hospital visits

Declyn and James love the window in Casey's room, so I thought it'd be a neat backdrop for a picture of them.  Of course they had to carry their cars up to the windowsill ... can't put them down for a second.

This was a snapshot from the video I took of James feeding Dec while sitting in the hospital bed with Casey.  If there's food, Declyn will find it.

Such a sweet picture of Casey and James enjoying a little treat in bed.  Now if I can only lower his pants, it'd be the perfect shot.  :)

It was so interesting to be at the hospital with James.  He never once asked why his dad was there, when he'd be home, why he had wires hooked up to him, anything.  Rather, he was infatuated with the helicopter taking off out the window and what cartoon was on TV.

waking up on kent island

...and this was our view at breakfast.  There was sand where we ate, so I had no choice but to take my shoes off and pretend I was at the beach.  Such a lovely start to a Sunday.

I had to take a morning after shot of us all ... minus Kristi, who had already left to get back to Pittsburgh. 

#bloved2014

One of my best, and favorite, friends got married on Kent Island this past weekend.  She completely lucked out on the weather (after the nonstop rain we had) and the day ended up being beautiful!  

The hubs and I clean up pretty well, I must say.

All the groomsmen with the handsome groom, waiting for that stunning bride to walk down the aisle.

Even blurry, the gown was stunning, and so was the bride.

Snapped my phone at just the right moment.  There's nothing like a father giving his daughter away.

The whole bridal party ready to go.

Despite the awkwardness of this picture, it's one of the very few we have of us 851 loves (minus the bride, of course) and our significant others.

851 is at it again.  The second to last lady to get married.

Loving the dock photo opportunities.

Oh hey there, little one.

I also found a few good gems others had taken, so thank you to you photogs.

All the sorority sisters.

Showing our love to JMU.

And we can't forget about our boys.

so sly

Over a week ago (clearly I'm behind on my posts), my brother was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in his neck.  Thankfully, he is doing fine, but in the meantime I've been helping to take care of my nephews ... and sending him pictures like this one to hopefully cheer him up.

Brent (who is always strapped in, except for when I feed him) is done, wouldn't you say?

Declyn loves to climb up on the guest bed, which has permanently turned into the dogs place to hang out.

Another one sent to Casey -- Brent made his own wubbanub.  He pulled a magnet off their fridge and stuck it to his binky.

Amongst the chaos, I captured this moment.  Just a grandma and her three beautiful grandsons.

happy moms day

Mike was able to capture a picture of me and Dec on Mother's Day ... a rarity for us.

Four generations of love.  And if I am half the mother either of these two wonderful ladies are, I will be one happy gal.  And so will my kids.  :)

drops of fun

For Mother's Day we decided to take out the sprinkler.  I mean the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so why not?  Plus I had a towel ready for immediate use once he was done.  And if you know me, a baby in a diaper is a dream come true.  Why wouldn't I want to spend my Mother's Day any other way?

His first sprinkler experience -- enjoying the water drops.

Running towards me as the sprinkler was running towards him.  I have to admit, the water was a little cold.

Observing the sprinkler from afar -- not really sure what to make of it.

Getting used to the feel of it.

Testing the waters ... literally.

This is one of my favorites -- nailed right in the face.

Showing me his new contraption. 

yard work

While Mike was out of town, and I was bridesmaid dress shopping with Meagan, Declyn got to participate in some yard work with Pops.  I love the progression of these photographs my mom sent me.

My dad showing him how to work the shovel.

'Don't worry, Pops, I got this.'

Officially getting things done.

Clearly my favorite.  Who doesn't love a little baby bum crack?

green grass

Hello, summer!

It is so sweet to see these two together.  Usually it's James chasing after Declyn, mimicking what he's doing or chatting him up, but nonetheless it's adorable. 

Check out that leg lift. 

cinco de mike-o

My adoring husband turned 30 (what??).  When I met him he was 20 ... where is time going??  Aside from being a heartfelt, honest, truly wonderful husband and best friend, he is also those things (and many, many more) to our beautiful son.  Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am.  These past 9.5 years have flown by and I can only imagine what the next 10 have in store.  I love you, B.  And as is spelled out in Gaelic on his arm, eternity (truly) is not enough.

Some recent recaps of our moments together.  Clearly Declyn is much younger in the middle picture, but his facial expression says it all -- he is amazed at / in awe of his dad, just as we all are.

We went hiking in Great Falls and Dec kept looking up, so I decided to do the same.  It's amazing to see the world in a little ones eyes -- they see the beautiful things in life we sometimes forget are there.

Being a little  independent goober. 

Top right -- can you feel the love?

Along with him turning 30, obviously many of his friends did as well.  Every year our good friend Ben has a Cinco de Ben-o party (his birthday is May 6) so this year him, Drew (whose birthday is May 4) and Mike had a combined Three Amigos turn 30.  I will have to hunt for some pictures from friends ... between chasing Declyn and keeping Mike standing upright (kidding. sort of.) I forgot to take any.

staying dry

How can we be upset with the rain when this ham is staying dry and making me laugh?

He had such a good time at dinner at CC's house that he didn't even make it home before passing out.

monkey see

We spent the rainy afternoon at Monkey Joe's.  As you can tell, Declyn loved climbing all over everything the place had to offer.  I, on the other hand, loved going down the giant moon bounce slides with James.  Some of those were legit, making my stomach drop as if I was on a roller coaster.

Oh, hey there guys.

celebrating an amazing lady

My beautiful mom is turning 60 (I can't even believe it!) May 13 and unfortunately we have weddings pretty much every weekend in May, so we had to get the celebration started a little early.  This woman, who I am lucky enough to call my mom, took forever to agree to a day about her and trust me, she is one of the most deserving people that I know.  SO I couldn't be happier when she finally caved and agreed to  a day at the winery.  Little did she know, we had some surprises up our sleeves... (cut to the tiara, sash, cake, bottles of wine post-tour and the icing on the cake, a David Yurman bracelet compliments of everyone who attended).

Finishing up our private tour.

Lyss giving Smalls a little loving while listening to what was being poured.

Some of the ladies really taking interest in what the tour guide was saying.

Meag immediately took to the pink barrel.  Apparently that's the color they come in, but the winery changes the rim to the silver you see around all the other ones.  

Almost a full group shot.  I mean we could not have asked for a more beautiful day, especially those seated on the sunnier side who were catching some rays and working on their tan.