4th of July fun with Urrutias and friends.

Pictures of some of the blooms in my yard. I love to sit outside and look at everything and watch it growing and surviving!

My new toy!
Sorry - you have to click on the picture to see the whole thing. And no, it is not shown in actual size ;-)
I sold my old bike and got this one when I was up in Montana. Luckily they hadn't assembled it so it was still nicely packed up and they shipped it to me and it was waiting on my front porch the evening I got home! Now all I have to do is go get it put together by someone that knows what they're doing! :-)
I look forward to many happy miles on it. I like the color, I like the design (the flowers), I liked the fit (it's one of the women's specific design bikes with the geometry adjusted for people with approx 12 inch long torsos), and I even liked the tread pattern on the tires! I think I will feel more secure riding on those than on those skinny road bike ones. Oh and of course am eagerly looking forward to accessorizing!! I'm thinking a handlebar flower -- perhaps red. What do you think?

Pictures from some recent adventures:
Mom and Velva and I went to Birch Bay, WA for a little get-away. While there I learned to knit and this little knitting shop overlooking the bay. How fun! I'm well on my way to being an eccentric little old lady. Maybe I should start knitting little sweaters and hats for all the cats I will have :-) just kidding.
Velva and I went to Canada to see Il Divo. They're good looking, and they're good singers, but they were kind of boring. Yes, I know, I want it all - I wanted them to be funny and entertaining and have great personalities too!
The weather was absolutely beautiful for our time up there -- I couldn't have asked for better weather.

Next are photos from Robyn's wedding. Robyn's an ICU nurse that I work with. That was a fun day. It was also Jessica's birthday so I surprised her with a trip to a spa downtown and her wonderful husband watched the girls for her, and she just had a lovely girl's day out.

I just came back from Montana where I made sure Carson got out of the terrible twos! :-) He's such a little stinker and a little rascal but that little grin of his gets me every time! I had fun reading them books and playing with them and bribing them with candy. :-) I also made it a point to carry Cassidy around as much as possible because she's just so light and sweet and most importantly, she likes to be carried :-) She told me so. She likes to look out the windows and see what's going on but she's just not tall enough to do it on her own yet. Such a happy little baby - I hope the next one is as tranquil!
Now mom and Velva are up there, continuing the spoiling process where I left off! Oh it's so much fun to be an aunt!

Lawn Surgery

Photos from when Jonathan and the boys came over to help me put in a dry well/french drain.  Mom was over and was able to talk to the boys into sitting inside where they could watch.  Apparently watching me shoveling was the funniest thing they'd seen -- they'd throw their little heads back and giggle and giggle.  I can't wait til they get bigger and can help! haha  So far so good though - no more water in the basement!

We also read Doctor Dan the Bandaid Man several times and I was conned into giving them new bandaids every time we read it.   They conned me into a number of things, come to think of it!

Bowdrie's getting so big - he packed for himself and probably for Carson too.  He did pretty good -- the only thing he forgot was jammies so that's why they are wearing my sweatshirts and pj tops.  They looked so funny!

Yay, I passed my scuba final!

Now I'm just trying to decide whether I should go with yellow mask, yellow snorkel, and black & yellow fins or if I can go all crazy and get the hot pink & black fins even though they don't match the yellow stuff.

Oh these decisions can be so hard sometimes!

Just some pictures of my recent landscaping activities.   Mount Beauty Bark thankfully has disappeared and is now spread out all over my flower beds.  The photo is just to prove that I was doing some of the work and didn't make Dad do it all.  I really love geraniums, especially red ones, so I've planted a few of them, and then finally, my cute new polka dot door mat. Doesn't that just make you feel welcomed?!  Too bad I don't use that door myself - it would make me really happy every time I saw it.

Sorry to those of you who already saw these pictures on facebook, but it makes me so happy I just have to share it on here too.  I just love those two pictures of Dad & Bowdrie.  Bowdrie wanted his hair like Grandpa's.  I wasn't sure what he meant, so I clarified ... you want a combover?  Yeaaaaah!  So that's what we did to his hair and here he is with his hair style role model!

I just love the fact that he loves his Grandpa so much and that he is so goofy happy in these pictures - enough that it rubbed off on Dad and even he is smiling.

Here's also a picture of dad with Cassidy.  He sure likes her and even talks to her and calls here little names :-)  Maybe that's what he needed all along -- not meds, not shock treatment -- just a granddaughter!

Oh my goodness I am in awe of moms of little babies and little kids! I applaud you for even bothering to get dressed or comb your hair in the morning/afternoon! I've been hanging out with mom and velva at Jon & Jen's watching the 3 kids while Jen works on moving to the new spa. My once perfectly nice white t-shirt is covered in yellowing baby spit up, juice stains, and green marker marks & smudges. My hair has been yanked and pulled every which way by Cassidy, who is getting really good gripping (yeow). Thank goodness I get to leave all this behind in 2 days! My sympathy and pity to those of you who can't just leave!!

No photos this post because at least some shreds of vanity are still intact!