there was this one time...

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.

her first winter formal

all that planning and it went by in a blink of an eye! seems kira and her friends have been talking about dresses and make up and plans for months- then the day finally came! they got ready together at a friend's house and all us parents were there as well. the make up/hair part seemed to take the longest- and by the time the dress part came- they were just in time to be fashionably late! the daylight had gone and indoor light wasn't the best- so we are going to have to make her get all dolled up again so we can take photos! :) getting ready with our good friend delilah- we couldn't have done this without her- she is a stylist and helped kira in so many ways- we are so incredibly thankful for her friendship!
last minute jitters, i think! kira went with her very best girlfriends- the best dates of course :)
 

 
we couldn't get over at how grown up she looked! i was so pleased as we had troubles finding things that were age appropriate. the plum color was a surprise addition to us and i think she was secretly thinking of her dad and his laker colors :) and just when we think that she's all grown up, that this is the first of many dances, trying to forget that she was shooing us away as she was anxious to get out the door-- i hear her in the other room, playing her little nintendo DS- something she hasn't touched in 6 months- and smile. :) we love her!!

Ten!

10 Years.
Four amazing kids.
One beautiful wife.
One lucky man.

To the family that has supported us every step of the way...Thank you.
To the children that bring such joy to our hearts...We adore you.
To the friends who surround us with encouragement…We feel you!
To the girl I’m blessed to call my wife….I love you!

I am humbled by the infinite depth of your love, the boundless energy you give to your family, and the patience that makes you an angel among us mortals. 

You've given me the best kind of life, the kind that constantly requires me to pinch myself to make sure it's really true!  Here's to the next 10!

italy...part 1 of ???... there's just so much goodness

i can't even edit in order.. i am posting random pics that caught my eye today. sigh, i miss this place! we did a few touristy things while there.. but really, we were in the middle of everyday italy.. south of naples and we LOVED it. i loved seeing the neighborhoods, seeing the people.. seeing the grit of everyday life. and since i can only handle touristy things in little bits.. i was so glad to share this trip with the people. it was such a people trip. we seriously made the most amazing friends. we are so thankful. it's amazing how you can live across the world, speak different languages.. but still connect.
here is the website that hosted the event.. there is a little video on there that shows some good stuff. the women enjoyed chris, LOL. i am cracking up that the ONLY speaking part of the video is CHRIS TALKING. hahahaha. ahhhh. i love them. 

chris hung out with emily's  husband a bit while i taught. this was taken while hiking up a volcano.

chris got this one of me teaching.. it's not the best photo but i LOVE it sooo much because me and my new friend paola are cracking up. my translators were the best. THE BEST!

good stuff.. FOOD. get OUT! nutella pizza?! deliciously insane. :)

my new favorite appetizer of all time. the potato croquette. i will dream about it.

best pizza ever. good part- it's all for one person. bad part- i have to cut it myself?!

and i love that they have little dessert bars like this. why can't our starbucks be stocked like this? seriously, that would be dangerous.

the women embarrassing chris. :)

we met people from france, netherlands, turkey and norway.. and so on the flight home, we couldn't help but befriend a traveller from ireland and gave her a lift to the train station :)

ciao!

sleep, glorious sleep!

From Jack Johnson's 'Banana Pancakes'--

"We got everything we need right here 
And everything we need is enough 
It's just so easy 
When the whole world fits inside of your arms 
Do we really need to pay attention to the alarm"

this was us today. i stayed in bed for SO long. it was heaven. as 
soon as i got out of the shower this morning,  the sunlight was 
hitting my bed just so- it was calling me- come back, come back... 
and so i did. caleb came home sick from preschool yesterday, 
so he was a little groggy too. but we read books and played board 
games and fell back asleep. chris did too for a bit until his phone 
rang. he had just gotten back from a business trip, so he totally has 
a reason. me? not so much. you'd think i just had a newborn and 
was craving the sleep or something. nope, i just wanted to cuddle 
my boys in bed. that's it. i dragged myself out at 130 this afternoon. 
and now i feel really unproductive. lol. now it's almost time to pick 
my kids up from school where i am sure they have been working 
their hineys off. :) 
good for them. 

state float parade

this was our first year participating in the school's state float parade. each child was to make a 'float' out of natural materials that represented the state they were assigned. not an easy task for a 10 year old. especially when you don't have skills in architecture or design. but i let kira go with the flow, do what she wanted, because in the end- it's her project, right?! i was very proud of her. she pulled it off. and then i saw all the other floats. and i was seriously taken aback. ok, built in caves? swaying whales hanging from the ceiling? life size beavers made out of pine cones? an entire town made out of beans?! i am not saying they were not beautiful. they were beautiful. they looked like miniature versions of the Rose Parade! (and yes, the rose parade judges were there at our school judging! as well as the rose court! this was big guys!) but they did not look like they made them completely on their own. and that's the thing- how much do you help your child? i helped kira as far as breaking the sticks to spell out tennessee. she made everything else. davy crockett, the log cabin, the guitar, etc. and you can tell. :) you know i wanted to take over and construct the Grand Ole Opry and Elvis, but i did not. :) anyways, i know either way you look at it, if you particiapated and showed some effort, you will get a good grade. but in the end, who's grade is it- the parent or the child? part of me couldn't help but wished i took over a little. that's just natural. you want people to oooh and aaaah over your child's things. there has got to be a balance. i get so stressed out over these kind of projects. i told chris that he is now in charge... and that he had better get thinking now that we will have 3 more kids to go through the system. :)

wedded bliss

what is it about weddings that get me all sappy? seeing that nervous bride walk down the aisle? seeing that grown man kiss his mother as he joins his bride?

for this wedding it was this:
"Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people are my people, and your God my God; where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may God do to me, and so may He do more, if anything but death separates me from you. "(Ruth 1:16-17)

that took my breath away. i held chris' hand a little tighter.
i LOVE him.

random shots from the week

on our way to tennis- i just loved this:

while at tennis... i LOVE this sight. my big kids doing their homework.

caleb learned to volley. look at that face following instructions. i could just squeeze him.

"i could think of a million other things i would rather be doing" -kira

and after i asked cam why he ate some gum out of my purse without asking, he got some change out of his wallet and said sorry. he wanted to pay me back. awwww. :)

 

tennis 101

caleb started his very first sport lesson yesterday. he has been trailing along while cam does baseball, kira does soccer, softball, etc. for the last couple of years, so this was a big deal. the little guy finally got to participate!
look how proud he is. :)

look at that follow through. what a stance. :)

one handed! totally keeping his eye on the ball!

1. wear the thickest corderoy pants you own. they are stylish and will benefit you at the end of practice.
2. being the only boy in the group is not a bad thing.
3. miss a few shots and when the coach thinks you haven't been listening, pelt him straight in the tummy with a tennis ball.
4. at the end of the lesson, be dripping with so much sweat, (because you wore the corderoy pants) that you sweet talk mom into buying you an overpriced $3.00 Gatorade even though she brought 2 ice cold water bottles along.
5. for the rest of the day, or maybe week, whenever you get into trouble, be sure and say, “but you loved me so much at tennis!” in a really cute voice, so that your parents will burst out laughing and forget that you did something naughty.

treat time :)

today is a day to be relished. for the first time in about 10 years i am alone. all of my children are in school. caleb started his 3day preschool this week. when kira started school, i was taking college classes...not that fun. when cam started school, i already had caleb. and next year when caleb starts kindergarten, i will have el bebe in tow. so these next 6 months will really be appreciated. and now-all is silent except for the tapping on the keyboard. what does one do with one self? there are a million things to do like clean the house, laundry, pay bills, etc-- but that is so ordinary. so expected. like the kids are gone, i should be able to get lots done. yeah right. i just want to sit and soak in the silence. i did take care of things like go to the DMV- and as i was driving home, i was wondering what i should do. i passed our little coffee shops and saw other moms from our school socializing and having their lattes, and if i was feeling the least bit social, i would have stopped, but i'm not, so i didn't. i thought about getting a pedicure. now that would have been a treat. maybe i will do that friday. :) instead i stopped at our little candy shop, bought my favorite little treat and came home. to scrap. my favorite thing to get lost in. to be able to create things and cross things off my list. love that so much. laundry- do not love so much. so you see, the choice isn't really that difficult. :)

don't even hate the chocolate gummy bears until you've tried them. they are delightful. :)