MK asked to play soccer this year....

 and we all thought she would tear the field up....

 after all, she is our girl who does not like to lose! 

 However, the experience has been comical in every sense of the word....and it has been fun to see a shift in her personality, her shyness peeks out on the field.

 We are so proud of this little one and her willingness to try new things!  

 Wednesday we all took a break and headed to the park with some of our favorite peeps, the Wileys!  Little Sophie turned 5 and we were all smiles knowing that this little one is home forever and loved beyond measure!

Concerts, Reading and Magazines!

Each morning we awake, the boys go for their daily run, the children have breakfast while I read to them and then the morning concert begins.  Who needs a radio when you have two boys who can play the piano so well?!  The songs of current are....

Pachelbel Canon 

Bagatelle in G

Star Spangled Banner

Fur Elise

Kum Ba Yah

LOVE!  I often beg them to keep on playing:)  We are thankful for their teacher, my dear friend for life, Shauna Kenney.  She has known each of them since birth and has a magical way of placing music close to their hearts.  And she added MK this year too!

On a reading note, we are currently diving deep into The Story of the Trapp Family Singers.  The Sound of Music is a movie that the girls and I could watch over and over and over.  Reading the book, their history, is proving to be a different account from the movie and one that we are all learning from.

And, lastly, I have to say that the word of the day is MAGAZINE.  It is at this moment in my mothering that I must take note of this word, a difficult word for all four of my children to say.  It was so funny to hear Colin, our well spoken child at an early age, our "man" trapped inside a child's body - his vocabulary was always extravagant yet the word magazine threw him for a loop and it always came out "mazaline."  And then came Pryce, our child who spoke early and had so much to say!  He called it his "mazagine."  MK, who always seems to favor Colin in personality, told me just this morning, "Mommy, I am going to give Maddox a picture from my mazaline."  So, just for entertainment, I asked Maddox to bring me a magazine and then asked her to tell me what it was...."Mom, it's a mazagine!"  So there you have it....all four and their vocab hangup!

Seabrook, our peaceful pre-Fall getaway....

The children wasted no time getting their game-on for castle building and

fishing - P caught many crabs in the net, while the fishing poles caught a stingray, a flying fish, many whitings - he was in his element and loved each moment as he casted out the next line.

And then there is Maddox....yoga?  We are often amazed at what this little one can do....split?  no problem; fold in half? no big deal; no way have I ever seen someone as flexible as she!  

And there was this moment, totally unstaged.  It began with the two boys, then MK joined in followed by Maddox.  I watched in pure delight for what seemed like hours as these four played together.  And I prayed that they will always remember and cherish these moments with one another.

Maddox LOVES the beach.  If you listen closely, you can likely hear her squeals of delight as she runs zig-zag across the shore.  

MK....beautiful girl has lost all interest in bows and the like.  Hair down ready to feel the wind and she is good to go.

P...boogie boarding, skim boarding, fishing, body surfing, searching for shells, football throwing - all in a day at the beach with P.

C....honestly, he is 13.  And I am learning that 13 year old boys care about one thing....EATING.  A huge thank you to G-Mom and G-Dad for supplying this kiddo with some good eats, his favorite cereal Red Berries Special K.  In just two days, C ate the entire box!  

I say it often but I must say it again, I am so very thankful for my family.  I do cherish these moments we have together, the moments where we can all rest in each other and not have a care in the world except being with one another.