Meaningful gift giving is seriously one of my FAVORITE hobbies in the world. Yes, hobby. I enjoy it that much! Knowing I can make another person feel loved and appreciated through simple actions fills my heart to the brim! I often find myself dreaming up ideas of things to make or find that my friends and family will genuinely appreciate and enjoy. I even keep “gift ideas” list going all year round in the notes section of my phone, so that I can jot down ideas whenever inspiration strikes. It will come as no shock to those who know me well that I have most of my 2019 Christmas gifts already planned- ha! Isla and I collaborated on this Father’s Day gift for my uncle (her Gruncle) and it is seriously one of my all-time favorite gifts! Isla and Gruncle pick raspberries together every summer from his garden. It is the sweetest little tradition and one I know they both look forward to all year long. I felt this sign would honor their shared time, and the fact that the words are all in Isla’s handwriting made the gift even more special!
To make the sign I picked up a walnut board and post at Home Depot. Then Isla wrote GRUNCLE’S RASPBERRIES on a piece of paper and I converted it into a stencil by cutting it out of contact paper using my Silhouette machine (I am kicking myself now for not documenting the process step by step, but I’m sure there will be similar projects I can share in the future). After carefully applying the stencil to the board I sponge painted the letters with thin layers of white acrylic paint. Then I applied several coats of clear varnish and attached the post. It was a labor of love- and a bit tedious at times- but knowing how much Gruncle would appreciate it, I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time I was working!
My heart absolutely exploded seeing this sign displayed proudly in Gruncle’s raspberry patch this summer as he and Isla were busy picking!
We spent two beautiful weeks at our cottage on the coast smack-dab in the middle of summer. Absolute bliss! The first week was the annual Marshall family beach week. The kids absolutely LOVED the time with their cousins and we are grateful for the many happy hours spent digging in the sand and splashing in the waves together!
Sun drenched, sand covered bliss. I’d like to go ahead and freeze this moment right here.
“Come on, Mommy.” Then he reached up for my hand and marched us both into the waves.
Cole could not get enough of his cousin Morgan (or “O-gan” as he calls her) while we were at the beach. He was completely enamored with her and wanted to be with her all the time! I couldn’t blame him, as this sweet girl dedicated so much of her time to playing with him.
Charlie thoroughly enjoyed his time as a beach kitten!
Sweet good morning kisses for bear.
Buttercups. These sweet little flowers bring me right back to the summers of my childhood. I’d spend hours picking bouquets and admiring the velvety petals as they’d shimmer in sunlight.
Isla and her cousin, Morgan, spent one morning picking wildflowers, designing bouquets, dreaming up their own floral business (“Unique Flowers”), and then painting their arrangements. Goodness, I love their creativity and entrepreneurial spirits!
Charlie loved the flowers too!
The kids spent hours upon hours splashing around in the waves!
“The wheels on the bus go round and round all through the town!”
Charlie is loves watching the kids draw and paint. Those little kitten ears peeking up over the table are just too much!
Can’t turn your back on this little dude for even a second. Such a mischief maker!
“I pick?” Cole asks and points to just about every single flower we pass by. When the answer is yes, boy is he pumped!
“Cole, I think this boat is 135 million years old.” We’re not sure how or why someone pulled this old rowboat clear up the hillside into the forest, but we always enjoy inspecting it when we pass by on our hikes.
Life with Cole in two frames.
“Friends! No a touch a dump truck!” “Friends! No a play a shovel.” Cole is all about playing with his sand toys. He is not so much about sharing.
Isla and Morgan helped me make sprinkle bark for some special birthday cake inspired s’mores and a curious little brother took great interest in the process.
Brother wouldn’t stop filling in the holes she was digging, so she started piling sand on him. Seems like a reasonable retaliation.
Cole is absolutely crazy about his cousin “Say-yuh” (Selah)!
We enjoyed a shrimp boil and birthday cake s’mores on the beach to celebrate the June birthdays of the family.
We whipped up a tasty popcorn treat for our first summer viewing of The Sandlot.
We had an eventful trip to Oceanside that tested our patience and resourcefulness, but ended up being one of our favorite family experiences this summer!
Family collecting fun! Cole was especially excited to find his first agate!
Our little collector, hard at work. We are super excited to have these collection bags available in her Etsy shop soon!
Bath time and a curious kitten.
Cole decided Charlie needed a bath too! Charlie was not so sure…
He recovered quickly from his first bath experience, however, after some snuggles with his mommy.
This big-hearted, critter-loving girl of ours. Man, we love her so much! While on a morning beach stroll we found a live sand dollar- only we didn’t know it was alive when Isla first picked it up, so when its little legs started moving it gave her quite a scare. Being the curious little scientist she is, Isla recovered quickly and immediately began examining the sand dollar. Before continuing our walk she made sure to place the sand dollar back where we had found it (in feeding position). When I suggested she put it out into the surf to help prevent others from picking it up, she voiced her concerns about sea stars predation (literally using that term), so we agreed to keep it on the shore. This kid. She’s something else!
Love, love, love the little pools left behind by summer low tides. They are perfect for hours of running, jumping, splashing, and playing!
How each kiddo does sand castles… one builds ’em, one tears them down!
In addition to all the beach play time, there was quite a bit of work happening at the cottage. Isaac primed and painted both bedrooms, and the McD’s helped us replace all the windows and light fixtures in our bedroom. Hooray for progress! This sweet little place is feeling cozier and more like us every day.
Our little firecrackers on the 4th of July!!! I saved these adorable pullovers from The Wishing Elephant for the kids to debut on the 4th and I couldn’t love them more! They are super soft and snuggly and I think they promote a pretty great message for any nation, wouldn’t you agree?
Cole was super excited about the sparklers for about 0.4 seconds. Then they were “Too hot, too owie.” He enjoyed watching the big fireworks, however, from the safety of Gruncle’s lap.
He’s my favorite.
Toasting with Gruncle-inspired whiskey-butter toast s’mores. Say that five times fast.
Even though all of these happy moments took place just a few weeks ago, I am already looking through these photos and feeling an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and gratitude. We are so very thankful for our loving family, the summer sun on our shoulders as we splash in the waves, the feeling of sand between our toes while we walk along the shoreline in search of treasures, and a sweet little cottage that allows us to experience all of these wonderful gifts together.
Favorite beach moments from last year are linked below:
Sun-kissed strawberries are such a sweet first sign of summer! We’ve enjoyed 5 years of berry picking with our friends Toni and Piper and my sentimental heart is overflowing that we have maintained this tradition (2018, 2017, unfortunately I didn’t blog the previous years!).
This may be the first year the girls walked away with more berries in their buckets than their bellies, but there was still a little tasting going on.
“Strawberries are about the art of waiting and stalking.” Toni and I overheard Isla saying this while we picked and we laughed our heads off!
Strawberry tops and sweet berry stained knees. Such nostalgic signs of summer.
After picking we returned to Toni’s house for a BBQ and fresh strawberry milkshakes! Cole loved his and was kind enough to share a bit of his shake with Mickey the dog. What are your favorite strawberry recipes?! Please share in the comments.
After two fabulous days in Boston we hopped in the car and made our way to Cape Cod. We came to photograph a wedding, but arrived a few days early to see friends and explore a bit. We could not get over the charm of the shake-covered homes everywhere we looked! Every neighborhood we passed looked as if it were smack dab in the middle of a storybook. We already cannot wait to go back!
We stayed at a hotel in West Yarmouth for the first two nights. Both evenings we found ourselves at the Portside Tavern, attempting to eat our weight in their lobster mac and cheese– it was truly one of the most delicious dishes we have ever enjoyed in our lives! We spent a wonderful morning with our dear friend, Kristen, who I worked with for 4 years in Dubai. Our sweet friends, Annick and Emma, also from our Dubai days, joined us as well- such a sweet little reunion! We were so caught up in talking that we forgot to take any photos!
Our hotel was just a few minute walk from the Cape Cod Inflatable Park and so we spent a few hours playing there one afternoon. Highlights included family floats down the lazy river, water slides, and the giant bucket that filled up and dumped over the play area every few minutes (Cole was obsessed with it!). We’d definitely recommend coming earlier in the day than we did so that you have more time to enjoy all the features of the park.
Next we moved on to a new hotel in Eastham so that we could be close to the wedding festivities. We were super excited to reconnect with our talented photographer friend, Brian, and his lovely family for some play time on the beach– only, just days after our nightmare arrival to Boston, another string of (now hilarious) mishaps stood in our way…
The mishaps began when Cole had another bout of carsickness and threw up just as we pulled into the hotel parking lot and seconds before I could reach him with a bag. WHY?!?! We were scheduled to meet Brian and his family within minutes, but instead we were cleaning vomit off of Cole and his car seat (thankfully none of it hit the rental car!). It was too early to check into our hotel to clean up properly, so Cole got a baby wipe bath, we used a utility hose to clean the car seat, Brian’s sister took us to a store to buy detergent and white vinegar (the best product for getting stinky smells out of fabric), and I got all the vomit clothes and car seat covers into the coin operated washing machine at the hotel next door. Phew! We decided then and there that carrying an emergency vomit kit was a must and put one together as soon as we got home to Oregon!
Anyhow, moving on to pleasantness of Marconi Beach… we found ourselves arriving right at low tide, with all of these gorgeous agates glistening on the shoreline. Had we arrived earlier in the day as planned we might not have discovered these beauties! What a sweet little reminder that everything happens for a reason– even vomit.
“I got it!” Cole yelled enthusiastically after picking up each and every rock. Inspired by his sister, he wanted to make his own collection.
“Mom! This is better than Oceanside! Everywhere you look are glistening agates!”
“I’m in Isla heaven!”
A few (and I stress “few”) of Isla’s favorite agates from Marconi Beach (left) and Nauset Beach (right).
Day two of hanging with the Millers, we opted to just meet up at the pool hotel. Thankfully there were no mishaps this morning.
Celebrating with Jake and Courtney, the sweet couple who brought us to Cape Cod! We first met Jake’s mom in Shanghai 6 years ago, and photographed his sister’s wedding in Hilton Head 3 years ago, so his beautiful wedding felt like the most wonderful reunion! We are so, so grateful for the wonderful people we have connected with around the world!
Our family was invited to join in on all the pre-wedding festivities, including a day on Nauset Beach. It should come as no surprise that Isla spent the entire time hunting for agates.
As if taking part in Jake and Courtney’s wedding wasn’t sentimental enough for us, Isaac’s former student from Dubai, Amelia, spends her summers on the cape and she babysat the kiddos for us while we worked! They shared the most amazing day together, making strawberry milkshakes, exploring the shoreline near her home, and going to a baseball game!
Our family left Massachusetts with very full hearts… and very full bags thanks to the 20 pounds of agates Isla collected on the beach! We were completely enchanted by the charm of the cape and the energy of Boston– we’re already dreaming up a return trip to explore some more!
Though our arrival to Boston was a bit crazy, our two day stay in the city was absolutely wonderful! On the first day we joined The Freedom Trail tour (Walk into History) which highlighted 11 of the 16 historic Freedom Trail sites within the city. It was a fascinating experience— I’m so inspired to learn more now!
The tour began in Boston Common, the country’s first public park! Our guide, Elizabeth, dressed in 18th century attire, brought the time period to life with her enthusiastic and fact-filled stories.
From there we viewed the Boston State House. It was built in 1798, and well-known for its gold dome.
After that we passed Park Street Church. Built in 1809, it became a valuable sanctuary for runaway slaves.
Next we passed by the Granary Burial Grounds. Created in 1660, it is the final resting place for Paul Revere, John Hancock, and Sam Adams!
My belief that children should explore and get dirty was battling with my inner germaphobe as Isla dug around between stones in the city to find these little treasures. Her little bits of Boston sure looked pretty all together though!
We continued on through the city and saw Kings Chapel. This Anglican Church was built in 1686 and was a poorly-funded building project because it was so unpopular with all the Puritans of the area. Paul Revere placed the bell in the tower!
Cole was a happy camper for the whole tour thanks to plenty of snacks and lots of city noise and action as entertainment.
Next to the church sits the old City Hall, a beautiful structure built in 1865.
We then moved on to an area near the Old South Meeting House to hear details about the Boston Tea Party. There on the corner sits a former book store, built in 1718 and now housing a Chipotle!
Next we passed by the old State House, which was used from 1713 until 1798. Adjacent to the old State House is the intersection where the Boston Massacre took place in 1770. Isla volunteered to go up in front of our tour group to help act out the massacre and she beamed with pride the entire time!
Above you can see the intersection where the Boston Massacre took place.
Our final stop was the current State House, and its claim to fame was that it had been voted as one of the ugliest buildings in America! Across the street sits Faneuil Hall, a famous meeting area nicknamed the Cradle of Liberty. We are so pleased we booked this Freedom Trail Tour and highly recommend it. The amount of information and number of historic sites you visit in just 90 minutes is truly amazing! A special thanks to our dynamic guide, Elizabeth, for educating and inspiring our family to learn more about our nation’s foundational years. We’re hoping to make it back one of these days for the Historic Pub Crawl Tour.
Our Freedom Trail Tour ended across the street from Quincy Market, so we decided to stroll over and check it out.
While walking through the city we discovered so many talented musicians and performers on the street! As soon as we were out of earshot of one we would start to hear another. We came across this wonderful musician, Joe, and Isla danced so enthusiastically to his music that HE applauded HER when the song ended! Good guy.
After our time outside Quincy Market we strolled down to Boston’s Historic North End (just a few minute walk) to view the Boston Harbor and let the kiddos run around Christopher Columbus Park.
I told Cole there was a cookie in my camera to get him to look at me. He was like, “Seriously, Mom?”
We rounded out the night with Italian food in the North End. YUM! We wish we had a few more days in Boston just to eat our way through all the pasta in Little Italy!
A few kiddo travel tips:
Before setting off on a long day of adventuring, we lay the kids’ pajamas out on the bed at the hotel so they are out and ready as soon as we return. No more frantic digging through suitcases while tired, cranky kids fuss in the background! If we know the commute back to the hotel is long enough for them to fall asleep en route, we bring the pajamas with us and have the kids change before we head back. Both strategies are bedtime game changers!
If you find yourself in a room without a mini fridge, filling a garbage can with ice is a great hack for keeping milk cold. We put a towel under the can in case it leaks and cover the top of the can (with books, a bag, whatever we have) to help keep the temperature regulated as much as possible.
During our second day in Boston we reunited with our sweet friend, Lindsey! She treated us to a fabulous day at the New England Aquarium AND surprised us by bringing us into the seal enclosure to give them some treats! Talk about an AMAZING experience we will cherish forever!!! (I may have relished this encounter even more than the kids did… who am I kidding, of course I did!) Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lindsey!
A fine example of Cole’s key obsession. Haha! Here we are hanging out with real live seals and Cole is more interested in Lindsey’s keys!
Other favorite aquarium highlights included: 1. The ray touch tank! The rays are so inquisitive and seemingly affectionate, and the kids were absolutely delighted to pet them. The aquarium staff did a fantastic job educating visitors on the proper handling techniques to ensure the animals (and people) were safe.
2. The most colorful display of tropical fish we’ve ever seen!
3. The mesmerizing 4-story ocean tank, surrounded by penguins!
4. The aquarium’s incredible wharf location on the Boston Harbor. It is surrounded by food carts, hotels, restaurants, and all sorts of beautiful outdoor areas that overlook the water.
The aquarium is just a short walk from Quincy Market, so we found ourselves there once more, this time for a bite of lunch and some ice cream!
Our first day in the city taught us that parking is tight and expensive, so we decided to test out the Boston Subway our second day. It was super easy to use! We had the train almost to ourselves on our way into town. Heading back out of town during rush hour was a different story, however! We’ll know to avoid public transportation during that time of day in the future, but it got us where we needed to go and provided the kiddos with a new life experience!
We absolutely LOVED our time in Boston and cannot wait to make our way back to this delightful city. In addition to experiencing more revolutionary history and more Italian food in the North End, we’d love to go on a harbor cruise. Are there any other Boston experiences we MUST do? Please share them in the comments!
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