{Zack & Emma}

Zack is our neighbor. He and his family live on the corner of our block with one house between ours. He is an AWESOME kid, and the whole family is wonderful (hi, Nancy, Alison, TJ, & Abe). Anyway, Zack and Emma are pretty good buddies. They spent the entire day in and out of our pool swimming, playing, and hanging out together.

I suspect there might be a little puppy love going on here (at least on Emma’s part, though she’d never admit it), and I find it crazy that I have a daughter old enough to have crushes on boys! I can’t figure out where the time has gone.

What happens when

a couple of teenage girls get a hold of your camera? Aside from the *lovely* pictures they took of me playing softball, they kill time “modeling” for each other.

Here’s Jasmine and Vanessa in all their ballpark runway glory:

And just because the pictures of me below are so horrible, here’s one that’s a little better. I needed a new picture for the bio section of my web page.

There is a reason

why I am always BEHIND the camera instead of in front of it. Whenever I’m in front of the camera, I’m either making a really funny face or I have my mouth stuffed with food!

That was the case last night at my softball game. I’ve been playing on a city league team in Hermiston with Vanessa (pie-in-the face girl – here), and its been a blast. Vanessa and Jasmine were supposed to be taking pictures of the game last night, but snuck a couple of me in there, too. Lovely, just lovely.

On a side note, though, softball is awesome, I can’t wait for next weeks’ games! We’re all having a ton of fun, and the team is great.

Magnificent Beast!

I have a friend who told me a secret of where I could see some of the most beautiful wild horses around. I have managed to see them twice now, but only once I was close enough to get decent pictures of them (and the ones I did get weren’t all that good). I have been after these horses for about three years now, playing the waiting game, trying to get close enough to get some images.

I finally did it!

I am amazed at how much this little band of horses is like a herd of elk. The Stallion stood Sentry over his ladies and herded them off, away from danger (me). He turned several times and blew at me, like he was showing how “manly” and “tough” he was. It was AMAZING! I have no words for how I felt; breathless and excited, scared but curious, it was thrilling! It was like I was part of one of Nature’s little secrets, one special moment that would disappear if I took a breath.

The ladies and a foal:

Isn’t he magnificent?

One last look back before he retreated into the trees:

The horse symbolises the primevil forces of chaos, intense desire, swiftness and determination. It recalls the freedom of the wind and the fury of the seas. It was the noble animal sought after by kings, knights and Gods.

This is what Summer is all about!

Friends, sun, and swimming!

I watched my friend Cal’s kids today. Ty & Lacy have been friends with my girlies ever since they were tiny. They had a blast playing in the pool and running around outside. I suspect all five of them will konk out hard tonight!

One of my favorite things about brand new babies is the “peach fuzz” hair that is all over their bodies. It was always kind of a bummer when my girls didn’t have it anymore, it was just one more step away from being dependent on me.

I was astonished today to see that Reagan still had little hairs all over her back. I think we haven’t noticed them because its so blonde. Now that she’s as tan as can be, we can see the hairs plain as day. Maybe I’m nuts, but I love it!

{Unforgettable}

Our trip to Disneyland was completely unforgettable! We walked what seems like 1,000 miles and wore ourselves out, but we had a wonderful time doing it! Reagan even kept up with all the big people, never complaining once, and we never had to slow down for her. It was amazing!

I am so thrilled the girls are going to have such wonderful memories when they get older. They will remember going to Disneyland with the coolest Nana & Papa around. They will remember that Harley’s comment, “Nana, grandmas aren’t supposed to like roller coasters, you’re not normal.” brought on fits of laughter from all the adults. They will remember laughing, playing, riding the rides, and spending time together. They will remember their adventure, and they will be thankful for the memories they made.

Between Aaron & I, we have over 500 pictures, so I’m only going to post a couple. I may add more as the week/month goes by, we’ll see.

Our Princesses:

It truly is the “Magic Kingdom”, and the sights were awesome!

I can’t believe I had to travel halfway across (or down) the US to see a real swan! I’ve always wanted to see one in the wild, but never have, yet, I manage to see one in such a beautiful setting with tons of people around!

Of course, I LOVED the scenery as much as I loved the park. The flowers were gorgeous, and just BEGGED to have their photograph taken!

And what would pictures from me be without the details? The details everywhere we went were so incredible!

Now that we’re back to our real lives, we’ve been busy setting up the pool and staying cool. The girls are pretty excited to be able to just play all day and not go to school, and, quite frankly, so am I. I was ready for the break. I’m looking forward to sleeping in and hanging out with my girlies in our pool. I say to the sun, Bring on the Heat!

I have a secret . . .

. . . and its really exciting!

In only SEVEN days!!!

The most exciting part for me is that our girls have absolutely NO CLUE that we’re even leaving town! My mom & dad are taking all of us, and they’ll drive this far the night before we leave. Then we’ll head to Portland the next day to get on the airplane. We’re not going to tell the girls where we’re going until the Disney Hotel Shuttle comes to the airport to pick us up! I can’t wait to see the looks on their faces when they realize exactly what we’re doing!

Emma and Harley have each flown several times, but Reagan and Katelyn have never been on an airplane, so the whole trip will be an adventure for them. I have had such a hard time keeping this secret, and now I’m fairly bursting at the seams hoping I can hold it in until then!

I can’t wait! Aaron can’t wait! Mon and Dad can’t wait!

Camping Fun

Memorial Day Weekend, we went camping with my mom & dad. My sister, Erika, and her family came up for a day for a bar-b-que and to celebrate Mom & Aaron’s birthdays. We had a great time! The kids loved hunting for creatures; catching all sorts of neat stuff. Emma caught a blue racer snake and a sculpin fish for all the kids to see. The cousins had a great time playing together. Lillian and the twins were smothered with love & kisses all day. All in all, it was a great weekend, and it was wonderful to spend time with my family.

Emma & baby girl Kayleigh

The boys of the Chrzanowski-Hearne Family.

(Kendric, Tymek, Konrad, & Benjamin)

The rest of their family.

(Lillian, Scotty, & Kayleigh)

Happy Birthday To You!

(notice the matchstick candles)

Emma & her creatures.

Riding bikes.

Just some neat stuff.

Whenever my dad really gets to laughing, his whole body laughs for him. He has this kind of high-pitched inhale followed by short bursts of exhaling. It is hilarious! He has one of those contagious laughs that gets everyone else going, and I love it! As kids it was always our goal to try to get him really wound up so he’d get carried away laughing like that. His laugh is one of my favorite memories. I managed to catch it with the camera while we were camping. I can’t even remember what was so funny, but I will always laugh remembering this moment.