Sunday Fun!

Early Sunday morning, I received a phone call from Lin & Ward. They invited our family out for breakfast. I declined, as everyone was still in bed & wouldn't be ready in time. I asked her for a rain check & told her to have fun.

Minutes later, I heard tires screeching & the consistent honk of a car horn - in our driveway. I ran to the window to see who was making all the commotion; and see the Kellogg family. The Kelloggs came inside and said they were not taking NO for an answer. We had to come to breakfast with them. Ward & Lia ran upstairs to wake Nas & Matty (who were not amused). Omid & I were still in shock - wondering WHAT just happened. The next thing we knew, we were (Remy & Jack included!!) on our way to Tin Shed Garden Cafe for breakfast.

Favorite new PDX find!

Unfortunately, Lin & Ward neglected to make reservations and we had to wait for over an hour (in the COLD) for a table. The food was definitely worth the wait!

Waiting in the warm car.

Still waiting!

Omid, Jack, Ward, Amy & Lin braving the cold.

Jack & Remy - waiting for goodies.

I really want a bite of something!

I heard from a friend about a great new (& FREE) app called Instagram. Here's a photo of Remy at the restaurant before I touched it up with Instagram.

After Instagram!

Bottom line: We had a great time dog-watching at this restaurant! The food was super and I can't wait to go back for dinner. Next time, I will make sure to ask for a chair for Remy. He was definitely unhappy sitting on the ground.

Inspiration

Borrowed this from local superwoman Lara Blair's blog.

Exactly what I needed to hear today.

Cuteness

I love vintage looking tags & cards. Today I found an adorable boxed set of vintage looking tags at Camas Antiques.

They were a bit spendy; but after looking through a sample box - definitely worth the price tag.

Here are just a few of the cute tags.

I plan to use my Martha Stewart glue pen & add glitter to some of the tags (upping their cuteness factor!).

Happy Birthday Naseem!!!

HAPPY 17TH BIRTHDAY NASEEMJOON!!

WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!!!!!!

Cupcakes!

Tomorrow is Naseem's 17th birthday! Where did the time go?? Sigh....

This afternoon, Remy & I made cupcakes for her to take to school tomorrow.

I found these cute cupcake liners at Fred Meyer.

Nas' favorite cake: Funfetti!

Fun Fact & Money Saving Tip: Ask the bakery at your local grocery store for take out whipped cream icing. It's inexpensive (less than $5 for two 16 oz. containers) & tastes delicious! I also asked if I could purchase sprinkles. A 3 oz container in the baking section cost over $3 & the sprinkles weren't that cute. The bakery sold me a huge container (over 8 oz) for .56 cents!

Nas & Remy with the finished cupcakes.

Deliciousness!

Remy enjoys whipped cream frosting too! Don't worry - I triple sanitized the spatula. :)

The Grotto

The kids & I decided to visit The Grotto today. We hadn't been for several years and thought it would be fun to walk the 62 acre park.

The beautiful Grotto.

Elevator: 110 feet to the park above.

If you go, take $4.00 to ride the elevator.

The money is used for

maintenance of the Grotto & the surrounding park.

Meditation Room

Grotto Monastery

New last year: The Grotto Labyrinth

Fun Fact: I found out today that my friend Sarah got engaged at The Grotto.

I love that!

Spotted in the park: a monk!

St. Thaddeus

Not being Catholic, I wasn't sure who St. Thaddeus was.

According to Wikipedia, he was one of the 12 Apostles.

Spotted near the elevator: a nun!

Prayer candles

Our prayer candle

No words needed.

Close up.

It was good day to reflect on what we're thankful for & for remembering the people/things on our prayer list.

Razor Clamming

On Saturday, we headed over to Long Beach, WA to dig some razor clams. We hadn't been clamming since May. The low tide wasn't until later, so we explored the town for a bit. The world's largest frying pan. Check out http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ for quirky stops all over the USA. I typed in Long Beach, WA. The site said Long Beach had TWO interesting sites. After we visited the frying pan, we headed across the street to Marsh's Free Museum. This store is home to Jake - The Alligator Man. A must see according to Roadside America.

Nas with the two headed calf.

Jake

After spending a lot of time (over one hour!) in Marsh's Free Museum, we finally headed to the beach to start clamming.

It took a while to get into our gear. Clamming is a wet & dirty activity. I am always surprised when I see clammers wearing only jeans. Jeans are so uncomfortable when wet!

It was a gorgeous day!

We got our limit & had a great time. Thanks to Nas for taking all the great photos!!

Our haul: 60 delicious clams!