Bday Bash

Apparently, blogging without a computer tends to be challenging. Such is our life for another couple of weeks until we can buy a new un-crashed one. Oh technology, one day your friend, the next your worst enemy... (except for when has technology ever really been my friend?) So forgive the month lateness of Livia's birthday bash (this time with friends of ours and their little kiddos). Actually it's rather fitting considering we couldn't get our act together and did the party a month late-now you get to have the photos a month late as well :)  

I tried to resist Pinterest's beacon and keep this as low key as I possibly could. I figure I'll save my birthday slaving years for when she'll actually remember it. And I was lazy. 

The back of our apartment shares a big ol' lawn/garden with the three other buildings on our lot so we figured big space + cushy grass + playhouse stuffed with toys = the perfect venue for a bunch of crazy sugar-highed babies and toddlers. 

Those are baby biscuits in case you're wondering...we cater for the under 2 crowd around here (no id necessary). Oh and the watermelon turned out to be delicious. Livia thought so both before and after her slice got dropped and then covered in dirt. I'm really banking on the 'dirt don't hurt' theory otherwise we might be in trouble... 

It pretty much consisted of a whole lot hanging out, gorgeous weather, bottle drinking (milk for the babes, beer for the guys),  and chatting while trying to keep our kiddos from doing ridiculous things. Livia apparently missed the memo that she was hostess and could mostly be found 30 ft away picking grass and doing other random shenanigans that basically involved snubbing the other kiddos. 

It didn't take long for the yard to look a little like this:

But hey, they had fun making that mess, so that's what counts, right?

I gave in to Pinterest for the dessert and went the cupcake route. With sparkly party hats of course--what party is complete without them, right? 

Here's a very telling pic where Mom and Dad are doing all the work while Missay Thang looks condescendingly on... Of course I quipped to the group that I wasn't sure how Livia was going to take the whole cake eating thing considering that she's never had processed sugar before. 

Then I got to eat my words while Livia devoured hers. Yes folks, that is massive concentration going on there. She aint holdin' nothin' back. 

Don't believe that look on her face. She loved every minute of it. She takes after someone I know but gosh if I can remember who.... ;) 

Of course after this she proceeded to wipe the rest of that cupcake all over me. Sharing is caring, really. 

Heave Ho

Well God just has a sense of humor, now doesn't he? I guess that might be because he created humor in the first place... Ok, moving on to my actual point (yes, every once in awhile I do have one!). Here I was getting ready to whine a bit about how I've felt so uninspired to write lately, poor me, yada yada yada when God just up and decided to give me a bit more material. You see I went kayaking with my mother in law this week. 

Let's picture it, shall we? We pull up to the beautiful, scenic view pictured above ready to kick some kayak butt. It's slim pickin's as far as kayaks go (due to going in the later afternoon) but our spirits our high. We confidently reassure kayak girl that we have had previous experience and that all will be fine. Heck, I took a class in college--while maybe not making me an expert, it does remove me from the realm of the ridiculous, right? 

I'm a little shaky getting in and I definitely had forgotten about the whole butt first rule, but I'm thinking--give me a few minutes and it'll all come back. Well it does, in theory. In practice... hmm. We could use a bit more work. 15 ft out and I'm already turning in circles. Ok, honestly. I start doing 2 strokes on the opposite side for every 1 on the turning side. Now this is getting personal. I try in vain to catch up with Agnès, who is by now light years ahead of me. Somehow I manage to fervently spin over to her.

At this point she says something like "wow, look how low your kayak is sitting in the water compared to mine". That's when I realize that she's made a good point:  I've got a whole kiddie pool going on next to my legs. It must have been from all that splashing and turning. We quickly decide to row for a nearby shore where it'll be easy to empty it. 

I'm 10 ft away when I start capsizing. 

It's at this point in time that I remember my first experience in Canoeing and Kayaking Class when my foot got stuck in the drifting kayak and my other foot, well, stayed on the dock. That day I got as close as I'll ever get to doing the splits before a full dunking in the Seattle canal. And then there was the time where I got distracted and flipped the canoe. Perhaps this would have been a good thing to remember from the get-go. At least my disaster training kicked in (that would be funded by the A.E.C. [Awkward Experience Club]) and I quickly prioritized the essentials: my shoes. Then paddle and semi submerged kayak, of course.

Wonder women that we are, we manage to get the kayak turned and emptied. Agnès very nicely trades kayaks with me because we're convinced that mine has issues (the guy who used it before me had had issues as well). Then it's back to business and out on the water again. This time things go better for about 30 seconds longer. I resist the urge to scream and attempt to patiently better my strokes in an effort to stop the merry go round. 

No such luck. Agnès, while occasionally stopped by a push from the current for the most part breezes onward. "Sit up straighter" "Not so intense" "Pull from far in front" I try all the advice; nothing helps. Nothing like eating humble pie every now and again, I decide (for the sake of my sanity). 

Then I start capsizing again. Only this time, I'm in the middle of the river under a bridge. 

With a feeble yell at Agnes I start swimming for a ladder I see attached to the side of the bridge's bank. This time emptying out the kayak won't be so easy. Being one who likes a challenge and the occasional stupid idea, I decide to climb the ladder and empty it from atop the bank. I am kayak woman, hear me roar. Minor detail: there's about 5 ft of distance from the water to the top of the bank. No prob, I think. Very carefully I edge the kayak up each rung of the ladder while Agnès steadies it below. Gently I slide it off the ladder and rest the tip of it on the bank's stone edge. Turning it requires some awkward straddling and hugging but I get 'er done. Little do I realize that as I'm emptying my kayak, I'm actually pouring it into Agnès' kayak. Thankfully, she has less of a talent for capsizing (it must be my spiritual gift, really) and she remains afloat. 

Just about the time when we had finally gotten the kayak emptied, upright, and waiting beside the ladder, I realize that there is an old man with his wife next to me on the side walk taking pictures of the whole darn ordeal. I must be more exciting than fishing, I guess. I manage to give the guy my best drowned rat of a smile and get back in without diving in for a third time. We decide to head back to kayak girl and just as we're coming around the bend of the bridge I see another fellow member of the A.E.C. who has also biffed it--in front of three girls no less--I smile to myself, feeling a bit less alone, and wonder how in the world I passed Canoeing and Kayaking Class with flying colors. 

Summer USA Trip: part 3

Hmm, well my timing's a little off I guess but at least I finish what I start, right? So in honor of wrapping up the last entry of our summer trip, here are a few of the highlights...


Portland, my love, how I miss thee...



That heart says it all...
Here's us rocking it up in one of my favorite cities with good friends...



Pictured here while sippin' our lattes and playin' cards...



Matt hittin' the town on his too cool for school banana bike....here's a shout out to old school!



Meanwhile the girls rolled tandem style...ignore the appearance of gracefulness in this photo, it's been photo edited...


Next adventure, camping with the fam:


here's the crew....



the casa (almost)



the cool added touch...



...and the camp!




Why we even go camping in the first place




Bonding with mother nature over cards...my sister doesn't realize that I'm about to kick her butt and win though...



Kicking off our trip to the coast with a little impromptu YMCA. Nat never could get those letters right...




Auditioning for Baywatch




Not kidding you: attempting to dig for sand beetles and finding blood worms instead. Boys will be boys...



Dad bonding with the dead wildlife




Swaying with lit candles and singing our little hearts out to the Newsboys, Jaci Velasquez, and Superchick live in concert...




Watching crazy good lil' Christian boys do very crazy stunts on things with wheels...




Joining a 5k doggiy run race due to my deep love for the canine species...




And finishing strong with my buddy Charis! Next time around a 10k!

Enjoy:

And last but not least, my favorite summer moment: Hawaiian hula dancing at the Saturday market... gotta love random :)