Almost Famous. Again.

For the girl who has:
> had her face shown on the TV show 20/20
> appeared in a Cascadian Farm television commercial during prime time,
> had her face hidden in some vegetables on a box of Cascadian Farm frozen veggies
and
> has been pictured inside a teacher's guide at the North Cascades Environmental Learning Center
has somehow made another public appearance.

Tanya received a phone call today from a friend who suggested she check out page 32 in the Skagit County Fair 2009 Official Program (distributed as a supplement with the local Skagit County Herald newspaper).





This photo was taken at the 2008 Skagit County Fair. Yes, that is Josie the dog (not the pussycat) and the poster in the background is also Mikayla's handiwork.

You can find Mikayla at the County Fair again this year. The fair runs from August 12 - 15, 2009 at the Skagit County Fairgrounds (of course).

See you there!

~E

Fourteen Years Ago

Fourteen years ago (according the the camera date stamp anyway) Tanya, Kim & I were enjoying a sunny day out at Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands.

Someone had the bright idea to rent mopeds.

I'll spare you all the details, but it involves forfeiture of a damage deposit, riding in a van with a complete stranger on an island and an after hours visit to the local hospital.

This was back before digital cameras, so instead of a 4 minute video supplemented with cool music and 250 photos, all I have to remember that day is 1) Tanya, 2) Kim and 3) this scanned "before" and "after" picture.



Oh... the good old days.

;~)

Stef's Wedding (video)

Here is a late addition that should have been included in Stef's wedding post.



~E

Little Stef's Wedding 07/18/09

Last weekend we traveled across the state to Richland, WA in order to attend Stefanie's wedding.

Stefanie is one of Tanya's cousins.

Tanya is always sharing stories about how much fun she had 'in the olden days' helping to take care of Stef and Kendyl (Stef's younger sister).

Stef is also responsible for our periodic use of "You get what you get and don't throw a fit" which she was overheard saying to Kim & Kari (T's college roommates) while handing them stickers at Stef's 4th birthday party.

Kendyl used to like Tanya so much that even when Tanya wasn't around Kendyl wouldn't let anyone eat any yellow M&M's. This is because Kendyl would save them for Tanya's next visit, since yellow was Tanya's favorite color.

Kendyl was a bridesmaid in the wedding.

Both of our girls were invited to be flower girls in the wedding. You can imagine that I took a lot of pictures.

We left home early Friday morning, met Sue & Steve in North Bend (for the last time since they have now sold their house) and headed eastward.

8 people. 3 dogs. 2 vehicles. 90+ degrees.

Typical.

We arrived later that afternoon and the kids took a quick swim before we ventured off to the rehearsal dinner.

Here is a pic of Stef, Alexia, Mikayla & Kendyl:


Here is Kendyl, Tanya, Kim (Stef's & Kendyl's Mom, T's cousin) and Stef:


Kendyl & Alexia:


The next morning we spent a couple hours with the Washburns at their home in Richland. The Washburns used to live up the street from us in Mount Vernon, but they relocated last summer. The girls frequently played with Emma Washburn and we had a great time visiting with them.

Here is Camille(another Mt. Vernonite visiting them for the weekend coincidentally), Emma, Alexia and Mikayla in Emma's backyard:


Finally we returned to the hotel for the girls to get dressed up for the big event.


Once at the wedding location, alongside the Columbia River, it was time for the pre-wedding pictures.





Grandma Bette & Grandpa Ron Beckman were able to fly up from Arizona to be present at the wedding. It was great that they could come and visit as I haven't seen them since our Christmas vacation.



During the photo sessions, I happened to capture this image of Stef. Clearly she and Tanya share some genes. This pic is evidence that they both share a gene that I call "The Dispatcher Gene".


**Video slideshow now available here.**

Tanya realized that Stef is the first person who had the privilege of having Tanya present at both her birth and her wedding. They're both lucky, but feel free to remind Tanya that she's still a spring chicken.

It was a lovely wedding (albeit very hot for those of us from Western Washington) and reception and we were thrilled to be a part of this event. It was also fantastic to be able to see many of the long-lost relatives who we don't get to connect with very often.

Congratulations & Best wishes to Stef & Bryce, the new Bride & Groom!

~E

Happy Birthday Mikayla!

After a whirlwind trip to the tri-cities in Eastern Washington for a wedding (story and pics here) we hustled home to host an early birthday party for Mikayla.

She's now 12.
I'm now old.

A few of Mikaylas friends came over on Monday and enjoyed a sunny afternoon at Grand Bay Resort (a water slide park in Birch Bay).


Afterwards, the whole crew came back to our house for swimming, playing, dinner, cake and presents... followed by a slumber party.


Nana came up to help out (thanks Nana!!).

Thanks, everyone, for coming and helping her celebrate this milestone.

Happy Birthday Mikayla!!

~E

Post Weekend Update

Saturday

T, A & M went to the circus.
It was outdoors.
In +85 degree weather.
Without shade.
Too hot for pictures.
They had a good time anyway.

Eric went hiking.
It was outdoors.
In +85 degree weather.
With partial shade.
Too many bugs for pictures.

Sunday

The family spent the day at a Dog Agility match.
It was outdoors.
In +55 degree weather.
With partial rain.
And a bathroom that get flushed by pouring in a bucket of water.
There were 0 bugs and a lot of nice people.
Took a few nice pics of the family, individually.
Mikayla & Josie earned two blue ribbons and may have earned a spot at the State Fair.
Alexia couldn't compete with Katrina as Katrina is still to young.
Alexia was, however, sporting her new glasses today.