Our Summer 09

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OK, I found this entry and realized I NEVER posted it. Um, hello!? Its late in the Winter, the year 2010, but I'm posting this anyway.

What was I waiting for? Well, mostly, pictures. I've been terrible at uploading pictures and organizing them on my computer, then turning them into a slide show or posting them here. So, no pictures from the summer... yet. I am working on it and will have to update this entry with pictures later.

Part of the reason for having this blog is as a memory keeper - so while its not the most exciting post, I am glad I found it and will look back on our busy summer with good memories.
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Summer flew by so fast. Partially because since having a child I live in perpetual light speed, and partially because we had so much fun (you know the saying...). Here's a little virtual slide show of our summer (mostly courtesy of friends - thanks guys! - and a few from my camera phone, since I am currently living, somehow, without a digital camera, after breaking 3 in a year)....

We managed to squeeze in three camping trips this summer. Mr. Outdoors loves to camp and makes it totally worth loading up all our gear and spending a few days getting dirty and eating marshmallows.

The first trip was with the huge group of people that were witness to Z's first camping trip last year. This time we chose to go a month later (in May) where we didn't risk hypothermia at night. Z was on cloud 9 because there were 2 other boys to play with. He ended up calling them his brothers (brudders) all weekend which was really cute.

Our second camping trip (in mid-August) was one I organized for one of our playgroups, so we ended up with 5 single mamas and their little ones and it was a blast!!!! The kids kept occupied and got along so well, and with the mamas sharing chores and kid duties, we actually got a little break occasionally.

A week later, we found ourselves camping again, this time with a smaller group of friends but equally as fun. Our campsite was directly behind a river which we spent a good deal of time at/in. It was really relaxing, quality time... except the part where I got a little beat up going through some rocks while floating down the river. This campsite was dog-friendly so Zoo Kid made lots of friends over the weekend.

In late May we had an opportunity to head to Southern Cali for a dear friend's wedding. We borrowed a van and gathered Dantie and Auntie V, along with another mama and kid duo and made the drive.... it was a little dicey towards the end with two two-year-old boys, but we made it in one piece. We got to enjoy the beach one day we were there, witnessed a beautiful wedding, and turned around and drove back home. The ride home took a while and a bunch of stops but in the end it was worth the quick trip!

When we visited with some Aunts and cousins in the bay area in June, Z was spoiled with affection as usual, but he also got full access to the bowl of icing after Auntie Amy frosted the cake... mmmmm

Z got to see his first baseball game this summer, too! Most of it was spent running around the lawn with his friend while the mamas chatted and watched the game, but he did enjoy a few minutes of baseball and especially liked the mascot, Digger the River Cat (go figure!). He loves anything dressed up in character, especially animals.

The state fair is something I normally skip, but this year some awesome friends gave us passes which allowed us to park (in an awesome spot!) and get in for free, so I challenged myself to go to the fair and spend under $20. I think I ended up $5 over budget, but for 4 hours of fun, that's not bad! Z was mostly interested in the farm animals, insect house, monorail, and fire safety area (of course, because Smokey was there!). My favorite part was the picture booth! :)

We had a plethora of birthday parties, festivals, and playgroup playdates as well... too many to mention individually! I remember sitting back one Saturday that we didn't have plans realizing that it was the only one we had had in a while! It was great... we both like to stay busy and social but those occasional down-times, stay in pj's all day, color and watch movies, build castles, bake cookies, let the chores wait kind of days are nice too!

Even though we didn't get to go on a "traditional" family vacation this year, we had so much fun together and made a lot of great memories. And my recessionista alter ego realized that our memories don't need to cost a lot or have a Disney backdrop to be fond, and that simply spending time together is quality time.

Sure, I have a hot list of places to go and things to do that I'd like to experience with my little sidekick and some of them require more than a sleeping bag, sunscreen and sack lunch... but while those things still live on a list rather than reality, nothing's stopping us from good times!

Its hard to believe that summer is over and we are fully into fall, the holidays, and so near to 2010, and I won't even mention another birthday for Sprout (oh, I just did, didn't I?). Time flies when you're having fun.....