Thursday, May 31, 2012

mama's new lens

I'm embarrassed to admit that I know very little about my camera.  
I love to point & shoot...a lot.  But, as far as understanding how you get good shots...i'm lost. 
Thanks to my friend Jenn, I'm beginning to have more knowledge and it's so fun to play with it now!  Shane got me a 50mm 1.8 lens and I'm taking a class in Baltimore this weekend.  
My poor kids.  Their children will thank me one day that I have one million pics of their cute faces.  
I practiced in Manual yesterday- for the first time ever.  
It wasn't as scary as I thought! 








memorial day

Holidays are so neat now that the kids have a better understanding.  
Not that we did anything super patriotic or anything, but cool to talk to the kids about the sacrifices our soldiers and their families make for us everyday.  
We laid super low at home and had some water fun with dad since he had off on Monday.  
Water balloons & the kiddie pool...summer has begun! 



Wednesday, May 30, 2012

rain, rain

Rain, rain
 Don't go away. 
 We want to go 
 outside
 and play!  
sometimes a good rain is just what we need around here!  

Sunday, May 27, 2012

few more favorites

we took so many pictures while our  sweet friends were in town.  
Couldn't leave out a few more of my favorites. 











just like...

just like daddy with his blondish hair and deep brown eyes. 
his tender heart and desire to learn & figure things out. 
just like mamas round cheeks & sensitive nature. 
 in daddy's hat looking awfully cute & grown up. 
his pale skin and smile. 
 just like mama with her um...attitude and pouty lips.
silliness and loves to be with people. 
 why are you lookin' at me??  
so fun to have little jenny & little shane. 

homegrown friends!

All the way from Georgia.... Jenn, Christian, and Callie came to visit us this week!  It was so awesome to have them here.  The kids played so great, jenn & I had tons of catch up time, and seriously made my heart swell being able to spend this quality time with them.  We sure missed little Cate, but I'm sure her daddy enjoyed the extra time with just her back in Georgia.  
So thankful for best friends that know us inside & out.  
We stayed super busy and really made the most of every moment.  
I'd like to say we are all happy tired folks today...and especially jenn since she is making the 12 hour trek back to flowery branch today.  I owe her big time for this!  
They arrived on Wednesday around 5:00 so we had some yummy Popsicles and took a long walk to the water. 
 Girls taking a break to shave their faces.  I wish I had the giggles recorded.  It was a riot.  They were so very happy! 
 Thursday we ventured over to the zoo after Davis got out of school.  
Christian's fave was the big peacock roaming and Callie loved the "mingos" I think she calls them!  
They were exhausted, but truly had a blast.  
We made a quick run to Target then home to get ready for Davis' tball game! 

Christian is seriously the best cheerleader on the planet.  He was so excited and offered all kinds of encouraging words to Davis during the game!  I love this picture so much.  The girls watched some, but were mostly interested in their babies! 
On Friday, we went over to Assateague Island and look what we spotted right away!  Ponies!  Callie wanted to show them her ballet moves!  
 This was the scene most of the day.  Christian in the waves as long as we would let him.  Davis trying to keep him safe and ward off any strangers by doing his ninja moves from a safe distance.  The girls laughing with their toes in the sand.  Getting their hair wet and building a drip castle.  
The mamas actually got to sit for a few minutes and chat!
It was a perfect beach day.  


 To this sweet boy, this is exactly what heaven on earth looks like.  No time for snacks, sandcastles, or looking for crabs.  All waves for him!  I'm sure his cheeks were hurting from smiling! 
Later on that night, we headed down to the pier and the boardwalk for Fisher's popcorn, pictures, and of course the candy shop.  We got home about 9:00 and the kids crashed hard.  I'd say it was a fabulous day! 
Saturday morning, we got up and had a yummy breakfast downtown Berlin. 
After our amazing pancakes & omelets, we took a carriage ride around the town.  The driver was awesome and gave us a longer ride...taking us by a yard sale!  The kids had an absolute blast.  
 Then, we just roamed the streets taking fun pictures and letting the kids climb and run.    
After our downtown adventure, we took a trip to the Berlin park and to get yummy snow cones!



 We were not quite ready to go home, so we stopped off at our neighborhood pool for a few hours.
Popsicles, pajamas,  yummy mexican, and leftover doughnuts topped off our last night in Maryland together!
It was seriously a really fantastic 4 days.  The kids did great...outside of the normal toddler meltdowns and baby doll wars they were perfect and played like long lost friends.  Made me so proud of them!!
Just what we all needed...another small taste of Georgia goodness.  


mommy's delight

Carson has been taking a little ballet/gymnastics class this spring with some of her friends from school.  They have a recital coming up...and this day was picture day! 
My sweet little ballerina getting all dressed up for "Mommy's Delight". 
The song is a lullaby and they are in nightgowns...dancing & going to sleep with their teddy bears.
I


just play

Last week, I was getting ready for our friends to come visit and the kids were off playing.
This was what I found....which is typical these days.  
Carson with her babies all at "school." 
She loves to feed them, make them listen, cut their hair, dress them, etc.  
 Brother and his mighty fortress! 
Blocks & superheros...all he really needs. 
Oh, and my pans to use for slides and big metal doors.  

Friday, May 18, 2012

yankee doodle

Pre-K at Showell Elementary put on a little nursery rhyme parade while Nana was in town.
Davis picked Yankee Doodle. 
Who stuck a feather in his hat...and called it macaroni (necklace)
They paraded around the halls and then several recited their rhymes.  
It was pretty cute! 
...and just because pink skies make me happy. 
This was our view last night from the screened in porch.