love like a sunset

last hurrah

The Beach House.

It's the official goodbye to our summer every year.

Did I just say "goodbye", and "summer" in one sentence?

ouch.

I'm still struggling.

But this is the perfect send off--a few days on the beach with cousins (we're up to 13!), where we do nothing but play in the sun (or snuggle in sweatshirts driking hot cocoa, if that is what Mother Nature has in store for us)....but we'll take it.

we also:

-played with cousins (ie: wrestling, sand castle building, digging, sand fighting with uncles, light-sabering, dance partying, etc)

-ate, all day, and really late into the night

-chased waves (and of course they chased us back)

-collected [mostly dead] [but still fun] sea life.

-ate, lots of peanut M&Ms, brownies, and ice cream

-played games. note: Cranium gets even BETTER the closer you get to 2am

-started lots of new inside jokes (granola, wink;)

-had quite the costume party, which you will for sure be hearing about soon

-thrifted

-experienced my first olive oil tasting and I highly recommend it (even got to try white peach vinegar!!)

-had an intense game of frisbee that may or may not have ended with my foot sustaining injuries caused by uncut toenails of someone I know:)

-took lots of dorky jumping pictures, because, why not. (ps have you ever noticed it is impossible to jump without opening your mouth?)

-ate. felt nauseous. repeat.

-watched our own private dolphin shows!

-had some really good too-late-at-night-laughter-that-brings-tears sessions.

note: that dead, and always growing pile of sea life started to get STANKY.

note: I keep finding sand scattered around the house....and maybe I like it

note: I may have filmed a bit. a teeny bit. and if I ever get my life put semi-back together, maybe you'll see it.....for now, here's a few photos...

can't wait for next year!

we.

15 minute windy photo session. thanks ryan.

home.

back to blogging soon.

her turn.

She has waited and waited and WAITED for her turn at school.

I have been ok with the wait.

It's so funny how your second seems so much younger than your first was at the very same age.

that was a really long sentence.

She just looked so teeny tiny in her big girl bed last night....I couldn't believe I was really sending her off to preschool! My baby!

She is probably one if the silliest girls you will ever meet.

Really.

But she is very attached to her mama (and I love every second) and can get a bit nervous in new situations.

So I was nervous.

Stomach-churning-and-giant-lump-in-throat-nervous.

All morning.

How would she do?

I'll tell you.

She took the teacher's hand, and marched right into the school.

No hesitation at all, just like big brother.

How are my kids so brave? Where do I learn to do that?

Who wants to go get brunch and/or cupcakes twice a week when they are both away??

Sometimes food is a good substitute for bravery....don't you think?

a three year olds first day of school playlist (all her choice:)

-Your Hands by JJ Heller

-All the Pretty Girls by Fun

-Lollipop by Ben Kweller

-Don't Stop Believe'n by the Glee Cast

-Young Folks (aka "the Whistle song":) by Peter Bjorn and John

i caved....

I did.

I never thought I'd be so trendy.

But with polaroid film so expensive,

and my original (GIANT) instax dead and gone (RIP),

I had to get this one.

And I'm super duper excited.

ps. speaking of RIP.

I also am in the market for a new printer. And a new scanner. Perhaps a combo?...I am clueless. What do you like? (nothing super fancy....I just need to get the job done)

mini pizzas

aka: the fastest dinner in the world

-whole wheat english muffins

-fresh mozzarella

-your favorite garden tomatoes

-olives

-basil

-oregano

-thyme

-olive oil

-s&p

stick them under the broiler, and while they're getting nice and toasty, throw together a quick salad.

VWALLA!!!

The fastest dinner ever!

and it will disappear just as quick

you are welcome.

ps. I get a ton of questions asking if I am a vegetarian. nope. we just eat as many veggies in the summer as we can, when they are perfect and fresh and taste like heaven. We eat a bit less meat than normal, in order to afford the good, unmedicated stuff:)

pps. What is YOUR fastest dinner?

the first day.

he did it.

I did it. (that was the amazing part)

Although he is so very tiny, I cannot believe how big he is.

Big enough to decide just exactly what he wanted for breakfast (waffles with bananas)

Big enough to choose his own first-day-of-school-outfit (although it did take him some time to choose between the shirt that actually said "Star Wars", or Darth Vader....oh the choices todays five-year-olds-face)

Big enough that he was (literally, as you can see from the photos) bursting with excitement and not a hint of doubt.

I wish I could be so big.

Luckily, this morning it started to rain.

Poooooooooouuuring rain.

It was a nice distraction.

We waited in the car,

and then made a mad dash to the door.

Laughing so hard, and soaking wet.

The kids were handed a muffin and juice, the moms a package of tissues.

I swore I wouldn't need them (I have had enough "practice" cries over the past few weeks....I thought it was out of my system)

But as I was squeezed and kissed for "one more time",

and sent him off to line up,

the ugly face came.

You know the one.

The one where you try so hard not to let the tears out,

so your face stretches and strains,

and fights not to produce tears.

I kept my gaze low, as to avoid the other moms,

wearing their ugly faces as well.

I was so thankful for my phone, that caught that last photo of him happily waving goodbye proving he's not TOO big to still openly love his mama.

I waved back and wore my ugly face out in to the rain, where I welcomed it to mix with my tears as I took my time back to the car.

The rain began to let up, as did my tears. And wouldn't you know....the sun is out now! The boy is home, and we have (excitedly) gone over every minute of his morning away.

And it really didn't seem too bad:)

Tomorrow should be better...there looks to be no rain in sight.

phew.

happy weekend!!!

a fresh start.

speckled.

radiator charlie

happy camper

I am interrupting my August Break vow of silence because I have too many thoughts wobbling around in my head to only express myself in one photo.

And maybe I should warn you that this post may be considered a teensy bit gross if you are not a fan of the great outdoors.

Thoughts on camping.

Do you camp?

You know, leave the comfort of your home, sleep on the hard ground, not shower.......camping.

After our fun-filled first day, the boy asked me before bed,

"mommy why do we camp".

"well.....uh.....er....."

Why do we? Really?

It had been a rainy afternoon on our mountain top campsite the day we arrived.

The whole forrest was dripping.

The forrest we had intended borrowing our firewood from.

When the fire finally lit....wait did I say fire?? I mean pile of smoking wood.

We went to bed cold.

Like, dog-sleeps-on-the-kids-to-keep-them warm cold.

Or, hot-rocks-in-your-sleeping-bag cold. (ps. it really works!)

And also, wake-up-with-frozen-boogies-and-frost-on-the-ground cold.

And do you know how LONG cold nights are?? They are looooooong.

And make you dream of yourself sleeping in your own bed.

Shall we discuss cleanliness?

Dirty is not a strong enough word.

Black smudgy beards on my sweet little babes.

I still have unidentified objects under my fingernails, so I just painted them red, you'd never know.

I swear my kids' feet are still just a bit stained.

My hair looked like a nest the entire time, full of tiny woodland creatures....and that only took the first day.

Our house smells like a campfire/smoldering pile of wet wood,

and I'm afraid my washer just might up and die with all it's extra use.

Yes, camping is dirty.

And if you are a camper, then you know I would finally get to:

The Outhouse.

What is worse than opening an outhouse door and feeling that slight breeze hit you in the face?

Or your 3 year old saying

"mommy what's down there?"

Or being so thankful for all those chair poses you do in yoga to prepare you for those don't-let-me-touch-the-seat moments.

It's those moments I really truly wish I were a boy.

But you think that's bad?

Let me tell you what is worse.

Waking up in the middle of the night (did you know that high-altitude (we were around 10,000ft) makes you ahem, pee, more?? It's true-google it!)

(note: I would not normally suggest googling bathroom type things on this blog.....what has gotten in to me?)

So here I am in the middle of the night. Do I make the scary trek by myself to the outhouse, or choose a spot closer to my tent where my protective(snoring) husband and ferocious(ha!) dog could hear my cries for help, should a bear come to eat me while I squat-by-moonlight.

Would there be a worse way to die?

No.

If you are wondering, I chose the latter, and somehow lived to tell about it.

So why do we go??

The s'mores are good. That's for sure.

The view? Perfect.

Spending time with family....

Wait, this is starting to sound like a MasterCard commercial.

All I know is that we go. We've always gone. And we'll go again. I'm hoping one more time before it snows up in those pretty mountains.

It is an amazing feeling to be out IN nature.....not just driving by or watching it on tv. You are a part of it. You start to understand just how tiny you are in this world.

And there is a sense of accomplishment when you realize that you can actually live without all that stuff you think is so important at home.

So I still don't have an answer. Why do we camp?

We just do.

the end.