Made It Through

Day 1 of 2nd grade.
The verdict?

"I think 2nd grade may be better than 1st grade, but I'm not positive yet."

Not a bad ending to a day that started with smiles but ended in tears as we pulled in the parking lot.

This Kid....

Is going to 2nd grade in the morning.

Until 6pm tonight, the only school supply he had was his back pack from last year and a new lunchbox that I bought during an earlier trip to L*ands End. We now have everything on the list except for 2 of the 3 glue sticks. I think he'll be ok.

I think I've procrastinated for a few reasons....

1) it's my nature and a huge personal flaw of mine
2) he doesn't have the teacher that I wanted him to have and although I can count a ton of reasons that it will probably work out in the end, it doesn't make it any easier for me to accept now
3) he's in 2nd grade!!! he may as well be graduating this year he's so BIG!
4) the one friend that he's nuts about isn't in his class and it's not the teacher that he wanted either. since he's not excited about it, its even harder for me to get in gear
5) i hurt for him

Whatever the reason, tomorrow will come and he'll walk into a classroom with 20 other children- ready to start a new year and learn new things.

I want him to love 2nd grade as much as he loved 1st....I hope it happens. It has to.

Then and Now

Jon and I were married 10 years ago today.

We had such a fabulous wedding day- but more importantly, we have such a fabulous marriage. It's not always perfect- sometimes it's far from it but it's ours and we work to make it strong and loving & safe and nurturing. Being married to each other makes us both happy.

Look how young we look...



This is probably my favorite picture of our entire night. It used to sit on my desk at work....until we moved to mobile work stations that are devoid of any personal effects. It still makes me smile when I see it.



Our wedding was wonderfully simple...and if I had it to do again, I'd probably do about 90% of it all over again exactly the same way.

This was us then....



we were in love and having fun and living our dreams.

This is us now.....



we're in love and having fun and living our dreams!

Happy 10 Years to my sweet, loving, quirky, budget conscious, hilarious, thrill seeking, hard working, risk taking, getting more thoughtful by the day husband.

I adore you!

Look, Dolphins!

This past weekend will go down in the record books for one of the best boat trips ever. Jon invited some friends to come fishing with us (by us, I mean not me!). They've got 2 boys and are fishing fanatics but the boys had never fished from a boat. Jon wanted to change that.

To accommodate me and their mother- we stopped 1st at a little island beach that we adore. The boys played in the water



and went exploring.



We even managed to fit in a science lesson along the way!





After lunch, we started back to the dock to drop the girls off (whew!). There are times that we see dolphins in the waters and we had hoped to see some with our friends. Things weren't looking too positive when we spotted them.



And then we realized they were everywhere!!







In all our years on the water, we have never seen this many and never this many so close to the boat. I'm not sure who was more excited- us or the kids! Clearly they knew what an impression they'd make on all of us.

The day was practically perfect and created memories that will last an awfully long time.

And to top it off, while their mom and I were lounging by the pool....these little boys caught 15 fish!



Jon's mission was accomplished!

If You Want to Feel Like a Failure....

Enroll in puppy class at PetSm@rt.

I cannot even tell you how absolutely horrifying it is. Our pup is the worst one there and everyone knows it.

Jon and I were a disaster when we left. If I had some sort of nerve medication, I would have taken a double dose. Even Cooper knew that it was bad. His comment?

"Momma, everybody looks at us because Gypsy is so crazy"

Uh-huh, it's that bad.

All I Want for Christmas

Is my two front teeth....



The tooth fairy visited last night. She left a dollar....folded in the shape of a bow tie. It took a good 45 minutes to achieve the effect and it was completely lost on the recipient.

The dollar was added to the $5 that she left the last time and was spent on some crazy "rare" Yugi-oh card from eb@y. The buy it now price including shipping was $5.99 and in just 7-10 days it will proudly join the existing collection.





And yes, braces are definitely in our future!

Looking at the View

Sometimes it's hard to slow down and really look or listen to what is happening in my world. And sometimes I do slow down, but I'm focusing on the wrong thing.

But this weekend- I think I got it right.


The new door color....the start to a wonderful weekend of nothing on the agenda.


A trip to visit an exciting find from an early morning trip to the dock. Cooper could hardly wait to show me.


The approving smirk of Daddy's "new to us" toy.


My very 1st perennials. I bought them on clearance and have divided them twice. I love them the most right before they bloom.


Watching how much fun they have together....it sort of makes getting up early worth it!


We walked to the dock in hopes of seeing the crabbers coming in- but they weren't.


Their gear was there instead.


Gypsy's maiden voyage...



And the after effects of a full day on the water and playing in the sun and sand.



So intent on remembering every single moment of the trip.

I know how he feels.

Faces

This face wakes me up at 5:45am every morning with a high pitched bark that can be heard from the basement two floors below.



During the winter, I've already been awake for 45 minutes. Summertime is a different story. I am not amused- at all.

At about 7am, she starts to grow on me (a little).


This face makes me happy regardless of the time....



I do love a kid in goggles!

(I also love a puppy who sleeps past sunrise....does anyone have any tips?)