sandpoint snow

Ahhhhhh :) Please forgive me, but we've been suffering through a nasty heat wave this week, so for my Sandpoint Friday photos, I went directly to the SNOW! The first snow of the fall season, to be exact - the fall of 2004 that is.

I don't know how time flies that fast, because I remember it like it was maybe a year ago! We were so thrilled because it has been years and years since we had seen snow. It was raining, and all of the sudden the rain turned to snow, and we were like little kids - hardly able to get our sweatshirts on and run outside fast enough!

It wasn't a huge storm - only a few inches of snow - but enough to turn everything white and beautiful :) And it stuck around long enough for the kids to come home from school, and Daniel to come home from work, so we could all play around and have some fun! 

Of course, they said it was really WILD for them to look out the window during school and see snow start to fall!

Our back yard looked pretty wonderful to me :)

Ah, here are the Mouse and Daniel having some fun :)

one of my favorite little trees, looking so awesome all dressed in white

Look at that Mouse! He had just barely turned 9 years old!

........ and Davy was only 13 years old - gadzooks!

Ah, this is one of my favorite photos :)

Hey, no laughing - we had never made one before! I think he's cute :)

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Well I feel *much* better now from having visited Sandpoint and from enjoying some snow. Time to gear up for the day and try not to be a weenie about the heat. As long as it's not 116 again :/ But I've got diet Coke on ice and I'm not afraid to use it. So HAPPY FRIDAY and ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND! And come on back if you need to chill :)

oh MJ.......

Just when I thought surely I had seen every clip, video, special, and/or concert of Michael Jackson that had ever been made, leave it to my son Daniel to find this and post it on Facebook. And subsequently BLOW. MY. MIND. Have mercy and praise all that is holy! What an amazing performance! Say what you will about MJ - but if it's bad, keep it to yourself. An adult little boy/musical genius man who has never known the meaning of a normal life - and yet transforms before your eyes into a fierce, commanding performer like none other. He will always reign as the King of Pop - this video performance will remind you why. You are missed, MJ - but I hope finally at peace. 

Monday's porch

So! Remember my dreary, depressing porch that desperately needed some cheer? I had challenged myself to clean and decorate it over the weekend because I knew sharing it here would give me the push I needed to get it done. I love porches no matter how challenging they can be to work with. I think their effect on the homeowners and those who visit is an often overlooked factor in how warm and welcome you feel upon entering the home.

So........ without further ado, below is the outcome!

First I power washed everything with water since sweeping would not have gotten rid of all the dust. Then I went for a colorful, "room" feel with furniture pieces and primitives, as opposed to a garden feel with flowers and pots.

Since I had a budget of basically $0 the only thing purchased was a new doormat for $15 less a 20% off coupon.

I like using larger pieces instead of little knick-knacky pieces that can look tacky and overdone. I do see a few areas that could use some tweaking, but I often have to step back, look at things, and think for a few days.

And of course since I reused everything I already had (aka shopping in my own house), you probably recognize some of these pieces - either from being on my porch before, or having made them in a tutorial, or even from glimpses inside my house. I really enjoy rotating things in and out so I don't end up getting tired of my favorite pieces. Then when I pull them back out it's like seeing an old friend again. 

So happy Monday! And if you happened to do your porch also, I'd still love to post your "before" & "after" pics!

Sandpoint Sunset

Once again, here is your Friday photo of Sandpoint, Idaho. This was from on top of Baldy Mountain where we lived, looking west toward Washington. Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend! Don't forget your porches!

porch challenge... again!

Has it really come to this? My sad, sorry, excuse for a porch.

I honestly don't think it's ever looked this awful!

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I've had a few porch challenges on my blog in the past, because when I just can't stand it any longer, showing it here gives me the motivation to get it DONE. Especially in the summertime when it's a trazillion degrees outside and I really need that motivation. You all know that I think no matter how large/small/odd your porch may be, it's still the window to your home - a little preview of it's soul, if you will. Not only is it everyone's first impression of it, but more importantly, it's what welcomes you home. It's purpose may be something different for each homeowner. Functional, comfortable, decorative, inviting, seasonal...... whatever works best for your needs. A front porch truly has the potential to give you the peace and cheer you would hope to feel upon leaving the world outside and taking refuge in your own oasis. Wow. That sounded like a sentence right out of the 1950's. Be that as it may, I still think it's the truth. I adore porches. Much can be done in such a small space. They can pack a big punch. 

SO..... I can't say I'll get it done today, because we've been having a series of 100 degree days that are TICKING ME OFF. Because I'm such a weenie. But Monday is my Ultimate Deadline. By Monday you will see a lovely, cheerful porch that actually welcomes you to my home. And I am out of money big time so I'm going to have to do some major shopping in my own house. Meaning as much as I love flowers, you'll probably see pots being used creatively instead of holding flowers! AND....... if you need a bit of motivation in the life of your own porch, please think of joining me in my porch challenge! I would love to have your company! This is NOT a stressful contest to see who can impress who. This is just a challenge to get off your arse and cheer up your porch. Promise. And if you send me your before/after photos ASAP, I'd absolutely love to post them too!  

son, son, son, here they come

What? You haven't had enough of the Mouse and his motorcycle escapades? That's a good thing because John took him again this weekend and he did some crazy dirt biking. I did not go, as I went to the beach with the teenagers from church and fried the entire front side of my body off. It really only hurts when I breath or move. 

John is behind the camera on all these pics and he did a nice job getting the Mouse going off some fun jumps. One of the BEST parts of the day were the special visitors the Mouse received who came just to watch HIM!!!

Very strange indeed....... but they followed us home from the movies once and we've kept them ever since ;)

So let's see what the Mouse can do... He's starting his jump..

He's off the ground...

Whoa - nice job Mouse! That's pretty high!

And he starts to come down... way to go Mousie! 

I'M SUCH A DORK

all Hart

The Mouse started HIGH SCHOOL yesterday!!! My tiny Mouse, whom I was sure would stay 5 forever...

See the chair full of "stuff" in the pic up above? All items to go in his back pack: his planner and his school ID, his planner, bell schedule, notebook, gym clothes........ all the usual things you take until you really know.

Huh. I've always been curious what DEVO has been up to all these years....

Ah, good 'ol Hart High. You know, it's funny how many people remember the Mouse from so many years ago, when I was dragging him around to all Daniel's high school volleyball games. And the Mouse remembers it too. He has memories of riding all around Hart High on his razor when he couldn't have been more than 6 or 7. 

SUCCESS!!! The Mouse had a *GREAT* first day of high school! Thank heaven! He came out all smiles...... especially when he saw who was taking photos of him from my passenger seat :) More on that in the next post! But for now I'll just say I'm so HAPPY for my Mouse - and so PROUD of him too! Way to go Mouse! xoxoxo

~

P.S. starting next Friday, I will be getting back to my regularly scheduled Sandpoint Idaho posts :)

P.P.S. Annual "Porch Challenge" coming up soon so stay tuned! It may even be this weekend!

this & that

the Mouse surfing in Kona, Hawaii, June 2010

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So I had a few photos here and there that are a bit out of order now, but still wanted to share...

I decided to group them together for this little bloggie post because I foresee bigger blog stories on the horizon.

Speaking of which, how *adorable* is that Mouse up top, surfing for the first time!?!? I love that photo :)

He had the amazing opportunity to spend a week in Hawaii with a friend and his family this summer - he loved it.

Such nice people, they did awesome activities every day - I should have the Mouse create an actual post!

And I should probably say how *cool* he looks surfing instead of adorable... he starts HIGH SCHOOL tomorrow!

Some of you may remember the time I posted on Facebook that we arrived home from a movie only to find my naughty babies had somehow knocked the leftover pizza AND cinna-stix off the table and had eaten an entire pizza and the last box of cinna-stix........... LOOK HOW STINKY THEY ARE!!! This was a hard pill to swallow - ironic wording, I know - as I had not even had the opportunity to PARTAKE of any cinna-stix yet.

My sun tattoo and that's all I'm going to say

The Mouse practicing the banjo before leaving for church one Sunday. I think John caught him by surprise because you can tell he's concentrating. I love how he's in his suit :) But if you asked him, he'd much rather be one of Mumford & Sons. If you asked me, I sometimes feel like I'm in Deliverance country (shudder).

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These next 3 pics are teasers because I'm working on more photos for my Zagg skins! Hope you like them!

Candy Perspective

Hand-cut Paper

Dubskis!!!

the x-factor

Hellooooooo! And happy Monday :) Apologies for ignoring my blog lately - life has been crazy and we've been out of town which always gets things off kilter. But we're back and I'm anxious to begin blog life once again! So.......

A few weeks ago we attended the X-Games for the first time. We've always wanted to go, especially the Mouse. We had a great time! Our favorite event is Motocross Freestyle, which was being held at the L.A. Coliseum. All the photos you are about to see, except for just 2, were taken by the Mouse. He took a few hundred AMAZING photos. Unfortunately, most of the riders are hard to see because they blend in with the bleachers/people in the background. These are the ones that really stood out and turned out to be exceptional photos. Nice job Mouse!

And just something to remember: these bikes weigh 230lbs.... and not ONE of these tricks resulted in a crash!

And then there's Travis Pastrana, the Golden Child of Everything Motocross. Actually just about everything else too, because he's one of those insanely amazing guys that can do just about everything he tries. And he's so talented, and SO GENUINELY DOGGONE NICE that you can't even hate him. In fact, it gets even worse than that. He's such a freaking babe, he has magnetic powers and you are forced to sit in the same room with your son when he's watching rerun after rerun of Travis' show Nitro Circus. But I digress. To finally see Travis perform in person was a real treat. He truly is divine. He is so far above and beyond the rest - everything is smooth and effortless, like a well oiled machine. It's like he was just born to do what he's doing, and it's a joy to watch.  

King of the backflips. And just about everything else. Good 'ol number 199 :)

I look awesome. Davy looks like Ruprect the Monkey Boy.

last blast

Davy's band's last practice... for their last performance that evening.

It totally caught me off guard - as soon as they started, I got all choked up for the first time,

realizing that this was the last time I would be hearing them play Davy's music in our house for 2 years :/

I love, love, love this photo :)

Performance time - John's band "Primrose Gardens" goes first and they sound great. It's already a packed house.

Davy's band's turn..... they were awesome. AWESOME. It was the most electric night ever. EVER. 

I can't even tell you how much I wanted it to go on and on. There was major foot stomping at the end too. 

Henry even played his glassed off :) You guys were so amazing. It's going to be a long 2 years without you.

So the next day it was time to become the missionary Davy had chosen to be. So let the transformation begin...

which is somethings hard :)

But just look how wonderful and handsome he looks. This is our Stake President, who had just set Davy apart as a missionary of Jesus Christ - he gave Davy the most beautiful blessing. It was absolutely everything Davy. So now we begin our journey to take Davy to check in to the Mission Training Center. Oh how I love my boy ❤