Here comes summer!

I guess summer time is right around the corner. It's already arrived for everyone in GA. Unfortunately, up here in MD we are still in school until June 22nd. The kids love their snow days until it's time for summer and then they have to make up those days!We have been busy as usual and I'm ready for things to start slowing down a little. I am wrapping up my spring season with Life Touch photography. It was a great learning experience! They even recognized me with the rookie photographer of the quarter award! It was nice to be noticed for all my hard work this season. I am thankfully going to be off work this summer. It's going to be a nice break.

Ezra is almost done with his Freshman year. He is really looking forward to the summer. I think the new work load was a bit of a surprise for him. I also had to get used to not knowing what was going on at school. I felt that there was a huge disconnect for me. I tried to keep up with everything he was doing, but it was pretty hard because there was so much. He will be participating in a 200 mile bike ride/camping trip this summer with his scout troop. It'll take place over a week. He knows it'll be hard, but I think he can do it! He is still taking Guitar and continues to improve in that as well. Here is a picture I just took right before he has his hair cut. He wouldn't sit very long for a lot of photos, but I love this one!

Gabe is all about soccer right now. He is doing really well and is stellar defensively. His team had a great season as well with only 1 loss between the fall and spring season. He recently was chosen for a Soccer Association of Columbia under 10 Recreational Select team. It's one step below travel team soccer and pretty hard to get on the team. He had a great tryout though and we received a phone call today offering him a spot! This past season he played up an age division to the U-9 division (he should have been in U-8). The select team he made continues to be a age division higher than he should play. He's one tough kid taking all kinds of hits on the field, but never letting it stop him! Here are a few of Gabe. He is a little more cooperative when it comes to getting his picture taken.

Welcome 2o11

Wow! I am so glad to see 2010 in the rear view mirror! It was a year not to be forgotten with Todd's knee injury and recovery, well over 7 feet of snow, multiple house disasters, Gabe's face scar, Ezra starting High School, Gabe Starting second grade and Soccer, trips to New York, Georgia, Ohio, a new job for me, My and Todd's 12 year anniversary, and lots of laughs and love. The past year was a roller coaster with lots of ups and downs. I am hoping for a year of more ups than downs this time around!

This year has started off pretty great so far. We drove out to Western Maryland not long ago and picked up a new member of the family. We now have what I think is the cutest dog on the planet. Her name is Lily and she is 8 weeks old. She is a goldendoodle (golden retriever and poodle). She is sweet with a little bit of sassy. The kids love her and she is fitting in really well with the family.

February will bring another season of photography work with Lifetouch photography for me. The job seems to be a good fit for the family. They are early mornings... sometimes I'm getting up at 3:30 or 4 am, but I usually get home around the time the kids get home. Plus it's seasonal so I am off during the holidays and summer.

Well, I'm gonna keep this short. Hopefully if I keep these posts short and sweet there will be more posts and I won't be so pathetic at keeping up with all this. It's a little embarrassing to see the last times I posted anything on this site. Happy New Year to everyone!

Birthdays and Kindergarten

The Big 13!

I can hardly believe that my baby is a teenager now. Ezra celebrated his 13th today and I realized how fast the years have passed. He has at least an inch probably more on me in height and now wears a size 10 shoe. I am floored at how fast he has grown and how quickly time has passed. It seems like yesterday that I held him for the first time. I know it has been a really long time since he was my "baby", but they are not supposed to grow this fast. To top it all off it makes me feel that much older too! Todd is pretty good at reminding me that I am the oldest though =) We have all been doing well. Life has been treating us well and we have been having fun this summer so far.

Ez was done with pics at this point.

Notice how much Gabe loves Oreo pie. You can actually gauge how much he loves something by how much of it is on his face. Also, notice how unfazed he seems to have Ezra's fist next to his head.

Finishing Kindergarten

Well, Gabe had a great year in Kindergarten this year. He improved so much and he had a wonderful teacher. Mrs. Small was patient, kind, and encouraged the kids to really care for each other and be themselves. We are going to miss her next year. Gabe also made some great little friends too. He is excited to see them again soon in first grade.

What a roller coaster

Well, I finally took a good look at my blog and realized that I have not posted since September. What a loser- really. I can't believe that it has been that long. We had a good holiday season. We went to GA for Thanksgiving. It was hectic, but fun to see family.






We have been very busy since the Holidays. I had a number of Christmas Photography Shoots and then after a trip to Seattle for one of My best friends weddings - Shannon - I started a new job at a retail Clothing store called Crazy 8. I actually managed to get a position as a assistant manager there. It's a really great place with a great staff and Store Manager. I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to work there. Here are some pictures of the kids during the holidays.We hope all is well with everyone. I am working on getting my photography blog going too. I have one up and running, but it needs to be reworked- It's pretty boring right now. I will let you all know when I get that fixed up. Todd is still loving his job and we feel so blessed to have all that we have at this time. Thanks for taking a look and I promise to update again soon.

Gabe is a nut!

Here is a quick post about our Gabe. As we were getting ready for church last week Gabe found some 3-D glasses and put them on. He looked like he was getting ready to meet up with Jake and Elwood and go on tour!



Then later on it the week he and Ezra were creating some cardboard box cars and drawing designs on them. The cars looked good and then I saw Gabe's other creation! His name on one leg in black Sharpie. I am not sure how he managed it, but he wrote his name on both the inside and outside of his calf muscle- quite well might I add. It's still there to this day- We keep scrubbing it- It's almost gone though. You can see in the first picture how proud he is of himself.

Back to School

The kids started school on the 25th of August. Gabe loves it and Ezra does not. So, it's pretty much what you would expect for those two. Gabe's teacher is really nice and he has made a lot of fun little friends there. Ezra's favorite teacher's name is Mr. Mc Million. Pretty cool name if you ask me. He has 2 male teachers this year and they are both cool from what he tells me. I am gearing up for my job hunt. Finishing up my resume and getting ready to get at it. Wish me luck..... I am gonna need it! Enjoy the Pictures

Summer Time Fun

This summer started off with packing a house into PODS and storing it for three weeks! Not the most exciting way to do things, but it had to be done. After getting the house packed we took off to GA for 2 weeks of traveling. Our first stop was Gainesville where we spent time with family and had a little fun. The kids always have a great time playing together and it was great to see our family.






Ezra celebrated his 12th birthday while we were in Ga. It was great to be with family for that. It's hard to believe that our boy has grown so much so fast. He keeps mentioning getting to drive when he is 16- I said you have plenty of time and then realized it's only 4 short years away! HELP!!!!!
We are very proud of how much he has accomplished and what a great young man he is becoming. We love you Ezra

Myrtle Beach with Aunt Tiffy!

After a week in Ga we were off to the beach to visit Aunt Tiffany. We had a blast there and stayed with her for 5 days. She was a wonderful hostess and even hooked us up with some tickets to the Ripley's Aquarium there. We had great food, tons of fun, and most importantly- we got to see Tiff!

So that is our summer story in a nut shell. We are now moved into the home we purchased. We are in the process of painting and getting everything just like we want it. The next post will be a back to school post and then after that a post about our home with some pictures too! Thanks for keeping up with us and sorry this took so long. It's been a busy few months.
Love you all
Michelle and the family