where in the world?

so here's the deal. i am always dreamin' up new fantastical places to either visit or even better, to live. there are a few problems with these schemes...most notably that we aren't going anywhere anytime soon. so in order to not feel like i completely have shut up the dreamer in me, i am starting a new series to the quotidian scotts blog. every once in awhile (i can't commit to a certain day or time) i will post a "where in the world" and it will be one of the new places i have dreamed up to live or visit. what do you think? are you in for the ride?

first up: switzerland

when i was in college me and a pal (lydia) went to europe. if my sweet love hadn't been waiting for my return i would have stopped and stayed indefinitely in switzerland. it is beautiful. it is clean. it is breathtaking. 

gimmelwald, switzerland. only accessible by a cable car gondola. population 130. paradise

this is where i would live

and this is what i would eat. everyday. fondue and chocolate. i am in heaven. 

care package

 care packages rock my world. my mom is especially good at creating them too. i was feeling a tad jealous of the high school and college students who are working with us here at camp. they are receiving stacks of letters and postcards and mounds of packages. so i called my sweet mom and asked for one. i received this promptly. what a gal!

it was stocked with cookies and sour family mix from goodies, the best candy store in the world. mom also snuck in a hello kitty doll for mackenzie and it wouldn't be a care package from your mother if it didn't have some first aid anti itch cream for mosquitoes now would it? thanks a million mom! 

wow

so mackenzie and i walked back in the bigillion degree heat to our room. both of us were hot and tired from swimming. so naturally we did a photo shoot. thanks photo booth.

i think she is looking more like me. what do you think?

pictures!

here is a look at our first week of camp...mostly through the eyes of mackenzie

clockwise from top left: camper welcome. mackenzie decked out ready to enjoy the sun. classic "daddy throwing mackenzie in the air" shot. the pool. daddy's first purchase was a sweatband for mackenzie. dressed in her cowgirl boots and dress. family pic for western night. weeeeee!!! the slide is so much fun. digging in the sand.

our first week was awesome. the assignment team goes full tilt, giving 110%. the campers have the best week of their lives. we get to watch from the sidelines cheering. 

vera

i cant find my camera cord. i am the world's worst blogger. somehow i will figure out a way to share camp pics.

anyways, that is not what is on my mind today. what is on my mind is sheets. that's right, bedding. one of the things i decided to take from papa's house when my mom and i went through it was a set of twin sheets. silly i know. but they had memories. there was a guest room at papa's with two twin beds and when i stayed with him, this was my room. in the 90's my grandma did a make-over of it with pastel blues and pinks and the original sheets were long forgotten. but when i saw them sitting in papa's linen closet the pattern was so familiar, so full of memories it made me ache. so i took them. my mom gave me a funny look but didn't say anything. who would want brown sheets from the 70's? me.

when i got home i realized that i was missing a top sheet to one of the sets. i searched the labels hoping to find some markings to do an online search and maybe find a match. i found the designer's signature "vera" on the tag. i searched it and it turns out she is a famous designer with all sorts of really cool linens and prints from the 50's-70's. i still haven't found a match for my sheet set but i did find some other things from vera neumann.

 vera scarf

 pillow. are you digging the 70's hues?

napkins

these are the sheets. the top is the match for what i am looking for. so far no luck.

father's day

happy father's day justin!

it is so special to watch justin and mackenzie interact. it doesn't take much imagination to see their similarities, not just in physical features but in their easy humor and quick smiles. sometimes i just sit back and watch them and my heart melts. what a lucky girl. what a lucky daddy. 

the day he became a daddy

seriously, who holds their newborn like that...oh wait, justin!

nothing quite like it (1 months old)

mexico kisses

justin has fun dressing mackenzie

one of her favorite spots

pals!

we're here!

so i know there has been a bit of a hiatus to the whole blogging deal, but i am back! my computer was on the fritz and life has been crazy. you know the drill.

anyways, like i said up top, we're here! here is washington family ranch. part of justin's job as area director is to come on an assignment each summer at a young life camp. this summer we return to washington family ranch for three beautiful weeks. washington family ranch has a rich history. check it out here. that along with the fact that i too came here as a camper when it was still called big muddy, and then again when it was wild horse canyon makes it special. it is an amazing feeling to walk with my 18 month old daughter down the main sidewalk of camp, retracing my steps from ten years ago...and oh how life (and god) has changed me!

here are some things that i am looking forward to NOT doing these next 21 days:

1. listening to voicemail
2. texting
3. really anything to do with a phone
4. cooking my meals
5. cleaning
6. driving in traffic
7. letting ellie out to the bathroom 
8. watching tv
9. being in a non-air conditioned house
10. missing meals with the hubs!

as for mackenzie she has charmed her way into the hearts of all she has come into contact with. she is in social butterfly heaven! check out pics below of my home away from home. (via the internet)

i will be taking some custom photos as we go but i wanted to give you a little snapshot (yes, pun intended) of where we will be.

see you in three weeks!

brownies

i love brownies. their gooey goodness is comfort to my soul. warm, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate deliciousness. are you suddenly craving brownies? well, i found myself at t.j's tonight picking up some fixings for dinner and decided to venture out with one of their reduced fat brownie options. to  my surprise (and justin's as well) they were awesome. they were gooey, they were chocolate-y, they were everything a brownie should be. i did throw in some chocolate chips after i tasted the batter and was worried it wasn't going to be rich enough. final verdict: trader joe's reduced guilt brownies will be commonplace in the scott household!

1984

it was slow. it was depressing. 1984 is the perfect picture of dystopia, the opposite of utopia. the main character is lacking heroic qualities. it reminded me a bit of the hand maiden's tale. despite all those negatives, you should read it. seriously, the interesting part was that it was written in the 40's but does a remarkable job describing technology in the 80's. it also would be a fabulous book to discuss in a book club, it challenges your deepest beliefs on society, government, and being an individual.