trampoline!

we may not be homeowners yet, but we are livin' the American dream!

Woot woot!! Ryan is probably right when he says I'm more excited than Bel - I ask you... how can I not be??? eeeeeee - oh how I've longed for this day

it's that time of year...

...when bel asks for tomatoes as a snack.

It is such a thrill for me to go to the farmer's market - load up on fresh produce and eat it with my two year old! it's one of those actibities that's good for my soul. now we can eat cookie dough and watch a movie tonight.

the way Sundays should be

Last night was one of those nights - I think in our best stretch of sleep was an hour... maybe. But today is Sunday and Sundays should be good days and let's just say the Sabbath did not dissapoint

church

a much needed 2 hour family nap

scrumptious dinner (no good day is complete without good food)

(recipe found here - easy, refreshing, fresh basil is a must - yum!)

play time

baths

stories

cuddling

and now I'm about to sit down next to my honey, with a big bowl of fresh strawberries and cream and watch the next food network star (i am such a sucker for this show - love it!)

I ask you... does it get any better than this???

jack's noise of the day - what a charmer!

motherly confession

I have to confess one of my weaknesses... I have a really hard time doing what my kids want me to do and just that. I always put them off, distract them into an independent activity, or I multi-task or do the abbreviated version - always feeling like I should be doing something "productive". Ugh I hate it when I do that. I know productive days are a must, but I'm always happier when I just commit to having a fun day with my kids. We needed one of those days today. Mmmm - now for the good stuff.

when Bel woke up from her nap she wanted to play outside, so we did.
she stomped the last two boxes of snaps from our "fireworks" stash.

then she wanted to pick berries.
when we moved in the bushes that line our yard were full of these perfect, tiny round berries. she has spent hours in them harvesting red, orange and green berries, making colorful piles of the living things in our yard - leaves, acorns, sticks, and of course, berries.
it may be a little early in the season, but I think tonight was the last summer berry harvest

at one point during our outdoor escapades - i turned around and there she was comfortably, laying in the grass...

B - come here. lay next to me mommy. (patting the grass at her side)
who could resist such a sweet invitation - so there we lay side by side
B - what do you see mommy?
then we discussed the view
it was lovely - the view and the conversation

lastly, some sidewalk chalk to end off the evening

jack was around too - sucking his toes and laughing at mom and sis - who he thinks are hilarious.

it was a good day

this week has been just swell...


Jack had his first bowl of rice cereal and he is a fan.
we went to a new park and Bel totally rocked it.
i started a new sewing project today.
tonight we did an outdoor art project - sidewalk paint. oooodalollee it was fun!

there is something so energizing and satisfying about creating something - even if it's just a few colorful splatters on the driveway. just looking at all these colors gets me excited.
(it doesn't look like it here - but bel was excited about it too)

can you tell which is the flower and which is the "scary monster with a big bum"?

just so none of you are under the false impression that my angel child contentedly sat and painted for hours, please note that she quickly learned the joy of mixing colors and dumped all five colors into one and within 15 minutes had lost our rainbow variety in favor of one lovely shade of "lavender pavement"

gosh we had fun

i wonder what next week will bring

(now that all of you think that i'm clever - i'll let you in on a secret... i'm just a copycat. one of my friends is what i call a "fun mom" - she has a lovely blog where she posts super fantastic ideas of what to do with your kids along with fabulous photography and thoughts. so if you need a little inspiration, motivation or entertainment you should check her out and become a follower)

geese are friendly

making some new friends here in ohio

the bitter and the sweet

every time a chapter of my life comes to a close I am never ready for it to be over - never ready to say goodbye, to deal with change, to leave familiarity and venture into the unknown, never ready to move on. it's been said that "'the only constant is change" and that seems to be true.

as I've anticipated our move for the last month or so I've been feeling super nostalgic, feeling and knowing that I am doing everything for the last time, saying farewell to the people, places and things that we've loved so much these past two years. Kirksville has truly won a special place in my heart, and as I sit here writing this on the couch 700 miles away, I can't help but get a little choked up seeing our home in my mind's eye and missing so badly our soggy lawn, free swimming pool, the clean organized HyVee, our charming neighbors and dear friends just blocks away in every direction. I can't stand knowing that I'll never ride my bike to the lake again or attend an SAA activity or belong to the Kirksville 2nd ward.

but I'm lucky that in this life scenario the bitter and the sweet come together, and in the few short days that we've been Ohio we have found more than enough sweetness to call it home.

I know it will be a while before we are really settled and honestly I don't mind one bit. I already have a long list of valuable lessons learned, our little family has grown closer together and I look forward to all the adventures we'll continue to have.