more thursday adventures with papa and great grammy

as a little girl i came down to this creek all the time. i fished in it with papa and hung out on the banks with my grandma. so today it was bittersweet to join my grandparents with my kids on these banks. we splashed, threw rocks and got our feet muddy. after we were done we enjoyed a little picnic and then went back to papa and great grammy's for nothing other than ice cream.

while we were there we noticed a little humming bird fluttering about and hanging around. looking a little upset that we were here. this is what we found....


a little humming bird nest and our little feathery friend watching us from above. i can't believe how small this nest was. it almost looked like a hornet nest. something absolutely amazing that i have never seen before. (above you can see the bird in the top right hand corner of the photo and the nest in the bottom left hand corner.)

(humming bird nest is center of the photo here.) what an amazing thing to experience for the first time and to share with the boys. i honestly have never seen a humming bird sit so still for so long. (excuse my photos all i had was my cell phone with me today......)

day at the beach with papa and great grammy

we enjoyed the sand, the company, the sun and the clouds. papa showed the boys how to build a sand castle and logan taught papa how to wash it all away. great grammy offered a comfy lap and some good conversation for snacking. brady ran circles around all of us all morning. overall we had a great day and will carry these memories for a lifetime. thank you!

the faces of summer

here is to squirt guns, water in the face, lots of sand and plain old fun.

happy friday

this is probably how this week left most of you feeling.... dazed... confused.... and just plain silly.

happy friday! enjoy your weekend!

as i rocked you to sleep

last night i rocked you to sleep. we enjoyed the cool breeze from the evening rain and the sound of raindrops dancing on our roof. you snuggled close to me while you held your jesse doll and then the sweetest thing happened. you kissed her once and then you held her up and stared into her eyes for a brief moment before kissing her twice. my heart warmed. i am so blessed to have a loving little monkey like you for a son. love you logeyroo.

toy story 3

i called us crazy on sunday morning when we decided it might be "fun" to take both boys to see toy story 3 in the theatre. so with woody in brady's hand and jesse in logan's hand we packed up the car at 4:10 and headed to the 4:35 showing. the previews were terribly long, but both boys sat and watched the whole movie. no crying, no yelling and a lot of popcorn eating. success!

p.s. the movie was great and yes i cried at the end......

imagination runs wild

today brady brought woody to me and asked me to please write "the brady name" on his boot. just like in toy story where andy's name is on woody's boot. it absolutely warmed my heart.

tonight on the way home from dinner brady called woody. he said.... "hi woody it's me. we just went to dinner with my family. we had chips and spicy and quesitias (brady for quesidillas.) i am coming home now to run around the yard with you. okay bye, good times."

for those of you who don't know.... i say "good times" a lot. too cute.

great memories in old vinyl

i found these old records in my grandmas basement. i remember them as a kid, some more than others. the sound of the crackle on her old turn table stereo in the living room. i brought them home and have been burning them all into i-tunes for the boys. the stories and songs are great the sound not so perfect but the memories and smiles will last me a lifetime.

napa valley dream

(photos courtesy of Food and Wine Magazine August 2010)

I opened our latest issue of Food and Wine Magazine yesterday to find this lovely article and pictures from a place that I dream to live in someday. Brian and I absolutely love the Napa Valley in particular St. Helena. I can't believe we did not stumble upon this place on our last trip. It is probably a good thing that we didn't because I would have never left. I dream of owning a place like this someday. They grow their own produce here at Long Meadow Ranch

They also have vineyards, olive orchards (the oldest in Napa Valley planted in the 1870's), cattle, and they breed horses. They have their own restaurant in a restored barn right on the property. Nothing like getting back to the basics. What an amazing place.

there is a new grill (girl in brady language) in town

for two days we have been talking about jesse. so today we trekked out to toys r us and purchased a little jesse doll with aunt tracy's birthday gift card. (thank you aunt tracy.) brady also said he wanted to buy logan a buzz doll for logan. on the way home logan kept pointing at jesse in the back seat. brady yelled, " no logan i bought you a buzz. jesse is mine!"

vintage maytag washer manual

this lovely manual was found in some of my grandma's belongings. perfectly intact with the warranty and receipt in it. she paid $173.40 with tax for this back in march of 1963.

this stain removal chart is quite interesting. things were so simple and green pre-spray and wash. for instance for fruit stain removal you are to stretch cloth over bowl and pour boiling water on stain. if it remains use lemon juice or one of the chemical bleaches. however for pear, cherry or plum stains you are to treat as follows: sponge well in cool water. work glycerin into stain. do not use soap. let stand several hours, then add a few drops of white vinegar and rinse thoroughly.

i love the illustration on this page of the husband measuring his wife's height so he can adjust her washer to a comfortable level.

last but not least, back in the day when warranty's were simple and one page long.

i am thinking of blowing up a couple illustrations and framing them for my laundry room. what do you think?

Happy 4th of July!

with our flags, stars and stripes we hit the road this morning to ride in the annual grant ranch 4th of july parade. we had a great time honoring our country and hanging with our friends. we hope you have a safe and happy holiday!