Party Crashers

Sorry for the lack of posting but things have just been super busy around here lately. Since it appears we are only going to be graced with 2 weeks of summer we have been cramming it in!

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to be able to crash a friend of a friend's little girl's first birthday party in Portland. It was a great opportunity to meet up with out mutual friends who were visiting (and gifted us with all the beautiful shots below) plus let G catch up with Ella who he had not seen since he was about 10 weeks old and she was brand spankin new.

Here is G getting reacquainted with the birthday girl. Maybe he is thinking of the cake to come with that tongue pose?


Then it was pool time! Since we were not officially invited we did not know to bring a suit. Luckily Gunnar was able to improvise with his birthday suit. I saw some pics from after we left and it looks like he and Ella will be getting along just fine as she had taken his lead and was enjoying the water "au natural".

Here he is taking a break from the pool to pet the puppies. Boy that kid is crazy for animals!


Ella's mama is an amazing chef. Check our her blog Pease Porridge PDX and outdid herself with a healthy baby cake. Sweet potato frosting, whole wheat flour... I couldn't catch all the fanciness. G preferred the "real" carrot cake:)


Our friend Erin is due this Fall so we got to oogle her preggo belly. Adorable!


Here is a pic of the whole gang:


The view from papa's shoulders:

There were so many shots of this one and both Nick and G have the goofiest grins. Love it!

Papa and his other baby:


AND saving the best for last. I absolutely love this close up. Yes, that is cake on his face!


Thanks SWIG productions!

Back to basics

Moving to rural Oregon from Brooklyn NY really has been a dream come true for Nick. Sometimes I think it was a dream he had not been fully able to even dream in NYC so it is awesome watching him explore. He is constantly trying to think of ways to decrease our dependence on outside support systems. From gardening to hunting, raising livestock and producing bio-diesel his mind is always going and with him being such a capable person the experiments are amazing. It seems like every week the library calls that another book on sustainable something or other has come in.

His most recent find is a documentary called The Farmer and the Horse. I watched it last night and really enjoyed it. It is a very informative so even for those who think "living off the land" is nuts you should check it out. Your local library probably has it. You can check it out and even purchase a copy here and I really encourage you to.

Enjoy. Some great food for thought!

Daily shenanigans

Nick is really great about taking and texting me cute pics of him and Gunnar during the week while I am at work. Some really cute ones recently:

Gunnar and his kittie:


Playing with Papa's hat:


Chillin in his walker:

Where to start

Sorry for the silence but things have just been super busy here on the farm.

As you will see in the pics Gunnar is officially walking and that has been a blast all its own. He is walking, running, dancing and cutting teeth all at the same time!

Grandma and Grandpa Pruitt were here for 10 days of spoiling us rotten.


Gunnar looooved being the center of attention during every waking moment and did not disappoint with tons of cuteness. My parents brought some hand-me-downs from my brother's house and the Toy Story pop up house and crawl tube were a huge hit!



We hit Wildwood park often:


My mom and I even got a chance to break away one day and shopped up a storm. My co-workers are very excited to finally see me in something different afer three years. I also lucked out with a dishes and a dishwasher. Wow!

Gunnar's girlfriend Chella got a cozy coup firetruck which he loves so I was very excited when I found a cop car on Craigslist for a steal. Still lots of fun time left in it!


The garden is keeping Nick very busy as it fights to fruit in this still cool climate. We have squash, beans, tomato, peppers, corn and tomatillos on the vine and just pray they ripen.

Nick and the neighbor have been enjoying some evening fishing and Nick caught his first steelhead! And in record time. I was putting Gunnar to bed and heard Nick come back in. I thought he must have forgotten something until I heard him sharpening his knife. Sure enough he got a beauty.
To make it even more wonderful, the next night he cooked up an amazing salmon spread with baguette and salad. Delicious and I didn't have to lift a finger. Such a great guy.

Grandma Darnelle will be here in a few weeks and we can hardly wait!