there was this one time...

we made it

to australia! we've had 2 chilly days here but are enjoying the company of family and the beauty of the land :) we're off to the snowy mountains tomorrow! crazy to think that our summer has turned into winter!

2 graduations

in one day is sure to put parents in emotional overload.
last time driving to school for him- until college :) the rest will be walking distance.
last walk from car to school together until high school. :( (that's what sappy moms do, document in the littlest ways) :)
i wish i knew what was going through his mind right here! he's a year younger than the rest of his class and at the time, and even now.. we think it was the right thing to do to put him in early... but now we can't help but look at it as, one less year with him at home. :( i'm such a sap!!! seeing him in that tie just gets me!
the ceremony began with the somewhere over the rainbow version that used to make me think of the ER episode where dr. greene passes away. now i will have my little guy's sweet face cemented in my heart when i hear that song. chris, my mom and i were pretty much big cry babies at that part :)
my baby! i love him so much and cannot believe what a big guy he's getting to be.

goodbye big brother, see you in high school :(
i know this is down below but i am so glad chris got all these pics, as i get all shaky and emotional and can't compose a picture worth beans. i love my matchy men! :)
and then a few hours later, we went to kira's middle school graduation. it's a lot more formal at that grade so we managed to keep ourselves together :) but we are super proud of her and are shocked that she will be entering high school in september. she has lots of sports to keep her busy this summer, including training for cross country. here's our lovely girl!
looove this picture of her :) lei for our lei :)candy lei! me and my girl

he is so wonderful with kira. i don't know what i'd do without him. my mom and my 2 girls. and this one cracks me up so much. elsie's little face and my mom looking at her. i love it!
amazing! a picture of all 4 together!!! one of these two that melts me!! there's all kinds of crazy light/shadows going on here but dang they look cute :)
and our little buddy... who is dragged around wherever we go.. without a complaint. we adore her! :)

these sets of ages, where all my kids are now... i wish i could freeze it. kira about to start high school, where i know our next 4 years will be a blur. cam about to start middle school, and the overprotective mom in me wants to protect him from any social anxiety that may come. caleb in elementary and who still plays in class and adores his teachers. and elsie. 3 and home with me. i can't imagine elsie 10 years from now, in kira's graduating shoes. kira will be over 20. scary. i never thought i'd have such a large family and now i can't imagine my life without them.

there's my sappy graduation post with a plethora of pictures. i will look through them again with the youtube video of somewhere over the rainbow and surely tears will fill my sappy eyes :)

dad

happy father's day to our daddy!



i love that the kids tell him that he speaks with such wisdom when he breaks out the parables or quotes while talking to them. i love that he has taught them not to quit. i love that he shows them what hard work is. i love that he is my partner is teaching them what really matters. i love that he has brought out competitiveness in them and made them all sports fans.. even when he's not home, the boys will watch espn. he is faithful and loving. he's already planning the girl's weddings. he cries at their graduations. he knows that an afternoon at the baseball field, watching his boy play...with the rest of us on the stands cheering, is heaven. we love him!

celebrating friends

the other day i got together with my friend brooke as we do every week. we usually just let the girls play while we scrap. but this time, we had another visitor, kelly, with us.. so we decided to head outside. so glad we did! i love these pics of the girls! they play so well together-- elsie's first real friend :) besides her siblings :)







i'm so happy to have a scrap friend nearby, one with a daughter who my daughter loves is a total bonus :) one that shares the same obsession with me, is happy to have our girls wreak havoc while we make pages and one that enjoys treats as much as i do! :) so thankfuL!
happy wednesday! two more days of school left. today we woke up ten minutes before the kids had to be at school. :) it's already summer in our heads... hello sleeping in, we've missed you :) yay!

almost at the end

of a crazy couple of months. we have had 4 weddings and 2 engagement shoots in the last 4 weeks. i've had a child turn 14, run for class office and have a sleepover. i've had baseball playoffs which turned to championships, where my son's team came in at 2nd place. here are some pics just from the weekend. sleepover and championships.
can't believe i don't have a solo shot of kira at her party! we were running around like crazy as cam's championship game ran 1.5 hours late, we were scrambling to get everything out before people showed up.

i couldn't be prouder of cam! he was one of five 10 year olds who moved up from nationals to major league this season. the overprotective mother in me wasn't sure moving up was the best thing but dad convinced me it was. he amazed his coaches and team with his maturity and good attitude. i loved watching every single game of his.

i think she's waited all season to get on that field!

and the two patient ones :) it was a long season!

i've physically and emotionally had so much on my plate, i just crave some quiet. i'm tired. in 2 weeks we are off to australia. i can't even begin to think of the packing and planning involved with that! i want to get all our shoots done so i can go to australia without thinking of them sitting here waiting for us! i need to get all my scrapbook stuff done through june and july as i won't be scrapbooking there! we have father's day next weekend. we have our wedding anniversary the weekend after that, and actually are attending a wedding, like as guests! we are so excited. :) this week we have 2 graduations. i went to the store this morning, thinking... this is my last school lunch shopping trip until september. i've packed 3 lunches every school day since september. :) that's a lot of sandwiches. :)
this post is all rambly. i apologize. i will be back with graduation pics. that is, if i can manage taking them through my weeping! :)

fourteen

I have been a parent for 14 years now. (crazy!) and if anyone were to ask me which years were the most significant in milestone jumps, I'd answer: a} kindergarten...all of my kids entered without knowing how to read and left 9 months later, reading. I think that's pretty significant (it's also the year that starts the entire school career, which I also think is huge.) and answer b} 13-14. which is where kira was last year. slowly, she has been changing from a child, to a preteen.. even the jump to 13 was not as huge as the jump to 14. in my opinion. she is now a little taller than me. her feet are bigger than mine. she has an opinion and she voices it frequently. she knows how to manage her time and is responsible beyond belief. i can hardly believe how much she's changed this year. it's sometimes hard to look at her as my baby, when she's becoming such a young lady. you think about that all the time as your baby girl grows up, but then she actually becomes that and you wonder how that was possible.
In two weeks, she will graduate from middle school and enter high school in the fall. this week, she will run for freshman class president (they vote this year so that they will work on planning all summer). she is confident, happy, has got major school spirit, she's friendly and has spunk. she is a team player. she knows that the next 4 years are going to make a huge impact on her life. if you knew me in high school, and you know kira now.. you'd know that we are COMPLETELY opposite. she is the kind of girl i was not in high school. she is super social. she is not the kind of girl i would have hung out with but yes, we would have been acquaintances. it's so interesting to think of our lives like that. that my daughter will be where i was not so long ago-- but with a whole other perspective.
she is the kind of girl i want to be with now. she is smart and sarcastic. she sings and dances and plays sports. she likes chick flicks and pedicures. she is strong. she likes to ride bikes. she questions us. she cares about herself and her future. she has been such an amazing gift from God. i am thankful for her presence in my life daily. i am extremely honored to witness the last 14 years of growth. i just wish i could pause these next 4 years every now and then... ( and fast forward the bits with the attitude :) ) before she moves on again. i know they will go by so quickly.

hi

thanks for the sweet comments on my last post. :) the kids and i took a walk yesterday. the weather has been lovely, a little chilly in the morning but warming up nicely in the afternoon. hoping it doesn't get too much hotter! it's nice when elsie requests a stroller walk, and actually stays in the stroller! it's always hard to have to maneuver the stroller while carrying her!
the boys have had major bike fever lately!
not real big on the action bike shots over here, but i did get one with my iphone once i put the big camera back in the house :) gives me the goosebumps watching them ride like this! those who have asked about my iphone pics-- no apps were used.. just brought into photoshop and lightened if needed- here's proof that my phone does take sucky pics as well :) 
school is out in 2 weeks. kira turns 14 in a few days. slumber party will take place. not much slumber will be happening as they will be talking about the end of year dance and graduation. i cannot believe she will be graduating! another sappy post about her coming up in a few days probably :)

aaaaaaaaah!

i've got nothing!!!!!! but this one measly layout!
when we are busy with jac- i tend to forget to take photos for myself. boo! :( we've had 3 weddings in the last 2 weeks. this weekend we have NOTHING on our plates, no sports, no shoots... i have nothing on my plate but to sleep in! it's been so hard for me to get up in the mornings! i've already got summer-itis. :) we've got 2 children graduating this year. cam from 5th grade and kira from 8th grade. i'm gonna be a wreck! :( we've got the girls outfits picked out, now to spiffy up my boys! i totally want to put cam in a sweater vest but i highly doubt he will have anything to do with it :)
can you believe we haven't watched the season finale of grey's yet?! if we watch it then that means it's over. officially nothing exciting to watch for a few months. :( we may just have to start friday night lights over again!
what else. i haven't scrapped in a few weeks and did so today with my good friend brooke. good fun! see that butterfly paper up there? heidi swapp. love it! love that it pops up like that.
i've had such a major sweet tooth lately. especially at night! i need to go to the store and stock up on late night treats, pronto! last night totally sucked because the lack of sweets in the house!
ok, that's it. that's random and my life as of right now. :) have a great weekend people. if you still come to this lonely blog that i hardly update anymore, wow, and im sorry! i need to get better. i was looking at newborn pics of elsie today and it made me sad that i haven't updated much.

santa monica via iphone

pics from a quick morning trip to santa monica with my iphone.
my favorite from the bunch. 
we have been on the go this week, enjoying our australian family's company. we have a wedding smack in the middle of memorial weekend so we will be relaxing on monday for sure! hope you have a great weekend!

been busy

last week my mother in law and i cleaned my home up like never before. we were busy putting things in bins and cubbies, sweeping, cleaning, scrubbing. in the midst of all that, elsie was told many times-- "not now, mom's busy. not now, mom's doing something. not now...." then i left on saturday and sunday for weddings all day long. through it all, she definitely seemed different... she was a bit snappier and sassier with me. i had to put her in time out a few times. besides just being regular 3 year old behavior, i know it was because i wasn't spending my usual quality time with her. this week, we have family in town from australia and i am determined to put things aside and just be with her. i found myself at these weddings over the weekend, just missing her. i'm determined to make up for it with lots of cozies this week!
:)