A Victorian Bridal Shower...

Daniel and I returned a little over a week ago from LA.  We went for my cousin Lauralyn's wedding.  

My Aunt Karin put on a lovely Victorian Tea Bridal Shower for her in their backyard.  My Uncle Dave really has made their backyard into a little oasis in the middle of the crazy city.

 

 Bride and Groom, Lauralyn and Jeff

 Laurlyn with her mom and our Gramma.  It was a huge praise to have Gramma there.  She recently had a couple of emergency surgeries and it was uncertain what her condition would be for all the wedding festivities.  She gave the devotional.

 Our great-great Gramma Gay's wedding china.

Gay's wedding dress.

 

    A table with some of Gay's keepsakes.

 

 The beautiful bride.

 And I couldn't leave out the sweet babies who were there.  This is sweet Asher, my cousin Mary Beth's little guy and Lauralyn's nephew.

This is squishable little Cody.  He is my cousin Eva-Karin's second little guy and Lauralyn's third nephew.  A beautiful young bride, a lovely tea and sweet babies...what more could a group of ladies want?  :)

More pictures from my trip and the wedding to come!

A Dannells' get together...

(All pictures were taken by my father-in-law George.)

In May there are 4 Dannells'  birthdays so we have started having a big May birthdays family get together. 
Yesterday we all met at my in-laws house in Tacoma.  My mother-in-law Bonita made a wonderful spread complete with homemade pizza.  I brought a chocolate,  pistachio pudding, butterfinger cake (there has to be an official name for it but I have no clue.), homemade pico de gallo and chips. 

 George's brother Dick was here for his annual visit and got to meet his second grand niece for the first time.  He also presented Daisy with the Paul Harris Fellow Award from the Rotary Club.  He also presented George with the award about nine years ago.  This will be a great addition to Daisy's senior portfolio as she will be a senior next year.

 Rahmat produced an epic photo bomb in this pic. 

 

Uncle Dick made sure to get lots of family photos.

Love this little girl!

We discussed a little bit some summer camping plans.  Rue just bought a tent that pops up and only takes 1 1/2 minutes to completely set up!  Before it would take him 2 hours to get our huge tent all put up.  Until we can buy a tent camper this will be the next best thing.  Can't wait for our first camping  trip to try it out!

Daniel and I leave on Tuesday for LA.  We will be there for  my cousin Lauralyn's wedding.  I am very excited to be going and seeing all my family but it is also so hard to be going without Rue and Daisy.  The first morning I am there is going to be breakfast with all the girls!  I can't wait!  Daniel is crazy excited about riding on an airplane.  My mom made him paper chain to count down the days and as it has been getting shorter and shorter he has been getting more excited.  My dad will be flying with us (my mom is already down there) so that will be really fun.  

Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend everyone!

So many squishy faces...

In 8 days I will get to squish all over these sweet faces!  My cousin Lauralyn is getting married down in LA and Daniel and I will be heading down there for the festivities.

In the above picture Asher is on the left and Cody is on the right.  You can already tell they are going to have tons of fun when they are older.  Asher belongs to my cousin Mary Beth who is sisters with Cody's momma Eva-Karin.  They are both older sisters to Lauralyn who is getting married on June 1st.

Here is Eva-Karin with all three boys.  Her oldest Ethan is on the right.  He is about a year and half younger than Daniel but I have a feeling they are going to have lots of fun together. 

Ethan

 

I had to include this picture of little Cody coming home from the hospital.  This has to be the cutest "coming home"  picture I have ever seen!  

My only Squishy Face who will be missing is my sweet Charlie.  My brother and his family live all the way in Alaska so it was much harder for them to be able to make it to the wedding. 

 Charlie

And of course I can't leave out sweet little Adaryn.  At this point she is my only niece.  

I have to say I think I've got a good collection going!  :) 

Taggy...

Where would a little boy be without his taggy blanket?  Daniel wanted to work outside with my dad and I in our gardens but he wanted to bring his taggy too.  So my dad stuck it in his back pocket.  :)  A friend made this taggy for Daniel when he was about 5 months old and it has never left his side.  The edges are fraying and the tags are showing signs of wear.  Even when he is grown I will still have this little blanket as a keepsake from his little boy days.

 This forlorn look is when I told him it was time to go home.  He loves working with Grampa in the garden.

 

 He moped into the house to get his things. :)

 

And this spawn of Satan beautiful moth was on my parents' front porch.  Daniel refused to go out this way, he took the back door.

 

My dad put his hand up next to the spawn of Satan beautiful moth so you gauge the size better.  Daniel said it has sharp wings.  :)

Earthen Vessel Shoppe Blog!

Feel free to stop by my new blog specifically for scrap booking and card making!  Lots more posts to come!

Earthen Vessel Shoppe: Welcome!: I decided to start a separate little blog for my paper crafting and Etsy shop .  I thought perhaps those who want to visit my blog Earthen V...

Spring windowsill...

Here is my kitchen windowsill at the moment. My lilacs are in full bloom along with my columbine and I bought some living basil from the store. I love having flowers I can go and pick from my yard whenever I want. Later on in the summer the lilacs and columbine will be replaced with my blue hydrangeas and various roses. The little picture is of Daniel and Daisy on a hike in Glacier.  Daniel is holding Daisy hand. Daniel was 2. I love that picture.

Spring happenings...

Well, I figured it was time for another post since it's been almost two months since I last posted.  I am glad to get back to blogging.  I have a few plans for my blog and my Etsy shop coming up soon.

The above picture is of the pond on my parents' property.  My veggie garden plot is right next to it so I have a lovely view when I am working in my garden.  Sadly though as summer gets closer the pond will dry up until fall comes around again.

To get my garden ready I removed all or most of the gravel that had been between the beds.  I purchased a yard of organic compost and incorporated it all in into the soil.  I bought some straw to put between the beds. Daniel helped me spread the straw around and he thought it was the funnest job ever.  He did such a good job of making sure the straw didn't get in the beds. This is a trick my mother-in-law uses and I really wanted to try it this year.  Eventually when I put my beds to rest at the end of the fall the straw will be a little more broken down and I will turn some of it into my beds.  So far I have planted onions, garlic, kale broccoli, lettuce,carrots, fennel, beets, bush beans, zucchini, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, pumpkins and potatoes.

We've had some amazing weather the past week.  Daniel and Daisy spent quite a bit of time in the sprinkler and slip and slide. 

Nothing like the pure happiness of a little boy playing in the sprinkler.

And here my sweet little niece Adaryn now 2 months old.  Time sure flies!  I love squishing her all up and I don't get to do it nearly enough.  :)

Happy spring everyone! 

She's here...

...and she sure is a little sweety pie!  My sweet little niece Adaryn arrived two weeks ago today. 

 

 She smiles all the time just like her Momma and Daddy! :)

 

  Love her to pieces!

Charming...

http://pinterest.com/pin/266416134178961257/

Happy weekend everyone!

Waiting for spring...

 

I just purchased an 11X14 print of this picture I took in Glacier at Logan Pass this past summer.  I took it on a little climb we did up Mt. Oberlin.  I can't wait to head there again this coming summer for our annual trip. I framed it and hung it in my kitchen.  

 

This is the time of year when I really start longing for spring and the mountains.  (Well actually, I'm always longing for the mountains.) My little tulips are sticking their heads out of the ground, my blueberry bushes are getting little tiny buds and it's time to prune my lilac and rose bushes.  I already bought my veggie seeds for this year and when the weather is a little bit warmer I will start digging in my garden and get the beds all ready for planting when the time is right.  I have been saving my pennies so I can buy a truckload of good compost (and I do mean an actual truckload) for my garden.  My soil needs some good TLC. 

But even more exciting than spring is my sister-in-law Ruhiyyih who is expecting her sweet baby girl any day now.  Her due date was on Friday so now we wait to hear that she is heading to the birthing center. This Auntie can't wait to meet her first little niece!  I promised not to text her a million times a day asking if there are any changes.  :)






 I am going on walks with Daniel outside at least once a week.  Even if it is threatening rain I dress us appropriately.  Being out in the woods or some other pretty place is so refreshing for the soul.  Plus it tuckers Daniel out enough that he will actually sit still for more than 30 seconds. :)  I also want to keep him used to getting outside and walking since spring and summer mean lots of hiking and camping for us.  Our little walks are so fun and I treasure this time with him.  Our walk last week was in McCormick Woods.  They have lots of lovely nature trails and I found a nice loop that took us about an hour to walk. 


Today I am organizing my craft closet and then I am going to start scrapbooking prints I ordered of our vacations this past summer.  I find it hard to do any kind of crafty project until my closet is organized. 

Have a lovely Tuesday everyone!

Theler Wetlands...

Daniel and I took advantage of a sunny day on Wednesday and headed out to Belfair and the Theler Wetlands on the lower Hood Canal.  They have lovely nature trails to meander in and explore.  Even though the sun was out it was COLD, about 35 degrees.  (All you who live in the mid-west or Alaska, no comment!)

These lovely little winter walks are some of life's simple pleasures.  Plus having a sweet little boy talking to you the whole time has to be one of the sweetest moments for his Momma.  :)