Girls' Weekend Sept. 12th to 14th

My dear friend Allison and her family purchased a cottage house in a newly created seaside town on the Pacific coast of WA, called "Seabrook". It's a charming village of interesting architecture, parks, community gathering spots with fire places, bicycles all around for everyone's use, a wonderful wine cafe, walking trails down to the beach... I could go on and on.
We went on Friday the 12th in the afternoon - took about 3+ hours to get there, and we relaxed for the next 48 hours! We even went on a short evening bike ride - both nights! This is Susan, Kari and I posing with our 'community bikes' which we parked so others could use them next.
Saturday morning we decided to take an hour drive further up the coast (this is Olympic Peninsula land) to see some of Allison's favorite beaches and go rock collecting. Here's Kari, Susan and I standing in front of the corner of Allison's garden -that's her white cottage behind us.The rocks on "Ruby Beach" were amazing! We brought bags of them home to fill in hurricane jars, etc. - they make awesome, simple decor. Plus... we were hunting for flat, dark gray ones that the Glovers are using as a sort of 'ground cover' between the cottage and the carriage house on their property, where the hot tub and outdoor shower are.

Here's Susan, Kari & our "hostess" - Allison - the NW coastline is sprinkled with lots of jutting rock formations -just amazing!

Here's a shot of the 'great room' inside the cottage. Look! There's the painting I did for Allison. She really seemed to love it, and I was so glad I designed it using the colors she had described to me - it worked really well with the interior decor.
Allison & Susan posing for Kari, as we headed for a morning beach walk.
Coffee on the front covered porch - sweet!
It was hard to leave on Sunday... the day was clear and warm, and the beach was amazing! I think this makes a pretty cool abstract design - it's tide lines in the sand.

Can't wait to go back - hope to have a group of families all go and rent other cottages so we can all enjoy Seabrook again!

Homecoming ?

Here's Chef Ryker putting the decorative touches onto the cake he made by hand (I wouldn't let him use the mixer... I'm mean!) for part of his plan to invite Alison to the homecoming dance.
Y for yes, N for no - he put lit candles above each letter in Alison's kitchen, and after she came home to discover the "?" out front, she had to blow out the candle of her answer.
93 tealight candles representing HomeComing ? as the question of the night!Ryker is very relieved... this was a pretty big deal - asking a girl to his first formal high school dance. She ran in the house and said "thank you" and of course... answered Yes.
Enjoying a slice of the confetti cake, while putting up with the moms taking photos. The Homecoming Dance is Oct. 18th this year... stay tuned for more details!

Family Day - Sept. 7th

Last minute changes to the original plan had our family going up to the Pickards' after they finished the Mercer Island triathlon. It was a beautiful day, clear blue skies, hot sun! Here we 5 are, in a rare family photo!
David is holding one of the Balls' dogs "Mitzi".
Jzo was psyched for the change of venue, as he got his first chance to practice his flips on his cousins' new tramp.
Marina didn't try her back handsprings she's been working on in tumbling at the gym, probably prefers her coach to spot her, not trusting any of us! I don't blame her.
Delaney was the "safe spot" for "Tika" who didn't enjoy the curious attentions of "Logan".

That's 11 with Oldenburg 5, Pickard 5 and Grandpa Ron.

(not counting "Cocoa", the Balls' 3rd dog.)

Sept 2nd, First Day of School!

Over the years I've slacked off a bit on taking "first day" photos of all the kids. This year both boys are attending new schools, and their classes had earlier start times than the other grades at both schools, so they left for their buses quite early. Marina didn't have to go to the bus stop until 11:00, so she and I had a leisurely morning and she had plenty of time to make the final decision of what to wear. I think she chose well. She looked great, didn't she? (by the way, she had her cute new black flats on, which gave her blisters that day.)

Kelly's Weekend in Seattle!

Yay! My good friend Kelly from Austin, TX (who is the one who started me on this whole 'blog' thing) came to visit me for 3 nights and just 2 days. She came in response to an invitation to attend our mutual friend Janine's daughter's Bat Mitzvah. Janine, Kelly & I all worked for years together with the Pampered Chef, met up at bi-annual conferences and traveled the world along with our hubby's who have all met as well. We are all retired from the company now, but keep in touch, especially Kelly & me as we share so many common interests.This was Sat. 8/30, just prior to our leaving to head over to Janine's house for a casual "deli night" they were hosting for family and out of town guests. It was both Kelly and my first time seeing Janine in a few years.
Jzo helped with the photography, and we caught David doing a bit of landscape touch up, so it was a good excuse to snap a pix of their cute faces!

Earlier on Saturday, I took Kelly on a driving tour downtown Seattle, passing the Space Needle, the waterfront area, etc. and we even went over to West Seattle so she could see the eastward views of the Seattle skyline from over on Alki Beach. We ate at "Spuds" a great local joint that's been around for over 70 years! It was a chilly morning, so the hot clam chowder in soft sourdough bowls hit the spot! After lunch we headed back into the city and went to Pike Place Market. It was Kelly's first visit to Seattle, so these were great adventures for her to get a feel for life on the Puget Sound. (well, a tiny taste at least!) We loved the hustle bustle of the market and checked out the guys famous for tossing huge fish around, but our favorite things were the amazing fresh produce, and the gorgeous flowers everywhere!

I think this is the stand where we purchased big bouquet to give our evening hostess. We both agreed we'd love fresh flowers like these on a regular basis for our own homes!
We got a stranger to snap our photo. We did the same for some other people earlier. The sun also came out that afternoon, and it was fun seeing all the people along the street and listening to some good and some 'interesting' street musicians.

Sunday morning we got up early and attended the 'new moon' service at the synagogue where Justyn, the Bat Mitzvah girl, led a good portion of the service in Hebrew. She did a great job. It's a long, 2 hour service with lots of standing/sitting and Hebrew, but we both found it interesting. There was a brunch afterward and then we returned home to rest up a bit before dressing up for the formal "Gala" event that night at the Arctic Club Hotel downtown. Kelly took her camera that night and probably took enough photos to be credited as the event photographer, so I'll post some of those after she sends me some.

Thanks again for coming to visit me Kelly, and I hope next time you bring the other Kelly along too! Now I guess it's our turn to come over and enjoy your beautiful home and New Pool! xoxo!

End of Summer Sleepover 8-28/29

Right before Labor Day weekend, while Jordan was staying over at one of his friend's house, Marina had two of her good friends, Natalie & Tess over for a final summer sleepover. They had lots of fun hanging out that evening, visiting outside with some of their guy friends, and also trying to spy a bit on Ryker who had a friend over. I don't think they had much luck with that, but there were lots of giggles and fun for all. This photo is from the next morning, relaxing out back on the swing-bench.

Latest Painting in Progress

You can barely see the initial pencil sketch on this canvas, which is 24"x36".
First layer of glazes and some texturing.
The letters represent the first initials of my friend Allison's family. This painting is a combo gift for both her recent birthday and house warming of her new beach house out on the WA coast. The color palette is to complement the beach house decor. Hope she'll like it, it's almost done!