Finally.....Summer!!!

The warm weather is finally here and it is starting to feel like summer. I was lucky enough to have a couple of days off this week so I could watch the girls at their field days. Chloe had her Kindergarten Field Day yesterday and then she came with me to watch Taya today. Taya and Chloe had a blast kicking a soccer ball, running relay races, participating in potato sack races, and all kinds of fun activities. Taya's class even won the the 4th grade World Championship of Tug-of-War!!! The weather was so nice we grilled and the girls ran through the sprinkler. What a gorgeous day!

Team Edward or Team Jacob?

Only 44 days until the premiere of Eclipse



Edward





Jacob



Oh I do love the Twilight saga!!! I am, what you might call, a Twimom!!! Well, it's no wonder the kids get a little caught up in it as well.

I came home from work the other day and Chloe said to me in all earnestness, "Mom, I was just kidding about the Taylor Lautner thing." (He is the young actor who plays Jacob Black.) You see, lately Chloe has been telling me that she is Team Jacob just to tease me. She knows I am die-hard Team Edward!!

If you haven't seen Twilight, or don't know what I'm talking about, then I
a) feel sorry for you and
b) don't have time to tell you the whole story
but the heroine, Bella, has to choose between Edward and Jacob and thus fans align themselves into Team Edward or Team Jacob depending on who they like better.

Chloe continued, "I saw Jacob standing on his hand in a magazine." She tried to imitate the odd pose that she must have seen him holding for a photo shoot. "I just like his moves mom, I'm not Team Jacob!"

I laughed for about 20 minutes. I really am corrupting my kids!!!

On being a mom...

Before you were conceived I wanted you
Before you were born I loved you
Before you were here an hour I would die for you
This is the miracle of life.
~Maureen Hawkins

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new.
~Rajneesh

I don't know what I did to deserve my kids!
What did I ever do that was good enough?
I never found world peace...
I never solved world hunger...

But, even though I never won the Nobel Peace Prize,
I was lucky enough to become a mother!
They fight. A lot!
I still love them!
They are beautiful, intelligent, loving girls!
They argue with me. A lot!
I still love them!
They are wonderful and healthy!

When they wrap their arms around me and tell me they love me...
Life is good!
Sometimes I just look at them and want to cry because I feel so lucky!
Sometimes I do cry!!

I love being a mother!
It is more difficult and more rewarding than I could have ever dreamed.

I hope everyone had a Happy Mother's Day!
And next weekend, we can celebrate Kid's Day!
(That's what Taya told me we need to have when she found out she bought me a book for Mother's Day and she was mad that she didn't get anything. "Mom, how come we don't celebrate Kid's Day so we can get presents?")

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!!

My mom and I on my wedding day




My mom holding Taya right after she was born




My mom when she was three years old





My mom's high school graduation picture





My mom


I miss thee, my Mother! Thy image is still
The deepest impressed on my heart.
~Eliza Cook

Mom,
You are a beautiful woman!
You are intelligent and kind!
You gave so much of yourself to help everyone around you!
You are my best friend!
On Mother's Day I am always sad that I can't buy you a card
or a present or take you out to lunch.

Even though you aren't here, you are not gone!
You are not forgotten!
I still love you!
You are still my mother.
I am still your daughter.
Death cannot change that!
We just need to wait a little while before we can talk again.
I've been saving it up because I'll have so much to tell you.
I feel your presence with me still.
Some days you sit beside me and put your arm on my shoulder.
Some nights you come to me in a dream and tell me,
"Kristin, you have to be happy."

You always left places more beautiful than you found them!
I always try to follow your example and do the same!

Mom,
Thank you for being my mother.
I'm glad that I chose you.
I'm glad that you chose me.
I love you!
I miss you!
See you soon!!


Love,
Your daughter
Kristin


A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.
~Washington Irving

Pictures and more pictures!

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love taking pictures. I know sometimes I get a little carried away, but I love having beautiful pictures so I can look back at the memories that we have made. And, as much as I love taking pictures, I love to share them. So, please enjoy the beautiful pictures of our vacation!!

I think the highlight of the trip for me was the day we rented a boat. We found a great deal on a 24-foot boat that we rented from sun up to sun down. With only a map, a few pointers from the guy that rented us the boat, several large coolers of food and drink, and 50 proof sunscreen we headed out for the day. It was a beautiful day and luckily Tracy's husband Mike knew enough about boating and navigating to be our Captain. We explored the gulf and saw some dolphins and jumping sting rays before we dropped anchor at a white sand beach on an island called South Captiva that you can only get to by boat. We listened to music, collected sea shells, saw more dolphins, swam, and sun bathed. It was like our own little corner in paradise!! The waters were clear blue and the sky went on forever. Later in the day, we docked at another island called North Captiva and enjoyed appetizers at a little restaurant on the beach. We enjoyed an amazing sunset out on the water before finding our way back to port.

One night we went to a "touristy" part of the island called Times Square that had many amazing little shops, a homemade ice cream store, and a pier and enjoyed another spectacular sunset.

We had so much fun, we're hoping to bring the kids with us and go back in October! We all suffered a little post-vacation depression when we got home. We had had so much fun that it was really hard to come back to reality and back to work.