picture pages, pictures pages...

time to get out your crayons and your pencil! again, totally dating myself;) lots of pictures as promised...

happy 2014?!

let's just skip over the fact that i have completely slacked in the updating of this blog. rest assured we are all alive and well. life is just a little more hectic than it ever has been, and i've been a little more busy playing the role of mama, which leaves me way less time and energy to do pretty much anything else!? with that being said, i give you the micro machines version of what's gone on the last 4 months (do y'all remember those commercials? i'm totally dating myself i bet!)

jack has done quite well in school, he's six now, which i cannot even wrap my brain around (and i will have a birthday dedicated post for him, late or not it's tradition), he's in his second year of hockey and absolutely loves it. the progress from this year to last is remarkable. he has started to develop some real friendships, and has also matured in these last 4 months more than i ever expected...i blame the bus;) i mean he would NEVER hear those words at home;) he's adjusted fairly well to school, although the "i don't like school, i cannot believe i have to go for 12 more years" (18 if you count college and grad school, but i have failed to mention that for fear his eyes would bug out of his head!) we have his first teacher conference tomorrow, and i now understand the anxiety that comes along with sending your child off to school...i have a billion "what ifs" running through my head, and feel so much pressure for him to do well. it's a crazy feeling, i mean it is just kindergarten after all!

i will attempt to get some pictures added to this post, but while i have perhaps 5 more minutes i need to update the other blogs!

pictures, pictures, pictures...

end of summer and new beginnings...

this summer seemed to have flown by. i can't recall it being the best summer weather-wise, but i will say we made the best of it regardless. after school let out, we kind of just decompressed. traveled a bit to saratoga, stayed local & ended things with our annual hilton head vacation.

while i was a bit wary of juggling three kids on vacation, especially one with a pretty specific schedule (read: finn), i would have to say that this might have been our best vacation yet! we had amazing weather, the kids were obsessed with the beach, jack got to play golf with the guys, everyone was well-behaved and it was all in all just a great time. perhaps being a mere 3 rows from the beach had something to do with it;)

it's no surprise that jack loves the beach, but i would have to say that this year he was more into than ever before. from the moment he woke up he was ready to get down there. he swam and dove into the waves, built many sand or drip(his favorite) castles, attempted to skim board(thank you uncle greg for the gift!) and took beach walks aplenty! there were definitely some tears on the last day. i love how much he looks forward to this trip. he knows his way around, and remembers where just about everything is!!

when we got back, we had a week to unpack and organize before school started, and while there never seems to be enough time, we were able to squeeze in a couple last days of summer pool days and get togethers.

jack met his teacher and took a school tour yesterday, and now here we are right back into the swing of things. my little boy is no longer, as i watched him get on the bus this morning for the first time with quite possibly the biggest smile ever. *sigh* time has flown by. i know he is more than ready, and i know that this is part of life, but these growing pains force me to catch my breath and hold back tears. it really was just yesterday that he was placed into my arms. i know i'm being a bit dramatic, but these moments of change are always the hardest...

i have to upload from my camera, but i have a couple random pictures;

thank you disney;)

 seriously...this "planes" movie isn't even out yet, but jack knows every.single.character. talk about marketing! he cannot wait for this movie to come out. lucky for him, it comes out while we are on vacation, so i foresee a movie night in his future!!

things have been busy this summer, and we have spent a lot of time at mimi and apa's house, completing swim lessons and trying to make the best of the otherwise lame weather!

jack has recently become quite sassy(can you call a boy sassy!?). i know that it comes with his age, but it is so infuriating to hear some of the things that come out of his mouth. especially because i know he knows that it is wrong. ugh.

on another note, he got his kindergarten teacher/time slot. thankfully he will have am k, because i had no idea how i was going to figure out our schedule if he got pm and daley was going to preschool in the am!? as it is i will spend most of my day driving everyone back and forth. poor finn, i hope he continues to like the car!?

here is a fun pic from july 4th-i believe they were mid-song. the hand holding is priceless:)

post-nap bed hair anyone...when did he get so big!

love this one, even if "baby" finny is in the picture(he comes with us a lot of places these days!)

eric and schroeder

i know i've mentioned that jack has two imaginary friends. they come and go. sometimes they're in mexico(know idea where he came up with this), often times they can be found during their "running" races, but most recently they might have made my most favorite appearance...

*quick back story: greg took jack out to dinner one night. when it came time to be seated, the conversation went as follows;

jack: (whispering as they're about to be seated) can we have that table for four over there?
greg: why?
jack: yeah, we needs seats for eric and schroeder.
greg: (as i imagine it since i wasn't there, trying to hide laughter) uh, uh...
jack: oh never mind, they brought their own chairs.

i'm am still chuckling thinking about this going down. who knew having kids would be so fun! the fact that he takes it so seriously is what kills me!?

trip to nyc, end of the year and summmmerrrrrr

i'm not even looking at the date of my last post, because it is just plain embarrassing. i fully admit that i seem to be sucked into some sort of alternate universe where i don't even remember what day of the week it is. forget it now that school is over...every day seems to blend into the next?!

so in may(yup, haven't even blogged in the month of may), we headed to nyc for uncle greg's graduation. jack had an absolute blast. they went to the garden, caught a couple of rangers t-shirts(ya know back when they were still in the playoffs), ate at a "rangers" fan pub the night of the game, got his "callahan" t-shirt, oh and uncle greg finally graduated(i say finally because we all had to deal with his wretched demeanor throughout the process, i kid, well, i half kid;)!! you would think jack had lived there his whole life, nothing about it phased him...the mass of people, the sometimes not so lovely smells, the noise...he loved it! i mean he still asks when we're going back! makes me a little homesick...

fast forward to june, the end of t-ball(boy did that go by quick), his end of year concert(ridiculously adorable) & his last day at ridge hill ever(i still get sad thinking about this). he never ceases to amaze me though. he goes right with the flow of things for the most part. the day after his concert he wanted to know if kindergarten was starting!!

of course, we've been eagerly awaiting summer, who has really taken her sweet time. jack continues to be a complete fish, and while his swimming skills amaze me and when asked he says he doesn't need lessons because "he already knows how to swim," both he and daley will be taking them! with the end of hockey season (longest sports season ever!), has brought on golf season. jack has already been out a few times, and would probably play 18 holes everyday if asked...his stamina and attention span amaze me.

our summer tends to be busy, and i try to keep it mostly schedule free, aside from swimming and hockey skills...i'd like to have as much time with him as possible since he'll be off to kindergarten and graduating college before i know it!?