A Parade of Cousins.

I grew up with my cousins and what I mean by that is this,
Laura and Devin (love you Lolly and Devie!) came over Monday-Friday all day long from the moment my Aunt went back to work after they were born until they started Kindergarten. It was cousin bliss. We Sattler kids always had playmates, never an alone moment and hours of holding hands while exploring the orchards and hiding in the tree house. Childhood Heaven. I want this life for the Little Girls, little else seems normal to me.
My only wish is that Addie lived closer.

Tuesday Morning: First? Jackson.

Second? Sydney and Dawson.

And Third? We swam Huddy at his Grammy LaLa's.
(photo from Lissa's blog. Lissa this photo is fantastic!)

J-Zilla's Luau.

Last Saturday we spent the day Hawaiian Style, celebrating Julian's 2nd Birthday.

Leilani, Julian and Ivy Jane.

J-Zilla.

Eva, Leilani, Natalie and myself.

Whenever I see photos of this new generation of friends it makes me smile. I hope they will remain close as their parents have and continue to walk through life together.
Dear Leilani,
Thanks for the photos (stolen from your facebook post).
You throw a great party, Julian is lucky to be celebrated in such a fun way.
We had a great time.
I love you.
Mud

A Summer Memory.

Palo Alto, the Summer of 1983.
Auntie-Grandma's front yard.
Jared and I playing in the sprinklers on a ridiculously hot late
morning after stuffing ourselves silly with freshly picked
pomelos. I remember the heat, wearing that treasured
raspberry terrycloth jumpsuit (I had a turquoise one too),
the sticky sweet citrus under my fingernails
and being pinned down time and again by my little brother.

Hi, My Name Is Dusty...

...and I clip coupons. I'm a clip-a-coupon-aholic.
More of a discount-aholic.

There is something like the Holy Grail of coupon clipping that I've had my eye on, heart-set on. This "pot at the end of the discount rainbow" is this...using coupons to get something I need, FREE. I've seen it on the Today show, Oprah and in magazines but this "Unicorn" of coupon clipping and coupon doubling has eluded me. But today is the day, my day of triumph when I take these coupons to Safeway...
...and get a free tube of toothpaste.
The cherry on top? I should get a penny back.
Cha Ching!

Bathing Beauty.

Obviously I'm partial, but sometimes when I look at this face I realize I am looking at a beauty quite rare. This face that looked up at me the moment she was placed on my chest after her birth. Her fair skin and red hair, her personality; all this I recognize deep inside me. I know her with my heart. This little person I have known maybe my entire life.
Ivy.

Napping Lifeline.

Jackson's "lovey" that helps him drift off to a
sweet slumber seems to be...my nose.

Echo Lake.

At the beginning of my senior year of high school, I went on a backpacking trip with the Outdoors Club to Echo Lake. We hiked a couple miles in and set up camp. It was on this trip I realized that something could develop relationship-wise with Tim Botting. We had met the summer after 8th grade when my youth group went on an outing on a riverboat. Tim was part of the four man crew and immediately I was smitten by him. Four years later on this magical lake, my future with him began.

So it is no surprise that Echo Lake is like the Mecca of our relationship. No matter the season or various chapters of our lives, we never tire of the exceptional beauty and charm of this hidden lake.

Last Saturday.

Oh and one for fun...

The summer I was pregnant with Savannah. July 2005

Yee Haw!

I love the Rodeo.
You can smell the testosterone in the air.
The cowboy boots and stetson hats, the chaps, the clown, the horses and the bulls.
That cowboy culture is intriguing to me.
If you ever ride a bull, you might be certifiably crazy.

Bull Fest 2010
El Dorado County Fair

This guy held on for his 8 seconds and made it look easy.
Balls of Steel, this one.

Tim and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend.

That's right, 11 years of marriage.

Cheek to Cheek.

We met our friends Scott, Erin and Ava at the fair last night. All three Little Girls had their faces painted. You should have seen the expressions on each face as they admired each others new look. Ava and Savannah were very friendly and comfortable with the artist. Ivy however, wanted her face painted but alerted the artist with her body language that she didn't trust her farther than she could throw her.

Fair Night.

A favorite book around our house is Charlotte's Web. From an early age, I romanticized the County Fair based on Fern's coming-of-age moment on the Ferris wheel with Henry Fussy. My first memories of a County Fair are of when my parents would enter the Frog Jumping Contest at the Calaveras County Fair. My Mom used to enter her artwork into the fair and I remember her excitement when she won a ribbon. I loved going to the fair during my high school summers, listen to the bands, check out the boys and eating all that deliciously unhealthy food. What is a twisted potato on a stick anyway?
Now the fair means something different to me. It is all about giving the Little Girls the best time of their young lives. Going down the tall slide as many times as they want and eating copious amounts of cotton candy. I love the lights of the rides, the smell of warm sugar, the excitement in every child's face and running into friends on a perfect warm summer night.

Jenny and Jackson
Tim, Savannah and Jared.

Elation.

The Little Girls, Jenny and I.

♥

Tis' The Season...

...to support your local farm stand.
This is mine.

It moonlights (so to speak) as a delicious bakery and Apple Hill anything (juice/syrup/
jam/pickles/olives/candy) type stand too.

My favorite is the $1.50 bargain table where I find most
of my produce, ripe and ready for eating.

All this fresh farm produce for $20.

Heart Pocket.

There are many "things" we keep close to our hearts. These things just seem more safe when held close. Over the years I've seen girlfriends pull random objects out of there shirts, I'm assuming these items were tucked into their bras. A cell phone (you know who you are), money, keys, driver's license, lip gloss and of course tissue. When a friend's hand starts to reach inside the shirt, I marvel with fascination, eyes widening, to see what object fits in there that couldn't fit into a pocket (assuming there are pockets on the outfit somewhere) and wonder, brow furrowed, just how comfortable this storage habit is.

Last week, Ivy has became one of these resourceful girls. When she wears a dress without pockets, her Winnie-pig (Guinea pig) is stuffed into the bodice next to her heart, her heart pocket.

♪Our College On The Mountain...♪

We headed West this weekend to our Alma Mater to see our friend Andy graduate from college.

Hudson and the rest of the Bishops anxiously waiting to see Andy receive his diploma.

The Graduate, ready to make his way in the world.
Congratulations Andy!

Oh!

When I sneak up on sweet moments between The Little Girls, I catch my breath. After a lot of bickering and tattling yesterday, this tenderness surprised me.

We are looking forward to a busy and fun weekend here at the Honey Hut.
Have a refreshing weekend. Sleep in or something.

?%#&*!!!!

Final Garden Project? Delayed.

Irrigation System I spent the majority of the day installing? Failed.
Who I called (after several deep breaths) when system failed? Dad.
What time I came in from the garden tonight after fixing irrigation as Dad instructed? 8:55pm.
Next approximate post about annoying garden project? Shrug.

I am summoning a mental vacation. It looks like this.

Progress.

Throughout the last few days I've been busy building my garden. It has been quite a process, even more difficult than when I planted gardens the Springs I was 7 and 8 months pregnant with The Little Girls. This year I am feeling smug because I'm tricking the gophers, I wish I could see their little claws trying to dig up through the wire I ran under the garden boxes. Snicker snicker.

Getting the soil from my Dad. This soil is so fertile and will grow anything.

Using a wheelbarrow, it took two truckloads to fill these two boxes.

Buying the starter plants and seed packets. Ready to plant.
Tomorrow: the final product.