My lovely, crazy life!

These past few weeks have been filled with fun and activity for me and my little tribe. Since we returned from vacation, it hasn't stopped. Yesterday was no exception!

We started the morning by waking - LATE - on the morning I host a 9:30 am Storytime at a local coffee shop. OOPS! I had stayed up late the night before cleaning up the vestiges of returning home from vacation late Saturday (a "work night" for us). In the morning, I woke, not hearing an alarm and thinking, "Uh-oh, it seems awfully light in here!" (I know this never happens to you, right?) I turned to look at the clock - 8:37 am! I jumped up and nudged my little sleeping girls, "Guess what? We're getting dressed and having breakfast at the coffee shop!" We hustled out the door and made it just in time for our lovely little meeting with the kids. And, bonus, two big kids (friends of mine) showed up for Storytime too. Nice.

Next, we headed to one of my favorite thrift stores. When we arrived, my oldest said, "Mom, I have to go pee - really bad!!!! I mean, really, REALLY, REALLY BAAADDDD!" I answered, "No problem,"  and jumped out to unbuckle the girls. I lifted my youngest out of the car and she chortled happily and snuggled against me. Suddenly, I felt something wet and *squishy* on my hands. I pulled her away and, ugh, you can imagine what I found - all over her back, carseat, my hands and my shirt. "Uh-oh! Um, honey - can you wait on the bathroom just a minute?"
 
I quickly placed my baby on the front seat and after sponging off her entire body, changed her diaper and outfit. She kept saying, "Gross. Gross. Gross." the entire time I was changing her so my oldest and I laughed hysterically all the way into the store where she proceeded to use the bathroom not once, but twice, during our 20 minute visit.

After the thrift store excitement - where I found three new shirts for my husband (my pooped-on attire notwithstanding!), we headed home for a shower and clean clothes before our next excursion. We had a brief "lunch" - cheese, apples, almonds and peanut butter. Then we left to check on a vacationing friend's mini chicken farm. When we arrived, we confirmed her 75 chickens, the purpose of our visit, were fed and watered and discovered she had geese too! As we were leaving, I texted her that everyone was alive and she replied, "How was the horse?" "Horse?" So, we went looking for a horse too! (I should mention that we were just checking up on the little kid pet sitters she'd hired or I would have known about the horse.)

Fresh farm eggs in my new walnut thrift-store bowl!

We finished horsing around and stopped by another friend's to get our weekly delivery of goat milk from the farm where we partially own a goat. It's super-delicious and my daughters LOVE it! Then, we raced home, put away all our good food and the girls played while I made a quick salad of spinach, apples, grapes and pecans with homemade strawberry champagne vinaigrette for dinner. And - out of the house again - to my inlaws' where we enjoyed dinner with my sister in law's family. Our kids raced around in Grandfather's yard and in and out of the pool, generally exhausting themselves.

Fresh strawberries. Our booty for helping with the animals - also housed in a thrift store find.

Finally, we made our way back home where we finished the night. My oldest drew a special picture for me while I filled bottles and my youngest ran around contributing to the general disorder of my dining room. After finishing our nightly ritual of showers and reading, I lost my resolve to get up and straighten my house. Instead, I wrapped my arms around my two funny little companions of the day and slipped off to a dreamy fairyland with them!

What did you do yesterday? ;-)

Colorado

My husband's cell pic of our gorgeous view of the sky as we traveled.

Today we returned from a much needed family vacation. Since we want our girls to grow up seeing the amazing country in which we live, we decided to drive to our destination in Colorado. It was a long trip but our kids did great! Our oldest did get a little tired of driving and finally said at the end of the first day, "Mom, I need to sleep in a REAL bed!" Around the same time, our 17 month old decided to amuse herself by screaming at the top of her lungs and laughing hysterically - for A HALF HOUR! Our ears were ringing and our sanity was a little challenged by the time we figured out how to distract her. But, I digress...

We had a wonderful time visiting our family and seeing the sights in Colorado. We stayed with my husband's Uncle and Aunt - who were amazing hosts. Not only did they feed us great food and provide a lovely and quiet place to stay, they showed us some beautiful and interesting sights - including the Garden of the Gods and the Mountain Zoo. We also hiked a little at Pike's Peak (as far as you can with a four year old), visited Miramont Castle, a huge 46 room home built in 1895 by a Catholic priest (my geeky history buff side came out!), and walked through the Pioneer Museum. We actually had to leave the Pioneer Museum when our baby discovered that her scream sounded really cool with the echo effect of all the marble in the old building.

But, as much as I loved the incredible views, clean air, museums and hiking... my favorite aspect of the trip - by far - was the love we felt extended to us by our family. We had such a nice time visiting with all of them and our daughters loved playing with their little cousin who lives nearby. It was nice to just relax with all of them and enjoy each moment as it came. When it was time to leave and head home, we actually felt rested and ready to go. Tonight, I'm back home, staying up a little late to enjoy the sounds of my own home and savor the memory of last week. Hope you're having a great summer too!