Tag: summer

less loud

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my fuse was short last night.

super short.

i ignited like a bomb.

yelling.

sending kids to rooms.

answering the phone when ryan called to check in {when i should have just let it go to voicemail} and choosing to be rude and vent.

silence over everything.

then, it turned into a rescue effort.

tears.

hugs.

apologies.

today is a new day, but i still feel guilty for turning into a “mean mommy”.

friday: field day at the elementary school (with baby girl, too), a trip to the pool afterwards, and a return to a home full of repairmen.

saturday: early baseball game, trip to grocery store to get food to prepare for the afternoon end of season party.

sunday: the first day of a 5 day stint of single parenting

monday: first grade field trip…a walk to a local park (with baby girl, too)

not a lot of quiet for this introvert.

being an introvert is not an excuse for a short fuse because, truthfully, i am the only person responsible for my behavior, and i need to make the choice to not raise my voice and be rude.

however, being a parent who really wants to be involved in their children’s activities and being an introvert is really tough sometimes. {check out this post that sums it up pretty well}

today, i get a break.

no school volunteering today.

no baseball or lacrosse.

baby girl is home with me, so it won’t be quiet, but it will be quieter.

less loud.

one and a half days of school left for the little guy and then we are on full-fledged summer break.

both kids will be home with me all day…all summer long.

other than some travel…central oregon, new york, idaho, the oregon coast…we don’t have plans {although we are working on our summer list}.

it won’t be quiet, but it will be quieter.

less loud.

i am really looking forward to less loud.

home is…quieter. less loud.

first feature of the backyard movie season

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we had out first feature of the season in our backyard on monday night.

outdoor movie 2015 1

the cousins from new york had not seen big hero 6, so we watched it on the big screen in the backyard. it was a bit cool, so they bundled up with blankets while the adults sat around the fire.

outdoor movie 2015

last summer, i wrote a post about the basics of our backyard movie set up. i have included it below with some changes that we have made…

big screen basics 2015

ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES

1. projector…ours is about 7 years old…it is an optoma ex530. you could use 

2. laptop, iPad, or iPod…we have only connected our macbook pro to the projector…we may try streaming from the iPad now that our speaker situation has changed

3. speakers…we used to have wires connecting the speakers to the laptop, and it was just a disaster waiting to happen with kids running all over the place..we now use this bluetooth speaker

4. movie screen…i updated our movie screen by purchasing blackout curtain fabric and sewing it to fit over poles (8 ft. tree stakes) that we pound into the ground… it seems to work better as the light from the sun setting behind the screen is blocked, which means we can start our movies before it gets completely dark

5. extension cords…we plug one into the projector and one into the speaker

you’ll want to get a feel for how everything needs to be set up…do you need a table for the projector? how far should the projector be from the screen? what connects to what (i.e speakers connect to the laptop, laptop connects to the projector)?

we always do a test run by ourselves or with neighbors for our first movie of the year…there are bound to be some minor glitches and you want those worked out before you invite the entire neighborhood!

FUN STUFF

1. snacks: i purchased this popcorn maker and not only does it look cute, but it keeps ryan from spending the entire night making popcorn on the stove!

2. drinks: just like the snacks…keep it simple, BYOB, or provide something that goes along with the theme of the movie

3. blankets: thrifted quilts are awesome for backyard movie nights…i have a stash of them and put them on the grass. in the cooler months i stick a few thrifted afghans on the chairs around the fire pit and in a basket on the deck in case people need one.

4. chairs: use what you have or ask everybody to bring their own

5. twinkle lights: twinkle lights just make the whole scene magical. we have ours up year round in our backyard and it just sets the scene for a festive evening.

backyard movies have become one of my favorite things about summer in our backyard. we hope to have a lot more movie nights well into the fall…as long as the rain stays away!

have you tried a outdoor movie in your back (or front) yard? do you have any additional tips or ideas to share? please comment below!!

home is…making memories for our kids.

festival of balloons

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Each June there is a balloon festival near our house. On Saturday morning we woke up at 5 am to go see the balloons launch.

balloon 1

As we walked down to the launch field these balloons flew right overhead.

balloon 2

balloon 3

balloon 4

Once onto the field, we got right next to the balloons as they filled with hot air.

balloon 5

balloon 6

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balloon 13

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There were drones with cameras flying next to the balloons. The little black spot in the photo below is one of the drones.

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They slowly drifted south of the park.

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Such a beautiful sight.

home is…an early morning filled with balloons.

 

wishing it was summer break

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I woke up this morning, tried to figure out what day it was, and wished that it was summer break.

Reece wished for the same thing when I reminded him that it was a school day.

Just a few weeks ago our summer was WIDE open.

No plans.

We had a summer full of travel last year thanks to Ryan having extra time off between jobs, but this year we thought we would just stick close to home for our adventures.

Within the last week or so our summer calendar has begun to fill up…all road trips within the Pacific Northwest (except for Ryan’s cross country trip to New York for a wedding).

JUNE

A couple of weeks ago, Ryan’s parents booked their trip to visit us in Portland. They arrive the day after the kids get out of school and will stay for a week! I am hoping they will get some nice weather during their visit as June can be a temperamental month here in Oregon. Some of the adventures during their visit may include a trip to Multnomah Falls and a visit to the Historic Timberline Lodge up on Mt. Hood. As always, a trip to Powell’s, a brewpub, coffee consumption, and Nana’s awesome kid activities will ensue.

JULY

This week, our 3rd annual trip to Lake Pend Oreille with my parents and my sister’s family came together. My aunt and uncle graciously open up their summer home on the lake for family to come play. My parents rent a house for all of us to stay in and we head over to my aunt and uncles house each day to have fun at the beach, sail, kayak, fish, jet ski, and explore the lake by boat. It is definitely a memory making trip for our family.

AUGUST

Yesterday, with both kids up before 5:30, I booked a beach house on the Oregon Coast. It’s been a few years since we have had a vacation at the coast and our day trip during spring break “sealed the deal” for me. The kids are at a perfect age to get out and enjoy what the coast has to offer. We have stayed at a few different locations over the years, but tend to like Bella Beach. We have stayed in 3 different houses there and I booked a different one for this stay. We usually spend time on the beach, explore Lincoln City, Depoe Bay, and head to to Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport.

 

The Pacific Northwest offers so much during the summer. In between the big plans we will have a lot of small adventures:

It’s going to be a good summer…we just need to get through the last month of school!

home is…making summer plans.

 

 

 

two weeks left

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we still have two weeks of summer break left around here.

although i am ready for the kids to head back to school, i am thankful {while i watch others send their kids off to school this week} that i still have two weeks to suck the marrow out of summer.

on monday i received an email from one of the moms from our friday playgroup. although we haven’t met for a playgroup in a year we still send group emails out to each other on a pretty regular basis to get together with whoever can make it whenever they can. she said that she was planning to go to the enchanted forest with her kids and wondered if anybody would be able to meet them.

my plan for tuesday was to go to oak’s park for the preschool rides, but when i saw her email i decided that the enchanted forest, where we had never been before, was just what we needed to kick start our last two weeks of summer!

enchanted 28

my prince and princess…

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enchanted 26

poor miss muffet…

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enchanted 24

my sillies…

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heading into the hansel and gretel house…uh-oh!

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on to wonderland….

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down the rabbit hole…

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and, a little tea party…

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have to admit, Alice in Wonerland is one of our favorite movies…it will be seen on an outdoor movie night someday.

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enchanted 14

enchanted 13

looking in on the seven dwarfs house…

enchanted 12

the squirrels were making the beds…

enchanted 11

and, then there is this…

enchanted 10

it’s supposed to be the witch from snow white and the seven dwarfs…

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enchanted 8

little red riding hood…

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at the shootin’ gallery…

enchanted 6

comedy theater in the woods – pinocchio…

enchanted 4

miss jill and cade…

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and, nola…who invited us to meet them!

enchanted 2

the western town where reece had his “favorite part of the day”…

enchanted 1

and, one of the “free” slides the kids get a chance to ride on with a genreral admission.

this was an awesome day for our 3-6 crowd…under 2 was not able to do much, and over 8 would probably be bored.

we will go again next year and change a few things:

admission averages $10 for anybody between 3-50 years old

you can bring your own food, so be sure to pack a lunch or snacks

you can re-enter the park with a stamp, so leave you lunch/snacks in a cooler and go back out to eat it (or bring it back in)

all said and done, it was a great day away from home and a spectacular kick off to our last two weeks of summer!

home is..waiting until the last minute.

backyard movie night

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happy summer!

you’d think i was new to this blogging thing with how long it took me to write this post!

well, i’m back and have lots of things to share with you, but first…

backyard movie 5

we had our first backyard movie of the summer saturday night.

it didn’t all go as smoothly as planned…

lorelai had complained about her stomach hurting before we ate dinner.

i dismissed it.

she didn’t want to eat much dinner, but i asked her to eat 3 pieces of her hot dog.

she chewed…

and, chewed…

and, chewed…

and spewed.

she got so sick.

all over the dining room, kitchen, and bathroom.

this was a first for us.

almost 6 years of parenting, and this is the first time we had to deal with a vomiting child.

she fell asleep while i was holding her on the floor of the hallway after her bath.

she cried and cried about our friends coming over for the movie.

we texted them and let them know what happened.

we were still planning to watch a movie, but wanted to inform them of  lorelai’s sickness in case it was a virus.

luckily, they decided to still come over…they said, “it’s gonna take a lot more than a little vomit to keep us away!’

don’t you just love good friends like that?!

backyard movie 3

in addition to lorelai’s sickness, we also had a few technical difficulties:

1. peter pan was an HD movie and would not play through our projector, so we had to choose another movie (luckily we have plenty to choose from)

backyard movie 2

2. this time of year it stays light until after 10pm in the pacific northwest, so once we tried another movie we found it was still too light to watch it.

the kids thought it was fun to watch it on the laptop and that is when we changed our game plan…

we went for a quick walk around the neighborhood, regrouped, let it get a little darker, and chose a different movie.

backyard movie 4jackpot!

the girls settled right in…it was the newest tinker bell movie, secret of the wings.

backyard movie 12once we moved the cozy coupe and the “trailer” up from under the playhouse, the littlest of the bunch was happy.

backyard movie 7

eventually, we could all sit down and watch the movie…

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or, sit back and relax in the chairs around the fire pit.

the movie ended, and shortly after that lorelai got sick again.

backyard movie 13

i took her upstairs to another bath and i snuggled her in bed with towels at the ready.

she was so sad.

luckily, that was the end of it for her sickness.

she ate fine all day sunday, and other than getting worn out from the heat, was back to her normal self.

backyard movie 8

so, i had a few questions from instagram followers and thought i would post a few tips for outdoor movies, so here it goes!

backyard movie 11

essential supplies

1. projector

2. laptop, iPad, or iPod

3. speakers

4. movie screen (i made ours from a painters drop cloth)

5. extension cords

you’ll want to get a feel for how everything needs to be set up…do you need a table for the projector? how far should the projector be from the screen? what connects to what (i.e speakers connect to the laptop, laptop connects to the projector)?

we always do a test run by ourselves or with neighbors for our first movie of the year…there are bound to be some minor glitches and you want those worked out before you invite the entire neighborhood!

fun stuff

1. snacks: last night we just did popcorn and popsicles. last fall we had a theme and centered the snacks around that. or, you can just have everybody bring their own snacks.

2. drinks: just like the snacks…keep it simple, BYOB, or provide something that goes along with the theme of the movie

3. blankets: thrifted quilts are awesome for backyard movie nights…i have a stash of them and put them on the air mattress and on the grass. in the cooler months i stick a few thrifted afghans on the chairs around the fire pit and in a basket on the deck in case people need one.

4. chairs: use what you have or ask everybody to bring their own

5. twinkle lights: twinkle lights just make the whole scene magical. we have ours up year round in our backyard and it just sets the scene for a festive evening.

backyard movies have become one of my favorite things about summer in our backyard. we hope to have a lot more movie nights well into the fall…as long as the rain stays away!

home is…back at it with backyard movie night (and blogging).

so, yeah…

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It’s hot here in the Pacific Northwest.

While the rest of the country was in the sweltering heat we were enjoying perfect summer temps…not this week.

100 degrees today.

We are spending our time in the AC or in the pool.

{lazy}

Lazy summer mornings are the best.

In a little over 3 weeks they will be over for us.

School is starting and it will be bittersweet.

The little guy will be in school everyday.

Every.

Day.

I’m going to miss him.

Baby girl will be in school 1-2 days a week.

At least 3 days a week we will have girl time.

I’m thinking about getting her into some gymnastics and dance classes…she likes “girl” stuff.

I had big plans for this morning.

Clean the house.

Go to yoga.

It’s after 10 and we’re all still in PJ’s.

Lazy summer mornings are the best.

{more lake photos}

They are coming.

I promise.

{looking forward}

Between now and the first day of school we have some fun things to look forward to…

Nana and Bops are coming to visit…

Ryan’s 40th birthday…

Lorelai’s 3rd birthday…

And, lots to still do on our summer list!

So, yeah…there’s some random for you.

{one more}

Sunflowers are my favorite…bought some at Trader Joe’s yesterday!

home is…enjoying now.

no balloons

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For the first time in the five summers of living in this house we did not make it to the Tigard Festival of Balloons.

I love to get up early beginning on Friday morning and walk down to the park to watch the balloons launch.

Unfortunately, it was rainy.

Friday.

Saturday.

And, Sunday.

When my 5:20am alarm went off each morning, I listened for the rain, heard it on the roof, and went back to sleep.

Here are a few photos from years past…

And, you can see my posts from last year here and here.

It all worked out ok as baby girl woke up on Friday morning with a fever, so we spent the day lounging and fighting her fever.

By Saturday she was getting some energy back, so we headed out to goodwill while the boys washed Ben and took Odyssey for a swim.

We found a couple of treasures…

so, I have new projects to work on.

By Sunday afternoon, the sun began to come out…

These horses were out on my drive home from Trader Joe’s.

And, I was able to get out and enjoy my happy place a little bit.

We weren’t able to cross balloon festival off our summer list, but we’ll be working on some other items this week.

Stay tuned for a peek into our home later this week…

Oh, also…

Source: kellehampton.com via stephany @ on Pinterest

Kelle liked my yellow dress!

home is…no hot air, but lots of rain.

full

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Lately, I start my mornings outside in what I call the best seat in the house.

Odyssey likes to share my coffee.

Yesterday, I found this knocked over.

Kind of a bummer.

growing up

I signed the little guy up for camp this week.

Every morning.

As of yesterday morning, he had only gone to one day.

Monday.

He was brave.

After a little bit of a struggle {read: he was hugging me and my legs and not letting go} he walked into the big gym and played along side with kids twice his age.

When I picked him up, he looked so little.

His Batman backpack dwarfing his body.

He wasn’t happy.

He wanted to be with his mommy.

He hurt his toe.

It was cool outside, and they were in the pool for a long time.

I kept him home the next two mornings.

Yesterday, Ryan was home.

He wanted the little guy to go.

I totally understand the lesson he wanted to teach…you sign up for something {and Poppa works hard to make the money that pays for things} and you follow through.

The little guy went to camp.

He walked into that big gym.

He was brave.

He looked so little.

He IS so little.

I wanted him to be home with me.

I cried the whole way home.

When I got home, I cried as Ryan hugged me.

I have to admit, I signed him up for camp for selfish reasons.

I thought I would need the time away from him.

But all I want is to be with him.

And, baby girl.

They are growing up.

Right. Before. My. Eyes.

selfish reasons

I couldn’t wait to pick him up.

Baby girl and I mailed a colton+cadence order and made a quick stop at Goodwill.

Then we went to pick up the little guy.

I told him how brave he was.

I told him how proud I was of him.

I have to admit, I was telling him those things for selfish reasons.

To make myself feel better.

He had fun at camp.

When we got home, I pickled some cucumbers while the kids had a little lunch and quiet time.

Then we went on an adventure.

Local farm stores…

and, Sonic for ice cream…

before dinner!

We played outside in the backyard until Poppa came home.

Baby girl was exhausted after her bath and was asleep the second her head hit the pillow.

The little guy was having trouble going to sleep, so he got to come downstairs and play outside with the neighbors while Ryan and I worked in the garden.

Sometimes big boys get to stay up past bedtime.

I have to admit, I let him stay up way past bedtime for selfish reasons.

To spend time with him that I had missed in the morning.

To redeem myself.

And, to make myself feel better.

Filled.

home is…learning from our mistakes.

summer solstice

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I was going to write a big post about our yard and how it has changed and grown since my last post, but I am tired and I didn’t take photos with my good camera today.

This morning was beautiful and I enjoyed our backyard…sipping coffee while the kids watched a show inside (it was a bit cold out).

After that, I organized, crafted, and cleaned inside while the kids ate breakfast and played.

Once it warmed up, we moved outside where we organized, played, cleaned (think car wash) outside, and made rainbows.

Summer definitely made an appearance here in the Pacific Northwest today…

I hope you all had a great day, too!

*all photos taken on my iPhone with Instagram…you can follow me @homeisablog

home is…summer.