A Touch Of Tyrell

 Peonies from the backyard  I had chicken salad for dinner... with lettuce I picked from the garden! I know I am such a dork but it just feels so good to say that! (and it was delicious) And I just got home from running my 8 mile training run. I feel good. Life is great!

I'm a huge fan of recycling and reusing... but sometimes I just can't remember to bring my reusable shopping bags into the store with me. So I end up with hundreds of shopping bags in the pantry. Like most people, we reuse these bags but the pantry floor was covered and I needed a better place for them. So I finally made a bag holder (using this tutorial). I made the bag holder out of scraps I found in my craft room. It ended up matching Everett's room perfectly, so it  hangs on the back of his door right next to the changing table... perfect place to pull a bag out and toss a stinky diaper in. Believe it or not, I stuffed the bag holder full and I still had tons of shopping bags left. So I made another one to hang inside of the pantry door... except I like it so much that I hung it on the outside of the door!

Another picture from Amy I had to pick my heart up off of the grocery store floor today. Everett and I were getting some last minute dinner items after a crazy workout at the gym. I was sweaty and very disgusting looking and was in a hurry to get out of the public eye. Everett was strapped in the cart, which was pulled to the side of the aisle, when an old man in a walker slowly walked past. I was grabbing some canned green beans off of the shelf when Everett looked at the old man..... and waved. It was the sweetest thing he's ever done and I was so proud of him. I was so proud that he was mine. Everett is barely learning how to wave and the fact that he waved to a complete stranger (who didn't wave first) was a huge deal to me. Their aren't words to explain the feeling I had at that moment. It was just so sweet and genuine and it made me really, really happy. It was the highlight of my day, and I'm sure the old man's day too.

Jake and Everett eating Costco pizza months ago  I clearly remember not wanting to be one of those people, that when asked the age of their child, gave it to you in months. But now I get why they do it. I was buying new running shoes the other day and this little tiny girl walked by me. I asked her mom how old she was... she said "15 months." I was grateful that she didn't say "she's 1" because I would have been left wondering exactly how old she was (you know, because I was probably sizing her up against Everett...). Anyway, Everett is 13 months today and he keeps changing like... a dirty diaper... I mean, the wind. Whenever we drive by the park he grunts and whines because he wants to play. He's been eating WAY better. He loves to sneeze . He still wakes up at night- at least twice a week but he's pretty good at falling back to sleep on his own. He screams A LOT (just for fun) and it is REALLY high pitched and loud. HE IS LOUD . He is g...

I'd been dying to go on a hike and all of our weekends have been booked up until today. But then last minute Jake went to help a friend frame a garage. (Which, in his defence, I was totally okay with him going.) Everett has been Captain Naughty lately and today he was working double time. I had to get us out of the house for my own sanity so I sent Jake a text that said, "Everett and I are going on a hike at 2:30. You can come if you want." I was so mad and I needed a break. Luckily he made it home in enough time to hike with us... but I was mad and pouted the entire drive to our hike. I am such a pouter. But I couldn't be mad once we got out and saw how beautiful it was.   Everett fell asleep in the backpack holding on to Jake's fingers A gigantic tree we found along the trail  Looking straight up the HUGE tree  We stopped by a park on the way home and Everett had blast. He crawled up the stairs, slid down the slide (always backward...

My Dad keeps teasing me that my sunglasses keep getting bigger and bigger... ...but to have new, unscratched sunglasses for $5 bucks is summer at it's best. I can't live without sunglasses, even in the cloudy Northwest. I say, 'the bigger the better!'

It's official. Everett took his first steps tonight. We combined two methods that worked for our friends. #1 We stood him up so that he was leaning in a corner and #2 we bribed him with peanut butter M&M's. We had been trying to get him to walk from Jake's arms to mine but he kept leaning too far forwards or backwards so putting him in a corner was key. And who doesn't like peanut butter M&M's? We held them high enough so that he wouldn't bend down and crawl... and what do you know?... he took 5 consecutive steps towards his prize. He even got up to 8 steps before he put his hands down. He was so proud of himself. He kept putting his hands on his head and laughing. It was adorable- and so exciting!

Photo Well I finally did it. I registered for my first half marathon. About 3 weeks ago I got a calendar of local events in the mail and the Tacoma Narrows Half was the last thing listed. Interested, I went to the website . I've looked at the website almost 100 times since then and tonight I finally resisted for the race. Run or walk one of the most unique race courses in the Puget Sound Region! This point to point course starts at the Tacoma Narrows Airport, crosses over the majestic Tacoma Narrows Bridge, runs on the warning track at Cheney Stadium (where you will see yourself on the jumbo tron), and finishes in beautiful downtown Tacoma...the city of destiny. I'm really excited about this. Excluding track and cross country (in middle school) I've only run/ran in 2 other races. A 5k when I was 9 or 10 and I got first place. There were 2 runners, my sister and I. I also ran the Imogene Pass Run when I was 17. The Imogene Pass Run (IPR) is a 17.1 mile poin...

On the first day of Summer I couldn't have asked for better weather! It was seriously awesome. It was a perfect day to spend outside- and we did just that. First, this little monster needed a hair cut.... like really bad. So I loaded him into his car swing, gave him a couple otter pops, and cut off 2 inches of hair!!! (Mom, Dad? Do these pictures look like me or what!? But I don't know... maybe I'm just wishing I was that cute?) His hair was so long! I guess it took me a little too long to cut his hair because these were the only faces I could get after the hair cut! After the hair cut we decided to have some lunch outside.  (I swear he's not flipping me off!) The filthy guy ate played with beef raviolis and frozen blueberries... what a combo. He even offered me some! When we got cleaned up I tried to get a picture of his new hair cut but he wouldn't even look at me. When I finally got him to look up he had a super annoyed look...

I'm sure they will hate these pictures in 15 years...  but for now it's just too funny!