Happy 21st Birthday Mason!

It's been almost 1 full year since my last post to the blog.  I almost forget how to!  Hopefully it's like riding a bike.

Happy Happy Birthday to Mason Paul - the big 21!!  

He continues to grow into a young man that would make any parents proud. He finished up his Junior year at Capital University this spring.  Hard to believe!! We love you Mason!

Happy (Belated...) 4th!!

Holy crud...this is definitely the longest that I've gone without updating the blog. That bites.

I'm going to start catching up with the awesome and completely exhausting July 4th holiday we had.  It started with some swinging to kick off the long weekend...

...and a long overdue visit with Aunt Amanda.  She moved to Ft. Wayne a year ago and we had been missing her! 

Friday we had a great time at Sarah and Brian's cooking out and hanging out.  Swimming for the kids, lots of food, fun and a firepit for all :)

And pretty flowers for me to take pictures of - which made my day.

Mason turned 20!!  No idea how that is possible.  He tried to recreate the wipe out of his 13th birthday by getting on another Rip Stick.  Luckily no broken arms this time!

Saturday we missed the Hilliard parade because the kids slept in late - the usual for them these days.  We made it down to watch the Doo Dah parade in the Short North though.  Our first time and we had so much fun.  Definitely NOT your typical parade!  Creative, fun, odd, goofy, different and sometimes scary for sure.  Super fun time that we hope to make a tradition!

Justin was at the parade too - apparently too busy hanging out with Lee or something.
 

From Doo Dah we went to the annual James pool party - luckily the weather was pretty decent and the kids got to swim.  Somehow I ended up with no pictures - must have been too busy gabbing!

Justin spent a HUGE chuck of Saturday cleaning out his truck and removing the cap so that he could do the Annual "drive the kids to the fireworks in the back of the truck" run. We had a nice clean truck to pile into the back of...so that we could promptly get eaten alive by 1 Billion mosquitoes.
We had a much smaller group of kids this year - Mason was working, Sarah was out of town, Ashlee with other friends...as they get older and go their other ways.  But we still had a great time.

 Michael, Silas, Allysa and Ella

Our neighborhood view is quite lovely considering we don't have to fight all the traffic to and hoards of people!  We followed this up with another firepit, more s'mores and sparkers!

Sunday -  when we thought we couldn't take any more fun...the women's US soccer team played in the World Cup on Sunday night.  A high school friend invited us over to swim and watch the game.  Awesome fun and awesome game!! 

I'm surprised that here it is - Tuesday - and I'm not still asleep.  Instead, I'm finally blogging! I am going to try VERY hard to keep up...

Happy Birthday Mason!

Our first baby is 17 today!!! Old enough to see an R rated movie without an adult. Old enough to take the car to the midnight showing of Spiderman (which is what he did last night).

There is no doubt that I miss...

this baby face.  The thumb sucking that took until 7? to break (actually, probably longer...)

...the crazy mashed potato tousled haired kid.

...those chubby dimpled cheeks.

...his belief that he really WAS Batman!

...that huge goofy grin (thank God those teeth evened out!)

...pirate Mason and his pirate cousins.

I miss those days and wish I could flashback and remember them all in more detail.

But more than I miss the boy, I love this young man...

...this teenager who still loves to hang out with his pap-pa and cousins

...who is very often annoyed by his younger brother and sister (but also finds it difficult to not be amused by them and their silliness)

...this handsome, smart guy that is growing into his own.  Every, every day he makes us so proud.


In the blink of an eye - ever so true!

Happy Birthday Mason!  We love you!

The 4th Festivities

Our 4th of July weekend was packed full of fun stuff.  We welcomed Grandpa J and Aunt Amanda on Friday night.  And Saturday was Mason's 15th Birthday!!
We ran out Saturday morning and got a birthday cake. He picked the purple cake with pink balloons...because it was a marble cake (he's secure in his manliness).  He really wanted a Batman cake though.  Maybe next year!

We had beautiful weather the whole weekend but it was HOT HOT HOT.  The parade on Sunday was at 2pm - Ella and Silas decided they wanted to be in the parade on a truck with friends.  So Justin, Mason and I watched for almost 2 hours before seeing them near the end, by which point we were about to melt.

Grandpa, Mas, Margie and Si hanging out on the porch.

Grandpa J and Ella - with her new haircut.

Si, Mas, Zoe, Amanda and Ella-

Impossible to get everyone to look at the camera AND smile!

Four days after her surgery, Beth was crazy enough to have the annual 4th of July cookout! Glad she did though, the kids had a blast swimming and we all had a great time.

Like we always do, we loaded the kids into the back of the pickup truck and drove back to the park in the neighborhood to watch the fireworks.  There were tons of people out this year setting off their own fireworks - some way too close for comfort!

Allysa, Sarah, Ashlee, Ella and Silas

The fireworks were pretty darn good and then the kids spent time after doing pop-its, sparklers, smoke bombs and burning a finger or two...

It was a GREAT (but exhausting!) holiday weekend and we're VERY grateful that Grandpa J was feeling good enough to make the drive here to see us!!

Happy Birthday Mason!

Happy Happy Birthday Mason,

a whopping 15 years old!

It's hard to imagine loving a child more than the minute they are born

but with each passing day, we love you more and more.

You tower over me now, and are quickly catching up to dad -

But you will always be our baby boy!

We love you Mason!

The 4th Weekend

We had a great, fun filled 4th of July weekend. Grandpa J and Aunt Amanda made the drive in from New York and were able to celebrate Mason's 14th birthday with us.


We had a nice "little" fire and roasted marshmallows...after the cake. Yes, the kids were WIRED!!
Mason got some good presents. Season 2 of That 70's Show, the new Green day CD and a new digital camera (one that I really like...and I'm trying to keep my hands off of it!)


On the 4th, we went to the parade. We always park at mom and dad's and then walk over. We see tons of old neighbors and friends. Our local parade is really just one big LONG display of 200 kid baseball teams with a few fire trucks and a marching band thrown in...but the kids enjoy the 32 pounds of candy that they walk away with...

JP and Si - 10am was too early for Silas
after a late night!

Jaden and Ella being cutie bugs!

A majority of the grandkids after the parade.
Brooklyn, Si, Mason, Tyler, Skyler, Hunter, Ella, Jaden and Brayden

Ella and Jaden at the parade...dig the boots - little miss Punky Brewster!

After a great cookout at the James' - we ended the evening back in the neighborhood
watching the fireworks.

I hate to see July 4th having come and gone. The summer always seems to fly by from this point on!!

Happy Birthday Mason!!

14 years ago today - this rotten little thing (well, he's bigger than me now...) was born.
Since that day, I've wiped a thousand noses, faces, hands...butts...I've coddled, cuddled, soothed. I've read Dr. Suess, Dr. Spock, Dr. Doo Little, even Dr. Phil. The Cat in the Hat, Where the Wild Things Are, Good Night Moon and thousands more.
I've bribed, spanked and guilt-tripped for good behavior.
I've loved and feared more than one would think is humanly possible.

I've become a professional mom - or at least a very serious amateur.
But I remember vividly that feeling of the doctor handing me this bundle saying Congratulations MOM! and me thinking...Holy Hell, now what??

Last year's birthday post still says it best...in the blink of an eye...another year has come and gone.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MASON - WE LOVE YOU (even as a rotten teenager! :-)

One chickie flew the coop

Mason is off to Washington DC for his 8th grade trip - I dropped him off at the school Friday morning at 3:30AM - that was painful...not a time of day that I like to be up and about. This is a picture that he sent me from his phone camera.


He spent most of his money the first day there (on a Redskins jersey...he's a goober!) - good thing they feed him meals!

Happy Birthday Mason!

7/3/1995

I tucked you in as a newborn babe - close to my heart

And to God I prayed

I’d do no harm and help you grow strong

In the blink of an eye – the first year was gone.

I tucked you in, a stubborn two - “I do it mommy!”

My prayers to God grew

I’d do no harm, Lord help me be strong

In the blink of an eye – the terrible two’s were gone.

I tucked you in - three, four and five

With God’s grace, help us to strive

We’d do no harm, make our family grow strong.

In the blink of an eye – three, four, five were gone.

I tucked you in - six, seven, eight, nine

Each night thanking God that you’re mine

We’d do no harm, Lord help us be strong

In the blink of an eye – six, seven, eight, nine…gone.

I tucked you in - ten, eleven and twelve

Praying to God, you’d find yourself

- Kind and true, confidence built strong

In the blink of an eye – ten, eleven, twelve were gone.

I tucked you in - on the eve of thirteen

Thanking the Lord for the glimpse that I’ve seen

Of the man you’re becoming with character strong

In the blink of an eye – the little boy gone.

___________________

I did tuck Mason in last night, wondering how thirteen years have gone so fast. How Mason was just Si's age, how I was just walking him to school like I'll do with Ella this fall. And looking at him, I see such a kind, funny kid - growing into a warm, caring young man. I can't ask for more.
Justin and I were talking last night - how young and naive we were when we had Mason. He broke us into parenthood gently. A fun, easy going, beautiful child that left us craving to be parents again (and again - but probably not again).
We didn't have a name picked out when we went into labor. A baby popped out and we decided he looked like a Mason. The old English definition of Mason is "to make" - he made us a family and he has made me and Justin better people by being his parents.

We love you Mason Paul!