reese

we spent time in keystone this weekend at my sister's condo, and i soon discovered that reese LOVES the camera!!!

feed the beast

Last year over Memorial Day weekend, Peter & I went to see Jillian play field hockey in California in the Cal Cup tournament. This year Mallory played on Club Lewy's U19 team, and Jilly played on their U14 team - so we all went. It was a fun weekend of sunshine, field hockey, time together & making new friends!

a job well done

Jillian is such a diligent, conscientious worker and aims for perfection in all she does. I love seeing her hard work recognized and rewarded. Her middle school has over 400 7th graders, so receiving one of only a few awards given, is really quite an honor.

Jillian & her friend, Alex, at the 7th grade awards breakfast.

So very proud of you both!

the red plate

As I was washing this plate this morning, I was reminded of all the occasions that it has come out of the box and placed on our table. I love my red plate. My mom gave it to me the year Mallory was born, and I love that it is part of our family on our very special days. I love that the girls expect it, and I love that Jillian remembered to get it out for me to use when she cooked Mother's Day brekky yesterday.

hello again & happy mother's day

So it's been a VERY long time since I've posted - not because nothing has happened. In fact, I feel like it's all happening, and some days I feel like I can't keep up. It's all good though, and I wouldn't trade this season of our lives for anything. It's a joy and a pleasure (at least most days) to be Mallory & Jillian's mom, and I know that in 5 years when both girls have left the house for college, I will miss these days.

Peter and I have much to be thankful for when it comes to our girls, and on this day that we celebrate mothers, I would love to celebrate the things these past few months that make M & J amazing daughters.

MALLORY: selected to go to State Federation for piano, choir finished first in state, lettered in academics (didn't know you could do that), made the decision to commit to the final 2 years of the International Baccalaureate Program, completed her first AP exam in US History, becoming a confident & skilled driver of both of the family vehicles, continues to develop encouraging and positive relationships with great girls...and a certain boy

JILLIAN: selected to go to State Federation for piano, selected for National Junior Honor Society with a 4.0 for the last two terms, just completed the Futures program for the US Field Hockey Olympic Development Program & is heading to St. Louis to compete in the Regional Futures tournament, soccer team is undefeated (wins & ties but no losses), had her first babysitting job & is becoming a great cook

...and thank you to my girls and my wonderful husband (& advice from Jordan & Sharla) for my new Canon DSLR. It's an EOS Rebel XS - though I don't know what that means, I know it's awesome. I have been without a camera since June when "we" left it on the plane on our trip to Florida, and I am looking forward to capturing the moments & details that tell our family's story.

not captured but remembered

We have just returned from our 2nd trip to Sol Vista with the other 3 families in our small group, and while I am so glad to be sleeping in my own bed, it was a great weekend with great friends.

Here is my top ten list:

10. listening to Jillian & Anna play Mario Cart on the xbox in the loft
9. eating popcorn (even the "angry housewife" kind)
8. hearing Mallory say "I love Sharolyn" because they stopped at the thrift store in Granby that she also wanted to go to (purchased a $3.50 belt)
7. having a real wood burning fire in the condo
6. shopping at City Market w/ the Wilkins for dinner after leaving a restaurant because it was pricey
5. watching Hope for Haiti w/ everyone on Friday night
4. staying in a ski-in/ski-out condo w/ the Wilkin family
3. living in my pjs all day on Saturday
2. learning to play Wizard & winning the game before we left w/ an amazing score
1. having a dinner (chicken posole & taco soup) w/ everyone after a day of skiing & snowboarding

Notice the empty photo frames where all of my fabulous photos should be...the thing is, I guess we were having so much fun we forgot to take a single picture to capture those moments. Sad, I know, especially when there were two available cameras on the trip.

just me

I have the entire house all to myself ALL.DAY.LONG. While this doesn't quite match yesterday's title of "best day of the year", it's still pretty awesome. I don't get this opportunity very often, so I'm definitely going to enjoy it.

I think I'll turn on some music, stay in my jammies (at least until I have to pick up Jilly from school) & start on that list of things that I need to do. It's gonna be great!