Just Doin' Nothin'

I love the lazy days of summer....a few more hours of daylight to squeeze a little extra spontaneity in. I need to get caught up on blogging.  My kids check out the blog and there's nothing to look at so they're kinda sad.  By the end of the week I'm going to be caught up and commit to recording our story more frequently.  The further I fall behind, the less motivated I am to do anything about it! Birthdays came first, then our trip to the beach, today is random moments and after that will be specific moments til I've worked my way back to the present.

Without further ado ~~~

Little helpers ~

Good friends are priceless treasures ~

Remember my last little chef?

Well, this guy loves to help in the kitchen almost as much.

I got a dirt picture, but no new lawn picture ~

Playing with all Daddy's toys from when he was a boy ~

Just chattin' away ~

A game of Peanuts in Grandma's window ~

Mom said no TV, so they decided to watch a cardboard box.

Yep, it can be boring around here!

And then, Daddy set up scaffolding in the living room.

Mommy and Maximo ~

So many dandelions and so little time!

The little monster ~

Fishin' ~

Lunch prayers ~

Brothers...supposed to be napping ~

A temporary pet ~ the best kind!

Waiting to go to town ~

Dom's first lawn mowing job ~

Noodles,ketchup and chocolate syrup. 

MMMMMM!

Paddle boarding at Uncle Matt's ~

A baby shower for Uncle Ben's little guy due in August ~

An even better pet, a cicada with a lifespan of 48 hours. 

Mo' fishin' ~

Thank you Renee and Sonny for letting us use your pond!

T-shirt painting ~

In light of recent news events I shouldn't post this, but had to.

An afternoon with Lego men and blocks.

The perpetrator.

There was over 50 pictures on my camera of crazy poses.

Painting birdhouses ~

Huckleberries and Indian paintbrush ~ 

The Beach

Joey got a wild hair a month or so ago and asked if we would want to go to the beach for a week.  I was in the middle of book work that I had procrastinated on, so he definitely tempted me in a weak moment. Anyway, after a day or so of figuring out logistics we had a house rented and a super fast vacation planned.  We spent a week in Gearhart, OR simply chilling.

There is something about the ocean that calms my frazzled spirit.  As the waves smooth the shoreline and create a fresh palette each day, my silly daily concerns seem so paltry.  The continual pounding of the waves in the background drowns out the noise of negative information that tends to draw my attention.
Ahhhhh ~ and the smells.
I like the smell of the ocean....the salty air, the fishiness, the wet dune grasses in the morning.

The week refreshed me and filled my heart with memories.

  

The tree farms in Washington ~

Heading to the beach ~

Fort Stevens ~

Sand in our toes ~

Sweet little Lauryn ~

More Fort Stevens ~

the boys could have spent the day playing in the bunkers.

Exploring Haystack Rock ~

I think we'll skip this next time in favor of finding our own rocks to explore.

The wind blowing my hair helter skelter doesn't bother me here!

Cannon Beach ~

Blue eyed babe ~

I think she was over being in the pack!

Sunshine and salt water ~

Despite the weather being less than toasty,

we couldn't keep the kids out of the water.

Never enough sand ~

Go fly a  kite ~

Warming up next to a log ~

On a mission ~

One hundred games of Monopoly ~

There's always one sucker that will be buried in sand ~

Bubbles on the deck ~

I can never get enough of the beach colors, especially when there's blue sky. 

All of us ~

Reading on the steps ~

Even a few elk to entertain my Montana guys ~

Too many sand dollars???

There's never too many sand dollars!

Just chillin' ~

Real life family photos ~

Sunshine in the morning ~

Did we say there's never enough sand dollars??

My favorite and I ~