A summer photo series: Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them. 

I am a little late posting the photos from last week- it has been a little crazy around here as you'll see!

This week we...

…adopted two little fish that we named Goldy and Red (ok, actually this happened on June 3rd, but I wanted to make sure they made the blog!):

…did a little neighborhood hiking down by the creek in a spot my kids call "under the bridge" because it is, appropriately enough, under a bridge:

…created nature journals and did some drawing (I'll write more on this in another post):

…went to a park to watch a movie...

...and, instead, adopted the sweetest little rescue dog in the world, Miley! She's a 7 month old Brittany Spaniel and Border Collie mix:

See what I mean? Eventful week!

My creative side is very opposed to following routines. I have learned that my inspiration to be creative or to write or even to be happy doesn't come from quiet. It comes when my mind is un-numb. While routines are very helpful for managing the tasks of life, they are numbing to the brain.

I chose "joy" as my word for 2013. I have a tendency to overwhelm myself with hard-to-achieve goals and projects. I would prefer to do things that bring me joy instead of just giving me a feeling of accomplishment when they are checked off of a list after a ton of hard work.

This summer I decided to try some new things just because they sounded really fun. I ran my first trail race (the 5.8 mile short course of The Dirty Secret Trail Run) in May. The race was hard and the weather was HOT. It wasn't what I expected in that way, but it was so great to be out on a trail, in nature, instead of on a city street.

On Saturday night I ran another trail race. This time it was 10k (6.2 miles) in the DARK! In spite of the difficulty of the run (there was a very steep 1 1/2 mile hill just after mile 3) and the fact that I took a huge fall (olympic potential gymnastics here, people) I absolutely loved it. I loved watching the sky change as the sun set when we started.


I loved the firefly-like line of glow sticks and headlamps on the trail in front of and behind me. I loved the "take-your-time-to-take-it-all-in" vibe of the race. I loved that those ahead would warn those behind of rocks and other obstacles. I loved the minute or so that I stopped on a hill and turned off my headlamp to admire quiet night in the darkness. It was new. It was nature-y. It was awesome. Joy. Mission accomplished.

Ready to run; I'm on the right:


Other posts on un-numbing and joy:
Thank you, vacation
Fortified
Staying afloat: My bag of tricks for staying buoyant 
Why I tri

Each week during our summer vacation I will be posting a photo summary. I will include photos that capture the mood of our days and how we're spending them.

This week we...

…had a birthday:



…visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium:



…enjoyed the company of mama birds and their babies in our yard:



…picked the first zucchini from our garden:



…planned and hosted our first grilled pizza and s'mores cookout on a very hot summer (almost) evening:



…and enjoyed blooming flowers in the hot valley sunshine:

We are on the countdown to summer vacation here. We have a little bit of busy left with a final baseball game, a preschool graduation, birthdays to celebrate, teachers to thank, etc. I am both looking forward to and bracing myself for a couple months' break from our school year routine. I will spend whole days with my boys. Boys who are more active and more easily bored than they were a year ago. Boys who are loud and curious and messy.

In my usual way, I have created a loose plan for us (summers past: summer manifesto 2012, summer ideas for 2011). Lists of things to do and projects to channel messes into creativity. I have some special things in the works too. Adventures, camping trips, hikes, and even a fun project or two that carry a lesson in kindness to others. I'll share more on that in a couple of weeks.

I haven't been blogging nearly as frequently lately as I have in the past. There are really two reasons for that; one more obvious than than the other. My days have changed in their rhythm. I have more stops to make, more places to go to watch boys throw balls, run, swim, kick, and race things. I also have been thinking a lot about my mission with this space. Not just the topics of posts but the overall direction of my blog. My heart has changed and grown a larger place for things beyond food and healthy eating. I am holding space in my heart for something bigger.

I will turn 40 this summer and, with that, comes a lot of introspection. This summer will be an experiment for me. I am writing to record things for me. Things that I want to remember and things that I want to share with others so that they might add them to their summer plans as well. I have a summer writing calendar that I will attempt to follow. I will be sharing our projects, adventures, joyful things, and some food stuff too. Mostly, I want to capture what I think will be both a great summer and a period of growth for me.

My seven year old wrote a short paragraph and drew a picture to share his summer plans:

Happy summer!