As it should be

Giving and playing and learning...! That's a pretty good summary of what it means to be thriving as a family in my book. Pretty neat stuff that over the last week, we hit on all 3 of these points! :)

Last weekend, we had a glorious time out in the sunshine among friends and family. We started it off sharing a celebratory walk with our friends. It was a beautiful morning, cherishing so many people - babies to adults - who have Down Syndrome. We loved being a part of this joy, and supporting sweet Jocelyn!! As a mom, it means so much to me to expose my kids to the important stuff so that we hopefully raise children who are extraordinarily compassionate and caring. I know this will be a special memory for all of us, and we look forward to next year's Buddy Walk!!




After the walk, we headed from beautiful Balboa Park to the San Diego Zoo - a short trot in our double BOB. What a fun time we had! The kids had an absolute blast checking out the animals... Hippos, elephants, monkeys, polar bears...and even the panthers (Colin's special request). Such fun with Auntie Court and Uncle Kris and the perfect 2nd half of the day!!




And tonight, we headed over to ABC Preschool for Open House. I have been excited for this night for a few days now! There is something so special about seeing the pride on your little one's face as they show you their artistic masterpieces, their special gardening, and their favorite school books. I feel SO lucky we have the BEST preschool teachers for both Colin and Logan. We adore these special ladies: Miss Sarah and Miss KK. Of course, there was a part of me that had a pang of sadness knowing that this is Colin's last open house at ABC since he will fly off to kindergarden in the fall!! (GULP!!! Pulling a Scarlett O'Hara on that one - I'll think about that tomorrow!!)

Playing catch up

I feel like I am entering back into reality after living in a bubble for the past 6 weeks or so. Now having gone through two Septembers with Hospice of the Valleys, I realize that as long as I am with my beloved company, I will be MIA for that month each year. Come about mid-August, I move into ultra high speed mode, and really don't slow down until my signature fundraiser concludes. I realized that this year on Monday (9/26), the day after the event, I literally felt like I was walking around in a haze, functioning in slow motion after living at such a fast pace for weeks on end.

And, as fabulous, successful and rewarding as the event was, I COULD NOT BE MORE HAPPY TO BE D-O-N-E!

My work schedule will be less for a while so I can 1) SPEND TIME with my sweet family, 2) recharge and revisit the other work projects which had been put on the back burner and 3) Catch up on my house, my to do lists, and my life!

In the meantime, I did manage to capture a few sweet moments this past month. Here is a quick recap:

Highlights from Courtney and Kris' beautiful wedding...








Weekend slumber party with Keaton!





SILLY MOMENTS!!!

Clown day at school!


And our little German leader :)