Summer Nights

One thing we love about our new house is how close we are to an amazing park! We walk over most nights >>when I'm not working<< to play and/or have a picnic. It's kind of like having the park as our huge backyard...

I really want these warm summer nights to stay forever.

A Picnic In The Sunshine

We had made plans to walk to the park after dinner but Oliver requested that we pack dinner up and have a picnic instead. So we packed up a picnic dinner and headed out. The weather was perfect for a stroll and we were so glad Oliver suggested that we eat outside. It was so warm and peaceful.

Sawyer could not get over the one hundred birds that were perched around our table waiting for the kids to toss some spare food over. Birdies are one of his favorite things and he even said "birdie" for the first time while we were sitting there eating.

 

I carried Harper on my back while we walked which is one of my favorite things. We get to chat and she wraps her little arms around my neck and gives me little kisses telling me she loves me. The boys run and adventure around us looking for cool sticks and souvenirs.

On our walk out of the park we noticed a little bit of smoke rising right behind the spot we took our family picture. The smoke got much more intense and quickly started to grow. We started hearing sirens after a few minutes and decided to venture back to where we had just been sitting to see if we could see what was burning. The boys got super excited as we ran to check out the scene. It turned out to be a pretty crazy fire and thankfully no one was hurt!

It was a fun little family adventure. We love these warm summer evenings! We savor every free evening we get because there are many nights where I'm running off to work before we even finish dinner. I love being home to kiss them each goodnight!

Sunkissed Buns

My cousin came to visit us for the weekend so we decided to spend the day together at the beach. My parents got a tray of sandwiches, we all brought snacks, laid out some blankets chairs and an umbrella, and spent the afternoon enjoying each other. The kids made "sand castles", my sisters attempted to bury Carter and make him into a mermaid, Papa had a mud fight with the boys, and we all got a little sunkissed. 

My sister bought the kids a bunch of sand toys and shovels while she was down in San Diego and they were put to lots of good use!

Harper wore her diaper as long as she could but it flopped off while she was running through the water. I decided to let her go bare nakey buns and she was loving the freedom.

We always get to the end of a beach day not wanting to leave so we make sure to grab ice cream on the way home to make it a little less sad. Harper had to take a good nap on the way home cause she got to have a sleepover with Nana and Papa that night.

I sat in the car chatting with my sisters while the babies finished up their car naps. In the meantime Carter brought me a pretty rose that he picked just for me. It smelled amazing and looked so pretty sitting on my dash. I love that sweet boy.

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Harps + Sawy

When we first moved into our new house we put all three boys together in one room and Harper had her own room right next to them. She preferred it that way in the beginning but would occasionally sneak over to the boys room and climb in bed with Sawyer to sleep. We eventually ended up moving Sawyer's crib into her room because Harper was waking up several times a night crying. That was definitely all she needed because she hardly ever wakes up now and it also provides us with lots of heart melting moments of two little babies cuddling together fast asleep. We seriously melt every single time.

I hope they don't give this up anytime soon. <3

Our Paleo Adventure

So as a lot of you may know we started a Whole30 last month! The first two weeks went amazingly well. We really started feeling good, we were enjoying what we were eating, and other than it being really crazy expensive it was great. We went on our Colorado trip and stuck to it pretty much the entire time. I had been having some significant stomach pain for a while but while we were gone it got a lot worse. I decided to cut out coffee because I suspected I might have an ulcer and everything acidic would make that problem a lot worse. The next day BAM hardly any pain at all. I'm not gunna lie that was the demise of my whole30 journey. Once coffee was taken away I lost all motivation and was <<embarrassingly enough>> really sad. I decided I'd try to stick to a paleo diet but I would allow myself some treats that don't follow those guidelines but all around I'm eating so much better than I was. I want to share some paleo recipes that I've found and tried because they're all pretty amazing!

P A L E O     D O N U T S

I  found the recipe HERE

I made a non paleo glaze for them out of almond milk and powdered sugar but other than that they're pretty good for you!

P A L E O   M U G   C A K E

I couldn't find the exact recipe but you can find a similar one HERE

It was so easy, quick, and delicious! To me it tasted like a brownie. I definitely couldn't eat the whole thing by myself so I shared with my kids and my husband.

P A L E O   B A N A N A   B R E A D

 I found the recipe HERE

This recipe turned out so yummy! I cut my slices small because it is SO filling. I ate one small slice for breakfast one morning and it kept me full until lunch.

P A L E O   C A R R O T   L O A F

I found the recipe HERE

I didn't have a chance to snap a picture of this one because I was running out the door for work but it was delicious! My kids devoured it.

Let me know if you try any of these! I plan on posting a few new ones every week as we explore the world of paleo yummy-ness.

A Week In The Mountains

The day we left started at three in the morning. We had to get up and shower to hit the road by four to drive three hours to the airport. Once we got there we had an hour <ish> before our flight took off. Kaleb napped and I grumped about nothing to eat in our terminal <sorry, the hanger is real>.

Our flight from California to Colorado was amazing. It was clear skies the entire way and the views were breathtaking. I hadn't been to Colorado in quite a few years and we really only visited the Denver area so I had no idea what I was in for when heading up into the mountains.

We landed in Denver and Kaleb had already planned out where we'd eat lunch and that he wanted to take me to an amazing mall to do a little shopping. One thing I noticed right away about Colorado was just how much prettier the sky was there. It seemed so much bluer than it is here in California and the clouds were amazing.

Before our three hour drive out of Denver and into the mountains we stopped at Whole Foods to stock up on snacks and grab a little dinner to enjoy on the drive. I fell in love with that store right then and there. The closest one to us is a thirty minute drive and it's not as big and beautiful and this one was. I got an almond milk latte and a delicious salad from their cafe.

Once we got up to Buena Vista where we were going to be staying for the week we got to walk down to the Arkansas River which was right by our little house. It was so pretty! The sound and smell of the rushing water was so relaxing.

We had a coffee shop four doors down from our house which I took full advantage of!

We went on a little hike and tried to soak in every inch of the amazing view of the mountains around us, the river, the clouds. It was all so breathtaking.

This was our little blue house with a cute little font porch and those mountains back there were our view for the entire week. I don't think that could ever get old or boring.

We drove to a town about fourty minutes away called Salida for dinner and some thrifting. The thrift store there were so good. Kaleb spoiled me with a vintage all leather Coach purse and a beautiful turquoise ring. 

Now that we're home I love being able to look down and remember little bits and pieces of our trip together to make me smile. 

We really enjoyed the slow life pace that this tiny town had to offer. Our life back home is so crazy and busy so this time we had together was so incredibly refreshing!

It was fun to feel like we were dating again. Taking the time to talk about life, goals, loving each other, and everything in between.

I love you more almost nine years later.

I love traveling, hanging out in airports, and it's even better with this guy. We had fun and Kaleb even got to cuddle with a borderline crazy woman who was singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" on our flight from Vegas to LA. That was pretty entertaining.

This boy greeted us at the airport and I got to cuddle him for over three hours in the car on our drive home. I've never been away from any of my kids for that long and while it was refreshing and much needed, I was very happy to be home.