day 151

in preparation for our train ride, we made cookies. peanut butter cookies, to be exact. the big kids helped roll into balls and sploosh into their personal bowl of sugar.  

yum. 

we managed to choke down our entire tupperware that was busting with cookies and cookie pieces. 

day 150

we've been waiting and waiting for some winds... yeah, i know. we live in the valley, and we're requesting wind?! but for once, there was a purpose: 

KITES!

3 kites, all soaring toward the sun: jb with the rainbow-colored kite, dada & dyl with the other multicolored one, our friend caleb manning the black & pink one, and baby tess getting tangled up in the mix.

day 149

perspective. 

everyone has their own. i used to consider myself a realist, when in actuality, i was likely a pessimist. these days, it's easier to smile and laugh it off, say a prayer for that person (or myself!) and move on.

life is way to fragile to harbor any negative feelings. we're too blessed to be stressed.

day 148

i'm doing another round of small-ish sessions, 30 minutes in length. you get to be the center of attention behind my glass AND enjoy all the history & sights of the transportation museum.  

saturday, june 28th - call or send me a message if you're interested in a session for your wee one(s) or even a "class of" senior session. you'll receive 10-12 high-res images for $150, admission included.

spread the word, if you know of anyone - just a few weeks away!

day 147

this small human is terribly funny. she makes this scrunchy face while sniffing with each inhale and exhale. it's usually when she's wanting another bite of food. or, when she's excited. or, if you do it to her, she'll happily give it back to you. it makes all of us laugh, and we've all got our own version of tessie's scrunchy face; kiddos, grandparents and friends. she's trained us all!

day 146

our weekend was jam-packed with fun. for three days, we missed naps and were late getting under our covers. so as you can imagine, this little lady was beyond ready for bed. by 4 pm, no less. 

day 145

her beauty takes my breath away.

day 144

we headed south this weekend to visit with our friends in cooper landing. the radio and news stations were alerting travelers to avoid the peninsula, and yet, we were barreling toward it!

the peninsula has been on fire for several days now. a fire, one that has grown as big as some states combined, has continued to add thousands of acres to its damage, by the hour. it's been devastating. 

thankfully, as of today, it has burned ZERO structures. isn't that amazing? can you comprehend just how large alaska really is? 120,000 acres and no structures?! firefighters are working around the clock. bulldozing land to save farms and people's property. God bless them. 

the view approaching the peninsula. the cook inlet was lit up with a pinkish-orange glow. 

day 143

what am i doing?! 

over the winter, i signed up for the mayor's half-marathon. so why have i not been training?! bah. i'm completely annoyed with myself, but there's no time for that. you gotta start somewhere!

this morning (ok, every morning) i'm so thankful for my dear son. but, on this particular day, he was pleading with me to go for a bike ride. he rides, i run. no day but today.

the half-marathon is on sunday, june 22, so it's go time. 

here's my slap-in-the-face reality check of today's run... 

oh, and it felt amazing. i'm that squinty-eyed, open-mouthed smile of a smiley face.

day 142

this one? i don't know. she's a hoot; she's strong and sweet, but man oh man, she can be surly! i'll leave it at that for now.

yes, i did say STRONG.

day 141

this is a rarity for me - out "late" the other night. i'm usually doing the bedtime dance, 2-3 (ok, sometimes 4) tuck-ins and that one last potty break before the toes are cozy under the covers. bed time is exhausting!

on this night, i was thankful to capture some sunset beauty at one of my favorite parks.

day 140

LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!

august 16, 2013

day 139

this was the face he made when i told him one more day of school, jackie! as he let out the biggest moan.

he cracked me up with his response that i made him do it over (and over) until i could capture the moment. 

day 138

we painted these birdhouses (plus 4 more) back when the windows were frosted over, and it was like a fantasy to play in the sunshine. they covered our counter for weeks, then made their way to the front porch, and now, they're happily hanging throughout our island of trees. 

i can't imagine how tiny of a bird that would actually fit in there, but it's never about the purpose when it comes to kid crafts. it's all about the activity and the excitement of the finished product.

day 137

we have a serious bike rider. he had his first run in with the bike chain, so now, it's either shorts or a roll of the pant leg. 

after dinner, we've been heading out to the cul-de-sac; jb rides his two-wheeler and dylan zooms by on her scooter. i love watching these big kids grow. despite the falls and scrapes, it's the perfect wind-down before bedtime.

day 136

this girl. 

she will not be held down any longer. she has two sibling to keep up with. she must compete with those two goers!

i thought i was on my toes at all times before...

day 135

if i needed an excuse to make cookies - this was it! the fullcircle.com website stated it was national chocolate chip cookie day. well, hot damn - i'm in! 

except -

i didn't have any chocolate chips, only white chocolate chips.

so, we made chocolate, chocolate cookies with white chips; i'm not complaining! these salty & sweet cookies are a new fav! 

the big kids love to help. they took turns with the stand mixer, adding the dry goods and the chips. they rolled their own cookies (can you point out dylan's?!) and as much fun as the cookies were to make, eating the morsels are even a better time.

day 134

sky shots. 

i can't get enough of the wispy clouds. a blue-skied day is great, but i love a sky with flare. kinda like those beings with a milky complexion. that sort of perfect is great, but me, i love the freckles. the sunspots. the character. it's what makes us, us. imitated but never duplicated.

i'll never see a sky like this again, but i can always flip back through my catalog for an instant memory.

day 133

have you ever seen a strawberry this big? large enough that my four-year-old needed two hands to hold? juicy and sweet, not a bit tart. between me and the 3 kiddos, we polished off that container in one sitting.

yummo.

day 132

how cute is this? 

for the child who has preferred to climb trees, ride his scooter and run through the woods looking for {any and all} bugs/mushrooms/moose poop, for him to sit down and write his sibling's name in chalk - big moment for mr. jb!

day 131

mother's day.

brunch at settler's bay - full spread! every breakfast goodie you could imagine and even chocolate layer cake - ohmygoodnessgracious, we all walked out of there a few pounds heavier. likely, tess being the biggest eater.

after brunch, nana lynn and dyl branched off to do their own thing, while we ventured over to the musk ox farm in palmer. they open for the year on mother's day, proudly showing off the new babies on the farm.

it was a gorgeous day.

day 130

had a wonderful family shoot at this location today; wanted to enjoy it with some of my favorite people. 

evening stroll at 8:30 pm, loving all the light!

day 129

once again, our duplex is a landlord's worst nightmare. i'll spare you the details and just say it's gonna be a long road back to good. i'm up for the challenge and happy to say this "love" of ours will be going on the market this year. 

ripping out carpet and pad... 

again, sparing you the details; super-awesome friday night with my razor blade, iTunes and mask.

day 128

i've never felt more love from my big kids than i have this year. they vocalize their feelings and emotions throughout the day, every day. they tell me i'm the prettiest mama they've ever had. they say i'm the best mama in the whole world. and this, well, if there's a flower (or a weed) in sight, i'll have it tucked behind my ear, in my hand or like below, in my stroller's possession.

after six and a half years of being a mother, i've finally reached the point all those ladies were telling me about - the reward, the love, the appreciation. 

day 127

at jack's school, the kindergarteners are not taught academics. they choose to focus on the social aspect of these small humans, as not all are at the same maturity level. some have never been around other's their age and some have been in a daycare setting since they were infants. with such a large spectrum, they focus on social interactions, rather than trying to juggle behavior and academic work into their 4-hour day. 

while jack has done nothing but mature and grow at a rate that has surprised us, we've chose to supplement on the academic side at home. yes, it's only for 30-45 minutes a day, and if you sat him in a public school setting he would likely be "behind," but for us, for him, this is the best fit. 

he loves his workbook time. after bath but before dinner, usually while i'm right there making dinner, he sits down with his book, now on his 4th one since january. he's in a rhythm and can usually complete page after page without any instruction.

couldn't be more proud of this kid!

day 126

growing up too fast. 

biggest cliche, but i see why so many say this! 

where has the time gone?

day 125

look at this girl!

dylan was reading books by the front door, jack was sitting at the kitchen table while i was making dinner. we heard this grunting out of tess, trying to get our attention. well, she got it all right! big kids loved seeing their baby sis in such danger; they couldn't stop giggling.

oh, no, baby tess! you can't do that! you fall down! said the wise (ha!) duey.

more danger in the summer months ahead; i'm sure of it...

day 124

more spring-love. 

my rose bush is flowering! at the height of summer, this has orangey-red roses. 

to be continued...

day 123

how cute is this guy? sitting with the bulldogs, eating a lunch made by his dada, soaking up every ounce of sunshine. 

kid after my own heart.

day 122

this thing. 

i don't know if it was the sun streaming in, the heated seat, the motion of my rig or ALL OF THE ABOVE, but he's actually sleeping. 

sitting up. 

snoring.

ben lovingly calls him a turd sandwich.

this circumstance, i can't really disagree...

day 121

i paint our antler every other year. this year, i was missing my black paint, but i DID have black *sparkly* paint...

pwease don't tell ben.