InstaFriday

A glimpse into my life through good ol' phone pics.
Happy Friday, lovely friends!

 No, not four. That's a one and a three for thirteen miles, baby!

 Grandma's new parrot, "Oni". We are all pretty smitten. And now I want to watch Rio again. 

 Hanging out down at the river again. Great way to end our day - we've been going all week long.

 Kendall baked, I ate. I like this arrangement!

 Documenting the day I got on the treadmill in the morning instead of late at night. Miracles do happen!

And if this doesn't spell out cute, I don't know what does. A boy, his dog, and his tractor. 

Oh and his shaved head.
Coop's sporting the same look too.
Unfortunately so is their father (as seen in above river photo).

I don't want to talk about it.

Thirteen Miles

{Panoramic scenes from the Mt. Hood wilderness }

So Saturday was the big hike, and I couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day, or better company. 

{Mum & I}

{Kate & Therese - another mother/daughter hiking pair and dear friends}

{Walking behind Tunnel Falls}

Now here's what I have to say about hiking 13 miles: It ain't easy. Not when the most you've ever hiked is 8 miles and that was 5 years and close to 30 pounds ago.

But I did it, and I pushed through the final 2 miles when my feet were killing me and my legs felt like jelly, and I was very proud of myself. (And then I hobbled around for the next 2 days and worried if my feet would ever recover, but today I'm feeling okay!)

Most importantly though, I got to spend the whole day with Mum, and see a small part of the beautiful scenery she is hiking through. I can't even describe how beautiful it was.

I could describe how yummy my fish and chips at the Char Burger restaurant in Cascade Locks was afterwards - I was famished!

Nothing to end a day of calorie burning like deep fried goodness on a plate :)

Eleven

trying out her new mountain bike

Kendall is eleven today! We are having a family BBQ/birthday party this coming weekend but today we surprised her with a new bike, fixed her choice of dinner (lassagna & garlic bread), and went swimming down at the river with one of her best friends along to sleepover afterwards.

Summer birthdays are so easy.

In honor of becoming a tweener, I decided to interview Kendall, with the hopes that her future self will find her eleven-year-old self just as cute and silly and sweet as we do now.

Me: happy birthday, sista! How do you feel now that you are no longer just a regular ol' ten year old?
Kendall: I feel like I should act older and maybe... mature.
Me: how so?
Kendall: not play with barbies...
Me: barbies are for all ages!
Kendall (smiles in relief): I know!
(phew, that was a close one)

Me: what do you look forward to this next year?
Kendall: school, 5th & 6th grade kids camp (bible camp she just went to last weekend and loved so much she's already excited for next year), Breakthrough (youth group conference), older kid activities.

Me: what are your current favorite things to do?
Kendall: dress up, play barbies, swim, play on the Wii, watch movies, and read.
Me: favorite movie?
Kendall: Tangled
Me: favorite food?
Kendall: pasta & chinese food.
Me: just like your mama :) Are you a dessert lover like me too?
Kendall: yes, except not when it's too sugary.
Me: I see I have work to do.

Me: what do you like best about yourself?
Kendall: my hair and how short I am.
Me: I mean your personality.
Kendall: You could have said that! I like that I'm friendly and it's easy for me to make friends. I'm a people person.
(This is the truth! Girl never meets a stranger.)

Me: anything you think you should work on?
Kendall: not lying, because sometimes I lie. Loving, because sometimes it's hard to love.
Me: Amen.

Me: describe your relationship with the Lord.
Kendall: God talks to me and I'll talk to Him. He tells me He loves me a lot and I tell Him I love Him too. I'm working on building up my faith, because it's easy to say you can do the impossible but it's not easy to actually believe you can. If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed you can move mountains and I'm about a half mustard seed. (she is referring to Matthew 17:20)
Me: how old are you again?!

Me: what do you think you'll be doing in 10 years? Tell us your hopes and dreams, girlfriend!
Kendall: I want to have a job at a cafe or a restaurant.
Me: please tell me there's more.
Kendall: I want to still be playing the piano. I want to live on my own, visit my family in New Zealand, and... that's all.
Me: we need to work on some college goals.

Me: now this is important... who's your favorite parent?
Kendall: I have to pick?!! Buries head in pillow.
Me: say no more, it's perfectly clear that it's me.
Kendall: giggles

Happy birthday, Kendall

I love you.

InstaFriday

Catching up on a couple weeks of cell phone pics... and simultaneously cheering on Team USA in Olympic coverage (Yeah, Gabby!!!), packing for our camping/hiking overnighter tomorrow (well today, I'm writing this late Thursday night), and attempting to finish a riveting book before I leave.

I'm all about having my cake and eating it too, you see.

Getting our dance groove on.

 Coffee peanut  hot fudge amazingness in a waffle bowl!

Only the best of friends bring you your current favorite treat as a welcome surprise when vacationing together.

Four-year-olds in Carhartts? Adorable.

40 miles in one month. I DID IT!!! 

(Super excited to take on the real deal 42 mile August challenge because on Saturday I hike 13 miles with my mother. The rest of the month is going to be a walk in the park after that! (Not literally though, as weight loss IS the goal here...)

And to keep me humble... here is my happy reunion with Mum (PCT hiker extraordinaire) who hiked 40 miles in ONE SINGLE DAY to make it to Lolo pass up Mt. Hood to meet us.

Her July mileage?

OVER 400 MILES.

Kendall getting her brave on to play and sing the song she wrote while dining at Calamity Jane's in Sandy, the cutest old Western saloon you ever did see.

Brothers playing legos. Legos that used to belong to my siblings and I when we were kids. That we played with in exactly the same way.

Ahhh nostalgia... 

But enough of that! I can't finish packing without finishing this darned book!

Have a great weekend everyone!

A hikers update

Look who we got to pick up off the hiking trail Tuesday afternoon!

Mum has now hiked over 900 miles (North from Northern California) and has less than 600 to go (to Canada). Since she had reached the point of the Pacific Crest Trail that is closest to home we met her and brought her home to stay for a couple of nights before she hits the trail again until September. 

Oh how good it was to see her! It was a wonderful reunion, capped off by dinner at Calamity Jane's in Sandy on the way home. Once there Mum showered and cleaned up and weighed herself - down 15 lbs so far!

Hiking 25-30 miles per day for a couple of months will do that to ya. 

Mum has been having a MARVELOUS time. She is making amazing time, meeting all sorts of interesting and kind people on the trail, and most importantly, fulfilling her life dream. It was so fun to hear her stories, see her pictures, and touch and hug her repeatedly. 

When she goes back up to the trail the kids and I are actually going to accompany her and her friend Kim (her amazing one-man support crew that follows her in her camp trailer to resupply her pack every few days) to camp overnight and do a day hike with. Excited about that!

Gorgeous Mt. Hood - where we picked up Mum

Besides the company, the views are going to be amazing!