Sun dogs?! Say what?

A couple weeks ago I was looking through this slide show (http://local.msn.com/beautiful-weather-phenomena) about weather phenomenon and have seen many circular rainbows (as seen on slide #7) and so I clicked to learn more about what they are called, etc and eventually found information about Sun Dogs. I think they are so facinating, but I think the sky is facinating...clouds, sunrises and sunsets, rainbows, the many different colors of the sky. Then the other night as I was driving I looked over and saw one version of a sun dog that I'd never seen. I'd seen the full halo, but not the kind where it just looks like two rainbows -one on each side of the sun that almost appears to be hugging the sun. So I had to take a picture. This is the rainbow section on the right side of the sun-the one on the left side was fading fast enough it wasn't very visible in the picture. It was a cool thing to see! 

Baby Ella!

My newest Goddaughter has arrived. She was born last night about 11:30pm and she is precious!

Ella with still pink cheeks!

I'm a proud Godmother!

Birds of the summer!

Some some fun bird pictures from the summer...

Barn swallows from the produce market...

They didn't want this other one to join them...he tried over...and over...and over...and over...and they kept chirping him away...poor bird.

When I was at a nursery there was a very active hummingbird...I got a few good shots...He's right above the reddish-orange clump o'flowers...

Later the same day I was at the garden section of Fred Meyer and spotted this hummingbird as well...a few better pictures of it....

Nature is so wonderful!

Bathtub Racing!

Holly invited me to join she and Isaiah for Camas Days. She was going to be in a bathtub race with co-workers and there was a fun market-so I did join them. 

We arrived in Camas as the parade was nearing and end...so we watched the end of that.

Then we walked around a bit to kill some time before the bathtub race...

This is Holly (one on the right with curly hair) and two of her co-workers approaching the bathtubs.

Getting the tub filled (with like 40 degree water) and getting the run-down on how to operate this thing. One person had to be inside of it to steer while two others had to push...Holly was glad to be a pusher...

Get ready....

GO!

They had to take it around cones down a track, turn it around and come back...if they knocked a cone down they had to pick it up...they only knocked one down and overall did well considering none of them had ever done it!

And...they made it back and didn't have to go again! Woohoo!

I also got a sandal tan today...a definite sign of summer!

An Alphabet Year

I started this list on January 1, 2013. I made it mostly through the alphabet and then forgot to finish it...so here it is...6 months later, but complete (if you pass X anyways...)! My past year and then some in alphabet form...a blogging challenge from a friend!

A: Adventures- (grand ones and small ones) that have made good memories.
B: Bold- wishing that I was more of this sometimes, but slightly impressed with some of my minor boldness this past year.
C: Change- the year has been chock full of change, some I've taken in stride, some not as much, but it truly is the only constant in life.
D: Dreams- I've got lots of these, still and came up with more this last year.
E: Energy- sometimes I wish I had more of this. I found that my energy level improved in the past year, but I still want more!
F: Friends- new and old- they help make me who I am.
G: Goals- I have a few that I've created over the past year. Simple things, but meaningful. I'm not a resolutions kind of girl.
H: Hawaii- my "big" vacation for the past year (or the next few...) and where I long to be still.
I: Improve...what I always hope to do in my life-years past and years future.
J: Josie- my darling "Goddaughter" whose smiles refresh my soul. Her parents and big brother are just as equally special to me.
K: Kona- a place I could most definitely go back to.
L: Love- I've felt a lot of love from those I know this year--this is a constant in my life
M: Mutsu- my new favorite apple of all time. Seriously. It is amazing. Try it next apple season.
N: Normal- I don't know what normal is, but I hope 2013 resembles normalcy a bit more than the last couple of years.
O: Oregon- a place I love living and have now spent more that one third of my life living here.
P: Portland- the city I adore and love to explore.
Q: Quirky- a quality I have that I realize more and more that I have each year-including this past one.
R: Recuperating- what I feel like I've done in the last year.
S: Smiles- even though the year has been challenging in some regards, it's been full of lots of smiles.
T: Thirty- the age I am.
U: Ultrasounds- I've had two in the past year (actually-just one month apart from each other) and I am glad they are done..
V: Vacation- I have decided more vacation needs to happen...any recommendations on places to add to my list of places to go?
W: Work- I finally am feeling like my life at work is settled. I felt so uprooted and displaced and it is nice to finally feel more "at home."
X: **revised** My friend Rose commented and gave me my X- I met she and her husbands son Xander for the first time! Still, I say: who ever created this letter-hardest letter ever.
Y: Yarn- I've spent a lot of time with yarn-crocheting and knitting it and my stash is getting too large.
Z: Zig-zag- how my life path feels like it is going...more curvy than zig-zaggy is how it really is.

“The air was fragrant with a thousand trodden aromatic herbs, with fields of lavender, and with the brightest roses blushing in tufts all over the meadows. . . .” ~William Cullen Bryant

For years I have wanted to go to a lavendar field. Today, I finally did that! I didn't have a plan to do this until I woke up and just decided to hop in my hot car on this hot day and go for a drive with a lavendar field being my destination. It was a great little "day trip"-heat and all.

The weather has been glorious this summer-which is great, but it also means that everything is early. Because of this, it was the end of lavendar season-or at least the end of the peak lavendar season. I still thought it was great!

There were probably 30 different varieties of lavendar at this Lavendar Farm...it smelled amazing!

I loved the quaintness of the farm...cute old bike!

Heeps of lavendar!

They had baskets and siccors for folks to use in getting their lavendar...this was my basketful. Some of it will be used to make lavendar sachets with my participants at work and some of it will just make my house smell good!

I bought this adorable, little (and by little, I mean little-the frame measures like 3-4 inches I think) picture. I thought it was precious and I really like purchasing artwork from local artists-which this one is. And, I just like little things, too... 

    

Proof...I was there-with all the bees!

On the drive to the fields I had passed this little market. Had to stop on my way home and it was so cute and filled with fun things-fruits, veggies, and lots of kitchen and home goods. And-milkshakes. The one I had was amazing. If it wasn't so far away from home for me I think it could be one of me new favorite places...I suppose it still can be-even if I only make it there this one time.

Here's to wonderful summer days!

Perks of the Job!

One of the perks of my job is that I get to take our participants to some pretty awesome places. Kelli (my co-worker) and myself and our Food Services manager were supposed to take participants fishing yesterday, but David had to cancel so we Plan B'ed it. Kelli and I took a group to Trillium Lake. A lake I've wanted to go to for a long while and just haven't made it too...well...I finally did. Of course there was no hiking but there was lunching and who can argue with such an amazing lunchtime view?!

Mt Hood-beautiful Mt Hood from Trillium!

Proof...because that is needed ya know!

I wonder where my next work adventure will take me?!

This years blueberries!

Boy...were they plentiful. I picked for over and hour and ended up with over 9 pounds...some to freeze for later, some to give to a friend who gave me a bunch of raspberries and some to eat now!

If only you could pick berries ALL year long!

Miss Stephanie and Josie's Grand Adventure

Josie is my adorable Goddaughter-as you know. She is so special-as all kids are. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to "kidnap" her for part of the day. This is something I do a few times a year with Myles-Josie's big brother, but I'd not taken her out before yesterday. 

We whisked away to my work to drop something off for someone and played around a bit...

Josie LOVED spinning in one of the office chairs!

She "helped" Georgia (the PTA I work with) to move walkers around...

...she checked out the fishies....

And then we went to a park and played. Josie loved the swing...

...and then she wanted to go check out the play structure...

Look at that smile! I love it!

She's a determined little girl!

No smiles for me right now...she wants to be playing!

...or better yet-trying to pull out a clump of grass from a dirt patch.

Look at that sweet face!

Time to go home-not ready, but time.

It was fun for me to see the differences between Myles and Josie. Myles just goes and does and Josie is a watcher. She has spent all of her life watching her big brother do things and then she attempts them so she does the same on a playground full of kids...watches all of them and then goes over to play. She is a sweet girl and I was glad to have this time with her!

Christmas in July!

Since Rose and Lee were in Alaska for Christmas again this past year, our Girls Group celebrated Christmas in July once again. Rose hosted and made an wonderful spread of breakfast for dinner and the rest of us also brought yummy food to share. 

Rose got this cute tree out with ornaments!

We also had a kitty cat nativity!

Heart shaped, gluten-free waffles that were yummy!

Gift exchange outside! Such a fun and unusual place for a Christmas gift exchange-guess anything is possible at Christmas in July!

"The Hat" is back. Several years ago this was my contribution for the corny gift exchange. The dreaded baseball aht bird house. Everyone has now had it and it was only fitting that it return to me...Now I have a year to add something to it. Any ideas?...let me know!

Rachel and her corny gift for the year.

And Rose with hers...

Part of Jamie's...

Aren't we a nice looking group?! I think so! Such a fun evening filled with friends and laughter and good food! Here's to another year before our next Christmas in July!