Last Weekend of Summer

The last weekend of summer calls for some extra fun, don't you think? So we packed everyone into the car and headed to Sedona, which is about 60 miles or so from our house. Sedona is one of my favorite places in the world, and if you've been there before you probably know why! It's absolutely, breathtakingly, beautiful. If you've never been, put it on your to-visit list, now! There are so many fun things to do there with the whole family (I actually have a post coming up soon with some favorite stops), but this little park if one of the best. Crescent Moon Park is a little bit of everything- beautiful scenery, tons of open space for kids to run, water for swimming, mountains for climbing, shaded picnic tables, and miles of trails.

I hope you had an amazing last weekend of summer too! I think we're finally ready to welcome autumn with open arms.

Summer to Fall

Autumn in this town is something special. But I think there's also something to be said about these few weeks of transition- where the air is just starting to feel crisp, leaves are turning orange here and there, and you can just kind of feel fall approaching. The other night we headed downtown to take a walk- we wore short sleeves and had bare legs, and as the sun started to set we realized that these nights wearing summer clothing are probably numbered.

When I was a teacher I remember how quickly fall arrived. I'm sure it has something to do with going back to school in late July that made summer seem like it was gone in the blink of an eye, but I felt like before I had even gotten to use my bathing suit, autumn was here. Now summer feels a little bit longer, which I appreciate, but I also love this upcoming season more than anything. Those first bits of colored leaves and scarves and all the delicious seasonal produce gets me so happy that fall is (almost) here!

Where do you live? Does it feel like fall in your town yet? Just this week I started to notice the leaves turning so I'd say it's well on its way here!

An End of Summer Lake Trip

We said goodbye to summer in the best way possible- out in the middle of nowhere on a boat! It was a great few days spent on the Arizona/Utah border on Lake Powell. Lots of swimming, eating great food, and good, quality family time. Henry preferred to be in the water as much possible, and from sun up to sun down he was splashing around. Charlie had a great time too, minus some rough moments with teething. The worst. But overall it was a great time- very relaxing and outside of getting no sleep because of those pesky teeth, we did pretty okay. ;)

I feel so grateful to have had this time with my family- those days in that warm sunshine and cool lake water will surely carry us into the fall days that are already on their way. It was also so special to be here with Charlie, because the last lake trip we took I was pregnant. Full circle, for sure.

Happy end of summer, friends! xoxo

A Week in San Diego, Part Two

I'm glad I decided to break this trip into two posts- I had way too many photos! Looking back through them has made me miss the beach so much. For those of you who are lucky enough to live by the ocean, I can't even imagine how nice it must be to wake up and just BE there, every single day!

Have you ever been to San Diego? Like I mentioned in yesterday's post, we've been quite a few times but it was always either for Comic Con or while Hank was on tour. Henry and I visited La Jolla with Sarah a couple years ago and had the best time (it's so beautiful there), but as a family this was the first "real" San Diego beach vacation.

Do you have a favorite beach in California? I think we'd love to explore the northern part of the state next- I've seen so many photos at my friend Sarah's blog and Instagram of all the beautiful beaches and forests, and it's very high on our to-go/must-see list.

For now though, here's the second half of our trip photos, taken with both my "regular" camera and my iPhone! Enjoy. xoxo