Catching Up! Our Back to School Tradition and 21st Anniversary!!!

I've been trying to get this post published all month long...and now it's October!!! Several years ago, my husband started taking the first day of school off of work, and we'd spend the day doing fun stuff. It's also kind of an anniversary day date, too, because that's always the first or second week back as well. It seems all our fun day trips this summer had the same thing in common: HEAT! This day was no exception, so we didn't walk through town like we normally do, but it was lots of fun. And no, I don't mind having our little third wheel along at all, because I KNOW how soon he won't be anymore.

We started off on Pierce Island in Portsmouth. Such a beautiful place to explore and visit.

Although, there was a group of women and kids in this area, extended family I think, and they were all smoking like chimneys and so, so loud. They were scattered...and in nearly every shot I tried to take, ha, so this is the best I got that morning.

Picnic by the harbor -
Levi was thrilled with the fact that he could step up and down, up and down, as much as he wanted, ha. It's the little things, I guess. ;)

Cutest little pink-cheeked boy I ever laid eyes on!

We braved the humidity and walked over to Prescott Park. I'm not entirely sure, because of the sweat stinging in my eyes, but I think it was as beautiful as ever. ha ha ha

The water you see in the background is the same as from the park, it's simply around the corner. Normally we walk all along the edge of the harbor and walk out onto the docks, but again, HEAT.

Mr. Rocket Scientist got himself some new anti-glare glasses, and we laugh because these are the first pair that seem to glow purple in natural light. :)

My favorite part!

I don't have one single picture from the second part of our day because I was sandy and my hands were full, ha. We went straight to the beach and got clam strip sandwiches from the boardwalk- they were good! It was super hard dragging the stroller through the soft sand, and the tide was in, so insanely crowded and not much sandy real estate. We finally found a spot and let Levi play in the shade cast by the stroller- he was pretty overwhelmed by the noise and the crowd, so one of us took turns playing with him while the other jumped into the ocean to cool off. Eventually he let me carry him out into the water and we jumped waves for a long time. Then my feet started to get tingly because the air was SO hot and the water SO frigid, so we packed up and headed for home.

Levi watched some Cars until he passed out cold. :)

I've read for years about decorating the door for the first day of school, and this year, I finally got around to it! Thank goodness for Prime! Ryder knows someone's coming!!

She loved it! I don't think the boys cared as much. Or maybe they really did and they just kept their excitement hidden inside. :)

I almost wrote Happy Monday since I tried to get this done yesterday, so... Happy Tuesday! ;)

Winter Beach Day: North Hampton & Rye State Harbor Park

Exactly one month ago, we ventured out to North Hampton Beach, our first beach trek of 2014. (I keep trying to catch up, and I keep, well, not catching up...) The parking lot was a slushy, gooey mess, and drifts of snow covered the embankments still; but once we cleared the hill and navigated the slippery rocks leading toward the sand, it was so wonderful and freeing. Just what we needed after months and months of cold and dark and sub-zero temperatures.

And today, mid-April, we have fresh snow on the ground. Yikes!
I'm making this puff pancake for breakfast to try and ease the pain...

We savored riding along the coast with the windows rolled down a little bit. There's nothing like breathing in ocean air. 

Here we are at Rye State Harbor Park. Caleb and I had a special date over the summer at this very spot, and here we are again a few months later.

Isabelle can't bear to see me posing with anyone else before jumping in for her turn. I think I love that.  =)

We were in a slight rush to get back home because Ethan had a youth group outing that night. It was such a nice ride back, us chatting up front while the movie The Tooth Fairy had them laughing in the back. Then it was easy supper, baths and showers, and someone may have even picked up Chinese from our favorite place for a special little late-night dinner, just the two of us. What a wonderful day.

Spring Fever & Random Fun Things

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

We headed straight for the beach on Saturday when the temperature began to rise (for the first time in many, many days). We were snowboarding and sledding the day before, and yesterday we woke up to more new snowfall. I've got SPRING FEVER something fierce! I slipped my feet into a pair of flip flops, and then felt the warm sand between my toes. There's no going back now. I'll probably end up with frostbitten toes or something, but... worth it. ha ha

Speaking of Spring, I've been adding to my fashion board here. Please keep in mind, fashionista I am not. But I like to look cute, and there are some really pretty outfits and things this year.

Some adorable sewing things have caught my attention recently. One of them is from my friend Lindsay, a busy Mom, fellow seamstress and Etsy seller (PA Country Crafts). I have fallen head over heels for the beautiful Quiet Book she made for one of her girls. She's written a series about making it on her blog. Here's a link to one of the pages.

This video just makes me smile. There's really nothing more I can say. So, so cute.

I've got a birthday party to finish planning for this weekend. Watching my kids grow up is rewarding and amazing and inspiring, but it's bittersweet. Always bittersweet. I just want to hold on tight and savor those snippets of time, but I can't. Nobody can. It goes by so, so quickly.

Oh, and here's a shot of that gorgeous "gymnaskets" ponytail I referred to in this post. =)

Gulp. Why does she look sixteen in that last photo?

Happy Monday! We've got a busy, busy day ahead of us!

Summer Fun And Whales!

It's Friday! This week has flown by! Yesterday was my big all-day adventure with Caleb...a whale watch cruise from Rye Harbor! We've been getting random storms popping up lately so I was sick-to-my-stomach nervous that we weren't going to be able to go, and I hadn't actually made a Plan B. Not to worry, Plan A was PERFECT!

I think I want to do a whole separate post about our day, but here are some highlights. Absolutely amazing! As much as I love to watch God's creatures in their natural world, I found I truly marveled at the sounds they make. Amazing!

I will remember that day with my little boy for as long as I live. So grateful we had the opportunity to share that together.
Backing up a little bit, I knew I was going to miss my big guys like crazy so I snapped a few fun pics while at the pool. I can't believe it, but I actually forgot my camera for almost every single thing we did last week! Me? I must be getting old and senile!

I was slightly stunned they actually cooperated and granted my request for synchronized handstands, ha!
Jonah kept asking me to watch him wave underwater. My kids are fish. They get it from me.  ;o)

Me and my beautiful girl!

Whoops...

 Take 2!

Some changes going on inside our little abode...

Bill has been working soooo hard and everything looks better than I even imagined! I took this yesterday morning around 6 am - wait till you see what it looks like NOW!

Right now it's still just Caleb and me, and it's so quiet and, well, really really nice. Isabelle has had VBS this week too, so Caleb and I have had lots of quality time together! Right now she's over at Mimi and Grampy's for a sleepover, and Caleb and I will pick her up for the closing ice cream social at VBS. He's on the couch in the other room telling me over and over how great yesterday was, asking if he can make me homemade waffles for breakfast, ha! Love this boy! And tomorrow I get to see my other boys! I miss them so much when they are away!

Have an amazing weekend!!