home again, home again...

we're back from green river lakes and thinking about settling in to another work week... sigh... too bad vacations can't last forever. we got home after bedtime tonight, with two thoroughly exhausted little girls and two thoroughly happy parents. it was a fantastic trip-- one of those where everything just comes together the way it should. rest assured there will be lots more pics to come, as well as alot of commentary and details. in the meantime, here are a few photo highlights! enjoy!

flashback friday!

here's a special camping edition of flashback friday! we're headed on a camping trip in the morning, so it seemed fitting. these pictures are from Worthern Resevoir and Roaring Fork Lake back in August of 2008-- it was actually isa's second birthday trip! this time we are headed to the northwest side of the Winds, to Green River Lakes. stacy and willow are going as well, and we're taking a canoe, so it will surely be a good time. going to that area is also a great excuse to stop and swim at the Pinedale Aquatic Center. we'll be back monday night, so hang tight 'til then!

little swimmer

sylvi just finished up a session of swimming lessons at the pool today! yay sylvi! this was her first official round of lessons and she loved them. she was in the parent/child class this year, which meant that mommy and daddy both had the treat of going in that freezing cold water four days a week. eek! speaking of cold water, we got some long sleeve rashguards for her this time around and it made a big difference in keeping her comfortable. no blue lips and chattering teeth for this baby!

this class is all about allowing them to be comfortable in the water, and not so much actual swimming lessons. they go under water and learn to hold their breath (theoretically!), hang on the wall and climb out, kick their feet, reach in front of them, etc. sylvi was thrilled with the whole thing, regardless of the cold water, and got really excited when anyone mentioned the word "swimming" in the morning. of course she also loved getting to play in the baby pool for the last bit of class and a quick dip in the hot tub too! note: mommy mostly appreciated the hot tub.

for her part, isa was a good sport about that fact that she didn't get to go swimming this time around. but she starts her preschool class next week, so it won't be a long wait at all!

hi ho, hi ho...

here is a little sneak peak into what's been going on in the shop lately. lots of bags, scarves, bibs, blankets, dresses, tees, lounge sets... and so on and so forth. i am sure i will regret saying this in about two weeks, but at the moment progress is moving along well in preperation for the first Art Fair Jackson Hole show in mid-july. there is still alot to be done, in addition to finishing two wholesale orders, but so far so good. guessing how many items will sell is a little bit of a mystery-- some items sell like hotcakes at one venue and don't sell at all in another. but since there are three shows in a matter of 4 weeks, the more i get done now, maybe the less i have to do later? stay tuned...

you may notice...

that the ole blog gets a new look every now and then. blogger has added a bunch of really awesome templates and made it much easier to change the look of the page. so we're playing around with different backgrounds and themes... mostly just because we can!

happy father's day!

bringing isa home from the hospital, august 2006

introducing sylvi to mommy, november 2008

kate and kevin's wedding, june 2007

tracy and alex's wedding, august 2009

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY DADDY! WE LOVE YOU A MILLION TIMES OVER!

required documentation

i think somewhere in the mommy handbook it states that all mommies must, at some point in their children's young lives, get adorable photos of thier little ones enjoying a bubble bath. sylvi makes my job easy. guess i can check that one off the list.

room with a view

this is the view from one of the two windows in the shop downstairs. my ironing board sits in front of this window and i'm pretty glad these days, since i am spending lots of time there! i can see most of the backyard, the lilac, and the kid's water/sand play area (they are in the backyard with daddy here, for the record). usually otter is sitting in the window too, which is nice company.

anyway, i've been meaning to take a picture of this view for a while! and it reminded me to blog about the little sweatshop facelift that will be underway this summer. it's not a total remodel (that wouldn't be worth the money in resale terms) but we figured that if we are going to stay in this house for a while, we might as well spruce my shop space. lord knows i spend enough time down there that i could appreciate it being a little more pretty! since this is a "light" remodel, we aren't bothering with trying to raise the ceiling height (we're all short anyway) or redoing the drywall. but we are repainting the floor and the walls, which will make a big difference. phil is in the process of building me an awesome cutting table, with a matching sewing table to follow. my aching back, neck, and shoulders can't wait for this to be done. also on the list are really sweet daybed (to replace the worn out futon), recovering a really funky old chair and wall divider (folding style) that i got at a yard sale for a whopping $5, and some new curtains for the windows and closet. it may take all summer, but it will be worth every penny when it's done. and aside from the new desks and daybed, hopefully that won't entail too many pennies at all!

birthday (cheese)cake

it wouldn't be a birthday without some cake, so we had a little lunch time party today, complete with candles and daddy's favorite desert-- cheesecake! isa was insistant that the candles be placed just so (grouped by color and making a plus sign) and that she get to help blow them out. sylvi was pretty fascinated by the lighter and didn't take her eyes off the flames. she looked a little perplexed and i think she was wondering what on earth we were doing to that cake! mommy and daddy were pretty pleased with a little lunchtime dessert as well :)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

we had some birthday celebrating to do this morning for Daddy! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY! we saved the cake and candles for lunch time and will have a special birthday dinner out tonight to keep the celebration going. hope you have the best year yet daddy, we love you :)

flashback friday!

today we thought we'd flashback to a much smaller and less mobile sylvi. this picture was taken last summer, almost a year ago, when sylvi was just starting to scoot around her blanket. those were the days... sigh... before she started climbing and running and climbing some more. she is a climbing machine lately and can get up the ladder and into isa's bunk bed in the blink of an eye (that door now stays closed). she has also learned now to move small chairs around and use them as ladders to get to the countertops, table top, etc. never a dull moment around here these days!

babies, babies everywhere...

sylvi and i got to go and celebrate the coming arrival of a new baby last weekend! our friend lara (third picture) is having a baby this summer and we couldn't be more happy for her! here are some pictures from the shower-- it was sooooo nice to sit under the shade of aspens and eat good food and hang out with friends and watch the littlest ones play. sylvi hammed it up big time and enjoyed toddling around with some buddies and taking advantage of someone else's cool toys!

la la la lilacs!

yes, that's right. love me some lilacs. and as luck would have it, we have a ginormous lilac bush (tree!) in the backyard. you might find it odd that a lilac gets its own blog post, but so be it. sitting on the porch right now is blissful and the girls appreciate the nice shade as well. double win.

highlights

we're running a little behind on the blog lately, mostly because there is just a bit too much going on around here to keep up. as predicted, the transition from school year to summertime has been a little crazy (not bad, just crazy). isa started her month long (three mornings a week) spanish camp and sylvi started swim lessons. isa seems to really like spanish camp and comes home thoroughly exhausted. we haven't gotten her to recite many new words yet, but she surprises with one every now and then! sylvi is a little fishy, as expected, and really loves swimming lessons. she gets really excited when she sees her swimsuit now!

in addition to all this fun stuff, the girls are also getting into their summer babysitting routine with kindal, who has watched them in previous summers. they love kindal and also get to hang out with their other buddies at the same time, so that's a win win for everyone. this means that mommy is working alot more now, wrapping up wholesale orders and getting ready for three summer shows. the sweatshop is officially in full swing.

as for the photos above-- when the temps really started to climb last week, we went for a few afternoon ice cream treats. as you can see, these two thoroughly enjoyed their mango sorbet.

ominous

we interrupt this baby blog for another weather/flood report. as you can see from the dark skies, the forecast is pretty ominous at the moment. the flood waters seemed to be receeding yesterday but are now on the rise again, with another crest predicted in the next 24hrs. it's incredible to watch the waters continue to rage and every day there is more and more damage along the river. there is substantial damage outside of lander as well, in some of the communities on the Reservation and north to Riverton. we are expected to get more snow and rain this weekend, and while that sounds pretty bad, warm sun might be even worse. yikes. less weather and more baby blogging soon, we hope...

p.s. for those who'd like more up to date info, you can check the Fremont County Flood 2010 facebook page for more pictures and info.

Popo Agie Flood 2010

nature trail-- parts of the sidewalk are gone and the bridges are questionable.

one missing chunk between canyon and main street.

a small river running down one side of fremont street, in front of city park.

fremont street-- dry on one side, wet on the next. the overflow eventually goes down fremont and back into the river.

the water keeps coming here and it doesn't look like it's going to crest for another few days, atleast. there is speculation that it will surpass the highest recorded flood that occured in 1963. here are some pics we took from around town this afternoon-- might not look like much to those who don't know the area, but for here it's ALOT of water. there have definitely been homes flooded at this point and more than are at risk as the waters continue to rise. there is a massive sandbagging effort under way and National Guard and FEMA crews are working around the county as well. not that we want to invite any more disaster at this point, but maybe FEMA will ship Papa Bubba HERE for the next few months to clean it all up!