Beach Babes

I came across these beauties from 1990, yesterday. They still had the hand written note from my dad attached. He died when I was 14, so his handwriting is one of my favorite ways to remember him.

I love how free Linds & I were at this age. For the record, she is totally rocking that itty bitty red bikini. He was always a Dad that let us be weird & giggly & all things girl. I miss that, I miss Him. Lindsay has been dreaming about a sister road trip for years. I think this San Diego Beach will be part of the trip.

And dear sister, I will find you another awesome red bikini.

Crack Up

Things are gettin' kind of weird around here...

Oh, wait! That's just our "normal."

Welcome Home

New this week to the Archuleta Ranch:

Internets, meet Alice, Scarface, & Boomerang. We will try to keep them swimming belly down for at least the month.

The Summa Haps

My Grammy Fern turned 85!



This is me with Rachel, Amber, & Aubrey #2. Rachel & Aubrey#2 just graduated High School. Wahoo, you guys! These beautiful girls let me hang with them & make me feel like a queen! I think the technical term is mentoring but it is more like a charity self-esteem boosting service they provide me with.



My friend Luke, (we go way back to North Junior High School days!) & his wife Stephenie adopted the most beautiful little girl, Mackenzee. Luke had a fun birthday bash he invited me to & I got to check her out in person. Wowsers, baby girls are so pretty & the Grandmas will not let go of them! I settled for a picture, I am not sure I would have let her go either.


Matts Dad had a Birthday BBQ, Happy Birthday Grandpa Mitch!

This is Matts half brother Taylor & step brother Michael. I interrupted a sweet game of football to take this pic, silly camera woman.

Lindsay has a Mercedes! Yep, high roller, that one is. We have hit the town together a few times in sister shenanigans & tomfoolery.






Collin almost always has socks on his hands. He calls them his "punching gloves." This would be a little socially awkward but I just say, "he's three," & everybody seems to roll with it. *sigh*

My cousin, Kayla, graduated from Kuna High School. You go girl!

They have antlers in the landscaping at Kayla's, so this was my brain child. It was almost believable but Kaleb has a sensitive head & he started to whine. Who does this silly camera woman think she is?

Super Dad!

I love this man. With my whole heart I adore him. I am blessed to have stumbled upon him at 14 years old, not knowing the treasure I had found. His integrity, joy, stubbornness, & passion have carried our family through dark times. His laughter & smile have lifted us to the best days I have known. I love you Matty, thanks for being the leader of our three ring circus.

What's Up Cupcake?

My name is Aubrey, & I like to bake. A LOT. It all started with this little number:

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes. They were so simple, made straight from a store bought cake mix. Everyone loved them & praised my domestic prowess.

Then Andrea got in on it. Introducing Salted Caramel Chocolate Cupcakes. These were not so simple. Usually requiring two attempts, but with much more payoff.

I started buying shiny equipment to support my habit.

I was even willing to shed my own blood. (Not, really)

This Sour Cream Strawberry Cupcake was made with the fruit of our labor. I am now asking, "How can that be made into a cupcake?" of everything.

I even turned to booze. The Mojito Cupcake.

Also, Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.

And the Game Changer, the Bacon Cupcake with Maple Butter Frosting.

What's next? Not sure yet. I do know that I was destined to be a 400 lb. woman. Yum!

Re-do

Remember our berry reconnaissance mission from last summer? Yea well, we went back for more. This time it was strawberry season & Andrea joined the whole fam. (Minus Parker who, even though there are not wasps this time of year, decided to stay home.) Kaleb & Aden ate more than their body weight in berries & threw about the same amount off the back of the world's slowest tractor ride. Kids, easy to entertain. Collin played in the mud & rocked his superhero cape.




After bringing home almost 30lbs., Andrea & I got straight to whipping up something berry-tastic. We made Strawberry Sour Cream Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting. They were interesting, most tasters thought they were more like pancakes than cupcakes. Something tells me there will be a re-do on these.

Success!

After half a dozen trips home empty-handed, the boys caught a fish! Three in fact. Thanks to Mr. Koenig, Andrea's other half. Wahoo! A bit of perserverance & a dash of know-how equals two happy boys. Collin went fishing too, he was mostly interested in swimming in the nude though. Maybe the fish were biting that day because the hook seemed a better fate than the naked three year old? WHATEVER WORKS.

Pomp & Circumstance

Our sassy Kindergarten graduate out on the town at Cafe Vicino's. This has been our tradition with each boy so far. A fancy dinner out with just Mom & Dad. You can imagine how the waitresses swooned over this little man in his sport-coat. It was epic.


Aden with his teacher, Mrs. Rich.


Both Grandmas to celebrate with on his big day. Congratulations Aden!

Summer Photo Shoot, Take One