Wordless Wednesday: The HTC One S edition

I, like every other blogging mom on the planet, lug around a huge purse. It contains all my mommy stuff and a bunch of bloggy stuff like a notebook, pens, and a camera as well as my phone and all the cords and accessories I might need while I'm out and about.

This week, thanks to my awesome husband, I lightened the load a bit.

I got a new phone.

You'd think that would just trade one load for another, but the camera on this phone is so much better than any point-and-shoot camera I have ever owned that I can finally take my camera and its accessories out of my purse. I can also stop lamenting the fact that I can never remember where I left the camcorder.

This weekend we took a hike and I gave the HTC One S's camera a whirl.

Such little girls in front of such a big world.

The beauty of where we live never ceases to amaze me.

That is not a puppy. It is a baby lamb. The girls were fans.

Yes, that is a panoramic shot of the view. Yes, I took it with my phone. Yes, it is awesome.

I have a feeling there will be a noticeable increase in photos taken in the next few months...

Have a Wordless Wednesday post? Link up below. Want to see more great photos? Click on the links!

Tillamook: More than just cheese - Sponsored Video

Every Saturday at noon you can find us in the kitchen blending the ingredients for M's favorite meal: crepes. Once the blender has stopped whirring he pulls out the grater from the cabinet and the cheese from the fridge.

We could use pre-shredded cheese, but that wouldn't be right. Nope, crepes are such a simple food that you just can't skimp on the ingredients. We only use Tillamook in ours and we shred it ourselves. And yes, if we're out, someone runs to the store. We can't not have crepes!

Our Tillamook love affair has been long standing and was only enhanced when we got to go visit the factory a few years back. There's nothing like watching your cheese being made to make you a lifelong loyal customer!

Knowing that Tillamook is more than just good cheese just makes the whole endeavor taste better somehow. I love backing companies who really love and believe in what they do. I love feeding my family something that tastes great and is made by such a great company.







Please note, I'm being compensated by Tillamook to share this video with you, but my obsession with Tillamook is all mine! And yes, you too can have some Saturday crepes. Just be here by 12:15 because they go fast! 

Embracing 18 Summers

I will be the first to admit that I laughed when Amy Foster, a Disney executive who spoke at the Disney Social Media Moms celebration, mentioned that all we get with each of our children is 18 summers.

I laughed and dismissed the comment that had jaws dropping all around me.

I mean, duh, we get 18 summers, but it's not like the kids go away after that point. College students come home for the summer. Sometimes they even come home to live after college.

But the words kept bouncing around my head.

Then I did some math.

C just turned 7 this week. That means 11 summers are left until she goes to college.

11. Summers.

And what have we done with the last 7?

We've sent her to daycare or day camp, rendering the summer utterly indistinguishable from the rest of the school year. We still had to get up early. Still had to rush out of the house to get somewhere on time. Still had to follow a week/weekend schedule.

Now to be fair, until this summer, I had no choice. Employers rarely take too kindly to having moms let their kids run wild in the office all summer. But this year? This year I'm working from home, and there's no good reason the kids can't be having fun in the backyard while I plug away in my home office.

I don't remember all of my summers, but I clearly remember the feeling of relief as June neared. The feeling that soon time would stretch into oblivion, that the days would be filled with just fun and imagination.

I want C and Little L to feel the freedom that endless summer days can bring. I want them to enjoy just playing and being outside, exploring, building, living their childish adventures to the fullest.

Some of my friends are horrified that I'm only signing them up for a week of camp this year. I'm a little scared myself to be losing hours of free work time every day. I'm not sure how I'll manage to exercise daily. I'm not even sure they'll have all that much fun.

But I'm willing to give them a chance.

I'm willing to say "go out and play and don't come in until dinner." I'm willing to give them more freedom than they're used to. I'm willing to pretend they're not going to make a beeline for the creek that now runs through our back yard. I'm willing to ignore messes, skinned knees, and any skirmish that emerges. I'm willing to forgo carefully structured days and activities. I'm willing to just let them be. All in the name of taking advantage of these last 11 summers.

Bike Love (Sponsored Video)

This Spring has been momentous in so many ways, but the most notable is the fact that both girls, within the span of just a few weeks, learned to ride their bikes without training wheels. Now walks to the park are actually rides to the park and we've opened up ourselves to a whole new potential family activity.

Only one problem. Neither M nor I have bikes.

Before we had kids we had bikes, but they were cheap and broke. Then M got injured and we got busy with having babies so we never replaced them. Today we can replace them.

Having family bike rides will be awesome, but I'm not just excited about that. I love that the kids have discovered the rush of pushing off on one pedal and feeling the wind in their hair. Plus, a piece of me can't wait for them to ride with their friends.

Seriously, watch this video and tell me you can wait for your kids to have moments like these? Though I can wait for them to fall in love!



(Please note: I am being compensated to share this video with you, but I wouldn't have shared it if I didn't think it was adorable!)