Favorite Five: December

December. 

High highs, and low lows.

Stillness, and busyness.

A big beautiful month…all about Christmas.

These two nuts sang with the children's choir at church 6 times in December.

First ever Christmas Eve service at our home church (normally we are out of town).

We loved having friends with us this year. 

 Christmas morning at home.

 Cousin time in Santa Barbara.

Favorite Five: November

November.
It is a distant memory by now, but I didn't want it to be undocumented.
A month where we were grateful for…

A special visit with my Dad.  We had him here for 6 whole days and loved every bit!

The chance to play tourist in our great city.

Cousin time at home.

A Thanksgiving to remember, with tables full of family and friends.

So much to be thankful for.

6 Halloweens

This post is for my kiddos.
A lot has changed in the past 6 Halloweens since we have moved to CA.
And every year is more and more fun.
A stroll down memory lane...

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

 2014

Favorite Five: October

October was AWESOME. It is my favorite month. 

And this year RSAD (reverse seasonal affective disorder) did not get the best of me…I think I have officially adjusted my expectations. It's still summer in October, I get it now.

These are my favorite 5 pictures, not because they are great pictures (they aren't),
but because they documented great things.
Things like…

A totally spontaneous surprise outing to see Disney on Ice with the two big girls.

Abby did a kids triathlon in our neighborhood. 

The event was for grade school kids (and Sam couldn't do it due to something else going on), and I questioned if Chris should bring Abby on account of the fact that she can't swim very well, and can't ride a bike (2/3 of the race - hello!). Well, they didn't let that stop them, and some floaties and a scooter made it possible. She did awesome!

 We celebrated our "golden anniversary" this month…12 years on October 12th. 

We got away for 2 nights (first time in 3+ years…THANK YOU Grandpa Bob and Grandpa Janet!). The first day of our weekend getaway we surfed and the second day we sat...
right here.

I did my first sprint triathlon since having kids. My splits were surprisingly similar to my times before kids, but my body DID NOT respond as it used to after races. I "did something" to my shoulder and I am still paying for it two weeks later. Apparently I am at the age where you can't go all out (without having trained properly) and expect not to suffer a consequence. Despite my little injury, it was super empowering to finish the race, and my cheering squad was a welcome sight (even though they missed the finish because I told them the wrong time to come  - ooops). I thought I was doing this race "for me," but I realized how important it was to me for my girls to watch their mama do something challenging.

This was just a regular day, driving to the YMCA. They keep things interesting. They make me smile.

A glimpse of Nashville

We just got back from a Fall Break trip to Nashville to visit my sister Jenny and family

…PLUS sister Katie and family were able to come too. 

We had about 40 hours together, the 14 of us, which was short, but deeply cherished.

Here is a quick glimpse. I had a lot of time on the plane ride home so I went a little collage-crazy here...

Cousin time was totally priceless. Jenny brought us to an amazing pumpkin patch that has officially ruined all pumpkin patches, ever. I wished I was a kid. It was a joy to watch our 8 play together.

And little Lydia…all I can say is, she fits like a glove, just one of the gang. We are blessed to call her family, blessed she belongs to this crew. It is almost impossible to imagine that a year ago she was a cute mystery on a tiny photo. We love you Liddy Lou! We can't imagine our family without you!

We enjoyed spending time in Jenny and John's huge backyard and wonderful home, which they (mostly John) have transformed one room at a time over the past couple years. HGTV should have filmed it.

Perhaps my favorite memory from the trip was sitting on Jenny's screened porch one night with my sisters, bundled in blankets, and reading Tina Fey's Bossypants out loud, laughing until we cried.

We had San Diego daytime temperatures, and some beautiful Fall color was just starting. 

THE TREES! Oh, how I love the trees! The little taste of Fall filled me up.

 More cousin pictures. 

I am certain that the sibling affection between us sisters trickles directly down to our kiddos. Feel the love.

Lenny and Jenny Designs got a last minute spot at the Franklin Pumpkin Fest so we had the bonding experience of helping them set up their stuff (late at night) and visiting them in their tent (all day). They sold lots, made great money, and learned that people really LOVE Nashville (because the Nashville signs were the big sellers of the day). Click the link above for their Etsy shop.

After Katie and fam headed home we had an extra day and half with the Leiningers.
We enjoyed a neighborhood walk, a beautiful drive (where I almost hit a deer), a trip to the Nashville Zoo (where you can pet kangaroos - how cool is that!?!), and got to celebrate John and Micah's birthdays.

 For years I have focused on how sad I am that I don't live by my sisters, and all that we could be experiencing if we lived closer and could live daily life together. But recently I realized I needed to change my focus and instead be simply, and profoundly, THANKFUL. Thankful that I have not one, but two sisters who are my best friends, who married awesome men, who are wonderful mommies, who are women I admire and look up to and so thoroughly enjoy. I try to just stop there now. All is a gift. Truly.

Maybe our relationships are so good because we miss each other and can't see each other enough. Maybe if we lived near each other we would have calendars filled with family events and little time or need for friends. Maybe the depth of each of our local and church communities and friendships in IL, TN, and CA is a special byproduct of NOT living near family. Who knows? But maybe.

Like a friend of mine says, "I choose thankful."
Yes, I do.

Favorite Five (x2): September

Apparently September has been a photogenic month.

I couldn't even remotely limit it to 5, so here are 10 happy shots from life in September.

From Labor Day weekend. Thank you to our friend and host Deyl for this priceless picture of Abby.

As a Midwestern Mama I feel warm and fuzzy seeing my kids shuck corn.

Are we 7 or 14? She recently realized she could listen to music "privately."

This is a whole house fan. It is AMAZING. I can't stop talking about it.

If you don't have and don't want to pay for air-conditioning, you should get one of these fans installed.

My children no longer sweat all night. Cool air now blows in our windows. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Call this great company: http://www.mygreenhomedesign.com

First day of pre-preschool. Carrying the bags is her favorite part.

Have I ever mentioned we have a dog? She is 9, her name is Bailey. She is very tolerant.

This girl.

First organized activity for our big 4 year old. 

Abby has always been a "kicker" so we are hoping soccer will channel all that leg energy.

Annual Oktoberfest in our neighborhood.

Playing school in the Secret Garden. This place continues to be a hit.

What a fun month September has been. Now on to my favorite month of October!

Favorite Five: August

August has been a BIG month. I feel like I say that every month :)

This little one turned TWO.

This is NOT what summer camp looked like for me growing up.

 First day of school. 2nd grade and 4 yr old PreK.

 Never gets old. Ever.

 We closed out the month with a special trip to Santa Barbara to see friends. 

These 5 girls had a great time together.

Midwest Summer Trip

Every summer my family gets together for a week. It is one of my favorite weeks of the year, hands down. It is wonderful to simply be together, and the location is almost irrelevant to me, although we have enjoyed each other's company in some fun places…Illinois, Georgia, San Diego, Disneyland.

This year we returned to Door County, Wisconsin. My parents owned a cabin there for 10 years, but the cabin has been sold and we haven't been back since 2008, so this was a return to a very special place. We have a lot of memories in the darling little towns that make up the peninsula of Door County: Jenny and John got engaged in Peninsula State Park, Katie and I were waitresses in Fish Creek one college summer, I came up to the cabin in Egg Harbor with my high school prom group, and there were countless family visits and reunions of all kinds. Door county is wooded, rural, surrounded by water, and sprinkled with small towns that have a Cape Cod-meets-Scandinavia-in-the-Midwest feel. It is pretty magical.

It was a full and fun 11 day vacation adventure back in my homeland, not restful, but joyful.

Here is my Top Ten from our time in the lovely Midwest…

#1 The first two days at my parents house were a big highlight for my family of five. Those days included: the mini car, zipline, tree house, visits to neighbors horses, breakfast over the campfire, big trees, lots of grass, time on the back porch, and San Diego temperatures. It is a kids' paradise there.

 

#2 An afternoon with my Grandma. We got to spend an afternoon and evening with my sweet Grandma, and my Illinois aunt, uncle, and cousin. It is such a treat to have time with the extended family I grew up with. It is still so very strange to see my Grandma without my Grandpa, but she is doing well. We all feel my Grandpa's absence, which makes it even more special to have four generations of family together when we get the opportunity. I love that my kids will have memories and pictures with my grandparents.

#3 One of the biggest events of this trip was Lydia's baptism. What a joy to be able to all be there for this significant occasion in her life. In general, spending a week with Lydia was a highlight. Now that she has survived her first family vacation it feels like she is officially family! Little Lydia is happy, loud, rough, tough, warm, loving, REALLY smart, a super clear communicator (even without many words), a phenomenal hugger, and in general, a joy to be around. Sweet Lydee - we love you!

#4 Once in Door County we enjoyed a lot of biking. We brought a few bikes, and rented the rest. Our rental house backed right up to a huge state park full of bike trails. We could bike to the beach, bike into town, or bike for an early morning coffee. It was so fun to not need cars for local outings.

#5 Two days at the beach. Thanks to the brutal Midwest winter this past year, there was still ice in Green Bay in May (very unusual), so the July water temperatures were much colder than normal, but still doable. We rented paddle boards, my parents brought their canoe, and we enjoyed our time on the water.
#6 Grandparent time. I love just watching my parents with their grandkids!

#7 Cousin time. These 8 kiddos love love love each other. This year we had ages: 8, 7, 6, 4, 4, 2, 2, 22 months. Whoa nelly!

#8 Cherry-picking. Door County is known for cherries, but I don't think we have ever hit the time right to be able to pick cherries as a family until this year. The kids loved it, and when we were back at my parent's house my mom and sis turned those cherries into a lovely cherry pie (a cherry pie full of cherry pits…because that is what happens when you have 2 year olds pit the cherries - yikes!).

#9 Watching the 3 "babies" together.  My sisters and I always secretly hoped that all three of us would have kiddos the same age. Well, here they are, our 2012 babies (April, August, and October). These three were a riot together and kept us on our toes. We will never forget the year we had three 2 year olds, that's for sure.

#10 Simply, FAMILY. We never see each other enough, so we cherish our time together deeply.

 

My best friends for life.

My favorite picture of the trip…

So thankful for so much.

All is a gift.