We were told by the end of the week...

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There's a NEW queen of clean in town.

No, not the magically beautiful and shoe-less Cinderella, festooned in a glittery ballgown and being ardently pursued by a handsome and wealthy prince.

The Cinderella who spends her days and nights on her hands and knees. Scrubbing. Cleaning. Sweeping. Mopping. Vacuuming. Washing windows. Folding Laundry. Doing dishes.

Except that, unlike Cinderella the maid, I don't converse with mice or birds. To be truthful, if I saw a mouse while cleaning, I'd probably pass out and pee my pants. Although not in that order. And then, so much for a clean house!

All the broken fingernails and sleepless nights of my Cinderella experiment have paid off, though, because today we completed the VERY LAST step in our adoption approval process: the home study visit.

No, don't go away!

You did click on the right blog, it just looks different; what with a new blog post and all.

A real blog post!

(you can pick your jaw up off the floor now)

Most people are busy.
Busy is just a really pleasant way of indicating that each day on your family calendar has something written on it. WE are light years beyond "busy," to the point where our calendar has become obsolete. How did this happen???

Here are a few highlights of what you might have missed had I actually posted...

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First of all, spring came! And went. And came. And went. And then summer arrived.
The blossoming pear tree in our backyard is an annual photo op and the blossoms last for a whopping two glorious days, until the ferocious, springtime wind blows them to smithereens! This was one of those RARE, sunshiney, Sunday afternoons during this weirdo-weather, Idaho spring.

****
Somewhere between adoption paperwork, yard work, volunteer work and just work in general, Clarke found time to be part of the annual Gas Rodeo, challenging service technicians and crews from around the state to compete in a tournament of skills. Clarke's team came in 3rd overall, but rocked a few of the challenges, including the pipe cutting.

Brock was far more interested in running with the crowd of children, than cheering his daddy's team on during the gas rodeo. This is, perhaps, the only picture I captured in which Brock is not a blur of motion, running with the pack of kids.

***

COUSINS!!!!
Hourly. Daily. Weekly.
It seems that our erratic schedule was due in part to nieces and nephews.
We invite that kind of craziness, though. Keeps us young and cool! And besides, how could we not, when these are the kids:

...and these kids:


and these cuties:

And these chickees:

And this little cherub too:


A few weeks ago, our Portland nieces, Amy and Becca, came for a visit. Brock was out-of-his-mind excited to have cousins coming to stay for 4 days. Even if they were girls.
We were lost in the world of hair dye, shopping, hiking, baking, curls and dance movies.
Here are some of the adventures with our nieces:

Hiking Camel's Back:

Playing in the fountains at The Grove:***
During their visit, we cooked and baked! In fact, we even hosted a dessert party for the WHOLE family!

Amy's S'mores Cookie Pizza:


1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. veg. oil
1/2 c. margarine, softened
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla
2 c. plus 2 T. flour
1/2 t. soda
1/2 t. salt

Toppings: mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, chocolate candy bar, and crushed graham crackers

Mix sugars, oil and margarine in a large bowl. Stir in egg and vanilla. Combine flour, soda and salt; gradually blend into mixture. Using hands, press dough onto round pizza pan. Bake at 375 degrees until almost done, but not browned; remove from oven. Spread toppings of your choice over cookie, return to oven and bake until cookie is slightly browned. Let cool. Cut like pizza.

Char's Homemade Oreos:
2 Pkg chocolate cake mix
1 1/2 c. butter Crisco
4 eggs

Mix together. Roll into 1 1/2 tsp balls. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. Cool

Mix frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cube butter or margarine
2 tsp. vanilla
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Spread frosting between two chocolate cookies. Voila! Oreos!
***

"His Baby"

1-year old, cousin Rachel came to stay for Father's Day weekend. She didn't much care for her Aunt Char (sniff, sniff). But when it came to Uncle Clarke, she was enamored. And he was smitten. In a sadistic and self-indulgent way, I found Clarke's 24-hour sole-devotion to such a little creature hilarious and thoroughly enjoyed rousing him from his sleep to go take care of "his baby," as she was awake. At 6 a.m. Every morning. hehehe.
Hey, it's hard work being a baby's favorite person!
(but just between you and me, I think Clarke enjoyed every, single second of it!)

****
The First Swim of Summer:

When your dad does this:
You must resort to this...
Brock's water shield:
And when daddy gets caught by mommy, he does this:
Trying to splash the camera! Tsk! Tsk!

Brock in midair: A sequence of exceptionally cool pictures.

Gearing up for the big jump:
On your mark, get set:
Go!!!!

From a different angle:
And one more jump, for good measure.
Catching daddy unawares...

I think my boys are part-fish.

Especially this one:

In addition to having obscene amounts of fun, entertaining, baking, and babysitting, we've also *almost* completed our adoption home study. We're talking a MOUNTAIN of paperwork! Our home visit is Monday and then, pending approval, we'll be done with this part of the process! Woot!

We've also been s-l-o-w-l-y getting our garden planted and managed to grow a meadow in our backyard the week that we were NOT home long enough to mow the lawn. Good times.

Clarke participated in Paint the Town, a volunteer opportunity to help spruce up the homes and properties of elderly citizens. Clarke spent three long days building "housing" for an elderly gentleman's blueberry bushes, complete with netting to keep out the birds. When I saw his brilliant work, I insisted that he build one over our strawberries--who had succumb to a similar fate as the blueberries. Dumb birds.

I have had plenty of work to keep me busily snapping away and afterward proofing my work for the clients. Last week, I had the great opportunity to photograph a charity golf tournament. I can't golf worth beans, but it was fun to imagine myself one day playing well enough to step foot on a golf course, as a golfer and not as just the photographer. You can see some of the pictures HERE.

In my spare time I like to blog.