I haven't done a photo shoot in quite a while so I was super excited to take photos of some friends and their adorable new daughter the other day. We strolled along Cannery Row for several hours and stopped several times to get some great shots. Here are just a few of my favorites from the day. Thanks you guys for being such great sports and trusting me....even when you thought I was a little nuts! Enjoy!
I'm a little out of order here....the first day of school for the boys was last Wednesday (before our weekend hike) and I'm just now posting photos!
Both boys had a great first week and their first day of school was great! They both looked super cute as usual!
Got more photos of Benjamin since he is still okay with me taking photos of him at school. Zachery is in 8th grade this year and for the past several years it has not been cool to take the camera out and get photos of him at school! I can barely get photos of him at home without him complaining! He is such a teenager!! Scary thought for me!
Benjamin is in 3rd grade this year and likes his new teacher so far. She seems very nice. I will be sad not to have time to volunteer in the classroom this year since I will be in school myself and very busy! Nursing school will take up so much time. Hopefully I won't miss out on too much. I will have to make time to check in with his teacher and keep up with his progress. It will all be worth it when I finish school! And I think it sets a good example for both the boys...I will have to be diligent about studying and trying hard. Hopefully it will inspire them to do the same!
So I've been wanting to really get into hiking with the family. We are so fortunate to live in a location that has hundreds of hiking trails within easy driving distance and I've been wanting us to take advantage. So last week I bought a couple of great books that details the 160+ hikes in our area. It tells the distance of each hike, the elevation gain, and gives a brief description of the trail. Very cool for families with kids....makes it easy to decide which hike the kids can do without too many complaints! So on Sunday I skimmed the book, picked a hike and off we went in search of adventure!
The boys had a blast! Benjamin brought a little buddy with him and Zachery hung out with us. It was an easy hike, we took our time and stopped at the half way point to have a drink and a snack. It was the perfect way to break in the hiking thing for the boys. They were able to keep up easily and the distance was just right. It was about 2.6 miles round trip and the temperature was perfect. We wanted to bring Roxy along but this park didn't allow dogs on the trail...total bummer! Next time we'll have to find one she can come along on.
Here are some photo highlights from the hike!
So I have been such a bad blogger lately. I always think that I will so enjoy having a blog and will find many things to post about and say....then, not so much! I never think that what I have to say will be anything anyone wants to hear or read. I don't even think I've told anyone that I even have a blog again! But I think I will give it one last ditch effort this time and see what happens! I will try to be better about posting my thoughts and some photos for friends and family to see! So here goes.....
What is up here lately....the kids are about to start school again (already? I know!) Feels like they just got out for the summer last week and here it is time to start over with a brand new year. Zachery will be in 8th grade and this will be his last year of middle school (it's off to high school next year!) and I cannot believe it but Benjamin will be in 3rd grade!! I feel like I was just taking him for his first day of Kindergarten not that long ago....where has the time gone. It seems like the years just keep flying by in a blur of regular school days, homework, Back to School Nights, school plays, field trips, swim lessons and baseball games.
It makes me so sad that my boys are growing up so fast. I still remember them as if they were this size:
And this is them now.....
Where does the time go? Why do I feel like I just blinked and my boys are almost half grown? Pretty soon it will be time to watch them bring girls home (oh no!!), head off to college, and have families of their own. I am so not ready for all that! I want my little boys back....I want the days of endless snuggles, diapers, scraped knees, running in the sprinklers, etc.... I want those days back. Some days I think of all the things I've done wrong over the years. Things I would like to go back and do again. Things I would change. But there is still so much I wouldn't change, too. I have enjoyed all the stages and the new adventures each one brings. I have enjoyed all the memories made and all the tears cried and the laughter we have shared. I wouldn't trade a single day of those memories.
As for me.....what have I been up to lately? LOTS, it seems like! Taking care of the boys, the dog, the new kitten, our older cat, going to summer school in preparation for Nursing School, working, exercising, visiting family, etc...... Life just never seems to stop or slow down! Imagine that! I am starting my next big adventure in just over 3 weeks and I am totally ready for it, in fact I'm really looking forward to it! Nursing School. I have been waiting for this since before Zachery was born and it is finally here and I still can't believe it. Class of 2010!! I will become an RN in June of 2010!!!! Who would've thought!
I am getting back into the scrapping mode as well and am finding it even more enjoyable these days. I have given myself permission to relax and enjoy the process. Where before I struggled with ideas and what to do, how to journal, whether to cut up my papers and use my supplies and the insecurity of my pages not being "good enough". Now I am letting myself believe that I am an artist. My art only has to please me. I do this for me. It is my creative outlet. I can make my pages however I want, with whatever I want and as long as the memories are recorded and the story is told, it is all ok! I am trying to really embrace the concept of words + photos (a concept taught by Ali....my greatest inspiration!). Trying to remember that the rest is all just fluff, which is ok, too, sometimes. But the most important thing is that the stories, my stories, get told. I want my boys to look back on their childhoods and now that they were loved, that we had fun, that we had good times and bad times. I want them to know about our traditions and our beliefs. I want them to know what their parents thought and felt and what they did and how they lived. It is their legacy and it is important to me that they know all these things and more. Here are some of my recent favorite pages that tell important stories...
A Christmas tradition from my childhood!
Explaining my little guys nick-names and how they came to be!
Documenting Zachery's favorite hobby.
More to share later..... Hopefully I will find time tonight to make a page or two!
Benjamin is all about the Kung Fu style of fighting the last couple days....he watched the new movie, The Forbidden Kingdom, with Jackie Chan and Jet Li. He has been running all over the house now, showing off his “moves” and asking us to watch him as he does them! So stinkin’ cute! It is one of the things I love best about him....his ability to become whatever movie he is watching. He has such a great imagination! The timing for this one is actually perfect. Baseball season will be coming to an end in the next week or so and he will need a new activity to keep him busy. I’ve been thinking of signing him up for Karate or Tai Kwan Do. At least I know the interest will be there!!
So.....what would have ended up being a rather poor Mother's Day ended up being pretty great! I was scheduled to work the day shift and Mark was scheduled to work the night shift so I would only see my boys for a few hours in the evening and Mark even less. I ended up getting called off!!! I was so excited about getting to spend the day with all my boys! I took some "me time" in the morning and went for a nice long walk with a friend and came home to my little guy running out to my car, saying, "Mommy! Mommy! Come inside quick...we have something for you!" I was delighted to see a handmade card and 2 plants for my yard. One of them is my all time favorite...tulips! The other was a new-to-me plant, called a Bromeliad. It is beautiful. I can't wait to plant them in the yard!
The rest of the day was quiet, with us just hanging out at home and relaxing together. I spent a lot of the day thinking about how grateful I am to be a mother to 2 such amazing boys. The are totally the lights of my life and I can't imagine a day without them. I was a rather young mother, just barely 22 when Zachery was born, and it wasn't (and still isn't) always easy but I have honestly loved each and every minute of motherhood. I think I was meant to be a mother. I love being a mother. It is my most important job. Some days are harder than others, but at the end of the day, when I tuck those sweet guys into bed, and they kiss & hug me as tightly as I hug & kiss them....it is all worth it!
I didn't manage to get a single photo yesterday. But I realize that it is not that important. The most important photo is the one etched into my heart and my mind. Of 2 little boys with big smiles and even bigger hugs, so excited to shower me with love and the things they know I like best. I couldn't ask for anything more than that!
Had such a fun day today! It was baseball Saturday. Game at 0930 and Dad and Karen came down to watch Benjamin play. He did such a good job, too. It was the perfect day for them to be here. He got a good hit every time he was up at bat, got to play 2nd base and pitcher, and even made several good plays! Here are a couple of shots from the game today:
Such a little pro!
And even managed to get a good shot of my older son--although I did have to bribe him to get the shot! Oh well, a mother must do what she has to!
After the game Dad & Karen came back to the house and we had a great BBQ lunch/dinner! Good food + good conversation = great day! My nephew came over, too, and the boys had a good time playing. I enjoyed the afternoon and also enjoyed the peace and quiet of the evening once everyone was gone, my kitchen was clean, the kids were tucked in, and I had a good book to read!
Today is Friday! Gotta love Fridays. I look forward to them even when I know I have to work on the weekend, when I know we have to get up early for a baseball game, etc... There is just something about knowing the week has come to an end and that a weekend full of possibilities is here. Had a busy day yesterday, full of errands to run and picking up around the house. A recap:
Today will be more of the same. Gotta finish the errands I didn’t get to yesterday. Try to fit a little scrapbooking in there, too! I have a couple layouts in mind that I want to work on. Trying to get back into the habit of at least getting in some exercise and scrapping a page a day. Better get busy!
Okay. So I’m giving this a shot. Trying to get better at writing again. I used to love writing. Now I struggle with thoughts of doubt....doubting that my writing is good enough, that what I have to say really isn’t that important anyway, and being overly critical of my own writing style.
Time to make a change. Time to embrace writing again. To find that love for the written word. To tell stories.
I love to scrapbook. Writing is an integral part of scrapbooking. I want my stories to be told. I love the stories of my family history that have been passed down from my grandparents and my parents. I wish that I had more of them, that I had payed more attention when I heard them. I don’t want them to be lost. I want to preserve my own stories for my children and their children, etc...
The plan. My plan is to make time everyday to write a few thoughts, words, feelings, here. To get into the habit of writing again. So that my stories will not be forgotten. So that I will not forget. So they will not forget.
