visiting nana...

its become tradition now.  a little holiday time.  on the island.  with my mama.  i kinda like it there, the island, the ocean so close and family around.  we go to give scott the freedom to do his job well at the beginning of each school year.  we go and explore the familiar sights and smells of the places i grew up going to.  fort rod hill, taylor beach, wittys beach, ogden point.  all places with memories, all places i wish to share with our girls.  so we explore, look under rocks, take walks, eat pizza at the lagoon.  maybe my most favorite is the lagoon.  the pizza stained lips and cheeks, building forts from washed up logs, the annual photo of my mama with my girls, the wind, the salty ocean smell.  it makes my heart skip.  until my mama offers dairy queen, usually at nine at night, and i say no and crush her heart and dreams.  

my mama is a woman full of kindness.  she offers a lot of it.  kindness.  to our girls maybe most of all.  and i give thanks for that.  she loves them well, she loves us all well, with an open home she provides as much as she can, and i believe she would offer us the world if she could.  for real.  

this year my favorite day happened in the blink of an eye when water accidentally escaped from the bucket penny was using to water the grass and fell helplessly onto my mamas back.  she gave me the eye, the stink eye and disappeared inside.  to dry off i assumed.  but she did not dry off.  instead she emerged from the back door carrying a kitchen pot full of water and a smile that reached across her face in a girl like manor i had never seen before, and i ran.  i think we all ran.  and screamed.  we may have wasted more than our fair share of water that day, her grass i am sure has never been so green, and i can say with full honesty that i have never seen my mama in such a way.  from head to toe they were soaking, not an inch was dry.  i had my camera...

our adventures continued, beacon hill park and odgen point.  swings, climbing trees and rocks, walking the break water, building forts, and soaking in moments together.

and then there was the big surprise.  a horse carriage ride through town.  they were nervous, beyond excited and thankful as they rode behind sweet ruby through the streets of victoria.

and the classic trip to fort rod hill.  never a disappointment.  how can it be when there are underground tunnels with rows of shells to touch, dance shows (where some people sing) with winners and judges, lighthouses to explore and rocks to climb.

a little backyard marshmallow roast.  always a win when your name is penny.  might be her most favorite thing to do.  when i tuck her into bed, be it summer or winter she always whispers in my ear, "mom, when can we go camping and have marshmallows?"  i always answer, "soon buds, soon."