visitors

Two weekends ago we had a guest...which was so fun.
Have I mentioned I LOVE visitors?
Anyone who wants to come here...you're invited.
And I have a hide-a-bed.
And 3 obnoxious cuddly children who LOVE visitors also.

My friend Jen came.
She is my twin.
Same birthday...same hospital...same parents (that part is not true, but we suspect it might be).
People say we look alike...I don't really see it.
But they're probably right...because most twins do.

I met Jen in college.
Prepare to be traumatized.
I debated showing this picture, because I am so fat...think freshman 15.  Okay more like 20 if I'm being honest.
Jen is on the right.
And we're doing an air high-5 after successfully completing a practical joke on some boys.
We were awesome like that.

seriously...look right above my belt. 
2 words: muffin top.
2 other words: not cute.

halloween 2001.
jen, your eyes are closed.  and i'm still fat.

We lived in the dorms together and soon realized we were meant to be friends.
And have been since.

Jen flew in from Boise on Friday and stayed for the entire weekend.
We shopped for 3 days straight.

our finds...

and more...

and more...

and more...

and more...

It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E.
And amazing really...that we could buy shop so much.
We went to every shopping center, Goodwill, the bins and thrift store within 30 miles.
And Target...of course.
Twice.

My best finds?

old navy striped tank top. $1.99.

love the color blocking.
and the wrinkles.

one clothing striped tank top with braided belt. $2.99.

forever 21 red/white striped cropped jacket. $.40.

zara brown suede wedge boots with a leather cuff. $15.00.

ag capris. $3.50.
awesome find!  these retail for $170.00. love finds like this!



vintage floral sun dress. $.50.

navy blue patent leather duffle. $.50.

On top of the wonderful shopping, it was so fun to catch up.
And by catch up I mean bruschetta, late nights, laughing, and inside jokes.
And by inside jokes, I mean being really immature. 

There's nothing more comfortable than an old friend.
Old as in years we've known each other...not old age.
Just thought I should clarify.
Yah for visitors. 
And good friends!

xo,
tracy

ps: I have some serious catching up to do on my blog.  Prepare for an overload of posts.

bicycle

Last month I went to the Goodwill.
In search of a small round mirror.
One small round mirror.

Instead, I came home with this:

$14.99.

I needed it.
Because the lines are so cute.
It reminds me of the yellow banana seat bike I learned to ride on.

love this action shot...

i look mad in this picture.  i'm not sure why...i was actually really excited.
maybe the speed bump scared me.

When I first got the bike I was SO excited!  Adrenaline rush.
That's what happens at the Goodwill.
And then I don't know what happened?!  I'm embarrassed to admit that this project was my longest...ever.
It sat in pieces in my living room for days weeks:

nice shadow...i am such an awesome photographer.

I took off the grossest handle grips ever.
Imagine a child dipping their hands in maple syrup. 
And jam. 
And lotion.
And then touched the grips.
Every day for a year.
They were so disgusting.

these used to be clear.  sick.

Next I removed all the awesome decals:



I'm really glad they put on like 1600 of them.

And used extra strength super duper glue on them all.

And it left a sticky residue that would never come off.

Ever.

Not even with the aid of these things...:

fail.

fail.

fail.

...which were all suggestions online.

The only thing that worked was sand paper.
Which seems to be a theme with all my projects.
Sand.
Sand.
Sand.

I sanded (did I mention that?!), ordered new hand grips, primed with Kilz, painted with Rustoleum Avacado Green paint, bought a basket and primed/painted it with Krylon Watermelon. 

And then came the problems.

I COULD not get it back together.
I don't know if it was because Beckham got hold of the hardware and spread it all over the house.
Or if it's because I've never put a bike together.
Or if it's because I'm a moron.
Whatever the reason...I had to recruit Dylan and our jack-of-all-trades friend Paul to put it back together.
And it took them 2 hours.
Which actually made me feel better about the fact that I couldn't do it myself.
A big thanks to Dylan and Paul. 
Without them, this bike would be in the landfill.
Or back at the Goodwill, because I donate.  And recycle.

the tires are my favorite part.

I have no idea why it looks like I took these pictures at midnight.
It was totally light outside.

Anyway...
I took her for a spin tonight. 
Love it.
No gears.
Love it.
Pedal breaks.
Love it.
And a basket in front.
Love it.

Did I mentioned I love it?

xo,
tracy

summer time, birthday time, soccer time

I feel like we have been trying to cram so much into our 2 week Summer break, I haven't had a chance to post about it.
You're really sad I'm sure.
This post is going to be long... boring... tons of pictures... and not a lot of writing.
But at least then I can feel good that I documented it.
Plus, pictures are more fun than me droning on and on and on and on...
Oh, and these are in no particular order.

Last week we celebrated Beckhams 2nd birthday. If you're dying to see my bare pregnant stomach and fat face, see here.
We started off the festivities with a 24 hour camping trip to Silver Falls.  We drove 2 hours, set up camp, bonfired, and then headed home the next day.  It was quick and we've committed to never going again....until our kids are older, sleep better (and by better I mean in their own beds.  and actually sleeping, not singing and poking our eyes all night) and can set up their own tent:

ready to go camping.

leaving forest grove.

everyone is looking in the same general direction.  success.

harper burned her finger during the bonfire.  not a happy camper (clever, right?!)

we made treat bags for the campers in honor of beckhams birthday...they had all his favorite things:
balloons, stickers, gum, m&ms, glow in the dark bracelets.

the view from our campsite.

When we got home we decorated the house, wrapped gifts, and made cake for the birthday boy:

how cute is that?!

the streamers lasted about 28 seconds.

coloring in beckhams card.

helping decorate the cake.

the birthday boy and dad.

beckham got so excited when we were singing 'happy birthday to you.'  so cute.

the cake was thoughtfully made by dawson and harper. 
and dawsons elbow went right through the top...
don't ask.

opening his cards.

finding $2 from grandma and grandpa hatfield.

his favorite gift...baseball bat.

2nd favorite gift...baseball mit and ball.



i hope he writes like this forever.
not really, but it's just so cute.

In other big news, we have a new addition to our family.
Alan. 

The kids are just smitten.
Especially Beckham, who camps out by Alan most of the day.

Sometime Beckham tries to share with Alan.
So far, he's shared modeling clay, toast, and this:

alan + baseball = almost instant death.

Oh, and Harper picked his name.
Awesome.

And lastly, Dawson and Harper both started soccer this week. They had their first game tonight.
Dawson was his usual self...excited, talkative, and ready to be on the field:

But there were definitely a few non-soccer things going on tonight too:

showing a friend his new batman band-aid.

sporting the shades.

hanging out IN the goal.

examining his new water bottle (jen, that is for you.....no more bottled water here).

and the glasses on the back of the head.

popping bubbles.

ninja?  elvis?  kung fu panda?
 pelvic thrust?!

i don't even know...?!

You wouldn't know it by the above pictures, but Dawson is a LOT more focused this year.

Harper wasn't so excited. 

It takes her a while to warm up to things...people, school, friends.
And apparently soccer:

she sure looks cute though.

she sat out the entire game and people watched most of the time.

She did play for about 11.3 seconds...after a pep talk from Dad:

She was much more interested in playing 'Simon Says' with her team afterwards:

 
My hope is that she'll learn to really enjoy it.
Or at least get out on the field with her team.


School starts on Wednesday.  Dawson and Harper are in the same preschool class.  Which means I'll have Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings all alone with this handsome guy:

Their teacher is so brave.
And I can hardly wait.

xo,
tracy