My oh my, how things change in a few short years...

Last weekend, Dan, Lana and I drove to Oregon to see my parents and take in a few festivities at the Pendleton Round Up.
We went to the Westward Ho! Parade and that was it (these pictures are from this year's parade). It's a great parade and a fun time, but a far cry from the Pendleton Round Ups I enjoyed when I was younger, specifically in college.

 

My sophomore year, I decided to drive the 8 hours back home for a quick weekend. My parents didn't want me to make the trip by myself, so I asked several friends to go with me. For some reason, the thought of driving for hours and hours, getting up early, sitting out in the sun watching a rodeo and then staying up too late dancing, and driving 8 hours back to school just wasn't all that appealing to many of the friends I asked. Fortunately, I talked my new friend, Alisa, into the adventure. Alisa and I didn't know each other all that well and had just started working together. Alisa was the ultimate city girl. She worked summers as a consultant at the GAP for crying-out-loud, but she was excited for this new adventure.

 

Alisa fell in love with the Pendleton Round Up the minute she laid eyes on her first cowboy. She was full of questions about the rodeo and the animals, but she really took to it when the first cowboy won his event, and in his excitement, threw his hat into the crowd. Alisa looked at me and said, "I want a cowboy's hat." "Okay, that's cool, they're being sold everywhere this week, we can get you one." "No, you don't understand, I want a REAL cowboy hat, ya know, from a REAL cowboy!" I laughed and explained that cowboys generally don't give their hats away, but she would have none of my explanations and was bound and determined to get her hands on a real cowboy's hat.
Later, at the dance, we both spent time out swinging on the dance floor, but she was still set on getting a cowboy hat. We met up with a guy I knew from a rival high school, dressed in his cowboy best, including a white straw Stetson cowboy hat. Alisa turned on her city-girl charm and somehow ended up with his hat on her head. She was beaming and it was obvious she had no intention of giving the hat back. The guy invited us to a party, gave us convoluted directions and told Alisa he'd get his hat back at the party.
Well, his directions turned out to be horrible and because these were pre-everyone-has-a-cell-phone days, we couldn't have gotten a hold of him had we tried, so we just went back to my parents house and the cowboy hat was officially Alisa's.
The following year she had her sights set on getting a belt buckle. Again, she wouldn't listen to my explanations on what she'd possibly have to do to get her hands on a belt buckle. Just like before, at the dance, she turned on the charm and while dancing with a cute cowboy, she flashed her doe eyes and asked, "How does a girl like me get my hands on a belt buckle like that?" She must have some Jedi-like powers because instantly the helpless cowboy TOOK IT OFF AND GAVE IT TO HER. It was an event I'd never seen before and doubt I'll ever see again.

 

Now, all my road trip and Round Up friends are scattered around the country in New York, Nevada, Utah and Wisconsin. It's been fun to catch up with them about our Round Up memories on facebook and online, but we all definitely agree that although those days were fun, we wouldn't go back even if we could. Sometimes it's nice to be a grown up.

 

Because grown ups get to enjoy the parade next to blonde babes who like to wave at the princesses and horses.

A Whole Lotta Cute

I understand the blog's been lacking in all things cute and two-year old blonde girl. Well, never fear, an update is here.


Lana's learning her ABCs and sang them all by herself on Saturday. Lucky me, she even did it for the video camera.


And here we have a not-so-fun Labor Day present. This black eye and beat-up face is what happens when little blonde girls think they're tougher than the toy box. She's healed up since then and is starting to look like her normal, adorable-and-always-up-to-something self.

And then there is this one, my personal favorite cute picture:
Terrified yet jubilant toddler = TOO CUTE!
On Sunday our church hosted a 9/11 remembrance ceremony and community picnic. The waterslide was a big hit. I know she looks utterly terrified, but Lana had a blast and wanted to go again and again. We finally had to stop when she threw a FIT because she didn't want to wait her turn. (Apparently this I-don't-want-to-wait thing is common in two-year olds (even cute ones)? Any tips for teaching patience???)

Happy Birthday Dan!

My Dear Husband and Lana's Wonderful Daddy has a birthday today. In true Dan fashion, he didn't want a lot of fuss and fanfare. Last night he was lovingly served his meal of choice (t-bone steaks, baked beans, baked sweet potatoes), but mostly he spent the long weekend working on projects around the place and taking care of his sick wife and daughter. Today (his actual birthday) he went to work, just like he would on any other weekday.

Well, he may not like a lot of pomp and frivolity, but I pretty much control the blog, so Husband, I hereby post this ooooey-gooey, mushy and cheesy post in your honor. (Oh, and if you're reading this, enjoy it while you can. If Dan asks me to take it down once he reads it, I probably will.)

No matter what Dan's doing, he's doing it with excellence.

 

Whether it's snuggling with Lana,

 

Outfishing me,

 

Lounging in the sun,

 

or playing with the wee one. He does it all better than anyone else I know.

I've said it before, and I'll say it many times again,

 

Dan's the hardest worker I know.

 

He spends months working on my honey-do lists,

 

and still makes times to build Lana a hand-washing and teeth-brushing step.

Dan really is the best and I am blessed everyday to be married to him, and Lana really does have the best Daddy a girl could ask for.

 

Happy Birthday Dan! Your Girls Love You!

August Was...

 

Hike to the Top of the World. (Okay, so it's actually only Kamiak Butte, but in our hill country, standing at the top, you feel like you're on the top of the world. It was Lana's first hike without the backpack carrier. Dan and I ended up carrying her part of the way, but she did walk some of it.)

 

National Lentil Festival.

 

Making music on the dining room floor while sportin' blue shades. Cool Girl!

 

Our garden's bounty.

 

Taking out old appliances to re-floor the kitchen. (That dang little trash compactor was probably the toughest appliance to take out. Needless-to-say, it didn't go back in.)

 

Surely, the happiest girl in the room must be the one with the blue BLUE eyes and the messy hair. Right?

Stay tuned for more in September, including home improvement projects galore, Dan's birthday, more food, and of course, more from the cute two-year old.

Another Post about Food

I know I've written about food a lot lately, but, well, it's either that or the cute two-year old and goodness knows I can write volumes and volumes about her (and do). Plus, it's kind of fun when the food comes with a story, right?

First up, a garden report. We've been dining on fresh onions, sad zucchini, broccoli, a variety of peppers, and of course, lovely sweet tomatoes. The other night I asked Dan to bring in some veggies for the next day's meals. This was the haul:

 

Not bad, even despite the plants that have been nipped by the early frost we woke up to twice already. The zucchini and most of the other vines were hit and probably won't produce much. Some of the earlier corn in almost ready and we've eaten green beans a few times.

Then, there is the BEEF. I'll admit it; I'm a beef snob. I didn't mean to become one, but after years of refining my beef palette by only eating high-quality, locally raised, custom cut beef, I had a hard time eating anything else. But alas, our steers weren't ready when we ran out of beef and the freezer spent about a month empty, and during that time I had to break down and buy grocery store beef. We survived and now we (finally!!!) have our freezers full of beef we raised on our pasture.
And it's goooood. Oh so very good.
Let's take a look, shall we.

This is a sirloin:

I know, it doesn't look like the petite sirloin steaks from the grocery does it? It's ginormous and quite tasty.

We had one for dinner along with garden-fresh green beans and baked sweet potatoes.

 

Dan recently spent some time in the kitchen too. He's been wanting to make Moo-wiches, which are the Northwest Washington Fair's signature treat. He didn't get an authentic Moo-wich prepared by a member of the dairy women's organization because we didn't venture to Lynden for the fair this year, so I suppose making your own is the next best thing. He asked me to make large, fairly uniform chocolate chip cookies. (I just followed the Nestle' Toll House recipe.) Dan picked up a tub of Tillamook vanilla ice cream. He wanted the cookies to be big enough so all he would have to do is cut the round ice cream tub into slices to build the perfect ice cream and cookie sandwich.
Well, the picture won't lie, it worked out pretty darn perfectly, and these guys taste even better than they look. Dan ate the last one tonight after power-washing the deck and I'm really hoping he wants to make more soon.

 

Oh, and Dan snapped this picture. I've been reading tutorials on taking great food shots and setting up plates and lighting and all that, and he just puts two Moo-wiches on a red plate, sets them on the table and SHAZAAM! he has a perfect food photograph.

The First Tomato

 

The above picture is NOT of the first ripe tomato from our garden. This picture is probably the fourth or fifth ripe tomato. There's not really a great story about this tomato, but there is a story about the first tomato.

This summer has been pretty cool, so the tomatoes have been sllllooooowww to ripen. I'd been waiting and waiting so patiently for the first ripe tomato. I'd check the garden almost daily, only to find all the tomatoes were still green.

One evening, Lana stayed outside with Dan to "help" feed the animals and check the garden. I stayed inside to get dinner ready. After a few minutes, Dan and Lana came back in the house. Dan stood at the door, whispering instructions to a clearly excited two-year old. She came toward me very slowly, her outstretched hands cupped in front of her chest, her face beaming with pride. She walked slowly and deliberately, taking care of the fragile treasure she was carrying.

When she made her way to me, she held up her cupped hands. "See! Look!" It was a beautiful, petite, fully-red, ripe cherry tomato. Finally! I looked down at my sweet girl, certain in that moment she could do no wrong. "Thank you so much Honey-Bear. Mama has been waiting so long for a red tomato. Can Mama eat it now?" In an instant Lana's sweetness turned into independence and defiance and she looked right at me and said, "No way!" and promptly popped that ripe tomato in her own mouth, clearly enjoying the first satisfying bite. She did it so quickly I had to stick my fingers in her mouth to retrieve the still-attached stem.

Alas, I had to wait a day or two later for my first taste of a summer-ripe tomato, but I don't mind. It's okay Lana-girl. Mama will share her tomatoes with you whenever you want.

Lentil Festival, in words and (sorry, only a few) pictures.

This weekend was the National Lentil Festival in Pullman. Yes, the town dedicates a weekend-long celebration to this most versatile legume and I love it. (It was also recently pointed out to me how perfect a setting it would be for a Christopher Gest-type mockumentary. If you have Hollywood connections, let me know - my sis and I have a great plot outline already sketched out.)
Friday night I helped to set up the 4 booths our church ran and helped out in the children's booth. Remember for next year that we rent strollers for free for your kiddos with tired legs and give out free balloons and popcorn for all!
Of course we got our free cup on lentil chili (really pretty good stuff) and we sampled all the classic fair foods like deep fried twinkies and oreos. It was a fun evening for all.

 

(the lentil chili was made in this giant pot)

The next morning I ran in the Taste T. Lentil 5k Fun Run. It's a tough race, but I like to do it to see how much/if I've improved from the previous year. Despite being tired (up in the middle of the night with a 2-year old who threw up in her bed and needed to be bathed and changed) I improved my time. Oh, don't get me wrong, I'm still the slow, chubby girl, but now I'm at least a little less slow.

Of course we forgot to grab the camera for the 5k and the street festival, but I was sure to have it handy for the Grand Parade. Okay, so really, it's kind of a lame parade, but it gets an A for effort. Candy gets thrown, princesses wave, the boy scouts and helpful and the little kids are cute.

 

Our little kid thought it was pretty neat, especially once she got a balloon and a lollipop.

 

How was your weekend? Did you make it out to the Lentil Festival or do something equally cool and Americana-esqu?

And so we dance.

I had a thought about Lana the other day that nearly knocked me down and made me weep.


She will never be this small again.


This should be obvious, right? She's a healthy, growing girl and her shoe size and ability to learn new things just keep increasing as the days go by.

In the past year I have been making a concerted effort to be more intentional with regards to how I interact with the members of my family. Time with Dan is held sacred, and I really do try to make playtime with my daughter more about our relationship than the act of play itself.

If you know me at all, you understand how difficult this is. I'm pretty goal-oriented with my check list of things to do never far away. But tickle time with Lana shouldn't be listed as a to-do that promptly gets marked off, instead it should be savored and oh-so-thoroughly enjoyed because, she will never be this small again.

And so we dance. We dance in the kitchen while making dinner or putting dishes away. We dance to music or to the songs we sing ourselves. Sometimes she likes dancing in her pink tutu and slippers and other times in pajamas and freshly-painted toenails. We dance because I love holding her growing hands in mine and twirling in convoluted circles. We dance because her eyes shine and her smile lights up her whole face and I can feel her pure joy radiating off her fair skin. We dance because for a fleeting moment I know I am doing exactly what I was meant to do.


She will never be this small again.

And so we dance.

July was....

...4th of July celebrations in Lynden.


...visiting cousins in Oregon.


...swimming lessons for Lana. (unfortunately no pictures) She loved swimming lessons and actually got to where she would hold her breath and float on her back a bit. Her favorite part was jumping in the pool and splashing.

...ZUMBA class for me. (fortunately no pictures) Have you ever done ZUMBA? It's super fun and a great workout and boy oh boy did it ever kick my booty.

...playing dress-up with her new present from globe-trotting Grandma Carol. This dress came to Lana straight from Austria.


...putting in new flooring. (more of it's done now and it looks FABULOUS!)


...watching the garden grow.


...trying out some new recipes to use up our garden's bounty - raspberry chocolate torte was a hit!


...playing school. Yup, she's only two, but the way she loves to sit and color at her desk (a $10 craigslist find), you'd think Lana was getting ready to start kindergarten.

So, how was your July? Any fun August plans to share?

Two Blonde Peas in a Pod

A few weeks ago I had the rare opportunity to visit with my younger sis, Jen. She has three kiddos and thus doesn't travel much, but she made an exception and spent a week at my parent's home in Oregon. I went down with Lana for a couple days. Jen has two sons, soon-to-be 6-year old Clint, and 19-month old Grant and a sassy princess daughter, soon-to-be 4-year old Sandy.


That little blonde girl has been one of my favorite sprites since she was born. Adorable, fiercely independent, and a lover of all things pink, glittery and/or frilly. She quickly became one of Lana's favorites too, and seeing these two white-blonde babes play together so nicely made my heart sing.



I'd catch a peek of them together, rolling around on the blow-up air mattress and wonder, What in the world are they laughing at? Neither could tell me, nor could they tell each other, but apparently just being small and cute and loved and playing with your new favorite cousin is reason enough to laugh (and laugh and laugh).