Pirate's landing at Alki Beach

more on this event here.

guess what?

Nope, not pregnant with a baby girl. I can dream though. No, actually this is an overdue post on the visit we had with Andrea over the 4th of July weekend.

 We had no problem staying busy. We made cupcakes, bread, ricotta cheese, pizza, doughnuts, & many batches of ice cream. She brought up her sewing machine & helped me with the onesie dresses pictured above. (a friend just had a baby girl) She even made some costumes for the boys.

This roasted beet, bacon, & basil pizza with the homemade ricotta was by far the best pizza I have ever eaten. Yes, that good.

 We met up with Andrea's cousin & his family at an annual wooden boat festival near Lake Union. This was one of the first sunny days we have had up here that actually felt hot. The boys had a good time exploring a new hobby & we all left happy & sunburned.

Matt & Andrea have mastered the trick to eating all those goodies, they are both runners. I considered it quite a feat that I drug myself out of my food-induced coma to capture this photo.

Thank you so much Andrea. For being adventurous enough to visit, tough enough to stay the entire time, & loving enough to say you'd do it again. You are definitely one of the crew!

funny face

summer time in the city

image via http://www.avintageposter.com/ 

See that uncertainty on my face? So yeah, there has been some hard days BUT. (I feel a need for a but) BUT, we still push through. We still rally around the dinner table. We still had a fun 4th of July. (more to come on that) We carry on with squirt guns, donut runs, & sleeping in after watching whole seasons of Meerkat Manor. It is a weird balance I am learning. The control freak inside is in need of heavy medication. Everything gets done at the end of the day & God has shown up in ways I am still waiting for the words to explain. It is good, He is good, even when my tantrum-throwing, type-A, must have a plan self is in a stress coma heap on the floor.

image via http://poppytalk.blogspot.com/2011/07/happy-birthday-usa.html

the hook up

Lindsay got a job with Metropolitan Market the first week we moved here. It is a very nice, upscale market with a location in West Seattle. She let us know about a free cupcake decorating event they were hosting. The kids, meaning all of us, enjoyed it immensely. Auntie knows how to hook us up.

“For there is no friend like a sister, in calm or stormy weather, to cheer one on the tedious way, to fetch one if one goes astray, to lift one if one totters down, to strengthen whilst one stands.” -Christina Rossetti

lost post

These photos are from the last week of school. The time in Washington has been hard, way harder than I thought & in different ways than I imagined. Looking back at the pictures of the boys with their friends, makes it more difficult. This is a new chapter in our lives but I keep wanting to flip through the pages to get to the happy part.  I always look back & see, that time was the happy part. Even these pictures of field day, ice cream parties, & award ceremonies were filled with anxiety for me. Now, I look back on them & I see boys that were known & loved. Truth be told, I am scared about whether that will happen here. Kaleb in particular, has missed that feeling. Matt & I are busy trying to give him extra TLC.

around the house

Not a heap o' trash, it's the garden.
Grow baby, grow.

Culturally sensitive door mat, came with the place.

Yay! I decorated. I first saw this project here.
It is hot glued to the wall, wow, that is resourceful,  if I don't say so myself.

The before shot. Have I mentioned how much I lurve having a fireplace? (2 actually!)

We also have a sofa now, almost like we are grown ups, almost.
Good thing this is not smell-o-vision, the couch smells TERRIBLE.
I have been running to Bed, Bath, & Beyond like mad for de-stinkafication products. Yuck!

Back to the fireplace, love the fireplace. Bonus, it does not stink.

A lot of trees in our yard. Funny, because the shade is not really needed here in the Northwest.
The sun has been persistent though, we have seen it shining through the trees more days than not.
Welcome to Seattle, Archuletas!
p.s. do not get used to this nice weather.

And my very most favorite, a love note from Aden.
Complete with eye glitter. I ADORE eye glitter, man, this kid gets me.
 My love of eye glitter & my boy's affection made me think of this snippet I read on the internets:

"The only way I can describe what it's like to hold you as you make these high-pitched, exhilarating outbursts about the simplest of things is, well, use of illegal drugs. People ruin their lives with illegal drugs because they want to feel that feeling I feel when I'm holding you in the morning.

Because it is the purest essence of that which hasn't been desensitized by pain, loss, disappointment, or failure. It's the thrilling rush of hope and possibility shooting right into the core of what it means to be human: we are alive! We live! Look! Another day to be alive! That is the fundamental principle behind everything meaningful. We are alive to witness."