Fall update!

Wow, the time has zipped by this fall. We started school and whoosh, we're to Thanksgiving already. Here's who I am thankful for this year: Easton turned two just a few days ago. We did pictures last month in an apple orchard in Yakima and he'd had enough. But, of course, I scooped him up and loved him lots with a hug.

Leaf throwing time with Easton

David, Ian and I walked in the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes earlier this fall. Ian's doing great with his diabetes and we're working on figuring out those Thanksgiving dinner carbs. 

Jen and Brad's announcement for Baby Bellamy #2 due in June!

Oma and Opa with Easton 

Easton and his Oma -- Happy Morning!

And for my coffee drinking friends, here's a cup of comfort and joy for you. Miss my friends lots. It's not the same without you here in Spokane!

Summer time fun!

This summer has ZIPPED past! We had Easton with us a few weeks ago and enjoyed every moment with his laughter, smiles, temper tantrums and quickness. The pictures below are from when he was with us and when we went to the Seattle area. I can't believe summer is on its last legs. (The heat doesn't know that yet since it's about 99 here today!) But I am going to enjoy the most of the time I have before the snow hits. The last picture is of the summer yummy dessert I made for David today. We have blackberries (without thorns!) in our backyard and I was so excited to find the vines loaded with ripe berries. I had to do a taste test right after the Blackberry Crisp came out of the oven. It is DELICIOUS!

Mr. Sunshine every morning!

Swimming at Diane's pool

Jen and Easton at the Kingston ferry dock

Easton and his great grandma (my mom)

Opa and Easton relaxing after dinner

Ice cream smiles

Blackberry Crisp -- definitely a keeper recipe for the amazing flavors of summer!

Nelson, BC

David and I took an international escape for three days. We were only 3 hours away, but it felt like we were a half world away. We had a great time in Nelson, BC.

This is where we hung our hats for two nights. It was a wonderful backpackers lodge -- we had a queen size bed in our room, shared a bathroom and shower but we never had to wait to use anything. In fact, I don't think except for the last morning we were there & the front porch in the evenings, we actually saw any other guests even in the kitchen area.

Nelson is right on Kootenay Lake. We took a walk down on the lakeside path and I think we roamed most  of the streets. We found a farmer's market the last day we were there, Market Fest was happening on Friday. Lots of interesting culture in Nelson!

We drove up to New Denver, on the Slocan Lake and LOVED the countryside. (I'll add our own pictures later.)

You can see from the map where we traveled... we went northeast up to Kaslo and over to New Denver, then back down to Nelson. Beautiful scenery with very winding roads. The only wildlife we saw was one deer! But it was totally worth the drive.

Camp STIX

Hello! After a week at Camp STIX (a diabetic camp for kids 8-18), I am HOME! It was a fabulous camp and I was on the morning shift. So from 5 AM to about 7 PM (a little bit longer than it was supposed to be), I was on my feet & prepping food for 350 campers/staff. Ian came up to camp on Wednesday and worked the PM shift. He was able to chat with the drs about his carb counts, insulin, lows/highs and a few other things. I think he learned a lot and met some other wonderful diabetics, which was the whole plan of his being there! So far today, I've slept in until 7:30, had a few cups of coffee, went to a yard sale and been checking email/Facebook. Summer vacation has truly begun!

July's 10 on 10

Enjoy my little patch of God's yard from my camera for this month's 10 on 10.

                          Our six blueberries!

 

Beautiful petunias

Blossoms on the strawberry plant

 

The lone sweet pea

 

Poppies!

Daisy, Daisy...

Hollyhocks

Wonderful lavendar

 

 Apple blossom geraniums

A colorful bowl of flowers on my front porch                            

Happy 4th of July!

My little Yankee Doodle fell into a dirt pile. His right eye has a ring of dirt around it!

Yummy cake pops!

Popcorn at the Yakima Bears' game

High fives for the Bears

It's all about the food!

Red Robin with Oma and Opa

Happy Teacher Dance!

I'm a Bemiss Elementary Bulldog! After 5 long years of waiting, wondering, learning a lot and gaining valuable experience, I was offered a continuing contract as a teacher librarian. Sooooo excited!!! This is the first summer I haven't had to wonder what the fall holds for me as a teaching job. What a relief and I can focus on other important things, such as keeping up with Easton and enjoying all of the summer activities.

Happy Birthday to Me!

My little sweet tater has been taking swim lessons so we were at the pool tonight. He's a great birthday present!

Tomorrow we are headed to Hansville so we can play on the beach at Pt No Point Lighthouse and spend time with his great grandma and great grandpa. 

Priorities

A lot has happened these past five months and I'm thinking that this saying sums it up nicely:

Don't make someone a priority in your life when you are only an option in theirs. 

Here's my priorities right now:

I'd love to make you one of my priorities! Drop me a note, drop by and visit, call me. It's that simple.

~ Kerri ~

Backyard fun

David bought a gazebo for the backyard. I've been eyeing them for a long time and when he saw a great price on one at BigLots, he bought it. Decisions of where to put it in our backyard went back and forth, mainly because we don't have very nice neighbors on one side of us. (There's their pool that we have view of -- left of the garage in the background -- but I think I'm going to be changing that view soon. Another addition of "fix the backyard" coming up.) I'm on the hunt for ideas on how to accessorize the gazebo; thinking hanging baskets on the sides and a hula hoop chandelier on the underside (it's made with a small hula hoop, duct tape and white icicle lights.) Be on the lookout for ideas for me -- I'll be searching Pinterest, too.

The area on the left is our firepit and chairs. I L-O-V-E s'more nights with friends and family. Since we didn't go camping this holiday season, I need to make sure I have a s'more tonight and just take time to relax.

2 great causes for you to help with....

Hello! Two great causes to help make the world a better place. Thanks for helping!!

I am walking to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Easton's little daycare friend has CF, along with a teacher friend's two children. Here's my personal page:

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_DonationPage.cfm?walkid=7873&idUser=571387

My friend Julie is BIKING for the Bike MS 2012, to help find a cure for MS. Her personal page is http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Bike/WAIBikeEvents?px=6781755&pg=personal&fr_id=18574

Spring break cutie!

Just a few cute pictures from spring break with Easton. We went to Eugene, OR and traveled a bit further south to the Wildlife Safari. Easton LOVED it! The day was perfect with the weather and all of the animals. Enjoy the fun pictures of our family.