skippin' rocks by the river...


chris is the adventure, i'm the safe place... usually.
on this fine day, i got to be both.
when we are at home, as much as it's nice to have an hour to myself when my kiddos nap TOGETHER, i sort of prefer them separate, because i get one on one time with each of them + i love that more. in estes, we aren't in our backyard or driveway, we are by a river, and rocks aka the "top of the world" and adventure! so my guy and i collected some rocks for indoor projects this winter + threw three times as many into the water. 
abel's sense of wonder is the best of the best, and it's always been so important to me to be a boy mom for him. to get my hands dirty, and try things i normally wouldn't + not screech at the sight of a grasshopper, but instead take a picture of him with it. he is my wild, and lots of times, i feel like i'm learning more from him than i ever knew possible... praise. hands.
i love you abel. 

^^^pinchy pinchy, his face is the sweetest

pancakes + firef*cks


when a boy wakes with THAT smile, requesting his firef*ck jammie pants to go along with his tie dye shirt, a crown, and pancakes... what are YOU going to say? i mean really...

along with this precious, i bring you a few things abel says(and does) lately:

"i fuggle you" (meaning, you snuggle me)

calling lucy, by her shortened nickname... "woos" - "come on woos" as he reaches out for her hand... MELT ME

just... "no you do it, just me" or just us, or just you. (never did i think the word JUST could sound so cute)

"i want you"

when driving past our Starbucks he requests a "gouda samich" and knows that I get "ice ky" (iced vanilla chai) -- this is when you know you have a problem ha!

everything is "super"... as in superheros

he loves to sing the paw patrol song, or the spooky bubble guppies song to me, himself, and anyone who will listen(frosty the snowman is a big hit too)

"you pretty mama"... a personal favorite

"crashadoorrrr, crasha baby grollerrrrr! wike dis, crash!"

apparently HE, and everyone he knows are being ghosts for halloween... easy enough.

___________________________________________________________

my sweetest abel, you jump + climb + yell + belly laugh, and are mostly 90mph all the time. you love your family and have the most gentle spirit, and i always ALWAYS get the first snuggles from you each morning. you're so smart and have grown + learned SO much over just the last few months, it seriously blows my mind. i'm in awe of you.... + on top of all of this, you've never looked or seemed so big to me before. i love you, time slow down.

take me back... L I T T L E M O V I E S


so i finally got around to putting together the video footage from our trip to hawaii last january, and i made not one but TWO precious videos! huzzah! 
the other morning abel requested to watch some of the videos i had made around christmas (he LOVES videos of him and the people he loves), and as i watched his face watching the videos, he lit up... i could have cried it was so sweet, and so i vowed to myself that i'd make more, and more often!! so far this week i've made three... look at that!
cheers to documented memories, lessons from our children, late night editing sessions, hawaii(duh) and how 'bout that slo-mo on my dreamy husband... ;)
posts from hawaii, here - here - here - here & here!

video one:


video two:


*the song used in video one is called Tightrope by Walk the Moon, and the second video is also by Walk the Moon, called Avalanche*

ESTES PARK || PART TWO


jackpot... seriously.
all my heart eyes are looking at that group of people right there.
AND at that stunner below... yes he was 10 feet from me when i took that picture, sooooo sweet i just might frame it. enjoy part TWO of our estes trip this year! so many pictures + so many favorites that i per usual said... just post 'em all ;) you know me and the narrowing it down. 

^^^a view that never gets old
^^^the birthday girl on her birthday, ONE looks good on you little bit!
^^^did i mention i've won the lottery multiple times?! yup.
^^^the true test of self control comes out alongside muddy buddies... and it's proven that i have none.
^^^a birthday morning surprise from my sweetest family
^^^y'all, laura's expanded and is HUGE now!... and now i want a snickers apple just at the mention of this place.

ESTES PARK || PART ONE


over labor day weekend, we took our annual estes park trip.
the first batch of texas trash (or "papaw's check mix") was made for the season, as well as my first loaves of pumpkin bread... and it was all promptly eaten up, like it was the last food we'd have this year. it's become a running joke that we all turn into actual carbohydrates while in estes, and though not physically possible, i'd say it's about as close as you can get.
aside from the food consumed, estes is like home away from home. we walk the same stretch of town, eat meals at our usual restaurants, hike similar trails + always have our eyes out for elk. we did try to mix it up some this year, in hopes of making some new memories without my dad + also find out if we were missing out on some good grub that had been overlooked, but in my opinion, we found that we have been going to those places + doing those things 20 years running for a reason, ha!

to be 100% honest, i have to say that for now, and maybe (hopefully) not forever... but for now, estes has lost it's "all time" feeling for me. it hurts to admit that, but i'm stuck on estes trip 2013. my first year as a mom, my last year with my dad... the shortest window of time, packed with so many moments that my mind is holding onto for dear life and praying to never forget. some of our last great memories before everything changed. this feels foolish, because SO many wonderful things have happened since then, things in which i have unending gratefulness... but memories, and nostalgia, and expectations combined have my estes experience in this season of life a little tainted. i still enjoy our time there together to my core, and am working towards adapting to change...
chris encouraged me while talking with him about it. he reminded me of christmas 2007...
i always always always talked about christmas 2007, and how it was the best of all the christmases + how i was always feeling a little let down every christmas since, because i had expectations for things to be EXACTLY wonderful like that year had been... my dad was cancer free after the previous year being in the thick of it, chris and i were back together after the dark time, and it was a blizzard white christmas + we all sled down the steepest driveway in history on pleasant view lane...
i must have talked about that christmas for at least 5 years, until i didn't. no christmas has surpassed it necessarily, i think i just eventually let go of expectations + opened myself to NEW experiences. 
i'm so happy he reminded me of that, because it gives me hope that "estes 2013" will eventually be stored in the memories only bin + i can again, open myself to new experiences... it might take 5 years but hey! we're 2 in haha, i sure am thankful for that husband of mine!

all this aside, watching my kids experience new things for the first time, and seeing it through their eyes doesn't hurt one bit! it's healing + it's wonderful, and i couldn't be more thankful for them.



joy comes in the morning...
i've always loved that phrase. it's so true, no matter what happened the day before, mornings are a fresh start! that, and all the babies are well rested haha ;)
coffee with my family on the deck will always be all time, and it also gets me SO excited for our house to be finished... they say four weeks, we'll see- but for now i say, "huzzah!"

a few trips of estes past  ||  here + here + here)