But oh, those summer nights...

It's the eve of Halloween but part of me still wishes for summer. Seattle gypped us of a hot, sunny summer this year and even though October tried to make up for it a bit, all I say is too little, too late. Maybe if I finally post about our summer trips I can be ready to move on and deal with the upcoming holiday season. Plus the boys have super cute Halloween costumes and I cannot post about them until I finally finish summer. Right?

So amist this rain and cold and pumpkins and fall, I want to write about Lake Chelan 2010. I won't dwell on what didn't go right that week, like Aaron getting a 3rd degree sunburn the first day we were there, or Lucas scratching his eye so he couldn't see for 2 days, or me getting my very first bee sting ever or pinching a nerve is my back so I could hardly move or Jonah throwing up all over himself and the carseat on the way home. No, I don't think about those things. Instead I think about...

Early morning walks on the docks...


Reading books by the water...


Eating ice cream cones from the corner store...


Watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers....


Looking cool on the boat...


Eating licorice under the BBQ....(?!)


Wrestling with Papa...


Touring the Aplets & Cotlets factory...


Cuddling with the cutie...


Riding jet skis...


Playing with cousins...


Tubing on the beautiful water...


And hanging out with our crazy, wonderful, lovely family.

Bossy lately?

Ok, he used to be "independent" but this is getting a little ridiculous. JB has turned into a Terrible Two. And he's really not even two yet. Lucas didn't hit this stage until he was 3 and even then was pretty easy going. But Jonah is already adamant about his opinions and ways things must be done.


For example, a few weeks ago he discovered the race car cart at the grocery store, or at least I finally let him discover one. And he LOVES it more than words can say. Talk about heaven for this little boy. So he's greatly entertained while I shop, yet now I deal with him yelling at me every. single. time. I stop to look at something or slow down to peruse the shelfs "I drivin'! I drivin'! Go!" until I start moving again. It makes me laugh but after 30 minutes of getting yelled at I'm ready to be done.

Then let's talk about our walk to the car. He does not always want me to carry him any more, yet he will not hold my hand. Which I have to admit makes me sad. Lucas always held my hand, up until a few years ago. And even now he likes it when we're walking to put my arm around his shoulder just so. Perfect fit. But JB? No way. And I wouldn't mind that much if he just stayed with me but this kid wants to go literally the opposite direction of where ever I am going just because that's the way I am going. Comical for bystanders, yes, in a stupid sitcom kind of way, but frustating when your arms are loaded with junk and he's running out into traffic.

Then once we get into the car he wants his music on, Primary songs and Dragon Tales. "CD!!" And if a song comes on that he doesn't like, usually a slow song, he yells "CD! CD!" until I change the music. Same if we sing him songs. If it's one he doesn't like or is too slow or we stop too soon, we get yelled at "Song! Song!"

All day long I get yelled at. "Jump-a-bean!!" (trampoline) and "Thomas!!" (lo-o-ves Thomas the Train) and "Candy!!" (but only certain kinds) and "I side-out!!" (lemme outside). His theme lately is definitely loud and demanding.

Lucky for him I am a sucker for his open mouth kisses, his ready laugh, his love affair with books and toothbrushes, his running hugs when any of us come into the room, and less spitting out of food.

Plus he's pretty cute.

Drunk on Chocolate

A few weeks ago I had a wonderful day. Now, lots of days are wonderful for many different reasons but this one was earns a blog post. For Julia's birthday I signed us up for a class. Not just any class...a class on chocolate. As her surprise, Logan flew her out specially for a day and the husbands took over the children and home so we could play and shop and eat chocolate. Sweet, thoughtful men and best husbands ever.

So to begin, Julia flew out around noon and off we went to Bellevue. First we stopped for salads at The Cheesecake Factory. Julia's, as she stated, was apparently in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

We then shopped, talked, bought little trinkets, and got makeovers at the MAC counter from a lady who treated us with contempt because we didn't know how important eye shadow base was. Life behind a makeup counter must be hard, dealing with such idiots all day long.

At 6pm we finally arrived to the main event. Oh! Chocolate chocolate class. Glory, hallelujah!

We started off with a taste of Brazilian sipping chocolate, which basically was a melted candy bar in a cup. (Yes family, the normal way I like my hot chocolate.) The owners talked about how their grandparents started the business, which was fascinating. Great story. Then we progressed to a plate of different chocolates where we were forced to try each kind as the owner talked us through how each was made and the best type of recipes to use them in.

And then after being taught how to temper the chocolate, we were let loose. With cups and cups of melted chocolate, we hand dipped strawberries, raspberries, marshmallows, oreos, potato chips, graham crackers and more to heart's content.

Pure heaven...

Early on I apparently got into my work and wore it for the entire night. Can you say mortified?

We got to take our home our literally 10 lb box of hand dipped chocolates. The gift that kept on giving.

Can we say awkward picture?! I had just discovered my chocolate-laden chest and Julia made me memorialize the embarrassing evidence of my chocolate-drunken sloppiness.

Oh! Chocolate, we love you...

Wanted: eyes in the back of my head

I was IN THE ROOM when this happened, washing lotion out of my eyes. Apparently I need another pair.

Runaway Bride

Anyone remember that movie? With Julia Roberts who left 3 men at the alter and Richard Gere, the reporter, who comes to write a story about her only fall in love but then gets left at the alter himself? One of his explanations of why Julia runs from marriage is that she doesn't know herself, case in point The Eggs. He asks each of her ex-fiances how Julia likes her eggs and each one have a different answer. She liked them how they liked them. She herself didn't know how she even liked her eggs because she conformed to whomever she was with.

I realized when it comes to design, I am Julia. I walk into someone's home and love their retro feel and clean lines. That same day I go into someone else's house and love their kitchy, old world feel. Some days I love lots of bold colors and funky patterns, and other days I adore calming neutrals. Some days I really go for the classic drama of dark woods and other times lots of white call to me.

When I decided to redo my dining room, almost a year ago, I found myself stuck. Completely. I didn't know what I liked. How do I redo a room when I have decorating ADD? So I went out to search for rooms that struck me. I started collecting pictures just from other blogs and other homes sites, and I began to see a pattern.

I really love whites and light and blues these days. I love the neutrals with splashes of fun color. My house right now has been so dark...dark woods, dark furniture, dark accents. But in our home, even with the sun out, we don't get much direct sunlight through the windows. So maybe it's the dark grey winters that have gotten to me or maybe just my tastes have changed, but I need light and white and to get rid of so much dark. We started by painting our dining room a great white, suggested by my dear friend and decorating guru, C. And it's taken off from there. Light is beginning to take over our home and I love it! I have also realized I LOVE thrift stores and garage sales. I love going through junk and finding things I can make new again. Really calls to me these days. But it also makes the redecorating process slow as I search for just the right thingy to put on the wall. I have a few projects I will post but some are still a work in progress. It's become and hobby and a bit of a passion to learn how to refinish furniture, sew slipcovers and spray paint anything. We'll see where it takes our little home. Stay tuned.

The Picture

Yes, my sweet sister found it. And yes, we rocked the 80's -Suburbia style.


What more can I say?