Getting Ready For Fall

I'm finding that I can only pick one personal activity per day these days and blogging just hasn't been one of them. Our house has been chalk-full of busy in addition to the normal chaos, so I guess that one last post I've drafted about our nephew visit will stay on the back-burner for now.

My girlfriend and I met last week to go over our pre-k plan for homeschooling. Our books are slowly starting to arrive so it's feel much more real. We're really gonna do it this year!!! We're all very excited for this new adventure.

I'm prayerfully considering a new venture, but fearful of its success. Time has gotten ever so precious and I don't want to waste it. Either way, it's been a joy to create again. 

I've also signed up for a photography class--I'm ever so ready to take on manual mode and do more in the way of post editing...neither of which I've really done, I'm sad to say.

And I've been recruited by our church's MOPS for craft coordinator. I was kinda opposed only because I've got three and definitely feel tapped out often, but so far it's been a great life-giving outlet. And without taking away from our family time. There's two of us, who have the same style and work well together. And we've already planned out the year and prepped ahead of time. Hoping this opportunity to serve brings about good fruit. Plus, the women on leadership are amazing so it's a blessing just to be around them!

So I might be a little crazy by taking all this on, no?! Let's see how I make it by the end of this fall season. Ha! 

We're still getting in lots of fun outside. Both boys are pretty much in hardcore super-hero stage...Theo much because Ezra is. Little brother follows big. They came home from a gparent day stuffed to the brim with superhero contraband; everything from a new costume, rain boots and a handful of tees. Grandma takes her spoiling work seriously. ;) And Juju is working hard on her two bottom teeth.

Over the weekend, our church held service at our local fair grounds during a huge car show. It was really fun to outreach and check out some amazing cars. ;) E and I also hit up a friend's birthday party while everyone else napped. A little Mama/son date.

So bring on the pants, boots, cooler temps, and lots of busy!!

Let's Go Fly A Kite {Berkeley Kite Festival}

Over the weekend, we took a min-adventure over to Berkeley to check out their kite festival. My mom is always sending us ideas/local events to take the kids, and this one was definitely a win.

 Since the cost for parking for the free event was a tad high, we decided to load up the trailer and bikes. We parked about 2 miles out and took the bike trail into the park; thus avoiding all the car traffic too which worked out nicely. 

We climbed the little hill and parked it. Our owl kite went up and joined the others. It was feisty at times since the wind was pretty crazy. We took turns flying. The boys huddled in a blanket while we snacked and picked out other kites we saw.

I loved being so close to the bay and seeing the city's outline in the distance. And the giant kites were pretty sweet too.

Lately...

Last week I got the stomach flu and laid in bed the entire following day. Bleh. We missed out on some fun activities like family dinner, the boys going to the fair with my parents, and a girls' night out. It also was a bummer because I had finally found a happy groove with the kids. Like, we may have caught a glimpse at a new normal and been enjoying it when bam! I'm laid up in bed. Isn't that the way of life at this stage?!

So, we're picking up where we left off this week. We seem to have a routine. We have finally weaned from screen time except for our movie day. Only took like 4 months to have a little more cushion when handling three on a daily basis. I feel frantic less often even though I'm still not getting stellar sleep. I'm still on two cups of coffee, but by God's grace, I'm quicker at extending love and patience to the needs that arise. Have I arrived?! Certainly not, but I'm happy to report progress. :) Less survival mode and more embracing the day.

My phone has also taken a turn for the worst. Apparently, one drop too many and it can't hold a good internet connection. And I refuse to pay for more data. So in addition to my self-imposed limiting, my phone is basically making it much more possible to stay off of social media. And connect with real life.

And we've jumped on the Downton Abbey bandwagon finally. I knew from its genre that it was only a matter of time. With our few other shows on break, it was a good time to try out the first seasons. Such good entertainment.

So this summer I'm taking a free pass. Beyond a few fun weekends, we don't have much of anything planned. We even opted out of family camp this year because it just would have been too hard. So, the summer bucket list will have to wait until next year--when the boys are just a bit older and more independent. We'll enjoy a few traditions, but otherwise, it'll be lots of pool time, castlewood time and sticking close to home.

Roadtrip with the motorycle crew next summer, right, gparents?!? ;)

Grilled Pizza

Super simple. Super tasty.

Howdy, all, this is William. I've got something fun for you. Imagine your favorite pizza. Toppings of your choice. Whatever you want; anything goes. Now imagine in every juicy bite the smoky goodness of charbroiled flavor imbedded throughout. A little redundant? When you've tried this recipe you'll understand.

One of my favorite podcasts has a new segment called Grilling While Armed. Celebrating two of America's favorite past times (not counting Baseball), the segment pairs up a tasty charcoal-grilled (NOT propane) recipe with a sidearm to match. Such a beautiful thing. Hour 3 from the August 7th show, starting at about 17 minutes, the host and his guest discuss pizza on the grill.

So the recipe and instructions are quite simple. 

Dough: Get the store bought stuff (frozen or fresh) or pull out your favorite recipe and really live it up.

Sauce: I used the  Boboli packets, but you can do whatever sounds good. Your own recipe or store bought.

Toppings: your favorite stuff. I used onions, bell peppers, pepperoni, pepper jack and cheddar. I prepped my toppings while the coals were burning and getting ready.

Directions: Let the dough set out for 30-45 minutes to rest and rise. If you use the frozen dough you should put it in the fridge the night before to allow enough time to thaw. Roll the dough out into either one large pizza or individual pizzas. Dock the dough (poke it with a fork all over so that the dough doesn't puff up too much), then slather with extra virgin olive oil on both sides.

Start the coals. For this to work you'll want to use indirect heat because the dough will burn or crisp. If your grill is smallish you can spread the coals around rather than have them in one pile. You run the risk of running out of heat, but you have a better chance of not burning the pie. If you have a large grill just keep a "cool zone", keeping the bottom dampers open and the top dampers only open about halfway (but you should keep an eye on the whole process and adjust as necessary).

Par Cook the dough (partially cook it): bring the oiled dough to the grill and place in the cool zone. In a very few minutes, when the bottom is starting to cook, flip it over and do the same to the other side.You don't want it fully cooked because after you load it up it's going back on the grill for the rest of the grilling.

Bring it back inside. Slather with pizza sauce, then cheese, then toppings. Bring it back to the cool zone of the grill and allow to cook for about 15-20 minutes. 

Eat and enjoy!

Fresh Farmers Flowers

Perhaps I should unofficially title this week's posts: "Habits and Rhythms of Our Family". For some reason, be it all the Waldorf/Montessori books I've consumed recently that emphasize natural family routines for kids or the fact that I would love to document the habits we've fallen into as a family of three before they inevitably get interrupted and adjusted with the coming of a fourth--all the post ideas I have for this week stem from our normal, non-exciting, daily/weekly rhythms. Some have developed intentionally while others have just come about and work really well for our family.

Yesterday I mentioned our weekly trips to the library and our daily reading, today is about my summer habit of purchasing wild flowers at the Farmer's Market. I used to buy them every so often, on a whim, but they were normally the assorted bundles, like the kind you can buy at a store. At the start of this summer I tried something new: purchasing the simple wild flowers that came in large bundles for a few bucks. One $3 bundle can be divided into at least 3 different large Mason jars or vases so I can scatter them about the house.

Typically there is one is our dining area and living area, one on our dresser or in the master bathroom, and occasionally I put a small one on E's kiddie table for him to enjoy. I really would love to get some indoor house plants, but since we haven't been to a nursery, this is the next best thing! The flowers will last the whole week and by the time next Saturday rolls around, I purchase another bundle.

This week, I even bought some Mums for a whole $4 in addition to my normal bundle. Living on the edge as a big spender.{still need to spray paint that lantern!}

This will suffice until we get a garden going or get some indoor plants. For a few bucks a week, I love bringing the outdoors in and enjoying some pretty flowers!

Del Valle Lake

We hit up a bucket list item this week: Lake Del Valle. W had heard good things about it and I don't think I've ever been. Funny how you can live so close to things and never experience them.

We had some lunch...

Then got to playing on the beach and in the water!

We also played some more Frisbee, with balls, and enjoyed the shade!

Only a few more weeks as a family of three!!

A Day At GG Park

The Swensons played hookie from work and chores on Monday. Well, I should preface that with: we worked hard over the weekend to continue to clean/organize the house and complete projects. We were ready for an afternoon of fun.

One of the few things I told W I wanted  to do before baby comes was spend more time at GG Park. So, when he had Monday off, we decided to head into the city. My girlfriend, Stefany, had just recently told me about the children's play area and we were hoping to check it out.

We grabbed some lunch at my favorite sandwich shop and drove in. The weather was perfect and after parking, we found a spot on the grass to meal and play a little Frisbee. Can I just say here, that I've told W that we won't be doing a summer baby again {if we could help it}, but I would totally be pregnant during the summer if we lived in the city. It was the perfect temperature!

Afterward playing in the grass, we made our way over to the huge park area. I let the boys be boys while I snapped some pictures.

I loved that E totally fit into the crowd of kids with his long hair. We even saw a little one sportin' some dreads. But none of this came close to the joy E had over the wet sand pit. Since we weren't quite prepared for a water feature {read: no change of clothes or towel}, we stripped him down before letting him loose.

Seriously, loved every moment of it...squealing and shrieking in delight. Such a water kid! See that diaper? Completely full of sand and water by the end.

 We had to call it quits when the diaper broke and the insides started to leak out. After a quick change on the hood of the car and back into clothes, we ended the day with a carousal ride. 

 Such a wonderful day that totally hit the spot!

A & E

 Seriously couldn't get enough of these two together. Autumn and her Mama, Nat, came over for an afternoon of swimming last week. 

Nat snapped some quick pics on her phone of these two. I know there is a good amount of young boys and their parents from church lining up for this precious girl. Some strong competition. Of course, I'm bias but I think E's got a real good shot. ;)