Snapshots

These boys love to dress up as super heroes

and play legos and trains,





 help their daddy make awesome looking pancakes,

 and pee on rocks instead of in toilets.



Cabin August 2011

We went up to the Cabin for a quick trip this past Sunday and Monday. We celebrated Rachael's birthday and had a real nice time together. Boat rides, kayaking on the lake, Skipper Beach (a nearby sandbar), lots of food, campfire, swimming, water skiing, life-jacket diapers, etc. We are so grateful for such a beautiful place to have fun and enjoy being together.

 

 

Bryan decided that body skiing sounded better to him than actual skiing that evening. Here he is being man-towed behind the boat. He even threw in some acrobatic arm tricks. Pretty impressive B-man, pretty impressive.

  

I can still slalom ski, hooray! I don't ski all that regularly any more, so I tend to get a bit nervous to try again. But I guess it is like riding a bike. Once you learn how you don't really forget, on the second try I was up and going strong. I am still sore, but it was worth it.

  

Life-jacket diapers! It is a long time cabin tradition to put your legs through the arms holes of a jacket, buckle up, and jump in the lake. However my two diaper junkies (Martha and Julia) were absent this time around, so I had to keep the tradition alive. Don't you love the flattering diaper jacket profile shot? Nice.

A Night Away

On Friday June 4th Bryan and I stayed downtown at The Modern Hotel. Bryan's Mom stayed with the boys for us (many thanks to you Gail). We rode our bikes downtown to the hotel. We ate dinner at on their patio, we had the most delicious gnocchi and kale. It was so good that we even ordered a second helping.

One of our (well maybe my) favorite things to do on a warm night, is to ride down to the Capitol Building and sit at the top of the steps. Looking out on this city we love while the sun sets warmly over it is so peaceful. We rode our bikes back to the hotel and then walked over to fanci-freeze and got some yummy dip cones. Delicious. Then I may or may not have fallen asleep while Titanic played on the TV in the background.

After enjoying our complimentary breakfast we rode to the Farmers Market. While strolling down Idaho St. we happened to spot my parents walking on the other side of the market. At that time they still had no idea that Bryan had cut his hair, so he snuck up on them and surprised them. It took both of them nearly a minute to figure out who the heck was talking to them. It was so funny to see their response.

Here is the picture they took of us after the hairless Bryan surprise.

It was really nice to just be with Bryan. He is my best friend, and having some time away from "real life" always helps me to remember that fact. I love you Bryan, and am glad to be living this life with you.

Our Hairy Evening

Last Tuesday we had a fun family night...cutting off Bryan's hair and beard! This was the first haircut for him since 2007 and the first hair washing since 2008. So it was sort of a big deal for us, mostly him. This was the third time he has grown out, and cut off, dreads and it is always a little sad to see them go. Well...sort of sad. The clean look and smell are always a welcomed trade off to the funky look and smell of dreads.

 Here are a bunch of photos documenting our hairy evening.

Let the fun begin.

Oscar made the first cut.

The Mega Dread:

Multiple little dreads fused together into one giant dread.

This sucker lived at the nape of his neck.

Oscar sporting the Mega Dread toupee.

Angus' turn to wear the Mega Dread wig.

Look what we found all nestled inside his hair.

I like to call this one "Rabbi Love."

The dreads are gone...

all that remains is sadness. Ha! 

He may look normal now,

but he is still the same wacky Bryan.

More hairless pics to follow...

P.S. Bryan doesn't want me to write this, but I am going to anyway. He still has not quite come to terms with the loss of his dreads. They are currently being stored in a box, below his nightstand, next to his bed. Got to keep what you love close I guess.)

"Woodcuts" Derby

Here are Bryan's latest T-shirt designs for the Woot competition. The theme for this weeks derby is "woodcuts." I love that Bryan is setting aside time to create artwork. He is a natural artist, and you can really tell by how much enjoyment he gets when he is drawing/painting/etc. Of course it would be cool to actually win one day but these weekly competitions offer motivation to create, amidst the busy demands of his everyday life. You can check out the current derby at Shirt.Woot.com (click on derby in the upper right corner). But here are his designs:

Shirt.Woot

Hey friends, Bryan just posted a design for a t-shirt contest on Shirt.Woot.com. It will only get printed if it gets voted in the top 3. If you're the select few who've ever purchased anything from Woot.com, Shirt.Woot.com, Bags O Crap, LeakFrog or any other Woot site, you can VOTE for HIS design. So go look at it, vote, then send mass emails to every computer in the world. Thanks.

http://shirt.woot.com/Derby/Entry.aspx?id=50781

A Super Fine Fall

Man alive! Fall 2010 has been delicious here in Boise. Here are a few reasons why:

• Telling Oscar that YES!, he can wear his flip flops in late October.
• Raking the leaves in my bare feet.
• Hardly feeling chilly at all on my morning runs.
• Running on the "yellow brick road." The Greenbelt is covered in a thick coat of golden leaves. It's beautiful, and it makes me feel like I should be wearing red high heels instead of running shoes, and calling my dog Toto instead of Reece.
• Playing balloon soccer with my two scantily clad little boys.

• Hearing the crickets all day long.
• Helping Oscar learn to climb trees. He is getting real good at it too.
  

Its been grand. However I am pretty sure our Indian summer has ended. The cold winds and heavy rain told me so.

The Date on October 1

Went on a date with my Bryan. We ate at Ono Hawaiian Cafe, it was delicious. Really delicious. There was live Hula dancing and singing, fabulous.

The thrift stores we went to after only offered up minimal treasures, but oh well, treasures are treasures.

We walked around downtown Boise. It felt like a summers eve, even though it was October first. My favorite part of the night was hanging out on the top step of the Capital Building and looking out at the cars, people, sky and city. It was oddly peaceful despite all the hub-bub below. It smelled like a summer's night. You know like a mixture of sprinkler water-cut grass-hot concrete- I love that smell. The crickets were loud and the lights were shining. I think we are gonna go back there soon. It was really funny to watch as a couple across the street, who thought they were "alone", totally made out on the sidewalk. We could even see some butt pinching going on, nasty. I had to look away. Then Bryan farted...we giggled and they left.

We walked back to a bar to hear a Reggae band play. The band was good, the setting disgusting. Have I mentioned that I think cigarette smoking is one of the most vile activities possible? Seriously gross. I could only stand the constant fog of smoke for so long, so we went to the grocery store for some milk, pears, green onions and spinach. A realistic ending to an enjoyable evening.

Seven years and not too itchy.

Seven years ago today I married a really, really, good man.

I am so happy that we chose each other,

and that we both still agree it was a dang good choice.

32.

Happy Birthday Bryan.
32 looks good on you.
Sorry you got two flat tires on your bike ride to work this morning.
At least you didn't get stuck in a rain storm like you have on numerous days in the past.

(soaking wet, dripping actually)

We hope you enjoy your suh-weet nail gun (thanks Grammie), mortar & pestle, and socks.
We love you, and each one of your dreads.

Yep, pancakes again.

The pancake artist visited us again.

We like him, and his handy-work.

Blue

Blue eyed boys.

There sure are a lot of 'em around here.