we're back

So yeah.
We went to the beach.












Sorry for the AWOL from the blogging... we didn't technically have internet at the beach all week and as for the week and a half before that, well.. we had the precocious health of Ryan's grandpa, his subsequent passing, my parents arriving and then Ryan having to be gone and so in between four trips to the airport in as many days and getting ready for vacation and just life in general, that week turned into the perfect storm that the combination of being busy/lazy/preoccupied creates for the blogging brain. Thus, no actual writing.

But we made it to the beach.
We survived a 12 hr trip with the six of us in the car (and no dvd player!)















and thoroughly enjoyed our week long stay, all of us in a cozy little cottage on the North Carolina coast.














Spending the majority of our days in the sand; me, my parents and my little brown babies.





















I do so ♥ the beach.

And now we're home. And my parents took off this morning.
And I have things to unpack and laundry to do and sand to shake out and groceries to get and pictures to sort through.
Oh, and houseguests coming on Wednesday. :)

I just wanted to say hello and that I'll be back with vacation highlights soon.
And pictures of our week.
At the beach.





I already miss it...

whats on this week

on the beach:
















on the beach:














on the beach:





















on the beach:














on the beach:
















on the beach:






















on the beach:

what's on this week

on the wall:














on a rainy, steamy walk:














on the reading list:














on the packing list:





















on his way home:

monday drive by

complete with bullets:

• My parents flew in early Saturday. They're here for 2+ weeks.
• Ryan flew out early Sunday. His Grandpa Bob passed away last week. Wished I could go too as what convenient timing with my parents being here to stay with the kids... but on the other hand, ...my parents are here. And holy crap have you had to look at last minute, purchase a day ahead of time airfare lately??? So he's gone until Thursday.
• So I'm spending this week entertaining the two kids + two grandparents in my house by myself and trying to get us all packed and prepared for our vacation. We're leaving the morning after Ryan gets back.
• I've been sleeping terribly lately. With Grandpa being sick and trying to decide if/when Ryan/we should go out, and then him actually passing away and then having to decide if/when/who should go out combined with my parents coming in, late night phone calls, early morning (or is it actually the middle of the night?) airport runs... plus I was in the middle of a dozen projects anyway so of course my brain won't shut off easily. So. Tired.
• And I've probably gained back the 10 pounds I lost.
• We're headed to the zoo today. Trying to beat the heat this morning. (ha)
  
• And then come home to nap and swim.
• Wow. Even my simple bullets are ho-hum today!

what's on this week

on the island:














on the floor:





















on the front step:














on the chalkboard:














on the plate:














on the window:














on the calendar:

like I said...

What did I tell you?
If you spend enough time with us, we all start to look alike...














We ran up for a quick visit with the Robertsons this past weekend and quickly realized the girls had matching dresses as well as three out of the four boys all having the same color shirt on. That fourth boy had did a quick change and whah-lah...


our very own version of sextuplets
...with about six different shades of skin tone :)

strawberry cheesecake yum

Apologies for the break in blogging.
I've been having too much fun being artsy and craftsy and making random window treatments and canvases and other random home decor! So fun.
Can't wait to show y'all.
Soon. :)

Also busy making up random summertime desserts...
I experimented with this the other night and just had to share it. Yummy, yummy!














So is everyone familiar with Eclair Cake? The scrumptious gooey graham cracker and vanilla pudding w/ chocolate dish that tastes like a creamy Eclair?? Well, I was looking to make a summery (and no bake!!) dessert for dinner w/ friends last night and that kept coming to mind (I've been slightly obsessed with pudding lately). Only I wanted something more summery... more specifically, something more fruity. So I concocted a brilliant plan.
Instead of vanilla pudding? Cheesecake pudding.
And I added sliced strawberries in the layers of pudding and crackers.
(for anyone who isn't familiar w/ this dessert, and are thinking graham crackers, hmmm... you layer your dessert and let it chill in the fridge for 4+ hours and the graham crackers w/ the pudding transform into a soft, graham cracker pie crust-like, layer of "cake". Mmmm.)

So. For this Strawberry Cheesecake Pudding Cake:
[which Savannah has dubbed Strawberry Cheesecake Yum]
Combine 3 cups of cold milk with your (2 small boxes) of pudding mix and when thats thoroughly combined and turning puddinglike, add a tub of coolwhip.
Cover bottom of your dish with graham crackers.
Spread a layer of the pudding cream on top.
Thinly slice strawberries and layer on top of the pudding.
Repeat layers as many times as you can/want.
(I used a 9x7 dish and made three layers of each)
I sprinkled the top pudding layer w/ strawberries and mini chocolate chips.
And drizzle with chocolate sauce when served if you like. :)










You're welcome.

whats on this week

on the island:














on the floor:














on the shelf:














on the hooks:






















on the front step:














on the grill:














on the face:

crazy kids

crazy to look back and think we started [documenting] with this:







Savannah 4yrs,
Sawyer 21mos,
Ben 20mos





and then this;


and now a dozen "stair pictures" later, we have this:




















and this: