.:Meet the Ritchies:.

Last night my sister, my sister-in-law and my gorgeous friend Alison went to see Sex and The City 2.  On a scale of 1 to 10 I would give it a 6.  And here’s why:

*  There was definitely not enough plot to have warranted a 2 and 1/2 hour running time  (I believe that may be a direct quote from my sister, but I wholeheartedly agree).

* Although the fashion was at times drool-worthy (and I was sketching out patterns in my head for later), there were moments when it was just ridiculously over the top.  For example, the ginormous straw hat she was wearing in the airplane scene was awful.  Even on Sarah Jessica Parker, it was still awful.  I can’t seem to find any pictures of it, sorry.

Examples of the good fashion, and what I was sketching out in my mind:

This little sparkly thing was separate, because later she wears it on top of her head on it's own.

I am madly in love with this romper, and have wanted to pattern this for myself for years now. I just might have to buckle down and do this, asap. And Andi and Ali were both drooling over her vest.

This orange dress is amazing, the drape and the way she has to pick it up, all that gorgeous fabric. I also love the pleating!

Some of the not-so-good fashion was (and don’t forget the big hat):

Every single outfit here. I mean really? Samantha looks like Cleopatra-meets-Technicolor, Charlotte looks like she beat up Suzanne Somers and stole her outfit, Carrie isn't bad but I'm not a fan of her turban, and Miranda looks ridiculous.

*  Liza Minelli had a scene where she performed a wedding ceremony and did a cover of “All the Single Ladies”.  Wow.  She can barely speak because she has had so much plastic surgery but she can still rock it on stage.  One of the best parts of the movie, in my opinion.

•  Mr. Big was looking as handsome as ever.  And Aidan makes an appearance, which was pretty cool.

•  And the company I was with:

Alison

Andi

Amy

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Thank for going with me ladies, as always it was a lot of fun!

I must go now, I have some patterning to figure out!

xoxo

While Claire and I were waiting for her Aunt Jessica to pick her up and take her to Arlington for the weekend, I showed her a new app I got on my Iphone called Hipstamatic.  I got the tip from another girl’s blog that I enjoy reading here.  It takes pictures with a vintage feel.  You can change the lens and the type of film to get different looks.  And then there are other lens and film that you can purchase for a couple bucks, but the ones that came with the app are pretty great!  Check it out…

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Then last night, Mark and I went on a double date with our good friends Tony and Julie.  We met up at the Kennedy School for dinner and some beers.  It was great to see them and hang out, we had so much fun!  It wasn’t too busy, for a Friday night, and we enjoyed the different bars like the Detention Room, Cypress, and the Honors Bar.  And of course, I had to snap some more pictures with my new app!

Julie & Tony

Mr. & Mrs. Ritchie

Cheese!

And when we got home, I even got Charlie in on the fun!

Charlie is not a fan of cameras, he'd rather look anywhere but at you when you are trying to take his picture... but I won this match..

Have a lovely holiday weekend!  Talk to you soon!

xoxo

Something that we really enjoy doing is getting together with our friends to play games.  Every couple of months, someone will host a Game Night where we all gather for board games and hilarity.  It’s so much fun, but we do it without including children, and we all know how much kids love games!  So a few months ago, Mark and I decided that it would be fun to host a get together, during the day, at a park and include children.  And so it was the conception of the Ritchie’s 1st Annual Game Day.

We chose Blue Lake Park because it’s really big and we wanted to be able to have a grassy area to play some kickball.  The weather lately has been a total drag, with lots of rain and rain and well, lots of rain.  But when we checked the 10 day forecast, 10 days prior to Game Day, it said there would be some sun breaks on 1 day out of the 10.  And that day just happened to be Sunday, the day of our highly anticipated (does that seem like a stretch? well, I can safely say that it was highly anticipated by us, so it’s not untrue) event.  Great!  But as the day drew closer, it was starting to seem less likely that we would be so lucky.

But this is Oregon, the great Pacific Northwest, and if you canceled something because of rain then you’d be pretty bored between March and June.

So we kept the plan, and I’m really glad we did!  THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of our friends and family braved the schizophrenic weather that we’ve been having lately.  You stuck it out through wind, rain and cold, with a few sunbreaks but definitely more clouds.  And it was completely awesome and we love you all for it!  For those of you who were not able to attend, or decided that you were not in the mood to endure the crappy weather – I totally understand.  As we were driving out to the park that morning, with our windshield wipers on low, I said to Mark, “I have no expectations today, if people come that’s great, but if they choose to stay home, that’s fine too.  Because I’m not sure I could say that we’d be going, if we weren’t the hosts”.  So seriously, we love you all as well!

Some highlights of the day for us:

• The hungry, and relentless, squirrels that were so not afraid of us.  Not even when we were standing guard at the table, they came right up with their eyes on the finger sandwiches.  It was incredible.

• Jake and Silas, two cute little dudes.

• Going from one set of picnic tables, getting rained out and moving to another set of covered picnic tables, only to get reprimanded by the park rangers and deciding to just have a tailgater party in the parking lot!  Thanks to everyone for being so flexible!

• The rain break for a moment, just long enough to play a rousing game of kickball.

• Beautiful baby Anika, who I absolutely love to hold in my arms and am so so so happy when her lovely mama Sascha hands her over!!

• Our friends, our family and our children, together at the park on a magical Sunday afternoon of fun.

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I love this last picture, there is so much action happening here!  In the far right is my arm, celebrating that Sombra tagged home base, with Mike running quickly behind her (and not even spilling his drink!) while Leroy had just thrown the ball to Connie who is about to catch it to try and tag Mike out.  Haha, so exciting!

We are already looking forward to next year!  I hope to plan it possibly a little later, more around the end of June instead of May.  Perhaps we’ll have better luck with the weather.

xoxo

Hello every one!! It is me Claire posting on my own for the first time in the history of this blog!!! I am super happy to share with you two poems I have written for school. The first one is called “CLAIRE“, i got an A+ on it and my teacher commented “WOW!!“. On the one called “I AM” I got another A+ and, because I drew pictures to go with each verse, a comment of “CUTE! VERY WELL DONE!” Please enjoy them and please comment!

“CLAIRE” by Claire S.

Claire.

It means energetic, good sibling, and funny.

It is the number twelve.

It is like rolling hills and frogs.

It is when i made my first spike over the net.

It is the memory of my mom Melissa

who taught me that you have to try to keep an

even temper about things if you

want to make it through life happily.

My name is Claire.

It means spending time with my family,

especially my baby brother Ryder!

Hope you liked poem number one! Here is number two…

“I AM” by Claire S.

i am a sister and creative.

i wonder what my life will turn out to be like.

i hear my brother’s laughter.

i see my friends and family chatting around me.

i want to be a photographer.

i am a sister and creative.

i pretend that i can save the world.

i feel like the world is my canvas where i can express myself.

i worry that my brother doesn’t understand why i leave.

i cry for help, and cry for those who can’t find help.

i am a sister and creative.

i know what it’s like to have 2 families.

i say everyone should help save their planet.

i dream that one day my dreams will come true.

i try to be the best big sister.

i hope that some day no one will starve.

i am a sister and creative.

Thank you for reading and hopefully now i will be more consistent at my posting and i will post every Sunday. (And yes i know I’m posting on Monday now, but it will be on Sunday.) as the dog, (Rudy), bathes himself and the other dog, (Charlie), naps on the chair, i sign off!! talk to you all again in 6 days. WAIT!!! hold that thought… i will be in the previously posted about small town of Arlington visiting my dad and brother until Monday! so happy that i get a 3 day weekend. so i will post on Monday and then on Sunday, and again on Sunday, and on Sunday again… goodbye to all!

~~~CLAIREBEAR

If you can believe it, it’s been over a year since we have made a trip to the Oregon Coast.  Which is awfully pathetic considering we live so close.  People who live within two hours of the ocean should visit at least every couple months, that’s my opinion.  Of course, I’ve never done this, but I think it’s a good goal to set?  We went to Lincoln City this past weekend with our family to celebrate my nephew’s 6th birthday.  And on that Friday, my darling Dad turned 60, so there was celebrating to be had for him as well!

I have had busy weeks at work, more stressful than normal and had been fighting a headache for about 4 days.  But it disappeared about 10 minutes after my Dad arrived at our house on Thursday evening.  Coincidence?  I don’t think so.  Especially not, since it came back at promptly 9pm that Sunday night as my mind drifted towards the work week ahead.  Ugh.

So getting out of town was exactly what the doctor would have ordered, had I asked him.  It was a beautiful weekend, a little on the chilly side and quite windy but it didn’t matter.  The house we stayed in, Ebb Tide, was fantastic and had everything we needed for a relaxing weekend with good food and adorable family!  My parents enjoyed having the grandkids all under one roof (except for Veda, who was sorely missed, but it was her weekend with her Mom).  I enjoyed getting to spend time with my nephews and hearing the littlest one, Hunter, do some talking, since in the time it usually takes him to warm up and start jabbering our visit is usually up and we miss out.  But not this weekend, he and his big brother Wyatt were entertaining, and super photogenic!  Many opportunities to capture their darling faces on film and I did just that!

We had a wonderful time, so thank you to Amanda and my Mother for putting the whole thing together!  And as always, I took way too many photos and here they are for your viewing pleasure!

Claire with her Auntie Andi headed down to the beach...

Papa Ron and Wyatt, the birthday boys!

We asked the waitstaff at Mo's to sing Papa Ron happy birthday, it was a great addition to the already hilarious experience there!

Hunter got to help Papa with his birthday ice cream!

The view from the house...

Yes, that's right, they had an air hockey table on the 3rd level, which we played. Only a few fingers were pinched, and we got to see the competitive side of Claire!

Papa Ron and Wyatt looking pretty chill..

We tossed around the football, look at the spin on that baby! Ah yeah!

Claire took this, yes I did make it into a few pictures...

And this is what I like to call my “Up Close” series…

Amanda, my fab sis-in-law

My brother, Paul (what more can I say, that this picture doesn't already say for me?)

My sweet nephew, Wyatt (seriously, this kid does not take a bad photo ever, he looks adorable no matter what he is doing!)

The always huggable littlest nephew, Hunter

My darling sister, Andi

my easter egg-holding daughter, Claire (we did some easter stuff too, since we didn't gather this year on the actual holiday)

My incredibly handsome husband, Mark

My rarely-not-talking-while-someone-is-trying-to-take-her-picture mom, Trudie (and look! she's not talking!!)

My amazing and adoring dad, Ron

And here are just a few more of the kiddos and birthday fun!

the world's largest birthday card!

Hunter with his best pal, Bun Bun (in fact, they are so good of friends that his parents had him cloned (thanks Build a Bear!) so that if one is in the wash, Hunter still has one to drag around with him, now that's real friendship yo!)

Happy Birthday Wyatt!

Claire and Wyatt, self portrait in the car on the way to look for seashells...

He's even adorable under a cement picnic table!

Wyatt, king of the tree stump...

Papa Ron, illustrating where we all get our sillyness from...obviously.

We hope you all enjoyed your weekend!  I am a little bummed that we missed out on the hot day that happened, but I’m sure we’ll get others here soon (I hope! Like, really soon?  Like, go away rain!!!)  Our yard and garden are enjoying this wet weather, that’s for sure!

Until next time, xoxo!

Hello!  One of these days, work will stop being so crazy and my mind can go back to just concentrating on it during working hours, instead of every hour of the day.  But enough about that.

We had a wonderful weekend in the sunshine!  We celebrated Mom’s on Saturday for a little pre-Mother’s Day barbecue lunch.  We worked in the yard, planting flowers and readying the garden for a bountiful crop this year!   If I say it that way, will it actually come true?  I, unfortunately, was not born with the green thumb that preceded me with my Mother and my Grandmother.  But I am optimistic!  I bought one of those seed pod things from Home Depot and planted a bunch of seeds.  I don’t remember in what order the rows go, because I didn’t write it down quick enough and now my overworked brain is too tired to remember.  I did tell Claire though, so hopefully her super young brain will help me out.  We planted celery, carrots, onions  and eggplant.  And we doubled up on the celery and carrots because I think picking them straight from the garden and chomping them, while lounging around in the grass this summer sounds fa-bu-lous.   I can’t wait until they start to sprout!  And Mark has planted some tomato plants, an artichoke, blueberries and rhubarb.  Oh yeah, we’re going to have a regular little farm in the back yard pretty soon!  Now we just need to build a chicken coop and get some chickens and we’ll be set!

Most of all, it was just nice to be OUTDOORS for a change.  These past few months of constant cold and rain have really taken their toll.  I hadn’t realized how much time we had spent indoors until this weekend, when all I wanted to do was sit outside!  I hope that the sun will come out again in a couple of days, as we embark on a weekend stay with family in Lincoln City.  My Dad is turning 60 on Friday and my nephew is celebrating his 6th birthday.  And then the following weekend is my husband’s birthday!  Hello May, you certainly know how to party!

I wish I had more commentary on this post, but forgive me for not and enjoy these pictures instead…

Claire's book arrived in the mail!

Veda got to the first to hear it read by it's author...

Veda made me this in school, it's by far the most adorable thing she has ever given me! And I got hugs, out of the blue, three times this weekend! It was so wonderful!

Family enjoying the sunny day!

The special Mother's Day bouquets that we fashioned together the evening before! (I told you I would be able to do it, thank goodness I have a creative family to help bring my vision to life!)

George, Bill & Mark enjoying the view from our backyard. That's Mt. St. Helen's in between George and Bill, you can just barely make it out against the light blue sky!

The dogs, and a stick.

Hey, it's a start!

My little seedlings, just chillin' out in the greenhouse...

Rudy Fernandez, or as I like to call him "baby-dog"...

Talk to you soon!

xoxo

So it was another crazy busy week at work for me, which is why you have not seen a new post since Sunday.  Um, what can I say besides HIRE MORE PEOPLE…okay, I’m done before I really get started or we’ll be here all night.  Plus, I really don’t want to talk about work on my beautiful family life-themed blog.

Instead, I’m going to be thankful for the blue sky that was above me as I left work this evening, and celebrate the good things.  These are some things that make me happy:

• I saw this on a blog that I read frequently, called Design Mom, and had to order one.  Immediately.  It’s coming from the United Kingdom just for me.  I’m so excited!  Design Mom often does giveaways and she posts some really cool stuff, and no – not all of it is baby stuff, there are things for Moms too!

Rope Necklace by The Vamoose

• I have also requested a custom headband by one of my favorite bloggers and crafter extraordinaire, Princess Lasertron.  She is due with her first child any day now, and it’s been fun to read her posts about her journey along the way.

Princess Lasertron, whose favorite colors are also yellow and grey like mine...

• Claire lost two teeth in two days this week.  And since we’ve already had the discussion about the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause  and the Tooth Fairy, all I had to do was say “Hey, the tooth fairy told me just to take you to Yo Cream as a payment” and so it was.   A few months ago, when I asked her if she believed in those things, she wisely answered, “Not really, but it’s a nice idea” which to me translates to “If I say yes can I still get gifts from them?”.  Which is an interesting question.  And the answer is yes, but only until Veda catches on, too.  It would be unfair to let the cat out of the bag for her because she also believes in Fairies.   Which I think is the cutest thing ever.  When I met her 3 1/2 years ago, she told me that “Fairies are real, my favorite one is the Blue Fairy”.   And I became a believer.  Mainly because I thought, “why not?”.  I mean, really… why not?

• Last Saturday I met my amazing lady friends for Brunch at this quaint little place called Wild Abandon.  Things were talked about, food was eaten and mimosas were served.  But I don’t remember anything, except how amazing it was to do this:

Sweet little Anika Hil, a perfectly delightful girl

Don't you just love her?

• It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday.  That’s pretty sweet.  I really enjoy this holiday but no matter how far ahead I start having ideas of what to do for people, the next thing I know it’s the week of and it’s way too late to do what I originally wanted.  So lame.  I don’t know, I guess I still have tomorrow night and Saturday morning before our Moms come over for dinner.  I could still try to fashion something up!  If I am successful, I will definitely share pictures next week!

• The sun was out this afternoon around 6pm.  It may have happened a little bit earlier but I was still stuck in the confines of my cube at work so I didn’t know what it was doing.  When I went from one building to another at around 3pm it was still very grey out.  Or maybe I never even looked up?  I don’t know, now that I think about it.  It’s possible that it’s been grey for so long that I’d given up hope it would ever change.  Wow, hello melodramatic!

• If the sun is out tomorrow I may just get to end my work week with a fun game of sand volleyball.  We have a court at work, and we play on our lunch hour.  It’s almost time for the summer league to start!  I play on a team called the Kitten Wranglers.  I don’t remember how that name came about anymore, but it was suggested and we grabbed it and ran!  This will be our 3rd season together, seems like just yesterday.. *sniff sniff*.  Maybe this year I will get some pictures taken to share on here!

• My family:

Seattle, February '10

xoxo

Hello!  Happy Monday everyone!  Today I have something very special to share with you!  This is the weekly post where I share an original story that Claire has written.  But this week is a little different.  She has finished her first book!!  She wrote and illustrated this story for her little brother Ryder, who will turn two in August.  She is amazing!

Click to here to view it!

It was 1989.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was all the rage, Milli Vanilli won best new Artist at the Grammies, and this was what was happening with me…

Robin Hood play: (from left to right) Earl, Me, Benji, Roger, Jason (wearing a bathrobe??) Alan, Hud and Danny. Yes, THE Danny and his curly mullet.

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Post Commentary:

•  It probably sounds as though I played every sport possible, which I did.  That does not mean I was good at any of them.  But I wanted to play, and when you live in a small town that’s all that matters.  There are no tryouts, we were lucky to have enough kids interested in sports to have a team.

• A “snake chase” was during track practice, our coach would have us run down the hill (small town, one main hill) and around and back up, with no stopping.  I think it was called snake chase because you would cut through fields and empty lots, and hope you didn’t run into a snake in the process.  Obviously, we didn’t always follow the rules.

• Uh oh, Danny and I are starting to argue.  See, I told you I didn’t listen to my Mother’s advice.  She will tell you that I never did probably, and she’d be right.  But I just wasn’t listening to anyone’s advice.  I thought I knew everything.  That sounds waaaaaaay too familiar.  I think I know a young 11 year old girl right now that feels like she’s got it all figured out.  Hmmm…

•  I would never have remembered that “ignore someone each day” thing that our teacher did, although I am pretty sure I know what the point of it was.  She was obviously trying to show us how it feels to be “left out” because another common theme in small towns is if you weren’t “from” there, then you were an outsider.  And we treated you like one.  I’m sure that was lost on our 6th grade minds though.

And because it’s May 1st, and  we are all caught up, I can treat you to the ACTUAL “this week, when I was eleven…”

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Post-Commentary:

• Field trips should not come with tests afterward.  I stand by this.

•  I remember that sunburn very much.  I stayed the night at Alison’s house after that track meet and we laid around with aloe leaves off an aloe plant they had, in front of fans on full blast, trying to get some relief.  It was pretty awful.

xoxo