connie and her crew

i finally sat down over the weekend to get things done,
including going through all the photos i took during my girlfriend's visit to san diego.
she's been wanting to see them for so long and i finally go to them.
i appreciate her patience with me.

i had to post a few of my favorites. i  miss these sweet girlies.

top: serene, connie and paige, scoutie, me and finn
'smores night' at the hilton hotel

summer's here

in case you didn't hear,
yesterday, 6/21 was the first day of Summer!

like so many, i just ♥ summertime -
the sunshine, beach days, music, flip flops, visitors,
vacations and all the delicious seasonal fruits in season.
like this one:


image: woman's day
























oh, how i ♥ watermelon!!

as a kid, our family grew them in the backyard.
i remember inspecting the melons with my dad,
anxiously awaiting the day they were ripe enough to pick.
of everything we planted, they were my favorite.

someday i'd like to try my hand at vegetable gardening,
but until that day comes, i enjoy picking out the best looking
and sounding watermelon at the supermarket. some might say
i'm a little obsessive with all the thumping i do.
(i try to get that perfect hollow sound) 

then, for the next few days, i eat LOTS and LOTS of it.
so much that i started to feel it might not be a good thing, 
until i read this article in the july issue of woman's day about
the benefits of eating watermelon.

now i feel content to continue overeating this juicy pink dessert.

enjoy all the things that make you happy this summer! 

***************************************************

~ i'm so happy my summer is starting out with a visit from my dear friend connie.
she flew in from tucson today with 3 girls in tow (two are hers and one is her oldest daughter's friend).
i'm so excited to have girls in my home - this is the first time girls will outnumber the boys!

father's day 2011

christopher's only request was for a simple egg mcmuffin (i did my best),
and a day at the beach with the family.

easy enough.

after breakfast, the boys and i presented him with a few small gifts
which included homemade cards from each of the boys.
they were so proud to present them to c, and he was so happy to receive them.

i packed lunches and we headed to the beach.
first, c wanted to run into southcoast surf shop to look at wetsuits for finn.
the trip was successful and finn is now a first time owner of a full (long) wetsuit.
this should keep him warm at this year's paddle for clean water.

as the boys ran around in the sand, i made a call to my father. 
we had such a nice talk (until my cell phone died).

then i grabbed my camera and snapped some photos.
these were taken just before they ventured into the 62 degree ocean water *yikes*.
and after c taught the boys the fine art of launching kelp pellets.




 



















 

happy father's day to all those wonderful and dedicated daddies out there!

the important book

yesterday was the last day of the school year for the boys
and i came home to a very rambunctious 3 and 7 year old.

i also came home to find this little book sitting on the dining table

the title caught my attention and i flipped through it.

each page discussed the importance of various things:
an apple is important because...

and it continued with the rain, the wind, the snow, etc. 

the last page read "the important thing about you is YOU. 

then i noticed the inside front cover.

it had a handwritten note to finn from his teacher.

it followed the same format:

these few sentences warmed my heart.

they sum up finn's last 2 years of school so well.

i can't imagine a more thoughtful departing gift.

(she wrote a special message to each of the children).

mrs. hawke holds a special place in all of our hearts. 

she has been with the kids since kindergarten and 'looped'

with them as they continued on to first grade.  

after 2 years together, they share a special bond.  

not only will she be missed by the kids,

she will be missed by us parents. *sniff*

last, i can't end a post without sharing a piece of artwork

that scoutie brought home from school.  he still LOVES artwork.

this pirate face, made from a white paper plate, is my favorite:

it reminded me of my friend jen's upcoming

'pirate' birthday for her 3 yr old. 

she shared all the deets with me yesterday.

it's going to be so much fun (and cute).

*************************

as for the summer sitter,

she arrived at 8am sharp, and as she stepped

through our front door, buzzers and beepers went off!

unbeknownst to me, the boys had set up various spygear by the door.

she was a little startled, but otherwise fine.

and i reminded her she signed on to caring for 2 boys for 6 weeks *laugh*

the day must have been a success because when i got home

scoutie said "it's too early mommy - you were supposed to be gone a longer time". 

(here i was thinking 7-8 hours was plenty)

that answers my q as to whether scoutie likes his new summer sitter.

this momma will be happy when the weekend comes.

c is gone until tomorrow night and though it's only been a day, i miss him.

i'm looking forward to spending some time with him this weekend and celebrating father's day. 

...been trying to think of creative ways to show my dad and my hubby i ♥ 'em.

have a Fantastic Friday!

sweet summer cherries

every year i anxiously await these sweet treats!
they are officially in season so we are getting our fill here.

i picked up 3 lbs last weekend and been packing them in
all of our lunchboxes every day.  SO yummy.

image: women's day

tomorrow is the last day of school for the boys
and they are more than ready!  their energy levels
have seemed to increase (if that's possible).

they are looking forward to all the fun that comes with summer -
lots of swimming, beach days and trips to their favorite museums.

i am feeling relieved knowing that i've talked to our summer sitter (renae)
and she confirmed all is a go.  she starts thursday morning at 8am.
*big sigh of relief*

non-negotiables

i can't get the last conversation i had with a girlfriend over the weekend, out of my head.
we met for brunch and she mentioned her upcoming wedding anniversary - 10 years.
woo hoo - a great milestone!! 

somehow we got to talking about our dating years
(i had to go back farther in time than her)
we questioned why we ever dated some of the duds we did.
was it the excitement, to gain more experience, to defy our parents? 
we weren't sure. maybe it was a combination.

regardless, those guys didn't last too
they would never fit the list we had in our heads.
you know the one ladies, it contains all the qualities the one must have.
i heard some girls actually have their list written out.
(i don't fault that at all - i'm a little type a) *grin*

we called it our non-negotiables

i thought i'd record mine so the boys can read it someday. here goes:

1. Honesty - This seems a little cliche, but really, there's nothing more important.
(i'm also lumping loyalty, dependability and faithfulness under this one)

2. Respect - Without respect, well why bother. It's the foundation of a healthy relationship.

3. Openness - I wanted a partner who was open to change and new experiences. 
Someone who would be willing to go outside their norm and truly LIVE life.

4. Kids - Like religion, this one is a deal breaker. You either want them or not.
More importantly, my partner would need to feel as strong as i did on the subject.
(i wanted them....way down the road)

5. Healthy - My future partner didn't need to have the body of Brad Pitt from his Thelma and Louise days,  but he had to take care of himself.  Exercise would be part of his lifestyle and a smoker or drinker were out of the question.

6. Hardworker - Someone who strives to improve both their work and home life was high on my list. (He didn't have to be a CEO of a company)

7. Family - Someone who valued family - not just his marriage and children, but his parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.  Also being home for dinner every night{most nights}was important to me.

so there they are - simple things really.
there may have been a few more but those were the biggies.

my girlfriend's list was very similar with the exception of religion.
raising her children catholic was important to her so that was on her list.
religion wasn't on my list at all.

someday, in the far off future, i will share this list with my finn and scout
and encourage them to think about their non-negotiables.

******************************
school ends on wednesday and renae (summer nanny) is supposed to start on thursday.
she's been in paris for a month and i haven't talked to her since she watched the boys
2 days before she left.  it was a test run really, to get acquainted and it went well.
the boys are looking forward to their time with her.

she was supposed to arrive home today so i'll be calling her tomorrow.
my fingers crossed everything is a go.

fun with finn

one of my goals this year is to spend one-on-one time with
finn and scout every month, and to make sure it happens,
i actually have a standing date in my calendar to remind me.

last night, i asked finn if he wanted to pick our monthly activity
and he suggested pedal boating or aqua cycling on mission bay.

after looking at both options, we chose the pedal boat because it looked easier
and we thought we would have less chance of falling overboard and getting wet!  
(it was cool today - about 68 degrees and overcast).

finn wasn't tall enough to pedal, but he did make a great 'rudder' man -
keeping us on course as we explored the bay looking for pirates and treasures.
we spent an hour on the water with me pedalling "full speed" at finn's request,
as he called out "ahoy matey" to everyone on land or water.

i may not be able to walk tomorrow,
but it would be worth it for the quality time the two of us got today.

nissan leaf

my coworker (and also hubby to my girlfriend, founder of the 'serious' bookclub)
showed up to work a few weeks ago driving this car:

he ordered it over a year ago and after a few delays,
he became a proud owner of this fully electric car. 
that's zero gas people, with zero emissions!

with gas prices averaging $4.25 here in so cal, and rumored to go higher,
my coworker is very happy with his purchase and proud to be one of the
first owners of the leaf. this little family is so green. 
they already own a toyota prius (hybrid).

as promised, he took me for a drive at lunch which was fun.
i was pleasantly surprised with this car.
it was comfortable, had a nice sound system, gps, in-dash nav screen,
and all sorts of other gadgets.  there is even a little display that lets
the driver know how many carbon footprints they are removing from
the planet by driving the leaf.  love this feature.

i sure would love to own a fully-electric car.
finn would too.
he just brought home an assignment where he wrote down his wishes for the planet.
his first wish was for every car to be fully electric so they don't cause pollution. (no surprise)
i'm hopeful his wish might come true by his generation.

~ i haven't been posting as much these days because i've been spending
my evenings with other activities.  the school year is winding down and
with this comes lots of end of the year stuff.
we've had exhibition nights (separate post coming) and end of the year parties,
as well as some personal stuff too. 

we also had a little photo shoot last week and the the boys are also taking swim lessons
2x a week at the neighborhood ymca to prepare them for lots of summer swimming.
while they swim, i squeeze in a little workout which is really nice.  
my biggest motiviation - i need to fit into my bathing suit this summer!!
 
i've also been reading some really great books late into the evening.
they've been extremely hard for me to put down.
they are allowing me to get closer to completing #9 from my promise me list.

through the years

i can't remember when you weren't there,
when i didn't care,
for anyone but you.
i swear, you taught me everything there is,
can't imagine anything we missed,
can't imagine anything
the two of us can't do.

through the years
you never let me down
you turned my life around
the sweetest days i've had,
i've found with you.
through the years.
i've never been afraid,
i loved the life we've made
and i'm so glad i've stayed
right here with you
through the years.

this song, by kenny rogers, is one of my mother's favorites.
she has been listening to it for as long as i can remember.

though we celebrated my parent's 50th wedding anniversary
a few weeks ago, their actual anniversary is today, 6/3.

as i type the words of the song tonight,
i can imagine that this song has taken on a deeper meaning for
my mom over the years.

kenny sings of devotion, friendship, perseverance,
and ultimately, the love that can only be realized after many years.

congratulations mom and dad on this special milestone!!

meet my parents, joe and dottie shappard:



image: courtesy of my brother and s-i-l

for those of you who are kenny rogers fans or enjoy the song through the years
(i admit i love it), click here, sit back and enjoy.

have a fabulous weekend!