I wanted to make a goal this year of the weekends that we have time (which honestly...Summer...usually pretty packed!) I want to take the kids on adventures. Something that Paul and I used to do before the kids came along was hike. Being the backwoods girl I am you will usually see me wearing my flip flops even on trails...those of you that find it odd, let's just say these feet were not made for shoes! lol! If I could walk the trails barefoot I probably would!



We set out with our plan to go to Multnomah Falls off of old Hwy. 84 (Columbia Gorge Scenic Hwy. - take the Bridal Veil Exit) towards Hood River, Oregon. If you have never been out there, I highly recommend at least visiting once! We pulled in and the falls were packed...like beyond packed! The old Indian legend for the falls states that an Indian Princess jumped into the falls as an effort to save her tribe. The long falls of water is to represent her long hair. For those that don't know I too am Native American! I LOVE my heritage! When you go to the falls the history they have posted is not the same Native American legend that I as a little girl learned.



Unfortunately parking was extinct so we headed on up the road. We came to a spot that we had never stopped at before called Horse Tail Falls. Horse Tail falls is tucked into Oneonta Gorge in Multnomah County. The hike to the top of the falls is only .4 miles which we thought would be a fairly easy trek for the kids! We had our lunches packed and ate by the basin. Mist was cooling us off in the warm summer heat.



I will warn you the trails are rocky! It is not meant for strollers and make sure to teach your children to stay to the inside of the trails or to the wall which we called it! Lots of pretty foliage to see and when you get to the top you won't be disappointed! Unfortunately my camera on the other hand took a tumble and will now be going into the repair shop! Dang!





When you are finished make sure to go back to the basin and stick your feet into the water! It is chilly but incredibly clear! The kids had a blast!



Oh and if you are wondering what the kids are shouting...they are yelling WATERFALL! Cheers to a wonderful 1st Summer adventure! More adventures to come in the upcoming weeks!

We have been working like crazy on outdoor projects around our home! We got the bark all laid out front and some in the back, my lavender plants all died (but 1) this year so we ripped them out of the ground! I am ready for a fresh new start. I look forward to what Summer will bring. BBQ's with friends, yummy garden fruits and veggies (which btw we changed out all of our strawberries last summer and this year we have already picked a HUGE bowl full of fresh red, ripe strawberries! Yummy!). I look forward to sitting out back and eating dinner in the nice warm Summer breeze! Aaaah, the possibilities are endless!

I have been trying to figure out a way to identify the seeds that we plant. I used to do Popsicle sticks but the kids would pull them out...so this year I came up with a new idea! First I had the kids color on clothes pins.


Then I got the little bio-degradable pots that you plant fully into the ground and lined a box with aluminum foil.



Then I had the kids plant seeds into the little pots.



We then took the clothes pins and wrote the name of the "planted" in sharpie and clipped it on!




And there you have it...easy and fun for the kids to make! I placed my now watered seeds near a window so we can watch them grow and get them planted!!



Have a wonderful Monday!

Hello my friends!! I wanted to let you know I am NOT ignoring your comments! I have tried so many times to respond and for some odd reason it is NOT letting me! I have tried everything I can think of but it just won't let me!! I just wanted to give YOU a shout out and say THANK YOU for leaving comments! It seriously puts a GINORMOUS grin on my face! I will continue to try and get this error fixed as to put it frankly...it is bugging the heck outta me! lol!

I hope you all have a fantastic day! We are off to a Strawberry farm this a.m. with some friends!



Here are a couple pics from the deck of the family beach house on our Mom's Retreat this last weekend! I had the best and most relaxing time....but all good things must come to an end! (actually I came home to a clean house and happy kiddos!! Yay Paul!)

Now my front door has the flair it needed for when friends come a knockin'! I am so excited that I finally got this project finished! I kid you not I have had the stuff to make this sitting in my garage for months now! Just waiting for me to find some time to get 'er done! We are preparing for a big BBQ for Emily Grace's preschool class at our house next week! So in the meantime we have been doing yard work galore (I was preggo at the end of last summer so I kinda gave up on part of it!) and preparing to have company! Oh and the small project of finishing the HUGE "new to us" play structure! (Thank you Tiffany!)

My sweet Andy came over the other night to help motivate me so I could get my project done!! I love how it turned out!!


First off I chose a grapevine wreath from Michael's...I wanna say it was a 22" wreath (but mama's brain is in full on sleep deprivation mode thanks to wee one getting her first tooth!) I paid like $2.50 for this by using a 50% off coupon!




I started by taking two of the hydrangea leaves (fake of course!) and hot gluing them down.



Next I glued the hydrangea flowers down so each was laying sideways and would hide the gaps in between.



I had found this R at a cute little store on 23rd Street in Downtown Portland! I bought a few different ones and have them randomly through out my house! This one just so happened to need a "new" home and was in the perfect color scheme!



And then finally I added this great "rustic" looking star I found at the store closeout of Craft Warehouse out in Hillsboro! I scored it for a $1!! I just love how it turned out! Finally glams up our front door a bit! Super easy, very inexpensive and all homemade!

I have been dreaming of my Aunt Shari's monster cookies! I haven't had them in probably 12 years but I can taste them...totally not exaggerating (well right now...I am DEFINITELY not exaggerating as I have one in my grubby little hand...mwaaaaaa ha ha!) I was talking to my adorable cousin the other night and mentioned that I would love her mom's recipe...low and behold I came home yesterday and the sparkle to my day was this recipe...the one you are about to embark on right now in my inbox! Lord have mercy it's heavenly!

When you read the ingredients...yes...they are the correct amounts! I called to make sure it wasn't a typo! lol! This recipe makes 5 1/2 dozen cookies (she makes them all and freezes them!) but I cut mine in 1/2 (do note the recipe below IS the full recipe!)!

Aunt Shari's melt in your mouth good Monster Cookies:

Oven temp 350

1 cup Butter
3 cups Peanut Butter
2 cups Brown Sugar
2 cups Sugar
6 Eggs
4 tsp. Baking Soda
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
9 cups Oatmeal
1 cup M & M's
1 cup Chocolate Chips
1 Tbsp. Karo Syrup


Mix the butter and peanut butter together in a large bowl. When thoroughly blended together add in the sugar and brown sugar. Separately beat eggs by hand and then dump egg mixture into the big bowl mix.


Now comes the fun part! Add in all of the remaining ingredients (I saved the oatmeal last so it would be easier to blend!)



This is what your mix should look like when you are finished! Yes...we blended the WHOLE thing by hand!



Drop in heaping Tbsp. sizes onto an un-greased baking sheet.



Bake 10 minutes for softer cookies (light brown) or 15 minutes for crunchy cookies (medium brown)


As my Aunt said in her email message...they are YUMMY!!

Do y'all remember DJ from Fullhouse? I LOVED that show growing up! Anyhow, I was thrilled walking through borders one day when I saw that Candace (Candace Cameron Bure) wrote a book! It's great for mind, body and soul! I am so excited about it! Even better...through July 1st they are doing a "follow" for her book and you can learn inside info, enter in contests etc!! You can check it out here! If you have read it or DO end up reading it please tell me what you thought! I am super excited!

I am THRILLED to share this "tutorial" with you! I have been searching high and low for wooden candle holders for my mantle that are in-expensive so I can spray paint and distress them to my liking! I have looked at second hand stores, thrift stores...you name it! Prices are always too much for my liking! I was super excited to go to our local Craft Warehouse, which just so happens to be closing this location and everything was at least 40% off! I found these:


They were $2 for this size and $3 for the larger...but guess what?! They are...wait for it...(yes I watch too much How I met your mother!)...METAL! And for $5 total I figured it was worth a shot!

First I used my dear friend "country white" spray paint and covered them with about 3 coats of paint and then let them dry.




Super easy and very frugal to make! I love them! Enjoy!

Well I will admit I have been feeling in a "hold up" mode lately! I dream about blogging and the things I want to post and then...I decide I want to work on my yard, my house and relax with my kids! I rarely get in this mode where I just want to stay put and be! BUT don't you fret...I will be back! I am heading away for a much needed mom's weekend at the beach! I will have my littlest one with me and am super excited to relax on the sunny beach, hot tub, pig out and do a little dance dance revolution. Not to mention movies and games in the evening! In the meantime...this is what we do when we "chillax" at home for a week (did I tell you school is out now too? Hence the other reason for our extreme laziness!)

May day May day...oh wait it's June! I dunno about you guys but my brain is preparing for Father's Day! Every other year I do the same gift for Father's day for my husband (well mainly because we have added a new member to our home!).

I went to Joannes Fabric store and purchased cardboard letters in D and A. This last time we went out to a local strawberry farm and I brought the letters and the camera with us just in case we had a perfect opportunity! We had a blast! Picking and eating strawberries and then having an impromptu Father's Day photo shoot! Here is how it turned out!




I found a very classy black frame with 3 slots in it at Michael's. It has a black matte which makes the pictures pop! What neat Father's Day ideas do YOU have?!