insta friday - catching up

Oh it has been awhile hasn't it friends?

I have so much to say.

But for now no time to do so.

So, here is a little instagram recap of the last two weeks.

I'll start with school clothes.

They don't really need 'school clothes', but it's still fun for these girls to shop.

They like it much more than me.  I am not a shopper.  

But their dad promised them a new outfit.

And so it didn't matter that it has been in the 100's.  

They're ready for fall and are going to dress like it.  

I love their little styles.  

And these pants, can I just get a pair in my size already?

Not only are they comfy looking, but the little bows.

School has been rougher this year than I expected.  More on that soon.  

I documented this moment because it was a peaceful one.

One where no one was upset or crying.  Including me.

I'm only kind of joking here.

And this fur-baby of mine she took center stage a bit on my instagram feed.

The Rhonna app was free one day, so I had some fun playing around with it.

Love that squishy face.

And this is how she sleeps, all the time.  It cracks me up. Not a care in the world.

She and my middle

one who is quite the animal whisperer they hang together a lot.  And when Piper wants

her company, she'll literally bark at her til she joins her.  She is super vocal in letting

us know she literally just wants our love.  It's pretty sweet actually.  Here they're

bird and squirrel watching.  Never a dull moment I tell you.

Oh my, it's already starting to be too dark to see the sunrise on my way to my

spinning class.  But for weeks I would be greeted by the most glorious display

of God's handiwork in the early morning.  You just can't help but feel like it's going

to be a good day starting it out this way.

I've had some super happy mail lately.

I fell in love with these cute and necessary alphabet cards

from cottage industry's sweet shop.

She so kindly included a little surprise. 

And you all must know by now that I LOVE

books.  Used books, new books, vintage books especially.

And I also LOVE Tasha Tudor.

I follow quite a few vintage sellers on instagram.

And books are my weakness.

So when I happened to log on to see

Tasha Tudor's Christmas book "Take Joy"

just listed.  And no one had claimed it yet.

OH I just had to. 

She is one of my biggest inspirations 

as an artist and a person.  

I just think she was one amazing lady.

This book is filled with Christmas stories,

sheet music, recipes and neat little tidbits about

her own Christmas celebrations.

And imagine my delight when I opened it

to discover that inside she had signed the book herself.

It'll be fun to look through this year after year.

On to other things.

My husband takes the girls to run errands.

And texts me pictures like this.

My son tried out for a traveling baseball team

and the season has begun.  So we're in full swing

with games and practices.  

It's a whole new group of boys and families

and a whole new experience. 

So far so good!

And they practice at a park where lots of people

are working out.

So the girls and I have decided to get some

exercise with Miss Piper too.

The table set and decorated by the girls.

And power outages, not so fun.

But making the most of it,

reading by flashlight.

And this truth is speaking to me right now.

 "Our hearts are like a sensitive 

photographers plate; in order to have God 

revealed there, we must sit at His feet a long time."

Sometimes we have hard decisions to make.

I know I can feel at times like I'm not sure

where God's voice is.  I don't hear it as clearly

as I'd like.

And so this fact, that sitting, just sitting at His feet.

for a "long time." It's important.

Not to rush or be rash.  

But to make sure we're giving God time

to reveal himself in our heart.  

It's a pretty beautiful thought

and something I know we need to practice.

And this bridge, it just makes me happy.

As does having kids over for dinner playdates,

with the chaos of racing cars and scooters spinning 

through the house.

It takes me back to those toddler and preschool days.

When there weren't classes, and practices,

and homework.

Oh look at their joy. 

I just love it.

family camping

We had one last hurrah for the summer.

A road trip, not too far away.

To the city of Carpinteria for some beach camping.

It was my girl's first time ever camping besides the backyard,

our first time camping as a family,

and my first time camping right across from the beach.

They were all pretty excited, Piper included.

Our adventures took us a short walk/bike ride away to the dog friendly beach.

And guess what, it was Piper's first time seeing the ocean.

It was pretty cool for everyone.

Relaxing and downright beautiful.

And then my adventurous boy doing what boys do

started jumping from those rocks, running around

and doing it again.  I just said, "You probably shouldn't

be doing that, because you don't know what's under the

water there."  He assured me it was fine.

And a moment later was screaming "crab, giant crab!"

 with blood gushing from his ankle.

And I suspected he probably stepped on a sting ray.

This child has one of the highest pain thresholds.

He broke his arm clear through both bones without crying.

But he was writhing in pain and barely able to walk from this.

Fortunately we got him to the lifeguard headquarters

where they got the hot water ready and confirmed it was a sting ray wound.

We all learned a little science lesson that day.

The lifeguards informed us that the poison in the sting,

(which is really more of a deep puncture wound by the way)

is a protein and putting it in hot water cooks it like an egg,

it coagulates and is drawn out.

Pretty trippy. 

And so for two hours they kept him there.

They let him shower and eat some cake.

Because his bravery called for some kind of treat, poor kid.

They said a fifteen year old girl earlier that day

was going into shock and throwing up from the pain.

And described it as being similar or worse than childbirth.

So he now knows about 

the stingray shuffle.

And I think he also learned a hard lesson

that when Mom cautions about something, 

she just might have good reason.

The pulling out of the poison took until

sunset, so we got to enjoy it from

the lifeguard station.

And then the view from our camp.

After dinner, the night called for s'mores.

And what they called the roasting wars to find the perfect 'golden delicious.'

The next day, my husband so graciously made a 

starbucks run to go with breakfast.

It kind of helps that everything is walking distance away.

Despite not sleeping so super well

due to the family of five racoons climbing up and down the

tree above our heads and the nearby train causing our dog to howl

her head off, we still had a fabulous time.

The kids loved the park just a few steps away.

And I loved the walk through town.

Especially the fun antique shops!

A used book store was calling all of our names.

Each kid got to pick a book, at the price

of a dollar an inch.  

I almost forgot to mention,

Piper's favorite part,

Squirrel hunting.  

There were plenty just waiting to torment her.

Then we ventured for another trip to the ocean.

My son said he would not go in.

But eventually he did.

And all was well.

And last, but not least the day rounded out perfectly with a gorgeous sunset.

God did not disappoint.

All in all, it was a really beautiful

first time family camping experience

and a wonderful way to say goodbye to summer.