Living, Loving, Learning

My sweet girl is 15 today!  She is so cool and I feel super lucky to be her Mama.   It has been a year of MAJOR SUCCESS...she received the award for highest GPA at the 8th grade promotion ceremony.   A year of HARD WORK...her marching band competed at the state level this year.   A year of GRAND ADVENTURE...we went to Scotland with her Granny, Aunties and cousin Ally, in October.    A year of NEW LOVE...we welcomed our new furry friend, Juniper, into our lives.  And a year of BIG CHANGES...Lucy has adjusted wonderfully to be being a Freshman.   We could not be more proud of our smart, sweet, kind, talented, sassy daughter.  She is an  original and she is AMAZING.   Birthday Interview What activities/sports/clubs were you involved in this year? Marching Band, Academic Team, Beta Club and Literature Club What pets do you have? Juniper, Cookie and the fish What do you want to be when you grow up? Somethin...

Just a few more pictures I snapped before the Amors took off on Monday.

It is really hard to get a good picture of 4 little kids. This was my best one...don't know what is up with the girls chewing on their hands. Must be genetic! I have to say I am super stoked about these skirts! I MADE them!! YEAH, they are the first clothing items I have made and I couldn't be more happy with how they turned out...although, they are a little on the big side. That's ok though, just means they will get a little more use out of them! My Dad and StepMom came up for the day on Saturday. We had a great time hanging out together and celebrating Father's Day a titch early. It was so fun to see Grandma and Grandpa to have this group of grandkids all together. For those of you who don't know her, this is my sister, Jessica!! Isn't she sooo cute!?! Grandma and Masami Grandpa and Lucy

The Amors came for a quick weekend visit. We were soooo excited to see them and meet 19 mos. old Masami. Although it was a quick visit, we can't wait to spend more time with them at the Cape in July and here in August. I had to show you how the kids were passing the time while waiting for the Amors to get here...too cute. First things first! Alethia jumped out of her car and after a quick hug asked me, "Auntie, do you have any toys here?" And with that, they were off for a marathon play session. Day 1 they split up and Lucy and Masami played musical instruments while Griffin and Alethia played house. It feels so good to get the chance to get to know these precious babies!

There are a couple of action shots from this morning for you. It finally feels like spring around these parts. We have had a really busy week, so to squeeze in some family time, the three of us headed over to our local greasy spoon (in this case "The Stuffed Bun") for some breakfast and bonding. Afterward, Bruce headed off to class and Griff and I headed to the park. Our local library is in the same complex as the park and it happened to be the first day of their yearly book sale. (and as Stephen Colbert informed me, national library week). We struck gold. Griffin and I were some of the first people in the door and walked out with 2 bags of books for $8!!! I feel like I have one a prize...with as much as we read around here, this will really save us a few bucks for a while. So, here are a few more Germany pictures for you. Here is our Step-Dad, Mark holding his little grand baby. And here is the best dessert of all time, a favorite in Germany, affectionately know (real transl...

One of my favorite places in Europe is Heidelberg and I was lucky enough to go back a second time. I am not alone here as it was a favorite haunt of Victor Hugo and Mark Twain and today is a huge tourist area. It is an awesome college town that is overlooked by the beautiful Schloss Castle on the hill. This Gothic/Renaissance style castle was first built around 1300. Through the years it has suffered through fires, wars and arguing royal families. Behind us in this photo, you can see how half the tower has been blown off by an explosion and still lies there, upside down, supporting the moss. I took a ton of pictures there but I will but up my favorites here. The castle ground were lovely but the weather was awful. We spent most of the day tramping about in 3 inches of very cold slush. Here are a few views of Heidelberg from the front of the castle. OK, so there is a little story about this footprint in the ground. As the legend goes, one day the King decided to take his buddies out for...