Thank you Kristina!

Thank you Kristina!
She gave me this :)

Here are the rules: Those that accept the award have to follow these rules:
1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link the person you received your award from.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links of those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs of the boys/girls you've nominated.

Here are my 7 nominated blogs of 7 friends. All but one scrap (well, he can be coerced into it). All have met me in person (and still like me ;). All have beautiful entertaining blogs that I read religiously.

back

another shot from our photo session yesterday.
the back of sofi's old navy dress.
the straps were is semi-adjustable so i wound it up and tied many loops to get it an acceptable length for sofi - not touching the floor - just grazing the tops of sofi's 3 1/2 year old feet.
a princess dress for princess peach.

whys + whispers

this is the season of whys

why
why
why
why
why

i read in a parenting magazine that asking "why" is a way for your pre-schooler to engage in conversation. a way to be social. a way to make sense of the world.

for a parent it can get VERY old. VERY annoying.
for this parent it can be VERY challenging.
at first I happily explained why this. why that.
it wasn't that often that sofi posed the question.
but now it's posed to almost any declaration.
"I'm going to take a shower." why?
"thank you" - why did you say thank you?
"that was nice of you to share your snack" - why?
"that's an armadillo." - why?

this is the season of whispers
some day some way sofi learned how to whisper. in the library.
it wasn't long ago that her "quiet voice" her "library voice" was the exact same decibel as her normal speaking voice.
now she can speak in hushed tones. sometimes urgent whispers that you can hear clear cross the room. but still a whisper.

to me it makes her seem so grown up. we can now share whispery secrets. whispery whys.

p.s. i guess i should explain the matching dresses.
well today we went back to crossroads water park. the whale fountain was closed down, but there seemed to be a lot MORE water coming out of the rest of the spouts. we met our friends h + H. we sat in the blazing sun while the girls frolicked. they haven't seen each other in weeks! they were so happy to see each other.

anyway, afterwards sofi and i went to the mall - had some beef bulgogi (our favorite mall food) then went to old navy. the plan was to get some new underwear for sofi but apparently they don't sell them in her size. sooooooo......i picked up a few things. a polo for jamie, purple bejeweled necklace for sofi on clearance for just under $4, a green tank for me and these matching yellow floral dresses. sofi had seen the dress and wanted to try it on. she wanted me to try it on too. in the dressing room we were so cute in our matching dresses....so i bought them. so corny. sofi looks darling in it. it not as flattering on me. but it made her happy :) it made me happy. so we had to take some self-portraits of us in our dresses. and those flowers were from the crossroads farmers market. we picked up some raspberries and strawberries as well. and so that was my day. the end.

one busy summer

this summer has been turning out to be one busy summer. the busiest of our summers in wa.
surprise visits (peter, john) + planned visits (ann/ted, lewis/chelle) + spur-of-the-moment outings/playdates

on sunday, after seeing off ann/ted for their road trip to ashland to visit jamie's parents, one of our friends invited us to go hiking in north bend/snoqualmie - it was sofi's first real hike up fairly steep and sometimes rocky terrain - she did so well. by the end she was going it solo - without holding hands. after lunch at mcd's we headed over to the snoqualmie train depot. we couldn't get in to the railway museum but we watched from the other side of the fence as a thomas the train pulled into the station.

and in two weeks time, a twice a week swimming classes will begin for sofi and me - gotta squeeze into a bathing suit - yikes. plus a 4-day soccer boot camp for sofi.

and in about a month we will be taking a trip to LA - visiting old friends and swinging by disneyland. jamie is giving a talk for a video-game conference downtown so the family is tagging along for a short trip. the first time back since we moved! throw in a trip to oakland to visit jamie's parents and friend coming to stay with us in august.

add in the fact that I have been reading more + gardening + checking out books on sewing and origami + crafts other than scrapbooking

with all this "extra" activity scrapping as landed by the way side. i do miss it. but at the same time i am enjoying my time away from the computer. it's so easy to get caught up in all the drama of other people's lives and neglect your own. so i have not been as active on the message boards and leaving praise for layouts and blogs etc as I normally do. i just think i need a mini-break from it all.

and so i'll leave you with a few shots of sofi in the backyard playing with bubbles - enjoying the outdoors. enjoying the summer while it lasts.

why i've been MIA

Jamie's brother Ted and Ted's wife Ann have been visiting us for the past week. Sofi has been bonding big time with Ted. She always liked Ann ;) They were even so kind to let us have a double date night. We saw SATC during a matinee show and later tonight we went to see Iron Man. This meant Sofi would be put to bed by her aunt and uncle. Except for the part where she refused to brush her teeth or go potty, it went well.

I have lots of photos of their visit including a day trip to Bainbridge Island. The ferry ride was so beautiful. Sunny and terribly windy. Sofi loved it. She ran up and the down ship. On the return trip, Ted ran around with her, often hand in hand.

proud wife

Jamie and Bill and their team have been slaving over a little game called Schizoid ("most co-op game ever") for more than a year. And it finally launches tonight (2 AM PST).

And we're having a little launch party at casa de fristrom-pascual. sofi and i might be asleep but jamie and company will be toasting champagne! okay. I'll try to stay awake :)