World Cup Woes

Gabriel and Elijah have been going to British Soccer Camp every year for three years now. They love it. The coaches are fantastic and have amazing English, Irish or Scottish accents. They get to play soccer for three hours every day and on the last day there is a World Cup.

Gabe Folds Five

Or more. Definitely more than five. Gabe folds all kinds of things and, as a result, so do our other boys. He's been reading the Origami Yoda series lately and creating all things paper and Star Wars. He is pictured here with a series of paper Darth Vaders- apparently the albino version.

He has also been making very large paper airplanes and paper swords with the chart paper that teachers are giving away at the end of the year. Now he can fold something five feet tall.

Fifteen

This is what fifteen years looks like.

We celebrated with little fanfare.

That's the way our marriage is. We mostly love each other in quiet ways but that love is fierce and it grows every day. Happy Anniversary, Babe. Thank you for another beautiful year. I can't imagine spending it with anyone else.

Cow Boys?

We were invited for a cattle-branding last weekend at a friend's ranch. Even though I spent time on a cattle ranch as a kid visiting my grandparents and uncles in Arkansas, branding was a new experience for me and the boys. When we got there, things weren't quite ready to roll so we had some time to explore the amazing barn built in the 1930s. It was so cool and beautiful. I want to renovate that barn and live in it. The top floor had these high ceilings and natural light. I could just picture barn dances and socials going on up there.

Don't you want to live in the big red barn too?

Preschool Pomp and Circumstance

Tobias graduated from his first year of preschool today. We are so grateful for Ms. Nikki and the wonderful positive experience it has been for him. He's learned a lot about himself and how to be a friend. Of course, he is still a goofball, but he is a goofball who can follow rules and be part of a group that is not comprised of his brothers. Way to go little buddy!

Mother's Day

My family gave me a beautiful Mother's Day with breakfast-in-bed and many kind words and gifts. This year was a little bit tender for me because it's the first year that I've been working an all-day job and going to school since becoming a mother so I've been carrying some serious mom-guilt. Marc and the boys helped me to realize that I'm doing okay. It isn't perfect. I'm not there as often as I used to be and the cooking has definitely slipped but apparently I'm still doing something right which is comforting. I wanted a picture of myself to post since it is Mother's Day and, let's be honest, because I got my haircut and that should definitely be documented. The boys all wanted to the take the picture so I let them each take one and I took their suggestions on where to stand and how to pose for the picture. The results certainly reflect the personalities and interests of my boys.

Tobias took this one. He is definitely into silly faces right now.

Book It

We have a book problem. They are everywhere. They spill out from the shelves onto the floor. They are under every piece of furniture in the house. They are huge part of our budget even though we really don't NEED any more books but by golly we want them. It isn't entirely my fault. The schools send home these catalogs and if we buy books then the schools get money and books for their classroom. It's charitable, really.