white picket fence

splish splash.

We've been doing a little too much of this lately. I think spending so much time inside when it was 95-100 degrees out for weeks put us in a bit of a rut. But we all feel much happier when we spend more time outside. So yesterday I put out our little kiddie pool and the kids had fun. 

Norah's hair is ADORABLE these days, but so unruly. It's not quite long enough for pigtails and she always pulls barettes out. Any tips from moms of older girls?

Playing in the pool is fun for the kids but it makes me feel like all I do is sit nearby and repeat the same three things. "Don't drink pool water!! Don't splash your sister! Put that hose down!!" Over and over. 

And also, "get that water away from my camera!" So. The camera doesn't stay out for too long. 

they make the house smell nice too.

We've had a steady stream of bouquets in the house lately, mostly harvested from this spring's early flowering bulbs and bushes in the backyard. Or Trader Joe's $3.99 specials. When it comes to flowers, I'm a simple girl. Give me a few wildflowers in a mason jar over $70 worth of red roses anyday. 

smarch!

This past month will forever be remember by me as Smarch. Smarch = summer March. 

Sometimes we went outside in the morning before we even changed out of our pajamas, and some mornings the kids got so dirty they needed baths by 8:30 am. Norah's hands and knees were stained brown from crawling around in the grass. I feel like we were in constant Ragamuffin mode: dirty, barefoot, trailing mud into the house. We chatted with our neighbors, went on walks, looked at bugs, listened to the birds, poked around in the dirt. That's summertime.

And it's times like these I wouldn't trade my life as a stay at home mom for any office job. I feel so lucky to able to take advantage of beautiful days and live in nature a little more, and encourage my kids to do the same. (Poor Norah, she's already tired of being inside for the cold and wet days of the past week. She spends a lot of time pointing at the door and crying.)