Summer days 1

This one will be photo heavy.  But what says more about our summer days than pictures?!

Enjoy :)  Part 2 to come at some point

A few moments spent on this potty when she declared a need to go.  Not much coming of it yet.

 A glorious day together in Vancouver without kids for our 8th anniversary.  4 hours of kayaking left my arms numb, but the sights and company made up for it.

A visit from an Albertan cousin involved princess dresses and giggling

 Cooling off in the small pool on the deck

And 10 years after our first date, we returned to the place where we looked at each other first ;)  The Northwest Washington fair...

 the pink tractor made me smile and think of a farmer girl I know

 the demolition derby (only seen from the ferris wheel as it was sold out)

 the ferris wheel ride...Brynlie was NOT sure about this contraption

 A dragon ride for Brian with grinning Chelsie

 And a carousel horsie ride!

 We stayed from supper time into the evening and enjoyed every last minute

 Summer isn't complete without a Harrison visit

 with dear cousins

 splashing

 making 'caterpillars'

 and enjoying snacks.

 Chelsie also had swimming lessons.  In 2 rounds of lessons she passed 2 levels! We had excellent teachers and are pretty proud of this little fishie :)

 And some time at Nana's...for some reason I have no pictures of swimming...only the sandbox

 and trampoline.  You know that arm floaties are a must on this thing, right?

More to come.  Apparently I was busy enjoying the summer and taking pictures, not putting them on here.  Enjoy your day!!

We could always paint 2

A little elbow grease

A needy project

Some serious spray paint

some sading

more spray paint

a beautiful transformation.

This is round 2 of "we could always paint..." 

Thanks to Willy for the  gentle reminder to get these up!

This hope chest I bought  at the thrift store to use as a toy box.  With all the dress up clothes and doll paraphernalia stuffed in this one, I may need to keep looking for a second and third one :D

 

My dad came by one night and said, "I have something for you."

My interest was piqued... "what?"

"A donkey."

"huh??"

LOL

And here she came...in all of her sadness.

This concrete donkey is Oma's and is VERY heavy!  She was looking a little said and Dad thought I could revive her.  It was quite the project - I've never painted an animal before ;)  She was complete with concrete cart and wheels, all badly weathered.

 So I did what I could...here she is loaded in my trunk heading back to Oma's.  I really should take my camera to her house for a picture now that these flowers have cascaded all over the basket!

A quicker project were these beautiful chairs.  Some given, some thrifted, all painted a beautiful gray to make a set with a black table.  They turned out fabulous and are being used regularly :)

Finally, this beauty.  This $25 (!!) dresser took WAY more hours than planned.  She did NOT want to be painted.  But we perservered and won in the end...I think!  This solid wood beast went to Willetta's home to be used as her new dresser :)  [Remember last time we had found and painted her headboard?]  Her old dresser matches Chelsie's headboard and will be refreshed before moving upstairs to Chelsie's room.

 We added new hardware and some chunky legs to completely change her look - what do you think??  The vase to the right was an awful brown and gold creation which looked quite fabulous painted to match.

And of course, there are several more projects in the works already :)  Stay tuned!

Ranger adventures

Sorry for the wait on posts!  First no computer, then no time...Anyway, I'm back.

We've been enjoying our fabulous weather combined with some time on the Ranger.  One evening, we went up to the jump-off and enjoyed a picnic and fire.  On the long weekend, we took the afternoon to enjoy Harrison's scenery and dinner at the lake.  More pictures to come of our overnight trip :)

A few pictures...

Our goal framed in the Ranger from home... see the grassy green patch above the 'rock cross'?

Zipping along :)

The view that evening from 'the landing'

 There's our house!!

 A beautiful evening (unfortunately with a lot of mosquito friends) for us to enjoy

 

Campfire, picnic, family...ah!

 

Blowing bubbles down towards home

 

Of course, with this girl chasing them, most of them didn't make it

 

Enjoying dessert

Clowning around together

Ready to head down the mountain again

           Brandy Wine Falls on the road up the east side of Harrison Lake 

 A fire to enjoy a favorite snack...smores

 Sticky messes....

 Good thing there is a lake for cleaning up in!

 On the return trip, it started to rain.  The windshield doesn't shelter much, so it was a bit cold!  Despite the rain, dust, and noise, Brynlie fell asleep and is hiding under the towel and blanket on my lap :D

Hope your summer has had some adventure!!  More pictures to come :)