Lake Ann. Year Six.

It's hard to believe this was our sixth year heading up to Lake Ann, right outside of Traverse City, Michigan. Georgia's fifth year.  She's been going every summer starting at four months old.  She had her first taste of rice cereal there sitting on the kitchen table, her first boat ride, her first bite of an ice-cream cone at the Pine Cone in Glen Arbor, Michigan (also at four months old--yep...that's true), she collected her first sea-shells there, and took her first run down the shores of Lake Michigan when she was about two years old a few years back during this week. It holds a lot of memories......ones best shared in pictures.

How incredible is this light? Sometimes the universe just wants you to have a shot like this.

We spent quite a bit of time at Lake Michigan this year.  We discovered an off-the-beaten-path beach last year in Good Harbor, Michigan that is truly reminiscent of those Pure Michigan ads you've seen.  Not very many people know about it and we never shared the beach with more than four or five other groups each day that we went.  It's like no other beach I've ever been to and although I love the ocean oh-so-much......I'm going to say.......it has nothing on this stretch of beach in Good Harbor along Lake Michigan.  It's totally true.  I promise.

Georgia was pretty determined to get up on the SUP (that's right--if you're going to do it--you have to use the correct acronyms.....you just have to) all by herself.  Success!

And I love this sass. 

 Lake Michigan this calm--unheard of.

My sister the yogi.  Head stands in a studio are beyond my reach--let alone a paddle board SUP in Lake Michigan.

It was a great week as usual.  One of our hottest on record.  I didn't do my hair once and I think I put on make-up one day.  And as usual--I wore about 1/4 of the clothes that I brought.  Why can't I get a handle on that?

See you again soon Lake Ann!

Fourth of July in Pictures.

We did 4th of July the way little kids remember 4th of July yesterday.  One of the most amazing things about having kids is seeing things through their eyes, that because of your age, you've forgotten to see--or you've just grown numb to.

Not a lot to say about that....just a lot to look at.........

Parade in the morning.........

I appreciate the toothbrush that the local dental practice threw out to combat all the candy.  Good try folks.  Your contribution to the parade was about as appreciated as the lady that tries to pass off raisins or nickels as appropriate trick-or-treating fare.

In the evening we returned to Greenfield Village for their Salute to America celebration. We've gone for the past two years with a group of friends and their parents that I grew up with.  If you're ever in the Detroit area for the fourth I highly recommend it.

Hope your fourth was as happy and that your weekend is great too!

We Spend a Lot of Time on a Few Great Things.

Thank you Apple for that amazing line from your most recent commercial.  Every time the ad comes on I wait on the edge of the couch for it and I almost get teary every time your narrator says it. You better be careful.  Bob Costas is liable to steal it and use it in an equally touching and moving Olympic Games human interest story of how Russia's most thrilling new gymnast has trekked back and forth to the ramshackle gym in her Siberian village for ten years to bring home the gold.  The line is that good. It's truly amazing.

And so, so true.

We spend a lot of time on a few great things.

If you let yourself get really contemplative it's one of those lines that can take your breath away a little bit.  I've found myself thinking about that sentiment a lot in the last three weeks--ever since I first heard it.

Yes.  I've spent a lot of time thinking about something I heard in an Apple commercial.

But really, it's so true and sometimes when the opposite is true it's convicting in a crucial way.
What are the few great things that I spend a lot of time on?
What are the millions of unimportant things that I spend a lot of time on?

I want my list of the 'few great things' to be......

1.  My faith.
2.  My marriage.
3.  Georgia.
4.  Strong relationships with people I see on a regular basis.

And of course my list of a million unimportant things that I currently spend a lot of time on but I don't want to includes--but is definitely not limited to......

1.  Obsessing about losing five pounds....or ten....
2.  Dust in my house and other various cleaning obsessions.
3.  The computer.
4.  Other people that I have NO control over.

So what are yours?  What are the few great things that you want to spend a lot of time on?  A few, just a few.

I think you've heard it before. Quality, not quantity--when it comes to people, relationships, experiences, and everything in between.

Oh Apple.  You make amazing products and you challenge us to be better people.  All at the same time.  What can't you do?

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On a semi-unrelated note.............

I made Georgia take a walk in the rain with me yesterday.  She didn't like it. We did it all the time growing up and loved it.  I'm confident one day she'll appreciate it.  For now though--she just kept begging to go back home.  

Summer Stream of Consciousness....About Food.

Summer has been jam-packed so far.  And I'm a-okay with that because I kind of feel like that is what summer is for.  I swept up grass clippings and sand from the kitchen floor last night after dinner and was happy about that, I've washed at least three beach towels and bathing suits each day for the last week and I'm happy about that too, and I've unpacked a weekend's worth of clothes each Sunday night for the last three weeks after Georgia gets to bed way past her bedtime, and I'm pretty happy about all of that too.  We are a good-summer-busy.

I had all these grand summer resolutions (which I'm learning are as futile as New Year's resolutions) when school was done for the year and have made barely a dent in them.  Which is frustrating and liberating all at the same time--more on that below.  

Instead, we've been spending most days like this.........

Rainbow prints....get some of that high pigment Crayola sidewalk chalk, draw a small rainbow, spray it with a water bottle, and when it's nice and wet gently put your foot or your hand on it and then make prints all over your driveway.  They're so cool!  Thanks to our creative Madi for coming up with these little sidewalk works of art.......

One of my goals for this summer was {kind-of} re-vamping my pantry.  And not really the organizational re-vamping--the what's in there kind of re-vamping.  I've read three amazing books in the last year, French Kids Eat Everything, Food Rules, and Bread & Wine that all deal with our attitudes and beliefs about what we put into our bodies, how it's to be enjoyed, and the way in which we should approach it.  They're all a little bit different, and a little bit the same.

Where one might discuss avoiding food extremism (which I'm all about) and just incorporating simple, easy-to-handle "rules" about being more healthy and aware, another one deals with what we teach our kids about food based on........ how many snacks we give them (just as one example), and yet another one gives practical and mostly healthy, whole, recipes to instill an intelligent love of food and making good meals for those we love.  They're all poignant.  And yet--I read them and I'm left feeling a little overwhelmed because there is just no way I can successfully do everything they mention--save for Bread & Wine; a book that is inspirational and convicting while not leaving you feeling overwhelmed.

So anyway--I knew that with the start of summer and the promise of more free-time {allegedly} I wanted to weave some of these ideas into our family pantry with more permanence.  One of the elements of Food Rules that I appreciate the most is that the author states right from the get-go that you shouldn't try and incorporate all of his rules.  You should do a few at a time until you're ready for more.  

One of my favorites?  Five ingredients or less that are things your grandma could pronounce.  In other words--ingredients that are actually food that you could buy.  In general--I'm doing fairly well at this.  I do have to stand around reading labels longer in the grocery aisle and I can't shake Georgia's love of nutri-grain bars and macaroni and cheese even though I've tired replacing them with various home-made versions--but I'm okay with that because I'm not going to make this an obsession--just a general good practice.

Additionally, one of the concepts that resonated with me the most from French Kids Eat Everything is the one about not letting our kids snack.  Because American kids are so frequently pacified with snacking while riding in the car, waiting in line, being patient while mom is on the phone, or because they're bored, they are less hungry than they should be at meal times meaning they are more picky about what is put in front of them.  They can be.  They're just not that hungry....so if they don't eat what's put in front of them--no big deal.  They'll catch some fruit snacks in about an hour.  It's a lot easier to get kids to try new stuff when they're actually REALLY REALLY  hungry.  We've gotten pretty good about no snacks between breakfast and lunch and only one really good snack between lunch and dinner.  That one gets pushed a little bit since Chris doesn't get home from work until around 6:00 and Georgia's stomach needs a little more TLC than that.

And there's so much more.  So much more.  I'm trying to keep these things at the forefront of my mind on most days when it comes time to make lunch and dinner and go to the grocery store.  And like I said above, I want it to be a general good practice, not a rigid habit that results in it being a deterrent to good choices.

How about you?  What are your tricks for eating healthier?  What are your summer goals?

DIY Nature Walk Purse

There was about a fifteen minute break in the rain and mist yesterday.  So Georgia and I headed outside to collect some 'treasures' for a little DIY that I had in mind. When we got back inside we laid them out to dry while we ate lunch. 

And then we got to work!  If you want to make your own--all you'll need is contact paper, outdoor treasures, some ribbon, a hole punch, and some colored tape.  Cut four pieces of contact paper to equal size.  Make them rather large--you're making a purse so you'll want it big enough to fit things inside of. 

Then, peel the backing off of one sheet of contact paper.  Lay it sticky side up on a flat surface and let your little designer get to work decorating it with some of the beautiful leaves and flowers you found on your nature walk. 

When there is enough on the contact paper peel the backing off your second sheet and lay it sticky side down, carefully, over your flowers and leaves.  Press the two sides together firmly to create a seal. 

You'll probably want to trim the edges. 

Repeat the above steps to create a second sealed sheet of leaves and flowers.  Now you have two sides for the purse.  Tape them together on the outside with some decorative masking or washi tape leaving the top open to make a pouch. 

How great do these leaves and curly-cues look? 

Then, punch two holes at the top of the purse on either side that you'll attach the ribbon strap to. 

Tie ribbon through each hole.  I had to measure my length of ribbon a few times to get it to hit in the right place on my four-year old.

Voila!

Our finished product is big enough to hold some stuffed animals, necessary for every walk, sticks and stones we find along the way, a library book, or a picnic lunch.

You could do this so many different ways.  I'm so excited about how beautiful this turned out and how much of it my four year old was able to do on her own or help me with!