LARRY J WOKE UP TO A FUN SURPRISE!

His leaders and some of the guys in his church class came over to wake him up for an INSANITY birthday workout.

(I know this picture is blurry, we have ridiculously horrible lighting in our living room, practically non existent)

After a hard, sweaty, kick butt 40 minute workout, they took him out for a birthday breakfast.

My boys have been blessed with amazing church youth leaders and mentors over the years.  I am so incredibly thankful that they take time to show that they truly care about them.  A little extra effort to make someone feel special goes along way.  This was a birthday wonderful morning.

I HAD A DATE WITH THE WEE-EST TODAY

for a field trip with his 1st grade class.  We went to the pumpkin patch, apple orchard, corn maze and washed all the fun down with apple cider and apple cider donuts.  We had perfect autumn weather and got to snuggle on the school bus.

It was a great day to be in 1st grade!

I GOT SO SPOILED YESTERDAY WITH AN EARLY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION BY MY THOUGHTFUL AND GENEROUS FRIENDS

Last night was Yaya night and we were celebrating my birthday and Kathy's.  Adrienne planned a fun bbq with a sweet 16 flashback, complete with pink tiaras for the us birthday girls and 80's music.

Kathy and I have celebrated together for 13 years and counting.

We had an assortment of yummy cupcakes from Twinsies - they sell vegan cupcakes - yay me!

We were trying to get a photo with all the sweet 16 candles lit and a fake blow - didn't work out so well, candles melted super fast and we couldn't stop giggling.  It was hilarious.

We all brought a picture of us in the 80's.  This is me in the 80's with my bestie Kristen.

Want to see my presents?  I got a super cool succulent pot from Brenda.  I'm ecstatic about it! It's gorgeous and has some starts of chicks and hens from her pot.  And, I got cool new shades from A that won't fall off my face running or paddling.  They're rad and I absolutely LOVE them.

I am super delicious to mosquitoes, so Kathy got me some citrus body butter and spray.  I'm putting it to the test when I'm in Arizona next week.  Cindy got me two sets of monogrammed dessert plates.  I'm so excited to eat my birthday cake on them tomorrow.

To make the day EVEN BETTER, earlier I had lunch with my Soul Sisters at Marco Polo.  I received a very generous gift certificate to Amazon and spent the afternoon purchasing things from my Amazon wishlist to help with my urban farming dreams.

All these lasses did some serious spoiling yesterday.  I'm so thankful that I have known them for so long and have them in my life.  These women are amazing and we've been through a lot over the years.  They teach me how to be a better woman, friend, wife and mother.  I love their guts.

BECAUSE OF MY GRANDMA BETTY, I LOVE PEONIES

and have I have some of her bushes in my garden.  Beautiful white peonies.
Recently I discovered a little gem, Adelman Peony Gardens.  They have a gorgeous little display garden with  methodically placed benches.  Admiring the beautiful flowers and peaceful landscape makes my soul and senses happy.  

They have many bushes you can purchase during bloom time and also blooms by the stem.
One of the most impressive parts is in the nursery - hundreds (I believe something like 350) varieties of gorgeous blooms on display.  Absolutely stunning.
Adelman Garden will definitely be an annual outing to admire and also continue learning how to care for my grandmother's bushes so that I can enjoy them for many years to come.

NO GRUMBO, BE HUMBO

This was my favorite bumper sticker I saw in Hawaii!

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.

PEONIES

My grandmother's peonies have decided to start blooming and they are beautiful, as they are every year.

I feel so lucky to have some of her bushes in my flower garden.  I find myself smiling, as they welcome me, as I pull into the driveway.  They make me a happy, happy girl.

I MET ED!

When we saw that the Mother Earth News Fair was going to be in Puyallup, we thought it would be fun to go.
When I saw that Ed Begley Jr was going to be there, I knew we HAD to go!

I found the booth Ed was in before he went on stage to speak.  I was so excited!  That smile didn't leave my face all day.  Larry was in a solar class, so he missed it  :-(

Ed's presentation was amazing.  Top three pointers I got were:
1.  Get a home energy audit.
2.  Don't go into debt going green.  Do what you can with the simple and inexpensive changes first.  With the savings you are getting from your changes, upgrade to better green options when you can.
3.  Live simply so that others can simply live.    

PS - For those of you who love Ed also, and are wondering if Living With Ed will be coming back, it won't. BUT there is great news.  A new series called On Begley Street will.  It will either be on cable or a web series.  Yay!

WHO PUT THEIR CHOCOLATE IN MY COOKIE BUTTER?

Who put their cookie butter on my chocolate?
Oh wait, I did! And, it's delicious!

Next time you are at Trader Joe's, put this in your cart. It's heaven in your mouth.

HAPPINESS IS....

playing with blocks until noon.I ignored all the chores and tasks waiting to be done and played with the wee-est.

We made "da toolest fortress in da whole wuld."

It could have, and should have, been a more productive day, but I wasn't in the mood. I was in the mood to play on the floor.

MY LEMON TREE

has fruit! So far six lemons are in the making. I'll be making homemade lemon curd for the holidays.
This little tree makes me happy.

RUB THE BUDDAH

He.loves.bellyrubs.

If you want to be his best friend, rub his belly.

JACK AND WHITE

Gosh, I wish I had the talent of singing. Music makes me so happy and Brooke's voice brings a smile to my face. I love her voice.

Have you heard any songs from Jack and White yet? You need to, it's awesome. I can't wait for August 30, so I can get my cd.

I don't know why the video isn't showing the full frame, so click here to see the video.

BEST ENGAGEMENT PHOTO SHOOT EVER

I cannot even tell you how much I love this photo shoot of Ben and Juliana. Click here for the photo sequence. Genius, I tell you. Absolute genius.

via jane wiedlin via mlkshk via amanda rynda photography

Love, happiness, zombies and triumph. What a perfect day.