over the weekend, the holbrook trio and the hat which huck prefers to wear gilligan-style took the train to the rockaways to have a beach day.
important moment of personal growth also: i came home on saturday with a newfound respect for sunscreen. chalk this one up to getting old, but i am turning over a new leaf here and becoming a responsible adult and all that, finally. i did that classic mom thing of applying sunscreen to the baby every twenty minutes and then managing to forget myself entirely, thus ending the day with lovely pink shoulders and an oh-so-sexy aloe vera rub down at bedtime. such a pretty color, my shoulders.
we gotta get a good holbrook beach routine going this summer.
△△△ brandon has a well-earned reputation as the beach unibomber around our house, because the man burns like a popcorn enjoys his beach days nearly fully clothed. also he is clutching his cell phone in his shorts pocket. sun precaution aside, this is one gentleman who likes to live his life on the wild side.
p.s. huck met a fellow stroller-roller on the long subway ride out to the rockaways. i am never going to not love seeing a dog in a stroller. it's just such a genius concept. how can anything be wrong with a world where there are strollers made for dogs.
that dog is totally side-eyeing my baby's sandwich.
p.p.s.
my suit is from j.crew.
anyone wanting to give me crap about wearing a two piece can line up outside on the "keep it to yourself" line. ;)
p.p.p.s. the LAST time we made it to the beach, HERE
1. You are gorgeous, obviously.
ReplyDelete2. I hope to someday be as confident in myself as you are. I love how boldly you live your life, despite what others say, and that you're not afraid to call people out either. I think those things, but don't always say them!
(In response to this post, but also your tweet today about people's OUTRAGEOUSLY INAPPROPRIATE questions.)
GIRLFRIEND. You're hot hot hot hot! I'll personally escort the lame-os in the "keep it to yourself" line home. hot dang, mama!
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how we all see something different when we look at ourselves. When I look at these photos I think about how flat your stomach is and how you have hipbones! Mine have disappeared, along with my flat tummy since my baby was born 20 months ago.
ReplyDeleteI think you look gorgeous, as always! And what a coupla of fellas you have!
love your suit! i find that i am such a grown up about sunscreen these days (ugh). which means i'm basically super pasty year round. looks like a fun day!
ReplyDeletewhy would anyone give you crap about that? You look fantastic! I wish I could pull that off. You are awesome!! love your blog!
ReplyDeletePS - that was an awesome photobomb ROTFLOL!!!
PSS - dogs in strollers make me shake my head in a major wtf fashion. just sayin.
love the suit! I need to check out jcrew. I've been singing the bikini blues lately as nothing ever seems to fit right or be flattering. (or i think it fits then I go to the ocean, get knocked by a wave and flash my sister. thank God it was just her)
ReplyDeleteWe were in New York two weekends ago and on the one day it somehow gloriously didn't rain, we went allllll the freaking way out to the Rockaways and had ourselves a grand old time. Well, I had myself a grand old time and my husband complained about how much he hates sunscreen and sand... ;) 2. You look gorgeous in your suit!! And I can't BELIEVE more than one crazy person asked you if you are wearing your garments. Wooooowwwwww.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are great I wish I was at the beach right now
ReplyDeleteYou are funny.
ReplyDeleteUm, I'd wear a 2 piece if I was as skinny as you! Work it girl!
ReplyDeleteI think being equally white is better than a farmer's tan. But, sometimes it just can't be helped. My face and arms look dark but alas my legs are blinding white. What's a girl to do?
uh, that suit on you? damn girl.dayum. also, i married an incredible pale-faced ginger-ish man, so my mama hovering skills are being honed on reapplying sunscreen on him every 20 minutes. it's a superhero skill i tell ya!
ReplyDeleteHOT MAMA~
ReplyDeleteYou look great in your two piece! I'm lined up on the total support, love it side.
ReplyDeleteYou look amazing in that bikini! You also look genuinely happy in those pics :)
ReplyDeleteNatalie Holbrook wore army pants and flip flops so I wore army pants and flip flops! Except for that j crew suit I just bought cause you make it look so good! This post is so cute and it and your tweet got me all fired up haha someone asked me the exact same question once in my blog anonymously and I have like 0.001 percent of the followers you do. Blog garment trollers what? Weirdos. Your blog is just the best, makes my Monday!
ReplyDeleteIm lining up in the wearing that "wearing a two piece is awesome" line. One beautiful mama! :)
ReplyDeleteYour suit is adorable! :) Yay for beach days! And for being a part of the farmer's tan club ;)
ReplyDeletexo
The beach looks like so much fun! -Hanna Marie
ReplyDelete"anyone wanting to give me crap about wearing a two piece can line up outside on the "keep it to yourself" line." I love it! You look beautiful in your swimsuit!
ReplyDeleteInsert two thumbs up emojis
ReplyDeletethe photo bomb is hilar!! keep to that resolution of wearing sunscreen. this coming from a socal beach loving mama! ;)
ReplyDeletewww.thismomsgonnasnap.com
Damn girl. Damn. Are you sure you birthed out Huck? I don't see the mom bod at all! Secrets?
ReplyDeleteYou look amazing Natalie. I'm all for the Mormon girl bikini wearing. I hate all the judgment.
ReplyDeleteThe suit is awesome! And yes on the sunscreen. I just had 2 spots removed and tested and have to go back because I am apparently "mildly abnormal" or something. Like I didn't know.
ReplyDeleteMy 5 year olds have my husband's dark olive skin, so they get SO dark, but also you can't tell if they are burning like us white people. :)
These photos are great! Love the bathing suit! You rock that bikini, girl!! My mom slathers on spf 100 (she can't get a tan to save her life) so I think she's finally rubbing off on me with the whole sunscreen thing. Except I don't wear spf 100. Spf 30-45 is good enough for me. Glad you guys made it to the beach!!
ReplyDeletexo
Rachel
I completely understand the stress of making plans and then having to cancel them with a toddler! Especially at certain times of the year where it seems like everyone is sick for months. We have had rain here too, which has put a damper on some of the outings planned. P.S. the swim suit is fabulous and you look amazing. I am definitely not hating on it. Rock it girl!
ReplyDeleteThe sad trombone thing? HAHAHAHA That suit is adorable and you look great!
ReplyDeleteI think what you where is between you and Jesus. You go girl. Rock that cute suit. Lord knows I would if my body looked half as good as yours!
ReplyDeleteAww! I LOVED these!! And for the record I WISH I looked that good in a bikini - you are rocking it!! Go you! xoxo
ReplyDeletethat should have said wear...oops!
ReplyDeleteLove huck's hat! And there's so many people at the beach! Yikes. Seemss like all of you enjoyed yourselves though ;)
ReplyDeletePosting an unflattering picture of an unsuspecting stranger and then mocking said stranger is incredibly rude and disappointing. What about that "photo bomb" (is it considered a "photo bomb" when someone is just going about his/her business and is completely unaware that he/she is in your picture?) is "glorious"? That there is a topless, overweight man? That the woman is bending over? I'm honestly asking. I've been looking at it for awhile, and all I see are people trying to enjoy themselves at the beach; I don't see what anyone is doing that warranted commentary from you. Maybe you can enlighten me? Maybe you can also consider cropping that photo so that it only showcases the people (i.e., you and your son) who have given their consent to be photographed? Leaving this post as is kind of makes you look like the type of person who finds humor in ridiculing others... unless that's what you're going for?
ReplyDeletei feel so terrible, i wasn't mocking her! and it certainly had nothing to do with anyone's size. i'm so sorry it came across the wrong way, so i've removed the photo. incidentally though, i live in new york city and cropping out people who weren't meant to be in the photo is basically impossible. there are a LOT of people in my shots, all the time. there isn't anything i can do about it.
Deletelove the photo of you bending over with him in the water - the sheer joy on his face! rockaways are good but lots of transfers...we're looking to try birghton beach soon. and i always love long beach (but my relatives pick me up at the train station, which helps).
ReplyDeleteand these questions and comments about your swimsuits, your garments, on and on. i just can't with these nosy biddies anymore. your life, your body, your morality, your faith, your marriage - do what you want to do in it. as jack donaghy would say - this is america, not north korea. do as you see fit.
Natalie, you crack me up. The trombone comment. Ha! Love it. The things kids do to us. I think you look totally fantastic! Very cute suit. I love the pictures of you lifting Huck in and out of the water. He's going to love seeing all of these fun pics when he's older. Hey, totally unrelated - do you watch Scandal? It's such a fun show, but the Huck on that show is a super creepster, and I think he should be named something else just to keep Huck a cute name for your little boy in my mind.
ReplyDeleteNew to your blog, courtesy of my lovely sister following you on IG. Laughing out loud about the photo bomb and the pps. Amen!
ReplyDeletelove this entire post! you and your family look amazing, keep doing what makes you happy. And that dog was totally eying his food, lol
ReplyDeleteLoooove the photos! Esp the one of your kiddo splashing about in the water! :) ps. TOTALLY hear ya about finally being old enough to want to protect my skin. It was sunscreen all the way this past week when I went to the beach here in Chi-town for the fourth!
ReplyDeletexox
giedre
www.walkingdotphotography.com
I'm so jealous that you seem to have made it through pregnancy without any stretch marks?? Is it just your good genes or do you ha a secret you could share with us??
ReplyDeleteCan you be anymore gorgeous. Body envy :) Cute pics girl!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say something upfront before I move onto the happy-happy, and I'm not trying to be rude, but in my kindest critique regarding the photobomb pic, I just...well, I found it rude, invasive, and not deserving of a smiley face (though maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, and I'm not trying to start drama, I promise). I love, love, LOVE your writing Nat, I really do. The words are raw and beautiful, and I can tell that you're always so kind to your readers (and that you take time to respond to them sometimes too!), but just...yeah. I think maybe it would have been best to crop them out? More tactful. You don't know them, they don't know you, and though they'll probably never see this photo on your blog, I don't think they'd appreciate having pictures of them on the internet when they, like you and your family, were just trying to have a good time at the beach. The photobomb was funny to you - but I suspect if that woman saw that picture she wouldn't agree.
ReplyDeleteANYWAY. So glad the Holbs family finally made it to the beach. You look beautiful, and happy, which is hittin' the jackpot since "the prettiest girls are girls who are happy." I absolutely love your swimsuit - super cute and flattering (GIVE ME THOSE ABS, GURL). I'd even be interested in seeing some of the other suits you tried but sent back for various reasons, since you have good taste. So, um, anyway, I definitely wasn't trying to be rude in the top paragraph or make you or anyone else who reads the comments upset about my opinion - it's just sort of how I felt (hence: the opinion). But I did love this post, and I'm glad you guys had a fun weekend. Much love to you.
i'm so sorry you found it rude, i've removed it! i certainly didn't intend any ill will.
DeleteNo, of course you didn't! I know you don't EVER do anything rude intentionally (or unintentionally, really). And I'm so sorry if my comment upset you in any way, shape, or form. Hope you're having a good day. xoxo.
DeletePretty thrilled because I think I just ordered this jcrew top and it is doing fabulous things for you, sooo maybe there is a smidgen of a chance it shall do the same for me? Fingers crossed on that one ;)
ReplyDelete- applewood road
Super cute, as always. I'm not sure I understand what the photo bomb is...?
ReplyDeleteGo you! You rock that adorable two-piece. I, being in the camp of Mormons that believes that two-pieces are actually not of the devil think it's awesome that you would post these pictures regardless. That's one of my biggest pet peeves about Utah. I don't even wear a two piece but I hate hate seeing, even from an outsider's perspective, the judgment people give to people in an "omg!" two-piece. UGH. Sorry I'm ranting, point is- you're beautiful and I seriously cannot believe you've had a child.
ReplyDeleteEchoing the comments on here about the tastelessness of the "photo bomb" comment. That woman in your photo was minding her own business and happened to have committed the crime of not being skinny. (Gasp! How dare she show herself in public!). Word to the wise: it's not "photo bombing" if someone else just happens to be in the frame of your shot, esp. when you're on a crowded public beach. She wasn't even looking toward your camera. I think what you meant was, "Oh, wow, look at that pudgy woman in a bathing suit bending over." Disappointing.
ReplyDeletejust wanted to chime in that her size had absolutely nothing to do with it. i've removed the photo.
DeleteI don't think you needed to remove the photo. I think just being aware of how your caption came across was all I (and the others, I assume) would hope for. I enjoy your writing and, as a fellow blogger, I get that it's easy to cross one's wires when writing, sending a message that wasn't necessarily intended. However, I also think as a blogger/writer/someone with a public forum you have to be conscious about the messages you're sending. That's all.
Deleteloved this. always wondered how people on the east coast got to the beach?? and quite frankly what an east coast beach looks like:) great suit, adorable kid and my grandma has a carseat for her dog soooo... another rad genius concept.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with all the other commenters about the tasteless "photo bomb" comment, not cool, man! not cool at all!
ReplyDeletei've removed it, it certainly wasn't my intent to be rude!
DeleteI also feel the need to chime in on the photobomb comment. I don't think you're a terrible person, but I do think this comment lacked taste. It's one thing to chuckle at the butt in the air to yourself or with your husband, but to post the photo to the world and comment on it to hundreds (thousands) or readers shows a lack of respect and compassion. If that family were thin and beautiful would your comment be the same? Not likely. These poor people were just spending a day enjoying their time together and now they've been ridiculed.
ReplyDeleteI love your humour - with its sass and self-deprecating tones - you're a funny gal. Often times funny people toe the line and
cross it now and then (I've offended my fair share of people with what I thought was funny).
Now for your bathing suit? It's cute, it's classy. Religion needs to step away from dictating what people wear, what people eat, drink, listen to...etc. And so-called "Christians" need to get off their high horses and stop pointing fingers and judging each other and practice the love they preach. Christian values of love, acceptance, charity, truth and honesty are all human values - so let's all just be human and do away with archaic forms of repression altogether.
i've removed the photo. i wasn't trying to poke fun, i never intended to be rude. so sorry!
Deletehuck and the hat! it's too much. hehe.
ReplyDeletealso - THAT's your after-baby-bikini-body? daaaaaamn girl. workin. it.
LOL ok, this is my first time finding your blog & the very first post I read. I could not help but laugh at the last p.p.p.s. - I always joke that if anyone ever saw me topless they would ask why that seven year old boy was wearing a wig. UGH. thanks for that breastfeeding! ;) You look great & your fam is WAY CUTE.
ReplyDeleteShould I admit I have the same dog stroller? I don't even live in a city but I have a bad tiny dog with a Napoleon complex and sometimes I just need traveling timeout. Oh gosh, now I'm one of those people. Oh well :) You look great Nat!
ReplyDeleteI am pretty sure she meant the guy being buried, right? That is a funny photobomb- two grown men covering each other with sand, mermaid style!!! At least that's what I took from it- maybe people are reading too much into it or their minds are going to the wrong place! :) Cute suit- it seems J.Crew can do no wrong in the bathing suit department. :)
ReplyDeletenatalie, you are beautiful. small-boobed women unite! ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is why NYC is the perfect place to live. All kinds of things in the city - beaches outside the city. I'm trying to convince my husband to move us there like ASAP. I think it's working ;) Hoping to be enjoying these same beaches this time next year.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm a part of the sad pancake boob club too. I just try to avoid direct eye contact. Haha.
Oh Natalie, I'm blown away by the things people say. If you decide to post a picture on YOUR blog that's totally fine. If you decide to make a comment on YOUR blog you can do that, because it is YOUR blog. I get that people can be offended and blah blah blah but come on. Reading a blog is a choice and so is writing one. It's not your job to keep people happy it's your job to say what's on your mind. If people don't like what's on your mind they don't have to read your blog and they sure as heck don't have to say anything. I for one think you are great, I love your writing and pictures. Don't let these people who think that people actually care what they say bring you down. You are awesome .
ReplyDeleteI wish I still had the stomach to wear a Bikini, they are so much easier to shop for. But after two babes I have some nice stretch marks to show for it :). You look amazing. And Huck is adorable, He has the sweetest smile. And I can't get over the little swim shorts on him, I need to get some for my boys.
ReplyDeleteYou look awesome!
ReplyDeleteWhat is your secrets to have such a great figure?
People who crictisize are jealous of your rocking body & your funny life :)
Go on, girl!
How fun! How is it that I live 5 minutes to the beach and I have yet to go all summer?
ReplyDeleteOmg Huck's tank is adorable! I want one for myself. Hahaha. And your body is bangin', girl! Don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't be rockin that bikini! ;)
ReplyDeleteFlat as pancake boobs are my new normal after nursing 3 little babes. But I don't even have to wear a bra anymore, so that's kind of nice. A day at the beach sounds like fun, we have days at the ditch, where I desperately try to even out my serious farmers tan. Maybe all white next year then?
ReplyDeleteOh man, stroller pup could be my pom-chi's sibling! So cute, I might need a dog stroller now...and I love all the variations of stripes your family has going on there. You are an adorable trio!
ReplyDeletecutest pictures ever!
ReplyDeletelove this post.
Valentina
Valentina Duracinsky Blog
haha, sad pancakes! I nursed my babe for 15 months and feel the same way! I'm not mormon, so I don't really get the whole modesty obsession, but I can't believe people gave you crap about the two piece, esp since it is very tasteful, fits you so well, and you look great.... Aren't there more important "issues" for the world to deal with?
ReplyDeleteI am 38 years old and just bought my very first bikini to wear on an upcoming Hawaiian vacation. Ridiculous the amount of years I've spent wallowing in body shame ala modesty rhetoric. You are awesome.
ReplyDeleteps - this is the first time I have read through comments or even commented on your blog in many many moons. Man, Natalie. How do you have the stomach for this? I wish I could have known you better back in your Idaho days.
ReplyDeletePlease and thank you for mormon girls in bikinis.
ReplyDeleteI have never commented, although I am a long-time reader. Love your blog for its raw, tender honesty. And you go ahead and rock that two-piece. I am a 52-yr old, mother of 4, Relief Society teacher, and I look HOT in a two-piece. So there!
ReplyDeleteI have never commented, although I am a long-time reader. Love your blog for its raw, tender honesty. And you go ahead and rock that two-piece. I am a 52-yr old, mother of 4, Relief Society teacher, and I look HOT in a two-piece. So there!
ReplyDelete