Oh, Beautiful

For looooong weekends. For neighborhood parades!



For little tiny best girlfriends... in Apple Valley plains!






Ok, I know... not so much of a songwriter and all together hokey in general, but... Apple Valley, oh how I love thee. It was a great great day yesterday to be able to walk up the street, trick our kids into thinking they were the stars of the most important parade on earth, greet the neighborhood, then come home and SHUT OURSELVES IN and pull the blinds and hide from the outside world for almost an entire day. We had yummy tri tip breakfast burritos and fruit salad and skillet potatoes for brunch, just the 4 of us.

Breakfast bliss.

Then, we ALMOST got a nap... darn Dawson... thought maybe we were kidding about mandatory napping requirements if he wanted to see fireworks... We had a bit of a stand off and ended up loosing the batthe for our own naps but WINNING the war as he FINALLY fell asleep 2 hours later... but hey. We were all home. Together. DOING NOTHING. I am in love with the concept (that isnt a reality often enough!).

When the kids woke up, we packed a picnic dinner, went out the door (without a hitch!), drove over to the coast, parked at Carly's awesome little beach pad... took a stroll down the streets of Cayucos and enjoyed a lovely cup of magic coffee brew from O'Neills (the hottest little local java joint in town!), and stopped by the city park to let the kids run their naps off.

When they'd had their fill, we meandered down the garden path just a long hop from Carly's front porch down to the sandy shores, enjoyed our dinner and a lovely sunset, built a couch out of sand, and played with glo sticks from the dollar store while we waited for the colors to burst and the kids to soar. The camera battery died after the park (predictably), but I will never forget their little faces, or how much they loved being included in such a special, grown up family outing (wayyyy past their bedtimes).

After each burst of color, they would both squeal and shreak with delight... "Oooooooo, that was MY FAVORITE one!" Unless it was the kind that are white and sparkley... because those are their Mommy's favorites. And I love that they are loving getting to know me.

The feeling is mutual.