...end of may gratitudes...

Oh, I have a blog, don't I.

Funny how when you go back to work all of a sudden 

your free time involves laundry and dinner and wiping the counter

and falling asleep on the couch while watching the Real Housewives of wherever.

But here we are in late May,

and I'm limping toward the end of school finish line.

{and i am r-e-a-d-y.}

This year has been an adjustment.

Working + mommy-ing has been a game changer.

But we've had some fun.
And I've tried to still look for the beauty in the everyday,
and be grateful for the small miracles all around.

...grateful for breakfasts every day with three hungry little people...

I really, really try to make at least one hot thing for them for breakfast.
It's always bacon.
That's really all they want.
And once I perfected making it in the oven,
it's bacon every day!

And cereal.  Always cereal.

...grateful for a beach that feels more like home everytime we're there...
My husband is a surfer.
In his fantasy world he quits his job and just surfs,
and somehow we are independently wealthy.

I really like that fantasy world.

Every day I look at realtor.com and cross my fingers
that someone is selling a beach house for less than a jillion dollars.
No.  No, they're not.

...grateful for these kids...
Why do they keep growing?
{and someone needs a haircut.}



...grateful for little antique shops...
This is my favorite shop.
The owner knows me,
and I dream of having her job when she decides to retire.
Until that happens I just go in every month or so and wander.
And take selfies in the mirror, obviously.



...grateful for weekends that end in layers and layers of sunscreen...
They really are the best weekends.
With the best nights of sleep...right?



...grateful they'll still wear the in-n-out hats...
I have our in-n-out order down to a science.
"two hamburgers ketchup only, one grilled cheese no onions, tomatoes, or lettuce,
one double meat animal style, one protein style animal style, two fries"

We're a predictable crowd.



...grateful for a girl that looks at home in front of a class...
I wonder if she'll want to be a teacher?
It's in her blood, so....



...grateful for this town we live in...
It's a pretty special place.



...grateful for impromptu naps with my biggest kid...
He'll still cuddle with me.
How great is that?



...grateful for hot rollers...
Girls with super straight hair need all the help they can get.



...grateful for the very best mother's day gift ever...
An espresso machine.
I have a cappuccino every morning.
It's like heaven.



...grateful for warm nights and fire pits after the kids go to bed.
This one is self-explanatory.



...grateful for kids that make their own sandwiches...
The best thing I've done of late is start having the kids make their own lunches.
It's life-changing.



...grateful for new shoes...
Nude color...
peep toe...
sandals...
they're my favorite.
{urban outfitters}



...grateful for track meets...
Just because they're fun.
And I'd rather watch someone else run than run myself, let's face it.



Summer will be here for me in 6.5 more days.
PTL.
Maybe I'll be in this space more frequently over the summer?  Who knows.
I miss documenting our days.
I may even pull out my real camera.



{I am on instagram, though.
Are you?
I'm @foreverfoldinglaundry.}

a tradition of dirt and s'mores.

There are so many things I want to remember about our vacations to Fallen Leaf Lake
when I'm 80 years old and sitting on my front porch with Gary drinking tea
at three o'clock in the afternoon.

...the Suburban packed to the gills with not an inch to spare



...the way the tent gets so crazy hot during the day and coldddddd at night



...the kids making finger shadow puppets by lantern light in the tent



...how camping coffee is so super delicious



...how he was all smiles, even though he was on heavy duty antibiotics for a horrible ear infection



...that they took the raft out on Lake Tahoe all by themselves



...that little boys like dead, stinky crawdads



...kids and dirt and forests go really well together



...how much they love the campfire every night and how good the boys got at starting it themselves



...that tin camping mugs from my grandpa are perfect



...that little boys like live crawdads with enormous snapping claws



...the view on the hike we take every year



...the sound of the wind on fallen leaf lake



...huge ice cream cones



...sunsets over the lake





...how the thinner air makes you sillier



...camping hair



...and freedom.



I probably won't remember what a pain it is to pack for camping,
or how many days I spend doing laundry after we get home.
I'll just remember how the kids think it's the best vacation ever
and how spending every night with all five of us in one tent
pretty much makes me the happiest in the world.

spring break 2013.

There are a few more hours of spring break left here
but in my mind I'm already thinking about packing lunches
and getting the coffee ready for the morning.

This break was one of my favorites.
It has been a really good ten days.

We didn't do a lot: no tropical vacays or anything grand,
but what we did do was fun.
And unscheduled.
And we were together.

A get together with friends and all ten of our kids...
spending time with other friends that I've had 25+ years
and talking about our 20th reunion coming up this summer {yikes}...
painting a room...
then repainting that room the next day because I hated the color...
and some beach days.



I hope these kids know how lucky they are to live here.
I love our little town and its bay.



But some days the bay doesn't cut it.
I need to see the span of the ocean
and hear the white noise of the waves
and feel the heat from the sun radiating off the sand.
The kids need it too.
Santa Cruz hits the spot.



Sand.  Everywhere.



The season's first dose of Vitamin D always feels the best.





Such a good day.

The kids spent the next two days with both sets of grandparents.
Let that sink in for a minute.
We had TWO KIDLESS NIGHTS.
Hello, heaven.
I slept like a rock both nights.

And I had Friday all to myself.
Oh the possibilities.
I took Lucy for a run...our first in awhile.
It felt good, even though I was pretty convinced I was going to throw up at one point.
Seriously.  It's been awhile and the hills by our house are a killer.
But the morning was gorgeous.



After my run I headed out to run errands and do just a smidge of shopping.
It's funny how much of a treat it is to casually wander though stores
without an agenda and without a deadline.

Especially when one of those stores is Anthropologie.
It's just a happy, happy place.
{even though the employees all seem just the teensiest bit snotty.  or is it just me?}



After shopping I got to do a little fun sewing while I was waiting for Gary to get home from work.
My little etsy shop is a bit neglected.



Once my cute date got home we headed out for dinner.
Hello, Friday sunset.  You made me smile.



And, in one last moment of greatness,
I broke my wheat fast on Saturday for this:



Zachary's stuffed chicken special.
Holy deliciousness, Batman.
If you live in the bay you likely know Zachary's.
If I'm ever on death row it will be my last meal request.
Totally worth the gluten overload, I might add.

And the leftovers are just as amazing.
Especially on a lazy Saturday night home watching movies,
with the people I love most all in one room.



Best spring break ever.

camping.

We just got back from our annual camping trip to Fallen Leaf Lake.
I'm taking a break from the ungodly amount of camping laundry I'm in the middle of
to come say hi.

If you're familiar with the Tahoe area, Fallen Leaf Lake
is right across the street from Camp Richardson.
Gary's family has been camping there his entire life.
It's definitely one of our favorite things to do as a family.
{even if it is an unbelievable amount of work.  holy cow.}

I tell myself every summer that I'm going to create a camping bin
so I don't have to do this every year.
Yeah.  I never do.

But my dad does give me my grandpa's camping box to use every year.


He was a serious outdoorsman.
Only a serious outdoorsman would keep his camping supplies in a dynamite box.



And...his dishes in a poisoned grain bag.



He had everything in that box...



...including a salt shaker that I'm pretty sure contains 60 year old salt.
{i didn't use it.}

I guess this was monogrammed for him.
I love that my rough and gruff grandpa had a monogrammed camp kit!



So after the packing at home...
and the unpacking at the camp site...
the kids were ready for fun.
Camping is so much fun when you're a kid.
They just go and enjoy the ride...no work involved.
Being a kid is awesome.






{he's allergic to haircuts, can you tell?}

One of Gary's uncles brought along these really cool water bikes.



They were a huge hit with everyone.
They have pedals just like a bicycle,
and a lever that controls the rudder underneath.
The kids spent hours on them!
I think they were really liking the independence of being out on the water without any grown-ups.



So many cousins and second cousins and aunts and uncles...59 to be exact.
And every year there's a big volleyball game.



And speaking of volleyball...want to feel realllllly good about yourself?
Watch the Olympic women's beach volleyball.
Ughhhhh.

I bring very high quality literature to the beach and stay on the shore.

Tahoe is COLD water.
But I don't think kids have nerve endings, because they never seem to mind.

We stayed four nights this year.
And it turns out...four nights in a tent is definitely my limit.
I do love camping, but the dirt thing starts to get to me around day three.
The kids' feet are so disgusting.
Even though there are showers there and we do use them,
I just never feel clean.
And those showers give me major anxiety.
I'm a borderline germ-a-phobe and it's almost sends me over the edge trying to
shower the kids and make sure their feet never touch the floor
and that none of our clothes touch the floor
and that our bag doesn't touch the floor
and that the soap doesn't fall on the floor.
The floor = ewwwwww.
I'm getting tense just thinking about it.

I think this might be the only picture of me from this trip.
Which is probably a good thing.
Camping hair is scary.

Like my personalized socks?  I love how Costco monograms them especially for me.

:)

Avery spotted the raccoon at the camp store and "needed" a souvenir.
She's a stuffed animal type of girl.



So our Tahoe 2012 trip is in the books,
and 80% of our camping gear is still on the floor of our garage waiting to be put away.
That's where I'm headed now.