Archive for May, 2011

I can’t believe it’s only been a year since this photo was taken! Lucy’s legs are so chubby…and my hoops are so new and shiny! We spent Memorial Day weekend in Minneapolis last year with family…and this year we’ll be with family again, but this time in Colorado!

My parents are driving out from Iowa as I type this, so we’re looking forward to seeing them again. Dan, Jess, and Scotty will be here too.  I’m guessing there will be lots of good food and sunshine involved. Bella is ready and rarin’ to go with her new cast too.

I have been dreaming of the veggie pot stickers with spicy peanut sauce since Monica and I had them at the Boulder Farmer’s Market. Oh.my.word. Amazing. Or how about some iced Bhakti Chai from Laughing Goat? Yes please. As a recovering Boulder-hater, I am working on finding my bliss there again. I’ve been less than thrilled about the traffic and gaggles of people in the past…but I am embracing it now. It will be extra nuts because the Boulder Creek Festival is happening. Bring on the crazy!

Lucy’s birthday is on the 29th…so I’m sure we’ll do a little something fun for that. We had a celebration in Iowa with everyone…but she’s too cute not to celebrate again.

There are summer breezes pouring in every window and pretty birdie songs floating through the air. In the distance I can hear Bella playing with her besties and the wind chimes I took from my Grandma’s patio are joining in the song. The RV “guest suite” needs clean sheets and fresh flowers…so I need to sign off and get busy on that.

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend…I have lots of good stuff planned for the blog (and for you!) this summer. Can’t wait!!

God is good. Life is good. Cherish each moment. Much love…

Our trip to Iowa was fast and furious, but we had a wonderful time with family and old friends. For those just checking in, we drove back for my grandma’s estate sale. It was definitely an emotional time for me as I came back to her house for the first time since her death two years ago. So good to have a sense of closure and reminisce with family about our time spent at the house and with grandma and grandpa…but still difficult to process it all in such a short time.

I could probably write 10 blog posts about what has happened in the past week…but I’m a bit too tired for all that. I did want to let you know that Bella broke her wrist while we were at the hotel (playing “surfing” on Daddy)…so we’ve been dealing with doctors and waiting rooms and such this week. She gets her cast on Thursday. It’s her right arm, so that makes it a bit hard for her to do anything, but she’s up for the challenge and is being such a trooper.

Here are a few of the photos I captured during our 22 hours on the road…have a great week!

She is a true artist in all things.

There is nothing sweeter than flowers given by a child.

When your husband is 6’5″, it’s fun to be a bit taller sometimes.

Plaid Chucks for $2? Yes please. Daddy found these while thrifting. I have an amazing husband.

And a pink pair for the littlest one!? I think I’m in love.

What are 3 simple joys that you’ve experienced today?

Life has been full and wonderful…and I wanted to share some of our most recent fun with you! This weekend Bella took a tree climbing class (part of the Longmont Parks and Rec Program) and she had SO much fun. This isn’t your regular ‘ol “tree climbing” though…

Once you get your harness on, you use your arms to pull yourself all the way to the top of the tree and then you release the knot to come back down.

She was a natural…and loved every  moment. Matt is even talking about getting our own tree climbing gear.

On a rainy day this week, we met our unschooling group at Bounce Town! It’s a big warehouse with 6 large bounce houses in it for the kids to go wild. I like to crawl in there with them and bounce bounce bounce, but it doesn’t take long before I get sick and dizzy!

I’m getting to know some really fun local mamas…it’s so nice to build a connection here.

Another day, while we were cleaning up a bouquet of purple irises on the table, we decided to see if we could dye paper with them! They were wilting and we were going to throw them away…but instead, we threw them into the Vita-Mix with a little water and soaked our paper in it.

It turned out to be a beautiful shade of blue/violet. We had some good discussions about how people used to use plants, seeds, and flowers to make dyes all the time (and still do). I told Bella that’s how they did it in the “olden days”, and she said, “…you mean like in 1984?”. Oh my.

Bella has been asking to set up a lemonade stand…so on the first sunny day this week, we brought out all the supplies and set up shop. She did well…but she did have to pay her “employees” their wages, so her profit was a little down. She was still happy with her results…she has such an entrepreneurial spirit!

Yesterday morning we decided to scope out a new breakfast spot in town and we settled on Two Dog Diner. It’s a sweet little cafe tucked away in the Prospect area of Longmont. They have Bhakti chai there (which I am quite obsessed with right now) and even veggie sausage! We enjoyed some sweet family time together and we will definitely be going back!

Other activities from this weekend: I painted our TV-less corner and have a few little decorations in it. It’s not quite done, but I will share it with you when it is! I picked up the supplies to paint our bedroom (finally!!). I’m SO excited to start it. Bella had a sleepover last night at her friend’s house, which went splendidly. Today we enjoyed meeting with our house church family and had a relaxing afternoon.

We’re looking forward to another lovely week.

Monday and Tuesday we’re *hoping* to paint and hang curtains in our bedroom. We’re having guests over for tacos on Wed. night. Thursday is Bella’s last day of Raccoon Clan for the season and there will be a family potluck out on the land. Right after that we will leave for Iowa and drive back for my Grandma’s estate sale. If you recall, she died just a few days before Lucy was born and I wasn’t able to attend her funeral or have closure…so I am looking forward to getting back there. My entire family will be there, as well as Matt’s parents who are driving down to see us.  We’ll be there through Sunday.

Whew! Life speeds by so fast…I have to remind myself to stay in the moment so often! I love taking time throughout the day to stop and really WATCH the girls faces and see what they are feeling. I also like to list all the things I am grateful for in that particular day…and that helps me too.

How do you stay “present” and in the moment when life is rushing by? I would love to hear your thoughts…

My little baby is now a “big girl”. Over the past week she has decided to be done with her diapers.

There hasn’t been much fanfare…she just did it on her own and we’re all so happy! She is still wearing diapers at night, but today we went to play group and even took a nap with just undies and she did great.

And being that she was on a roll with the big girl stuff, she decided to start her own business too.

It’s been a little crazy ’round here! and now my computer is at Apple for repairs until next week…so no “real” blogging for me. WordPress iPhone blogging is enough to drive a girl insane!

We said goodbye to Rachel (above) Chad, and Oliver on Tue…had a wonderful time (photos coming!).

I pick up Monica at the airport this afternoon and it’s going to be an amazing, 80 degrees and sunny weekend with Farmer’s Markets, hooping, Pearl St, tea, and good food!

See you all next week!

Don’t worry, we haven’t been robbed.

We’ve decided to live life a bit more fully…which means that the large TV that used to sit here has been returned thanks to a generous return policy at Costco. We are making some big changes in our life…and this is one of them. The room already feels completely different and we love it.

We are not anti-television. We enjoy it and feel that it does have educational benefits. We just didn’t want it to be the main focus of our evenings and weekends anymore. We want our focus to be on relationships and connection…and getting rid of the TV just made a lot of sense for us right now. We are cancelling cable, but will keep one TV to watch movies/Netflix…just not in the living room.

I have big plans for this empty corner…it will involve paint and hanging things and light and other yummy stuff. Stay tuned for that update

One of my most recent eBook discoveries is “The Minimalist Mom” and it’s partially responsible for our TV exodus. I LOVE Dusti’s bold stance on her beliefs and I am completely inspired by her passion to live life on her terms. She recently compiled an AMAZING minimalism resource list. It will rock your world.

She also just launched a new blog, Undefinable You with all kinds of goodies happening in the next month. Check it out…she’s a little firecracker

I am working on a new series about minimalism and the first post is on how I am downsizing my wardrobe…can’t wait to share it with you all!

Have you gotten rid of your TV and/or cable? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it and how it has changed your life…

I’m so excited to help Tara (The Organic Sister) announce the release of her newest eBook, “Digging Deep“. Tara is a dear friend of mine and we’ve spent a lot of time on the road together…sharing meals, stories, and passion for life!

We’ve had many a conversation over campfires and coffee…and I can tell you that Tara knows her stuff. She is a talented communicator, coach, and fellow mama. Her search for knowledge knows no bounds…and now she is bringing all of that to you.

This eBook is an amazing resource that will help you uncover your potential and help you work through roadblocks that are standing in the way of you reaching your goals. She walks you through step-by-step in examining your core beliefs and how they factor into your current views of life. She talks about discovering your negative triggers, reprogramming yourself, re-writing your story, and SO much more.

If you have ever wanted a life coach…now you can have Tara and her insights right at your fingertips! Wherever you are at in your journey…if you want to “dig deeper” into life, this book is for you.

If you are hesitant because you’ve never purchased an eBook before, don’t be! After you purchase it, you will get a link to download it to your computer and you will open it as a PDF file + audio files. I love love love eBooks…I have read so many lately that are inspiring and life-changing (see links along the left side of my blog!).

I am hoping to post an interview with Tara soon…so stay tuned!!

*I am also an affiliate for Tara, which means that I will get a portion of every sale of her book from my blog. Purchasing the book will help her family stay on the road as well as my family getting to Portland for the unschooling conference! Wooo! Thank you, as always, for your support!