At Home.

We travel so much, it was rare to be home for one of those "big" weekends. We stuck around for Memorial Day weekend, since Jeremy worked 24 hours smack-dab in the middle of it. It was lovely and relaxing to stay at home. We spent our Saturday enjoying a long morning at home, followed by the fair, some outside time, and wrapped it up with a movie night. A fine day, indeed.

 My HUGE pancake helper. Seriously - when did those legs get SO LONG?!

 Parades with marching bands and kids on sidewalks always make me tear up.

 SO EXCITED!

 I came outside to find Parker surprising us by washing all of our bikes. 

This boy has such a gigantic serving heart.

Movie night and snuggles. May this tradition continue forever.

Bike Rodeo

A couple of weeks ago, Parker's school had a bike rodeo. A day where every child brought their bike to school and then throughout the day, they had times set up to ride as a grade level throughout obstacle courses and learn about bike safety. And have fun. God bless the teachers at this school for being so patient and willing to do this! It was the highlight of Parker's spring.

Preschool Grad

Friday marked Everly's last day of preschool. A big day for her, but one that was quiet and sweet and that will allow us to return to quiet mornings, alone with each other while Parker finishes his last few weeks of Kindergarten. Next year Evie will be in Pre-K and I think at that time I'll be a big ball of messy crying because that is really the verge of big, new and different. For now, she's still my little preschooler. A firecracker, living life large and out loud, Evie is always the entertainer with a sweet, confidence and caring for others. I look at this little girl who's grown so much this past year and I think the biggest change is her ability to take things in stride, but stand up for herself when needed. I love watching her grow.

 We started the morning with a cookie and picked up a latte for Evie's (endlessly patient) teacher.

 

One last group photo at the park. All the parents deserve a medal for making this gem happen.

 

 And that night...a perfect example of the crazy firecracker of a girl who brings her sweet, huge ideas to make us laugh and smile every day.

The Pokey

A couple of weeks ago, Evie's class went on a field trip to the local police station. And while the photos below are cute and mild, this trip was full of adventure! The class as a whole has no fear, so when the fully armored swat officer came in to show them he's just a person inside a suit, they asked if they could high-five him. Twenty minutes later when they got to meet the police dogs, they asked if they could pet them. Ten minutes after that and they were cheering while the canine officer demonstrated how the dog "grabs onto someone" with a seriously protective sleeve. These kids crack me up. Man, they had fun. And they wrapped it up in the armored vehicle. Ha ha!

Unwind.

These past several weeks have been crazy with business. Between Jeremy's new part-time job, my part-time freelance work, our full-time jobs, our roles as room parents in Parker's classroom, co-op duties in Everly's and spring always brings a sense of frantic with the garden we do for the food bank. And shockingly, all of that seems on the edge of manageable, unless a tiny drop is added to the glass. Then it will spill over. And the past few weeks have been fraught with drips here and running water there. And thus, we packed the car at 7pm on Friday night. After school for the kids and our jobs and me managing teacher appreciation for Parker's class and a few hours in the garden from 3-6pm with my ever-loving and supportive coworkers who came down to lend their hands and hearts at the garden. So, yes. We drove back to the house and madly packed for the weekend in twenty minutes and got out of dodge for some downtime.

Today we woke up to light, misty rain on the water. We ate breakfast and drank coffee and loaded up the little boat by 9am and took off between the islands for Ala Spit. We explored and dug clams and laughed while we built shelters we couldn't use between the downpours and the sun-breaks. We gathered clams to make chowder tomorrow and we ate lunch on the beach as a family. We relaxed and said yes and caught up with one another. It was a perfect day.

Mothering

This is my sixth Mother's Day as a mother. And while that seems like it's been such a short time that has zoomed by at lightning speed, it also feels like a journey that has so many million pieces to it, it's hard to comprehend this slow moving, ever changing, magnitude of importance. Mother's Day has meant different things to me over the years - a day to relax, a day to spend in the garden as a family, a day to eek out a little break and quiet, a day to implement something exciting and fun. But this Mother's Day we celebrated with quiet simplicity, doing things we usually do - a normal routine that reinforced the relevance of Mother's Day in every.little.thing.

I woke up to Parker clunking around in the kitchen at 6:30am. He knew Jeremy doesn't get home until after 9am, so he was making me breakfast in bed by himself. He proudly opened the door after 10 minutes and handed me a piece of bread with butter on it, a glass of water and a napkin. Throughout the day he carried my purse for me and opened all of my doors. Oh man, this little guy has stolen my heart. I made breakfast (for them, after I enjoyed my delicious bread and water) and got the kids ready for church, Jer came home and we got to go as a family. We drove down to La Conner to spend the day in the familiar cabin on the water and stopped by my favorite nursery to see the animals on the way down. We played, I read picture books aloud, we ate dinner and we drove home. And throughout the day I reflected on my journey through motherhood. The short time of it, with seemingly long days, moving through the years at lightning speed. I love it.

 

Parker at 6 months

Parker at 18 months.

Evie in the belly - I'm about 7 1/2 months along here.

 And Everly is about to make her debut!

I lock eyes with my Foreverly.

Ev is 6 weeks old here.

A mighty little girl turns one.

My enchanting girl.

This boy. This boy is amazing.

These are the moments. I wish I could freeze them.

Unending giggles. Parker brings them.

Parker has the biggest heart. Ever.

I love this girl.

I love this boy.

Beachcombers

Last weekend on one of those glorious sunny days, Jeremy and my friend's husband worked all day. So we headed to the beach with the kids. They dug and waded and explored and created to their hearts content. And because it was one sunny day amongst many, they actually asked to go home just before dinner. Leave it to kids in the PNW to actually get sunned out. :)

Le Artiste

The arts are so much a part of me - a passion of mine, a talent of mine, a major and a master's degree of mine. And I think my heart just about melted with pure joy and pride when we received a letter from the school district office telling us that a painting of Parker's had been selected to be in the district office gallery as a part of the district wide art show. Be still, my heart.

So we went, we observed, his heart swelled with pride and happiness. We took a million photos and others around us complimented him. And I reveled in the moment for him. Love this boy.

Fireside

One of my favorite things to do during summer is having backyard fires and roasting and cooking dinner over it. We made our dinner over the hot coals the other night because summer is arriving in the form of spring this year. Yay!

Anne Francisco!

A couple of weekends ago I got to spend a gleeful, joyful, exhilarating extended weekend in San Francisco with my best friend, Anne. And then I got back and got woefully behind on my weeks, catchup and documenting. Fear not. I have WAY to many photos to post now.

And being that we LITERALLY DID EVERYTHING in Anne Francisco, I asked my beautiful tour guide to give me a synopsis. Here's our weekend+ in Anne's words...

Soooo here is a run-down of our amazing weekend in San Francisco!!

Wednesday – arrival day.
I picked you up at the Oakland airport

We drove across the Bay Bridge to my home in San Fran!

We walked around the neighborhood and went to dinner at Nopalito (yum)

Thursday – city day!!

Walked to Zazie in Cole Valley
(Had an amazing latte)

Enjoyed the Mexican eggs with the garlic potatoes
Took the N-Line (Muni) to Powell Station
Shopped a bit
Walked up to Nob Hill and went to the Fairmont,
where we crashed a luncheon and took pictures from the Crown Room 

 



 Hiked up to Lombard Street and took pictures

 


Walked down to Ghirardelli Square the along Fisherman’s Wharf
Hopped on a Trolley (Muni) to the Ferry Building 
 Had a tasty lunch, nicest waiter, tasty sandwiches, aggressive pigeons.



Walked to Embarcadero Station and caught the N-Line home
Relaxed for a bit, refreshed ourselves for an evening out 
Caught the N-Line back to downtown. Got off at Montgomery Station 
Walked to catch the 8x to North Beach
Got off at Green

Walked to Soto Marre and had a killer dinner of cioppino
Were greeted with a glass of wine because there was a slight wait
(Awesome family run joint, all about the food)
Everyone had the cioppino
We wore bibs – hot!!

 
We made friends
We said good-bye
Walked to Cigar Bar for Ellie’s birthday
Met a bunch of Anne’s friends
Met some gentlemen who bought us drinks
Only remember one of their names, sadly not the one Anne is going to go on a date with – awkward!!
Caught a cab back home
Poured ourselves into bed around 1:30 in the morning
Epic Day!!

Friday – Adventure Day
Drove out along Lincoln Ave to Ocean Beach
Had breakfast at the Cliffhouse – popovers? Yes please!!

Drove through the Presidio to the Sports Basement where we rented bikes for the day

Biked across the Golden Gate Bridge
 
Stunning!

Weather cleared
 
Cute photos galore 
 
Dolphins!!! So cool

Rode down into Sausalito – so cute
 
Coffee by the water
 
Wandered the shops 
Found Jeremy’s Christmas present
Biked down the way to Bar Bocce
Enjoyed a refreshing pitcher of white sangria and a yummy pizza

Two ladies again asked if we were sisters

Played some Bocce Ball – won 1 of 2 games,
could have won 2 if Lindsey hadn’t been so aggressive
Biked to the ferry terminal

Rode the ferry back to SF

Biked along the waterfront, through Fort Mason, along the Marina Green and back to the Sports Basement

Found an awesome deal on a ski jacket for Parker

Went home and grabbed some sushi from across the street

Could barely stay upright while eating – so exhausted

Saturday – Wine Country!!
Breakfast at the house

Coffees on the way – barista messed up the order but didn’t realize it until we were at Taylor’s, but we're crafty so we did some mid drive mixing.

Picked up Taylor – who by the way had quite an evening on Thursday… not really sure what happened between the Cigar Bar and home. Somehow ended up back in Union Square at Johnny Foley’s (all by herself). Thank goodness her boyfriend is amazing and was able to locate her and bring her home safely.

Then picked up Natalia and we were on our way!!

First stop: Paraduxx  - beautiful
 

Taylor is a member – free tastings!
Amazing reds

Waiter in red pants – Anne has a pair just like them (not sure if he was impressed by that)

 Beautiful sun and comfy chairs

A lovely stop

Second stop: Beringer
 

Nat’s a member – free tastings again

Beautiful grounds

A quick stop

Last winery: Charles Krug

Anne, Nat and Taylor are members
 

Free tastings – including reserves and limited releases! Love the X Clones!!

Anne is a bad member and hasn’t picked up her last 3 shipments – the back of the car was fully loaded with more than 20 bottles from all the girls needing to pick up their shipments
Dinner at Farmstead in St. Helena

Incredible food
 
Super nice waiter – even got his email because we thought we would get along well

with his wife. Besides, who doesn’t want another local hook-up in Napa?!
Drove home
Thanks Anne for being a responsible driver

Time to sleep

Sunday - Sad day
Coffee and Dutch Babies at home
Lots of debating about whether to shower… (didn't)
Packed
Drive to Oakland
Cried. Hugged. Love each other SO much.