happy birthday to paul

Today was Paul's birthday.
When I was planning this trip I intentionally planned it over his birthday.
He loves this place. We BOTH love this place. I couldn't imagine a better gift for him.
About 13 years ago we were introduced to this hike up to a quartz mine from my aunt and uncles property. It was 11 years ago that we hiked it last. Just months before we found out we were pregnant with Brigg. We have so many photos from our hikes up there. Just the 2 of us. SUCH DIFFERENT PEOPLE back then. I hardly recognize us.
So it was fitting that we hike up the mountain again today, with our 3 children, 11 years later.
Justvas amazing as we remembered. Completely different feel with the kids.
So much better.
WE are so much better. But man, we still have a long ways to go.
So thankful we get to do it together.
Happy birthday stinks.
Love you so much.
(Oh...and fyi. ..the kids are in bed and we r recovering from our hike with the children by sitting by the fire with a bottle of tequila.)
Fun.
:)

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and we see mountains....

What is it about the mountains?
It makes me emotional.
We miss it here. Feels so good to be back.
And the look of amazement in the kids' eyes as the mountains came into view was priceless.
Happy doesn't even begin to describe it.
Let vacation begin....

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oh my.

the following photo and words are completely unrelated.
i don't have time to think, let alone put together a good blog post.
this will have to do. :)

he's somethin'.

(and i STILL can't believe he's 10!)

speaking of swimming pools...
lani has swimmer's ear in BOTH ears
AND
a double ear infection.
we have drops and antibiotics and ib prophen and tylenol.
her ear drops were $45 AFTER insurance.
seriously?!?!
highway ROBBERY if you ask me.

i purchased a couch for $5 at salvation army.
it's SWEET.
ha!
and 2 chairs and a rug.
all for my classroom.
it's going to be like a mini living room.
each week 5 students will be selected to sit there during our silent reading times or free times.
think it will work?
i hope so.
i don't want it to end up being a fight over whose turn it is.
i want to get a big bookshelve and a floor lamp as well.
it's going to be TOTALLY cute.

plus, i got SUPER adorable fabric to cover my bulletin boards and to make valences for my window.
i just want to get everything IN there. the weekend we come back from Colorado is when it will happen.
paul has agreed to help me.

today at the doctor's office the nurse came out to call lani's name.
ayla led the way.
the nurse looked her in the eye and said, "oh my! she's ORNARY!"
really??
ya think??
it took her all of 2 seconds to know this about her.
it wasn't a question.
it was a flat out statement.
ugh...what are we going to DO with this child??

i have lots to do.
that was totally random.
but i wanted to get a few of these things down before i forgot.

love this...thanks jody

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.

May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.

May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really can make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.

(The Fourfold Franciscan Blessing)

monday

stayed up well past 1 am stripping wallpaper. actually STEAMING wallpaper.
which made my room well over 200 degrees, i swear.
but it's off.
i just need to scrub the walls before i prime it.
can't wait for this room to look like OURS.
hoping to finish it before we leave on friday.

ayla got her hair CHOPPED off.
photos to come.
but i was just so tired of her screaming when i brushed it.
she finally agreed her life would be better with short hair.
she was right.
she is happy.
:)

i've already checked 4 things off my list this morning! YAY!!
heading out to run errands this AM while brigg is at a play date all day.
dinner with friends tonight.
it IS margarita night at los lomas. sweet!!

got an email from my aunt moya. we are staying at their property next week in the rockies.
i almost teared up reading it. for real.
we LOVE them. we spent lots and lots of time with them when we lived in denver.
she remembers things that we love and mentioned them in her email to me.
and now i am officially bubbling over with excited of our arrival on saturday.
they will be at the property when we arrive on saturday with fixed tecates in hand...waiting for us. (don't ask what they are. you don't want to know. not for the weak!)
they are staying with us saturday and then we have the rest of the week on our own to explore.
I CANNOT WAIT.
so anxious to share our love of this place with our kids.
good thing i'm excited about starting a new job or we may have never come back. :)

busy week ahead.
all good.
can't wait.

no pics

crazy summer.
it has been an awesome crazy summer.
it's coming to an end and i haven't done everything i wanted to!!
so i'm still trying to squeeze it all in!
we leave on a family trip for our little family of 5 on friday in the rockies.
SO excited about it!!
just coming off 3 weeks of madness but totally joyful fun with family and friends.
i start back to school august 11. as a new teacher i have 2 full days of new teacher orientation before school starts.
it's bittersweet. i'm excited to get started, but not ready for summer to be ending so soon!
oh, and i'm totally scared about ayla being in daycare full-time. lots of anxiety surrounding that subject. ick.
i'm off to make lists or something. try to organize the thoughts in my brain.
lots to do.
trying to soak up every second of TODAY while preparing for what's ahead.
not always an easy task.
Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. ~Benjamin Franklin

i truly believe this...

found on departika

and this is pretty much all i've been doing this summer.
living life.
but i do believe that it will breed some amazing work in the months ahead.
soaking it all up.
right now.

this one cracks me up...

there's a chance he's got a little Stewart in him...

i adore her...

and to see her joy on these days with the horses is just priceless.

The vineyard....

donna and 3 of the nieces and nephews left before noon.
tate was still with us though as we left for Ardon Creek.
They had live music and wine tasting.
we brought the kids and the dog.
we laid out a quilt and split a bottle of wine and then paul fell asleep.
Camp Cassie may have been a little too much for him. :)
the best part of our day?
donna and steve were there!!
so even though paul was sound asleep in the 100 degree weather, i got to chat chat chat with donna and steve! yay!!
and they also love playing with our kiddos!!

it was a great afternoon!
then sean met us there to pick up tate.
but he quickly realized that it was much to hot to pass up a dip in the pool.
so we all headed back to our house to take a swim.
sean, tate, donna and steve!
fun fun!!
a great end to a great weekend!
already planning for camp cassie next year!

paul

Uummm....camp Cassie did Paul in.
Seriously.

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And then they were gone...

Our tie dye creations modeled by the cutest kids ever!! :)

It was a perfect weekend!
We honestly had NO problems at all.
The kids played well, ate well, slept well and handled the madness well!
There were a couple "only child" kids here, and I was a bit concerned, but they did AWESOME.
We kept them running the whole time.
And I can't wait until next year!!
Hopefully we'll have a couple more here next year.
(hint hint, chris and brenda!!)

And now I'm going to the vineyard.
Wine sampling is in my near future....
:)

the rest of DAY 2...

what is camp without tie dye?
:)
the kids loved it and my hands are going to be tie dyed for months.
guess they put those rubber gloves in there for a reason!

and then we had a group swim followed by a campfire at our park across the street.
paul cracks me up sitting in the background.

he is a professional wienie roaster, too! :
ha!

i'm serious.
he was awesome.
could NOT have done this without NANA B and PAUL.
this was not their idea, but they were amazing.
thank you!!

after the campfire we got the little ones to sleep and the big ones had a night swim.
they were so fun!

and really, the whole weekend went perfectly!
busy busy.
the "keep them busy every second of the day" strategy was a huge success!

DAY 2...Wild Cat Den

it was up and at 'em fairly early this morning.
we wanted to get a hike in before the heat took over.
plus, paul (one of our very best couselors!), had an inspection at 1:00.
and we needed him.
you'll see why in a minute.

remember the toilet paper rolls i've been collecting?
this is what i used them for...

really only tate and ayla enjoyed them, but they were cute.

paul should be a nature guide.
seriously.
he knows the best things.
and he's so patient with the kids.
and gives them all kinds of fun facts about things they find.
i love him.

i think they found some sort of cocoon here in this photo...

which was so perfect because just minutes before i had asked macy what she was going to look for to track in her nature journal and she said "a chrysallis".
i think 3 people said, "what's a chrysallis?"
and i said, "kind of like a cocoon!"
then paul found one.

and we set the timer for ONE group photo.
i'm pretty impressed.
most everyone looking and smiling.
because really, it was totally fun.

and one of the main reasons we needed paul...

we had a little "incident" yesterday.
ayla hurt her knee on the trampoline.
i don't think it's broken or anything, but it's very sore.
there was NO WAY she was going to be able to hike for any period of time on it.
so paul decided to use a stroller as a wheel chair.
it was hilarious at wild cat den.
not prime stroller terrain.
but he made it work.
did i mention i love him?

and drew got to be on paul's back all day.
which he HATED for about 2.4 seconds.
then he was all about it.

gorgeous...

this is the FIFTH frog we have found this weekend...

best friends....

um yeah...we only use the VERY BEST couselors at camp cassie.

we stopped for granola bars and water bottles.

and much to my frustration, we left one of our VERY FAVORITE thermos water bottle by the water.
so annoying.
we love them, but they are not cheap and it makes me very irritated when we lose one.

a great day so far.
babies are sleeping like...well...like babies.
and our rock star counselor, NANA B, is at the pool with the big kids.
i'm setting up our craft for this afternoon.
we are about halfway through the weekend already.
wow!

Camp Cassie...DAY 1

so here's the strategy...
keep the children BUSY every single minute of the day.
our schedule...

donna arrived at 5:00 with the last of the children.
i had supper ready and we were eating by 5:20 and out the door to an activity at saulsbury bridge by 5:50.
we are efficient. :)

we took all the kids down by the cedar river.
they got dirty.
and were perfect angels.
for real.
it was fun.
a million pics to prove it...

hadley was on my back the whole time.
barely made a peep.
it was awesome.
donna was in charge of drew.
worked out perfectly.
the rest of the kids were completely entertained and self sufficient!

(oh...and in case you are wondering...this was a city activity, so there are some random people in some of the pics!)

the whole crew minus donna...

yeah...we did baths...

when we got home it was baths and bed for the babies.
big kids had a night swim until 9:00.
then baths and bed.
i'm declaring day 1 a HUGE success.
i love them all so much!
and now i sleep.
because tomorrow's our long day!
and it may or may not involve a hike, a picnic, the splash pad, tie dying, swimming, a campfire and the trampoline.
yikes.
goodnight!