100 freakin' degrees

When it's this hot out, what do we do? Make a make-shift pool for Mags (who played in it for 2 solid hours), I stay indoors with C, cleaning and organizing, and Aron does hard labor, building 4 rolling shelves for our garage. Pics to come!

sketchbook

Here is Maggie's sketchbook; I cannot wait to gain a collection of these over the years to both see her progress and to have an "heirloom" of sorts of what she experienced growing up in our family. Eventually, each of us will have one of these, so we can all draw together. I have made notes on many of her pages, asking her the name of her piece ("Another Jumping One" or "Bee in a Jar" or "Parrot in the Clouds"), and asking her to tell me details of what she's drawn.

inspiration!

The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule has been an inspirational read! I've LOVED her ideas for incorporating creative play into daily life, everthing from art projects to free play to varous crafts.

One idea I have loved is to incorporate family art time. This can be anything from a set-aside art night or taking just a few minutes a day to incorporate drawing/sketching/painting into every day life. Soule suggets everyone drawing the same object together and talking about their work afterwards. This got me thinking and I decided to purchase a sketchbook from Borders and have one place where all of Maggie's artwork can be stored and will grow with her overtime. No more stacks of artwork in file folders. Maggie has enjoyed her new book! I have also used the sketchbook this week after our morning walks or before dinnertime (when things can be a bit choatic). It's a simple way to say, "Draw a picture of something you observed on our walk," or "Draw your favorite memory of today."

bethany visits

My close friend, Bethany, arrived last weekend for a whirlwind visit, brought together by her husband and I for her birthday (as a surprise!). It was a BLAST as she and I were able to connect and she was able to just be "Bethany" and not "Mom" or "Wife" for the weekend. I look forward to a trip like this myself. :) We were able to pack in a ton to 2 1/2 days: shopping at Santa Monica Promenade, 2 vists to the beach, shopping at the Spectrum, 2 nights of do-it-yourself yogurt, Laguna Beach Arts Festival, long talks, and coffee out one night. Bethany has become such a good friend this past year when we lived on campus at DTS (literally, her family lived directly across the hall from us). We miss playing with her kiddos, Asher and Cademon, on a daily basis. We have connected over our journeys in motherhood, as wives of seminary husbands, creative endeavors, and our pursuits of God. Come back anytime, friend! And bring the family next time.

Outside the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach

Eating cupcakes at Yummy Cupcakes in Santa Monica...hands-down the best cupcakes I've ever had...yes, better than Sprinkles.

Curren eating my finger and wishing he could have a cupcake!

Love this shot!

And this one, too!

The steps down to Lost Winds beach in San Clemente

Maggie taking a break before the hike up the stairs

Sunset at Salt Creek beach

**All of these pics (minus the ones of both Bethany and I) were taken by Bethany! She is a talented photographer. And like I said in the post below, I LOVE the face shots of Curren.

happy boy!

Taken by my good friend, Bethany, when she was out to visit last weekend. Honestly, these are some of my favorite pics of Curren! Could he be any cuter?! :)

congrats!

Our good friends, Thad and Jocelyn, got engaged in early August. We are so excited and thrilled for them! We were able to be there and take pics of them, unbeknowst to her. The wedding is slotted for December 17. Love you guys!

congrats!

Our good friends, Thad and Jocelyn, got engaged in early August. We are so excited and thrilled for them! We were able to be in Dana Point Harbor and take pics of them, unbeknowst to her
(though this pic is a reinactment). The wedding is slotted for December 17. Love you guys!

the art of a spider terrarium

Maggie and I have been doing more outdoor exploration together. The other day I decided to create a terrarium with her, so we can catch various insects and observe them, talk about them, and draw our findings. It was SO simple and so fun. Here's what our science and art time looked like. EASY to replicate (we caught 2 bees on Saturday and did the same things).
Supplies: one happy, eager child, a Ragu jar, a hammer, and a nail

With careful help, let your child create several air holes

Put greenery and sticks into the jar

Capture your subject

Make observations and predictions together with your child

Draw your findings together

wordless wednesday

Fairy wings--50 cents at a garage sale last weekend!

The Ortons visit

In late July, my good friend Erin and her family came to visit us for a week. We had the BEST time. The kids did so well, and we totally enjoyed the fellowship and time to connect. We did a TON: several visits to the beach, the Spectrum, church, a beach bar-b-que, do-it-yourself yogurt, In-N-Out, San Diego, Scripps Aquarium, Seaport Village, Mission Mall, a walk around Mission Lake and several walks in our neighborhood. Here are some of my favorite shots of our time together. Our visit was amazing! Come back ANYTIME!
Finding crabs at Doheny State Beach

Hudson and Maggie--best friends!

Swinging at Dinosaur Park

Making homemade pizza

Playing in the fountains at the Spectrum

More water fun

Baby Beach and fun in the sand!

Curren and Parker enjoying the sand