I drank a v-8 so I'm not as tippy over. (photo overload alert)

Well hi there..is anybody even still here?? Are you feeling a little awkward for me that I just up and abandoned this little blog without any exclamation? I'm sorry!!

Well here is the deal really..the day before I left for all of our summer extravaganzas my little boy from the back seat of the car said, "Mom, it's going to be the best day ever". I waited for him to expand upon why it was going to best day ever but only silence ensued so naturally I asked him why it was going to be such a good day and he simply said, "because the sunset", in which he clearly meant sunrise. I wanted that feeling..you know..to think this was the best day ever because of the sunrise. One of my favorite times of the day usually is when I open up the blinds in the morning and I don't think I had really opened up those blinds for a while (ok I really did open up the blinds but as a matter a speaking was not quite feeling the joy). Anyway just that simple exchange of words got me to think about where I was at in the present. Was I missing something? Because if I were I didn't want to be. I just plain felt burned out and not so much quality at anything because I had spread myself out so thin. So I devised a plan and it was called operation regroup and drop everything that didn't have to do with kids, summer and good health. It was just what I needed to do in the moment so I could reevaluate my life's plan. Feeling unbalanced is just the pits..ya know??

Summer was great. I had a brother get married, a family reunion and lots of swimming dates. We also got to spend a chunk of time in a place that in my opinion would stage a good reality show series for Survivor. I think on more than one occasion my husband and I fantasized about living the simple life in a cabin. We also think that if life offers us an opportunity for our family to own and work a cute shop during the summers in an apple orchard that we'd take it. I love how even in the most desolate of places there is beauty to be found...almost more sometimes. One of the highlights for the kids happened when we took them to the middle of no where desert to hunt for arrowheads and sharks teeth (crazy that there are sharks teeth in the desert). We didn't find either of those but we did stumble upon banks of fossilized clams...probably courtesy of the ancient Lake Bonneville. Truly it was a sight to behold.

Talk soon.

P.S. - A few additional pics of the family reunion, my brother and his new wife, my boyfriend (aka as my nephew) and goofiness found in a family. (below photos by my sister Annie who also happens to be the mother of the before said boyfriend)