COLD out....

camping with scout

Happy Halloween

Llamamos al Ratoncito....we called on the tooth fairy....

My baby....{tears}

sewing fun...

Look who else is playing soccer....

Look Who's Playing soccer this season...

Puppy school is in session

A fun QUICK sewing project...

Happy Birthday N!

Just ONE for now!

Scout is growing up...FAST!

Yes, I know he's not the ONLY one, we've had TWO birthdays in three weeks, BUT I have LOTS of pics of the BOYS, and I only had one of Scout...so...the boys birthday pics are coming....just slowly...

his little buddy...

First day of Pre-K

First day of school

Gonna miss my crew...

Yes, I know I'm behind on posting from a few recent events--especially my BIG 7 year old's birthday, but I've decided that I'm gonna enjoy my time with the kids the rest of the summer before school starts next week, and worry about catching up on PICTURE editing until then...STAY TUNED! but for now, just one from this morning...

Scout - 10.5 weeks old

Our lab - Scout

and this one has NOTHING to do with our pup, but I LOVE that he asked me to take pictures of his silly expressions!

We have a new baby...

Another fun day...

Today's fun activities included blueberry picking, baking, eating yummy dessert, and an afternoon of art (well, all afternoons involve some type of art around here these days :)).

Bubble Fun

Summer is well underway, and our days are filled with lots of activity--I wouldn't say overload, but let's just say time to myself is to a MINIMUM these days! The kids are doing so great, most days getting along well, serving each other, playing together well, helping around the house, doing chores, and being very active, loud, boisterous, happy, giggly, and just plain happy. By no means am I implying that we don't have those times when they don't get along, when the first words out of their mouths is "me" or "I", when they complain about chores, refuse to help because it's too hard or because they just don't want to, or delight in making each other miserable--but I choose to hold on to the happy moments :). We have been doing a lot of reading, visiting the library, swimming, playing in the sprinklers, drawing, coloring, painting, science experiments, biking, and just staying busy. This afternoon we decided to mix a bubble solution that I found online which claimed to make the biggest bubbles. Turns out it worked pretty well. The kids loved playing, and blowing huge bubbles....I think we may try this another day when it's not so windy as it was this afternoon.

South Padre Island - Summer 2014

Oh, I wish I was back...I LOVE the beach! There is something soothing, and calming about the soft sand sifting through my feet, the cool breeze, the sound of the waves crashing, vast blue of the sky meeting the ocean on the horizon, watching my children laugh, run, play and just enjoy the beauty of the ocean...it had been far too long since my last visit to a place of such beauty, and grandness--what an awesome God we have...I can't help but be reminded of the bible's description of the days of creation. On day 2 God separated the waters from the sky; day 3 He allowed for dry ground to appear, and day 5 God created the birds and the creatures of the seas--can you imagine? WOW!

Soon after the kids finished off the school year, we packed up our car and headed out to South Padre Island for a Marsh Family Reunion. GM & GP had rented out a beautiful home on the island to accommodate all 10 grandchildren and 6 adults. The house was PERFECT! It was two story, 5 rooms with plenty of beds, 4 baths, a large kitchen, nice family room and patio/deck eating area, a pool right in the backyard, a walk away from the bay, and a block and a half away from the nearest beach access. As you can imagine, most of our time was spent either on the beach, or in the backyard swimming--not to mention all the time and effort spent refueling our bodies with delicious meals, and yummy snacks. I have to say that we did pretty well to go the entire week without any sunburns in our family, everyone came home with a nice tan (some more tan than others :)).

"Hoorah for GM & GP, Hoorah for GM & GP, someone is in the stands yelling "hoorah for GM & GP", One, two, three, four! Who you gonna yell for? GM & GP, that's who!"

We sang this little number almost every night, to acknowledge the chef of the meal, and I think it is most appropriate for GM & GP who made this family vacation not only possible, but perfectly enjoyable for ALL. They went above and beyond in all aspects of the researching, pre-planning, planning, shopping, and provision of everything involved with our wonderful vacation! Thank you GM & GP! We love you! I've got TONS of photos from our vacation, but with Dan starting a new job, and kids being off for summer, I've yet to have more than 20 mins at a time to sit down alone, much less in front of the computer. When I finally do, about 10pm, I'm EXHAUSTED and ready for bed. Slowly, I'll get them out! For now, here are a couple of my favorite images from our first day on the beach.

(NOTE: Colors are off on these, bear with me as I try to figure out why my image colors are looking so off on the internet.

Sending him off...

face painting

Last day of school

School activities have been rampant, I have lots of pictures to process....for now, here is the kids last day of school picture. Just look at the joy in their faces...

Overdue Updates

Without going into much detail, let's just say when it rains it POURS... :) Nevertheless, I've finally been able to process pictures from that last week or so...In summary we have had a nice visit with my mom, field trips, school soccer game, Mayfest, my birthday, school awards, school picnics, etc etc....