Good Times

What a fun weekend.  We had a St. Michael's reunion weekend.  That's right.  A grade school reunion.  Not just a reunion, but a two day event.  Mark and I were in the same class with the same 35 children for eight years.  It was a very special experience to grow up together with the same group of kids.  This summer marked 20 years since we parted ways and embarked on the world of high school.  We gathered together last Saturday night for an adult-only gathering to catch up and celebrate.


This was followed by a family picnic at Gower Park (the park where we used to hold school events).




This reunion was my brain child.  My favorite part was the three legged race.  Mark and Charlie won, but only because he dragged him across the finish line!



As exciting as the weekend was, Monday actually topped it for me.  All summer Taylor has been taking swim lessons.  Although she's making a lot of progress, there are still some tasks that freeze her in her tracks.  One of those is jumping into the pool.  So I decided to teach her a mantra.  I asked her to do me a favor.  Whenever her teacher asked her to do something that made her scared or nervous I asked her to say to herself "I can do this".  She was skeptical, telling me she'd do it 'but if it doesn't work, I'm not doing it next week.  Well, guess what folks.


It worked!  At least that was her report after jumping in the pool multiple times.  I was a very proud mama.


I wasn't the only proud one.


Tuesdays were somewhat of a sacred day this summer.  We never scheduled anything on Tuesdays and enjoyed the lazy feeling of not needing to rush anywhere.  This past Tuesday was no different.  In fact, the kids did not want to leave the house at all.  That is until their Aunt Jessica called with an invitation to a picnic dinner at the park.




Morgan loves the swings!


Speaking of Morgan, she started something cute.  She now likes to slurp her yogurt (or applesauce) off the spoon.  It's actually much less messy that way.


We are also trying to teach her how to wink.  She usually ends up looking like a pirate.




Today marked one week until Taylor goes back to school.  We are still working at checking off more of our summer wishlist.  This included a sleepover with Grace.  Check.


It also included a tea party.  Taylor has a Fancy Nancy book about tea parties.  It's complete with recipes, theme ideas and decorations.  She and Grace schemed for 20 minutes on the phone yesterday about their Tea of Two.  It was to have a nature theme.  They made lady bug cookies, watermelon shaped like flowers and animals, ants on a log and pink lemonade.


They also made their own tent in Taylor's room where it was to take place.


I was very impressed with their creativity and the way they followed through on every one of their ideas with very little help needed from me.


Tea Party. Check.

Seizing the Season

Well, the countdown to school has begun.  I intentionally had not begun counting down the last days of summer, because I wanted Taylor to still be in "summer mode".  I didn't want to rob her of a single carefree moment.  However, she began tracking the days left until first grade on her own.  I'm so glad that she's excited for school.  Still, I want to make sure we make the most out of the rest of these glory days.  This is what prompted our picnic in the park after Taylor's dance class this week.



It was so enjoyable.  We talked about ants, poison and Africa.  I had to force myself to put the camera away and just be in the moment with my amazing children, but not before capturing my sweet little Morgan so content with her plate of food on her lap.




We followed lunch with some fun on the swings.  Taylor has become quite the big sister, showing such love and patience for her baby sister.




After dinner that night we headed out for ice cream and watched more Olympics.

Today we continued relishing each summer day by spending a day at Kings Island with the cousins. (It was a little chilly in the morning and Grace generously offered her pink sweatshirt to Charlie.  He didn't even hesitate.)


The kids enjoyed riding the rides although it was somewhat of a logistical nightmare since they are four different heights and most rides require them to ride with an adult.


We enjoyed lunch by the fountain.




Then we caught a show in Planet Snoopy.


As you can see, the kids had no trouble containing heir enthusiasm.


However, Addison loved the clapping during the show.


After Kings Island and a much needed nap, we met Daddy and Grandma for dinner.  We then enjoyed dessert and, you guessed it, more Olympics at Grandma's house.

This weekend is shaping up to be more fun!!  What are your plans this weekend?  Summer's not over yet.  How are you seizing the season?

A Quickie

Just a quick little post to fill you in on our last five days.

My mom had a garage sale last weekend and we took the opportunity to get rid of lots of things from the Williams house.  It's such a liberating feeling to shed yourself of unnecessary stuff.  One thing to go- a less than comfortable air mattress.  Although the kids had a great time bouncing on it the night before the sale.






Morgan loved playing with all the toys.  Good thing she didn't know they were all on their way out.  Don't feel too sorry for her, there's plenty more still at home.






And baby girl just had a birthday!!  Yes, her birthday was the day of the sale.  And my sister's family was on vacation.  And my godson was having a birthday party.  These all added up to a delayed party we will be throwing later in the month.  For now, Morgan settled for a sprinkled donut for her birthday breakfast.




Here's our good friends, the Glendons, celebrating Jackson's birthday which is just 2 days after Morgan's.


The kids are really starting to play together nicely.  They've gravitated to the playmate that is the same gender as them rather than the same age.  It works out fabulously.




We've been enjoying our sunflowers this year.  I've never planted them before, and as Taylor pointed out, I still haven't.  After all, this was all the kid's doing.




On Sunday, we enjoyed an evening swim and take out at my dear friend, Michelle's house.  Charlie was out-numbered as usual.


Michelle's little girl is just a few months younger than Morgan.  How cute is this??


(Just some sleeping shots before I had to wake her up on the day we had swim lessons.)




A big highlight of our week has been watching the Olympics.  Taylor especially enjoys cheering on the Americans.  I also taught myself a nice little lesson.  We basically missed the whole first week of the games, and at first, I just fast-forwarded to regret of not appreciating such a monumental and infrequent event.  But then I realized, hey, they're not over yet!  And we've seized the day, stayed up late, and appreciated the remaining games.  I realized that I do this often.  Sometimes it is easier to just get comfortable with the feeling of regret than it is to take action and do something about your current situation.  Well, no more.  If it's not too late, don't give up.  If it is too late, do something to make sure it won't happen again.


Finally, we headed out to Skyline last night for some cheese coneys and three-ways.  (Followed by some sand volley ball, of course.)


Today marked two more weeks of summer.  Luckily, Taylor is excited about first grade.  Still, I'm going to make the most out of our remaining summer days.  After all, it ain't over 'til the school bell rings!

Beaches, Books and Ballet

I've had some busy weeks.  Hence the neglect of the blog.  Here's a few little nuggets of what we've been up to.

The kids started eating their cereal as it's intended- with milk.


Morgan's been driving this little car around the house every day.


The kids spent a few days at Grandma's house and then a few days at home with Grandmama while Mark and I went to FL for his work conference.


We knew it would be a busy week of meetings so we went a day early and drove to the beach.








Most of the week looked like this.

I worked tirelessly on my new website and business plan for my new photography business.  I figured it probably would have taken me a month to accomplish all that I did in those days of uninterrupted productivity.  It was fun, too!  And okay, I did take a day off to enjoy the hotel spa.

Taylor's been quite a big help lately.  Here she is helping Charlie get ready for T-Ball.






I love this home plate victory!


It was his last game so he got a little metal at the end of it.


Charlie designed his own board game.  It is called 'Mousetrap'. It may not look like much to the untrained eye, but it's actually a complex set of paths and traps.  We play buy moving our pieces (those small rectangular pieces of paper) and then he tells me what happens.  My favorite was when he said he was a dad now so he didn't have to listen to any rules.


The game gets little additions each day.


After spending one day home with my kids, I left again for the whole day to shoot Mark's Aunt and Uncle's family reunion.


Mark came with me to assist, but we were back in time for some cuddles before bedtime.


Taylor's breakfast companion:


We've had a house guest this week while my sister is on vacation with her big kids.  Addison has decided that I'm the closest thing to her mommy so she cries whenever I leave the room. She does seem to appreciate all the care Taylor has been giving her though.


Meanwhile, my baby is getting bigger and bigger by the minute! (She turns two tomorrow!!)  Here she is enjoying some pre-dinner entertainment.  I looked up from cooking to find her sitting at the table reading.  (That is not a real candle.  Grandmama bought those for us to use in our windows at Christmas time.  We enjoyed a few candle light dinners with them.)


Reading is a pretty big deal in our house.  The kids have inherited my and mark's love for books!


Even spiderman books.


Here's my big boy at the super market enjoying his treat from the bank.


Morgan's thumb is healed.  After 30 doses of antibiotics and many rolls of gauze and tape, her appendage has finally healed.  Her thumb sucking has decreased considerably as a result.  In fact, we went almost a week before I saw her sucking it.  Now she only does when she is extremely tired.


(I told her to make a mad face)


She's also been enjoying eating at the big table although she can't seem to stay on her bottom.


Taylor's been enjoying dance class.  I love the watch the huge smile that emerges during every class.


I've implemented a new rule (borrowed from a friend of mine from church).  When the kids fight, they must sit on this step and hold hands for 5 minutes.  Then they have to each say something nice.


Their nice comments?  Charlie: "hi"  Taylor "I like you a little."


I made them do it today in the car and it worked surprisingly well.  They do need to work on their nice comments though.  This time each just said 'sorry'.

Phew.  I'm glad I finally got those posted.  I'm longing for the day when my business is fully established as is my new routine.  I am being very conscientious about how much time I want to spend working at home as well as being sure to allot full days of just family time.  I'd also love to be able to spend time on my personal projects again.  I have not liked the way my personal photography has suffered lately, but I am now getting so close to a happy medium.  And soon, very soon, I will post a link to my new website!! Hang tight and I'll try to jump back here sooner rather than later!