Thursday, July 30, 2009

... Skipper Pup ...

Introducing, the newest member of the Rinabarger family - Skipper the adorable Labradoodle! This is my in-laws pup, not us quite yet...unfortunately. Below are a few photos that I took this past weekend while we were out at Harstine Island. He's ten weeks old and (fortunately) loves visits to the property and Puget Sound as much as we do.

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Welcome to the family Skipper-Doo!

Monday, July 27, 2009

:: Happy 93rd Birthday ::

To my adorable Grandpa

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Me, Grandpa and Megs in Feb. '09

I'm looking forward to celebrating with Grandpa tonight, alongside 15 of our family members from my Dad's side at my Grandpa's condo complex on Mercer Island.

As I know my Grandpa is not a savy internet user, I would say its a safe bet he won't see this post, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm thinking about him today and the wonderful life that he has lived.

Happy Birthday Grandpa - We Love You

Friday, July 24, 2009

Downtown { Seattle } Sailing Series

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Last night I participated in my very first Elliott Bay Downtown Sailing Series and could not have requested better weather than what we had out on the Sound. I guess most sailors would have wished for better winds, but I was perfectly content sitting on the bow of this 47' Moody sailboat (apparently, there are only three on the west coast and they're all at Elliott Bay Marina) taking in the views. The smell of Puget Sound was I scent I missed for years, but last night it was in full effect. I've decided that this scent plus a BBQ is a perfect combination. I had a great time with Steve, our friends Lil, Kelly, Amy and Peter (it's his dads boat aka Captain Andy). Steve, as well as my friends Kris and Diggy, take part in Duck Dodge every Tuesday and then attempt to take in as many of the Sailing Series events as possible and I just don't get how they do it - it's a lot of work for a weeknight.

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Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Montana { Recap }

I can honestly say that the 4 days that I spent in MT was one of the best vacations I've ever experienced. Minus the fact that Steve was not with me, I had a wonderful time catching up with my college roommate Ali, exploring Bozeman, taking a lot of photos and drinking in the sun.

Thursday we spent the day relaxing at Ali's parents pool with the kids and then that night we headed to downtown Bozeman for Music on Main, drank a few beers and had a great dinner at Montana Ale Works.

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The spectacular view from Ali's parents front door


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Couldn't pass on a shot agains this wall on Main Street so Ali and Jenny happily agreed to be my models


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Really excited for dinner - the entire sequence was about 15 photos - ha!


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Nick and Jenny

On Friday, Jenny and I went for a hike up to Grotto Falls which is about 15 miles up Hyalite Creek Rd and just outside of Bozeman, went for a long walk with Maddy, did a photoshoot with the Weedin Family and the Johnson Family (I'll post photos from that over at Head Over Heels soon), had a BBQ at Jenny's in-laws house with friends and then enjoyed a few beers at the Cannery.

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The aperture was off a bit on this shot, but I love the face that Maddy is making


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Jenny, Ali and their girls - Maddy and Olivia


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Brady and Maddy - best friends

Saturday morning we got up early - Jenny and I headed over to her friend Paige's house for my first maternity shoot. As you'll see from the photos, this couple are gorgeous and made the session very easy and quite enjoyable for me. After spending about an house with Paige and Jon, Nick picked us up and we headed up to his family cabin at Canyon Ferry Lake (just outside of Helena and reminded me of Lake Chelan). There were a total of 13 of us tht went up there for the night and we had to make sure that the first stop along the way was at the Bunkhouse Bar for a "blue shot" - it's a tradition so of course I had to participate. Once up to the cabin, we spent the day boating and relaxing. That night we all BBQ'ed at Nick's cabin and then went to the local bar called O'Malley's - we basically had the entire bar to ourselves so we played 2 hours of flip cup...sitting down...in giant leather office chairs...bizarre...but so much fun! We then danced until closing time, walked through the neighbors yard and were home in about 1 minute.

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Nick, Jenny, Tara, Tyler and Shooooooeeeeee


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Dusty wakeboarding


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The guys playing games


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This is the life

Sunday we went boating again, layed out and then it was time for me to head to the Helena airport for my flight home. The trip was an aboslutel blast and I can't wait to go back. I'm hoping that Steve and I can make this trip to Bozeman an annual trip. Mark my words: If I win the Lotto, I will be purchasing a second home in Bozeman.

Monday, July 20, 2009

{ 35 Years of Marriage }

And I swear they are just as in love today as they were 35 years ago

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Mom and Dad - Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary! I'm so thankful that you two have each other. I appreciate and respect the love that you have expressed towards one another and to Megan and I over the years. Cheers to many, many, many more years of marital bliss.
I Love You

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

* A Day at the Gorge and an Evening with Coldplay *

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Saturday morning we met up with our friends in North Bend and headed out on the road to the Gorge. We knew it was going to be a hot day, but didn't truly realize how hot it was going to be until we set up our campsite and sat out in the sun. We each lasted just a few minutes before it was time to crowd under the tent for some games. We also didn't anticipate the crazy windstorm that came through the Gorge around 5am and lasting until we were out of there at 8am. All in all the trip was a blast. At some points of the day and night, I felt that I was getting too old for the entire Gorge experience, but having the trailer defnitely makes it all a bit more enjoyable. I'm sad I didn't bring my camera with me to the concert because the sunset, stage and crowd were one of the best I've ever seen at the Gorge, but below are a few photos from our day.
This was my first time seeing Coldplay live - they put on quite the memorable show. Chris Martin is a true concert performer and rocked out the entire night. At one point, he ran up to a stage in the center of the grass hill and sang Michael Jackson's "Billy Jean." I just checked out their twitter page and one of them posted this "Ok, this is hands down the most gorgeous venue (Gorge) on earth." - I couldn't agree more.


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Lauren and Shawn

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Steve

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Megs and me

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Lynne and Joey

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My parents (who bought our concert tickets for us as Steve's birthday present) along with their friends Jan and Dan - thankfully they did not camp and stayed in Euphrata instead, otherwise I would have never heard the end of it.

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The newlyweds preparing for a round of beer pong

Sunday afternoon, Steve and I saw the new movie "Public Enemies" with Johnny Depp and Christian Bale - we both loved it { lots of action plus a love story }. It was a bit long, but well worth it. Plus, I could stare at Mr. Depp all day long, I swear this man does not age - he looks just about the same now as he did during his "21-Jump Street Days."

Monday, July 13, 2009

VISITMT.com

On Wednesday night, I'm flying into Bozeman, MT for my second visit ever to the Big Sky Country and I could not be more excited. The last time I was in Bozeman was during the winter of 2000 with 8 college friends when we decided one random weekend to make the LONG drive from Pullman. I'm picturing in my head that this trip will be completely different.

I'm most excited about spending time with my old college roommate Ali and her adorable family, exploring the area with Ali and Jenny { who will be in town visiting her in-laws }, spending lots of time with baby Maddy, drinking a Moose Drool { Stace - I promise I'll enjoy every second of it for you }, taking plenty of photos, and relaxing. The relaxation part will be very easy considering the slow pace and natural beauty that spans across the entire state of MT.

The original plan for this trip was that Steve and I were going to take a week-long roadtrip and pull the trailer, but with work constraints, it was too hard for Steve to take a week off right now. I'm so happy that I was able to make this happen, as I've been telling Ali for years that I need to visit, but will definitely miss Steve.

When I first started discussing this trip with Jenny, I randomly came across the below ad in a magagzine and was immediately convinced that a trip to MT was in need. Whoever does the adverting for visitmt.com did a fabulous job with this ad - bravo to you, because you've got at least one person convinced. I promise to enjoy every bit of nothingness that MT has in store for me.


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Thursday, July 9, 2009

Few Favorites...

I love that Kristi and Todd's wedding was on the 4th of July - with a little red, white and blue theme goin' on, it made for some ideal { colorful } photos. Our group of girlfriends took it a bit further and suggested that everyone where a red or blue dress - the outcome was great { as seen in the photos below }. Thankfully, Kristi did not choose this wedding dress and instead opted for her gorgeous gown by ABS, which had many of us telling her "this dress is so you."

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Welcome BBQ in Cannon Beach

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Rothie, Jamie, Terry and Me at the welcome BBQ

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Raymond and Court (aka Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat) practicing their wedding ceremony duet "Lucky"

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Michelle, Court and Laura

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Spry and Marge

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WSU girls

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Oly girls + one

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Me and the handsome wedding photog

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We { Heart } America, Cabe and the 4th of July - ha!

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Gearhart Golf Links - 18th hole at dusk

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Like a Prayer...anyone?

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Kappa's performing "Hey Pat" or is it "It's Pat"?

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Our best attempt at Rosie the Riveter

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The Bramble's at the bonfire after the wedding

Check back soon, with Head Over Heels, for more wedding photos