summer is sweet.

Before I went back to work, I didn't quite realize
just how sweet summer is.
{well, when you're a teacher, that is.}

But now...
it's so clear.
Summer is precious time.

I love the feeling on a Sunday night
of not dreading Monday.

Come August, I'll be back to those dreadful Sunday nights.
I'm going back to teaching full-time next year:
second grade.
I'm excited, and anxious, and...not ready.
I need this summer.
So I'm trying to soak it all in.

We made our annual summer list.
It has the usuals:
go to tahoe
camp in the backyard
go to the pool
make ice cream
go to the beach
etc.

So we're slowly and deliberately crossing items off of the list.
And I'm loving every second of vacation.
{almost every second.  i don't love the kids bickering.  or the complaints of being bored.
or taking all three kids with me to costco.
i don't love that.}

Water fight with friends...check.
Actually, I'm not even sure it was on the summer list.
But it was fun.
Even if my windows did get soaked.



Other things that make summer sweet:
peony season.
I'm just sad that the season is so short.
They are the perfect flower.



Bed canopies.
She really, REALLY, wanted one for her birthday.
{i kind of want one, too.}



A Hobby Lobby recently opened in our area.
Before it did, I hadn't been in Hobby Lobby since we lived in Texas
in 1999-2001.
It was just as glorious as I remembered.



Another sweet thing this summer?
Ikea.
I took the kids on our very first day of break.
What better way to celebrate summer than with Ikea meatballs?



Also sweet...summer movies.
Avery was my date to go see Maleficent.
She had already seen it but wanted to go again with me.
And she had to try to win a bouncy ball in the arcade,
because we definitely don't have enough of those around the house.
{darn...we weren't winners.}



I've decided 2014 is the summer of the white nail polish.
I have a tiny little obsession with it.



Don't you think if summer had a taste it would be
watermelon and caprese salad?
I could eat caprese all day.
#tomatobasilmozarellaforever
And I used to hate watermelon when I was a kid.
I probably didn't start liking it until my thirties.
Weird.



Gary bought me The Art of Racing in the Rain
because he thought I would like it.
It's an easy read.
Have your kleenex ready at the end.



I am not a very good board game player.
Candyland...kill me.
Monopoly...I might die.
Old Maid...zzzzzzzz.

But Quirkle?  So fun.
I actually enjoy playing it.
And it's colorful!  Bonus.



And, of course, soccer.
The World Cup is on,
and nothing much else gets done during a game.
Especially when Mexico plays Holland,
and your husband is half Mexican, half Dutch.
{#dutchican}



The World Cup has also inspired someone to keep that soccer ball
with him all throughout the day.



And with the Fourth of July this week,
we had to make a stop at the fireworks stand.
I'm pretty sure one of those four people is the most excited
about fireworks.
{hint...he's over 40.}


Summer is sweet.
And there's more to come.

life these days, and a house tour.

Life these days is...

.up early

.shower

.coffee

.unload the dishwasher.  quietly.

.make breakfast

.wake up kids

.rushrushrush till everyone is out the door

.work

.teach latin to 120ish little people

.hand sanitizer.  repeat.

.home for homework, soccer, piano, drums, guitar.

.dinner

.clean up

.make lunches

.{didn't i just do that?}

.bed

.do it again

Yikes.

I'm so tired!

We're still adjusting to our new normal over here.

But, there has been stuff other than the above, too.

Also life, these days:

...dentist appointments

{why doesn't my dentist give out cute glasses?}

...homework.

OH THE HOMEWORK.

Junior High is crazy.

...falling in love with a pair of nude flats.

...pot roast dinner,

courtesy of my mom.

Coming home from work to the smell of dinner cooking is the best.

...a sick kid.

yay, back to school!

...waffling in my grandma's waffle iron.

...praying she wants to be a singer when she grows up,

and not a sinner.

...monkey barring around.

...sunset watching and being in awe of the Creator of it all.

It's been a good couple of September weeks.

And, if you're interested, Heather from Life Made Lovely 

asked me to do a home tour over on her Home Made Lovely series.

It's here, if you want to go have a look.

I even cleaned my kitchen for the occasion.

Happy Friday, friends!

99 degrees in the shade.

We had a crazy heat wave here last week.
Heat makes people cranky.
{or maybe it's just me that gets cranky?}
And it makes people do crazy things.

Like buy white couches.



And drink green juice when they really want coffee.



Start giant cross-stitch projects with no pattern.



Be extra-fancy and buy the supreme car wash.



Buy skeins and skeins of yarn for never-ending projects.



Try in vain to tan your legs for the zillionth time.  Unsuccessfully.



Even tooth fairies are slackers in this heat.  They fall asleep on the couch.



But then,
the heat wave has its perks:

Sunsets: day after day after day of gorgeous sunsets.







Days so hot even mom gets in the pool.



Main Street parades.



Friends that drop off donut holes.



Baby girl celebrations.



This week will be 20 degrees cooler than last.
Yay July.
Yay for more fun to come.

**********************

1000 Gifts:

bff's



her laugh



helpers

my new favorite tradition.

You know how when school is winding down
and you are SO ready for the year to be done
because if you have to pack another lunch you are going to cry?

And then school is out and you head home
after the class parties and the goodbyes
and you unpack the backpacks and throw all of the crap
{did i say crap?  i meant treasures}
in the recycling
{did i say recycling?  i meant special archive box}
and twenty minutes later your freshly graduated kindergartner is telling you
she's bored?

Yeah.

And then by God's grace you've reached Summer, Day 8, and you've logged
a lot of togetherness already
{because don't summer days go by at a snails pace?}
and you're just kind of missing those days when the kids are in school
and you can go to Trader Joe's by yourself
and browse the frozen foods section in peace?

Yeah.

This weekend I was mourning my alone time.
But thinking at the same time I love having them home.
I know.  I don't get it either.

And then a little idea was born.
I'm not even sure who spoke it first.
But born it was,
and it was a beautiful thing.

"The Night Before Father's Day Backyard Campout"

Don't you love the ring to that?

It's so simple:
tent + backyard + everyone except mommy
{key words: everyone except mommy}

At first mention of the idea the kids were sold.
Like, so sold they practically set up the tent all by themselves
and couldn't wait to get to sleep in it.







This first annual backyard campout there was nothing fancy.
Just the tent:
Hanging out in the tent.
Reading in the tent.
The dogs in the tent.
The cat in the tent.
Shining the flashlight around the tent.
Selfies in the tent.



And then after the selfies mommy said,
"ok guys, good night!  have fun!  stay warm!  love you!!"

And mommy went inside.
And mommy had the house to herself for the evening.

God bless the Night Before Father's Day Backyard Campout.

Next year - because there WILL be a next year - we'll get fancy:
we'll grill burgers
and roast marshmallows
and sing campfire songs.
{no we won't.}
And then mommy will still go inside
and rejoice in one night of solitude
and watch So You Think You Can Dance all by herself.

And the next morning she'll be happy and refreshed when the crew
comes running back into the house at 7:30.
And then when she has to roll up all of the sleeping bags
she'll vow that next year those kids are going to learn
how to roll up their own dang bags.

may day.

I love this month.
The smell of summer is in the air and fuzzy boots have officially
been retired to the back of the closet.
Flip flops are out in full force and I care about my toe nail polish again.
I love it.

But one thing about May...
it's busy.
School auction projects...class parties...teacher gifts...
end-of-year activities...and this year, 5th grade graduation stuff.
So. much. graduation. stuff.
The end of the school year always makes me a little sad.
I remember how fast time goes,
and that I'm one year closer to high school...driving...dating...college.
I want to cry.

This year brings extra emotion,
because Riley is going to middle school next year.
How is that possible.
Middle school!
He is going to be an awesome middle school kid.
This I know.

Other things I know?

Animals cost a lot of darn money.
The vet is loving us right now.



I'll spare you the gory details,
and ohhhhh, are they gory,
but let's just say that bump on her head I mentioned last week was not a tumor.
It was an abscess from a cat fight.
And let's also say my stomach is stronger than I thought.
The end.

I also know,
your first time on a school bus is a momentous occasion.
Kids around here don't ride buses to school.
This is probably the last bus ride she'll take till a school trip in fourth grade.



She reported the bus was hot and stinky.
Nothing ever changes on the school bus.

I told you Gary and I were going to the "mom prom" last weekend.
{it's actually our kids' school auction, but the mom prom moniker feels more appropriate.}
Would you believe it if I told you "Thrift Shop" was the second song played?
I was so happy.



Also...I cannot believe we have been together for 21 years this June.
Dating for seven...married for fourteen.
{clearly i was a child bride.}

I know that gluten free cookies are pretty good.
These peanut butter cookies were definitely a decent alternative
to regular pb cookies.



1 egg / 3/4 cup sugar / 1 tsp baking soda / 1 cup creamy pb / 1/2 tsp vanilla
Beat egg, sugar, baking soda, and vanilla, then beat in pb.
Drop dough onto parchment or a silpat, press with a fork, and bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
{of course they'd be better with chocolate chips....}

I know boys were made for mud.



And muddy laundry is not awesome.

I know Gott's in Napa has the best ahi tacos on the planet.
If you disagree I might have to fight you.



And I know that boy logic is a funny thing.
The other day we were driving home from piano
and I told the kids I needed to make a onesie as soon as we got home.



Riley said, "uh, mom, does that mean you have to go to the bathroom?".

Dying.

And of course now I can't say the word onesie now without thinking of pee.