out of summer hibernation

wowzers. we made it! alas.

here we go...

mee-ya-mee (Miami). dreamy to say the least. my saint of a mother-in-law not only flew down to florida to help me pack, watch the kids, and fly back with madeline so we could make the long road trip back...she also watched the girls for a few nights so steve and i could escape. and escape we did. it was such a romantic few days spent at a spa/resort (thanks to my belated bday gift from my hubby), a night in vibrant miami, and snorkeling in the Keys. just wish i got a pic of the shark swimming at us...and a pic of me flapping helplessly in the water assuming the shark was after us morsels...










meanwhile...

saying goodbye was a lot harder than we thought. we sure are going to miss our good friends, our home, and our year-round floridian summers. watching hannah say goodbye to trent was pretty heart-wrenching...little guy got all choked up! awww.






motivated by our desires to be reunited with madeline as a little fam, we made the 16 hour drive in record time, and even had time to stop off and see our good friends, the smoots!

the next few weeks were spent at gramma sue and grampa joe's house enjoying the local sites, nearby parks, and gramma sue's fresh backed bread.

annual alfandre family camp-out (1st). a few days after moving into our new place, we thought it best to leave boxes unpacked and head to the woods. we enjoyed the swimming lake, loved the s'mores with homemade grahams (thank you martha stewart!), the cozy fire, and every creeping thing we could find. it was so cute to see the girls explore (you can't explore too much in florida's wildlife for fear of gators near any body of water, scorpions, brown recluse spiders, and who knows what else).

madeline's face was constantly covered in dirt, soot, and sticky peaches/marshmallow/etc.

by the time 5am rolled around, with two cranky, sleepless kids (and parents), and dry cereal for breakfast...we decided to pack up (to beat traffic of course) and hit up cracker barrell. hot blueberry pancakes never tasted so good!

i.love.camping!

minnesota. it's always a treat to visit my parents in their new small hometown of stillwater, but it quickly became something extra special partaking of the festivities, fireworks, and fried food of lumberjack days. perhaps, while flipping through the channels, you have come-upon ESPNs coverage of lumberjacks running across rolling logs and shimmeying up tree trunks...that's exactly what lumberjack days is all about! i never knew deep fried cheese curds could taste so devine nor wood chopping races to be so enthralling to watch. wish i took pictures to prove it.

wouldn't "hannah's rock climbing achievement" photos fit nicely with those dramatic posters illustrating "Adversity" or "Courage"?

count me as a fan. flannel and all.

with my side of the family, we continued on in our journey to my auntie marta's "french chateue" in the deep woods of concrete, washington; beautifully set back over looking the turquoise mountain river run-off. 



above right: our little fam got to sleep in the tree house. hannah could not have been happier! so Swiss Family Robinson.

next stop: Lopez Island. brings me to my roots. in two ways. first, literally. my great ancestors, James and Amelia Davis were the first white settlers on the island, part of the san juan islands off the coast of washington state. their homestead farm was handed down a number of generations. my mom's warmest childhood memories were the summers spent at the homestead picking blackberries, searching for agates among the driftwood shores, and walking to Richard's--the small, nearby grocer. we grew up longing for those same joys, and now watch as a new little generation reaps the benefits of this beautiful, untouched island.

surrounded by the crisp, salty sea breeze, crammed into a small trailer home with 15+ other individuals i love (3 rambunctious dogs included) with no internet/tv, and entertained by conversation, long walks, blackberry cobbler with homemade ice cream, the dump (basically the FREE thrift shop on the island...my auntie marta once found a black leather kenneth cole purse), and fresh sea creatures for admiring, catching, AND eating!...i can only walk away feeling more centered in what i want my family's roots to be grounded in--love, family, and the simples awes of life.

little white church where my grandma's funeral was held and where many of my ancestors were buried. i loved how you could hear the bleating sheep and cow bells from the farm fields below. so peaceful.

hannah's world was spinning with the joy having 3 dogs in the small quarters...but her world became complete when she got to actually walk Lucky, as fast as he may have been.

getting down and dirty digging for clams. we didn't expect such trixyness from the little mollusks...but the feast that evening was well worth the effort!

duck beach. quack quack.

nothing says summer like cold, sandy capri suns.

the last of our summer excursions...though it was completely incomplete without stephen (boooo to mandatory orientation) and ali&spencer, how can one not be wooed by the rhythmic crashing of waves, single gear beach cruisers, an addictive lighthouse puzzle with too many blue sky pieces, and a huge loving family to share in the indulgences of Duck Donuts (melt-your-mouth, THE BEST donuts. easily.), the intensity of Buzz Word, and the joys of boogie boarding?!

does summer really have to come to an end so soon??