This Week Caught on Film

{Post Edit}:::  I had this post done yesterday & ready to go for today and while you were all reading about my dream house {complete with lame pictures} my friend's kitchen 2 blocks over was on fire.  And by fire, I mean fire.  Where smoke alarms wake you at 4am & firemen come with axes & hoses & you have to rush your family out.

So who really cares about the barn turned house with the incredible lawn?  I mean really?  Visiting with her briefly this morning in her smoke filled kitchen reality snapped pretty tightly & quickly into focus.  It doesn't matter.  All this 'stuff' we fill our days with, how much of it matters?  So often I remind myself to be 'present' with my kids.  To enjoy the little moments & somehow, I've managed to be able to be present, without being present.  Oh sure, I'm sitting at the park with them, but I'm usually chatting with my friends who are also there, or checking my email on my phone or checking something else completely useless.  So am I present?  Yes.  But I am not engaged.  So I need to make a shift.  Instead of just being present, I want to be engaged.  Engaged in what they are doing, learning, seeing & experiencing.  And while I have big goals for myself & this little business of mine for 2012, I know that it won't matter one lick, if they get overlooked in the process.

So back to my regularly scheduled post...one thing my iphone is good for?  Photos.  I take so many more photos of my day to days now & that makes me happy.  Here's to being engaged in 2012.

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It's true what they say...the best camera is the one you have with you.

This week my iphone captured this:

 

The kids got gift certificates for our favorite shaved ice in their stockings & on Saturday it topped off at 79 or 80 degrees, so it was definitely a good day to cash in!  We had spent the morning playing outside & it didn't don on me until I was sitting across from him, that Scoobs is so grown up.  He's got his watch, he knows his shaved ice flavors of choice & he just looks grown up. boo for growing up.

 

And this one isn't too far behind.  While we've kept her in the 'baby' category for quite some time, she has managed to scratch & claw her way out & is 100% a little girl.

While the rest of the country is freezing their booties off...we've actually had unseasonably high temps...resulting in lots of outside play time this 'winter' break, which really looks a lot more like fall.

 

This one could live in a tree.  Always climbing.

There have been times where I can't find him at the park & he is at the very top of some random tree. 

At least he's growing up climbing trees, right?

 

This week I was impressed with this girl's willingness to PLAY.  Scot & I always joke that she usually just shows up for the snack.  Preferring a seat on the sidelines as opposed to in the action.  Well not this week...she was all about the leaves.  Notice she has taken to wearing her brother's old basketball shorts.  It is those or a princess skirt...go figure.

 

Dancing girl.

Love you.