Life is Just Beachy

Last Sunday we decided it was time, so we packed up our new addition and bravely ventured out for the first time as a family of four. It was probably the most beautiful day we've had since moving to Washington, so after Fin's nap, we drove about 45 minutes south to check out Double Bluff beach. 

Most of the beaches on Whidbey Island seem to be rocky beaches, but Double Bluff is one of just a few that are made of primarily sand. 

It takes a lot longer to get out of the house these days and there are a lot more things I need to remember. I think we had enough bags to stay at the beach for a week. It's actually pretty funny. Most places I go now, I have to sit in the car for about five minutes before exiting  because I'm whipping up a game plan of how I'm going to get myself, my bag, my children ... etc inside. 

But I digress ... back to the beach. Not the best beach we've ever been to, (in fact, there's a sandy beach closer to us that we prefer)  but the water was calm, the sand was warm, and the views were beautiful. 

The summer weather here on Whidbey Island in the Puget Sound of Washington state isn't quite what I'm used to. It's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but it's cooler than the 80  to 90 degree summer temps that I've sometimes experienced. Even when the forecast says it's going to be 70 degrees, at our house in the shade of the pine trees on the west side of the island it's often as low as 60! So, for this trip I didn't even pack anybody a swimsuit!  Just shorts, a T-shirt, capris for me... 

Well! The weather was beautiful! It had to have been about 75°. Why, oh why had I not brought the suits!?! Oh well. The boys enjoyed the water regardless. :) 

My 3 guys all squeezed into the baby tent!

Enjoying some gusanitos on the beach!

My tired Kai Guy napping in my lap under the shade of the hooter hider ;)

I'm writing this blog post today as I look out the window at the gray dreary skies and the wet drizzly rain. I think fall has officially arrived. It makes me even more grateful that we squeezed in one beach day this summer!

My Happy Lil Camper

Last weekend Matt took Fin backyard camping for the first time! Fin was a big helper when it came to setting up the tent, and once it was up it quickly became his new favorite play place. 

He loved hiding inside under all the sleeping bags. And with the amount of times he went in and out, in and out... we are lucky we didn't blow a zipper! 

For us, camping just isn't complete without a fire and s'mores!

My boys :)

"Are you cooking that one for me???"

I'll have you know, the first marshmallow, Dad let him hold the stick by himself. That didn't go so well. Kai and I almost ended up with a hot mess (literally!) on our laps! 

Kai resting on mumma by the fire :)

Looking up through the trees at the first star of the evening!

After s'mores and star searching, it was time for bed. Kai and I headed inside and  the big boys were tent bound. Inside, the two of us had a nice, quiet night but I couldn't help but wonder how the boys were doing outside. I received these pictures in a message from Matt just before I drifted off to sleep:

A little flashlight play, a few books and Finlay was out. :) Dad said it was a pretty good night, and it must have been, because he says they'll do it again soon. So glad I've got a little camper on my hands!

I'm Baaaaaack!

Hello, hello! Long time no see, right? WELL! Let me tell you. I have been a little busy! 

As you all know, in January we moved to Washington State where we had to unpack boxes get settled and find our way around. I had hoped to begin blogging again much sooner than this, but it's amazing how a new home, a one-and-a-half-year-old and a pregnancy can pretty much just wipe you out. Most days I was lucky enough to get dinner on the table, let alone keep the house clean or write a blog post. But, alas, the time has come!

Despite the sleepless nights I currently endure, I feel like I have my energy, motivation, creativity ... my mojo back! 

But I am still left with one small problem: where do I begin? I can't just skip over the last six months of our lives. But I feel like I can't very well summarize them either. So here's my plan: I am not going to try to recap the last six months. I am going to start writing tomorrow like I  never stopped writing. I'm going to pick back up with some silly little story about our weekend. BUT... the anal side of me is going to attempt to slowly go back to January (where I left off) and fill in the gap.  :)  So if you do decide to follow the blog, keep an eye on the dates of the posts. 

Lastly, I feel I must warn you all that I probably will not be as attentive to my blogging as I used to be. I practically dropped off the map with the introduction of one child and now there are two! I can't promise that it's going to be a daily or even a weekly thing. But what I can promise is that I will do my best to keep those who care updated on our lives. I promise there will be lots of silly (and sometimes inappropriate) stories, pictures (of really cute boys and dogs) videos and more!!!

March Recap

Like February, much of March 2013 was spent getting settled and making our new house into a home. Once again, I’ll let the photos tell the story.

In addition to working inside the house: unpacking boxes, hanging pictures, finding homes for all of our things... etc. there was A LOT of work that needed to be done in the yard. Apparently the previous tenant was not much of a groundskeeper (aka let the grass get 2 feet tall). Not passing judgment, however. If yard work is not your thing, that's okay. But it IS my thing. If I could spend hundreds of dollars on flowers and mulch every year I would, but it's not quite in the budget. Not to mention, we are renters. I love to garden and make our place look nice, but we don't want to invest too much money into something that isn't ours to keep. You have to draw the line at some point. I plan this summer (when things are looking their best) to take a few photos of the gardens now, so you can see how far they've come.

Of course when it comes to any work... Fin is always a big helper :) Tarp rides...

 

And wheel barrow rides...

If you know me, you know I love to go barefoot, so the ridiculous amount of prickers in the lawn had to go.

In March we bought our first lawn mower. These days, Matt and I like to Rock, Paper, Scissors over who gets to mow and who gets the children. :) I won't tell you which one I am usually pulling for. 

 

Of course once we got Daddy a mower... Fin needed one too. :)

So much work... 

Baby steps. Little by little, cleaning it all up.

When Fin wasn't "helping," Gardening usually meant... BUGS! He was always on the look out and left no stones unturned. Literally.

The lucky ones got away... the others... got VIP seats in the shopping cart. 

Speaking of unlucky ones, looks like Koda picked a bad spot to lie: near Fin. :)

I love gardening because there is immediate gratification for all your hard work.

Hmmm.... What else happened in March?  Let's see...

 Fin got to meet his favorite animal, the cow! Matt's friend from work has a beef farm here on the island, so we spent the afternoon checking out the moo moos and tractors too.

 

 

 

I passed my drivers test (yes I had to take it again because my license expired while in Spain). The whole process was obnoxious and my new photo turned out pretty much like everyone else's license pictures: bad.

 

Fin and I found another great place to meet new friends! The TLC (Toddler Learning Center) right here in Oak Harbor. Playgroup every Friday morning was not something either of us liked to miss.

 

We visited the Children's museum again. My little construction worker operating the crane. :)

 

And we found this awesome park only 7 minutes from the house!

 

We checked out the Penn Cove Mussel Festival! A festival totally dedicated to a bivalve. Such a quaint, fun and delicious event. 

 

I finally caved and cut Fin's beautiful curls.

 

This is the first picture of him with short hair. At first, it pained me to see him. My little baby suddenly looked like a little boy. 

 

We received our first box of goodies from our dear friends in Spain. We were all VERY excited. Especially for Kinder Bueno and Gusanitos.

 

 

All the yard clean up meant we were developing a pretty big pile of sticks. So we had our first burn pile... and our first s'mores. He LOVED them. "ONE MORE," he kept begging.

 

And then there were the usual misty, winter day activities... like Legos

 

 

And baking...

 

Meanwhile I kept getting bigger...

 

And bigger...

 

And it was in March that we found out Fin would be getting a baby brother.

 

Last, but definitely not least, my very first (of hopefully many to come) blog book arrived in the mail. This hard cover beauty is a compilation of the three years of posts I did while we lived in Spain. If there were a fire in our house tomorrow, this would be the thing I'd grab on the way out the door. It means a lot to me. This is why I'm working SO hard to catch up on all that I missed in 2013. Someday my children, and their children, and maybe even their children will be able to have the stories and images of La Vida Fantastica.

 

 

Ok, I lied. Not the last thing. Two more photos of my long haired baby...

Oh how I miss those soft, white curls.