I laugh and laugh

One of my very favorite Jan Michael quotes from this week:

Me: "Sweetie, do you want to go for a hike? It's very nice outside."

My husband: "But I just want to take a rest! Why don't we hike in our heads?!"

Spreading the swine

Tee hee hee!

More valley lovelies

I was just saying to Jan Michael the other day that this year, more than any other, I'm so aware of how really beautiful it is out here. As much as I l-o-v-e summer, I sort of wish spring would last a little longer than usual - I want to have plenty of time to take it all in. Dessert for my eyes, that's what it is :)

Pastoral

This is to combat the horrifying spectacle of the previous post, although for the record, I'm totally down with the moustache, mohawk, and green suit :)

I love living in this valley. It's quite perfect.

Battle of the bands

April 18, 2009: Rock Band Party I. We brought serious skills, serious threads, and even more serious facial hair.










The lowdown: 3 sets, 4 songs each. Disco ball in effect. Fog machine also in affect, but only for about 3 seconds because it set off the smoke alarm.


DISCO LEDERHOZEN

VS.

BEES AND TREES

VS.

DR. ACULA

We battled long into the night, and in the end....

DISCO LEDERHOZEN were crowned the champions. It's pretty hard to beat a band whose members have matching fingernail polish.

In July...

you will find us here. The two of us + Derek and Sara + two canoes on the Upper Missouri River in Montana = awesome.

Another fine weekend

We spent all the live long weekend with Derek and Sara, shooting hoops at the YMCA, doing squat thrusts and core pushups in their living room, eating Sara's tasty meals, playing a lengthy game of Phase 10, having a good Bible study, discussing a canoe adventure for the summer, and then this afternoon, riding the cruisers into downtown Olympia for lunch and some time at the waterfront. All most delightful, as is the case whenever we spend time with D and S. Thanks again, you two!

The most useful information you'll find today.

How very lucky for all of you that have been waiting with baited breath for my latest, most favorite green smoothie concoction, because just today I have discovered the best ingredients yet (Jan Michael disagrees, but nevermind). If you would simply combine....

2 cups spinach
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 c blueberries
1 orange
Water

....in your blender, you will make your own day, and I mean it. You will have enough to fill 1-1/2 A&W Rootbeer mugs, which will fill you up and also cause you to sigh with great satisfaction at how well you are feeding your little body.

Down the lane

Today we took a quick peek at this little lake, which is just a hop, skip and a jump from our house. Really, it's only about 5 blocks away.
It even has a boat launch! Derek and Sara, we see a picnic/canoe double date in our future!

Great big birthday love...

to our #1 #1 mom. How THANKFUL we are to belong to you!

"I regard no man as poor who has a Godly mother." Abraham Lincoln

Boy wonders

All of us

When we were all together a couple of weekends ago, we had a quick family photo shoot. We hadn't done this since Little D was a baby, so it was high time. I think we're planning another session later in the spring - I'm excited because we live in such a beautiful area and will be able to get lots of really fun 'on location' shots.

One of my favorite things about these, besides the actual subjects of course, are the colors in the background.

Lovely ladies!

Derek's faces had Jan & I in stitches. I'm sure we were encouraging him, but we couldn't help it :)

Ordinary miracle

This is for our Mama, because today is her birthday and because years ago she began looking for everyday miracles and does it still, and because we love her.

Togetherness

Such a whirlwind of a weekend for us! We spent a very quiet Saturday morning with my parents and then all afternoon and evening at Jan's parents' house with the entire clan, celebrating our Dad's 65th birthday. Shame on me for not taking a single picture - what on earth was I thinking, anyway? On Sunday we were a part of the baptism of Sebastian, precious baby boy of our good friends Soren and Leyla. He is darling and charming and so pleasantly chubby - and very patient with being passed back and forth 200 times between his adoring fans :)


Proud mama and daddy!
Jan was hopping the entire time - putting together programs and filming the whole ceremony...
and getting in some good conversation with the younger set. I will never, ever get over those cheeks.
Such a treat to be with the old gang!

We're still here!

I've tried and tried to think of something new and delightful to post on here, but the truth of it is that the last month and a half has been a time of hunkering down in our little house and spending lots of quiet, simple hours together. Besides, we're both under the weather just now, and the most effort I've put into anything this week is cleaning our disaster of a kitchen. We have some fun things planned for the last weekends of February, though, and that should give us enough pictures and memories for a handful of posts. I just feel like I need to provide some explanation as to why our poor blog is leaning toward lame these days. That's all for now; over and out.

P.S. My brother told me this week that he's heard from several people, who are readers of the Farmer's Almanac, that the month of February is supposed to be worse than December in terms of the amount of snow. Goodness gracious, what a terrible thought.

A new leaf

Today I accomplished the following:

- Walked 4 miles
- Did an ab video and part of a legs/buns video
- Ate vegetables three different times
- Drank 8 glasses of water
- Remembered to take my vitamins

Now, because I spent most of January eating immense piles of junk and lying in a lethargic heap, complaining about the weather, I had forgotten how uplifting it is to make good, healthy choices. So, here's to a brand new month, with lots of opportunities for lively habits. Want to join me? :)