S's Wine Party

So, the wine we made came to fruition a few weeks back, and we had some friends over to the wine shop to bottle it. Here are some photos:

It was a nice night so we set up our food outdoors.

LM came for a while, then left with Nonna and Papaw.

He was there long enough to eat some cheese and chocolate!

Once most everyone arrived, we starting our bottling lesson.

I wish this wasn't blurry.

But, alas, I realized about halfway through the evening that my lens was on manual focus. Oh, the trouble with bad 40-something eyes. I thought something was off, but I didn't pay attention enough to figure it out until several shots later. Oy.

Better focus, except the boy's focus was elsewhere.

Cleaning bottles

This was a small world moment - our friends Kirk and Kathy knew cousin Lynn!

Their boys are on the same soccer team.

Learning how to add the wine to the bottle.

Italians hugging.

Watching S bottle.

Corking!

It was a WINE party. Ahem...

Silly Kirk.

Then - labeling. 

OCD fun for everyone!

Silly Kirk and the fuzzy lens.

Last step - heating up the wrapper on top.

Voila!

Most of the group.

Then we visited outside a bit longer before we headed home.

It was a fun event and nice to see our friends who we don't see often enough. Glad most everyone was able to make it!

See you soon.

Class with Gibson

When we were in Indiana, Gibson was going to a class at the local Gymboree, and they let us tag along. Here are some photos from that class:

Fishing

Love this one.

They had a nice time together.

As the weekend went on, LM got more off of his schedule and less sleep, and less pleasant. So, of course, they didn't play together as well...so it's nice to remember when they played well together!

See you soon.

You're Gonna Miss Them When They're Gone

Since I haven't been writing much, I'm weeks behind in putting down what we've been up to. A few weeks ago, LM and I went to Indiana for a long weekend visit. Miss Veda is singing in the middle school choir, and had this little ditty she was fond of showing off, which she had fashioned to sing along with this cup trick that is currently all the rage amongst the twelve-year-old set:

Since we saw Veda at Christmas, she has turned into a middle schooler, in her looks especially. She has grown a ton! I remember when I taught school, we used to say the sixth graders became middle schoolers about halfway through the year. The first half of the year, they really still belong in the elementary school, but then something happens and BOOM there they are, middle school all the way. (It also happens to the 8th graders about halfway through that year - they turn into high schoolers before it's time...) This has certainly turned out to be the case for Miss Veda. She has grown and changed a TON, in my opinion, in a few short months.

Miss Cora got in on the fun.

Notice the difference in her style. 

This is so fun to see how they are all different.

I remember my twelfth birthday, actually, for some reason, as a turning point for me as well. I remember my birthday list included a stuffed animal (a peach puffalump I took with me to college) and grown up things like clothes and jewelry too. I was still a kid, very much, but growing up I guess.

Veda, who was very patient, while LM tried to imitate her.

Here's the thing though - when Veda started singing the words to this song - it struck me - she is closer to being "gone" - grown - flown the coop, out into the world, a real adult - than she is a kid. She WILL be "gone" so soon! How can this be true???  Childhood is so fleeting, so precious and so special. I hope she will hang onto it for a little while longer.

LM gave it a go on his own.

Cherish these moments, I reminded myself. Cherish the good times, the hugs, the laughs and the frustrations, the tears, the irritations. Hug them, love them, make memories and forever imprint yourselves on one another's hearts. Because you'll miss them when they're gone.

See you soon.

Bluebonnets

I am clearly not back into the regular writing and posting groove. Truly, I am also not much in a photo-taking groove either. I've been a bit out of sorts, I guess. Just getting back into "normal" I think after a stressful late winter season. I have some photos from our trip to Indiana, a couple from our trip to Great Wolf Lodge, and some photos from S's wine party. I'll get around to those soon. But today, a glimpse at our mediocre try to get some bluebonnet photos. They are almost gone, so we ran out to Mesquite on Sunday at the golden hour to get a few. I don't like this location because the background is ugly. I like Ennis better, but that extra ten minutes difference of a drive was something I couldn't talk my sweet husband into doing. He's been busy too. Ahem. ;-)

And, of course, we had a boy who was not interested in giving Mommy any good shots. So here are a couple "ok" photos in the bluebonnets:

A cheesy grin.

Clearly need to clean the lens too - some extra sun flare.

You can see the flowers were well worn by this last weekend.

Need to take the background out of these...

Silly, sweet boy.

See you soon.