dirty happy kids

I'm not sure if I've stated that summer is actually my favorite season. I love the beach, pools, barbecues, the 4th of July, warm summer evenings playing outside, ice cream, flip flops, camping and memories of summers as a kid. I love it all. I complain because perhaps my summers have been hijacked slightly by the children. However, I do get to experience summer as a kid all over again. So that's nice. I just wanted to clear that up for the record.

One good thing about old dogs is that you can put giant sunglasses on them and they don't move. Twitch is such a cranky old man who does not give one rip about anything anymore. He used to obey house rules like no eating off the table, counter or out of children's hands. Don't go out front unless given permission. He pretends like he can't hear or see anything but I think he can. 

And he does not care when there's something on his dog bed. It's like that baby doll isn't even there.

These complete any outfit.

Summer TV watching. How did their legs get so long?

More from last week's VBS

My thankful thing this week is getting to see my sister Stephanie! I have sisters all over the place. This pretty lady lives in Michigan so it's been quite a few years since we've been able to hang out. She's one of the sweetest people ever and so is her gorgeous daughter Lauren. I was only able to spend a few hours with them at the beach in Santa Monica which consisted mostly of trips to the bathroom with the littles, getting sand out of Angus's eyes, applying sunscreen, looking for lost toys in the sand and fetching snacks but we were able to hug and smile and catch up a little bit. It was fun to go to Santa Monica again too. I haven't been there in about 15 years.

Steph bought the kids ice cream so of course she's now a favorite. Not sure why this young stranger is staring at me taking pictures. Maybe he thinks I'm a cute mom. Maybe he thinks I'm going overboard with the pics. You never know. He patiently waited his turn to buy ice cream though. 

Angus refused to pee in the ocean so I had to take him all the way to the bathrooms far far away. It was like a 10 minute walk for a 4 year old. Two minutes after we got back to the water, he ran over and yelled, "Gotta poooops!" I rolled my eyes and started walking back to the bathrooms with him.

Mommy? I need a piggy back ride.

Ugh, fine.

You're gonna have to run mommy.

What?! No I can't buddy.

Yes you caaaan.

Ugh, fine.

So I did. Best workout of my life.

My mom's church had a VBS (Vacation Bible School) kickoff that involved creepy crawly things like lizards, spiders and snakes. I sent the middles since they're into that sort of thing. Winter wouldn't agree to it unless she was allowed to touch and hold things. Mom kept them for two nights. Another thankful thing of course. Love you mom!

When I dropped them off, I caught Addie spying on sleeping Auntie Debie with binoculars.

These adorable cousins are 4 months apart. Ethan got my bro Mike's height. Addie got Grandma Donna's lack of height. 😊 Thanks for the pics Auntie Haide! ❤️

Uncle Michael is so patient with the crazy middles. 

Mya wanted to have a girl's day (+ Angus) and go to the thrift store. She LOVES unicorn stuff so she was beyond excited to find this. 

Dan's been hard at work bringing home the bacon. Here's a couple pics he sent home recently. They rescued a hawk from a chimney, put out a house fire in San Gabriel (and rescued 3 cats, 1 dog and 3 lizards in the process) and extricated an older gentleman from a car. Oh and handled a bee situation. I've made peace with the fact that bees keep us alive and I hate them at the same time.

Mya had a procedure on her foot. A few months ago, we thought she had a very deep splinter. We took her to the doctor and he told us to give it time. Well it turned out to be a plantar wart that needed to be cut out. Mya was super brave and handled everything like a rockstar. Dan took her in because he's incharge of everything medical, especially stuff that may make me pass out like someone cutting into my 9 year old's foot.

It's Dan's birthday today!

Our conversation last night:

Me: How old are you going to be tomorrow honey?

Dan: Ummm 43 or 44.

Me: I was thinking 44 or 45.

Dan: So probably 44.

Me: Well you were born in 75 and it's 2019 so it has to end with a 4. So yeah, 44.

Mya likes to change the screen saver when it's his birthday. Last year it said "Happy Birthday!" This year she did this. 

Dan loves Mexican food and since I really only know how to make enchiladas that he's had a hundred times, I recruited my friend Elizabeth to make a Mexican feast for him. She's his new favorite person. 

We filled our bellies and Dan took a little nap with a toothpick in his mouth.

Happy birthday honey!! 

This stuff is okay but it doesn't taste like avocados. Like at all. It is green though... It tastes like regular tzatziki dip, which I like. So I'll eat it. Tzatziki dip is good with pita crackers or pita bread. Or in a pita pocket with meat and lettuce. It's also good with anything Mediterranean. It's like the Mediterranean sour cream?

This beer is pretty good if you're looking for a light summer beer. The Trader Joe's employee told me it tastes like Corona but it doesn't at all. It's sorta sweet and not at all skunky like Corona. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I happen to like that weird Corona taste. Just wanted to inform you fully. Mom, you probably won't like this beer. 😆

These are known at our house as egg thingies. They're $2.29. I love them. The kids actually like them too. They used to have a good mushroom spinach one but they replaced it with a different kind that is quite disgusting so make sure you don't get that one. I cook them a bit longer than the directions tell you to. They're better in the toaster oven than the microwave but we are microwave-less so we have no choice.

These are a tasty treat. But I can only eat one bite at a time followed by a glass of ice water. They cross that boarder into spicy town for me. But they're SO good.