Home again

I’m not good at pauses. I’ve always had the hardest time coming back after little breaks. If I put down a book for more than a day, I’m unlikely to pick it back up. I have to be really invested in a show in order to wait and watch the new season as it airs instead of waiting until multiple season are on netflix (hint: there’s only been two of those, ever). When it comes to writing, this is even more true.

I have excuses. Many of them are certainly valid. How do I write about lighthearted matter when there have been two deaths in the family, several serious health issues, job insecurity, financial struggles, and more. More and more and more and just when I think it’s finally done, even more. How can I write something without sounding as wound up and brittle as I feel? And what do I write about?

The last few months have been very hard, but not without their fair share of beauty, either. We’ve got a busy summer planned, and it feels like it's nearly over already. But, we've been to the fair and the bay. We've borrowed stacks and stacks of books from the library--I'll have a book post up soon, I think. We're hoping to take the kids to Comic Con (fingers crossed), and we have swim lessons and out of town guests planned. We're trying to do this summer thing as best as we can.

As I type this, my two boys are building forts in their room, my husband is tearing out our kitchen floor, and I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to manage all our meals for the next few weeks with only access to a microwave. Summer!

snapshots

 

 

I always have trouble getting going again after taking a break from things. I feel like the next thing I do should be really special, like I need great pictures, a new great (completed) project, or a fun adventure to blog again.

We’ve been taking advantage of some really warm weather lately and heading out to the bay, Balboa Park and the park at every opportunity.
My preschool drop-off spot always has the best light for car selfies.
Matryoshka dress. There were a bunch of fitting issues, so I had to scrap this and buy another yard of fabric for a new bodice. You can’t tell in this picture, but there was a crazy amount of ease in the upper bust, all the way down through the waist.
I finished a project! Yay.

Camping

Saturday we met up with some friends and their 2- and 4-year-old boys and hiked Stonewall Peak. The hike could not have gone any better. The weather was clear and crisp but not cold, and the kids were fantastic. This was the first real hike for my boys, and I'm so glad to say that they did really well. Not a complaint from either of them, and they walked (ran!) the entire way without any fuss.

After the hike we headed to our campsite at Green Valley Falls, set up camp and had lunch. The way we worked it out, our family brought most of the camping gear, and theirs brought the food. It worked out really well, and I would definitely do it that way again.

Everything was pretty fantastic right up until around midnight, really up to that point it went as well as camping can go. But around midnight is when I realized that the down sleeping bags we borrowed and all they layers I was wearing just wasn't going to cut it. I couldn't get warm. I tossed and turned and froze all night, and as the night progressed I realized I was getting sick. At 3am, it was clear: I was definitely sick with a cold, and of course, that's when it started raining.

So, when the kids woke up at 6-ish, we made short work of tearing down and packing up the campsite and drove our soggy selves home.

All in all, it was a good time, and I would absolutely camp there again...in the summertime. I have always maintained that I am not a cold-weather person, and this just stood to reinforce my belief. I'm not made for chilly weather at all.

snapshots

 Just a few snapshots off my phone from our week.

Sunday swimming at a friends house.
Monday buddies at the aquarium.
The view of the pier from the aquarium.
A hot and rainy Tuesday.
Book haul from Wednesday's trip to the library. Maybe I'll do a monthly book report.
Thursday, finishing the hem on the grey skirt I started months ago (almost finished anyway...).
Friday estate sale finds.

weekend

This is what one small part of a really good weekend looks like.

It was one of those rare weekends where things just seemed really good. Not to say we didn't have a few bumps here or there, but they were few and far between.

We spent Saturday day hosting a yard sale and having dinner with a neighbor and my best friend.

Sunday we went to breakfast, and even though I got a little queasy after eating too much eggs benedict we headed out to one of our favorite little hideaways and spent some really good quality family time.

Monday we spent the entire day at the bay with cousins and friends. It was the first time I've really, truly let go of schedules and didn't worry about naps (I knew going in we weren't going to nap unless the kids completely melted down). I let the kiddos eat what they wanted, when they wanted. I didn't worry about what they were doing (as long as they were in view), and it paid off with kids who mediated themselves and played nice the whole day.

Nautilus

We've been housebound for the past few weeks, sick with a nasty virus that made the rounds and left us with a lingering cough and two restless boys who have watched way too much tv. But last weekend we had the opportunity to tour the Nautilus, and has sick or not, I wasn't about to miss that! Luckily the boys were over the worst of the virus, and it was just me who had to shuffle along zombie-like through the whole thing.