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)!
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!
two parents, four kids, lots of activities.
we are pulled in a lot of directions, and we have to divide and conquer a lot.
i don't like it.
it's so much better when we get to be together.
today we got to be together watching joey playing lax.
beautiful, glorious sunday ... lazy morning at home, church, lax game.
it was awesome!!
and we'll return to normal life going our many different directions tomorrow.
boo! i miss my people when we separate.
separation that makes me ache.
it's life though.
here we go, ready or not, we're jumping into another week!!
i finally took a peek at some of the pics in my photo stream.
now that i don't even have to plug my iphone into my computer i miss reviewing what i snapped.
here are some of the moments i snapped of me this month!
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ice cream after a photo shoot.
dave rescued me when i got stuck pushing my littles in the double stoller walking home from the park in the pooring rain!
coffee with cream and dump trucks. yum!
bunny ears.
seven-thirty mass easter tradition.
as close to the beach as we're gonna get this spring.
chaos in the car. road trips rock!
my assistant snapping pics of me snapping :)
snapping and driving (probably on my way home from lax or soccer or dance).
i promise i don't do this often but sometimes i just can't resist the colors in the sky!
peace out, people.
happy eleventh anniversary to us! cold, rainy, broken down silver mini van (the only car that fits our whole family).
marriage has it's ups and downs ... i'm so happy dave is right next to me on this exciting ride!
it's a good life we have, it's a good life we work hard to achieve.
even after a rough few days, i still see the beauty that surrounds me!
i don't know what exactly it is ... i think it's the fast pace of this life.
i guess it takes a lot of planning to be here and there and gone for four hours plus at a time each afternoon this week.
i used to be a better planner. used to is the key phrase!
i'm a little out of whack.
good thing i have my people to keep me on my toes.
good thing i have spring weather and sunshine too!!
that's all i'm saying today cuz i need to catch some zzzzzzs asap.
chicago, i have missed you so much.
i didn't even realize it till i came back to see you!
i just figured out that i haven't been there since i ran the half marathon there in september 2003 with dad.
i think we're gonna be heading that way more often soon though since someone very special to us might call that big city home.
okay so lots of you who come here to read follow me on instagram too (and if you don't follow me there but want to i'm "dsjbowers").
it was different than the beach vaca we usually take in the spring.
these kids were troopers and enjoyed the change of scenery too!
one day we walked at least three miles for one of our outings.
we hit some touristy stuff instead of boutiques this time.
we swam more than we explored.
it's different with four kids in tow.
it was fun!
man, oh man, is it nice to leave our four walls.
i think we're fixin to do this more often even if it is just to stay in our tent one weekend a month throughout the nicer seasons.
i'm still catching my breath from easter fun, a quick spring break trip to chi-town, and more days off school.
i am back into real life again though.
lax practice, hanging with buddies, soccer games, family dinners, laundry, and all that good stuff.
and i have to give myself a break because things are really gonna speed up fast way before they slow down.
we got to hang with my baby sister and her family this easter.
the bs welcomed all of us into their beautiful home and cooked us a nice dinner.
thanks kel, ja, anna, and baby rose!
the j kids love hanging with family for holidays, and you guys made this one very special and memorable for all of us.
we got to have four extras for twenty four hours.
mealtimes (prep and clean up) are the busiest part for me.
owen might have ended up in our fireplace after breakfast ... uhhh, maybe.
even with that, it's tons of fun!!
it's loud and bustling with energy.
they get markers out, they play video games, they play outside, they paint nails and do hair, they laugh (a lot), they cry some too, they play together and break off into small groups too, they even smile for my camera.
it's really neat to watch it all.
i'm so thankful my best friend has four kids too, and this trading stuff we started a year ago is pretty awesome!
she told me how quiet her house was today.
i'll exchange a day of a little more noise for a day of a lot more quiet.
it's a good deal ... thanks, wendy and eddie.
from my people and me.
here's to sunshine and springtime!
it was the last day of spring break twenty12.
it was a little cooler and a little gray and maybe a little drizzly too.
those conditions weren't going to stop our adventure to who knows where.
sometimes a day without a plan and with very little marked down on the calendar is the best!
we stopped at the party store to check out props and get some sweet treats in case i needed bribery.
i just might bribe my kids with tootsie pops so that i can get exercise in or have them quiet for a bit.
i knew we needed gas, and there's only one brand of gas station we use so we can squeeze out as many perks as possible at $4 a gallon.
so we found one of those and then i decided to venture down the main drag of columbus from up north and just drive through some of the neighborhoods i love.
we even got out and took pictures in the drizzle in someone's front yard under their beautiful magnolia tree.
johnny spotted a yellow house that he said he'd totally live in if he was a grandpa!
we jammed to the music, we laughed, we snapped pics, we played at a park, we answered a call from daddy asking us to meet him for lunch.
so our adventure down the main drag (maybe towards the camera store), took a turn.
we headed back towards home to have fish n chips at one of our favorite little pubs in town for lunch with dave.
it was unexpected fun (and maybe some chaos too)!
as i watched the time get closer to when we had to be at church for stations of the cross, i got a little pouty with dave.
i was wishing he could come with me or at least work from home and take the boys with him.
so i named it.
me: all the parents who will be at church for the stations of the cross will be the ones with well behaved kids or those who have all their kids in school. (bottom lip out) and me with johnny and jeff.
dave: and you'll be there keepin' it real for everyone.
me: (huge smile and heart full of joy that my husband is cool with me taking our chaos out into the world, even the quiet solemn church service of stations of the cross) okay, i'm going to keep it real.
maybe that's my purpose here, my contribution: keepin' it real!
