Natural Park

Up to our eyeballs.

Charlie, taking a break from his day to have a sip of tomato juice.

To Tickle Your Funny-bones!

Something funny Mom, Dad and I heard on WPR the other night, made all that much funnier when you can watch this guy's face while performing...

Haaa Haaa Haaaaaaaaa! Have some Madeira, My Dear??

 Cows are eating after they got done milking.

Grandpa milking cows. He sure could use help from Charlie.

 Goats eating hay after they got done milking.

The big Daddy pig is here for a little while.  

The Baby goats are getting bigger.

 Charlie is eating supper. She is growing.

 Rocky is eating bread.

Here are all the cats eating their supper.

Wow!

All I have to say about this video is: WOW! It is definitely worth watching all the way through...

They fit together like ...

I couldn't resist taking a picture of Daddy napping while Charlie was watching a show about monster trucks. I asked Charlie later what he would do if he drove a monster truck. He said he would drive it home.

Notice my new curtains ;)

~Becky

Ruth Stout.

I got a little curious to see what she looked like, and thought those of you that have read her book  on no-work gardening (using mulch) would appreciate this picture. We've all been reading Ruth Stout's Gardening without Work (this link will take you to an excerpt from the book on the Mother Earth New's website); well Trav and I are in the middle of it, but we got the copy from my Mum and she was recommended to it from Liz. I think Steve should borrow it when we're done. Liz is waiting on another one of Stout's books, which all but the one listed above seem to be out of print. So the library and subsequently SELCO do not carry any except for Gardening without Work, BUT they do have a movie called Ruth Stout's Garden. Its only 23 minutes long, and is described as: "Ruth Stout, age 90+, gives out advice on topics from aging to child-rearing in her free-thinking and unorthodox way as she shows off her garden. I'm intrigued.

On a somewhat related note- eccentric figures from the past that care what goes into their bodies I guess- I recently watched the documentary Netflix has on Dr. Bronner, called Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox. I liked it very much. I had recently purchased some of the fragrance free variety, for various uses (including making foam soap for our hand dispenser, Charlie likes his foam) and was hoping that the movie wouldn't turn me away from the brand. He's wacky (Dr. Bronner), but I really appreciate how the family has maintained their integrity and the quality of ingredients has only changed for the better. Currently they are heavily supporting Washington state's push to require a label on genetically engineered foods. They are even spreading the message on their bottle (which is very appropriate).

~Becky

Bath fun at the end of the day.

Laugh, splash, giggle and play!
(Charlie and I read so many children's books repetitively that I get all kinds of one liners stuck in my head.)
Juniper loves baths so much that I would give her one everyday, except I don't want to dry out her baby skin. I'm not using any products on her, except for barrier cream sometimes, and that seems to be working out the best for her. I just love her smile, and I think she's ticklish on her neck (yes, she does have one, and its very strong from holding up those cheeks). She gets so excited and happy, I just know she's going to bust a gut any moment now.
~Becky

The countdown has begun.

We haven't had any craft projects around here for awhile, so we decided it was time. It's not the fanciest countdown calendar, but it will suffice. Charlie's pretty excited for his party and likes to talk about it, so now we have a visual for counting down the days.

See you in 6 days!

~Becky

Rock N' Roll Charlie.

Give this boy a guitar, and he will play it for hours. He says that he still prefers the banjo. Not sure if its because TaTa plays the banjo or possibly because the strings are looser. Or maybe he prefers the sound, the twang, that good old-fashioned bluegrass feel? He does like Mumford and Sons...

~Becky

Just a few more "Welcome Juniper" pictures.

This time from the Wiste/Zimmermann side...

   

  
 Lot's of Grandma pictures, but of course Grandma and YaYa have been the most frequent visitors. We sure enjoyed Mum, Truman and TaTa's visits this past weekend! And cute adorable cousin pictures. The only thing better would be a picture of 3 cute sleeping cousins, so we'll have to try to get one when Liz's baby is born. Big boy Ronin will be able to have one baby on each side of his lap by that point!

     

Trav also turned 29, so of course 29 candles. He had a little extra help blowing them out this year.
And tucking the kids in... at night if Juniper is with us at bed time, I tuck them in together before they both turn in for the night. Charlie sure loves his baby sister.
~Becky

Flood Related

Here's what you can do with a Brad-sized bulldozer.  That's Chad in the former mudslide for perspective.  Brad had to put "steps" in it to hold the new rocks and dirt.  I'm glad I didn't watch him do this - YIKES!  (This spot is on Gilbertson Dr.)  Mudslides sure are amazing when you consider the force that was behind all that rock and debris when it sheared off the hill.  Tell Charlie to start practicing:)

Mudslide before work began.

Truman's poor old haybine.

It's upside down and over 1/2 a mile away from where Truman last parked it!

By request...

But first...Clarence feeds HIMSELF!

Ooooh-la-la!

"I need YaYa."

Says Charlie this morning. He has limited vocabulary, and I think he means he misses having her here- he got a little used to waking her up in the morning. I told him what I always have to remind myself, since we live in a city away from our family... time spent with people you love is never long enough, but you just have to enjoy the heck out them while you get them. 

I am currently blogging with blanched broccoli in the sink, a fritatta in the oven (originally I was planning on cold cereal), and the baby actually sleeping in her bassinet. The boys have been in the garden since 6 a.m. Why are we up so early? One would assume baby J, but you would be wrong (she slept 6 hours in a row last night! I know I shouldn't worry because she's gaining plenty, but is that okay?!? new mom anxiety). 

Charlie was up at 5:30 a.m. and woke that baby girl right up. She was at about 3 and a half hours that time. I probably could have slept until 7 a.m. this morning! Oh well, then I wouldn't have been so productive. Don't call to see how I am doing later... we'll all be napping.

                  

 So, safe to say that Charlie had a lot of fun over the past week (note tattoos and cupcakes; there were also bubbles, sidewalk chalk, hide and seek, shopping and eating out, to name a few). But now Daddy's got his (garden) partner in crime back- you can catch them green-handed, ha ha.
I can't believe that Juniper is already over 2 weeks old (and, ahem, 9 pounds!!!).

 

Another new thing, which of course my pictures do not do justice... my kitchen island, and Charlie's mini kitchen, courtesy of Grandpa Steve. I can't believe how spoiled we are, so spoiled in fact, I haven't really used it yet. YaYa did all of my cooking this week. If you are wondering what to do for a new Mom, the nicest thing you can do is cook for her. We also enjoyed so many types of fruit this week, which was a treat as well as refreshing, healthy for Mom and fun for Charlie.
I may not have used my island much yet, but Charlie has used the heck out of his. He's been washing vegetables and fruit in his sink (stainless steel bowl, which is removable so we can dump it) and cooking up a storm. He sat on his stool and watched his (mini) cupcakes bake, and then insisted they go in his oven afterwards. They are getting a little hard now, but he's still eating them. After all, they probably taste better since he made them "himself". I'll have to review my island with a few better pictures when I've used it more and rearranged my kitchen things to fit my drawers. Its funny how in a rut you get, or anyways how used to where things are, its a little tough to move things around! Oh, but I'll adjust to the extra storage all right. Currently I have an extra drawer! How does that happen?

Enjoy your lovely day! (Lot's of exclamation points this morning!)

~Becky