red handed

that moment when: 

you find out why it's been so quiet.

deception pass

last weekend, we celebrated the michaels' april birthdays (that would be bryan and caleb, respectively) by taking the family up to deception pass state park.

the kids climbed, splashed, and explored to their heart's content (all snug and warm in their jackets, of course).

the pacific northwest at its best.

oh look, caleb found a stick.

photobombed

can you spot the difference?

pot stickers

the family treated bryan to dinner at a delicious thai restaurant last night where dallin here ate seven pot stickers. SEVEN as-big-as-his-little-baby-hand pot stickers. he would have eaten more, but (even after ordering another round!) we ran out.

the force is strong with this one.

you say it's your birthday

true story: it's bryan's birthday today.

so of course, how could i resist printing up a dozen of these super cool signs (homage to a practical joke my brother played on bryan in college) to hang up all around his office? 

neither could i resist, with some *major* help both on the inside and out, setting up birthday central at his desk: giant ballons! loud blowers! silly hats! metallic confetti! hundreds of snickerdoodles! 

SURPRISE!

birthdays (and bryan) are the best.

rainbow brite

summer and afton have recently begun experimenting with different hairstyles.

my favorite so far:

there's something about caleb

our newly minted three year old:

caleb is a boss. there is really no other way around it.

he is independence. he is adventure. he is charm.

he loves books. not so much being read to. he loves walking. not so much holding hands. he loves, loves, loves, torturing afton. not so much when she returns the favor.  

there's no question caleb is blonde for added visibility. and for our part, we dress him in a lot of orange and yellow and red at playgrounds and parks and even in the backyard so that he's easy to spot when he's darting off into the street or climbing something dangerous (have you ever found your son at the top of your eight foot bookcase? cause i have) or poking a hornet's nest. 

this kid has no fear.

see that bruise beginning to form on his forehead? yeah, i have no idea what that's from, but there'll be two more just like it before the week is up, i'm sure.

caleb is without guile. he is who is he and he does what he wants and he always tells the truth. who colored all over the wall? "i colored it." who got into the fridge and ate this entire cake? "i ate it." who poured sand down afton's shirt? "i did it." 

he sticks out his lower lip and gives you the saddest face you've ever seen if he thinks he's in trouble. or he's just generally so calmly charming about the whole thing that you can't help but not be as distressed as you wanted to be about whatever mischief he's gotten into (and will surely revisit again).

there's just something about caleb. 

happy birthday to my happy, healthy, handsome son! every year of his life has probably taken two off of mine, but i'm so, so (so!) glad he's ours.

anniversaire de mariage

yesterday was also bryan and emily's eleventh wedding anniversary.

fun fact: we've been married for, like, a third of our lives now.

last night, we were taking a little stroll while waiting for our dinner reservation. i was hungry, so we stopped in a chocolate shop (where i knew they gave out free chocolate!) and decided to "build our own box" for the first time in our eleven years wed. we usually just go in and buy a pre-sorted stash, but with no kids in tow and some time to kill, we carefully selected about ten chocolates each to put in our anniversary box.

and let me tell you what: after watching bryan pick out his chocolates, i felt like i didn't know this man at all. i mean, all this time i thought for sure he was a nut and chew and caramel guy (cause that's what i've been buying him, and by golly, he's been eating them), when in fact, left to his own devices, he ordered a bunch of truffles. fruity-flavored truffles.

all this time. and he still takes me by surprise.

army bratz

so facebook tells me it's national sibling day. and while i'm not really sure what that's supposed to mean, i thought i'd post this little gem for the masses:

kenny, owen, emily, matt

to siblings who remember your awkward phases, who know how many years you slept with that stuffed animal, who can push *all* your buttons, who remain dangerously competitive during board games, who know you used to have a crush on mandy moore and how choked up you got during that scene in titanic. who've made you bleed, who've made you cry, who've made you better. who were figuring out life at the same time and in the same place you were.

and whom you will never outgrow.

egg hunt duvall

small town.

big dreams.