The scene of the crime...

Today the girls and I did something I have been wanting to do for quite some time now.

We took a little stroll along the bike path.

We stopped because Lily thought, "This would be a good place for you to take our picture, Mama, because it's nice and quiet," so I did ...

We continued along the path talking about killer whales. Lily said, "Shampoo is a killer whale." "Shamu, not shampoo, Lily," Grace corrected. To which Lily matter-of-factly replied, "Oh yeah, shampoo is soap." Hearing a woodpecker was especially thrilling. Lily exclaimed, "I've never hear-ed a woodpecker peck before." And then warned us, "Watch out for red. A woodpecker might want to peck us." I assured her that would not happen as we are not trees. Not convinced, she told me, "They might think we are small trees."

We were not mistaken for trees and before long, we had arrived at our destination... Right here...
On this very bridge...
In this very spot...
Just over 12 years ago, Jason asked me to marry him.
Best decision I ever made...

St. James Celebration...

As I mentioned, St. James was our destination this weekend to celebrate Grace's 10th birthday. First of all, let me say I cannot believe Grace is ten years old. It truly seems like yesterday that Jason and I were nervously swinging on our "sunshine sleigh" at our little apartment, preparing ourselves to welcome her into our little family. I can clearly remember being one day away from checking into the hospital and having a mini freak out~wondering if I would be a good mom and thinking about how our lives were about to completely change. Change they did, on May 29, 2000. For the better, without a doubt. Grace was just such a pleasant little baby and the perfect introduction for us into a true family life. She was easy enough to help us gain confidence in our parenting skills but with just enough quirks to challenge them. As our first born, she has the unfortunate role of family guinea pig but handles it with a mostly positive attitude. Responsibility is one of her strong suits (sometimes a little too strong for her sisters' taste) and while she is, for the most part, predictable like her mama, every once in a while she throws us for a loop~just like she did as a baby. Big sister, family historian, detail gatherer, observer extraordinaire, Justin Bieber fanatic, shoe collector and my most favorite 10 year old in the whole world. Thank you Grace for changing my life ten years ago, in the best way possible.

As we were driving to St. James, I was thinking about how much fun I always have there and how I always post a blog about all of the hilarious things that happen and all of the laughs we have. I thought about how people who are not actually there with us probably think I am exaggerating about the wacky antics that leave us all doubled over and then I wondered if maybe I do puff up the stories a little bit~just for the sake of a good story. Well, with this weekend still fresh in my mind, I can unequivocally state that these stories, laughs and moments are in no way, shape or form exaggerations. From the moment we stepped out of the trusty old Expedition right up until we backed out of the driveway, fun and relaxation were the main events.

The hot tub was the hot spot for the kids. They swam, played house and chilled out off and on all weekend~taking full advantage of their own personal little pool. I like to call this next series of photos "The Blind Leading The Blind". It would be impossible to capture the comedic gold that occurred during this game of Frisbee with words or pictures but I hope you can get the idea...
Kim and Josh's body language can best accurately depict how we all felt watching this unbelievably athletic and graceful exhibition of Frisbee prowess... The remainder of Saturday was spent gorging ourselves on all sorts of delicious foods, including Grace's birthday cake...
tie-dying t-shirts with fantastic results...
posing for pictures with the awesome teeth Grace handed out as party favors...
and without the teeth... We were also treated to a spontaneous performance by Emma and Josh's dance troupe...
Sunday was a bit less wild and crazy but no less fun. Dad and I took the kids to the park where they got to enjoy a piece of playground equipment that is virtually extinct these days, the good old fashioned teeter totter... They also climbed... spun...
and posed for more pictures (of course, they were with me after all)...

We closed Sunday out with s'mores...

and messy faces...

Sadly, Monday it was time to pack up and head back to the real world. A world that involves work, cleaning the house and errands. Fortunately, going back to those every day tasks is made a little easier after a weekend full of great times and a heart full of memories.

Our week in pictures....

School has been out for one full week and we have been incredibly busy the entire week. In fact, as we speak I should be finishing preparations for our Memorial Day pilgrimage to St. James and so I will keep this short and sweet....

In April we celebrated our 11th anniversary. Struggling to find the perfect gift for the man who has everything, I did some research and discovered the suggested traditional gift for the 11th year of matrimony is steel. Contemplating this, I decided a fire pit was just the ticket and boy was I right. Not only did Jason love it but the girls declared it to be "THE BEST GIFT ANYONE COULD EVER GET!"~High praise, indeed. We broke it last Friday as a summer kick-off activity and this may be one of my best gifts to date. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed themselves and I predict we will be a houseful of professional marshmallows roasters before the leaves begin to change....

Saturday brought the conclusion of Grace's soccer season. They went out with a bang and played the best they have all spring. The stress and excitement was bordering on unbearable and just when I thought things couldn't get any more tense, the coach put Grace in as goalie. It was only her second turn defending the goal during her long and esteemed soccer career and don't let this photo fool you...

She was an animal! Maybe a timid little kitty cat, but an animal nonetheless. Even though nothing got by her, she maintains goalie is definitely not her position of choice. Medals were bestowed and another season is under her belt.

Monday morning was a morning Lily Jane has been anticipating for over a month~swimming lessons! Finally she gets to be like the big girls and really test her aquatic prowess. The first day went well....right up until shortly after this photo was taken...

For some reason with about five minutes remaining, Lily flipped her lid and wanted out. Out of the pool, out of the building and out of lessons. Day two was even worse with her begging me to let her sit with me instead of swimming. I finally got stern with her and used my best playground voice to let her know~A. These lessons are not optional., B. She will remain in the pool. and C. If she continues to flip out, I will have to sit in the hallway for the duration of the lessons and will not be able to watch.

She didn't like it much but did return to the pool and proceeded to follow the instructor's every directive, tears flowing down her cheeks and little shoulders shaking all the while. It was heartbreaking but she made it. Wednesday and Thursday were complete successes with her not only participating but enjoying herself. I'm not sure if this was because of my playground voice lecture, the fact that Grandma sweetened the deal with the promise of a treat if Lily was brave or if it was because the little boy who screamed the entire time on Monday and Tuesday wasn't there, but really, I couldn't care less. She swam, floated and blew bubbles with the best of them and it was awesome.

Grace, my little mermaid, started Monday in level four and by Wednesday was already in level six. She is quite the little fish. Ella was determined to move from level three to four and by Thursday, she was finally awarded that prized gold sticker indicating her promotion.

And finally, yesterday, Grace celebrated her 10th birthday (by the way, I truly cannot believe Grace is going to be 10 years old. That's double digits!) slightly early with some of her best friends.

They tie-dyed t-shirts, played, ate pizza, cake and s'mores and basically just ran wild for about 6 hours. Grace had an absolutely fantastic time and I think everyone else did too.

And now we are headed east, to the land of 10,000 lakes and a whole bunch of goofballs for what is sure to be a weekend full of fun and games. We are very much looking forward to having a few days away from the busyness and by golly, if you can't get away from it all and have an awesome time in St. James, then I don't know where you can!

Happy long weekend to you all!