can you believe it's the last day of July?
seriously???
i feel like summer is slipping through my fingers and i don't know how to stop it.
it's been wonderfully memorable.
even with (and maybe especially because) two little girls latched on my leg and/or hip. (such cuties).
anywayyyy.
one of my favorite things we've done this summer, by far, was going to Santa Cruz for M's birthday.
back story:
M wanted me to plan the day, without any of his help (talk about pressure).
so i thunk and thunk and thunk...
and going to Santa Cruz came to mind, as it's something we've talked about wanting to do for-e-ver (Sandlot style).
so the birthday boy had to work for a few hours, we met for a birthday lunch with grandpa + grandma, and then we gave him some new board-shorts....and headed out 1 1/2 hours to the beach/boardwalk of Santa Cruz.
have you heard about Santa Cruz?
it's adorable.
it's basically this mini-amusement park/carnival right along the beach.
tons of cute, over-priced kiddie rides.
typical swings and Ferris wheels.
delicious funnel cakes, corn dogs, & my personal favorite- cotton candy.
and surrounded by yards and yards of sand to dig and sun-bathe to your hearts content.
so of course, we enjoyed it all.
we rode rides.
we dug dug dug and ran ran ran in the sand.
we stuffed our faces with greasiness and sugar.
and we had the best day ever.
the girls had a blast.
i had a blast.
and the birthday boy had a blast.
so. i'd call it a success.
a big one. (phew).
i'm feeling like i just need to sit down with my favorite peeps and dump some of my crazy brain thoughts. yes, i'm talkin pillow talk (but the beauty is you can fall asleep and i wouldn't even know...unlike M who would get punched in the nose if he fell asleep).
the bachelorette is so drammmmaaaaatic this season. like i always do, i swore i wouldn't watch this season. but all the Bentley junk sucked me in (good stuff) and now i definitely am dying to know if she's gonna pick Ben or JP... i thought i wanted JP, but now i kinda think Ben is adorable and am confused. thoughts? and what was Ryan thinking coming back? what a weirdo.
speaking of TV. i'm loving SYTYCD. so much. though the skanky dances really make me mad. why do they have to do that? my favorite dance so far has been Melanie and Marko's hip hop dance. Melanie is my favorite. she looks kinda like Keri Russell to me. anyone else see the resemblance?
Sasha and Twitch's hip hop routine last week is a definite close second though:
M and i finally went on our anniversary date this last weekend. you know, the hot date i was talking about back in June. yeah, that one. well. M got deathly sick for over a week and busted our hot-date plans. and since then we've had week after week with thing after thing jolting and shifting our hot-date plans...until we finally put our feet down and got a babysitter (gasp! yes, a paid babysitter! the first one in Chapman family history! it's a miracle!! (we are blessed to have grandparents a skip away...but there's only so much appropriate mooching you can do)). we didnt do anything monumental or earth-shaking-- we just went and tried out this cute sushi place, stuffed our faces with sushi deliciousness, held hands, saw Harry Potter, and talked about this crazy 6-year journey we've been on as hubby and wife without worrying about whether or not a kid needed us to go potty for the tenth time that hour...or was making a mess somewhere.
we both agree- we're lucky. so lucky to have each other forever.
and of course i have to comment that Harry Potter was amazing.
i was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time and didn't want it to end. Justin Bieber's brunette cameo was pretty awesome too.
"getting in shape is a long process." as quoted by M last night. why is it so hard? and why do i crave sugar so badly at 11:00 pm? on a happy note, i can finnaallly wear my favorite jeans. read: i can button my favorite jeans which then look painted on my skin. hmmf. i love my jeans...but i really want an Oreo.
i have a couple of new favorite things that the girls say. from Alice- she learned "no" from Ellie. grrreeeeat. but it's actually sorta cute and funny because she says it in context...and she says it very emphatically like this: "NAH! NAH!" so funny. and cute. and annoying that of all words she learns this one as one of her first.
grr. i also still love her high pitched-"hiiii!" accompanied by her little wave (which is often backwards). so cute.
i love how Ellie calls anything mushy squeezy. "i don't like those squeezy blueberries." "i don't like those grapes cuz they're squeezy." "mama, look at those squeezy balloons!" she's such an adorable squirt.
on the Ellie subject- last week we went to lunch with Grandpa and Grandma for M's birthday. of course we had to make a routine stop to the potty. well we're in the stall (which are entirely nasty and tiny for two people) and she is doing her thang- number two style...and yells when she's done, "Look mama! i pooped a REAALLLY big one! Look!" i was mortified and tried to "shhh" her as best as i could. then while flushing, she seriously stuck her head in the toilet to watch it all go down...and i didn't even get to appreciate the comedy of it all until i heard the words, "Ellie! Get your head out of the toilet!" come out of my mouth. people in the restroom at the same time as us either had a laugh...or were appalled at the lack of manners in the generation of today. personally, i laughed.
i love these little navy blue TOMS that Ellie got as a birthday gift this year. we had to exchange the size right away- and have been patiently awaiting their mail delivery as her size was on back order...so we were pretty pumped when they finally showed up this week. i really liked all the snazzy patterns (like this one i posted on pinterest) but we got the blue because they go with everything, in a nautical-non-clashing sorta way. i admit, i'm more than a little jealous of these shoes and can't wait till i can afford to buy me a cute pair this fall. i'm obsessed with shoes (as everyone who follows me on Pinterest knows).
a couple of weeks ago we had a surprise Young Women over nighter- we had a pool-party-slumber party and did a day in San Francisco the next day. a total blast- and i think the girls loved it. sometimes i just can't believe i'm old enough to be out of the young women program, let alone be their leader. it was such a fun activity- one that really inspired me. these young women are such powerful examples. i'm so impressed by their immovable faith and testimonies as they live amongst so much garbage. i love their love for life and their perfect hope in the future. i envy (just a teensy bit) the blank canvas that lies ahead of them- which they have all these amazing dreams waiting to paint out. these girls truly walk in the light, and it inspires me. (and i get to work with some pretty incredible women too). working in Young Women is truly one of the greatest blessings in my life right now. isn't it the best to be surrounded by wonderful people?
my other greatest blessings are these three cuties. i mean, seriously!?
we've been having such a fun summer together. weve kept busy going on walks, going to the beach, going to movies, playing at the park, digging in our yard, grilling on our BBQ, playing in the kiddie pools, playing in Grandma + Grandpa's pool, going on road trips, going to six flags, and just watching movies when we're all pooped and water-logged. M's life has truly 180'd with his career change- we love seeing him in the mornings, and in the evenings, and on the weekends...and we love that his travels are usually to southern cal, which usually means i get to have extra visits with my family. perfect, right?
and my final thought/rambling(because it's a long one)...i had a friend email me last night an interesting question. "do you consider yourself happy- meaning 85% or more of my day leaves me smiling...if so, what is my secret?" i have been thinking about this question all day. my first thought was does anybody smile 85% of their day?? seriously? its making my face hurt thinking about it. and maybe that is a pessimistic thought. it took me a while to think of a good response for her. because the truth is, i personally would be lying if i said i smiled 85% of my day. because i just don't. but then again i wouldn't consider myself unhappy at all. what i told her was that i decided a while back that being happy all the time just wasn't realistic for me- because lets face it, life can be hard. sad things happen. stressful situations come up as you're trying to provide for your family. and in the mix of those things, as a mom, you're having to teach kids how to behave while they depend on you for every little thing. heck, some days, you don't even get to pee in privacy. sometimes i feel like the smile is sucked right off of my face. but in spite of all of that, i think we can have peace. so i told my friend that instead of perpetual happiness and rainbows, i just want peace. peace to know i'm where the Lord wants me. and peace to know i'm doing what he wants me to be doing. and then i always feel that peace. and if i don't, i know i need to change something. and then once i feel the peace, i feel empowered to find the joyful moments- the ones that would have otherwise been hidden under all that stressful junk, had i not sought peace first.
how would you have answered? it's a hard question, huh? one that has made me wonder- do i paint an unrealistic picture of myself to others? especially on my blog? how do i avoid doing that without being a perpetual complainer? or without seeming like i am living a zero-stress problem-free life? this is tough for me. a dilemma i am often fighting within myself- and which sadly sometimes keeps me from blogging sometimes. and so i'll end with that cosmic question to send out into the void....now that i've almost certainly pillow-talked you to sleep.
and if you're still awake, go take a nap. you deserve one for making it through this marathon-thought post without falling asleep.
oh, and here's one last picture- a peek into M's birthday getaway to Santa Cruz...which definitely deserves its own post in the near future. note: it's my favorite shot from the summer thus far.
and sticky watermelon....
and sticky popsicles....
some of my favorite things about summer.
and speaking of favorite summer things: we're off to one of our favorite little summer spots today.
can't wait to soak in the sun, play in the sand, chat with fun friends (bonus!), see those cute bums in their swimsuits + tubes + floaties, and smell that sticky sunscreen aroma.
