A Little Alone Time

Sometimes, for a kid, it's all about the quiet moments...

Fourth of July

A visit to Nana and Papa's on the fourth means:


...a trip to the hardware store (Papa about had a heart attack when I staged this shot. He was afraid he would go home with 3 ride-on lawn mowers. How fun would that be, Papa?!)


... a visit to Larry's produce to get all the fresh fixins for the family BBQ.


(was it easier to carry Ty in the wheelbarrow along with 50 watermelons and 90 ears of corn? Maybe yes. Maybe no.)



... UNO with Aunt Lynn.


... and always some kind of craft with the cousins (not to mention one killer water fight started by the dads that didn't quite make it on my camera roll).




Thanks, Mom and Dad for all of the hard work you put into this tradition.

Ty and His Friend

Maybe it's her blond curls that bring out the best in Ty, but these two sure get along well.

Maybe we've hit on the key to taming Ty:

A pretty face!

Camping

This was the year I decided I was going to brave a camping trip with the kids. The idea of camping with a baby or a toddler was one I was not willing to wrap by head around.

So my baby is 4 and I decided it was time to take the plunge.

Well. More like dip my toe in.

So we chose a campground that was 20 minutes away and stayed for only two nights. but the car was still packed to the brim! I've realized that whether you are going for one day or a week, you still need to pack a whole kitchens worth of supplies!

(Duh, Kate...)



So we had a fun time and learned alot.

We learned that, at this particular campground, we were sorely lacking in the Boobs, Beer and Boombox department.

You get what I mean?

Not exactly a lets-get-back-to-nature kind of experience. More like where's-the-next-kegger?

But we decided, all night parties or not, we were going to enjoy ourselves (despite the 2 inches of brown water backing up from the drains in the bathroom that people were still wading through!)





We played UNO, read books, drank hot chocolate, went for a little hike, and even enjoyed an afternoon and the lake.



At night we were gently lulled to sleep by monotonous Mariachi music and awoke to the great smell of bacon cooking in the outdoors.

We had a good time and are looking forward to choosing a more rural campground in the future!

Cupcake Stand

Do your kids beg you about every five minutes to hold a lemonade stand?

Mine do.

One day I finally relented, but decided if we were going to do it, we were going all the way.

That means cupcakes and cute signs.



It took a good portion of the morning, but Ashlynn and I had fun making little things to cutenize the stand. The cupcakes were nothing fancy. Just box mix with pre-made frosting. But it really spruces up the cupcake when you use a pastry tip and top it with a Jelly Belly.



We communicated with walky talkies back and forth from the house to the street...

"Cupcake to Momma Bear. Do you read me, Momma Bear. We are out of chocolate cupcakes. Repeat - we are out of chocolate. Please bring more. Over and out"

It kept them safe and entertained.

By the end of the day, those kids were left with $30 in their pockets and a mild sunburn.

Not a bad day for Making Lemonade...

Library Time with Ty

My kids and I love going to the library. When we go, they always beg me to park at the very top of the parking structure.

Because there is an awesome view of San Luis from the very top.

(this is not the actual view from the top, but very close.)

And it makes the ride in the elevator longer...

Ty's Preschool Graduation

Is it obvious that I am playing catch up?

Oh well...


I think it is pretty cute that Ty wanted to wear his suit to his preschool graduation...even if he was wearing his Mario shirt under it...

Father/Son Campout

Father son campout is a much anticipated event in our household. The boys really look forward to spending time with their dad and friends from church. And Ashlynn and I enjoy spending time with each other for one night.

I should post about the campout, but I didn't go.

So I don't have any pictures.

I heard that they had a blast.

But I will tell you about what Ashlynn and I did!


Every year we try and do things as girly and possible. We get our nails done. Eat dinner at the Madonna Inn, where everything is PINK including the sugar. We don't pass on the dessert. Then we watch a movie and top it all off with a Mother daughter slumber party.



This year we didn't get our nails done, but did a craft instead.

Have I mentioned my daughter is crafty?

She chose to make this doll. Then we watched "Wild Hearts Can't be Broken".




The next morning before the boys came home, I took her to get doughnuts for breakfast (just in case we didn't get enough sweets the night before...) Then to make up for the doughnuts I allowed Ashlynn to come with me on my run. (This is normally sacred time for me.) She wore her roller blades and listened to her ipod. (I'm not going to lie about the fact that it made me feel pretty good when she complained, out of breath, that the run was too long. 6 months ago i couldn't run much longer than 3 minutes...)



Maybe next year I'll post about the boys campout.

Or maybe I'll just post about the cake Ashlynn and I ate at the Madonna Inn.

Briggs's Baseball Season

I never shared these pictures of Briggs's baseball season. he had a blast this year on the Angels (he would much prefer to be on the Dodgers!) At this game he lost a tooth mid-inning. He said, "Coach? Can I go talk to my dad real quick?" When you are dealing with 5 and 6 year old boys, you never say no to this request, even if you are in the middle of a game!

He walked over and requested that his dad pull his tooth out then and there!

That is quite an exciting thing to share with your teammates!

It was fun to see how much Briggs loves playing baseball.

If I Had $100 Burning a Hole In My Pocket...

I. would. purchase. this. print.

I studied typography in college and have always been drawn in by samples of type. This just blew me away when I saw it.

The combination of letterpress and typography is absolutely stunning. It was created by designer Cameron Moll. More images here.

Chocolate

Ty told me the other day that he wasn't going to like chocolate any more because it gives him a tummy ache.
"But," he added, "my head keeps telling me to eat it!"

My head tells me the same thing!