Newton Notes: July 2011

July 18, 2011

The Office

If you read my last post, then you know that Joe has been working a TON lately. So when he asked if Maddie and I wanted to go to work with him last Monday, I was not exactly ecstatic. However, he quickly reassured me it would be an "easy day" at the coast and we'd have time to do some fun stuff. Well, he is a man of his word and he did not disappoint. Beautiful, secluded timberland. Growing trees. Vibrant flowers. The beach. Jack chasing birds. Fish tacos. Fish and chips. Salted caramels. Sunshine. And best of all, quality time with my favorites. Here are some pics from our surprisingly awesome day at Joe's "office" and Maddie's first time at the beach :)

The hottest forester around!

Take your daughter, wife and dog to work day :)

Do you think Jack likes going to work with Joe?

Pretty fox gloves

Joe's work truck

Blue skies

That's a lot of trees!

And they're growing nice and big :)

View of Coos Bay from Lone Rock's land

Jack excited for the beach!

Family photo op

LOVE his crimpy ears and blonde eyelashes

My sweet babies

Happy Jack :)

The clouds burned off and it turned into a beautiful day in Coos Bay

Jack hunting for birds...

Found some!

And he's off! A day at the beach is not complete until Jack gets to chase birds :)

July 8, 2011

4th of July Weekend Recap

Man, life has been busy as usual these last few weeks. Joe has been getting up at 3am for work and working 11-12 hour days. When he's not busy with that, he has been working on a huge DIY yard project that quickly escalated out of control. (Separate post to come on that bad boy.) As you can imagine, between 12 hour work-days and weekends spent working on our yard, that doesn't leave a lot of energy left to do much else.

So, I have been taking care of Maddie and managing the homefront a lot on my own these past few weeks. (A big thanks to my mom who came down to help out for a few days!) In addition, I am in full swing coaching summer soccer practices and camps. Keep in mind that I bring Maddie with me to most of these practices by strapping her into her baby carrier, so the label "working mom" has already wiggled its way into my life despite the fact it is my summer "break".

Needless to say, we welcomed the long 4th of July weekend with open arms. A break from work, house projects, and chores in general, couldn't have come at a better time. To celebrate our nation's Independence Day, we escaped to one of our favorite destinations with some of our favorite people. We had a blast in Sunriver hanging out with Jessie, Matt, Nicole, Grant, Rachael and Adam. We hiked, rode bikes, swam, hot-tubbed, played games, and of course, FEASTED... a lot. Bacon and beer were in the regular rotation and among the favorites on the menu, in addition to burgers and brats. What better way to celebrate our great nation's independence day?