:: Reunion Tour ::

Tonight, I'm off to LA and then onto Palm Springs { very early } Saturday morning with these crazy girls to celebrate our friend Lori's birthday at her parents condo. The last time we were all together in Palm Springs was for my birthday in October, 2005, which is where the two tops photos in the collage are from. We had such a great time and I still remember it as one of my most memorable birthday parties to date. I've been out of LA for a little over three years now and still get together with these fabulous girls at least a few times a year. Our common bond is that all of us are from Washington and all but one of us went to WSU.

Plans for the weekend include the following... lay by the pool { lots and lots of this }, enjoy few cocktails { possibly lots of this as well }, laugh { until our stomachs hurt } and spend a night out on the town celebrating Lori's last year in her 20's.

Palm Springs and Palm Desert have always been one of my very favorite vacation locations, so I could not be more exited - bring on the heat!

Memorial Day Weekend { recap }

Friday night was spent cleaning out the trailer and preparing for our weekend road-trip. With the hopes of avoiding the horrible traffic that weekend travelers experienced on I-90 heading east on Friday night, we left the house around 11am Saturday morning and had zero traffic issues. We honestly started this journey having no clue of where we might be parking the trailer that night. Well, I take that back, we had some clues - Central/Eastern Washington, but didn't know exactly where the trailer would lead us or I guess where we would lead the trailer.

Long story short, we drove to Potholes State Park and immediately did not get the feeling that this was our ideal location for camping, maybe with a lot of friends and boat, but for the two of us, it wasn't our type of camping spot. From there we headed west and stopped in for a visit and dinner with some relatives in Wenatchee. Then, after almost 350 miles and around 9pm we arrived at our final destination - Manson (just outside of Chelan), parked in the driveway of the house our friends had rented for the weekend and finally relaxed.

On Saturday, Steve and I visited for a while with his aunt and uncle that live on Lake Chelan, then had a late lunch at one of my favorite Chelan wineries, Vin du Lac and later enjoyed some time at the pool at our "camp site." Saturday night with all of the friends was a blast, we BBQ'ed, played a few games and caught up.


Sunday morning, we packed up the trailer and headed home around 8:30am to avoid the weekend travelers heading back to the westside. We made it home just in time to meet our friends, the Kocher's, at their boat on Lake Union so we spent the remainder of the afternoon, along with Jamie and Michelle, cruising and relaxing on Lake Washington. All in all, my weekend was PERFECT and just the way I had hoped it would turn out.

Unfortunately, during this little tour of the state, I hardly snapped any photos along the way - wish I had now.

Lesson learned :: If we plan on camping next Memorial Day Weekend, we'll definitely make reservations (beforehand) at one of the state parks.

A HUGE thank you to the Kalamakis', Gies', Bunyards, Partridges, soon-to-be Easterlins, Margie, Kristi and Devin for allowing the Rinabargers to crash your weekend - we had an awesome time!

First Cousin { Once Removed } 8 Months

My cousin Matt, his wife Lisa and Paul were in Wenatchee this weekend from Washington DC visiting Lisa's parents. During the random tour of Central and Eastern Washington that Steve and I were enjoying on Saturday (more on that later), we decided to take a pit-stop at Lisa's parents house to catch up with the Fitch and Weiser (mostly Paul) families since we hadn't seen them since our wedding in Maui and enjoy some beers and dinner. Paul was perfect for this completely impromptu 15 minute photoshoot - check out those gorgeous eyes and long lashes.

{ Three-Day } Weekend

Tomorrow morning { bright & early } we are heading off into the great wide open - thank you Tom Petty for this classic favorite - and heading east on I-90. Not sure how far east we're going, but far enough:

a) for HOT weather :: need to prepare for the heat of Palm Springs next weekend

b) to find the perfect camp spot for our cozy little trailer

b) preferably near water, as I'm hoping we can put the kayaks to use

The original plan was Lake Wenatchee, but it's full...now considering Soap Lake, Banks Lake, somewhere along the Columbia River. Knowing my husband, we could easily end up somewhere way off the beaten path...we may end up near Pullman.
Do you have a favorite or secret camping spot? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Perhaps Steve and I will re-create the cover of this old novel. However, I will not be wearing a slinky robe and Steve will not be in slacks, shirt and tie.
Is a "Trailer Tramp" similar to "Trailer Trash"?

With whatever your plans may be, have an excellent and safe weekend.

Weekend in the South Sound

The weather this past weekend was PERFECT
Actually, everything about this weekend was perfect. Friday night - saw Angels & Demons with Cheryl, Lauren, Shawn and Steve - loved it. In my mind, better than the Da Vinci Code. Saturday - took off for Olympia. Spent the afternoon hitting balls at the driving range with Kristi and Todd and then preparing for Fleetwood. The concert was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E! I wasn't too thirlled about the venue (Tacoma Dome) as the acoustics are horrible, but the show was a hit! The fact that they're all a couple years around 60, was not obvious as they jammed all night. I saw them a few years back in Irvine, CA and thought this performance was much better. They seemed to play exactly what the audience wanted to hear as most people were on their feet for the entire show. Highlights of the evening - attending the show with Kristi (she loves them just as much as me) and Stevie's performance of Stand Back. Needless to say, our seats were about five rows from the ceiling so capturing any sort of clear photos of the band was pretty much impossible with the camera we had with us.

Fleetwood's biggest fans
Sunday morning we walked around downtown Olympia, took in the farmer's market and did a little window shopping before Steve picked us on the boat at the Olympia marina. He had stayed at his parents property Saturday night at Harstine so the trip over to Olympia was approx 20 minutes from where their family boat is kept. I think being out on the water made Steve a bit sad that he took his sailboat out of it's slip on Lake Union a few weeks ago. No need to fret though, he'll be back out at Duck Dodge (tomorrow night) racing on a friends boat this year.

South Puget Sound on a clear day is the ideal spot for a picturesque view Mt. Rainier

Kristi and I relaxing in the sun

Steve's ideal afternoon right off of Harstine Island
Topped off the perfect weekend with a tour of Michelle's new ADORABLE apartment - her view is pretty much amazing - and dinner with she and Jamie at U.Village. This weather needs to come back and play a little more often.

Little Over 24 Hours Until...

I get to see them live!

If you're any friend of mine, you know that I am a devout Fleetwood Mac fan. If I had been alive in the mid-70s, I definitely would have been a groupie. But since that wasn't in the cards for P&J Coff - I am fortunate enough that a) I have the best girlfriends in the world that appreciate my devotion to Stevie Nicks and b) the above mentioned girlfriends threw me a Stevie Nick themed bachelorette party a few months ago. I was shocked when Jamie gave me my shirt to wear for the night and then said that all thirty of the girlfriends would be wearing the same shirt - so shocked and excited that I shed a few tears. Cabe and I will both be wearing this same shirt tomorrow night as we sign along (in my best Stevie voice) to all of our favorite songs.


Me, Megan and Jamie
The shirts read:

Which is a tribute to me (the lace) finding Steve (the leather) AND my second favorite Stevie Nicks song ☺

{ Bachelorette } Weekend in Lake Chelan

On Thursday evening, we headed over to Lake Chelan for a weekend of wine and lots of laughing (I think Ailie and Terry may have been soaking in the hot tub for an hour too long - ha!) in honor of our dear friend Cabe who will be tying the knot on July 4 in Seaside, OR. We stayed at my favorite place in Chelan / Manson - Wapato Point, where I have many great memories from staying at my grandparents condo during summers as a kid. However, this time, we were not in a condo, but instead a luxurious house that fit the 12 of us just perfect.

On Friday, the six of us that were there early visited Tsillan (pronounced Chelan) Cellars, Hard Roe to Hoe and enjoyed dinner at the Hungry Belly in downtown Chelan. Saturday morning, the limo bus picked us up for our four-hour winery tour where we were able to visit Karma Vineyards, Nefarious Cellars, Benson Vineyards, Lake Chelan Winery and Wapato Point Cellars. The tour and time spent at each was perfect! My personal favorite tasting was at Karma. Saturday night we enjoyed a BBQ at the house and showered Cabe with bachelorette gifts - such a great weekend!


Me, Terry, Cabe, Spry, Ailie and Diggy at Tsillan Cellars
Sunday afternoon, on our way out of town a few of us stopped by Vin du Lac Winery for a delicious lunch - highly recommend eating on their patio on a nice day.

I'm sad I didn't take more photos of our friends, but here are a few of my favorites. Seriously, can Chelan be any more serene during a beautiful spring weekend?? I think not.






Congratulations Cabe and thank you for giving us the perfect excuse to gather our friends and get away for a weekend! I'm now counting down the days for Seaside.

Introducing...at 2 weeks old...

I traveled across Puget Sound and over to Port Orchard to capture a few photos of this precious baby girl. Born a few weeks early, but no sign of being premature, Lauren was perfect. She slept, she cried and she cuddled with her parents - and allowed me to shoot quite a few photos.


I definitely have a few favorites from this shoot and had a difficult time deciding which ones to post - enjoy!











{ Natalie & Brock - Congratulations on your baby girl! She's beautiful! }

I'm Hooked...

...on Jodi Picoult books.
I guess that should actually be singular since I'm just almost finished with my first book of hers - Change of Heart - BUT, at some point (maybe over the next year should be my goal), I plan on reading all of her books. I have a few friends that have been recommending her titles to me over the last couple of years, but I had yet to jump on the bandwagon, that is, until last weekend. The next book of Picoult's that I'm going to read is My Sisters Keeper - yes, I've heard it's the saddest book most women have ever read, but I'm determined to get through it before I see the movie. The movie trailer alone brings tears to my eyes, so I can only image how the book will be.


Enjoying a peaceful read outside the trailer at Harstine Island on Sunday morning.
I'm horrible at providing a good movie or book review - therefore, I'll leave you with the Change of Heart book description from BookBrowse:

A spellbinding tale of a mother's tragic loss and one man's last chance at gaining salvation.
Can we save ourselves, or do we rely on others to do it? Is what we believe always the truth?
One moment June Nealon was happily looking forward to years full of laughter and adventure with her family, and the next, she was staring into a future that was as empty as her heart. Now her life is a waiting game. Waiting for time to heal her wounds, waiting for justice. In short, waiting for a miracle to happen.
For Shay Bourne, life holds no more surprises. The world has given him nothing, and he has nothing to offer the world. In a heartbeat, though, something happens that changes everything for him. Now, he has one last chance for salvation, and it lies with June's eleven-year-old daughter, Claire. But between Shay and Claire stretches an ocean of bitter regrets, past crimes, and the rage of a mother who has lost her child.

Addison :: 18 Months

I never would have guessed that the words "excuse me" could get a little girl to laugh harder than I've ever seen. I'm personally not a fan of asking a kid to say "cheese" because it's just not natural - in my mind. So, Megan quickly told me that Addi loves when you say "excuse me" to her. It's a little something that Addi's grandma says to her and it gets her rolling everytime - as proof is shown in these photos.
I had a great Saturday morning spent with Megan and Addi at the park and at Pike Place. Addi definitely enjoyed the market as it gave her a bit of a stage to perform - she's the type of child that loves to mingle with anyone that glaces in her direction and always get a rise out of people around her. I just love this girl.

Happy *Sunny* Friday

The blue skies and warm(er) temperatures that we're experiencing in Seattle right now make me feel...
a) like I should be working outside rather than indoors - remember when teachers would let us do projects outside on nice days??
b) like I can run further than normal. Anyone else notice how nice the evening air smells on days when the sun has been out?
c) like taking photos at dusk
d) thankful to live in the NW


Laura and me in front of a very detailed mural near the Palo Alto farmers market

photo taken while touring the Stanford campus in Palo Alto last Sunday
Thank you ☀ sun ☀, for coming out today even - if it may only be temporary.
:: Enjoy your Weekend ::