someone is crawling,

and now someone is sweeping

the floor 4 times a day.

i'm just say'n.

full circle moment.

our elders quorum and our young mens played a soccer game

against each.

it was totally awesome.

josh and ethan had fun trying to take each other out.

they had so much fun being on the field together.

ethan had always looked up to josh especially when it comes to soccer.

#11 holdin' strong.

good game. good game. good game.

{the motley crew}

sorry i forgot to post this sooner guys.

i love you both.

good game.

(picture added for dramatic affect)

i laid in bed last night and it overtook me.

you know,

those feelings of inadequacy.

they always creep in when the lights go out.

i lay there and think about all the things i need to be doing better.

i yell too much.

i need to drink more water.

why can't water taste like diet coke?

why don't i love board games?

the kids would love me to play more games.

i used to love games.

i don't exercise enough.

my kids don't eat enough fruits and veggies.

i have weeds. lots of weeds. i hate weeds.

the kids have crap under their beds. i hate that.

my closet needs to be cleaned out. again.

on and on and on it went.

until a sweet little 6 year old called out to me. momma.

at exactly 12:34 am.

i went and got in her bed and snuggled in with her.

she wrapped her arms around my neck and whispered,

"i love you mommy."

and just for that minute,

all seemed right with the world again.

i really should have added "brow wax" to the list.

out.

date night.

josh is out of town.

ethans at a scout camp out.

the girls are at my moms.

that leaves these guys,

my dates for the evening.

we started out at sam's choice for dinner.

i wasn't complaining.

because cheese fries were involved.

then on to target.

not one complaint.

it was heaven.

sam checked out the new shawn white shoes.

they are pretty awes.

we also went to old navy where sam wanted this cup.

he was my special date so how could i resist.

and it was only 50cents.

by the way, all of their clearance is an extra 50% off.

and for dessert

because we're extra classy....

shared of course!

don't knock it til ya try it.

yum.

we ended the night with a science experiment.

i was wondering why we wanted that cup.

question answered.

thanks for the fun night boys.

until next time.

ps. josh is home now. ahhhh.

pss. i took these pics with my phone. don't judge me.

psss. griff had a fever the whole time which makes

me a bad mom for taking him out.

but it made it super easy!

mean. i know.

its that time again.....

Griffin is 9 months old!

our day started out at the doctor for his 9 month well check.

the only thing is, he wasn't feeling so well.

slight fever, virus, teething etc...

i love the look on his face,

she handed him a plastic cow and

he looks like...lame-o.

head check. just like we thought,

100th percentile.

we carmacks have big brains!

re checking the weight, he actually lost a little.

its ok, he has enough to spare.

he got an A+ from the doc

and we were done.

no shots again until a year!

Griff @ 9 months you:

weigh 24 lbs.

you are 281/4 inches long

you have 7, almost 8 teeth.

you can say-

dada. mama. hi.

you can wave hi and bye

and sign more and all done.

and you finally started to crawl!

We love you griff.

hopefully you will know someday

the huge part you play in our family.

i haven't blogged here,

because i've been busy over here.

check it.

don't wreck it.

i'll be back.

the nights are the best....

let me explain.

i love babies in jammies.

no, no, babies in jammies that are freshly rubbed down.

is there seriously anything better?

i usually feed griff some food,

take him in the bathroom and wash his hands and face,

and let him splash for a minute.

then i take him in his room and rub him down head to toe

and put on his jammies.

um. the best.

these jammies are a new fav.

they are a hand-me-down from my friend.

i love them.

nevermind that they are a size 2T.

i'm not bitter.

the boy is healthy and strong. and chubby.

and always on the go!

see why the nights are the best?

and i get to do it all over again tomorrow night!

what?

come and smell him, squeeze him if you must.

you'll see what i mean.

night. night.

hey everybody! i have an announcement!

i'm temporarily opening up shop!

i know, i know, you can hardly stand it you're so excited!

i am currently booking photo sessions again.

2 per week starting the week of july 19th thru the end of september.

i will try and be flexible on the nights.

leave me a comment or email me!

carmacks11@msn.com

i can't wait to see your pretty faces again,

i've missed you!

ps. first come, first served.

pss. if you've forgotten what i'm talking about click here!

a couple of things i've been meaning to share.....

here it goes.

have i ever shown you griffy's birth mark?

it's so funny.

we call it his skunk tail.

it's pure blonde.

he. he. he.

next....

this is usually my view when i'm at the computer.

i just give him a little snack and he's good to go.

this is the face i get when i call out his name.

this is the face i get when i say, "one more minute."

jk. and he does have two legs.

this is my view in the morning.

i know i've posted about this before

but i really cannot say enough how much i love co-sleeping.

its not for everyone but its definitely for us!

um.....yummy baby!

ok. next.

maybe grab a tissue.

we've been watching a lot of baseball around here.

the other day sam found this pink helmet.

he thought he'd be funny and wear it .

we told him that g'ma carmack bought it.

we also told him how much g'ma loved pink but even more g'ma LOVED baseball.

after that sam wanted to wear it to every game.

he said it helped him remember g'ma.

he's not one bit embarrassed.

we added the stickers so no one would make fun of him.

not that he was worried about it!

he really is an amazing little athlete.

he's playing with the all stars and it can be a bit intense,

but he takes it all in stride.

ok. last but not least.

this is the view that will stick with me when i think back on the summer.

ethan and all of his friends "hanging out."

josh and i are so glad they like to be here.

even though i complain about them eating me out of house and home,

i'm so glad they feel comfortable here.

well that's it.

just a little catch up of things i don't want to forget.

have a great sunday tomorrow.

life is good.

ps. ethan cut his hair. that's him on the left.

i love it.

we believe in fairies.......

And as the seasons come and go, here's something you might like to know.

There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air, playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day.

So listen, touch, and look around - in the air and on the ground.

And if you watch all nature's things, you might just see a fairy's wing.

~Author Unknown

one of the things my girls(and sam) wanted to do this summer was build a fairy house.

we made a fairy garden a couple of summers ago

and the girls(and sam) loved seeing if she came for a visit.

(you can always tell if you've been visited by a fairy because they leave a trail of glitter)

so this morning we gathered our supplies and got busy.

by the end it was only sam and i,

and we had so much fun deciding where to put things.

complete with ladders a swing

and a slide off the back!

i live for this crap.

i made this little window and showed sam.

he said, "i'll pretend i'm dad for a second....great job babe!"

and then went in for a smooch.

i love that kid.

i might have woven leaves.

i'm not sure.

that's all i'm say'n.

okay little fairy, if you're listening,

your house is ready, come and play!

We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

family pictures.

july 2010.

our entire family together for the 4th.

my mom wants a picture.

mom wants us all in white.

we protest.

mom wins.

in the end, it does look nice.

(yes of course we're all laughing at josh.he's funny)

the real hoot is that i'm the one taking the picture

with a sneaky little remote in my hand!!

my mom and her grandkids.

cuz'z.

thanks for the fun.