THE COLOR RUN PORTLAND

was Saturday. Although I couldn't run it because of cooler toe, I was able to participate in the finale and get colorful. What a fun, fun, FUN morning we had at The Color Run Portland!

Us girlies BEFORE

and AFTER 

Please note my impressive and skilled cooler toe lift so I can participate, with out 'participating'.

This will no doubt be an annual event for us.

PS - Do you remember when we participated in The Color Run Seattle in May?  I wish I could participate every month, now THAT would be an awesome!

YESTERDAY I HEARD, WHAT I THOUGHT TO BE, BABY BIRDS

I heard the chirping all day and even commented to Lach that there must be a bird's nest really close.  Later in the afternoon, Larry J came in and told me that Lily had found a baby squirrel.  When I went outside, I was expecting to see Lily with "a present" but she was sitting there standing guard, not making a sound and giving it a nuzzle every now and then.  It wasn't birds, we were hearing the baby squirrel crying all day!

I wrapped it in a towel, placed a call to the Humane Society and googled how to care for a baby squirrel, while we waited for them to call back.  I kept going outside to see if there was a mama looking for her baby.  Nothing.  Lily kept going over the the same area, was antsy, but never barked.  About an hour later, I heard a rustling and the little babe perked up, so I thought it must be the mama.  Then the rustling stopped and I wondered if it was a cat.  I stood very still, watching, and then I saw it - another baby.  It was in-between our fence and our neighbors, just beyond our reach.  Larry J climbed the fence and handed it over.  As soon as it got in the towel, the two dehydrated babies snuggled.  Talk about heart melting cuteness!

We have named them Phineas and Isabella.

They eat kitten formula every three hours.

The man clan and I are having so much fun caring for these wee ones,

but we will be taking them to a squirrel rehabilitation center in a few days.

We don't know how we're going to break it to Lily - she thinks she's their mama.  She grooms them, stands guard by their "nest" we made and is constantly checking in on them.  It's the cutest thing I think we've ever seen her do.  She LOVES the little babies she rescued, absolutely loves them, and so do we.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAIRD!

Laird is 15 today!  The years have gone by so quickly.  In my mind, this young man of mine is still five.  He has a great sense of humor, I love his laugh, he is a hard worker, kind, loving and a ray of sunshine in our lives.  

We love you Laird!  Happy, happy birthday!

WE HAD AN EARLY FAMILY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

for Laird. He is turning 15 on Tuesday.

Laird wanted to decorate his birthday cake this year.  I showed him how to make fondant and let him be creative.  He was going to make his cake look like an iPod.

During the creation process, he changed his mind and made a deconstructed sandwich.

One of the best parts of the party was that my aunt and uncle have been in town this week.  These two people are incredible - I wouldn't be who I am today without them.
The best part of this photo though, is my brother, Ivon, photo bombing it.  I love it!

FRIDAY NIGHT

Larry and I went to see Chicago play at the zoo.  It was a perfect summer's night and middle school and high school memories were flooding back, as we sat there with my cooler toe elevated on my purse, swaying and singing along.  Without Peter Cetera, I was wondering if I would be disappointed, nope, I wasn't - it was wonderful.

It was a sold out concert and when we got there the lawn was PACKED.  We found a tiny patch behind a bush.  We thought it was so funny where we were sitting.  We didn't care a bit - the music was fantastic and we were surrounded by really fun people.

We weren't completely deprived of a view, we could see a smidge of the stage.

As the evening went on, some people moved spots, so we were able to move over and up.  Larry and I love people watching, and it was so fun watching people, of all ages, having a great time swaying, dancing and singing along to great tunes.  It was a beautiful, beautiful evening.

FIRST ANNUAL YOUNG CLAN CAMPING TRIP - PART 2

It was a foggy day and a bit chilly, but that didn't stop our clan from enjoying the lake and the sand dunes.

Super duper fun afternoon!

FIRST ANNUAL YOUNG CLAN CAMPING TRIP - PART 1

We decided to have a family camping trip this weekend.  Not all of the family could come, unfortunately, but three out of us six siblings came with our families.  Lots of food, wilderness yoga, longboarding and family fun.

90% of the camp out was super fun.

5% of the fun zapper was my trip to the ER with a broken toe.  Bah humbug.

The other 5% of the fun zapper was that the three little boy cousins bickered almost the entire time.  Most of the bickering was about imaginary forts, imaginary backpacks, etc..  It was hilarious after the first few times, but lets just say there were a lot of time outs for those three knuckleheads.  BUT when you ask them what their favorite part of camping was, they will tell you playing with each other.  If they can forget their bickering, so can I.

I'm already looking forward to next year.  I have a few camping items on my wish list, I'm just sure that the little cousins will have matured and will act older than their young age, and most importantly, I'm not bringing flip flops.

THE SAD, SAD TALE OF A PINKIE TOE

Last week, I thought I broke my pinkie toe. It hurt and the toe bruised, but I could walk on it with only a little discomfort, so we taped it up just in case.

This weekend we went camping.  I took the tape off because we were going to a lake and the sand dunes and it was feeling better, plus I didn't want it to get all sandy.  Big mistake.
As we were getting in the car to leave the lake, my pinkie toe stubbed the cooler.  It snapped and was facing East.  I was wearing flip flops, so I'm not exactly sure how it happened.

Larry took a photo while we were at the ER, as it was facing North East, before my two injections into the toe that hurt just as bad as the break.
My toes are now taped and I'm in a ugly shoe for 6 weeks.  I'm in pain and pouting.

Here is the culprit.  Boo, hiss, boo, hiss.

PS - I feel like I'm being punished for something.  Good luck, where are you?