Friends

This is me and my friend Disney. We were best of friends for the longest time. Disney was the sweetest thing and she would do anything for me. I loved her to pieces! We raised our baby dolls together, would chat it up after church service and if we were lucky, our moms would let us get together for the afternoon! We had slumber parties and play dates. I will never forget how many hours we would spend playing barbie dolls at my house! Or how much fun we had playing downstairs in that big house next to the Church of Christ in Central Park. After Disney's family moved FAR away I remember being so excited to receive a letter from Disney.

I remember the day we found out about each other having babies. I was in Target with Pear who was only 2 or 3 months old and Disney called me. She didn't know that I had a baby and I didn't know she was expecting. She told me her good news (she was due within a few weeks) and I told her that I had a sweet baby girl. I was so excited that we both had baby girls within a couple of months of each other, secretly hoping that they would get to be best friends too someday.

I am blessed to know you Disney. Happy Birthday sweet friend!

Me and Disney at my wedding reception

Our daughters on a shopping trip

Happy Birthday Memee!

It was at Memee's that we imagined "house-house". It was here that we pretended we were waiters and waitresses. We played capture the flag for hours. We soared on the broken-in springy horse. We exercised to Richard Simmons until we fell over in exhaustion from laughter. We climbed the mature rhododendron tree. We ate chili and cornbread on Halloween before going out to collect candy. Memee's was my favorite place to go.

I have countless memories, wonderful memories, that words probably can't express. Us kids would patiently wait with excitement when we heard mom on the phone with Memee, talking of some special outing we might go on. Let's see, there was Enchanted Village, a ferry ride, breakfast at Duffy's, a trip to Oregon and many other places. A picnic at a park, Seattle, the zoo, the Nutcracker, the beach, the fair, even a simple trip to Olympia was fun if Memee was going. Memee would take us to see the newest Disney movie or to the 7th Street Theater to see the latest production.

Sometimes Memee would even have us over for a slumber party. Slumber parties were the greatest! It was then that Memee would turn on the old record player or let us exercise (or rather laugh) to Richard Simmons. Any time we got to get together with our cousins at Memee's was a time of fun. Memee always had pop and ice-cream bars or a bowl on the counter filled with candy.

Halloween was a holiday that we waited all year for. Not just because we got to dress-up and knock on doors for candy, because we got to go to Memee's with all of the family. Rain or shine we would go and eat the best chili and cornbread, venture out in the cold in a big group and then come back and dump our candy on Memee's living room floor to see who got the most. What fun! Memee didn't and still doesn't miss a beat. Happy Birthday songs (sung by Memee) are often heard over the phone and Valentine's or St. Patrick's Day cards filled with confetti are received in the mail.

Each of Memee's grandchildren received a Cabbage Patch Kid and now her great-grandchildren are receiving their Cabbage Patch Kids! Mine is tucked away, nicely worn and it is so much fun to get to see my little ones napping with, rocking and wearing their Cabbage Patch Kids out.

Memee has invested so much into her grandchildren. I don't know how she does it, keeping up with all us! Things as little as going upstairs to check out the pig room or as big as the trip to New York, these are the things that I will remember forever. I can only hope that some day I will be a grandma and have as much fun and create as many memories as my Memee.

One of many grandchildren photo shoots

Me and Memee in her green chair (she still has this chair)

On Memee's back porch with cousins

Girls sleepover at Memee's

Grandchildren at Memee's for fun

In a limousine on our way to The Nutcracker

Another of many grandchildren photo shoots

In Ocean Shores for the Sandcastle festival

Central Park, New York 5 years ago

Happy Fathers Day!

“The greatest gift a father can give his children is to love and respect their mother” ~author unknown

I am greatly blessed with a dad that loves my mother. Never once have I doubted that. I have always felt secure in the fact that my family will never be broken. That no matter what, my parents love each other and will always be together and therefore us children (me and my siblings) can rest assured that we too will always be together. I completely agree with this quote. I feel it is pivotal for a family to have a good marriage as a base.

Now my husband loves me dearly and has blessed our children by this. I am so happy Stephen is my husband and Pear and Jovie's daddy. It is so wonderful to watch the role of "daddy". It is so important. Pear, at two years old, needs special snuggles and words of affirmation from daddy. The first thing she says when she accomplishes something, makes a work of art or puts on a new dress is "I want to show daddy."

Thank you, dad, for being such a wonderful dad and for loving mom.

Thank you, Stephen, for being such a wonderful husband and daddy to our little girls. I am daily reminded of how blessed I am.

Tumwater Falls Park

This evening, we decided to go for a little walk around Tumwater Falls Park. It was so pleasant; perfect temperature, perfect company and a lovely walk. I decided to bring along our new camera and these are the shots I came back with:

My new wheels...

Aren't we stylin' with our new set of wheels? After braving the zoo, the mall, the sidewalks, Seattle and more with a single stroller and two little girls that don't want to walk, I decided I needed a stroller that both girls could sit in. After researching, I found the Joovy Caboose Ultralight was my best option. It weighs in at 21lb, folds relatively compact, has a tray for the child, cup holder/organizer for me, a bench for the toddler to sit on or they can stand and hold onto the handles, a nice sunshade and to top it off, I think it's rather fashionable! I waited patiently until I found one on Craigslist for 1/3 of the retail price and viola! I love it!

Colors

What a wonderful maker!

White Chocolate Raspberry Scones

This recipe has the perfect mix of texture and flavor. The tartness of the raspberry is paired perfectly with the sweetness of the white chocolate.

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , chilled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup raspberries
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in large bowl or workbowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.

3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Transfer dough to large bowl.

4. Gently toss raspberries and white chocolate chips into mixture.

5. Stir in heavy cream with rubber spatula until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.

6. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and gently knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, slightly sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Slightly flatten dough and cut scones into 8 wedges. Place wedges on ungreased baking sheet. (Baking sheet can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)

7. Bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I have also found that you can freeze these scones for several weeks and pull them out and bake the morning you wish to enjoy it. Simply follow the recipe through step 6 and rather than placing scones on an ungreased cookie sheet, place them on parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet and freeze the scones for an hour or two. Once frozen store in a zip-lock freezer bag. They take a few more minutes to bake when frozen but taste just as good!