some sort of break

taking a little time off
I'll still be posting every once in awhile, but mostly pictures
so be sure to take a peek (^.^)

A short introduction

During a visit to Granddad's office, Montana fell in love with a wooden family of four (Dr. Granddad is a psychologist and has assorted toys that he uses for play therapy). She spotted a similar looking family at a toy shop the next day, and here they are: The Merkurs.

The Merkurs enjoy their after-lunch stroll over by the rocks where the little boy Giant plays.

It was a challenge to interrupt play on a bright and beautiful day but I managed to grab this shot. (^o^)
Reminds me of our family portrait of chaos taken last year:

This was the best we could do. Really.

under the lifeguard station

You know summertime is too hot to handle when you take your three year old to the beach and the first thing he does is seek shelter from the morning sun.


This is all we brought home from Saturday's book sale plus Dave's pile of fiction and for dummies books. We were hoping to find The Meanest Doll in the World (for the girls) and Gideon the Cutpurse (for a friend) but the shelves were almost all empty. Maybe our next trip to a used book shop would yield more interesting finds.

sweet Saturday

The end of the first school week was followed by a delightfully slow Saturday morning.
After some snuggles and plenty of good morning kisses, we enjoyed a wonderfully unhurried breakfast and chatted quite a bit.
Then we walked outside and saw car after car parked in front of our house. Turns out there was an estate sale across the street, we sat on the grass and watched folks come and go.
The children played with lizards and spotted one shedding its skin. They watched as a family of wasps built a nest with lots of little holes that looked like teeny-tiny bedrooms.
A mid-morning swim was part of the day's plan; but instead we attacked the last day of a local bookstore's going out of business sale.

I am finally getting good at cooking good looking pancakes. These pancakes look so much better than these. Don't you think?

Maku, you did good.

let's celebrate with your favorite treat....

lightly fried calamari...

with oh so spicy...

marinara sauce.

school again

Monday was Snow's first day of school. The house was filled with back-to-school excitement, first-day jitters and little-brother screams of sister please stay.

three ducklings

While I was doing some shopping by myself at my favorite store without my cute little ducklings following me single file, Dave was doing some baking with three little ducklings jumping in to mix and stir, measure and pour.

"Quack, quack! My turn, my turn!" they cried one after the other. That thought brought a smile on my face while I happily examined every fragile item in the store. It was such a luxury to hear only my thoughts, the heavy afternoon rain and the cash register occasionally spitting out receipts.

Less than an hour later I was back home and with keys still in my hand, I was greeted at the door by three merry ducklings and each one had something to say:

"Dad tried to call you and he called himself! Instead of calling you he called the phone on the table."
Ah, but that was my phone and I am glad I didn't bring it with me.

"We heard the thunder and we thought you got hit by lightning."
I heard the thunder too and wondered if you were outside playing.

"The brownies are not ready yet. We're waiting for the buzzer."
I know about the buzzer.

I listened intently to each one since I wasn't given a moment to speak, I just greeted each one with a long, tight hug. Then I led my ducklings (and big daddy duck) into the pond while I savored more quiet time, this time with warm brownies, a nice hot cuppa and the sound of happy duck quacks.