:: Update on last night ::

:: Trista and I had a great night last night hosting the Open House for Lavish & BeautiControl -- It was fabby to have the two products in one place! ::

:: I ended up getting the brown purse that I posted below as I needed a brown purse more than I needed a black one, however that black purse is still calling my name! Maybe I'll get it for Christmas from my Marm {hint hint} ::

:: Currently all of the products on the Lavish website are 50% off, so if you are interested in purchasing anything they are a steal of a deal! My "Brownstone" purse was $40 w/ tax! ::

:: I'll be back later today to update you on our crazy life around here! ::

:: Winthrop Washington in September ::

:: Since we just bought our motor home at the beginning of August, we didn't really have a whole lot of Summer left, so we decided that we would head out of town a couple weeks into September to enjoy the rest of the Summer sun ::

:: We headed through the cascade loop and ended up in a windy little gold mining town called Winthrop,WA. It's a wonderful little town, and the night before we left we had booked a site at the Winthrop KOA - I was delighted, we had a pool, local convenience store and free wireless Internet; what more could a girl ask for!?!?! ::

:: Here's Jacob in town with his $1 - waiting to get to the candy store to purchase something special ::

:: We were headed into town in the motor home on the first morning we were there, and all of a sudden Mr. L said there were no brakes, he was pressing the gas and the brakes were locked. Not locked off, but locked on. So we pulled over to the side of the road to try and see if it was a quick remedy. A few minutes into being at the side of the road a light blue old Chevy pulled up, with an old silver haired man and woman in it. "Ya havin' car troubles?" he asked, Mr. L responded " my brakes seem to be seized". The old man asked if we had any tools, that we did, he then proceeded to tell us to bleed the brake line and gave Mr. L the exact place that the nut was in to bleed the brakes. Mr. Silver haired man from heaven, drove away and we bled the brakes. We made it into town to find out that the only repair shop in town was too little to do anything with our seemingly big problem ::

:: So we head out of town to the RV parking lot and I take the kids to the park while Mr. L checks out the possible sources of the seizing brakes. Every time he would bleed the line, we drive for a little and they would get hard again and we'd have to bleed the line again...this happened aprox. every 2 km's. He couldn't figure out what to do so we called my parents to see if they could find a larger outlet that could help us with our big problem. They did -- 8 miles away there was a local Les Schwab that would be able to handle the size of truck we have. But 8 miles, is a fair distance from us especially when our brakes would only give us 2 km's until we had to bleed them again - because they wouldn't let us accelerate any faster ::

:: Once we figured out that we would have to drive to the next town for any assistance, we decided to make the best of our very hot 31+ day and walk into town and enjoy the day - we walked the shops, read about the town and enjoyed ice cream...all in all it was a very nice relaxing afternoon. Then around 3:00 we headed back to the motor home and started out for the next town, and hopefully an easy fix ::

:: We had to bleed the brakes multiple times on the way to Les Schwab but we made it there in one piece. Thank goodness! Once we got to Les Schwab they fed us a whole bunch of Bologna that we would have to replace our whole braking system etc. etc. etc. Which we fell for none of it, we're from the big city, you small town people can't pull that over on us! So we sat in the Les Schwab while they tried to diagnose the real problem. That took at least 1.5 hours and then they came back and said it was a power boost...it wasn't the actual breaks but a system that controlled the fluid that assisted the breaks {or something like that}. And the part would cost $2000 plus labor to install it. And the part wouldn't be in for at least a week. Oy ::

:: Here's Jacob watching a show on the lap top and eating Les Schwab popcorn while we were waiting for the diagnosis ::

:: While we were at the Les Schwab we had free Internet so we Skyped with my parents trying to figure out a better plan to replace the power booster. Mr. L along with my Dad executed a plan that would cost much less than the $2500 USD that we would have had to spend at Les Schwab. My parents would bring some extra tools, pick up the parts and drive the three hours to our campsite and the following day Mr. L & my dad would change the part. My parent's picked up our van {in case the plan didn't work and we needed to leave the motor home in Winthrop} and went to the local auto supply in Bellingham, picked up two different power boosters {to ensure we had the right one}. We in the meantime drove back to the KOA, again bleeding the brakes every few km's. Mr. L proceeded to log onto the Internet and research research research how to fix our problem ::

:: Here are the boys. I gave Mr. L a break and went for a walk while he tried to figure out what the heck to do, this was when we were still at Les Schwab ::

:: We were so thankful for so many things: that this didn't happen when we were driving at night on the cascade hwy, that we had a pool at the KOA so we had some relief from the weather, that we had free internet and that my parents were available to bring down the parts for us, seriously, it wasn't the most wonderful situation -- but it couldn't have been better, given the circumstances! ::

:: Here are our boys, discussing something deep after we arrived back at the site from Les Schwab :::: My parents arrived just in time for the campfire on Saturday night ::

:: The next day Mr. L & my dad got started on the power boost project, 4 hours later, they were done, the truck had been test driven and we were good to go! And the cost of replacing the part...just over $300 that's including the gas to get my parents to us! Not too shabby eh!?!?! So after the job was done the guys headed to the pool to relax a little before we started the trek home ::

:: This hot air balloon floated over our breakfast table on Sunday morning, what a beautiful site for us - I bet their view was incredible! ::

:: Cole & Mr. L enjoying the pool ::

:: The boys getting ready to jump into the pool again ::


:: Sunday afternoon we headed for the scenic drive back through the cascades, it was a beautiful drive home. Our nerves were pretty fried by the whole episode with the brakes, but all in all we really enjoyed ourselves and made the best of a pretty crappy situation ::

:: These are some of the shots from the view on the way through the cascades ::

:: This was the last hurrah with our motor home for the Summer, bitter sweet - but good memories all the same...we can't wait to get out in it again in May! A big huge thanks to my parents for helping us out, we couldn't have done it without you! ::

:: Now back to reality, Jacob starting school and getting into the swing of life! ::

:: Wish List + Invitation ::

:: I've started a wish list for a home party that my girlfriend and I are hosting on Monday September 14th at my girlfriend Trista's house ::

:: I will be having all of my SPA items there and she'll have all of her Lavish items there - it will be a great night of shopping a relaxation for us girls. If you want more info or to come to the event you can see the invite here ::

:: Just look at these babies for Fall and Winter, oh, I'm in love! ::
:: And I believe they are on sale! I'm excited! ::

:: What's Happening ::

:: I meant to have this post up yesterday, but the day did not allow. I was at Superstore three times yesterday, so that kinda explains the kind of day I had! ::

:: I'm currently in the midst of reading the first in a fabulous series called: The Courtship of Nellie Fisher by Beverly Lewis. I love her writing {as I'm sure I've stated before} --- This book as it's the start of a series has a lot of explaining and character placing but I love it, and it sucks that I haven't had time to sit down and read it in the last couple days! ::

:: I love the simple life that they lead, I seriously think I was born into the wrong period. I would have loved to be living on a farm, harvesting the fields, canning, going to quilting bees -- that's my kind of life! That's what I would love to live like...well with a bit of technology! I just love the look of a hand written envelope coming in the mail, there is something so tangible about real penmanship and the thought that goes into a letter or note ::

{"Magnolia Mounds" - Picture Credit}

:: There is a little white plantation house with a little red barn on a little plot of land in the city next to ours...I dream of one day owning it or something just like it! ::

:: In other news while I was at Superstore, I decided to smell some of their fragrances {specifically Burberry fragrances} and I fell fell fell in love with Burberry "Brit" -- I love it, it's a beautifully well designed fragrance. Maybe Paul will get the hint and pick me up a bottle of it for our Anniversary!?!? Wouldn't that be nice, it's the perfect casual warm fragrance! ::


:: Today I'm finishing up a special order wedding cake for my cousin Rheanne, she's getting married tomorrow to her high school sweetheart ::

:: Hope y'all have a great Friday and an awesome long weekend, the last of the Summer. I'm sad to see it go but I'm also of course looking forward to my favorite time of year; Fall! ::

:: We'll be around here this weekend as we have the wedding, so I'm sure I'll be on here updating what we have been up to over the Summer ::

:: Happy Friday Y'all! ::

:: Chat: Elisabeth Hasselbeck on Rachel Ray ::

:: You know who I'm talking about right? The very cute and very Christian Blondie on "The View". Now let me clarify what I mean about my wording "very Christian", this isn't a bad thing or in poor taste, but she has been one of the only Christians in the public eye that has not wavered on views like gay marriage and abortion. She has held strong to her guns and that has obviously gotten her in trouble over the years as she's not very PC! ::

:: Well, she's preggers with Baby No. 3 and is going to be on Rachael Ray on Thursday (tomorrow) talking about a whole smack of things, so if you don't have anything better to do at 3:00 in the afternoon on Thursday tune into Rachael Ray! ::

:: If not for anything than to see what cute outfit she is wearing, I just can't get over how stinkin' cute she is, pregnant or not, I wish I was her size! ::

:: You can find the article that I pulled these pictures from here ::

:: Happy Wednesday Everyone! ::

:: The Clova - Our School Year Tradition ::

:: Well, as I said before -- we have started this new tradition with the school year coming up. That we'll take the boys to a movie one week before the new school year starts ::

:: This particular theatre is the original theatre in our little sleepy town -- it no longer has "shows" for $0.56, but comparing it to the bigger well known fancy schmancy theatre on the other side of town...they keep it cheap ::

:: The cost for the matinee is $4 for the adults and $2 for the kids over 2, plus if you bring your own bucket they will fill it up for just $2 and they have all the tasty seasonings for free! It's quaint and sweet..and really quite cheap! ::

:: We arrived before the Baker girls so we hung out in the courtyard across the street from the theatre, the thought passed through my mind about what it'll be like in just a few short years when my boys are 10 & 11 and they are waiting in the same spot at the same time of year for their movie to start? What fun it is to bring traditions into existence ::

:: My precious Cole, being preciously still....it never lasts for long! ::

:: The girls arrived, popcorn buckets in tow - they were so excited to get the show on the road! ::

:: Here are the kids heading into the theatre ::

:: We enjoyed watching "Up" by Disney pixar - such a cute show, with lots of heart. This was the second time that the boys saw it in the theatre, and they loved it...however it was a little long and by the end they were asking if it was "all done?" ::

:: Here are the Baker girls - nice cheesy smile Emma-Bemma! ::

:: Here I am with my boys, oh my boys - I love them so! Nice cheesy smile from Jacob too, he took tips from Emma, hey at least he's smiling, that's a step in the right direction! ::

:: Coley-Oley-O ::

:: On the way out of the theatre the owner had a lolli for each of the kids, they were SO excited and I thought it was SO sweet {get it, ha, sweet} of them to do that ::

:: What a great tradition and what fun we had, next year when we go Lisa will have a 6 month old baby, so maybe I'll just take all the kids and she can have a quiet house for 3 hours! It was a great memory and a super fun tradition to start! Thanks for joining us, Baker girls! ::

:: Focus on the Family ::

:: As I've become more aware that my word I chose to be my mantra for this year was "CREATE" and I have yet to feel like I have completed my quest to create what I want my life to look like {and it's been almost nine months - that's almost the gestation of a new baby for crying out loud!}. I have tuned into Focus on the Family as a resource for me ::

:: For crying out loud I was raised listening to Focus on the Family! ::


:: As I was going through my emails this morning I came across an announcement from FonthF that there is a special broadcast for Canadian listeners on September 10th ::

:: I don't know if I will tune in on the actual night of the broadcast, but I do know that I'll go here and listen to it on a later date. As I know in my heart and my home, I want to create something different, I don't know what that looks like right now and I'm sure it won't be easy, but I'm willing to try! ::

:: We're off for the first matinee @ the Clova Theatre today, what fun it is to start our own family traditions! ::

:: T H A N K Y O U ::

:: From my heart to yours. Over the past month I have kept all of your emails, hoping to respond to them personally and I'm sure I will. But in the meantime I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your notes of encouragement, your thoughts and prayers. I have been overwhelmed and blessed by each of you {you know who you are}! ::

:: Firsts for Jacob ::

:: We have had a lot of "firsts" around here for Jacob over the Summer. Back in April when I spoke of Jacob not yet speaking a few words or even being close to where he should be verbally, well, we started taking a free therapy class {for us parents} and then at the end of May we took Jacob in to see a developmental doctor, and voila, he speaks. He speaks. All the time. Copying us. every. word. repeated. We're delighted but at the same time wondered why we wanted him to speak so badly {kidding!}! And as far as little brother goes, well let's just say he's more like Mama - he's got plenty to say! ::

:: Okay, so back to the "firsts" for Jacob; one of them this Summer {other than being fully potty trained PTL & speaking like a motivational speaker - okay well maybe not that good!} he had his first trip to the dentist ::

:: Not only was this his first trip to the dentist, but he went to the same dentist I have been going to for the past 26 years of my life {so if you add that up, I have been going to my dentist since I was 3}. It was crazy for both Dr. A and I to see my son in the chair, it was also crazy to have Mr.L experience the whole event {aka: Child calmer-downer and photographer}. The office got to not only meet my son but my husband too! ::

:: Jacob did good, he wasn't too impressed with having his teeth checked, but he did well and we're on our way to oral health {as long as he takes after Mr. L and not me, I was off the cavity free wall when I hit age 4! Mr. L would have been on the cavity free wall until he was 26, that was when he had his first cavity, sick isn't it?!?!} ::

:: The most exciting part was being able to pick out a toy out of the toy drawer, the same toy drawer that I got to pick out of when I was little ::

:: Then finding Mama getting tortured {no, seriously tortured!} to show the fabulous prize - a foam airplane....oh what fun the dentist is! ::

:: Next week we start the first initial round of preschool for our family, I can't believe it's already here, seriously time goes by in a flash! And just to think that next year I'll be sending two little boys off to preschool! ::

:: Jacob, you make us proud with every step you take forward - you are delightful! ::

:: We're looking forward to starting a new tradition for the school year, me and my girlfriend are taking the kids to a matinee movie a week prior to school starting, hopefully this will be a tradition we can keep up with throughout the years! What traditions do you do or did your Mom do for you before you started a new school year? ::

Summer Days

{I just had to have an excuse to take a picture of my nicely manicured toes, thanks to Le Nail in Bellingham, it's the best pedi I've ever had!}

:: We have had our fair share of stress this Summer --- but along with that stress we have had plenty of fun ::

:: I've been away from here due to both of those things, my life is full. Great. Lovely. But I have lost touch with reality and what I need to do vs. what I want to do! ::

:: I hope to be getting back to a regular schedule of blogging as I have tons to blog about, for now I'm going to go and do what I need to do and that is to be present with my family ::

:: Happy last Saturday of August, where has the Summer gone? And just in case you live in a cave and haven't been out to any stores lately, Christmas decorations are already on the shelves -- good golly! Can't say I'm not happy to see those on the shelves because that means that my most FAVORITE time of the year is just around the corner, Autumn, oh how I love thee! ::