Summatime

Here's a few pics from our first few weeks of summer!
After 14 years of marriage we finally busted out and bought a BBQ. We picked up a picnic table as well and now we eat all of our dinners outside instead of in our stuffy house. It just feels better to be outside.

Excaliber. I had no idea a material possession could make me so happy. We've grilled chicken, hamburgers, hotdogs, veggies, salmon, and even made peach cobbler. It's only just the beginning.

We made our inaugural visit to Whiskeytown Lake on Father's Day and broke in our snorkels.

These tubes are ten years old and still intact after taking several beatings by the kids over the years. Miracles do happen.

The boys and I took in a game at the bowling alley while Payton was at a friend's house.

Jonah takes his game very seriously and he threw down some words with me when I beat the pants off him.

Trav popped up the tent trailer and we slept in it over the weekend. No need to go anywhere really. The kids played in it all day, they're so happy in the trailer for some reason. The boys got a game of monopoly going.

We've all signed up for the summer reading program at the library, even me! I get my name entered in a weekly drawing for as many books as I finish reading. Bring it.

Davey will do ANYTHING Payton asks him, he loves her so much.

Trav and the boys have been watching the world cup the last few weeks. They wake up at the crack of dawn to catch the games together. Did anyone see the U.S. win this morning??!! Amazing drama.

Fantasy Fountain, shaved ice, and friends, what more could you ask for?

The tubes again. They're really a multi-purpose toy. We are flying through our 80 pack of otter pops.

So far so good, we're hanging out and relaxing, but also getting out of the house to some fun places too. Pretty close to perfect!

Wardrobe Odyssey with Payton Update

As many of you know, Payton and I have been on an appropriate clothing journey together this past year. She would be in sweats, and grubby ones at that, every day of her life if she could. Formal occasions are particularly challenging for her and myself as we seek a compromise on what she should wear.
We attended a wedding on Saturday as a whole family for the first time together. We always get a babysitter b/c it's much more enjoyable than worrying about what our kids might do at and TO a wedding. We did go to my sister's together last year, but that doesn't count b/c she's family and they have to love us no matter what. And yes, Jonah did shimmy along the fence in back of the wedding party during the ceremony, stood by Trav while Trav performed the ceremony, and then rolled around on the ground for the rest of the ceremony, but only the front and second row could see that thankfully. Anyhoo, you see why we leave them at home...
Ok, back to Payton, since she routinely "clears" her closet of anything that could remotely be considered dressy, she had nothing to wear. We discussed possibilities of what to get her. I finally caved and said she could wear pants, but they had to be dressed up with a nice top and sandals. Knowing the only other alternative was a dress Payton agreed to my terms, and here's what we came up with.

I think she cleaned up quite nicely! She was happy to not be in a dress and thoroughly enjoyed going to the wedding. I was happy she didn't look like a ragamuffin, to borrow a term from my mum:).

The boys got more mileage out of their wedding clothes from last summer and they let us do their hair. Trav got dressed all by himself too.

We took a bunch of pics, most had someone scowling, or a face blocked. Jonah with his eyes closed was the best we could do.

Oh, and the wedding was a great success for us! The kids were awesome, and had a blast. It was outside by a lake, the setting was gorgeous, and the ceremony was beautiful. Truly a fantastic day all around. And now we've proven we can attend formal occasions as a family, we are growing up.

They Grow Up So Fast

There's now four of us to fight over who gets to read the paper over breakfast. Payton and Jonah have developed an interest in the weather page and comics. They like to take a leisurely breakfast pouring over them. I'm kind of proud of the little buggers.
Thankfully, I get up before everyone else, so I get dibs.

The Art of Self Entertaining

Davey has had lots of empty time on his hands this last year at home before starting school. He's developed some skills in being content to be on his own. He can happily play, color, read, and just be.
I got off a long phone call with a dear friend the other day and found Davey had suspended all his super heroes from under the table. Why or how he happened upon this activity I have no idea. But he was quite pleased with himself.

It required a lot of patience on his part, and mine, b/c I wasn't allowed to take the picture until they were "just so".

I'm going to miss these days of long time together just me and him. We only just have two short days left before school is out. We'll have to make them count!

Rest

Trav and I got some time to ourselves last week in a cabin in Occidental outside of Santa Rosa. In a word it was perfect. We were desperate for some time alone, to be quiet, to have absolutely no demands made of us for a few days, and we got exactly that. Heaven.
Alliance Redwoods gave us a cabin for free for the week, we went to Trader Joe's and loaded up on yummy snacks, treats, and frozen dinners, and desserts that I've always wanted to try. We are pretty easy to please and travel on the cheap, so TJ's was perfect.
We had this lovely stream running right outside our door. We felt like we were back home in Mt. Hermon.

We only had a few things on our agenda, read, sleep, eat, watch movies, and maybe hike and ride our bikes. But only if we felt like it. We went for an awesome hike on our first day that meandered along the ocean.

The sky was bright blue with big fluffy clouds. I'm so glad Trav is a hiker again:)

We ate out at one fun place every day. This is the view from Junelle's Cafe in Guerneville.

Trav had a million books to read for his summer grad classes starting next week, and I also had some very important reading. I'm prepping for June 30. (sigh)

I love this cafe in Occidental called Howard's. They serve their lattes in huge ceramic mugs that require two hands to hold. Why don't all coffee shops serve their drinks in mugs unless you ask for a to go cup? It just tastes better, and it's so much less wasteful...

I love food. My cinnamon roll was amazing and Howard's also makes a Matte Latte which you just can't find anywhere these days. Yum.

This looks like a small chicken, but it's fish and chips made fresh at the local pub in Occidental. Perfection. It may seem overkill to take pictures of the food we ate, but when you serve mac-n-cheese, hotdogs, pizza, and nachos every night at home, real food is pretty freaking awesome.

We thought we were really cute catching our reflection on a bench we were reading on.

After a great week we were ready to come home to our three babies and the chaos that seems to envelope our home. I felt like I was all ready to be relaxed and mello when we got back into our routine, but for some reason I still haven't mastered the art of re-entry after vacay. It's somewhat ugly for me. I think I just feel so desperate to restore order, but no one else around me feels the same way. I've got to get this down some day.

A few pics from Mother's Day

Trav was out of town this past mother's day, so the kids and I were left to our own devices in making plans.
My goal for the day was just to be a chill mom, relax, and have fun with my kiddos. I don't know why being relaxed is such a tall order for me, but it is. But today I think I got it right:)
The kids made me an amazing breakfast of pancakes with whip cream and strawberries and a cup of tepid earl gray tea. They did it completely on their own and were so proud of their efforts. They brought me the Sunday morning paper and left me to eat my yummy breakfast and read my paper in bed. Heaven.
After church we took off for Sonic Burger for lunch. Payton and Jonah had never been before and they thought it was WAY cool. Dinner served on roller skates? They didn't know it was possible. They all plan to work there some day now.



We then saw the movie Oceans which was amazing! Payton, Davey, and I loved it. Jonah enjoyed it the first 15 minutes and then proceeded to spin in circles in the back of the theater and roll around on the floor. Eww. But it was mother's day, I wasn't going to fuss at him as long as he didn't bother anyone else.
We came home, rested, read, played catch, and then ended the day in our favorite way.
Fondue.
We cut up huge chunks of bananas, pineapples, and strawberries, and ate ourselves sick. I think it was the first time the kids didn't fight over the chocolate. We're growing up.

This picture of Davey reminds me of a picture of Travis eating fondue on a cruise we took oh so long ago. Alyssa looked pretty similar:).

I'm so thankful for these three babies. I know God's love in a whole new way through my relationship with them. What a ride it's been!

Greco-Roman Theme Day

Travis and I both got our toga on and participated in our first theme day at the kids school last Friday. WOW. It was amazing. There's nothing like a great excuse to get dressed up and play for the day. Jonah wore his toga for about 15 minutes and then rocked his shorts the rest of the day. I consider the 15 minutes a victory.
The kids with Zeus a.k.a. Jonah's math teacher.

They had craft and activity stations the kids could visit. Jonah got a little sword play in.

Medusa was awesome and thankfully wore sunglasses all day so no one would turn to stone.

Our girl rocked second place in the poetry contest for her grade! She won a gift card to Barnes and Noble and thought she had died and gone to heaven being able to shop for her own books with her own money. I feel the same way when I shop for books!

Opening ceremonies. The classes were divided into city states. Payton and I were Megara. Trav and Jonah were Sparta.

Payton winning the marathon. This girl is SO competitive, so much so I have to help her keep in check a bit. The boys didn't stand a chance!

Trav is so hot in a toga.

Closing ceremonies.

Jonah in a good old fashioned tug of war.

Payton and her friend Claire dancing.

I got a bit teary watching the girls dance with a bunch of other students just for fun. I'm so grateful for this school and the amazing opportunities they get to experience here. It's opened up a whole new world for them in so many ways. This fall both Jonah and Payton will be taking drums! It's a whole new world for me too.