beautiful breezy, our cover girl

Tonight we held our usual Wed. Night Dinner at our friend's: the {andrews}...

but this time we had to say good-bye, farewell, see you later!

to our good friend {breezy} who is leaving us for school on the East Coast.

She is an amazing person. So loving.

So caring. So much fun to be with.

I just love this girl.

We're gonna miss her so much!

 With {breezy}, & {shawna}.

God Bless! And come back and see us on your school vacations. :)

darth-momma

{momma} got her locks of hair chopped off today...

Here are a few photos of the process:

~ Before ~

~ During ~

(and hence the 'darth-momma' title)

and

~ After ~

Isn't she cute?

the old & the new.

A lovely day spent with an old friend meeting new friends.

With a lunch trip to the delicious Elephant Delicatessen,

frozen yogurt dessert at SkinniDip,

and an afternoon cappuccino at Stumptown in Ace Hotel downtown.

I'd say this day was filled with many of my favorite things...

but I'd have to say what made it extra special

was getting to share it with my good friend {j9} and 

our two new friends {jenny} & {molly}.

teenage-mutant-ninja-nephew

Thirteen years ago today I became "{auntie Em}" when my first nephew {quentin aubrey} was born.  I was instantly in love. And like any new auntie, I most definitely had his photo in my wallet and bragged about him everywhere I went. He was (and I know I'm bias, but still) the cutest thing to enter this world. {q} was the most personable little boy ever to be had... able to converse with and engage people of all ages.  He even had a little business card at one point that read : " 1/4 boy, 3/4 man. "

It's hard to believe that lil {q} is now a teenager.

I love 'em just the same.

climbing the rock

letting out a roar as he prepares to jump. . . 

leap of faith

Happy Birthday {q}.

You're not really a teenage-mutant-ninja-nephew...

You're actually da man. *wink*

see if this works: a little clip from the past... lil hipster {q}

and brother boy band.

" i wanna be filled. . .

... with the Triune God, He makes me happy I want to be filled with Him! "

Sing to the Lord a new song!

I wish I had a photo to represent the enjoyment flooding out of my friend's living room this evening. With one over-flowing Camp Canby-er returned... she filled the room with her whole heart-felt singing and struck a chord in everyone's heart to sing to the Lord a new song! Even my oldest nephews were there calling out songs, singing from their heart, and rejoicing in the Lord.  Just the way a home gathering should be. 

You know they touched their spirits because the whole ride home there was not a bickering to be had, instead they just kept singing to the Lord at the tops of their lungs. . . letting the world know of their love for the Lord.

Sweet contentment in my soul when our hearts are filled with joy and praise to the One who is beyond worthy.

the cousin art corner

Art lessons : Puddle People (or Potato People).

[Paint a potato with one or two carrots for legs. Let dry. Then add the details.]

Passing on a cute art lesson that my great-auntie {genie} shared with me many years ago.

What an awesome job they did!

{noah} the cutie!

{acacia} & {quentin}. 

{anthony} & {sarah}. 

(^^ my creation). 

{noah}'s starwars puddle-people creation. 

^^ {sarah}'s potato/puddle people.

^^ {acacia}'s potato/puddle people.

hey nonni-nonni

Yeah, it's that time again, more Shakespeare in the park.

This time we got to enjoy watching a great production of my favorite: Much Ado About Nothing. We meet up with our friends {dan} & {temple} and combined our culinary efforts on a tasty picnic.  Another great way to spend a summer day/evening in Oregon.

coast n cousins

cannon beach with the cousins.

lunch at Mo's.

laying on a blanket in the sand.

flying stunt kites.

diggin' holes.

creating sand creatures.

frolicking in the surf.

bocce ball on the sandbars.

dinner at the BEST pizza place this side of Italy. pizza fetta. Mmmmmm good.

the balch creek princess

hiking in the evening...
balch creek watershed
in Lower Maccleay trail : Forrest Park, Portland.

Enjoying the cool air brushing through the trees.
Seeking geo-caches.
Sighting a Princess photoshoot. . .
(upcoming pirate festival advertisement)

Dinner at our place : Red Curry over Rice. Mmm.
Vino & a short game of Five Crowns.

bee head hunters

Another delight of having the churches' children's camp so close to us is that we get a visit from my cousins and their kids. *grin* Tonight we had dinner at my folks with my cousin {steve} & {margaret} and their youngest {noah}.  Enjoying the nice evening on the back deck we had to ward off the pesky yellow jackets. My dad was armed with a ladybug fly-swatter and here's the result...

camper kiddos

Each year around this time we are privileged to get to host the campers on their way to Camp Canby for children's church camp. This year we got four girls and two counselors from Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Aren't they cuties?

 And a goofy pic.

(sorry for the blurr, I wasn't behind the camera for these).

look! water! what prevents us?

O Happy Day, When Jesus Washed My Sins Away!

We were among the great crowd of witnesses to {jasper}'s baptism this weekend in Vancouver Lake Park : Washington.

What a glory to God and a defeat to His enemy!

The weather cooperated and we also enjoyed a sweet picnic there in the park afterwards.

Hallelujah ! ! !

(sweet happy momma & papa)

It was also {jasper}'s actual 13th birthday today, as well.

Welcome to your teenager-hood. ;)