Curious Bird

:dizzy:

 

:snaps from the weekend:

This weekend...

the boys and I attended a birthday party with the best food -- It's no surprise because the birthday girl's parents are major foodies. Lucky us. 

I watched Felix feed grapes to a goat named Mulberry and take his very first pony ride. He was beside himself with joy. He told me he is going to spend all the money in his piggy bank for a pony of his own. Oh dear. 

D and I got a babysitter and walked a few blocks to a friend's party. It was like the pre-kid days all over again. Well, except for having to wake up the next morning at 6am. Kids...

It rained A LOT. So much that I had to buy a new umbrella. Felix has already told me the new umbrella belongs to him. 

I started a big batch of kraut. Have you fermented veggies before? So easy and so good. I highly recommend it. 

Dustin and I watched Nebraska, a sad, yet beautiful film by Alexander Payne. 

All of our basil plants had to be pulled. Sadly. All the rain finally did them in. 

A big batch of chocolate chip cookies was made. I rolled half the dough in parchment and put it in the freezer, something I hadn't done in a while. Now we can bake a few cookies whenever we want. 

I started reading this and this. Sometimes I really enjoy reading two books at once. 

Here is what some of our weekend looked like.

 

More soon,

L.  

 

 

:this moment:

A Friday ritual started by SouleMama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  

Happy weekend!

Leya

:small cake, big love:

 

 

We celebrated our favorite guy's birthday yesterday. We had a wee little and very delicious cake with the boys and then a real date night out just the two of us. Our sitter took the bottom photo. Can you tell how excited we are to be on our way to a nice restaurant together? 

Happy Birthday to my sweetheart. So grateful for him. 

:snaps from the weekend:

This weekend there was...

plenty of rain. I didn't mind; it reminded me of my days living in Oregon. those were good days.
 
homemade handpies. the ones with cream cheese and strawberry jam were the best. 

a trip to the farmers market. the bubble man was there. we met up with friends. and the tomatoes were the prettiest yet. 

some work on the house. stuff was actually put on the walls. we're making more headway than I expected.

a morning all to myself. wish I had listened to a podcast. next time I'll remember to. 

a walk in the new neighborhood. the yard down the street has the best black-eyed susans. I want some. 

a phone call that made me wish I lived closer to family. missing my grandmother and the funny phrases she tends to use.  

 

More soon, 
L. 

:a good Habit to have:

This photo was taken almost two years ago on a lovely evening when Felix was a few months past his second birthday and Roman was a wee newborn. I remember snapping it - and a bunch more - and thinking how much I was enjoying the evening and my little family. I was also likely overwhelmed and tired, but I'm fairly sure I was able to pack all that away and enjoy the beautiful evening. The magic hour light was just too good. I wanted it to last forever but I knew that wasn't possible. I love capturing bits from my days and then looking back on them. Remembering them. Shaking my head a little at how quickly time can accelerate.

I suppose that's why every time the lovely women over at Habit invite me to join in I always jump at the chance. I also like having a project and a reason to carry my camera around more. Habit helps me see my days a little differently. I enjoy that. So, yeah, you can find me over there for all of August and September. I'm bringing along a friend, too. Having loved Brooke's photos and words for years now, I'm thrilled she has agreed to join me. Hope you'll take a peek. 

Have a wonderful weekend, 

L. 

:Sun, salt and sand. Part two:

This trip helped me completely understand why a lot of people we know rent the same beach house at the same beach every year. It's crystal clear now -- when you find something that works there is no reason to look elsewhere. We'd definitely revisit our last spot next year. And we may. It's silly to admit but the outdoor shower might have been my very favorite thing about our beach house. Note to self: get a place in the country and install yourself an outdoor shower pronto! 

The kids played games and watched Totoro. We intended to bring Ponyo, which would have been perfect for the beach, but I only brought the case, leaving the dvd at home in our player. Duh.  Felix was also introduced to Frozen for the first time. I think it's safe to say his cousin is a pretty big fan. It's funny, though, from the night we watched it Felix would come up to me and ask me to remind him what Elsa's name was. He could not for the life of him remember her name. Kooky boy.

There was a glorious rainbow one evening. The same evening we used the gas grill to make s'mores. Good stuff. The grown-ups played Cards Against Humanity and Celebrity after the kids went to bed. Have you played Cards Against Humanity? Man oh man, that game is raunchy and super funny. And you know I feel extremely comfortable with my in-laws to play a game like that. I can easily giggle to myself now just thinking of some of the silly cards people played. 

No trip to the beach is complete without a visit to the aquarium. Although I must admit that swimming in the ocean the day after seeing the sharks at the aquarium made me feel a little nervous. Sharks are such beautiful creatures, but terrifying! 

Hope your summer is full of adventures and maybe a rainbow or two. 

Fondly, 
Leya 

:Sun, salt and sand. Part one:

We just returned from spending a week at the beach in Emerald Isle, NC. It was the best of times and our days were so full we practically fell in our beds every night. Dustin's parents and his sister's family joined us for the week. Our kiddos are all the same age, give or take a few months, and they had a great time splashing in the salty ocean and running wild throughout the beach house. I mean that in the best way. Cousins!

We ate like kings. One thing we did that we will ALWAYS do on future trips (and I highly recommend) is that we divvied up meal-planning and cooking responsibilities between each family. It worked brilliantly and everyone who had the night off was able to relax completely knowing it was someone else's turn to cook dinner. 

Felix loved the ocean. He could spend all day splashing in those salty waves. Roman took a few days to get comfortable with the water -- the shallow tide pools and digging in the sand suited him much better, which was fine with me. The combination of ocean and toddler puts me on high alert! 

There were long quiet afternoons when the kids napped and we read or played cards. S'mores and cookie ice cream sandwiches were devoured. Like I said, it was the best of times. 

I'll be back later in the week with more photos and stories to share. 

xo, 
Leya 

 

Hellloooo? Anyone still out there?

After a couple of months of total silence, I'm pretty sure all I hear in this space right now is crickets. Loud crickets. But even so I'm going to give posting here another whirl and see what happens.  

This year -- back in April to be exact -- marked my tenth year sharing bits of my life here, and even though I was feeling as though I may not have much to say or share here anymore, I just cannot quite let CuriousBird go. It has been too good to me. I've come to know too many wonderful people. I'm too grateful for the community I've found. So, here I am again. Hello. I hope you've been well. 

:Four: Another trip around the sun.

Four years ago today we met our sweet boy for the very first time. I will never forget that day and his sweet baby face and all that dark, downy hair. Geesh!

Over the years we've had the best time getting to know this boy of ours. He makes us laugh countless times every day (you should hear his funny stories and observations) and sometimes makes us cry with his kind words and sensitive heart. There are many nights during supper that Dustin and I just look at each other and shake our heads in awe of this magic person we get to know and love (and parent). Can't believe we are so lucky.

Happy Birthday, Felix Augustus!

 

May the longtime sun shine upon you.

Love always,

Mama+Daddy