First and Last

I take photos like their going out of style. So when the first day of school came around I wanted to document it. I don't do the same thing every year. Hell, sometimes it's nothing more than a hurriedly snapped picture as I'm dropping them off in front of the school. Maybe if we lived in the same house the kids' entire lives I'd do something consistent like in front of our door or on our porch, but since we move, move, and move some more, I don't stress myself out with consistency, instead I'm just stoked they are all fed, clothed, clean, and making it to school on time. 

Real talk. So their first day of school photo for this school year was taken as we were about to head out of the door. We always drop them off on their first day. And since Owen went to one school and the older two went to a different school Seth took O and I took E and Ari. So I snapped this photo before we all split ways. Sam even plopped in the pic.

So cute. Then, ten months later. On the last day of school, we snapped another photo, in the same spot. Just look at their faces, they've all grown so much. Sam so much so that her big butt couldn't even fit on the steps anymore so she had to pose on the landing instead. 

Now it's summertime. Time to do fun summer shit.

Camping Flashback

I feel like there aren't enough hours in the day. And I really want to do something fun with the kids and just get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. So I think a mini-getaway is in order. I immediately thought - CAMPING!!!!!!! Surprised? Yeah, me too. I'm typically a delicate creature but I really loved our camping trip we took last year and it's something I want to do once a year. I weighed the pros and cons and decided against camping. We'll give it a whirl when Daddy is back. But I do have something in store and hopefully it'll give us a breather from the real world but it's a secret - I'll fill you in once it all goes down. In the meantime let's reminisce on our last camping trip with a slew of photos. To give you a few basics the five of us went, as well as Seth's little brother Drake and his little little sister Krissy. Oh, and we can't forget about Bear Cub as well.

We started by exploring the woods a bit. Bear loved it, he could've stayed out there and sniffed for hours. He's a stinker but I'll tell you what, he did really good throughout our whole trip, even if he did get himself tangled up 43 times a day.

We spent the majority of our time in the water and on the beach. The kids would play in the sand while we talked or sunbathed, then we'd get in the water to cool off or splash around or rub mud all over ourselves, you know, the usual.

Of course there was fishing.

And shell and rock collecting. And swimming. And singing. And dancing. And jokes. And lost flip-flops. And bugs, especially in the morning. And Daddy cooking our dinner and Drake and Owen burning their smores. It was so much fun. Here's hoping our upcoming mini-getaway generates as much fun and as many great memories as our first camping trip did.

Happy Humpday!

Lorri

D is for Disney

With the summer quickly approaching I've begun finalizing our vacations plans. And our main vacation this summer is...drumroll...DISNEY WORLD! Woot, there it is!

We've been talking about taking the rugrats to Disney for a few years now, but life has gotten in the way. And life still threatens to get in the way this summer but we decided to grab that bitch by the throat and show her who's boss. So with life struggling to breath now that our hands are tightly around her neck, the hubby and I were able to find a mutual week that works for our work/training schedules and take off to Disney. And seriously, the week we came up with is the only week all summer that we are both certain that we could take off at the same time. Boo to inconvenient Air Force training dates and backasswards join spouse rules.

So next month is the big trip. And I can't wait to see the kids' reactions. They have no clue that we are taking them to Disney. And on top of all that, it will be me and the kids' first time going! Seth grew up near the Tampa area so he's like Disney-Shnisney no biggie, whereas the brood and I are gonna be hyperventilating over the fact that we are walking into "...the magical world of Disney."

I'm sure I'll load up several memory cards with photos and take way too many videos so we'll share those when all is said and done. And this summer planning made me realize that I never posted photos of some of last summer's fun, so I'll be back later with those deets. Until then, give it to me real - if you've been to Disney with children do you have any tips/suggestions/comments/do's/don'ts/must-do's/must-sees? I'm a compulsive planner when it comes to vacations so I need an agenda.

Xo,

Lorri

Pictures and Pitchers

Sadly, I must admit that I've yet to finish going through our gajillion pictures from our summer adventures. It's been TWO MONTHS and I still don't have any pictures ordered and displayed. Bad mommy!


I could blame it on the fact the we moved shortly after the kids left so we were busy with that, then, when we got settled, I couldn't find the cords to the kids' cameras and they have a toooooon of pictures on their cameras so all I have are the pictures taken with my phone and my love affair Nikon. The majority of the pictures on my Nikon were taken by myself, though Owen has an obsession with my camera and always asks if he can "take a pitcher" with it (that's five year old speak for "take a picture"). So every now and again I let him snap some pitchers pictures. I think he's mesmerized that I have to look through the viewfinder of my camera rather than just hold the camera away from my face and look at the screen the way he does with his camera. 

Mommy-viewfinder-action

Owey-fullscreen-action

Anyway, as an ode to my regularly scheduled munchkin post I've decided to whip out a few cute pictures from those adventures ya'll have yet to see. So enjoy! And I promise to go through them all, order and display some before the month's end. Scouts honor. 

Peace and Love,

Lor