off we go to the new and exciting land of...canada

one of my best memories growing up is of listening to papa tell jokes. i remember this joke specifically:

three mountain men overtook the land north of the united states and decided to call it their own country. they debated on names for a great deal of time--of course each man wanted to name it after himself. finally they decided to put all the letters of the alphabet into a hat and make up the name based on the letters each of the men drew out.
the first man read the letter he drew, "'C' eh."
the second man read his letter, "'N' eh."
the third man drew, "'D' eh."
and that is how c-eh-n-eh-d-eh became canada.

it is far more lame now that it is in writing, but it makes me chuckle still. maybe will come back from our weekend away talking like canucks!

we are leaving in a couple of hours, so will be sure to capture lots of photos and post them when we return!

babies around every corner!

here is alison's baby sister ana. our friends from albania (that used to live next door to us) had her on the 15th. we haven't been able to see her yet, as i don't want to give anyone in the reca house my nasty cold. getting to hold the sweet baby is good motivation for getting better though!

it seems we are surrounded by babies everywhere, but it is a good way to delay them from being in our house anytime soon. by the way, logan and alyssa are having a boy, to jump his bike off of things and get muddy. congratulations!

adventures in eastern washington

the following photos were taken on our return from our sisters-seattle whirlwind trip. brandon has eyed this "crazy creek" (it's official overstreet name) for a couple of years years. he conqured it, so now when we drive by he doesn't have to wonder any more.

we didn't see this fine little sign until his fiesta was complete. he seems to be fine now...

hmm, what about kayaking? is the water okay to paddle in?

and for the grand finale: this exploder was submerged halfway up to its doorhandles prior to this photo. guess where? just outside of grand coulee!
let me tell you, water isn't going to slow those folks down--they'll just dam it up!

shrinking giants and cupcakes

my little brother alex isn't so little anymore...
this photo is of me and bubby while we were back in sisters. believe it or not, three of my four brothers are taller than me. it is kind of strange to feel like the short one in the house now!

this photo is from my birthday shindig with our friends in pullman. brandon and i made cupcakes and brought them to their house for an afternoon celebration. two year old alison licked the frosting off of two of them and called it a party!

my adventures with needles

so i did it! my first (new) sewing machine project is complete!

we went from drab:
to fab!

i just love my new sewing machine--what a thoughtful husband i have to get me just what i wanted! except we do all know he had ulterior motives. oh well, i love the gift!

ticks, geologists, & montana

brandon got home today after three weeks in dillon...just in time for my birthday! he removed ticks from his body and clothing daily. he "tamed" a rattlesnake that came too close. he called out to local antelope. he even ran for his life from a mama moose. all-in-all an adventure. below are some photos from his trip

this is one of the fold structures from a mapping area he was in--notice the smooth wave look?

and yes, snow. the after-effects of the unexpected may montana blizzard.

our new friend, mine marker man.

we can't wait to see everyone back in oregon...we will bring the camera to share more photos then!