Chris and I had a breakfast date last week at Central Market (one of our favorite Austin spots) and found ourselves excitedly talking about all the house projects we want to do (garden boxes, a live edge wood mantle, a headboard, a modern fence around of front porch...). Now that Chris has caught the woodworking bug there are so many things that we can dream up and he can build. Having shared interests and projects to work on together feels like a really important part of a healthy marriage for us. We realized all of the projects we want to... Read more →

June was an adventurous month. We started the month camping in northern Arizona and I'm ending the month with the boys in Austin. I'm writing this from my parents shaded screened back porch where he ceiling fan is barely holding the humid heat at bay. But honestly it's a welcome break from the intense dry heat and cloudless skies of Arizona. When I look up from writing I can watch a mama deer and her fawn roam around the back lot and check on an armadillo in a live trap in the yard (we'll release him somewhere where he can't... Read more →

How's your summer going so far? We're at about the half-way point through our summer and one week into our three week visit to Austin. It's so nice to be here for an extended time; it's the longest I've been back in my hometown since I moved away for graduate school in 2006! When we get back to Gilbert we'll have three more weeks of summer and then school starts! Summer is such a particular season, especially with kids at home, and I think even more so if you live somewhere with extreme heat (hello 110 degrees!). I've noticed a... Read more →

May was indeed hectic and full with the end of school and allll the things. I love the description on the episode of The Mom Hour about the last month of school being like "death by a thousand cuts." I thought of this phrase during the last week of school when, as I was already trying to complete end-of-year teachers gifts and manage a full calendar, sat down at my computer after school drop off, opened up my Google Calendar, and was reminded that it was Dash's day to bring class snack! Ah! But at the same time it was... Read more →