Clearly not ever going to catch up on summer events....

So I thought I would just start blogging about what is going on now.  Tonight when the kid's get home from school we are all going to go running to practice for the fun run!  The Fun Run is an event created by the school for grades 3-6.  It is a one mile run.  I am excited to see how Luke does because this is the first year he is able to do it.  Maddie seems to be doing a little better each time she does it.
Maddie has her first dance coming up on Friday.  Followed by a sleep over and a trip to the mall on Saturday.  I figure it is a good way to break into middle school.  Those are the things I remember most about my middle school years.  Unfortunately we also have to head out and get supplies for her pillow for Home and Economics's class. The same project I did when I was in sixth grade which seems strange to me.   No new curriculum in all these years...Wow!

Luke's 8th Birthday!

My little baby boy turned 8th this year! I could hardly believe it.  It seems like just yesterday he was born..and now he is going to be going into third grade.  He had an amazing birthday week.  His Uncle Matt and I picked him up from school.  Then we had a family party.  The next day he had a birthday party with friends from school and then had a double sleep over.  The following Monday we went to his school and brought treats in for his classmates.  He was very excited to have his birthday celebrations carry into the following week.  What I learned about my son this year for his birthday is that he is growing.  There was a little girl that shared his birthday in her class and he agreed to let her celebrate on the actual day and he postponed his to the following Monday.  I couldn't be more proud of the young man he is turning into.  Thoughtful and kind just like his father.  I am so blessed!!  

10 Years of Marriage

  

On June 9th of this year George and I celebrated ten years of marriage.  We had a planned get away for the following week but Matt was kind enough to let us out for a couple hours to go out to dinner.  It was a quick dinner at Chile's.  It has started to become a bit of an anniversary night tradition for us to go there.  We like it because we can eat tons of food for cheap.  This year it felt completely energized for us to be together..almost a sneak peak of the alone time we would get the following week when we went away for our first time alone in over 5 years.  What I know after 10 years of marriage to this man is that I am without a doubt the luckiest girl I know! My husband is kind, loving, funny, loves me and my children, and is an amazing provider.  I love him more now today than I did when we got married and I feel like that is a pretty special thing. 

Christina's 13th Birthday!

Maddie and Christina at her party!!

 We started our summer adventure this year with my niece Christina's 13th birthday party.  I was half tempted to dig up a picture of her when she was just a little girl and post that up for perspective but I thought I would spare her the embarrassment.  Her party was a lot of fun for all of us.  Jane began to really bond with her uncle Fred at this party.  In fact now she calls him "Big Frog" or "Uncle Frog." We think either or suits him just fine.  Jane had a blast playing with balloons and blowing bubble's with Uncle Fred and all the other children there.  Maddie enjoyed running around with her cousins.  Christina had cake face, which was entertaining.  Maddie, Brianna, and Tammy also turned themselves into streamer mummies!  Christina and her friends played a mammoth game of kick ball. We had to leave a bit early because Jane, being not yet 3, often needs to leave events that are mid day...when she hasn't had a nap.  

After the party we had a little bon-fire with Fred, Crissy, all the kids, Tammy, and Tom.  It was a lot of fun.  I enjoyed  getting to catch up with everyone and it was an amazing way to kick off the summer.

Scrap booking my thoughts and some pictures from the summer.

As many of you know from the time June hits each year, our family climbs onto it's nonstop roller coaster of chaos that lasts approximately 7 weeks.  This time period includes the birthday's of each one of us in the immediate George J. Lloyd clan, with the exception of Jane, and also the birthdays of each of our nieces and several of our close friend's and their children.  As if that weren't enough we pepper in our anniversary, Father's Day, and Fourth of July.  Normally that is enough in itself to drive me insane, but this year we tacked on so many extras that my head is still spinning from the enormity of it all. 

This year we added a week-end get away to Naples for our anniversary, a trip to New Jersey to pick up Maddie, and week-end of company with our out of town friends.  It was all wonderful and amazing but also so quickly passing that I am afraid I am going to forget many of the details.  So I decided to start this blog...as a sort of update on the things the Lloyd's do, as well as backtracking through the summer to get some of those memories down.

I was thinking about it this morning and feeling sad that because everything is so busy I don't take the time I should to appreciate the beauty of it all.  I was hoping perhaps blogging about it would cement it more in my mind.  

So my next blog will start at the beginning of the summer and I will work my way forward.  Anyone who is interested can read along with our adventures!