New Hair Cut

Holly's hair has grown out super, super long.... to a scraggly hair do. It was time to find a kids salon that would do a good job. A friend recommended a salon and today we stopped in and we left with a cute little girl sporting a new inverted bob. She is enjoying her short hair!

Cattle Drive Parade

We recently enjoyed a local tradition for our town, a Cattle Drive Parade that celebrates the opening our state fair held in town. It is a wonderful parade, just the right size for kids. The parade actually starts with a small cattle drive led by a couple of cowboys... it really is the coolest part of the whole parade. However, you'll still see a lot of horses, local schools, clowns and fun entertainment. It was a beautiful day that was great for being outside and the kids had a great time!

Overgrown

Thought I'd post a couple photos of Holly's garden... that is pretty much over grown! It is simply amazing to think of how much her garden has grown this summer!!! We planted a lot of perennials and filled with some annuals, but next year I plan to add more perennials over annuals - simply because they are easier for long term.

Her garden is full, very full - of both flowers and yes, I'll say it... weeds! However, a true cottage garden is not a thinned out immaculate garden - just my style. We have found several little critters in her garden such as extremely cool bugs, potato bugs galore, snakes, frogs, bees of all kinds (too many really) and even some rabbits. It is a buzz with life - a perfect place to explore!

Water Balloon Fight

This summer Holly got her first real container of water balloons... a huge container! So, whenever the sun appears and it is remotely warm she begs and pleads to have a water balloon fight. Here are some photos of her and Bryan enjoying some water fun. The funny part is that she is popping them as quickly as Bryan can fill them up. I am thinking next year we'll have to designate buckets and pre-make them, then play. She had a blast and that is what matters... oh, and she won!
Okay, so it got a bit one sided.... Poor Daddy!

Brewing

A couple weeks ago Hawk came over for the weekend to visit and the boys brewed some home brew. This brew is a bit special because it is with hops they both grew... very cool! Byran is now on a mission to really improve the growth of his hops for next season - I think we will end up relocating them to a new place in the yard and they'll receive a lot more TLC.

Here are some fun shots of their brewing day.

First Place

Yesterday we ventured out to the Puyallup Fair for our annual family outing... and had a great time! Bryan took a half day so that we could fully take advantage of the fair, rides and all the other goodies that go with it. Holly was a trooper and made it from around 1:00pm till about 9:00pm - with no complaints or anything! Of course she fell asleep before we even made it home and for those that know... we live about one mile from the fair, I'd say she was exhausted!

The highlight of our visit to the fair though was checking in on Bryan & Hawk's brew entry. They have once again taken first place of their division. I'd say these two are pretty darn good brewers! Bryan seemed a little bummed he didn't win the grand prize, but they won first and best in show for their category - nothing to balk at in my mind! They are pretty proud!

Good Job guys, you deserve it!

Busy Times...

This poor blog has had some neglect lately, like a forgotten closet that still needs to be cleaned out. It's always in the back of my mind, I'll get to it tomorrow... and then tomorrow passes - still a cluttered closet.

So, I am here to share... we are here! Life is good, really good - Just busy! I have barely picked up my camera even, which is bad. However, I think things are slowing down a bit again and I will be able to resume my normal blogging and sharing of our life's tidbits that happen each week.

In the mean time we have been enjoying family time, out of town visitors, illnesses, house preparations, purging of stuff, planning a garage sale, working with an architect on house designs, doctor appointments, work schedules and more.... busy I tell ya!