five for friday, again

five for friday seems to be a good fit for me right now since everything during the summer feels so miscellaneous and random. and it helps me document the little things, which is really what i want to get down on "paper" any way.  here goes....

1. allie and james (her cousin) have always had a great friendship, they seem to be a perfect balance for each other. maybe because they seem to bring out the super silly in each other - i love watching them interact at family gatherings, they make me giggle and wonder what they will be like as adults. i was surprised by these funny photos that appeared on my camera this week.

2. we have a few extra littles at our house this weekend while their mom and dad are out of town. i love it when ethan has other people in the house that aren't adults or teenagers to hang out with. they always have so much fun. what is better than coloring books, sprinklers, trampoline time, legos, polly pockets and pancakes for dinner? 

3. this little family snapshot (thanks lisa), makes me smile because i love seeing my kids so grown up. 

this little family snapshot makes me feel surprised because i can't believe my kids are so grown up. 

this little family snapshot makes my heart hurt a little because my kids are so grown up! 

this little family snapshot makes me feel...SHORT. good grief. it doesn't help that i'm the only one who took her shoes off. i'm telling you, hold onto your little ones ladies, it happens way too fast.

4. real men wear aprons. i LOVE seeing these boys in aprons. especially TIES and aprons. 

i don't know why but it makes my heart swell with pride. :) maybe because there's something so handsome about a man who's not afraid to be a little domestic. 

5. i planted a small garden this year. i wasn't sure what i could grow so i only put in a few things, but i've learned a ton. like, don't buy cheap tomato cages because they fall down and/or fall apart, plant tomatoes far away from each other so they don't start looking like one giant plant, label everything (at least one plant is going to be a surprise when it finally produces something) and....one squash plant is pleeeenty. 

it's been super fun "harvesting" squash because every day there's a new basket of it, but really, we can only eat it so many ways. i am super super excited to have a handful of ripe tomatoes! squash anyone?

five for friday

1. i love it when cousins come to town and everyone just picks ups being best friends where they left off. even the little guys just play like they've never been gone. love that about cousins.

2.  with a little help from a garbage can, a picnic blanket and the self-timer, we got this impromptu family portrait that we'll call,  moores minus eleven since that's how many family members are missing from it. the next time we are all together, i am going to INSIST on taking a large family portait. it's way over due.

3. it's summer, therefore we swim. mostly with trent and cousins because the teenagers are too busy with other things.  the boys didn't even get swim passes this year - first time ever. strange. i bring my camera every time, but so far, this is all i've got. :)

4. the summer of cards. this has been a big favorite activity of my kids this summer (probably because it's an air-conditioned activity). usually there are many neighborhood and other teenagers at the table with them, and occasionally a board game, but usually cards. they're not asking to watch tv or play video games, so it's good with me.

5. this pic was a happy accident.

i was trying to take a self portait of  four of us and it didn't turn out. i'm so glad. it's my new favorite.

all about ethan

occasionally, this little boy, who is not so little any more, will snuggle with me and let me count his freckles.

really this is code for letting me kiss his face off, but he knows this about me, and is usually willing to submit to my lips any way. a few times, he has even said out of the blue, "mom, will you kiss my face off?"  uh, YES PLEASE. any excuse i can get thank you very much.

the kids and i have been commenting lately on how he is losing that baby face and looks more like a little boy all the time. it's fun to see him grow up, but gosh it's hard to let that baby stuff go! every day, something funny is said, i try to write them down, but it doesn't always happen. yesterday while eating a churro he exclaimed, "i LOVE my lips! they're just so yummy!" probably because they were covered in sugar and cinnamon, but still. and he's asking lately, "what means 'couple' ", and "what means 'blu ray' "? he also loves to finish his stories with the phrase, "...and i was like WHAH?"  ya, i think he lives with teenagers.

his style of posing for the camera has evolved as well. lately, he feels the need to push out his hips one way or the other - 

or throwing his arms out like he's singing on broadway

or giving me his best dinosaur impression.

this one is the kids' particular favorite, every time this photo pops up on screen, you can hear laughing in the form of howling coming from our house. it's embarrassing, i hope the neighbors don't think we're weird. oh who are we kidding, they already know.

the last couple of days, ethan hasn't been himself, he's been kind of grumpy and winey, which is a frequency my ears just don't pick up, so you can imagine my frustration. then i figured it out. he misses henry. and who can blame him? for nine days he has a built-in brother, perfect for all kinds of good things...

like cracking each other up
which they did, constantly.

and puzzles

and secret telling, henry's a very good listener

and mario kart racing
(i love how both of their tiny bottoms fit on the love sac at the same time)

and racing (but mostly crashing) a billion match box cars down the hallway

and making pizza

and just plain old buddy time

he's asked me every day when henry is coming back to our house. poor guy.
i miss him too buddy.

possessed

lately ethan LOVES babies.
i mean, really REALLY loves babies.
right now, baby cole is his favorite baby.

he always wants to HOLD him.

 

and LOVE him.

and SQUEEZE him tight.

and never let him go.

sort of reminds me of a favorite cartoon character.

remember elmyra from animaniacs? 

the one who made all the fuzzy animals run for their lives in fear of her over zealous hugs?

well right now, she, and her over zealous hugs, are occupying ethan's body. i don't know how long she'll stay, but i hope cole can survive, at least until he's big enough to run away, or defend himself.

then and now

a few years ago, i put together a series of grand kid photos for my mom and dad for christmas. i had a lot of fun shooting those gorgeous faces and in my favorite style, super tight, close up and simple.

they were a huge hit, mom and dad loved them.

since then, the kids have grown up quite a bit and a new baby was born, so it was time, this year, to update the wall. as i was going through and editing the shoot, i was surprised by how much everyone changed!

i thought it would be fun to document the difference just a few short years makes...

 ethan

taylor

spencer

allie

addie

laurel anne

charlie

makenna

ashton

and still missing....

baby cole - because he was kind of cranky when we shot these photos.

i'm going to have to catch him next time.

i was also surprised by how much my skills had improved, i am almost embarrassed to post some of these old photos, there's so much i want to change about them! i guess the kids aren't the only things that are a little different a few years later.

hyper drive

i've often said that may is busier than december except there's no "christmas magic" to work as an anesthesia to help you get through it. some days are just down right insanity, there's no other word to describe it. insanity of good things, but insanity just the same. so just for fun, here's a few of the reasons i was a lame blogger in may:

teacher appreciation luncheon at the jr. high (which was actually fun with help from lauri, patsy and janae - thanks ladies!)

senior photos (here are a couple of my favorites)

allie's spring recital - first recital on pointe shoes and oh my gosh was she awesome! (even though this photo is less than awesome)

mother's day

wayne and eileen's mission call to africa

allie's "night of noteables"

ethan's date with allie at school for "bring a preschooler day"

"you're a good man, charlie brown" when we barely saw taylor for two full weeks

drove to idaho with grandma to decorate graves over memorial weekend

spencer loved DARE lagoon day with his buddies
a shopping, er, i mean, marketing field trip with allie

taylor's guitar recital (i forgot my camera)

tuesday cousin play groups

not to mention the things i actually blogged about already: wood floors, date with my dad, kris allen winning idol, anniversary get-away, spencer's orchestra recital, playing at the park, etc. at some point i really need to write out some of the details of a few of these events, but that's going to have to be later in a catch up post. for now, i'm exhausted just looking at this list. it's time for a sunday afternoon nap.