father's day

we had a very nice father's day weekend.

we spent time with family, and ate some wonderful meals.

we are blessed to have such amazing cooks in our family.

this has been up on our chalkboard for weeks, thanks to ella...

my kids are sure lucky to have such a wonderful father.

he's so patient, loving, funny, and just plain fun to be around.

we were all able to go out to dinner together on saturday as an early celebration...

sunday was spent with family eating wonderful meals, 

and playing soccer together, 

and lighting sparklers.

i sure do miss my dad.

and when i really start thinking about him i miss him so very much.

i miss his smile, his motivation, his hard work and determination...

i miss seeing him in his white hat he wore everywhere.

i miss his unconditional love, his advice, his spaghetti dinners 

and his chocolate chip pancake brunches.

i miss how he cared so much about people and what made them tick.
i miss his absolute love for his children & grandchildren
and his desire to really know all of us, deeply.
i miss his zest for life, his excitement and true joy and care he had for others daily.

i miss the vacations he planned and how much he loved traveling with all of us.
i miss the baskin robbins ice cream cakes he bought for my kids every year for their birthday.
how he would call with excitement to ask what flavors they wanted so he could place the order.

really, i miss everything about him.
and as i type this my emotions of losing him have completely taken over and the tears are streaming.
in the midst of that, it does feel good to pay tribute to him in this way on this father's day.

so to you, pop, happy father's day.

i am so lucky to have the sweetest, kindest and most loving father-in-law...

and i am so lucky to have a stepfather who is so incredibly amazing with my kids...

happy father's day to all these special men, especially my own father who i miss dearly.

strawberry jam

we made some at the end of the school year for the teachers and for uncle greg's birthday...

it was easy and fun to make.
ella helped me stem all the strawberries.
and chris helped mash them (as did john john).
i just love these little jars i found at walmart.
here is the recipe.

you should really make some.
it would be a fun activity to do with the kids because it's simple and quick.
not to mention how cute it looks in those little jars.
maybe you could give some out as 4th of july treats to your neighbors.
maybe we'll do that too...

pool tricks

got some good shots of the boys jumping in the pool and dunk'n on the b-ball hoop in the pool area.
andrew wanted to know why they hadn't been posted yet - they're from last week.
so, here they are.

all three of our basketball hoops sure get used a lot (hence the duct taped one for the pool area).
we liked this picture of christopher looking like he's standing on the water.
what would we do without our pool???
it has been so nice to have, and i'll be saying that a lot more these next two months.

summer snapshot - week 2

playing scrabble.

making naan bread at nani's...'naan at nani's' - ha! we thought that was pretty funny.

reading in the front tree.

reading under the front tree.

going on the waterslide in the neighbor's front yard.

a fried egg in a piece of toast.

playing catch in the front yard.

baking bannana bread with ella and eating it on our front patio.

john john decorating his room with items from his 'jesus school' folder.

basketball camp.

basketball in the pool.

basketball in the front yard.

ring-a-round a rosie in the pool with john john.

baking cookies with ella.

taking lady for walks down the street.

hangin' out in the front tree without a care in the world.

trips to the library.

building blocks with john john.

made to order omelets.

swinging in the front tree.

mowing the lawn.

it was another great week of summer, the lazy days have been really nice.

no early mornings rushing out the door, no strict bedtimes, no shuffling around to practices/games.

just a few fun activities and a lot of down time together.

it sure has been nice.

that daughter of mine

just knows how to make my day.
she was playing around with her typewriter yesterday, and made me this sweet note.

she is always creating, and giving things to others.
and is really so thoughtful, she sure knows how to make others happy.

she also left chris and i this sweet note in our bed the night before.
it was folded up just waiting for us.
she's always so sneaky, leaving us little surprises when we least expect it.

she's already thinking of father's day...yes, she is a thoughtful daughter for sure.