She might look like Daddy but she's a lot like Mama! (and what we've been up to)

When I arrange things Jim says I have mild OCD. (I may... how many other people eat colored candy in pairs arranged by color?) When his darling girl lined up all of the cones he was trying to use for soccer he said she's "linear". Funny how the title is different for different people.
After putting them in a line she paired them up carefully around the yard. This took a while and a LOT of concentration - what could be going through that little mind?

And just goofing off...

She now knows where popsicles are kept and goes to the freezer saying "sicle" many times a day.

We made playdough,

met cousins at the wading pool,

practiced guitar with Daddy,

and helped Mama make homemade lemonade.

The girls liked strawberry best, Dad liked blueberry. (We picked blueberries from a local farm that morning - YUM!) I wish you could have seen how beautiful the colors were. I tried to capture it, but this is the best picture I could get.

Look at her DEVOUR that burger... Oh wait, nope it's a Gardenburger. That's my girl!

And totally unrelated, I've been making belts! This one is probably my favorite. Jim got a navy one and an olive one, I got this one, chocolate, charcoal, and olive. I got the webbing and hardware from an Etsy site (I just searched for "belt buckles"). No tools required, just cut the webbing and crimp the ends of the hardware. I think they cost about 5-6 bucks a piece. MUCH better than the price in the stores!

There are only a few weeks left of vacation so I'm trying to enjoy the time with Stella as much as possible. She actually napped on my chest the other day - AH HEAVEN!!!!

I guess she didn't like it

Our girl LOVES music. She dances to all of our stuff, Taylor Swift always makes her smile, and when the kiddy tunes (the obnoxious ones that get stuck in my head for the rest of the day) come on in the car her arms are sure to be waving. We really haven't found much she doesn't like... other than one Beyonce song that was on the Ellen show.

Yesterday, Jim's niece was over trying to escape the heat in her apartment. She was playing his electric guitar trying to figure out Cat Power's version of "Sea of Love". I was holding Stella and when I looked down this is what I saw:

I can only assume she isn't a fan!

Just a few of the reasons

I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a little girl! I'm so thrilled to have a little pal to do things with. At almost 19 months my little lovely loves to help cook, clean, and sew. I'm sure she'd love to do other crafts too if I let her. (Yes, I realize I would have loved a boy, but I'm pretty sure the list would be different.)

I'm not really a girly girl, but it's sure fun to dress her up!

She likes to dress herself up too... She's just now getting big enough to enjoy some quiet cuddling time again. We spent almost an hour that morning with her laying on me. Believe me, I soaked up every second of it!Plus, you can't make nearly as cute of little outfits for boys! I made this dress Sunday and she wore it that night to a family dinner. Sweet Jim says it's his favorite thing I've ever made (any clothes I make for her look SO stinking cute though - that's just what she does!) She's at that age where it's tough to get her to hold still for pics, so here's the best I could do. (She's putting "powder" on Uncle Jeff)

I new I wanted to make a 70's looking dress with this fabric, and I LOVE sewing with the elastic thread. I think I may even use it for a skirt for myself! I know I'll be saving this dress... maybe one day she'll use it for a little one of her own.

There's been so much other fun stuff, but this post is getting out of control. I will leave you with pics of one of our new favorite things... OUTSIDE SHOWERS!!! We hook up a hose to the kitchen sink to get warm water and she takes a shower in the back yard. She LOVES it (and I would too if there weren't neighbors all around!) Plus, I don't have to be up in the bathroom with her taking a bath. It's WAY too hot for that these days.

Not my plan

I'm facing dissappointment this morning head on. I'm trying to have faith that there is a plan even if it's not the plan I would choose. I am beyond content and things will work out the way they are supposed to.

She did it her way

One of my closest friends (and college roomie) got married Sunday. They've been together for more than 9 years and are such a great couple. The setting was beautiful! Hannah is not a "bride" - in fact, she wouldn't even let people use that word. She's not religious, hates "crafts", and the thought of a wedding made her break out in hives I think. However, once she started thinking of the day as a party I think she had a blast. It was kind of Day of the Dead/Rockabilly, perfect for them! Check out their duds. :)

She made all of those tissue paper flowers to hang from the tree (and she says she hates crafting!) What a lovely isle.

The priceless look on her face during her sisters toast.

The most incredible cakes ever! I was SO glad she wasn't the wedding kind of girl while I was eating. I had the chocolate mocha, Jim had the coconut lime. We both said they were the best we've had. I think that all "chicks getting hitched" should get several amazing cakes to choose from rather than one big one. (Some of the older guests at several points during the reception asked her if they could help themselves. Um, I realize it wasn't a traditional wedding, but when have you just gone up and helped yourself to cake before it's cut?!?!)

Hannah and I.

And just for comparison - Hannah and I more than 9 years ago at my traditional wedding. UGH!! At least we can look back and laugh. I look forward to laughing at the one above with you 9 years from now! I'm so happy for both of you!

A. MA. ZING!!!!

I don't know what else to say about the Coldplay concert Saturday. If you haven't been - GO! This is only the second time they've been to the Seattle area, and both times they were simply fantastic. And... if you've never been to a concert at the Gorge Amphitheater - GO! I don't think that there is a more beautiful place to watch/listen to a concert in the entire country. The acoustics are phenomenal and you get to sit and watch the sunset over the Columbia River. These pictures simply do not do it justice. I took them with my phone because I was the only one too chicken to sneak in my little camera. The girls are supposed to email me their pictures so if I get any good ones maybe I'll post those later. This is the view from our "seats". Stage to the left, river straight ahead and all of the way along our right. Check out those sun rays even on a crummy cell phone camera!

I guess I didn't get a good sunset picture. :( This was the best I took (with my finger in it) and believe me, it got MUCH more beautiful than this!

Ah... it begins. We were all giddy. I still don't know what my favorite part was. We all did the cell phone wave when it got dark (I'm not sure the exact # of people, but my friend guessed about 30,000 all doing the wave with the lights on their phones was pretty cool!), the band running half way up the hill to the left and playing an acoustic version of Green Eyes (one of my fav

songs), and then playing

Billie Jean from that same spot, or the entire crowd singing across the gorge. Their concerts are SO interactive! I've basically spent the past 15 minutes going through youtube videos from the concert and reliving it - I could watch them daily.

Sunday on the way home we stopped at Lake Cle Elum which is one of our favorite little stops everytime we drive over the mountains. It's SO quiet and peaceful. We'd love to buy property in Cle Elum and just pitch a tent.
More updates on Stella to come, for now I'm going to go back to watching videos from this weekend.

Busy with all things summer

It's so great having both spouses have summer vacation off! We're all having ridiculous amounts of fun. Here's a little picture diary of just SOME of the summer activities we've been enjoying:

Hanging out with Dad in the monster truck.

Cooling off in the pool and/or sprinkler.

Sidewalk chalk.

Mama's little helper.

Our new t-ball/bat.

Ice cream cones.

You can't see them very well, but I made hanging candle holders out of shakers from the $ store to go above our patio table. Seriously ups the cozy factor!

Helping a friend with decorations for her blow - out (and by that I mean wedding)

Picking strawberries...

to make 2 batches of freezer jam and to freeze a ton for smoothies!

Picnic at the beach. (one of my personal favorites)

4th of July view from my aunt and uncles deck

Enjoying the show with Nona. I wasn't sure how she'd do but she LOVED them! She kept clapping and saying, "YAY" and "more"

I'm thinking that posts are going to be pretty infrequent - I just can't seem to bring myself to spend the time doing it with so many other things calling me!