18

It seems kinda fitting that I spent the afternoon tearing linoleum and paper off the floor in our master bath. Today is 18 months that we have lived without Larry.  And while I would like to say the whole "linoleum removal" thing is a metaphor for how life is going right now...You know...peeling back layers, looking underneath to see what's there, making something beautiful out of something torn...

...I can't.

Because really, it's more simple than that. It's fitting I did this today because I just know KNOW that if my father-in-law were here today, he totally would have been working in there with me. Cause, he LOVED stuff like this. And, he generally had Friday's off. :-)

But really, because above all else, if anyone needed anything, he was the first one in line to help.

So, today marks 18 months. 18 months of living a new life that our family never even imagined we would have to live so soon. 18 months of family dinners, family vacations, and of making family memories without someone so important- so vital- to THIS family.

We see the signs that Larry is still near...the cardinals, the "All the People Said Amen" songs (coincidence this came on today?), and even in the sweet words of the children.

Oh, the children. Brooklyn and Jake still don't know what to make of it. Jake still looks at me sometimes like, "Ok, for real now, Mom. WHEN is he coming back?" And sweet Claire, who has very few memories of her own, but deep in her precious soul knows how much her Pops loved her.

This tragedy did not need to bring our family closer together. We were a very strong family already that loved each other and supported each other more than the average. But this did make us a deliberate family. A family that carves out that time for each other. A family that doesn't waste a second to hug or tell one another how we feel. A family that will keep on living and loving for another 18 months and 36 months and 500 months and more.

But there are days that I am selfish. Days where I look at this picture below and think, "THIS. This was good. This was even what I would say was PERFECT." I remember at that very moment taking this picture thinking how lucky I was. How lucky my children were. And how I KNEW I would never take moments like that for granted.

And I also have days where I look at this picture. And I think, "I am never going to waste an opportunity to post this on the internets because I love it so much."

Because, really, what's not to love about this picture?

So, it's 18 months. Such a short time, yet also such eternity. But love continues to hold us together as it always has and always will.

Especially through these days when we find ourselves on our knees.

August Update: #splitaplatelosesomeweight

I'm getting slacker and slacker with sharing these posts, but trust me, we are still trucking along and splitting those plates. For better or for worse!

August included one week at the beach (where we cashed in our "holiday/anniversary meal" on the way down at Sharky's) and back to school (which drove us out of the restaurants and back into a routine and Slow Cooker Sundays- thank goodness!).

So, I do have to say that we did pretty well eating out for the month of August.

We split three meals during the month- 2 Moe's burritos and a Mad Hatter chicken pesto pizza...



Our August "freebie" was eaten actually as a To-Go meal at home from Olive Garden. (See, we were even honest with the Take Out and cashed that in.)

And I was thoroughly shocked that we did not have any national holidays in August....so for the first time ever, we had to dip into our September "Labor Day freebie" early as we attended a church committee dinner out on August 29 and didn't want to have to explain our #splitaplate-ness to a large group in a fancy restaurant. :-)

So, there's August for you- 8 months down and 4 to go! It's crazy to think we are 2/3 of the way through 2015!

And crazy to think how many (1/2) Moe's burritos I have consumed!

First day of school!

It came, it went, and we all survived to tell about it.

The first day of school for my kids was last Thursday. That was really nice to have a two day week and then the weekend before jumping into a full 5 days.

Kindergarten and 5th grade....amazing. I swear they were just 2 and 6.

Someone is an old pro at my first day of school pics...

And someone was very nervous and not up for pictures...

By the time we got to school, things were a bit better, so we took some time to visit Daddy/Brooklyn's class.

I then walked Jake down to his class where neither of us cried (yippee!). It helps to have a husband who works at the school and who can send you covert videos of your baby boy during the day. :-)

Hope everyone's kids had great first days of schools. I loved seeing all the pictures!

And do you know what else we did?

Yes, we did as much beach and pool as we could, but did you know we also did...

...some bike riding,


...some blue moon watching,

...some dance partying,

...some running,

...because we did lots of eating,

...and some anniversary celebrating,

...some tablet watching,


...some cereal eating,

...some puzzling,

...some snuggling,

...some baby announcing,

...some family picture taking,

...some Phase 10ing,

...some puddle jumping,


...some cardinal watching (and Pops missing),

...and some Dairy Queening?

It was a wonderful week with family that we wouldn't trade for anything. So glad we already have one on the books scheduled for June. Less than a year to wait!

Poolin' It!

The only thing my kids love more than the beach is the POOL!



This was a huge week for Jake. Not only did he put his face in the water all the way for the first time, but he also jumped in the water without a floatie, submerged himself completely under the water, and then also swam about 2-3 feet under water. HUGE.

Here's a video of the jump...and did I mention the kids are now obsessed with slow-mo videos?

And of course my mermaid also wanted some screen time, so here is one of her sweet hand stands.

Beach Fun 2.0!

Saturday, August 1, we headed back to Ocean Isle for week #2 at the beach. We were soooooo excited to return and have another awesome week!

The weather was kinda cray-cray all week, but we had the kids always ready to play outside.

I am so thankful that my kids love the beach as much as I do!

We did our requisite family picture....kid in front of belly, of course.

The boys learn how to "correctly" pose for the camera.

Claire loved the little watering can we had.

Daddy impressed us all with his gymnastics skills.


Our new hobby of the week was catching minnows in a cast net.


It was quite successful.


And our favorite visitor on the beach is always the Carolina Quench slushie cart!



And gotta love some beach selfies...


This baby had such a blast all week with her cousins! Pure joy on this face!


Sneaking in time in a beach chair was a bit tougher with a toddler, but we managed every so often. :-)

More fun to come...so many pictures...cannot narrow them down!