7.31.2010

on the road at 8:06am.

departed from little rock.

stopped at 8:30pm.

in columbus.

travel day.

vacation day number two.

done.
goodbye july.

hello august.

vacation we are getting a little closer to you.

7.30.2010

vacation or bust.

the car is packed to the max.

excitement is filling the remaining space left in the van.

good bye texas blue.

the camera is busy at work already.

10 minutes into the trip and we are already

working hard on the license plate game.

on the road at 11:32am.

stopped at little rock at 6:35pm.

day one.

done.

7.29.2010

{our front hallway today}

meeting at 8am. pickup photos at cvs for project. charge camera. navy shirt at ralph. scavenger hunt prep work. buy frame for project. create project. wrap project. finish nathans invites. transfer email account to laptop. schedule payments. medication safety meeting at 4pm. celebration church to search the lost and found for justins swimsuit from camp. no luck. hit the polo store to pick up a new swimsuit for him. why did i send a new lands end swimsuit to camp? grocery store for travel food. laundry. laundry. start packing something. crash at midnight.

vacation we are almost ready.

are you ready for us?

7.28.2010

no time to blog.

to-do lists are long.

and color coded.

i love vacation but

getting ready can be overwhelming.

pictures. projects. presents.

parties to go to.

parties to prepare for.

i can't wait just to party.

this ones for you mom & dad!

picked up justin from camp today.

it was on the to-do list.

didn't want to forget him.

7.27.2010

this is our newest thing lately.

grab a movie from the redbox.

or find one on hbo on demand.

pop some corn.

this movie tub is perfect.

and watch an afternoon movie.

yesterday we watched 17 again & the bounty hunter.

today was percy jackson and the lightning thief.

can't wait to see whats next.

nothing is better than hanging out with the guys

and laughing/crying together.

-

still pretty quiet around here.

third base for dinner.

football cards in binders.

ongoing packing & crossing things off the to-do list.

vacation time is almost here.

the camera is charging.

the bathing suits are packed.

the tires are new.

the oil is changed.

almost ready.

7.26.2010

a glimpse back at yesterday.

3 sad brothers.

1 was leaving for camp.

they won't be able to tease each other for 4 whole days.

a glimpse back at yesterday.

3 happy brothers.

1 was leaving for camp.
they won't have to share video games or ice cream

three ways!

the house was a little quieter today.

getting suitcases out.

getting new tires & an oil change.

making lists.

returning library books.

dropping off dry cleaning.

vacation we are ready for you.

7.25.2010

today.

now.

look whos all packed.

ready to go to camp.

all in a backpack.

enjoy.

relax.

have fun.

we'll miss you.

(honest.)

see you soon.

7.24.2010

special delivery.

outgoing in todays mail.

watch your mailboxes.

we are getting ready to celebrate.

-

errands around town today.

to hill country not once, but twice.

new shoes.

a new trumpet.

conference calls.

cocktails at fridays.

packing.

stuffing envelopes.

all in a saturday afternoon.

7.22.2010

no words necessary.

this picture tells the story.

nathan has been saving & saving.

not easy watching your brothers spend their money every week.

but it was worth it today!

congrats nate on your new purchase!

7.21.2010

traditions.

simple ones.

annually.

grab a pen.

write in your answers.

share them outloud after.

this always leads us to pull out thescrapbooks
to read the answers of years gone by.
somethings never change.
dads world famous cheeseburgers are a hit
year after year.
the movies change.
the favorite toys change.
the games change.
their handwriting changes.
this tradition always brings a couple laughs
and another everyday memory.

7.21.2010

just a quick morning shot.

out the front door window.

3 boys searching for geckos.

a simple morning routine.

love watching them work together.

an everyday memory.

7.20.2010

this pretty much sums up our summer vacation.

no schedule.

no watch.

no routine.

no worries.

no homework.

no football.

no beat-the-clock days.

no blogging.

no laundry.

(bathing suit season)

this pretty much sums up our summer vacation.

7.19.2010

i was an ebay virgin.

we cleaned the boys closets & found 2300 y-gi-oh cards.

someone suggested we try to sell them on ebay.

it took me longer to set up an ebay account, a paypal account,

figure out the shipping methods, upload a picture & write the ad than

i care to admit.

but little by little we figured it out.

we posted our ad.

along with 14,900 other yu-gi-oh ads.

day after day, we watched our ad go without

a single bid.

then guess what happened...

as a buy it now price!

the boys were excited.

we are off to figure out the rest of this transaction.

they have spent their 'found' money a hundred

different ways already.

fun stuff!

this might motivate the boys to clean the game

room for more sellable treasures!

7.19.2010

the final pieces are being placed.

weeks of painstaking labor.

95% nathan.

5% justin & colin.

all done.
minus one missing piece!
1027 pieces in all.
we have looked everywhere for the missing piece.
without luck.
heres to magical mickey memories.

7.14.2010

updates.

mickey is almost done.

we have not hit 100 degrees yet.

yatzee is the game of the week.

geek squad has my laptop still :(

internet withdrawl for some.

7.12.2010

progress.

slow and steady.

nathan is methodical.

love watching him think, look & process.

heres to working toward a goal.

7.10.2010

mickey update.

1000 pieces total.

nathans about half way through.

each piece is a scene from a disney movie.

this is nathans summer goal.

i think he might succeed.

(only one piece has made it into the dyson so far -

it was not damaged & returned to the board

without incident.)

7.9.2010

we live in colins legopolooza land around here.

at this very moment, please allow me to give you a real time tour.

-

indiana jones is on an adventure on the kitchen island.

lego city is in rush hour mess on our coffee table

in the game room.
lego home is under construction on the pottery barn table
in the game room.

lego airport is going through renovations on the hope chest
on the other side of the game room.
("can't have an airport too close to the actual city mom")

creative legos are in the form of a house boat
on colins dresser in his room.

yes, that is the advent calender on the floor
in full winter swing in colins room.
(for the record, this was on a shelf in his closet last week)

the most recent lego catalog is on colins bed at this minute.
this moves just about anywhere that colin does.
it arrived 2 weeks ago and it has already undergone

2 major repairs with scotch tape.

there are lego pieces everywhere and

i wouldn't want it any other way!

happy building, playing and creating colin!

last week you actually made a lego itouch and charging

station for yourself and carried it everywhere.

must be wanting to be like justin.

heres to all the lego pieces i'll find in the dyson this week.

7.8.2010

mailbox treats.

pictures from november & december 2009.

found on a laptop.

ordered last week.

arrived today.

108 memories in an envelope.

can't believe how much everyone has changed in six months.

the pros and cons of digital cameras.

its like finding a roll of film in the back

of a kitchen drawer.

its like waiting to see what day/month/year its from.

its like a found treasure.

today.

7.7.2010

todays gratitude journal:

fresh lavender.

fresh figs.

magnolia leaves.

wonderful conversations.

artistic inspiration.

herb gardens.

novel cookbooks.

7.7.2010

now.

today.
sidewalk game of washers.
they play for hours.
in the shade of the trees.
they laugh.
they problem solve.
they cheer each other on.
after this, it's on to four square.
then lacrosse in the street.
then scooter rides, bike races & football tosses.
simple outdoor fun.
wonderful outdoor memories.
not too hot yet.
has not even hit 100 yet.
heres to lazy summer days.
heres to throwing away the watch.
heres to sleeping in & eating dinner at 8pm.
these are true summer days.

7.5.2010

{today, heading south on 35}

this scene never gets old.

this scene changes everytime we go into the city.

the clouds are so perfect, you would think its a movie backdrop.

the city streets are so clean, you would think they knew we were coming to visit.

the people are out and walking and riding and talking

and holding hands as they wait for the cross light.

whole foods has a perfect parking spot in the underground parking garage.

we ride the escalator up to emerge into a color burst

filled with fresh flowers and produce.

we sip the wine, touch the food & wander aimlessly

through the aisles.

we walk a couple blocks to find refugee on an outdoor patio

with misters.

the wind shifts and we are cooled by the breeze.

we chat.

we laugh.

we look ahead.

we are making everyday memories.

happy red, white & blue.

7.1.2010

a short story.

order 1 itouch 32g online at walmarts ship to site

on postbirthday day 1.

save 40.00

save shipping fees.

print out confirmation number, memorize it and track it

5,239 times per day.
11 days later...
receive pickup email at 9:54am.
print out pickup ticket.
jump in car 14 minutes later.
and ta-da!

thanks to many generous birthday presents, dog watching jobs and

babysitting - justin was able to upgrade

from 8g to 32g, has every itouch accessory, 4 cases to

protect it and a loaded itunes account.

nice job justin.

you had a goal, you did your homework, you mixed in

a large dose of patience and you made it.

now if we could just talk him out of jailbreaking....

6.30.2010

june updates.

the basil is still alive & the first thing we all peek at in the morning.

our new coffeemaker doesn't sound as loud anymore.

colin is still hiding the lego catalog

so steve wont take it to work with him.

it takes 2 large papa murphy pizzas to feed this family.

its too hot to sit on the back deck in the evening -

we are back to the front yard for a couple months.

justin is still awaiting his itouch delivery.

we have been to target 3 times this week already.

redbox now rents video games.

nate is worried about dust mites in his mattress.

(recent mattress commercial is causing this)

we are still playing lacrosse on the tennis courts.

daily swims - as long as the filter is working.

weekly trips to the library -

justin has found a new tech section he likes.

colin has created a lego city in the game room -

complete with the suburbs.

wipeout is back on tv - the one show all 3 boys enjoy.

nathan is still the first one at the mailbox on wednesdays -

sports illustrated arrives weekly still.

the today show is way better when watched in bed

with a cup of coffee.

bejeweled & words with friends are still our

family favorites.

good bye june - hello july !