Aunt Barb and Harley Come to Visit

Finn was all mopey when my dad left. The two of them have been play pals since Finn was just 6 weeks old, so for Finn, watching my dad leave was nothing short of a tragedy. After experiencing such devastation, Finn could hardly believe it when, just one day later, another visitor showed up at our front door. Aunt Barb had some time off work so she came down to visit. She was accompanied by her pup, Harley. Our time together was completed defined by the dogs.  Between Finn and Harley every aspect of the term "puppy" is fulfilled. Here are a few examples...
Whenever Barb leaves him, Harley breaks out in this awful, high-pitched cry. It's piercing. As Barb pointed out, it sounds like someone is torturing him...quite something. 
Finn's specialty: anything filled with stuffing or a "squeaker." Finn can't be trusted around any cotton or plastic objects. Anything that can undergo damage from teeth, claws, paws, and sheer will, will not only be damaged but destroyed. When Harley showed up with normal dog toys I knew we'd soon have a problem. It took but minutes for Finn to claim new ownership of anything Harley was playing with...and quickly break it. I am still finding fluff around the house from one of Harley's stuffed toys. I can't even count how many paper products, leashes, harnesses, shoes, undergarments, socks, rugs...etc. have been consumed while Brian and I have been at work. (We've learned to move the garbage can to on top of the washer when we go but it's still difficult to keep Finn out of the laundry considering that the laundry room is where he stays when we're gone.)
Together these two make quite the pair.

One day while Barb was here the two of us went antiqueing in downtown Vancouver. It was a lot of fun. We both enjoy photography so it was fun to scour the stores for possible props. I found this adorable chair, pictured below. It's antique, wooden, "little people" sized, and affordable, what more could I ask for? Sometimes Brian seriously wonders abt me and my many thrifty collectibles so I wasn't feeling overly confident abt returning home with yet another chair. It wasn't until Barb realized it's folding capabilities that I knew this chair was meant to join my existing chair clan. :) 
(One things is for sure, every house we move into from here on out must also have a garage because however odd it may be, I've developed quite a thing for free and/or cheap chairs. Just daydreaming abt how they could be improved, refurbished, given a second, third, fifth chance at life, a better looking life...this is what makes me smile.)
I'm already anxious to take this wee chair home with me, plop my little people in it and capture their cuteness.

I took a few pics of Finn and my little find. It was great sitting practice for Finn. :)

See Bri, it folds, look how skinny it gets!!!

Barb bought a quaint little medicine cabinet with pretty little flowers etched into the glass. She's planning a bathroom remodel and shooting for shabby chic so this cabinet was the perfect purchase for her.

I told her she couldn't leave without it, it would fit in her car just fine!

(I'm a positive yet opinionated shopping buddy.)

As of right now, Barb's plan is to remove the mirror from the cabinet, (since she doesn't need the storage) attach some hardware to the back and hang it above the sink.

Here are the pics Barb took of Harley and her new treasure...

Labor Day Wknd with Dad and Mom

My dad and mom came down to spend the long weekend with us. We had a blast and I can finally [honestly] say that this time "goodbye" wasn't the end of the world. (Yay!) Part of me hates to admit it but a bigger part of me is relieved to see God's obvious work within me. He's blessed me with such an abundance and those blessings far exceed that which was familiar and safe prior to moving here. He's broadening my horizons, showing me a bigger world, working in me to become more flexible and openminded. I've far from "arrived," but I loved having the ability to look back at a fun weekend and look forward to my next trip home without those few sad, sad days that I used to endure each time my family came and went.

 At the Farmer's Market, my mom and her fresh baguette...

I liked this booth's banner... 

...that was until I spotted this sign in the distance...

Here's a closer look...

 

Some highlights from our weekend...

>>Mom's cinnamon rolls, undeniably The_World's_Best
>>Portland City Grill with Steph (Dad wearing his camo shorts and muscle shirt to a classy restaurant in the city....and proceeding to join Brian in hovering over innocent customers in order to score a booth with a view. )
>>my mom and I shopping at the Gap downtown...let's not even go there, huh Mom?!... 
>>the Hollywood District Farmer's Market (Mom and Dad realized that they too, could technically be charging $6 per dozen for their "farm fresh organic eggs.")
>>shopping at Whole Foods (Mom and her heirloom tomato, Dad and his excessive cheese sampling rounds :)
>>Hiking in Forest Park (I'm pretty sure the guys did something more along the lines of "meandering," but Mom and I, we got a nice little workout. :)
>>Antiquing with my mom (After all, I've learned from the best. ;)
>>the mirror frame (my dad built it for me, it completes my dresser makeover)

Mom in beautiful Forest Park...

Here's my dad finishing up his work on my new mirror frame.

THANK YOU, DAD! I love it. :)

 

I decided that black paint, a playful puppy, and wood floors could quite possibly end in disaster. So I took the fun outside, above is my current workshop. The frame is in the process of turning black...the chairs are up next. They're going to be reupholstered and painted.

[Ah, paint and fabric, they truly do make my world a happier place!]

My favorite part of having my parents here lasted just 10 short minutes (but I think that was part of the fun, it was just a quick stop along the way.) I was so excited when they agreed to model in a little shoot I'd been dreaming up. A few weeks ago I discovered that The School for the Blind, just blocks from out house, has some gorgeous buildings and I'd been itchin' to use them. While there, my mom and dad were so happy and seemed so young. At one point, one of them (I think my mom) said, "It's like we're graduating from high school, taking our senior pictures together!" I thought it was cute, they thought it was funny. It was a perfect little shoot. :)

Funky Sun Bubbles :)



My dad decided to "plant one on her."

This is him laughing, saying, "Did you catch that, Meg?"

Happy.

Dad showing off Mom's muscles...

Josh's Trek from Iowa

We didn't get a lot of pics of Josh's time here but these are from our afternoon at The Oregon Zoo.

Josh checked out the lions but all Brian cared abt was the cheetah. This is Brian's first cheetah sighting. Sadly, he'd been waiting for this day for a long time. When he was a little guy Brian did a report on cheetahs but he got sick the day that his class went to the zoo to see their animals. This was a big deal, he finally got to see "his" cheetah. ;P

A closer look at the infamous cheetah... :)

It seems Josh really liked this guy?!

I thought these little dudes were cute. But boy, Mr. Penguin was SMELLY!

Theme of the day:

BIG BUTTS

(Here's why...)

Josh had never seen the Oregon Coast so on his last day here, he and Brian drove out to the ocean.

 (The two of them took pics "to show Jessica and I." ...I get a kick out of this. I can just see them on the beach taking pictures w/ Brian's Droid...makes me laugh.)

 

Thankful for our Peeps

Aah visitors, we sure love do 'em!
If you're reading this and you've yet to visit, YOU SHOULD COME! I'm not gonna claim this house of ours is roomy and it's definitely not impeccable but it's our home, it's cute...and the best part is, we live here! So once again, come. :)

The following list of peeps are temporarily off the hook b/c they've already demonstrated (or are abt to demonstrate) the extent to which they love us. :)

Aunt Barb (Was here this week, left yesterday, we had a lot of fun despite all the craziness of two craaaaazy pups in one little house.)
Tess, Sydni Sue, and mr. Kolt
Mom (A whopping THREE times...now that's love. :)
Dad (Came twice and acted as my personal handyman both times. :)
Josh (Flew all the way here from Iowa, just to see us, okay mainly Brian...but w/ Brian now comes Megan. ;)
Rob (On business but we loved seeing him, even if just for dinner.)
Brian's Dad (On business, but he's coming again end of this month and he's bringing... Brian's Mom
Linds, Dan and Jazz (They're planning a wknd visit sometime in Oct. Hope it all works out, girls! I can't wait to see you!)
Grandpa Lawrence and Grandma Bertha (They're discussing making a stop by us on their way back from their annual Dakota trip.)
Grandpa and Grandma VandenHeuvel (They're coming to Lynden for "The Christian Wife and Mother in Today's World" Conference (Grandma's speaking) in the beginning of Nov. They plan to rent a car and drive down to see us.)
Even Brian's cousin Kacie, came to Portland. (It wasn't exactly to see us and our attempted connection failed by just a few critical minutes buuut, we'll let her off the hook too. ;)

Although it often seems longer, we've only lived here for 3 months yet we've already had all the above visitors. We are so blessed. Thank you, family and friends for giving us dates to look foward to and helping to ease us into our life away from each of you.

We love you!