soaking pool

a favorite neighborhood spot that we wanted to share with mom was the soaking pool at the kennedy school.  most of her days here started out overcast & chilly, not warming up until afternoon--perfect for a morning dip in the warm pool.

alberta rose

josh had his first big portland show, and we had such fun! he played at a new theatre in town, the alberta rose, right in our neighborhood (kinda). our dear friends/neighbors robin & jans opened & closed the night with their bands. such an awesome show, sharing the stage with friends.

: our friend arian designed the sweetest poster :

since motherhood began, i have had to slowly relinquish some of my merch girl duties. but we are finally living in a place where josh is doing more local shows, which means we can get a baby sitter & i can come along once again. so i spent the week leading up to the show creating a new merch table--oh joy!  here it is (minus t-shirts)...

: appliqued swallows + embroidery :

: cd stands made of twigs :

: we always need extra lighting at shows, so i made a lamp out of a ball jar :

: SEVEN STAR patches printed on linen :

afternoon on mississippi

after the bird sanctuary and naps we picked up josh, took the ramsdales to mississippi pizza, then for some sweet treats at the new ice cream shop.

(heron wanted honey "landerber" ice cream)

: the cousins loved climbing at the rebuilding center :

a day with the birds

mom came out to visit from north carolina, first to seattle to visit my brother & his family, then to portland to visit us. cris, lucas & wren drove her down here on tuesday night, spending that night and the following day with us. we had a lovely day with mom & the cousins, first visiting the audubon bird sanctuary in 5,000-acre forest park.

: we picnicked in the gazebo :

: and tromped around the forest :

: wren found her sign :

: and heron found hers, too :

cris and i agree. it's fun having daughters named after birds!

pleasant hill with the rosens

josh played his 3rd annual outdoor concert with josh rosen in pleasant hill, oregon (near eugene) on july 23. we went down a day early to hang out with our dear friends josh & julia rosen, along with their kids shai, ezra (heron's age), and sydney (shepherd's age). the rosens are back on a summer visit from israel, their new home. the rosens, whenever stateside, live in the guesthouse of another dear family, the rices. the rices not only have 100 acres (?), but also a pool, sauna, trampoline, etc. we had a restful weekend with our eugene friends!

: heron looking super-cool & unimpressed in goggles :

: shai looking a little extraterrestrial in goggles :

: josh & josh :

: shepherd looking inquisitive :

shai & heron, just over a year apart in age, really hit it off. julia captured some beautiful shots of their budding friendship.

julia & i were both attached to our babies & our cameras all weekend. here's a picture julia took of me & my boy.

our friend sarah came for the day of the show to hang out with all of us (along with her twins solomon and sophia, just younger than shepherd). she made the loveliest bartender for the ninkasi on hand for the show.

i didn't get many good shots of the show, but it was a perfect evening of music & friendship. the lawn speckled with quilts, the sun setting, children playing. my friend chelsea came, too, with her family.

here's a video someone shot of josh & josh playing to some young "fans" at the end of the night.

zambikes

zambikes. new favorite non-profit.

BAMBOO bikes = innovative + AWESOME!

(our friend russell brownley made this promotional film, & he used one of josh's songs. russell does good work. he shot this one entirely on a canon 7d. i know that's the new trend in indie video, but i'm smitten. it's a digital SLR, folks. technology is pretty amazing. i'm a nikon girl, but i want one of these. maybe a bamboo bike, too?!)

our first newsletter!

josh & i just sent out our first newsletter for josh garrels/small voice. since i grew up on the mission field, & every family had their own catchy newsletter title (such as news you ott to know from the otts, the geschette from the gesches, & our family's rams-a-gram), i couldn't be more pleased that we landed on the pun the small voice record. join our newsletter list here:

Name


Email

the armstrongs

our new friend arian & her husband daniel are an illustrating duo based in cincinnati. they made this beautiful little video, and have offered to make a video for josh (for one of his new songs, we think). we can't wait to see what they'll dream up!

p.s. be sure to scroll down the page! i was catching up on posts & just added two more on the dates when i should have written them ;)

the weekend through the eye of an iphone

yesterday was the second time this week that we've been berry-picking out on sauvie island with our friends rachel & jaclyn. this time, josh came along with us (and rachel's daughter/heron's friend avalon). it was a perfect day for picking! sunny, breezy, lavender in the air. my camera battery died halfway through, so here are our iphone pictures.

: avalon & heron :

sunday was another great portland day, with a family trip to the farmer's market & pie with my friend andee. andee gave heron a great blue heron. heron immediately asked me to make a great blue heron just like it out of legos. here is my best attempt.

we had no plans for independence day, but our friend/neighbor jocelyn ended up inviting us over to celebrate with her family, & we shared a meal + wine + sparklers. hooray! heron loved the sparklers even though she endured her first burn. when we got home & josh iced it, telling her, "you got a blister, heron," she said, "no, dada, it's a raindrop!" what an optimist!

: joaquin :