Blerg! Here’s me and my cousin Erika. Goo and I embarked on a Mommy/baby solo trip to Portland last weekend. The drive to Portland was fast and easy–we left Saturday morning and it took a breezy three hours and 20 minutes or so to get there. Erika was shocked that we arrived when I said we would! We went to Hawthorne for Mexican food, went to Mount Tabor Park and let the three boys run around and chatted, and had delicious sushi dinner with her entire family that first day. And a Flavor Burst! Cannot forget that my lucky cousin has TWO Flavor Burst locations near her house! Sigh.

I brought the baby’s crib mattress with the intention of him sleeping on it (hiiiiigh hopes!) but around TEN PM the little brat would only sleep with (and on top of) Mama in Little Matt’s bed. Harrumph.

The next day we all went out to “Jam”, a delicious and very popular breakfast place for a really scrumptious breakfast. It was worth the half an hour wait. Goo and I met baby Hendrix, and he was also worth the wait–ten months old, walking and smiling and sweet as can be! And it was wonderful catching up with Erika. We don’t see each other very often, but when we do it’s eeeeeeasy. We are “soul sisters” (as my Aunt Lisa calls us) after all.

The drive home however, GROSS: four and a half hours of sitting in traffic outside Olympia, and sitting in traffic outside Tacoma. No traffic problems in Portland like last November though, and that was a relief! Overall: I would definitely do it again with the baby. We make a good team. Except for the sleeping at night on Mama thing. That can go.

I’m not planning on getting pregnant until January but the nesting has kicked in early! It was my idea to take the (unused, thanks to baby) bookshelves off the floor and put them up on the ledge to hold paint supplies. I have a lot of aspirations for the basement.

Today I brought Goo into work and showed him off. Nobody has a cold right now (except my boss) and there aren’t any major diseases floating around, so it seemed like a good opportunity. Of course I put the fedora on him. Everyone was charmed! He’s very charming!

I try to look chic but still look like a geek (that rhymes). I can’t wear my contacts lately, they’re driving me nuts! What is floating in the air these days? No longer wildfire smoke, thank goodness.

More progress on Louise! It was Josh’s idea for her dress to be green. I’m glad I didn’t go with red. I was obviously PMSing when I considered red.

Sometimes Maggie and Bear Schnubs have dog park friends. And even NON dog park friends, like this little guy. I love it when the old ladies shake it around!

‘member this old friend? I haven’t pulled her out of the craft closet in a while!

Look who came for a visit! My old old old old ollllld friend Lisa and her three children, now ages 15 and nearly 12 for the twins. They arrived Friday night and left Sunday afternoon to spend the rest of the holiday weekend with her cousin in Bellevue.

We went to the beach, picked blackberries, watched “Ab Fab the Movie”, and my husband decided that his new career is House Hairdresser by ombre-fying Aurora AND Lisa, and helping Sadie dye her hair neon red.

He also dyed his hair blonde. Ooooh yeah! I love his enthusiasm and willingness to change up his look. Makes me wanna do…something to my hair. SOMETHING!

I gave Lisa Rainbow Mandala Number Two for free because I love her. And frankly, that was the last Mandala I’ve painted and I was pregnant and SO TIRED and I pretty much hated it at the end, so I was ready to set it free. There is always time for more rainbow Mandalas, right?

Chaco sisters on the beach. Thanks to the Chaco Shoe Porn I recently viewed on IG, I now know that there exists a RAINBOW TIE DYED CHACO WITH A REFLECTIVE RAINBOW SOLE that I’m gonna try to forget about. Snivel sniff!

Glitter Chacos though, that might just send me over the edge. Look, here’s tiny iridescent heart my magpie eye fell on at the dog park. I tell ya, it’s a gift.

This is what we’ve been doing during these last few warm days of summer.

Am I getting a sore throat? What is this nonsense? I need to go to bed. Good night, blog.