Friday My Town Shoot Out

I have moved my Friday Shoot Out photos to a new blog: http://westportwa.blogspot.com/
Thanks for looking!

Friday My Town Shoot Out/Sunday Stills

I love the homepage of this photography site - the pictures at the top make me want to visit the town! The spirit of this particular blog is to capture your hometown in the weekly themes. Sounds fun so here goes....the theme this week is "textures". I couldn't help but think of the tide pools at the jetty so here is a picture that is chalk full of textures:

It seems that the next Sunday Stills theme is also textures so I'll use this pictures for both challenges and keep my eye open this week for some more interesting textures as well.

My first "Sunday Stills"

At some point in my perusings of food blogs I came across a photography website, which happens to be one of my new hobbies. I have a digital SLR camera and a desire to know how to use it well! Hopefully joining in on this website challenge will help me to get to know my camera better and become a better photographer. Each week there is a different photography challenge. This week's theme: wildflowers. Luckily, there are plenty of wild flowers growing around this beachy little town. Unfortunately, I cut off the top of the lavender wild flower but I thought it was pretty, for a weed!

South Beach All Stars Undefeated!

Tonight the SB team won their third tournament game and will advance to the championship game on Friday night! We beat Larch Mountain 8-4 and will face Willapa Harbor on Friday.

Zach was the catcher for the entire game again tonight and did an awesome job. He threw someone out at 2nd and had an out at home plate as well. He also had 2 runs.

Mike is managing the team and is the third base coach in the picture.

Rhubarb & Mixed Berry Tart

Don't ask how much butter went into this tart! Our neighbors had given Liz some rhubarb that I meant to make into a sauce for her. She is the only one in the house that loves rhubarb. I didn't get around to the sauce but came across a recipe for this tart and decided to give it a try. Now we have more rhubarb fans in the house!

A SUNday in September

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and went to the beach today. Troubles seem to melt away there! The sun and the sand felt good and the kids had a great time digging, creating, rolling, running, enjoying. If there is work to be done at home on a sunny day, the work will have to wait!

Back to school!

I can't believe how fast the summer flew. It didn't feel like it was time to go back to Carrie and Zach. Liz, however, was as ready as a social butterfly could be. Zach is in the 3rd grade and has the same teacher that Liz and Carrie had for 3rd grade! After all these years he is still reading the same book to his class...Ramona is timeless! Liz is in the 5th grade and starts the year off with braces! She is happy to have her best friend in her class and really likes her teacher. We are looking forward to another great year!

Million Dollar Smile

Liz got banded today! She has such a great attitude about having to have braces. The first colors she chose for rubber bands were our school colors: crimson & black. What a Wildcat fan! She looks really cute. I remember wishing I had braces when I was a kid. Liz' mouth is sore but she is doing a great job using her bite wafer (to keep the discomfort down) and brushing/flossing/using fluoride gel. I am proud of her because she is being a great example to her little brother who will have his turn very soon.

BEFORE

.......................................................................................

AFTER

"Do we need more time? Or do we need to be more disciplined with the time we have?"
Kerry Johnson

If you're lucky enough to be at the beach you're lucky enough...

We decided to hit the beach because it was a beautiful, sunny, blue sky day. By the time we drove the 2 blocks to the ocean, we were socked in with fog! The kids still had a blast running in the surf. They looked like they were ready for the frying pan when they were done: dredged in sea water & then sand! It was a great photo opportunity and worth the load of sand that we tracked into the car.

Go Windermere Wildcats!

Liz had a great soccer season this year. She had a great coach who didn't put up with girl drama, learned a lot, and had fun as well! She hadn't played since 1st grade so it was challenging but she kept up very well. She enjoyed it so much that she is hoping they will play spring soccer this year for the first time! Mom is not so sure about having Liz in soccer and Zach in baseball at the same time but we will do our best to juggle it!

GO DAWGS!

Liz got to go to her first Husky game as a date with her daddy!
She now understands the excitement surrounding Husky stadium, which is a tradition on both sides of our family. We are now looking forward to the rebuilding of our team and the possibility of a trip to the Rose Bowl in '09!

Grammy

Mike's grandma ("Grammy") is turning 90 in January! She may be 90 in years but she is young at heart! She gets around great and is still as sharp as a tack. Zach & Liz enjoy visiting her in her assisted living apartment and eating with her in the dining room. The staff is always very good about offering "kid food" which is a relief to Zach! They always play with her tray of seashells - Liz arranges them into pretty patterns and Zach makes weapons out of them! They also know that she always has some kind of a treat for them and they usually eat more than their share of cookies!

Back to School!

Liz is excited to get back to school and see all of her buddies...
Zach just wants to stay home!
They both had a good first day back, have wonderful teachers, and look pretty snazzy in their new school clothes!

The Ball Boy

Here is Zach, future Wildcat, ready on the sidelines of the high school football game to retrieve the T or exchange the football. He takes this job very seriously!

Just a little pinch...

My baby's growing up! Shorter hair was a good reason to get the ears pierced! She just flinched - no tears or complaints! What a tough girl!

Locks of Love...A Worthy Cause

Here is Liz before:

And here she is after:




Some lucky girl (or boy) with alopecia or cancer will recieve a wig made of Liz' beautiful, blonde, curly locks! No, she didn't lose her curl - the stylist just straightened her hair after the cut. We couldn't get it that straight if we tried! She is a lucky girl - she looks adorable without even trying:).

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Zach standing in front of his favorite baseball player: Ichiro! He and Mike spent the day in Seattle. They caught a dinosaur movie in 3-D at the Science Center,

Girls' Getaway

Liz has been helping me clean the church faithfully each week. To show my appreciation I took her on a little trip to the place of her choice. She chose Ruby Beach. Our trip started with strawberries & cream frappuccinos for the long drive to Quinault, where we stayed on Monday night. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and have some secrets that will remain secrets :). On Tuesday morning, we ate breakfast and then hit the Amanda Park library before heading to the coast. At Ruby Beach we searched for tide pools but weren't very successful since low tide wasn't until 5pm. We did take a lot of great pictures, carved our names on rocks, and saw a bald eagle soar overhead (fumbled with the camera for too long and didn't get a good shot!). Our next stop was Kalaloch. We ate at the lodge and don't recommend it. The view from our table was spectacular but Liz finally met a clam chowder she didn't like and my fish-n-chips were just okay. Our next plan was to head back to Quinault and drive around the lake before heading home. The motel manager highly recommended the drive but didn't mention that the road is pretty much a logging road most of the way around! I kept waiting for a "turn back now" sign or to meet up with something/someone scary but we finally made it to the Quinault Mercantile for an ice cream cone for the road. We had a great trip and look forward to making this an annual event - but next time momma chooses the destination! Did someone say spa?

Camping - Take 2!

This time it's our annual camping trip with the Kloempkens. We spent 4 days at Wynoochee Lake and didn't get a single drop of rain! In fact, we didn't use our sunscreen enough and got quite a bit of color!

The kids spent their time biking, swimming and playing hide-n-seek. Zach thinks he's being clever "hiding" as a buck but the others are too smart to fall for that!

Here Liz & Zach snuggle up to keep warm in the tent. It doesn't look like they are going to sleep any time soon!

Typical Liz camping attire: swimming suit & helmet. Ready to jump on a bike or in the lake at a moment's notice!

Zach & Nate, both age 7

Liz & Kasie, both age 9

The kids (and some adults) enjoyed swimming out to the dock and playing. Here Nate, Liz, Kasie, and Sam (N&K's cousin) jump in unison.