Finally

Trying to decide which of my 489 pictures to share with you, has been overwhelmingly difficult. I want to share them ALL. My week-end away was so much fun. We felt young, carefree and joyful. Anne and I are, in the words of Anne Shirley, kindred spirits. It was spectacular to be together again.

I flew into Vancouver Thursday night, then bright and early Friday morning we headed off to Seattle. After a detour to the outlet mall, we finally arrived.

We cruised by the Paramount Theater to see if we could get tickets to Wicked. When we got there the lovely (although not joyful) people from Paramount were holding a lottery draw for 11 seats. After entering our names in the draw, we went and harassed the nice lady in the ticket booth, who found us utterly charming and put 2 ticket aside for the Saturday matinee just in case we weren't so fortunate to have our names drawn from the lottery.

Although the anticipation of the awaiting hearing our names called was delightful, it never happened and we paid another visit to our friend in the ticket booth purchasing fabulous seats for the following days matinee.

This is true friendship. Anne HATES her food to touch, seafood and generally anything out of the ordinary. I saw a brochure on the Crab Pot and just had to eat there. Our waiter brought us a pail of oysters, mussels, crab legs, sausages, shrimp, potatoes and corn and dumped it all on the table in front of us. We whacked crab legs, removed shrimp eye balls and legs, and shelled mussels and oysters. It was awesome. Yum!



Saturday we wondered where ever our path took us. We parked the car and hit the streets. We wondered through Pike Market, where we saw fish flying throw the air.

We also saw hundreds and hundreds of the most beautiful bouquets of flowers. They were 5 dollars. That alone made me want to pack up my family and move.

Walked the streets of Seattle, listening to the street performs, gazed in the shops and stopped for the most delicious crepes.


We finally made our way up to the theater, where we annoyed even more Seattlians to take our picture. Wicked was amazing. I loved every second of it. If you ever get the chance to go and see it; DO. It's worth the money you will pay. The singing, dancing and costumes are remarkable.



In our travels we of course had to stop for one of my favorite drinks - Caramel Apple Spice from Starbucks - there really is a Starbucks on every corner.

I've had this post sitting in waiting for awhile now, so we are moving into the get it done faze of the post.

We took a ferry ride - it was cool, especially coming back to Seattle in the dark, the lights of city were very cool.
Big bowl of hot clam chowder after a cool ferry ride. Yum!

Hanging out with 5 very adorable kids.

Acting crazy at Whistler; the Olympics are going to be awesome.

Stopping for yet another treat with our super cute travelling companion as we travel down Robson Street.

My view from the plane as I leave 5 perfectly glorious days and return refreshed to the loving arms of my family.

Taylors here I Come!!!

Thanks to my generous and loving husband, this week-end I am off to go gallivanting with my best friend Anne. We are going to act young and carefree.

To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I feel like a kid waiting for Christmas morning. Only 3 days to go!!!

We plan to go bumming around Seattle; taking in all the sites, culture and seafood we can squeeze into 36 hours. Does anyone who has had the pleasure of visiting Seattle before have any suggestions of places we must go see?

Delightful

" Mary stumbled outside the community kitchen into the arms of a beautiful summer day."

Our RS is reading I Am Hutterite this month as the book club selection. I have no hope in finishing the book before the big night as I just started the book and we meet on Tuesday. But I wanted to share this little sentence with you, as when I read it I thought it was the most delightful bit of imagery.

I hope you walk out into the arms of a beautiful day today.

Calling all cooks

Well I was actually posting this with the purpose of soliciting advice, but in rereading the recipe directions I've answers some of my questions, but since I found this recipes so absolutely delectable I'll share it anyhow and still ask a question.

Lemon Pudding Cake

I generally shy away from recipes calling for a pan of water to be put in the stove and then placing the baking dish on top of it. The whole process scares me a bit and I'm not sure how it works. Last night I failed to heat the water before placing my pan inside, which caused the pudding to have to bake longer and in the end I'm not sure it baked correctly - but it was still good enough to have our guests moaning (wait maybe that was me) and Jarom asking for more.

So, here is a question, how much water do I use in the pan and really what is the purpose of the water?

Where the Red Fern Grows

Noli and I just finished reading Where the Red Fern Grows. I remember my Grade 4 teacher reading it to me and the flood of tears that flowed at the end of the book.

This is a wonderful book, one that everyone should read, the author is so descriptive in his writing; the reader can't help but fall in love with Billy, Little Ann and Old Dan.

I thoroughly enjoyed this experience of reading with Nolan. I know he's older, and since I know he is exerting his independence I have to seize any opportunity I can to spend time with him and being read to seems to be something that Nolan enjoys. Plus lots of nights there is cuddling involved.

We are looking for a new book to read together, I want to read ones like this one - classics in a way. Any suggestion?

Perfect for a hot day

It's hot out and I'm dying. The Heat and I have never had a love affair. In fact I try to avoid it. Shade is my friend - I may sell one of my children to get some air conditioning.

What could be more perfect on a hot day than a glass of homemade lemonade? If you've never tried it you simply must. Nothing can compare.

Get yourself a bag of lemons and work a little cooling magic.

BEST LEMONADE EVER
(I go a little lighter on the sugar - about 1 1/4 cups)

From 37 - 17 again

This is the man I adore. We've been married 14 years and Saturday I saw a side of him I haven't seen for a long time. Giddy is the word I want to use, it just doesn't sound very manly. This photo was taken the day after and with ears still ringing he was one happy fellow.

This is Spencer's all time best friend. They share a love for the The Cult and Saturday they rocked, yes that right, rocked out at their concert.

Part of me wishes I had been there to witness such an event- arms waving, legs jumping and lips singing.

Back to school they go

I wish I could say I love it when my kids go back to school, but the opposite is true. We had a wonderful summer together and I'll miss them and our carefree lifestyle of the summer.

That being said, once the kids were in their classroom they discovered they were happy to be there. They saw their friends again, unpacked all their shinny new school supplies and were wooed by their teachers and all the fun things they get to do this year.

We traditionally do a supper of their choosing on the first day of school and I had some very cool cupcakes I planned to make, but it is WAY to hot here to even think about turning on the stove. Instead we met grandma, grandpa and Auntie Rachel at BP's and had a celebratory supper there.

This is what the first day of school does to little boys,

and big boys too.

Randomness

I saw these fake sushi on a website awhile back and thought the kids would probably love them. Nolan and his best buddy were bored today, goodness me I can't imagine such a thing, so they whipped up these little tasty treats.

I bought this at the Farmers market yesterday because it intrigued me. It's a Kohlrabi. I have no ideas what to do with it. Any suggestions?

This is the way my kitchen looks as I go to bed tonight and may even look worse when I wake in the morning. I've cleaned it 6 times today, which appears to be my limit.

A childhood lesson

This is a picture of our Nolan taken awhile back after a few days of rainy weather. You'll need to click on the picture to view it up close to fully appreciate all the mud that is oozing out of the tire rims - it's just a big mess.

I thought it was hilarious when I saw Nolan and his bike; Noli was walking his bike home and both he and the bike were covered in mud - I giggled when he asked me to help him clean it. I handed him the hose, gave a few helpful pointers such as, throw the mud over the fence and told him to get to work - does that make me a bad mom?

Nolan was on his way to visit his best buddy and hit the muddy road, I think he thought he could out ride it. He didn't make it very far before he realized he was stuck.

I totally have tons of memories as a kid, getting into these sort of scrapes. My kids really haven't had much of an opportunity to have these sorts of adventures because I've keep them so close and watched over. Sucks to be a kid now days. There are no days spent out at the canal exploring and only coming home when your stomach told you it was time to eat.

Apricot-Mustard Pork Chops

This was our supper tonight and the real reason I am sharing it with you is because of the Smuckers Double Fruit Apricot Jam. Have you ever tried it? I licked a smudge off my finger and thought I had died and gone to heaven. I suddenly wanted to bath in the stuff. It was that good. I want to make toast just so I can smother the top with these luscious preserves, or dish up a big bowl of ice-cream and pour it all over top. Really I should just save myself the extra calories and eat it right out of the jar.

I could go on all night about Smuckers so I'll move onto the recipe.

Apricot-Mustard Pork Chops

1/3 cup apricot spreadable fruit or peach preserves

1 Tbsp prepared mustard (I'm not a big fan of prepared mustard, so I used a course ground mustard instead)

1/8 tsp ground ginger

4 pork loin chops, cut 1 1/4" thick.

1. For the glaze, combine preserves, mustard and ginger; set aside.
2. Ever so neatly trim the nasty old fast off the chop and season with salt and pepper.
3. Preheat your grill, turn down to medium heat and adjust for indirect heat. Grill for 35-40 minutes and glaze with sauce frequently during last ten minutes of grilling.

Yum!

The potatoes are a little something I picked up from my mom and the boys go crazy over them - we never have leftovers. Cut up baby potatoes, place on tinfoil, pour a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) over the tiny tots, be generous with the S & P. Wrap up in the foil and cook on the BBQ.

Salads I find very freeing; I used to feel tied down to recipes and having the exact ingredients, but those days are over. Mix greens serve as my base, then pretty much whatever I find in my fridge has a good chance of making it's way into my salad. Tonight I found walnuts, strawberries and some brie cheese - topped it off with some fig dressing and it's done!

If you're interest Shane has also posted a video on his blog - he capture my mom swinging on the rope swing, along with witty commentary.

Part 2.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The remaining days of our vacation were spent at the lake soaking up some rays and cooling off in the water.





We attempted to go crawdad hunting this year, we had no luck. In years past, at Talley Lake, the little crawdads would start to come out as soon as our beach was in the shade, so I thought it would be a cinch to catch them at night. It was a bust, next year I'll be more prepared and my kids (and Paul) won't be disappointed.

Whitefish

Whitefish is one of my favorite parts of the summer. It's filled with:

family,

swimming,

boating,

skiing,

tube riding,

fishing,

hiking,

laughing,

shopping,

stuffing ourselves with tons of delicious food until we are sick.

In short it's heaven!

Day 1. - Rainy - which of coarse makes it perfect for a day of shopping. We also tried out a new restaurant called 5 Guys Burgers and Fries. We gorged on salty roasted peanuts and causally tossed them to the ground, home cut fries (so so tasting) and ginormous burgers - which were the best I've tasted.

Day2 - Sunday

Day 3 - Hike up to Avalanche Lake. I think it was one of the most spectacular hikes I've ever rambled through. There were lots of little spots along the way for the kids to veer off and explore. The boys fished at the lake and the Jarom and Meggie tried to catch friendly little chipmunk in their lunch bags - Uncle Shane was the only successful one; so funny my side hurt from laughing.

Warm and Cozy

Another one of the goals I set for this summer was to learn something new. Yesterday I started the long hard journey to acquiring this skill. My knitting expert friend taught me the tricks of the trade over and over and over and over and then sent me home to practice and practice some more. This is my 3rd go round trying to figure out how to knit a sock, yes that's right my friends, this beautiful ball of yarn will someday be adorning my feet.

I will prevail at this, my kids and hubby may go hungry, my house may look like a tornado tore through it, I myself, may begin to develop personal hygiene problems; but I will master these socks!

Summer Reading

1. The Birth House - I read this book a couple of summers ago and loved it. I chose it as my book to reread this summer.
2. Still Alice - interesting - good read.
3. The Book of Negroes- I want to read this one, but I'm a little anxious as to what awaits me inside it's pages. It's the same feeling I had about A Thousand Splendid Suns. It took me awhile to build up the courage to read it, but once I did I loved it.
4. The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters - I can't remember what this one is about and why I wanted to read it, so I'll let you know.
5. World's Without End - This book is never ending, seems like I've been reading it forever. Not sure if it's worth the time I've invested in it, but I'm curious to know how the story plays out.

Looking for a Supper Idea?

Try these out:

Sensational Sirloin Kabobs

Sooooo delicious.

The Man, The Boy and The Mountain

This boy is amazing.

He climbed this mountain.

It was steep,

but his dad was there to encourage him along.


There were low points,



and lots of high points.






The Summit.

Nolan age 9 will be forever recorded at the top of Crowsnest Mountain.

The Candy Parade

The Anticipation

The Reward

You may or may not have noticed that the middle is missing. Actual pictures of the parade and candy scramble are missing. Sometimes I feel like I miss the event because I am too busy trying to photograph it. This year I opted to enjoy the happiness first hand, instead of through the lens of a camera.

I loved watching my kids get excited over the anticipation of the floats, horses and costumes. I loved seeing them clap and cheer and cajole people on the floats to throw candy their way, but most of all I loved watching Katrina take out little kids in her quest to acquire candy.

Take note that Russell can barely hold up his candy bag and his mom is standing closely by, guarding her prizes of sugary goodness.

I am in love

with this baby Even teething , she is the cutest baby I have ever had the pleasure of holding, cuddling, and rocking to sleep. I was too busy holding her or thinking of ways to get her back from her mama to spend time photographing her; as a result this is one of the few pics I have of her.

I think her mama should move in with me or let me have that baby. Either way I'd be happy.

I'm Losing It

This morning I wore my shirt inside out to the Farmers Market.

Gone in 60 Seconds

Have a great week-end!!!

Sharing Joy

I love the blog site

Kind Over Matter.

It's got beautiful photography.

Inspiring thoughts.

Beauty.

I love starting my day out gazing at pictures such as this one.

Picture by SaylaMarz

Court Reunion

Last week -end all the Courts gathered at Writing-On-Stone. It was beautiful, relaxing and joyful.

The cousin bonded.

The parents chit chatted.

The brothers exchanged funny stories about one another.

We had sing-a-longs, games and skits.

We ate gooey marshmallow, smores, caramel popcorn, cookies...

We built dams on the beach and filled 1000+ buckets of water.

In short we had a fantastic time.

Grandma's Jewelry Box

The other day my cousin and I were dipping into our grandma Strate's jewelry box. I remember as a kid being mesmorized by the glittery rings, necklaces, and broaches that were strictly off limits.

My sisters and I would sneak in to her room and have the most pleasurable time trying on all of grandma's jewels; feeling like princesses.

Apparently it's a feeling that doesn't go aways even after you reach the 30+ mark.

Feel free to call me Princess Angela from now on.

You don't want to mess with this woman

I've seen Jillian work the contestants on the Biggest Loser until they had sweat pouring off their body and that please somebody kill me now look in their eyes; but up until tonight I've never been on the receiving end of one of her work outs.

She kicked my butt.

I'm looking forward to the day when I will be able to get through a workout with Jillian. This woman is tough and I thought I was going to die.

If you ever feel the temptation to buy one of her DVD's keep on walking. Save yourself the agony.