Rainsick

The first week of summer vacation was a blessing and a bummer (for Miss Kennedy). Poor thing found herself with a virus that literally lasted 6 days. I say blessing because it was a nice start to the break of slowing down, hanging out, taking it easy and doing all things we love, at home & together with no place to be! I know she was getting antsy but we managed to have a lot of fun despite the blahs.

So what to do on a particular day with it pouring outside, one big smiley girl is feeling yuck and they just want to go outside and play...you try to do it all of course!

My little sickey...she is sweet and needy when she's sick.

Giving a nice sudsy bath to baby does the trick for entertaining

And to be able to take pics, throw the real baby is the side sink!

Now, it's off to play in the puddles that all that rain left.

And do boy things, like sit in the muddy water

And then off to the nice, real, warm bath of their own right after!

All these things make a perfect rainsick kinda day.

Best Lemonade On This Side of TX

Simply because...




I was able to enjoy it with this special little girl who spotted a lemonade stand in our neighborhood and asked with her cute little 3 year old voice if she could take her nap AFTER we got some lemonade. How could I refuse? So hand in hand we walked down the street, bought two cups of pink lemonade for $.75 each, and walked back, her pink splashing over her cup and making her slow down. When I asked her if she wanted to sit on the porch to drink our lemonade, she responded with a, "what's a porch mommy?" We found us a comfy spot on ours after explaining what it was, and sipped our lemonade dry...

I think I changed my mind...BEST lemonade in the whole wide world!

All Things Bright and

SUMMER! Definitely summer, not a doubt in my mind or in the air with the temperature a rising higher and higher every day and the humidity just keeping right up with that temperature BUT despite the heat we are loving summer.

So to stay cool and enjoy summer these bright and summer things are a MUST HAVE...the only thing missing is the box and a half of popsicles we have already been through, oh ya and we are on our 4th watermelon, but it goes too fast to even get a picture and my hands are too sticky to pick up the camera!

Seriously nothin better than a brand new box of sidewalk chalk!

Water table a must!

Cute shades - Check!

Pool...cute pink goggles - Check, Check!

Cute baby in a baby swing on the porch - definite must!

Diaper attire most of the day and a must have wardrobe item especially for naps!
This is one of my favorite sights...ahhhh

BUBBLES - big bottles required for lots of spillage!

And fresh Farmers Market nectarines...all four gone in the same day - YUM!

Blueberries For Sale

Seriously...we could open our own little stand on the side of the road and sell some blueberries. This year was by far the biggest success for blueberry picking yet! 12 pounds worth and a whole freezer to make muffins (check), pancakes (check), blueberry jam (still trying). We had a great time although I am convinced living in humidity needs it's own camera settings...like one for defogging the camera lens when trying to take pictures on a humid morning, not good for pictures for sure. Everyone got in the action even Carter, check it out!

Until next year blueberries!

Define Special

Nana Peeps!

This is one special woman! She claims she is the one who started all this hullabaloo! And she is right. Hullabaloo meaning what happens when we go home to visit and all of the kids are running around having the best time playing and laughing and doing what kids do best, all together. I love watching her watch them. I love watching my kids experience some of my most favorite memories when I was a kid...hanging out with my cousins and looking up to them (still do). There is something about family and I was blessed enough to have that growing up...not just my immediate family but the gobs and gobs of family that surrounded every birthday, holiday or special event (like bowling). I remember one summer in particular was the summer olympics and all of us cousins put on our own olympics around the swimming pool and Nana made us our very own gold medals and we even had a podium to stand on. That's special. I love hearing her stories even the same ones, especially when she tells me ones from when I was little. I love watching my girls with her...there is something so incredible about watching the generations spread out by years come together with one simple thing, LOVE! This woman loves and she taught us to love. She taught me tile rummy, black jack and how to make peanut butter toast with marshmallows. I was able to capture some awesome pictures of her with the kids the last time we were in town and just haven't had a chance to share them yet.

Special = Nana!

Carter's 1st of Many Steps

It was official on the 7th of June...Carter took his first actual steps. Each day following he has taken a few more and just a couple of days ago he walked across Brooklyn's room! He is so proud and definitely has his own personal cheerleaders during this process! He is the first of the three to walk this early. Kennedy was 16 mos. and Brooklyn was 15 mos. It's fun to see him discover this major milestone and at the same time he seems even more grown up now!

Sometimes "Nothing" Means Everything

So we got the basic "what are you doing this weekend" question a ton as most people do on Friday afternoon/evening. To which I responded with a firm "absolutely nothin" answer and secretly loving the way it sounded. Tim was in town and wasn't working so we actually had one whole unplanned weekend ahead. A weekend where we got to wake up and see what we felt like doing and just go...

But today, Saturday, the day with nothing and no plans turned out to mean everything! It is these days when I have the chance to sit back and watch my family even though they don't know I am watching all the time. Half the time I smile, the other half I fight back tears but all in all I feel complete and utter joy and thanks. Watching Tim cuddle and play with the girls on the couch, read them any and every book they bring to him, make homemade waffles and as always the best coffee anyone in this house can manage (maybe it just tastes so darn good because someone else is making it?). I see Kennedy protectively holding onto Carter as he climbs up into her kids chair trying to squeeze his way right on next to her. I see Brooklyn getting right up in Carter's face as he is finding his favorite and very special place in the whole house (her bed) and kissing him and telling him he loves her. These are the days that happen when you had nothing planned. These are the days that start as nothing and end with everything. These are the days I want to hold onto forever!

After breakfast we jumped on our bikes and headed off for a bike ride, park stop and ended back at the house with an all out chalk fest on our driveway. You should see the graffiti, it's impressive and I have to admit that Tim's artistry takes the prize this weekend. Even Carter is getting in on the action and loving the chalk as well as every square inch of his sweet little skin. Lots of hang out time on the rug, playing, reading, and games, naps, cuddles, lunch at a new deli picnic style with snow cones following and all nothing days aren't complete without pool time. I am having a blast watching as Brooklyn has turned into a little fish. It happened all so fast in the last week that I barely caught it on tape or by camera. She is a full on swimming, diving, jumping, back stroking, flipping fool and it is adorable. Her in her little goggles are just the cutest little thing. That along with Carter trying to put on the bright neon orange goggles tonight and getting them all wrapped around his little face.

And ya know what, I hardly got any pictures today...none because I was enjoying watching, just being in the day. This I more wanted to write down for me, memories of what kind of days really matter and are important in life! Because often in the craziness and to dos of an ordinary day I get caught up in the tasks and the getting it all done that this is heavenly and I breathe deeper and bigger on days like these and I love every minute of it!

So here's to more nothing kinda days in the future!

Oh wait, I did manage one picture today, a classic one involving the guys, golf, the couch, and a smoothie!

Before & After

There is nothing like the feelings we have for something before and after. Like good movies, good books, church services, weekends with our family, days with our kids...many emotions but mostly it's about the before and after.

Well we had a certain person that was loving this day with the whole before and after emotions, just check it out!

Before:

After:

Her Unique Cheering Squad:

And finally the 1st thing she wanted to do without her CAST!

And this was a family affair! When Kennedy got her cast on and it was starting to get warm she was bummed because she couldn't swim and she just get looking longingly at the inviting pool staring at her each and every day. So Tim made a deal with her; he said no one in this family swims in our pool until your cast comes off and you can swim. So as you can see this was a big night! And Carter even loved it, he thinks he can swim and all and keeps trying to get out of my arms in the middle of the pool! And this I have not figured out nor managed to get a picture of!

If You Can't Catch Me...

Nobody can!
He thinks he's safe up there, look at that smile!

Goodbye...Hello

Goodbye making lunches every morning...

Goodbye waking them up from their precious naps...

Goodbye 1st grade...sniff sniff

BUT HELLO SUMMER!!!!!

Here's to many mornings finding my three sweet kiddos doing what they love best in the mornings for the next few months!

Peek-a-Boo

I love you!

Corn on the Snort

This is the tale of newly dicovered foods...corn being the big one lately. The name, well that was created by two giggling little girls one night while enjoying this yellow feast. And now everytime they mention corn on the snort we all giggle!