to the OG mere

circa 1989.

in bloom

     Motherhood isn't creation
I didn't choose your nose, hair, or
     wild disposition
I didn't select what would make you cry
     or the colors you'd be drawn to
I didn't put the sparkle in
     your eyes, or the bells in your laugh
I may have mixed the ingredients
     but I didn't write the recipe.
No, motherhood is not creation
It's the tending of a garden
     knees in the rocky mud
     sweat dripping into eyes under the
     hot but life-giving sun
     a sprinkling of water
     the endless picking of weeds
     guarding against hungry beasts
     joy as the first sprouts appear.
There is no creation in motherhood,
     no ownership
     only stewardship
     and a quiet but profound faith
     that if cared for
     the child will bloom.
   
                                   --Bunmi Laditan

nine and thirty blackbirds

on our last day in california, we woke up, packed up, and celebrated the birth of this guy right here:

by heading out to fill up on the BEST acai bowls ever, ever at northside shack in san diego. we were waiting outside (faces pressed up against the glass) five minutes prior to opening in order to fit in one more taste of the deliciousness before our flight home.

you guys, i'm not kidding: northside shack put all the acai bowls we had in hawaii to shame (not to a lot of shame, mind you, but still).

i double-dog dare you to find me one better, and i will happily, happily eat all submitted recommendations on my quest to find the best. #takingonefortheteam (next stop, brazil!) 

this was the only food joint we visited twice on our trip.

(besides in-n-out burger, of course. we're not animals!)

to bryan, who spends all of his birthdays giving his family the very best.

may the fourth

when caleb decides he wants to "build his own lightsaber" as his disneyland souvenir.

joshua tree national park

as much fun as we had playing at the beach and/or living it up at disneyland, johsua tree national park snuck up on us as the most winningest destination from our trip to california. 

i've been wanting to visit for several years, but every time we head to the golden state, we stay on the coast, and the drive inland to the park just seems a bit too long to make. 

takeaway tip for my fellow coastal visitors: it is not too long to make. 

get thee to the joshua tree. 

checking out the ocotillo:

lunching our way through national parks the way our ancestors did:

cholla cactus:

we may have wandered a bit off the beaten path (and i'm using the word "path" here quite loosely), and bryan got bit by a cholla (dallin did, too, but not nearly as badly).

don't let his smile fool you, that sucker hurts. i performed an emergency extraction. he survived.

our kids could have climbed these rocks for the rest of their lives:

skull rock:

"look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better."

--albert einstein

beach beach boogie boogie

last day at the beach.
first time on the boogie boards.

la jolla shores.