Spring means strawberries

On Saturday I took the twins strawberry picking. They were very cute. It took a while to explain how we only pick the red berries and not the white ones. I actually had to tell them to taste one as they were busy picking. Here are my little cuties in action:


Yesterday I went to Tristan's school for field day. On field days the kids get to play different games outside and they have a blast. I spent the morning watching them play. It was nice to have time with Tristan. It made me realize how much he has grown in the past year. For third grade, they look so big! Here is Tristan doing a crab crawl in one of the activities:

I thought I'd end this quick post with some more photos of our cruise. This is a photo of Atlantis as we were approaching the property. It is a large resort on Nassau Bahamas. I'll write more about our adventures there later, but for now, I'll include a couple photos that show a little of the place:

This is one of the lagoon areas outside that holds a bunch of rays. You can see a number of them swimming in this picture:

They also had a number of aquariums and this particular one had some beautiful fish. The cool thing is that Jim and I saw fish like this when we snorkeled the next day in Coco Cay:

This is inside one of the buildings. The property is gorgeous:

And finally I'll end with a photo of a watermelon which was ornately carved for the midnight buffet on our ship. Don't you wish you could carve a watermelon like this?

Life after the Caribbean

Jim and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by taking a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas. It was our first trip we have had without children since our honeymoon! I have never been apart from the kids for more than 1 night so it was a big adjustment for me. We did have a fantastic time. Who could not with water this color:



And swimming with beautiful fish:




And being on a private island...



And eating incredibly beautiful and tasty food:



And being on this georgeous ship




I will try to post more pictures over the coming weeks. It will help me hold onto those great memories when life gets stressful!

We have returned to our "normal" life. Back to baseball and fun with the kids:







We had family fun day at the ballpark and the kids had a blast:






The twins spent some time with Daddy at another local event and had their faces painted, aren't they cute:




On Saturday I ran a couple of errands and took Nathan with me. We stopped at the lake for an unplanned adventure. We found some geese and fed them the only thing we had, some chips!




I appreciate our "normal" life. The simple everyday adventures with the family are priceless. I am so thankful for all the memories we have made over the past couple of weeks. I owe a big Thank you to my sister. She graciously watched all of the children (her 4 and my 4) all by herself while we were away. We owe ya big time for that one Sis!

This post is for you, Sue G.

This post is for my friend Sue G in NY. She needs some reasons to smile right now and I need to stop wallowing in my own self pity when I have nothing to really be pitiful about. I'm just exhausted and in dire need of an upcoming vacation. So, I will stop whining to myself about being overwhelmed and instead focus on what is worth smiling about in life. Sue, I hope this makes you smile at least a little. These little faces can exasperate me like no one else can, but they can also make me smile equally as much...











I have to take just a moment to brag on my son because that is what mothers do. This is the 2nd year that his artwork was chosen to be on display at school. Where this child gets his artistic talent is beyond me, everyone knows Jim nor I can draw a stick figure. I am proud of any skill he possesses because like all moms, I'd love for the world to hold endless possibilities for my children...




And I know it is still winter in the frozen tundra, so I thought you'd like a reminder of what NC spring looks like again :)



And our beautiful sunsets

Sorry, you know I can be stubborn as this sometimes ;)

Our Ordinary Life

I think I've been having the winter blahs. I wasn't even inspired enough to post. Life felt pretty ordinary and quiet. Nothing wrong with that, we need a little quiet once in a while :)

Our past few weeks have been filled with:

Tristan's school play. He played the part of telegram man. Wasn't he handsome? Of course he washed off his painted on mustache and sideburns before I could get a picture, but here's our handsome big man:





Snowman making:





Playdough making:





Bird Watching:







Cat Loving:



Calf Feeding





Park Playing




Pickle Eating:



That's our ordinary life in summary :) It's funny how some of life's best memories are made in the most ordinary times like these. I hope you and your family have enjoyed the quiet peace the winter season brings. Bring on the Spring, we are ready!