A Thorn Among Roses

even when sof eats her snacks... she's gotta do it her own way.  i guess that's not so bad.

how do we handle rain outs??? first, never ever go to a morning game without a venti.  it's a rule. then, always have a fab movie on hand so when the game gets called, you can bribe them with movie time in the car whilst you get things organized with the team. and last but not least, keep 'em smiling!!

jada had a field trip to the post office...she was jacked up! here's what she learned... our mail carrier always brings suckers with our mail you can't mail a letter if you can't spell  your address there was no snack on the field trip in the end, though, i got a postcard she had made for me...ahhhh! wondering what it is?  well, here's what she told me... "it's a volcano, two dots and then i colored it and it had a big thing of tomatoes and there's hot lava inside and there's green beans inside of the hot lava too. the dots all around are the metaballs." okay then...on the other side is where they were obviously learning about addressing the post card with some help from the teachers. {very cute} then it was time for their special message...they could write anything they wanted.  anything.  and remember, she was writing a letter to me. she had one word... i'm not real sure what to think...i mean, "ho"? can her teacher not even sp

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do this week... hubs and i DID NOT work at after prom until 3:30am doing sumo wrestling and bungee races.  we DID NOT try them ourselves...and we DID NOT have a super fun time! paige's quote of the day on saturday was NOT "that's not a nut, it's a pistachio."  how does that girl make straight a's?? i DID NOT work coat check at an event with my girlfriend, stacy, on friday night.  we DID NOT have a total blast chatting it up and hanging out...eating the leftover food from the event that was way better than what we cooked for our fams.  we also DID NOT get paid for eating dinner and talking...wow! paige DID NOT get nominated for elite athlete of the year for high honors and athletics.  she DID NOT tell me that i was not allowed to come to the ceremony during the school day bc i was "too embarrassing" and "not a big deal". we DID NOT make it to the park more than a few times this last week...and sofia DI

more than 2,000 children a day die from malaria world wide. simple and inexpensive interventions like mosquito nets can save many of their lives.   and this is how you can help...world vision {a fab organization that our fam has been involved with for over 12 years} is making a difference, and making it easy for you and i to help. it's simple...it's writing your congressman or congresswoman.  join with me and so many others to speak our on behalf of the millions of children at risk of contracting malaria today.  children's lives depend on it.  malaria can be defeated...we did it here in the us like 60 yrs ago, but it remains the leading cause of death for children around the world.   with sufficient attention and focus, we can end malaria in our lifetime, but it takes a fulfilled commitment by the us government to provide funding. go HERE and write let  congress know where you stand.  please. wanna know more about how you can help end malaria... endmalaria.org has ever

i forgot i took these random shots of sofia about a month ago...and i just love them! so i had to share them. she's saying "i'm THIS big"... and then she plopped down on my photo shoot in a doorway...and wow! you can't pay for cuteness like that...man, i love pics!

i did a little comic spread for one of my clients this week... super conner...to the rescue!!!

with softball season in full swing, there's a lot of time we as a family spend at the fields.  if paige isn't playing, brooke and jada might be...and even when none of our girlies are playing, we go and watch our friends teams play...we're weird like that. anyway, here's a week in pics of what we did...including paige's bday... do fans get any stinking cuter than this??? i mean, really!!! getting runs scored and winning games... having family dinners, field side... along with some special treats {aka sour punch straws} with friends... fielding fly balls... playing at the fields while paiger plays... spending your 15th bday watching a friend's softball game...with your teammates and family... and remembering the best pie in the world is from the most famous and never to be overestimated, stacy london's derby pie...made especially for paige on her bday {thanks stacy}... and as much as paige loves softball, london's derby pie is a very, very close

a few things me and the fam DID NOT do the last 2 weeks...bc i was a loser and didn't do a post last monday... while outside playing, sofia DID NOT stop and say, "uh oh...baby crying. need food. baby need to eat. get sippy cup, hurry." paige DID NOT play 4 softball games this last week...she DID NOT have fab at bats and make the newspaper with stats for hits, runs and rbi's.  she DOES NOT have a great team of girls that are super awesome and supportive that she plays with. while reading "do princesses really kiss frogs" to brooke, she DID NOT say, "seriously, give me a break". brooke DID NOT wear plaid bermuda shorts and a horse t shirt to school...with her hot pink cowboy boots.  she DID NOT inform me that it matches just fine and not to worry bc the horse went great with the cowboy boots. at the playground, jada DID NOT say, "everyone is looking at me.  i think they think i'm princess tiana." brooke DID NOT say, "java is be

as we walked the last morning on the beach, we found some very interesting things.  i know there are some southern folks that will read this, so tell me...what in the world is this? we call it whale poop.  i know...i'm not creative, but when the kiddos asked, it was all i could think of. then there's the neon orange spitting pod thingy...i don't even know what to say about it. and this another shot...the pre-goo pic of the whole pod. the last 2 days on the beach, there was a storm at sea that we never got on land, but tons of jelly fish washed up to shore.  the kids were fascinated by the size of them.  they were as big as 16 inches in diameter...i mean, huge! we just had fun...walking slowly and taking the beach in one last time before heading back. paige found a sand dollar in the end...we were just together.  we've been back in reality for a week now and i think we have spent no more than 1 hour a night with all 6 of us together...i mean, if you count p's soft

for the record...she's def not free.  but she's really cute!

...but it sure does make the ride home better! last night was p's first varsity conference softball game...there was some pressure, i'm not gonna lie. she would never admit it, but conference games, well, they bring some extra pressure. but our lady shamrocks came out and kicked some conference butt!  it was fun to watch...and after coming back in the 6th from a 0-1 to winning the game 8-1, it was awesome! {that's p sliding into the catcher at home...and still making the play. oh yeah} and to make things better...today is p's 15th bday. so starting off with a conference win was the perfect gift for her. hard for me to believe that my paige was actually born...she was soooo late, i swore she would go to college in utero.  i tried walking her out. i tried eating burritos. i tried everything...she was more than content to stay right where she was...but the bean burritos finally paid off and she decided to come and eat some taco bell on her own... {my fav pic of her as

so i know we have only been home like 3 days, but i still remember the beach!  there's this thing about being in a place where the world kinda ends...and there's no appointments or distractions or practice or work...and we're all just us.  family. together. always. i mean, we still have our spats and there's still time outs and life isn't perfect at the beach, but it's kinda like a glimpse of peace...which is sometimes hard in and amongst the reality of our busy daily lives. i took the picture below the last morning we were at the beach house...coffee and beach.  man, does life get any better? that same morning at the beach, paige, jada and i went on a walk while ryan, sof and brooke took some "relaxing" time at the house.  i mean, when does your 15 year old just walk with you...talk with you...relate to you?  i can tell you...it's on the beach, where there's no cell service and lots of time to think and talk. paige and i have a great relati