a day of ruffles and rides*

beautiful day

filled with

ruffles

and

harley rides

journey and asher both loved it

and of course

so did papa!

#1*

happy first birthday clay bryan!!!

love your:

dimple

laughter

short little legs

shining eyes

reaching little chubby arms

hugs for baby kodiak

love for food

smiles for brother and brody

love for cousins

"talkin" to milo

love of any kind of ball

obsession with mommy ;-)

nonnie love

and so much more~

what a wonderful year it has been

i wish you a happy love-filled day little boy!

mud pies*

journey girl made some delicious mud pies* yesterday in her "shop"

papa and i were the recipients of her creations

beautiful pies with flowers, colored stones and candles

this little girl had it down pat

the voice

the conversation

coming up with names for her creations in a second flat

she even changed clothes to become "a new girl"

we had so much fun

reminded me of how simple it is to have fun

and how old and timeless this tradition is

"the art of rearing children peacefully and pleasantly is the art of
becoming a child again, of growing up with them."
~Emma Ray McKay

olfactory kind of gal

bryan has always described me as a pretty "olfactory" person

olefactory ~adj. Of, relating to, or contributing to the sense of smell

there are smells in this world that are just.... pleasurable

~books

~babies

~paper money

(i know i know...but i was a teller for many years...and opening my teller drawer...i loved the smell)

~ocean air

~rain

~smoke from a fire

~the crisp air when it snows

~pipe smoke

~mountain air

~coffee

~lavender

~certain perfumes

~a new baby doll

~sun dried clothing

~gasoline (again...i know)

~new crayons

~paint (i know)

just to name a few

olfaction has a powerful command over many behaviors, including memory.

a couple of days ago, a little sample of jergens lotion came in the mail.

i opened it up and used it and immediately the smell took me back

to when i was a little girl probably around 8 or 9

and i was grocery shopping at GovWay with my family.

my mother told me i could pick out some lotion of my very own.

i can remember being so excited!!

i picked out jergens original.......

an olfactory memory!

i have those a lot!

~i wore windsong perfume when i was in high school...and that is the memory it evokes to this very day (it DID stay on my mind)

~my mother wore white shoulders perfume and i always associate her with the fragrance

~there is a certain smell that i really can't describe any other way than saying it smells like red ants....and it conjurs up childhood memories of playing in the dirt trying to find magnetic shavings to use on paper like the Wooly Willy game.

some smells, i'm sure do the opposite and remind us of times not so pleasant....

but i'm thankful that i am an olfactory type of gal....

it has created a lot of wonderful memories i get to revisit again and again

what are some of your "olfactory memories"?

happy birthday*

*happy happy birthday to my sweet, amazing friend and husband*

when two people have shared life,

when they are really, really in it together,

there is a quiet certainly in the way they take care of each other.

a gentle touch in passing,

a loving word right when it's needed......

every little thing seems to say,

i'm sure of you....

i'm sure of us.

i'm sure of you...

of us....

of what we have together.

and i'm very grateful

to be in this life

and in this love

with you.

i hope you have an amazing day

and a gentle, rich, fulfilling year

i love you so!

full days~

brrrrrrrrrrr......

february already! where does time go?

we have been busy with company and celebrations!

bryan's brother and his wife usually come to visit in march/april....but because of adopting a puppy, decided to come in january.....thankfully, they were here during a warm streak and we were actually "hot" sitting out in the sun!

while the boys golfed.....i took patti to one of our quaint old "ghost towns" ~ jerome, arizona!wow~ so fun!

so many funky buildings and boutiques

and everyone was smiling and sooooo friendly~
did my heart good and restored my faith in humanity!

Located high on top of Cleopatra Hill (5,200 feet) between Prescott and Flagstaff, it is a historic copper mining town.

A unique place to get away from the routine in our lives.

Due to the 30-degree incline of the mountainside, gravity has pulled a number of buildings down the slope. To the delight of some, one of those buildings was the town's jail.

the town of jerome

what is left of the sliding jail

it is a funky little town with artists of every kind!!! yumm

oh my goodness~ this place has amazing food! and margaritas!

we split a piece of avacado pie that was to die for!!!

ghost city inn bed and breakfast where we stayed

breakfast consisted of homemade yogurt and fruit!

french toast that was about 4 inches thick/sausage

sooooo good!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and the day after our little trip

we celebrated a little sweet boy

that came into our lives 2 years ago!!!!

milo winter turned two years old!!!

his mommy and daddy had a wonderful "airplane" party for him!

a wonderful day

for an amazing little boy

who has brightened our world so!

blowing out his candles

the birthday boy and his birthday hat!

hope your days are full of wonder and appreciation!!