Our Last Week of Summer Vacation

We closed the door of our summer vacation yesterday, locking inside a room full of colorful memories from our first summer as a family of four.  Our summer included some travel - an extended wedding weekend, a week-long trip to Disney, and a work trip to San Francisco, but was mostly filled with the everyday ordinary things.  Rice cereal with fresh peach swirl, jelly toast cut into fours, swimming lessons, ice cream before naps, and nights in our backyard, throwing frisbee, swinging Mila, or plucking red tomatoes for tomorrow's BLT.  It was an easy summer with challenges that included maneuvering two littles around town, packing for the pool, and scheduling naps at the same time.  These challenges seemed so big, so overwhelming at first, but we developed a rhythm that worked most days.  Some days were long, but I wouldn't change a thing.  It was another season, a season of growing and learning and loving these two babies that are growing too fast.  

Some pictures from our last week of our summer on Fleur Drive.  As we spend our days getting caught up in siding colors and door styles and roof angles, these pictures help bring me back.  Back to nights filling up this driveway with sidewalk chalk, talking with neighbor Jim when he gets home from work, or walking barefoot around the block stopping to point out every letter C we see.  We know them like the back of our hand and this neighborhood, with its shaded park just around the corner and its "porcupines" on the sidewalk, will forever leave such an imprint on my heart.  This place has a good chunk of our history and we will its shade trees and sidewalk memories.

Random treasures from a walk.  Cruz even found a single newspaper and discovered his daddy's picture inside.  Quite a coincidence, since it was the only ad he's purchased in months!

Waiting for Daddy to get home from work...

Cruz wanted a baby swing this time.  It kept them confined for a good twenty minutes.  We swayed, we sang, and we talked about his very first day of preschool.

Afternoons too hot to play outside.  Puzzles and superheroes and peekaboo.

I was Cruz's sous chef on Sunday and followed his lead in the kitchen.

A summer supper...

And finally...our new digs.  It's been a slow process, but we should finally have a hole by the end of the week.  We couldn't wait to get our shovels in the dirt and inaugurate this land of ours.  Cruz is so excited and has been asking many questions about the process.  He calls our builder Wade a "lumberjack," and keeps asking when he's going to start building our house.  Soon, brother.