our own little private summer world

"Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps.  It is not something to do if you can squeeze time in.  It is what God gave you time for.” -Rachel Jankovic

we're still here. still doing stuff. 
trying to enjoy the last bits of our summer.
we've been busy in a kicked back yet crazy kinda way.
beach.
lots & lots of reading.
a tie dye party with friends.
a crazy fun family reunion weekend.
a night time party with our homeschool co-op.
a sitter & a winery date night.
catching up with pets, friends & neighbors.
turning 7 for one of us in particular.
horseback lessons,technology camp, library activities.
crafting, playing, board games, movie marathons, junk food, daydreaming etc.
a smidge of summer schooling mixed in (nothing big).
planning & getting some necessary things done.
bits of all sorts of other summer busy.
lots of much needed hanging out & the art of doing nothing.
most of all...taking a distraction free
& mostly {unplugged summer} break.
this has been my highlight. 
for the remainder of this summer, i logged out of FB, i rarely tweet anyway, kicked back on Pinterest & have even been taking a little blog break.
(partly because i left my laptop cord out of town. Grrr!).
i must confess, i really do love my IG. i cant help it.

i really needed  a break from everything to clear my head & just focus on enjoying my little fam for what little is left of our precious-but-already-almost-gone-way-too-short summer.
all of which i've kinda selfishly kept all to ourselves.
to be honest, i'm liking our own private little summer world.
Maybe even a little too much.
this post was such an inspiration (as are many on this site)

with this upcoming year jammed packed with homeschooling & other activities, there will plenty to blog, update my status, tweet, etc about soon enough. i may pop in & say hello sporadically, but until then...

HAPPY SUMMER...what's left of it anyway ;)

easiest yardsale ever

7 am                         9 am

this was how my saturday morning went. day 4 of a nasty migraine & was not feeling our neighborhood block sale at all.

changed my sign, piled everything in the driveway, went inside & made snow cones with the girlies.

the free sign totally worked. got rid of tons of junk i never ever want to see again & i made $5.  

water weekend.day 2.

lake cuyamaca 6.30.2012

water weekend day 1 at the beach was abs perfect & day 2 was a hit too! one of the things i love about where we live is that we can be in many different types of environments in just a short drive (lake, mountains, beach, snow, city...etc...)

saturday we got up at 530 am & hit the mountains headed for the lake!

usually i let Daddy/Daughter fishing day be their alone time. But this time, last minute, i took the fam up on their invitation. even though i am the anti-fishing girl, i decided to go hang out & see what the lake biz was all about. i packed a bag full of reading & art materials, a pillow, a blanket, a chair & a big sunhat & hopped into the truck.

it was an lovely drive thru the mountains & an beautiful sunny day out. the pretty lake, clear skies, mountains, trees, boats, rocks, ducks, critters all of it. my faves were the bright orange dragon flies. peace & quiet & beautiful nature all around.

ok. but it completely amazes me how many hours & hours my brownsugars (or anyone else) can sit quietly & wait for a catch. any other time they cannot sit still, but this time i was the problem. (funny because i can sit on the beach quietly & watch the waves roll in & out for hours)

i snacked. i sat. i watch. i sat some more...well as long as i could anyway. then my oldest brownsugar told me i was talking way too much. so we packed up the lawn chairs & left the shore. they rented a boat & hit the lake with their fishing poles. it got pretty hot so i took my bag of goodies to the truck (parked in the shade) & read for hours & hours. (oh & snacked & napped a little too). 

the fam was so excited they caught 6 fish, saw friends out on the lake & got in their precious Daddy/Daughter time. i got to kick back, finish almost all my reading (way more than i would have if i would have stayed home & read like i planned) & i got my precious me time. it was a good trip for us all & still maybe my fave weekend of this summer yet.

*ps lake cuyamaca does have hiking trails which i planned to do but should have right when we arrived 1) it got too hot later in the day 2) i didn't feel safe going alone while the fam was out on the lake on the boat. live & learn...plan better next time!

water weekend .day 1.

watery deep to watery deep is calling at the sound of your waterspouts.

all your breakers and your waves-over me they have passed. - Psalms 42:7 

(my new fave scripture, even though the Psalmist was referring to his thirst for the Living God (v.2), 

it reminds me of that same thirst i have yes, but also my thirst for the beach!!!)

*brownsugar honey on Instagram*

friday 6.29.12 oceanside jetty

last weekend ended up being a weekend of water.

& maybe one of my faves so far this summer.

two days, two different places & two different types of water.

after being cooped up in the house most of the week the brownsugars & i needed to get out. at the last minute we put on our flippies, & swimsuits, loaded up the car & met friends 20 mins away at the nearest beach.

hours of friends, warm california sunshine & beach.

doesn't get too much better than that.

HAPPY SUMMER!!! 

*weekend of water day 2 

farm notes{a cute happy girl & a rooster that lays eggs}

haha! love this pic for so many reasons!

a cute happy girl with a chicken under each arm.

can't help but smile...oh & then there are the glasses.

*oh yeah...remember a while back when i talked about how uncharacteristically super sweet, cuddly, quiet etc... Hot Chocolate (on the right) was for being a rooster?

well a few months ago, he started laying eggs.

(reread it & think about it for a minute...got it?)

even though there are conditions & theories that may explain it, i really cannot figure it out. especially since i heard shim

cock-a-doodle-do & everything.

either way i need to stop calling her a he .but i cant. 

thrifty bargain{kid crafted beachy summer happy}

super excited about this weeks thrifty bargain!

love my new kid crafted necklace from one of the

kiddies "store" at our co-op's 1st day of summer Kid's Market.

the happy little fishy & the bright summery bursts of color,

esp my fave beachy turquoise & melon-y orange combo,

were calling my name & i snatched it right up!

to make it officially summer ready i need to add crimping beads to secure the string to the clasp since they were just knotted on, 

but still cannot beat my $1 kid crafted bit of beachy summer happy!

Weekending

saturday

this weekend was pretty mellow.

saturday morning i played catch up on things around the house.

the littlest brownsugar didn't feel well.

that girl is the type that if she is miserable,

she makes sure everyone else is too.

so we cancelled our backyard camp out plans.

i got this fondue set for $2 at my fave thrift store.

i marinated shrimp, chicken & par boiled red potatoes

& we had a fun little indoor fondue party for din instead.

sunday

sunday i laid in bed until 11 am finishing Catching Fire.

i am amazed that Hunger Games was soooo fantastic & Catching Fire was even better! i did not want to put it down, but i needed to eat.

part of my plan this summer was to get back to my menu planning.

i lost control of it during this crazy year & now back to it.

i decided to start off taking it a week at a time, but ended up with almost a month of healthy dinners on the calendar!

hubby started polishing up his grill master skills.

he made ribs for he & the girlies & slow smoked honey curry chicken i had marinating (similar to this recipe, but i added curry to taste). i sauteed some delish baby bellas in butter, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce & cider vinegar.

after that meal i am swearing off white rice...again...forever

this time though. 

it was all soooo good! can't wait for our summer BBQ party!

i couldn't help myself. even though i barely finished Catching Fire earlier in the day, i could not wait to get in my jammies

& get in the bed super early & read Mockingjay until my eyes refused to read anymore...& again...just like the others I'M HOOKED!!!