{Tumbleweed Music Festival 2008}

WE just walked in from a very fun day of folk music and fun down at the park! My husband had a show at 2 pm on the River Stage and then sang again at 5 PM on the West Stage for the songwriting contest. The song was called - "It's a Family Thing" and featured his dad, our son and him. It was really fun to be there and enjoy the day as a family. (No, he didn't win but it felt good to make it that far!)

Cheers to Labor Day ... and dancing fish! :)

In the photo: Kaleb (on mandolin), Wiggles the dancing fish, Tory Christensen on bass and Chris Christensen on guitar.

{Shabby Chic with Rachel Ashwell}

News Flash - Rachel Ashwell has a blog! I love love love her stuff. She inspires me ... Feel free to check it out! :) http://www.shabbychic.com/

Are you a Shabby Chic fan??!

{Back to School Eve and warm fuzzies - }

Warm Fuzzy #1

Warm Fuzzy #2

Not pictured: warm fuzzy #3 ... It was hidden in the backpack :)

Last night was back to school eve. Yes, I dreamed of nicely sharpened pencils, pink erasers and composition notebooks all night! My kids dreamed about new lockers, friends and what to wear.

Before I went to bed, I thought it would be fun to add a little something special to their backpacks. So I put a warm fuzzy on their top zippers hoping they would feel all warm inside when they discovered it was there. My oldest son is in middle school so I just hid his in one of the numerous odd shaped pockets of his backpack. (I thought warm fuzzies might be a bit childish for him??!)

Then I tucked a note in their lunches today saying – Love you! Enjoy the warm fuzzy from home… My oldest son’s note told him to hunt for the fuzzy somewhere in his backpack.

When he got home (my middle school son) he thanked me for the fuzzy and told me it would be cool to have one of those hanging from the zipper. (I just checked, the fuzzy is hanging from the zipper!) Yahoooooooooo !!

PS: Want to send your kids to school with a warm fuzzy?! Here’s how –
Buy some fuzzy, sparkly craft balls (I found mine at Wal*Mart) then simply glue a clear bead (again I found these at Wal*Mart) to the back of each fuzzy ball. Then use a small, thin key chain ring and attach the fuzzy to the backpack zipper.

Ta-dah – love from home!!

{Love is a zero ... :)}

My kids and I went to the park this am to play tennis. We ended up having a little tournament and I got schooled all over the court by the oldest son Kade (he's 12). I beat him ONE time and did a victory dance on the court! I could get into this tennis thing! I need to work on my serve and backhand :) and maybe just maybe the score won't be love - 40 so often!

{A Yodeling Fool ...}

My kids and I went to an outdoor show (under the stars) on Friday night and were totally impressed by Wylie Gustafson and his Wild West band. This guy can yodel ...you've heard him before ... You know the famous yahoo.com yodel that goes - Ya- hoooo? That's him! :)

Wylie is a singing cowboy from Washington and we loved his old (yet modern) western style!
In fact, we are going to learn how to yodel and become yodeling fools :)!!

Cheers to summer concerts in the park under the stars!!

Wylie Gustafson website - http://www.wylieww.com/

{Thursday Actor Spotlight - Gerard Butler}

P.S. I love you - This movie was so touching. I'm a weeper and there was no holding back the tears on this one. I laughed too... which means the film was a favorite! Something wonderful about crying and laughing during the course of a show - cheers to raw emotion!

The Phantom of the Opera - I just discovered last night that the Phantom was played by Gerard Butler - that guy has talent! My Mom and I saw this film at the theater and loved it! After the show, we stopped for hot chocolate and pie so we could chat about the flick. Deep talks about this one!! The music was beyond beautiful and the film was equally as stunning. A while back, I had the soundtrack playing from this movie and both my sons (ages 12 & 10) were in my room in awe. I laughed when they exclaimed: "We want to download that music to our ipod!" - Ahhhh the power of the Phantom!


Nim's Island - My kids and I watched this movie last night. It was a tough sell - here we were in Blockbuster perusing the DVD choices and I grab Nim's Island. My son, Kaleb, was not too thrilled about it. He had his mind set on Batman Begins (he always wants that one - we've seen it many times!) I was not deviating from "Nim's" and told him he could watch the movie with us or go to bed. (Silence.) For the record, its one of our favorite family movies! We loved this film! The animals on the island are so funny and the actors (Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster & Gerard Butler) really make the scenes exciting. If you are looking for a great family movie - grab this one and stick to your choice! The kids will love it - trust me. (PG).

The Chicago concert crowd. Chicago was the musical act last night at the fair. I was excited for the show but must admit that without the lead vocals of Peter Cetera - the band was not how I remembered it from the 80s and just - FELL FLAT. (We ended up leaving half way through the show ... I wanted to keep my fond memories of the old Chicago before they were obliterated with the NEW sound.)

The farm animals. Kaleb and Lauren in the barn checking out the creatures!
(ahhh the sounds, the smells, the hay fever) Thank heavens for seasonal allergy meds :)!!

A mystery. How is it that my kids can spin and turn and ride and love it and not get sick??!
(I can hardly survive the Ferris Wheel) :) In fact, I have a hard time watching them on all the crazy rides without getting a 'sickly' stomach.

The end.

And the Christensens had fun at the fair and slept happily all night :) ...

{Chicago at the Fair ...!}
We have a huge county fair here in my neck of the woods and it starts tonight. Will we be there? OH yes! The kids can't wait to ride the rides and eat the yummy food, check out all the cool animals in the barns (and out back-ish areas) and I can't wait to hear Chicago sing on the main stage. Good times :)
I'll post more about this later - stay tuned ...

{DDD}

My Domestic Diva Day ...

- 8/15/08 -

I have always wanted to make my own pickles ... So, I did a little research online to figure out what to do. I ended up making these really ultra yummy sweet refrigerator pickles. It was so easy and OH they are heavenly. I absolutely adore pickles ... ohh la la la la.


The Domestic Diva Day (DDD) started when I spotted this table at a yard sale. I love a good yard sale find :)!! Especially when it is a cool piece of furniture. This piece cost me $10.00 - Yes, I was so pleased. I then took it home and did a little shabby chic magic to it ...

Ta dah - my new furniture ... just the way I like it!

Cheers to homemade pickles and yard sale treasures :)

Ahhhhh LIFE IS GOOD ...

{The BEST}

Wiggles the Fish busting a move on stage in Everett, Washington - August 14, 2008
Silver Lake Park - Acoustic guitar: Tory Christensen, Mandolin: Kaleb Christensen

(Special thanks to the parents and children who joined us for a very fun and beautiful show at the park!) There must have been 250 + kids there - Way to Wiggle Everett!
http://www.wigglelikeafish.com/

My kids and I went to Wenatchee a day before the Wiggle show to visit my cousin, Conley and his wife and children! It was so fun to hang out and enjoy the day together ... Thanks guys!
(Tory was attending an education conference so we met up at my cousin's house!)

En route to the concert, we made a visit to one of my favorite towns - Leavenworth!
It is gorgeous in the summer, winter or fall ... and so romantic.
Photo moment: The kids and I in their favorite shop. We each posed with a fuzzy critter.
I have a turtle...

An old vintage car in Snohomish, Washington. After the show, we stopped in this town for lunch and to check out all the antique shops ...

I ended up talking to the owner of this gorgeous vehicle and he said there are only FIVE left in the world. Apparently, this car was the first Jaguar before it became Jaguar - no wonder I loved it. :) He had just picked this one up in Bellevue Washington a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful car!! I wanted to say, "Can I take her for a ride?" :)

~

"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best."
- Oscar Wilde


That quote seems appropriate for how I feel about the past week - it was the best! :)
Cheers to summer, concerts in the park, family and vintage cars from the past!

The Sound of Silence …

Have you ever really thought about the sound of silence? Here’s how Webster defines silence: absence of any sound or noise; stillness.

I just put my kids to bed (late night for us!) and am sitting here in complete silence. OH it is heavenly… There is something beautiful and calming about a still, silent Sunday night.
(Any night for that matter :) ...

Don’t you find it amazing how silence and stillness can calm the soul and allow it to be filled with answers, direction and peace?

I would add nourishment for the soul to Webster’s definition of silence …

{What we learn with pleasure ... we never forget}

:)

That's me with my son, Kade and daughter Lauren... We're standing next to our 1979 Ford pickup (4-door, 1 ton) - It's a classic. What's the big blue thing??! We call it a FUN ISLAND. And yesterday, we floated a very pretty section of the Columbia River on it! :)

That's where we got in ... (Columbia River)

That's the path that helped us get in :)

That's my husband and our two boys (Kade & Kaleb) walking the fun island to the river. We had such a GREAT time floating together yesterday. I can't think of a better way to spend a HOT Thursday in August - can you? :)

Cheers to rivers and things that float ...!

American Son: A Portrait of John F. Kennedy , Jr.

by Richard Blow

(My current read ...)

I found this book while on a bike ride with my family. We stopped long enough to beat the heat by grabbing lunch at Stone Soup (love that place) and to check out a little corner bookstore. I am really enjoying the writer's style and the 'inside' look at JFK, Jr. He was my age when he died in a plane crash. That is a sobering thought.

What are you reading??!