mackenzie's new 'do

For a while now, Mackenzie's been talking about chopping off her hair. This weekend she took the plunge. She looks really gorgeous. I tried to take a picture of it - but since she thinks I'm a nerd, she wouldn't give me a big smile.

slc punk

Okay the "punk" part has nothing to do with this weekend - but that is a good movie if you've never seen it! And I sound kind of tough when I say it.

Anyways, this weekend we were lucky enough to have my Mama fly Mackenzie and I down to visit her in Salt Lake City. We were joined by my brothaman Nick and his lovely lady Courtney, as well as my mom's fabulous friend, Bill. And his 130 pound dog, Jordie.

It was a great trip. Salt Lake is a beautiful city and my mom seems very happy there. We went down on Friday and I think I probably gained a good 10 pounds with all the great food we ate. We also did a little shopping and a lot of laughing.

The best laugh was probably over dinner on our last night there. We went to a brazillian restaurant that served you by bringing around swords of meat and pineapple. It was quite the festive environment. Then halfway through, the entertainment really began. Someone in the restaurant was having a birthday and the staff gathered together to bang on drums and sing them a tune. Mackenzie asked if we could go along - and being who we are, we shrugged and said okay. Mackenzie, Nick and I then danced around the staff and sang along with them. We got an unreal round of applause when it was over. So of course we had to join in on the next birthday too! By the end of the night, we were known as the "in house entertainment".

And then it was time to come home. The trip flew by so fast - I was wishing we had a week. But at least I got to see my family and where my mom is living. It always makes me feel a little more comfortable and connected once I have a visual of my mom's world and seeing that everything is okay.

As if it'd be any other way.

So thank you, Mama. It was so good!










Here's Nick and I at dinner - acting "hard" after our singing and dancing. I wish I would have taken more pictures, but I didn't take the camera! Why???

this one goes out to Kate

This one goes out to my dear sweet Kate. She is starting the first day of her senior year of college today - and is feeling a little bit nervous about it. Don't worry sweetie, all the kids are going to love you and your classes will be awesome! And remember, we're all just so proud of you!

So go have fun and I'll make you a nice strong martini at the end of the day!

soccer star

This week was Payton's second soccer game of the season. I have to admit the first one was a little bit rocky - but by week two, they were really starting to rock it out there!! Gooooo Wildcats!!

FYI - we're not supposed to keep score in this league. But they are undefeated. :)

playing in the rain

Wow, is it just me or does everyone feel like no matter how you try to pause for a minute - things are always busy?!

Well Saturday night Mike and I decided it was time to unwind and have a little date time. We had our fabulous sitter, Whitney, come hold down the fort while we took the races. The cyclocross races, that is!! If you have never gone, you definitely should. Being at these races are so flippin' fun! They are what I would call dang rowdy and the camaraderie is just amazing. Everyone cheers - for everyone! And the cowbells are a ringin'. And we're all doing it while standing in pouring down rain. With two beers in our hands because the line is way too long to hold only one!

Wait - I'm now thinking I won't give you any more detail or convince you to go the next one because the beer line will be even longer...

So onto the pictures!

totally extreme

I am always amazed by Payton's courage and excitement in trying anything new. Here she is doing a little rock climbing at a mountain festival. Super cute!

it's a beautiful day

After a rocky start to our weekend, we decided to carry on as planned and go to Mt. Rainier on Saturday. I can't say much more than:

This is what dreams are made of

I am just so thankful to live in a world that is so beautiful. And to get to spend these moments with the ones I love.

tuffli women

Tonight I was looking through the pictures on our computer, getting ready to post about something entirely different. And I stumbled upon a picture of us girls in Linda's kitchen, getting ready for Billie's wedding by making bouquets. I looked at this for a couple of minutes, thinking about how I constantly am wishing for those people to be here with me in my everyday life. I thought of the countless times we've been in this same scene - just different circumstance. Chatting, gossiping, or just plain being goofy.

It made me realize that I need to take a minute to say how happy I am to be a Tuffli woman. Every single one of them holds such a special place in my heart. They have taught me how to be passionate, driven, funny and to make myself heard (through my actions, and yes, through sometimes standing on a chair and shouting).

I miss all of you more than you can know. So here's a shout out to my Gramma Betty, my Mama, my Auntie Linda, my Auntie Lainie, my Auntie Dini, Kayla, Kelsey and last, but by no possible way least - Dani and Billie.

I love you.

plain old funny

my husband's a stud

I have to give props to my husband - who is a stud. Truly, I should be giving him props every single day for the millions of amazing things he does. But I don't.

*Note to self - start giving hubby more props*

But what I have to commend him for today is the fact that he is spending the weekend riding his bike around Mt. Rainier with his dad. For me, picturing the two of them trucking along only to stop for a sandwich, a beer, or to watch the first Seahawks game of the season - gives me pure pleasure. I can only say that I hope they're having an amazing time.

first day of school

Today was the first day of school for the kiddos in Seattle, and it has already started at a different beat than usual. Not only do we have two high schoolers - but also a third grader!! Now it's Mackenzie and Josh going to school together and Payton at a school on her own. And gone are the days of dressing up in their favorite new outfits and button down shirts. This year it was all about pretending like they have no new clothes. You could hear the same conversations coming from Mike and I across the house...

"Could you please comb your hair?"

"What if you wore your holey jeans on the second day instead?"

"You can't wear what you wore to bed last night" and

"Are you sure you don't want to wear a dress or something?"

Eventually we were all able to compromise. After all, I remember what it's like to try to look cool. Gotta make sure you impress all the friends with how, uh... actually, I don't really know. But I'm trying to understand. And at least their shoes are shiny, making it obvious that we did some kind of school shopping!

So off they went to school. We dropped Payton with her teacher, which was supposed to be easy due to the fact that her entire class was supposed to be the same - teacher and kids - even the actual room. But apparently at the last minute there was a decision made by the school board that spread the kids out. Finding out the morning of the first day that all of your best friends are in another room is kind of a heart breaking way - but she was brave and walked in like a champ. Then we rushed across town to drop the bigguns off at their school. Josh was such a good big brother and took Mackenzie under his wing. You could feel the fear seeping from her pores. New year - new school - new friends. Or maybe that fear was seeping from my pores. Who knows. All I know is that it was like the kindergarten hand off all over again - except this time she's taller than me... and has boobs. But off they went too. So brave and walking in like a couple of champs.

And then Mike and I were off to get ready for Crab fest! I mean, SurfandTurf fest! Wait, this year it's actually Fondue fest!! Every year on the first day, we celebrate by having a fancy dinner for the kids. We sit down to a big decked out table and get our hands dirty while cracking our crab and giggling the entire time. Now it's been no secret that the kids were nearing the end of their shellfish desires since last year we had a request for SurfandTurf fest. But this year - it was all over. Yes, they still participated and happily but it has turned to Fondue fest instead. Which is nice - but definitely has its repercussions the next day. Ugh.

But whether we had crab or oil, wore dresses or holey jeans and possibly didn't comb our hair - I think we had a really successful first day of school. I'm super excited about this year! Goooooooooo kids!

we're going to the lodge...

The Great Wolf Lodge!! We've been singing this song in our house for at least a week in anticipation of the overnight stay we had planned this weekend to round out our "staycation". I gotta tell you - this is such a cool place to go. We've decided that it will definitely be a new tradition in our house. Especially in the winter when you just want to get out and do something summer-y. Being an indoor waterpark you couldn't possibly find something better.

And now to our actual stay... We arrived yesterday with barely anything in our bags, knowing that we fully intended to swim as much as we possibly could. You can check into the water park about 3 hours before you can check into your room - so we did. We got there at about 2:30 and rode the rides until 9:30. We had one small break in there at about 5 to check into our suite and eat some tv dinners and cookies. It was time to refuel, if you will. We played in the arcade, slept and then dove (literally) right back into the water this morning until about 2 pm. It was awesome!!

They have a wave pool that has a calm mode, a chill wave mode and then a crrrrrazy wave mode (definitely my favorite). They have a kiddie area, a hot tubbin' area, a fort with two easier rides - fun for kids and adults, along with tons of water toys to soak all of the strangers around you. They also have two really great tube rides that you can ride single or double - which was great in easing Payton into - but eventually she took off on her own. A couple of huge pools with fun inflatables and then they have the Howling Tornado. The name of this ride puts shivers down my spine. Holy cow!! I believe Mike quoted me on the way down as saying "ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod" as you dropped down nearly two stories of slide on a four person tube, only to swirl around what seems to be a human toilet bowl!! Whoa. But our daredevil kids and my studly husband showed me up by going on much more than my measly two times. Mike and Josh actually even went in the dark. No thank you!!

So next time you're looking to get away - go to the Great Wolf Lodge. It'll at least give you an excuse to sing the song!

a moment of reflection

Labor Day weekend every year provides a fake sort of date to say "we've lived here __ years now." It's not that we moved down here on that weekend, but it came just shortly after. One of the first things I remember is laying on my newly made bed (in my living room) after getting my little baby kidlets tucked in and hearing Wyclef Jean in the background from that year's Bumbershoot festival. At that moment I thought simultaneously "this is so amazing" and "what the heck am I doing?"

Not a day goes by that those two thoughts don't go through my head. And in the end all I can say is "wow - we've come a long way, baby".

6 years.

Thank you to everyone who's been supportive and loving through the good, the bad and the ugly. But mostly the amazing. And who knows where we'll be in 6 more years. All I know is that even then I'll still be thinking "this is so amazing" right along with "what the heck am I doing?".

:)