Changes

Whoa! Stop posting for  9 months, come back and everything has changed! I hope I can do this right..So since I have one faithful reader {Hi Missy!} I'm just going to jump right on in and write about the hear and now.
Summer is here and the kids are out of school. We embarked on our first ever Family Camping Trip. We've talked about it for a couple of years and just never got it nailed down. Not this year though.. i hounded Troy til he scheduled some time off and we went for it! We had heard of Patrick's Point from school friends and decided to give it go even though it was over 6 hours away. One big reason was that it was the coast which  equals cooler weather than what we get here in town. And the week went, it was supposed to be in 100's! The other reason was that on the coast, there are fewer large critters to deal with. The kids are freaked out about bears and such and we really wanted them to feel safe and comfortable.

So this was taken on our first day on a quick hick we did. Sophie was disappointed that we couldn't go down to the actual beach. She is my beach-y girl.

So off we went on Monday with a plan to stay til Friday. Best laid plans and all that...we came home Wednesday! It was a combination of things: Weather change-went from clear sunny skies with morning fog, to rain for the remainder of the week. We were not prepared to deal with rain while camping in a tent. And my neck was killing me! The first night was good but after hiking around for two days and not so great sleep support, the neck was screaming for the comforts of home. So Wednesday, as we listened to the pitter patter of rain on the tent, we decided to cut the trip short. We packed up our soggy gear in record time, hit Mc'D's on the way out, and were home by 4pm.  So here is a quick rundown of our time at Patrick's Point. One thing I realized is that I need to take more pictures of our surroundings and not just the kids.

 Troy's dumb "ranger" pose. Usually he is pointing a finger in some direction but obviously his hands are full this time around. This was at our campsite. The green you see in the background completely surrounded our spot! It was gorgeous!

 One of 3 photos of me on this trip..Got to give up the camera more often!

 A Bald Eagle! This was one of my favorite parts of the trip. It was amazing to see this bird in nature. I tried to get a photo of him flying off but it was blurry..

 A little flora from the area. I was stuck on the stairs going down to the tidal pools so I got photos of what I could.

 The girls getting along! Amazing! Love when I can catch this! They both loved the tidal pools..all those sea creatures..

 And a great shot of my boy! I love his under eye dimples!

A recreation of an Indian village. It was cool but felt a little erie..

Sophie and Troy. He went out onto a ledge and my dare devil followed..


What is planned for the rest of the summer? That is unknown..maybe a quick camping trip at the end of summer, a few day trips to the Sonoma area, drive-in movies(already saw MIB3-so good). We might even start exploring the river area..We really should since it's so close..Sophie would love it!

It's the Girl's turn!

Soccer started for the girls this weekend. Thanks to the scheduling God, I was able to make both the girls' games because Wyatt's game was early and Troy was home. I know I won't always be so lucky. Maddie doing a throw-in. She doesn't do them often because she is a defender.
The Mom part of me wants to send this into the league so show the un-sportsman-like conduct of the young lady in the orange, but then realistic part of me says, my daughter my do/or has already done the same thing LOL.
Sophie(61) trying to beat the ball.
Love the face and the stance, but hate that I missed the ball in this shot. The ball totally adds context to the photo..but in this case, maybe her facial expression is enough!

for these games, i was able to borrow a friends very NICE lens. I was nervous all day as I used it because of the value, but I am in LOVE! The girls play defense and are always on the opposite side of where we, the parents are sitting. This lens made that a non-issue. I was able to move along one sideline and capture some great shots of the girls and their team mates. D, my friend who loaned me the lens, has decided to campaign for me with Troy in getting the non-professional version of this lens. Hope she's successful!

SF Japanese Tea Garden

This summer I went to San Francisco with Maddie's Scout troop. We visited the Academy of Sciences as well as the Japenese Tea Garden. I love the garden as it was peaceful and really beautiful. Plus the lighting was much better than what was happening in the museum and I had our cruddy point and shoot. Anyway, I did play with the colors a bit to make them pop.

First Day of School

I'm going to start with Wyatt since he starts his educational career today. He's in Kindergarten! {cry} He is such a big boy, I just can't believe it.

Standing in line waiting to go into class. Moments before, he had the most serious, focused face.

Waiting for Mr. S to begin. I think the nervous giddy was setting in...

My beautiful Madeleine, who is in her last year of elementary school. This fact almost makes me as emotional as Wyatt starting kindergarten.

My sweet, sassy, cutie-pie Sophie. She's in that weird adolescent stage of 3rd grade and feeling a little out of sorts.

All 3 of my school age kiddos...sniff sniff.

Ivoryton Way gang...All the kids from our street that hang out and walk to school together(minus the two little ones in the front)...

End of Year Wienie Roast

Waiting for the fire to be ready for wienies and marshmallows!

First course : wieners

Finished product..Mom got the spicy hot dog and it was so good!

Second course: Marshmallows!

Yummy!

Gourmet S'mores...This was a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup S'more..Troy said it was awesome! I went with the traditional-Hershey Bar, marshmallow, graham cracker..

Hopefully we make this a yearly tradition as we had a lot of fun.

And so it begins....

Soccer that is! Wyatt is in his first year and I've heard that coaching this age group islike herding bumblebees, but, I gotta say, these are the cutest dang bumblebees! Most of the kids have no flippin' clue as to what they should be doing. They're told to get on the field, stand "here", watch the ball, get the ball, kick the ball. It can be very overwhelming for these little guys. But Wyatt was a trooper.It probably helps that his been on the sidelines for the last two years watching his sisters' play soccer, so the whole concept wasn't brand new.

I love this photo. It's like watching all the dots get connected as he focus' on the ball and what he is supposed to do with it.

So here's to soccer, that which will consume my life every Saturday through November!

Birthday Celebration part 2

We have some very close friends that always treat us like princes & princesses on our birthdays and Sophie's day was no exception! We met at a local pizza place in a historic district where the service was excellent and the food was great...Sophie was surprised with mini cupcakes from a cupcake store and of course she chose chocolate and vanilla.

Here's the birthday girl...

and Maddie

and Wyatt

I have so many photos with the girls doing this.. When I ask them to pose, they put their arms around each other but they stand inches apart. I tell them to act as if they like each other and then this is what I get.

And her is the clan...Thanks friends for the nice day out! We love spending time with you and always wish we had more time together!