that one time when the horns were really loud.

One hot, Saturday evening.....a week or so ago,

we stood by the street......as they lined up in a row.

Big drums, little drums, loud horns, hats, 

Never, ever, ever have I heard a band like that. 

They were good, they were great,

they were from up-state.

Next time they come to town we'll be sure to save the date! 

Theeee End. 

the day i got my sister back.

Yesterday, I got my sister back. After only seeing her for 2 days this whole month.... it was nice (to say the least). :) 

I left for Prineville on July 3rd, and got back on Sunday the 8th...just a few hours after dad dropped Joelle off at Camp Yamhill for the week. 

Five days later we went and picked her up. :) She was home for the weekend, but on Monday morning mom announced that she and Joelle were going to fly to MN on Tuesday. (See crazy dayz). :)

So... the next day we said goodbye again, and off they went! 

I was "mom" for the week. On Friday the guys went backpacking, with some other guys, for the weekend. I was home alone until they got back Sunday evening! I spent the night at the Langley's though because I didn't want to sleep alone. Scawy. :) 

By Sunday I was SOO ready for the guys to get back. It was hard not having my family home when we were going through this hard time with Aunt Kim. But, I have amazing, caring, and loving friends who helped me get through the weekend. 

On Sunday my daddy came home. <3 

...and my brothers too... :)

We hung out while eating pizza, watching movies, catching up, and just enjoyed being home together. :)

Yesterday we made a trip up to Portland to pick up Mom and Joelle from the airport. 

We went out to dinner and talked non-stop all the way home. 

I love my family, and am just glad to be together again. 

Oh, and did I mention I got my sister back?? ;)

<3

The pictures are from when we picked Joelle up and Camp Yamhill. :)

do you Kortney, take this man.

We drove up to Five Rock Ranch, a gorgeous camp a half hour out of McMinnville. The weather looked a little iffy, but by 4 the sprinkling stopped and it turned out to be a beautiful, partly-sunny, warm, summer evening.

 

Unfortunately, my camera died a few minutes after the wedding started, so I only got a couple pictures of the wedding party, but those girls were gorgeous in their dusty-rose dresses, radiant smiles and beautiful bouquets!

It was such a fun night, filled with, food friends, laughing, and dancing. :)

Pics coming soon from Brittney's wedding......and my camera didn't die at that one! Haha. :)

the studio- a closer look.

So for all you curious citizens out there.... this is what I was working on. I took pictures of some our our vintage items. Not to exciting, but it was fun. =)

Recognize the "studio"? 

 ;)

crazy dayz.

Do you ever have those days when life (to put it mildly) gets....a little crazy?? 

Well, today my mom woke me up saying, "do you have $250 Joelle can barrow?" 

*WHAT!!?*

"See, your aunt Kim isn't doing very well right now, and I really want to go to North Dakota to visit her, and then I thought Joelle should come too, since you got to go when great gramma passed away, and so..."

*Wait, what?! Ok SLOW DOOOOWWWWNN*. 

We spent the morning, scrounging for moolah, booking flights, and helping them do laundry and pack.

So now that it's 5:00, I think I pretty much have it all figured out. (Ha). 

My aunt is in a rough state right now. She's having a hard time breathing sometimes. Right now she's at the Mayo clinic in Rochester, MN. My mom and Joelle are leaving tomorrow at 11...flying from Portalnd to Minneapolis....and staying until next Tuesday. 

I get to run the household just like I did last fall when mom and Brock made a quick trip to ND. Well, except for the fact that all the boys are going backpacking this weekend....which leaves me home. 

Alone. 

*eep*

=/

a taste of the 4th.

I caught a ride to Prineville with Hillary and Monte, on Tuesday. After pulling in to the Penington's at 11:30, I was greeted right away by a flood of old faces, and even a few new faces. After all the meeting and greeting settled down we headed for bed. We crashed, and before I knew it Mrs. Penington was waking us up saying, "an hour and a half until the race starts!" Oh, right. The triathlon. :)

I will post more pictures of the triathlon when I get my post finished, but we did many other things during the week including...

the Splash and Dash...

a fancy lunch date...

ice Cream...

a giant BBQ...

a spontaneous photo-shoot...

...and an awkward photo-shoot...

late night conversations...

and at the end of the week there was a tornado disaster in our bedroom. Proof that we were very busy doing fun things. :)

What did you do for the 4th?? 

the studio.

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

my home away from home.

I haven't written anything about the 4th yet because I'm at my home away from home.
PRINEVILLE! :)

I'm sitting here at Erin's house, waiting for her to get back from horse riding lessons. I've gone with her twice  this week, and yesterday, I got to ride!  Today was a sneak attack lesson that she had forgotten about. We were about to go to some yard sales, but then she got a call and had to leave. So, Hillary and Monte (Erin's older sister and her husband) and I, went out to breakfast. Then we went on a yard sale hunt.
Came home, took a shower and read.
So... that's my day so far, and it has been so relaxing! We've been doing SO MANY fun things this week. I will post all the pictures in a couple of days, when I get home.

Now I think I will go braid my hair, before we head down to the river, with Cory and the gang.

Happy Saturday!

=)