105

Who doesn't love a naked baby?

Remy came to hang out with us today. Jack was my photography assistant today...

She's so cute! But we all knew that...

104

So, this is getting ridiculous.

The talk about the oppressive heat is on everyone's mouth these past 3 days. Washington State is known for its mild climate, rainy days and coffee. Pemco, the local insurance company, has a series of commercials touting the usual cliches of living in Washington; blue tarp camping, socks with sandals, etc... Will they have to change their ads?

According to meteorologist, Jeff Renner, the temperature at the airport reached an all time high of 103. This is the official number they're putting on the books and touting as the record. Apparently, someone delved into ancient temperature recordings and discovered that Western Washington experienced its all-time high today. I, personally, don't want to set temperature records. I want to live in my sheltered corner of the country and have the mild weather that I relish.

I did have an awesome salad today, prepared by my sister's friend Janis. She enjoyed her burp cloths, but really, is she going to tell me to my face that she doesn't really care for them? Doubt it. Anyway, she made us rotisserie chicken, orzo, spinach and pesto salad. Never had it before, but I'm frickin sold. I can't wait for my sister to make it as her debut family salad. A signature dish if you will...

103

Tonight, I made some burp cloths for my sister's friend, Janis. She's due in September with their second child, a boy. Burp cloths are pretty much my favorite baby gift. I'm pretty sure they get used and they're a simple, useful thing to give to a mommy.

I had to wait for the inferno, which is commonly known as a 'sun room' at my house, to cool off enough for me to be within its walls long enough to do some sewing. I opened the door and turned on the outside light, applied a wet towel to my shoulders and went to work. I was able to find an ancient fan out in the garage; the other modern fans are currently in use in the regular part of the house. I'm not sure why we blew money on the modern fans; this one from the 6os or 70s was working like a champ! I whipped out these five in 90 minutes. Pretty good!

Anyway, I was glad to get something done other than sweat and drink iced tea.

102

This is whack. 96? In Washington? What the hell?

Is this global warming or a fluke high pressure system that has set in over the area?

All I know is the 3 fans and one 10,000 btu air conditioner cannot kick the misery. At last check, it was 83 in my house. I'm pretty sure by now it's 85 outside, so why are we still running the AC? Because if I turn it off, it'll suddenly be hotter inside than it is outside.

We may need to invest in a heat pump. Oh, and it's apparent that I only have a quarter tank of gas left. Don't tell my dad...

101

Today, we went to mom and dad's to swim in the pool dad bought last year. This year, he set it up where he thought it would be nice and flat. After the first 10 minutes my kids were in it, it became lopsided. One side was obviously lower than the rest of the pool. Mazie inadvertently put the teeniest bit of pressure in the right spot and next thing you know, the whole pool is draining; spilling its water over the side. There was a lot of yelling after that, which mainly was instructing the kids to pull the side back up. Shame on us adults for thinking that the kids could manage the hurculean effort of fighting the force of gallons of water. So, Jason saved the day and held up the side.

When it was discovered that the pool would not recover from its lopsided position, my dad and Jason drained the water and set about moving the pool. There was much discussion about where the most level portion of the yard was. We decided to put it between patios; 60% on the grass and the rest on cement. We moved the pool no less than 5 times while trying the find a flat area. There was a moment when my dad decided the best thing to do would be to throw the pool away. But we were able to find a good enough spot. We could see the water was pooling too much on one side again, so in order to thwart that, my dad produced some plywood to put under the pool. This required getting towels from my mom so the corners of the plywood wouldn't pierce the bottom of the pool or cause undue injury to the kids.

The pool went through much southern engineering today. All the kids cared about was getting in the water. Tensions were high and it was clearly a case of all chiefs and not many indians; not a good thing in 88 degree weather.

Yep, we made some memories today.

100

Day 100. I'm excited! I haven't posted every day, but I made it to the triple digits. I'm doing my best to stay committed to this project...

Anyway, day 100 had us finishing up our yard project. We spent about $50 on bark and menial supplies, but where we spent the most was with our backs and the yard waste bin. There was a lot of weeding and sod pulling going on, but the finished product was worth it. Did I prepare and take before pictures? Nope, I just jumped in and did the work.

Here it is:

365 Project - Day NINETY NINE

Wow, day ninety-nine. Hitting the triple digits tomorrow. I think when tomorrow hits, I will use a different labeling system for my posts.

And now to the picture.



This is my uncle, Jim. He's married to my aunt, Donna. I found this website, Yearbook Yourself, and was tinkering around with it today. In the folder of pictures I was looking in for a picture of me, I found a good front face shot of Jim. After I uploaded it and found this fab hairstyle to go along with it, I couldn't stop cracking up.

I decided it would be my picture of the day because it really made my day.

Here's a couple of me. In the first one, I'm pretty sure I wished I had hair like that.



I'm amazed, because they obviously didn't have the Bump-It back then for all the volume in her hair below. How the heck did she get it so big in the back? I would have been envious of her hair too because, well, it was very stylish.

365 Project - Day NINETY EIGHT

A stick in the water? Possibly...to your average Joe.

But for me, this is a victory stick. I just noticed today, that the elderberry branch I hurriedly cut off on the way out of Cape Disappointment State Park, sprouted a root. I've been waiting for this vision of growth since July 5th. You can see in the background the dried berries that I'm not sure what to do with. Can I plant those too?

This is my second attempt at trying to root trees off of branch cuttings. The first one was a Curly Willow that I took from my sister's house. The roots grew fabulously. Now that they're in a pot with some potting soil, I can safely say we're on our way to having our very own Curly Willow tree. It has to spend some more time in its potting soil home though.

Let's hope we can say the same for this Red Elderberry...

365 Project - Day NINETY SEVEN

So, not my best photo. But, it's what I managed to eke out just before my battery went kaput. Today we were hosted by the Earles. They fed us hot dogs, watermelon, jello parfait, potato salad and chips (oh, and yummy cherry vodka for the big kids) and let us dip in their fabulous pool. At one point, the kids were running around the perimeter of the pool and they made a cool whirlpool. Little Owen (wee one on the zebra floatie), totally took advantage of the free ride.

The kids had a blast and were tuckered out when we got home. Thanks Earle Family!

365 Project - Day NINETY SIX

Relentless heat. I'm glad it's finally summer, but I wish I could go outside in the heat and then come back in and it be 65. My poor inadequate room air conditioner is hating me. And the kids are sick of hearing me say, "Shut the damn door!"

We also got to have Remy hang out with us today. We plopped her on the floor for some newly mastered sitting-up time. I think she really likes the view!

365 Project - Day NINETY FIVE

I hate yard work. I really do.

But, I have some hollyhock seeds, poppy seeds and some lupine that I would like to plant. This side of the house seemed to be the only logical place. Three hours before this pic was taken (why with my cell phone when I was at home? I have no clue...maybe I was just hot), this section of my yard was full of weeds, sod and irises (irii?). I got all that cleaned out and edged the grass to fit the concrete border, which was pulled out of another section of yard that we didn't need them in anymore.

Mission accomplished. Tomorrow's mission - plant the seeds.

Oh, and on the way home, I spotted this truck:



Coincidentally, Jason and I have a friend from waaaay back in the Army days named Dan Erb. We've recently reconnected with Erb through Facebook and I thought it was pretty funny that I saw this here truck on the way home from Kelby's house. How's that for lightning quick cell phone camera skillz?

365 Project - Day NINETY FOUR

My dad loves to tell the story about when he was young and got to drive a stock car in a race for his uncles, Sonny and Corky. He talks about how exciting it was to drive a big thunderous car and always says he felt like he was going 100 miles an hour, but was probably only hitting about 42 in the straightaways.

So, just my dad having that experience has led to many trips to the stock car races as we were growing up. We used to go to Spanaway Speedway in (where else) Spanaway, but they sold the land for the track and built a bunch of houses there that are probably now all in foreclosure. What a disservice to this area.

A few years back, we discovered South Sound Speedway in Rochester, WA. It's about a 50-60 minute drive to get there, but it's worth it on occasion, like tonight. Tonight the semi trucks from Canada were guest racers at the track and that's what drew us there. We have watched them there before and knew we had to go back. The semi truck races are smokey and loud. The trucks are flashy and it's a head-scratcher as to how they could make something with a diesel engine perform like they do.



Tonight, they gave everyone there the opportunity to go down on the track, meet the drivers and wander around the monstrous trucks and late model stock cars (which look like NASCAR cars). They handed out treat sacks for the kids and autographed pictures for all of them. What a cool thing to do. Jack asked the driver of the pink truck, why his right front wheel was purposely bent-in at an angle. The driver meticulously explained that it assisted with traction around the turns and kept the tire flat on the track. Good stuff in Jack's book...



We all agreed that we like the pink truck the best. It was the fastest on the track and it was the only truck that had a train horn hooked-up to the pneumatic system that ran the compression brakes and the other air horn. One of the main attractions of the semi trucks is, besides racing, they like to do burn-outs.

Here's a video of Pink Foot doing his signature burnout:



We had a blast, got smoked-out with exhaust from all the cars and ate too much candy. What a great way to spend a Saturday.

365 Project - Day NINETY THREE

Of course, Mazie picks a big ol' bucket of berries (not sure which variety - marion?) when all I have is my phone with me. She was proud of her harvest.

365 Project - Day NINETY TWO

While it's not quite 'shit stack' time, I do have a few cravings here and there. One of my favorite desserts to eat after the kids go to bed is vanilla ice cream and fresh, crushed strawberries with a boatload of sugar in them. The strawberries are from a local farm and were leftover from a freezer jam endeavor. So good!

It looked so tasty in my favorite green Melmac bowl, that I had to take a picture.

365 Project - Day NINETY ONE

Today, the kids and I joined Kelby for a walk on the Orting Trail. I'm not sure if that's its official name, but that's what we call it. It's a paved trail that goes through Orting. The picture above is the kids standing on a giant rock in front of the Carbon River, which was a cool shade of green that didn't translate through the camera.

Normally, this is a trip that my kids and Kelby take together. They have done it numerous times and it's a special occasion to go with Kelby. She lets them linger at the skate park and takes them to the park and McDonalds after their walk/ride. Today we pondered trading children, but Kelby thought she might take all three kids. She was graciously going to take mine to give me a break, but I didn't really have anything to do that would take up my time away from them, so I invited myself.

Remy, however, wasn't impressed with the walk. She let the whole world know about it too. She was pretty upset, we weren't sure why, but decided to turn around and let her cry it out on the way back. When we reached the skate park, we looked at her and thought she might be having an allergic reaction to something. I told Kelby that, personally, I would take her to the walk-in clinic at the pediatrician's office just to make sure she wasn't having an allergy to something. This decision to go there changed the plans for the kids. No biggie.



Like clockwork, when Kelby got to the pediatrician's office, Remy's face was miraculously cleared-up and she looked like her usual self. Kelb made the decision to have her checked out anyway and they gave Remy some Benadryl (just in case) and thought she would be ok. Their prognosis was that maybe she got some sunscreen in her eyes and they gave Kelby a few recommendations for gentle sunscreen. I'm glad she's ok!

Then, after much trial and tribulations, Mazie's room got clean. She made the effort to work on it and then I went in and helped her with the rest. We then went to see Ice Age 3 at the drive-in tonight with Donna, Brandon, Annie, Corey, Hannah and Audrey. Cute movie!

365 Project - Day NINETY

Today, we have a guest photographer; Mazie.

She got hold of my camera while I was outside and practiced the art of a self portrait. This will be archived as a blackmail picture.

365 Project - Day EIGHTY NINE

Remy came over today to spend the night. She has just grown so much! When you put her on the floor, she rolls back to front, front to back and right off the blanket you have her on. She's now in the 'pillow fortified' stage of her development and will be crawling very soon. Scary!

Time to step up the cleaning game at my house!

365 Project - Day EIGHTY EIGHT

This was Mazie this morning. She reminds me of Debbie Harry (of Blondie fame) here after a night of partying. I just love that her foot is sticking out of the sheets...



This is Jack jumping off the diving board at the Carlton City Pool. He had to take a bonafide swimming test in order to garner the permission to go in the deep end. He practiced many times before he finally got the courage to ask the lifeguard to watch him do his swim test. I haven't seen that amount of pride on Jack's face in a long time...



And here's the blueberries I picked all by myself off of Ellen's bushes. Ellen is Jason's stepmother. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them, but I think I should get them in the freezer as soon as possible...

365 Project - Day EIGHTY SEVEN

Today was wedding day. This is Jason's half brother, Dustin. He's a self-proclaimed nerd who aced college calculus (and the other upper echelon math classes that the nerds take). He's a smart dude who just got done with a degree in engineering last year. Standing next to him is his equally nerdy engineer bride. Part of their courtship involved a compatibility questionnaire that one of them created. The decision to full-on date was based on the percentage of answers they answered the same. Dustin plays Magic too.



I knew it would be a quirky wedding and I wasn't disappointed. The main thing here however, is Dustin just wanted to get hitched and legally spend the rest of his life with this girl. He loves her deeply and could care less about the rigmarole of getting married; he did all the pomp and circumstance for her. Dustin is a special guy and I am glad he is happy...

We got up at 5:45am and left the house by 7:00am to drive to Carlton, Oregon. We made it in time for the 11:00am wedding. Then the rest of the day was spent involved in wedding/family things, some swimming at the hotel and it was capped-off by a local monster truck/motorsports show. The people watching was exquisite. By the end of the day, my kids were exhausted and loopy. Here they are after their bath:

365 Project - Day EIGHTY SIX

This is our ice cream man. He's garnered the territory here in Milton. Since school's been out, he's stepped-up his game and comes around twice a day. We're a guaranteed sale at least once a day; usually in the morning. On the second go-round, he drives by our corner slowly, in the hopes of making a few more bucks off my kids.

He's a nice guy. Retired I think, but still living in his biker days. You can't see it, but he's got a ZZ Top-esque beard. Some days when he stops, his pack of cigarettes falls out of the truck. One time, Mazie was kind enough to pick them up and hand them back to him.

We'll miss him when he retires from peddling ice cream.

365 Project - Day EIGHTY FIVE

Here's Mazie Mouse - posted in front of the TV in the back, in her freebie chair from the neighbor (it has effin feathers!) slurping her favorite dish; Top Ramen. Of which, she will only eat the beef flavor. Do not even think about sneaking in a chicken one.

What the heck will I do with all my chicken ramen? Any takers?

365 Project - Day EIGHTY FOUR

Here's the star! She got to come hang out with us for a couple of hours this afternoon. She thinks everything is so funny. Look at her bright eyes!



Here's Mazie with her cousin Audrey. Bet you didn't know they were in a band. I love their rocker stance.

365 Project - Day EIGHTY THREE

This is Eddie Ray - Beach dog. He looks semi-clean here, but there were times when Eddie was all one color - sand. He had a blast chasing the ball in the surf and down the beach. I wanted to gag every time I thought of the mouthfuls of salt water Eddie kept taking in.



Earlier in the day, it was less sunny. I took this picture of this life boat that washed up on shore in 2000. I confused my Grandma because she was sitting behind me and thought I was taking a picture of 'someone', but she couldn't see anyone. Oh, and I love the editing in Photoshop that this picture was 'oldified' with...yep, that's a photography term. Oldified.



As you can see (maybe), we were sitting upwind from the fireworks. So the previously stunning fireworks' smoke hindered the presentation of the next set of stunning fireworks. Also, we were in the fallout zone and were pelted with pieces of ash and firework particulate that we couldn't see. But, they were pretty.

365 Project - Day EIGHTY TWO

Chariots of Fire-esque, but it was so beautiful as the sun was going down. Mazie is going to be a runner, I've decided. She just doesn't stop running...she's Mazie Gump.



I think Mazie did 700 handstands on this beach. She never quite made it past this angle and into a straight position, but she gets an A for effort.



This view is of the same beach Mazie is doing handstands on. The vantage point was from the North Head Lighthouse in Ilwaco.

365 Project - Day EIGHTY ONE

Dude - where's my camaro?

This is Richard. We met him and his wife through preschool and sucked them into our camping circle. This is the first time I saw Richard after our arrival at Cape Disappointment State Park. Richard's hair is never like this, so I had to take a picture.

I told him he looked fast.

My dad thought he looked like a middle-aged Dash Incredible. I agree with my dad.