i know memorial day is the unofficial start to summer.
i am sitting here wishing it was summer and these babies were all back in the nest for the long break!
we dressed up in our red, white, and blue.
they played water stuff in the back yard.
i snapped a bunch of pics of them.
it was a good weekend!
and today we're back to work, back to school, and all the regular grind.
it's a short week though!
hip hip hooray!!
it's a good day for all of us today!
our little people are surrounded by their grand people.
lots of love is here!
it is fun for all of us to have their support, presence, love.
we aren't usually the ones with our grand people on the sidelines.
thanks a whole bunch for coming (and cooperating when i forced a photo shoot on you)!
wanna see what we're up to this weekend?
it takes my breath away too ... in so many ways!
she's growing up fast.
my tiny dancer isn't as tiny as she used to be.
she doesn't have bangs anymore so she blends right in with all those big girls with the slicked back hair and buns.
she is adorable and bubbly and lovin' life though!
she keeps us on our toes!
and her's are adorable ... just look at those ballet toes?
this dude is a ball of energy.
he plays on two teams right now, he gets his school work done (with almost every graded paper i see has a near perfect score), he's a good friend, he loves his family, and he wants to help me too!
he makes me proud because he works so hard and gives everything he's got!
he makes me proud because he was tired this morning yet he knew how important it was to go to mass, and he went without complaining at 7:30!
he makes me proud because he's thankful his sibs support him by watching his sports teams!
he makes me proud because he scored two goals for his lacrosse team this week!
he makes me proud because he asks to come assist me on photo shoots, and he does a good job at it!
i'm coming undone over here, and he just keeps going and going and going.
i would love an energy donation from him.
i'll keep going and going and going because i'm thankful for joey and all the j kids!
well today is the beginning of the spring activities rolling off our family ical.
hip, hip, hooray!!!
this momma needs a little more white space.
and a little less schedule activity and a little more carefree timelessness.
janie finished her soccer season tonight playing against some of her favorite buddies!
she was on the same team she played on in the fall and i can't believe how much they improved.
those girls had a lot of fun working together to win!
well, most of the time.
that's a wrap!
these are the people that make today so happy.
i couldn't stop smiling when i read these sweet cards from my three big kids!
there perspective is real.
yes, i like a lot of food.
yes, my job is to be a mom.
yes, i must jump rope more than i thought i did.
yes, i help them when they need help.
yes, i'm good at cleaning even though i didn't think so.
yes, one of my favorite hobbies is getting exercise.
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sometimes i don't know the impact i make on this world so it's good to have today to be reminded.
i am the momma i am because i have a great moms who teach me lessons all the time.
i also have amazing friends who role model love only a momma can give to her children to help me on some of the best days and some of the hardest days too!
i love listening to some good music!
ipod dj is fun to do with the kids.
when they pick classics by van morrison, the beatles, or tom petty i get really excited.
i dance around the kitchen to nicky minaj and snoop dog for them too!
there are lyrics that just speak to my soul.
there are beats that slow me down and some that make me run faster too.
tunes connect me to people and places and times in my life.
i totally remember listening to a toto album at a specific campground while i was in college. i remember the spring weather, the beer can chicken we made over the fire, the people i was with, the canoe trip we had just taken that day.
i also remember when i was a young kid, asking my parents to wait till the song was over before turning off the car.
my kids do that sometimes now :)
lately i've been rockin' out to zac brown band and jimmy buffet.
this photo shoot really made me "wishin i was kneep deep in the water somewhere"
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meet our neighbors and friends, the eirichs.
colton is johnny's best little buddie.
the simple life.
i yearn for it.
i am reminded quite often that i just might be living it right now as i type.
i yearn to get back to making space this the story of my life too.
it's hard to get all that vulnerable and open when my heart is this cluttered though, and that it is these days!
bear with me.
twenty12 has been quite a year for me so far!
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i got to go out and snap at sunset a couple times this beautiful week.
the joy i see when i'm looking through my lens is pretty amazing!
meet josie and andrea, two sweeties who get to make their first communions tomorrow.
this is a big deal!!
joey and his bestie, aidan were subbing in for each other most of this game.
somehow every time they interacted, i never had my camera ready.
i loved their interactions, i could see their hearts and their friendship in ordinary moments.
that stuff melts my heart!
joey is in the red shorts, and aidan is in the pink and blue wild shorts.
i love what i captured of them slamming into each other to celebrate another win!
it's hard for me to photograph my own kids sports cuz i'm watching and talking to dave and kind of paying attention to the other three j kids playing around me!
i'm glad i took my big camera to this game though.
soccer seasons are dwindling for the middles, and i don't know if i've even taken the big camera.
nor do i know if i'll have a chance with all the other activities we're running kids to and fro!
sigh.
