Travelling

Well, tomorrow starts our big trip home! Our flight leaves at 6:00am (Blah--make that a 3:30am wake up call!) and we'll be in at 12:00pm. Packing for the kids and I for a month has been a little overwhelming. I don't want to under pack and I don't want to over pack, but I think I finally have it figured out.
 I am SO excited to be travelling with my husband! I haven't been on a flight with him since Brookie was 3 months old. Since then I've done close to 70 flights and 40 layovers by myself with the kids. I don't mind it, but having my hubby along is a HUGE help.
 Determined to eat healthy while we travel (and not spend a fortune on airport food) I have whole wheat bagels, fruit and yogurt for breakfast and wheat thins and fiber one bars for snacks if we need it. I am never lacking for food when we travel...in fact, I usually pack too much food! I'm particular about having a lot of healthy options and not be subject to whatever is the cheapest in the airport, which is normally Chinese food or pizza.
 When we get there we'll be driving a few hours away for a friend's wedding. Nate is a groomsman and I'm the photographer. I'm looking forward to it! We'll also be celebrating our 5th anniversary, but won't get to do much on that day since we'll be driving, so we're planning for something later in the year.
 Well, it's off to finish packing and straighten the house a little. Because of our travels, wedding and 4th of July celebrations, I probably won't be posting until later next week. Hope you all have a wonderful week and fun time celebrating our countries freedom!

Monday Morning Memories

It was of those Do I finish the dishes or be a fun Mom and make jewelry with my daughter? moments. I picked the latter, partly out of guilt because she had been asking me for a few days to help her and we hadn't gotten around to it yet. It was a quiet Monday morning and Joe wasn't awake yet so it was a perfect time to spend a few minutes with my little girl. 

 "I'll make one for you and you make one for me, Mommy", she said excitedly, so that's what we did.

 I don't sew. I don't craft. I'm not proud of it, but I'm just not creative like that. I'm sure you were supposed to do something other than string the beads on the stretchy string and tie a knot to close it, but she's 4. Who cares? I'm bringing knotted necklace claps back in, baby. Just you wait.

 Talking and Stringing beads. The breakfast dishes are on the table and so is the box of cereal but Brookie is more important.

 It was no more than 10 minutes. We were done with our beautiful pieces and she was ready for something else. She went off, happy and I finished the dishes. No harm done, just a little memory to start off our Monday morning!

Ahh...Summer!

Summer has been around here for a while now as we've been experiencing temp's in the high 90's and 100's for several weeks. But when June 21st rolls around, it's officially summer and you must celebrate. My plan was to organize most of the day, but after naps we headed down to the pool to soak up a little vitamin D.

 Our snacks were peaches and string cheese and Joe took his peach and sat right down in the middle of the fountain to eat it--too hot to eat it anywhere else I guess! :)

Even though summer here can be unbearably hot, we still love it. Lots of cookouts, fresh fruit and veggies, swimming, sun and nightly walks. Hope you all are making the best of your summer days as well!

A little Tuesday Randomness

Nothing like some good old Tuesday randomness to break up your day, right? My camera has been out more and more lately. I want to perfect my shots and I don't want it to be something I just get out for photo shoots or a special occasion and my kids are the perfect subjects. I don't make them pose or say cheese because I love capturing them in whatever they happen to be doing at the time.

Like smashing his nose with a banana...yes, Mommy is here to capture the moment!

 Nothing says summer more than a juicy tomato sandwich. We grew up on tomato sandwiches and I can't get enough of them!

This one was dressed up with spicy hummus spread on the bread, 2% cheese, spinach and red onion. Yum! (Those on Weight Watchers, this sandwich is only 4 points plus--comment if you want to know details.)

 I love watching Brookie be a "Mom". During lunch she wasn't eating, but feeding her baby instead, talking to her and being so sweet. I'm sure about the poor doll on the table, naked and neglected, though. We'll have to work on that.

 And speaking of summer, these chips say summer the minute you bite into them. It reminds me of bbq chicken, baked beans and every summer picnic I've ever been to. The Lay's brand does not compare to these, trust me. They are SO good and my kids love them too!

 To end, some crazy little faces from my loves...

Happy Tuesday!

The Perfect Fried Egg

Dad,

 Almost every time I fry an egg I think of you. I think of the most amazing breakfast's you make us--the potatoes with just the right amount of grease and crispiness, the bacon cooked to perfection, toast lathered with butter and of course the ever perfect fried egg. To this day I can't cook them right. I flip them too early or too late and when I do, they fold into a weird shape and the yolk runs out into the pan. As I dump the blob of what used to be an egg onto my plate I wonder if I'll ever be able to cook them like you do.

 There are a lot of other things I wonder if I'll ever be able to do like you. I wonder if I'll ever be able to look at anything and put a spiritual application into it. I wonder if I'll ever have the boldness to declare the name of Jesus Christ like you do.  I wonder if I'll have the walk with God like you do, and the heart to help people like you do. 

 I wonder if you know what an impact the missions trips, special meetings all over the country, the street preaching, door knocking, prayer meetings, devotions and family rap sessions had on my life. I wonder if you know how much I loved our heart-to-heart talks, hung on every word, and even when I disagreed,  look back now and think, "he was right."

 I wonder if you know how much I appreciate and admire the love and passion you have for my Mom, even after 27 years of marriage. I wonder if you remember the best birthday of my life--when I turned 17. You woke me up at 5 in the morning after driving an hour in the snow to come back from the men's meeting and take me out to breakfast. For the next few hours we talked and laughed and I thought, "I can't believe he came back for my birthday". 

 Just 3 years later, I took your arm, the doors opened and the crowd stood as the bridal march was played. It was all a blur but I remember thinking, "this is the day I've dreamed of. My daddy is walking me down the aisle....these are my last moments with him." You gave me away to the new man in my life. My new authority, the one who would take care of me now. I wonder how hard that was for you but I know you were  content knowing it was God's will.

 Now we live thousands of miles apart but our hearts are more bonded than ever, cherishing the emails, phone calls and visits. And I know that this sounds cliche', but no matter how far apart we are, you're always so close to my heart.
 Today, I watched as my little girl sat and waited while her daddy cooked her a fried egg sandwich. She ate it with abandon, the same way I would eat your eggs. Maybe someday she'll write a love letter to him, remembering the eggs, the talks, the trips. I can only pray they have the same relationship that we have.
 I love you, dad. I wish I could be with you on this Father's Day, just like I wish I could be with you on every Father's Day. But for now this will have to do.

 Always your little girl,

 Jen

Tea Party

A few months' before Brooke's 4th birthday, I had the idea to have a just girls tea party at a tea room. After a little Google and calling around, I found the perfect place just a few minutes from my house! I'm not sure who was more excited--me or her! :)

All dressed up!

 With some friends and grandma who were there early before we went inside...forgot to get pictures with everyone else!

 They had it decorated SO cute for the girls. The started with peach/strawberry tea...

 ...and then got a scone and fruit cup and after that, chicken salad, egg salad, crackers and quiche.

 Having a Blast!

 SO lady-like!

 Lastly, they got strawberry shortcake for dessert, which I did not expect. It was so nice!

 More friends :)

 Getting Ready to Open Presents

 Before we left, I got a picture with all the girls. They are such sweet friends/cousins to Brookie and she had so much fun! Afterwards we all came back and went swimming--icing on the cake. :)

 A picture right before swimming, because I forgot to get one before! Me and My precious little 4 year old who is growing up SO fast.

Walk-A-Thon 2011

Every year, our church host's a walk-a-thon for younger kids and bike rally for the older ones to raise money for their clubs program throughout the year, activities, camping trips, youth camp, missions trips, etc. They go out for a few weeks before to get sponsorship. It's a lot of hard work but it's a great way for the kids to help pay for some of the many expenses it takes to run the programs.

 Brookie did so good asking for sponsorship--I was SO proud of her! She is very shy, but she looked each person in the eye and explained what she was doing and who could resist? :)

The morning of her walk

I planned on Joey walking as well...Brookie did it when she was 2 I figured he could too :)

We filled them up with lots of carbs and protein (and chemicals, saturated fat and grease--but oh well, it was a special day!)

That belly on the left? That's why little brother was walking too ;)

We were blessed with a beautiful day! It was partly cloudy, didn't get much above the 90's and there was a beautiful breeze! 

Love their little shadows

Walking can be very distracting for little boys...so many trees, and rocks and grass!

Come to find out, a mile is a little long for a 1.5 year old to walk (without it taking hours). More than anything he was way too distracted! He walked half a mile and daddy rescued him while Brookie and I finished

So excited to be nearing the finish line! She did a great job!

Later, Nate and I took advantage of the beautiful trail and rode our bikes 6 miles. He was pulling the kids in the trailer on the back.

All that riding wore him out :)

I'm so proud of my little girl! She raised several hundred dollars for her walk-a-thon and was a real trooper!

Next year he'll be walking the whole mile too!

On the way home, the kids were rewarded with a special treat--a cream slush from sonic. Of course it was grape because purple is Brooklynne's favorite color!

When we came home, we ate lunch, took naps and then went swimming. It was such a fun day!