My Aunt Caroline was in town for a visit from Portland Oregon.
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Weekend bike ride starting at the Harbor to the pier and back.
Someone tell the devoted Mr. Garland to get Zac down off the railing so he doesn’t fall off the pier. This photo is giving me a heart attack.
I adore this man.
During our lunch break at a park, we were distracted by a group of dolphins swimming by. The squirrels took full advantage and ransacked our table (you can see their footprints in the hot chocolate here, the stinkers).
Our next door neighbors are relocating 45 minutes away, and they moved out this week. Oh my how we will miss them. They have blessed us.
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OK trust me on this one. I am going somewhere with this. Behold, Sarah’s mouthful of bold, beautiful braces. (Sorry for the bubbly saliva close-up.)
And now the same shot with the lights turned off.
(Sorry for the blur.) Cool glow in the dark bands, eh?
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Zac, Rachel and I were playing tennis again.
See this new (to me) racquet? We met an older man, Ze (pronounced Z-“eh”), at the tennis courts a few weeks ago and when he saw the racquet I was using (a Wilson racquet my grandparents gave to me for my birthday when I was maybe 12), he said ‘that racquet is too heavy for you, I’ll bring you a new one.’ AND HE DID. Wow. Random act of generosity. He’s been playing tennis since 1935 and apparently collects racquets. He has too many of them and really needed to give some away. Or so he says. Thanks, Ze!
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October is “Appliance Month” at the Garlands: Our hot water heater went kaput last week. That’s always a fun unexpected expense. And then this week, any guesses on this one?
Our 12yo Sears dryer is on the fritz, so our backyard patio furniture (and random rope I found in the garage) made for a great temporary drying rack. Apparently, my broken dryer is in cahoots with my sister’s dryer (in Colorado) which is also busted.
And then our minivan battery had to get a jump this morning. Totally our fault, but not a big deal because the devoted Mr. Garland is super quick with those jumper cables.
Hmmm, I wonder what will break tomorrow? Oh the possibilities!
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My brother James is competing in his first Ironman Triathalon in Canada in August 2012.
Consider the madness: 2.4mi swim, 112mi bike and 26.2mi run.
You’re gonna rock it, James.
Totally don’t want to do it, but will totally cheer you on. From San Diego.
Awesome.
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I’m no pie girl, but Julian Pies are amazing. Apple Crumb is my favorite. Not that I’ve had any other flavor.
We’ve been studying insects and metamorphosis in science… here’s Sarah’s handiwork.
And finally, here’s where we ended up using our painted monograms… my latest attempt to try to stay organized.
It’s sorta like my labeled laundry baskets that are never in the right person’s room.
In theory, it’s a good idea, but sometimes things just don’t go quite like you’d hope.
Blessings!
