Simple.

Our life is FULL of pure and simple happiness. 

One of the simple things is our life that has added happiness to Daunika is having TOE SHOES! She is thrilled to match mommy now. REI garage sales rock. We both got toe shoes at the last one :) 

Throwing a blanket over a table is simple but it produces AMAZING hours of fun!

And of course... plain white paper and paint does wonders for all of us. 

Who doesn't think pie is fabulous? This is 100% whole wheat homemade crust, with fresh mulberries we picked ourselves. The filling is so amazing - 4c mulberries, 1/4c flour, 1/2c sugar. That's it - simple goodness!

Declan is often entertained by strange items (like playing pick up sticks with pencils!)

While jumping on the trampoline, suddenly a hard summer rain hit us. It didn't slow them down a bit. They were soaked head to toe and happy!

Kalani has two tiny teeth on the bottom now :) And in the same week, Daunika lost her second tooth too!

The kids are having an amazing time lately spending our days at Eagle Island. Super fun, super cheap, all day fun. The first time they were THRILLED Daddy came with us even! I love his dedication to us!

Life really is just mellow from day to day. In the simplicity I find the most fun and enjoyment all around. We're setting up our school supplies and office to get ready for a new (home)school year. We're slowing down and honing in on what we need to really do. We're reviving our business. We're taking it one day at a time committed to being the best versions of ourselves. It really is lovely!!

But with kids like these, who wouldn't think their lives were anything short of amazing?

Oh so blessed. 

Gratitude in adversity

Things have been better. No really, I do believe things have been much better in our lives before. For whatever reason, our possessions keep breaking in massive ways. It has been a rough month indeed, yet recounting it seems so humbling. It all started with a call I got, "I'm coming home, the truck is broken, the guys will have to finish the initial without it"... Well, big truck = big tools needed, new lessons learned, new experiences. And of course, Betty, our suburban could tow the trailer and get the job done. No biggie.

Truck fixed in time for Hester, our awesome 600$ car, decided to break. Several repairs and two weeks later, oil and coolant/water are mixing together rendering the darn car useless. But, what else happen during those two weeks you ask? Let's see... our riding lawn mower broke. 2 of our 3 push mowers broke. Our trailer broke.

As if the work stuff wasn't enough, our dryer began acting up. Then our washing machine completely died, and to top it off - our WELL to the house began spewing sandy water at us. Oh yes, and as of last weekend, the A/C unit is pouring water in the mechanical room downstairs. Great.

I have taken each day one at a time while reflecting that I have the choice to let it get to me, or not. It's actually amazing. While it seems terribly stressful, I honestly don't give a shit. It is just possessions. I've been through a heart breaking major loss this year - who the heck cares about the STUFF you fill your life with. It is about the people, the connections, the community.

So, here we are, about 4 weeks since everything began falling apart and I've learned a ton!

Damon has amazing skills mechanically

Stuff breaking meant we saw each other a bit more

We have an amazing community of friends 

Our chickens perch on the wheel hub if the tires are off

Tools = self sufficiency and we are willing to share these tools with others

People matter a million times more than our things

Our kids think washing clothes by hand in the bathtub is fun

Sharing car can be stressful

We need another ten trailers, well, maybe two more would suffice

Our crew is awesome 

Working from home means tasty meals from the wife according to Damon

Our kids saw collaboration and team work through this time

People in our lives are reliable

Laughter is better than tears through stress

Nothing is good or bad until you assign it that way - so why pick negativity?!

We are so blessed to have a community of people who love and support us. From the calls offering to bring us a meal, to the borrowed washing machine, to the crew pulling extra weight and dealing with less while we worked as hard as we could to bring back the tools to them. People gave us advice, support and love through the process and most importantly, we had each other. As a husband and a wife, we relied deeply on our connection, love, support and sincere and complete faith.

While it's been stressful, I love our life. It's just stuff - but the people who have prayed for us, helped us, and simply listened to us and held a space - Thank you. You matter.

Discover, again.

I love living in Boise. In case you didn't know - I think it is one of the best places on earth to raise children. While I have nothing to compare it to - I do really feel that the resources here are simply amazing. Great libraries, museums, a zoo, a million parks, great families, and one of our favorites - the Discovery Center!

Here's a peak into our day with friends at DCI

Looking into forever...

Playing with shadows.

This was GREAT to watch! Daunika is trying to grab the spring she can 'see'..... It's all an illusion. This is what she sees...

This is what I can see from the side....... I tried really hard not to giggle.... much

Then we headed to 'play' with some more hands-on items that Declan adores.

Serious concentration!

And of course - who doesn't love giant bubbles?

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Can you hear that? That 'wheeeeeeeeeeee' will probably be heard forever from here on forward. In fact, I'm sure my neighbors are repeating it in their brains over and over again just like I am. What could cause our children to scream this at the top of their lungs in our yard? I mean, we are seriously budgeted here... with our limited resources, could it be possible to create such amazing fun?

Well... you judge for yourself.

Doesn't every girl get out in 103* heat in her pink cowboy boots and swing to her hearts screams 'Whee!'

And what do you do when you have some extra rope? Take some more scrap wood from the firewood and drill a hole :)

Really, these girls are just fabulous to watch be so happy.

Declan is absolutely and completely terrified of swinging. Both of our girls went through an irrational fear of swinging too about 2. It's obviously no longer an issue for them, but for now Moose won't be doing any swinging.

But I think these two will make up for him missing out.

If you have a large tree, RUN, don't walk, to the hardware store for thick rope 

Then add some scrap wood, tie some knots. Viola!!!

Enjoy

Happy Independence Day :)

Every Independence Day for the last 5 years we have held the same tradition - our family packs a cooler full of food and then we hang out at the Boise Depot for a few hours while we wait for our amazing view of the city fireworks! Our kids love it, and I think both Damon and I share the appreciation for the beautiful explosions and their symbolism.

This is the view from where we were hanging out that I captured while we waited as the sun set slowly.

And while we waited... of course we had to explore!

There are huge fish to see!

Our family is growing up so quickly. Damon and I sat and watched people play and have fun with their frisbees and footballs - and once again, I was struck with the amazing fact that our kids are old enough to be crazy running frisbee throwing kids too. Darn. At home we have the trampoline, hula hoops, and sprinklers to be crazy with - but we don't yet have anything that travels to play outside with. We're going to put that on the agenda of things we MUST get.

But we had a stellar good time any way! We all stayed close to Damon. Sometimes it's hard when we see him so little but we are really dedicated to staying a strong close knit family. It was so great to be together for hours (in day light even!!) as a family. The kids crawled all over Daddy while they could..

Now, Damon being there was a special surprise to the kids. I had prepared them for his potential absence and I think they understood because he did get up and head out with the crew bright and early in the morning of the 4th. We hit a BBQ with our great friends and then we all celebrated when he showed up to join us before we left our home. It really felt awesome!!

And of course, Kalani and me stayed close too!

Our awesome 6 year old snapped this one of us together! Can you believe it's been 12 years together?

Some nearby families shared a huge glow stick with Declan, which was a lifesaver for him. By 10 pm he was exhausted but the fireworks didn't start until 1030. So... He had fun with a glow stick!

And as the sun finally went down, the sky lit up and we all marveled at the explosions and our deep gratitude for our lives.

I'm so thankful for our lives, really. It's incredibly hard to describe the intense gratitude I feel when I sit and really think of it. I know we're on the path of happiness and living it daily. The commitment it takes to hold ourselves up through adversity, struggle, and unexpected turns in the road are seemingly easy. We have so much to learn in life, but I know we are on the right path for us. These traditions are just small moments in the daily grind of our lives together. How awesome.

Hope everyone had a fantastic Independence Day!!