moments

i keep telling myself to write stuff down. i just can't soak it all in fast enough. i feel like the days are flying by and there is so much to photograph and remember. so many sweet, mundane moments that i just can't be in them enough. if i spend my time trying to capture the moment then i'll miss the moment. but then i want to remember it. and sometimes my mind fails me.

so i try and have the camera handy more often than not. not for photographic perfection or even anything remotely close. but to capture the simple moments that fill my heart so full i can barely stand it.

i told matthew this weekend that i truly wish i had a permanent video camera attached to my shoulder. i want to remember it ALL. not just some.

like when tucker holds up his little finger at me and says "jus' wait wight dere mommy. i'll be wight back ooookay?" or will's uncontrollable giggles. or grey and tucker taking hold of each others' hands and running down through the yard unprompted. or even the fighting. i do want to remember that too.

or one gorgeous fall day on the deck with my boys after lunch. like today. i looked out of the window and saw this.

nothing extravagant. at all. but to me i couldn't help but move closer to the door to hear them talking and playing together. and the big guys watching out for will that he didn't eat all the leaves in his circumference.

so i finished up my lunch and headed to the deck to "just be" with them. i watched as grey set up a chair for tucker to watch him play football in the backyard. tuck cheered him on from the sidelines as i commentated the whole thing. 

tuck was all out cheering on his brother which made grey run harder and faster. then he tired of playing alone and tried to coax tucker to at least come tackle him. i mean what a dream for the tuck bomb. i think grey gave him too many specific instructions and totally turned tucker off from the whole thing. 

so we ended up just sitting and chatting. and laughing at tucker. oh my word, he is the funniest child. 

sir william just watched it all, soaked it all in, and decided to pull himself up. most likely he'll be the one to listen to all of grey's instructions and join in his games.

i am truly beginning to understand what being in the moment really means. and living there. but i will bring my camera along every now and again.

sick day.

i spent a good part of today in bed. i woke up so dizzy that i couldn't stand up. or even sit up for that matter. ugh. it was awful. if i moved i felt like i was going to lose it. so i stayed right there in bed.

days like today are hard for me. i don't like the skip in routine. (if you know me at all you know that's a NEW one.) i would have much rather matthew made his way to work for the day and we go about our normal business. so i had to give myself somewhat of a pep talk and tell myself that if this was going to be the way it was, then i better just enjoy some time to rest.

and i did. 

i slept a little extra, read a lot, tried not to move too much for fear i may pass out or throw up. by about 11 am i yearned for my little boys to come snuggle up with me right where i was. thankfully that happened before too much more time passed.

will came to snuggle, play, nurse and fall asleep. 

tuck came to play dinosaurs and to look at his bug chart. you should hear him say "boll weevil." it's the cutest thing.

and grey bear came to talk a little about his day.

before i knew it they were all tucked in for their own naps and i decided on another myself. i woke up feeling less dizzy and as the day progressed i was back on my feet but not before i found plastic dinosaurs and a few extra blankets in my bed.

now if you're going to be sick, that's the way to do it.

saturday in pictures

{shout out: for this post i am adopting alexa's frequent post format}

a saturday morning soccer game followed by a fall festival which entailed a hayless hay ride that took us to a "secret" pumpkin patch, tractor driving,  and hay bale jumping. 

a boys' dream.

followed up with a good nap, another clemson tiger VICTORY, roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and a late night firepit/coffee date for the hubs and i. 

what a wonderful saturday.

jax

last  weekend we made a delightful trip down to jacksonville, fl to visit my brother and his family for a few days. i prepared for the worst when it came to the actual car trip with three small boys. and i am pleased to say they were excellent. excellent. all three of them. they are good travelers and very flexible but that tuck man does not liked to be strapped in a car seat for long. 

they made themselves busy busy with all sort of things. grey couldn't wait to get to garrett's house and i was afraid he was going to pull the ol' "are we there yet?" every 2 minutes until we got there but thankfully he was more interested in the bajillion activities i had packed.

we hit quite the storm on the way down but finally arrived a little after 11 pm. 

friday was filled full with lots of fun! we hit the jacksonville zoo that morning. what an awesome zoo! matthew and i loved it. the weather was absolutely perfect. 

we looked at the map, rode the train, played on the best playground i've ever been to, had a picnic, oh yeah and we saw some animals! 

my favorite were the penguins. garrett and grey tried their hand at the camera. grey got to use my camera and got a stellar shot of a penguin swimming by. 

and the boys played on REALLY big elephants.

we reluctantly made our way back to the house and hit the beach later that evening for some family pictures. i was so glad to capture some images of life right now for them. what a stunning little family!

my boys just played in the ocean in their clothes. and had a blast!

the adults got to finally relax together friday night and have a little conversation.

saturday morning we got to go watch garrett play t-ball and uncle nathan coach! we got to see garrett hit a ball that was pitched to him, run the bases, and be the catcher. grey thought it was awesome.

unfortunately we had to leave after lunch on saturday to make it home for church sunday morning. 

as we stopped for a short bathroom, nursing, stretching break, we told the boys to hop out of the van and stretch their legs. so they did.

we did get the pleasure of stopping in columbia to see papa and gigi and eat a delicious dinner. what a treat! 

we had a blast and are so thankful for nathan, allison, garrett and sweet wyatt. we are so glad we got to come down to your stompin' grounds and spend some time together. sorry we broke a plate, disrupted your sleep, and took over your house. good thing we know you love us too!