Last weekend, I put foam curlers in my daughters' hair. Holly and Greta were both very compliant, and excited for their curls. They went to sleep just fine. But, in the morning, Greta did not like her curls at all. One look in the mirror and her excitement turned to tears... for at least a half hour, until we put Greta in the tub and rinsed out her curls. I wonder if she didn't like how she looked with the curls or didn't recognize herself as much as she likes to. Holly loved her curls - she bobbed and shook her head as much as possible to get those curls bouncing.

On Sunday, Conor wore a bow tie that Holly had sewn for him - so awesome! Holly used a running stitch (in red thread) to sew together a few strips of fabric. She was so excited to present this treasure to Conor. Holly is really enthusiastic about sewing and I really need to do more of it with her but I'm not sure where to start. I've gotta figure that out!

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. - Audrey Hepburn

We planted our garden back in Mid-March and harvest time is coming up. I'm not much of a gardener - I have almost no experience. We seem to have a difficulty each time we plant a garden. This year was leaf miners. I think my chard and beets are going to make it though. Other than those 2 things, we planted carrots, green beans and peas. I also have some tomato plants and a pot of parsley and cilantro growing. I've really enjoyed watching over and caring for my garden. It definitely takes time and some work, even though it's small. I realized this year that because the outdoors brings me peace, I need to focus some effort on being there and connecting to the earth. Having a garden has been helpful. Hopefully I can learn more with each one I plant.

Obviously, if we're going to camp at a State Beach, we're going to play on the beach lots. We spent some time there Friday night and then a big chunk of time there on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. I just love the beach! And having all those kids together - they just played and played and didn't want to stop. It was a really great trip!

For a long time, I've been envious of Moms whose children will sit and color. I am no longer in the green with envy color. A month or two ago, something changed with Holly and she very suddenly wanted to color all the time. I'm not kidding. Greta joined the revolution and is also coloring constantly. It's completely awesome. I love it! It's so fun to see what their artistic little selves come up with. And for Holly, it's really great for her to have a busy activity that she doesn't need my help with. She especially likes coloring pictures for friends and family.

Holly also loves to read. The very best day for books is the day after we've visited the library. She'll spend long spurts of times, slowly flipping through the newly borrowed books. Holly and I also love to read chapter books together. I love children's literature.

This weekend, we went camping for one night at our favorite spot with some of our favorite people. It was a lot of fun! We have this little tent that we currently fit in perfectly. There's enough room for our mats and sleeping bags and our duffle bag and then there's a tiny bit of space at the entry and that's it! I love that we all fit in there so perfectly right now.

Camping with little kids really is all about making memories and it's definitely not about getting beauty rest. We had a little friend poke her head into our tent shortly after 6am (we were all awake anyways), and then another little friend came in and it was all giggles and laughs and so much fun! A fantastic way to start the day!

It was a beautiful weekend. And Conor commented that camping is a great use of the weekend. Lots of friend and family time.