Football season has begun, much to the delight of the boys in the house. As the leader of our home, Nate has made sure that all his children keep their priorities straight. Especially in his son, whom he knows will one day be a man... and knowing he must seize the moment, for you never know if there will be a tomorrow, he has been sure to develop a love for any game with a ball in our son. :) As for me, I have enjoyed pursuits of another kind and feel the need to teach my girls how to keep a beautiful home, by bringing arrangments of all kinds from the great outdoors. ;) Mya enjoys smelling and soaking in the beauty of our hydrangeas about as much as I do. Because they bloom in late summer, I like to think of them as the final kiss of summer ... The trees will soon take center stage when their leaves turn into glorious shades of gold, reds, purples, and burnt orange.
Summer has flown by way too quickly! As, much as I love the fall colors and weather, I always hate to see this season end. It has been a wonderful summer with amazing memories!


So here is a little summary ... and I say little because it is impossible for me to blog everything.

My little summer explorers are still singing songs they learned on their "voyage" to the island of VBS. What a blessing to be a part of a church that has an amazing kids ministry!

Summer of 2010 has been busy with birthdays, weddings, beach getaways... and the few hrs. we are not busy, Nate and I have decided to ignore all the work calling our name (as much as possible anyway) and have taken the phrase "lazy summer days" to a whole new level. :) Now that he is done with school, we are claiming back "us time". Nate truly outdid himself this past summer by giving me 2 wonderful b-day gifts: a trip to the east coast and and time with my girlfriends (a surprise party :))) ! Thanks to him, our church, my dear friends, and of course, the Lord's precious love, Virginia is finally beginning to feel a little like home.

Summer-ize...

Hey! To anyone still reading this blog. :) Fb is SO much easier for me to maintain and upload photos... it has taken me away from blogging. However, I was inspired tonight, after reading other's blogs! Unfortunately, it is VERY late and I am quickly losing momentum (especially, after half my pics refused to upload!). So, before I fall asleep at the keyboard, let me quickly give you a summary of our WONDERFUL summer! It has flown by way too quickly!!
The end of July, I found myself at Ocean City - aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah yes - heavenly... I was made for the beach. Nate has always known I <3 href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb94dsghXNjoHrbZmzuDoqWHG-EvkYauwqdlkYwjCKOhTAu1X5GBj2fMBTaebJMmxzjnOu5Otd6Y9oX1IJMiuKKvohg2OVi5fFWBVZUdXu7QIaD3dzl0LoYFS2RzRsFlJBGCpWZAmlwLA/s1600/IMG_0324.JPG"> East coast baby - runnin' the O.C. ;)

I was a beautiful, very sunny, relaxing day! And I love Audrey's classic "cheese, I can't open my eyes" smile hahaaaa

He know me so well... knew just what to give me for my b-day! Best birthday present yet!

I think one of the reason I love the beach is because I don't have to worry about the kids behaving or keeping them clean. They can run wild at the beach, eat like pigs, and play as much as their little hearts desire. I also LOVE the time we spend as a family! Just sitting, talking, eating ;) and playing as a family.

Enjoying our last days of summer before beginning Mya's first yr. of school - yay!

Hahaaaaa Audrey's way of enjoying the beach.

Audrey is my child that is always happy to alone, more than willing to sit, and prefers to relax. :) As opposed to my other 2 kiddos who couldn't get enough of the waves and ocean play.

My handsome boys

It was the perfect weekend for the beach and I am so thankful who knows and cares about me enough to make my b-day wish come true!




And speaking of birthdays... this little man turned 2 yrs. old in June!

2 birthday parties for my little guy this year! I had no idea how I was going to celebrate, but I truly believe some of the best parties are the ones you throw together at the last minute. :) All the ingredients for fun were present: good friends, good food, and family! We celebrated with friends in VA and later with BOTH sides of the family in San Antonio.

Last, but definitely not least, we headed down to SA, Tx. the end of June for my sister's wedding! Sandy looked absolutely gorgeous and radiant as she walked down the aisle. After the wedding was over, we headed down to S.Padre Island for some much needed R& R.

Summer of 2010, thank you for being a blast!! :) I'm already looking forward to next year's adventures!

Summer!

Yay!!! Summer is here! It's sticky, hot, humid... and I LOVE it! We have set aside our workbooks (for the most part) so we can enjoy the outdoors. Pool/Slip'n'slide during the day, dinners on the back porch, firefly hunts... I have been bad about taking pics, but here are some from the past week.

Spring 2010

Spring is about over and I have hardly posted anything... we have been busy with life. :) I have begun instructing cardio-kickboxing again (Yay!) and absolutely love it! I haven't been very faithful with my picture taking, but here are a few from the past couple weeks.

Slaeter is almost 2 years old. I can hardly believe how quickly the years go by! He kissing the baby stage goodbye and has just about given up his ONE AND ONLY nap - yikes!! He is quite the little (toddler) BOY and takes the noise/roughness/laughs in our house to a whole new level. However, no matter how much he seems to love ramming trucks, punching Nate's styrofome back-roll (his little punching bag), kicking balls, and swinging a bat; he will still take time to say "up pwease" so I can cover him with kisses.

The girls are growing just as quickly...

At 5 1/2, Mya is now officially the 2nd mom of the house -ahahaaa The destiny of the 1st born. ; ) She thrives on words of affirmation and never hesistates to meet the needs of any of her siblings. Although, she is very protective of them, I can testify that she doesn't feel the slightest bit of guilt when teasing her little followers. We are working on that... I love my "LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE" and the energy she brings to our home!

Audrey is 3 1/2 with the emotions of a 13 yr. old - hahaaa No, not really, but she is very sensitive and gentle with her little brother. Like most 2nd borns/middle children, she finds herself already struggling to find her own identity. :) If Mya chooses pink, she'll choose green-even though her favorite color is pink. If Mya doesn't want to eat her vegetables, Audrey is quick to stuff them down her throat - no matter how she may despise them. She bounces back and forth between being Slaeter's playmate (who loves to make Audrey giggle uncontrollably) and 3rd mama (poor Slaeter!!). She is still my little sweetheart!

Mya played soccerthis year for the first time EVER. It was definitely more about the socialization for her. Yeah, I said FOR HER because I had to bite my tongue to keep myself from yelling, "Go get the ball!!!! Be aggressive!!!!" Hahaaaaa What can I say, I love sports! We had a wonderful season and enjoyed the beautiful weather each friday afternoon.

Gotta have the pink ball. ;)

The cheer-squad... not doin' so much cheering. Spring in Virginia is GORGEOUS and the weather is ABSOLUTELY LOVELY. Soccer was fun for these 2 little ones because it meant snacks and mommy-time for 2 whole hours.

Waterboy & girl

Hats off to the kids coach, who stood for 2 hrs every friday and patiently coached. By the end of the season, it was evident that everyone was aware of the baby-to-be. :)

"Water-break" was one of the highlights of each friday game for Mya. :) I think she did more playing than drinking during this time.

And some random photos that I thought I would share with you all~

WEll, this pretty much somes up life in our house these days. We do a lot of work, a lot of play, and thank the Lord for our blessings.

Love to you all!
,

Celebrate!

Easter 2010~ Happy Easter!


With much love from our hearts to yours!

The Easter outfits ;)

100% Boy

May not be "sugar and spice" ... but he's a sweetheart.

And my other guy ;)

The older Slaeter gets the more he loves to tickle, wrestle... so I am cherishing the moments when he's in the cuddly mood while they last.

So, this Easter was pretty laidback... highlights: read the story of Jesus' death on the cross from the children's bible friday, watched The Squeakquel as a family, devoured homeade ice cream 2 days in a row (thanks Nate!), 2 eggs hunts in one day, seeing the kid's delight as they opened their Easter baskets, seeing their excitement when they met the easter bunny...

To quote Mya, "Mom! I AM SOOOOO EXCITED ABOUT THE BUNNY!"








Preparing for the first egg hunt of the day :). Strategy: Divide and conquer.

Aaaaand once again, recruit dad's help.

Oh what a beautiful day!

2nd egg hunt of the day took place in our backyard. Slaeter was in awe of the golden egg, or the "golden ticket" since mom forgot to fill the lucky eggs - haaahaaaa whoops! :)

The day was warm... and we were lovin' it!

Slaeter had no desire to get sprinkle on and preferred his bat.

Slaeter two loves - any sport involving a ball and music. Just like his grandpa Arias...










he loves the horns! May end up playing the sax just like grandpa too!

So the bat transformed from its true function, to a horn of some sort, to a microphone. This boy loves to sing.

This was a very special Easter weekend and I couldn't have spent it with more wonderful peeps!

Celebrate life and our Saviour's resurrection today! God Bless!