A Summer Evening...Our Independence Day

My dear friend Sherri invited us to spend the day with her family and some friends at a house on Lake Chelan. It was a magical day.

We slept in as late as possible...ummm, 5:30 a.m. and then after we'd all been fed, dressed, napped and prepared, we drove the hour north to the lake.


On the left is Sophia with a berry face and in the photo to the right of her is Sophia on the table, Saquoia standing and Trish, Sam's preschool teacher, is waving her arms as she sang "American Pie".


Sherri is holding Arlo on the right. It was so wonderful to have another great memory made with Sherri. She really has become one of my most cherished friends here. Norbert, her husband, is on the left. I also really enjoy his company and his German perspective...a very interesting man. They have two red headed sons that provide me with a peek into my future, being 15 and 12. Such great boys!

Sam played as hard as he could all day long. In the water and out, on the boat, with sand and sticks. There was no shortage of kids to play with of all ages. A boy's paradise!

Great food, friends, song...an Independence Day to remember.

Early Mornin'

Cycles of life, cycles of growth, cycles of sleep and cycles of WAKING AT THE BUTT CRACK OF DAWN AND THEN WAKING YOUR MOM, DAD, AND BROTHER!!!!!!! Sam has been waking very early, and after attempts beyond mentioning and crying and an hour of my trying to pretend he's sleeping next to me...I get out of bed with him. Ugh! This morning it was 5:30 a.m. and Arlo was awake nursing, then Sam started crying when I told him it as too early to get up, thus Arlo woke up entirely. Through his tears he said to me, "But Mommy, the sun is up". My response: "Yes true, the sun is up, but that does not mean you have to be!" So, here I am at 7:45 a.m. I have already made breakfast for us three, made a pot of coffee, folded some laundry, checked my email and my blogs....Arlo and Sam are playing in the playroom and watching "Wonder Pets". Here I sit half asleep and looking forward to the part of the day when I can pass the buck to Matt and take a nap! Happy 4th of July!

It's Official

It's official...our house is on the market and on the web...officially for sale. It feels really good to finally be able to sit and play with the boys and relax in the evenings. Last night I made the drawing below for a Mother Blessing invitation. A dear friend I have known longer than Matt is due with her first in the end of August. It was so wonderful to just sit and draw. I am hoping to be able to do a few more things I have been thinking of lately...my mother's hands, a felted wool purse, the 2-year-in-the-making knit Grommit doll, etc......

Sink Bath

Talking Arlo

3 Years and 6 Months

On Tuesday I took Sam and Arlo to the DR for their 3 yr. and 6 mos. well-child exams at the same time. It was much easier having them together, though I was sure it wasn't going to be! Both healthy boys, here are their stats:

Sam, weighing in at 37 .5 lbs. and reaching heights of 40"!! He had a hearing test and eye exam and they tested his reflexes, which he loved!

Arlo weighed 19 lbs. 12 oz. and is 26 3/4" tall! A BIG boy. He had the usual physical exam and then had two shots. He did have a reaction to the shots that night with some real fussiness and no sleeping. He hasn't been much of a sleeper at all lately. He is on the verge of crawling and on the verge of cutting BOTH his upper front teeth...the right tooth came through this afternoon!

Still very busy getting this house ready to sell and it is moving along quite nicely. We have hired our neighbor's daughter, Taylor, to be my "mommy's helper" and take care of Arlo at the house while Sam is at school. I have been amazed at how much I am getting done with uninterrupted time. I am also really trying to be present in the moments I am alone, even if I am organizing clutter and scrubbing walls. A little good music and a pot of coffee can go a long way!

Father's Weekend

Gears around here have been switched from "getting the yard work done", to "getting the house ready to show". So, needless to say, our weekends are still not spent out having fun bike riding or going to the farmer's market (ug, now, there's a story). No we have stopped shoveling bark and started organizing cupboards, scrubbing walls and decluttering the entire house! Those of you that have bought and sold homes can feel my pain. However, with the pan, comes some pleasure, and this is all that keeps me going. Once the house is ready to show, we will get to enjoy our hard work and the remainder of our time here. Here are a few shots of our finished yard projects.

We did have a little fun this weekend in celebrating Matt as a father. Matt's mother made matching shirts for the boys and, as you can see, we took some time to photograph them together. It was so beautiful seeing my three boys all together, having fun in the grass. I left one in color so the beautiful colors on the shirts and of the day, can be seen. I made a special dinner with portabella mushroom stuffed flank steak, sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil and honey and sauteed summer squashes. Mmmm, it was so good.
I think Matt had a nice weekend. We did do some house projects, but they were short and it feels really good to have them done.