July +August 2017

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019Leave a comment

It wouldn’t be July if we didn’t do Coronado! Even when it’s just for a few days, it’s always good.

I absolutely love sitting on the beach and hearing someone shout your name! I love running into friends and having the down time to actually sit and talk.

Cousins being cute in matching jammies.

I love this picture. It’s still the lock screen on my phone. Just watching waves, enjoying a snack in peace and quiet.

Ok the seaweed was a little gross…but the people were cute!

The famous beach lobster boil. It’s still talked about in hushed, reverent tones.

We took a vote, s’mores are better on the beach

Coronado is always the last hurrah of summer. Then there’s the dreaded 10 days before school starts where everyone is bored, tired of swimming and there are no camps. It’s a rough time. But thankfully we get to celebrate the best fur buddy anyone has ever had! Happy 4th birthday Mac!

Ah the first day of school. So much fun, so many nerves! 2nd grade and PreK.

The total solar eclipse was on August 21st. It’s the first time in years that a total solar eclipse was visible in North America. I remember the last one – we went downtown to the science center and looked through all their glasses and instruments to see it. The kid’s school deemed it “unsafe” and vowed to keep everyone indoors for the entire event. I tried to get enough glasses for at least one class at a time to see it, but apparently that was unsafe too…so instead I got doughnuts, sprung the kids from class and we had our own viewing party with friends in the parking lot! It was amazing – totally worth potentially damaging our retinas forever.

It was also August in Phoenix. It was stupid hot, as you can tell by Auggie’s face.

Beachy Memories

July 17, 2017Leave a comment

If your kids are like mine, they are always trying to keep every little rock, bucket of sand, broken shell and sea tumbled piece of trash that they find on the beach. Or in a creek. Or just walking down the road. Sure you can bring it home in the name of preserving your sanity, but then what do you do with it?!

I let everyone collect all the shells and sand that they want and then sometime things “blow” out of the car on the way home. What are you gonna do? With a paired down set of shells, rocks and sand, we create little jars. They are cheap at Michael’s and we try to get the same size each time – or at least the same style. Then we fill them, label them and put them on a shelf. Easy to dust and no beach memories on the floor!

And if glass scares you, grab a plastic jar instead and hot glue the lid on for a toddler / hands on friendly version.

Easy way to control the amount of crap that comes home and keep it in one place is to use a drink cup with lid. If you’re extra fancy, remember to pack some ziplock bags

Our sand dollars were purple and hairy. We put them in a bleach bath over night and voila! White and smooth.

Ta da! A sweet little mess free collection of our vacation!

Also works with creek rocks:

The Beach

September 5, 2014September 5, 20143 Comments

We always have a ball at the beach and this year was no exception. Each year keeps getting better as the kids get older and they’re able to do new things.

Both of them are crazy for the water. They like to run into it, swim, dive, fall over, run from it and repeat. As Baylor and I were holding hands and jumping over the waves that rolled our way, I asked her if she wanted to try boogie boarding (body boarding? I don’t know what the kids are calling it these days). I love to go out on the boogie board. As kids, we spent hours sitting, watching, waiting, riding and paddling back out. We learning which waves were the good ones, when to catch them and how to ride all the way to the sand. Being on a board in the cold, salty water on a hot day are some of my most favorite childhood memories.

“Should we go get the boogie board and give it a try?”

“No. We should wait for daddy.”

“No because there’s a chance daddy won’t let us do it so let’s go get it now.”

A few whiny minutes later, I convinced her to lay out on the board between waves. As she began to protest, I shoved her and the board into a breaking wave and then watched in awe as she rode it all the way to the shore. When the board stopped, she waited a second before jumping up. She turned and looked at me with the biggest, toothless smile and screamed “LET’S DO IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!”. Which we did. For the next 2 hours and then for hours more the next day.

Ahhhh. Such a gorgeous day!

She may have my eyes and hair, but she has her daddy’s walk

Getting brave….

Loving every moment!

(She also lost another tooth. What is it about vacation and losing teeth with this kid?!)

Someone else wanted in on the action

Auggie! Let’s build a sand castle! Let me take your picture while you work. Auggie. Auggie! Over here!

Auggs! Auggie! Just one picture!

Ok I lied. One picture where you don’t look so pissed off.

Ok thank you! As you were.

Sharks? SHARKS?!

Phew. Just a pod of dolphins.

Break Time

September 4, 20141 Comment

Whew. It’s been a long couple of weeks. Auggie boy has decided to drop that whole sleeping through the night thing and wake up multiple times a night and then for good by about 5am. I’m barely sane with a full night’s rest. Give me multiple nights of no more than a few hour of consecutive sleep AND no end in sight? Holy moly. It’s not pretty. Picture me and another mom standing outside of the preschool, barely holding back tears as we carefully and in great detail describe all the things we’ve been doing to get our 23 month olds to sleep longer and later. Teeth? Reflux? Growth spurt? Backout shades? Humidifier? Sound machine? Temperature? And couple the crabby exhausted toddler with a sassy five year old who knows how to push her momma’s buttons and you’ve got yourself a recipe for a major mommy meltdown. And melt I did.

I’ve come to learn as an adult, that I’m not great at taking a break. I’m really good at digging in when the going gets tough, which is not exactly a good thing.

I remember about a week after Auggie was born, Peter announced that Grandma was coming to watch the kids and we were going out. Going out?! Going OUT?? Who’s going out? Us?? Where? How?? But he insisted. We drove to the mall, walked around a little, sat and ate cupcakes, talked without being interrupted. It was maybe two hours, but it was a break that I so desperately needed but didn’t know it.

Which is why it was so good we planned our annual trip to San Diego months ago. Reservations were booked. Dog boarding set up. We were going despite the fact that it was one of the busiest weeks ever. End of the month billing for me, closing time for Peter, Parent’s Night at school, back to school meetings, and on and on. The beauty of San Diego though is that you don’t need much and anything you forget is easily replaced. That said, our crew still takes a lot of gear…as I surveyed the living room that was piled high with the beach wagon, sand toys, umbrellas, suitcases, wine, snacks, pack n play, both joggers and a bunch of other crap that I can’t even remember, I decided if we didn’t have it, we’d figure it out.

We piled into the truck and we were off! And despite the fact that Auggie still didn’t sleep well until the LAST NIGHT of vacation, it was the break we all needed but didn’t know it. Auggie has decided to start sleeping better. Baylor has decided not to try to push mommy to the point of needing a straight jacket. Grandma took Auggie for a day and gave me *gasp* 6 whole hours to myself (which I spent working…but at least it was without distraction!). We’re going to survive. Thank goodness for the beach.

California Love

September 4, 2013Leave a comment

This past weekend marked our 30th something pilgrimage to Coronado, CA. It was as lovely as ever, always a family affair and always so much fun.

This guy capital L LOVED the ocean. We could not keep him out of it. Wave to the face? No biggie. Freezing cold? Not a problem.

Our view from the beach

The only place this guy looks small

Baylor is equally crazy for the ocean and sand castles. I love the urgency on her face to get the water to her sand castle.

Mason looking a little afraid. Rightly so.

We ran into her buddy Tessa – you would have thought they hadn’t seen each other in years…

If this isn’t the perfect “big sister little brother” picture

Auntie Ali, Uncle Gary and Mason looking crabby

The Noni

PW took nap shift one afternoon which left me alone. On the beach. With trashy magazines. And boat drinks. HEAVEN.

The view from our room. Noni goes to great lengths to get joined rooms, beach side, with patios. It is worth every ounce of effort!

The Del at night

Spying on the spectacular beach wedding

This wedding was spectacular. They had chandeliers hanging from the structure and table skirts that looked like beautiful seaweed. It was stunning.

Amazing sunsetAfter a full day running on the beach, playing in the waves THEN hitting the pool, Baylor rolled over and asked what I was looking at on my phone. I turned to answer her and found this: