trifecta

We had a mini heat wave here which is hopefully breaking today.

So, for the third day in a row we hit the beach in the afternoon when it gets the hottest in our non-air conditioned house.

I love that we live close enough that we can go for just an hour or two to cool off for a bit (And, yes I am aware of the fact we live in one of the most moderate climates in the world.)

We brought some Yan-Yan treats. The girls had never had them before and Katie thought the sayings on the sticks were hilarious.

Apparently the Japanese guy at Meiji with an English thesaurus and 4-year old humor align because if you haven't seen the sticks, they are a bit -- um quirky.

music for the masses

Now that is it's officially fall it has been blazing hot.

Perfect for sitting out in the sun at the Hillsides concert this weekend, right?

Virtually the entire seating area was smack in the sun.

We spent most of the time in the kids craft area.

You couldn't see the stage, but you could hear the music. So we listened to pretty much all of the Gin Blossoms back there. Not exactly how we envisioned it, but the girls were happy.

We have Katie's class stuffed owl for the week, so we also took her (Olivia) with us.

One booth featured raptors -- as well dead raptors on sticks (nice, right?). We found a distant cousin of Olivia's...

We finally got a lick of shade at our seats toward the end of the concert. So we sat and ate some snow cones.

Mo whole-hand feeding Papa some snack

what happens

when Papa supervises a craft after dinner.

The three of them blew through $10 worth of glitter in about 12 minutes.

But, the girls had fun (and then, a bath).

bubble fun

I'm loving that they are truly enjoying each other these days.

making bubble beards

The increased interaction has definitely upped the ante when it comes to fights. But, I'm sure it's nothing compared to what it will be like later when -- say, they are fighting over the same boy at school.

Until then...

burgeoning elizabeth taylor?

Choir teacher: What is something God made that you like?

Katie: Jewelry.

Happy Friday!

imagination at play

We went to the beach yesterday with friends and it never ceases to amaze me how much imagination kids can have.

Last year the girls were afraid of the seaweed. This year, they have embraced it.

They've learned they can jump over it.

Go under it.

Make it into a lasso or "fish" with it.

Sometimes the old stairs are a bus that takes them to different places. They'll leap off run around on an adventure and then high-tail it back to the bus so they can "go" somewhere else.

Playing with feathers has also been a big hit these days. It still kind of grosses me out when I see my children carrying bouquets of dirty feathers.

But they were so happy yesterday making their garden (a.k.a. feather graveyard) and sprinkling it with sand and water.

There are even days when the girls will ignore everything around them and just sit in the sand and play as we don't have a sandbox in our backyard (we do) or sand isn't a fixture at virtually every playground we go to (it is).

I don't know what it is, I mean, my kids don't make sand angels at the playground.

Tent-building has become a popular activity at home, which has extended to the beach as well.

Nothing like trying to shove 4 girls under a single beach towel.

And, of course they love the water even though they don't quite swim, boogie board or body surf yet.

Here's to more beach days for everyone.

snack time

I heart

Combine it with these cookies we have leftover from Mo's birthday party.

And, they taste an awful lot like Yan Yan sticks.

I'm currently about half-way through the jar.

$2.50 of happiness

Went to the flea market with Mo yesterday and bought three pairs of clip on earrings.

They could not have been bestowed on happier recipients.

(I could not get a good shot of Mo wearing them for the life of me.)

Speaking of fashion. I'm selling these beloved shoes here if you or anyone else is interested.

They have never been worn. I've been holding onto them -- since the late 90s -- waiting for the perfect outfit/event. Alas, it's time to get rid of them. Sniff, sniff.

eight years

I can't believe we've been married for eight years today.

While this is not the most aesthetically beautiful picture it is one of my all-time favorites.

After we came back from our honeymoon we had a banquet in San Francisco's Chinatown.

While walking on any busy city sidewalk with a giant dress is difficult, Chinatown presents an even larger problem: Chinese people. Personal space is pretty much nil and they can be known to get a little pushy at times.

He was getting frustrated to say the least.

So this is him choosing to walk in the middle of the street versus the sidewalk with my dress.

Picture of us (and Mo) in the spot we got married this May. Photo by Katie.

you know how sometimes the box

is better than the toy?

This week we got a U.S. map to put behind Maddie's door. It was too big so I trimmed it to fit.

Katie took the scraps while I was cleaning up breakfast and getting ready and made this.

That would be her own tape measure measuring 0...

...to 60

All morning she was running around the house measuring things in what I call the "Katric" system.

The increments are a bit larger than traditional inches, e.g., while I normally stand an impressive 62 inches, I'm only about 57 "kinches."