New 'Do

Little Miss got her first official haircut at a salon yesterday. While I've trimmed her hair a few times over the years, I finally decided it was time to get her a real 'do from someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Our girl sat so still in the chair and was very brave. She did a great job while the beautician combed out her tangles. A few minutes into the cut, I could see tears welling up in her eyes so we took a quick break, she got mommy hugs and even better, a HUGE lollipop treat from the ladies at the salon. The smile was immediately back in place!

Several stylists had fun with her curls. Which reminds me of a silly question I was asked the other day. A lady asked me if our girl's hair was permed. Seriously? What almost three year-old would sit still long enough to have her hair permed?!

What's for Dinner?

The other evening I told Little Miss, "Daddy is cooking dinner". Our girl promptly replied, "But I don't want pizza!".

In the Wagner household, Daddy "cooking" is code for "bringing home takeout of some sort". What can we say, our Little Miss catches on quickly.

(In his defense, Mr. Wagner does make the best whole wheat banana pancakes I've ever tasted and he can work wonders with the BBQ! Oh, and he has the perfect PB&J sandwich mastered)

A Weekend In Review

Mr. Wagner woke up more than slightly green in the gills on Friday so we started our weekend with an urgent visit to the doctor’s office. The doctor ordered rest and Gatorade and told him the burrito (and subsequent food poisoning) he had ingested the day prior would soon pass.

Saturday morning brought with it a full recovery so Mr. Wagner, Little Miss and Yours Truly headed to visit the family member we ban to the barn. Lucky was ecstatic to see us (after he was haltered and pulled away from his beloved grassy breakfast) and patiently allowed the Little Miss a gentle ride.

Later in the day, while the Little Miss was in dreamland enjoying an afternoon snooze, Yours Truly headed out of doors to partake in the special talent that most women share (i.e., shop). Gifts needed to be bought for a long awaited wedding, and party supplies were purchased for the upcoming celebration of our girl’s birthday.

With a seat full of bags as proof of a successful outing, Yours Truly drove home enjoying the power of her dearest Mr. Wagner’s “man truck”. After a downward glance, less than a mile from home, Yours Truly realized that she was speeding and started to slow. Flashing lights and a short stop later, Yours Truly was given a warning and graciously thanked Mr. Nice Officer (having a clean driving record appears to have been the saving grace).

Sunday brought with it speedy repentance and a joyful morning of celebrating our Savior. Pastor Rob exhorted us all with the reminder that “children are a heritage [gift] from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127). This Mr. and Mrs. Wagner are not soon to forget as our Little Miss made sure to remind us with her extraordinary debut. At that time, we knew we were blessed with a miracle but oh how much more we now know, the real miracle is our girl’s sweetness and gentle soul.

Market Fresh

One of my favorite things about Summer and the small town in which we reside is the weekly Farmer's Market. I simply adore it.

In addition to people-watching, street musicians, and a festival-like atmosphere, the bushels and baskets of fresh, organic produce are dreamy. Today's purchases included cherry tomatoes, a sweet cucumber, leafy green spinach, fingerling potatoes, carrots, zucchini, a sweet onion, fresh corn, strawberries, and a bag of roasted hazelnuts. We can't forget the soft whole wheat pretzel we snacked on while shopping. I look forward to that tasty treat each time we go!

The only thing better would be the ability to grow and make all of this ourselves. Then again, that would take a lot of time...dirt...and work (Not to mention actually having a green thumb and extra land). While we are planning to attempt a small garden next year, we'll always look forward to our local Farmer's Market visits!

Cupcakes Galore

The Little Miss and I again abandoned Mr. Wagner for a girls outing in the PDX area with my long-time friend Amy and her sweet baby girl, Abby. While Mr. Wagner spent the day with his "man chores" around the house, we had fun hiking the Wildwood Trail in Forest Park. We were tempted to try the whole 30 miles (not really) but turned back after about an hour because we were on a mission. Our goal was to find the best cupcake in Portland.

After a yummy lunch at Henry's, we headed to Cupcake Jones. There we ordered mini versions of their red velvet, PB&J, root beer float, downtown cupcake brown, vanilla pearl and chocolate mint cupcakes. After testing a couple and saving the rest, we headed to our next destination, Saint Cupcake (where we finally remembered the camera). We enjoyed the lovely decor and ordered carrot cake, red velvet, fudge topped and chocolate chip cupcakes.

Abby sure liked the fudge-covered cupcake. She's already a super happy and smiley baby, this just added extra to her sweetness!

The Little Miss was ecstatic to get two "special treats" at two different stops all within 20 minutes! Good thing both places sold "mini" versions so we didn't feel TOO bad about feeding the kiddos all that sugar.

Which PDX cupcake bakery is tops? Our final verdict was that we had inconclusive evidence; we MUST try more.

Mountain Escape

Yes, the West Coast Wagners are still around. We've just been recovering from the annual Bronson-Booth-Wagner Family Vacation. This year, our destination was Mount Hood.

We hiked, mountain biked, chatted, watched the little ones play, and ate (and ate more). We really roughed it; this was the camping trip of ALL camping trips.

We wanted to stay in tents but instead were forced to rent a spacious new condo (We Wagners sacrificed even more and were stuck with the massive master suite). I would have chosen a camp stove or smokey bonfire over this gourmet kitchen for sure.

The large television? Never got used because we were camping after all! (except for a movie ...or two...oh and to check baseball scores and the news once in a great while).

This view off the condo deck? Who would want to look out at tall trees, luscious green vegetation and listen to the sounds of a flowing creek? Puleeez...give me houses-stacked-on-top-of-each-other and loud neighbors any day.

When the weather turned to rain later in the weekend, we had to drive a whole 45 minutes to visit the quaint town of Hood River. The sun was shining and the views were gorgeous but we of course didn't notice any of that. We had no choice but to go on a long walk up the old highway overlooking the incredible Columbia River Gorge. Our sweet husbands struggled to push our kiddos along in their Chariots (Note: these guys have been friends for so long they have to coordinate with each other). You can tell by the picture they were suffering, can't you?

It was a hard vacation, that's for sure. It is a good thing that we are avid outdoors men and women otherwise, we may not have survived the elements. We will have to treat ourselves and find something that is actually luxurious next year.

(Speaking of next year, we're hoping to add Curtis to the list of names in this annual vacation. It makes sense since the whole tradition started with their wedding in AK. The Booths, Bronsons, and Wagners all had fun exploring that great state together and haven't ever understood why Mark and Joani chose to go on their honeymoon instead of joining in our trip, can you imagine?! This year we gave them a bye considering they just had a new baby. Next year we'll force...I mean...invite...them to come).

Happy Birthay U.S.A!

We hope you and your families enjoyed your 4th of July! We started our day off right with a mountain bike ride with the Booths (thanks to the guys for pulling the kiddos up the mountain in their Chariots!). After our ride we all headed downtown, caught the tail end of a parade, perused the local Farmer's Market and then enjoyed lunch out. This evening we had a nice time of fellowship with good friends and food at the Hansons holiday BBQ. What a wonderful way to celebrate Independence Day!