Family vacation [success]

Our long anticipated (and feared) family vacation came and went, and I am happy to say that we are left with many wonderful memories this time (last year's vacation was quite a disaster that I tried to suppress in my memory for months after we got home, maybe it's time to look at some pictures I took back then). Unintentionally, our 'theme' turned out to be all about visiting beaches, and it ended up being just right for everyone. Refreshing and calming for Mark and I, fun (i.e. wet) for the kids. We brought swim suits for them, but every time we went to visit a beach, we though it was too chilly to wear them. And yet, in the end, at least half of the kids would end up being completely soaked, purple lipped, shivering, yet looking forward to repeat the experience again. So we just made sure that we always had a set of towels and dry clothes for all the children, and accepted the fact that our car would be full of sand for the duration of our trip.

This was our third trip to North West, and even last year, when we encountered so much stress and trouble during our vacation, I still carried with me the lasting impression of the beauty that we witnessed in the NW. I love going back there, and hope that some day we will live close enough to that area that our traveling will only take a couple of hours instead of a couple of days. Until then, I'm going to hold tight to my memories of all the wonderful adventures we had together as a family.

Having fun

August has been busy for us, in a good way, just as it should be. I'd love to write in greater detail about our wonderful vacation and other experiences we had together as a family, but I'll save it for another night, the draft for that post was getting too long and I knew it deserved a place of its own.

To sum it up, we had a blast.

Seeing and exploring beautiful North West...














spending lots and lots of time by the ocean...






















and in general, having good time as a family...












And as summer is nearing its end, it's also hard to imagine that the Sling Diaries Project is almost over, with participants writing their last posts this month. Make sure to check many other inspiring entries made by wonderful bloggers over the past 6 months. It's been a wonderful, memorable, fun ride!

Celebrating {part 1}

She is two now. For the first time since becoming parents we have a 2 year old and no new babies in sight, so we can fully appreciate and notice this age. She is a handful, always wanting to do everything herself, and I mean EVERYTHING. She is quite independent, that one. Which often results in tears. Either our tears of joy and frustration, or hers, because she can't manage to do her own carseat buckles, and we are not willing to wait for another 10 minutes in a hot car. She's also our earliest child to potty learn. Comes with being independent, I guess. Oh, and having 3 older siblings definitely shows. She can stand up for herself and knows how to get what she wants. She loves books, just like her sisters and brother, and often brings the same 10-book stack to you whenever you try to sit down on the couch and relax. She is fun, charming, bossy, rough, bunny-loving 2 year old now. And Joy is her middle name.

(our last minute unofficial birthday celebration at the park. Ivy is a total puppy-hog)