i have 19% battery life left to post.

i’m slapping mosquitoes left & right …. like it’s summer & our screens don’t work.

rex & i over slept this morning. and then we had this impromptu fathers day celebration. that went like this ….

first benny gave him a pot holder he made.

then roo-pop gave him a recycled fairy princess birthday card.

next dolly drew him a picture ….

it was sailor’s turn next ….. the gifts & cards were all her ideas …. she helped the kids with all of theirs.

he held a library book & got kissed.

jacky surprisingly slept late too & missed the early morning card making …. instead of giving love & he got some.

- – -

i told rex today that i was enjoying summer. later he said it probably had something to do with having a whole week of nothing planned in the evening.

he’s probably right. this was the first week in …. forever …. that our nights were free. gloriously free.

our days have been free enough, though too.

free enough to take morning baths & paint little finger nails purple. free enough to stop frozen yogurt by a friends & stay longer than we planned. free enough to lay around the living room reading 20,000 leagues under the sea. free enough to give the baby a well deserved uninterrupted nap. free enough for a library trip with no late fees : ) free enough to let everyone play outside & welcome home a hard working husband. free enough to leave the kitchen a mess & just go to bed. free enough to call a babysitter last minute & go on a date.

- – -

he’s officially learned how to play peek-a-boo : )

- – -

violin practice ….. yes …. in the bathroom : ) it’s where the finger nails were being painted & we needed to hear the song.

we’ve reworded ‘you run on school mornings’ to ‘you just run’

nightgowns & flip flops are your call.

hello grandma …. thanks for helping us out on days we need to be 2 … [or 7] … places at once.

i really like that she plays piano ….

molly & benny swimming backstroke.

some morning snuggle & love.

you’re just so independent when you can buckle your own sandals.

helping brother to the pool …. the contrast in their skin color amazes me.

the water was just a bit too cold for his liking …. no worries, the next 3 days forecast 104, 109 & 97 respectfully ….
by monday the pool should be good to go : )

- – -

we will be in & at the pool all weekend!

happy weekend ~

‘so i see you’ve given up blogging for instagram.’

that is a true quote. it’s just not really a true statement : )

hello here i am, back in time to hear news that good ol’ xanga is dying for reals.

one of my truest of friends mother asked me last night if i was at least writing even though i wasn’t posting …. ahhh

guilty. not even writing.

molly fell asleep at 6:13 tonight.
she’s still in her swim suit …. we didn’t even change her.

i picked chad up from his bed & just held him sleeping.
just because i could.

just long enough for him to breathe a few deep breaths and then wiggle a bit & i laid him back down.

jack told me tonight he ‘saw a guy with water proof flip flops on … like they could get wet. i didn’t see his face, but yeah he was walking away’

and i was thinking …. aren’t all flip flops water proof???

: )

i could.not even try to make up the stuff he says.

the other day in the car ….. ‘hey mom, i believe in haunted houses.’

really dude, i don’t.

quiet. then ……

‘does believing in haunted houses take God’s name in vain?’

no

‘ok good. then i do’

we  did go on to discuss all sorts of things after that.

these posts don’t have to be miles long. they don’t have to fill in every detail. we’re pretty much past that : ) it’s been too long in between.

i think i’m in a sentimental mood tonight …. when i write wanting to remember just how sweet this time of life is.

regan & chad tonight ran in & out of the water from the hose i was using to spray smashed cherries off the drive way. like he honestly watched her & figured out how to run off laughing and then come back for more. once he got a little too wet & went half crying over to her for some love.

mental click.

it was beautiful. i remember sailor & jack doing that ….

it’s hard when you’re 3 & a half and 16 months and your 4 other brothers & sisters are on the swim team & their meets start at 8am & they have to be checked in by 7 & the high school is out of town & you get taken to the car when the clock still has a 5 as the first number. it just wears you out.

my mom had a birthday last month – we partied.

our 1st year of baseball ended with this hit – he’s my favorite left handed bulldog, ever.

no joke – rex had that many kids in the game of life. the rest of us won lotteries, had in law problems, bought yachts & dealt with stunk farms …. he just kept adding kids & was a millionaire by the end on a journalists salary. 

my mother in law made the end of school extra special. she had confetti down the center of the table & assigned seating & patience to equal the sugar & this amazing ability to pour her heart out into each of them.

i love his lips & his dress belt & that he played all season with the boy next to him.

amie thinks i never dress him in pants & he’ll have a complex … no idea why …..

these pictures go together – the first was dinner the second was breakfast ….. we strive for balance.

rex managed all of them looking at the same time …. i could just keep staring at them, their expressions & personalities.

it was not suppose to turn out so blurry … but i was driving & they were walking & we were all happy.

the middle row.

my kids don’t get their thrill seeking adventure from me. but they do have it.

oh look …. we’re in the same picture. that’s nice.

- – -

here’s my heart Lord
speak what is true

i am found
i am yours

i am loved
i’m made pure

i have life
i can breathe

i am healed
i am free

You are strong
You are sure

You are life
You endure

You are good
always true

You are light
breaking through

You are more than enough
You are here

You are hope
You are grace

You’re all i have
You’re everything

here’s my life, Lord
speak what is true ….

….. up late listening to this song