern but i am here to promise you that as usual the gorge-sasquatch-eastern washington did not disappointed. even the mini tornado that ripped through the camping area kept us in a whirlwind of fun<---hehe.
i thought for sure my excited mood was over when amy and i got lost for 15 minutes trying to find the gorge, then when we had to wait in line for ever getting into the campground, and for sure when we somehow ended up getting discarded back in the farthest possible camping area ever. no...wait, it wasn't even gorge camping! it was like...'oh, crap we miscalculated the number of people camping' so lets ask this farmer if these people can camp in his alfalfa field amongst his sprinkler equipment and hidden pot holes. you know what though? the second i had a beer in my hand and we were headed in to watch my ALL TIME favorite band the foo fighters, i was over  it.
friday was short and sweet with just that one band we cared about seeing and then we froze or booties off waiting for saturday to come where we started off the morning with mimosas, eggs, and bacon. even though the sun was touch and go and for a second we had to do some anti-rain dances the weather was pretty good. oh! but their was a whirlwind that ripped through our area of camp, sending tents, easy ups, and folding chairs flying super high into the air and crashing back at people and cars...it was nuts! we all braced for it as we watched it's path and held down our tents. while we waited for bands we liked to start we drank the day away watching the boys through frisbies and footballs with new awesome friends.
when we finally got into the gorge for iron and wine drunk as shit amy and i somehow became the official sasquatch high-fivers...maybe it was our main walkway seat choice? it was fun except the people trying to slap our hands as hard as possible and the creep who tried to steal my beer.
when deathcab finally rolled around of course they were amazing but it was so hard to enjoy with how cold it was! all i could focus on was my shivering and i was even weraing jeans and a helly hansen coat! what the hell washington? get with the program...it is almost summer! this 60 crap is not going to fly for much longer.
so as usual, had the time of my life! got a sunburn and can't wait to do it again for soundgarden in july.
ps, i am so mad-i was totally going to bless you with a video of our high-fiveing action but the one that was taken is only 1.13 second long, boo.

we're off to one of my favorite places on the planet.

and i can say that, because i haven't been to italy or greece or anywhere uber magical and spectacular like that. unless you could england which really is just seattle with an accent and scones.
we're headed to the gorge today to see some of seriously my ALL TIME favorite bands, a place where i have seen my ALL TIME favorite band, and plan on spending summers there till i am an old lady.
tonight marks the start of the sasquatch music festival where we were lucky enough to score four day passes to. bring on the foo fighters, death cab for cutie, modest mouse, the decemberists, bassnectar, city and colour (some of our wedding music!), flaming lips, and more!!
i am over the moon! we had already spent $350 dollars on 2-day passes so when we scored the 4-day passes we handed over our tickets to some good friends in trade they have to provide all of the alcohol and food, fair trade right? lol.
this just makes me even more excited for...wait for it...soundgarden...in july! where i am hoping to bump into mandy from harper's happenings who is also going!!
now if only the f. hubs would light a fire under his butt and we can get on the road. #ughtraffic

playing in the sheets.

pinterest.com is a goldmine for photo inspiration. i just can't get enough. i seriously feel like i go to bed with all these new ideas in my head with a 'must execute idea' first thing in the morning attitude.
having three beautiful daughters as ready and willing subjects definitely makes my closet photography hobby more fun and two of the three are at a great age for talking into these impromptu photo-ops. stella, well...i take what i can get.

i can't wait to take photography fall quarter, i have an open mind going into it but i feel like the teachings will be a little beyond what i already know. i am looking more for perfecting my skill at this point. i guess we will see, and i am sure i will constantly be posting my homework here on the blog.
so onto my idea...i got the inspiration from here and changed it up a bit to fit my bouncy three year old.

did you notice her new hair?! we chopped off 4+ inches yesterday and i am pretty sure i died a little inside. her hair was down to her bottom almost and i got a lot of scolding about i better not cut it, but my response to that was alway, 'oh, then are you going to come to my house everyday and wash and brush that?' 'no? that is what i thought' plus, it'll grow back and be a little more manageable since i am pretty sure we just said good-bye to all that was left of her super fine curly baby hair. ugh, tear.

how fun are these two nuggets?

thursday.

we had all intentions of cleaning today; then i sat down with a freshly charged laptop and started pinning and editing the morning away.
now it is almost lunch (followed by the glorious afternoon nap) time and i still am planted firmly on couch covered in computer still doing the same thing.
stella has found a wipe (a fresh new one) and is simultaneously cleaning every surface in the house while sucking out it's contents and rowan is equally parts engrossed in a game of angry birds (level 21) and an episode of tom and jerry.
oh great now stella is handing us tiny pieces of said wipe.

...our life.

what i got to play with yesterday.

this is the delicious hailey, newest peanut of my best friend kira. she turn six months old this week and i can't believe these are the first photos i am getting of her.
also did i mention that florabella's sheer haze action is my go to these days? i love how it is so simple but adds so much to my photos!

an odd day at the zoo, a great day with friends.

a day lacking animals but over-flowing with great mama's and conversation.
what turned out as a simple meetup turned into a full blown bogging mama's day at the zoo. i don't know what was up but we saw two animals-monkeys and tigers. that didn't stop us though from enjoying the day with our little nuggets.
there was emily and poppy, racheal and charlie, mandy and bennett, me and stella and rowan, keranda and austin and bella, amy and parker, mandy and harper, and not pictured jill and corbin.

an epic weekend up in here.

we made sure to soak up every ounce of fun we could out of this weekend. if you saw my post a few days ago, you know it was the pacific northwest for the win with sun every day this week that spilled over to the weekend with only a couple little showers yesterday.

friday we spent the day playing, going on walks around our apartment community, eating otter pops, and a night cap of park play. 

on saturday we woke up and headed to edmonds marina for some exploring. i hadn't been down there for years but remembered it is a great spot to turn over rocks and find some cool sea life. we found crabs of all sizes and tim had fun bringing them up to stella to check out. she was all smiles on the beach banging rocks together while we explored. 

then last night was a epic celebration for my aunts 50th birthday-a bunch of family was in town and i had the best time ever. the girls were so well behaved and rallied without tears or complaint until almost midnight. rowan even kept us entertained with her hilarious shenanigans. i won't lie, i had a lot to drink and i even woke up in my clothes from the night before, oops. um, and hello my kids slept in till 10am.

and the icing on the cake? my ruffle camera strap finally came!

mah week(s) through vignette.

taking a homework break to sneak in my phone photos post. i am going to cheat a post a couple of photos from last weekend since i apparently slept through the link up last week.

sweet and salty cookie orgasm in your mouth, sunburn, enjoying the last of the sunshine at the park, on a walk, rainbow layer cake, trying on our halloween costume early, pnw for the win, impromptu biology entertainment, we won a giveaway from adeline's daddy, pigs at our audiology appointment, bridal shower invites, and watching the dough rise.

you're welcome.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites (Dipped in Chocolate!)

photo and recipe via http://17andbaking.com

Makes around 45-60 bite sizes sandwiches

1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp butter, room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Pretzels
2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips

In a small bowl, beat the peanut butter and butter together until smooth and creamy. Beat in the powdered sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract until well mixed – you may need to add more to get the filling thick and stiff enough to hold its shape.

Roll teaspoons of the peanut butter mixture between your palms to form balls. Sandwich between two pretzels and put on a plate or cookie sheet. Freeze the pretzel sandwiches for half an hour.

Melt the chocolate chips, using the microwave (30 second intervals) or a double boiler. Dip half of each pretzel sandwich in chocolate. Return the tray to the freezer and chill until the chocolate sets. Store the Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites in the refrigerator until serving time.

pnw for the win.

i know i know, you n. carolina's and floridians are all up in your ninety-degrees and boob sweat but this is big for us. i don't think there have been this many sunny days in a row scheduled for us poor pacific northwester's since...well, last summer. i might be able to check somethings off our summer bucket list and we're not even done with may yet.

our two-thousand-and-eleven summer bucket list.

here we are half way through may and we have barely made it out of the 50's here in the pacific northwest. today i started thinking about all the fun things that are to be had once we make it past july 5th...see there is a little joke around here that we don't really warm up until then.
so to get us excited about the warm weather that is just around the corner...i can feel it! i have started our summer bucket list. if you followed me last year you saw that we got about half way through-i am ok with that though, it was still a kick arse summer filled with concerts, camping, the beach, and sun. i am letting last years list flow into this one since a lot of the items were things that are seattle summer must-do's.

trip to oregon coast

camping at lake kachess

hike with stella

live without cable

hike with all three girls

make and follow a budget

build a contest worthy sand castle

hike to lake ozette near forks (yes, from twilight)

fly kites in oceanshores

make homemade playdough

visit the seattle aquarium

have a garage sale

have a blogger play-date in june, july, and august

make coffee can ice cream

take photos at kerry park

walk green lake

visit at least three parks we have never been to

buy ice cream from an ice cream truck

get a pedicure

trip to pdx to see the paper mama.

date night with tim

cloud watch

make cookies

visit point defiance zoo

host a game night or two

richmond beach

picnic point beach

have a fire at golden garden (w/ or w/o kids tbd)

walk around the locks

see an outdoor concert

play at a spray park

swim in the columbia

wakeboard

cliff jump at sun lakes

deception pass trip

go exploring at low tide at edmonds beach

ride a ferry for fun

actually attend play group

lead a play group

plan and have the pnw blogger meet-up

play in the fountain at seattle center, the kids...not me

family photos

jump planet

take the kids to the science center

see an imax movie

visit a farmers market

pick out yummy fruit at pikes place market

play miniature golf with zoe

write a real letter and mail it with a stamp and everything

have a living room movie party

hike to a waterfall with rowan

have a water balloon fight. outside this time tim!

go to the solstice parade and watch the naked bike riders, eek

color with sidewalk chalk till the kids can't stand it anymore

read the bible daily

have a picnic

bbq at a park

build a fort

take a nap in a hammock

get married!

to be continued...

we would love to hear what your doing this summer, maybe we can all get some new great ideas!

the blonde.

frost.

how else could you possibly top off an awesome weekend of family fun? with a doughnut lunch? the answer is yes of course. ever since they opened frost near us (like last summer, ha) i have been wanting to try it. we were all about top pot and voo-doo before but dare i say...frost's bacon maple really gives voo-doo's a run for it's money.
the girls had fun watching them make the doughnuts through the windows near our tables; towards the end though the shop was getting really busy so i convinced them to leave and give up our table on the bribe that we could watch youtube videos on how doughnuts are made when we got home-they held me to it!
my only regret...i didn't get on the other side of the camera at all! ha, did you think i was gonna say that i cheated on my diet with a doughnut? cause eff no, the white chocolate truffle with raspberry old-fashioned i had was well worth avoiding the scale tomorrow!