bits of our summer

Putting the boys to work in the yard. Those are our hipster safety googles ;)

A fun birthday party for a friend.

Walking to swim lessons with Rocky.

Enjoying our CSA (Community Shared Agriculture) boxes. I will post on this further, life-changing!

Aforementioned swim lessons.

A trip or two to Chipotle. (or 10...;)

Epic battles with Aunt Yinzi

Forest wandering.

Walks around the neighborhood, Seattle show-stoppers in full bloom.

Finding that Twinkies have been resurrected!!!!

New splash park discovery, in a nearby neighborhood. And! Collin can Riverdance.

Organizing, purging, and a bit more painting. It is amazing how tiny the house feels with all these kids home all day! Must organize EVERYTHING.

 Grown-ups drinking whiskey blackberry lemonade on summer nights.

Summer looks good on us, don't you think?

paint the town red

 Or maybe just the back door. Last month I took a Sunday morning Matt had to work for another type of worship: Boring back door redemption.

 Here she is , your basic, beat up back door. Before the $2.50 can of red paint from the clearance bin worked it's magic.

 And after! God really is in those details. The paint matches our patio cushions perfectly at certain times of the day.

Hurray for small wonders. Any home redemption going on for y'all? Or has the heat zapped everyone?

what I did not buy at the thrift store

On a recent trip to my local Value Village I observed more things one should never buy at the thrift store then treasures I wanted to drag home. Rare for me, remember that I have those tendencies to hoard all the things?!

Up first is this leotard with loads of sparkle and velvet to spare. No thank you, not even my fond memories of countless gymnastics classes would get this in my cart.

 Addendum: If you were going to purchase that leotard you are then bound by law to wear it with these silver booties. A steal at $14.99.

I didn't need a 70's sweater dress either, so I passed on this as well. Although, paired with those silver boots, you could totally be Twiggy for Halloween. You're welcome.

Now we have arrived at the more serious portion of this post. I'd like to forewarn anyone with a sensitive stomach or prone to fainting...;)

This guy will climb down from your shelf at night and eat your face. Seriously, freaks me out.

Unless of course you buy these dolls as well. Then the dolls will crowd out the mug because they're quicker and it will be a face buffet all night. No kidding!  I think I saw an episode of Scooby Doo about this once.

Ahh! Look away! They will steal your soul.

Yikes. Haven't been back in awhile, too busy with nightmares and therapy.

60

My dad would have turned sixty this week.  He was always the birthday wizard, making special days extravagant. I'd like to think all my party planning madness came from his genius. So I thought it only right that I do a birthday post.

I happened upon a website where you enter your birthdate and it spits out a mostly right-on analysis of your personhood. (gee-golly am I ever a sucker for that type of thing!) My Dad's said it perfectly, in regards to my memory of him;

 "... July 23 people also have a great deal to offer the other party in a relationship: their highly developed problem-solving abilities, compassion, understanding and human qualities are invaluable....
The emotional complexity of those born on this day, their warmth and human struggle, generally makes contact with them meaningful."

A whole lifetime of meaningful packed into his 42 years. Cheers, Dad!

last of the graduation posts

A few more of the first day of school (before) vs. the last day of school (after) pictures.

∆∆∆ before ∆∆∆

                                                                       ∆∆∆ after ∆∆∆
   I think they were as ready for summer as I was. Well, almost. What is it about that morning dash of lunches and loading up that zaps me so much? Anyhow, I am currently enjoying my freedom to lounge about in sweat pants and serve the children cereal for dinner.

we made it

This post is tricky. Kindergarten was the best of times. It was the worst of times, too. So I am going to rip it off real quick like a bandaid. Collin made it. He is a champ. And his big drama Mama made it. The only tears shed on graduation day were Dad's, realizing how this life zooms by so quick.

We celebrated with Red Lobster because "you get to share food!" and "it's attached to a beach!" according to Collin. (who was only a wee bit dissappointed when we arrived at the real Red Lobster)