Little Fisherman

On this day, at Mark's pond, my camera captured images that will forever be cherished.  Moments that would be easily forgotten. But, are captured by my lens so I will have them forever.

The moment that Eli started reeling his daddy's pole for the first time, with his daddy patiently showing him how to do it.  And, then waiting, waiting for that bite.....

A moment when the fish is landed and he isn't quite sure what to think as his daddy encourages him that this is what life is all about.  You can hear the excitment in daddy's voice...."Look, Eli you caught a fish.  Good job".

As daddy is continuing to encourage, you can see Eli's posture relax and he smiles, looking at his catch.  This is the moment my little boy turned into fisherman.  No longer afraid of a slimy, wet, scaley fish....only excited that he gets to touch it.

As the hook is taken out and the moment ends.....I put down my camera so we can hold the fish together.  (I can't let daddy have all the fun).

HER big fish

My 10 year old niece.  My beautiful, Amaya.  So much like me, that it shocks me at times.  My sister and I often talk of how Amaya was just like me at 10 years old.

Nose always in a book.  Room a mess.  Sweet and kind.  Sensitive and loving.  Stubborn and purposeful.  Prefer to be laying on a couch with a book in hand and the TV blaring.   But, not afraid to get outside and get dirty when the opportunity arose.

Amaya was excited to go spend the day with her cousins fishing at Mark's pond.  She was determined to catch "a big one".

As the boys played by the shore, Amaya stood with her Uncle Shrek by the pole....waiting.  She was not going to let it get away.  It was her turn to catch the big fish.  She had seen to many "big fish" pictures with the boys.

Her perseverance paid off.  She watches her pole bend and yells for Uncle Shrek.  She starts to reel, not quite sure what to expect.

With much effort and many giggles, she reeled in a fish that would top the boys any day.

Now, she is hooked.  And, like her Aunt will love fishing someday just as much as she loves her favorite book. 

 

To end the day, there was still time to put her feet in the water and get some girl time as he boys continued to fish.

 

Just a Monday

Our days fly by.  I am always amazed when 6:00 rolls around and we are ready to settle down at the dinner table.  As I placed the lasagna on the table, I started thinking about my day and all we did.

Even though you can't see the changes happening in our family....I sure can feel them.  As my alarm goes off at 6:00, I have a hard time rising.  Me and this new little one really want a few more hours of sleep.  But, as I put my feet on the floor, I can hear Gabriel's footstep's running down the stairs.  Oh, how jealous I am that he is such a morning person.  He comes over to me and tells me he loves me.  I cherish this sweet moment in the dark, just the two of us.  Then, he is off to take a bath, and me to make his breakfast.

With breakfast on the table and Gabriel dressed and ready for school, I start to plan my day.  Laundry, cleaning, and a friend coming over this morning to bring me dinner.  Isn't that sweet.  She knows that I'm not feeling well and has sacrificed herself to bring me a meal.  I can not express the gratitude that I feel for such a gesture on this day!

Owen creeps down the stairs and runs into my arms.  I set him on the counter and start getting his breakfast ready.  Time for Gabriel to run out the door.  A blessing and prayer over him and my 1st grader is gone.   Gone but, a sense of pride fills me.  He is such a wonderful young man!

Owen finishes breakfast and we wait to hear Eli's little voice yelling "Get out, mommy".  We don't hear it so, we grab our books and read.  Mercer Meyer, Serendipity books, and Dr. Suess.  We snuggle in close and get lost in the stories. 

Eli seems to be sleeping in today.  I let him sleep and get myself ready.  I cherish 20 minutes in a bubble bath until I hear little Eli calling for me.  I get him breakfast and we head out the door to take Owen to preschool.

Owen returns from preschool at 12:00.  So, I use this time to clean up from breakfast, do a few loads of laundry, and read books to Eli.  Eli and I read his seek and slide books and we work on his letters, which is his favorite thing to do.  Time flies and we have to run and get Owen.

Lunch is then on the agenda and after lunch we sit down together to watch The Letter Factory.  This is Owen and Eli's favorite little movie.

And, I just love how Eli sticks his tongue out because he is concentrating so much.  What is going through his little head?

I lay down with the boys and don't last very long.

Soon, I am fast asleep.  This baby needs to grow and I need to rest!  The boys finish their movie and start playing a game and let me rest.  It's such a blessing.  Again, time flies and it is time to go and get Gabriel from school.  A beautiful walk down the street does everyone good as I wake up and the boys and I are in the fresh air.

The boys come home and play outside most of the afternoon.  They make a river in the gutter complete with several dams and a small pond.  Eli is playing with them until he sees the neighbor kids playing basketball next door and he is mesmerized.  He spends the next two hours playing basketball with our neighbor kids who are 16 and 14.  They are so sweet to him.  They lower the net and lift him up so he can make a basket every once in awhile.

After basketball it's time to come in.  Chores are done and we sit down to play a game and have snack.

I just love these little fingers working so hard to make patterns in the Connect 4 game.  Watching the kids play together, take turns, and concentrate makes me smile.

Where has the day gone?  Daddy will be home in a few minutes.  As we clear the table and get ready for dinner I only wish we had more time.  More time to play, more time to read together, more time lay on the floor while mommy takes a nap.  And, my only solace is that I get to do it all over again tomorrow.  What could be better then that?

Arizona Walk

A week in sunny Phoenix, Arizona with family and lots of beautiful weather.  A week at the pool, playing golf, and enjoying baseball!  You couldn't ask for any better.

One afternoon, the boys and I took a walk around the neighborhood and looked at all the flowers, cactus, and birds.  Gabe and Owen picked out different flowers and plants to take pictures of so we could show everyone back home how pretty it is in Arizona.

Here are their selections.

Along the way we stopped at some spots to take pictures of ourselves.

Overlooking it all is a very majestic quail sitting rooftop....I wonder what he is thinking?

Gramps

Eli's favorite person in the whole world is Gramps.  They can laugh and play all day together.   They love to play the "hat game".  Gramps will put his had on Eli's head, which is much to big, and Eli tries to give it back.  Gramps won't take it.  Eli just laughs and squeals.  Eli and Gramps also love to jump.  Well, Eli does most of the jumping and after Eli jumps they both just laugh and laugh.  When Eli is tired of playing games and jumping he crawls up into Gramp's lap and just snuggles.  So you can imagine how excited Eli was to spend a whole week in Arizona with his Gramps.  He was in heaven!

Gramps loves to the feed the quail.  Every year, the boys know that Gramps will have the bird seed ready and they will get to go out and feed the birds.  In the evening, we wait and quail start arriving to have their feast.  They boys just love feeding and watching these birds.

As I was getting the boys ready for bed one night, Eli headed into bed with Gabe and Owen.  He usually sleeps in a play pen in Bryan and I's room.  He was adamant about sleeping on the air mattress on the floor in the boy's room.  So, I tucked Eli into bed, fully expecting him to come out of the bedroom.  Grammy and I waited and waited for him to emerge or for us to at least hear some noise but, we didn't.  A little while later, we peeked into the boy's room and saw that Eli decided to climb into bed with his brothers.  They were all sound asleep.  It just made us smile!!

Cousins

Jackson was able to come to Phoenix and stay with us for a couple of days.  I was so excited to see him and the boys could hardly contain themselves.   Having Jackson with us just made our trip so much better!  The boys played non stop.  Star Wars, Ninjas, and Grammy's I Pad were some of their favorite games.

One afternoon after we got back from the pool we ordered pizza and enjoyed our dinner out in the front yard.  The boys got out the sidewalk chalk and drew pictures and made train tracks while Grammy and I enjoyed the cool Arizona evening.

 And, of course everyone had to draw a few letters for our little letter boy.  With each letter he sings a little song "A says ahhh, A says ahhh, every letter makes a sound, A says ahhh.

Spring Training

No trip to Arizona in March would be complete without taking in a baseball game.

And, no baseball game would be complete without snow cones, cotton candy, nachos, and licorice.  The boys had a great time and got to see a baseball game up close and personal.

Now, we're ready for regular season baseball.  GO ROCKIES!

Arizona Sunshine

A week spent in Phoenix, Arizona.  Where the weather is perfect (in March).  The palm trees sway majestically in the air and mingle with the cactus and flowers.

A perfect place for spring break that included the pool, golfing, and spring training baseball.

Everyday, Grammy and I would pack a lunch, slather sunscreen on 4 squirmy boys, and head to the pool at Sun City Grand. 

Gabriel and Jackson absolutely loved the pool.   Most of the time you don't see them because they are under the water somewhere practicing their front flips or chasing each other.  Those two little boys could swim for hours.  The only time they actually get out of the pool is when they are starving or have to go to the bathroom.  Here is one of those hunger moments when they jumped out to grab some lunch, and show me their toothless grins!

Owen and Eli also loved the water but, they aren't little fish like Gabe and Jackson.  After about an hour, they like to snuggle up in a towel and get warm in the sunshine.

Or sometimes they just wanted to lay in the sun and learn their letters on Grammy's I Pad.  Grammy has an Elmo letter game that Eli just loves.

We had such a great time in the Arizona Sunshine at such a beautiful place.  We were so lucky to be able to go there everyday!