Anna was supposed to ride in her first-ever Pattern Racing event on Saturday, but as we were packing our lunches for a loooong day at the arena, we found out that it had been canceled. She took it amazingly well, despite having been giddy with excitement and anticipation for weeks ahead of time. We decided to go out for a trail-ride anyway, and it was a beautiful morning. Once home, I'd planned on sewing but she suggested a bike ride instead. It was far too beautiful a day to be inside sewing. We rode our bikes down to Manito Park, which is truly one of the loveliest parks I've ever been to. In fact, it was designed by the same design firm that did Central Park. And it's 8 blocks from our house. Anna took me straight to the special "friendship tree", so named by her and her friend Saskia. It is the ideal secret tree, with branches that come down to the ground, creating the perfect hiding spot for two girls to hang from its branches and spy on people.
Then we rode into Duncan Gardens, which is absolutely stunning this time of year. There were many photo-shoots going on, Senior portraits and brides in their gowns.
On a mission to rescue lady-bugs from the fountain:
I love the tulip metal-work on the rail along the marble steps leading down into the gardens.
I can't stop looking at this one:
Of course I didn't have the "real" camera; all these photos were taken with my iPhone, using the Hipstamatic app, which is, quite possibly, the coolest thing ever. It would take me hours upon hours of frustration and swearing in some editing software to get anywhere close to this. But with Hipstamatic you just chose which "film" and frame you want, and viola! Artsy genius.
If you know me at all, you know that I have a wee bit of an obsession with plural marriage. I have read pretty much every book on the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints) that I can get my hands on: Under the Banner of Heaven, Shattered Dreams, His Favorite Wife, Daughter of the Saints, The Lonely Polygamist (which is fiction, but it's by one of my very favorite authors). And you can count on me reading pretty much every other book on the topic that comes out. I just find it fascinating.
While I believe the religious beliefs behind plural marriage to be completely NUTS, I say if they are consenting adults and if it works for them, have at it. I mean, who wouldn't want an extra wife or two around the house to help with the childcare, the cooking, and the cleaning? In fact my friend Sarah and I call each other "sister wife" because she thinks my husband is just the cat's pajamas and she says she has a strong back (which is great because SHE gets to be the one to play horsie with Anna for the next 9 years) and she loves to garden. She might even be willing to can some peaches and bake the occasional pie. It should be noted that Sarah is a lesbian, so I wouldn't have to worry about the actual "sharing" of my husband. I know!! It sounds perfect, doesn't it?? Unfortunately Davie won't cooperate. He says he can't even keep one one wife happy, why the HELL would he want two??
Anyway, there is a new show coming out this fall called "Sister Wife." I generally loathe reality shows and have managed to never get sucked in to one, but nothing and I mean nothing is going to keep me from being plastered in front of this show every damn week.
The fact that the, uh, "man" of the house has shaggy highlighted blond hair, drives a two-seater sports car and is obviously nursing some sort of "rock-god-wanna-be" fantasy? Just makes it that much more attractive.
In fact I think I'll invite Sarah over to watch it. We'll eat popcorn (what is it with Mormons and popcorn?) and drink Coke. Or is it Pepsi that the LDS church bought and is now considered allowable when all other forms of caffeine are not?
Look at my beautiful girl. Please note the fact that her hair is clean and brushed (she even let me straighten it a little, to smooth it out) and SHE IS NOT WEARING BLACK.
Third grade will go down in history as the year my child wore the exact same outfit, every day: skinny black jeans, black hoody sweatshirt and black converse sneakers. She still wears black skinny jeans almost exclusively, so when I came home yesterday and saw her riding her bike in the driveway wearing these PURPLE jeans, I literally almost drove into the fence. Her friend Saskia had brought over some pants that don't fit her anymore; when I saw these I thought "Yeah, right." In fact I had basically put them in our "take to the thrift-store" pile. But behold:
She was so excited this morning after she got dressed that she just had to go show Davie, and she couldn't stop hopping, grinning from ear to ear. Is there anything better than finally getting to put on your new school clothes?? I'm a stickler, like my mom was, for not allowing her to wear school clothes until school starts for precisely this reason.
Someone, though, is not happy about the idea of her person going off to school for the day. Perhaps if she parks herself by the backpack and lunch box by the door, she'll get to go.
(have your volume up for full "peeling out on hardwood floor effect.")
Not my dog; found via Youtube. I am SO going to try this on my dogs when I get home, though.
*Actually, my mom doesn't even like the word "fart". Growing up, that was the "f" word in our house and if she heard you say it, you were guaranteed being swatted with whatever she had in her hand at the time.
Happy long weekend! We're going to Seattle to eat, drink and be merry!
I am a bleeding-heart liberal, smart-ass, book-loving craft geek. Married to the love of my life, mother of 1 smart, smart-alec 10 year old. I ran my first marathon at 44 and can't wait to run another.
