HECTOR THE COLLECTOR

i'm currently collecting bowling balls.

bowling balls in an assortment of colors

and designs.

yes.

you read that right.

i'm crazy like that.

i've got something percolating

and i'll be sure and share

when that something

is fully brewed.

now, at your next party

you can share that you have a friend 

who collects bowling balls.

that's a good conversation starter.

you're welcome.

PETRIFIED

we see the sign for this place

whenever we head east of the mountains

and back home again.

and we've yet to stop.

until now.

and we're glad we did!

first of all, it's a gorgeous view

of the columbia river.

and then there are the petrified stumps.

petrified!

wood that over time and various geological this and that

(yeah, i'm all sciencey like that)

has turned to stone. 

and don't forget the petroglyphs.

they weren't found in this exact spot,

but brought here.

and they are pretty darn neat-o.

this stop gave us a lot of

bang for our buck

ok, the museum was free,

but you know what i mean.

IT'S INSTAGRAM FRIDAY!

old meets new.

swim.

cascades.

if katie perry and charlie brown designed a purse.

beans.

cherry season.

boon's newspaper pet.

first mojito of summer.

dice.

hulk read.

***disclaimer: dude, i don't seem to be keeping

very good track

of the photos i've already used.

soooooo...

if there are ever duplicates,

just take it as an opportunity

to bask in the glowy glow

of repetition.***

make it a great weekend, folks!

A MOMENT CAPTURED

we found this guy the other day 

doing a bit of summer reading.

i love capturing moments like this.

everyday life can be pretty darn amazing.

BUNNIES!

our friends were taking care of some baby bunnies.

we got to hold those bunnies.

those bunnies were cute!

LETTING MY FREAK FLAG FLY

 remember our trip to port angeles

over spring break?

ferry to victoria?

the train wreck of a hot springs visit?

well, there was another excursion we took.

it involved me letting my freak flag fly high

(per wyatt's enthusiastic approval?)

we had dinner here:

this is the supposed restaurant

where bella and edward dined.

(well, bella dined. i think edward

just thought about sparkling).

i vowed to do everything related to this silly,

delightful twilighty ride.

so this, of course, was on my list.

i ate this, as did bella.

in the book, it wasn't called 'bella's mushroom ravioli.'

that would have been weird.

as if none of this is weird.

wonderfully, delightfully weird.

i also ordered a coke.

i don't drink regular coke.

wyatt looked at me funny when i ordered.

when the waitress left,

i gave him a look,

and he had the 'aha,'

that this was something involving my twilighty freak flag.

i had to admit i was a bit embarrassed 

about the whole thing.

me, with all of my boys,

and my inner twilight fan doing

 little backflips of excitement.

eeeeeee!

i tried to keep it on the down low.

i wanted to fly under the radar.

wyatt assured me that i was in fact 

not flying under the radar.

perhaps it was what i ordered?

or maybe the fact that i took photos of everything?

or maybe it was when, as we were leaving,

hudson exclaimed enthusiastically (and loudly),

"mom! look! it's the twilight books!"

so much for my stealthy visit.

and just so you know,

there was another woman in the restaurant

who ordered the exact same menu items

as i did.

i'm not the only one, people.

which makes this all ok.

i shall leave you with this photo...

for you to imagine the twilight vampires

running through the mossy forests of the pacific northwest.

it's ok.

let your freak flag fly.

IT'S INSTAGRAM FRIDAY!

ginormmous roast beef

snowy trees

got gas?

decs

fondue for four

cheers

dessert!

it's yukon cornelius!

favorite ornament

the gory aftermath

happy weekend!

ON MY RADAR...UNFORTUNATELY

hey zesty man.

you are creepy.

this makes me want to run

from anything zesty or italian

or quite frankly,

any kind of kraft salad dressing what-so-ever.

it just ain't workin' for me.

creepiest ad ever.

FATHER'S DAY ADVENTURE

for father's day we spent the day at

northwest trek wildlife park.

 

there was a vast assortment of northwest animals.

many we have seen before while on our

national park visits.

having seen so many of these big animals

on a much larger scale

(a couple of handfuls of bison

vs. a whole herd out on the plains

of yellowstone national park),

i can't say it was super duper thrilling.

but i kept thinking how cool it would be

for someone who is visiting the northwest

for the first time.

this is a pretty specific place

for it's wildlife and natural makeup.

a bit of backstory before i continue:

last year for father's day,

i had heard about a cool zoo to go to.

i took us to one in issaquah.

it. was. not. the. cool. zoo.

the cool zoo was northwest trek.

i, however, had forgotten the name.

so we headed to the

cougar mountain zoo.

wyatt calls it the maximum security animal prison.

his quote:

"that was the saddest day of my life."

i had some serious making up to do this year.

so...enter the zip wild adventure course!

 we all did the 8 years and up course.

it was about 15 feet off the ground.

and as you may or may not know,

heights aren't really my thing.

but honestly, it was awesome.

all geared up,

we clipped our carabiners here and there for safety.

and we climbed.

and teetered high in the trees.

we did 3 ziplines.

and balanced on a stinkin' wire, for goodness sakes.

we walked on rope bridges

and balance beams.

we laughed and whooped and hollered

and oofed and squeaked

 (well, i did, from the fear, you know).

happy father's day to honestly and truly,

the best one out there.