~Pamela Susan~

Alaska: part I

I felt it was about time to write a blog post with pictures from my 'real' camera instead of my iphone.  And what better pictures to post than from our Alaskan cruise?

That's what I thought. :)

Here's my favorite picture of a humpback whale we spotted!  This was taken in Skagway. I have more pics of this marvelous animal but my computer is being finicky and won't allow me to access anymore pictures right now.  hmmph.

But don't worry, I've got some other great ones!  These were all taken in Ketchikan, which I think just happened to be my favorite stop along the cruise.  Ketchikan is famous for their timber, totem pools and salmon, which we were able to spend a good amount of time exploring. 

This cool sculpture pointed in the direction of the salmon ladders. 

(I think salmon are some of the most amazing creatures on this planet.  Their journey from their birth creek to the ocean and back is truly incredible.)

As I said, I thought this sculpture was pretty cool.  I couldn't resist snapping a close-up.

Can you see the salmon in this picture?  They're waiting to make the trek up the creek.

These guys are fighting their way up.

And here's my hubby and me! :) 

And ooooh the totem poles!  Amazing!

And here's a picture of Aaron and our friends (yes, our friends, Audrey and Ashley joined us on the cruise!  So much fun!) hiking through a rainforest. If you ever end up in Ketchikan yourself, I highly recommend hiking this rainforest by taking the Rainbird trail as it provides spectacular views on the sea and mountains.  I have more pictures but I'll have to wait and access them once my computer decides to be nice to me again.

Yes, this trip was vacation of a lifetime.  Loved every minute of it (besides one of the entertainment shows on the cruise ship--don't even get me started on that one! lol) but other than that little episode we had a wonderful, magical time.

More pics soon!!

 

xo,

Pamela

p.s. since owning my iphone I've found it's easier for me to snap pictures from it and post them directly to facebook page and instagram, so if you want to receive more frequent updates on what's new in my life, feel free check me out there! :)

Anniversary in Alaska

We celebrated 10 wonderful years of marriage last week by hoppin' on an alaskan cruise for a week. One long glorious week! I haven't uploaded my pics from my canon yet so these iPhone ones will have to do for now. :)

More pics soon!

Xo,
Pamelalala

 

 

 

More pics soon!

Xo,
Pamelalala

Happy Fourth of Juuuuly!

Happy 4th of July to all my fellow Americans out there!  What a beautiful day it is here in Portland, Oregon!  It's been a nice and lazy day.  No parades for us, though we did attend a yummy pancake breakfast at Aaron's parents' church this morning. 

And to tell you the truth, I had no intention of picking up my camera today, but then I heard Jane playing in her bedroom and after seeing this, I couldn't resist.

How my baby loves My Little Ponies!  I love capturing moments like this, when the kids are completely unaware of my presence.  These are the most beautiful pictures to me.  Unplanned, unposed and perfect.

Unfortunatley soon after I snapped this shot she noticed me and hid under a blanket.  But that's okay because it was pretty cute, too.  I'd show you a picture of her under the said blanket but my computer has decided to show me some attitude and I can't access it.  Sigh.

These will have to do for now...

But our day has consisted more than just ponies and toys.  Blueberry picking kept the girls busy for quite some time.

And I love how excited the girls were to put up our flag for the big day!

And on days like today, when the sun is toasty and warm, a good old water gun fight seems like the perfect thing to do!

Blueberry, anyone?!

Except Jane didn't want any part of it!

So I had her help me make a Fourth of July bouquet.  I can't remember what these red flowers are called but don't they remind you of fireworkds exploding in the sky??

And I'd say Avery's chalkart just about sums up our feelings about today. :)

Yes, may God bless America!

Happy Fourth!

xo,

Pamela

Making pictures in Black Butte

Summer is here and we are staying busy!  Perhaps you already guessed that though with the lack of posts lately.  It's been so nice having the kids home.  Actually, yesterday was really our first lazy summer day since their last day of school two weeks ago.  The first week Miss A had soccer camp from 9-3 (crazy long, huh?!).  But she loved it.  And then all last week we were at Black Butte, Oregon for Aaron's family reunion.  It was my first time visiting there and we had a grand time! 

I loved reconnecting with his siblings and their families.  What wonderful people they are.  I was even lucky enough to capture some shots of our darling niece for her senior pictures.  What a ray of sunshine she is!

Such a happy soul. 

Actually, you might remember when I blogged about her sister, Kelsi, here and here.  Well, I'm so very happy to report that Kelsi is now cancer free for months!  Such a miracle Kelsi is.  And what an amazing family she has--so fun of strength and gratitude. 

Here's Kelsi with her special, special family.

They are some of the the sweetest, most kind-hearted people I know.  Now only if they'd move from Tennessee to Oregon I'd be a happy little clam.

And here's her big brother, Bryce, who will be leaving in a couple months for a 2 year mission for our church in Argentina!  We are so proud of him.

I tell you, after taking pictures of these wonderful people in such gorgeous country makes me want to start up my own photography business. It was so much fun!  I know I still have a lot to learn about photography but one of these days, I'm going to do it! :)

Hope all of you are well!

xo,

Pamela

 

june 12, 2013:: activity--cutting paper

After discovering the camera in my hands, she wanted nothing to do with me--haha.

And then she changed her mind.

Ahh, it's the simple things in life.

 

xo,

Pamela

keepin' it real

So after posting pics of our new playroom, I received a few emails asking if the girls ever mess the room up.  The answer to that question is a big, fat, resounding...

YES!  Of course!  They're kiddos!  Besides, what fun would a playroom be if you couldn't play in it?! :)

Perhaps I should post more pictures of the messes and real life situations on this blog, because the last thing I want to do is try to paint this picture that my life is perfect, and that my children are always perfect, never throwing any sort of fit or aren't annoying to the point I'm ready to lock them up in their room for the night just to get some quiet time!

(Because those blogs and those type of people seriously make me want to gag myself with a spoon.)

Take Miss J for example.   See this look?  Yeah, she's currently in this stage where I get this look a lot lately.

Little stinker.

But seriously.  I'm real.  I get fed up sometimes.  I lose it sometimes.  And sometimes our house is just downright messy.  And, I'm trying to do better about not apologizing for the messy status of our house when friends come over.  (Anyone else have a problem of doing that?! lol) Afterall, with 3 littles living in this house I want them to do just that--to live, to be creative, to not feel like I'm constantly on them to keep it in tip top shape (though I honestly do love a clean house).  Which reminds me, have any of you seen this mom's brilliant idea of how to help train their kiddos to clean up after themselves?  Brilliant, I tell you!

But I will also let you know that I also don't like to dwell on the negative, I'm naturally a pretty upbeat person (most of the time), and I like pretty things, so I guess that's what you'll mostly see here.

So there you have it.  That was one long answer to your short question if our playroom ever gets dirty. 

 

xo,

Pamela, a mama who likes to keep it real

 

monday night

I love nights like tonight.  Beautiful warm, sunny evening weather.  The park was calling our name, so we went. 

Oh, if you could've smelled the sweet, fragrant iris we found there.  I swear it took me back to my childhood. 

Then little Miss Avery wanted a picture of her mommy and daddy, so she had some fun on her daddy's iphone.  Why not mine?  Because I don't have one.  Don't want one either, except to take pictures on. (Portable internet to constantly distract me? No thanks.  But I'm glad Aaron has one--that gps sure does come in handy.  Go ahead--call me old fashioned.  I don't mind.)  Man, that phone can take a great picture.  It's also fun trying out the different filters on instagram. 

Then Miss Avery showed me a new hiding spot she found--right in the middle of a bush! 

After playing awhile we headed back home, with Jane pedaling as fast as she could to keep up with Avery, and then with Clara, too.

xo,

Pamela

Family

I hope you all had a nice weekend!  We spent our time visiting family in celebration of my handsome little nephew's baptism.  Ain't he a cutie?

And here he is with his pretty mama.

She's as pretty in the inside and she is on the outside.  Visiting their family is always a treat. And it was fun using my 50mm lens on them... I need to plop it on my camera more often.  If you have a DSLR camera and don't have a 50mm yet... get one.  You won't regret it!

Hope you're all well!

 

xo,

Pamela

a playroom for my kidlets {fiiiinally!}

For years I've been wanting a playroom for my girls.. for YEARS!  And now we have one!  If you've been following my blog for a while you're sure to recognize many of the pieces in the pictures below.  (And might I add that I think my minimalist husband is pretty happy that I held onto these said pieces even though he wanted me to get rid of many of them over the years. Mother knows best, right?! hehe) 

Here's the entrance to the room...

(peacock print from Jennifer Lommers, an Oregon artist)

I love the fireplace!  The bunting is from my sister's wedding reception. :)

I wanted a colorful place for the girls to play...

and this vintage quilt is the perfect addition!  I initially bought it to hang on the wall but discovered it fit the back of the couch perfectly.  All I did was tuck the edges of the quilt into the creases of the couch.

Isn't it a gorgeous quilt?  I mean, how long did it take the lady who made it to make it?!  I think it's from the 30's.  I'm so happy I found it.

I'm also happy I found this cute hand-embroidered pillow at Camas Antiques in Camas, WA.  $6!  Score.

Our Strawberry Shortcake house is happy in its new spot!

And so are the dolls.  And the kitchen we've had for 6 years!

Yep, we still have the felted cookies!  Going on 4 years. Not too shabby, eh?  :)

These bookshelves were already here when we bought the house.  LOVE.

Our books needed these shelves!

So did the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. :)  (Yes, she is a puppet and stores all the little animals in her tummy.  I found her in Ashland, Oregon about 6 years so.  The girls love her!)

These 'life cycle' creatures were purchased at Michael's.  I'm really happy with their quality.

See the ABC paintings?  My mom made them for me when I was a baby.  Awwww.

A great little toy/game shelf...

You know how we love acorns and squirrels, right?  When I spotted this little oak tree growing in our backyard I dug it up and planted it for our room.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing our little playroom!  Many giggles and smiles are born in this happy room. 

Thanks for taking a look!

xo,

Pamela

 

Where I've been for the past week...

in my backyard!  It's my little piece of of heaven, I tell you. I've got most of the garden planted and I've been pulling weeds like a madwoman.  And much to my pleasant surprise my little eyes spied something exciting back there 2 days ago...

baby grapes! 

Annnnnnd...

baby blueberries!

I love being able to capture them at all the different stages, from the blossoms to the green berries. 

I would've even had a red, ripe strawberry to enjoy by now if it wasn't for the darn slugs.  But believe you me, I've got enough slug killer out there now to kill an army of 'em!  Slimy little suckers.

Now, if only I can muster up some energy to spend some time in my house working on some projects!  I'm very excited about some new fabric I recently got from Hawthorne Threads.  Our new grey couches are just waiting for me to sew up their new pillows...

maybe tomorrow??

Maybe.  We'll see.

 

xo,

Pamela, a gal who is still madly in love with her new house and garden

 

p.s. sorry I didn't get on here to wish all you mamas out there a Happy Mother's Day.  To be completely honest, I was in a bit of a funk on Sunday, but am feeling better now.  But I hope you had a great day celebrating with the ones you love.