Cozy Living

Beachy Bonding Time

We're safely home from our family camping reunion, saturated with salty water, covered in ashy dirt, and full of new family memories.  We had an afternoon of digging and romping in the beach sand, two evenings of s'mores by the fire, and a healthy dose of playing and being together.  And if anyone wonders where I get my competitive nature, let me just say that our weekend also included a kite making & flying contest, a survival fire making contest, a trac ball contest, and a rousing game of musical chairs, courtesy of my cousin Kendy's lovely singing.  Oh yes, this is what our family calls fun.  

You've heard the phrase, "The family who plays together stays together"... cheesy, but definitely true for our family.  I only hope that my own boys will still like hanging out with me when Greg and I are "old folks at home," as I so affectionately call my parents.  

Only my dear uncle Don would think to bring the boys back issues of his magazines: "Trains" and "Equipment Today," which has page after page of pictures of and articles about construction equipment.  Come to think of it, it could be that it is only my dear uncle Don who has ever heard of these magazines.

I love this family 'portrait' of us just living life together...the boys and I eating popsicles while Greg keeps working on the fire making contest.  Yes, now we've revealed who does the real work around here.

How Tyler spent his Saturday afternoon...oblivious to the mud covering his body, but hanging on to the all important baseball cap, which he can be found wearing at all times, even when running around our house naked.

the kite flying contest, which my dad and brother in law Rob won for actual flying, as well as my cousin Becky, who won the 'most creative flyer' award, as she ran with her kite on a six foot string, just hoping it would defy all odds and soar.  Better luck next time, Becky.

Sunrise over San Elijo State Beach...

and sunset.

Family fun...

and family bonding.

I'm off now to do some family bonding with my own two trying little boys. I'm ever so tempted to focus on the fact I'm exhausted by the cold that's settled into my exploding sinuses, and that the boys' "rest time" was far from restful for any of us, and that my little pocket of afternoon silence wasn't as silent as I expect it to be.  There was no time for 'official' meditation, prayer, and renewal, but there was a brief time for writing and reflection, and I'm finding that God can speak peace to me through that time, too. Thank you, Lord, for beautiful photos and words, and for the strength to change my attitude.  

As Helen Keller said, "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  

I'm off to improve mine.  I hope your day is wonderful.  

The Year Round Outdoor Life

April 2007

Sometimes it's hard not to be jealous as I see the crisp fall weather pictures from various parts of the world.  Here we are, in another 90+ heat wave.  This is unusual, but it does come with the territory here in Southern California.  My roses are confused.  This picture is from last year, but outside my door right now the roses are blooming like crazy.  

I got to thinking about our heat, and realized how blessed we are to have this kind of weather where we can be outdoors, in nature, all year round.  I know some of you can't imagine Christmas without snow.  Growing up, I couldn't imagine Christmas without going rollerblading on the boardwalk at Huntington Beach.  Rather than be annoyed about the extreme heat today, I'm going to be thankful, especially since we're heading out to our annual family reunion camping trip on the beach today!  The boys favorite cd right now is a Veggie Tales sing-a-long, and there's a song that reminds me to be thankful:

'A thankful heart is a happy heart.  I'm glad for what I have, that's an easy place to start.'

I'm remembering this as I look back at some favorite old pictures of our adventures outside in the past couple years.

January 2007

March 2007

Annual family reunion campout on the beach (we're leaving for this year's today!), October 2007

Christmas Eve 2007

The Rose Parade: January 2008

Our meadow: January 2008

San Diego Train Museum trip for the boys' birthdays: February 2008

Around the neighborhood: February (yes, February!) 2008

Our first pool trip of the year: March 4, 2008

I do hope you're enjoying your beautiful fall weather, wherever you are.  As for me, I've decided to enjoy the heat around here.  Happy weekend to you all.

Mountain Retreat

It's hard for me to express in words the significance of this weekend's mountain retreat.  Have you ever experienced a tipping point in your life, where everything that seemed to be unrelated is coming together just so, and you suddenly realize it's been leading up to something big?  A time when so many small, seemingly insignificant and unrelated things have been happening in so many areas of life, and a pattern suddenly reveals itself, pointing you clearly in one direction?  

Remember those digital hidden pictures that were so popular in the 90's - the ones that looked like pretty computerized patterns, but if you stared long enough, the nonsense was organized by your brain and you could suddenly see a three dimensional butterfly in the chaos, or a plane flying out of what had seemed to be a picture of nothing?  That was this weekend for me.  I could feel the experiences of my past, the learnings of the present, and the voice of the One who so lovingly and gently guides my future all coming together to point my life in a new direction.  It's indescribable.  Now comes the really hard part: moving forward with courage. (Sorry to be so cryptic...sometimes its the most personal thoughts and emotions that are the hardest to explain, especially to those closest to you.)

The beautiful mountain setting where Fall was really happening wasn't too bad either.  I brought home a mug full of Fall for the boys to enjoy.  

 

Getting Back Outdoors

The past week has been one of post-vacation cleanup, returning to normalcy, and hiding out inside from the insane outdoor heat.  But this week will be different.  I'm remembering the beauty of the outdoors and am determined to reconnect with the fall, now that the winds are blowing in some cold air for us.  

This week is a busy one for us.  It's funny as I say that, how different "busy" is today from what "busy" was to me a few years ago.  I've spent a few years paring down our outside commitments to purposefully take our family from stressed and hurried to slow and meaningful.  I really feel that we don't connect with each other when we're rushing about from one thing to another.  So yes, a busy week here means we have one thing on our calendar each day (playdate, dinner with friends, visit to my sister's place, school pumpkin patch field trip, etc.)  During this thankful season I'm grateful for the work I've put in to bring our family to this place, where I feel rested and peaceful instead of harried and off-center. 

To inspire me to get outdoors again this week, I'm looking over my favorite photos from our trip.  Happy Monday to you.

Home Sweet Home.

We've just returned from a beautiful week in three perfect spots: Bass Lake, Yosemite, & San Francisco.  We are refueled, reconnected, worn out, and happy.  Tonight I will just share a few favorite photos before collapsing with contentment onto our much missed bed.  Good night.

raspberry picking in Bass Lake.

canoeing...

...and blowing dandelions.

 

tree huggers in the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias (just inside Yosemite National Park)

skipping rocks (or trying to) on the Merced River, just next to our campsite

the sheet fort in the woods

a favorite hike by the stream

late night games with Amy & Rob, who conquered Half Dome, by the way!

the boys (and the ever present flashlight) by the campfire, all tuckered out.

the Golden Gate Bridge at night, as seen from the front of our hotel on the third leg of our trip

...and as seen early next morning by the bay.  Each morning we woke up, fueled ourselves with free croissants and coffee on the front porch of the hotel, then walked across the lawn to this deserted and beautiful spot.  Aaahhh...

one of my favorite moments...flying our kite on the hotel lawn with the city and the bridge as a backdrop.  Can we say blessed?

And I'll leave you with a view of the breathtaking Yosemite valley, where every pathway lead me to say, "Oh my gosh, look at this! It's gorgeous! I have to take a picture here."  And so I did.

 

And We're Off...

(photo from our September 2006 Yosemite trip)

We won't be around for a week and a half...we're off to one of the most beautiful places in the world: Yosemite!  I love the fields of grasses, the vistas of blue rock, the crisp fall air, just about everything about it makes me happy.  Some of my favorite memories in high school are from our church's annual youth trip to Yosemite, where we would spend several hours alone in silence in the nature around us, reflecting on creation.  We're now taking advantage of our last year without anyone in elementary school by heading out for a nice fall trip up north. (as much as I love it, Yosemite is a crowded mess in the summertime.)

We'll be in nearby Bass Lake for some of the week, camping in the park for part of the week (aaahhhh...I love cooking over the campfire), then we head over to San Francisco for the weekend, where Greg has a work event and the boys and I will toodle around on our own for a few days.

I am so looking forward to spending my days in pure beauty with my family.  And I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this time my dear husband will be enjoying it all with us, instead of writhing in the little country hospital passing a kidney stone for five days...oh yes, our last trip was quite idyllic...ahem.  Keep your fingers crossed for us!  If you're looking for some new tidbits from our house, check out the archives.  I didn't actually tell anyone about this blog until I'd been writing for a few months, so those early posts have never really seen the light of day.  It's definitely an encouragement to me to see the improvement in my writing and photography in the months past.  I'm excited to share our photos and stories with you all when  we get back.

San Diego City Living

I spend much of my time wishing I could live in the country, preferably with no t.v., lots of dogs, a white farmhouse with a wraparound porch, trees for the boys to climb, and a wonderful farm that magically tends itself.  (Well, as long as it's a dream, I should ask for all I want, right?)

But yesterday the boys and I lived it up in the city...my sister and brother-in-law finally moved into their downtown place, which, oh, just happens to be right above Petco Park in San Diego, my favorite city in the world (yet) where I would wish to live if I had three wishes.  But as my fairy godmother seems to be otherwise occupied, we will instead stay put where we are, and live vicariously through Amy and Rob.

How do I love thee, San Diego? Let me count the ways: we walked everywhere from their place...and it's not too far for little feet.  The sidewalks are clean and wide and boys can run wherever we go.  

There is a free playground right outside Petco Field, along with a miniature baseball diamond perfect for Jake and Tyler to explore with Uncle Rob, while Amy and I unpacked. (We could even spy on the boys from their window...see Jake running to first down there on the right?)

The food in the city is so varied and wonderful, with friendly folks willing to chase you three blocks to bring you a tasty Thai take out dish they forgot...

...and then you get to eat it here, on the rooftop deck with a view of the trainyard, the trolleys, the bay, the Coronado bridge, and the sunset.

And you finish it all up with gourmet gelato (also bought at a little mom and pop down the block) with the city lights twinkling in the background.  Are we all cured of our yearning for country living yet? Sigh.

Unexpected Beauty

Could you have guessed that these photos were taken at the Happiest Place on Earth?  I'm so enjoying using the skills I learned last weekend at the photography retreat as I see everyday things through new eyes.  Now that I have my nice camera bag, I'm not embarrassed to bring my nice camera to Disneyland with us, instead of just my little pocket camera.  And one of the nicest things about having unhurried weekday mornings at Disneyland now and then, is the discovering of hidden pockets of beauty.  When the boys were littler, we might spend an hour feeding the ducks on the Rivers of America, or just wander around looking at the pretty flowers and the people.  My favorite spots are Tom Sawyer's Island and a similar exploration-based area in Disney's California Adventure park.  The boys love to explore as if we lived in the country and could find caves and treehouses of our own.  And now Greg has arrived home early and we'll relax and recover from the heat and excitement of the morning.  

Be sure to come back in the next days for a birthday/100th post giveaway!

The Creative Photography Retreat

 

Photography by Linn Woodard, Dawnette El Fattal, Rebecca Harper, Phyllis Carter 

Well, I've got a moment to write about the amazing three day photography seminar I attended last weekend in San Jose, and I am still in awe of the information, the talent, the expertise, and the excitement that was there.  We spent two days in eight different classes teaching us about storytelling, photo editing, general camera knowledge, use of flash, photoshop, photography of children, use of natural light, and still life photography.  Class after class I wrote page after page of notes and tips. I sat in front in every class and asked as many questions as I could, in order to glean as much knowledge as possible from the pros in their fields.  It wasn't until halfway through class #7 that I suddenly felt completely saturated with knowledge, as if one more drop of information would make the whole sponge that is my brain completely overflow.  Luckily my eighth class was about Photoshop, and as I've been working in Photoshop for many years now, I didn't feel overwhelmed there.  (and even in that class I took away two very useful tips that are new to me, but will be used often.)  So yes, time and money very well spent.  I feel like I could spend years reviewing and putting into practice all of the information from the retreat.  Doesn't it feel good to LEARN?  It's been a while for me.  I think learning makes me come alive.  I'm determined to do it more often.

Another little tidbit...there was a little photo scavenger hunt, so my group and I traipsed all over the hotel grounds and across the street to a little business complex, where we took pictures of anything and everything, hoping to be as artistic as we could be.  And you know how it is, you think your photos are great and you hope that you might win something in the three categories, but you know that there are over 250 other capable photographers at this event, so you don't get your hopes up.  Well, our group got second place in the creativity category, and we were pretty pleased.  And then, they announced an overall winners category, and, drum roll, WE WON!  Can you imagine?  Out of all of those photographers, our group was the overall winner.  I don't think I've been that shocked in a long, long time.  Since they'd already called our group once, we figured we were done, and when our slide came up on the screen, we screamed in complete shock. I was just so honored and amazed to be recognized by the instructors in an area that I just love so much.  Wow.

But most of all, I'm so excited to start using all of the information I've learned as I take pictures in the coming weeks and months.  What a great few days.  I love great learning experiences, don't you?

The boys and I are off to Disneyland today, as we have annual passes and the place should be empty today since it's the first day of school for the remaining districts in our area.  I'm packing every bit of fun I can into this last non-school year for my boys!  Hope your day is happy, too.

The Value of a Sketch Pad

I shared this before briefly here, but thought it was worth a post of its own. I am always so thrilled to discover a parenting idea that is particularly brilliant, and as it happens to me so seldom, I'm sharing one such amazing discovery here: sketch pads.

I know, I know, you've all discovered the joy, the eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and most importantly, the long minutes of quiet a sketch pad can bring. I may be a little behind here, but in case I'm not, let me tell you this: bring a sketch pad on trips with you. Any trip. In an airplane, to the nature preserve, on long car drives, or as we did, to the zoo. We have an adorable tote with the cutest cowboy fabric (here's the same tote...different fabric) that holds the sketch pad and a set of crayons. And here the boys are:

The last time we went to the San Diego Zoo (one of the most amazing zoos in the world!), the boys lasted less than three hours there. I was so disappointed. So this time, as Jake has been really into drawing, we brought the sketch pads and they wanted to stop and draw every animal we saw. Our first model was this beautiful leopard who did us the favor of sitting regally by the front of the cage, so Jake could capture him with his crayons.

There's something so gratifying about watching children be so amazed by something and then transfer their ideas to paper. I simply swam in their joy as they sketched. And now we have a huge pile of animal drawings, all with immensely creative names like "Leppy the Leopard" and "Pandy the Panda." But best of all, we all saw the zoo with new eyes. Together.

TypePad Intro & a few San Diego pictures

Yes, this is a random combination post about how 1) I was getting so sick of blogger and its inability to upload photos that I'm trying out TypePad for a trial period, and 2) we just got back from our trip to San Diego and I'd love to share some photos (and practice with multiple photo uploading on TypePad!)

So here are some favorites from our trip:

Amy & Tyler coming back from checking out the helicopters on Uncle Rob's base (NASNI Coronado.) I'm not going to get arrested for posting a photo of the base, am I?

a family (foam) sword fight in our condo...love Amy's reaction on the couch!

perhaps one of my favorite eateries in the world: Extraordinary Desserts, where it is not food, but art.

The boys & their sketchpads at the San Diego Zoo; probably my most inspired parenting idea in several years. Bring the sketchpad next time you go to the zoo...it buys at least an extra hour or two, and you'll take home the cutest animal sketches for posterity (ours were all labeled with oh-so-creative names, too, like "Pandy" the Panda.)

My favorite: our last night there, at the zoo, a south american band providing good tunes, musical instruments & hulahoops, the sun setting over the trees, the whole world glowing.

Vegas Family Vacation

Yes, it is possible to vacation with kids in Las Vegas!  We've never done it before, but I thought I'd get away with the boys while Greg's in trial.  Aunt Krissy came as my assistant baby wrangler.

Stayed in our timeshare south of the strip with the most important features being a separate bedroom for the boys, a kitchen to avoid eating out, several pools (including a kiddie pool and lazy river for the boys to float around on with their swimmies), and a playground. And the weather was perfect (98 here and only 75 there!) Really, I'm not one to exaggerate how great a vacation is. Usually on trips with toddlers there's a whole lot of suffering for a few great moments. But either the boys are finally getting old enough to travel well, or the stars were just aligned, because we just had so much fun.

Favorites: Exploring in Red Rock Canyon, floating in the lazy river (with Daddy, who made a surprise visit when his trial got moved), watching Jake being thrilled by the buffet, and going to the Fremont Street experience where lights and songs fill the sky.

It reminds me that just the smallest change in scenery feels like a vacation for little ones. I need to remember this when we're feeling in a rut.