Cousin Michelle Visits

Do you remember this post? About the non-tutu wearing ballerina? Well, a few weeks later, Cousin Michelle came to visit and she brought a slew of gifts with her, namely a purple tutu and a book about a girl who never took hers off. Guess what happened?

We tried it on....

and it never came off.

Now it's one of three things she'll wear.

And it gets worn to open windows....

It gets worn on walks...

It gets worn to eat popsicles and to ride bikes (sometimes together)...

And we're so thankful for getting us out of our no tutu wearing rut!


We even wore a "grass skirt" on our final, Hawaiian day. Which included about 10 minutes of dancing, 30 minutes of cheering for the little cuties and 5 minutes of snack eating.

685. a friendly face across the miles after so long
686. beet and carrots roasted
687. our showerhead
688. our tub
689. new, pink crocs (thanks, Aunt Christi, Uncle Kev and Katy!)

Summer Moments

Did you watch the summer Olympics and the girls gymnastics? Yep. Me too. Every wonderful prime time moment. And, like the rest of America, I'm not thriving on Philip Phillips song "Home" which was the theme of every girls montage for gymnastics. Haven't heard it? Don't. You'll be hooked, too.

ANYWAY....


Life is made up of moments, isn't it? Music reminds me of that. I remember certain things based on what song was playing. This summer has been full of moments. Wonderful, simple moments. Here's a few that I love.

Classic Ford this summer.... (can you hear Grant saying, "Babe! He's getting water in his ear! What if he gets an infection!" Poor guy with a bad ear... forever needs to protect these two from that. So far, so good.)

We've also done some serious water-coloring.

Which turned into me war-painting her...(i love her whole heart!)

There have been some afternoon walks with baby...

And many evenings where I do the dishes by myself (so happy for 5 minutes of alone time) and gladly listen to Grant and the kids making summer memories on the swing set. Heaven. It makes me almost as happy as the few minutes alone. Almost.

681. doing a press job barefoot under a great light
682. the doors open on a cooler night
683. cleaning the humidifiers
684. going from the swings directly through the back door to the tub

Summer Bucket List --Beach!

There are exactly three things on our summer bucket list. A certain concert we wanted to take Abby to isn't happening around here so now we're down to two. Two! And it's already August and neither had been crossed off.

Our dear friend over at www.capturingmotherhood.com agreed to do a beach day with us and she graciously brought all the gear (sand toys and the massive, amazing umbrella. I think this umbrella is my new best friend. I'm in crazy love with it! Didn't tip over in pretty good winds and gave us plenty of shade. The ONLY way to go to the beach!)

We were there for about two hours. I wondered if it would be enough time...but oh, Lordy, we had all had enough sun by the end. Once we got there, after Abby informed me that she didn't want to wear her suit and didn't want to touch the water, she raced down to it with her pals, got her feet soaked and then promptly sat down in the water, dress and all. Here she was assessing the water before deciding "yes!"...

And while I got Ford ready to go, he gave me the "touchdown sign."

He was loving the water. He would've walked all the way in if I would've let him. I had to chase him once the tide went out because he'd run toward the water, crying as if to say, "where are you going?!" Then we'd come back up, wait, the water would come again....and screams of laughter. The whole thing made him a little manic. I spent those moments knowing Abby was looked after while she flirted with the water as I tried to keep Ford alive (and myself from getting completely drenched. I failed).

Covered with sand and water, we walked 10 steps to our little set up and started looking for seashells. I much less intense situation for Ford and thank God, he went with it instead of constantly racing back toward the water.

"Yes, Fordy. Away from the water. Good boy. Sit. Like sister."

Who finally put on a bathing suit.

And the seashell hunting began (as did the sandy lemonade drinking)...

There was a sandy lunch, sandy clothes, sandy shoes, a sandy wash off area, sandy seashells and an all around sandy time within that two hour time span. I was totally zonked afterward... and it was magical.

And when we got home, Fordy promptly got a fever which lasted for 3 days and manifested into Roseola. So glad we got the beach in before that happened.

Even sick, he's the cutest bug I've ever seen.

676. sand play instead of water love
677. hillary's intuition to follow the crying girl
678. the little girl finding her mom
679. the kids loving playing together
680. abby not getting sick

Summer Memory - Lake Arrowhead

The kids and I high-tailed it to Lake Arrowhead for the day when we got an invite from our dear friend Jenny. We got the pleasure of seeing them on their way in and out of town and -- glory be -- when we realized that a slice of Tahoe-like heaven was only an hour and 20 minutes away, we went up for a wonderful 8 hours.

Jenny and Phil have lovely little Rose who is just a tad older than Fordy. It makes life so easy with things like this when someone else is in your boat age-wise. Food, naps, baths, blah blah blah... it all just seems more doable and less like I am infringing on someone's time and space (although we were) when we are in it together.


When we arrived, Abby got a fresh pair of sunglasses...

And the three lined up for a little lunch...

And then Rose hit the sheets and so Jenny, the kids and I hit the beach! It was amazing. I small little beach with no waves where the kids could play and frolic (so much so that Fordy face-planted while running toward the water) and Abby actually went neck-deep (while holding Jenny's hand). I don't think they stopped smiling for a full two hours.

And then Jenny taught Abby the finer points of Otter Pop eating.

After I had had enough sun (I think Ford, Abby and Jenny could've stayed!) we headed back to get the rest of the gang and go on a boat ride. Can you believe the kids went on a boat ride? It was so fun. Fordy's vest was too big so he would stand on my legs, facing the water "king of the world" style.

And after that, we were all ready for a snack and some down time...

A little Sesame Street...

And some serious hugs.

Honestly, it was a super highlight of the summer. Long live the Hile/Zabriskie clan!

668. no boat ride casualties
669. happy, super tired kids
670. the kindle for the trip
671. ford sleeping the entire drive up
672. both sleeping the entire drive down
673. getting down before sunset
674. the right gas station
675. jammies before we left = right to bed

Insta-Fun

A little bit of Insta-fun via instagram over the past month...

Grant explaining to Ford about the bear that lives close by...

Abby eating her Saturday morning (high fat!) treat : bacon...

Sometimes a little space between is all that you need....

Dr. Abby in the sun one morning...

Smoothies!

The princess lineup...

Wet in the courtyard...

Tug of war...

663. a deadline
664. motivation b/c of that deadline
665. working together
666. finding a great babysitter last minute
667. joy in working hard

I Stop For Yam Fries

Grandmama and Pop Pop made a quick stop through recently and it was so much fun to go out and eat burgers with them. Abby and Grandma in one of the three outfits she'll wear right now...

And Fordy warmed up to Grandma during dinner... sharing yam fries.

Don't they look delicious?

And then then came through again. And while there weren't yam fries this time, there were 3 whole hours by myself shopping, drinking coffee, and running errands that the kids would've hated. Glorious, I tell you. And the kids absolutely loved their time with them.

657. alone at the bank
658. alone, able to try on shoes
659. the right sale on the right day
660. being out before stores were open
661. free coffee
662. hearing a happy voice across the miles

Referee

Things haven't been that fun around here lately. I am so very aware of that because, in general, I am not the "fun" parent and even I've not been having fun recently. What I am doing is lots and lots of refereeing.

"Please don't hit your brother."
"Please don't yank things out of his hands. That isn't kind."
"If you speak to people that way, they aren't going to want to be around you."
"Please don't run with the scissors."
"Fordy! Out of the dog bowl!"
"You may not cry when you don't get to eat dog food."
"Please do not get down until you've asked to be excused."
"Please put your princesses back in the bag. Yes, you can do it."
"Stop taking his paci and putting it in your mouth!"

And most of that happens before 9am. I am so very tired of one specific small person not listening and obeying. And with that motivation, I am jumping into some new books to help get my head on straight about it. Believe me, most afternoons at nap time, I'm ready to nap as well. By bed time, I'm pretty done. And frankly, the small people have won. They are wearing me out. And at the moment I don't see a big difference in how they are responding. Perhaps I should try whispering instead of getting worked up. That worked for me. Once.

But a few days ago, we took advantage of the 90 degree weather and went out for gelato. That, my friends, was fun. She still didn't eat a great lunch and still didn't listen completely but she did smile, laugh and eat her entire sugar cone. And for a few minutes, we all really did have fun.

Abs, half of a sandwich still uneaten...before she runs circles around our table in an outdoor square.

Us. :) Happy...

She and he. One sugar cone each.

653. new starts
654. a bigger perspective
655. mellowing out over little things
656. the right music in the moment