A Little Piece of Heaven on Earth

love...

January Madness

Boy,

what happened to

easing into the new year? 

Our January calandar filled up in no time...

proving, once again,

that the old adage is true:

No rest for the weary...

and the righteous don't need none!

By the way,

we're definitialy the former-not the latter!

January did give us the opportunity

to watch Samuel coach-for two minutes-

the young men in Basketball. 

Then they needed a ref-

something he's not to keen on,

but did great!

The young men weren't

so fond of him thereafter,

but I,

to the great embarrassment of Owen,

screamed my head off for our side...

and the awesome ref!

He kept saying,

"Mom, why are you yelling?!?

Stop!"

No way, boy!

And get used to it!

Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall...

Owen,

You are one funny little boy!

I love you!

You found a wall,

and before I know it,

you called to me

and sang

-and acted out-

"Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall..."!

Thanks for making my day, hon!

Love,

Mom

Owen-Boy...

OWEN

My runner, jumper,

dinosaur monster...

who loves legos, toast, and

all things under my cake dome!

He is never more my Owen

than when running around in jammies,

with a new affinity for socks,

and that wonderful bed hair!

Owen,

I love you!

Thank you for taking some photos for your mum

so I can capture what intrigues you,

makes you happy,

and makes you

YOU!

You are a good boy

and I love that you are my son!

Have a happy day!

xoxomom

Goodnight, indeed...

Life in the Car

Documented by:

Iris & Owen Elmer

A Cheap Nemo Submarine Ride



Better Watch Out...

Bad To The Bone...

Brothers...

Big Doin's: Surprise Room Makeover

With Samuel starting school in just a few days

I felt the nesting crunch,

{yes, you still nest after the babies are done a'comin'!} 

and dragged him to the girls room for an

impromtu room makeover.

While the kiddos were busy watching a movie

we hauled everything around,

dismantled their bunk beds,

moved toys to the boys room,

and re-hung all the artwork and...

Voila!

Sheer, utter, pandemonium!

They LOVED it!

Not to be outdone,

Owen wanted a picture of his

new-to-him toy bin!

Awesome, Owen!

Sweet dreams, everyone...

Barnacles

A lovely day at the water park!

While my girls romp on the playground,

what do my boys do?

Snack!

Little barnacles...

Sink or Swim...

Post-family camp meant only one thing...

Swim Lessons!

Our three girls couldn't wait to jump in,

Owen on the other hand...

Yes,

it was quite tramatic.

Fortunately,

by the end of two weeks he was getting into the water without crying,

and though he'll be repeating the same class next year,

at least he got his feet wet (yes, pun intended!).

Like I said before,

the girls were thrilled to get back into the water,

and of course,

they rocked it!

And thanks to Gabriel being such a

stick-to-you-with-glue kind-of-boy,

he sat quietly pretty much the whole time

and was content to munch on craisins and cheerios

during all the hoopla!

Ahhh.  Yes.

How could I forget?

The girls learned how to dive this season.



Or should I say,

attempted to dive this season?

{smile}



At least they know how to make waves!

One more season down...

Love that Dollar Scoop Night

Happy Birthday Owen, Gabriel, & Julia!

I think this picture of my boys looks so, so funny!

Here they are at the ripe old age for four & two,

and yet I can look at this picture

and easily fast-forward to when they're forty-four & forty-two-

and get a good idea of what they'll look like then!

I dearly hope they continue to be a little GOOFY...

...a WHOLE lot of fun...

...and the very BEST of friends!

How is that they're so nice and composed for a picture with dad...

 ...and so silly and squirmy with mom?

The waiting is finally over...

 C H E C K  I T  O U T !

Superheros in the house!

We HIGHLY recommend this set from Amazon-

which is very reasonably priced!

If you're interested,

check it out here!

Since the boys birthday's are in the summer,

or in our house,

- C A M P I N G  S E A S O N -

s'more's are the way to go!

Yup,

that's all that were left,

and even these last morsels were snatched up by sticky fingers!

We're so fortunate to have both our families in town,

so we celebrated yet again with even more grandma's!

Aunt Julia turned sweet-fourteen!

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y,  B E A T I F U L !



Sigh.

Another year has come and gone.

Owen & Gabriel,

You are,

and always will be,

my "two boys!"

We love you both so much,

and it is a joy to watch you grow.

All our love,

Mom & Dad

(...and your three other little momma's too!)

Laundry Baskets + Boxes = Peaceful Playtime

Free Entertainment for the Dog-less & Baseball-less!

To the chagrin of the kids,

Samuel and I are proud members of the

"No Pets, Club".

Thank goodness for the dog park,

which is crawling with...

well, dogs!

After Gabriel got his fix,

{ Right now he's fascinated with dogs!}

we headed to the ballpark for a picnic on the bleachers.

Wherein,

Gabriel loves dogs,

Owen loves baseball...

And we even spotted some kids from church
all suited up and throwing the ball around!

...

It was a super-fun

-super-free!-

evening at the park(s)!

Except now they want dogs again...

Sigh.