the bartons were in the house.

There's nothing I love more than when I get a text from my gal pal Jamie Barton (aka Swens, Swenny, Jammed Swans, Linka, Linka Lou) saying...

'Hey beyotch, we are coming to Seattle in two weeks.  You better get work off.  And you better plan something fun for us to do while we are there.  And it better involve beer.'

The two of us are the worlds worst planners.  We are the worlds worst 'keeper in touchers'.  We are the worlds worst phone talkers, texters, and emailers.

But we are the worlds bestest of friends.

Every single time we see eachother...it's like we never lost a day.

We just pick up right where we left off.

And 25 years later...

It's still my most favorite thing about us.

Let the fun begin.

the aquarium.

A little lunch, a little sealife, a little ferris wheel.
A lotta fun.

backyard bbq.

A little food, a little birthday, a little cake.

A lotta brewskis.

one week.

{Disclaimer:  THE SONG IN THE VIDEO HAS NAUGHTY WORDS}

Eight days.  Seven nights.  Ten kids.  Twelve adults.  One baby.  Three dogs.

Five scraped knees.  Two near drownings.  One burnt arm.

Four best friends.  Six best cousins.  Three great husbands.  Four amazing grandparents. 
 Nine kids I like as much as my own.

Or maybe even more.

Loads of laundry.  Tons of dishes.  Daily sweeping.

Six cases of beer.  Twenty-five bottles of wine.  Five bottles of booze.  One pass out in a top bunk.

Twelve miles hiked.  Fifty-two times trekking up the big hill.  Fifteen miles biked.  Five miles rowed.  Twenty miles ran.  Two miles swam...by the dogs.
Three with colds.  Two with stomach aches.  One with croup.
Up early.  To bed late.  And naps in between.

Drinks at 11am.  Drinks at 3pm.  Drinks at 7pm.

And drinks in between.
One birthday.  Thirty five candles.
Lots of cards.  Lots of puzzles.  Lots of movies.  Lots of scavenger hunts.
Three fishing poles.  Three minutes spent fishing.

No schedule.  No cell phones.  No work.

Thirteen thousand tears dried.  One hundred thousand smiles caught on camera.  And an infinite number of laughs.

On a scale from one to ten...

this week was easily a thirty-two.

  

wake-up.

She is always my most favorite part of the morning.

Even at 5:43a.m.

Geeze, think how much I would like her at 8a.m.

those damn bikers.

Every year, from the end of June until the middle of July I become a widow to the tour.

Next year I think I will just send them all to France for the three-ish weeks of the race.

I'm sending Frank too.

i heart sun.

Nothing beats a sunny day in the Pac-Northwest.

Nothing.

Especially when you get to spend the day with these yahoos.