The Perfect Summer Day

Court had his first day off in months and we squeezed the life out of that day!

We went swimming...

Grace has recently mastered the diving board!

...we soaked up the sun, 

...we played in the sand box...

...tended to the garden...

 

barbecued ribs and for an extra special treat....

S'MORES!!

It was Grace and Charlotte's first time for s'mores. 

Court set up a little fire in the driveway.

(another reason why living in the country rocks!)

Grace got a lesson in marshmallow roasting.

And then it was time for a taste test.

Grace is a loyal chocolate cake lover so she was a little apprehensive.

But after one bite, she was quickly convinced that s'mores were "delicious!" 

As for Charlotte, she was taken with the marshmallows. 

Quite taken!

It was the perfect summer day!

Summer (not so) Lovin'

Anyone who knows me knows that cooking isn’t my biggest passion. When I was working as an attorney, I used to tell Court that “we needed a wife.” Meaning, we needed someone to prepare, cook and cleanup our meals for us. I didn’t like cooking to begin with - throw in cooking at the end of a looong day...nothing worse!

When I said goodbye to the practice of law and hello to mommyhood, I took it upon myself to step it up in the kitchen. There have been hits and misses, edible and inedible concoctions produced in my kitchen, but nonetheless, we have eaten relatively well.

In the last few weeks, my hatred towards food preparation has returned with a vengeance. I read blogs where the authors are delighted at the fresh produce at their local farmer’s market or their daily finds in their homegrown garden. I go to the farmer’s market and try to get excited but it is just stall after stall of...work...in my mind. Cleaning, cutting, prepping, planning, cooking...REPEAT! Three times a day EVERY.SINGLE.DAY.

I recently vocalized the return of my disdain to cooking with Court and he completely put it in perspective for me.

It is summer. It is harvest. Harvest is crazy and long. There are no weekends. There are no holidays. There are no breaks. There are no set hours. The work is dictated by the wind, the rain, the sun....THE PLANTS. And sometimes most often, the plants and the work, require working well into and past dinnertime.

And that my friends is why I strongly dislike cooking in the summer. I never know when he will be home. How do you prep and plan a meal that could be ready as early as 5:30 (wishful thinking) and as late as 7:30 or 8?! Throw in the fact that making a meal for two small kids who eat two bites and declare themselves done also makes you want to take a frying pan and bang it against the wall. So I do all this work, all this planning, all this grocery buying, all this cooking to virtually have no one eat anything. Personally, I hate eating dinner in the summer. It is always too hot. I’d rather eat an ice cream cone and call it a night. But, that’s not “healthy” and sitting and having proper meals together is a priority to us - regardless of the inconvenience. It is the only time of the day, and sometimes it is less than five minutes, that we are all together.

I have a handful of go-to quick meals...but they get old. I’ve tried some new things from Pinterest. But I’m exhausted of it all. And if I see one more blog post of someone making a blueberry pie from berries harvested from their backyard I think I might scream! 

One of Those Days

Today was a rough, rough day. 

Remember when I said there are times when I feel like pulling my hair out? 

Today was definitely one of those days!

To start things off, my mom left to head back home. She was up visiting for a few days. We managed to get ourselves over to Seattle (for less than 24 hours) to hit up the Nordstrom sale, eat some good Mexican food (in Seattle? YES! Seattle!) and most importantly, to go to my dentist appointment.

Yes, my tooth is still killing me. I was finally referred to a specialist in Seattle last month and this is my second visit. I am undergoing a treatment that - while could take the better part of a year t...has prospects of truly helping! All without having to extract a tooth!!

woo hoo!! Plus, the monthly visits get me into the big city for a little shopping! I don’t hate that!

While I was in with the dentist, Grace and Charlotte got to experience spoiling by Grandma 101!

A cupcake all to themselves...

and a trip to the toy store!

Best day ever!!!

While all fun and games for the girls - who did an outstanding job of sitting for three hours in the car to Seattle followed by much, much more sitting as we cased Nordstrom - it was a lot of work for me and Grandma.

Up early. Packing the car. Driving. Unpacking the car. Shopping. Setting up make shift beds. Packing up necessities for meals. Bathtime. Bedtime. Up early to clean and pack up the car to head home. More driving.

Did I mention we were in Seattle for less than 24 hours?!

Far too short! 

We were all feeling the effects today. We were all cranky and tired. Especially Grace me.

Needless to say, not a lot besides laundry and timeouts were accomplished today!!

Aurora

As usual, upon waking up, I grabbed my cell phone to do a quick check of my email. Before I could get too far, I was alerted via my CNN app that a mass shooting occurred at a midnight showing of Batman in Aurora, Colorado.

As a parent of children who have yet to venture out into the world alone, I am terrified. How will I ever not worry? How will I ever let them go? Yet, let them go, I must.

I am speechless. I am sad. I am scared. And my heart breaks. My heart breaks for those families. For the parents of the assassin. For all of us, who have to carry on and live "normal" lives while always preparing for the worst and looking over our shoulders.

I truly hope there is a special place in hell for people who commit these evil acts.

A (Really) Quick Trip

While at swim lessons the other day, Court called and said he needed to get out of town. When Grace was done, we raced home, threw some clothes in a bag and hopped in the car. Destination? Walla Walla.

Just a short drive in the car, we arrived in Walla Walla with a bit of time to kill before dinner. I found a darling fabric store. A purchase was made and when it finally makes it's way to the top of my "to-do" I will share. Court hit up Starbucks for an iced coffee and then it was off to the book store so the girls could find a treasure of their own. We even managed a few pictures as well.

Then it was off to dinner! The food was wonderful, the girls were cooperative and the wine was exceptional!

Sometimes you just have to get away. For a change of pace, a change of scenery and a chance to recharge the ole batteries.

Summer 2012

I think this has been the longest break between posts I've ever had since starting this blog in 2008! Can't believe I've been at it that long. 

I'm not really sure where all my time goes, but I'm just not able to sit down in front of the computer and coherently put together my thoughts. Which seems crazy, because I had blog posts up within a couple of days after both girls were born. But they were babies then. Small. Immobile. Unable to talk. Unable to ask questions, make demands or throw temper tantrums. Gosh, they were so easy then!

 We've definitely moved out of the baby stage. Come to think of it, perhaps that is why I'm not blogging so much!!

These girls are active. Busy. Into everything.

But most of all they are fun! 

And that's what summer days are for, right?

No schedules. No routines. Just fun!

Well, as much fun and freedom as you can have with a husband working around the clock, seven days a week and two lithe ones in tow. 

But we are trying to squeeze the life out of each day because at this point in the summer, the days are REALLY starting to fly by!

We were able to sneak away for a week to Boise. It was hot, hot, hot! 

Luckily, all the playgrounds have water parks, so we hit that up everyday!

The girls LOVED it! They also got to hang out with Grandpa, Auntie Molly, wish Grandma a very happy birthday and eat some cake!

Back at home, Grace started swim lessons! It is amazing to see how much progress she's made since last year. Not only in her abilities, but in her confidence! No tears on the first day!!

Just lots of smiles! Jumping in, going under water and going down the big, red slide!

Swim lessons in the morning, followed by afternoon swim fests in our own pool have finally tired out Grace! She napped for the first time in months!

That has left a lot of one on one time with this little character...

Charlotte is sooo funny. So chatty. So full of ideas.

Did I mention chatty? 

This girl can talk! I'm already imagining the future cell phone bills!

They are becoming the best of friends.

Learning how to play together...and how to push each other's buttons, of course!

I am SO lucky to spend my days with them. There are days when I want to rip my hair out - of course! But more often than not it is a dream come true.

Why just today Grace thanked me for washing her blanket!

Not a paycheck but a reward just the same.