4th of July Shenanigans

Family, by lauren, July 6, 2015, 3 Replies

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This past weekend was such a good one! Annie (Andrew’s sister-in-law) and I joined forces with the five kids here in St. Louis and had such a blast. We managed to avoid all the big crowds and instead forged our own path with a home-made parade, circus trick show, a picnic in the park, a whole day at the pool with 4th of July festivities, and then on Sunday hosted a brunch with mutual friends at our house. The kids stayed up late giggling and plotting and scheming while the two adults collapsed in a heap by 9pm each night. Hey, the energy levels can only go so far when wrangling this many kids in the summer heat! They sure kept us smiling though!DSC_0054DSC_0069DSC_0081DSC_0085DSC_0089DSC_0108DSC_0132DSC_0154DSC_0187DSC_0190DSC_0207DSC_0229

 

The pool time was really a blast — Reina and Milo entered every relay race and competition possible, and due to their collective competitive first-born personalities and determination, won an event and placed second in the other. It was the ultimate bonding experience and they ended up falling asleep holding hands that night!

Emil enjoyed some major Aunt Annie bonding time and confessed his love to her on the last day of the visit. Such a lover, that Emil. I admit, Annie is pretty awesome.

DSC_0248DSC_0257DSC_0270DSC_0278DSC_0280And though we’re all beyond exhausted, the fun was worth it. Come back and see us soon, lovelies!

On the Wonders of Nature and Light

Green Living, by lauren, July 3, 2015, 1 Reply

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Consider a single piece [of coal] glowing in your family’s stove… That chunk of coal was once a green plant, a fern or reed that lived one million years ago, or maybe two million, or maybe one hundred million. Can you imagine one hundred million years? Every summer for the whole life of that plant, its leaves caught what light they could and transformed the sun’s energy into itself. Into bark, twigs, stems. Because plants eat light, in much the way we eat food. But then the plant died and fell, probably into water, and decayed into peat, and the peat was folded inside the earth for years upon years — eons in which something like a month or a decade or even your whole life was just a puff of air, a snap of two fingers. And eventually the peat dried and became like stone, and someone dug it up, and the coal man brought it to your house, and maybe you yourself carried it to the stove, and now that sunlight — sunlight one hundred million years old — is heating your home tonight…

— Anthony Doerr, All the Light We Cannot See

I was so struck by this passage by Doerr that I wanted to share it. I think it’s a brilliant way to introduce children to the wonders of nature. I have been reading such things out loud to my boys this summer to inspire appreciation, awe, and respect of science and the natural world. So beautiful!

Have a happy, happy 4th of July weekend!

Dress That Mama

Style, by lauren, July 1, 2015, 2 Replies

DSC_0076Happy July 1st! It’s the start of a fun month for us — visits from family, neighborhood parties, and at the end of the month, all three boys attend their school-affiliated summer camp. It’s also that time of the summer that gets very hot, so I often channel those hippie vibes, parting my hair down the middle and keeping it long and straight (though it often ends up in a low ponytail with flowers that Emil picks and insists I put in my hair), carrying a basket instead of a purse, and wearing plenty of easy outfits like this straightforward cut-off denim shorts/darker denim shell combo.

If I’m heading to a playground or to the pool with the boys, I switch out the clogs for flat sandals or slip-ons. Hope you have a lovely Wednesday!