Lady in Red...Snakeskin

Oh yes, I really did.

You are not seeing double here, folks.

What was once my beloved Red Bag has now become my
Red Bag Luggage Set!!

I had no intention of hitting up any yard sales on this particular spring Saturday morning two weeks ago,

but can I help it if a small yard sale just happened to be on my run route?

And I would have ran right by - honestly, I would have - if I hadn't spotted some beautiful bright red (faux) snakeskin flagging me down.
It was in pristine condition and listed for only $5.

I literally had to bite my lip to keep from squealing with giddiness; after all, I didn't want to be that weirdo. Plus, I had my kiddo with me and although he is only two, I'm pretty sure he is catching on to my quirkiness and its potential to embarrass him time and time again in the future.

Squealing about a gawdy yard sale bag?

Yep, thats quirky.

But thats me.

The Cutest Before and After You Ever Did See

{Kendry's 1st Big Boy Haircut}

Does that look like an early mullet in the making or what?

Mr. Sandman

After discussing it for over a year, we Justin completed Kendry's very first sandbox just in time for his second birthday.

{ Is my baby boy really two already? }

Considering the pride Justin takes in our yard there was no way Kendry was going to end up with one of those Little Tikes turtle sandboxes; not that those aren't cute and functional, but that just wasn't what we had in mind.

Go big or go home, right?

So Justin built this 6x6 dark wood beauty and loaded to capacity with washed sand from our local sand and gravel company.

 And the kiddo loves it!

Don't you just want to dive in there with him and start building a castle with elaborate towers, a deep moat and a stick drawbridge? 

 Me too!

I cannot tell you how many wonderful memories I have of my childhood sandbox. Now our kiddo can do the same.

I sure love my Mr. Sandman,

and his adorable kiddo.

Technical Difficulties & NIAW

I never realized how much I would miss blogging until I no longer have the proper means to do it. Last Saturday, our dinosaur of a laptop caught some nasty spyware, thus disabling proper Internet Explorer access. Fearing it was actually a virus, we rushed it to the computer guy to confirm if our important stuff had been compromised - you know, stuff like hundreds of photos, two year's worth of videos of the kiddo, our budget spreadsheets in Excel and, of course, iTunes. I was praying constantly Saturday for none of that to be affected, and it wasn't. Praise the Lord! But the lesson has been learned. You gotta back stuff up, people. We're now purchasing an external hard drive for that exact reason. Oh, and be sure you keep your anti-virus and spyware blocker software updated. You're probably saying "duh, Jody" as you read this, but I honestly cannot say when we last updated this software on our system.

Anyway, since my laptop was from 2003 and we were in desperate need of an upgrade anyway, we are taking this opportunity to purchase a new system. Woo hoo! I can't say for certain when we'll be up and running again, or when I'll have access to my enormous bank of photos to share with you, but it should be soon so please be patient with me.

In the meantime, know that I'm working on lots of fun stuff and we've been taking some great photos. We went to the county fair last Friday night, and we took some adorable photos of Kendry on Easter. In just one week we'll be celebrating Kendry's second birthday, which means I've also got one or two crafts in the works. Plus, Justin got Kendry's sandbox finished. Lots going on!

On a more serious note, this week is National Infertility Awareness Week. Please take a moment this week to say a prayer for all the couples struggling with infertility, and perhaps visit the RESOLVE website to learn a little more.

I posted this video during NIAW last year and will probably continue to post it every year. It captures the heart of infertility so perfectly.

I am reminded not just this week but every single day that when struggles like infertility leave us feeling hopeless, we have a Creator who strengthens us.

"That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

For when I am weak, then I am strong."

~2 Cor. 12:10~

A Spring Sunday

This last Sunday we played hookie from church and embarked on our first hike of the year.
Palouse Falls is located about an hour and a half from our house, which proved to be a fairly easy day trip to tackle with a toddler. Arriving at the falls by 10am, we were a bit disappointed that the windy weather from Clarkston had indeed followed us to the falls, but we quickly discovered that if we kept moving we stayed plenty warm.

The park itself has a great view of the falls, but its the various trails around and behind the falls that really give you the full experience. We let Kendry hike a bit on his own until he began to tire and it became a bit too treacherous for him to be, for lack of a better term, loose.

Kendry's key phrase for the day month: "No, I want to do it myself."

Talk about a bittersweet stage. Part of me was so proud of him for climbing up some pretty rocky parts of the trail all by himself, but another part of me wanted him to hold out his hand and ask for my help. 

Please humor me for a little while as I pretend this isn't just the beginning of the eternal mommy dilemma I will battle emotionally for the rest of my son's life, okay? I am saving that reality check for the day he no longer needs me to tie his shoes.

After stopping for a quick snack along the trail we put Kendry into the Kelty and set off to find a trail that would lead us down to the water above the falls.

Oops, dead end.

Nope, we're not making it down this way either.

Finally we wandered back to the railroad tracks and found a much easier path that descended to the upper part of the falls.

Had we let him, Kendry would have spent hours throwing rocks into the water.

And while he threw rocks I inspected this strange paw print in the mud.

I'm convinced it was left by a cougar, so naturally I was scanning the terrain suspiciously the rest of our hike, on guard for any cougars that might be stalking my child. (Before you laugh, you should know that a cougar was actually shot and killed in a Central Washington neighborhood earlier this month.) 

Between the water, steep ledges, sharp rocks and cougar paw prints, my momma bear instincts were running on overdrive  - enough that I'm pretty sure I came home with a few gray hairs.

Oh no wait.

Only two of those gray hairs were from Kendry and the steep ledges.

The third was from my husband getting close enough to the top of the falls to snap this photo.

Justin assured me that had he fallen in would have shouted "As you wiiiisshh!" on his way down.

You gotta love a guy who quotes Princess Bride, no?

But speaking of going down the falls...

Would you believe that a young man actually kayaked over the falls a few years ago?

I know all you moms were ready to smack that boy upside his head as he left that voicemail for his mother.

Our hike ended with a nice picnic lunch back at the park. Then, after an appropriately timed dirty diaper, we loaded everything up and were on our way back home.

Have I told you how blessed I am to have a husband who loves the outdoors like I do?

Priceless.

 

Last but not least, I was smitten with this awesome rock formation at the top of the falls.

Don't we have an amazingly artistic Creator?