Summertime… and The Living Is Easy

I know it’s been awhile since I posted, but anyone who bothers to read this loves me anyway.  Right? …  Right?

It’s been an eventful few weeks.  Or I guess I should say, it’s been a typical few weeks with a few little adventurous moments thrown in for spice.  At the beginning of May, I went on a little personal retreat to visit my family in Utah, and it was wonderful.  I got sick while I was there, and my only adventures outside the house were going to Star Trek and going to church, and you know what?  It was awesome.  I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING for five days.  That may not sound good to some people, but I was delighted.  It was a little hard to come home where people, like, expected me to do stuff. 

We finally found summertime up here, and on the second gorgeous day of this surprisingly warm Northwest summer, we went on a family outing to the beach.  The girls loved the water, and Anna got to build her first sand castle.  The water was much too cold for swimming, but we all got our feet (or bums, in Mariah’s case) wet, and we enjoyed every second of that sunshine.  I even got a sunburn.  It was some quality family time, just the four of us. 

Then a few weeks ago, Uncle Nate came to visit.  He was only here for a couple of days, and I’m sure he was bored out of his mind (since our little lives offer small entertainment), but the girls loved having him here.  They had a playmate around all day, and he was great with them.  He played forty hands of Uno, and he ran through the cotton blowing at the park with them, and he chased them through the house as they screamed in delight.  He even went up and down the stairs to rescue the bouncy balls Anna kept throwing.  It’s a true sign of adoration that Mariah not only played with him, but she even used his name: Nee-nee. 

The rest of the pictures are from various playtime moments over the last little while.  In this one, Anna and Mariah were dressing up their hair with various different headbands and decorations.  Don’t they look stunning and modern?

Anna has developed some interesting playtime methods recently.  Her favorite "quiet time” occupation is going through the house and collecting different odds and ends and making different contraptions and clothes for her dolls.  The particular outfit in the picture is made of yarn, rubber bands, and the gel cling decorations from the patio window.  It’s so fun to watch her creating.  I’ve always worried a little because she doesn’t really enjoy drawing or painting, but maybe she’s just into a different kind of creation. 

Mariah has recently developed a propensity for hitting, which, you can imagine, we find a little frustrating.  You can only give your 20-month-old so many timeouts per day before you start thinking that you need to consider other discipline options.  But despite her violent tendencies, she also proves herself more intelligent and aware every day.  She understands a shocking amount of what people say to her, and she picks up very quickly on what’s going around her.  She’ll barely be two at Christmastime, and I already know I won’t be able to put toys in the cart while I’m shopping and have her not wonder why they’re there.  Maybe it means she’ll grow up to be an excellent ruthless, amoral criminal mastermind.  *sigh*

Anna’s big news of the month is that she finally learned to put her own seatbelt on in the car.  We put her in a booster seat just after she turned three, and now, we can say, “Okay, Anna, go get in the car,” and she does it all herself.  You know, I like babies okay, but I love to watch these kids figure things out, and I love seeing their independence grow every day.  And I love not having to do it all myself.  :) 

Our last pictures are of two of the girls’ favorite new activities.  The first one is called The Stage, and as you can tell, it’s the mattress from Mariah’s crib.  We pull it out when I change her sheets, and they get to dress up and dance around on it to put on show for us.  I’m constantly amazed at the fun they can make from almost nothing. 

 

Our other favorite activity, along similar lines, is to pull all the couch cushions off the couches and make The Island.  They climb and jump around on it, and they have a wonderful time.  Plus, it helps me have reason to vacuum under the cushions more often.  We just always have to put them away before Daddy comes home because he doesn’t appreciate the activity as much as they do.  It just shows what different directions our minds are working in right now.  He’s thinking, “I don’t want to buy new couches anytime soon,” and I’m thinking, “I’ll do anything to entertain these girls for an hour at a time, whether the cushions get saggy or not.”   Luckily for me, I’m home alone with them all day and HE IS NOT.  Mwahahahaha. 

On one final note, we are very happy this week because we are eating our very own salad greens for at least two meals each week and we have at least thirty tomatoes growing on Adam’s beloved tomato plants.  I’ll take a picture soon of their… ahem… gorgeous containers, but when I bite into a fresh, homegrown tomato in a few weeks, I’m sure I’ll be grateful.  We also have peas, beans, blueberries, cucumbers, pumpkins, and a few other fun things growing, and yesterday Adam set up a whole drip-watering system that should make his life a little easier.  All in all, I’d say it’s official that Adam has discovered that he has a Very Green Thumb.  I am practically bursting with pride.  :) 

Hope you’re all doing great!