A Simple Walk: Pictures

Showing posts with label Pictures. Show all posts

Monday, November 09, 2009

Decompressing Post Disney World

We went. We walked...and walked...and walked. We rode rides and stuffed ourselves silly. We had a fantastic and memorable time in a whirlwind of activity and perpetual motion. We conquered the magic that is Walt Disney World.

We learned a thing or two from Captain Jack.

We hugged Pooh Bears...

and Princesses.

We pulled swords.

We drove race cars. (Well, one of us did anyhow.)

We marveled at landmarks.

We posed for pictures.

We were sad to leave.

But we are so glad to be home. We are catching our breath, resting our weary legs and decompressing. I am up to eyeballs in laundry, but moving right through it with memories fresh in my mind.

Lots more Disney stuff to come this week!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Slip-N-Sliding On A Wednesday Afternoon

Sometimes Eric's work schedule makes planning "normal" things a little difficult. But for the most part, we all love his schedule. We love that most days, he is able to be home with us all day. This means we can pull out the slip-n-slide during the middle of the week and spend a few hours playing together as a family.

A flexible work schedule that allows for some really great family time is definitely a finer thing! (Almost as fine a thing as watching dad take his turn on the slip-n-slide too!)

This post is being linked to:

Finer Things Friday at Amy's Finer Things
Hooked On... at Hooked On Houses

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Peace...on the Lake

This is my first time participating in Beth's You Capture series. I've been loving my camera lately though, so I figured it was time. Plus, this week's theme is Peace and I caught my share of peace during our mini-vacation at my brother-in-laws over the weekend.
Stop by I Should Be Folding Laundry to see the peaceful pictures captured this week.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

She's Not Sure If She's Coming Or Going

Find more Wordless Wednesday here.

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

From Last Year - The Tree With The Lean

Hopefully we won't have that problem again this year!

Head over to 5MFM for more Wordless Wednesday.

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

The Amazing Power Of Love Between Daddy And Daughter

Head over here and here for more Wordless Wednesday.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Showing & Telling In My Kitchen

Amy at The Finer Things In Life tagged me to show off 7 of my favorite things about my kitchen. I love this idea! I spend a lot of time in my kitchen, so there is much I love about it. Also, I love seeing other peoples kitchens. This will be fun!

Welcome to my kitchen! It may be small, but it is definitely the heart of our home. If the size of this kitchen had to be proportionate to how much time we spend in there, how many memories we create, or how much good food we make, it would be bigger then our whole house. But as it is, it's just exactly the perfect size for our lives at the moment.

Now, let me show you around a bit more.
Eric and I both spend a lot of time standing right at this counter using the laptop. I love having it right there for looking up recipes (or reading blogs, leaving comments, playing on twitter, etc.) and because it means I get to spend more time with Eric while he is doing things for work. The laptop also makes a great picture frame substitute.
Right next to that section of counter space is our sink. I love my view from the sink. On those rare occasions when the kids aren't in the kitchen with me, I can still see them and interact with them. Someday I'll have a kitchen sink with a window above it, but until then, I'll enjoy the landscape of my children.This is the spot in the kitchen where I do most of my cooking. Do you see that Starry Night picture back there? That is actually a cutting board and I just love it! Beauty and functionality all rolled into one - what could be better?
My Kitchen-Aid mixer. 'Nuff said! If I thought it would appreciate them, I think I'd buy it flowers every month.
This is my K.C.C. - Kitchen Control Center. I keep most of my cookbooks on the counter here (or in my baking cabinet just above the microwave). On top of the microwave is where I keep important household papers that I need to do something with. I always keep our calendar there so that I can keep track of our family activities as well as manage Eric's work schedule.
This is a new favorite. The top of my refrigerator. It is actually clean! It hasn't been clutter-free in months, but Eric surprised me by taking care of it a few days ago. Didn't he do a great job? Now the trick will be actually keeping that way. Once December rolls around, I have a few special Christmas decorations that I put up there, so I don't have to long to maintain it's cleanliness.I love the fact that we have a pantry, and I especially love this shelf in my pantry. It always brings a smile to my face.

Okay, so there you have it - 7 things I love about my kitchen. And now for one bonus thing I love:
Back in May we painted our kitchen in anticipation of selling our house. (It used to be a pale greenish shade.) We still have some touch-up and clean-up work to finish. However, I am in no hurry to clean up this paint splatter. Do you see the guy there? This is on the cabinet right next to our stove and that guy and I have many deep conversations while I stir spaghetti sauce or flip pancakes. He's my buddy!

Next, I'd like to see the 7 favorite things in these kitchens:

And find more Talk About Tuesday over at Lara's blog.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

If Only They Got Along This Well All The Time

Stop by 5 Minutes For Mom for more Wordless Wednesday.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

This Hair Provides Endless Wordless Wednesday Fodder

And the facial expressions aren't half bad either.

There is lots more Wordless Wednesday over at 5MFM.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Gracie - The Next Future Blogger In Our House

You can find more Wordless Wednesday here.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Wisdom From The Mouth Of A Three Year Old

She has crazy, curly hair. She loves wearing her brother's Batman tattoos. She wears her bathing suit any chance she gets so that she can go swimming in the "pretend pool." And she is a wise, wise girl with a poet's soul.

Olivia has been fascinated with emotions lately and she has started to realize that her actions can alter the way someone is feeling. If she is not listening and senses I am getting impatient with her, she'll ask, "are you sad Mama?" When I praise her for a job well done, she instantly asks, "are you happy Mama?" When Gracie cries because she took something from her, Olivia will say, "her sad," and quickly give her back the toy or pick out a new toy that she thinks is a good substitute to give to Gracie.

When we were eating dinner tonight, she and Alex were discussing how they were feeling and acting out different emotions - big smiles for happy or pouty lips with slumped shoulders for sad.
When Alex was pretending to be sad, Olivia told him, "when you're sad, you should talk about things that make you happy."

It is remarkably simple, yet so wise. Funny how my 3 year old can teach me things I thought I already knew.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Somedays I Miss Being A Kid

Seriously, I long for the fun of simple pleasures. I would love to feel the unadulterated joy that Alex and Olivia felt today. Isabelle made face masks for them, with their input.
Alex wanted a scary mask. Notice that can of red paint - according to Alex, it is a bucket of blood. Where on earth do they get this stuff from?
Olivia's mask is more girlie. But, it was still scary and growl-inducing in her mind.

When Isabelle was putting the strap on her mask, she would just tape the paper and then see if it Olivia's head. She kept trying and it kept turning out too small or too big. I chose to not interfere and let her figure it out on her own. She was getting very frustrated. After about 10 minutes though, she finally saw the light and actually measured Olivia's head with the paper BEFORE taping it in place. I knew she'd get it eventually!

I will never get tired of seeing my kids delighting in all this small stuff of childhood.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Gratituesday: Our Oldest is 9!

I can not believe Isabelle is turning 9 this week! I don't feel 9 years older, how is possible that she is?

Isabelle was born on Friday the 13th in August, 1999. I was induced at 41 weeks. My doctor was oddly superstitious so she decided to induce me at noon and just break my water so that she could be guaranteed I would not be delivering on the 13th. Well, Isabelle did not enter this world as a patient child and that has never changed. She was born at 11:58 pm. My doctor kept saying, "If you could just wait for 2 minutes, her birthday can be on the 14th!" Yeah, that wasn't happening.

Isabelle was born with a completely full head of hair. I could have put it in a ponytail from the time she was a day old. Needless to say, all this hair on a tiny baby earned her a lot of attention, beginning at the hospital. She was absolutely adorable.

As a little girl, she loved to stack, order, and line up things. She was very much an only child (until she was almost 5) and was ridiculously spoiled. She definitely gave me a crash course in mothering.She has since turned into a wonderful big sister and my right hand helper. Isabelle is skilled at cleaning also and loves to go to work with Eric and help him out. Our family is happier and runs more smoothly because she is a part of it!

Isabelle loves to read and spends at least two hours every day reading. Typically she will get at least 10 books from the library and finish them all before they are due. She loves both fiction and non fiction and especially loves learning trivia type facts. I think she would make a great Jeopardy contestant someday.

We began homeschooling Isabelle after 2 painful weeks of kindergarten at the local public school. Her birthday was right on the cusp date wise and we should have delayed a year. God knew better than us though. By not delaying, we were open to the wonderful world of homeschooling and have not looked back since.

Isabelle loves being homeschooled. She thrives on independent work. Her daily activities are a wonderful example of finding learning moments in life. She does not have to be sitting at the counter doing schoolwork to be learning. She desires knowledge and does whatever she can to gain more all the time. Her new favorite this summer has been playing school with Alex and Olivia. She is very patient with them and really has been teaching them a lot.
We are so thankful for this special girl. She enriches our lives every single day. It truly is a joy to watch grow and mature.

For more Gratituesday, don't forget to stop in at Laura's blog.