Our Search for Fabulous: a whole lotta summer.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

a whole lotta summer.

We have had a pleasant few weeks, spending time together and soaking up every ray of sunshine and every extra minute we get with our man. We love having daddy around more, and I'm trying to milk every minute, because when fall rolls around we're back to long days and late nights.

We go on walks just about every night. Our after dinner walk wears everyone out, and controls the fussing that takes over newly-reformed John. I often end up carrying him, and Carly has found she's a pretty big fan of riding in his carseat. Whatever gets us all home. Sunglasses, the beloved umbrella, and towel come on the walks with us. We are a spectacle, that's for sure.

We try not to frequent our favorite local ice cream place, but its hard to deny a beautiful soon-to-be 3-year-old when she asks for an ice cream "with pink eyes!" And they happen to make the most sinful turtle flurry on earth. I have a particular fondness for going after I get home from the gym. Counterproductive to say the least.

We enjoy time at home, too, as the temperature rises and . . . oh, yeah I have a babies all over the place and sometimes it is just hard to get out the door. We watch movies under umbrellas and sit in our bumbos and draw the solar system and wear matching dresses. Many days are laid back. I like that too.

Chris and I celebrated our anniversary pretty simply. We went on a walk, I took a nap with John, and we devoured a coconut cream cake that apparently had crack in it because I ate the whole thing in 24 hours. I woke up to a love letter and we spent the day with these three little people that we made in our 6 years. It was pretty much the perfect day . . . if you can't be on a tropical beach.

The best part of our anniversary? Chris grew a beard, and he maintains it to this day. I happen to think he looks rather fine with a beard, and I've been begging him to grow one for 6 years. I gets a lot of grief for it, and people are always shocked when they find out I am the driving force behind it ("She likes it?!"), so he is good to keep it and endure the comments. I pretty much love it. We agreed he would shave before his sister's wedding in August (and he can anytime he wants to of course), but this only rolls around every 6 years, apparently, so I'm hoping he'll keep it for me for a while longer.

Carly and I had a Girls Night Out and I took her to see Brave. It was cute, and it held her attention well enough, though she was really excited about her chair and kept informing me "Look mom! My chair moves!" I sure love getting one-on-one time with that girl. She's a good nut.

But I dare say our favorite summer activity so far has been going to Lake Lansing. There is a park and little beach there, and it is just about perfect for a little family like ours. We bring a picnic, sit in the shade, and play on the beach. Carly loves playing in the sand, and is getting braver and braver in the water. And the babes are pretty happy outside in general, as long as we stay in the shade and keep them well-fed.

This weekend we invited some friends and we were quite the site, with 10 kids, 5 of whom were under the age of 1. #mormonsatthebeach

And there is a strategically placed McDonalds on the way home.

You can't help but get something to cool off.

This weekend also involved a train ride on the little train at the mall. You know, one of those things that I tell myself I'll never spend $3 on but then Carly looks at that train with so much excitement and asks in her super polite voice "Can I please ride on that little train?" and all the sudden we're cruising through the mall in the little red caboose.