we like bikes

now that training wheels are gone (at least until morgan gets too big for the buggy) biking with the children is much more fun. they can ride faster and complete farther distances easily. a state park nearby has several bike trails with areas to stop and do other physical exercises. sometimes it's more fun to improvise on the exercise part instead of using it for it's intended purpose. next time we need to remember the buggy cover so m2's face is not covered in dust from the trail. although she does look cute in mommy's glasses which helped in keeping the dust from daddy's tires out of her eyes. there is a playground and great climbing trees that the children climb while daddy loads the bikes back on the car.

i am not a role model

little man's class went on a field trip to the botanical garden. look at them being studious, paying attention to the guide and learning about the life cycles of the dragon fly, butterfly and frog. think quick, do you know which ones are complete and which are incomplete? we walked to the pond to look for tadpoles... while they should have been looking for tadpoles, i had them posing like this... because for me, this was much more fun!
i think second grade boys are some of the funniest people on the planet... and so lovable and awkward at the same time. the squeeze hugs i get from these boys makes my day, and knocks the air out of me! it's going to stop at some point, but i love walking into his classroom and his friends making a beeline for "mrs. sam's mom".

a delightful weekend

we headed to the lake late on friday evening. we played in the water ~ skied, knee boarded, swam and rode the air head and jet ski. we played on land ~ badminton, golf cart rides, golf, soccer, and scoops. we played in the house ~ pick up sticks, cards and coloring. oh, and we had some great food also; great because i did not fix it. not that i can't cook, just that it was nice to be the one not having to cook. p.s. does anyone realize how hard it is to drive a jet ski, keeping the throttle steady, zoom a camera, keeping that steady also and snap pictures? apparently i am the only one in our group with that skill set seeing as there are no pictures of me.

book report time

m1 had a book report to present to her class... she took her poster board to her room and practiced in front of her animals. she even threw in some hand motions. so very cute! she got an "O" for outstanding.

happy mother's day

sorry, wrong pictures :-)

this is just the aftermath of mommy not doing anything on mother's day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the frustrating memory of mother's day past, when i wanted nothing more than to be a mom, fade a bit each year. medical technology is a wonderful thing! i am thankful for these three children that call me mommy.


 

picnic, biking and a date weekend

each year my parents real estate office hosts a client appreciation picnic ~ sometimes at the zoo, the aquarium or a local park. the children love it because they have BBQ, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, snow cones, cotton candy, popcorn and cookies... and for one day out of the year their parents let them have all of the above. of course i have no pictures of that as i was running back and forth to the portapotty with m2... her new obsession, the outhouse.

after the picnic, little man and m2 left with my parents and m1 left with nana. jd and i left in a quiet car and scooted down to edenton, nc for a quick date weekend (to celebrate our anniversary which was last weekend). we stayed at the grandville queen, a bed and breakfast that we visited on our first anniversary. we have also been back once since then. the community sits along the albemarle sound so we enjoyed a long bike ride along the waterfront and went out to dinner at a wonderful seafood restaurant. it was nice to not cut up food for anyone except for myself and to sit back and talk without being interrupted. thanks to the grandparents for loving on our children in our absence!

12 years

not the most flattering picture but after spending the morning pulling the children on the kneeboard and teaching them to ski, it was nice to have some time with just my husband. (we were laughing so hard at sister... long story)

 

engagement pictures (before digital prints so i took a picture of a picture)

how can twelve years fly by so quickly? hard to believe that it has been twelve years since walking down the aisle and marrying john david. so here is our life by the numbers... one wedding, 4,386 (and counting) good night kisses, two and a half years of dealing with infertility, one ectopic pregnancy, one successful in vitro (one unsuccessful) three precious children (sam, meredith and morgan) 14,965 diaper changes, two houses, five cars, three job changes, one church change, numerous road trips, four plane rides with children, 10 year anniversary cruise without children and the death of one parent (my father in law). he provides for our family so that i can enjoy staying home with our children. he is positive and encouraging and a wonderful father to our children. his biggest downfall is his love of the washington redskins... but as long as he tolerates my love for all things peyton manning i can deal with that.