works of fire...and other july moments

(the above is a youtube video. it's a song by june madrona, called early spring. it's in my top three favorite songs ever, and i don't really do "favorites." please give it a listen, if you have a peaceful moment. it will make you happy, like summer kind of happy.)

ginger man

occasionally we find ourselves worked into a juicing frenzy.

i invented this salad, california poppy helping me feel extra creative:  silver kale, candy cane beet, green apple (oil and vinegar, goat cheese.)

peaches hanging over the fence, and teddy went blue berry picking in camino.

the fourth came and went, we jumped into the blue lake, and then we heated up black bean burgers on the bbq like good americans.

getting dark

"the circle of our love is more than just the rising sun that sets." ;) for my lady family.

his heart is true for ME!

flash . !!

intimidation from Blackbeard. (teddy and i read about blackbeard the other day...he'd put flaming fuses in his hair to  appear more fierce.)

little linky watching the bright lights. placer county was aglow with massive fireworks. the streets were filled with booming and smoke, it feels like a real war zone. our culdesac turned into bunker hill, cannons exploding over head. later the sounds of sirens filed into our windows, a house had burnt down not too far away. INDEPENDENCE! :)

flashers

dance party

the crew on the corner. i'm not gonna lie, the fireworks were big and free right out our door. fire hazard? absolutely, but i think a good house fire is what some people need.

this week i have siblings coming from oregon, texas, and utah to play!!!

2012, people, catch these days before they fly away. 

let's get ready to rumble!!!

t(space jam style...)


dear siblings,
who couldn't be more excited?

wendy and teddy were kind enough to illustrate what we will all be doing in just a few days.....

cracking peanuts on the lawn

drying off from the splash pool

climbing plum trees

eating tart summer fruits!

Add caption

swinging on the rope swing

(mom) cooking eggs!!

spinning on the rope swing...(didn't we call this "helicopter?  i can't remember.)

seeing mom and dad.

making plum cake

licking bowls

drawing pictures...

don't forget lake trips, mosquito bites, otter pops, the price is right, camping, and walks to grandma eileen's.....ready to soak up some family!

summer weekend...

gum gum gum gnaw gnaw gnaw, plus drool. so cute! commence: teething!

my dear friend natalie was married in old coloma. (so, starting in roseville, i'll head up 80, swing through lovely 49, hit up the river, and then hang with the folks. it's a great loop.)

how cool is this church?

nothing better than reception food by the green river.

i love their log.

spied on tyler while he introduced lincoln to the gander.

tyler crocheted his own tie. (and when i typed "crocheted" i said "crotch-eh-ted" in my head. it's just easier.) best of everything to natalie and chris!!! xoxo

"new" walkman from goodwill outlet, where you hunt for treasure in bins, and pay by the pound. go tyler, it's your birthday.

a salad so good i took a picture of it. (oil, vinegar, mustard greens, kale, spinach, etc etc.) how we do brunch.

i'm really proud of teddy, and his neighbor friends. our back yard is really small but it doesn't stop them from exploring the space's possibilities. i present to you their rope swing.

i know, i have a lot of pictures of them sleeping. it's possibly the best part of my day: staring at their serene handsomeness. and gloating. also lincoln sprawls and hogs the bed. he farts a lot, and for some reason it makes me laugh every single time.

mackenzie lives in silicon valley, but her parents reside in a big ol' sunroomed wrap around porch bungalow dream house. with a pool. so when she comes to visit so do i.

cece and mackenzie sharing a quilt on the expanse of green. croquet anyone?

my sister's twins, willow and autumn, bickering over a dandelion.

oh, those sunlit pines. they play a gentle song in my heart.

and so do these lovely ladies

as well as picking the most perfect apricots in the orange evening.

the days are full of life. honestly, i am so dizzy tipsy from summer and her cool starry evenings.

the days are long...

...and the years are short..

i was just lying next to lincoln, thinking how utterly delightful it was to sleep next to him.

he's only little for so long, so this helps me to really feel like i'm soaking it in. he doesn't sleep all alone in another room; perhaps were isolated enough as it is in western culture. if i'm going to have a family we're going to be a family: sticky and bonded, sharing small spaces hmong style. i know he feels secure...half asleep he'll swipe clumsily out with a fat baby arm, reaching for the familiarity of soft skin, for mom or dad, and he never has to worry, because we're always right there. in puts peace inside of me.

they fall asleep before me, and i just stare at them, creeper like, thinking they are so beautiful. ever see such great baby cleave?

he's soft and chunky and so sweet and pure. for reals. he laughs in his sleep and i just about die from pure contentment.

link, brand new, being rocked in tyler's arms. happiness.

he hasn't been taught anything, so in my mind that translates to him knowing everything.

his mind is open, there are no walls or ruts or prejudices or pettinesses. his universe is as big as it really is, it hasn't been pruned or groomed or utterly compartmentalized/reduced. i think maybe if i meditate enough i can create a state of such openness? (probably not....see? that's proof.)
how, as a mother, do i keep help to keep it that way?

i can help teach compassion, i can prevent passing down my own sad judgments

with teddy i tempered (hid) my arachnophobia so he wouldn't inherit my fear, and now spiders are treated with deference and respect.


(admittedly there is a bias in our home, however....i point out how "cool" it is to recycle, or how "cool" someone is when they are riding their bike through town, or how "uncool" that 4-wheeling person was ripping through the suburban park...okay, so i don't really use the word "cool." maybe i'm already a lost cause. sorry, teddy.)

air show. my spouse is an air traffic controller so my family is a little geeked out on aviation. i think the wright brother's are cool, but the big airplanes i saw (like the f-16) just scared the pants off me in a primal way. it's like the sky was being cracked. sonic BOOM! initially tyler's job sounded industrial and militaristic to me, but it's actually cooler than that. he doesn't commute with his odd hours, doesn't work in an office, and doesn't wear a suit. every day is a new experience, and he's satisfied because he's contributing to a lot of people's lives in a positive way (safety first.) and with four day work weeks (no 9-5 blah) and great dental insurance: win/win/win. i also get to go up in the tower: win.

had to share: they played "free fallin" with a sky diver and a huge US flag ...

he crashes hard, bouncing and skidding, and it appears these boy scout types are running to his aid. we stare in horror. they run right past him and start folding the flag. tyler and i share incredulous looks.

my three loves. gotta love a daddy who wears his baby.

spoils (aka: the cheapest one.)

off topic? i grew up in the woods, and as i child i was fascinated with the concept of a "neighborhood," you know, sidewalks and friends playing kick the can and walking around. my mom told tales of an ice cream truck from her salt lake city suburb childhood, and i was enchanted, and wished that one would come to my rural home. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR. :) the music of the ice cream truck haunts the hot late afternoon streets with kid luring songs: turkey in the straw, pop goes the weasel, and happy birthday. ("come little children, i'll take thee away...." what, never seen hocus pocus?)

i'm happy to say that my soul is coming out of a very tight and long lived cocoon.
xoxo
more to come from suburbia, breastfeeding (you can't wait!), good vibrations, i promise.