Be My

Valentine. My personal Valentine is in San Fran today (sniff, sniff...) so instead of sending my own valentines out signed with a sweet; I'll give you a glimpse into my heart. Here are a few snapshots of things that made me happy this Valentine's season...

We're back, baby.

Swim lessons are BACK (in preparation for the older Bell belles forthcoming trip to Arizona). Sans the parents. They get to be REAL big girls and go with just Gamma, Papa, and Yaya at the beginning of March. Harper and Molly have to stay behind. Here are Heidi and Pea in all their glory the first day back to swim...

30

This weekend we celebrated my man's 30th birthday in style at the family cabin in Cle Elum. He invited his cousins and wives to celebrate with us. It was stated by THE man to be the best birthday he can remember, which I'm over the moon about because as they say, "The best laid plans..."
We all know that planning and details are not my forte, but in retrospect I'm thankful I put the work in for him because I hope he felt special and loved which he so is.
Some things to remember:
The cake pop and champagne toasts.
Sweet, sincere friends who are also family.
Nine's goldies.
Games and Rasta Mon.
Singalongs.
Shooting.
Drinks.
Dancing.
The happiest boy band ever.
Buck.
Last call.
Too many cooks in the kitchen, except for the REAL cook micromanaging from his throne.
The Finger (the Johnny Cash painting presented to Ty and Joe's maimed hand).
And the birthday boy himself who by all accounts had himself a REAL good time.
We love you, LTG, and you are like a fine wine; you only get better with age...

Party Prep

Psst. Hey, did you know it's Tyler's 30th birthday tomorrow?

Holy Cow. I've been with him since he was 20 and now it's a NEW decade. I'll post pictures of his actual birthday day (February 4th); we'll be going to a family cabin to celebrate! Should be a memorable time; to tide you over until Sunday, here's our girl's birthday party bash they are throwing their daddy tonight...

Austin City Limits

Hey, y'all. We're back, because we finally GOT there. Austin, my heart doth miss thee. I have to say they DO say, "Y'all" in all seriousness there and I wanted to smile every time because it sounds so strange coming out of this Yankee's mouth. They use the word "Yankee" too I discovered. Austin was everything I thought and more. Like Portland with better weather and less political agenda. It's like every city; good parts, bad parts, weird parts all with it's own flavor. I have to say even in the bad parts I never felt scared. One homeless man actually tipped his hat and another got off the sidewalk for me to pass. What the what? That does not happen here. Oh, and everyone and their mom wears cowboy boots. To me, Austin is a hipster oasis/shanty town with the best of intentions and a focus on music. Music is everywhere in this little town. You'll walk the streets in the evening and hear live music in every bar. And walk I did; miles and miles from 6th Street to South Congress and everywhere in between. For that reason most of the pictures you'll see are of the city since I got the majority of time alone to do so. Walking anonymously on city streets is one of my personal joys in this life, so it felt like such a treat. While there, we celebrated Ty's upcoming 30th birthday together and it felt good to have a small space for just the two of us. We went to The Mean Eyed Cat (a favorite of Ty's) where you can write on the walls and the bathrooms say John and June. I wrote something about Jesus. We also saw our good friend, Nate, and he showed us some of the ins and outs of the city, but mostly a really good time.
Here are some of the hot spots we hit; if you'd like a personal review just message me. They were all unique unto themselves; you don't see any chain restaurants there except Church's Chicken...
La Condesa
Maya/Stag/vintage boutiques
Snack Bar
Lamberts
Eastside Show Room (amazing Prohibition style bar)
Mean Eyed Cat
Texas Chili Parlor
And many more food trucks which are AWESOME there, candy shops, and antiques...