Take me out to the ballgame...

On Father's Day this year Matt and I and the girls decided to head out to the Reading Phillies game. It was so hot that day and the kids were fidgeting and I was asked for the 18th time to take them to the bathroom. Being the wonderful mom that I am, I turned to Matt and said, "Can you please take them?" To which Matt replied, "I'd really like to see this play." Being my sensitive self I said, "Why, It's just the Reading Phillies?"

Come to find out I have been married to this man for 8+ year and he has never been to a real baseball game.... I mean a really real one. I had been to a number of games with my dad over the past couple of years. It never occurred to me that Matt had never been to a real Phillies game and wanted to go. Nice, huh?

I am hoping that I redeemed myself for this terrible oversight. With the help of our families, we arranged for Matt to go see a Phillies game with his Dad, Grandad and Pop pop... in a jersey provided by my wonderful Daddy.

It was so fun putting it together and giving him his jersey and tickets on his birthday. Just a few short week later he was sitting in the bleachers with the men. Happened to be that wonderful game which went on FOREVER. 16 innings I think was the final count.

Chicken Fairy

Need I say more?

Beach Weekend

I don't even remember the last time that we went to the beach with the girls. We've gone to the lake up by the cabin, it has a beach. Does that count? Julie, Allison and Adrienne invited us for a girls (and little girls) weekend away. We arrived in Ocean City sometime near lunch (yeah, we tried to get there earlier, but...). We sat their in the sand from about 12:30 till 6:00. Down to the ocean, back up to the towels, down to the ocean, play in the sand. That's the way in went for hours. Leah got to see the ocean for the very first time she was SO excited. She would sit on the shore line squealing and waving at the ocean to come back and splash her once more. We made our way to Atlantic City for a night in a fun hotel, complete with pizza, princesses and movies. A quick trip to the shops in AC in the morning. A treat for the girls at the Disney Store and a crazy ride home complete with some potty stops on the side of the road.

Thank you Booth's for an fantastic weekend away.

Today, you became a Christian. Happy Spiritual Birthday Aubrey!

Today Aubrey made the most important decision she will ever make. She decided that she wanted to live forever with God in heaven. She prayed a simple prayer in the back of the car. It is beautiful that such a small child can understand the greatness of what Jesus did for them on the cross.

We pray for both our girls that they would love God with their whole heart and that he would give them courage and strength to share their faith with this hurting world.

I am so blessed that God has allowed me to be a part of such a special little girl's life. I know that God has knit her together perfectly for His will and purpose.

I pray that she will continue to grow in her relationship with Him.

Happy Birthday Grandad!

One of the coolest things about getting to be a part of Matt's family when I started coming around was that 4th of a July was a big deal. Every year there was a celebration of not just Independence Day but also the honoring and celebrating of one very special man. Grandad! I am so lucky to get to be a part of this family and to get to be a part of Jack Webster's life and story. Every time I am with him, but especially on this day I think about all that he as done in his life and the amazing legacy that he is leaving behind. One of faith and respect and courage. I pray for many more birthdays with this man. We love you Grandad! Happy Birthday!

Blueberry Fun

Tie dye for Dad

I must admit I have not been that great about the cliche' Father's Day gifts. A hand made shirt, a tie, a coffee mug. But I think this year we hit the nail on the head. A group of moms and kids from our church got together shortly before the big day and made fantastic tie dye shirts for our Daddy's. Aubrey's and even Leah's came out quite cool. However Daddy and Pappy had ones that basically made them look like giant targets. Oh well, maybe we will redeem ourselves next year. I am hoping that Matt will have a whole closet of these by the time the kids are done doing these kinds of things. That would be awesome!

Hibernia Camping

Matt and I share a love for the outdoors that we are hoping to pass on to our girls. We love hikes in the woods, food on a campfire and the opportunity just get away from it all. We tried even when the girls were really young to find time to take them camping. Right now we have opted for car camping... a little less adventurous then a 4 day hike in the woods. But just perfect for two little girl. Aubrey and Leah love being outside, what kid doesn't. Hibernia Campground is the best place to camp. It is so close to our house that we can head home "just in case". We can always run out of camp if we forgot anything too. They provide all the firewood and we have now been there so often that we know which campsite is THE BEST. (We are not telling you what it is.) Right now the girls love to run around barefoot, grass between their toes and find leaves and bugs... hoping to grow up girls that continue to do the same thing.

Eventually soon I would love to graduate to a couple of mile hike with the girls in tow, but for now, this is good. The food, the fire and time as a family.

Strawberry Festival

These amazing shots are courtesy of my amazing husband.
Matt O'Malley

Going to the Strawberry Festival is a bit of an experience. Mostly a reminder that we are not going to let our teenage girls leave the house. We have gone for the past couple of years to taste the food (I mean what are festivals really about, but french fries, funnel cake and other yummy treats.) The girls both got to ride a ride. Aubrey went with Daddy on the Superman ride. Can't believe my little girl is that big. Daddy was wonderful and took the girls on whatever (of the 3 rides that we felt like paying for) they wanted... and Mommy got to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground, which is more and more appealing as I get older. Seriously.... who wants to be spun around in circles. Oh, my children who are spinning each other around in a desk chair as I type this.

Aubrey's Creation

You can store all the artwork in her keep forever box, here's my way to keep memories that are a little more 3 dimensional. Can't I just keep her this size forever? This is the product of a quiet day at home. We should have them more often.

Lake Jean

Summer fun on a lake up north. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the perfect place to sit and read and watch the kids play in the sand and water. We basically sat all day and enjoyed each others company. Shooting pictures of the kids and soaking in the sun.

We *heart* LaGarde's! Weekend Fun at the Cabin.

Our favorite place and some of our favorite people. What a great combo!
The kids loved spending so much time together (until they didn't).

Memorial Day Weekend Fun

We are so lucky that we have such an amazing place to retreat to. Matt's parent's cabin is like heaven on earth. Great food, great friends..... perfect views of God's wonderful creation. Nothing to do but read, talk and take hikes in the wood. The pups get depressed when we bring them home, as do we. I hope that we can continue to make memories at this cabin as the kiddos get older. It's so fun to hear about Matt running around here as a little guy and now he gets to share the same experiences with his little girls.