Ordinary Life

It has taken me so long to finally get around to sharing July 4th photos. I took way too many photos too...especially of our sand castle building. The idea was to make a stop motion of the castle being built and then dissolving into the sea. What actually came of it was photo documentation up until about the mid point of the castle's dissolution (when my battery died). Which was not enough to make the stop motion but plenty to make picking photos to share a challenge. A collage of castle building follows. What started out as a toddler's whim to build a sand castle turned into a group effort (sans the toddler, who found something more interesting to do about 15 minutes after we started) Eventually, all that remained of our work was the ocean's floor. One thing that stuck out to me was how my boys kept building as the waves started rushing in... They had a vision they wanted to see completed. They worked against the tide to see it realized. Even as doom loomed, they labored o...

Some of our favorite small friends watched the baseball games too. We managed to stay entertained during tournament season with the help of a busy bag filled with snacks (especially apples, bananas, & any version of cheese flavored "crunchy"), small toys, books & art supplies filled the bag and the passing hours.   *** Pirates Field*** Rye likes things organized *** Fighting Christians Field *** (Fighting Christians?!) Riley Wren Sunny Rye! Tippy Toe Smiles Having a 'picnic' under the shade tree

With her shades and a snack, Rye is ready to ride out the * next few hours of tournament play: * Not current tournament play- catching up on previous months' photos

A short clip of Reagan & Riley dancing in the hotel lobby before Grandpaw's funeral. When she watched the clip, Rye said with a smile " There's my cousin!" In other recent news, Reagan was inviting another cousin to his make-believe party, even though...GASP... she's a girl! So cool to see these cousins learning about their family connection and develop a friendship around it.

General Jackson Carnes There has always been a small, unofficial tradition that accompanied visits to my grandparents' home. Whenever it was time to leave, generally after many, many false starts that resulted in visiting just a little longer,  they would walk us out, give one last round of good bye hugs and kisses, and then they would stand in the drive way, smiling and waving until our car was out of sight. I have noticed this tradition spill over into visits with my parents. And on those rare but wonderful mornings where Clay and I are able to steal a little porch time together before he heads out to work, I find myself remaining on the porch, where I see him off in much the same way...even when he is past the point of seeing me, I stand waving (or flicking the porch light), watching until he fades from view. It is really a way of saying "I love you so, I hate to see you go..." During my grandfather's funeral, I remarked to a few people that I saw a similarity in t...

Happy BrewCrew Birthday. (a.k.a. An Anniversary Celebrated W/Children :)  Today we are 15 .  (Yes, he sm oo shed me with the cake.)

Logan closed out her first (and likely last) season as a cheerleader the week before Thanksgiving. They were given a team photo at the ending ceremony. Here it is, courtesy of  Pam Bell Photography :  (go peek at her photos, she's got some nice shots over there)

When Riley woke up on her 2nd Birthday, there was a "pincess" outfit waiting for her...a present...and underneath the bucket- a bunch of balloons. "Purple my favorite" ~Rye What I didn't take a picture of was re-inflating all of the balloons--they had apparently lost their verve overnight, under the bucket (I guess I would too, if I had to sleep under a bucket all night...) A heart necklace like sissy's... and also, importantly, not like sissy's either :)  "I love balloons, I love, I love, BALLOONS..." She sings it a hundred times a day.  Fatal Attraction :)  Cheshire Cat is a new favorite friend We ran a few errands- including a stop by the Dollar Tree for balloons, and Zaxby's for  "my chicken" as Rye calls it every time we drive past the sign.  Outside is one of Rye's favorite places to be... Stepping out for balloons... sisters The Whole Crew Fisher, the double digit dude sports his new duds Singing "I Love Balloons...