Gluten Free Sour Cream Pancakes… yum!

Inspired by Edna Mae’s Sour Cream Pancakes …

the one in The Pioneer Woman’s Cookbook

if y’all don’t know the Pioneer Woman…

You must go meet her… must… she is funny …

an amazing cook and photographer!  =)  just sayin…

So I LOVE the gluten version of these pancakes… *sigh*

In January when I finally took the Gluten Free plunge (a medically necessary plunge…*sigh*  but Sooooo Worth it! )… I admit… I was sad that I would never get to eat these pancakes again… among other gluten filled goodies… oh never mind…

Ha!

well… as it turns out…

I think I can… I think I can… make GF Foods yummy! =)

anyway…

Here is my gluten free version :

(for now that is… I am still hoping to try it with coconut flour too!)

2 tbsp melted butter

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tbsp Vanilla

1 egg white

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup GF Bisquick

start by whisking the egg white (oops a little yoke got in)

with vanilla and sugar…

add the melted butter

then

in a separate bowl

whisk the sour cream, GF Bisquick and cinnamon…

it will be light and fluffy and sticky

whisk the liquid mix with the flour sour cream mix…

use a bigger bowl than I did… this step is a tiny bit humorous!

er ….sloppy… =)

I actually whisk with a hand held pastry blender (LOVE that thing!)

Ready to cook!

the batter is thick so it doesn’t really pour into the pan

you have to scoop it and spread it around a bit with the spoon

and they are not easy to flip either!

I flipped that one too early!

cook them on low heat

I use my cast iron pan, a little canola oil and a metal pancake flipper! =)

the metal pancake flipper makes a huge difference!!

and let them cook until the turner slips under it easily

you’ll understand after you try to flip the first couple!

(snicker snicker)

better… =)

this recipe makes about 7 small to medium pancakes

enough for two kids… or me…  ha ha ha…

I like them with applesauce

or Nutella!!  mmmmm….

That’s All Folks!!

OH… Gluten Free Bisquick is hidden on the bottom shelf… in the pancake and or baking section… at Fred Meyer, Haggan Top Foods and Safeway.

I have made the scone recipe from the box too… modified of course…definitely my favorite Gluten Free Pancake mix… with or without the sour cream!  =)

Enjoy!!

Blessings~

Jenn

PS

Please don’t worry about me… posting twice in one week… =)

I’m fine!!  Really… I am!!  ha ha ha…

The Sunday “Beach Edition”

I know this isn’t a shocker to y’all…

if you have been to my blog before

you likely know I am Blissfully In Love with the beach…

especially Oregon and Hawaii beaches…

but we can’t afford Hawaii every year…

anyway… on to the Sunday Scavenger Hunt in pictures… Beach Style..=)

Old  ~ Scared of Water Dog (last year)

notice the leash… we had to DRAG Merlin into the water last year

and he RAN out of it as fast as he could…ha ha ha

*he’s even afraid of the hose …STILL…**

232/365 New ~ Confident Water Dog (this year)

This year he went in the water solo… NO leash!!

he was a bit afraid at first …however…..

by the end of the day he was happily walkin in water up to his tummy! =)

Way to tackle your fears Merlin!!   *wink*

One more picture…

just so you really get the idea…

look at the FEAR in his face

after we drug him through the water!

ha ha ha ha ha… (poor Merlin) …

233/365 Sun

234/365 Night Photography (0ne)

does it get any better than that??  =)

235/365 (two)

236/365 (three)

** it was really really hard to pick one of my beach pics for each category in this post** and  speaking of cheating…

237/365 Cheesy (er… eggy?)

its all dairy right?  ha ha ha …

sorry got nothing in this category!!

but I did find this funny sculpture of chickens and eggs…

I have been to Cannon Beach a thousand times

and never saw this before… how could I miss it??!

want to see the whole thing?

which came first the chicken or the egg???

(I always tell my kids the chicken of course, the Bible says God made the Animals… not the eggs!)  =)

238/365 Music

the sound of the Ocean waves breaking on the shore…

ah… Music to my ears…

and the sound of my children enjoying the ocean…

A Master Piece!!  =)

Everyone in our wee little family LOVES the beach…

Pure Bliss to be at the beach….

Even Merlin is in Heaven at the beach!!

It will be a LONG Autumn/Winter without the beach….

*sigh*

Do y’all have a peaceful, happy place like that??

Have I asked you that already??  =)

I better go and have another cup of coffee…

Blessings~

Jenn

**anyone else in awe that we have made it to 238 out of 365 days?? (even if I am cheating by doing weekly instead of daily… I still can’t believe it!)  maybe next year I will manage the daily pic??!  **  crazy!!!

**oh… and for those of you who might have wanted the Gluten free Sour Cream Pancake recipe… I am typing it RIGHT NOW… won’t get up from my chair til it is done… **dang** broken promise… I hate that!!  sorry!!**

now go and enjoy others takes on these fun photography links!

and

Summer is Slipping Away

Summer mornings are slipping away… sniff…

We have had a lovely week…

Monday was our anniversary *13 years!!* …

we went geocaching with the kids that day…

and came home without finding a single one!! *sigh*

the next day was my mans birthday

we celebrated by going Paddle boarding!!  *SO. Much. FUN!*

no pics.. Tragic!!  we didn’t want to drop a camera in the water!

anyway… now that we have been to a lesson we can rent boards..

which we intend to do before the summer is out (yikes!)

maybe we will get pics next time?!!

Have you ever been or seen Paddle boarding?  What a hoot!!

anyway… because it was a lovely week… and I love summer…

and I love extra time on summer mornings to make special breakfasts

sometimes for my kids and sometimes for me…

this week I was Inspired by PW’s Sour Cream Pancakes in her cook book

I had to make my own Gluten Free version this week

they turned out fabulous!!

(I love P-dub’s sour cream pancakes… I ate em before I went G~Free…sigh)

225/365

anyway… they were yummy…

I promise… I WILL post the recipe ..this week…

after I go to the beach again… ok?!!  =)

I am rambling today!!

… on with the Sunday Scavenger Hunt…

226/365 Geometry 1 (my little girls favorite)

triangle?

227/365 Geometry 2

( I was going to use before Abby fell in love with the other one)

triangle?!

SO this week we finally did something bold… (ha ha)

Our kids are 10 and 9… and we have never had a zoo membership…

We signed… on the dotted line… 228/365

we had to… Abby was desperate!!

it was all because of the babies     229/365

my little animal loving girl HAD to see these babies…

I say these b/c there are two… only one pictured for y’all…

b/c it was my favorite!!

they were so small… for 2 mo. old clouded leopard cubs…

one day they will grow up to be big like this guy

*Brush strokes*   230/365 (doesn’t he look like a painting?)  I cheat.  I know.

powerful beast… yet so playful…

like this guy… kinda…   231/365

powerful … yet playful… crazy … he is 3000 lbs… yikes!

since I am totally in the mood for cheating…

My *Collage* ... of animals… ?… =)

ok.. ok… I will quit…

I am such a cheater… I can’t help it…always cheating… sheesh!

I was going to go take a photo of a really cool bench downtown for the collage prompt…it has a collage of photographs… it sits right outside a photo shop… I mean a literal photo store… ha ha… anyway… I never made it down there…so my zoo animals are helping me make my collage…

oh… and one more…

Hanging by a Thread

sleepy little baby seahorse!

he could hardly hang on…

I love animals… almost as much as my daughter does (wink) … We had a  Perfectly Fabulous day at the zoo today… it was Sunny… we got there early.. to beat some of the crowd… and the animals were all frisky, playful, active and hysterical!  =)  It was wonderful!  …Tomorrow… We are headed to the beach … trying to soak up every last minute of summer …

how about you… what are you doing with your last days of summer? OR…  is summer over where y’all are?  I can’t imagine school starting in Aug… my sympathies to those of you who had to start school already!!

I will be around to see your pics later in the week~pinky swear!

The beach is callin…wink!

Blessings!

Jenn

and

Lazy Summer Days

This week was full of relaxing, lazy summer days

218/365 Abby hanging out in the back yard …practicing soccer ” juggling ”

she can juggle it 25 times without dropping it…

bouncing it from knee to knee without hands

(I can’t even get 2 in a row!!)

219/365 Sammy enjoyed playing Frisbee with Merlin

it was really funny to see him run around with that huge Frisbee

220/365 he was cute as a button!!  =)

speaking of buttons…

Shall we move on to the Sunday Scavenger Hunt items for the week?

We have been animal sitting for a few of our neighbors this summer

one at a time…

this week we had Pal

he and Merlin are Pals… (snicker snicker)

221/365 Pal loved to push Merlin’s Buttons

the funny thing is Pal is the old guy …

pushing the young one…

usually it goes the other way…

the “puppy” pushing the old guys buttons…

222/365 Best Part of My Day

Lazy Summer Mornings … offering extra time to make special breakfasts…

What can I say… I love to cook!

(after my coffee of course!)

Gluten free blueberry crepes…

they were ok…

I think I’ll try coconut flour next time…

223/365 Frame within a Frame

evening shadow fun in my kitchen again….

frames   =)

224/365 Ink… er… Paint?

yeah… I know… not even stretching it…no ink this week… just paint!

Fail!  =) but I did finally re-paint my half bath…success!

I LOVE it now…still need to get the mirror up, etc. etc.

it is all green now… the white is just primer…

next up… redo the living/dining/kitchen area… *sigh*

picking color does not come easy to me

third time is a charm??  *sigh*

good thing I LOVE to paint!

anyway…

Against the Light

at the beach of course!

I love evening pictures on the beach…

these photos were taken a few weeks ago… in Cannon Beach…

we are going back very soon…. *blissful sigh*

and I am SO excited…

the beach is where I belong… it’s my happy place!!!

This one made me laugh… look at her feet… =)

I think the beach is their happy place too…

I love that!

Do you have a place where your whole being feels so peaceful and content…

you just can’t handle the blissful happy feeling??   =)

Alrightygoodthen… more summer fun to be had… and we have a little celebrating to do this week… our wedding anniversary… my man’s birthday…

Until next week…  =)

Blessings~

Jenn

linked with:

and

Another Sunday Post *wink*

I am not sure if I would even be blogging right now if it weren’t for Ashley’s Sunday Scavenger hunt… =)  Thanks Ashley for keeping me in the loop!

Don’t get me wrong I love blogging… I just don’t seem to have as much time as I would like to be here …thus the once a week blog post the last few months… if I am lucky! =) Oh dear… anyway… I love doing the 365 day photo project (linking each week with Sarah!) and combining it with Ashley’s scavenger hunt list makes it too tempting to stay in the land of blog for now… my blog dreams are waiting while I just play once a week for now… I love roaming around seeing all the creative takes on your photos… it gives me my blog fix for the week… for now… until I revisit those blog dreams! 😉

anywho… Thanks for visiting!!

our last two weeks… I was distracted by the ocean again!  😉

211/365 Double

This week we painted

I painted our first puppy Lewis

our sweet pup who only got to live 8 short months… (sniff)

I painted one copy for each of my kiddos…

want to see how I did it?

212/365 “the method”

look for the details … find the puppy picture?

I traced it with tracing paper (I spy…)

made the pencil lines dark

flipped it over onto the canvas and transferred the pencil lead…

retraced it and painted!  =) 

213/365 Space (speaking of painting)

For these I printed LEGO Star Wars characters..

we traced, transferred and painted …

we meaning Sammy and I… =)  together…

created a couple Space pictures for Sammy’s room…

214/365 Space 2

215/365 My girl painting… just because I love her

and her kitty painting…

216 /365 Bright

the Summer sun is so bright

I love all the fun shadows that the sun casts through my kitchen window!

I have countless pictures of shadows… =) 

Sweet

Merlin buried his bone under my SWEET Honeysuckle

(its the only sweet in my week… sorry!) =)

I don’t like giving him rawhide… but once in a while we do…

like when we go camping and we want him preoccupied with something!

anyway he is such a funny boy with bones keeps em for weeks before finally chewing on them … he barks at them, protects them from the kitty…I have a little story written about the goof and his bone… maybe one day my pipe dream will become a reality…  writing a book!  anyway…

he digs the dirt with his front paws, puts the bone in…

and then covers it by pushing dirt over it with his NOSE?!!

seriously… his nose!  (sneeze, snuff, snuff, sneeze)  yep…

217/365 Whatever

It doesn’t matter Whatever these two do together…

it always involves giggling and laughing…

I love listening to them play together!

Good friends are such a blessing!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and because I am a total slacker and haven’t blogged for 2 weeks

What can I say?   summer is too distracting! =)

anyway… here are my 7 photos from last week in keeping up with the Jones’… oh… I mean keeping up with Sarah’s 365 challenge!!  I was trying to keep up with Ashley’s challenge too..  you might recognize some prompts! =)

205/365 See what I was distracted by last week?  =)


206/365  The Floor (er ground)

was covered in sand, pebbles, rocks and SEA GLASS…

tumbled in the ocean

perfect treasures

207/365  Deception Pass State Park


208/365   Repeating Patterns

Sammy repeated patterns on his clay frogs!

this week was paint… last week was clay…  we are a crafty bunch…


209/365   Fingertips (formed by my little girls fingertips!)

My kiddos made about 50 clay creations last week!

210/365 (not so) Empty Streets


211/365   Then (Merlin at 6 mo) &   Now (Merlin at 2)

silly Merlin… smoking his bone…

Then: before he was ever groomed …Now:  how we keep his fur now!!  =)

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

That is a wrap folks… two weeks crammed into one blog post…

Hope you all are enjoying summer as much as I am… a few camping trips… but mostly playing locally…its a cheap summer for us… but we are enjoying as much of it as we can!

Blessings!~

Jenn

Simple Summer Pleasures

This was a stay home week for us…

watching the neighbors doggies

enjoying our back yard (and the neighbors back yard Sanctuary)

playing in the summer sun… on the green grass…

Grass about the only living “plant” I can keep kindof alive in my back yard…

between the deer eating my shrubs…fruit trees etc…

and my lack of time,  funding and serious lack of GREEN skills…

and the limited breaks between rainy days here in WA…

well… never mind… more on that in a minute…

Let’s get on with the Sunday Scavenger Hunt shall we

198/365 Music to My Ears

having my morning coffee listening  to the sound of birds chirping

up early to collect breakfast for their young

while I sit quietly enjoying me time before I have to feed my young!  =)

simple pleasures of summer =)

199/365 Hat

what are my children doing there?  oh dear… never mind…

much like his daddy

Sammy wears a hat all summer long

love it.  =)

Clear

this isn’t my best picture… bear with me…

I took it with my cell phone at the indoor pool

less glare at the indoor pool for my low vision kid… =)

anyway

I was trying to get pictures of my kids jumping off the divers block

do you know how hard that is??!  =)

there were a few kids in line with my kiddos and their friends

and there was also a dad in line… 7 jumpers in all…

one by one as they jumped in

splash, splash, splash… HUGE SPLASH… splash, splash, splash…

those of us on the side bench got a little wet  each time the dad jumped in =)

I never manged to capture the kids in the air…

lots of pictures of bubbles after they went under… *sigh*

but I did get a funky picture of the Clear water flying HIGH in the air??

sorry… its all I got for clear this week! but  I like it… for some odd reason….

200/365 Sprinkles

sprinkles of coconut!  =)  ???

Have you ever had a Chick – O – Stick??

It is a childhood treat from the 70’s  =)

yep…. 1970’s!

We loved those things as a kid.

It tastes a lot like the inside of a butter finger candy bar.

VERY yummy when used as SPRINKLES on top of ice cream!!

I bought them for my kiddos when we were in Leavenworth last weekend.

I love introducing my kids to things I loved as a child!!

oops…. They never made it to the Sprinkle stage!!  =)

201/365 Out of This World

This week we watched our neighbors doggys …and watered their flowers

in her OUT OF THIS WORLD sanctuary of flowers!!

I heart flowers… too much… =)

if I didn’t home school and I worked (thus giving us a second income)

I would probably spend more time and money trying to garden!  =)

Her garden is seriously Out. Of. This. World. Beautiful!

I loved every minute I spent in her back yard

(well… not the picking up doggy poo part)

*cough*cough*

border lilies (love, love)

202/365

pink roses

203/365

and yellow roses

and whatever these pretty flowers are =)

she has beautiful hanging baskets too

Calla Lilies and Astibles (spelling?) =)

and these beautiful flowers…

whatever they are…

204/365

Seriously “Out of this world Flower Gardens”…

That was just a glimpse of her flower beds

many of those flowers are my favorites too…**swoon**

my problem is picking out flowers that will compliment each other…

how do people do that!?!!   (ha ha ha)

well…ok… I have an issue with keeping them alive too… =)

Maybe one day my thumb will be half as green as hers… =)

I’d be ok with that…

maybe if I eat more spinach?

Maybe.

A girl can dream, right?!  =)

Anyway… It was lovely spending time  in her flower sanctuary …

throwing the ball for Bella … soaking up the beauty…

More Simple summer pleasures.

Slower Summer daze… =)

Do you have beautiful flower gardens?

or do you just photograph them like me?

ah ha ha ha

sorry.

Now where is my shovel??  =)

ttfn

Jenn ~

ps I had this cooking bug this week too…

and I photographed some of my cooking

feta, basil, Parmesan turkey burgers. YUM.

and a gluten free apricot, raspberry tart.  tasty enough. not my fav.

and gluten free banana walnut loaf.  YUM.

but today I wasn’t in a food mood… ya know?!

maybe I will post a recipe mid-week… just because…

remember I said Maybe!  =)

I am a terrible blogger these days!  =)

Sunday Monday post inspired by :

and

Hello Summer? Where’d ya go?!

Apparently I spoke too soon about sunshine in Washington… last week I was braggin about our perfect sunny 70 degree weather.. alas… it never lasts here in Washington… =) At least our grass will be green a bit longer… and the rain gave me a chance to capture a few lovely water drop shots this week! and it forced us to go on a Spontaneous Adventure to a far away land … er… well… a cute little town on the other side of the mountains… where the temps were a little nicer than this side of the mountains.. are you confused yet? Lets just move on to the weekly Sunday Scavenger Hunt list Shall we… =)

191/365 Bare

my baby grape vines are growing bigger this year than last

the fresh rain drops were so pretty falling off the “bare” vines

hopefully they will produce a little fruit this year

last year they were mostly bare … =)

Maybe we will get one bunch this year??!

192/365 Headlights

I found this old car in Cannon Beach a couple weeks ago and I happened to snap this shot… I liked the fun license plate and the old fashioned looking headlights…grill? …etc…etc.  lucky me… it fit into this weeks hunt!

I did take a few headlight shots this week… they were not my favorite pics… we’ll just use this one and call it good… ok?!  =)

193/365 *just because*

our neighbors were in Sunny Oregon this last week…so  Merlin got to play with Yuba for a couple hours each day… they pretty much teased each other with toys and ate grass together… they were like a couple of goats out there… in the rain… eating GREEN grass… (trying to keep a positive attitude with all this summer rain)   ha ha …  

194/365 Black and White

A month and a half after Abby’s Girl Scout Bronze Award Project… Raising PJ’s for the Pajama Program… we FINALLY were able to find a day to deliver the 80 PJ’s and 40 books Abby collected  to Treehouse for Kids in Seattle… The Pajama Program donates some of their drives to Treehouse for Kids…. A place where kids in foster homes can come and “shop” for free… glad they are finally one step closer to being used by kids who really need them!  =)  The Warehouse had some really fun kid friendly art around the bottom of the building/parking garage… Abby and I liked this one best…  she is such a dog lover… just like her mama!!  =)

195/365 *just because*

Friday we were supposed to go camping in Bellingham with grandma and grandpa… but the forecast was RAIN rain and more Rain… so we all decided to reschedule… but… it was depressing… hubby had the extra day off work… blah blah… so I googled and googled and googled until I found a fun (sunny) place…. in driving distance… to “play” for at least the day…  any guesses where we were??  =)

here is another clue…

I know ONE of my regular visitors will know where this is… actually she might even wonder why I didn’t look her up… I would love to meet up with her one day… as long as I don’t have to go into the deep dark forest to see her… ha ha… =)  anyway… I was VERY close to her home town… in my defense … it was SPONTANEOUS…and we were only there for 5 hours… we will be back… next time we WILL look you up… I swear… only I will need a phone number …you know who you are!!… he he…   =)

196/365 Reflections in Glass

OK… this cute little  humble “Bavarian” Town … is  full of shops, shops and more shops… ONE of the cute shops… featured The Pioneer Woman’s cook book in their window… =) I noticed it… and commented as we passed by… later My little girl snapped this picture… b/c she loves the PW … er… um… well… she loves Charlie… and all the cooking that comes into our home from our copy of her cookbook!!  =)  anyway… Abby took the picture without telling me… I found it later when I downloaded my pics…

do you see the Reflection of the Cars in the window??  Well done Abby!!  =)

197/365 Seeing Double

Double windows??  =)

Isn’t this Church BEAUTIFUL!!  =)

Stunning!!

I loved it…

I had a “moment” with it…

does that ever happen to you?

no…

oh…

hm… *awkward*  =)

Have a Beautiful Week!!

Blessings~

Jenn

oh…the  cute little town… Leavenworth Wa… in the base of the mountains, along a river… adorable little town… fun shopping… charming character… good food… if only the KOA had a cabin available for the night… or we had thought about bringing our tent … never mind… it was a fun day trip… next time we will plan a longer trip there… and play harder… and sleep over night… the kids enjoyed the character of a fun new town… but… it was a long drive for a few hours of fun… ha ha ha… =)

To See More about the Sunday Scavenger Hunt

and the 365

Sunny Sundays

The last couple Sundays have been sunny around these parts.

very sunny.

a couple weeks of …  sunshine = *bliss*   =)

this side of Washington only has 2 months or so of real sunshine…

so this 70 plus degree weather we’ve been having is Wonderful!!  =)

this was also my first week with very little going on…

also wonderful!

Here is a peek of our lazy  sunny week…

Scavenger Hunt Style of course!

184/365 Bling … sky bling that is!

the 4th was our first day relaxing at home this summer

after a week of beach and good friends and 700 miles traveled…

we sat on our driveway all alone…

and watched the neighbors down the road light up the sky

the best kind of fireworks …are the neighbors fireworks…

the houses right near us were really quiet like us…

it was wonderful!!  =)

185/365 *just because*

before we watched the sky light up on the 4th

we had a little fun *math/science* lesson

that I meant to do with my home schooler in May!  =)  oops!

how many pints are in a quart?

quarts in a half gallon?

half gallons in a gallon… oh… um… well… anyway…

you get the idea!

186/365 Dark

it is a dark world my poor kitty lives in

poor Nana!!

honestly… she doesn’t really mind the dark side  “too much”

sometimes she bugs him so he will wrestle her…

and Merlin is pretty gentle with her

despite how bad it looks with her whole head in his mouth!!  =)

187/365 Weather


this is the worst weather we had all week!

Wonderful aren’t they?!  =)

188/365 Something that looks like a letter

I saw the x’s…

but the  hubby saw the w

w ~  waiting for the cat to come in…

or

w ~ wishing the dog didn’t live in HER  house …

189/365 Tangled

tangled in the rocks…

tangled… washed up… hiding… sun bathing… shiny…

enjoying the shores of a local park …

190/365 *just because*

I think the weather was a bit too hot for Merlin this week!!

I don’t know…

sometimes a sleepy, sunny week is a good thing!  =)

Hope you have a chance to Enjoy the sun this week!!

See you next week!

Blessings~

Jenn

Scavenger Hunt

365

see you next week.
ta ta
bub bye
g’bye
the end.

Oh…it isn’t Sunday anymore? =)

Hello land of Blog… ah… the joys of summer…   so distracting aren’t they?!!

We have been to the beach, had friends visit and then followed them home…

Here is a sneak peek… of my last two weeks in photos of course… attempting to follow the prompts of the last two weeks Sunday Scavenger Hunts …only my weeks photos are switched… this week for last and last for this week… mostly…oops!! and of course there will be  a few *just becauses* and my 365 photos !  =)

169/365 *Just because!*

the day before school let out…

my littles learned to climb in a rock gym

for birthday parties / girl scout events…

who knew my skinny kids with VLMM (very little muscle mass)

would be Soooo Swift at pulling their own body weight up a wall

they both scaled this giant wall in no time flat!!!

I mean they do have the “light” factor going on… but still… VLMM!!  =)

They both climbed like they had been doing it for months!!  =)

170/365 Crossing Thresholds

my little girl crossed the elementary school cross walk

for the LAST time as a student there (sniff)

and she crossed it with a SMILE on her face!!  go Abby!

my little emotional offspring left Elementary School behind happy

(maybe it had  to do with fact we were heading STRAIGHT to the beach)

our beach… Cannon beach Oregon!! 

171/365 (X-Ray) bear with me

I wish I had x-ray vision/hearing?

and I could see (hear) into their little minds

as they play on the beach together  =)

they play as though they are ALL ALONE

as if we are not there with them

or anyone else for that matter

just them and God… and the giant ocean and vast sandy beach he created….

I love watching them on the beach!

but… OH how I wish I could hear the dialog in their little minds!  =)

172/365 Toy (from God … the creator of this beautiful earth we live on)

Cannon Beach is a giant TOY for me… a playground… a gift from God!!

for relaxing, unwinding, connecting my spirit deeper with His…

and for capturing reflections ….It is very addicting!  =)

I love the Pacific Northwest Beaches and Mountains…

standing in Awe of God before those creations is not an option!!

though I did see Mt. Hood, Mt St Helens, Mt Rainier, Mt. Baker…

The Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Mountains

and never mind all the beautiful Mountain ranges in BC this last two weeks…

lets just focus on the beach this time m’kay?!!  =)

the reflections are everywhere!!  Toys I tell you … toys!!

I know I have said this before… but it happens every time I visit the beach or the mountains…The worship song “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord” plays over and over in my head as I stand in God’s beautiful world before the creations that make me feel so small yet so significant in this giant world we live in…

Refrain:
Have you seen Jesus my Lord?
He's here in plain view.
Take a look, open your eyes,
He'll show it to you.

1. Have you ever looked at the sunset
With the sky mellowing red,
And the clouds suspended like feathers
Then I say... (pause)
You've seen Jesus my Lord.

2. Have you ever stood at the ocean
with the white foam at your feet,
Felt the endless thundering motion?
Then I say...(pause)
You've seen Jesus my Lord.
(refrain)

3. Have you ever looked at the cross,
with a man hanging in pain
And the look of love in his eyes?
Then I say...(pause)
You've seen Jesus my Lord.  (refrain)

4. Have you ever stood in the family
With the Lord there in your midst
Seen the face of Christ on each other?
Then I say... (pause)
You've seen Jesus My Lord.  (refrain)

I wish we lived a tiny bit closer to Cannon Beach

so I could go there OFTEN!!  **sigh**

a couple times a year is NOT enough!    =)

173/365   *just because*

just because I rarely post pics of my man

this is what we look like after a few days in the land of Bliss

Cannon Beach Oregon!!  =)

oh… and we went three days without showering

our happiness far outshines our groody~ness don’t ya think?  =)

the kids were FAST asleep too… that helps the bliss factor… ha ha ha

174/365 Pop of Color

skipping ahead a week (I actually did take this one this week)

on Vancouver Island, BC where I was visiting a very good friend.

we were checking in on her sisters horse/pony and stayed to  “play”

I snapped a million pictures b/c I love her sisters little 2 acre “farm house” =)

see I told you… the photos I took last week fit into this weeks Scavenger Hunt Items and the photos I took this week fit into last weeks Scavenger Hunt items… mostly… I hope I am not confusing y’all!!  =)

moving on…

174/365 Paint (last weeks item and photo) =)

while we were at the beach there was a live open air artists exhibit

I especially loved this artists work… but there was a good sized crowd around him… so I never managed to figure out his name… his painting was “blurred” a bit…and then scored it with straight lines (a razor blade ish like tool?)  it added  a checkerboard look to it…If I had cash for art…. I would have entertained buying one of his creations!  =)

175/365 Leaf Veins and petal veins

another lovely flower from my friends sisters little farm house/property

176/365 oops speaking of FARM

the sun was going down but I still like this shot

is there ever a  farm without a weather vein??  =)

177/365 Eyelashes

my little girl has pretty eyelashes…

I love this picture of her  =)  her beautiful eyes stand out to me…

she was exhausted  after jumping on the trampoline

on my friends sisters little farm house property =)

please excuse my lazy grammar in this whole post!

178/365 (almost) Faceless Portrait

my little girl learned to fish this week

on Canada Day =) at a little local fishing derby

it was hard to capture a good “portrait”

b/c the wind was blowing like crazy

and the rain was teasing us all day

all the kids went home with a nice prize

as the wind and rain kept the number of attendees down!!  =)

Abby won a fishing pole… for catching a tiny piece of seaweed!  ha ha ha

179/365 *just because*

back at the farm house =)

we all jumped on the trampoline

though most of my 201 pictures were blurry

the facial expressions were hysterical to go through!  =)

please don’t judge me for letting my daughter jump without “guard rails”

oh my … I was skeptical …but couldn’t say no…

and before you knew it

the mom’s were jumping too…=)

I haven’t been on one of those in YEARS

the last time I tried to jump on one was while I was still nursing my young

um…

Ouch is all I have to say about that!!

I forgot how much fun they are

only my 40 year old body does not like it as much as I do!!!

ha ha ha

180/365  * just because*

and back on the little farm house property

we rode a zip line too…

oh the fun you can have on a little farm

it took two kids to haul the mama’s big butts up the line

*no comments would be much appreciated here thanks**  ha ha ha

181/365 Windows/doors

so on our way TO Vancouver Island via the Washington Peninsula Ferry

we notice this outside our window on the ferry

picture taken through the window as well

*yikes*

I wonder if there was some kind of border threat this weekend

due to the holiday weekends in both the USA and Canada

or if the coast guard always escorts our ferries across the border/ocean

with um… “protection” clearly ready to um… use…

*yikes* I mean… thanks?  =)

maybe I should use this WINDOW picture instead… =)

the BC Ferry ride home was a little cozier than our WA Ferry ride to the Island!  =) 

182/365 speaking of Crossing Thresholds

the Peace Arch Canadian/American border gates have been open

since 1814… nearly 200 years…

my self, my spouse, my children and my good friends

have crossed this threshold for 13 plus years … building a life together…

(if you only count the years of crossing for our marriage) =)

with a few hundred miles in between the cities of our youth…

I am grateful for both of these countries in my/our life/lives!  =)

Happy Canada Day to my friends who are Canadian Bloggers…

and Happy Independence Day to my friends on this side of the 49th parallel!

=)

183/365 *just because*

2 Countries, 2 moms, 2 girls and 2 dogs= equals = A Fabulous Girly week!

full of wonderful memories!

(ok… so each of us has a spouse and a boy child that took part in our week a little… but it wasn’t about them … this week!! ha ha ha   Our friendships are 9 years young… since our girls were 2… we began our friendship shortly after our baby boys were born on the same day … 9 years ago!!  )

Sorry about the ridiculously long post…

2 weeks of summer, 2 states, 2 beaches, 2 countries, 2 trips, 2 friends, 2 new adventures… 2 weeks of Ashley Sisk’s Sunday Photo Scavenger Hunts… 2 weeks of Sarah’s 365 photos etc. etc.  =equals=  2 blog posts in one!! (insert cheesy grin)

alright.. I deserve it…

bring on the long comments..

novels if you will…

How have you spent your

first two weeks of Summer??

=)

Blessings ~ Jenn

Seizing my summer days on day at a time!

Sleepy Sunday

Our super duper ali ooper busy Spring is finally winding down and slowly slipping into an anticipated slower paced Summer…today… Father’s Day…. just a few days before summer…We are happily ending our busy Spring with a Sleepy Relaxing Sunday! (never mind my allergy induced cold)

A restful Fathers Day is a Happy Fathers Day right??

I sure hope my hubby thinks so…

especially after a month or two of total chaos!!  =)

Sunday    162/365 Letters

4 Letters ~ Two Simple Words ~ TEA TAX ~

Started an uprising ~ A Revolution ~ that lead to our independence ~    =)

This week my little girl was in the 5th grade class play

about the Boston Tea Party!

she was a British Governor’s daughter

a snob…. (which she played well…hm… should I be worried?)

*ahem*

It was a  busy.. but.. fun 3 weeks helping with costumes, painting (tea boxes included) and props… I even took in a Real British Tea Party when it was over… =)  Ty-phoo Tea, homemade Scottish Shortbread and McVitties Digestive Biscuits…  the kids got a kick out of trying British Tea & biscuits … after spending weeks practicing a play…. with a lot of fuss about Tea!

Monday   163/365 BLISS (is just a few days away …)

Monday was uneventful…

other than waiting at home for our car to get a new radiator!!  =)

I was dreaming of spending time here…

my photo of the Oregon coast from last year!

Beach = Bliss for this chick… I am so so so so so very excited that I can count the days on my two hands until I set my feet in sand again….(praying the weather forecast changes… right now it is not in our favor !!!)… I love that my family finds the beach blissful too!!

I think they are sticking their rumps at the ocean waves…

neener neener you can’t catch me??  😉

Tuesday         164/365 From a Flowers Perspective

serving  small creatures that land on its blossoms

Just Beautiful!

Thank you little butterfly for visiting this week!

OH… Speaking of lovely and blissful things…

remember this HUGE paw?

well…

Wednesday  165/365 *just because**

Big difference, eh?!!  =)

another blissful thing ~ lower maintenance dog with less fur!!

ha ha ha

Thursday  166/365 Emotion

Abby my historically SHY, anxious, SHY, studious, SHY, smart, SHY, funny, SHY child… for the first time in her 10 years of  life actually tried out for a speaking part in the class play .. and got one… and played it WELL… with perfect EMOTION!!

A British Governor’s daughter… “molly hutchensen” in action… =)

I think she is a little less shy after the final performance…

feeling PROUD of herself!!

she took to the stage with perfect emotion for her part!!

*tear…proud mommy!!*

Friday   167/365 *just because*

**Happy 2nd Birthday Merlin**  =)

handsome boy with a new hair cut!!

Speaking of Birthdays

my little boy turned 9 this week!!

how can my BABY be 9 years old??!

*sigh*

Saturday     168/365 Naturally Framed

my kiddos are naturally framed…

just like their daddy!!

Don’t they look a lot alike??  😉

long and lean…

even their hands look a like!!

Sammy REALLY wanted a laser tag birthday party this year…

since life seems to be so busy with his sisters activities …

we decided to splurge and do it..

the dollar ratio per minute is obscene!!  lol  =)

One Special Day for Our Special Boy…

it was worth every penny!  😉

I love that my little man has grown into a sweet spirited, smart, funny, kind, generous, curious, hard working, silly, loving little man!!  (most of the time!) ha!!

Happy Birthday Little Man!

(my camera did not appreciate the dark room!)  blurry blurry 😉

it was fun shooting little people with laser guns…

I almost feel guilty for enjoying it…

I felt like Becket and Castle…

or Trinity and Neo…

or Princess Lea and Hans Solo…

only we were shooting at “sweet” little people…

Maybe I should seek therapy??

Have you ever played Laser Tag??

Do tell… how did you like it??

If you have not… Go… take your little people and shoot at them…

it is surprisingly therapeutic!!!  ha ha ha

Hope you had a lovely Fathers Day Weekend!!

Blessings~

Jenn

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NapTime MomTog Project 365