Summer Dreamin'

As a kid summer was always my favorite season. I enjoyed school, so it wasn't so much that--it was just that we could be outside all the time. We took vacations, we went camping, we swam for hours and hours in the pool at our apartment complex, we could go barefoot everywhere.

While this summer will be different from most, and the tiny human's arrival smack dab in the middle means I have no idea what to really expect, these are the things I wish I could stick on my summer to-do list:

• Go on my family's week-long waterski trip on Lake Shasta
• Plant and tend to our garden (will it warm up enough for that this year? doesn't appear to be the case)
• Take at least two backpacking trips in the Wallowas
• Go car camping
• Hike somewhere (Jubilee Lake? Southfork?) frequently
• Take Husband on a weekend golf trip at a resort (golf for him, spa for me--win win!)
• Finish painting bedroom and rest of upstairs
• Barbeque on the newly-improved patio
• Have a yard sale
• Take long evening bike rides
• Visit the Farmer's Market nearly every Saturday
• Spend time with my sister in Seattle--doing touristy things that we never do
• Clean and organize the entire garage
• Creating oodles of new jewelry to get a head start on the holiday selling season

Wonder how many of these I will be able to accomplish?

Hmmmm

We pass this sign every time we drive to Seattle and Husband has always wanted a picture of it. This time I was ready and as we got near I had the camera out and poised to snap a photo.*

If you don't know the area it's not nearly as funny, so let me give a brief background. Palm Springs is, of course, warm and lovely and lush and wealthy. Yakima is, well, none of those things. It's in the hot, dry center of Washington State and its main claim to fame is an amazingly high rate of gang-related crimes.

*Unfortunately the shot was poorly timed as we passed these giant posts right as I hit the button. There's always next time. 

Backpacking

I'm feeling like a lazy blogger this week so here are pictures of our backpacking trip this weekend.

 Fun times.