As I called little ones to the kitchen for dinner the boys came charging, but I had to go searching for Miss Olivine. When I found her she was giggling at herself and her newest trick with Paul’s hat. As I ran to grab the camera she then took it off to give me an up close demonstration of exactly how she can do this all by herself. A big girl more and more every day. She sure is smart and showing how quick she is learning how to turn the charm on (just ask her papa)
and then turn the charm off like a switch.
But as soon as I say bath she takes off as fast as she can crawl.
When the hat falls off on the way, who cares, because this little girl loves laying on her tummy and pretending to swim.

these cousins play so sweetly

forgetful of their shyness

kneeling to watch the fish

and gaze at turtles

Don’t worry Olivine- that’s not Oscar, it’s just a statue.

up close

our expressions

varied and unique

captured in a moment

together

for dinner

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

I have joined the four week challenge to simplify my house. A follow up to my last summer adventure in de-cluttering. I will be including some photos along each theme. This week is the shelves and I was able to free my eyes of some small, but serious eye sores in my house.

The first impression matters and when you step into my apartment building you are usually greeted by this:

but I am trying to have it look like this more:

Then there’s the bookcase

the top is a regular mess. Our place to just dump, stack, and generally misplace items.

But not after my cleaning.

I can finally see the calendar I love so much.

This sort of project motivates me to create more space and form better habits.

in age
in experiencein discovering our purpose
and yet different
and that makes this afternoon and our catching up, while our children played, so comforting.

blow bubbles inside and outside.
drink water in the shower.
put puzzles together.
learn the alphabet.

ZERO fish that Paul caught in the ocean.
But he did catch seaweed which I thought was appropriate for a vegetarian.
ONE family style, blueberry, baked pancake
ONE bottle of yummy wine
TWO fell asleep (together)
THREE children reading
THREE new teeth for baby girl
FOUR hours Joe spent with the boys outdoor at a kickball game
FIVE who slept outside in tents last night (me and baby were not in that count) SIX mile walk this morning
all while a baby girl slept soundly in the stroller, keeping me company.SEVEN times of reading the same story means I officially have it memorized.

A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

A super generous gift from my aunt and grandma is the annual pass to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. We had free time and healthy babies so of course we went. My aunt is the one who talked us out of going to the zoo even though we really wanted to see the hippos. She explained it would be too hot for the little ones in the summer to go to the Safari Park (and after this afternoon I would agree), so we will be going back this summer for the zoo. Bonus: this week is the last week of the Safari Park having a butterfly garden open.

We loved the tram ride and seeing the animals up close in such open spaces. We learned about the animals they put back in the wild.

There was a ton of walking and the sun made one little girl fall asleep

looking just like the lioness.

We saw the baby rhino and baby gorilla, but the boys loved the brushing of the goats.

It was the one animal they were allowed to touch.

Joe loved the giraffes and I was in love with the amount of space these elephants had to walk around.

After five hours at the park, everyone fell asleep in the car.
After dinner, we noticed some animal inspired drawing

and playing as they acted out being baby elephants.