Daddy-o

My dad came for a quick visit the other day. It was nice to have him. He was able to catch Hannah's swim meet, play golf with Carl, and take a little hike with me. Of course he got me off the beaten path, and of course his chosen path down included slightly more danger than I'm used to. It left me with a very sore wrist (yes I fell), nightmares about rattlesnakes, and some of his wisdom. 

"I love being outside- to smell the smells, to listen to the sounds, to see things. I think it's as close as you can get to seeing God; except for maybe holding your child in your arms. That's my opinion anyways. There is just so much order." - Jim Hickman (my dad)

Thanks for coming dad. I love you.

Whoa Mama

Just keeping my head above water. It's good stuff these summer days- but we are going, going, going. From one thing to the next. Time for a little iphone dump. Here's a peek into our week:

Swinging at the park.

Picture of the sunrise (through my buggy windshield) as I drove home from a birth on Tuesday morning.

Ice-cream pick-me-up after two nights without sleep.

Hannah made the swim team. Her first meet is tonight. She's gonna kill it in backstroke.

She practices at 7:40am. Oy.

Laurel and I take our seats on the sidelines and soak up the morning sun.

Golf comes next. You're actually looking at The Birthday Girl. As of 1:09am this morning she is now 9. Can you believe it?

We celebrated early! Canteloupe + mint, cinny rolls, and oj.

Oh! and I made a new strap for my new camera (loving it). The leather was hard to work with. Don't look too close. My machine wasn't happy about sewing through it and the nylon strap. I wanted camel colored leather to match my purse, and I always wear silver jewlery so I wanted silver buckles. You can find supplies here. Otherwise, it's just grey heavyweight fabric with a little frayed linen ruffle sewed down the middle. 

Okay, I'm off again. xxoo

eventful

This weekend we managed to squeeze in:

The race. The girls had so much fun. We won first place for best outfits. Thrilling because they didn't place in their division (tough competition) and because I was their stylist. Ahem, it also pays to have an in-house graphic designer, thanks Carl for help on the shirts. I'll take credit for the pink lipstick that I loaned them.

A movie. Emma finished The Hunger Games series last week. She flew through the books, reading all three of them in two weeks. I took her to see the film and was halfway tempted to slip into the screen next door and watch this instead. But I was glad that she thought me cool enough to sit next to her and so I stayed (she might think differently next time because one of my junior mints dropped on my skirt and melted into an embarrassing chocolate mess- NERdy). Wow, I can see why she was glued to the books. Good show. 

Piano recital. A very nice ending to this year's lessons. They've worked hard and I am always so proud and impressed with their poise. You can be sure I had butterflies for them. 

The first swim of the season. Three cheers for Carl who yanked off the cover of our pool, repaired the filter, gave it a vacuum, and shocked it all in one afternoon.  Crazy girls were too excited to wait, brrrr. As for me, I'll need a few more 90 degree days before it's warm enough to swim. 

Ian and Laurel were first class cheerleaders all weekend long. Thanks babies.

Whew! Busy days.

Next up: Carl is traveling. I am on my own to navigate another week chalk full of parenting, schooling, cooking, cleaning, shuttling. (repeat, repeat, repeat)... 

Deep breath. Ready or not here we go. Just keep smiling.