243

dada's girl. 

always has been. 

from day one.

he returned from a two-week sheep hunt and some q.t. was definitely in need.

a fun walk to the coffee shop with our brood. 

sunshiny = great excuse for ice cream!

242

state fair at night!

241

GOOD RIDDANCE, CAST! 

cast day, also meant bath day! she was so excited to splash and shrivel like a raisin.

cutest x-rays. above, you can see the break in the picture on the right, right in line with the second N in my name. fully healed on the left! below, i had to include because these are likely the cutest bones, ever.

240

same girl, different slug.

239

we've settled into some l-a-z-y weekday mornings; jb back at school and tess catching a morning snooze. dyl watching good ol' sesame street while snuggling with her #1 gal. me sipping my coffee and enjoy a quiet home front. just missing my guy. counting the days until his safe return...

238

must. be. touching.

day 237

can you believe these things?! they are EVERYWHERE. like the slugs. ugh!

i have never seen dudes like this before. kiddos are panicked with these buggers. hiding under the fence poles, tire swing, garage doors, siding of the house. 

nightmare material!

day 236

this moment. you don't need a crystal-clear, sharp image to get the gist. 

these two. quite the buddies. 

day 235

day 234

blueberry muffins from our sheep mountain berry adventure.

half for my fam and half for the brothers & sisters on strike, over at enstar. 

gotta support those unions!

day 233

it's not just my tainted memories; laughably, it usually rains on the first day of the fair. 

WELL, NOT THIS YEAR!

day 232

ben HAD to get a new pack for his sheep hunt. had to. 'cause, you know, the other 3 hanging in the garage just wouldn't cut it. so what does he get for that maneuver? the package arrives after he's left... and well, buster felt the need to watch over it, apparently. maybe he sensed i was seconds from scribbling 

RETURN TO SENDER. 

guy code. must stick together, i guess.

day 231

hatcher pass with a couple of 4 year olds.

day 230

first day of first grade!

whatta guy!

day 229

it's that time of year! 

back to sewing. back to school projects and whittling away at my 36-hours. 

i liken the (minimum) 36-hours to the minimum amount of flair. office space. yeah... last year, i was over 50 hours of devoted school time, and while i can't guarantee i'll be just as zealous - i'm gonna give it all i got!

45 beanbags, coming right up!  

day 228

i {heart} you, satellite phone.

day 227

ben heads out of town on his sheep hunt and THIS is my friday night dateline fix?! ummm, yeah. i'll be waiting to watch this until his return...

day 226

i offered to take first day of school pictures for my sweet friend down the road. she's got the eye for photography as well, but i figured she would want to be IN them pictures! 

this was one of my favorites from the morning - i love when a sliver of a session captures who they are, to a T. just like below. love this big kid as if he was my own.

day 225

the haul. 

day 224

blueberry picking with great friends, up at sheep mountain 

 jb and his critters.

 the sisters.

day 223

nearly half-way through august, and the sun is still shining. 

i can't keep clothes on my alaskan-brood, but hey - at least we're in the backyard!

so, the mushrooms this year have been limited, but the yard is bursting with slugs. the big kids can't get enough slug-action!

day 222

"we give our animals the greenest pastures and they give you delicious cream"

i love everything about this wording; the mix of fonts; the colors; the feel.

my favorite addition to my morning coffee and one of my favorite people brought me two.

love you, j.

221

yep, i took him down too... 

but actually, as i think about it, i had mister mister on my side, wiggling the table for me!

220!!!

we love puzzles in our home. we also love forts and making a disaster of our home - all in the name of fun. 

this girl rushed through bath time, just so she could tackle this never-ending block puzzle on top of her kitchen chair furniture-fort. 

day 219

the 3 phases of blueberries!

day 218

this is the result of dylan, alone, while tess and i are doing the x-ray bit. but you know what? it could always be worse...

day 217

saddest day in his little life. two of his best friends are gone, but he'll be better off for it in the end.

love this buster brown. 

day 216

day 215

pool time! any days into august, that we're soaking up the heat, splashing in the water and sunning our faces, it's bonus. august tends to be rainy and predictable with lousy weather. but. this is a nice kick-off to the month of august to have nothing but glorious sunshine.

day 214

this kid. he's so much fun. 

he schools me at jenga - usually cheating by wiggling the table - but his fits of belly laughs make it all ok. he makes up rules as we go, like below, taking two at a time.

213

miller's has the best ice cream!