from the backyard

more work on the fireman

Today I needed to make more progress on Fireman Sam. Justin wanted to make one too.

fireman construction + bachelorette viewing

I sat on the sofa tonight and tried with all my might to make Fireman Sam out of fondant.  I made a few body parts and a huge mess.  But still the best thing about Monday nights is watching The Bachelorette.

a hot summer day! finally!

Justin hates having water on his face, specifically in his eyes... even in the bath he is always all "my eyes, my eyes!"  in a very dramatic and slightly annoying fashion.  But today... he only wiped his face off 3 times - and he was totally soaked head to toe!  It was awesome!  Maybe there is hope afterall that he will take a shower someday.  {he has told me he was planning on taking baths for the rest of his life because he doesn't want to risk water in eyes from the shower}  He kept telling me how much fun he was having as he ran around and around. 

After getting totally drenched by the hose and laughing and having a ton of fun... Justin's eyes caught a butterfly!  He grabbed his net and tried with all his might to catch it!  He got SO close!

 

short stack

Justin's breakfast order today:  4 big pancakes and 9 "baby" ones.

Oh LEGOS!  All over the floor and couch.  And when I say all over, I really mean all over.  Good thing they are tiny. 

Oregon strawberries

...are amazing

...and they make they best freezer jam!

Justin was the "smashman"

fungi

Found this gigantic mushroom in the parking lot at work today. It was nearly a foot in diameter. I was kinda waiting for a smurf or gnome to come out of it and say hello.

open for business

When I got home from work today Justin let me know that he needed to go to work. He then set up shop in the hallway... "I don't have any customers" he told me. I was trying to make dinner and wishing that the cats could be his customers, but I knew that wasn't a realistic option, so I ordered up some balloons.

lights

Justin insisted that we needed these LED lights for out front.  I am glad he did - I like them!

more beautiful get well flowers!

little presents

I told Justin that it was Father's Day today and I love that his first instinct was to go make something for his dad.  He wrapped up one of his small water balloons in a piece of paper and attached another balloon to the outside. 

Justin never did give the presents he made to his dad - I think he forgot about them right after making them.  Afterall it really is the thought that counts!

Just prior to this Justin got his first ever nose bleed.   We had been outside and he went inside to find his hockey puck so he could play and I stayed out and deadheaded a few flowers.  I heard him shuffling around the house and sniffiling, but didn't think much of it until he came to the door with bloody toilet tissue remnants in hand and fairly covered in blood.  I have never had a nose bleed before so I had no idea what to do, but he and I got through it.  I find it very sweet that Justin tried to clean up his nose himself before seeking me out.  At the rate this guy picks his nose I am surprised he hasn't had a bloody nose before. 

get well flowers

I stayed in bed today until 2:00pm.  Which was exactly what I wanted. 

pain pain go away

Severe pelvic pain sent me to the ER Thursday night. An ovarian cyst. Ouch. IV meds helped the pain and after an ultrasound and some rest I was given some percocet and told to call the first thing in the morning and get in ASAP to see the gyno. But at 5:00am the pain was kicking my butt and I went back and got admitted. The pain was likely from the cyst rupturing, which is a good thing as it means I won't need surgery. I waited until 2:00 for the doctor to make her way to me and at that point I was feeling signifcantly better. After several more hours of rest I was released and sent home.

where is the sun?

This non-summer like weather is getting me down.  It is June and it feels like March.  I need some sunshine and warmth. 

I see hearts

blue eyes

Baby Kitty {aka Harlow} still has the softest fur and the bluest eyes. She really is a terrific kitty. She still is quite a petite little thing, and looks very much like a baby. Her favorite place to nap is on my bed snuggled up to Justin's pillow.

Paxil in the grass

bye family

This weekend was way too short.  On Sunday afternoon Justin and I headed back to Portland, Mom back to Spokane and Nick and Molly back to Atlanta.  Didn't we just get here?  Can't we hang out longer? 

Molly, Nick and Amanda

and

Justin, me, Nick and Amanda

(what you don't see in this picture is the strangest farmers burn in my history!  poor sunscreen application on my part is totally to blame)

We had to wait forever for a table for breakfast, but it was well worth the wait. And it gave us all some time to chat and snap a few pictures.  After eating Nick and Molly had to high tail it to the airport and we went back to Amanda's place.  Since I had forgotten my camera the night before I had to get some pictures of the graduation cupcakes.  I should have made her put the cap and gown back on for this photo.

My kiddo was tired.  We didn't get near enough sleep this weekend and it was showing.  But the kid was so good this weekend.  Very well behaved.  He's awesome!

I am happy with the way the cupcakes turned out and the vanilla bean buttercream on top was super yum! 

graduation day

An 8:12 am call from Nick jolted us from our comfy hotel beds. After the free hotel breakfast and a stop at Starbucks we picked up the graduate and met Nick and Molly at Tully's.

We had time to kill so we went to the bookstore and made a pit stop to pick up some sunscreen. Both of which were great ideas - I grabbed this great visor for Justin, which totally helped keep the sun off his face and out of his eyes. It was so hot there on the bleachers in Husky stadium.

Although as hot as we were, it certainly could not compare to how warm and uncomfortable the 100's of graduates must have been in their black caps and gowns.

Amanda found us in the crowd and took this picture... Where's Waldo?

hotel

are we there yet?
no, not yet
are we there yet?
no, soon...
when will we be there?
It is about 190 miles from our house to Amanda's. A solid 3+ hours of driving.
We made it.  The only picture I took today was of Justin chilling in the hotel lobby while we waited for mom/grandma to arrive.  

24 cupcakes

Cupcake baking tonight for Auntie Amanda's graduation celebration this weekend.

Justin got into the bandaids tonight after bath and had a total of five all over his body.

my only peonie

After 3 years, or has it been 4, I finally got a bloom. Just one. The wind and rain knocked it down so I clipped it and brought it inside. These are by far my favorite flower! I see quite a few peonies have bloomed around the neighborhood. Is it bad that I am consider going out late at night and stealing the blooms?

happy birthday nicole

Happy 19th Birthday Nicole!

Part of the party was to craft paper butterflies, here Justin is working hard on his...

Later he blew on dandilions with Aria.

Rainbow cake

This amazing and fun cake has been on my "to bake" list ever since I first saw it on another blog. Tina asked me to make a cake for Nicole's 19th birthday and I was so happy when she suggested the rainbow cake.

guess what? it rained today...

...which was probably for the best, because I had a ton of cupcake toppers to make. Little purple graduation caps and U of W logos.

Justin spent the bulk of his day getting frustrated with his legos and with me for my lack of interest in playing legos.  There are a lot of things that Justin and I can play together, but legos is not one of them.  Sorry kiddo. 

It's June right?

Today, after a lot of crummy wet weather, it was nice.  We had our coffee out on the back deck while soaking up some sun.

I also set out the first jug of sun tea as well.  I hear the weather is slated to turn back to rain again...