fabulous 4th

the family gathers to celebrate Independence Day

So let's see...Oh yeah, I'm almost caught up. It's only the 18th and I'm just now blogging about the 4th. It was that month hiatus that threw me. Anyhoo, as I was uploading these photos I was thinking, how shocking, another post about family and the beach and love and blessings. Is there more?

Well, sometimes there is Augustus yelling "NOOOO" at Frida, or Ree-ta as he calls her, and then they go into their three stooges routine with straight-arm whapping each other and hair pulling and head bonking and while it isn't really appropriate or loving behavior, sometimes I must say it is comical.

Sometimes I am less than a model of patience, understanding and speaking in a calm manner or loving tone, but since we don't have any photos of all that, we'll just stick with documenting and blogging about the glory of it all, not the gory details.

Aunt Tammy playing in the tidal pools with Augustus, Magdalena and a little buddy

Jeanna and Dave of the hat brigade, maxin' and relaxin' beach pool style.

pool time with the babes.

Magdalena would spend every second of every day in the pool if she could. I know she loves the beach and playing in the sand and the waves and the little tidal pools, but I think she only remembers how much she loves swimming in the pool because that is all she talks about. When are we going to the pool? Can we go to the pool now? I want to go to the pool. Get the picture? But can you blame her? To go from not being able to swim, to swimming, real staying-under-water-as-long-as-you-can, jumping in from the side, getting thrown by papa or me, doing under-water flips, retrieving dive sticks from the bottom Swimming! What freedom! What joy! I love watching her swim, it's the stuff summers are made of.

poolside with Uncle Neil

I think Augustus and Magdalena are the most fortunate children in the world. They have their abuela here, they have two sets of Aunties and Uncles living right here in Jax, and then they have Aunt Tammy and Uncle Neil close enough to see relatively often. Aunt Tammy and Uncle Neil come in town and immediately get most favored Aunt and Uncle status due to their exotic nature and scarce sightings and, need I mention, incredible goodies that seem to accompany them with each visit.

watching the fireworks with Uncle Neil

getting crafty with Aunt Tammy

Just in case you ever happen upon a craft that you just can't justify making yourself, like, oh, playing with yarn and glue, and you just must make that craft, then follow Tammy's lead and just get crafty with the little ones! And in case there isn't enough glue, remember, glue or paste, rather, is just flour and water! A cup, some flour and water, pieces of yarn and about a sticky 30 minutes later and you have your cups. Being that this is Florida and we used homemade paste, the cups took longer than planned to dry but turned out rather darling.

Augustus' cup

extended clan Barnas

So I have mentioned what a wonderful Aunt and Uncle Tammy and Neil are, but I haven't mentioned what wonderful people they are. Our family just feels more special when they are here, they are such a lovely addition. They're funny, beautiful, smart and loving and we're always thinking of an excuse to get them here.

giveaway link/

Just found this giveaway and let's give it away!
http://playisthething.blogspot.com/

generations

Augustus, Magdalena, Hana

It seems there has been a theme running through my summer travels, and it is that of old friends, reconnections, and second generations. On the big road trip, my children played with the children of my oldest friends, and one new friend. Down in Flagler Beach, the same. And then last week in Amelia Island, once again, I had the distinct joy and pleasure of watching Magdalena and Augustus play with children of dear friends.

Hana, Augustus and Magdalena playing at the brilliant playground/giant sand box at Sliders Restaurant on Fernandina Beach.

Hana and Leo are the children of two of my oldest Jacksonville friends from my post New York days, if you know what I mean. Ahem. Anyhoo, I was Hana's "nanny" when she was a baby. She was the first baby I held for more than a minute. I knew Hana almost like my own. I knew she liked to fall asleep in the Snugli while I vacuumed. I knew she wanted to be in my arms the entire time I was with her. I learned what babies smell like. I learned how babies feel, their skin, their peach fuzz hair. I learned so much from Hana, and also from her mother. Kimmie was a home birth mama, a no-bottle mama, a cloth diaper mama. She and her man Joe had different ideas of a perfect meal, a night at home, and where the t.v. should go, so I should say I also learned from her and Joe that marriage and love and life and family won't always look like a mirror image of single life, just with more people, but a constant give and take. The art of compromise and surrender and, the occasional -oh, that's fine, I don't need to wear a bindi tonight, honey, devil-may-care attitude and optimism.

Augustus and Hana, whom he, by the way, adores

Augustus doing his best flounder interpretation, Magdalena, Leo above, and Hana

Amelia Island is an oasis of entitlement and I felt a spell of "affluenza" trying to take hold while I was there, but I caught it in time with plenty of vitamin C, the mantra that "more is decidedly not better", sheer pleasure and enjoyment of the perfectly imperfect diamond trio in my engagement ring that does not require it's own zip code, the happy realization that I Will Never Be too rich or too thin, because really, if I was, I'd have a nanny and a maid and a cook. Then who would bake bread with my children? Who would roll them in the sheets and play "what's that lump?" while the beds are being made? Who would teach them to fold the cloth napkins?

Those are my blessings. Those are my moments to cherish and remember and get aggravated over in the moment when really what I want to do is actually make the bed, and then lighten up and get with it because these moments of mine, they are only for now.

unexpected joy and dress up with Tito Chuchi

Kelly and Adrianne

My phone rang on Thursday, I believe, and what I heard but no way, two Atlanta girls from back in the day were Florida bound and oh yes we had to hook up. So off Augustus, Magdalena and I went to Flagler Beach/Palm Coast for a mini random roadtrip reunion with Adrianne and Kelly from the Bridgetown Grill days. But things are just a little different these days, uh, yeah. It was a bit like the Southern Tour Roadtrip, redux. Once again, me hanging out with two old friends who I used to, how shall we say ..., go out on the town with, but now who I stay home and watch our children hang out with. What a difference a day or actually 10-13 years makes.

Kelly getting some Barnas love

Magdalena, Sophia, Jacob, Augustus

It was one of those classic Florida beach days. We move in our regular heard of turtles fashion out of the house around 11am, stop by the grocery store for lunch for the beach, finally get to the beach, set up camp, start swimming and generally playing and having a lovely time when all of a sudden, I turned around and out of nowhere these huge black clouds were upon us. Not fifteen minutes before Kelly and Adrianne were commenting on how this was by far the hottest sunniest day since they' d been there and then BAM! the wind picks up and the sand starts to blow. I say, well, let's just start to consolidate our stuff so if we have to bolt we'll be ready and by the time I finished that sentence, we were bolting. Three beach chairs, two coolers, beach blanket, towels, boogie boards, beach toys four children and three mamas and all in less than ten minutes up the stairs to the boardwalk and barely in the car when the torrential rain starts. Classic. We'd been at the beach maybe an hour.

the crew awaiting our dinner feast

But as with all things, perfection was the order of the day. We went back to the house, had lunch inside sans sand, which was lovely of course, hung out, played games, talked and then it cleared up so we decided to go back and arrived back at the beach at the time that I had originally planned on leaving, around three pm, which is personally right around my favorite time to arrive at the beach to begin with to enjoy those long stretching shadows and the afternoon breeze with the sun at our backs. Which was exactly what we did. We built sand castles, Magdalena had her first wipe-out on a boogie board, Augustus fell for Kelly, Sophie was the master of burials in the sand (which I did for the first time, get buried in the sand that is, and it is strangely relaxing, I assumed it would drive me crazy. Who knew?). We hung out on the beach until almost sunset, 7:30 or so, then found the most amazing restaurant in Flagler Beach, I promise. Kelly, like a true restaurateur, ordered specials for the table and there was food to be had by all and food to feed me, my two littles and Tita for two days almost. Quite lovely. Quite unexpected. Quite perfect.

Magdalena dressing up with Tito Chuchi

A few days after we returned home, on one of our decompress-and-go-nowhere-days, we had a lovely visit from Tito Chuchi. We were having our first craft night for the mamas and abuela and auntie, without children, and Aunt Susu had forgotten her knitting so Anthony had a perfect excuse to stop by. It was so awesome. M. and A. and Frida all danced and dressed up and played and M. kept saying, mama! Tito Chuchi is here to play with us, not talk to you. Well ok then. But maybe in the midst of all the spinning and tying on of capes there can be a little conversation, just maybe.

Augustus, so proud with his first match box car, a la MaryBeth, our favorite New York Auntie

Magdalena and Augustus, in their natural state. Totally fabulous

summer solstice a la Tita Jeanna

the Solstice table

It really is a shame I didn't get any good shots of the revelers dancing in a circle, rosemary wands in hand, singing the Hail Mary, around the Traveling Virgin. You'll just have to take my word for it, it was spectacular.

For so many reasons, the evening was what it was: a spontaneous, eclectic, celebration of family, friends, the earth, Mary, ritual, community, religious traditions. For reasons like: because my sister is my mother's daughter and is a hostess without parallel; because we love any excuse for a gathering/party/celebration; because we are Catholic and do love our rituals; because Jeanna is a perfect Master of Ceremonies; because it was her birthday week and she had the Traveling Virgin (the most beautiful statue of Mary I have ever seen not in a church that travels from house to house in a pale blue wooden box with an opalescent cross on top) and we had to include her; because ushering summer is a celebration in itself, isn't it?

As we were cooking and gathering, the babes in suits and birthday suits got the party going with a raucous swim. Children do not need to be directed to have fun. It truly is their nature. Must. Find. Way. Back. ...or I can just follow them, how simple!

Kimberly, Henry, Frida, Allie, Magdalena, Augustus, Ellie and Lulu, Black-eyed Susans and summer love

How did we get here? I remember when I first moved here and was ready to walk up to any mom who looked relatively cool on the street and try to get her phone number. (I actually did that once, to a group of women at a splash park. But that was an exercise in humility and, well, we'll just talk about that another time. Ahem.) And then I saw them. THEM. First I saw Kimberly with her three, then Mandy and Jen together with Kimberly and god knows how many children. And I said to Jeanna, who are those mamas? They're my tribe, those are my people. And heaven heard my prayer. And here we are, not quite a year plus one rockin' homeschool group later, up to our elbows in amazing families and mamas and babes and big kids and newborns and papas. Celebrating solstice. Celebrating abundance, as Jeanna says. Celebrating life and family and the joy of being in community.

Augustus, still for but a split second

and Magdalena, taking her time

The children were in the pool, they were out of the pool. In the pool, out of the pool. We were eating outside, swatting away flies under the oaks and Spanish moss, then we were eating again. We were laughing, and laughing some more. We jumped over a candle, wrote down our most fervent wishes for the next six months until winter, danced around the Virgin, said our wishes out loud, burned the paper they were written on to send the prayers to Heaven, laughed some more, and finished with yummy cake and brownies. I drove home with drowsy babes, late, full of love and appreciation, contemplating - as I am want to do - how glorious we have it these days.

lighten up

It was time to lighten up a bit, ya know? It's summer, everything is green. Ok, well, everything is pretty much always green here, but now it's green infused with sunshine and salt water, so a fresh look is in order. And a photo banner that reflects today, yes?

ode to papa, part two: Father's Day weekend

So exactly what did we do for Father's day? Well, I guess we didn't take any photos, that's one thing we did not do. For Father's Day we honored the papa. Magdalena, Augustus and I made papa breakfast in bed. And I don't mean cereal and a grapefruit. We made waffles with fresh strawberries and whipped cream (the kind that comes in a carton and is whipped up by the mama with some maple syrup and a hint of vanilla), warm maple syrup, thick cut bacon, and one cafe Americano. We all had breakfast in bed, and what a delicious, sticky mess it was. I think Ethan actually got back in bed at the urging of the children who had been looking forward to breakfast in bed for what seemed like weeks. We also did not do any of the things that I assume we would do for a holiday, like go to my family's house for dinner, spend the day out doing "fatherly" things, or any one thing in particular. We hung out. We ate together. And we did whatever papa wanted. And it was a Supremely Beautiful Day.

Now what we did the night before Father's Day, well, that's another story. That's when we did what my version of Father's Day would have been. We went for an incredible late afternoon canoe trip with the Houston's through the marshes of the inter-coastal waterway.



our first canoe outing together, the Houston's and the Barnas': a tale of two canoes, two Mitsus, and two papas

Since I knew if we truly celebrated the father in our family we would not be doing any major family stuff, Jeanna and I planned a late afternoon canoe trip the evening before Father's Day. We put in around 5pm and canoed against the tide and the wind, a bit chagrined I must say, to then be excited beyond belief to find the little beach Jeanna and Dave told us about.

Magdalena, Augustus, Jeanna and Frida Loving the water

the mamas and the babes

The little beach was perfect perfect perfect, a perfect little oasis. Sandy bottom, little fish swimming everywhere, clear green water, what more could we ask for? We pulled the canoes up and hit the water. Magdalena had her suit on but the littles were naked as jaybirds and twice as happy. We set out our blankets and had a picnic dinner feast looking out over the water and the marshes. We feasted and relaxed and laughed and told stories and just sat and marveled at how beautiful the world is.

the Barnas'
the Houston's

The sun was setting as we canoed home, with the wind, with the tide, slowly, gently, lovingly, easily. The babes were mellow, happy, sleepy, full. We paddled back to civilization and a minor meltdown, but otherwise, another brilliant canoe trip and still the greates birthday gift ever.

a few things

No photos with this post, just a few things.

:: how Augustus says yes "des"

:: Magdalena hugging and kissing me, abuela, Tito Chuchi, Aunt Su-su and Augustus during mass, saying, I love you, to each person

:: how last night, after dinner, Magdalena and Augustus donned long sleeves and long pants and gloves to brave the wild that is our back yard and help papa clear the overgrown weeds and vines.

That's what got me thinking. I want to write one of those "in this I believe" essays for "independent producer Jay Allison". That's how I always hear it in my head.
I believe in Augustus laying on his belly to poop.
I believe in how he puts his hands behind his head, in a satisfied, life is good manner, before he falls asleep.
I believe in how Magdalena big sisters.
I believe in her liquid brown eyes, her pixie hair cut, and how she says "now that's what I'm talking about", just like her papa.
I believe in the perfection of our imperfect life.
I believe in my husband. My hot, 31 year old solid rock of a hard workin' man husband.
I believe in great, um, intimacy.
I believe that my life is a blessing, every single second of it. Even the ones I don't think are blessings.

a mother's day interlude

I'm wearing my brand new "World's Greatest Mom" apron, a la Fran, Ethan's mom, and loving it, baking up a storm with my apprentice baker.

The week before Mother's Day we received a package from Fran, Ethan's mom, choc full o' goodies for the children and this great apron for me. I'll try (ahem) to live up to the title. I realized looking back over the last few posts that I started a Mother's Day post and never finished it so I figured what the heck, better late than never. We arrived at my mama's house, ready to bake with my favorite bakers and my favorite ingredients, and it was on!

the reasons I get celebrate Mother's Day

let's bake something chocolate!

We baked up a storm, well, really only one insanely delicious chocolate cake with a crazy chocolate glaze from JOY! that one can eat hot over ice cream immediately after it is made, cooled to room temp on a cake, or cold right out of the left-over jar in the fridge. Now that's my kind of frosting.

the ultimate helpers

Magdalena and Augustus must have gotten my mom's cleaning gene. They love to do dishes, wipe counter tops, wash walls, and mop and sweep floors. I say give 'em the tools and let 'em have at it! No, seriously, that's what I say. Magdalena, Augustus and Frida each have their own nice bright sponge with a scrubby side under the sink in the bathroom and access to a mild child-safe (what'd ya think, bleach?) cleaning solution for all those times that they Must. Clean. Walls. I tell you my bathroom walls, from about four feet and down, are shiny clean. It is literally hours of fun, with a little cleanup direction on my part when it is all finished, and Voila! sparkly sink and walls and parts of the floor.

our family Mother's Day Celebration photo. sorry about the date across Frida's face

We had a lovely day and feast and celebration celebrating the mamas in our life, and all mamas that came before us.

PS. isn't it crazy to go backwards and see Magdalena, with all those curls and long hair, now that we know her as the little pixie she is?

Wednesdays with Rose and the Magnolia Farm

Augustus, Magdalena, Allie, Frida and Dominic doing their best summer camp impersonation

Homeschool has officially been on break since May, and now we are starting to find a summer rhythm. Wednesdays has been dubbed "Wednesdays with Rose" at her oh-so-fabulous pool, with her darling boys and whoever can join us.

Magdalena collecting kindling

Augustus doing his part

We had the most wonderfully amazing blazing hot time at an organic goat farm, the magical Magnolia Farms. Eleanor (homeschool mom, nursing student, working mom extraordinaire), her two Allie and Kimberly, me and my two, went down for a night of fire and sticky fun camping out in a tee-pee followed by a "Mommy and Me" farm tour. Need I say how fabulous it was? The children collected kindling, and Eleanor built a rip-roaring fire to roast our gourmet sausages and then later, our 'smores. After a day of swimming and sunblock, camping and bug repellent, and 'smores galore, we were hot, sweaty and sticky. Off we trooped to the water haus, the most precious outside showers I have been in, truly. Lit by mulit-colored mini Christmas lights, under oaks dripping with Spanish moss, a moon-lit sky, the night was magical. Only one shower was lit up, so there we were, two mamas, two big girls and two littles, all soapy and slick in the twinkling lights, cooling off and giggling madly, in love with the life exactly at that moment.

examining nature, a tiny black snake on the dirt road

Darlene, one of the farmers/farm owners, gave us the grand tour. There were turkeys galore, chickens, roosters, peacocks, and some other kind of fowl, I can't remember...all free range, pecking at the earth, laying eggs, stretching and preening, clucking and chasing us all around. I guess it is primarily a goat farm, but also a CSA (community supported agriculture), supplying Jacksonville and surrounding areas with local organic sometimes "exotic" produce. While we were touring the garden part of the farm, we had an introduction into bugs and their place on an organic farm. The bugs that eat the plants and flowers and vegetables, bad bugs! And the bugs that eat the bugs that eat the plants and flowers and vegetables, good bugs! And then the children went into the sunflower patch to choose flowers for the mama bouquets and Darlene would look over the flower and see a bug and say, well, that's an assassin bug, and he's a good bug, he eats other bugs, so we're going to leave his home here. Let's find another flower. It was awesome. Total homeschool fun. Now Magdalena and Augustus have a whole host of bugs to add to their "good bug" reverie, not just bumble bees and honey bees and butterflies, but assassin bugs and lady bugs and spiders also.

Eleanor, presented with her "Mommy and Me" bouquet, picked by Allie and Kimberly

oh, the glory of goats!

This had to be the highlight of the entire shin-dig. Yes, we did get to make our own butterfly shaped goat-milk soap, yes we slept in a tee-pee, yes we had sticky sweet delicious roasted-marshmallow-barely-melted-hershey's-chocolate-on-graham-crackers 'smores, yes we had a magical midnight shower under the trees, but there is nothing like seeing a child pick up a baby goat, with such care and love, so full of wonder. They ran and romped and petted and played with the goats. They talked to the goats and saw the baby goats' umbilical cords and the mama goats nummies. It was incredible. I was just trying to keep the goats from eating my pants. Literally.

Augustus would hold out his little arms, ready to try to hold a goat, and then run away, giggling. The whole thing was just too much for him, he just laughed and laughed. He did manage to pet a baby goat, just for a minute, while Eleanor cradled the kid. (goat, that is)

Here is sweet sweet Kimberly, giving it her best try, and the goat would just squirm right down to the ground.

And here, of course, is Allie, the goat whisperer. No fear, just love and play and catching goats and holding them like she was born doing it.

All in a late spring, although it felt like summer, day's work.

introducing Magdalena, self-revealed

Notice anything? Yeah, that's what I said. OHMYGOD. Well, I should say, that's what I said after the confusion, dizziness, shock and mild nausea wore off. Don't get me wrong, I get it. She's Gorgeous. Short hair suits her. But when one minute she goes into her room with curls down to the middle of her back, and the next minute I open the bedroom door and can't figure out what is wrong with my daughter's head, why it looks so small like it is floating above her neck, enter dizziness, confusion, shock and mild nausea, and, well, you know, the whole scene was pretty outrageous.

Magdalena started to say something, then the phone rang and it was my mom, and I just walked out of her room and thought, ya know, you really don't need to put her in twenty years of therapy just because she chopped her hair off to her scalp on the top of her head, think of something reasonable to say. So I went back in there and said, I just need for you to pick up all your piles of hair and put them in a bag, and then we're going to take a shower and go to a stylist and fix it up. It'll be fabulous. She said, mama - it's not a mullet. I said, uh, yeah it is, business in the front and party in the back, we're going to have it shaped up a bit.

It took me a few minutes to realize that Augustus had not escaped her second effort at being a stylist. Yes, there was a first a couple of months ago when she trimmed about 4-6 inches off the front of her hair and it gave her really nice long bangs around her face, I actually complimented her on her handy work, ya know, not trying to encourage her but out of a grudging admission that she did a really nice job. Little did I know there was more to come. But really, she is my daughter, what exactly do I expect?

She had a quiet moment in the chair, looking at herself, a bit worried, watching the hair dresser who kept muttering Adios Mio! put a lovely stacked bob in her hair, and she looked at me and said, it's ok mama. It'll grow back.

ode to papa, part one: a belated birthday

Ethan and thirty-one candles

on our inaugural cruise

he likes the canoe, really

Two days after Magdalena, Augustus and I left for our road trip, Ethan turned thirty one. So yes, we missed his birthday while we were out having a blast. We celebrated as soon as we came home and his present was... you guessed it! A canoe! And a big one at that. I had so much fun finding it, and as much fun picking it up and giving it to him! Not what he was expecting, but he was actually pretty pleased with it.

It took us a couple of weeks to actually get it in the h2o, but I think once we got it in the water, it was obvious, we were hooked! Magdalena and Augustus love it love it love it. Our first canoe trip was down a small creek, with tree canopy for about half of our journey. It was so so lush and green and gorgeous. I fell down on the photo job pretty horribly, but at least you can see how beautiful it was on the river. It was so incredible, about 10 minutes from our house, right there, in the middle of the city, and you'd never know, we could have been anywhere. It was so quiet and the tide was coming in and there were critters in the woods and water. When there was quiet (amongst us) it was so quiet. No city noise, just the splash of fish and our paddles.

I dare say it was the best birthday gift ever, for any of us.

road trip, final instalment

Skip rolling downhill with Augustus

It is a crime, a deficit of gargantuan proportions, that I only have one photo for this post, and only one in the last post. I can only say that camera trouble was upon me and I didn't even realize it. I thought it was batteries but now I know that it was more. Anyhoo, on with the post.

After we spent three lovely, heartfelt and amazing days hanging out with the LaShell clan near Ashville, NC, we headed up for the third leg, actually fourth leg of the trip. Up to Boone we skedaddled, through winding curves and gorgeous NC country, to visit the Sinanian's of the Atlanta Skip Sinanian's. And dude lives in, by his own description, an accountant's house! Crazy I mean Krazy with a K! So much of this trip has been defined by how far we (and by "we" I mean all the old-school Atlanta crew) have all come. And how well everybody is doing! Who knew?

Skip, Kelly, Deacon and Huxley welcomed us with open arms and abundant love and laughter, as always. I didn't actually talk to Skip or Kelly until, oh, the night before I was heading to Boone I think. And ya know, like the fabulous people they are, they said "when will you get here?" and "what do you guys like to eat?" Magdalena and Augustus were on a roll, two for two in staying with amazing families that have amazing children and amazingly fun things to play with and upon arrival at Skips it was a hat trick. M and A fell in love with all four Sinanian's, running through the house, checking out all there was to see and do, warming up to each one, but I have to say, it was the divine Huxley that was the star of the stay. Magdalena said to anyone who would listen, Huxley made me laugh so hard I was sweating! Our Boone stay was just shy of 24 hours but the impact was six months, easy. By the end of the walk through town and lunch, after our night at Chez Sinanian, I think both Magdalena and Augustus had adopted Skip as their own. As we are all want to do.

After we left Boone we headed down for our final night on the road, back to our sweet Cecilia in Marietta. Another cousin, Ouni (named so by Magdalena when she was almost two and she could not quite say Courtney), came down to visit for the evening of pizza and stories of days and days of travel. My Auntie Nancy came by first thing in the morning for goodbye kisses and off we were! Back on the road! But not quite, for breakfast we went to Ria's Bluebird, http://riasbluebird.com/ and once again, Who Knew? I mean, I remember Ria from back in the day, and now she is this totally righteous restaurateur, out there making a difference in the community, being the activist that she was born to be. Right on Ria! And making righteous huevos rancheros and buttermilk pancakes to boot.

With one more stop to go, we were on our way again. We had our final stop in Valdosta with Constance, cousin extraordinaire, daughter of Cecilia. We hooked up for lunch and a last roadtrip Starbucks with the babes. Ouni happened to be on her way down so we had another Ouni sighting also, what luck we have.

There is so much more I could say. Our trip was so rich with exploration, new loves for Magdalena and Augustus and connecting with the dearest of friends for me. I am star-struck by life. I mean, we've all grown up, and we're all actually alive, that in itself is such a miracle. And then, on top of that, we still love each other so deeply and truly. And we know each other completely. My sister recently said she was blinded by her blessings, and I know what she means.

road trip, part deux

Magdalena and Augustus with Ben, Jessica and Maia

From our Nashville extravaganza and stimulus explosion, we headed on over to the Ashville/
Waynesville area of North Carolina for a stay with our BFF's from Alamogordo, Jessica and Mark and their two beautiful little ones Ben and Maia. We went from the full throttle reunion throwdown of Nashville to a settled down gorgeous chalet in the woods/mountains with quiet from within and without except for the jubilant cries of two bigs one toddler and one little running jumping throwing bumping and generally living it up kid-style with a hike to a Koy pond that turned into a swimming expedition for Magdalena and three children walking home almost naked because hey, if one person gets to walk home in only her panties, doesn't everybody?

I always forget how much I love love love North Carolina until I arrive there and ahhhhh, oh yeah, that's right, I Love the Smokies baby, love love love them. It is so incredibly beautiful, and Mark and Jessica have such a beautiful gig going. It is special, and very different from what I'm living - flat, hot, beach, city, busybusybusy, family. I wouldn't change what I have for the world...but, ya know, have you ever been to western North Carolina? Nuff said.