June Days

This month, we've been lovin' summertime.... We roasted marshmallows in the backyard, we went to the Santa Barbara zoo, and we even just got back from a weekend in the mountains, boating on a lake, swimming, eating ice cream, and the like. We feel blessed to get to do all of these fun things with the kids, and these moments help break up the long days of routine that sometimes leave us moms feeling like frustrated tires spinning furiously, yet, hopelessly stuck in the mud.

Of course apart from the photo op moments above, there were those moments that make you wonder if you're actually being filmed and are taking part in some kind of warped hidden video camero reality show. Driving back from the mountains, the windy road felt long to the girls, and pretty soon, little voices were crying and whining about stomach aches and potty breaks. Out of desperation, Dan and I stopped at a little building to stretch our legs and get something to eat. As we walked in, we realized the little building was half general store, half SALOON, and I do mean saloon. Here we were with 4 little carsick daughters in the middle of a time warp saloon, with leathery-skinned customers & waitresses. I took a quick picture above, and I knew it was blurry, but when I went to try again, Dan said, "Hey, no pictures, I'd like to get out of this place without having to fight someone..." It was seriously that bad, but hey we ordered nachos, and they were TERRIFIC, too bad Lorelei threw them up in the van an hour later....

Anyway, we got home last night to find my long-lost friend Kelly and her traveling friend Erin waiting for us! That was a fun treat that helped me delay my return to reality. She had told me she was coming to visit Cali. and I told her she could use our place while we were gone, it worked out perfectly, and it was so fun catching up with her. Check out her awesome blog sometime (check my links).

And lastly we came back to a whole bunch of ripe tomatoes which sort of made up for the rotten tomato smell in my van.