Sunday Picnics

I love that this is the only picture of the group.

Some green!!!

Our mountains are green. It is quite the sight for sore eyes. Most of the year they are brown or covered in snow. We know that it lasts for just a moment and want to make the most of it. Friends invited us over to dinner and I invited them and the dinner to the river, where it is nice and cool. The kids and us big kids had a blast, just one scare of a lost child. Never a good thing when you're next to water. My friend even cried after she found her daughter, just really not anything you ever want to feel as a parent. We want to try and visit the canyon as much as possible this summer. There is so many amazing hikes and campgrounds, we just want to do it all. Yesterday we went to REI again, now all the kids are sporting keens. I feel like we look like one of those families who think they are super cool but aren't. But what can I say the keens are super comfy, am I right Darin? We miss you all so much. It's so fun to think we will be back in three weeks- hurray!!

knee-deep in june

this is why i love summer!

pool time:
coloma love:beautiful women:

walking home from the park:
river trip with zack and sylvan:


face-painted neighbor girls with ice tea stand and baby goose:

a visit to "mama earth farm" (mary and ben's farm in somerset). suzanne with tiny chicks:sylvan was so in love with them:feeling mary's preggers belly:the straw bale building ben made, it is mary's yoga studio:
here's the inside. it is cool and wonderful and the floor feels so good under barefeet:girls' trip to the river like old days!
stan and joey skinnydipping in the middle of the night and then nakedly sharing a towel:

check it

Summer is here. It has been nice and lazy, just lots of playing outside. Our grass died while we were out of town so we have been running the water since we have been back. It was a surprise to see our once beautiful and green yard turn brown on us so quickly. The kids loved playing in the water, but by afternoon jarom was done and told me he was going to play a game. I said"ok." He came in later wanting to know how to spell flower contest so I told him, and then I didn't see him again for close to a hour (well I could see him sitting outside while I was making dinner and whatnot. I don't want Nana to think I lost him for a hour). Anyway, dinner is done and made, so I yell to Jarom. He doesn't move from his sitting place. I go out to ask him what he is doing because you all know very well Jarom doesn't just sit. He told me in a sad voice that no one wants to play his flower contest game. He had just been sitting there next to the sidewalk holding his sign he made that said "flower contest", just waiting for someone to walk by so he could ask them to play. Strangely enough no one came by, it was dinnertime. Not quite sure what the game was I just asked him to hurry and eat his dinner. Which he did, and then he was back outside. Waiting about a half hour before he started yelling into the street, "anyone want to play?", then runs back inside and begs Matt and I if he can start knocking on doors. We said no. He wouldn't stop begging so we finally gave in and said he could knock on the door behind us. A cute couple who remind me of Bonny and Russ (see their take on it at pbcameron.blogspot.com). They said yes. You have never seen a child so happy. I imagine it was like when Jarom won the grabber machine at Heather's work.





So here's Jarom jumping up and down with excitement over his first player



Paul won. He watered everything in the allowed time, and even won a prize from Jarom's own toys. They have the cutest baby boy you have ever seen, I think it could make a good chew toy for the little guy. This was at 7 pm.



Two hours later, a young girl got caught in Jarom's web. She was a pro. it was almost like she had played this game before.



She also won and then Bella ran into the house and gave her a doll. She said her little sister would like it. Jarom was all too proud to have two partakers of his game and for the rest of the night was telling me how great it would be to do another game tomorrow and that I should like it because of how many toys they could give away.





The original "flower contest" sign. This thing breaks my heart every time I see it. [Matt]

happy father's days

too much has happened that we haven't written about! if anyone wants to elaborate please feel free. in the meantime, i figured i better post some pics of father's day! these first couple are from mom and show the matt beatty family father's day celebration over at nana's house in the morning. what a great daddy matt is. so patient and fun and kind and endlessly curious and investigative. what a great example of a real man, gentle yet strong. mattie, we are blessed in this world to have you being a father to your amazing children and husband to your amazing wife!here's jarom reading the wall-e book to matt. "smash trash."we made a father's day breakfast at my house and the big daddy forgot about it! well, he showed up, better late than never, and had the graciousness to eat with us even though he'd already eaten cereal for breakfast over at his house! joey brought a bunch of delicious homemade pastries from his work, as displayed in yummy array on the table. me and pops. how blessed we are!
fofe made the potatoes.
sorry matt and amy i am such a terrible photographer and i always get you right when you're eating. still i think it's kinda cute!
awww! what a cutie, eating breakfast.

i celebrate beatty dads because they are funny and dorky and smart and capable. they can do anything and they always make you feel better and safe. they are good examples to all of us about how great we may be. they love us, and we love them!

justa video

happy solstice!

wow. what a sweet san francisco summer solstice we had this year!

june 21 was a truly a perfect day. i didn't even really mind working in the morning because i waited on 32 harley riders and joey and emma came in and then, when it was over i had money in my pocket and fofe waiting for me at the counter so we could take off together.

it was hot, so so hot. i wish i had pictures of me and joey on our way to sf. we drove listening to tons of great music that joey played for us and we drank diet soda because i removed the ban for the road trip, and we sang and talked and just were generally dorky. it was a lovely drive despite the car overheating crossing the bay bridge, and we frantically made it through the streets of san francisco to the palace of fine arts with the temperature gauge creeping up and down like a little tweaker!

we met up with the lovelies. the greatest family. the beattys of all kinds. we hung out by the exploratorium for a while. mike strayer was with us too which is always a treat. here is joey in a eucalyptus tree. i hope to get ahold of mom's pictures so maybe i'll post more later or make sure she does!

we went to haight street, we sold cds at amoeba and searched through the masses of music for darin's choices, and we rushed to buy $2 sweaters at goodwill. there was a cool breeze. everyone was starving and we were walking everywhere and suddenly it was 8:30 and we had to get to cafe du nord on market street.

it is the cutest little red velvety barroom. i always wish i had more pictures, but this blurry one of me kind of gives the feeling. it was the perfect place to see such a rad show. we seriously were lucky to witness some pure musical magic!!!

this is the adorable and talented haley bonar whom we all got instant crushes on:

hayden bliss: matt and amy feeling it:later craziness ensued. at some point after a mad 7-11 trip and a recircling back by said 7-11 at least ten or twelve times, amy got drunk off caffeine. it was a sight to see. no one could NOT laugh when amy laughs like that! for a while there, we were deliriously trapped in the 3:30 morning streets of san francisco. how did this happen? no one knows. but somehow we all made it home.

lucky these are the shortest days of the year so we got to watch the sky lighten as we arrived back in placerville at 6 a.m. i had the loveliest drive with amy. there are people who you never get tired with, who continues to thrill you in conversation and liveliness and life in general, every moment. amy is one of these for me, and i'm sure she is for all of us. i had such a great time with you all. matt and amy, you are probably in wendover right now. i hope you make it to your beds with blissful time to sleep before morning!

Coffeecups with Saucers, Record Players, Gardens, Housesitter Desperately Needed

Hi my dear family.
Here's a little update and just so you know, I am not trying to exclude everyone by not coming over for Father's Day or to see Matt and Amy, but you must understand, I am sooooo broke. Plus 100 dollars and my Ipod were stolen, and so the gas money is impossible this past week. By this weekend I will be better off.

Alessi from London, is coming to stay four nights with us, starting tonight. I am so very excited! We are taking our boat on it's first test run tomorrow, to see if it sinks or floats. I will have to put some pictures up of our trip. Alessi is coming, and a bunch of friends.... The periwinkle boat is fricking adorable. Today I smell like salt and B.O after leaving frantically to go running this morning which I did not expect to do. I decided to go after checking the weather and seeing that the next 2 days are going to be scorchers.... 80 degrees by 8 am or something ridiculous. I don't do so good at getting up before 9 am, and so it's really too hot if it's past 83 degrees to go run, especially if there is no breeze. So at 10:30 today, at a nice 78 degrees with a breeze, I took off in a hurry. I have many many gold stars now. But my 4 times running a week has sort of turned into 3..... oh well.

I have a love of coffee mugs that come complete with a saucer, so after you mix up your coffee you can lay the spoon somewhere. And plus, with a saucer under your mug, the coffee cup never leaves rings of coffee or spills on the counter. Here is a picture of me, after running (like 1 hour after) with my new mugs and saucers from the thrift store!



Also, Art, Cam and I are going to be gone next weekend. I need a housesitter. We will be gone 3 nights, I just need someone to stay over for 1 night. Not sure which one. Now listen, while at our house you can use any amenities you want, you can go to the Yuba River, you can play XBox, you can even have a little party, the only thing you can't do is steal anything.
I will pay for gas here and back. I also might pay more if I can fork it up.
Here are the things I need:
My babycats given lots of love and attention while you are at the house.
My garden and my plants around the house watered.
The cat food filled and water filled.
Uncover the goldfish pond if you are here during the day and then cover again when night falls. If you are only staying one night you can leave them covered after that.

One or two nights should be fine......please! Can anyone do this? I will leave the key and gas money for whoever could help me. My kitties will be so lonesome if no one stops by, or if Art's brother (Seth he's 13) just runs in and feeds them and leaves. Plus my fish need a little bit of light! Not 4 days under the wooden cover that keeps the raccoon out! And my veggie garden.... ......heather, darin? Anyone you know? If you help me out I will be sure to help you out back some day!

I love you all! I hope you aren't mad that I did not visit to see Dad or the kids. I miss you all so much. I am just working through this poverty... and...wanting a new damn ipod! I have to go now and clean clean clean the house to make it cottage-perfect for when Aless arrives.

yours truly,
adie

New Kids are back

more on our trip to idaho and utah

the day after i finished my extremely difficult semester, and on the day that the rain finally came, mom and i left for idaho. it was 45 degrees in the morning and i laughed at mom when she suggested it might be snowing over the summit...ha! she got me! we got trapped in a mini snowstorm next to an accident. a couple cars went sliding off the road. we were the first car in a long line of stopped traffic.we came through the snow and into the fog and then rain at lake tahoe. we watched a hundred different skies that day. here we are at our favorite gas stop in lovelock: two stiffs mini mart. i like the old fashioned gas pumps that look like robots:matt is right when he says nevada is not so bad. we saw so much gorgeous scenery. this is after we turned north toward idaho. i can just imagine the shoshone indians riding horses across these grassy hills:but driving in a car is pretty fun too.somehow we arrived at our motel in twin falls idaho just minutes before matt, amy and the kids came pulling in. we rendezvoused in our roomy suite and the kids ate muffins grandma cherie sent. mom hadn't seen her grandkids in five months and so there was a lot of oohing and ahhhing over their cuteness. i mean look at this:
the next morning we woke up early and had a nice continental breakfast. i wish i had video footage of bella saying "darandula." she had discovered a new fascination/fear of tarantulas and i told her about the time i saw one, in the dark (the power was out) in a bathroom at a campground in new mexico, by flash-light. it freaked her out. mom or dad had to go in the bathroom with her now.
mom and i went off to see uncle dan. i will do another post of mom's pictures and tell more about uncle dan. here is mom giving him some childhood pictures of himself.
matt has already blogged the idaho part of our trip pretty thoroughly at beattytown.blogspot.com. so i will skip to sunday. we went on a walk through the historic neighborhoods of provo. the kids rode their bikes and jarom got a pretty nasty ouchy. (he rides without training wheels and falls pretty often) he was very brave (see knee).

monday we went to the mall. it was memorial day and we ran a lot of errands then had a see's candy fest here at the mall, as you can see.later that night we all went to the movies to see "horton hears a who" which we loved. the kids were perfect during it, even oey. we got the "family night special" with a giant refillable tub of popcorn. i kid you not, we refilled that thing four times, and the large soda too. it's fun to hog out on vacation!this is tuesday, which amy has also blogged extensively at their blog, if you want to check it out it's called "tuesdays with beattys" a name which i adore. we took a walk to the bakery,the kids each got to choose a dougnut and jarom got the big Y of course:and mom learned to dumpster dive.later amy made a nice pizza and we met matt (he was working that day) for a picnic at the park. it was a gorgeous day. there was a stray dog mom loved named harley. she found the owner's number and called them. it was a very sweet old dog and mom is just a softie.
in the evening matt and i took jarom and bella to DI. it was really fun taking bella around and looking at clothes with her. we were picking out dresses and skirts and glittery things right and left. she would go, "ooh, this is cute," like a little lady. even for not-so-cute things. she truly loved this old fashioned prairie girl dress i got her, and here she is swirling the skirt later at home:

jarom shows off the ball i bought him at the sports store. actually, i just gave him some cash and he stood in line and purchased it all by himself. he was very quiet and intent as he did the transaction, glancing proudly over at matt and i nearby. it was so cute. later bella did the same at the disney store with a pouch of plastic jewels (her choice.)

mom and amy spent the evening sewing an adorable keepsake apron for bella. here she is modeling it for us. she did about twenty five different poses. and i read them "horton hears a who" on our last night. i like bella's face here.