Rendered Useless

See this adorable little thing? This is Elizabeth, nicknamed our little rascal. At 17 months she is hilarious and boy, does she love to sing. She says words here and there, but she can outsing anyone. If I start singing, she doubles the decibels. She has a fall-back phrase too. I hear her say:"Ee-i-ee-i-oh!" really fast when she's just burning some energy. I have been rendered useless lately because she is at that stage where she likes to weave in and out of my legs or cling desperately to them at all times. Try unloading a dishwasher with that going on. This is the age I adore and abhor. Mostly adore...unless I'm on an airplane.

A quieter moment...

We've had a blast this summer. First, I took Henry and Cannon on a river trip. Harland had to go to Youth Conference later that week so he had to miss the fun. We met up with Dave (my bro) and his family and took a five day trip down the San Juan river. Can you say little boy heaven? They played non-stop with their cousins and got sandy and muddy and squirted each other and jumped in and out of the river and floated and built forts and fought with sticks and created plays and roasted marshmellows and helped me put up the tent and take it down everyday. Yep, little boy heaven. The next week we went to California with Mimi's family (my sis). We met up with Ginny's family (another sis), they live in San Juan Capistrano. We spent seven days playing some more. Here's Henry at San Onofre where we had a bonfire one night.

Here's my mom, Harland and Jason with my nephews Jamison and Porter in Laguna. Porter lifeguards at Laguna and surrounding beaches, so if you head on down, look for him! Or look for Spencer (the other twin) at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna all summer. He's teaching kids pottery. The boys learned a little about the wheel and made cereal bowls. Probably Henry's favorite thing about the trip...

The older we get, the more people ask if Mimi and I are twins. I feel sorry for her. Here we are Ruby's on the Pier in Newport. I wonder if any locals go there....

Heather's paradise...my kids, my husband, and row after row of beach houses on Balboa Island. If you've been to my house, you will know immediately that I wish I lived on the beach. In the meantime, I satisfy the craving by taking in the shake shingles, charming criss-cross porches, gables and everything else at Balboa...

Yay for Newport!

I just love summer, can you tell? But relaxing it is not. Just like Sundays. Sundays and summer are supposed to be a time to regroup, to relax. I find them to be the busiest times of all. Am I alone in this? You must share your thoughts...