Happy Birthday, Ashley Rae!

26 years ago today, the light of my life was born.   From the very beginning, Ashley had a sunny personality, spreading joy wherever she went - and her quickly earned her nickname “Ashley Rae of Sunshine.”  

She sucked her thumb, which was far more convenient thank a binkie which can get lost in the middle of the night, and stopped on her own.  She slept 7 hours a night even as an infant.  Such an easy child.   She was also bald as a cue ball until almost 2 years old - when her beautiful blonde hair came in thick and full of body.  And no obnoxious waves like her mother has.

(Don’t you think she looks like her daughter Kennedy did at this age?)

She did give me grief a few times as a child. Twice, she got hold of a pair of scissors and cut her bangs off right to her scalp. I’m afraid I didn’t react very well.

Another time, when she was around four, she had been playing in her room and I went in to check on her. She was no where to be found. If you’re a parent who has ever throught their child was missing, you’ll understand how panicked I felt. I was frantic - called to her and searched the whole house - no response.

I ran outside and enlisted the help of some neighbors who helped search the streets.

About an hour later, when I was about to call the police, I went into her room again and decided to search the closet again. I had looked before, but hadn’t taken everything out of the closet. I moved a little pile of stuffed animals and found Ashley sound asleep under a little pile of clothes.  

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Kristin has finally finished designing/creatng her blog!

It is called Defying Sunshine - visit it now and welcome her to the blogosphere!

I’ve had the opportunity to take a few portraits the past couple of months…. here are a few of my favorites from these photo shoots.

   
Brandon, Jennifer, Emily & Marie Pearce

From Sam Cottle’s senior portrait shoot

And the lovely J’Neil Cottle

I recently made the dreaded trip over Snoqualmie Pass to visit my sister and family, and participate in Sam & J’Neil’s fantastic scavenger hunt.   I say dreaded, because I drove….  and it’s a long drive (4 hours)….  and I drive fast….   

In fact, here is a picture of the badge of the officer who gave me a ticket just outside Ellensburg.   Is 82 in s 70 mile an hour zone REALLY that fast? : )  

Every trip to Kennewick, which is on the southeast corner of Washington, is a study in contrasts.  Here’s what it looks like on my side of the state (taken at Snoqualmie Pass). 

I call it “Eden”

And this is what it looks on Kristin’s side of the state. 

I call it the “lone and dreary world.”  Taken near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.  Need I say more?

Fortunately, once I arrive in Kennewick I get to enjoy the company of Kristin, Craig, Sam and J’Neil.  The scavenger hunt was a ball - Kristin and I had a great time coming up with ideas for crazy things the kids needed to find or do, and then she put together an incredible (and organized, of course) adventure for the kids.  I think she should package and sell it!  Best scavenger hunt ever!  I keep hoping she’ll start her blog and share this stuff she creates… 

But in the meantime, here is a picture of J’Neil’s team meeting one of their “action” requirements…. 

  Sam’s team won (I wish I had video to share of the eulogy he gave at the funeral for a dead bug) and found the final clue first, leading them to the biggest treasure chest where they divided the loot.  The silly string was a big hit.  But J’Neil’s team was pretty happy with their bounty as well.  Needless to say, a good time was had by all.  Don’t you wish Kristin was YOUR mom?

He’s hot. 

He’s sexy. 

He’s entertaining on the big screen. 

Loving dad. 

Generous humanitarian.

And now, another great reason to absolutely love Brad Pitt…

He just donated $100,000 to help fight the discriminatory ban against gay marriage in California, saying…

 “Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn’t harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8″

I love you, Brad.

Speaking of which - I’m so delighted that my favorite former brother-in-law and his long time partner just tied the knot last week in northern California.   When he wrote to tell me the happy news, he said “It actually turned out to be a bigger deal than I thought it would.  We’ve felt so married for so long we really didn’t think it would be that big of deal. It was.” 

Everyone should get the chance to be this happy - with all the legal protections that come with marriage.  

Congratulations Paul and Craig!  I’m SO HAPPY for you!

A request from Kristin….. 

J’Neil has been asked to the Homecoming Dance.  She is excited.  She has her lovely dress and today we ordered the shoes and bought the necklace & tiara….  She is going to look fabulous. 

However, since she’s pretty young (14), we’ve asked that the kids go as a “group” rather than it be a “date”.  The problem is, most of their friends who have not been asked (or have not asked anyone) are feeling a little silly going with the “couples”.

We need some ideas of things the group can do before the prom that would be fun, and entice more of the kids to join them.  And perhaps ideas of ways to make all the kids comfortable going to the prom.

The kids are all about 15. What fun things can the group do?
–ALSO–

I need Halloween Party ideas.

The kids are also wanting to have a Halloween Party, and I need ideas for 15 - 17 year olds.  What fun activities with a Halloween theme  will keep a group that age interested and engaged? The whole group, if they all came, would be about 6 girls and about 10 boys.

Things this group has done in the past, and had a great time with, are scavenger hunts and murder mysteries.

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Happy Birthday Emily!

It was sure fun watching you open your presents over video-chat (though not as much fun as being there, of course).  

Wish I could give you a big birthday hug.

Hope you  have a great time at your party tomorrow!

I had such a great time traveling around the Northwest with Brandon and family. 

We enjoyed some great activites and saw beautiful sites.  One of the favorite activites was exploring the tidepools at Salt Creek.   

We had previously been to the Seattle Aquarium and and saw fabulous sea life - but there’s nothing like experiencing it out in the natural setting.

Tidepools are cool - and we all had fun touching the anenomes and finding the hermit crabs.   

The girls LOVED it…

I was a bit surprised (but delighted) that Emily wanted to hold the little, recently deceased, crab I found.

I think if we hadn’t had to run to catch the ferry to Victoria, we could have spent hours here.

Come visit again and let’s go see more tidepools!

As suggested by friend Chris Spiro on her blog, I’m playing the Memory Tag game. 

Here’s how you play:

1. As a comment on this blog post, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember.

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory of you.

It’s actually pretty funny to read the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don’t want to play on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I’ll leave my memory of you in my comments.

And if you know Chris, be sure to post a memory on her blog!

Today, my little sister turns….  well, let’s just call it another year older.

She always has to share her birthday with that of our nation, but this year, I’m not celebrating Independence Day at all - today, it’s just

Kristin’s birthday! 

Isn’t she cute as a 3 1/2 year old?
(or was it 4 1/2)     

Here are a few things you may or may not know about Kristin….

First, you’ll never find a more loyal friend.  She’ll defend you to the end - but will also be your conscience, because she is, after all, the fairness police :)  It’s been a difficult struggle for her to recognize and accept that life just isn’t fair - because she wants it to be for EVERYONE!

She used to be the responsibility police as well.   But over time, I think she’s discovered life can be more enjoyable if we don’t take responsibility for others responsibility or lack thereof.  With age comes wisdom.   

Kristin is generous to a fault - as exhibited by her innumerable acts of thoughtfulness.   A card with a little cash hidden in the back, just because she knows you’ve hit a rough spot financially (never mind she might be too)….   cards and gifts sent off in time for every birthday or holiday, hours upon hours spent editing photos or videos to make a special surprise, finding ways to help pay for my trip to Hawaii with her when I couldn’t really afford it.   

As a teenager, I’d find sweet notes from her hidden in my room, or flown at me in the form of a paper airplane. I’d come home to discover a gold lame’ bag, filled with M&Ms on my pillow…. Kristin spent her allowance money to do that - even though I teased her horribly, pretending I was going to drop her off the balcony (I suspect she actually enjoyed that game, knowing I wouldn’t REALLY drop her) and making her sell popcicles with Chris for a measley reward. But this post is about Kristin, not me…

She has always been a good sport too.  Especially with her hair.  Whenever I’d get the itch to cut my long hair, she let me satisfy it by cutting hers instead.   She’s had a lot of hairstyles over the years.

And she’s been willing to indulge my silliness and cosmic musings in a way that only a sister can.   She can be pretty silly herself, though.    We have an ongoing habit that if we ever go to a restaurant or store that takes your order/reservation, and then says “could I get a name?” - the name they get is Guenivier, which always draws strange looks.  I love seeing how they try to spell it.   Mind you they never ask, “could I get your name” - it’s always just a name… so we feel no obligation to give them ours.

She has always been there to help with the really hard stuff, whenever I’ve needed her and when no one else showed up (or even if they did).  

Stuff like apartment hunting, packing/ hauling/ unpacking for multiples moves, painting houses, cleaning out houses, drafting divorce and child support agreements, working til 2am (hours after everyone else had left) to help me hang a hundred butterflies from the church ceiling/arrange huge trees to create the perfect “enchanted forest” for Ashley’s wedding, working her butt off in the kitchen during the reception (along with mom, bart and grandma) because the stupid R.S. ladies who committed to be there didn’t show up.  I could NOT have pulled off Ashley’s wedding without her.

Kristin is smart as a whip - though she didn’t realize it til far too late in her life.  She is a talented writer, a whiz with numbers, and can turn ANYTHING into a chart or graph that will blow your socks off.    She’s really quite brilliant.  And, I’m so happy that she shares my disdain for “tacky forms” - and recognizes the importance of a well laid out newsletter or webpage.   

AND - even better, she’s a total wordnerd!

Oh, and along with this smart thing - she’s ORGANIZED. I have made a pie chart graphic in her honor. As she has said many times: A man without a plan is not a man…. (I, apparently, am not a man).

She thinks ahead, when we travel she provides these incredible checklists to make sure we don’t forget anything. When we traveled to Hawaii together for the first time, over a period of a couple months she emailed a history of the islands, information about the culture, just stuff to make sure the trip was all it could possibly be.  She’s just very considerate, including sharing the benefits of her organizational skills with all - and I really appreciate it.

She’s also got a great sense of humor and we do our fair share of laughing when we’re together.  And we seem to keep her kids amused.

Speaking of which, she’s also a great mom, and has raised (is raising) two incredible smart, gifted, thoughtful, respectful, fun kids. She’s instilled in them the understanding that they can trust their own feelings and judgement - that they are capable of making wise decisions - and they do. A devoted companion to Craig, I think he’d tell you she’s the perfect wife for him.  She starts planning months in advance for a birthday, anniversary or Christmas gift for him - to make sure it is something thoughtful, unique and meaningful.
  

She can be tough and strong and put you in your place if you’re out of line… it’s the Marine in her. Yes, a Marine. (”I can make you handicapped if you want to park there legally….”)  She’s also sensitive, compassionate and tenderhearted. I’m grateful she was able to attend to our mom/grandma during the last couple of weeks of my grandmother’s life. I know it was really hard for her - both physically and emotionally - but she never complained and turned it into a beautiful experience.

We share more private jokes than one could possible count. She’s been my travel companion, commiserator, emotional counselor, technical support, fellow photo fanatic, partner in crime, conscience, cheerleader, moral support and best friend for longer than I can remember. And, honestly, I don’t know how I would have survived many of my life experiences without her. I’m so glad I didn’t have to find out….

Love you - happy birthday!

P.S. Let’s plan another trip!