Your Destiny Awaits

On our road trip last week Gray started yelling at the top of his lungs from the back seat, "How long till my destiny?"

We didn't know know if we should laugh or dive into another deep discussion with our 4-year old.

It took us awhile but we finally figured out he wasn't even speaking to us. He was attempting to communicate with the Honda's Navigation System with Voice Recognition. He was trying to say, "How long to our destination?"

Once we figured it out Sean held down the voice recognition button and let Gray ask his question. Unfortunately, it didn't recognize his sweet little voice from the back seat. So, I asked the question for Gray and instead of getting our time to destination we got radio station XM157. Can't wait to see how voice recognition software pans out in the future.

3 New Summer Skirts

I think I've had this fabric for about 4 years. Fun to finally use it.


A great fabric score.


Fabric from Colleen. There's enough fabric left to make myself one!

Where's Hunter???

What is Hunter reading?
The Invention of Hugo Caberet.

What video game is Hunter playing?
Lego Indiana Jones.


What does Hunter do when the sun comes out?
Rides his bike and scooter. Hikes with dad.


What is Hunter learning to do?
Play poker.

What is Hunter's favorite card game right now?
B.S.


What world record is Hunter trying to break?
The biggest foil ball in the world.

What is Hunter's Mom making him do this summer?
Play piano and write in a journal.

What does Hunter want to do this summer?
Play with Jack and Josh every day.

It's going to be a good summer.

Surf's Up

I'm a planner, a mother, a day organizer, a list maker... I even list my daily to do list in order. So, it comes as no surprise to me how much control(or the lack of) I hold over my day. I become extremely defensive and ill-tempered if I feel that control has been misplaced or if we've veered from one my lists.

Awakening moment: This weekend I was told by a surfing instructor "Let go and stop trying to control it." Guess what? I did and I had sooooo much more fun. My husband has been telling me for 10 years those same words. Sean you a very wise husband.

An extended family mini-vacation is planned for this week and we'll see if I can put my old/new found wisdom to the test.

p.s. I had a great time learning to surf with my husband who was very calm and encouraging the entire time.

p.s.s. A 4/3 ml wetsuit works wonders in the cold cold ocean.

Move over Mozart

Grayson composed his first song today. Full of whole notes, half notes and quarter notes.


The words to his song:

Mystery persons ruuuullle the world.
In the world of mystery persons sam boom crash boom.


Salmon,
Salmon,
Salmon,
Salmon


Beam Bam
Climbo
Peeeee-Pap

He also plays a mean Hot Cross Buns.

Happy Father's Day

How Well do I Know my Dad?
by Gray Stephens

My dad is 100 feet and 0 inches tall.

My dad weighs 69 pounds.

My dad's favorite sport is all of them.

My dad can lift 60 pounds. He is really strong.

My dad is 49 years old. He ate too many apples so he is a daddy now.

My dad's favorite TV show is I don't know.

My dad's favorite food is wine.

My dad's favorite hobby is anything he wants.

I know my dad is smart because he has hair on his hands.

Gray's Garden

Gray's Garden not Grey Gardens. ohhhh I haven't thought about Grey Gardens in awhile but immediately thought of it when I wrote the title to this post. So I had to watch a clip on YouTube. I didn't fully understand the film the first time I watched it but then I watched the DVD commentary and realized how much of an influence it had on those early viewers. There's a Grey Gardens movie due out this November with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. How do you ever live up to a cult classic?

This is suppose to be the original trailer....



Now on to our own Gray's Garden.....


Mom: "Gray what do you need for the seeds to grow?"

Gray: "Sun, Care and Love."


The kids planted...
watermelon, tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, and it looks like carrots that we planted last year that didn't come up but seem to be sprouting this year.

With the sun finally out we're up and running in full summer mode.

curious nature of a 4-year old

broken_heart
Originally uploaded by rhythm302

Gray's comment after seeing a broken heart....

"A broken heart means a girl and a boy break up. And they don't like each other anymore".

Mother's reply after hearing those words come from her 4-year old son....

Stunned silence.

Then a short discussion regarding girl/boy relationships and what else can make your heart feel broken.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

So, there are 2 kinds of fiction books that I seem to be drawn to. One is non-technical science fiction books with a good moral story and the second is any fiction written about about any time period before 1920. Especially, anything written for the time period between 1880 and 1920 and you've got me. A double you got me if the locale happens to be England or South America. Of course, I do enjoy many other types of books but these tend to be the most enjoyable and entertaining for me.


Libba Bray recently had my attention while I read her Gemma Doyle series. A Victorian / Gothic supernatural fantasy written primarily for young adults. She had me washing dishes and putting kids to bed faster than I have in a long time. I'm not a huge fan of fantasy but there's more to the story and the supernatural part doesn't get carried away.


The trilogy is a coming of age story of young women at a finishing school in the Victorian era preparing to bow for their queen while at the same time trying really hard not to conform to the world's expectations of them. Includes a good dose of the supernatural, fantasy, magic, secrets and hunky teenage heart throbs. These 3 books will definitely be on the shelf for Bryn to read during her teen years.


All 3 books are fascinating and action packed. I have to say the 3rd book is much thicker than the previous 2 and it takes awhile to get through the first half but the last half is worth it. For some easy fun summer reading I would definitely recommend them. Remember that's coming from a girl who's always loved a Victorian story.

Ready... Set... Tackle

Tackle football with the big kids at the beach.


Bless those 6th grade boys for letting Gray tackle them every time (and I mean every time).


A football has been added to Gray's birthday list.

Camp Westwind

Camp Westwind was a great weekend with 150 friends. Some old and many new.

campfire, kitchen duty, cabin sleeping with others, mud mucking, hours and hours in the sand, pirate cave, beach volleyball, good food, Apples to Apples, continually looking for Gray, sandcastles, tide pooling, and walks on the beach


Noah and Gray on their way to the beach.


Visiting the seals with Bryn and Ivy.


Sandcastle Contest. The beach fairies were very happy.


5 minutes after leaving camp.

No pictures of Hunter? He was way to busy with his friends having a great time.

April Showers, May Flowers

This year it's March, April and May showers bring late May flowers. I'm not a huge fan of blog posts that feature flower photos but this past week I think I've gained an appreciation for why they post those pictures. You can't help it. The flowers are so inspiring this time of year and you feel like to have to share that feeling with others. So here are my flowers from this week...

Wisteria outside my kitchen window.


A small snapshot of the 25ft tall rose bush that resides in my backyard. I'm not sure how old this rose bush is but you know it's got history.


Bryn, Hunter, Gray and all the neighborhood kids had a flower store operating from our front porch for about a week. I think they made about $5.00 each. I spent a lot buying flowers from my own yard. They had a great time but abandoned the operation when they found out how much money there was in snow cones.

Speaking of flowers my house is so full of them tonight. Today was my birthday and I received the most gorgeous lilacs, birds of paradise, and a beautiful assortment of flowers from family and friends. My living room and dining room smell so fragrant right now. It was a great day filled with friends, family and good food all day long. We ate dinner at Screen Door and I am in love. Kid friendly, great food, good drinks, perfect chocolate cake and the best customer service I've ever had. Hands down a perfect place with kids or without. If you're in Portland I highly recommend it. Thanks Melissa and Colleen for the recommendation.

More thoughts on loving my early (or early mid) 30s soon.

Happy Birthday to all those I know who celebrated today.
Jeannette
Becki
Dustin
Chris
Slade
Sage
Mafalda's brother
The guy at Screen Door with his family
Mr. T