Firsts…that’s me! I’ll be back!!!

I have been enjoying my last summer with my son before having to venture out and find a real job. It’s been great to go swimming, hiking, and enjoying the sunshine!!! A hula hoop would be a blast!!

We are having a great (but very hot) summer here in GA! We went to N.C. this weekend and Ivy and I both took our FIRST swim in a mountain river…I have never felt such cold water in my life! But it was so much fun!

This summer I am getting married and we are trying to get pregnant! SO MUCH FUN! 😉 The hula hoops are darling! Loved your nuggets, as always. Thanks for sharing!

This summer we are blowing bubbles, sidewalk chalkin’ it up, and wishing for the gift of time to keep on ticking! Love the fruit and veggie blend-totally whipping one up this afternoon!

This summer I hope to be relaxing and gardening in my husband’s and I first home! We accepted an offer yesterday, and are eagerly awaiting the home inspection!

God I love summer. It’s an old friend that I missed. Please stay for a while and let’s catch up on fun.

We are veggie gardening…pulling the first carrots and ripping out peas, learning from the experience. We visited Quebec and Quatre Vents in celebration of a dear friend’s birthday. We are “camping” on the sailboat a lot. We are sweating a lot, but swimming more so.

I love your lupines. SO jealous of the Alpine environment – lupines and fox glove just can’t handle the intense humidity/heat of the mid atlantic.

And as for the parenting experiences. We are all there, sharing the same pool of water – rejoicing one moment and crumbling into a screaming idiot the next. My friend jokes about how her (devil) horns come out and how she needs to push them back. I need to continually not let the tone of my voice escalate which only seems to make Alex’s escalate too. Hmmm…I recognize her personality. LOL.

Happy nuggets!

Jennifer from Annapolis

enjoying this summer… going to the pool. sitting on the patio by my gardens. working in the gardens. going for walks. wearing swimsuits and tank tops and shorts and sun-dresses. grilling. BBQ’s w/ friends. listening to the birds chirp. going to the park. leaving the windows open. and much much more.

btw, the crochet-looking white dress that ruby is wearing in the picture with the peas… my daughter has the same one. my grandma bought it on her trip to montana a couple years ago. maybe we got them at the same store?!

loving afternoons by the pool… Hawaiian Ice Tea… Snowcones and your amazing pictures

Ahh,so much fun with firsts!
I picked my first green beans last night and my son gobbled them up like they were candy. My heart was so happy!
I’m very much looking forward to your post on troubleshooting in the garden. We definately have some issues! But mostly it’s all good. Do you ever have problems with squirrels or chipmunks? I see your beautiful strawberries went un noticed by them!
Aww, poor Margot and Ruby…the fear of bees is understandable. My son was stung when he was 3. It took him two years before he wasn’t afraid of the barber using the clippers around his ears because the sound was “just like a bee mom”. 🙁 And he still freaks when he sees a bee. I try to tell him as much as I can all the good they do as well. We’re getting there.
The girls measuring the screen is so adorable!
We keep a summer bucket list with lots of fun things to do when the weather gets warm. A few on my list: dance in the rain, raise chickens, lemonade stand, make pesto from my home grown basil, and lots of pajama walks before bed. 🙂
xo
Kris

We are gardening for the first time! We’ve always lived in an apartment, but we got away with basil and hopps. This year, we’ve got 6(!!) garden plots in our back yard, and a flower bed in the front. I can’t wait to eat things from my back yard!

Why am I smiling? Oh, Im just a little bit proud!!

My family needs some fun right now! When the weather started getting nice, we all started getting sick one by one. I think we are almost past it (Trying to be hopeful).
Not to mention the fact that I absolutely love hooping. 🙂

Oh, I so know what you mean about the good mom/bad mom, thing, but I always have to ask (myself, my mama friends, my patients), why do we have to judge it all the way we do? Maybe the mom dripping with empathy and the mom saying “open the door right now!” are the same, “good enough” package, right?

Yesterday I had one of those bright, shiny “good mom” moments during Avi’s very public park meltdown . . . and I was so proud of myself for the way I handled it.

But it’s like you say (about gardening and everything else, really), be better the next time. An endlessly fascinating topic for me.

And, I love the photos in the lupine . . . also the grin on Margot’s face while her pop shapes clay.

PS. I am plotting w G to perhaps come to Missoula this fall–maybe to teach a workshop but also to play . . . stay tuned! xo

Oh, your garden looks beautiful! I would love some tips on keeping pests away in ours! And I would love to win a hula hoop! My older daughter has a found a love for it, and it would be great to have a good one! It’s always so nice to hear others frustrations in parenting, lets you know it’s all normal!

Melissa,

I love what you say the mom dripping with empathy and the mom saying “open the door right now!” are the same, “good enough” package. I think this is true and I am certainly hard on myself when I tumble into a short temper. I am SO thankful my husband is there to remind me I am doing alright. And I am thankful for friends who relate and shine light when I spill the hard parts. Thanks.

Playing in the sprinkler with my kids, catching my kids as they jump off the dock into my arms, camping in the Black Hills with my family, keeping up with our small vege garden.

So funny that Margot’s bike is the stinger!

Tart has loads of wonderful things! A Hula hoop would be a blast to have with camping…entertainment just around the bend.

Your garden blows me away!

“Thirteen inches and a pound!” Love it. My daughter always thorws “a dozen” into a long number….100, 24, a dozen, five. Beautiful pictures. Have a great week.

Aaahhh! Summa-time! Finally!
Here in Troy, MT we are feeling the heat, worshipping, even. Everyone seems to be a wee bit red these days as we cannot drag ourselves out of the SUN!
Swimmin’&biking&hiking&camping&gardening&smiling&canoeing&stargazing&lauging&sipping&….OhYeah! Love,love,love!

We are soaking up the summer sun while it lasts. My little guy loves splashing in the pool! My 10-month-old can’t hula hoop – yet – but maybe I could give it a whirl!

Your garden is awesome.

I love your beautiful pictures of your beautiful family and beautiful environs. You’ve inspired me to capture my own version of beautiful this summer throughout the moments of the day from the early morning light to the glowing evening illuminations. I finally get my husband home for the whole summer (no working out of town), and we are having our summer fun in our own backyard enjoying the long evenings of grilled veggies, playful kitties, squawking chickens, bocce ball, and visits with friends. Ah, glorious summer!

San Diego is one of California’s best places to spend the summer. Even though I’m stuck in an over air conditioned office most of the day, I still get to run along the beach after work and watch amazing sunsets! This summer I have been lucky enough to have been visited by family week after week! Then my man and I are taking personal time to travel around Thailand in August! PS your kids are awesome and it’s encouraging to see motherhood through your eyes. Thank you for continually sharing!

We just hiked in between a whole bunch of those beautiful purple flowers while taking a breather in MT. Thanks for their name!
As always, love the pictures and words!

I’m spending this summer as my last summer with my son just me and him (until daddy comes home, of course) before he becomes a big brother in late August. While I’m so looking forward to meeting our second little boy and watching Max be a big brother to him, I’m grasping desperately at this time to be just us still. We swim, we have park dates, we create in our home under fans when it’s unbearably hot out, we bake on cool nights and mostly we just love. Oh, and I try to keep my patience in tow because I’m huge and overheated and can’t carry him around easily anymore which kills me because he’s in a very needy phase. So, I do the best I can and try to remind myself that I can’t be expected to do it all.

Happy hump day! Love the nuggets – but I always do!

I imagine the “pest management” part of gardening will play into your parenting repertoire as you get the girls re-accustomed to bees 🙂

And Alice is adorable. HAPPY DOG IN THE WOODS! I love that.

I almsot feel like it’s non stop fun around here. We were on the way to the pool today when a friend called and asked if we wanted to meet for donuts first. Um, yeah. Plus camping, hiking, garden fun, daily adventures. And hopefully…some hoola hooping.

I can almost smell those beautiful,warm strawberries! Congrats to Margot on her cool new bike and I love the photo of her measuring the screen.

a hula hoop would be the perfect addition to our river trips this summer!

Ooh, that girl is gonna ditch those training wheels soon, I just know it! 🙂

We are soaking up the sun, playing in the park and our backyard as much as possible. We have not yet gotten out camping and it’s killing me, I gotta get these kids to the woods! I love the pics of your family hikes, I wish I could do that more, but my husband is out of town during the week and I don’t want to take them to the woods by myself. Ooh, maybe I’ll hit the rattlesnake, that would be ok I think!

Love the post!
And LOVE the sponsor – Tart is an excellent no miss shop if you’re in Bozeman and also has an excellent webshop! Go Anna.

b

First summer back to work after the most glorious summer spent home with my babes – so sad and happy all at the same time. We are trying to desperately have just as much fun and “quality time” as we did when we could spend the whole day together. We are doing a pretty good job – and are going to keep trying, and it is our virgin harvest – never knew broccoli could taste so sweet!

Would love a recipe for that yummy stuff in the blender! That cranberry pumpkin recipe was brilliant! This post really makes me miss being a kid. I loved camping and camping in my backyard, I loved riding my bike too. Margot should be proud 🙂 xx

Wonderful garden pics. You are so inspiring. Summer has finally found us here in the PNW and we are celebrating the need for sunscreen. You aren’t kidding when you say it is a summer of firsts, but shouldn’t they all be? Hopefully all in a good way.

I am enjoying being at home this summer with my boy and husband. We are both teachers and he usually works to make extra money…not this summer! We’ve been swimming almost every day.

I am so envious of your garden. We are fairly experienced, but the entire thing was a flop this summer (minus watermelon) due to the S FL heat and lack of rain. I’m also jealous that you can camp. My son asks at least once a week to go camping again, but its just too hot here right now.

Enjoying the beach until bedtime as much as possible and crabbing, crabbing, crabbing. We’re so lucky to live on a beautiful island.

We’re having fun doing a crazy amount of camping this summer–and loving it! We’d love to pack a hula-hoop on our next trip. Thanks for the chance.

Since you’re diagnosing bugs, my brussels sprouts are looking awesome except one by one they are beginning to inexplicably wilt and die. They are not too wet or dry. It looks as if the roots have withered off of them–some kind of grub? Any ideas?

My first this summer… letting everything BE! Wow. What a difference letting go makes. Hula hoops help.

By the way, I linked to your website in my blog today. I am truly digging you, chick. Thanks.

Your pictures of your veggies are amazing! I love them! My tomatillos are nowhere near flowering but I did get some amazing baby bok choy. I find your gardening adventures to be so inspirational!

This is my first comment on your blog. I can’t tell you how much I have enjoyed it and how I have felt inspired by your words. The fun things going in our life right now, re-vamped our garden and it looks pretty dang good and I am finishing my summer semester of x-ray school only 9 months left. Hula Hoops are awesome! My sister has one and recently “taught” her big sister how to do it. She said I was too uptight previously to do it well. Thanks again
Sara

We are having so much fun with water balloons this summer. My nearly-three y.o. gets this priceless look of excitement when i suggest we go make water balloons.

Loved this post from start to finish. thanks for sharing your moments with us – bright and tight-jawed alike.

Awesome pictures!! I especially like the strawberries….it’s like you could eat them off the computer screen! 🙂

lots of bike riding and swimming. strolling to our neighbor friend’s and staying out way too late. summer is such a relief for us montanans! like natalie said, we’re DOING summer!

-amy mcgregor

*Had my questionable parenting moment(s) yesterday with my oldest, yet still young son. Then he left with his dad over night for a tournament, & I barely slept 🙁

*Thank goodness for that Margo….what a hoot!

*We are counting down the days to a 1st birthday!!!! So landscaping is being done as I speak, because we are celebrating our girl in our backyard…a very SMALL kind of yard! We could easily have 100+ guests…Aaahhh! Standing room only–Hoola hooping could put a whole new “spin” on things–HA!

Here’s to new firsts AND 2nd chances,
Kelly

I’ve had a good few of the bi-polar now-brilliant-mama-now-mean-bitch moments lately. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly I can transition from one state of mind to the other, and how good my kids are at pushing the buttons that flip those invisible switches in my head. I find comfort in the thought that I am doing my best and getting better every day. It’s damn hard being a parent.

Our boy didn’t like balance bikes either, but then got a regular bike with helper wheels and nothing happened with it for about a year. Then he begged us to take off the helper wheels AND the pedals off the regular bike, rode it like that for a couple of weeks, begged us to put the pedals back on without helper wheels, and took off into the sunset. Literally, it took him two minutes to begin biking…I have a feeling Margot will find her inner balance pretty quickly, with or without the helper wheels.

We’ve had strawberries for a while, but yours look, somehow, way better. Enjoy this warm weather that I hear Missoula’s been having.

This is a summer that I can’t wait for it to be behind us. My 19 year old son was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer of the small bowel and will be starting chemo next week. Loving life but so ready for the positive outcome!

What are we doing for fun? We have a full “Summer To Do” list, a la, http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/inspiration/a-new-summer-listwhatever-148670 ! We have been checking things off much fast than I imagined we would. Last night we hit Wednesday night at Bonner Park with the City Band, homemade pie and Big Dip ice cream! I originally thought the “To Do” list idea would be a hassle, but it has turned out to be great and much easier than I thought. Because we made a point as a family to DO something early in the summer, working together in preparation results in a smoother and more enjoyable experience for everyone. Next up? Butte Folk Fest, baby!

Camping…. can’t wait!

oh my! I love “Just feeling a little proud” So perfect. I love how such a small child is so emotionally aware. Many adults aren’t!

Delicious nuggets. 13 inches and a pound-LOL. Love the things your little Margot comes up with. 🙂

Your post resonated with me on so many levels this morning. One obvious one is that my daughter and I love hula-hooping and I am really considering purchasing one. More significantly, since returning to part-time work I find I have to hit the re-set button on my interactions with my daughter frequently and try to make a new “first.” I tell my friends parenthood gives you daily opportunities for redemption. All worthwhile.

Growing things is always a challenge for me, but there is nothing more wonderful then waking up to a jalapeno pepper hanging off of the plant for the first time of the season!

Wait. Peas and watermelon – and strawberries? That works? If so we’ll try it – very much into smoothies & ice-pops-from-leftovers too!

Didn’t read all the comments but the lupines reminded me of a book Anna loves, “Mrs. Rumphius”. It’s a great book and teaches a good lesson!

OH do tell where that hike was? Gorgeous!

One more vote for Mrs. Rumphius! It’s a lovely book.

Just found your lovely blog. Its so quintessentially american. Off to have a good look around it now.

Just found your lovely blog. Its so quintessentially american. Off to have a good look around it now.

would love to win a hula hooop! 🙂 FUN! We have lots of fun planned for summer…science experiments, water play in the backyard, a beach trip, & (truly & honestly, thanks to your blog) creating art. 🙂 I was never the “art mom” & admit (hanging my head) that I sometimes felt it was too much work to clean up the mess. But, my girls, 5 & 2, are now enjoying at LEAST weekly painting sessions & crayons & markers & cutting & gluing daily. 🙂 Oh! & thanks for the recommendation of the baby bonnets! I have been drooling for MONTHS & just finally placed my first order today! 🙂