HELP, Please!!!!!!

I am up against the wire. Nothing new there, I guess! The newness is in my indecision. Let me fill you in. Our county fair is right around the corner and for the first time ever in my life, I am entering some things into the open class exhibits!! I am actually fairly excited. But, I am stuck... I can only enter one photo into each class and there are 3 classes that I have two photos that I happen to like quite a bit. Would you help me choose?!?!! Just leave me a comment so that I know which ones you think that I should chose. DON'T BE SHY! I need your help. I have to have these ready to go in the next 24 hours! YIKES.

BONUS Contest: If you leave a comment before 10 AM on Saturday with your "picks" I will enter you into a random drawing contest. I will be giving away your favorite photo - any of the ones I have posted on this here blog, Just leave in your comment "All time favorite: description of photo you'd like to have printed if you were to win". Thanks all for your help!!

#1 Class: Buildings & Structures

"Sturdy Gertie" - a bridge crossing the Tacoma Narrows

OR

Mayan Ruins at Chichen Itza, Mexico

#2 Class: Animals, Fish, Fowl & Reptiles

Galapagos Turtle

OR

Macaw

(If you are a person in the know about photos entered into fair contests, would this Macaw fit into the class "Portrait, pet" even if it isn't an individual's pet per se? It is sitting on the hand of a handler at our local zoo. But I do know that many people have these birds as pets...)

#3 Class: Portrait, people, family OR Individual Person?? not sure... never done this!

Bud

OR

Blossom

I have decided on the following photos as possible entries and don't have more than one in the class that I can't choose between, but thought perhaps you'd enjoy seeing what the other entries might be! Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on these, too!

Class: Abstract

Class: Action

Class: Human Interest

Class: Sunrise, sunset

Seein' Seattle

Last week, we all hopped in the van and headed to Washington for a meeting for Pops' work. Since we were headed towards Seattle we buckled down and made going to see the Seattle Space Needle a priority on our schedule. Maybe we should have done some of that prior proper planning and looked on that crazy new-fangled internet to see what to expect. You see, "Seattle Center" appears to be a fun amusement park of sorts! Had we known, we could have either planned more time to be there, or at least told the kids to close their eyes so that we could give them a big surprise and then sneak right on past the rides and not have to hear that whiny bit about wanting to "go over there"!!!

It turned out to be just fine and the whining subsided once we got into the elevator to ride up to the observation deck! You can see out the elevator doors and watch the ground disappear from view as you rise up to 520 feet in elevation.

While you are at the top, spending a little time looking through one of the telescopes to have a better look. Since you've already paid a hefty fare to get to the top, the kind folks have telescopes that you don't even have to put in every last blessed quarter from your pocket! Wooo Hoooo!

After we had enough of the "view" (and when our parking was about to expire) we headed back down and were ready to find some lunch. Pops and Bud spotted an interesting building that happened to be a Science Fiction Museum, so the whining to do MORE continued. But, all three of us girls were ravenously hungry so I put my foot down, one right in front of the other and said, "We're leaving and eating." I know, I'm no fun, am I!? We found ourselves a nice little place on the water called "Anthony's." Yea, ok, I'm found out, I've already said it is a favorite location and can you GUESS what I ordered?? Salmon & Chips... I am a creature of habit, I guess.

After our lunch we headed out to Pops' co-workers home for an evening of food and games - a great time to visit and meet all those people Pops interacts with through work. The following night, we went out for supper together... at Anthony's! I did try something different this time and had a delicious grilled salmon with ... something. It was good, but I haven't a clue as to what it was! After eating we took a boat tour out of Gig Harbor. I don't know where all we traveled around, but it was fun and relaxing. We did go through the Tacoma Narrows where I was able to snap a few pics of "Sturdy Gertie"...

A rare photo of me... with my "baby" Blossom that one of the other gals took. She must be the one in her family who takes pictures since we are the ones who seem to know that it is difficult to snap a picture and be in it at the same time!! Thanks, Carey!

As the trip wound down to an end, we came back into the harbor and we were treated to this spectacular sunset...

A lovely time exploring Seattle! We also spent one afternoon playing with our friends while Pops sat in a meeting, but it appears that neither of us snapped even one picture. That wasn't too smart. Oh, well... next time, right!?!

OK. I can see the end of this winding road!

True, the road we have been on for the last... uh, SEVEN months has been quite the meandering path, with us traversing somewhere new, nearly every month. But, this winding path is coming to an end!!! I'm sure we'll still tool around the great state of Oregon, but we won't have so many big jaunts that I will neglect this here lovely picture palace and crazy chronicle of life in our treehouse.

We might do CRAFTS again... oooooo. That sounds like fun! Maybe we'll visit the swings at the local park. Perhaps we'll play polly pockets, baby dolls, legos and read until our eyes are so dry that we will have to run through the sprinklers. I'm not sure what we'll do to keep busy around here, HA! I'm sure that we'll find something to do that will be thrilling to share with you. Until we figure that out, I'll finish updating you all on our adventures as of late! Check back after a while... I gotta feed some people some breakfast!

Your memory is failing you...

I said something last night here on this here blog that I would be BUSY chasing my tail or something for the next few days... So, you're still coming around to see if I posted anything? Well, aren't you charming! Hmmmmmm... here ya go. I will share this tidbit with you. I keep thinking about this picture that I posted not too long ago on my Wordless (Wyoming) Wednesday

I just can't get over these pronghorn. I mean really. LOOK at this picture. I mean REALLY LOOK at the WHOLE picture. These little ladies were leaving their guy pronghorn behind - to the right and behind a bit, actually. They are walking together in a way that said they knew were they were going and they were getting there. NOW. While there is a sign in front of them that says the Exit is to their left, they are on a straight path to that hydrant.

Now, I know that hydrants are typically a euphemism reserved for dogs, canines, domesticated wolves... But, I just can't get past this. These gals have a similarity to any pack of gals anywhere. Off to the restroom to use the toilet? Need to powder your nose and reapply lipstick? Need to ditch the obnoxious guy who thinks he's so cool? Need to pick your teeth? Yep, just find yourself another gal and head to the restroom. All your concerns will melt away on that one little jaunt with the girls. This is universal, I am certain.

Remember that next time you see a pack of gals heading somewhere. They'll be in a bathroom sooner or later and will be finding solutions to all of the world's problems. Speaking of, I think I should go solve some problems... I just need to find my gal pals to escort me! They would certainly have told me that this lipstick would be all wrong in natural lighting.

August can't come fast enough!

I've been AWOL. Yes, Absent WithOut Leave. I didn't tell you all that I was leaving my blog on hold while I went about taking care of other unexpected things. But, life happens sometimes without our prior approval. I'll fill you in on the short line...

Pops' cousin was in a terrible ATV accident on the Fourth of July. He lived for a few days on life support while family and friends had the opportunity to stop by and say their goodbyes and give him a squeeze or leave the family a kind thought or note. Living some 2000+ miles away, we were unable to get there to share in this time. However, when Pops' cousin died and the funeral arrangements were set, we were able to put into action a fast and speedy plan. My mom arrived in Oregon to take care of our treekids so that Pops and I could attend the funeral and share our love and support with Pops' aunt, uncle, cousins and other extended family members.

After arriving home, I had the strange situation of having my mom around without any prior proper planning! We enjoyed visiting and catching up... even though we had just seen each other only a couple of weeks prior! We took advantage of our time doing crafty fun, baking and laughing and remembering to enjoy each other as life is fragile and short.

So, that is where I've been and now the where I'm going... We are returning my mom to the airport in the morning - EARLY, and then we will be on our way to Seattle. DO WE EVER STAY HOME? It seems that we don't. Anyway, we'll be seeing plenty of people while visiting for only a couple days. We'll be headed home on Thursday, but will be making a stop in the biiiiigggggg city to pick up Pops' grandparents from the airport! They have been planning to visit for some time now, and here we are... the end of July, already!! They'll be with us until early next week.

According to the calendar, the week after our company leaves August arrives. I have checked several times just to be sure. But, I think that August is looking fairly calm. Nothing scheduled. Nothing planned. Calm. Relaxing. Quiet. Won't that just be great? Maybe we will finally be able to start our new school year! OH, my... so much for that calm, relax and quiet bit!

Wordless (Wyoming) Wednesday

In the Hole

So, way back when... it seems like eons ago, but it was really only just two weeks ago, we were still on "vacation" and were in Wyoming. We stayed at a resort in Jackson and took advantage of some of the outdoor activities.

We all hoped on the ski lifts and rode up to the top for a slide on down the Alpine Slide. Sorry there are no photos of Blossom and I... we had the camera!!

Then the treekids tried their hand at jumping on a trampoline while attached to bungee cords. Sounds strange... but looked like a ton of fun. If I weren't growing this little acorn in my belly, I would have hopped into the harness and took a turn myself! Totally fun jumping without your mom and dad telling you, "NO jumping on the beds!!!"

Can you tell in their smiles just how much they loved it? The giggles and squeals and full on bursts of laughter as they were bouncing through the air just made everyone around smile, too.

Just for "fun," here's a little perspective on the actual jumping contraption!! These kids were FLYING! I didn't have any pictures of them with the whole tramp/bungee thing in the shot when they were at the top of their jump. This was the highest where you can see just how far from the trampoline they are!

Happy Birthday, America!

We enjoyed a busy Fourth of July this past weekend. A neighboring town has a great parade in the morning and a fireworks display in the evening. So, we attended both activities and scattered some "getting ourselves back to normal" activities between the two! Enjoy some pictures of our day!

Yea... we were ALL drooling over this car!! Pretty spiffy with its white walled tires and sparkly paint job! Definitely our favorite ... float? Do you call the classic cars in the parade a "float"? Hmmm... whatever it was, it was COOL!

A few bang-pops at home... and stomping on them is just so much fun! (Yes, this is a new dress for Blossom... it is her 3rd dress of the day. She also ran around in a swimsuit for a few hours, too. And I wonder how I have so many piles of laundry!!)

Pops bought a few sparkly firecrackers to impress the treekids with at home before seeing the big display in town! They loved it and wanted to "Do it again! Do it again!!"

Just before heading off for the big fireworks, they all brought out their last sparklers and sparkled away for the camera.

It was a fun and busy day... Here's to a blessed year for the United States of America!!

Homeward Bound

We have had fun. We have traveled far. We are momentarily at a stop to rest and refuel. We are tired. No, that is an understatement. We are EXHAUSTED! A good way to explain that... Blossom woke this morning at 10:10 central time. This is our "early riser" who tends to be up by 7 am every day. Seems as though the staying up late and playing hard has gotten to her!

We hope to be home at a "decent" hour tomorrow. But, our slow start today is not indicating that our 20+ hour drive home will be FAST!

I'll be back to all this blogging when we get home. I promise... more fun pictures soon!!