12) Mash-Up: Welcome Autumn!

By bobbi
September 30, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

September is always a busy month for us with family, school and parish activities scheduled. Here’s a recap of some of the highlights with a Sunday afternoon {pretty, happy, funny, real} / 7 Quick Takes Mash-up.
Note: The {pretty, happy, funny, real} can apply to many photos so I’ll do them in order rather than category.

– 1 –

Happy birthday, baby! – Yesterday was my sweet Bella’s 11th birthday. Has a decade and a year really gone by so quickly?? I remember when I was holding her in my arms like this…

Now my sweet girl stands next to me like this. Happy birthday, baby!

– 2 –

I Heart Autumn – We are so ready for Fall! I decorated our front porch to welcome the season and our visitors.

It is also the perfect time for Pumpkin Picking. Thanks to Brian rearranging his schedule, he was able to babysit the younger boys so I could attend Andrew’s school field trip to The Farm where they have a few farm animals, a pumpkin patch, crops and an organic produce/ products store. We had a lot of fun, although the sweetest part was the ride on the bus when he held my hand and rested his head on me with a contented sigh. It was the kind of moment that mamas live for.

Checking out the animals.

He found his perfect pumpkin.

– 3 –

Fiesta Fun – September is also the time for our parish’s annual Fiesta. There is delicious food, mariachi music, numerous booths and a kids’ carnival. What more can you ask for?

Andrew is practicing his swing.

John-Paul on the other hand thought it was “Whack A Mole” as he swung the bat over his head like a club.

JP had better luck pitching his curve ball.

Meanwhile Matthew was waiting his turn to be let loose at the playground.

– 4 –

Random Funny Shots -September must have been a busy month in the delivery rooms years ago because we have received countless invitations to birthday parties this month. One party was particularly fun because the whole family was able to attend. I find this shot of Brian funny because he is having as much fun as the kids with his race car game.

I know when John-Paul has been playing with my phone because I will find photos like this. He literally took 77 photos (I counted them) of Angry Birds in various poses.

– 5 –

Is It the Kid’s Bedtime Yet? – Tonight when we come home from dinner at my in-laws I plan to get cozy on the couch with Brian and watch the new (for the USA) PBS show Call the Midwives. I’ve heard good things about it. Here is the trailer.

– 6 –

Go Pack Go! – As I am typing this I can hear Brian cheering for the Packers as the game is on right now. They have been in a comfortable lead but I fear that is changing because I hear a lot of “Oh Come On!!” coming from the family room. There goes the Packer lead. Funny how the Packers are the only ones that can get my mild mannered hubby all fired up. He turns a bit more like me for those few hours. hee hee

– 7 –

Last one – I was going to do a quick take on a bit of Downton Abbey news but I’ve run out of time so I’ll save it for tomorrow. I leave you with a pretty shot of a flower that caught my eye this week.

Have a great night!

7 Quick Takes (8/24/12): JP’s 3rd Bday & Photography Fun

By bobbi
August 24, 2012
1 Comment

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

– 1 –

Well, another week and another 7 days of no blog entries. I seriously doubt I will get back to my normal posting until after all the kids return to school. (The rest start the day after Labor Day.) John-Paul started this week and he was a little apprehensive at first but by the end of the day he had fun and was all smiles.

JP after his first day of school.

Meanwhile Matthew was at Target trying on new hats.

“Evening, ladies.”

– 2 –

This was also the last week of JP being 2 years old! Today my little man turned 3. It seems like such a short time ago that we brought him home from the hospital.

JP at 1 day old.

Bella & JP

Andrew & JP

– 3 –

These days you can find him giggling and playing and making us laugh with his developing vocabulary.

Although, he has mellowed out a little in his old age and has taken to books. He carries one around with him all the time. The other day I told him he had to go outside and get some fresh air. My sister snapped a photo of his version of getting fresh air.

– 4 –

As you may have noticed, I love taking photos and I hope to one day get a “real” camera. Lately, it seems all I ever have on me in my iphone and I have been snapping away. Usually I use Instagram and occasionally Hipstamatic and Tadaa to filter my iphone photos. The only thing with these apps is that you can only use them on your phone. I wanted to find something that I could use online to quickly filter a photo. I started using Pixlr.com. It is a great little system with three levels, depending on how comfortable you feel with editing. I used it on the photos posted in Takes 2 & 3. (The one of him reading was done darker with JP closer to my hair color. 😉

– 5 –

Speaking of photos, this weekend is the fun and exciting Snapshots from a Sunday from Clan Donaldson. There is a different take this month and I am touched that Cari thought of me when deciding to experiment with a different format. Instead of each of us getting a different hour in the day (hello 3AM), we will all take photos at the same time – 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). Should be fun!

– 6 –

Okay, let’s just add one more photo topic. If you are looking for photo hints while snapping your kids, check out How to Take Great Pictures of Kids over at Slow Mama.com. (And congrats to Zoe & B on the adoption of their two precious girls from Ethiopia.)

– 7 –

Have a great weekend, everyone!
xoxo,

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol 43 & 7 Quick Takes (8/17/12) Mash-up.

By bobbi
August 17, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

AND

– 1 –

As I mentioned yesterday, I’ve been away from blogdom for two weeks. It’s been super busy here and blogging was the first thing to fall to the wayside. However, I am itching to get back and I have a small window of opportunity so I’m doing another {pretty, happy, funny, real} / 7 Quick Takes Mash-up. Enjoy!

– 2 –

Part of the reason I was so busy is that I was enjoying the company of two of my sisters who drove up from So Cal. I loooove when they are able to visit us! The first evening they were here we had a girls’ night out and went to see The Dark Knight Rises. Loved it.

It’s a little fuzzy since it was taken in the dark but you get the idea. 🙂

– 3 –

The second day we took the kids to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, one of the kids favorite places to visit, especially Andrew.

{pretty}

Walking on Cannery Row in Monterey.

Sharks at the Aquarium.

Can you spot Nemo?

Fish

– 4 –

{happy}

The kids at the play area of the Aquarium.

John-Paul having fun on the slide.

Matthew tries on a Nemo costume.

My munchkins.

Bella and Andrew with my sisters Jacinta and Bridgette. Bella looks so much like my sister. I’ll sometimes catch myself calling Bella “Jacinta” by mistake. (Thanks to the girls for letting me post a pic of them on the blog. Not everyone wants to plaster their images all over the internet. Go figure. heehee)

We also had a beach day, which made all of us happy.

The kids at play.

Bella and I with my sisters Jacinta and Bridgette.

– 5 –

{funny}

John-Paul, as usual, could not step out of the door without his books.

We were finally able to convince him to put them down long enough to play in the sand.

Andrew loves sharks so we thought it would be funny if he took a picture with the Sharkman on Cannery Row.

– 6 –

Okay, I know it is no way near Halloween but these are too funny not to post.
I went to Costco this week and they already had their costumes out. Andrew was dead set on being Spiderman and when I saw Costco had them a lot cheaper than other stores, I knew I had to get it now while they had his size. John-Paul wanted to be a super hero as well so he picked out Captain America. I think they are hilarious.

John-Paul and Andrew

I was looking for a super hero costume for Matthew that didn’t have a mask and this Thor one seemed perfect, right down to the hammer.

Love those muscles. LOL.

– 7 –

{real}

Lastly, tomorrow is my birthday! I will be 35…again…and again….and again….and…you get the picture. 😉 However, Brian has to work late tomorrow so we celebrated last week while my sisters were here. They brought up a gift basket from my family filled with items they knew I would love – Itunes gift card, stationary, journal, notepads etc. The best part of the gift, though, was the card in which they all signed and wrote little notes to me. It was so sweet it brought tears to my eyes. I miss them so much!

Since the girls offered to babysit, Brian and I were able to go out on a lunch date. Woohoo!

I finally got that pizza I was craving with tomatoes, roasted peppers, garlic, chicken and feta cheese. Yum!

We topped it off with a shared dessert – peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream. Mmmmm.

Have a great weekend!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 41: Summer Fun 6 & Happy Feast Day of St. Anne

By bobbi
July 26, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are some favorite Instagram photos from the past week.

{pretty}

Happy feast day of St. Anne and St. Joachim! St. Anne is my patron saint so she has a special place in my heart. (Especially since I prayed to her continuously to find a holy husband and later to be able to conceive children. She didn’t disappoint on either account.) This photo was taken at the Carmel Mission Chapel.

I looove these flowers on the walls. They are all over downtown Carmel.

Lately, I have been walking more in the evening than the morning so I have more sunset shots.

{happy}

It’s hard to believe that someone so small and cute could get into so many shenanigans. (See photos below.)

I have to keep Matthew busy to keep him out of trouble. Here he is looking at his book at the library.

We went to the mall but left Matthew at home with Brian. Andrew begged me to let him sit in Matthew’s seat (even though he could barely get his legs in the stroller.) He was happy that I let him relive his youth.

{funny}

Matthew got tired of sharpening pencils. He sharpens straws now.

I bought a 2-pack of Thomas hats but John-Paul put it on without separating the hats first. He looked like Sherlock Holmes.

(Warning to my mom: Do not look at this photo. You will think that you have failed to teach your daughter the importance of removing their child from harm before taking a photo. Luckily, I always have my camera phone on me and I’ve become a pro at snapping a blurry shot as I am running to remove a child from danger.)

The other day I told the kids to grab my keys so we could leave. The wrong kid heard me.

{real}

Bella begged me for this pretty Brave journal. (She loves journals as much as I do!) I got it for her and truth be told, I bought one for me too. 😉

It’s official. Bella is a tween. I found the first guy poster taped to her bedroom wall.

Matthew finally conked out after a long day of testing my patience. (Notice how we had to remove the couch cover and the seat cushions because he kept jumping on the couch and falling off. This way he just sits. Go figure.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 40: Summer Fun 5

By bobbi
July 19, 2012
No Comments

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Here are some favorite Instagram photos from the past week.

{pretty}

Our Lady of Guadalupe. I love the framing flowers.

I have two pretty sunset photos this week.

On Tuesday, I didn’t have a chance to take my walk so Brian told me I could go take an evening walk. I went to the beach and caught this picture of the sun setting. It was hard not to just take off my walking shoes and wade in the water instead.

Earlier this week I was coming home from Costco and the sun was setting over Seaside beach (about 15 minutes north of us.) I pulled over to the beach parking lot and snapped this photo. I didn’t use a filter to alter it. This is how it came out. I love it.

{happy}

After a long and hard day of playing, nothing makes John-Paul happier than getting cozy in his bed with a book. The other day I was looking for him (because it was too quiet) and I found him in our bed “reading” his daddy’s book. I told Brian that maybe he would finally get a bookworm that just wanted to sit and read on the couch with his dad. He said, “Yeah, good luck with that,” as he ran to stop Matthew from jumping off the kitchen table.

{funny}

Matthew loves to feed himself but it also means that we are constantly saying, “Take small bites, Matty!

{real}

I was looking through some old photos and came across this one of Bella at 3 months old. How is it that a decade has passed by so quickly?!

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Category Archives: john-paul’s world

Sunday Afternoon {pretty, happy, funny, real} vol. 46 / 7 Quick Takes (9/30/12) Mash-Up: Welcome Autumn!

7 Quick Takes (8/24/12): JP’s 3rd Bday & Photography Fun

{pretty, happy, funny, real} vol 43 & 7 Quick Takes (8/17/12) Mash-up.

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 41: Summer Fun 6 & Happy Feast Day of St. Anne

{pretty, happy, funny, real} – vol 40: Summer Fun 5