who celebrates their 41st birthday today?

My sister, Allison.

Allison (Ali) is the second child of nine. The photo of her husband, Jon, and her was taken at the beach during my 25th birthday / family reunion. She snapped many photos throughout that weekend (along with my other sisters) and compiled the shots into a beautiful photo album. All the photos are black and white. Each page has one photo with simple accented borders. It's my favorite photo album. It also contains the most recent family photo-yes it is ten years old, but we haven't managed a family photo since.

Ali is amazing. She's been a mentor to me throughout my life. She introduced me to Monet. She was the first person to take me to the Getty. She (technically Jon) was the first person to employ me. She was the first person to take me to Hawaii. She always opens her home to Ben and me when we travel to v-town. She is the best.

She has four incredible boys. First she had Chris (the artist) & Nate (the mechanic) and ten years later she had Ryan (junior artist) and Sean (too young to tell- prediction-architect). Her boys are a hoot and we always have a great time when we're together.

Ali and Jon are a perfect example of a great marriage. They work together. They are true partners. They look out for another. They are fabulous parents.

Happy Birthday, Ali!
Love you so much.

what happens when i get a yearning for a road trip?

We take one.

I was itching for a new hike and a road trip.

We got up early Saturday morning, drove to Terrebonne, Oregon...

and hiked around at Smith Rock State Park.

Here I am inside a hole. The next photo is what I saw from the hole.

They call this formation Monkey Face. Do you see it?

After our hike, we drove to Bend and had a delicious lunch at Chow.

Yummy, in season, organic food.

Some of it came straight from their garden.

what's the reward for waking up at 5:00am to hike?

Glorious views of Mount Hood...

and Mount Adams.

what did ben and i have for dessert?

Homemade ice cream sandwiches.

Perfect for summer... don't you think?

where did ben and i have breakfast?

Underneath high voltage lines on the Deschutes Trail.


Ben and I got up early this morning and went for a hike.

When we reached the top of the trail we had a breakfast of fresh fruit, homemade bread with Bonne Maman preserves, boiled eggs and orange juice.





Foster wasn't interested in food... he just wanted a stick.

We huddled near patches of tall prairie grass to protect us from the wind.

Ben was pretty satisfied with his hike and tasty breakfast.

what's great about growing your own flowers?

Having your own cutting garden.

Our roses are finally in bloom and this particular variety is super fragrant. The colors are vibrant and the scent is amazing. They also look great in this Simon Pearce vase we received as a wedding gift.

how did you get from the city to the train station in emeryville?

By bus. When I recently went to California, I flew to San Francisco first to hang out with my dear friend, Kelly and my sister, Cassie. From there I took the train to Fresno where I met Ben. The funny thing about Amtrak is that you can't catch a train in the city. You have to travel by bus to the train station in Emeryville.

I boarded the bus at the Cal Train station and traveled along Market Street...

down past the piers...

to a stop at the Ferry Building...

and finally across the Bay Bridge to Emeryville. It was a beautiful day in the city!

what happens when you take sean and ryan to the beach?

They make sand soup and sandcastles.

Sean is very serious when it comes to making sand soup.

He found the "perfect" soup spoon, used just the right amount of sand and stirred a lot.

His soup was perfect.

Ryan concentrated on making sandcastles.

He shaped and molded the sand just so. He made sure he added just enough water.

We had a great day at the beach!

what did i find under my bedroom door when i was staying at ali and jon's?

Two envelopes addressed to me.

One was a card...

and the other was a picture with hearts.

where have i been for the past two weeks?

In California celebrating Nate's Graduation.
(I also took a detour to San Francisco & San Luis... more on that later.)

To celebrate Nate's Graduation, we has a party for him the Saturday before graduation. We played "Nate Bingo"- notice the cards in the foreground.

We made "Nate Flags" using the picture Chris painted of Nate in his cap and gown.

Ali decorated with handmade celebratory signs.

It was a great party.

The Monday after the party was Nate's graduation ceremony.

We are so proud of him! Congratulations, Nate!