It's Never Too Late to be Thankful

I've been living a lot more in the moment lately; trying to stop time and just spend moments with my girls. There's a lot that can be said for a conversation over tea...or mac n cheese...or even mumbled in bed.

Thanksgiving at the Schweighardt house came and went in a beautiful blur of memories. I don't know how many of you know, but lately I've been dealing with a more severe form of Hypoglycemia than I have been used to for the past few years and John has recently been battling issues with his gallbladder. Both of these tend to limit our eating habits and it was a new experience for Thanksgiving not to be completely centered around the joy of gorging ourselves on food.

Our first snow of the year came the week of Thanksgiving and we were blessed to have many cousins at the house to take the girls out to romp in the snow while Mama made pies. (I might not be able to eat them, but I sure as heck was going to make them!)

Audrey became best buddies with Trevor's fiance, Kirsten; she made short work of forging a bond with my little skeptic and I think that went a long way to earn Trevor some much-deserved Audrey affection. My Dragon keeps the demand for her love high, lest it should be underestimated.

And although she is considerably more snuggly than she was as a baby, I still can't help but sigh every time that little girl shows me affection.



Thanksgiving Day, I had the rare opportunity to take a nap while the girls were awake. It was getting late in the afternoon and I was woken up by Audrey requesting to come sleep with me; she climbed into bed, commandeered one of my pillows and burrowed under the covers while jabbing me with her feet. (This is pretty standard fare as far as snuggling with Audrey goes.) She squirmed and rolled around and played with my hair and then whispered:
"Hey Mama?"
"hmmm?" I answered.
"I ask you a question." she replied.
"What?" I mumbled.
"What you thankful for?"
"Well, I'm thankful for you and Bailey and your Papa. I love you, you know."
Then she wrapped her arm around my head like she was cradling a child and said: "I love you too, Mama. I love you too."

As long as I live I will be thankful for that moment. And I'll be trying to make even more that are just as sweet to me. I am thankful to be a Mama and a Wife, a sister and a daughter and that someday soon I will also be an Aunt!

Happy Holidays!

My Girls

I haven't been posting a lot lately because, well, I've been busy. And also, anything abstract I've been moved to comment on has already been expressed much more eloquently by this lady. I think she may be my long lost Canadian sister. Any comment on that, Mom? Was there any truth to the rumor that there once were actually four of us? No? Moving on.

Life. Boy, I tell ya what. It's pretty amazing. The girls are growing up so fast. Bailey is really starting to fill in her role of annoying little sister. It won't be long before Audrey starts using the phrase 'all up in my grill'.

The Bailey Bear keeps me on my toes trying to eat every speck of fuzz/hair on the floor and getting into every crevice that is off limits, clinging to my legs while I'm trying to make dinner and chasing the poor dog around the house. But she sleeps through the night on occasion and has the world's cutest smile when she wakes up. She's generally ecstatic to meet new people and just wants to be where the action is. It's amazing how different she is from her sister and how I'm able to love both of them so much.

Audrey, as always, is my analytical skeptic. She's big into animals and gets very excited when she's allowed to watch movies since she's old enough to sit through them now. We have instituted tea time directly following her nap every day, in which we drink real tea and invite her imaginary friend, baby tiger, to dine with us. Various fictitious and real (or stuffed) animals also join us on occasion, such as a pack of wild monkeys or Barry the snake. During tea time we debate the merits of good and evil, human nature and the plight of man as expressed through plots such as Lion King, Snow White or Mary Poppins. It makes for riveting conversation.

Audrey has also hit the major milestone of being able to go to the bathroom BY HERSELF. She even occasionally kicks me out of the bathroom. It's amazing and life changing. I can't wait until Bailey figures it out too.

Now that Audrey is attending preschool a few days a week, she is constantly singing her ABC's and loves to jumble the days of the week. She knows all the words to the song 'Let's Go Fly a Kite' and often bursts into random song. Some days I think she might legitimately be color blind because she consistently answers 'pink' any time I ask her what color something is. She also questions me until it feels like my brain is going to ooze out of my ears.

As always, my big girl is high maintenance, but she thinks she's low maintenance. I love her, but she exhausts me mentally as much as her baby sister exhausts me physically.

As long as I get a nap I'm willing to overlook the exhausting side effects most days and carry on grateful for the amazing blessings these girls have proven to be. I would be a shallow, selfish person if it were not for them; they've taught me to be humble, to have patience and to live in the moment. What more could you ask for?

The End of a Season

Forget the actual calendar date, it's safe to say that in my little world, it's officially Fall now. As many of you know I started my first (real) garden this year; a hodge-podge little thing that I didn't initially have very high expectations of turned into a full-on mecca for squash and tomatoes. I'm sad to say I didn't preserve nearly as many tomatoes as my over-ambitious heart had set on, but I've got plenty in my freezer and a counter full of green tomatoes to experiment with.

True to form, this little experiment has driven me to (you guessed it) yet another ambitious goal of providing my own produce for the year from my garden/local farms. I don't think I can adequately describe how much peace it brings my heart to work in my garden and, through that labor or love, if I can provide something good for my family, it just makes my heart all the happier.

Experiencing the joys of harvesting food from the seeds I've sown has also brought a whole new dimension of closeness to the Lord for me; not only is my garden a place where I can block out the 826 things that would otherwise be occupying my mind, but I always find myself both praising the Lord for the work He's done in my garden and really genuinely feeling in His presence. Now that I've taken the final harvest from my humble little garden, I'll admit I'm experiencing some pangs of loss--regret that I didn't plant more, grow more. I'm also going through withdrawals since our Farmer's Market has already had it's last day.

How will I ever survive the winter? It's frozen vegetables for me. After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver I feel an amazing amount of contempt/guilt/disgust (with myself) when purchasing produce from the grocery store; not only am I not supporting local businesses, I'm eating fruits and veggies that have had to make the trek from places like Mexico, South America and occasionally New Zealand. That's a lot of fuel for a few tomatoes that have been bred to hold up to rough travel with their thick skins and pale, mealy interiors. Don't even get me started on bananas or the fact that I can't stop eating them. (My overly ambitious side is looking into a banana tree...seriously)

Anyway, this year I'm making the choice to weather the winter with frozen veggies because their taste and texture is already compromised anyway, but the nutritional value is higher. Vegetables and fruits that are frozen (in most cases) are allowed to ripen on the plant and are then flash frozen. Fresh produce is picked before it has reached it's full ripeness and is intended to ripen in transit, depriving it of nutrients it would have otherwise had remaining on the plant.

I don't know why God has put it on my heart to be so consumed by what foods I put in my family's bodies, but it's an obsession. I hope it's one that will produce fruitful (pun intended) results--that I will be able to bless my family and friends with food that will nourish their bodies in the best way possible.

I'll let you know next August, when I'm covered in tomato guts, whether I really think this is a good idea.

An Update

Geesh! I'm almost embarrassed to start a new blog post. There's a lot to report and there are many things I've been wanting to blog about, but anyone who's had a video chat with me in recent history may understand why it may be difficult to find the time to sit down and devote some time to updates.

I'm living with a two year old who has been very distinctly Two lately. She yelled at me yesterday morning: "I'm not being dramatic!" Maybe I should revise that age to 13...

Bailey is a whopping heap of TROUBLE. But who didn't see that one coming? She's more and more mobile every day and that translates into being all up in everyone's business. I can't fold laundry without feeling like I'm wrestling a midget these days. Not that I needed yet another hurdle in the laundry folding saga.

Add to that, having an event planned every weekday morning for at least the next two months and I'm starting to question the sanity of cutting back on my caffeine intake. It ain't pretty, folks!

Anyway, I thought I'd do a quick recap of what's been going on 'round these here parts and post a few pictures as photographic evidence.

First of all, about a million and a half years ago, we tore down the wall between the dining room and the kitchen. Can I get an Amen!

Then the girls and I tagged along with John on a business trip to Seattle. We went out on the town while John was stuck in a conference and rode the ferries. I cannot put into words how happy this made Audrey; it's probably one of the best days I've had since becoming a Mama.


After the conference was over, we headed to Kap and Jeff's for the weekend. The girls tested out Oliver's new room and got to spend some great quality time with their Aunt and Uncle. They even kicked John and I out of the house for an evening so we could go on a date!


In the mean time, Audrey has started attending a homeschooling preschool co-op. My friend Brittany teaches the kids and I volunteer to keep the babies entertained during lessons. This is Bailey's best buddy Pax; they like to shriek at each other and occasionally wrestle over toys.


In between all this I've also been planning a lot of events...mostly for MOPS. NONE of those events even rivaled how fun it was to plan and host Kathryn's Mad Hatter Tea Party-Baby Shower.


And if my words can't convince you, just take it from these two goons; it was a grand time!


Next up was our annual trip to Leavenworth, WA where we saw lots of great musicians, ate phenomenal German food and learned that our last name means "wandering spear hunter". I mean, can a weekend get much better than that?

Maybe if you follow it up with a trip to the pumpkin patch! Audrey had so much fun this year at Country Mercantile picking out her pumpkin and enjoying the festivities, she's been bursting at the seams to tell anyone who'll listen about the 'pumpkin place!'

And if all that didn't entertain you, here are some naked babies to make you laugh. The girls have started taking baths together and it is a riot!

The Good Life

I do have a longer post in the works, but first I want to express how wonderful it was to wake up this morning with nothing on the agenda, to make bacon and pancakes while Pa played with the girls downstairs, later to listen to Audrey talk about how 'nummy' her pancakes were while trying to shove cheerios in her sister's mouth, and to watch Audrey put her boots on the wrong feet and dance around in her nightgown to The Sound of Music soundtrack. Life is good. I am blessed. God is great. That is all.

The Return

I've returned hale and whole from my Women's Retreat in Deer Lake, WA. It was beautiful; there were evergreens and fog and rain and food I didn't have to cook. There were no bedtimes and no alarm clocks, even hot chocolate that came out of a dispenser. Heavenly!

This is what I thought sleeping through the night would feel like. It turns out it's not that much different from waking up with a baby. I just ended up remembering my dreams a lot more vividly and that's not really such a boon since almost all of my dreams are food related. (i.e. I dreamed I ate a hamburger and then I woke up. Boring.)

It was good to rest, though. I've been so busy lately it has felt like an impossible feat to just sit and rest and simply exist apart from the chaos. I'm usually really good at being able to distance myself from the hysteria that is so inherent in motherhood, but it just wasn't coming to me; God knew I needed a break--a real one.

So He sent me to see my trees and to commune with some really fantastic women. God is good!

Coming home was a wonderful feeling; this was the first significant time I'd spent away from Audrey and Bailey and it was so strange to see how much they'd changed in a mere 48 hours. Bailey was much squirmier and talkative than I had remembered and Audrey seemed so much smarter, like she had everything figured out. I guess that's pretty accurate. Her newest phrases are: 'I have a question', 'I need to tell you something' and 'Bailey getting in trouble?'.

It's good to be home!

Run away! Run away!

Or should I say: Retreat!!

For some reason, when cornered by our MOPS coordinator last Spring and asked if I wanted a position on the steering committee, I replied 'yes'. Why? Why would I do that? I was living in a happy state of irresponsibility where I could choose to devote an entire day to cheese making and eating cereal for lunch if I so pleased. Now I have meetings and emails and phone calls and events to plan and people to arm wrestle. It's exhausting. Who needs pregnancy? This stuff is wearing me out.

Monday was our first MOPS meeting of the year and I'm in charge of making sure there are enough volunteers to watch all 598 children we didn't know were showing up. Add in a little anarchy and some Lord of the Flies situations and it makes for a hectic morning.

Did I mention I was also hosting Bunco that night? No? That wore me out too.

Luckily, the next morning my friend Jackie brought me Starbucks and sat around my kitchen helping me make paper lanterns out of balloons and tissue paper (don't ask) while I neglected all the other household chores that needed to be done.

Today I got to take a nap. And Karen and Elizabeth made dinner so I didn't have to.

Things are looking up. Which is why I almost feel bad ducking out for our church's women's retreat this weekend. We're staying at a retreat center just outside of Spokane for Friday and Saturday night.

That's right--I get to sleep through the night. Two. nights. in. a. row. Praise the Lord! Hallelujah! Amen.

I'm hoping I'll be able to take the time that's being given to me and to treasure it just long enough to start missing my girls and that wacky husband of mine like crazy. I mean, really--what use is sleeping through the night if your favorite space heater is two hours away?

Happy Thoughts

Well folks, I'm back from the sourdough wars...I fought the good fight and was thwarted by a rookie mistake at the first turn. I won't even go into details except to say that my compost heap is now growing by leaps and bounds...and my sourdough starter? My beautiful mature sourdough starter? It is no longer with us. I'd like to take a moment of silence to mourn the 8 days I fed and babied that puppy.

But never mind about that! Let's talk about something happy!

How about magic?

Or better yet, how about my newest love?


My unpaper towel dispenser from Made In The Red Barn on Etsy! It's beautiful, it's made from upcycled wood and it makes my crunchy heart sing! I didn't even know what upcycled wood was until I stumbled across this beauty, but my heart went 'a pitter patterin' and I knew it was love.

I was so excited when it came in the mail (Did I mention the sellers live in WA?) I opened that box with uncontained giddiness...to have everyone in the house give me some version of Audrey's "whats 'sat?" "Huh?"

To her credit, Karen at least tried to give me some enthusiasm, but it's probably because I opened the box in her presence. I imagine it's like trying to get excited about your Aunt Bertha giving you socks for Christmas.

Actually, I get excited about receiving socks as gifts so that's probably a bad analogy.

Maybe Aunt Bertha's socks smell like moth balls.

Moving on!
To my original point: baking. I am not the world's best baker-maker as I had originally assumed. Does that mean I will stop trying? Heck no! Until I'm there, I'll continue to support our local bakery from the farmer's market. The owner and I had a long talk Friday about sourdough. He suggested I come work the night shift for a week or so just to get my technique down. I passed. I'm awake enough at night as it is.

All recent baking catastrophes aside, I did have some mild success with making my own burger buns yesterday. This recipe is absolutely phenomenal. All I have to really work on is getting my second rise perfected; it's all about timing. And I'm guessing my burger buns went from perfection to rising out the yin yang about the time I was attacked by two small children and pinned to the floor in a wrestling match.


Life happens.

Glutton For Punishment?

Or just gluttony? I can't decide.

Either way I've decided that I must secretly be a master baker (I just made the title up. Roll with me here.) and thus, I would be morally remiss if I were to spend one more day without providing my family with a never-ending supply of delicious homemade breads of every variety. Now, I say 'secretly' because to the untrained eye I would appear to be an abysmal failure as a bread maker...baker...baker-maker. For example, my latest attempts at whole wheat sandwich bread wound up here:


Yes, under the eggshells...and asparagus cast-offs; that's where that lump of doughy confectionery delight landed. I hope the fungus and bacteria in my compost heap enjoy it; I spent hours in the kitchen first with giddy delight, then peevishness and finally belligerent rage trying to craft that yeast and flour into a masterpiece. I know I can bake bread! Would someone please relay this message to the insolent doughy loaves that refuse to proof for a second time? If they do not comply I will be forced to bring in a bread machine. Nobody wants that.

Luckily, I've had some time to cool down and in true Willian fashion have decided to press forward and ambitiously master the art of sourdough bread. Which means I had to implement this little puppy:


My first ever sourdough starter. Now, from all I've read there are a million different ways to fail at making sourdough bread and the dough is known to be especially finicky. Why did I decide to wrestle with this particular culinary monster? Because I am as bull headed as that Butter-Haired Dragon and masochistically enjoy taking the hard road.

Usually I fail.

But at least I can pat myself on the back for failing at the hardest task.
So, here I go! Tomorrow this glob of yeast and milk and flour will be transformed into the best sourdough bread these taste buds have seen.


...or perhaps they'll make a nice crouton.

Film at Eleven.

The Time is Flying

I don't have any pictures to post; I'm in here. The camera's in there. It just wasn't meant to be. Sorry for the hiatus on the blog lately. I've been canning. And I mean CANNING. When I'm not canning, I'm online researching canning recipes and bread recipes and ridiculous things like how to make my own yogurt. Oh, it's gonna happen.

I've been feeling very crunchy lately. All this putting food by has gotten me very worked up; it's made me thankful for the things that have grown for me in the garden and makes me want to hug the Earth back a little bit. So, I've started composting and trying to be more aware of where my food comes from and what packaging it comes in. I'm menu planning for the month and buying in bulk. I'm putting local food by for the winter and trying to cook/bake as much food from scratch as I can. We're even talking about building a coop in the back-40 and raising laying hens.

I also have children I frequently care for...you remember them? They keep me busy too. Bailey has two teeth and is crawling like a pro. She loves to use one leg to turn herself in circles while she's sitting on the floor and she can pull herself up on the couch too; she's got places to go. The little bear just started trying to talk this week. Apparently the light bulb just went off one night at dinner and she started babbling "rarr rar rarrr rar" Before we knew it she was saying Dada and Mama. She desperately wants to be able to say Caba, but I have a feeling that one will be in the works for a while. Did I mention the kid weighs 21 pounds? She's a chunk. We call her 'cabbage' since she bears a striking resemblance to the cabbage patch dolls.

Her big sis has been having a heck of a time; she's been sick for the past week. Last weekend Audrey came down with croup (pitiful, pathetic mess, she was) We took her to the doctor on Monday and she was prescribed an anti-inflammatory steroid to get the swelling in her throat and vocal chords down. Let me tell you about roid rage. I didn't recognize my own child; she transitioned from sweet movie-watching pathetic lap child to psychotic belligerent wiggle wart in about 2 minutes. That medication lasted two days before Mama declared it to be not worth the drama.

We thought Little A was recovered by Thursday, but she had another relapse and refused to eat, drink or take her medicine for several hours. By the time bedtime rolled around I was pondering a strategy for explaining to her that if she didn't hydrate herself someone would do it for her and they would have a large, scary needle in their hand. Luckily I got to keep my alarmist parenting skills on the back burner--I force fed my daughter water and apples with peanut butter. You'll be happy to know The Dragon seems poised to make a full recovery.

As far as things around the house go, the Moore's are in town for the long weekend and Audrey is loving all the attention. We've been going to the park and eating lots of fried chicken and pizza; the kids are getting the most out of the pool before we close it for the season and I've been letting Hannah practice driving my car.

We're also in the middle of step one to our kitchen renovation; we're clearing out and rearranging cabinets so we can knock down the wall between the kitchen and the dining room. The official demolition party is scheduled for next weekend--I can't wait! I promise I'll actually post pictures once that happens...and that means I'll have downloaded a sweet video of Bailey crawling too. Remain on the edge of your seats until then.

On Baptism

I'm going to be baptized tomorrow. I hadn't planned on writing anything on the blog about it until I received an email from our pastor asking if I wanted to speak to the congregation before being baptized in the river. Before that message hit my inbox, I had planned on silently walking into the river and being baptized. I thought it would be an excellent way to witness to other Christians.

And then I got that message.

I read it while I was up with Bailey at two in the morning and God changed my heart as he has so frequently in the wee hours of the morning. I knew, without a doubt, that there is something I'm supposed to say; that walking into the river isn't testament enough.

I couldn't sleep and when I did dream I was filled with stress and longing to know what I should say and do. I know that my baptism is a public act of faith; a testament to believers and unbelievers that the Lord is my savior.

You all know I've struggled for a long time with the concept of witnessing. At first I felt it was wrong to impose myself on others and when I realized the horror they would face without knowing God, I began to fear I would push unbelievers further from Christ by saying or doing the wrong thing. After much prayer and deliberation, I've thrown up my hands; I can do nothing, be nothing and say nothing of consequence without the grace of God. My baptism is a symbol of giving my life to the Lord, that He may use me as He pleases. My life is His and only He can give me the wisdom and the words to help save another soul.

God, I pray you would use me to save another child from being ripped from your love and grace; that You would send me where I am needed, not where I am wanted and that in all things I may give glory to Your name.

On Need...

John recently returned from a quick business trip to D.C. It's been a long time since he's been out of town without us and we (read: I) were slightly wimpy in dealing with separation. Needless to say, his homecoming was a sweetly anticipated event. I brought the girls with me to the airport; Audrey talked animatedly the entire way there about her Papa. ("Mama, we pick Papa up at the airport? You excited Mama? Audrey excited!") It was like Christmas. Little A was the first one to see John and she gave a sweet cry of excitement before running to him. It doesn't get much better than that.

When we got home, Audrey opened a present her Papa had brought back for her with barely-concealed anticipation. It was a snow globe with the capital building at its center. She was mesmerized by the flitting snowflakes and the smooth glass bulb; she showed it to everyone and reminded us that (Mary) Poppins had one too. She probably would've slept with it if she could. I was the perfect little token from her Papa...and then after several warnings from her parents about keeping it on the carpet the next day, she dropped it on the tile in the kitchen and it shattered.

que crying.

I wanted to cry too.

I talked to John on the phone and told him what happened. He thought maybe it was a sign that he needs to be more aware of how age-appropriate her toys are. But after honestly mourning the loss of that snow globe, I realized: wait a tick. That was just a snow globe. It represented the love that a Papa has for his daughter, but it didn't replace it. It was just a possession.

Now, that may seem harsh, but it's true. And how often do we let possessions overcome our homes because we feel they give us value or make us feel good? I know the Schweighardts are notorious for not letting things go (trust me, we're working on it) but everyone falls victim to the idolization of personal possessions. So, it's in that spirit that I've begun de-cluttering our lives. Now, I never in a million years would have gotten rid of that snow globe, but I've begun to look differently at my personal things. How much of this stuff to I actually need? I mean really...NEED.

You'd be amazed at what you don't need. And how hard it can be to accept the mentality that you really don't need 6 light-weather jackets. I have a jacket obsession. And a purse addiction. I recognized my lust after purses a long time ago and just stopped carrying one. But you can't stop wearing jackets. Apparently I also couldn't stop justifying the purchase of them either.

My wardrobe has certainly been under heavy attack, but I've begun to look around the rooms in this house--at the excessive amount of stuff that two small children can accumulate--and I tell myself we don't need it. And it's freeing.

Material possessions will not fulfill or define my life or make me feel loved; God does that. Any time I find myself thinking "but what if I need this later?" while tossing something in the give pile, I remind myself that God is the one providing for me. If I really need something, I'll have it.

Now, I'm not talking about living on bare bones here. There's room for toys and games and ice cream in this little experiment. I think what I'm really striving to discover is why I hold on to the things I have, why I covet the things I don't have and in the jumble I'd like to figure out what it is I really need. Wouldn't that be liberating?

Better Late than Never

I think I've mentioned on occasion how life here gets crazy...and then stays crazy. Well, that's what's been going on.

The End.

What? You want pictures?

Ok, fine. Just don't say I didn't warn you about the craziness.

Jessica came out to visit us in the Tri-Cities. This time she tried to be nice and take the Greyhound over from Seattle just on the off-chance that I might get stuck in traffic on the way to pick her up and have to pee in the woods again. Instead, she ended up stranded with a bunch of wackos at a Luv's gas station because their bus broke down. This is what happens when you try to do nice things. I ended up driving out to pick her up in Ellensburg anyway. We never ended up peeing in the woods, so there's the happy ending to that story.

Richard needed a big glass of wine when she finally got to our house. I approve of her parenting technique here.

Jessica flew with us into Memphis, where she and Matt live. We stayed overnight at their place and wished we had time to stick around longer.

Matt got the most bang for his buck and showered Audrey with gifts of stuffed animals and bubbles when we arrived then taught her how to play guitar and threw her a dance party. They instantly became best friends. This is a big deal. You should be taking notes.

The next day we drove to Mtn. Home and finally made it to Grandma and Grandpa G.'s house! They had story time like this every night before bed.


Uncle Joe even made it over to see the girls for the weekend.

And we spent lots of time eating and visiting with the whole Gamelin clan.

In comparison to the dry heat we have in the Tri-Cities, breathing in the Midwest heat was like that scene in The Abyss where Bud has to get used to breathing liquid oxygen. We decided to go to the river to cool off and recover. It was an excellent notion. Check out Audrey's awesome curls; her hair really reacts to the humidity.

We eventually got used to the oppressive humidity and that's why Audrey is smiling in this picture. Or maybe it's because it was her Mtn. Home birthday celebration. After months of practicing blowing out candles, she just stared at hers while the rest of us nearly hyperventilated trying to show her how it's done.


Grandma G. made Audrey a Carmen Miranda fruit hat complete with homemade felt fruit. This is the only existing picture of her smiling with it on. Bailey has since claimed the fruit hat and loves wearing it.

Hat-wearing might not be one of the Dragon's favorite activities, but swimming and eating hotdogs at the lake sure is. She's in heaven.

After the weekend, we took a day trip to see Shannon and Deborah in Springfield. We had a great visit with those ladies--they're the only thing I really miss about Springfield...well, them and Andy's frozen custard. But being compared to Andy's frozen custard should be a compliment in anyone's book.

When we got home I had to make sure we documented how much my pine tree has grown. It is now taller than me! It only took 18 years!

We hung out at the shop and played in Grandma G's pottery studio.

Eventually it was time to go home, but not without first convincing Grandpa G. to take us to Cracker Barrel. He really is a great Grandpa.

When we got back to the Tri-Cities all we did was cook and grocery shop and cook some more. (that's the apron my Mom made for my birthday)


Then I woke up and my baby girl was suddenly two years old. At least she ate the cake this year.

The very next day we headed out on a grand adventure to Mt. Adams. This is a picture of the fam with the Columbia River Gorge in the background.

We stopped at the Maryhill Museum to have a picnic lunch and commune with the peacocks.(not pictured)


We finally made it to the campground, set up camp and got into warm jammies for the night.

Meanwhile, my Dad and John's buddy, Dustin, drove to a camp site closer to this monster: Mt. Adams! (please note I could not get a to-scale picture of John's head in reference to the Mountain...maybe next time when I'm not shouting at him to stop the car so I can take a picture...)


Here are the Manly Mountain Men before heading out; they set out to make the summit in one day and Dad didn't quite make it. You should see the blisters. I wouldn't have even made it to the tree line.

While the Mountain Men were busy climbing, the rest of us set out on a grand sight-seeing adventure...along the way we met this llama...he was staked to the side of the road. I'm not sure that's even legal, but we wanted to rescue him and take him home. I still can't figure out who's staring who down here.

*If I could take a picture that somehow encompassed driving around Godforsaken poorly-maintained dirt roads in the middle of this-is-where-the-psycho-killers-lurk beautifully deserted pine forests for over two hours...it would be here*

At the end of that adventure we got to hike to a river where the girls dipped their toes...so it was all worth it.

Then Audrey slipped in the water, soaking her shorts and undies because she knew I hadn't packed extras for the hike. This is why you always carry a bandana, folks.

On the way home from camping we stopped outside of Portland to eat lunch and take a hike to Punchbowl falls.

Bailey is getting to be too much to handle when she's in a front-carrier...groping at everything in sight and attempting to wrestle with me ala baby bear attack, so she's been bumped to the cheap seats...she loves it.

Meanwhile, Audrey rode on Papa's back like the Queen of Sheba. She gets very exited about going in the carrier and likes to tickle her Papa's neck.

And here we have the last photo I uploaded to our computer: Audrey and Papa at majestic Punchbowl Falls (not pictured)

Needless to say much has happened since then and there are a plethora of things I wish I had time to reflect on in my blog. But that balance thing? Not going so well in favor of the laundry or the blogging or the checking my email. We bought a Trager grill and my garden has been producing like crazy...I seriously have about 30 tomatoes in my kitchen begging to be canned right now. Can you hear them? They're screaming: preserve me!!!! Stop butchering the 50lbs. of meat you bought in bulk and can me!!!

I think they're going to have to cry it out. I'm going to bed.