Monthly Archives: May 2013

I suck at writing thank you notes. But I want my kids to be good at it. Maybe it's like biennial raspberries, where the canes grow for one year and then produce fruit the next? My mom is an epic thanker. In fact she thanks thankers which can get sweetly, tediously circular. Maybe I am the cane between two berries. So I am happy to be the skipped generation if I can pass the proclivity along to my children. And, it's like a special bonus for me that the only way to make it happen for them is to do it myself! Margot graduated from preschool yesterday which carried with it a gushing pile of emotions for this mama. We spent the afternoon watching a movie while I counted her freckles, scratched her long arms and made her favorite dinner. I checked in many times with this photo -- a snap of the first and last days of school. My bug, my heart. I might not be good at writing and sending cards but I am good at hugging and using words. And I am good at gift-giving. We especially love the challenge of meaningful gifts. This usually means handmade or homespun, with the added benefit of my kids thinking about the recipient's unique likes while crafting -- infusing the gift with appreciation. The best! This year's we love our teachers (and administrators!) gifts were simple: violas in thrifted juice glasses and handmade cards. To make the card holder, I split the top of popsicle sticks using a kitchen knife. Continue reading →

Margot's preschool class reads Have You Filled a Bucket Today? It's all about the feeling buckets every living creature possesses and the choices we all make everyday -- do we dip from buckets or give to buckets? What feels best and right? What is best and right for the greater good? How do we take responsibility for our own buckets? At bedtime, what is your day's resumé; how does your bucket feel? The last bit of our adventure happened in Naples where we visited our friends the Hamptons. I've known Kelle since I was a wee baby blogger. Well, I knew her then but I actually met her several years later, in 2010 when she and her two daughters flew from Florida to Montana to stay with my family for five days. We both later admitted there was a little bit of terror about the whole ordeal but what is great that doesn't have a little bit or terror? It was fabulous. Better than I imagined, actually. When my brother announced he was getting married in Florida we immediately decided we'd try to visit the Hamptons. Like true Montanans, Continue reading →

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog post to celebrate home. Part 4 coming soon. We left Missoula on the heels of a snow storm, eyelash-sized buds, newly green grass, and sleepy songy birds. We came home to 12 inch lawn dancing with tufted dandelions, sun-saluting spinach, lilacs making out with bees and Continue reading →

We started planning this family vacation about a year ago when my brother proposed to Crystal. We decided we'd save to take two whole weeks exploring the southeastern US and then the possibilities became a nearly-every-day conversation. Do we fly into DC and travel south? Do we fly into Atlanta and do a loop? And so on. We settled on beginning in New Orleans, traveling east to Destin for the wedding and then finishing in Naples where our friends live. We had a three day window to steer our minivan south through Florida. Andy and I had planned to wing it - perhaps camp at state parks, hike, discover small towns. But then! My dad decided to join our post-wedding journey and he mentioned Disney World. We hadn't really considered it we told him. But then we started really talking about it, looking at the website and amping. Let's do it! he announced. Cheers! We woke early and made our way to the Magic Kingdom. Our ride buzzed with excitement as my kids shouted out Continue reading →

The drive from New Orleans to Destin, Florida was hard. Mostly because Ruby shouted that she wanted OUT of her car seat for several hours. Secondly because Andy was driving and I was in charge of direction which I messed up twice. But I really think the direction snafu would have been hilarious if it wasn't on the heels of a yelling child. Yes, I think that. But we made it! Like childbirth, I immediately forget about road trip pain. Andy's memory remains crisp and the first night in Destin when my brother asked about our drive, Andy said he was never doing it again -- knowing, of course, that we would be back in the car in four days. Me? I declared it to have been delightful. Andy laughed, patted my shoulder and joked oh buddy, how soon you forget. Thankfully the four days served as a fabulous reset button. Full of family, beach, laughter and celebration. The reason for this entire trip is my little brother's wedding. My parents rented a wonderful house near the ocean where we all arranged ourselves around each other like sandy, sun-soaked, happy clams. Continue reading →