Wedded Bliss

Today.. the Mr. and I celebrate TEN years of wedded bliss. It has been an awesome journey so far, lots of laughing, a little tears, some sickness an abundance of health, and a gaggle of children. We have struggled on some fronts and thrived in others and somehow we have found a balance... I love the man I married more today than ten years ago, differently, more completely and with a kind of gratitude I didn't know existed until I realized how flawed I am.

He is a great partner, a witty friend and a great masseuse. He makes me laugh and think.. there is no one I would rather be consistently outnumbered with.

Here is a little slide show.. of the 17,493 photos we have on the computer and the two shoe boxes of predigital photos we have.. there are 50 photos we are both in. So here is a little history of our wedded bliss through those select photos. I took the liberty of not scanning in the ones from college where we are dressed for "sketch" parties, or obviously intoxicated... because this is a family show.. and I will say that didn't leave much evidence from the first 4 years of our "romance". So you will just have to imagine how awesome looking we were at that point. My advice would be that our awesomeness would be the inverse of our visible exhaustion in the post baby stage.. as in the older we get the more awesome we were.. and all that jazz. Happy Anniversary MR.

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We've been in the mountains..

We've lived very near to the mountains FOREVER but we haven't spent any time there really. We took a trip with the Mr.'s Family for almost a week at a house on Sugar Mountain. 

AWESOME!!  It was so incredible.. even the day it poured rain as we rafted down the Watagua River. 

 The Mr. Got some new Sunglasses for father's day.

 Have you met the newest addition yet?

 In the mountains.. on a walk.

 looking for bears

 "Cheers" with Papa...

 it's grape juice... in case you were worried. The kids and Mimi were quite concerned I was letting Lil Bit drink all my WINE.

 free paddle boats (Which I would call Canoes) This was a nervewracking experience to be in the canoe with a bunch of wiggly kids and an expensive camera.

 cousins

 walking on the dock.

 Hiking Linville Falls

 up up up to the top...

 reading on the deck...

 smore's... (all the really good smore's pictures are on Mimi's camera, because I was handed the wrong one.. in all the smore's flurry I could hardly put it down and switch!)

 Gem mining (Have you done this ever?) you pretty much wash and sort rocks and it was very interesting for people of all ages.

 see who is more interested here.. it's hard to telll..

 Little Daddy's Haul... now we need a rock tumbler.

exploring a feldspar mine (not as interesting as a gold mine.. but you know.. still neat)

There's even more.. this is just a teaser.. not to mention all the fun we didn't catch with the camera. Like Karaoke..Baby Jack tunneling through the coffee table... Mellow Mushroom..
on the way out we hit the tanger outlets... and MAN oh MAn did we score at the gymboree!! I also made out like a bandit at LOFT. I love that place.

Swim Meet Tomorrow! Miss H is still not asleep so I'm thinking it will be a disaster for her.

Hi Ho Cherry O

I had a few firsts today. First.. we went Cherry picking. Awesome.. and then to Pilot Mountain for a picnic..

We had a cherry tree in our yard when I lived in Northern California.. but it was nothing like these. Miss H said, when she shimmied up the first ladder... Hey this is just like Chutes and Ladders! and the first time her bucket slipped, Carrie callled out. Hey "It is Hi Ho Cherry-O!"

I have never been so in awe. Cherries are always a highlight of the summer, but to see them dangling like little juicy rubies from a tree overhead is quite a sight, they must have been quite tantalizing we ended up picking 12 pounds worth!

Little Daddy was quite the picker, and loved climbing the ladders! At one point as he was depositing black cherries by the handful he sang an original cherry song.. which I wish I could recall the words to. He is not generally a singer and he must have been inspired by the absolute beauty that surrounded us. Even Lil Bit shimmied pretty high, although her shorter arms left her picking a little slim.

We also discoved a yellow wax cherry, that is the most divine thing I've tasted (although on the way home I bought some hickory smoked sharp cheddar from a farm stand on the state line that was pretty tasty too). They are a little bit tart with a sweet finish. A feast for the eyes and a delight on the tongue.

also at the farmstand I let the kids all pick some food for a picnic, The boys choses apples and the girls tomatoes.

Rachel chose a pint of heirloom cherry size tomatoes, a wonderful array of pinks and reds and yellows.  I can't tell you how they tasted because she gobbled them all up before we reached Pilot Mountain.

What a blessing to have great friends with great ideas!
and I think we might head back to Pilot Mountain for a little hiking.

big and little

See this face.. 

Yes.. I know you're thinking.. she's so adorable. She drove me BANANANANANNANAS today. 

We are having a little struggle around here, because she thinks she is big, but she is little. She wants to do all the things the big kids do.. ALLL OF THEM!! And when things don't turn out the way she wants 

SHE WHINES!

The problem is, that sometimes I forget she is little because she does do alot of things that big kids do. SO when she screamed at me the whole way down to the pool (yes, it is less than 400 m.. but with a kid screaming at you it can seem much longer) because she saw I brought the swim jacket which she thinks she doesn't like. I kept thinking in my head..

WHY IS SHE ACTING LIKE SUCH A TWO YEAR OLD???? 

Oh Yeah... 

because she's two. 

And then of course she loved the swim jacket and was saying, "look at me I can swim, Look Mommy I can float on my back. Look Mommy I can twirl." 

and then she said... 

Can a do a backflip off the diving board?

and I said sure... 

but when she climbed the ladder and saw how high it was.. she turned right back into a two year old. 

Kid needs more of this.. 

She did sneak up to me after dessert and say "I say thank you to you for my oreo salad, mommy. Can you forgive me?" 

not quite you're average two year old.. but definitely a keeper. 

FAshion Show

An exciting thing happened today... Miss H upcycled her first pair of jeans!! 

I have made many shorts this way. There was something magical about her choosing to make them bermuda length, and stitching them up while in her underwear. You'll see she is using the "HELL-NA" Hello Kitty needs a tune-up. I'll have to get right on that, because the kids have projects lined up on the ironing board already.

Take one of the Mr.'s Faded non SMOD compliant collared shirts.

Add one industrious, creative, completely wonderful six year old.

Get one, really cute, almost looks store-bought I can't believe she made it herself, swim coverup!! 

Do you see how cleverly she used the ribbing from the original sleeves. I had tried to get her to make bias tape in red with white polka dots and add some red polkadot pockets, but she wanted this simple/classic look. 

She's amazing. 

Here as promised are some things that I have sewn for myself inthe last few months. 

Channelling Donna Reed and Easter

Cutesy Circle skirt and Jackie Oish Boucle Shift

I love them all, especially the skirt which didn't even take an hour. The Jackie Oish sheath is a boucle, and a testament to why you should always have a friend help you set your hem length. It's about 1 inch too short.  Mimi has the same floral fabric to make some skirts for the girls, so I'm hoping she gets those finished soon, because we all know I love the coordinated family look. Maybe I can talk the boys into bow ties. 

sunday Sunday SUNDAY!

This is how the boys came up to breakfast this morning.





I think they thought they were cool like Papa Mike...

And look how cute they looked heading into church!! 

Thank you Mimi Viv for always sending such adorable things for my little gang. And seriously when you dress them all coordinated.. they are a little bit like a gang.