say "cheese"!!!!!

as jeffrey could tell you...my favorite part of any beach vacation are the pictures!!!! i love the backdrop...and LOVE capturing my sweet peas on "film"! i will probably at some point and time share most of the pictures that we took...but for now, i just wanted to give a sneak peak!!!! HA!
i can hardly wait to see what our family of five will look like next year...when #3 is not just being photographed in my tummy!!!!!

beach bums...if only for a couple days!!!!

since the move was going to be taking up the vast majority of our summer, we decided to push our beach vacation to august...which left very little "wiggle room" due to ella starting school and my days of allowed travel being numbered. the kids were so super excited to head to the beach...and i'll have to admit...i think i may have been more excited than they were.

unfortunately, jeffrey's sweet mema passed away the day before we were supposed to leave...so of course, we needed to be with the family in louisiana and texas. the funeral wasn't until saturday afternoon in wilmer texas...so i kept telling jeffrey that we just shouldn't worry about the beach this year. my husband, being nothing short of amazing, insisted that we make everything work (he's a fixer and a pleaser!!!)...so we loaded up the girls at 8 o'clock saturday night and headed off for mobile, alabama. we figured that would at least give us a couple of full days on the beach!

i could not be happier that we (with lots of convincing from hubby) decided to go ahead with our vacation...WE HAD A BLAST!!!!! the tucker family joined us sunday afternoon and both families had an amazing time! the weather was absolutely perfect, the kids L.o.V.e.d. the beach as well as the ocean, swam in the pool for countless hours, and had such a fun time in the evenings riding go karts and bungy jumping!!!!! it was extremely quick and i certainly wasn't ready to leave tuesday morning...but it was SO worth it...and i was able to sneak in a measly 650 pictures or so...

these memories made with our children and family are priceless to me...i treasure so many of the vacations i went on as a child. i can only hope that ella & maddie look back on these times with happy hearts...and know that we did all of this because we love them so much.

and we're off...

to a great start this new school year! ella's half day on thursday went very well...and the "boo hoo" breakfast for all the new mommies was a success as well! they handed out kleenex to all of the moms and talked to us about separation anxiety...on OUR part mainly!!!!

ella had a F.a.B.U.l.o.U.s. first full day of kindergarten on friday...and was sporting the biggest smile you have ever seen when i picked her up (i was the second car in the carpool line - couldn't wait to see her!!!)! she immediately said "i don't ever want to move again, mommy"...

after lots of prodding, i was able to obtain the following information from her:
1) her favorite part of the day was lunch
2) she got to go to art
3) she played with sarah and madelyn...and madelyn has diabetes and has to have her "blood pressure" checked with a friend
4) she actually fell asleep during nap time and was one of the last to wake up
5) one of the little girls in her class got a warning...but not her...and we certainly hope it stays that way
6) she wants to know if she can go to school on saturdays!!!!!!!

we could not be happier that she seems to love it so much! i think i'm going to love it just as much as she does too...of course, i eagerly signed up to be one of the room mothers - jeffrey thinks i am such a dork...but i LOVE that kind of stuff!!!! i can only imagine what this year will hold...and i hope that each day only seems to be more fun and exciting than the first...because if so, it just couldn't get any better!!!!!! here are a few pics of our little "smith's super star"!

life as we know it...

is definitely about to change.

i will most assuredly have to relay all of the fabulous fun that we had on our whirlwind beach vacation...because we had LOTS OF FUN...but tonight, life as we have known it for the last five and a half years is changing...

our first baby daughter, who came into this world at a tiny 6 pounds 4 ounces, is upstairs sleeping in preparation for her first day of...

kindergarten.

how can that be? it feels like just yesterday that i was toting her around in her infant carrier. it feels like just yesterday that our days were filled with swinging, eating snacks, and taking naps. it feels like just yesterday that i walked her into her first day of mother's day out...thinking about how hard it would be to drop her off on her first day of kindergarten...

and yet, here we are. life as we know it is moving forward...and while i certainly wouldn't want it any other way...there is a part of my heart that hurts. i am truly going to miss her being around every day. she is such a light in our lives...and it's strange to think that she won't be padding around here in her pj's on a daily basis. miss madeline is going to miss her, probably more than i will...and it will be an adjustment for her to get used to her best friend being at school. they are bound like no other.

life as we know it is changing.

jeffrey and i kept telling her independently today that we loved her so much and were so proud of her. she looked at me and said "you and daddy keep telling me that". i told her that we were just so excited for her but that i was going to miss her and she said to me "mommy, but i'm just going to school..." - she'll understand one day when she has her own babies.

she and i went grocery shopping together today...just the two of us. i just felt like i wanted to spend some quality time with her before her big day. i just love that little girl so much it sometimes feels like it hurts. i know that everybody goes through this when their child reaches such a milestone...but it just gives a quick snapshot of how fast her whole childhood is going to go...and i just want to hold on to each and every frame.

life as we know it is changing...that's for sure...but one thing that won't ever change is the infinite amount of love i have for her, her sister, her unborn baby brother or sister, and her daddy.

i am abundantly blessed...and i don't see that changing any time soon.

my sweet ella,

how in the world have 5 1/2 years passed by so quickly? you are an absolute joy...such an amazing little person at such a tender age...and i could not be more proud of you. i am so excited to watch all that you become as you enter into the big world of kindergarten. i have no doubt that you are going to be an amazing friend to your peers and an amazing student. i don't know what i did to deserve to be your mommy, but God definitely showered me with an unbelievable blessing when he gave you to me.

every moment that i have spent with you for the last 5 1/2 years has been engraved on my heart...and while i always knew i wanted to be a mommy...i could never have imagined how much i would love you. may you flourish this year as you gain your independence...may you always know that perfection does not make you perfect in my eyes...may you always know that you are loved more than all the stars in the sky. you are my ella...and i love you to the moon and back.

you are destined for great things, sweet pea...and i am so thankful that i get to watch from the front row.

i love you angel...

your proud mommy

girls just wanna have fun...

and that's just what we're doing! our social schedule has definitely been turned up a notch and let me just say...WE LOVE IT...we are certainly not letting any grass grow under our feet!!! we have done everything from visiting a gator farm, swimming, almost pulling an all nighter with our wonderful neighbors (two nights in a row!!!!!!), jumping jupiter, kidcity, and LOTS of dressing up with pretending!!!!

i think the girls heads are spinning with all that we have been doing...but the squeals of delight and big smiles lead me to believe that they are adjusting just fine!!!

i know the dust will settle and things will slow down, especially once school starts, but for now we are enjoying life in the fast lane...

when life gives you lemonade...

sell it!!!

that's just what we did on sunday afternoon! ella, madeline, and their precious new friend leslie elizabeth decided to test out their entrepreneurial skills and set up a lemonade stand for the neighborhood to enjoy! i am happy to report that they racked up about $12 dollars...mostly due to the fabulous neighbors and family members that supported their business! i wish that we had thought it through a little bit more and decided where we might donate the money...but apparently ella told one customer that we were raising money to buy toys at "toys r us" - we need to work on our philanthropic spirit just a bit more i do believe!!!!!


i love the fact that my girls get to enjoy these wonderful moments that come along with living on such an amazing street...i wish i could just bottle up the feeling and sell it...but the fact is, it's just priceless. it's frankly what i have waited my whole life to experience!

we look forward to setting up many more lemonade stands in the future...and finding special ways to share our profits...

it only seems fitting to give back...because the abundance of blessings that we are receiving these days is endless!!!