What do you REALLY think of the new do??

As most of you know... I got my hair did yesterday for our big family portrait session this weekend, here are the results, what do you think?? And please, only honest opinions, it will be immortalized on film!
Don't worry, I'll actually wear some makeup for the pictures too... heehee

First Day of School 2009

Cute girlies ready for their first day of school... they were both so happy to be going back. Isabelle started fourth grade if you can believe that?? and Abby is in second... Claire starts Kindergarten next Wednesday...
Here's my cute, smart, preppy little girls. I love you adorable little munchkins!

Zach wanted in on the action too... I think this is his prepping to say "Cheese" face...
We decided to walk the kids for their first day back, Chris was even the hero Dad who went into work late so he could walk them and be there to drop them off and kiss them goodbye their first day, he really is such a great Dad!! And sometimes I don't give him enough credit for that, so I'm publicly giving you credit Chris... you are a fantastic Dad!! And I couldn't help taking thic picture of Claire and her friend Kate, they were too cute! I would have a pic of Chris walking the girls but most of you know, that he's always 20 paces ahead of me... ;)

Here's Abigail in front of her new class, her teacher this year is Mrs. Ewell.
Isabelle thought it was hilarious that one of her best little friends had almost the same outfit as her... we had to take a picture of the cute twins, this is her friend Ciera Marshall, aka, CiCi!
Isabelle and Abigail had their first day back at school yesterday, and I'm honestly not sure who was more excited!? They are both SO happy with their new teachers and have fun friends in their classes, so we're all good to go! And of course, their proud little daddy!

Simple Sunday- Who Am I?

It's been awhile since I posted a Simple Sunday post, since Chris is taking a Sunday nap and Patty is doing the cooking today, I have some time to think and write.

I recently enjoyed a good online conversation with one Ken Kirtley. For those of you who don't know him, or his relationship with my family... my Mom says her friends are her chosen family. So Ken is more like a favorite Uncle to me than a family friend. So a couple weeks ago, when our quick "how are you doing?" IM turned into a more interesting discussion, I wasn't surprised but found myself appreciating people in my life that I could have genuine conversations with that easily go beyond the normal surface chit chat. The reason I bring this up is because one of our random topics has stuck with my thoughts, and I thought I would expound a little and share some more confessions of a simple woman.

Who am I? It's one of the simplest and most profound questions. Today, I don't mean the big "who am I?" and "where did I come from?" deep, spiritual, and philosophical questions but the more internal... What kind of person am I? What makes me me? What truly makes me happy? What do I not have any patience for? What do I have to offer the world? What is my unique purpose in life? What are my fears and dreams? What are my real priorities? What do I want to fill my time with? What are my talents? What is my real personality? How do other people see me? Who do other people think I am? How does that relate to how I see myself? What makes me tick? Are my time, efforts, and talents in sync with my priorities? How much of myself do I let be determined by those around me? How much of myself do I sacrifice for the needs or desires of others? How much have I changed? for better or worse?

The last couple questions lead to my next point or train of thought, it's not only about who I am today, but how does that person compare to the person I used to be? How much am I the same, and how much am I different? And how much of that is a good thing? If I spent time now with someone who knew me well 2, 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago... what would they think of who they thought I was and who I am now? What would I think of myself if I could more easily see the differences?

As people we change, life in general can almost be defined by change. So it is natural to conclude that I have changed, that I'm not the person I was 10 years ago. My concern isn't whether or not I've changed but how I've changed. Have I changed for the better? Am I a better person? Have I grown? Am I better now for the changes I have made? How many of these changes have I made consciously and how many have been made from external circumstances? My personal goals are to progress, to become better, more noble, move forward. The thing I worry about is if I've done that to this point and more importantly continue to do that in the future!

Which brings me to my next question and most interesting thought, who should I be and who do I want to become? Is the person I think I am the same as the person I think I should be? Is the person I am the person I want myself to be? Am I happy with who I am? And if I'm not who I think I should be now, how do I change that? I can't change the past, and can change the present very little, but I can change the future. I can choose who I want to become. It is always easier to know where you are going if you know where you want to end up. When I mentioned in my conversation with Ken that two of my important questions are "Who am I? and Who should I be?" he responded that "That is the struggle we must have if we are introspective in the slightest?!" So my goal today isn't to tell you the answers to my questions, it is to open the questions for yours and my own introspection.

I think the effort and struggle to find the answers, the journey, is as rewarding as the destination. It is so easy to lose ourselves or to let ourselves be swept with the tides of our lives, to let those external forces erode away what we once thought to be such strong and integral parts of our being. But just as running water can erode away a sandy bank, it can tumble jagged rocks until they are smooth and slowly create beautiful and amazing canyons. Again, change is inevitable, but we can direct the path of the stream and choose what is the sand and what is the rocks! We can choose to slowly erode away the weak parts of ourselves and smooth and define our strengths. And more importantly, when we stop obsessing about the banks and rocks right at our feet, we can see the deepening of our lives and the beauty of life that surrounds us.

It has always been easier for me to dwell on my own imperfection. I've always expected more of myself than anyone around me does. I've always been the most hard on myself, and unfortunately sometimes that gets projected onto those who are close to me. But I think these questions are perplexing until I realize that the peace comes from being content with who we are, even if we aren't perfect, being content that we are trying harder and getting closer to becoming the person we truly want to be. It's important to turn our thoughts inward and be introspective and work and try, to even course correct! But it's equally as important to then cut ourselves some slack and see the majesty of all that we have accomplished and all that can be if we are just grateful for all that we already are!

Happy Independence Day!

I'm admittedly a little behind on my blog posts... and I was going to jump in and get my camping pics up, but I realized I never even posted our 4th of July, so here it is... and hopefully more posts will be coming shortly. TJ and Nic were gone for their big anniversary backpacking trip but we had their kids, so that was a lot of fun. And Patty and Caitlyn were also gone to California... but Sonny and the DeSantiago family came to share a fantastic night with us!

Chris really surprised everyone when he happily offered to host 4th of July at our house. After checking him for a fever, we quickly invited great family and friends, and what does anyone expect at a party hosted by the Maloy's... great food! And with the help of Frank and Ivana, we delivered as always, and as usual had way too much! We needed Patty, Nic, and T to help us eat!

Claire got into the spirit and wore her cute stars dress and hat from Aunt Nicole! Adorable!
By the time everyone got here, Caleb was not very happy with me since I had been working in the kitchen and not holding him... luckily, he had Ivana, he snuggled right in with her and was happy to finally get the attention he wanted... Thanks, Ivana!
Bring on the hacky sack! The big kids even let the little kids join in.

Caleb was born on the fourth of July, so I had to take some birthday pictures for his Mom who ditched him on his first birthday! ;) Happy Birthday Caleb!!

And here is the beginning of the all out raging water fight! I love the water splashing in this one...


Some people were happy to be wet and having a ball... and some were not so thrilled. Hannah was not amused that I was enjoying taking pics of her not so happy countenance!
But, we had fun making fun of her anyway! Until she finally stormed off... Hannah, you are funny


These brothers are too funny... but they sure do love each other!
OK, I made fun of Hannah... but I posted this for Chris... who after Caleb couldn't save Ivana, I should have known he wouldn't protect me either. You can see the fake drama in my face, but they did mess up my hair!
Cookin' S'Mores as the sun goes down... but you can see the clouds rolling in too...

Fire power!
A little hacky sack while waiting for it to get dark enough for fireworks.
As soon as the sun went down, the wind kicked up... you can see their hair and the fire blowing away. Then it started to pour, so we retreated to the porch which lucky for us was big enough to hold all of us while we watched dry and left Frank and Sonny to continue entertaining us in the rain.



Bros!
I was having fun playing with my camera and lighting and sparklers... and we couldn't keep the Sparklers coming fast enough for these kids! Too fun.

This picture of Zach is my favorite!!!


I just knew Zach was going to be so fun this year, he's finally old enough to appreciate and enjoy the fireworks part. I loved watching his face light up with each sparkler and he really got into it!

Sonny is a pyro nut! But he's very entertaining, as usual!
After our initial quick storm, the later it got, the more beautiful the night was... just enjoying each other and our little street show!


Happy Independence Day America! Notice the accumulating stash in the street behind Chris, what a fun night!