New post...

...about our awesome weekend coming later this afternoon!

I'm on my way to drop the boys off to go bowling while I go for my three-week checkup on the ankle!

See ya later! =)

We're having a BERRY good time!

Ryan arrived safely at Seatac Airport yesterday. Brian and I got to go in and meet him at the gate. As we stood there, we thought, "We should have made a big sign to hold up like we were limo drivers. You know, "MR. LEPORE." Oh well. Hindsight...

Tacos for dinner and then a quick bike ride over to the park to run around before coming back to watch "Wipeout." Honestly, does anyone else love that show like we do??? (I know Kevin does!) So, I have no good photos of the boys...they really haven't stood still long enough and all the ones from the park are a big blur! Lots of time left though.

Anyway, we're heading to the Outlet just down the hill for some shopping today. Danny brought the trailer home to get it all gussied up for our camping trip this weekend to Bow Lake. Should be an absolute blast!

Oh...the berries. Yeah, I picked those this morning in the backyard. How lucky are we??? =)

Have a great day!

Ryan arrives today!

You cannot imagine the excitement around here today! Brian's oldest friend is coming up from California today for 8 days! Ryan and Brian met at preschool when they were little men of barely 3 years old and they've remained close through the years. We lived around the block from Ryan's family and the boys spent many a weekend going back and forth between the houses playing and hanging out.

This was after the St. Cornelius Fiesta, circa 2003.

Brian and Ryan shared some really good times over the years and we're so lucky he gets to come visit! I'll be posting lots of photos this week so Ryan's family can see what he's up to! (Hi Mark, Diane, Alyssa and Dan-the-Man!)

Have a great day...we know we will!

The Liebel's get CRABBY!

Say hello to Bri's little friend! Our friends Ken and Danette invited us to come hang out on the 5th at their Camano Island beach house. How lucky are we? Especially since they'd dropped some crab pots out in the Sound and the yield was good! And tasty. =) I think these dudes were from the first pot. I guess you lay them on their backs so they can't scurry off the patio area back into the water. Oh, and you rub their tummies to make them go to sleep! But...nasty claws...just ask Dan and his sore finger. We heard his manly exclamation of pain in the boat...and we were at the house probably 100 yards away. Anyhoo... No matter how testy the claw action, they ended up in some hot water! Boiling Sound water, to be exact! Then dunked in cold water, cleaned and popped into the fridge. Butter? Pish. Cocktail sauce? Unnecessary. Picked straight out of the shell is the way to go. Yummy!!! Of course, not everyone likes crab and that's what hot dogs and brats are for! What could be better than cooking your own doggie over a nice hot fire pit? Speaking of doggies... Abby came with us and met strapping hottie Jake. It was a veritable sniff-fest. But the queen of the pups is Danette's baby girl...Maisie! She was wayyy more interested in dragging sticks out of the water than sniffing. A true water pup! Just look at that precious face... This was our view across the Sound. Strangely enough, we live about 8 miles back from the center of this shot! This about sums up how we felt this morning! We got home around midnight last night and woke up with crab hangovers around 7:00'ish to watch the Men's Wimbledon final. Yay Rafa Nadal! Ken and Danette, thank you so much for a wonderful day at your charming Beach House! We had a blast and add it to the list of fun times we've had with your family!

Guess what we did last night...???

Okay. Living where we do in Washington on the 4th of July definitely has its advantages! We are literally 5 minutes from what must be THE place to obtain fireworks in the greater Seattle area, judging from the 10 minute backup just to get off the freeway to get to Boom City. Danny and the kids came home with this little bundle of artillery. It's good to know someone with a fireworks stand. :)

We went to our next door neighbors BBQ yesterday (Thanks Tom and Tammy!) Had killer burgies and dogs, salads, fruit, desserts and of course, libations! Then, since it really doesn't get dark until at least 10:00, we had to find ways to occupy the kids (men included!) until it was dark. There was volleyball, skateboarding, chatting, and lots of smoke bombs, snakes, and M-80's. Yes, Tom even dragged out an extra sofa (that converted into a lounge) for maximum firework-viewing pleasure. Too cool. This was Brian, impressing Heath with his double-ended creation.

While waiting for darkness, I couldn't help but take in the sky. Incredibly blue...it looked like a painted backdrop. This may be my new header photo for the blog!

Darkness finally came and the fireworks definitely did not disappoint! We transplants from SoCal are used to very low key displays on the 4th. Certainly nothing shot up in the air. Dare I say, after experiencing lasts night's display in our little cul-de-sac...we had grown accustomed to underwhelming displays. I tried to get photos, but in the end, I decided to put the camera down and Oooh and Ahhhh and take it all in. But dude, these were OUR fireworks!!! This photo doesn't even begin to capture it...

I looked over at one point and captured this. That is our house, looking to the north. The neighbors over there were also putting on a pretty good display and while I'm just a tad inept with the night settings on the camera, this just might be our favorite shot of the night!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone!

Unsure of a proper title for this one...

Okay. I'll begin with cute. Is this not the most adorable thing you've ever seen???? After almost two weeks of hot, sunny, beautiful weather, today we have rain! Actually, it started last night. We were sitting out on the back deck before dinner with one of our best friends who is visiting from California, Shawn Flathers. All of the sudden, the thunder rolled, the skies lit up with lightning and down came the rain! It rained all night long, and boy, did we need it! This morning, we said goodbye to Shawn and his three girls for a few days (they are heading over to Sequim to celebrate his parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary...Congratulations Charlie and Marcia!) After they left, Danny decided the mower needed a detail job. A man and his riding mower...now that's a match made in heaven!

I had other chores that needed attending... For those of you that aren't familiar with the Pacific Northwest, let me introduce you to possibly the most plentiful pest up here...the lowly slug. These guys pictured above are actually pretty small. When we first got up here last July, we came across enormous slugs that, from a distance, we thought were snakes! I am so not joking. We measured one to be 10 inches long when all stretched out on the move and when you poke it with a stick, they shrink up to what strongly resembles.....I'm trying to be delicate, yet accurate here.....ummmm, a giant dog turd. Is that delicate enough for ya? Sorry, but it is true! They are nasty, icky, and slimy. (For the record, I'm referring to the slugs.) Now for my disturbing confession: I walk around the entire perimeter of the lawn and flower beds with my bucket and a pair of tongs, plucking up every slug I come across and I put them in the bucket. Then, I sprinkle a healthy dose of salt on them and skip happily away with the knowledge that my flowers are safe for another day! Before it warmed up, it was not uncommon to end up with over 100 slugs in my bucket every day! Their numbers have dwindled, but with last nights rain, they came out again...and I was ready for them! My neighbor caught me one morning with my tongs and bucket and I apologized for being a weird neighbor...until he showed me his own slug bucket. I immediately felt better. Its a PNW thing...

This, I can't really explain. Well, yes I can. The oven alarm went off while I was icing my ankle and I hadn't read that I was supposed to release the cake from the pan immediately. So, I think I may have manhandled and bruised the angel food cake while extracting it from the cold pan. Lesson learned. It did taste mighty good with the strawberries and Cool Whhhhip!

And finally, since I've covered some not-so-pretty topics here today, I leave you with beauty! Hayley's high school had a blowout sale at their greenhouse a few weeks ago. I got a bunch of little fuschia plants that I hoped would take. And they did!

Have a lovely day!

The Flathers are coming!!!

Hi all! Sorry for the lack of posts. To be honest, it has been much too pretty (and hot) to sit inside! That and....our friend Shawn (aka Shawnie Boy!...aka S-Boy) is arriving with his three lovely daughters today. They'll be here for a few days before heading to visit Shawn's parents. I'll post more tomorrow! Meanwhile, check out my new favorite plant...the Bleeding Heart. Have you ever seen such cool blossoms? I think not! Oh, the ankle is mending nicely. When I'm just too lazy to strap the Herman Munster boot on, I can even walk without the boot. But don't worry...I don't want to risk the progress, so I do still wear the %*&#@ boot. Just sayin'... Have a great day!

Goodbye...Hello!

First off, we said goodbye yesterday to our houseguest, Kevin Sagers. I told Laura I liked him so much because: He is just so sweet, handsome, loves Uncle Danny’s cooking, puts his dishes in the sink, loves his girlfriend and sends her awesome flowers, was valedictorian in a class of OVER 900 students, giggles like a little kid when he watches “Wipeout”, has a 40” vertical approach jump and a nasty-*ss kill shot, and adores Hayley because she reminds him of his own little sister. THAT is why I love our new friend. And then he went and wrote the sweetest and most eloquent little note in the guestbook up in the Liebel B&B. Big sigh. Hi Kevin! Have a great week off at home! We'll miss you and really do hope you'll come back next year! Moving on...this is Molly. She is our kitty. At the moment, she is a little miffed at me (explanation to follow) and will not look at the camera. Fine. I think this is kind of pretty anyway! She's looking out Dan's office window and for the record, that hydrangea...yeah. It looks fake. I found it in the Safeway floral dept. back in March. It came in the prettiest pink ceramic pot. With the most gorgeous puffs of burgundy and green. It hasn't lost a single petal, but better yet, it has a bunch of new growth on the stems. I guess I need to move it to a bigger pot, but I just love it on my little table on the front porch! Molly loves it, too! Okay...enough. Now I just sound like a crazy cat lady. Here is our Abby. She is tired (explanation to follow.) When I look at this photo, all I can think of is this little mole that we found in the back forest. Dead. His little flipper diggers looked like Abby's arms. Yes, I called them arms. Dan and I don't agree on this term. He says they are legs. Potayto...potahto. So, why are my furry babies so tired (and in Molly's case, irritable?) Because....HELLO SUMMER!!! Our pup needs a bath, so I decided to give her a good brushing first. She tends to get juuuust a wee bit excited when she gets brushed. Hence, the need to lie down and rest. Little did I know I'd end up with piles of undercoat. And Molly escaped my clutches before I could finish, so I know there is more fuzz to be dealt with. All in good time, kitty! As promised...here is a photo of the Day 7 bruising. I know, ugliness. The good doctor was right! However, I am ecstatic to report that I'm able to walk in the boot (fondly referred to as "Herman Munster") without the crutches! You cannot imagine my glee to be able to carry things while getting from Point A to Point B. Hey people, little victories! Finally, our very best wishes to Jenny and Jeremy! Our niece is getting married tomorrow down in California! While we can't be there in person to share your special day, know that we'll be thinking of you and we'll have a Washington toast to your happiness. Much love to you both!

We love volleyball...and breakfast!

First of all, thanks to everyone for coming over last night ~ Kryger, Rooney, Adam, Kevin, Sam, Kerry and Alexa! What a fun evening! This was the scene on the lawn last night. After an awesome dinner of carne asade tacos, beans and rice (cooked by our own Top Chef Dano!) the coaches and players adjourned to the front lawn for a friendly game of three-on-three. We won't get into scores here, ahem, but let's just say the girls were awed by the jumping ability of the visiting coaches, Adam and Kevin. The boys have some serious hops! (Click on the photo to read my silly captions...) I will no doubt get grief for posting this shot, but that is our girl, serving up a jumping floater. Or is it a floating jumper? She and Kevin worked on that during lunch yesterday. After chowing down on sandwiches, of course. Here is Adam, doing his thang. These boys perform some rather nasty kills. Our girls weren't quite sure what to do with those bullets! And no, that is not an optical illusion...he really does jump that high! Abby had her own ideas about what kind of ball was going to be played! And finally, there seems to be some sort of contest to see which visiting coach is served the best breakfast. Behold, Dano's Wednesday offering for Kevin. (Yes, those are Red Vines. No, they are not for breakfast!) And yes, the plates were completely empty after Kevin was done! I don't have Day 6 photos of the ankle. Frankly, I'm too lazy to undo the six velcro straps, plus the inner bootie velcro. I'll share colorful Day 7 photos tomorrow! I can say that it is feeling much better and the boot is a huge help, even if it does feel like I have a sack of cement strapped to my foot! Have a great day!

What's Goin' On...

First of all, a big welcome to our houseguest. This is Kevin. He's the sweetest guy from BYU, here for the volleyball camp at Hayley's high school. Kevin plays volleyball for BYU (he's a 6'3" outside hitter) but more important, he's super smart and seriously the nicest guy! And he likes Dan's cooking! Tonight, we're having both visiting coaches, the high school coaches, and a few of Hayley's volleyball buddies over for carne asada with all the fixin's. And those evil apple dumplings, too! Meanwhile, while this is NOT my x-ray, I drew a black line in to show my fracture. It is kind of uncommon, called a Tibial Plafond fracture. I'm in a very unfashionable black boot that weighs a ton, but I chose that over a cast, based solely on being able to take a bath or shower without waterproofing my entire leg! The doctor says I'm in it for 4 to 6 weeks, but I should feel much better, even being able to stand slightly on it in only two weeks. Woohoo! The doctor also warned me that my ankle will soon turn a much more vibrant color than it is now. This side is swollen still because he thinks the ligaments and tendons are not at all happy. So, here is Day 5: The inside view (which is actually closer to the break): So, thank you for all the good wishes for speedy recovery! My ankle thanks you. My sore biceps thank you. And my palms thank you. Crutches are no fun, but they allow some mobility, so I'll stop complaining! Have a great rest of the week!