Ahhh, glad you posted the pics of your beets. I am going to pull mine and do some canning this weekend. Wish me luck! Looks like you had a GREAT summer! Good thing for carrots when you have a little one teething! 🙂

I LOVE this post! At the start of this year, I decided my motto would be “Be more, do less”.

Preschool started up today! We had the most amazing summer and surprisingly, it seemed like we did more than ever before…by focusing on “being more!” More family fun times, swimming, playdates with friends, backyard time, trips to the farmstead, berry patch, hot air balloon festival, park, road-trips to be with grandparents, dance class, birthday parties, etc!!!

Jill B (Overland Park, KS)

LUV all your pictures! the one of everyone and their stuff on the beach is just perfect.

we’ve been enjoying our summer! I plan to finish it off with a fun vacation with my sweet family to the beach…i can’t wait!

The llama song! I, too loved that as a child (and have not seen it since, but have referred to it many times as an adult). Thank you. What a treat! Now, if I could just see that episode of “Facts of Life” where Tootie thinks a bong is a jellybean holder… I would be complete.

You’re a delight!

This summer; eight flights later (and still not done); we did some amazing adventuring. Love that!

Smiling. We are simpatico once again…both posting about end of summer tonight. And I just have to go back and look at these pics again and drink it in. Ruby with the carrot totally slayed me.

And what am I doing this summer? I am hyperventilating with excitement because early this fall, I am almost certain I will be running to bear hug a kindred spirit I love but have never met. I will hug her babies and she will hug mine and we will stay up late sipping wine and talking about life. My girls will wear stripey tights and climb tall hills under Montana mountains and I will most definitely eat hot toast with warm peach butter.
That’s what I’m thinking about this summer, my friend.
xoxo

i did a lot.
but i think most importantly realized my passion in life.
and that feels pretty damn important.
oh. and we loved. which is what we do best.
and mygod! a carrot. it’s as simple as that … thanks friend.

I started humming “me and my lama” before the video played…love that song too and lamas…always have wanted one your dad said NO!

This summer was a good one and kinda a blur. This summer I loved on my dogs, watched my garden & flowers flourish, REALLY discovered butterflies, marveled at how good homemade pickles are but the highlight was having ALL my kids with me!

xoxo. Mom/GRam

I’ve been meaning to leave a comment for ages now (a couple of days ago I watched in horror as my 10-month old daughter fell off the bed, I a few feet too far from her to help her–and after the initial shock I remembered your post and laughed)…So many wonderful photos in this post. I think those featuring the river might be my favorite. And those of Ruby chewing on roots…we’ve had a hell of a time with the top teeth, too, and they are not in yet. At this point top-toothless sounds like a good option to me.
Happy end of summer.

I can’t wait to hear about Kelle and your adventures! What an amazing thing that you two are finally meeting and hugging babies! Wow very cool!

Ruby looks like she’s doing push-ups in the picture of her crawling! I love reading everyone’s talk of what they did this summer…highlights for us (two women with no kids): we got a dog!!!! I discovered the macro function on my camera and took lots of cool phots. We had an annual get-together in the Lanesboro area of Minnesota with friends from Iowa. Later, we went to see the same friends and saw a mass ascension of hot-air balloons with them! Next weekend, we’ll be heading to my hometown to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday.

Judy: I have been meaning to tell you that we ate at Sea Salt! It was the loveliest recommendation. Perfect for our kids to run around, beautiful, great food, great beer. My little family unit stuck around (after the larger group left )into the night and walked around the park in lieu of the date Andy and I had hoped for (he missed his first flight and it cut into his trip). SO, thank you! It was fabulous!

i can’t believe summer is almost over. but i love that summer has meaning to me again, now that i’m back in the world of academia. ahhh. classes start in less than two weeks though. BUT, we did a lot this summer. we bought a kayaked and kayaked throughout the oceans, lakes and rivers of maine. also we hiked in a lot of new hampshire mountains. exploring new england has been so amazing, so different than other parts of the country. also i realized that maine has beaches, and that people go to the beaches and do beachy things, like lay out, drink beer, play frisbee, etc, on the beaches. it was an eye opener.

We took our little butterbean to Disney World and Sea World. I forgot how much magic lives their. I thought she was a bit young to go but she drank it all in and asks to go everyday now and she loves to pretend she is a dolphin when she swims.

And we almost melted a few times I think because it has been so dreadfully hot and humid hear in lovely georgia.

I just love the pictures of your girls because they so remind me of my girls.
I am also falling more in love with Montana as I follow your blog (have to be honest, it was a state I never gave much thought to before this!).
This summer we just soaked it up, plain and simple. No big plans or big trips, just little every day things that add up to the big memory of the summer…playing in the pool and water table every day, long walks, fests, yummy cold treats, all of that kind of stuff…oh but my fav memory for sure will be my girls’ birthdays. They turned 1 and 3, and so it can be said that it was the last summer that I had a baby in the house. Oh no, I hadn’t thought of that! Now I’m super sentimental. But what else is new. hehe

Missoula knows how to do summer, fo sho.

This summer, we welcomed our beautiful baby girl and wondered how we’d lived without her for so long . . .Avi gets confused sometimes about life before her birth, and I totally know what he means.

And summer in SF means looking forward to a warm, sunny Fall–I can’t wait!!

I love these photos– espec Ruby looking like a little yogi in the crawler shot! xo

“This summer” looked perfect!

Nici, so glad you tried Sea Salt! We have a date to go there Sunday with a friend and her six-year-old. We’ll be bringing the dog, too–much mutual love between dog and girl! -Jodi
p.s. For all Minneapolis denizens, also check out Patisserie 46 on 46th and Grand.

Love the napkins under Coop and Margos feet! Love you and Savage at the beach. Margo and Ruby in the trailer is pretty darn cute!

Love this post! Our thoughts are on the same wave length today.

This summer, I made a pact to myself to soak up life and that is just what I am doing. I am enjoying getting back to the simple pleasures – drinkin’ up time with my little girl, getting lost in a good book, spending time with friends, and whipping up goodness in the kitchen. Good times!

,,,this summer i enjoyed the cooler weather living in maryland has to offer; after many years spent in the very HOT arizona summer sun,,,and,,,i enjoyed reading “hump day nuggets” and “peeking” into the lives of two really cool parents and their adorable little girls,,,

Did: Grew huge mystery tomatoes. Went on impromptu road trips to the All-Star Game, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Sonoma & Napa. Had a Staycation. Parked the cars and road bikes around town. Did our 10th AIDS Walk SF. Did my first duathlon. Saw concerts under the stars. Soaked up the lavender fields in Sonoma. Soaked in Sun Valley hot springs. Fly fished the White River in AR. Missed a 10K PR. Killed a 10K PR. Watched the Giants win and lose at AT&T Park. Bought 80 lbs of local beef.

Doing: Backpacking in Yosemite. Another concert under the stars. The first AIDS Ride training event. Turning 32. Going to the 200th Anniversary of Oktoberfest in Munich. Visiting Amsterdam. Hiking The Black Forest. Hopefully harvesting a ripe watermelon. Hopefully harvesting 100 total pounds of tomatoes.

this summer we traveled to visit family and friends. we went to weddings, and celebrated our 6 years of bliss together. we had our first day of school (in ky that comes early, aug 12th) most of all, we camped and spent most every weekend at kentucky lake…our second home! and we still have birthdays to celebrate and maybe a weekend trip or two back to the lake!!

Today we dropped our little boy off for his last day of preschool…kindergarten is less than two weeks away and all of a sudden, he looks so small to me. This is the summer where Miles turned 13, Sammy turned 5 and I very slowly started to feel a little ache in my heart that has turned to throbbing today. This has really been our summer of little boys transitioning to big boys. So we shall spend the next few days in Maine, soaking up the sun, sand and ocean air and then this mama will watch her boys step onto the school bus for a new year of adventures. Oh my heart. Happy end of summer to you all.

Jenny V from MA

Can I tell you how happy it makes me that someone else remembers the llama song?!? I frequently break that out only to have my husband stare in disbelief.

Looks like a beautiful summer. Here in Georgia, we have at least another month of summer to go. I’m trying to treasure it…but I’m really looking forward to crisp fall mornings and pumpkins.

Thank you for saying that summer isn’t over. I have stared in disbelief at several other bloggers’ posts who say otherwise, and I’m in definite denial.

This summer I got to know Missoula better than any summer since my college days. This summer I watched my infant grow into a toddler, had a love affair with Big Dipper ice cream, watched my garden grow with success I haven’t ever seen before, and got by on less sleep than I ever thought possible. It has been a summer of stretching… and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

OMG. I canʻt believe the llama at the dentist video. Talk about childhood flashbacks. And the near mullet artichoke heart hairdo just says it all! Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!