Excuse the mess

For all who have asked, I just dropped what I was doing and took new pictures of the new kitchen-in-progress. It is a mess, but it is almost done! Our Silestone countertops will be installed Aug. 15th, and thanks to Luke and a few pals, trim is on its way. Don't you love the green? It took us a while to digest, but now it suits the room and the fancy lights I picked out of a catalogue.
Stay posted for a soon-to-be finished kitchen!

Kitchen

Betty and Lucy's Uncle Stefan made our new kitchen into a great space. First it looked like a little rough, then it got sheetrock and insulated, stable walls. Then I gave birth to Lucy in there in a great warm tub and lived in there on a comfy mattress for a week after her birth...

Windjammer Lagoon

PB&C (Paige, Betty, and Cooper) hit the beach this week. While the ladies built sandcastles and played other imagination games, Cooper threw rocks ocean-side and was thus unavailable for photos. This was a great place, even though Cooper found a 'Snoopy beach sticker.' For those of you who don't know what that is, it a used band-aid covered in sand. Better than a needle, I suppose.

dig this chick

Since I don't know how to link to another blog (yet), I thought I'd post this cute picture of Betty in the garden of blogger and mama-to-be buddy, Nici. Check her out at digthischick.blogspot.com

Montana, Part III

Harley's line the street, Betty seems comfy sleeping in her carseat, Daddy and Lucy look oh! so cute at a rest stop, Betty drums with her hommies, and Pipes and Lucy have a ball on the couch.

Montana, Continued

Unfortunately, it was Harley Rodeo Weekend in Red Lodge. Wild. The population of 2,200 soared to a reported 10,000 with bikers, or should I say hot metal since the temperature reached 111 degrees in the sun. Like urban tourists, we left our milkshake cups by the car our first night there. So, on a romantic walk by the creek Huck came to our rescue by chasing off a black bear that was ambushing us as we returned home. It was good to know he still has that spunk in him. There are more great photos here, including: Luke and his sister with their youngest babes, Firetruck, and Trampoline.

Four Year Wedding Anniversary

Our anniversary weekend began with a spontaneous quest: Can we pack two children, one dog, sack meals, and luggage into the car in one hour? Maybe we didn't make the hour deadline, but we drove to Montana throughout that night. When we saw the "Spokane 225 Miles" sign, we knew we were in for it.
Luckily, we have two awesome travelers who went to bed in their car seats at 9:30 PM and woke up in Deer Lodge, MT at 7:45 AM. Here's some unsolicited advice -- don't eat in Deer Lodge. We got breakfast burritos with Velveeta and powdered eggs, and a Mocha Latte with a squirt of Hershey's syrup in Foldger's coffee. It also seems like everyone with a Subaru wagon scouts the local dumpsters for recycling. A nasty passtime when the early morning temperature already exceeds eighty degrees.
The look on Aunt Rose's face when we surprised her after our eighteen hour drive was priceless. Her birthday was both the next day and the reason for our trip. The lady cousins had a blast, especially on the Beartooth Mountains-view-trampoline at Meritt and Piper's house. There are lots of pictures from this rapid four-day-weekend. Even Piper in a Dirty Dancing t-shirt - in the corner! The ones that follow are some of the greatest.

Strawberry Picking

Taking Betty strawberry picking was a mixed event. Belle's Farm was fantastic with its 14 sprawling acres ending at West Beach. Pacific views, ripe berries, Friday playgroup, and a child with a fruit allergy made this an interesting day. We picked eight pounds of berries, even through the, "No, Betty, don't eat the berries," and, "No, Betty, don't lick your fingers." The Pacific Ocean views were enough to make this a ritual. Unfortunately, one hundred or so track homes are slated for construction in a week. We made it through the construction sadness by baking the greatest strawberry pie.

Plain Pastry: 2 cups heavily sifted flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup Crisco, 1 cup butter. Mix all at once in a KitchenAid mixer. Add enough water cold filtered water to hold particles together. Chill in wax paper. Have toddler roll out with rolling pin.

Combine 1 cup mashed strawberries & 1 cup sliced rhubarb with 1 cup water in saucepan & boil for 2 minutes. Dissolve 3 TBL cornstarch in 1/3 cup water, and add with 1 cup sugar to mixture. Add remaining 2 quarts of berries and toss into pie crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Daddy Got a New Carrier

Are we cute, or what?