[Great] Grandma turned 90 earlier this month. We were lucky to be with her on her special day. We consider ourselves lucky to be with her any sort of day! I was struck with how beautiful 90 years is. Grandma is the youngest of 11 from farmland South Dakota. She and Grandpa left farming and set roots in Southern California to raise their family,...
Hello Friends and Family…we dropped off the grid in the desert for Spring break for a while there. Four 6-hour drives, a 90th birthday party, swimming in 60 degree water, and an egg hunt later we are re-acclimating to our normal life at home. Here’s a little re-cap from our Easter day – which we spent with Tyler’s parents in Phoenix. First time aware...
This Is The Final Christmas Post. I promise. Our grande finale family Christmas this year – with my Dad’s siblings and kids (and grandkids!). I love having so much family. I love seeing the resemblances when multiple generations are gathered around the table. I think traditions like Lasagna for dinner and Orange Mush with dessert are amusing. And the games…oh the games. Nothing gets...
MAS CHRISTMAS! (we had 4 to be exact…this is the 3rd, we’re almost there). Christmas with my Parents. Not sure what it was about this year but I went all susie-homemaker on the gifts for my family…thank you Pinterest. A giant ruler measuring-board for my sister-in-law. DIY tie pillows: Lion and an Octopus for two of my nieces. Dragon Tails for my nephew and...
Christmas at home means chasing each other in Santa hats. Candlelight service Christmas Eve. Staying up into the wee hours assembling gifts. And just all around pajama merriment. One benefit to being pint-sized is that your presents are sometimes bigger than you! Our sweet neighbors delivered the kids these candy-wrapped and very exciting bouncy ball presents. The kids could hardly get past their excitement...
Earlier this year the New York Times published a compelling article about the importance of knowing and retelling the positive parts of your family’s story. Familiarity with both the beautiful moments and those when the family overcame challenges contribute to a person’s strong sense of connectedness. Each person has a place in the family, and there is strength in knowing you are a part...
We got to gather with my in-loves last month. While there, we had the privilege of watching some of Uncle Jason’s Ironman Triathlon. Tyler went and took pictures throughout the whole event and we joined him for a few hours in the middle of the day. If you’ve never seen an Ironman let me tell you…it is amazing. First of all, it starts before...
Last week we earned the “enjoyed a family vacation with toddlers” badge. It was our first excursion just us four. It was last minute, low budget (low pressure), low expectations and quite fun! I found a fantastic lodging deal on my favorite travel website, Travelzoo, it helped that we stayed Sunday and Monday nights. We brought one pack-n-play for one kid, and made a...
We’re celebrating family! Whitney has this next week off from school so we decided to kick off an adventure. Today we shared the morning with my brother’s family, then lunch with my cousin, a visit with Aunt Vicki, and topped it off with just us four enjoying beautiful views in Lake Tahoe, and an ice cream. Fantastic. Hotel with toddlers (note the door-they already...
For some reason I’ve been neglecting the big camera lately. Nevertheless, I’ve taken a bunch of shots with my phone…so here are some of the latest phone strips… A Dylan-Mommy Date to Starbucks. I’ve enjoyed this sweet time just him and I when Whitney is at school. I marvel that he can’t stop talking about her… Whitney likes bus. Whitney’s asleep. Whitney wants pino jelly....
Happy belated 4th everyone! We’ve got another type of independence going on here. Freedom = Highchair free for 2 weeks now, I still can’t believe it when the kids spoon out their own Cheerios and milk. Dylan says “OWN” all the time, as in I want to climb in my carseat, go upstairs, brush my teeth on my own! It’s actually helped with the...
The week in reverse…. Today we enjoyed the longest day with lots of outside. Splashing in the backyard before dinner. Morning at the beach with Auntie Jess and Lady Dog. Lovely lovely day. Mom! Put the camera down! We’ve been here all of three minutes and haven’t eaten anything yet [signing and saying Eat]. I concede with the 11am lunch….Whitney puts new meaning...