Seattle To Portland Bicycle Ride

My husband decided this year that he would register for and ride in the STP, Seattle to Portland bicycle ride. He and my mom would leave Seattle at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning and proceed to ride 100 miles 2 days in a row, making it all the way to Portland, OR on Sunday evening. My dad, the girls and I decided that as fun as that sounded (ARGH!) we would skip the bike ridding part and just spend the weekend camping in Chehalis area. This would give them a place to camp for the evening as well as letting us get away and have some fun.

The girls wait for their Grandma and Daddy to cross the finish line.

Here they are!

Is summer really coming to an end? What did we do this summer?

I can hardly believe that summer is pretty much over. With school starting tomorrow I have to admit I am going through a little shock. There simply was not enough time to do all that I wanted. That said, we did have a busy summer especially July.

We started the month off spending the 4th of July in Poulsbo. The weather wasn't nice enough to enjoy the lake and with busy weekends ahead we decided to stay home. On the 4th we headed over to our friends house to spend time with them and their new little one.

The next weekend we headed to Butte, Montana for a celebration of the life of Jack Fechter. Jack was an amazing man. I grew up next door to him and his wife and they played the role of grandparents in our life. It was an very long drive, but we had a lot of fun while there.

The girls splashed around in the pool we brought and set up at our camp sight. This was after our 1/2 day excursion all over Butte looking for a new tent because ours was mold infested and there was no way on this good green earth I was putting any of my belongings in it, let alone sleeping in it. We gave it a Young family funeral and tossed it into the dumpster.

After the afternoon Celebration of Life, we were heading back to our campsite and kept passing all these fabulous looking old homes out in the fields. My mom insisted that we stop and go and take some pictures by them, even with the obvious signs indicating it would be preferred if we didn't. So, for the sake of a few photos, we ignored the "Keep Out" sign posted, climbed over the fence and trekked out into the field.

One of the other days we decided to investigate the National Folk Festival. I won't go into the details of the festival here, but I don't see us attending it any year in the future. However, even though the festival itself wasn't our cup of tea, we did have a good time exploring the bustling metropolis of Butte.

Mom's Cornbread (with a twist)

I don't make it often, but tonight I whipped out my mom's Ranch Style Corn Bread recipe to go with chili. Now I love this corn bread, but I wanted to mix it up a bit so I made some additions and it ended up making it even more fabulous. So I decided to share it with you all. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 425* Sift together 1 c flour, 1 c cornmeal, 1 t salt, 3 t baking powder. Add 1 egg and 1 c milk. Combine until moistened. Stir in 1/4 c melted shortening, 1 c fresh roasted corn cut off cob, 1 - 4 oz can diced green chilies & 1/8 c chopped green onion tops. Stir until combined and pour into greased 8" round cake pan. Bake for 20-25 min. Yummmy!

Fabulous July 3rd Wedding

Avid rock climbers, Rhiannon and Jason's love for climbing is overshadowed by their love for one another. It shines in their faces and in every aspect of how they treat one another. It was amazing to be a part of and I thank you both for choosing me to capture these moments for you.
I look forward to keeping in touch and hearing where your lives together take you. Congratulations.

Rhiannon & Jason Preview

It was so great to watch these two exchange vows to each other. Their love for each other so evident in every way. From how they stand next to each other to how they talk with or about the other. I was so blessed to be able to capture their fabulous day and when I saw this photo I couldn't help but share it. To me it is a perfect example of them. Rhiannon and Jason, I look forward to sharing all the other photos with you soon.

Best Friends Forever

An intriguing book about the friendships we establish as children and the impacts they can have on the rest of our lives. This story follows the life of Adelaide Downs and her friendship with Valerie Adler. It shows how their friendship blossomed through Jr. High and High School culminating in an exchange their senior year that forced a chasm in their relationship that wouldn't be addressed until 15 years later when Valerie returns to attend their High School reunion. As the two are forced back together after an accident the night of the reunion, they begin to see who each other really is and how the life of their good friend is not as wonderful as they had always thought it was.

This book is a reminder that when we analyze our friends we often only see what we want to see. We have a tendency to ignore the difficulties our friends have in order to see their life as so much better than ours. It is an amazing story, well written while not being pretentious or heavy.

*** I give this 3 stars not because it isn't worth reading but because it is written for a very specific audience. I encourage anyone out there who has had a best friend in their lives that they can go years without seeing and then fall into each other's footsteps the second they reconnect, to read this book. If you are looking for something light and easy to read for the summer, this would be a great choice. So grab your beach towel, sun screen and this book and head out for a weekend at the beach. You won't be disappointed.

Running in the Morning??? Insert sad face here.

I have always heard that running in the morning is supposed to be invigorating. I have decided that whoever thought that up lied. Yep, they lied. I do not make this statement without having tried it at least once. Since I started training for the half marathon, I have been running at night. It is wonderful after a busy day to unwind and have time just me and my tennis shoes. Friday we arrived late to our campsite and by the time we had dinner and the girls all tucked into bed it was 10pm and we decided that going running so late was probably not the best idea so I reluctantly agreed to go the next morning.

I was awaken from a fabulous sleep by my most wonderfully chipper mother so I pulled myself out of my warm bed, pulled on my running clothes, socks and tennis shoes, brushed my teeth to get rid of the morning breath and headed out the door. I later discovered I had put on my sports bra inside out and had two different socks. Two of the many reasons why running in the morning is not the best idea.

Now I am exhausted, have my clothes on inside out, two different socks on and away we headed. As we ran along the 3 mile route I began to realize that I was in the minority. It seemed that everyone else that was out was loving their run or walk in the brisk morning air. Everyone we came across was smiling and chipper and greeted us with cheerful tone. The whole time I just kept thinking that I could still be in bed.

I suppose the only good thing was that I got to go with my mom. That definitely made it all worth it. As much as I have realized ruined early in the morning is not my preference, I would do it again to go with my mom. Even if I ended up running in clothes that were inside out.