Summer Confessions

Ever since our trip to the beach, I have been in total lazy-summer-beach-bum-care-free mode. I hang out in my PJ's a lot longer than I care to admit, getting dressed often involves going straight from PJ's to bathing suit and I haven't worn make-up since Sunday. I love it! It makes me think of the summers of my past. Back when Summers was my last name!

Maybe it's all the vitamin D flowing through my veins thanks to all of the time in the sun. Maybe it's the longer day-light hours or even the smell of cut grass in the air. Or maybe it's because I had this for breakfast this morning:

Hey! You need to re-visit your childhood once in a while. There's only so much Kashi and yogurt a girl can eat, you know. I still had my coffee, so I felt like a grown up. A little.

OK, time to ditch the robe and put on my bathing suit. Gonna fill up the blow-up pool and let Jackson and Aron splash around in the pool.

Maybe I'll read a magazine or paint my nails.

After I fold the laundry and wash the coffee pot and empty the dishwasher. Sigh. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Vacation- all I ever wanted!

Ahh.....vacation. It was great! We were only gone for 6 days, but a touch and go internet connection and issues with blogspot have delayed my posting these! But, better late than never, right?

Here are my boys on the beach. Aron loved "jumping" the waves with Daddy!

Here's a shot of the 3 of us playing in the surf. The water was wonderful and I could have stayed out there all day long!

Here's Lisa and I having fun at an outdoor concert. We had a great time catching up and it was good to be with her again, nearly 8 years after our roommate days!

Our kiddos seem to have a real connection, too. Here they are on the porch swing just being cute.

Here is one of my favorite moments from the whole week. Aren't they just adorable together? Lisa and I joke that they should grow up and get married so we can spend holidays together! (so maybe we're half-joking)

Hope you are all having a wonderful summer and making equally wonderful memories with your loved ones!

What's IN a song?

Isn't it funny how a song can transport you somewhere or to some time(s) in your life?
I grew up listening to James Taylor. I guess because my dad was a fan, not me. I mean, Carolina in My Mind was released the year I was born. But I distinctly remember sneaking his Greatest Hits tape from my dad's music collection when I was in High School and listening to it for hours in my room. And I didn't really know a thing about this music or who James Taylor was, but like so many other people I naturally gravitated to two songs: Sweet Baby James and Carolina in my Mind.
Anyway, my point...what was it....oh, yeah! That song takes me to so many places. Back to my childhood, my HS years. Then in college, when I lived with my friend Lisa. We went on a girls weekend trip to NOLA and she up and met a boy there. Guess where he was from? That was in March and by October, Lisa was moving up to North Carolina to be closer to him and Rudy and I were getting ready to start our life in Las Vegas. That last week while we packed, I heard this song over and over and over and over from under the door of my roomate's bedroom. Now it makes me laugh to think of it. Back then, I am ashamed to say, I rolled my eyes and thought it was a little too obvious.
A year or so later, Lisa married her North Carolina boy. He's a great guy and now an awesome husband and father. They came out to visit us while we lived in Vegas once. We took them to dinner, saw a bunch of the sights. And then we all went to a James Taylor Concert at the Mandalay Bay.
Tomorrow morning, we'll be boarding a plane that will land us in Wilimington, North Carolina to visit our sweet friends whom we have kept our ties with and share life with across miles and miles. And I think I'll listen to this while I pack all day.

Maybe I'll teach Aron to sing it! (Car-o-WY-nuh)

http://the14all.com/music/Carolina.mp3

busybusybusybusybusy

Well, between watching our little guy play t-ball and running around to 4 different birthday parties in 2 weeks time, and preparing for our trip to the beach I am just about spent!

But, I don't want to sound like I am complaining. On the contrary! I like to be busy to an extent. I get a little stir crazy if I sit still for too long. Unless I am at the beach. Then, I could sit all day long.

Here's a look at what we've been up to:

Aron didn't want to bat during the first "inning". He got a little shy and decided to stay in the dugout. But, by the second go-round he had had a change of heart.

It was so funny watching the little ones line up to do the ol' "good game" routine. At first they had no idea what it was all about, but they eventually got the hang of it.

I decided to put on my creative hat and make birthday gifts for all of our little friends. It actually became a great creative outlet for me. I am even working on a couple for baby gifts. I'm no Van Gogh (unless you think he drew his art with pencil and then painted it in), but I really had a lot of fun doing these.

This one was for the little guy I keep 2 days/week. He turned 3.

This one was for my friend Kathy's boy who turned 4.

And this one was for another 4-yr-old. He really likes dinosaurs right now.

Help My Garden

Well, here it is. My humble little garden. My hubby helped me build it inbetweeen spiratic rainstorms on Sunday and I have been doing my best to keep it going. This is my first garden, so I am starting small. Hopefully we'll have a bumper crop and next year I can have two or 3 more of these boxes! Thanks to my new friend, Tara, I have 5 types of tomatoes and a sechwan pepper growing. When I went back to the store for more soil (since I am apparently not skilled at gardening OR math) I picked up a jalapeno, a squash and an eggplant. Hmmm...anyone have a recipe for that combo?
I do have a problem, though. See that spot in the center where the soil has been moved? That is where I raked over a little hole someone dug overnight! I am thinking it was a cat. None of the foliage was nibbled on. Knowing that the neighborhood cats (there are countless!) would find this new loose soil irresistable, I have already scattered "critter ridder" in my flower beds as well as the garden! Now what? Chicken wire would keep the bunnies out, but cats? They'd elbow oneanother, laugh at me and jump in anyway.

When I was outside pondering the situation this morning, this little lady showed up. I asked her for advice but she didn't have any. Do you?