Local Landmark...

One of my MOST FAVORITE THINGS

about living where we live...

and we are rapidly approaching it's opening day

{the first Friday after Labor Day}!

it's The Fair.

Nope...I don't need to specify which fair it is...

because if you live Western Washington...

there is ONLY ONE FAIR!!!

I love EVERYTHING about it...

the animal barns

{aroma and all},

games

{love me some 'dime-toss},

the food

{Mmmm...Krusty Pups},

and the rides!!!

Now, while the food is my favorite...

there is one ride in particular that always draws my attention...

{Locals...Any Guesses???}

It is after all a local landmark...

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It's the White Roller Coaster!!!

And after doing some quick research,

I have learned that it is among the oldest wooden roller coasters on the west coast...

built in 1935 and traveling at max speed of 50mph.

Aren't these pictures fun?

I love the historical aspects that they show!

So the whole point of this post...

{there actually is one!}

is that my girls and I were treated to a

'behind-the-scenes' look at the restoration of this

giant wooden thang.

As a result of being a regular at Starbucks

{shocker}, we have come to know a man named John.

He was great friends with one of our favorite barista's, Lennox.

Anyhow, during a recent visit to the 'bucks,

he MOST GENEROUSLY offered a a tour of

the 'coaster.'

Loving anything that offers my girls a glimpse at something rare and unique...

I jumped at the chance.

I loved taking these pictures...

the structure and design of it all is boggling...

but there is a definite design and beauty behind it all.

Something so 'Americana' behind roller coasters.

Leave it to Had to jump onto the tracks and get a closer look!

She quick noticed something was {askew}

and ran to get the necessary tools to fix it!

Behold...

Had with a Hammer...

Frightening!

{disclaimer-her hammering did not do anything to jeopardize the safety of the ride}

Now back to the tracks...

Seriously!!!

Nothing frightens this girl...

and since she is NO WHERE near being tall enough to ride this ride for

MANY MANY years to come...

this is gonna have to do for now.

And not to be outdone...

A got up there along side her!

John was such a trooper exploring EVERYTHING

and teaching us about the history of roller coasters in general,

and specifically about 'ours.'

"Had, can you smile for momma?"

"OK...Had show me your hands!"

EEEWWWW!!!

Down to the bathroom to do some washing alongside John.

John...

a MOST SINCERE THANKS

for taking the time out of your busy schedule to give us a tour of

the this 'old beauty.'

And it's with fair warning that A will probably be calling you in Jr. High to help her do a report on 'her.'

Although, we were REALLY, SUPER tired after having gotten home REALLY late the night before from the 'Whidbey Wedding,'

this is one 'history' lesson that I won't soon forget.

And I am so grateful to have such great pictures of my girls on this

'local landmark.'

For more history on our fair, check out:

http://www.thefair.com/utility/about-us/history.php

I learned A TON of really interesting facts...

-the first fair was in October 1900 and admission to the "Valley Fair" was $1 per family for all three days...

Don't I wish!!!

A {MOST} fun wedding...

A midst our busy summer...

we find ourselves Blessed to have been invited to a wedding or two.

Some family...

some friends...

some friends that may as well be family.

The 3rd is the category that Becky would into.

Jas grew up in Moses with her big brother, Ben...

and Ben's momma, Sonia,

is one of my MIL's best friends...

making Becky like a sister to Jas.

In Junior High, Ben and Becky moved to the 'west-side'

a good 2- 1/2 hours away from Moses...

but the distance has not EVER been a factor in their friendship.

{Sounding more and more like a long distance relationship}.

And through my marriage with Jas...

I have gained a great friend in Ben...

his wife, Auntie Mell,

gorgeous daughter, Miss K,

his momma, Sonia {who I adore and respect beyond measure}

her husband, Larry...

and the list goes on...

and on...

and on...

{one of the MANY blessings of marriage, usually,

is all of the family and friends that you marry into}

I love that regardless of how long it has been since Jas and Ben have seen each other...

they pick RIGHT back up where their last conversation ended...

no hurt feelings if one missed a birthday or forgot to return a text...

just true-blue friendship.

I also love how each is able to make the other laugh so hard they almost spit...

{it's happened more than once}

Now because this was a 'family' wedding...

we were able to see and spend time with Jas' momma,

'NiNi' (as my girls call her).

Jas and his momma...

{the first woman in his life}

Jas and I...

{the second woman in his life}

Jas and A...

{the third woman in his life}

...as for getting a pic of him with the fourth woman in his life...

she was too busy to be bothered!

She was dead-heading.

Did I mention that we are letting her have a little more independence in the bathroom...

now I know that her skirt is on inside out and that it didn't quite make it all the way up and over her rear-end...

but had you seen her on return from the previous trip to the bathroom...

you'd know this was a HUGE success.

She descended down the staircase the previous trip

without her skirt all together.

Not only was she being a 'gardener,'

she also spend time rolling down the grassy hill with her sissy.

Inspecting Larry's wood stack...

making sure that it meets code...

and also found that there is a pretty good little platform for her to

'shake her ruffles' on.

{I can't help but imagine Larry out there 'busting loose' as he cuts and stacks wood}

That's Larry on the left.

The girls were also on the look out for bugs.

Let me back track just a minute...

Becky is such a super fun girl...

{she gets it from her momma}

that we knew her wedding would be one for the books...

it was...

and it should.
I mean forget the traditional boring wedding cake...
and even the more trendy and popular cupcake thing...
Becky and groom, Sean, opted instead for a
"Cookie Bar."
And they were incredible...
That's right,
I inspected EACH AND EVERY ONE!!!

She had a photo-booth set up inviting any and all guests to grab a few fun props and let loose.

Don't let the 'halo' fool you...

although she has her moments.

Had's costume on the other hand rep's her personality

to-a-T.

Spunky and Funky and Loud!!

Even Uncle Ben and Miss K got in there for some fun...

'K' was channeling her inner

70's child

She kills me...

she get's that from her daddy.

There was also an enormous chess set for the kiddos to play with.

Had contemplating her next move...

look out Bobby Fischer

OH!!!

And DON'T FORGET THE COTTON CANDY MACHINE!!!

Thank you Becky for not bringing this out until AFTER dinner!

They sure love their blue cotton candy...

{Jas has a blue cotton candy story...

ask him about it next time you see him}

Love each other like brothers...

and it is so fun to watch them as daddy's.

And to make it even more fun...

Ben and his sweet wife, Mell are expecting their 2nd baby in 7 weeks...

ANOTHER GIRL!!!

As the sun was setting the dancing was getting under way...

Just before escaping to the dance floor...

I was able to get a picture of Had with Auntie Yo-Yel and Uncle H.

{They had just returned from Germany where their oldest daughter,

Auntie Nat had gotten married the previous weekend}

I can't talk about it anymore than that...

cause it makes me sad that we weren't able to make it.

Although...

IT WAS CRAZY BEAUTIFUL!!!

Had strapped on her dancing shoes...

(actually they were mine)

{actually they were our dear neighbor 'Ya-cie's'}

Thanks Yace.

...and got down to business!

She danced...

...and Danced...

...AND DANCED!!!

Anytime someone would leave the dance floor to take a breather and grab a drink of water...

Had would go grab their hand and literally DRAG them back to the dance floor.

She was A RIOT...

She danced for literally 2 hours...with only a brief intermission to grab a bite of pizza.

{sidenote: They had about 15 pizza delivered around 10pm or so...about 4-5 hours since we'd enjoyed our delicious dinner and were just beginning to get hungry again.

I am so bummered that I missed so many other great photo opportunity's.

I missed the BRIDE...Oops...

the mother of the bride...Oops...

and the bride and groom...BIG OOPS!!

But in effort to redeem myself...

I have to say that aside from our own...

this was one of the most fun weddings that I have EVER been to.

Becky, Sean and Sonia...

You thought of EVERYTHING and executed it flawlessly!

Great Job...

and thanks for a {most} fun wedding!!!

Cousin Playdate

Our girls...
along with Jas and I,
find ourselves so Blessed to live so close to family.
My parents are 8 minutes away
{6-if we make the light},
my Uncle Red is just 2 minutes as a crow flies,
and two of my cousins are within 10-minutes.
Sounds fine and dandy...
But we all know that life gets busy
and unless specific plans are made and it's 'put on the calendar'...
that days, weeks and sometimes months go by quick and without warning
{or getting together}.

That's why my Cousin Todd's wife, C and I began
{Cousin Playdates}.
Now, I think that technically our kiddo's are 2nd cousins...
but that's just too darn confusing...
so as far as we are concerned...
they're all just cousins.

We meet the first Wednesday of each month...
unless something major comes up...
and we rotate whose home we meet at.
If it's at our home,
they bring dinner and
if it's at theirs...
we bring dinner.

Although lately, we have been taking major advantage of the summer months
{notice I didn't say sunshine},
and we have begun meeting at
'the river property.'
It's about 10 minutes away...
8+ open acres and right on a local river.
AWWW!!!
{PARADISE}
...and not much clean-up.

We just turn them loose and watch them run.
They have a great time!
{and are super tired by the time that it's time to go home}

After a little while...
and a few thousand laps...
they are tired and ready to go throw rocks in the river.

Does it get more traditional than a boy and his dad throwing rocks...

{love his red hair}

Of course...
you can't just throw rocks...
you gotta skip rocks.

{the search is on}

{"DAD...will these work?"}

Had's decided that it is more fun to find sticks to throw for our
Golden, than to skip rocks.
She would be great on a camping trip...
...gathering up firewood.

This is 'little man, L'
{again...love the red hair}!

Oh, my A!!!
I can't believe she starts 1st grade in the fall!!!

Little 'L' in search of skipping rocks of his own...
With a big brother...
sometimes you can't expect them to share...
you just gotta do it yourself...
and with 'the momma'
if she's available.

Our Golden...
'Bird Dog,'
'O,'
'Fat Boy,'
'Ole'
...cooling off in the river before heading home.

'cause after all it's not fun unless mom wakes up to a pile of sand in the kitchen the next morning from his {cooling} off.

We adore our 'Cousin Playdates'
and look forward to them each month...

4th Ave heads to Idaho...

Recently, "4th Avenue"
{our antique business that we have on the side},
was invited to participate in the
inaugural Coeur D'Alene, Idaho
Junk Salvation Show.

I created a post on our:
4th Avenue Blog chronicling our adventure...
and thought that I would provide you all a link so you could check it out.

http://4thavenuegals.blogspot.com/2011/08/4th-ave-crosses-state-lines.html

Hope that August finds you all happy and well...
and with a healthy glow from the sun
{it's FINALLY made a few appearances here lately}

I am DYING at the moment...

OM-GOODNESS!!!
I know that I have been humbled before
by the kindness of the
Funky Junk Sisters,
Linda and Dixie.
It has been upgraded to the most ultimate level ever imagined.

A quick recap...
I received a phone call last week by
Ms. Linda with a question.

The end result...
Linda stopped by to show me something that she had in the works
that needed a little of my sewing assistance...
No Biggie!!!
I love being able to use my sewing skills to help out others...
especially, if my skills are good enough for the job.

Anyhow, she was most gracious and kind...
even asking permission to take a few pictures of our home.
{again...HUMBLED beyond words}

IMAGINE MY COMPLETE SURPRISE...
when I quick logged on to their blog:
JunkSalvation.com to look at their latest blog post.

"Now wait just a darn minute!!!"
That's our front porch...
and our newest funky find on our back patio.

And she had the most kind words to share in regards to
the 4th Avenue Gals and all of the fun that we have at their shows.
{she is right...we do have the most fun friend's come visit...
and OH THE LAUGHS TO BE HAD!!!}

Sincerest Thanks to you Linda and Dixie for the
kind words and compliments.

REALLY looking forward to
{junkin'} it up in Coeur d'Alene this weekend.
If you can make the trip it will be
SO WORTH IT!!!

{Be sure and check on their link to see their post
with a 'nod' to 4th Avenue}
www.junksalvation.com

and in the event that you are going to join us for the
inagural Junk Salvation Show in Idaho this Saturday, August 6th.
Please print off this coupon to save yourself a dollar off of admission!!