Hey thanks, thanks for that s u m m e r.

It feels overwhelming trying to write about an entire summer in one blog post, but I’m going to give it my best attempt. Last year was my first summer I had spent as a mom, and although it was truly a special one, I feel as though this summer has trumped it ten fold. As Castella has gotten older, I’ve been able to fully watch her create friendships, discover what she loves, what she isn’t too fond of and capture her ability and will to run free. Her eyes understand more, her arms hug more, her little voice says so many words that have me laughing and my heart melting. Every stage has been so precious to me, but this one has been by far my favorite.

We have spent almost this whole summer at the beach. Her love for the sand between her toes and her brownie skin could not be more evidence that she is clearly my daughter. Even with shooting every weekend, we managed to make the most of our free time together. That’s what counts, right? Castella, without a doubt, LOVES the ocean. She runs directly into the waves, without a single fear, squealing as soon as her tootsies hit the salt water. I have tried to shut my eyes and ingrain these memories into my brain forever, repeating ‘please don’t forget this, never forget this.’ Luckily, my camera is never too far behind and assists me with these wishes.

This being our second year having our garden in our new home and our 6th (!!!) year growing our own vegetables, we decided to expand it with the very little room we have in our yard. We also added three Americauna chickens to our crew. Chickpea, Wild Turkey and Little B have been one of the highlights of these warm months. Not including Gertie, who turned out to be a rooster whom we had to give away to a farm. Sorry Gertie! They have made themselves at home in the backyard (and maybe sometimes in the neighbors yard) and have given us some delicious, organic eggs that we gobble up every morning. Along with our veggies, I have also expanded my flower garden quite a bit since last year. Perfect shades of peach peonies, the palest of blushes in my Cafe Au Lait dahlias, tightly cupped David Austin roses, bright bougainvillea I planted for Joonie and wildflowers that took over my front yard. My desire to grow flowers is deep, and my hopes to one day have enough space to grow fields of them is high. But for now, I’ll savor each petal I grow in the tiny corners of our property.

I will dearly miss our summer nights. Crickets chirping while we ate dinner al fresco, the abundance of heirloom tomatoes, the beach picnics, the bike rides taken at golden hour. The bountiful amount of ripe peaches, juicy strawberries + tart blueberries we picked together. The hot and humid day we decided to go beach camping and nearly drowned in our own sweat. The endless amount of pure fun she had with her pals, smiling ear to ear whenever they were together. The seafood feasts we would enjoy with my parents (with about 100 bottles of rosé consumed). A trip down to Cape May to our beach house making new memories and reliving old ones. Ice cream on the boardwalk at least 3 times a week. Thanks Eddie!

But- I won’t miss the mosquitoes. They can go straight to hell.

Cheers.