Steal our Hartes

There is a tiny town hidden in the cedars of the Sierra Nevada called Twain Harte. The town is a summer haven for retirees and toddlers alike with hot days spent sipping strawberry milkshakes lakeside. We decided to grab one of our favorite families, the Booths, and head on up (or I should say east) to Twain Harte. We went swimming, read books, covered our bodies in sand (Lily), ate at some of the slowest restaurants on the planet and perfected our Uno game. Love summer in the mountains!

The Cabin

The Whole Gang 

Sandy Fun

Proud to be an American... I mean Canadian, Norwegian. Oh shoot. I guess we are just proud.

The Girls making us a fire- embracing the whole cabin experience.

Lil was not digging the Mother/Daughter shot.

I think it's time for a new suit.. just saying.

Our sweet ride in Columbia the old western town.

He asked for us to join him for a round at the saloon.

Gold! Teaching Lil some life skills.

Sticks and Stones

You know that saying, 'sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me,' ? I think whoever said that was never a seven year old girl being belittled by her older brother.

My heart broke today when I overheard a little boy say to his sister "You're fat." She turned to me and said, "that's my brother and he always tells me I am fat and stupid." Images flash before my eyes of this little girl spending years in therapy, having an unhealthy relationship with food and a battered self- image.

I asked the kids how old they were and they responded by saying seven and ten. Since the kids' mother was lounging on a blanket clear across the park, I looked at the little girl and said,"that's not nice of him.You are not fat or stupid. You are beautiful and smart."

I turned to my own sweet girl and hugged her. I told her she is perfect just the way that God made her.

The fierce lioness in me makes me want to shelter my child and protect her from harm. Today I learned firsthand that harm can come in forms other than just physical pain. Physical pain is quickly forgotten the moment a wound stops throbbing. Emotional pain is deep-seated and gnaws away at us until we feel broken.

Give me sticks and stones any day. Words hurt.

I'm a Big Girl!

As you all know, about a month ago we were struggling with a rather repulsive habit of Lil's. Let's just say the the 'painting' went on for about a week and then she decided that it was time to be toilet trained. I guess the 'artistic endeavors' were Lil's way of saying "Hey guys, I am ready to ditch the diaper." I have not changed a single nasty diaper in the last several weeks.

Now we have another issue to deal with. There has been a lot of nudity around our house- and it's not me and Ben stripping down. Lil has been spending most of her time at home in the nude. As soon as she wakes up in the morning, the kid insists on ripping off all of her clothes. Because it is the summer I have not been putting up much of a protest. I guess if she is still doing this at 15, we will have a bigger problem on our hands. 

The 4th

Hey! Thanks for taking the time to stop at our neglected blog.

My lack of presence on this blog is mostly due to the fact that when I am on the computer these days it's because I am working for a client. Hence the lack of time for fun, little, fluffy posts riddled with pics of my not-so small baby girl.

Here is a montage of Lil's first 4th of July in her new country! It was steaming hot, so after about an hour of sweating it out at the local parade we headed over to her Grandparent's for a pool party. For those of you that know my parents you may be asking yourselves 'did they get a pool?' As you can see from the last pic at the bottom, Ben and I took the liberties of installing a first-class pool in my parent's yard. This sucker is about 8ft wide and has drink holders for its more adult swimmers.