summertime

hi!  this is me writing from off the face of the earth where i apparently fell two months ago.  um...i don't have any excuses, just some pictures to show and maybe some witty banter to go along.  enjoy my last few months of summer.  i know i did!

way back in july...it really does seem like forever ago that that month took place, i went to church girls camp with these crazy ladies:

...and apparently made some new best friends in the process.  we had an amazing time and i apparently discovered that my mouth is the size of a grapefruit when i want it to be.  good times.

these are just a hint of the stellar girls that were in our group.  so fun.  so unified.  a truly positive experience.

this is my nephew, zach, helping sofi with her life jacket that came off and back on roughly 7 times while we were at the lake.  there's just something i love about the ruffles and the marshmallow all over her face.  gotta love her.

this is not my best look, but i just had to capture (and share) the one snuggle i've had with my daughter this year.  okay, i exaggerate.  there have been maybe two just like this one.  seriously though, don't you just want to die?

this flower lasted for a combined period of about 10 seconds.  

this brings a whole new meaning to bed head...wow.

luke and his buddy harry enjoyed many shirtless days at the lake/river/park when it rained.  i don't how these boys are still single.

just a couple of the many faces of sofi.

andy with sofi and our little friend addison at the beach.  who needs the gym?

yes, that is a swimsuit on her head worn as a turban.  what can i say?  the girl's got her own style.

lake + regular diaper = this award winning photo.
(thanks karen.  i couldn't have done it without you)

he's obviously portraying the many monster type animals we explored at the aquarium.  oh and luke was there too.  i know, i know...i'm way too funny, right?

um...are there words?

last but not least, luke's first day of his last year of preschool.  he was so proud of his little piece of art.  i was just in awe of how big that little hand is getting.

so, there you have it:  a summer in sutton pictures.  i kinda slacked on the photographing for a little while there, but i'll definitely make a pointed effort (that's a real phrase right?) to document the fall that is impending on us...it is my favorite time of year after all.

some photos to wet the whistle...

i know its been quite some time...i know you know that too, so why did i state the obvious?  lets just call it filling up space, shall we?  great.

i might want to be in my bed at the moment, so i'm just going to take a few minutes and put up some photos that just can't not be shared...you're gonna be grateful you stopped by.  i promise.

first up, a couple before and afters of my dear second born:

a couple weeks ago, she went from this (which was her first french braid...not done by me, but who's counting)

to this...i just can't let go of that darn bob.

and then from this...

to this.  poor little lady acquired a lazy eye.  i'm not going to blame that on overstimulation due to a certain apple device at all.  we'll just leave that to the professionals.  she's now lovingly known as our "princess pirate."  we've discovered that with little girls, all you have to do is put the word princess in front of something and all of a sudden its wearable and/or awesome/attractive.  unfortunately, when the princess bribery runs its course, we have to drop medicine in her eye that dilates her good pupil to the size of a quarter, thus causing our sweet little angel to look like she belongs alongside the bearded lady.  someday we'll look back and laugh...well, maybe she won't so much...

we've seen this a great deal lately.  terrible fours anyone?  he's actually really super fun...which also means he can be a touch moody on occasion.  good times

as for these three gems...something about a thousand words?

i was alive in may, i swear!

for those of you that are still upright and haven't fainted at the sheer sight of a new posting by yours truly...hold on to your seats because this might be a long one.  it might also be very short if i faint due to the sheer enormity of the task at hand.  anyway, blah blah blah....here are some pictures that just might document the entire month of may.  wow, i really need to get some motivation...

the proverbial decorating of the eggs.  thank goodness for this messy yet oh so lovely tradition of making something beautiful out of something so ordinary.  isn't that just so special??  i am just learning all about the real art of photo taking, but it was uber-fun to watch the kids have so much fun and try to capture it on film or a digital memory card as it were.

not sure if the headless one of sofi is creative and artistic or just creepy...we'll go with cute, shall we?  

trent and his (not so) little dudes came over for luke's first egg hunt outside thanks to the sun deciding to actually shine on easter eve.  good times...

not sure...i just thought this one of sofi was nothing short of hilarious.

we've been working on creative ways to get luke to actually learn to write his whole name and not stop after the u...it actually worked and smelled pretty good too :)

my uncle passed away a couple weeks ago and andy and i were able to make the trip down for the funeral.  it was really awe-inspiring to see firsthand, the 21 gun salute and the reverent folding of the flag.  he was a great man and i'm proud to have known him and his sweet, lovely wife.

some of my favorite people in the world...cousin sandi, uncle glen and cousin sydney.  love you guys!

luke and andy's mom, rebecca on mother's day.   thank goodness for that woman and her joyful chocolates.

luke (and sofi, who wouldn't be left out...messy face and all) and his cousin adam, showing off their super watches

dozer days!!!  oh the awesomeness that is tiny people getting to operate heavy machinery...

{she might've been a little sleepy...}

planting his first tomato...that now may or may not be the cat's first choice to do her business.  it was fun while it lasted

what is the first thing to do when the sun comes out?  why, buy 52 washable sidewalk chalk crayons of course!!