Spent the week enjoying this view -- all that is left to remind me of the fun is some photos & gritty, sandy floors in my laundry room.  I'm not even mentioning the mounds of laundry...

Why does it always go so quick?

Just Found This.

I was going through some pictures {trying to find an old card for my etsy shop} and I stumbled on this little gem. I'm not sure why it is edited like this, or cropped like this, but I like it. I knew immediately that we were on the coast, but I could not recall which year it was. I tried looking at my shirt & my hair, but it didn't drum up the year...you know, like looking at the date stamp did. It was the summer after the Lady was born. We typically hit up Cold Stone at the end of our week, so I'm wondering why I don't look more haggard because I do recall that was a tough trip for me. The Lady was only 10 weeks old & the bone tiredness had set in. And oh yeah, she cried the whole time. ew. Just thinking about it sends shivers up my spine...especially compared to this last year {which was dreamsicle} But looking at this picture, I'd have thought it was any year but that year.

Sometimes, I think our minds play tricks on us.  Do we always remember events exactly as they were, or do we remember it how we wanted it to be, or expected it to be, or just the pain of it?  I feel like I remember the sleepless nights really well {maybe because they are still happening?} but forget the Cold Stone trips, the late night snuggles & the laugh out loud moments.  Sometimes it is probably just better to forget all the crap & remember the Cold Stone moments that were great.  I need to do that more often.

Plus my mom...she's really fun.

Frolicking...in the Sand.

To say we had fun at the beach this year is an understatement.  A big one.  I started to look forward to our annual trip about 6 months ago, in the dead of winter, when I realized our kids would both be at great ages & a pregnancy was not on the horizon.  Every other year, I was pregnant, had a newborn or a 1 year old.  That was not the case this year.  It has been a long time since I have been so foot loose & fancy free.  Diaper bag???  What's that?  The traveling was easy.  The feeding was easy.  The sleeping was easy.  And the fun...well that was easy too.  It has been so fun to soak up this summer with my kids & enjoy them being kids without weight of a baby or pregnancy.  Really...all you mom's know what I am saying, right?

And the kids?  Well they did not disappoint.  They were so very fun & are turning into great little travelers!

 

Could you just eat her?  She loved to put her toes in the water & run from the waves.  She could live in the sand & asked to be buried multiple times a day.  I think all 4 of her bathing suits are ruined from the sand.  oh well.  Money well spent.

 

This guy never.quit.  Ever.  All the other kids 5 & under sacked out on the beach at least one afternoon.  Not him.  He was going.going.gone by the last day.  He rode his own bike along the boardwalk to the doughnut shop this year & did awesome.  He was pretty proud of himself. 

 

He also learned the 'art' of body boarding this year.  His famous words?  "Mom, where's my board?  I'm gonna go catch some waves."  What 4-year-old could be more fun??

 

Making his way out... 

 

with all the big kids... 

 

taking some falls... 

 

and catching some waves.

I can't tell you how many surfers stopped to ask him if he was okay or needed help as they came in. 

 I have to admit he looked pretty little out there.

As always...his skills were pretty impressive.

 

We all know little girls have cute bathing suit bums...but this little guy managed to pull one off too...and by little guy, I mean Scoobs.

 

I think I gained 10 pounds eating doughnuts at the pier every morning.

Calories & time well spent.

 

Until next year...

These are a Few of My Favorite Things: Bear Lake Edition.

Scoobs with some of his cousins

To fully appreciate my love of Bear Lake you must know a bit of the history.  Bear Lake as I know it, was built by my grandfather.  It is a place my mom grew up coming & I place I grew up coming.  It is not fancy, but it near & dear to my heart.  As I've gotten older, I haven't had to opportunity to go as frequently as I did in my youth.  As we drove into the itty bitty town that holds what we call, 'Wits End' I actually got a little teary.  The place holds so many choice memories that I had forgotten until we got on the very streets.  Pulling into the yard with our windows down, the smell overcame me.  It was so familiar & exactly the same as I remember...except I couldn't remember it until I smelled it again.  And the picture above?  I think I will blow it up and hang it right next to the one of me when I was 5 with all my cousins in the yard with our sticks.  It never gets old.

So here are some of my favorite things...in photos.

 

The tire swing.  The same one I used & it still never gets old.  Unless you get going crazy & whack into the tree.  That is not fun.

 

The red clubhouse swing.  I'm not sure how long the red clubhouse as been there, but I never remember it not there.  I am pretty sure we've gone through a couple swings though.

 

 

The ladies that make it all possible. my mom & grandma. 

 

Baby Birds.  We found this nest & my cousin got it down without touching the birds & the kids hunted & fed them worms.  Gross, but really cool.  The birds eventually got too big for the nest & it fell from its perched place & we had to have a little rescue mission.

 

The reservoir & the plank.  Scoobs was a little nervous to get out on it.

 

Bullet casings...and the search thereof.  I've put about 20 of these through the wash as he has had them tucked into every pair of pant pockets.

 

Motorcycle rides. This is the same quad my grandpa used to drive me on.  Love it.

 

And stops along the way on those motorcycle rides.  The water was really high this year, so the stream was full.  Lots of fun.

 

Play time.  The yard kept 11 kids busy for hours on end.  I think they spent 2 whole days catching bugs among plenty of wiffle ball games.

 

No trip is complete without a raspberry shake.  The Lady learned she really loved ice cream & I learned she can tolerate quite a bit of dairy these days.  win-win.

 

Fireworks.  Scoobs was all.over.these.  Here he is with a roman candle thinking he is the man.  I was just hoping to leave with all his fingers in tact.

 

On the very last day I took Scoobs for his last motorcycle ride up the canyon right outside our driveway.  It is a ride I've done about a million times, but had yet to go to the very top on this trip.  I was a little nervous to go by myself with the water being so high & having to cross the stream several times to get to the top.  But decided to go ahead anyway.  As I was driving up my mind started to wander & I remembered taking this ride to the very top with my grandpa & my parents.  I could see the end in my mind & remembered my grandpa pulling out his buck knife & carving my initials into one of the trees.  The water was high that year as well if I remember correctly & the so the trees were very soft, making the carving very easy.  As I thought about this I started to wonder if I could find the tree.  I was sure this was the ride, I just wasn't sure where the end was.

We got to a dead end where I could no longer cross the stream & still hadn't found the tree.  I remembered getting off our motorcycles all those years ago & hiking around a bit, but I never remembered all the water, like it was now.   As I looked around I determined that I needed to cross the stream...again.  So Scoobs & I took off our shoes & rolled up our pants & hoped we didn't slip in.

We made it across & there it was.

 

A.B. 7-95

This was my favorite part.  It felt so good to be near him again.  

thanks grandpa for all the memories. xoxo.

My Ordinary Life.

I spent the weekend with just him.

and this view.

 

and yet I could not wait to get back to this...

 

and this.

 Safe to say.  I love my little ordinary life. 

Va-Cay

You are probably tired of looking at Kevin...but I promise, this is the last picture of him for awhile!  This past week I spent 4 days in Utah skiing, skiing, skiing with my dad & 2 brothers {and hanging with my mom}.  I have to say I was a little nervous that I would even be able to keep up with them.  It has been 3 years since I have strapped on skis.  3 years people!  And admittingly, I sat out the last day, but otherwise, I think it is safe to say, I kept up & loved every second! 

Oh man, did we time our trip right -- which is fortunate, because we did not go over a weekend, which is unusual.  We got there during a storm, had 3 days of clear & left right before another storm.  Oh I have never enjoyed such snow!  At times we found ourselves in over our heads...in powder.  Seriously, there were some hilarious moments!  I think my dad & I are tied for the most random & hilarious biffs in serious powder.  One time I could not even get up because I managed to get my skiis crossed & I couldn't untangle them in all the powder...not to mention I could hardly see with all the snow.  Don't worry that Kevin boarded right by me without a backwards glance.  typical.  Thank heavens for another kind soul who came to my rescue as I had zero leverage to get myself up.  And it didn't help that I was laughing my head off at myself.

On this trip I learned a few things.  One I really missed my family.  I mean I was with my family, but I missed my own little family.  I wished Scot was there with me because he loves it as much as I do.  So I spent many a chilly lift rides figuring out how we could have a cabin in the snow & how quick we could get all our kids skiing so we could all do it together all. the. time.  Because skiing is really fun people.

Scoobs has actually been asking to go skiing, which I find bizarre for a 4 year from the desert, but of course love. And while I have not wanted to take him & give up my own ski time to teach him, I realized I was wrong on that front.  It is funny how that shift happens.  Once I was there on my skiis thoroughly enjoying myself my first desire was to see him on skiis enjoying himself...even at the sacrifice of my own skiing preferences, which does not include the kiddie hill.  I kept seeing these little tykes out there & I couldn't help but wish I had Scoobs with me loving all the powder...because, he. would. love. it.  And that makes my heart so very glad that he loves those things.  He makes all those experiences so much richer & I am already scheming a way for another ski trip before spring hits!

Can't wait.

Back to School Camping Trip

As is tradition on my side of the fam the kids & dads took one last camping trip before school started. As is tradition, the wives packed & planned & then sent them on their ways. As is tradition, the wives {and babies} got together to work on 'projects' but really just ate too many treats & watched too much late night tv.

Speaking of which...have you ever seen the show, 'your chance to dance?' I will assume not, but it was on after 11pm & I don't think I have laughed that hard in a long time. Get your tivo set, grab your husband, pop some popcorn & laugh your guts out.

And now, back to camping. Seeing as I wasn't there, this is all hear say, but I have several good sources.

Soo, the recap.

After the recent news story about the 2 year old that walked out of his tent in the middle of the night {so incredibly sad}, Scot had strategic plans to make sure Scoobs was safe. And while I appreciate all his efforts, my sister and I had to laugh a little. He was equipped with a little lock to close the zippers & he, my dad & brother placed their bedrolls in front of the entrance of the tent to prevent Scoobs from escaping. My sister & I decided this was the difference between men & women. Women wake up...men sleep like zombies. As my sister likes to say, if there was ever an intruder she'd have 15 minutes of hand to hand combat before her husband woke up.

And while they had great plans for sleeping, I hear there was very little actual sleep. One cousin woke up after midnight with a headache & spent the rest of the night asleep out by the fire in her camp chair while her dad slept on the dirt. Again...why? men vs women. My solution? Here's some tylenol, now go to sleep. But whatevs.

Then another cousin decided 4 am was a good wake up time, which made all the other cousins think that was a good wake up time. I think her dad was ready to kill her...she is a watch wearing girl...why not check the time?!? haha.

Oh and as for Scoobs. He made it through the night, but was quite a tired little pistol the next day.

Good thing they found some water...and a rope swing.


They came home tired & dirty & full of 'camping' stories that included orange bugs & hammocks between trees.

So we will skip the sleep troubles & go ahead and call this one a success.

until next year.

Back.

My laundry room floor is gritty with sand. It almost still feels like we are at the beach, except we aren't. Because here it is a blazing & humid 105 degrees outside & when we left there, it was a crisp 65 and raining.

yeesh.

Every July I come home wondering why I live where I live. It is hard to leave that weather & return to this. I hate Julys here. But then I get home & I walk through the door & I remember. It always feels so good to be home. Last night we spent the evening taming the jungle that had become our backyard in 2 short weeks. We edged, we mowed, we weeded. We did it together & it was fun. The weather yesterday didn't even get over 100, so it felt oddly nice out. Scoobs helped dad push the mower while the lady wondered around in her diaper with dinner crumbs still on her.

We topped it off with baths, but not before scoobs & I played games on the trampoline with the hose. I jump, he tries to spray me, then we trade. And while I was jumping, the sun was setting on the mountains & farmlands to the east, casting an orange glow on everything & I couldn't help but think there isn't anywhere I'd rather be...heat or no heat.

All the while the grit reminds me of all the fun we had together in cooler & greener pastures.

Among other things, we hit up the zoo & lucky us...all the animals were out to play.

On the way there I asked Scoobs what animal he wanted to see the most. His response? a puma. i wondered first, how he even knew what a puma was & then how I was ever going to deliver on that one.

Come to find out, he learned about pumas from his buddy Diego. gotta love it.

and even luckier, we saw one up close & personal!

This one is a lynx

and is taken with zero zooming on my camera. all the big cats were out to play. we saw the lion, the tiger, the puma {of course} & my personal favorite, a huge black jaguar that was downright scary looking. pretty, but huge & imposing all at the same time. Scoobs is still talking about it.

While there, we tried to master the jump picture, with little success

these are the sorts of things I have to do in order to even get a picture of scoobs, as he is not the least bit accommodating of a camera toting mom, which I didn't think happened until they were 13, but whatevs. Until then, we will keep working on our jumps...and facial expressions for that matter.

and after all the fun, we were just tuckered out.

we've been home 2 days & we are still recovering...hence the sand still stands in my laundry room.

It's rough, but somebody has to do it...

so it may as well be me.

we wrapped up our annual trip to the coast and i think this year's was one of my favorites in recent memory. for sure better than last year's which included a 10 week old baby, that did not nap well at. all.

eww. just thinking about it makes me want to cry all over again.

so...the hi lights.
awesome weather. really. monday was frigid, but after that, it was almost, dare i say, hot. but that made for perfecto beach days in which my kids wore themselves flat out. which made for awesome afternoon naps, which made for kid free beach afternoons. ahh. bliss.


that and the waves were better than they have been in recent memory. typically i paddle out a day, maybe two. this year? i was out 4 of the 5 beach days, without being asked or prodded by my husband & brother. and that made for some serious skill improvement in the body boarding department. i've decided that body boarding is a lot like skiing in that it is way more fun when you actually know what you are doing. and just like you improve leaps & bounds on week long ski trips, the same is true of week long body boarding trips. and i suppose the fact that i can actually keep up with the boys in this endeavor doesn't hurt either. there isn't much in the athletics department {okay nothing} where i can not only keep up, but hold my own. and that, frankly, feels good.

so...some hi lights & low lights.

hi lights:::
scoobs was playing on a kiddie body board in the shallow water when a wave knocked him flat down. i'm of the parenting philosophy to watch, but not always help. so instead of picking him up from under the water, i just told him to stand up. and instead of standing up in the sand, he thought i meant to stand up on the board, like a surfer would & did that...all while the waves are crashing in & out & he is trying to get his head above water. love that kid.

while riding a wave in i was approaching some peeps in the water. okay, i was heading directly at them at what would appear an alarming speed. but on my end, i was in complete control & the wave was going to close out before i would have nailed them...anyway, 1 mili second before the wave is done this guy {18-23ish}standing next to his girl screams at me like a girl, "WATCH OUT!!!" & heads under water. but before he can even finish, the wave has closed & i am standing 10 feet away, not even moving and well...laughing. he felt dumb and i thought it was really funny & then he apologized, thinking he messed me up, when really he didn't, that was just where i was going to land. anywho...this is all babbling, but at the time, i got a seriously good laugh. like dude...don't scream like a girl, go under water & i will ride over you & you won't be the wiser for it.

another wave my dad, myself & my brother were on. we were all just riding the foam & when we all catch one together, we usually just ride it all the way in...trying to knock each other off in the process. well this time, i actually rode the wave AND my brother as my board was literally on top of him. it was a bad shore break all day & we all got tossed into the sand in the most ungraceful way you could imagine. just think of me in my wetsuit & fins with my board flapping about above the water while i get tossed under the water...and oh yeah, my brother was under me & in between all that too. i came up laughing...and gasping for air. then i saw my dad...getting tossed as well, and laughed some more, because the only thing funnier than you getting tossed is watching someone else. then a 6 year old girl informed me that my board nailed her in the head and yes, i laughed at that too. and the untangled my board from kevin's & laughed some more.

low lights:::

my brother got stung by a sting ray and for the first 30 minutes i laughed out loud at him. and before you think i am the most insensitive person alive {which could be true} let me clarify the details.

it was 4:30 on the last day. almost everyone is up at the house. a few straggles {us} were on the beach still. he tells his wife {who just had a baby 5 weeks ago} that his ankle hurts, mind you he had been out of the water 45 minutes. we all ask what he did. he doesn't remember hurting it, but it hurts to the point he can't put any weight on it. his wife heads to the house. he sits. i laugh. no battle wound. no battle story. just his ankle hurts.

lame.

and just so you don't think i am beyond mean, he was laughing too. until it really started to hurt. we called the house & my dad came down to help him off the beach. we were still laughing a bit {by a bit, i mean out loud with teasing remarks}, thinking it was only a cramp. and while the whole thing is a bit of a low light, this next part was definitely a hi light. he hopped the entire way up off the beach & then my dad tried to piggy back him {unsuccessfully} to the house {across the street}. my husband, my brother's wife & myself were in hysterics. never have i seen something so funny.

fast forward 30 minutes i make it back up to the house. only to find him in bed with his foot elevated & him white knuckled & shaking the pain is so bad. yeah, i felt bad at that point. a quick trip to the ER {seriously, it was quick} & he was stung by a sting ray. which really gives me the willies as i was next to him out in the water. ew.

all in all, we wrapped another great year at the beach & i am looking forward to more next year.

thanks mom & dad...

Beaching It.

We spent last week living it up at the beach. Needless to say, we are spoiled rotten with Scot's parents living minutes from the water. And while the weather was still a little chilly, we loved being away from excessive heat warnings and the like.

Z was of course in hog heaven. He is at the perfect beach age. He is old enough to get in the water, play in the sand & I don't have to be watching right over him.

The lady on the other hand would charge head first into the water...just like she does in the pool. Scot & I were laughing at this picture, because while it looks like she is laughing in pure delight, she is actually ticked that I am holding her hand. go ahead...just call her little miss independence.

Z had to be buried a time or two...


and the lady discovered doritos.

at least they kept her busy for 3 minutes.

then she was back getting into trouble.