vacay week recap plus a question!

last week we had a wonderful time away in morro bay. it was the perfect vacation for our family, and exactly what we needed. when we are at home our lives are so, so full with different obligations and relationships: preschool co-op (which is LOTS of work), monrovia's school, church, old friends, neighborhood work, our intentional community, family, staying connected to friends from deaf school... we have a lot going on. 

sometimes we vacation with others, sometimes (more rarely) alone as a family. i've decided that having at least a few days together with just the four of us is my favorite- it's just the respite we need after going, going, going week after week. last week was just right for where i was at: feeling weary, tired from our schedule, wanting to be present and not racing around, a little beat up emotionally. 

(probably too many pictures follow but you can just scroll on down past them for more words, or go slowly and enjoy the scenery and my cute offspring)

once we made the drive down, during which (miraculously) the ratio to happy as can be moments to fighting or quarreling moments was a lot to a little...

we got to our destination! morro bay. 

if i was awesome, and spent a few minutes photoshopping out that inconvenient white car growing out of my daughter's shoulder, this would be an awesome picture. 

just pretend it isn't there, and that my children are one with nature.

in this case, a really big rock.

 

we were so, so lucky that the home we stayed at was generously shared with us for the week. it was such a peaceful space.

and extra needed since our tax bill this year wiped out a big ole chunk of change 

(and then some!)

this is what our days looked like:

matt up early to surf + beach + working out + biking neighborhood + family walks + "school" time for the girls + drawing + happy hour + world cup watching + blogging for me + naps (holy two hour naps every day for my girls!) + morro bay exploring + a movie or mad men episode after the girls went down to sleep + hanging out + reading.

yep, that pretty much covers every day!

same stuff + different days = perfect.

biking..

newsflash: ruby can ride a bike! 

i'd like to take a brief moment to dwell on the fact that this momma taught both girls to bike on the annual preschool camping trip!

monrovia learned last year and ruby this year!

yay for me, but really yay for them.

beach time 

 it was windy and cold, y'all

 

 i love this moment of my girl playing in the water

 

 

being cool in the car

 

art time

plus school time every day

 more beach time

 4 year old fashion

 i got some great solo beach walks in

 more surfing

 tiny treasures

 neighborhood discovery walks

 learning how to play uno!

 holy awesome succulents, morro bay

 we found some good playgrounds,

because you know, we have kids and all.

 

 the girls shared a bed and we slept in the room right next to them.

basically they got to snuggle all the time. 

can you tell how miserable they were?

oh, that's gigi in the middle.

 my girls made a library to check out books

ice cream run! 

yes, we are the best parents ever.

 happy hour on the balcony for matt & me!

that would be a negroni, my friends.

 lots of family reading times

 exploring the downtown shops +

i loved this spot with so many cool succulents!

um, maybe i already own most of these varieties though...

i have an issue.

 we made the drive to matt's all time favorite steak spot: jocko's.

it's super old school, and amazing.

happy girls on teh ebach

 

we had so much time to play

 and hang

it was perfect.

i've realized what feels like vacation to me: no schedule, working out every day, blogging, reading, slow meals, and little daily adventures whether that is a walk or somewhere more amazing like the beach. not having to rush, not having to check off a big list. 

one thing that helps our family is that as we drive to our destination we write down a list of what expectations we all have for the week. yes, even our girls add to the list! this might seem counter to what i just said about not liking obligations or checking off a list. but this feels different to me - it's verbalizing and knowing what feels good to each of us for that time away. we might not get to do it all, but at least then we can honor what is life giving or fun for the whole family; the vacation isn't then driven by one personalities preference, and we can figure out the time and space to make different expectations happen throughout the time. 

i'm curious what makes a vacation feel good to you? what things are restful or special or fill in the blank for you or for your family? do you find that you and your partner vacation differently? (that's a topic for another time, but believe you me, over the years we have definitely had moments of not being on the same vacation page!) talk to me, people.

let it go, let it go!

maybe your children are like mine, and they belt out songs from frozen all the live long day!

of course, back when we first found out that m was deaf, one of the things i grieved the most was her not being able to hear music, and not being able to sing or know the joy of music. i had no idea just how verbal my deaf child would become- and how many times i would tell her to stop talking or singing, to quiet down and to use her indoor voice. people, my child is so, so nonstop with the talk-fest. even for me, it's easy to forget how incredibly miraculous it is that m can sing and talk and listen, and that she is also profoundly deaf.

maybe you know our family, and m's deafness and singing/talking/shouting/story telling is very normal, just as it is for us. but maybe you just found out your child or baby is deaf and you've decided that you want to pursue cochlear implants, and you wonder what life will look like down the road. if that's the case (or you don't have a deaf kiddo but you think my kid is awesome and you just want to hear m's version of let it go) then press play for one minute and nine seconds of the miraculous yet mundane.



(sidenote: if you are trying to learn the words of the song do not memorize this very incorrect, but very 6 year old version. oh believe me- i have tried to tell m what the right lyrics are, but of course i am wrong because i don't know anything about frozen. even though i have heard this song about 6,459 times in the past 6 months.)

birthday big, birthday small

these sweet handfuls have birthdays in april (little m) and may (ruby), with matt's birthday smack between them at the end of april. while m is decidedly an extrovert who believes a party is only a party if there are a ton of people and lots of decorations and special treats, ruby likes more low key events. in april and may we had a whole bunch of events that we either hosted or were pretty involved in, so way ahead of time i decided that a very small birthday would be best for ruby- both because i knew by the end of may we would be wiped out from a hectic schedule, and more importantly, because that's ruby's preference anyway.

so, first up? birthday big for our 6 year old:

m asked for a rainbow cake, so that became the overriding theme. at the time of her birthday (um, yes, this post is about a birthday way back in april- i realize it is now mid-june; better late than never) we had chosen to shop locally for the season of lent. (sidebar: that in and of itself probably deserves a post because it was much much harder than i thought it would be, and yet i also learned a lot form doing it. BUT it was not convenient when i was trying to plan a birthday party! no target, people! no party supply store! seriously, oakland? get it together!)

we decided to get a bounce house for her party, which we'd never done before. i swear it was the best $100 we've spent on a party. loads of high energy kids occupied for hours! we decided to put it out in our driveway to spare our brand new sod that matt had put down just two weeks before.

my kind friend nicole lent some pretty paper lanterns to add to my collection (since i couldn't leave oakland to buy some of my own!) and to complete my vision, which was really more like this, but the wind did not cooperate!

 new backyard ready for party time! lots to go, but we are getting there!

fun friends and colliding worlds, which i always love 

 plus aforementioned crazy kids happily bouncing for hours

 

i topped the cake with gumballs in the shape of a 6, and let me tell you, the rainbow cake never fails to delight!

i made cute little favors with chalk and little paper baskets (both from the dollar store); my requirement was that the favor had to be usable and not just more crappy plastic that would break in 5 seconds. they only cost about 25 cents each, the kids loved them, and i could use the leftover favors in our backyard! 

 at the end of the day, my girl was 6, we were exhausted, and so we took a family nap in the bounce house after the festivities.

next up? birthday small for our 4 year old:

ruby picked her favorite little girls to join her, and chose a tea party! their parents could drop them off, which kept them feeling like big girls and also kept the party feeling small. ruby's grandmas and some of her aunts also came, making it a real girls only tea party! 

i reused the paper lanterns i'd made for my sister-in-law-to-be's bridal shower the weekend before.

 we had fancy treats on fancy china

 matt's mom made cute cakepops that were the hit of the party! 

all of the girls opted for cakepops;

they might be big girls but they are still kind of little after all.

 each little girl got some fun and fancy jewelry, and their nametag was a faux teabag

 

 our activity was to go make headbands, 

since i know each of these little girls and they are not so much the hat type!

 it was so much fun!

 and for dessert?

a white cake with lemon curd filled layers and a lemon buttercream frosting.

yum!

 the sweet six who came to celebrate our ruby

their favors? lisa frank coloring books, because who doesn't like unicorns and horses and glamorous pictures to color in? especially if you're big enough to be dropped off at a tea party!

hooray for little girls, 

hooray for celebrating the lives of these daughters, 

hooray for life and health and cake and silly faces and friends and family 

and excuses to party, big or small!