junkin'

New to me, but probably not to you, fantastic blogs about one of my all time faves....turning something forgotten into something new!! Check 'em out:

Barn House

Seabold Vintage Market

worthy goods

Monticello Antique Marketplace

Today's Country Store

two!

I didn't mention at all, in the midst of all our summer comings and goings, that our pups celebrated their second birthday last Saturday. But they did. Franklin and Mavis are officially two years old. They have mellowed much, do all their bathroom business outside (like good dogs), LOVE to run, hate to get baths, enjoy licking faces, chasing animals smaller than them and knocking down unsuspecting children. In order to the keep the peace with the neighbors, however, Mavis is unfortunately learning she can not bark all the live long day. Hence, the red bark collar. They've spent their week being two at the dog park and the farm getting dirty, wet and meeting lots of new friends of the four and two leg variety.

Happy Birthday Mavis and Franklin!

Love your people.

water works

Well folks, we finally got some weather that not only stuck around, but warranted dragging out the old kiddie pool and slip 'n slide. The kids are over the moon! I'm currently listening to them squeal in delight and bicker over nothing....and everything. This is the stuff memories are made from.

touch base tuesday

So as it seems the rest of the country is having a major heat wave, my little corner of the world is not. It's been chilly. It's been rainy. It's been dreary. And, it's been gray. Oh sure, we've had a few brushes with sunshine here and there. The temps would actually climb into the high 70s. Even touch the 80s. Everyone would rejoice, claiming "summer had finally arrived", only to be disappointed the next day when we plummeted back into the 60s.

We've managed to keep ourselves busy anyway. El Fuego had his turn at Camp Grandma last week. And, Miss Divine returned for pony camp at the end of the week. They both had a blast and came back dirty and tan.

In the big kids' absence, Miss Petite and I had a big yard sale with the neighbors in our driveway. Miss P enjoyed selling lemonade with the lemonade stand she got for her birthday. She racked in some bucks too, although I'm not quite sure how she did it. I wasn't paying much attention to her sales so it came to a big surprise to me when I saw her loot.

The kids started swim lessons yesterday. It's an outdoor pool and of course it was raining. They loved swimming in the 92 degree water while it was drizzling on their heads. They thought it was the best thing ever in fact. The girls can not wait until tomorrow for their second lesson. El Fuego is a little more cautious about it all. He is still warming up to the whole idea.

Speaking of El Fuego, he is about two weeks away from his 10th birthday. I can hardly believe it. I mean, ten!! TEN! Not only that, today Miss Petite has a doctor appointment for her pending entry into kindergarten. When did my babies start growing up?? Although, if you happen to be in my neck of the woods that fabulous day in September, when all three kids pile onto the bus leaving for the SAME school with the SAME schedule....you might just witness me doing the happy dance.

Another reason for happy dances? School supplies! I do love the smell of school supplies. Last night I snuck out and got all three kids stocked up for the year. I'm so relieved to have it done and separated per kid. We just need to label everything and pack it up. Yippee!

Things not so happy dance worthy? My dryer died. I haven't washed a load of clothes since last week. It's starting to get a little desperate in the undergarment department. Luckily my handy husband has the fix under control. The part is due to arrive soon and we'll be up and running again shortly.

Well folks, I'm thinking that about wraps up Touch Base Tuesday. I think I've dripped on long enough. If you got this far, I now proclaim you a saint full of patience and kindness. If you stopped reading half way through, well, I don't blame you. Not the most exciting post is it. And, no pictures?? What gives?!

Hope you are enjoying your Tuesday!

loves

I'm lovin' Duck Tape!!

Not just any duck tape but color, printed duck tape that I can do this 

and this! 

It's never been so easy to pull a birthday party together.

I'm lovin' Brett Dennen!

Seriously this kid can sing and his words speak to my soul. Not to mention we are a tad biased to red hair around these parts.

I'm lovin' robins!!

Ever since our Bird Project, we've been ga-ga over these birds.

Truth is, I've been smitten with robins since I was young. We had one as a pet. No joke! See:

Let me introduce you to Robbie. My mother rescued this baby bird when it had a broken leg (or wing, I can't remember which) and nursed him back to health. He lived with us for a good while. After he healed, he would fly during the day and come home at night....until one evening he didn't come home. I'm thinking he found a mate and raised a little family of his own.

I'm lovin' Daisy Fuentes favorite tees!!

I have two. Black and gray. Now that I weigh the same as my wedding day (60 pounds down), I could wear one every day, ya know, if it wasn't for that stinky, having to wash clothes thing.

I'm lovin' cherries!!

We hit up the local farmer's market last week and scored five pounds of cherries for five bucks. We've been eating cherries with every meal and snack since. They are most delicious.

I'm lovin' Plants vs Zombies!

I recently bought the app/game for my phone. El Fuego and I have been hooked ever since. It's seriously entertaining even though battery charging happens frequently.

I'm lovin' Skype!

Free online video chatting with my bestie in Michigan is a blasty blast!

It's like we are in each other's living rooms. What could be better? Well, actually being in a living room together I suppose. But this is the next best thing so I say "Yay Skype!!"

the bird project :: and then there was none

 Yesterday, by pure accident, I happened to video a brief moment of one of the Robin parents feeding the babes. Little did I know this would be one of the last times, we would see all three together. A few nights back, Ms. Redbreast stopped sleeping in the nest with the babies. Or stopped sleeping on their heads rather. However, the two parents would spend their entire days flying back to the nest for meal times.

Today I stepped up to a snap a picture because two of the babies had been very active. I wanted to score a photo before they started leaving the nest. I knew the pending flights would be soon.....I just didn't expect it to be TODAY!

Which makes me wonder. Is this how it's going to feel when my own children leave the nest?? I don't think I will survive if it is.

(Taken through window)

Bird number one about to jump ship.

Bird number two quickly followed suit.

And, then about an hour later, baby number three decided to take a leap of faith. I took a video of our last baby birdie about to fly off on its newest journey. It takes a while for it to decide to go but it is a momentous moment. Well to us anyway.

We can see the babies out and about, dodging into bushes and exploring their new world. The parents will continue to stay close feeding them and protecting them. The babies will practice their flying skills and learn how to feed themselves. Then in a few days they will fly off to find their own mates and own territories. For this is their parents' territory.

It's exciting and oh so very sad at the same time. We've grown accustom to greeting our birds every morning and saying goodnight before we turn off the porch light every night.

So with a slightly heavy heart, on this day, the sixteenth of July, I announce The Bird Project complete.

turning ten

El Fuego is on the cusp of turning into a tween. The big one, zero is upon us. That's right double digits from here on out.

We've known what theme we wanted for his tenth party for a while now. We just didn't really have our heads wrapped around the logistics. We decided we would meet up at the local skate park and have friends bring their scooters, skateboards, or bikes for a fun time.

Tiny Prints (link removed per companies request) supplied us with these awesome and oh so perfect invitations.

This week, El Fuego and I did some party shopping. We found these boxes at the Paper Zone for different and fun favors. Our plan is to fill the boxes up with a water bottle, a bag of chips (or snack) and a toy perhaps. El Fuego found the cute flags at the local party store. And the checkered tape was at Michaels.

Since we will be at the skate park, we haven't decided on food yet. I'm thinking maybe donuts in place of a cake for the kids. Still working out all that out. Stay tuned!

be still my heart

While away on our camping trip, the weather the first day was less than desirable. It was a teeny tiny bit miserable actually. So we decided to drive into the town of Westport WA to check out the sites and spend the day out of the chilly, drizzly, beach weather. On the way out, we drove past this darling Antique store and decided to stop. Instant mood picker upper it was!!! I loved every inch of this place. And, the prices were at least half of what I would expect. If the car wasn't loaded with camping gear, this would be a very dangerous place for me to visit.

My photos don't do the shop justice, but it gives a little sampling at least. Enjoy!

the bird project :: part two

While on vacation last week our little Bird Project doubled in size and changed dramatically. I checked on the babies before we left and they were still fuzzy and pink and tiny. Nothing had really changed since they hatched.

But four days later, we returned home to birds that actually resemble birds. They are darker and feathers have filled in. They open their eyes and sleep all the time.

Ms. Redbreast spends her day patrolling for meals. She flies back and fourth all day long. And, when she finally settles down for the night, there isn't room for her in the nest she built. So she sits on her babies' heads.

It is a sight to see at night....

Mama perched on top of her nest and little beaks sticking out from under her belly.

It seems to be our house has become a bit of a bird sanctuary. Not only did we return home to find our robin Bird Project bigger and stronger, but we found a Chickadee had built herself a nest inside the eaves. It's high up and we can't see anything but the Chickadee flying in and out.

grayland beach state park

Oh man, I left you hanging with that visit to the zoo didn't I?! Truth is, this last week has been so full of fun activities and even 'funner' people. Mr. Hawthorne has been on vacation so we've been living it up! So, I've been away from computer. I was thinking about you all though!! (wink, wink)

Our big adventure for the month of July was a camping trip to Grayland Beach State Park. We reserved a yurt, which happens to be my new favorite way to camp. Tent camping is just too Blair-Witchy for me. I feel exposed and cold and I don't sleep causing me to be a crabby camper. Yurts are awesome because you are still roughing it but you have a locking door, beds off the floor and heat!

And, let me tell you, heat came in very handy this camping trip because we left the 80 degree weather in our city and was welcomed to a balmy 50ish degree beach weather. My hair was not happy about that and neither was my body. It was freezing! And, I was sort of second guessing this trip the beach. (Shhh, don't tell Mr. Hawthorne!)

Luckily, our first night was the worse, weather wise, and besides forgetting to pack socks for Miss Divine our camping trip was a huge success.

The sun came out to warm us up. Our camp site was cool too! The kids spent oodles of time climbing trees, building a fairy village, riding scooters and making friends with the kids next to us.

The next day, we drove into Westport WA to see the sites. Our first stop was at the most charming antique shop. I was in heaven!! (more about that later).

Much like our trip to Cape Disappointment last year, we enjoy scoping the land for lighthouses. We visited the tallest lighthouse in Washington state where all five of us climbed 135 steps to get to the top.

I love that my brood enjoys the amazing lighthouses as much as I do. It's rewarding and downright awesome! Unlike last year, Miss Petite was able to go to the top too. She was delighted!

Hands-on learning environments rock! My most favorite part me thinks!

Certificates were rewarded once we reached the ground again. All three kids were beaming!! It was made extra special by the volunteer (an ex-school principal) which made me extra happy.

It wasn't all learning and exploring though. We threw in some good ole fashion fun too. We had El Fuego at go-kart! That kid is made for speed and he loved every minute of it.

Even Miss Petite was able to drive with some daddy help. You could hear her yelling "go faster!" and "bump him!"

We spent a great deal on the beach too in spite of the chilly temps. Wave chasing, kite flying, jelly fish finding, and sand castle building was had by all five of us.

Of course, s'mores were made every night too. Games of hide and seek were played in the sand dune area in the middle of the camp sites with the neighboring kids as well.

We warmed ourselves up with campfires and enjoyed being outside.

We stayed up late and tuckered ourselves out.

De-sanding a certain five year old a regular basis was the biggest challenge.

The kids loved every minute of it.

Per usual, all good things must come to end and we are home now. Resting up and cleaning the beach and campfire smell out of everything. Mr. Hawthorne goes back to work tomorrow (sniff).

Back to life...