labor day

my brother and sister are coming home! i am so very, very excited to see both of them. my sister will be coming from new orleans (the whole city is being evacuated) and my brother is coming from washington d.c.. hopefully they will both move back to the bay area when they are ready because it would be nice to have everyone close to home. here are a few pictures from our summer party. i can't tell you how wonderful it feels to have a whole bunch of happy children running around your house...this is why i enjoy having a summer party. just because! why not? get the kids together, turn on the sprinklers, enjoy! [yep, that is ryan going up the slide while everyone else is going down.] **friday favorites** slow food envisions a world in which all people can eat delicious food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet. the organization is hosting the first ever slow food nation in san francisco this weekend. there are a whole bunch of amazing activities including food tastings, farm tours, free film showings, music, hikes, art, cooking demonstrations and more. outstanding in the field brings together local farmers and food artisans, chefs and winemakers to explore the connection between the earth and the food on your plate. can you image sitting at this lovely table? unfortunately all of the local events are sold out for 2008 but I am going to keep my eyes on their calendar for 2009. what a fun way to spend an evening! playborhood is a website (started by local moms and dads) dedicated to bringing families together with the goal of encouraging kids to have free, unstructured play. the website features book and article recommendations as well as local forums. i found a great book which gives ideas on how to create a community in your neighborhood. since reading the book, we have started a neighborhood yahoo! group which is slowly growing in size. baby steps! the image below is from sweet paul and his blog is full of beautiful images. this one seems perfect for the labor day weekend. an old truck in a field for a summer picnic. i don't think i am willing to let go of summer...even though sam is back in school and the halloween (yes, halloween!) decorations are in the stores. don't get me wrong, i love fall, halloween, thanksgiving, etc., etc., but let's not rush into anything! enjoy the weekend!