surfboards galore

c sometimes calls me a 'pack rat' and because i'm
sentimental, i do keep stuff, but because i'm slightly type a,
my stuff is organized.  i've convinced myself i'm not a pack rat because
i can find things when i go looking {well most of the time anyway}.

the garage is where he keeps alot of his stuff - you know GUY stuff
like tools, sporting equipment, car stuff and all his surfboards.

who really needs 9 surfboards??
{he tells me he does because they are all for different surf conditions}.

until he can part with a few beloved surfboards,
i will insist i am not a pack rat.
{i confess, one of those nine boards is mine. i call her wahine}

~ happy news:
renae, the boys' sitter from last summer {2011} texted me to tell me she is engaged!
she followed up with some really sweet photos of the proposal. click here to see 'em.
her fiance marc {whom we all met last summer and adore} was so thoughtful and romantic.
and she thought they were going on their usual hike at torrey pines. little did she know...

celebrations

there are exactly as many special occasions in life as we chose to celebrate.
- robert brault

these past few weeks have been full of things to celebrate, and i wanted to be sure i recorded them:

first, my sweet s-i-l heather is finally home from the hospital.
she contracted viral meningitas and had a very rough hospital stay.
she gave us all quite a scare, but made it home and is on her way to a full recovery. 
her feeling better and coming home are things to celebrate! 

my niece (kristen) turned 15.  i remember when she was a toddler. oh how times flies.

a few weeks ago, the boys and i were at bonnie and marty's home for a pancake breakfast.
we celebrated with them as they shared news they were expecting a baby in march!

and there's MORE to celebrate...

my girlfriend charlotte is going back to school.
although she is a licensed architect here in california, she decided she wants a new challenge.
she's chosen to study textile design at the fashion institute of design and merchandising and
starts school in a few week.

i received a sweet email from renae a few nights ago, 
she was just saying hi and letting me know she has settled into her new home right next to campus.
she was happy to tell me she had just gone through her White Coat Ceremony,
where she took a pledge as she entered pharmacy school and got her coat.

she sent this photo taken just after the ceremony. 

renae (and her boyfriend mark)

last, scoutie played his first soccer game ever last saturday
while i coached my first game ever.

we were both a little timid going into it, but as the game went on, 

we both started to get the hang of it and enjoyed ourselves.
it's going to be a really fun season with the sharks (our team name). 

big or small, there's always something special to celebrate if we look for it.

summer sitter

before summer comes to an end, i wanted to post a photo of the
young woman the boys shared most of their summer days with.
meet renae:


after a long day at the zoo























c and i were looking for a gal who was active and could keep up with our boys
and this gal lived up to our expectations. when we learned she is the only girl in
a family of 4 kids, we knew she'd be just fine with finn and scout.  
renae spent her days shuttling the boys to and from swim lessons, the beach, sea world,
parks, and museums (most often the train museum and the science center at balboa park).

one day she took the boys to meet her previous science professor and to see a working lab
on the point loma nazarene university, the school she just graduated from.
i'll never forget coming home from work to hear finn tell me "i saw a REAL lab".
(that extra effort renae made to share and inspire my boys meant the world to me).

the boys will no longer be asking us if today is a 'renae day',
and renae will no longer be running around with two little boys.
as the boys start back to school/pre-k, she will be entering this pharmacy school .

while the boys have been away, it occured to me we would have a 2 week gap w/out childcare.
i got to work immediately looking for help, never imagining it would be hard to find someone.
i eventually got the first week covered (thanks to maddy), but with the all the san diego high school
and college kids back in school 8/29, i couldn't find someone for the last week of august for scoutie.
he doesn't go back until after labor day.  i started to feel a little bit of a panic set in.
what to do??

i called grandma and once again, she came to our rescue!!
she arrives on monday for 2 weeks.
we are all excited!

it will be so nice to have her and she's looking forward to relaxing
and spending time with her west coast daughters and grandkids. 
after her time here in san diego, she heads north to oakland to spend
a few days with leslie and her sweet little guys.

before the boys come back (sat pm),
i am squeezing in one last day of quiet and r&r for me.
tomorrow i will be poolside here with some girlfriends.
i'm crossing my fingers there will be sunshine!