Pikeypones

frequent visitors

frank(enstein) rock(y)(star)

not pictured judy (she's very moody and ran rocky off) and amy. 

oh, i have pictures but i won't make you watch a 300 deer slideshow like i did my husband.

 those were the 300 that made the cuts.

okay, in defense of my obsessive deer stalking i got to be a part of this. 

there is something about being surrounded by the non-man-made. 

fairy house.  they came alright and rested their wings in the furry bed,

kicked back in the mushroom chair and definitely swam in the pool. 

our fav walk up the hill to the overlook. 

let me address the glove.  it makes many appearances because it was worn for weeks (actually this is its twin. we had to lay the first to rest. you did your job well, glove).  surgery got the culprit out! 

wildflowers

heart tree

the workings of clay

                                                              domo arigato, mr. roboto

landscape 101 and 2

                                                  standing on the massive rock poses

one of the lookouts (well, i made it one) on our hike up the mountain.

gabe (who always sits by while we swim in a lake or pool or anywhere is pretty passive about most things) LOVES hiking. let's just say he gets a pep in his step. he is determined and i love to see him lead the way.  i didn't follow him here though.  i look down while brett helps him out of a rock nest.

he is so excited that he just creates his own path.

on our decline gabe says, "this must be the lost and found area." 

brett imitating his great great grandpa mcdaniel's photo stance.

                                                          is this corn hand shucked?

setting up for our movie under the stars. we did that one night but the others we leaned back and stared for hours.  there is worldly silence and nature speaks.  we were in awe because

we saw a shooting star that flew across the entire sky.  

we went to sun mountain to hike and thought we would ditch our usual place and try the unknown. we went in our car on this "bike" trail and it keeps narrowing and steeply sloping down. brett asks me if we should turn around and of course i always want to keep going so we do and our car drives closer to the edge of the cliff and we get in a bit of a tight spot (where we freak out) but make it through...  camille started this impression of me that goes "yeah, yeah, keep going. we'll make it.  oh, yeah keep going. i think we'll be fine" repeated a few times in a valley girl voice which was new to me but it does sound pretty spot on.  sorry brett for taking you with me (not just on this ride). 

glad i get to look into these faces everyday!

SCOUTIN' with the Girls

East Beach Watch  (was so hard to do)!

Troop 43561

Still enjoying Beach Watch (I promise I watched the girls when they were out)! 

Kite Flying or Girl Flying?

Exploring North Beach

Girl Led-Freestyle Face Painting

The Peace Sign

This lured me from Campfire to admire the Fire of Sunset.

Can you tell I am just a bit obsessed with this wonder and beauty? 

 Back is on the rocks, soaking in these moments.   

Santa's Favorite Dog

when will bryn be resurrected?
how is bryn going to get her body back from the hospital when she is resurrected?   
bryn will be hungry in heaven. 
i wonder what she is eating for dessert.
she might get wet from the rain in heaven. 
is bryn going to stay in heaven when we go to winthrop?   
questions in gabe's mind.

i would stand on top of one gasworks hill and brett on the other.  she would run like mad from brett to me and back again.  she would get quite the following of dogs and they would chase her. she would slow down and as soon as they inched closer she would dig in at top speed.

i could watch her run for hours. she was beautiful.

she declines so rapidly. she only weighed 35 pounds to begin with. with each stroke of fur, fingers glide down bone.  denial and avoidance.  today is the day. the appointed time, 4:20 p.m.  how does something die? 
we so badly want her to leave on her own.  we didn't want to be the ones to chose to give her the needle.  even though it is time (time is vague)  it is hard to decide when to take life.

in unity we walk, three of us with bryn in brett's arms, into the clinic.  i check us in and i stand there looking back at brett with blurred vision as she asks us if we want to be there during the process.  we can't leave her alone, comfortless. yes.  brett carries her in, wrapped in her fleece paw blanket and before we get to the room she dies in his arms.  we set her down and she is gone.  our hearts choke.  relief is present.  her time.  it is strange witnessing death. she was alive 10 minutes ago and now she is still.  how does this happen?  life and then stillness. 

she used to sleep with us.  when we got her from the pound we agreed she wouldn't.  brett left town and i guess i forgot about the agreement.  we lived in a shared house with no washer or dryer.  i used to vacuum the sheets to suck up the hair that would cling to our mouths. 

The Vomit Chronicles: In Flight

We are seated in the back (that wording almost makes it seem like someone pleasantly seats us in a quaint corner for a lovely dining experience) but no, we are seated dead last in a permenant upright position, directly in front of and next to the bathrooms of the gigantic plane.  We are still on Florida time, which would make it 11:30 p.m, when we begin our flight home to Seattle.  Around 11:00 p.m. Camille wakes up (we had a late for us dinner consisting of airport Mexican) and starts with the dreaded cough that stirs the stomach and always leads quickly to regurgitation.  We frantically search for puke bags and manage to get one to her mouth before the first blow.

Right at that moment, Gabe awakes and begins to scream exhausted, disoriented kid screams.  His legs hurl forward into the seat in front of him with extreme force several times.  I try to calm him and 15 minutes on a sleeping plane feels like holding my breath under water.  I pull him onto my lap and he says my legs hurt, my legs are in pain.  I realize from nothing other than wetness transferring to my legs that his pants are bodily soaked.  We go to the bathroom and he is still living in somebody else's existence.  Screams continue to greet me as we hull up in there. When we finally emerge, Gabe has woken most of the plane who have congregated outside in need of the bathroom as well.

Luckily, we had some shorts, shorts that would freeze Gabe out the entire flight.  During bathroom time, Camille filled up two bags with vomit which was given to me to hold while Gabe has all of my warmth draped on him.  I am left cold and tired, holding overflowing vomit bags while Brett, Camille, and Gabe return to sleep.     

Welcome to the Jungle

                                  The Arrival.  Yep, we have been up since 3 in the morn. 

                      Gabe dotted his legs with a black marker because he wanted to be a cow
                                          and "our place doesn't have a cow costume."

The Jump.

                                                               DisneyWorld!

                                                           Flying with Dumbo.

                                                               Mickey Ears!

Gotta spin in a teacup!

                                                        Rockin' the lightening rods!

                                                             Camille and Minnie.

                             Camille, Gabe, and some other family with Jesse and Woody!                                
We jumped on the autograph bandwagon later in the day.  We found out Jesse and Woody were going to be signing for 20 more minutes.  Brett and Camille ran from the other side of the World and I ran, carrying Gabe from the other, other side of the World.  This is the shot we got. 

                                                Who wouldn't want to live in a castle?

                       Camille met the princesses close to midnight!  She loved each minute. 
              She said they must be real because they spoke and acted just like real princesses. 

                                                           Grape Otter Pop!

Gabe would fill up his bucket with warm water and dump it on our feet in the role of Dr. Blueberry. 

I wanted him to do my other foot but he said that Dr. Blueberry only does one foot. 

                                                            Scorched frog. 

                                                                Lovies.

      Gabe getting into character when "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns and Roses started playing,
which was so appropriate since going to the outlet mall on a cloudy day was worse than DisneyWorld. 

                                                                Mannequin.

Brett needed footies to try on tennis shoes, so Gabe decided he needed some too.  

This could be the next BIG fashion trend.

                                  This shirt says it all.  Giving a shout out to my homies.
                              You know who you are and you will NOT be messed with!

I love this Father/Daughter moment.

                                                          Smores and Singing.

                                                          The Bite!  Well, one of many. 

                                           I so want to be that Smore right now!

 Just Dance 2!  I walked into the Activity Center to witness this spectacle.  Brett and I were laughing so hard because he was like, "How is she doing that well? What is she doing to get that good of a score?" and then we found out it was his score.  A little while later the Activity Coordinator leaned out and said Loss Prevention just called and are asking, "Who is that guy?"  Apparently, they had been watching and being plenty entertained!  What he won't do for his daughter. 

                My Everything.                        

   You could tell we were at the George Bush Airport in Houston because these words were blaring over the loudspeaker, "If you make jokes about dangerous items and Homeland Security, you will be arrested."  Florida, thanks for having us.