Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Toes in the Water

We had no plans for the Memorial Day weekend.  Nothing at all.  I was good with that.  I just wanted to relax.  Finally, just relax.  Baseball is over (Jonah's team didn't make it to the championship game, but good season buddy!)  There was nothing on the calendar. Saturday, Sunday and Monday were a lovely grouping of blank boxes on my wall calendar.  That just never happens.

And then came Saturday morning.  I found myself in the basement cleaning and organizing and realizing that staying home does not equal relaxing.  Who gets to do that at home by the way?  Picture me sitting in the floor, yes, organizing wrapping paper and ribbon for goodness sakes.  Jesse is pulling out everything I put in.  What the hell am I doing this for?  And then...my love (that's what I call him here to my family that is just now joining us...you can give him hell) comes down and says, "Hey, you want to go to Benji's?  Everybody is there.  The kids can play in the pool..."

Well now folks, I think you know the next line...

Adios and vaya con dios, yeah I'm leaving GA.



 And I'm joining this crew.  Yep, we left GA with our two little ones and headed to AU.  We have this great family there.  We have this great, bigger than life, fun family there.



And we played and laughed and listened to stories.



And when Benji is involved...well, you're going to laugh and you're going to have fun.



And I turned to my love at some point during the day and said, "This is what you do on a holiday weekend ha?"



It was a special treat for the kids.  Such a special treat.

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And a treat for me to watch this side of my husband's family laughing and living and enjoying life to the fullest.



She's also family.  She cheers for AU.  Her name is Camie.

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I love watching them get together and tell stories.  There's so many stories.  There's old ones and new ones.

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There's always something funny that happened.

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Yep, and there are code words and nick names for people.  After being around, you just start picking up on them.

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It really doesn't get old.



This is Uncle Stan and Aunt Judi.  And this is an example of the hand motion that has been passed down from generation to generation.  It's a great part of the story telling.



See, even Aunt Judi can't get enough.



This is Hunter.  He should be on the cover of some magazine.



And here he is with Aunt Joeli.  I get really confused with cousin or second cousin, so I'm making the command decision right now.  Yep, this is Aunt Joeli.  She has four little ones of her own that I'm determined to see soon.



This delighted me more than they probably knew.  This is a trampoline next to a swimming pool.  This delighted me because it reminded me of something my Mama would have done.  She would have totally pulled this one on us.  And she would have been one of the ones jumping in.  I'm jumping in next time for sure.



Jonah admired Hunter the entire weekend.  He's so cool.



Hey buddy.  Great form.



"Gosh, I want to be just like Hunter one day."



And here they are.  How many R_____'s does it take to move a trampoline?  I couldn't stop laughing at this moment.  I wanted to join them, but I wanted to capture it.  I mean....come on.



How often do you see something like this?



Oh shit, we lost a leg.



Don't worry, Jesse is holding up one end with one arm.  No problem.



Awesome recovery family.



Uncle Benji has an awesome back yard.  My boy sees a bat and that's it.



I'm loving this picture.  I want to frame it.  I love Uncle Stan's expression.



Jesse loved Camie.  I checked the bags to make sure she didn't bring her home.

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This is Mitchell.  He should be on the cover of some magazine.



This is Jesse.  She needs an attitude adjustment.  She turned three and she's a girl and all of the sudden...I don't know.  Goodness, that's a topic for another day.  But I love you girl.  You rock the sad face.



This is Kelly.  She's awesome and so dang fun.



And there is Jesse girl with no fear what so ever.



"You want a fuzzy navel?"  "Heck no!  Make me a Margarita!"



I've moved on into Sunday here.  This weekend really rocks.  Really.

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Jesse took a break and painted her toe nails.

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Look!  I was there too!  I am so excited that she is content at this moment.  So excited.

Anyway, that's a lot of pictures.  I have like 350 more too.  I just couldn't help myself.  These are such wonderful people and they are my family and we were having so much fun.

I'll shut up and end with a few of my favorite pictures.







That's Grayson in the pink.  She belongs on the cover of some magazine.



If there were sand, our asses would have been in it...all day.  Good times.  Good times.

We were free.  We had fun.  This is what it's all about people.  Experiences.  Make the most of it.  Every day.

Till next time.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

My Best Boy

This one is tough for me.  I've had an emotional week with my boy.  I just can't hardly look at him without crying.

I know all parents say it, but for some reason, it's really getting to me this year.  He's seven.  My boy is seven.  He's growing up.  It's killing me.



It's just...he's my baby and lately, I can't seem to get rid of this physical pain in my chest when I look at him.  It overcomes me, and I have to leave him for a minute and just get it out of my system.



He's my hero.

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He's my movie partner.

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He's my fellow Karate Kid fanatic.

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He's teaching me new things like Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for goodness sakes.



Jonah, I love your sweet voice and speech that I still have to correct from time to time.

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Oh, those eyes.  It's impossible not to get lost in them.  Impossible.



I cherish your tender side.  It melts my heart when you look at me like this.

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I'm remembering a time when you were so sweet to your sister.  She was hurt and you sat with her and tended to her and watched Elmo.  It was so beautiful.



Reliving youth baseball through you has been the best.



I love how happy you are out there.








And how the end of the game is just as fun.  Your playfulness is contagious and addicting.



Your curiousity reminds me of both your Dad and I.

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You're all this and a thinker as well.  I'm so impressed with your daily observations.



And sitting with you as you opened your very first hardback, Chapter book...Harry Potter.  Watching your little fingers graze by every word and feel you absorb them into your soul and become a part of who you are.

Hoping your imagination quadruples as a result of it and also secretly hope that you are thinking that maybe, just maybe you can make magic one day.  Because...well...that's what is so awesome about being a child.  Anything is possible.

I can't possibly make you know how much I love you at this moment.  I can only hope that you read this one day when you are all grown up and realize.

My sweet Jonah.  My best boy.  God, I love you.

Oh how I've enjoyed these past seven years.  Watching you grow has been nothing less than incredible.

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You are destined for greatness.

Dream Big my sweet boy.  Make Magic.  

Oh God, I love you.  When you love someone this much, you are always with them.  Did you know that?

Godspeed.

Sweet Dreams.