they only come out in june.
they only come out for about 30 minutes each night…when the sun is just about set.
and they are so easy to catch.
i hadn't even seen one this year but i told annie at lunch time "i think tonight we'll catch lightening bugs"
because it just felt like it was time.
and sure enough there they were.
and annie heard cicadas and said to talby "what is that noise that is so loud?!"
it is definitely summer.
this activity was on the summer list…..check!
annie was so excited and yelling "i got one!" every other minute.
talby got as many as she could at once before coming back to the jar.
sean was so into it last year but this year he just kept swimming….
growing up i guess.
it was time for bed.
i think they caught every one in our yard.
and then it was time to let them go.
so we could catch them all again tomorrow night.
Category Archives: family fun
[url=”http://www.jerseys-cheap-nfl.com/nfl-hats?zenid=e2d49f5fb1a79760876f30a2dc657886″]Cheapest NFL Jerseys[/url] that picture is absolutely classic. so cute. love the romper! i love your romper!!! Your face! It hasn’t changed. Amazing. omg, i love your outfit in this picture! that is definitely something my cousin would have worn and i would be so excited to wear the next summer. 🙂 Heehee…Meg you look exactly the same!! Talby looks SO much like you! (: I LOVED Worlds of Fun when I was a kid! I always wanted to get those giant tissue paper flowers they sold at the front entrance. I was just thinking about the crazy aqua blue water on the Viking Voyager. meg, check out your guns in that pic! you have some major arm muscles girl! whoa–don’t mess with the girl in the rainbow romper! (i’m cracking myself up with this, can’t ya tell?!) My cousins and I have some pretty awesome pictures from growing up 🙂 They are great blackmail at family get togethers. We all end up laughing at our past selves. Talby looks SO much like you! It really is amazing!!! Old School! Love it! And yes…those stinkin’ rompers are EVERYWHERE!!! But for adults! Not so adorable on adults! You’d have to totally undress to pee! They’re like onesies! Well, now I know what we’re looking for on our next shopping trip. 🙂 Tee-Hee, what a cute kid!! Oh gosh, I daydreamed about owning a romper like that when I was about that age! I love that romper! I miss the 80’s, I know people say why would you miss the 80’s but I loved them! you’ve been rockin the rainbow since age 8! I still remember that day – Katie was grumpy, sunburned and exhausted. Your Mother told the rest of the story, which still makes us laugh hysterically. So cute. I have some that look exactly like that. Nothing better than a rainbow romper. love the little smirk and crossed arms. you look like you’re about to be up to something. haha! i’m seeing lauren in your sister a little bit, and def talby and annie in you.. i love how crazy genetics can be! I do not like the new romper thing that is going on. I guess that I am to old for that:) Love the picture though! Rainbows then, rainbows now. 🙂 In Katie’s defense, this was at the end of the day when we were walking out of World’s of Fun. It had been a long day and she was hot, tired and sunburned. This was the trip that we always talk about where she was sitting on the hump (so illegal now!), fell asleep, fell backwards and knocked the gear shift into neutral while we were driving on the interstate. Too funny! well cousin katie sure looks like she’s having a blast. You can see just how much Talby looks like you , amazing WOW!!! You were a gorgeous kid! And I’m pretty sure I saw that romper at Target this morning 🙂 I can’t believe how much you look like Talby (or I guess she looks like you)!! Hope you guys are having a good summer. Tell Miss Talby hello! $14.50 at Old Navy 🙂 had 47 million of those rompers. I also had the strapless kind that were tops…I think we called them boob tubes. You look the same! It is funny because some people seem to look the same all through growing up (I’m one of them) and you do too! Wow- does Talby ever look like you! Adorable! I had a very similar outfit to the one that your sister has on and my two sisters had similar ones too. We would wear them at the same time. YIKES! I just have to tell you that I really enjoy your blog – always brings a smile to my face. 🙂 WOW…Lauren look alike! Ha! Katie sure doesn’t look happy. You are so right! If I had a girl, I would buy one for her 🙂 we went to craig's family reunion in the afternoon but i like it. ********************************************************************
congrats! I got excited for half a second. Then I realized “To Kill a Mockingbird” is not my favorite movie. 🙂 But I’m glad another Maggie won! your a very brave momma with the trampoline into the pool!!!! Oh you lucky girl…. photo shoot with Blue Lily? You are going to love her. And, just so you know … she’s a master at Photo Shop (in case you … ahem, break out or something.) Looks like great fun. i need a trampoline. I really want to jump from a trampoline into a pool. My entire pregnant body, jiggling in the air, as I leap into the air…. Craig looked like Superman flying into the pool! both my parents are only children so i have no cousins… i’ve never known what i’m missing but this looks so much fun! and hello… you have some hot genes between you all! It looks like you all had a fantabulous time! I’m not sure I’d be brave enough to trampoline into the pool though, I must be getting old… That little dog looks just like mine! Is it a Silky Terrier? Looks like a really good time. Wish it would get hot enough for us to do things like that…boo hiss!!! Family reunions are great! I’m in need of one ~ I miss my cousins!! Looks like you guys are having a great summer! 🙂 Oh these pictures just about sent me over the deep end. I’ve been wanting to have a large backyard pool, for-evah!!! So this past Sunday I improvised. I’ll be posting about it tomorrow. I think you might get a kick out of it. A mama’s got to do what a mama’s got to do! Thanks for always sharing wonderful family photos! I loved the antics and fun shared with my cousins when we were little… but I think it’s WAY MORE COOL now we’re all adults! Yep =) Congrats to the winner!! That trampoline into the pool looks like so.much.fun! It makes me miss my adult cousins. I have such love, and such sweet memories. I rarely comment (unless there’s a giveaway, because I’m shameless ha), but I just wanted you to know that I love your blog and I especially love the pictures you share of your family. I grew up with strong family values and am so close with my family, though now I live in St. Louis while most of them are still in Chicago (did get my sis to move here..yes!). Anyways, no real point to this comment except to say I appreciate your blog, your pictures, your honesty, and your family 🙂 Have a great day! Your blog is defining summer with pictures. I love it. we pull up my son’s slide/fort thing so he can slide into the pool and he thinks it’s the coolest thing ever. if he saw these pics i think it would blow his mind! 900 comments…can you even picture how many small villages in Africa that is! Well done Maggie! Very lucky..i’m one jealous girl lol we have tried to keep friday nights as our "family night" for many years now.
Love it. That’s how it always (doesn’t) go(es) down around here at the end. 🙂 We have three kids four and under and have instilled a family game night with them. Yeah, by the end the hub and I are wanting to pull our teeth and hair out. It’s reality–and makes everyone feel normal when they hear that other families experience the same thing! I so love your posts, Meg – I can’t tell you how many times a happy family time has ended in NO TALKING UNTIL WE GET HOME! :o) gorgeous post, especially the backlit photo of you and your little gal. (and thanks for keepin’ it real there at the end. ha!) beautiful family. gorgeous night. and yeah, too bad it ended that way. but that’s why i like the nice pictures. you can just remember that part! If there is no practice, is family night optional? We had family night growing up but it was mandatory. I always acted like I hated it, but secretly I kind of liked it and I loved complaining about it. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Meg you make me laugh. I’m so glad my family is as normal as yours. 🙂 love the pictures of your family night….we do the same thing on Friday nights…. Wow I love your photography! I am just starting out learning all about it! I love the cool water shots you took at the park!! one of these days I will figure it out!! Keep out the awesome work, I just ran into your blog by sheer accident!! what great photos of the family looked like lots of fun and you and your husband…loves birds makes a great photo for the fireplace (: Thank goodness its not just our family where days/nights end like that,or occur many times during the day!! I loved the picture of the wide open mouth with braces and lots of teeth! Teeth are my thing. It was not gross in the least to me. 🙂 And, the President is in my hometown tonight speaking at a high school graduation ceremony. Kind of cool for kids. 🙂 And, I understand about the fighting and yelling and real life stuff you are talking about. I was told by a very smart woman that the kids will remember the fun stuff and forget the not so fun stuff. Oh how I am banking on that advice. 🙂 Have a wonderful night Meg! “ask daddy what he thinks about that”? I don’t want to sound judgemental at all, but that seems like a pretty subservient think to say, as a wife and mother. Surely you have your own opinions? Shouldn’t you teach your children that men and women’s opinions are equally valid? Beautiful! This world needs a sprinkler park on every block in every town! How fun!! Family nights are THE best idea. I grew up with a family night and even though we fought a lot, I have so many fond memories of togetherness. what a great night! i love that you’re honest – thanks for that. I just want to thank you for being real- for not hiding the ugly. 🙂 So many bloggers and blogs just seem so perfect, and I can’t relate to that at all. And if I spend time comparing myself, I can get really bummed out. I really appreciate what a breath of fresh, real air your blog is. !Muchas Gracias! Great pictures, of course! 🙂 My oldest son has the same trunks, the blue w/ the fish.. love how real you are. Aw, we do Friday Night Family Night too! Love it! 🙂 There’s a sprinkler park just like this down the road from us! I will have to get back there!! 🙂 Oh my word! I totally know what you mean……isn’t it especially rotten when you have done something nice for them and then they act awful?!?!? Great pictures, tho! Another thank you for keeping it real 😉 Looove your posts because you show the ups and the downs…makes me feel normal! Meg, this is a strange question, but what is the brand and color of your lipstick? I’m sure it won’t look the same on me (not nearly as good), but I love it! I’ve noticed it in several pictures and finally decided I ought to just ask you what it is! I loved the photos – how you made the water stand still – even the drops on their way to the kids’ mouths, how cool. There always has to be a meltdown after a fun time, right? I think kids must come pre-programmed that way. Love the photo story. 🙂 Thanks for keeping it REAL!!!!! Where did you get Talby’s swimsuit? Peace signs and lime green are Chloe’s whole world right now! ahhh …. a perfect almost summer day. Love the shot with the water dropping from the bucket! Your kids are full of life 🙂 I see it in every picture you take 🙂 So very happy 🙂 Do I remember Talby wearing the suit Annie has on? They sure are growing up!! Looks like loads of fun! 🙂 Makes me laugh with you…not at you. Just catching up here, and wanted to tell you (again) that I love your blog. i like living in a dream world too…. I love the pictures! Sounds like a typical “family night”, ours usually end the same way. Keepin’ it real! You caught me by surprise at the end. It made me laugh. So nice to know you are a real family and you aren’t some version of Mrs. Cunningham. Thats why I come back every day. I can relate! Yep, our fun times almost always end that way too 🙁 I love your photos and your writing and your honesty! Looks like such a fun time! Except for the last part. That can’t have been so fun. oh THANK YOU for not excluding the “reality” part about how it ended…it makes me feel normal! Oh Meg, I love how honest you are. My blog looks like all sunshine and roses too sometimes but I know the truth behind some of those pictures. Boy, have we all been there. Yelling etc. At least they had fun at the park and you took some great pictures. great photos! don’t you just love when you have a great day, night whatever… and then the meltdowns happen and you feel a smidge defeated!?!?!?! water parks are so much fun and what i love about them is that all ages are engaged… not so much in a regular pool. so fun. at one point every wonderful family outing goes sour. it is what it is… i guess. the kids won’t remember the crap…. so yay a great family adventure! Sweet and Real ~ my kind of family night. Really sweet!! Don’t sweat the real stuff. The kids will remember how much fun they had, not that everyone had a meltdown afterward. 🙂 I’m so glad you share the ugly with the wonderful. Real families are so much more beautiful than ideal ones. 🙂 Thanks for the peek into your family. I’m sure we can all relate to the behind the scenes stuff you mentioned. They always go hand in hand…the lovely memories with the real life *crap;) Precious, all of it precious. Even the meltdowns at the end. Sooo… someone is too cool for sprinkler park, but not ice cream, eh? I love ‘tweens. Thanks for sharing this night with us! Great photos! My daughter used to have that same striped swimsuits. Miss that thing! Looks like a great evening. We have so many No Talking in the car days/nights. Thanks for always keeping it real, girl! Thanks for being so honest and real about what family night can sometimes end like. I can relate. However, good for us peeking into your life that you pictures tell a different story. I love those pictures. It looks like they all had a lovely time at the park. I can totally relate to the exhaustion meltdowns, they can go from fun to feral in 30 seconds or less. Bliss and tranquility, that is how i imagine your evening, ok. The rest, the reality, Im not buying it. my mom, sister and i went to the farmers market in lawrence on saturday.
i am feeling…. we started swimming lessons today for the three youngest…went great! then the same three went to clay class. so…my venting is over. My darling husband took all three kids to the museum today so I could have some peace and quiet…and clean the house, LOL! So far? I’m sitting here reading blogs and listening to my favourite CD. I’ll get to the house soon… I’m assuming grilled brats means sausages and not bad children. 🙂 i hope you had a super time in lawrence! i hope our schedules can sync up next time you’re in town! Hi … I’m new to your blog and have enjoyed poking around and looking at all the colors that you have documented on your blog. So happy. (PS. We made your stuffed pasta shells the other night for dinner, too – two thumbs up! My 3 & 4 year old were eating the filling out of the bowl before I could get it in the shells). : ) Meg — I found your blog through another and have to let you know you are an inspiration! I am struggling through college and looking at your posts I am getting a new outlook on taking time for my crafty self — Just wanted to say thank you! Glad to know I am not the only one who gets overwhelmed with all the things that need to be done yet I don’t do anything because I don’t know where to begin! At some point, I will get a burst of energy and get it all done (hoping that point is soon!). I just want to do all the fun summer things I have planned…heck, with dishes, laundry, remodeling, yardwork, and who needs to eat!!! Meg…I’m reading your post and started crying…(it could be PMS, maybe not) but I would trade you places in a heart beat…I’m sitting here at my work desk in an ugly office working 10 hour shifts and MISSING my kids and the chaos at home so desperately…I’m quitting my job and have one month to go til I’m home and walking to the gas station for diet coke & ice cream cones with the kids, going to the local pool and watching parades and BBQing and cleaning up messes and listening to my son play “Stairway to Heaven” prelude 5,000 x on his guitar (he’s teaching himself to play) and listening to the piano ALL day long and I’ll probably complain about the noise and the endless messes, but I’ll be HOME and hanging with my kids during this crazy summer! Your blog is my escape, I appreciate you so much, you’ll never know…! Enjoy the madness! I can’t wait for my turn! Love, Christine I love how you keep it real!!!!!!!!! I like how real and honest you are! We went to the farmer’s market this weekend. Once there, I realized there wasn’t a card in my camera. Oh well! Oh how gorgeous – my daughter’s choir opened our farmer’s market a few weeks ago…and here in Seattle? Yeah…rain. Downpour. Monsoon. But I walked around, thinking I’d buy something. And our flower bouquets? $10.00. ear plugs. i’m not kidding. they take the edge off. really. get some. I love your blog! I love your creativity and you always make me laugh! I love lawerence as well. All the shops and the university are gorgeous! I go there every time I make it to Kansas… I absolutely LOVE how you keep it so real! Summer living with kids home all day/night can be positively exhausting! I don’t know how you do the noise either. You poor girl. First week and the noise is to much. It might make for a long summer unless they stay outside all day long:) Please thank your mom for sharing her margarita recipe! DH and I made some last night–after the kids went to bed–YUM!!! We drank the whole pitcher ourselves 😉 Love love the pictures. Our Farmers’ Market is one of my favorite places, full of beauty and great smells. Thanks for being honest. Our Summer starts in 17 days when the kids get out of school. It is a love/hate relationship. I love to have them home but the noise does get to me at times. My sister threatened to get rid of my piano because every time I talk to her on the phone the kids feel the need to bang on it. 🙂 I do have to say, in spite of the noise, I sure love my boys! Happy Summer! I dont always get to my google reader everyday, but everyday I always manage to make it to your blog. Yours makes me the happiest. thanks meg 🙂 First day of summer here…let the noise begin!! I was led to your blog for the margarita recipe. so glad I followed! The photography is gorgeous and yes, I know just how you feel. My kids are a little older, so not too time consuming. Yet still I feel a little overwhelmed. Must just be that time of year. Isn’t it great when the clouds break and the sun comes out and suddenly the stress just melts away. 🙂 I love Farmer’s Markets but it’s so hot here. If I went to a Farmers Market outdoors right now my skin would melt off. It’s one of the many perks to living in Houston. Oh I hear ya Meg! Boy-O can I relate. A messy house and shutting down. Noise that just won’t quit. Bless you for sharing this, but also keeping an eye to the good things. Thank you. Noise makes me insane too. I can’t imagine with your big brood. I have a piano I’d like to smash sometimes too. Maybe we could do it together…like in the office when the rap music is playing and they carry that evil printer into the field and smash it into a million smitherens:) oh girl. thank you for writing / venting that. 🙂 i thought it was just me who acted like when i turn to the right i don’t see piles of school projects from the past 9 months [all brought home on the last day on friday] & looking to the left that i don’t see piles of wet towels among other things. you hit the nail on the HEAD & i feel better just knowing i’m in good company. 🙂 i hear ya about the noise! they just talk and yell and fight and carry on. I’m so sick of the yelling and fighting. It’s driving me insane. I get it. Bursts of productivity. I wish I had family right here to help me through this long, long summer. Sigh. Hang in there, Meg. You’re certainly not alone. much love, girlie. xoxo wow. I’ve never seen peonies at a farmer’s market before. Buckets and buckets of those gorgeous flowers! I hope you got some to take home. 🙂 yummmm. brats and corn on the cob… mmmm. oh my word… i am having a noise issue too. so can relate! rosemarie and mandy friend both posted my question!!! “car bombs”…i didn’t know lawrence was “that” kind of town!! lol! um, am I reading that photo right?? Does it say ‘car bombs’???LOLAnd I hear ya on the noise… OK – does that chalkboard list actually say “Car Bombs, $4”? Or am I just really clueless when it comes to flowers??? 🙂 I adore farmers markets This is totally off topic, but I just wanted to let you know…I made your peanut butter pie today and it was AWESOME!!! So, good in fact, that I shared the recipe on my blog. Okay so maybe this wasn’t too far off topic…compliments chear everyone up right??;) you’re a stronger woman then i am. i would have pushed the piano into the street by now. i only have 2 at home in my house and by 4pm i’d like to walk around with ear plugs in. thank goodness for quiet time! I have 4 and I feel your pain! I am trying to get them to do homework(or I was 😉 and call the insurence co and not think about my wash that is so bad I may just go to the laundrymat. It’s all good, that is what I keep telling myself. As a mother of five too, I can totally relate; esp. with the noise! My husband calls us “the loud family!” Hahahaha! I loved the “would it be bad to smash my piano?” line… awesome. If anything, that totally sums up the joys and anxieties of having all the kids at home all at once. That is one of the many things I love so much about you and your blog, you don’t just share the good stuff, you share reality. Thanks for being you! good thing we will be visiting soon…my kids are SO PEACEFUL! HA! my brain hurts from the noise…and i only have two kids. instead of a breast reduction surgery, i would love to get a hearing reduction surgery…or have a “remote” installed in my ear…so i could press mute, or lower the volume as needed. wouldn’t that be the best! i can dream… I am relating, my house is a mess, everywhere! And i am on the computer ignoring it all. Glad you are having fun with the kids, noise and all. Go the tread mill! Meg you make me laugh..I feel like I can relate to you even though I don’t have kids. Gorgeous pictures (: I completely understand..; highs and lows. There is a reason that your blog is so big! You are EVERY WOMAN. Not Whitney Houston. Those peonies are gorgeous! Did you bring any home? I wish our farmer’s market had fresh cut flowers like that. BEAUTIFUL! I feel the same way. When every room I enter I find a pile or something that needs to be done I just can’t seem to get ahead. I just give up and read a magazine!! A clean house is a sign of a misspent life!! (that’s a sign on my kitchen wall) Oh my. The noise. I can so relate. It’s enough to drive a poor mama out of her mind sometimes, isn’t it? Ugh- I don’t even have kids and feel like I’m losing my mind the last few days. I spent the entire day in the kitchen in hopes of prepping most of our meals for the week and got 2 done and then I pooped out. Oh well!!!!!!!!!!! Grilled Brats? whats that in English… lol ok…today is better than the past two have been. I love checking your blog every day. You show the good with the bad and always make me feel inspired to be a good mom. I wanted to post here to let you know you are looking fit and trim. You go girl!!! Michelle from Canada. MEG… YOUR THE BEST MOM YOUR KIDS COULD EVER HAVE! i love the quilt that is on your front porch. Love the shirt. But your hair is GORGEOUS! De-lurking to say Hi! from another Kansas girl (great grandparents lived in Walton) who LOVES peppernuts. I’m the only one in our family who still attempts to make them. I don’t even have the recipe that got me hooked – I like the tiny, dense version. But, I have found some good recipes out there that approximate the flavor, at least. I will say that it is always more tedious than I remember – so many tiny cookies! Make the dough and freeze half for later … Love your list Meg which has inspired us to do our own here as two weeks of hols are starting in Tasmania, Australia. (about to start winter though, not a lovely long summer.) wish i could rock that funky short do like yours…i LOVE it! Love the shirt! Love summer! You inspired us to make a poster this year. Skydiving is on it…yeah, not sure about that one. Where is the Demo Derby? We are in Leavenworth and got our Worlds of Fun passes :)! Have a great summer. Your hair cut is rocking and so is the shirt! Now go make some cupcakes for your babies 🙂 Love the oilcloth on your little table- I have the same print, in a turquoise background, on my kitchen table. LOVE IT- everything wipes right off, even crayons and pens 🙂 talby’s hair is adorable! I grew up in Mennonite country, too, and LOVE peppernuts. I have this great little book, titled simply, Peppernuts, full of recipes. It’s amazing how many variations there are. Yum. We always make them around the end of November, so they’re ready and tasy for Christmas. We go to Worlds of Fun too :o) Do you ride all of those rides? please send peppernuts 🙂 My family makes peppernuts, too (but only at Christmas)! I love them so much, but I had no idea that other people even knew what they were. Haha. However, we make the German version of them. Just wanted you to know I already made the teacher soaps. LOVE them! I once attempted my own blog, but yours is sooo much better, so I just read it instead! 😉 And if I get a cupcake shirt will I look as hot as you?? Hope so, you look awesome! Love your hair in that first picture! Super cute! …and the shirt says it all. 🙂 i’m a mennonite and have NEVER heard of peppernuts…interesting, i’m gonna check that out! Just in case you need the recipe for perfect peppernuts… Seriously. I’m not biased because my grandmas make them or anything. You look great! and I want your hair 😉 I have followed your blog for a looong time – checking in nearly every day. I have to tell you – you look great! Your new ‘do is oh-so chic. Hello! I read your blog all the time, but I’m not sure I’ve ever commented. Sorry. Anyway, I see glimpses of your house/porch and keep thinking that my SIL and BIL lived down the block from you for awhile. They rented a house while they were building. If, in fact, you do live in the house I think you do – love, love, love it! i cannot describe how happy I will be not to have to search for uniforms and make lunches anymore for a few months!! ack! Bring on summer! I can’t wait to make our summer list – thanks for sharing! What a great idea!!!! I gotta tell you – I’m getting my hair cut and wish I was brave enough to get such a cute sassy look – I’m having trouble with peppernuts in the summer. To me, peppernuts ARE Christmas!! 🙂 However, I’ll still share our family recipe for them with you. Love the shirt!! Glad you led me to check out the site…I just bought the “Cupcake Queen” shirt. I can’t wait to get it in the mail! 🙂 Now, I want a cupcake too! enjoying your blog. I make peppernuts (pfeffernusse) at Christmas time by the icecream-pailful. Some people roll them out, I use a piping bag and squeeze them onto the pan… not as uniform, but faster by far. Good luck with them! I’m going to attempt a summer list. Saskatchewan may not sport the biggest or fanciest theme parks or zoo’s, but I’m sure we can find a few ways to spice up the summer. Thanks for the ideas! Now I feel like I need to go find a recipe for peppernuts. My mom’s family are from Canada and have Mennonite roots. Love the list. Let’s demo derby together….and find a day to bring the kids to the pool here. Meg, I love your blog. You look fantastic. Your face is so skinny! I love the idea of a journal! Adding that one to the list that we came up with last night. My daughter is 11 and starts Middle School next year. I’m grateful to have this summer to bond with her before she moves further down the road to adulthood. One of the most exciting things we’re doing is Book Club. We’re still trying to decide on a book though. She wants Twilight and I don’t. ha ha haha…it always amazes me what people have never heard of. Love that t-shirt! Your summer list has inspired…looks like it’s gonna be a fun one 😉 what a great shirt!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love it……wish I could buy one of those here in the Netherlands! YOU look amazing and are rockin’ the shirt!! I LOVE your porch! My kids do too ~ they want one! Looks like a GREAT place to hang out! You look great in that first photo 😉 when i grow up i want to be you (OKAY like,you) you are amazing (and beautiful), talented, and are blessed with a large curious family. i wish to be able to spend time with my babies. – that’s all i got, sorry so weird. You are looking oh so sassy in that first photo. When we play Memory I always win. Granted my competition is ages 4 & 6. Bummer when they start beating me. What a wonderful idea: summer journaling for the young and old. The memory game is a favourite here but we’ve forgotten about it recently. Isn’t it amazing how the younger ones always win? The cupcake tee is a perfect gift for my best bud a half world away. Thank you for sharing it.
so that is what i wanted to remember. [url=”http://www.nfljerseysleague.com/specials”]NFL Football Jerseys[/url] been following the blog for a good while now! sweet sweet post today, love reading you! Lovely~except for one thing….that trampoline looks SO close to the porch…little heads…. Your weekend sounds like heaven on earth 🙂 I can’t wait to have my oldest home from college and have my little family home for summer!16 more days and counting…. Love the pictures…and how green it is. Makes me want to go plant more flowers in my yard today. i just love the way your express yourself Meg. what a beautiful day you had. I loved lost. I was slightly disappointed by the spoiler as well however… I was unable to watch the finale live due to church conflicts, and was really looking forward to watching it without a spoiler today. No hard feelings though, just a misunderstanding. Great post, lovely photos. I cried at the end of the finale too, because I was starting to think it WAS heaven. But everyone else was SO HAPPY. Nobody was sad about being dead. They were just waiting for Jack. hooray on such a happy day! i always love your honesty and vulnerability in the day to day so i’m glad you shared a day of such bliss. and you’re positive anyway so it’s not such a surprise but you deserve a day that you can genuinely say was great. (consider this your mother’s day!) 🙂 happy summer! what a wonderful post! have a happy summer 🙂 i love this post. this is life at it’s best. the good stuff. such a great idea to be intentional about capturing the ordinary good day! Kelly I love days like that! Our summer starts this Saturday… it seems like it’s taking forever! Beautiful pics Meg. So glad you got a real date with your honey. I am with you Meg! the lost person who whined on the lost ending? Hello!! It was obvious that she was going to talk about her feelings on it. That was an amazing post Meg…and just what I needed to read today, so thank you for that. I love your blog. a family, still together, loving and laughing and enjoying each other loved this post…made me reflective and hopeful and made me want to cherish my time even more with my kiddos and my hubby. We celebrated my little guy’s 3rd bday on Saturday with rainbow cupcakes- it seriously made his entire birthday- he’s still talking about it. Thanks for the inspiration! Your blog is awesome and the first thing I want to read after I get the kiddos down for a nap- your honesty and hopefulness always encourages me and I walk away wanting to be a better mom. Hope you have a great start of your summer! dear LOST commenter…. Thank you for sharing this. It sounds like a lovely day – the most wonderful kind of ordinary that makes a beautiful life. Your day sounds lovely. It’s funny that I’m reading this and you’re talking about heaven and what it’ll be like. My brother just passed away suddenly at 29 last week. And I, of course, have been thinking a lot about heaven. A lot. Thanks for sharing this post. It made me smile 🙂 Thank you for the Lost spoiler. For those of us who have yet to watch, I was unaware that they died, which is implied by your comment about heaven. Please refrain from any more spoilers and make note before next time. Or better yet, don’t post any spoilers at all. What a fun weekend – a weekend full of nothing with the people that mean everything. and thanks… I’m drooling! Betweent he icecream and the rainbow cake… totally drooling! Loving this post. It may sound weird, but I actually felt good, like I was part of it, just reading the post. I understand what you mean about how much you love your dog. We have a dog that looks just like Waffle only he’s gray. He’s poodle and sheep dog. He has the best, most loving, personality. And we can’t help loving him back! I’m glad you had a great day. It is all about home and family, if you ask me. And extra nice when there is no fighting and lots of ice cream!!! You’re such a real person, Meg. I love that. You’re not a bad mom for letting your kids be kids, either. Remember when we ‘grownups’ were kids and we stayed out all day without cell phones and without having to check in. Just us and our friends on bikes in the neighbourhood. Now, that loss is worth crying over. I too had a great weekend with the family. I am excited to see this post because I feel the same way and tomorrow may not be as great. CHERISH THESE MOMENTS .My summer begins June 10th . In Ohio school goes that long! Thanks for sharing your day. It made me realize that I need to do more of those type of days and get my husband to do them too. We both have a hard time doing nothing, but it is so worth it. Thanks for making my day happy!!! The first thing I thought was, “yay! She got to have Mother’s day!”. Sounds like such the perfect day, and good for you for writing about it before it was gone. what a beautiful post! So it sounds like yesterday was your real Mother’s Day 🙂 I am so jealous that your summer has started. I am counting down the days. This seriously looks like a killer day!! Enjoy your summer!! Pitch perfect. My kind of post. My kind of life. I love that you loved your day. Definitely worth documenting! Couldn’t agree more about getting out with the Honey…and talking and planning…Couldn’t agree more about the pizza and ice cream. This sounds like a great Mother’s Day, just a little late! <3 What a wonderful day. Isn’t it amazing how mundane days can be the best ones we have? So sweet. OH Meg. That is beautiful. “SPRINKLED.” Sorry. We loved the LOST finale and weren’t bothered that so many questions were left unanswered. The “reunions” sprinked throughout were beautiful, and I think overall it was nicely done. those are the days that remind us huh?? The ones that speak to your spirit and remind us how good God is (as if we should ever forget). Please share your funny movies…always on a look out for good ones;) awesome post – SO glad you had this day. I got goosebumps and almost tears just reading the details of your wonderful day. What a sweet sweet day and I loved how you needed to write it BEFORE the next day came. The “next day” has a way of changing our view of the great day before it!! I’m with you on the recharging with your man, makes family time all the better!! We’re a week behind you in terms of vacation. My weekend was frantic getting the girls to and from recitals and rehearsals. So reading your blog made me take a deep breath and relax. 🙂 Also, love your flowers and dog. Happy Mothers Day 2 weeks later!!!! It sounds like your family operates on their own calendar, not one dictated by hallmark 🙂 Yes, I think everyone is a better parent when they have a little time away. You’d get stale at ANY job if you never had time away from the office! Those precious, happy times as a couple help to get you through the tougher times. Refueling is necessary! SO glad that you got to do it – and to enjoy your weekend with your family. I loved reading about your wonderful day… that hammock sounds pretty great! I will miss LOST too. I was so glad they had a good ending. Loved the post. Date night equals happiness. 🙂 I had to skip the part about LOST. I’m only on season 5. I don’t want to know anything because right now I seriously don’t know anything. I mean, even about what’s going on in season 5. lol Sounds like a perfect day to me! Thank you for sharing it with us! truly a perfect day! Hope today is a great one, and if it’s not, just think back to yesterday. a day without fighting? a miracle! recently i said i feel like living with a four year old is like having an abusive relationship… me being the victim! I am seriously in love with your dog. A picture of him on your blog makes. my. day. Please give him a little scratchy scratch for me. A whole bunch of little things that by themselves would be nothing but put together make for a wonderful weekend. I love those kind. What a beautiful post. You are the best! It’s great that you document the good days and just enjoy them for what they are – an ordinary day. I hope Monday, today, is a great day – unexpectantly (is that a word?) great. Inspiring and beautiful! The pictures and reflections. My children are still quite young and too often I rush through the weekend trying to complete the to-do list so we can be ready for the next week. So much more pleasurable to take long walks, share a meal with friends and take pictures! This year, we’re making a list, too. Thanks for the wonderful idea 🙂 sounds like an awesome weekend. some times, they are good times, just because. nothing definable, just because. love that. Nice post…and we also had a date Saturday pm. All good. Beautiful Day and lovely post! I love how on the trampoline picture you can see the basketball in the background about to go into the hoop. Perfect timing! My fondest memories are of days like this as a kid. Can I please just move into your world? I just want one weekend where I can just watch the world go by at a slow pace and enjoy my husband. Please tell me it’s easier when your kids get older! Sounds like you had a wonderful weekend and an even better Sunday. Hope that your week is just as good. Love the good days 🙂 I’m glad you had a good weekend. I think your day sounds like perfection! (And I’m glad you liked the finale of Lost. It made me cry so hard — thinking of getting to see my late mother again. And I love any show that thinks that LOVE is an important, life-altering concept.) Sounds like a day that your children will also remember as the “good ole days!” My daughter and I came up with our summer list (inspired by seeing yours last year) and it was pretty long. I am very excited to be intentional with our summer this year. 🙂 I enjoy your blog – it is fun to read and so pretty. This was nice…astounding how the Lost ending made us all hold our breaths, hoping for the ending we wanted…love won date nights really do make us better parents. That was a great Sunday. I love days where we all just enjoy each other. My kids had a trampoline and used to jump off their playhouse roof onto it. At that point I was just glad they were playing, not fighting or whining! Those summer days can be a challenge when kids are not getting along together! Have a great Monday! It’s 90 here this week… grandkids and I will be hitting the sprinkler and popsicles! such a great day… I love perfectly normal days. We did the beach and pool in one day…walmart in between (that wasn’t the best part of the day) What a beautiful day! Thanks for sharing it. Summer starts here tomorrow, but my kids don’t “get” sleeping in 🙂 Wishing you all the best this season has to bring you!! I love this post. Reminds me a lot of my day. Nothing special…but a whole bunch of simple little things that made it great. One…at lunch, ( a picnic on the porch) my husband kept passing me the food he knew I couldn’t reach. OK…this just sounds CRAZY now that I have typed it out….but I actually noticed it, and made me happy. Love your post. Love your pictures. Love your blog. That’s all. 🙂 Sounds like the perfect Sunday!!! 🙂 Ahhh, so good! My kind of day. We don’t have many of those good days anymore ~ moments, yes, days, not so much anymore. What a sweet post. It made me happy! |
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Rockwall Christmas Lights - Really enjoyed this. I can remember watching them in amazement with my little girl as what seemed to be thousamds of them would light up the entire campsite. She’s all grown up now, but we still enjoy our lightning bug hunts.
Heather Warren - I loved reading about this. I have two boys. Clayton who is 14 and B aka Bryce who is 9. We are in Heltersberg, Germany and just spent our first time outside looking for fireflies. I was told by one of my German friends that she has never seen them here before but saw them for the first time a few days ago. We saw them tonight and caught one. It was an amazing feeling to share this moment with my boys. 🙂
MommyTopics.com - I’m a Southern California Girl and I’ve never, NEVER, seen lightning bugs. NEVER! I have a dream.
You just brought me a little closer today.
Thank you.
I knew they were really out there and that little kids really do collect them in jars. I just knew it!
I’m linking to this post on Monday in my gratitude post. You’ll be able to find it at MommyTopics.com, Monday morning, June 28, 2010.
Blessings
Rachymommy – MommyTopics.com
crystal b - I’ve never seen a lighting bug. I’m so glad you posted pictures of one up close so I could see how it lights up. I read about a really fun lightening bug party just yesterday — I think it was in Family Fun, the July issue. You should check it out — it looks like something you would love. They also had a fun robot craft made of tin cans.
P.S. Loved that dragon craft.
Rach - Oh how I miss lightening bugs and long summer walks. I wish we had them out here. 🙁
Stephanie - I enjoy your blog and amazing photos! My sons were having fun last night when they noticed the lightning bugs, so I grabbed my camera…but my pics do not even come close to yours!! You are so creative! Please share with me how you got such great photos of the bugs lighting up, I am trying to learn new things with my camera…maybe I need to put it on the correct setting?!?!
Aimee @ In THIS Life - Oh, wow! I’m jealous. We moved back to the West Coast last year, and fireflies are one of the things I miss!
Meredith - Oh Meg, If you don’t have Faith Hill’s song “Fireflies”stop what you’re doing and download it right now!! 🙂
Diana - wow, come to our neighborhood, we have always had the lightning bugs since mid-may and they’re with us all evening and all night (maybe ’cause we’re near the creek?)… when the grandkids come over in the summer, there have been times we camped in the backyard and watched them in the wee hours of the night… when i can’t sleep, i sit in the backyard and watch them, so cool to see them all over the yard and in the sky in the dark of the night 🙂
Carol - I remember catching fireflies when I was a kid. It was such sweet, innocent fun. And those lions, they would have freaked me out! Glad you had fun!!
Melanie - I love those bugs. When we lived in Georgia, we had a lot of them. Now that we are in Cincy, I don’t see them so much.
Kendra - We’re in Wichita and our lightning bugs stay for hours!
Sarah - This is the first year my kids were old enough to enjoy catching lightning bugs, but enjoy it we have! The other night we ran around the yard shreaking and laughing while we caught them. Such fun!
jimaiemarie - This is SO fun, I’ve never seen one in real life and I just know my kids would get such a kick out of them!! I so wish we had them here in California, very cool!!
Mica - never ever have I seen a real one… My husband saw his first ones last year when he was in Philadelphia…. Someday maybe…Looks like your kiddos had an awesome time out with them…Mica/The Child’s Paper
Bluebell - Thank you for this post! It was a wonderful trip down memory lane…from my childhood in Indiana. I know live in Idaho and there aren’t any lightning bugs in my area…so this was a wonderful way to relive a great time in my life!
Jeanne - Everytime I read your posts I just want to move next door to you and we are BFF:-)
Jenny - Nothing says summer to me like fireflies! These pics are great!
Anya - Wow, we don’t get anything like around my place! Love them, so amazing. So cool.
the road less traveled - it’s officially summer to me the first night i see the fireflies.
love your romper 🙂
DreamGirlLisa - What a marvel Mother Nature is, those are so cool! I wish we had them here in CA.
tara pollard pakosta - My girls have been wanting to do this the past few nights, but then forgot as night came around….I need to get a few jars, the last one we had outside broke in a storm!
awesome pix!
tara
Krista - Love the one with the bug lighting up as Annie is holding it, your pics are awesome!
jennifer - Lightning bugs remind of when I was little and we lived in Chicago. We left when I was seven and I always missed the lightning bugs!
Ruth - i just saw my very first fireflies in uganda last month! a leeeeetle bit overexcited…
Sharon - So much fun!
Kirsten - Oh the memories…we visited my great-grandma when I was little in Garden City, Kansas, and they were so magical. I wish I had pictures. I barely remember…and the noisy cicadas.
Robyn - that is AMAZING!
the photo of her holding the bug all lit up is perfect!
Lora - One of my favorite childhood memories! I like how you captured their lit up be-hinds :O)
Christy - I have been in Phx for over 20 years & we don’t have them hear. 🙁 I so miss that about summer. Catching the bugs & “wearing” them were one of my all time favorite childhood memories, the best spot to collect them was my granparents farm.
Ellen - We did the same thing last night! And it was also on our summer list (stolen from you, of course) 🙂 Is it weird that it makes my day that you and I thought alike? Ha!
Kimberlee J. - I looked out my kitchen window last night and my entire front yard was full of them. Yep, it’s totally summer. And I’m loving it.
Kate @ Songs Kate Sang - Oh, I love those bugs!!
Becky @ Farmgirl Paints - One of my favorite memories of summer. Thanks for that:)
Naomi - DEF miss lightnin’ bugs!
jaz - Look at their cute little bums!
Katie - I am from your area, too, and these little glowing guys are everywhere. I bet if you go to the edge of town at dusk, you would seen many. My little friend, Rylee, and I caught lots the other night in Elbing 🙂
Sandy - I’ve always lived in Ohio so I’ve grown up and grown “old” with them. After reading the comments I realize I’ve taken them for granted! I didn’t realize so many areas don’t have them. Great memories of catching them in the jars…now I watch my dog jump through the yard catching them. They are awesome!
Heather - so cool! i wish we had those in az. love the photo of annie holding one while lit up.
Jaime - Oh my goodness… I so miss living anywhere but Arizona. I miss the lightning bugs and cicadas (kinda). Thanks for letting us live vicariously through you and Annie!
Sara @ It's Good to be Queen - i love summer. great photos!
Kat - I love your photos, Meg…these are GREAT! 🙂 We’ve been catching lightning bugs around here too…but seeing these photos are magical :). Thanks!
Julie - Seeing a lightning bug is on my list of things to do before I die. I’m almost 30 and I have yet to see one! They know better than to come to LA…
Heidi - Thank you, thank you, thank you! I miss seeing lightening bugs and was just thinking about it last week. I immigrated to Holland many years ago and they are not here. You gave me a little piece of my childhood again reading this and seeing the photos. Thanks so much for that!
Hugs from Holland ~
Heidi
Julie - Man do I miss catching lightening bugs. Kinda hate that my kids don’t get to do this. Really nice to see your kids enjoying their summer ~ looks like fun!
Tracy - I miss these days both for me and my children. My kids (like your Lauren) are all too grown up (so they think) to do these kinds of things anymore. However, even though I am a grown-up – I wish I could be carefree all summer long catching lightning bugs instead of making the commute to NYC for work every day! LOL Glad you got something else checked off your summer list. Have a great day hun! xoxoxo :o)
Liz - Meg! Catch them again tonight, take the jar inside and let the girls fall asleep with them as nightlights in their dark rooms! It’s so much fun. After a while you can take them back outside and let them go.
Nicole Q. - I didn’t grow up with lightening bugs so i think this is so cool. last year we let the kids keep their jar in their room while falling asleep, it’s like a night light. So cool.
Sixty Fifth Aveune - You got some really awesome pictures Meg! This is on our list too, how fun!
Art Cant Hurt - my birthday is june 20th and growing up i knew it was almost time for my birthday when the first lightning bugs came out….now my kids see them and say “momma, it’s almost your day!” and it makes my heart smile!
thanks for sharing megan!
Liz - Love your pictures! Looks like they had a great time. We too are busy crossing fun activities off our list!
Amanda - Great photos!!! Looks fun!
Dana@Bungalow'56 - I’ve often read about lightning bugs or seen cartoon versions of them on some Disney cartoons (I can’t remember which ones right now), but I had no idea they lit up like that? That was very cool to see. I’m going to show my kids.
Thanks
Natasha Burns - Wow, these are amazing! Are they the same thing as fireflies? We don’t have these in Autralia, wish we did!
Jessica Hoffman - I miss lightning bugs…i use to catch them when i was little living in Texas… they are magical.
Megan - You can never be too old for lightning bugs!
Melissa - Ooooh how fun I remember doing this as a child!
Sophie - This is going to sound so dumb, but I didn’t know they even existed! I’m from London, so we don’t have any bugs like that here. Just the boring ones. 😛
www.Kellyloves.wordpress.com - I grew up with lightning bugs and it breaks my heart that it’s too hot in Florida for them. But we do have love bugs and my son and I catch those each spring.
http://www.kellyloves.wordpress.com
Dina - We did the SAME thing the other night. I kept trying to get pics of their “light bulb tushies”… that’s what my kids call them;-)… but I just wasn’t fast enough…. and I think my son left them in the jar a little too long. They were pretty slow moving when we finally released — but no casualties:-)
Tam - I want to do this with the boys, I was hoping to do it Saturday night! 🙂 Photos are great, thanks for sharing!
`Kelly - We had those fun little creatures where I grew up in the midwest. Now living on the West Coast with my own family, I miss them. I wish my boys could grow up with those same childhood memories I had.
Lora - Awesome pics! you guys are so fun!
melissa*320 sycamore - meg~this is our first summer we have ever had lightning bugs! I didn’t know they were so short lived~we’ll have to plan a catching party pronto. such great pics.
Nancy - When we visit arkansas every summer, the girls look forward to that. We just don’t have those here in our concrete jungle known as Southern California. 🙁
Jen CD - thank you for this post. We miss cicadas and fireflies so much.
Sarah - There is a field near our house in Manhattan that was loaded with lightening bugs, like someone laid a net of Christmas lights over the field, only better. My husband drove through it one night coming home late from work and insisted on taking the kids to see it. He was right. My two year old kept saying “it’s amazing”. They are magical little bugs.
Lisa K - We don’t have lightning bugs where I live, but I have some really warm memories of a summer vacation over the fourth of July one year – I was elementary school age and we stayed with friends in a big homey house in some rolling hills in TN. We caught lightning bugs and watched a parade and fireworks. It was like a dream. 🙂 Thanks, Megan, for reminding me.
kristine - awesome. great pics of them lighting up!!
candace - i love being out in the country where it looks like it is raining little lights out in the fields! and amen to that comment just above. 🙂
Vanessa {Bloom Right Here!} - Isn’t God amazing? Every time I see a lightning bug I am just in awe. What a creative God we have….He created a bug whose rearend actually lights up! Love ’em!
Elisa - love fireflies!! I was watching them on my bedroom porch door last night 🙂
Nikki - I love this post… we don’t have these bugs in Australia. Our kids have a three week winter break… I need to write a list of fun things to do.
xx
Gemma - I so wish we had them here in the UK..they look magical!! Very unusual!
Gemma X
http://musings-of-a-gem.blogspot.com/