Wordless Wednesday

Deception Pass - living up to its name

Nestled between Fidalgo and Whidbey Islands, I present to you Deception Pass. No doubt about it, she's beautiful. Lush mountains, blue waters, picturesque mountains, one major *&#! of bridge. No wait. Make that 2. Two bridges. Twice the pain. Twice the Hell.
My issue doesn't stem from the fact that we were waaaaay up here and the water was waaaaay down there. I'm fine with heights. My issue was the fact that our little walking path was barely wide enough for MY wide load, let alone a passing motor home. And let's not forget our incredibly wild and crazy, no-fear monkeys. Jake kept Natty pretty much contained, but Ashley would have been scaling the outside of the bridge if I didn't keep a death-grip on her. She just couldn't get enough of the boats and the waves and the rocks.
Where does this Evel Knievel attitude of hers come from?
With every step I took I recited scripture, sang hymns and when I ran out of those, I started making up my own. I was so relieved to make it to the other side, only to be reminded that I had to walk BACK across the bridges. Talk about a total buzz-kill.
And in case you are wondering: yes. Yes the motor home that buzzed past us was --this-- close to our heads. Narrow walk-ways. Narrow bridge. Narrow-minded bridge engineer.
White-knuckling Ashley didn't prove any easy state to take pictures in. But fear not my fellow blog-readers, I managed to capture a few shots of our daring (make that scaring!) walk across Deception Pass.
And now that I've cruised her, I'll never do it again. Well I shouldn't say 'never'. But the likiehood is very small, very small indeed. My children will have to be full-grown before I tackle that one again.

Just beginning our trek, so far so good
About this point Ashley and I started lagging waaaay behind due to the fact that she wanted to stop every 3 feet to stick her head between the railings
Across to the other side, let the celebrations begin!
About this point I was reminded I had to go back from whence I came, total downer
Having to hold this mini tight so she didn't end up down the ravine
What did Midget want? To be down in the water with the boats. Crazy Midget.
Photo op with Grandma and Grandpa
Grandpa cuddles
The view from the other side of the bridge. Yes it's very pretty. Yes it's worth it. But do it only if you can leave your minis at home!
Can you see where Natty Kat gets her stink-eye from?
Going for a hike
An old cedar, still living but partially hollowed out by a forest fire - Ashley was completely enthralled and said "I'd like to take this tree home please, Mommy". Well at least she asked please.
Say cheese, Grandpa!
Making friends with random kiddos on the beach
Git over here and give me some squeezes, Wy Wy
Double stink-face
Goofing off while we wait for a lunch
Along for the ride

Water dogs

Day #3 of our Northern Expedition was spent either in the pool or at the lake. It was H.O.T and we were thankful for the water to cool off. I believe it was the first time in years that I went the entire day sans makeup. Not a welcoming site. Props to my giant sunglasses which is the only reason I could go so long without my mascara and eye liner. For some reason there are even pictures of me to document my naked face. Guess there's something to be said for having fabulous fun; you really do forget about the little, unnecessary things like concealer and shadow!
Or wait. Did I say unnecessary?
Scratch that.
The heat must have gotten to me.

Splashing with my Midget - so thankful for the Puddle Jumper which is the only reason she'll cruise around the pool like a rockstar
Goofing off with Aunt Katie
Catch!
A quick Oreo break, made even more popular by Grandma's reading glasses
Assuming the position
I dare you to not smile when you see this picture:
Rafting?....
...thanks but kayaks are more my style.

Party up North

Last week we packed ourselves up and headed to Bellingham for a week of fun in the Washington sun. I admit I'm always a little leery of the car ride up; 6 hours cooped up in the car with our minis? Yikes, right?
Wrong!
The girls were absolutely uh-moz-ing all 6 hours, 13 minutes of the drive. They even entertained us with their sizzling dance moves, see for yourself by clicking here.
Around 9:30 pm they both passed out cold, which made the last 2 hours of the trek almost boring.
Almost.
Traveling with a couple of zany toddlers isn't always easy, nor is it always fun. But when times get toughest, we just muddle through and know the memories we're making far exceed the headaches, tears and timeouts. And if you noticed, I never specified the 'who' in regards to the headaches, tears and timeouts...Pretty sneaky, eh?
PS Our first full day in Bellingham was spent at the grocery store, driving way out of his way to buy tires (don't ask!) and waiting for the rest of the crew to arrive. Nothing too riveting or exciting, which means I actually only took 1 picture on our first day. So very out of character for me, I know. It pains me.

The 1 and only pic I snapped on day 1 - the fort the girls and I constructed. But I quickly learned we 3 girls had too much energy to stay inside so we opted for a run around the lake and an hour at the playground instead. And wouldn't you know it but the girls made friends with 2 little Canadian boys. Imagine how fun it was explaining to Ashley why they call it a 'washroom'. When they returned she quickly asked "What did you wash?" Only our Midget! Hitting the beach with crazy Aunt Katie Getting our toes wet Row! Row! Row! What I didn't capture was when Natty Kat tried to climb inside the log. Surprised? Shouldn't be. Making her own personal wading pool Takin' one to the face - thanks Daddy Chilling in an Aunt Lindsay and Katie sammy with Wy Wy and Baby Pippin 1 thing that always happens when we go up north? Lindsay's chocolate chip cookies! Wy Wy's getting a chance to love on Ashley Happy cousins
Night-night Wy Wy
A bit of chocolate ice cream before bedtime ensures sweet dreams

Attachment disorders

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: Natalie is a monkey. Plain and simple. It seems she has a biological need to climb. Or a biological need to totally jack herself up, which will happen one of these days. And when that day comes, it will be nothing less than epic.
God give me strength.
If she can't find *something* to climb, then she finds *someone*. Natty Kat doesn't care. In fact, I believe she prefers people over objects. So much so that it's almost as if she's got an attachment disorder. It's as if she can't function unless she's covered every inch of your body with her spunky little hands, and go ahead and image where those squishy little feet can fit.
Dude. Do I LOOK like a jungle gym?

Git over here Tissy!
All I need is 1 sec to get situated
Done with Tissy, now I turn my spunky attention to climbing Mommy's leg. Mommy's so lucky.

Thoughts for Thursday

I've got a giant hug and a cookie for the person that can explain to me why Natty Kat was stripped out of her pajammers AND diaper this morning when I went in to get her.

Wordless Wednesday

Sexy Little Bunnies

Ya, I don't get it either.
A few weeks back when Shawna, Jessica and I had our afternoon of wine tasting, Jessica captured a few images I didn't. So when she posted them to her blog (click here), I did what any good friend would do....I stole them.
No biggie, right?
Now to explain the title of this blog post: Sexy Little Bunnies. It doesn't make much sense, does it? Or if it does, please do enlighten. One of the last tasting rooms we tried out had some interesting 'art'; an awkward looking rabbit with a little red moon. Or what looked to be a rabbit and a moon. I'm not much for art, so really it could have been anything.
But I digress....
We three decided we wanted, no make that needed, our picture taken in front of the ahem, art. The weird art really only added to the ambiance of the entire tasting room: stuffy people with little to no personality and full bodied, crisp, ripe, smooth, with a hint of honey, oak barrel finished, complex, beautifully crafted wine with a pear aftertaste. Or so they'd like to think. I say blah, blah, blah. Basically all those words equal 1 thing: expensive. To put it lightly, this tasting room didn't fit our personalities. Talk about a bull in a China closet. So when we asked a fellow taster to take our picture, imagine our surprise when she attempted to turn it into a slightly risque photo shoot. At one point she said "Work it! Be sexy little bunnies! Yeah. Like that. Go dirty bunnies! You're doing it."
Awkward.
Yet so incredibly fun.
So if you're ever tasting in Carlton, make sure you get your picture taken in front of their art. And go ahead, get a little PG-13. I know there's a sexy little bunny in there just waiting to burst through.

Much needed lunch at Cielo Blu; that brick wall is more than just aesthetics, it also served as support thanks to tasting at Seven of Hearts
I forget the name of this place, although I do remember I wasn't impressed with their 'flight' (listen to me talking like I know wine)
Sexy Little Bunnies
Go ahead. I know you wanna try it for yourself.

Dinner party

Ashely and Natalie had quite the surprise waiting for them at Nana and Papa's house: a swimming pool! So when Mom called and invited us to dinner, I had a sneaking suspicion most of their time would be spent outdoors.
Turns out I was right.
Don't you just love it when that happens?

Splishy splashy
PS Yeah, yeah, yeah. I totally forgot their suits. Big deal. I skinny dip, too. Only when I'm baring cheek, the camera is locked away.
Soaking Nana
Bam! Ash took one to the face!
Check out the arm on Ashley!
Natty's still working on control; most of the time instead of bombing Nana she dumped it on herself
Mm hops. Love these things. Well not in this state, but you feels me, right?
Guess who's fave this is?
Checking in
"Mommy look I'm swimming like a mermaid!"
Look closely and you'll see a naked Natty Kat trying desperately to climb into her swing
Corn. It's what makes Natty happy. It's also what's for dinner.
Delicious curls
Back-stroke
Yay buddy! Thanks for the new hat, 2Nana!
Chilling in my pajammers
I don't think she'll ever outgrow the shoulder-ride