Green Eggs & Ham

Emphasis on the Ham.
Last night was Joe and Taryn's BBQ/Fire Pit Food and Drink Extravaganza. That's not the real name, but that's the best way to describe their annual summer event. Lucky for us: it's three doors down the street! Joe (and Taryn) are amazing cooks and really, it's some of the best food you'll have all year. Alongside his famous margarita purees (which included pear, jalapeno, strawberry, rhubarb, & pineapple!) were some tip-top guac and salsa mixtures, yummy meats, and this TO DIE FOR dill/ranch sauce. I might have committed a crime for that sauce. Lock me up (as long as you leave the sauce in my cell).
This year Joe had a new weapon in his arsenal (I'll be using these war idioms from time to time as Joe was literally wearing a shirt that said G.I. Joe and army shorts last night): The Green Egg. A smoker, a friend, and great way to cook Lombardo delicacies. Why this man does not open a restaurant is beyond my comprehension. Another secret weapon? A comrade in arms and sous-chef: our pal Marc who helped him craft these treats since noon that day! Oh, did I mention the s'mores with Reese's peanut butter cups? As Taryn said, they were "the bomb." (another war reference, nice!) So here's to you Joe and Taryn: We heart you and Happy Anniversary!
The Hosts:


The Egg:

The Goods:


The Good Times:

Dance Nation

I picture her saying "Yeah, you like that? There's more where that came from..."

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday and I'm kicking my heels up in these frivolous pink shoes: Happy Birthday to me:)

Milestones

This week in August is always a busy one so here it goes:
Happy 35th Anniversary to my parents today! 35 years, amazing, so proud of you!
Happy Birthday today to my father-in-law, Steve! We love you!
Happy Birthday to me, Wednesday!
Happy Birthday to our favorite YaYa on Thursday! (Here is all three of us at our flower themed birthday party...)

Happy Birthday Taryn, tomorrow! (Here's us at our joint birthday dinner!)


We love you all, how awesome we all get to celebrate these August milestones together. We are just plain lucky.

Solid

Today marks Harper's first steps into the world of solid foods...

We tried rice cereal: it was NOT a hit.

Next up? Peas. Speaking of Peas, here is Pearson's first attempt at solid food. Starting to think they look alike...

Fat Kid Moves

Definition: Anything you would be caught inappropriately doing with food by your mom in 5th grade...
Example: tipping the bag of chips up to create a tunnel for full-chip exposure, cutting your lip on on a personalized ice-cream cup topper, licking your finger to create a magnet for salt left behind after a superb bag of Rold Golds, and finally the holy grail (which I discovered accidentally):
Fun Dip with Crystal Light. It's sad, really sad. But yes, it's good and addicting, and I really hope my trainer from Crossfit is reading this right now. He tried to get me to substitute my adored oatmeal for mashed sweet potatoes in the morning. (Insert four letter expletive here) that! It's not happening, I like oatmeal. But I digress, thought all you in blogger land would like to know that when I post about walking into a full-on Crystal Light intervention and I'm forced into rehab, you'll know that it was actually Crystal Light and not the famed fake name of Cocaine.
Yours in Food Inc.,

Zoo (lander)

In the Northwest it is ALWAYS raining...in August...whatev. We went to the Pt. Defiance Zoo ANYWAY despite it being the land of rain 24-7! We had a great time with Grandma Polly. Pea LOVED the elephants and tigers, of course, and BONUS said tigress had cubs so Pearson was ecstatic! She HATED the goats and sharks and had one scandalous meltdown while viewing an owl who woke up while she was watching him. I am predicting some Harry Potter-esq nightmares tonight as a result. Babe H LOVED the aquarium and just stared at the sharks, but sadly she did not make it out of her car seat for much else...oh well! Soon enough:)








This might have been her favorite part besides the tigers...
And while I'm feeling nostalgic (my miss Pea is going to preschool in three weeks: tear, sniff...), here's Pea at this zoo exactly two years ago, my how time flies:

Barbie & Skipper

In this scenario Pearson is Barbie and Harper is her tag-along kid sister Skipper. Being the resourceful gal she is, Pea found a way to play "Barbies" with a baby who can't even sit up yet. I had to take a picture because it was truly genius (notice Tiana's legs shoved into the bottom of babe H's pants; love you girls...)

Day at the Beach

Today we had a family outing. Actually we went to Ty's parent's place on the beach where we spent the day just the four of us! We went swimming in the pool where upon Pearson showed us all her new tricks from swim lessons and then walked down to the beach to watch wind surfers and collect sea shells. Love being our family of four and having sunny days to share!

School of Rock

Bathing Beauty

T & C files: August

Hello World (I always want to say, "Do you believe in Love?" right after that opening, thank you Madonna). Today marks Miss Harper's first four months! Time is flying so I thought I'd write down some stats so as to remember her at this exact age! She weighs exactly 12 pounds and is 24 inches long. She is getting her first teeth and can roll over from front to back. She hates shots and loves her mama! (this is a bonus since we already have one true blue daddy's girl...) Her eyes are still grey blue and she is very sweet. Her feet are constantly sweaty, her head is FLAT as a board, and she takes hardly any naps during the day. This is A-OK because she sleeps 12 hours at night. Right now she and Pea are on the same schedule which for me is actually nice. Babe H is mellow and sensitive and laughed for the first time yesterday.
While we're talking shop, Pea is living the life of a typical three year old: singing, playing with Barbies, going to the park, self-sufficient, and hanging out with other similar-minded toddlers. She MUST at all times do everything by herself and this mostly works out well except for wiping after going to the potty. Pea does everything possible to not go to bed and is most times fairly successful at preventing bedtime from happening on time. She LOVES asking what I was talking about immediately after I'm off the phone and has taken a liking to dressing up Babe H (which H hates BTW). Preschool starts up in exactly three weeks and I can NOT believe that from that point forward my firstborn will be in school every year!
Crossfit update: Still sore, still going, seeing how it could be addicting. Still NOT loving it.
Tyler and I went to Portland two weeks ago for a wedding, then this past weekend we had friends in town and also went to a CO-ED baby shower for our good friends. These next two weeks we are busy B's with my birthday, my FIL's bday, parent's anniversary, pool parties, and J & T's BBQ/fire pit extravaganza. Should be a fun couple of weeks!
Yours in LaLa Land,

Showered With LOVE

Last night we went to Kat and Tay's adult CO-ED baby shower and let me tell you: it was a darn good time. Honestly, that's the way these things should run from now on. Men at a baby shower equals hours of endless entertainment. First off, they have no idea what anything is used for. And by no idea, I mean no idea. They shift uncomfortably in their seats the moment "ooohs, and ahhs" are uttered, and generally try to make jokes the entire time to offset their terror at having to be involved in any way shape or form. I cannot tell you how awesome it was to see our friend Tay opening all the gifts realizing moment by moment that life as he knows it is about to change. Being on the other side of having babies, Ty and I felt like old pros. And when asked for advice, Ty's short answer was and I quote, "Just pretend like you're asleep." Nice. (p.s. Ty, I'm on to that trick. Get a new one.)
That being said, our good friend Naomi was in town and we got to see many of our college friends which was pure joy. We love you Kat and Tay and we can NOT wait to meet your new addition! (I, for one, am chomping at the bit to know the sex...6 weeks!)





Have you seen a cuter prenant lady lately?