Old Friends

I had the opportunity to meet up with old friends this weekend for some much needed "girl time."  Brent went solo with the monkeys and I got to stay up late laughing till my sides ached with eight incredible, tender, and beautiful friends.  Women who understand what being a woman is all about.  They are mothers, wives, comedians, teachers, and glorious, glorious friends.  It just doesn't get any better than that!

In Defense of Three

As naughty as three can be...it can also be so very, very lovely!

Three

The "terrible two's" have this bad reputation.  I've never really understood that.  Two is delightful!  It's pudgy fingers and round little bellies.  Silly words and sloppy kisses.  I absolutely adore two!  It's the three's that send me running through the streets raving like a lunatic.  They turn my hair grey and raise my blood pressure.  They teach me patience.  The kind I probably need but don't remember ever asking for.  Sometime after their third birthday they wake up looking like this.

And it doesn't seem to go away until shortly after four.

lunchtime kidnapping

We packed a picnic today and met Brent for lunch.  Truth is, I was feeling sorry for the poor guy.  He's working today because he took Friday off to take us camping.  In the dirt.  So today we're relaxing and he's not.  Besides, it's no fun having a day off if I can't spend at least part of it with him.  Hence the lunchtime kidnapping.  Again, you see my selfish motivation?  

Chillin' on a Sunday afternoon

I love Sunday.  It's the one day I know Brent won't go into work.  The monkeys and I get him all to ourselves.  I'm selfish like that you know.  Anyway, I hope your Sunday was a peaceful one.

Camping at the beach

Let's just pretend I didn't skip a day, ok?  My excuse is legit.  We've been camping.  My children have been playing in the dirt, sleeping in the dirt, and eating the dirt.  I'm pretty sure Tyler consumed something akin to his body weight of sandy, earthy, and apparently tasty, dirt.   The only reason I submit to this primitive torture?  See that grin down there?  The little guy has sunburned cheeks, a dirt ring around his mouth, and grime in every nook and cranny imaginable.  And he is loving every minute of it!  

It's 9am and Lauren is out!  That should give you a clue as to how hard they played.  Work hard, play hard, and apparently sleep hard too right?

Day #2

Day #1

In an effort to improve my photography and also because...well, just because,  I'm going to try to post a picture (or three) everyday.  Because I have issues with commitment I'm not going to set a goal of, say.. a month, or anything like that.  I'm just going to do it until I don't feel like doing it anymore.  And I"ll try to keep my ramblings to myself and let the pictures tell the story.

treadmill update

Ok, so I look exactly the same.  No tight, skinny behind to brag about.  But I have been running.  And just for the record, I gotta say...it feels pretty darn great!  I've been doing two to three miles 5 times a week for the last month.  Not enough to slim down my womanly figure (yet), but enough to boost my energy and make me sleep great.  Yesterday my run actually felt good!!  Imagine that?!

The Butterfly House

We've been waiting for the butterfly house to open for months!  First I needed to tire the little monkeys out a bit, so we walked some new trails..

and looked at lots and lots....
of flora..
and fauna..
and more flora.  It really was a lovely day today.
Then we collected stuff.  All sorts of stuff.  Seeds, pods, bugs, flowers, dirt clods.  Souvenirs that I'll find tucked in the couch cushions and under bed pillows for the next week or so.
And finally..the long awaited butterfly house!  It was small, but very cool.  

The butterfly landed right on a picture of a butterfly.  Do you see it?

And here's a poor sick/dead butterfly for which we felt great, great sorrow over.
Except for Lauren.  She was so happy this particular butterfly let her hold it and didn't fly away.  We just let that fantasy live...

This picture sums up Tyler's experience.  He did get his hands on one, despite my best efforts, and the look of astonishment on his face when it moved in his hands was priceless.  It was more like astonishment/fear/surprise and joy all rolled into one.  Awesome.  And totally hilarious! 
After a nice picnic with some friends and one child  "accidentally" falling into the creek, we headed home.  For a nap.   A nice long nap and a little quiet time.  Oh how I love quiet time...

The heat has hit

And it's officially hot!  We needed to cool off so I found an alternative to the pool.  The kids love to swim but I"m not so hip on the four to one ratio.  Four very fast, over-confident kids + one mom =  great anxiety and usually one half drowned kid.  This is much, much better and I actually have fun too.  You know, laughing and pointing and such.  It doesn't matter how many times I see one of my children get a blast of water to the face, it's always funny to see it again.  And the crazy kids must have fun because they're always begging for more.

A walk in the gardens

The kids and I had this experience the other day.  It felt meaningful to me and I still can't exactly explain why.  On our walk through the gardens we met an old woman collecting pine cones.  Her arms were full of them as she stood on the side of the trail smiling at us.  Her eyes were drinking in my children and she kept smiling and bowing to me.  We obviously didn't speak the same language but I was thoroughly enjoying our communication nonetheless.  I was just thinking to myself how  truly beautiful grandmothers are with their twinkly eyes and soft skin, when her pants fell down.  To the ground.   Her arms were full and I could tell she couldn't bend down easily.  I quickly bent down and pulled her pants up, buckled the front, smiled a little sheepishly at her,  and went on my way.  And I just loved her!  In my heart it felt like she was my grandmother and I was so glad to be able to help her.  The world felt small and  I knew she was my sister, a little further along in life than me, but my sister nonetheless.  I know it sounds cliche, but in that moment I felt we really are sent here to help and care for one another. And I felt honored for the tiny chance I had to take care of her.

Nine awesome years!

When Abbey was around two years old, she used to say "life" instead of  "wife".  I was Daddy's life.  And I loved that.  Well the same is true in reverse.  I can't imagine my life without Brent.  He blesses my life in every meaningful way I can imagine.  Happy Anniversary Brent!