by Sarah | Jul 17, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Friday Feels, Redefining Perfect
When I was growing up I wanted nothing more than to be older.
I wished away every year, wanting to be a little older so I could do one thing or another.
So I could stop being a baby.
Nowadays time is flying by way too fast. I blink and half a year is gone. I take a nap and it’s been almost a year since we went to Disney.
I take a deep breath and my baby boy is not just a teenager, but an Eagle Scout destined to graduate in just a heartbeat.
Because a heartbeat is all it’s going to take.
A heartbeat and the girls are teens.
A heartbeat more and they are grown.
I want to put a pin in so many moments.
Hold onto them tight and let them pass slower.
Meanwhile my girls are wishing their lives away as I once did.
“I can’t wait for school to start” – just days after the last day of school.
“I can’t wait until I can drive.”
“I wish I was seventeen.”
“I wish…”
“I wish…”
I wish it would stop.
For just a few minutes.
To let me breathe it in.
To make this one heartbeat last a few minutes longer.
Or a lifetime.
by Sarah | Jul 16, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Disney, Make-A-Wish, Redefining Perfect
For 90% of our visit to Orlando last year, we were blessed beyond belief weather-wise. Despite Orlando’s proclivity for random rain showers, we weren’t rained on once. We took ponchos with us every day, and blessedly never had to use them.
We did, however, have to use our jeans and jackets–but that’s another story for another time.
Our first full day in Orlando was spent at Universal, most of it in the Islands of Adventure. The weather was the most perfect we could have hoped for. Sunny, but not hot or too humid. We were comfortable in shorts and tee’s, hiking through the park didn’t overtax us.
Still, about two hours in, we spotted the first water ride. It was one of the white water rafts, where we knew we’d get…a little wet. Molly was opposed to getting wet, but we convinced her it wouldn’t be so bad…(are we bad to be such liars 😉 )
Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barge was the winner for our first water ride. They offered ponchos, but we scoffed saying ponchos were for chumps. I think my exact words were, “Who goes on a water ride and wears a poncho?”
For a good portion of the ride, our side of the boat escaped the worst of the impact of the water and we thought we were safe–but no one is safe on the barge. By the end we came off dripping.
Soaked.
Right down to the bone.
Of course, when you get off any water ride, Universal has these dryers in place. People dryers.
We stared at them, and down at our soaked clothes, and back at the dryers. We debated for a long time as people were using the set we were considering.
After much debate ad hemming and hawing, we decided to go ahead and use them. Two and three of us at a time, at $5 a pop, we hopped in. Dried off, mostly and went about our business.
Further down the line we came to the flume ride, Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls. This one had a HUGE drop that excited Kennedy to no end. Molly and Denver? Not so much…they wanted to beg off the ride, so we let them. Erik and I thought “Well, we just dried off, but surely we can’t get as wet on this ride as we did on the barge.”
Oh were we wrong.
The ride is long, you keep thinking the big drop is coming, but it doesn’t. You get soaked along the way by spraying water, twists and turns, and evil people on the bridge spraying water guns at you. By the time you get to the drop, you know what’s coming. We were sitting near the front so we were way more soaked the some further back.
We got off lamenting the wasted $$ at the drying pods, and totally ignored the pods at the end of this ride and went about our day preferring to let the sun and light breeze dry us.
So needless to say by the time we made it to the Jurassic Park River Adventure we were still damp and figured we couldn’t lose. Once again, Molly and Denver said “Nope” to the flume ride and positioned themselves near the end of the ride to see us emerging.
Wouldn’t you know–when we got off that ride, we were drier than Denver and Molly? Those two buffoons decided it was GREAT fun to stand in the splash zone at the end of the ride and get flat-out doused by every flume that came over the edge.
So, needless to say our first day at the parks was our wettest day (especially since we ended up missing on one particular ride at Disney, which is, as I said, another story for another day).
But it sure was fun.
Waterlogged in Florida isn’t such a bad thing, after all.
by Sarah | Jul 10, 2015 | All About Kennedy, All About Me, All of Us, Blogging Life, Friday Feels, Redefining Perfect
On a regular basis, Kennedy asks to brush my hair. I’m always happy to let her, of course. Having my hair brushed is one of the most relaxing things – ever.
On one of these occasions, Erik & I were chatting. I can’t remember the exact subject matter, just that it was a quiet conversation about everyday things.
In the course of the conversation I replied with, “Well, I used to be good, anyway.”
Kennedy, in all seriousness, leaned forward. She patted my head gently, and looked me dead in the eye. “That’s because you’re getting old.”
Needless to say, my husband (9 years my senior, thank you) busted out in laughter on the couch, and Kennedy ended up the target of the tickle monster.
Kids.
Oy.
by Sarah | Jul 7, 2015 | All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
Hooray for the return of Top Ten Tuesday! At least I’m saying that…if I’m the only one, don’t tell me 😀 I love lists of all kinds.
This one was especially fun for me because it meant I got to do a little photo shoot with the Monster High Dolls in the house 😀 We own a few (probably close to 40 all three of us combined–the girls & me), but I have a few favorites lying around here, and not all of them are mine.
I struggled with how to do this list, because it’s so hard to pick favorites. I finally decided on the good old alphabetical method – by name, not the line.
1. Avea Trotter – She’s from the Freaky Fusion show. I had to get the daughter of the centaur for many reasons – she’s purple, she’s part horse, and holy cow is she gorgeous.
2. Catrine deMew – from the Gloom & Bloom line. She’s fancy, she’s pretty, and I love the flowering touches in this line, I want the whole thing. 😉
3. Clawdeen – This one’s from the Scaremester Collection. She’s not mine, it’s Kennedy’s, and I’m totally jealous. Clawdeen with short hair is to die for. She’s got this cute little leather jacket, and I just love her.
4. Clawvenus – Another Freaky Fusion doll, I’m a bit obsessed. Again, unfortunately, this is not mine, I haven’t got a single Clawdeen. I am a big fan of the crazy furry jacket here, and the addition of Venus McFlytrap’s “shaved” sections of hair.
5. Draculaura – Sweet Screams indeed. She was my first purchase for myself. The wrapped pigtails did it for me. Yes, I have issues. shush. She’s pretty.
6. Ghoulia Yelps – Another from the Sweet Screams line. Ghoulia has long been one of my favorite Monster High characters–and she (not this doll, but the character) was the first one bought for Kennedy. I like the Sweet Screams version because it’s super bright and colorful – and her shoes are gummy worms for crying out loud.
7. Jane Boolittle – Another from the gloom and bloom line. I really just liked her fluffy skirt, and her pink highlights.
8. Lagoonafire – Yet another from the Freaky Fusion line. Can you tell that’s one of my favs? Lagoonafire is, alas, not mine at all though there are two of her in this house. Both Kennedy and Molly own one, but I do not. They bought her for themselves with their own money. I love her crazy color scheme, her flaming tail, and her hair curl. I have my eye on one for myself, yes I do.
9. Rochelle Goyle – Scaris style. Look at the Eiffel Tower. Plus, pink & grey has always been one of my favorite color combinations. I also totally dig gargoyles, and she does gargoyle in a gorgeous fashion.
10. Vandala Dubloons – She’s a pirate ghost with a pirate ship. Need I say more? (From Haunted)
Honorable Mention!!
Her photo shoot didn’t go as well, because she was the very first Monster High doll brought into the house…before K really thought to take care of them so they’d stay as pretty. We long ago lost her glasses, and her hair is no longer curly and her pictures in the photo shoot, well…they didn’t come out so pretty.
So, I’m using an old photo from the first week we had her originally posted on Instagram.
Ghoulia Yelps – I don’t know why I always liked her, but K got her for Christmas the year I had surgery and every day K brought Ghoulia to me to keep an eye on me (because she was my favorite). And so the O.G. Monster High in this house must be acknowledged.
by Sarah | Jul 6, 2015 | All About Family, All About Kennedy, All of Us, Crap, Random, Redefining Perfect
I have this piece of artwork on my wall I made just a few years back. The wedding picture of Erik & I surrounded by our kids. On the left, pictures of them as babies. On the right, pictures of them “Current day”. Or, they were at the time.
Some days it catches my eye and totally stops me in my tracks.
At the time I made it Denver had seemed so old. Older than his sisters, who at the time were a mere one and two. He himself was just 9. The same age as Kennedy is today. 9 little years old. Now he’s a huge, attitude filled, stubborn teenager.
Molly aged in photography early. Before our eyes she became ‘model-ready’ in every single photo, with her sparkling blue eyes and perfect posing.
Kennedy tricked us. We thought we were safe with our doe-eyed baby girl. Her big brown eyes and constant laughter, temper tantrums and childlike wonder at everything, she’d for sure be our baby forever.
Then this happened.
I mean, HOW? When did she get so mature?
I try to focus on the things that keep her ‘young’.
Her firm belief in magic (not her attempts to get concrete proof of such things).
Her crazy laughter in the light moments (not the near-tween-like attitude she shows from time to time).
Her love of Monster High (not the extension into loving scary movies as well ~shiver~).
I’d just love for her to stay my baby girl for a while longer. With one leaving the nest next year, and another entering middle school…I’ll just ignore that she’s following right behind her sister toward departing the elementary school years. I’ll just ignore this stunning picture where she looks too old for her own good.
She is, and will always be, my bright brown eyed girl.
by Sarah | Jul 5, 2015 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, Photography, Redefining Perfect, Snapshot Sunday, Weekly Winners
As I miss the days of the Weekly Winners once hosted by Lotus, I wanted to start showing pictures again. Mostly because in the past few years as I became more involved in writing, my camera became a bit neglected. In hopes of reinvigorating my photography life again, as I’ve always loved taking pictures, and miss it.
I started by giving myself themes to follow, but have since decided to just go into it with my whole heart and show the best of the weeks shots and some of what happened in the week I’m showing.
Week – 6/21/15-6/28/15
A tiny inchworm we discovered outside. Tiny tiny tiny.
The Husband
Denver’s friend & mentor (& our neighbor), Marc, giving a touching speech at Denver’s Eagle Ceremony.
The Kennedy
My most interesting event this week – meeting the fascinating Mr Chen Guan Ming, the man riding a rickshaw around the world.
I did a full on photo shoot with my daughters’ and my Monster High Dolls. I LOVE these things, I admit it. My husband thinks it’s weird as hell that I love them like I do. I think they’re beautiful. These are just a few of my favorite pictures from the session.
Sweet Screams Ghoulia Yelps
Avea Trotter
Gloom and Bloom Catrine de Mew
Scaremester Clawdeen Wolf
And that’s it for this week! More to come next week…considering I get my camera back out 😀
Nowadays time is flying by way too fast. I blink and half a year is gone. I take a nap and it’s been almost a year since we went to Disney.
