A STEP BACK IN TIME

HAVING SOME FUN WITH FILTERS...

Pop-Pop & Drew peeking through the mail slot

HOW I LOVE IT IN THE GOOD OL' SUMMERTIME...

We just recently returned from the 3rd major event in the past two months. It has been busy, but lots of fun filled with memories to behold. Thankfully, the boys are both at great ages to be able to pick up & go. Last week the boys, myself & john's parents (John could not get off work) took a trip down to Atlantic City (area), NJ. This is where John's mom grew up. We stayed with her parents, attended John's cousin's high school graduation and of course hit the ocean as many times as we could. John's grandparents live on Ventnor Ave (2 blocks from the ocean). If any of you are familiar with Monopoly, yes, it is THAT Ventnor Ave. All the roads around them coorespond to the Monopoly board. The house where the inventor of Monopoly lives is not too far from them. Also, the real estate is just amazing!!! John's grandparents' neighbors had their nice little home up for sale, asking $600,000!!!! It was not all that much bigger than our home!!! Yikes!! It was a blessing we were even able to make the trip because Drew had gotten pretty sick the week before. But the Lord was good and healed him quickly to be ok for the trip. I even got a whole hour to myself on the beach one afternoon when both the boys were napping! I could definitely use one of these by our house!!! There is something soothing about the ocean waves lapping up on the shore.

THE BEACH

This is the result of our (really, my) digging for about 2 hours.

That and my sunburned back!!! It started out as a bridge, then became a tunnel and then drew decided it would be a good seat for him to watch the surfers from.

OCEAN CITY BOARDWALK

Jack's 1st Pickle: which he loved!!!

Jack & the Beanstalk

G REAT- G RANDPARENTS
Pop-Pop & Mom-Mom with the boys

Drew with the Graduate, Evan

Ethan & Drew

Pop-Pop teasing Jack

Mom-Mom feeding Jack

in full BLOOM

my very own P E O N Y

Upon moving into our home, I inherited a most lovely flower. It came not by way of most inheritances but rather left behind from years of green-thumb care. It was a mere 6 months before it revealed itself; we moved into this house in the fall and the buds didn't appear till late spring. It was love at first sight. Once I beheld its beauty firsthanded, I knew it was one of the most lovely things I could own. Whenever it is in full bloom, I always say to myself, "If we ever move, I am digging that up and taking it with us." But I may keep the legacy going and pass it on. Thankfully, I can just breathe in its beauty, and for now call it my own.

petals of beauty

the drooping peony in the light of the morning

I have about 15 blooms this year. In the past I have had up to 25 blooms!

promise of more to come

budding artist

I know all mothers think their child is a genius, and we have every right to! But I was a bit impressed with my sons attempt at putting his imagination on paper today. He usually doesn't want anything to do with a coloring book. But today was a bit different. There was an orange piece of paper on the table and I gave him a blue marker and told him to color something. A minute later I turned around expecting a scribble mark, but to my amazement, this is what I beheld! I know it's no Rembrandt, but it was from my little guy. And when I asked him what he wanted to name it, he said, "BUGGY DAY!" Which was in direct correlation to the mosquito I had killed moments before he drew his picture. Cute, you may say, but I say it is pure genius!

Fun Times with Friends

I am taking a "time out" from posting the rest of my Chicago trip pictures to keep up with the present. My dear, dear friend Stephanie (i.e. alma...inside joke) and her little guy, Canon came to visit us while Chris (steph's husband) is deployed overseas. It has been 3 years since we have seen each other and we had yet to meet each others children. So this was exciting!!! Even though the times are far and few between, it is like we haven't skipped a beat!!! Just a bit more "chaotic" with 3 boys in the mix now!We have stayed up late (or should I say early) talking each others ears off, attempted to pick each others brains about parenting, teaching, organizing, & life in general, and the boys have taken their naps in the van every day so far...and we are all having a blast! Here's some "magical moments" together so far:

MAGIC WINGS butterfly

who would have ever thought?

here we are with our boys. steph (L) has my two boys Jack & Drew

& I have her Canon.

they were SO EXCITED about the butterflies it took about a dozen tries to get them both looking at the camera!

wonder. curiosity. discover. amazement.

(& probably one of the only times they stood still for an extended period of time)

scary lizard that almost kissed jack

(though he wasn't the one too concerned, as you can see!)

out for the count!

CHICAGO TRIP~day 1

WOW...It has been awhile and I have BLOG OVERLOAD with soooo much to blog about!!! A week ago we returned from a nice, loooong week of vacation visit with my family in Chicago (more specifically, Lemont!!!). I can't believe it, but we drove out!! It actually wasn't too bad. Although I can say that because John did most of the driving. We (john) drove through the night on the way out: we left friday night at 9pm and pulled into my parents driveway saturday at 2:30pm. What a trip! We had to pull over for a quick shut-eye break because John was reaching his limit (after driving for 7 hours straight after a full day of work). The nice part was that the boys slept for about 10 hours straight.On the way back we drove during the day and stopped at a hotel at night. That was definitly the more sane way to go! Well, enough babbling: here are the many, many pictures. (they'll be coming in chunks at a time) I was going to put them in a slideshow, but didn't have enough time (or patience) to figure it out. Enjoy:

DREW CHILLIN' OUT WITH AUNT MEGAN & UNCLE RYAN

This is a bean bag toss game my brother, Sean, made for my dad.

My dad painted it in none other than the great chicago baseball teams!

~And a nice little wash for the van that collected bugs across america~

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