summer bounty

mr. man and our little miss planted

only one tomato plant this summer.  i don't

even think they got it into the ground until

july but boy did it multiply! 

we've harvested at least 24 tomatoes

from this baby and  most of them are bigger

than my fist with still more to come.

they are so beautiful and tasty to boot.

i love watching my husband and girls

taking joy in the harvest of our little garden

of zucchini, cucumbers, mint, basil,

sage, parsley, oregano & strawberries.

we are getting excited to pick the rest

of them so that we can start our fall garden.

not only did the mr. plow the earth this summer,
i was also able to get dirt under my nails
planting some of my favorite flowers.
little m got her annual butterfly garden going
and i started a new flower patch to enjoy
dahlias, gladiolas, foxgloves, delphinium and more.
it did better than i even expected and makes
me smile every time i go out the front door.

feeling blessed to have a yard and a garden
that provide many moments of beauty.

hope you're enjoying the beauty of summer's end.

xoxo

A lil bit'o country

Two weeks ago my party partner (Julia) & I 

put together a cowboy baby shower

for my sweet cousin at her ranch out

in the soft rays of August sunshine.

The guest of honor sported her

baby belly beautifully (especially

considering she gave birth the

next day:)

We adorned the table with

sunflowers and spurs

and the little burlap bags held

favors of Udder Cream (hand lotion).

This woman was made to birth babies.

She delivered her little man 24 hours

after this photo was taken.

Total time in labor:

less than two hours.

And I thought I was fast

at a whopping four hours.

It must run in the family.

 

Here's the newest little man

and his older brothers one week

after the shower.

Such beautiful boys.

beenawhile

summer has come and gone and i've missed
this blog so much, but just haven't found
the time to fit it in. 
so very, very much to share that i
don't know where to begin.
i'll have to go wayyyyy back and
try to post a few times a week.
hmmmmm, can i commit?
yes, by golly....
i think i can.
i think i can.
i think i can.

no real reason for this photo
except i think it's adorable.

eight months

since this little beauty was born.
time is going by way too fast.

our littlest peanut is crawling, standing

and loving the exploration of

this big beautiful world.

i started her on solid foods at six months
and before i knew it
she was rolling over,
sitting up, crawling,
and standing within weeks.

i love seeing her excitement over
all things new.
she is so very edible right now
and i'm trying to resist
eating her all up.

i LOVE being a mama.

the only man for us

 our littlest peanut at six months

sporting some daddy love

here's our father's day banner.
the girls made little tags telling
their dad why he is so cherished:

you love on us

you take us for ice cream

you read stories to us

you take us surfing

you play games with us

you dance with us

you care for us

you are always smiling

you cook for us

you listen to us

you take us to school

you give us hugs

you take us shopping

you give us snacks

being around you makes us happy ....

especially
when you drive us places 

oops.
how'd that one get in there.

happy unbirthday my loves

I'm zero for three this year on my family's birthday posts.

Bummer.

So hears a quick update

(more for me to reminisce

than for anyone else's benefit.)

For Mr. Man's birthday, we went up to Mammoth and
enjoyed the sun/snow/rain. We explored places we
had never been by foot and horseback.
It was a beautiful time of year to go...
sooooo much water.

For Bri's birthday we kept it mellow,
gave her some sweet little gifts and lots of love.
And of course a birthday meal of her choice
including her fave...lemon bars.

For the little miss we kept it low key.
She opened gifts (a new boogie board and
two new dolls...more on that later).
After school we took her out to lunch,
gave into ear piercing (after a year of begging),
and watched her take her first horseback riding lesson
followed by her favorite dinner and cake.
It was a really fun day.

Whew!
All caught up now and
feeling slightly less guilty for my negligence.

xoxo

Independence Rocks

how beautiful is this flag?

And the rock stars on wheels?

Here we have our local 4th of July Parade

where the entire town marches & rolls down Main Street.

Such a fun tradition

And lastly I must share the most
bomb-diggity party on the west coast.
Hosted by the crazy talented Dellars.
Yep, we were there.
And it was fantastic.

What a blessing it is to celebrate and enjoy
the freedoms we have in this country.
Yaaaahoooo. 
I love America.

Hello Summer

The clouds have finally broken.
The sun is kissing our skin
and summer is officially here.

Some break out the swimsuits
and beach toys,
for others the barbeque
and horseshoes,
but for us in this season of life...
we're going straight for the
cheap beer and mimosas.

Whatever your pleasure...
Happy Summer!

Yesterday

 

it feels like i just took

these photos on the girls'

first day of school in august.

my beautiful bri starting her junior year

and the little miss entering kindergarten.

yet here we are with a new lovebug and

the school year coming to an end

and as usual i am wondering

where did the time go?

what a blessing it is to have photos

to help us remember when...

and relive the little things.

fairy love

the little miss lost tooth number two last week,
making her little gap even wider.
and this time around she had her tooth pillow
to give and receive tooth fairy goodness.
mama is slow these days,
but eventually things get done.