labor day 2015.......

well look at this, a new post!

i should say that any posts from here on out will be completely out of order. at this point, there's no way i can worry about chronological order with the amount of moments captured i'm behind on:)

so here we were on Labor Day 2015. the eve of back to school and back to structure and routine.

let's do something different i thought, so we headed to an apple orchard and picked raspberries.

because the raspberries were cheaper to pick ;) 

there were goats and alpacas and miniature donkeys to love as well as really cool play areas.

 it was still pretty hot so we picked and played but didn't stay too long.

 

after all, we had lunches and back packs to pack and clothes to lay out.

funny enough, not many were too fond of raspberries in general, even though they were really fun to pick.

the majority are currently in our freezer, but dad did make some raspberry apple smoothies for everyone when we returned home.

if i recall, we all got in the pool and had one last family swim before the start of another school year.

 hard to believe it's already half through October!

{and even though we really haven't enjoyed them yet, they sure are pretty to look at!}

oh boy....

i was doing soooo good the first half of the year taking the time to blog. then summer happened and even though being home from school would give me plenty of time to blog, well, it didn't. then back to school happened and homework and blah, blah, blah, blah.

 i can come up with a million excuses but it wouldn't matter. i just haven't set aside the time. hoping now that the back to school rush has subsided i can now start to play catch up. it will be huge. i have files and files of pics taken that deserve a shot at the ol' blog! so now that I've committed stay tuned:)

 about a week ago we took an early trip to Fox Farm to get our pumpkins and gourds. i was able to get a few fall shots of the kiddos while there!

 back to school has been a bit crazy but these guys are probably handling it better than i am. packing lunches, working on homework and adhering to bedtime schedules has not been fun for this mama!

 they are growing up so fast and as i always say, i just wanna find that pause button and hit it hard.

outings like this are getting harder and harder to plan what with their work and sports schedules. and let's not forget their social lives!

learning to be grateful for these moments even squeezed in to a week night!

 

 

time for a photo dump!

in the essence of saving a heck of a lot of time here, i present to you the last few weeks of photos!

 Mother's day 2015

 showing our support:)

 love this boy's smile!

 my new fave pic

lots of games... worn out bros 

 the First Lady pitchin' her first game!

 that's my girl:) 

  big brother pitchin' too

 and playin' first base too

first tournament of the year

 

 

 all the BFF'S

 

 school's out get together!

our magnificent Merry

Just a few recent favorites...

 our Oldest playing first

 the First Lady with her masterpiece at the art show...

 the Lil' Lady during her Kindergarten program...

and our Second texting with Pippin

 

trying not to get behind, i have loads to post! may have to wait for the end of the school year craziness to die down, stay tuned!

start of the 2015 birthdays...

 our Oldest and the First Lady just had a birthday. quite shocking, in fact, their 11th and 16th birthdays. why can't I ever get used to these kids growing up? it's ridiculous, time is just flying.

 just a few throwbacks...

 and then our oldest on his birthday eve "caught" a wild pitch to the eye at practice and I ended up with the best throwback ever!

 he elected to have a small family get together with dinner at Denny's, his most recent favorite dining establishment.

 happy 16th, you make us proud every day:)

 gettin' hugs from his brother and the Lil' Lady

 the guitar was a combination birthday/babysitting gift from grandma and grandpa. they were headed down to NC for a few days and he was taking care of the dogs and cockatoo. lemme just say he's already playing a few songs. he's always been a quick learner. campfires this summer are gonna be really awesome:)

looks like his sister is catching up to him.

 the First Lady opted for a party with friends. we didn't do a theme this time, just an old fashioned birthday party with balloons and streamers.

 and cake pops. surprisingly easy and dangerously good.

 we used tissue and lots and lots of crepe paper to make these...they turned out so pretty I thought about leaving them up forever. they're still up as I type.

 we went for minute to win it style games which were pretty funny to watch

 until the Kids Choice Awards on Nick came on and that killed the rest of the games!

 she's got a great group of friends

 bff's

 

happy 11th, if you could find me the pause button that would be just great.