em loves the emmy's...

sadly i totally forgot it was on...
thankfully
my sister texted me
so i did get to see the last hour or so...

today i'm googling all of the speeches...
& i came across the opening number on youtube
oh!
it's just so great...
check it out:



i love watching things that are so well done
& look like they were so much fun to make...

& i love the tim gunn part...
of course!

next year
i will write it on the calendar...

:)

:)

legoland road trip: tips, tricks & lessons...

(the force was with us...awesomely made of legos)

snacks
lots of snacks...

a mini dvd player is a friend to all
(ours only holds a 2 hour charge
so Q had to do traditional backseat stuff, too:
drawing,
games,
asking 'how much longer?' 236 times)

don't assume that your spouse brought the good camera
(just because you talked about it
the day before you left..ahem)

smile as you realize you only have
the old digital camera
whose card holds 75 shots at it's lowest resolution
10 on it's highest
with no cord to upload the pictures
onto your laptop

(fun fact: Q has been able to recognize & name
the eiffel tower since he was 3
...the boy likes buildings :)
...oo la la legos)

when you give your 6 year old the old digital camera
don't be surprised when you get 30 pictures of stuff
(not a single one of his dear parents who brought him on the trip
or even one of himself or his feet!)
or tons of the same thing
(legos & legos, of course :)

& smile again when the camera breaks
(after 5 years & thousands of pictures)
right in the middle of the day at legoland

buy a disposable camera
(for an unspeakable amount)
at the legoland store
& decide that you're going to
'click it old school'

console yourself:
at least you made up a good pun
instead of crying

embrace the challenge of 27 shots
that you won't see until they are printed
(i actually loved this!
i might buy a disposable to
keep in my purse...)

(Q's wish : a trunk full of legos
ha ha!
ha?)

a water park at 2pm in southern california
is worth the extra $12.
everytime...

always go on a ride called
'lazy river'
float around said river a few times

if you can't find someone to go on the big rollercoaster with you
(i don't want to embarrass the boys by saying
they were too scared...
but they were.)
go alone...
you won't regret it.

oregon water is the best water on the west coast

the best soundtrack is your kiddo singing
(we were treated to a fantastical mix of
star wars sound effects,
random thoughts to his own tune
& 'don't stop me now' by queen*
as we drove through the grapevine)

the grapevine sounds like it would be
lush & cool & green.

it's not.

(miniland...totally amazing!
Q took 20 pics of this.
before the camera broke...)

there are two kinds of people:
those who get stressed out when
the gas gets below a quarter of a tank,
& those who don't...
they are usually married to each other.

hanging out with your grandma
is always time well spent

(1st, 3rd & 4th generations...
not made of legos)

hotel pools save everyone's
being-in-the-car-for-12-hours
sanity

if there is a special kind of fast food
that you can only get in a certain area of the country,
get it in the first part of your trip
because by the end
even an in & out burger sounds awful
(sniff)

when you have two kids
it's way easier to travel with one
(especially when it's the 6 year old)

when you leave the 4 year old behind
(even if it is with grammy & pop
& she has the time of her life)
you feel like you're missing a body part
(everyday someone said 'i miss miss m!')

it was still a really good decision :)

(my awesome roadtrip partners :)

if you have the chance to roadtrip
do it!
there's just nothing better
(in my opinion :)



* when i looked 'don't stop me now'
up on youtube there was a thing that said
it was voted "The Greatest Driving Song Ever"
by viewers of the BBC television program Top Gear.
pretty cool
& appropriate...
& you can't beat hearing your kiddo sing
'don't stop me now
i'm having such a good time
i'm having a ball!'
at the top of his lungs :)

trippin'

road tripping, that is...
& i might just get the chance to
post a time or two...

we shall see...

:)

pdx with t...

what happens when your step-mom

is also your friend?

fun...

lots of fun...

thank you so much for
the super wonderful adventure, tam!
love you...

:)

boys of summer, part two: an older man

our anniversary is today
but we got celebrate on friday night
which worked out better for a myriad of reasons
that i don't need to list here...
i'll just say that it's always best to go with
the grandparents schedule
& when you know a sad anniversary
is also on the horizon
celebrating a good one first is nice
(cryptic enough?)

on friday morning
we weren't sure what we were going to do
& i said
'if you plan something, i will do it...
i'll follow you anywhere'
which sounds very jane austen
& is true, to be sure
but underneath the true
was the fact that i just didn't want to
try to figure it out
(especially because i had quite a big day ahead of me
with another guy, even :)
but it was no problem for MR. G!
which could stand for our actual last name
or for mr. google
because he was on it...
& he didn't even tell me what we were doing
until we were driving there
(big for him
he likes to spill the beans :)

first apps & drinks & good conversation
at steelhead
then a walk across the street for dinner & a movie
at the david minor theater


this movie house
has two theaters
one is (relatively) traditional
with rows of seats
the other has couches & comfy chairs...
i had only been in the row-y theater before
so it was fun to snuggle up on a couch for a movie
this time....
from the list in this picture
what do you imagine we saw?

that picture makes me laugh...
mr. high powered 5th grade teacher
can't even get off the phone to
pose for a photo with his wife...
so sad.
sigh.
ha ha :)
of course i love that detail
& the blurriness
& the tilt
& everything else that makes it
very real...
very us :)

we also stopped in at barnes & noble where
i was presented with a gift card
(he does know me well :)
to use however i saw fit...
& then we headed home...
(screen fades to black)

:)

ps
(of course)
we have a song...
our song
which i have documented
very well
here & here
(& probably a few other places)
but this one has become a new favorite
in the past few months...
an 'our song' runner up, if you will
should the first be unable to perform it's duties...

i could only find a coffee shop video performance of it
but i think that fits us pretty well, too :)



i love you, brian!
twelve down, forever to go :)

boys of summer, part one: the little guy

about a month ago
we were driving down the road
to & fro
going where ever we were going
& Q said
'do you know what i would like?
i would like to have a day
with just you & me
& we go & do things that we want to do
with just you & me
& no miss m!'
(he said her actual name, of course :)

& so every few days he would say
'when are we going to have OUR day?'
& i would say
'we need to plan it, don't we?'
& i felt so bad
we have just been doing
fun summer thing after fun summer thing
(i didn't feel bad about that :)
& he just kept asking...
i mean what mom of more than one kiddo
doesn't want to hang out with just one kiddo
for a whole day?
especially when they want to, too!

& so
friday we got to have our day!

he got to choose everything we did
the only boundaries were price
(i had to pre-approve)
& distance
(i nixed legoland
especially since we are heading there soon for real :)



first he had his last swimming lesson...
then Q wanted to go to a movie
& so we headed to a movie
but first lunch:

me: what would you like for lunch?
you can get anything you want.
Q: bacon.
me: like on a sandwich?
Q: no, just bacon.
me: anything else?
Q: turkey.
me: like on a sandwich?
Q: just turkey. well, i guess it could be on a sandwich...

ha ha!
so we got turkey sandwiches
with a side of bacon...
don't you just love him?

we also got candy for the movie
('mom. can i get THIS, too?'
'yes!'
'wow, i thought you would say no...'
:)

we went & saw
'how to train your dragon'
he had already seen it but
after i read him the list of what was playing
that's what he wanted to see
so we did...
i hadn't seen it
& i loved it!
what a wonderful movie...
& during the scary parts
Q reassured me
that everything would be fine...
too sweet.


after the movie we hit the photo booth
(surprise! surprise!)
2 actually
the black & white one was
crazy close-up...

he had mentioned dinosaur bones earlier
& so i suggested the natural history museum
& there we went...
sadly it was closed for remodeling
(but we got a ticket for free entrance when it reopens...cool!)


it was 3ish & Q was starting to fade
so i mentioned that we might
sit on the grass & rest...


he suggested that i sit on the grass
by the truck (that we had driven)
& read my book
while he climbed in the back of the truck
& built a little living room
with brian's stash of wood...


he totally re-energizes by (semi) alone time
to make stuff...
hmmm
why does that sound familiar?

then it was time to head home
but not before some ice cream...
had to end on sugar :)


this kid just kills me
he is so sweet
& such a rough & tumble guy...
when he talks he has something to say
& i'm really happy that i got to hear him
(just him) today...
i am so glad he is my boy
:)

summer 2010: jump in...

it's more than halfway over...

summer, that is...

(i don't know if that's technically correct

but i know teachers report back in 5 weeks

& that's when summer's over for me :)

is there anything you've been meaning to do?

anything that's just itching to be done this summer?

what are you waiting for?

jump in!

:)

when i was young...

this girl was tiny...
running around our church
just like, being a little girl...
eventually her dad was my high school pastor
& look at her now!
she's making videos
& cds
& doing the ONE project
(like bono!)
(click here to see that video)

& this video is so super cool...
so pretty...
& so creative...
& the song is gooood...



i love the line
'the more you live
the more you see
that people hurt when
they don't know what they need'


thanks anna...
fun to see you growing up :)

anna gilbert on
myspace
facebook
cdbaby
itunes (just type in anna gibert...
i can't figure out how to link to it
without linking you to my itunes
& while it would be loads of fun
to treat you all to some of anna's music
we are planning a trip to legoland
& i'm not sure Q would understand...)

:)

i totally heart my friends...

this weekend i got to go play
with some of my favorite girls...
(rachael got to hang out for a little bit :)

thanks to one of heather's connections
we were totally spoiled
& got to stay in a great place in sunriver
& were given a complimentary
float in double kayaks down the deschutes river...
we felt like rock stars :)
no small feat for busy moms...

thanks girlies!
i love you & your feathers :)

:)

ps
a special shout out to the dads
for hanging with the kiddos...
10 altogether!
(if you're keep track,
i have 2
so that leaves 8
divided by 2
yes!
angie & heather each have 4!
i know
you were told there would be no math...)

:)

a sense of wonder: july 2010

*hearing*
the table saw
homemade knock-knock jokes
vbs songs in 4-year-old melody (& from 4-year-old memory)

*smell*




the heavenly combination
of
sunscreen
chlorine
& little kid sweat.
i always love to smell my elves heads
but the summer is my favorite...

*taste*













girls weekend
in sunriver...
enough said?


*sight*
watching: the bachelorette
embarrassed?
perhaps.
enough to stop watching?
not on your rose accepting life...

reading:
zach efron in instyle magazine:
"I'm big on knit sweaters right now.
Life After Denim has neat ones.
And I love vintage clothes-
things that have been on
an adventure prior to me owning them"

neat & adventure in one comment?!
from a 22 year old cutie?
come! on!


seeing: those elves grow up
before my very eyes...

*touch/feel*
touching: the steering wheel
(i've been driving around a lot)














feeling: excited for barnhouse...
wanna come?
check it out!


***extra sense*****
saying: thank you
to everyone who commented
here,
on facebook
& to me in person
about my
cheap (ahem) inexpensive pretty shirts post!
i loved doing it
& i might just have to make it a monthly thing:
11 awesome necklaces under $9!
8 fun flip-flops under $5!
6 cute toothpicks under $2!
the possibilities are endless!
(your attention span might be less so
if i resort to toothpicks though...)

:)

ps
you know i couldn't not
google 'cute toothpicks'
& there were no less than 1,190,000 results
(seriously)
& what do think i found:
adorable on a stick from who else?


















(image from marthastewartweddings.com)

:)

real, real simple...

okay
so
i get daily emails from real simple magazine
& i really enjoy them
but yesterday i got one titled
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $80'
& i just had to laugh...
i mean i love a list
but it might as well be
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $8000'
as far as my pretty shirt budget goes...
& so after voicing my 'concerns' on facebook
i decided to challenge myself to find
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $8'
yep $8.
& boy was it fun!
i love doing research like that
(doesn't everyone? :)

& so with no further words from me
i give you

10 Pretty Shirts Under $8

Pleated Ruffle Front Tank
Forever 21
$6.99

Surplice Halter Top
Newport News
$7.99

Polka Dot Tee
Forever 21
$7.99

HEM SLEEVE V-NECK TOP
Love Culture
$6.90

Knit Shoulder Tie Top
Heritage 1981
$7.90

To the Max - Women's Pleat Kimono Top

Walmart
$6.

Women's Plus Striped Crochet-Trim Tanks
(plus size)
Old Navy
$7.47

H&M top
$4.95

Eyelet Lace Tank
JCPenney
$6.99

AE Peace & Freedom T

American Eagle
$6.95

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

& a little more
for
a little more...


Ruffled Cap Sleeve Top
Charlotte Russe
$14.00

AE Keyhole T

American Eagle
$9.95

east5th Square-neck Corsage Blouse
(plus size)
JCPenney
$9.99

was that fun or what?

i was pretty impressed with what was out there
for not much money...
i hope you're finding some great deals
& pretty things...

:)

ps
the original article
'10 Pretty Shirts Under $80'
really does have some cute shirts in it...
super inspiring
for a little discount shopping shopping :)

drive in: part deux

(i'm pretty sure this was from the 50's...
we paid a little more than $1.50 :)

i had to do another post about the drive-in
it was just that fun :)

& the snack bar deserved a post all to itself....

(wow, she looks bored...
or pensive?
or trying to look bored & pensive?
hmmmm)

the drive-in was in newberg, oregon
it's the 99w drive-in...
here's a cool site where you can look up
a drive-in near you
they list drive-ins in lots of states
& seven countries, too...
pretty neat!

we went to see toy story 3
with the idea that we might stay for karate kid
if Q was up for it
& he totally was...
he watched the whole thing
(i even fell asleep for about 20 minutes in the middle)
& then slept all the way home
& until noon on saturday...
so funny...
miss m fell asleep 3 minutes into karate kid...
brian was bright eyed the whole time...

:)

also check this out:
doesn't that look so fun?
i will be out of town so i'm going to miss it this year
but i'm putting it on my calendar for next year...
here's their site with more info
their facebook page has pictures from last year...
oh!
it looks so great!
loving it...

so grab a friend
hop in the car
& head to the drive-in
(to watch or shop :)
you won't regret it...

:)