Lost April/Where did you go?

i CANNOT believe it is the end of April. really. this month has been full up. completely and totally full up.

it all started innocently enough. you know, with April first. and there were no shenanigans. on april 2nd however... the mischief began.

tim's family came to visit from England - his lovely sister, Tracey.

Tracey @ on of the many falls in Silver Falls SP

Her husband, Colin.

Colin @ Cabin # 4

and their 2 boys, Jon and Will.

(L to R) Will, Tim and Jon practicing their catalogue poses

Little did we all know when they arrived that they would be stranded here for the month.

The first 2 weeks went as planned, the Hinsleys visted, then went off to explore the beautiful Oregon coast (perhaps never to return!) then we all journeyed down to Silver Falls to get a dose of rain, waterfalls and more shades of green than you could ever possibly imagine. the Hinsleys then took off again - this time toward Mt. Hood. All the while, work has been pretty busy, and I've been neglecting yoga severely.

Upon their return from the east we celebrated a very important birthday of one mr. tim taylor. complete with sausage rolls and party games. and cake. (remember cake, it becomes a very recurring theme for the month of april).

Tim's surprise bday set-up

the next day, while the Hinsleys were scheduled to depart (sadly, i might add - for me - as i felt like i had hardly any time to hang out with them) they were unable to due to the large ash cloud hanging over most of western europe's airspace (oops).

and so, due to the magic of a volcano erupting over Iceland, the Hinsley family extended their stay for another 8 days (approximately). during which time there was cake. lots and lots of cake. secretly, i was really excited. not about the stress it caused everyone and the rewriting of plans, but to have more time, more laughter, and well, yes, even more cake.

firstly i stole Tracey and we went to The Pioneer Woman's book signing. this will be a separate post. but, yes, we met Ree. exciting.

secondly, we had Will's birthday to plan - which involved, as per his wishes, a cake of four cakes. i'll leave you to ponder that a moment.

Will's Epic Cake.
in 4 parts: coffee walnut, marshmallow chocolate, raspberries and cream, and nutella and marshmallow

thirdly - it was SO SO nice to have Tracey, Colin, Jon and Will here - to get a chance to have them stay with us, and get to know them - eat lots of delicious meals, laugh a whole lot and generally have a good time. i hope they enjoyed their stay and have happy thoughts about oregon, and staying with us!

and that was pretty much april - would you believe - the Hinsley family departed on the 26th, but not before we celebrated Tracey's birthday on the 25th - and since then i've been busy at work, not cleaning the house, and being incredulous that the month has already flown by. wow.

post on PW's book signing and photos to arrive soon.

also, i didn't mean to neglect you - it's just that, well, i've been pretty much neglecting everything. i have tons of photos to sort through, post and well, generally get under control. hopefully soon.

objects in the mirror are closer than they seem... where DID april go?