We had a very full but very fun weekend.

It included:

 a soccer game (#3 was particularly adorable)

beach time (Mama's been surfing a few times a week these days. I can not even explain the ephoria)

a date for Mom and Dad (The intention was dinner and a concert. We never made it to the concert. We were too tired. It was 8:45pm. How old are we?!)

a 10k race for mom (I went into it thinking I would just get a good workout in since I wasn't particularly well trained. I ended up getting competitive, going hard and getting a new PR!)

alone time in Santa Barbara for mom (including a chai tea latte, a breakfast burrito, a bookstore, Free People, and Anthropologie. Blissdom.)

a bike ride, church, and donuts for the boys

and friends with dinner (aren't nearly decade long friendships some of the best!)

Then today I had to wake up and spend four hours with Landon's Kindergarden class (every Monday), pick up a tired preschooler, make lunches and force naps, do some work, play 4 games of Trouble, hit the grocery store and make fajitahs for dinner. 

Whew!

It's time for bed!

Hope you're weekend was lovely too. 

Simple Moments Capture the Heart

We had a quiet weekend.

On Saturday we planned on going to the beach. Got the car packed up with beach gear and changed into our suits, only to find the beach cool and windy. 

Instead of heading home we decided to just drive around town; and we ended up at one of our favorite grassy parks with spectacular views.

A surprise, spur-of-the-moment decision to stop and play ended up being the highlight of my weekend.

There was hugs and kisses and wrestle-mania.

Daddy's are the best climbing gyms.

We ran races.

And got inspired to attempt cartwheels.

Mana about to attempt a cartwheel for the first time in forever. The children looks frightened. I don't blame them. Look at how short my beach shorts are. 

 Many attempts at cartwheels.

 And even a little yoga.

To stretch out the muscles pulled from attempting cartwheels.

Often it's the quiet family moments that mean the most.

Is It the Weekend Yet?!

All week long I've been thinking we are one day ahead.

Today I woke up certain it was Friday.

Even as a stay-at-home mom I find 3-day weekends exciting. 

RJ's home and the entire city just seems stoked. 

Do you have Memorial Day Weekend plans?

We have friends visiting from LA on Monday and the weather is pretty much demanding that we head to the beach.

I also get to lavish love on a sweet new arrival Saturday with a strawberry shortcake and champagne Sip and See. Yum, yum, yum! Babies, bubbles and dessert!

And our neighborhood is keen on impromptu weekend potlucks and BBQs. Four, Five or even Six families will all squish into one of our tiny homes resulting in chaos, laughter and a pile of kids in my bed.  It's pretty much the best. Hoping for one of those fun-filled nights this weekend too.

my child just slays me with his awesomeness

Is it Friday yet??!

Weekend Update - And A Peripheral View

Our weekend was one of those great ones where you have nothing on the calendar but somehow you end up having full days filled with the perfect balance of rest and fun. 

A few highlights included - pizza and friends and 9 insane children, long-lazy mornings, an incredible church sermon, skateboarding, bike rides, burgers, #sundaysoup, and some intense Taboo.

(For the record my husband, who hates board games, played Taboo twice this weekend and both times admitting to having fun. I'm writing this down so that I can remind him of this moment months from now when he won't play a game with me.)

Also, I had to laugh as I looked through RJ's iphone to find a photo for this post.

I could show you the following photo and then

tell you how much I love my darling family. 

It would be sweet.

It would look good.

It would be true. 

OR 

I can share with you the "extra" bit.

All those lovely bits that surround this photo but that you can't actually see.

The peripheral view --

- like the fact that just seconds after he snapped this picture RJ informed us we would need to cross a huge, deep, dark dirt ravine in order to get across the beautiful meadow over to the bike trail

- watching my baby get hurled down and up the steeps sides of said ravine while the bike trailer bounced precariously

- listening to my five-year-old burst into tears because the treacherous gorge looked (and was) entirely too scary

- dismounting to "walk" my bike down and across only to find myself skidding, sliding and crashing at the bottom

- the gnarly bruise the exact shape (and dark color) of a bike petal on my calf

- the dirty, sweaty, struggle to pull myself (and my bike) up out of the cavernous hole 

- the string of angry words that may or may not have escaped my mouth after the entire family finally arrive on the other side

- the sheepish smile my darling husband gave me knowing he had pushed the limits (once again) just a bit too far.

Family weekend adventures. So many beautiful photos. So many peripheral moments.

(This post may have been prone to slight exaggeration. But not much.)

Alone Together

This past Friday RJ and I had a little get-away in Santa Barbara.

It was so refreshing and lovely.

Time together and that we sincerely needed.

And it wouldn't have happened without our awesome family. 

Thanks family! We love you!

Do you watch New Girl?

I love it.

Last Monday night I was catching up on a few episodes and I had to screen capture this moment it was making me laugh so hard:

To explain: Jessica (Zooey Deschanel) and her boyfriend Nick decided to "move-in" together (share a room as well as an apartment) so they could be together all the time. Soon after they both started to feel the itch of claustrophobia - the need for a little personal space. In this scene Jessica has checked herself into a hotel and is celebrating being alone. She's literally yelling, "I'M ALONE!!!!". Her euphoria is obvious. 

I watched simultaneously laughing and feeling jealous.

What stay at home mother doesn't relate to this?!

My kids love being around me.

They love me so much they join me in the kitchen, in the shower, in the laundry room, even in the bathroom....

I should be flattered, but sometimes Mama just wants some alone time!

A moment to read a book and eat a snack I don't have to share.

Lately, my alone time comes in small snatches - an hour while the boys rest, an hour or two in the evening, a Saturday hour while RJ takes the kids - and I am incredibly thankful for those small moments. However, I've been craving a serious stretch of quiet. At least a full day. I love my boys but I am with them constantly. Even vacation is continual togetherness since our trips are usually camp trips that include long days and shared sleep space.

And time alone is great but alone togetherness is RJ is even better. I can do all the same things as when I'm solo but I have my favorite person with me if I do feel like companionship.

At first it seemed impossible to carve out any "alone" time. A glance at the calendar showed RJ leaving for Asia for a week, Landon's birthday, Easter, Parker's birthday, etc. But I got creative...and asked for help. My sister and her husband took the kids. RJ's sister and hubby agreed to house swap with us (they have a rad loft-style apartment in Santa Barbara) and I secured late dinner reservations at a non-kid-friendly restaurant we've been wanting to try.

Our time was fabulous.

Quiet, restful, fun.

The perfect bit of "alone" time before a week without the hubby.

How was your weekend?

Have you ever house swapped with a friend/family member? 

It's my new favorite thing - saves you money and is way more comfortable than a hotel. 

Weekend Highlights

After all the excitement and adventuring last weekend it was nice to have some mellow time at home.

We enjoyed pizza and S'mores with friends on Friday, a quiet family day on Saturday, and church and a bike ride to town on Sunday. 

As much as we love to constantly be on the go it's good to have intentional, quiet, family time at home too. My kids need it, my husband needs it and I need it.

I only wish I had a better book to enjoy during the down-time. 

I finished the Divergent Series and Wild last week so I'm looking for new suggestions.

Anyone???

Weekend Highlights

I really had such a great weekend. Friday night we got to hang with good friends, celebrate a birthday , drink champagne, eat delicious food and let the kids go crazy in the bounce house. 

Saturday morning I woke up early to head to Santa Barbara with two fun friends for a 10K (6.2 miles) race. The weather was perfect for running - warm enough to be in shorts and a tank but cool enough not to feel hot. I ran a great race. I actually trained hard for this run so it felt amazing to see my effort pay off. My goal was to finish under 55 minutes and I did it in 52:38 (32nd out of 270 people). 

Here's comes Mama

Had to stop and give my good-luck charms some kisses. Parker screamed when I ran away from him again. 

The absolute best part of the race was mile 5 while I saw my little family waiting for me. The expression on Landon's face is something I hope I never forget. Part awe, part disbelief, part nervousness, part joy. He always sees me as "Mommy" so for him to really see me in a different role (athlete, runner, competitor) I think was different for both of us. I felt emotional, and proud, to show him another layer, and other dimension, of myself. Afterwards he wanted to wear my metal and told me he wanted to run one day too. Music to my ears. It's such fun to share the things we love with our kids. Don't you agree?

We spent the rest of the weekend enjoy the beach, surfing (I actually went with girlfriends for the first time since summer. So fun! My husband is awesome for pushing me out the door.), building new strawberry beds for the garden, reading, and playing outside. 

Weekend Highlights

We enjoyed a quiet, rainy weekend. 

Nothing too exciting happened.

Just sweet, simple moments.

- Lots of weekend cartoons

- I made a Dutch Baby in my cast iron skillet for the first time. Yum.

- Caring for our miserable chickens who hated the rain but refused to get inside their coop. Chickens aren't the brightest animals in the barn.

-

- Parker slept 3+ hour naps since he's fighting a cold which gave RJ and I enough time to paint our bedroom

- A dinner date with the hubby for oysters and wine.

Weekend Highlights

- Dinner at one of our favorite seafood restaurants with a favorite friend

- Going to a house party to see a buddy's band. Looking around and realizing that we were the old people at the party.

- Watching the young hipster crowd at said party. Girls in long gypsy skirts, thrift store tees, beachy wave hair tied back in bandanas, sipping on $8 Vos water and PBR. 

Oh, to be 22 again!

- Gelato and french fries with the kids

- Gathering around the neighborhood trampoline

- An awesome afternoon run

- And finishing it all off with a backyard BBQ full of crazy youngsters, a 12-prong S'more stick, laughter and wonderful friends. 

Welcome Weekend!

 We will be crashing out buddies airstream this weekend.

He's visiting from Capitola and camping just down the road at one of our favorite beaches.

Temperatures have climbed back into the 70s so it's sure to be a good couple of days.

Wishing you a great weekend too!

Weekend Highlights

-- Saturday Landon had his first "motorcycle" ride on Uncle Matthew and Aunt Jessica's scooter. There was anticipation at first but once we got him on he couldn't get enough. Parker wanted a ride too but his noggin was (surprisingly) too small for the helmet. Instead we just sat him up on the bike and Aunt Jessica took some amazing photos that I'm hoping to steal from her soon.

-- Saturday night RJ and I had a date. We saw the Leo DiCaprio movie Wolf of Wall Street. We walked into it blind knowing nothing except that the acting was supposedly good. And the acting really was good. Very good. But we probably should have walked out; it is one of the dirtiest movies I've ever seen. I don't recommend it.

-- Our neighbor just stared a new business: a mobile juice truck. Sunday was his trial run and he gave free juice to everyone in the 'hood.

-- Bethany asked me a really great question concerning my post on rising in the morning before my kids. To answer her question, I have to tell you about this magical little device: the
OK to Wake Children's Alarm Clock

I debated spending the $30 on this thing for months. I am so glad I finally did it.
Worth every penny!

It is against my moral code to wake up regularly before 5:30am. It upsets me to my core. (I really prefer to never wake before 6am) Since Parker sleeps until 7 I can wake up an hour before him, but Landon is often up around 6. Enter the alarm clock. He is instructed to stay in bed until the clock lights-up. If he's noisy and I'm worried he'll wake Parker I transferred him to our bed for the remaining time.

-- And I have decided to do the fashion link-up. I'll be doing it monthly rather than weekly. And I'm hoping to start soon. More info to come shortly!

Weekend Highlights - Mom Takes Us Camping

It's just the boys and I for the next 12 days.

RJ is working testing product (i.e. surfing) in Baja, Mexico.

(His life is tough.)

Thankfully my mom and sister are headed into town on Wednesday to help offer some relief.

But until then there are 5 days to fill so I kicked-off our solo stretch with an overnight camp trip.

A big group of buddies grabbed some camp sites at El Capitan last Friday night. The boys and I got there Saturday morning and immediately hit the beach for hours of sunshine and fun. Then it was bike rides, sunset walks, scooter races, dutch-over lasagna, marshmallows, campfires, and laughs.

The best part of this photo is the background

Parker really loves his friends

And so do I

Things I learned about camping without RJ:

- There is so much to pack when you're packing alone!

- My friends are crazy amazing. People pitched in to watch my kids, help me with the van, dish me a plate of food while I fed my boys, and even fetch buckets of hot water from the bathroom so I could rinse my filthy rug-rats. 

- I could do it completely alone (no friends/just me and the kids) but why would I ever want to. Maybe when they're older. But it is nice knowing that I really think I could manage solo if I had to.

- My kids are good campers. They've done it so much they're pros at this point.

- We had a blast; but it's always more fun with Dad.

Weekend Highlights

- I threw a baby shower for my friend Mollie this weekend. She's having her first baby and is waiting to find out if baby is a boy or a girl. I did her shower in a Vintage Toys theme and scoured flea markets for fun decore. It turned out super cute. And I forgot to take even a single photo. I'm so bummed.

- While I was baby-showering RJ took the boys to the beach and the zoo. Daddy's are the most fun!

- Sunday we took a family bike ride to the harbor. Landon rode the entire way and although he said his legs got tired he didn't once complain.

- And Sunday evening we checked-out the new restaurant/bar/bowling alley that's a quick bike ride from out house. It was quickly apparent that our family is abhorrent bowlers. Like really, terrible, horribly bad. None of us broke a 100 and Landon beat me one game (in my defense he did have bumpers). 

What Didn't We Do This Weekend?

It was a full three days!

We kicked off the weekend with out annual Christmas party.

It almost didn't happen this year - I was feeling tired and unmotivated - but my friends talked me into it and I am so glad they did!

We had a blast!

Temperatures were freezing (you know, below 50!) outside so not everyone made it out to the photo booth (which we set up in our "Barn") but those that did definitely got into the spirit of things:

April and Ryan took the kids for us overnight so Saturday morning I woke up at 9.

RJ brought me a latte in bed and I lingered for another hour.

Heavenly.

Since we picked up the kids in Santa Clarita we decided to make a day of it and chase the snow.

(Especially since my Instagram was blowing up with snow photos from all our Northern California friends.)

We found more than we anticipated.

Some of us loved it.

Some did not.

please excuse my gloved finger in these photos.

I actually have so many adorable snow photos on our good camera don't be surprised if you get hit with a second snow post.

Finally, we used Sunday to rest and recuperated.

Landon and I sneaked out for a date to see Frozen.

I think I may love the movie even more than he does.

It is darling. 

Such a sweet story about not letting fear rule you, letting people into your heart, and the bond between sisters.

How amazing is he^^^^^^^

I had been wanting some alone time with him and it was so sweet.

Although I must be honest, as we were leaving I did have a major moment of frustration.

We had gone to a 3D movie, had popcorn and coke (!), and played two video games.

Pretty much an epic date, right?!

It was - until Landon had a fit because I wouldn't get him ice cream too.

We tried to have a talk on the way home about entitlement and having a grateful heart.

I'm not really sure it got through.

Sometimes parenting is hard.

Thank goodness for Jesus and Grace.