happy 21st birthday jaclyn...

At midnight last night my little princess turned 21... It is still hard to believe and while it is such a big day I can not help but feel a little sad. Sometimes I miss these days... As I mentioned before, this birthday countdown was crazier than when she was little waiting for her first birthday party... Or her fourth which had a western theme... She is ready to celebrate... I picked up the bouquet of roses at the supermarket. I had a white bunch in my hand but my Jaclyn loves color... She also loves Hoops and Yo Yo... I wanted to get a picture before she went out but, of course she was rushing at the last minute and I did not. Here is a picture of her and one of her college roommates, Danielle shortly after they moved in this year... I have been enjoying making Etsy treasuries lately and I made one all about Jac for her birthday. I picked this item from SoulsBliss (thank you for the photo) because it reminded me of her when she was little walking around in her Grammy's red high heels... It was so much fun browsing for items that described just a little bit of her personality. You can see the whole treasury here. Well, Happy Birthday Jaclyn, you are a beautiful young woman both inside and out. I love you and wish you every happiness life holds. The champagne is chilling!

season of change...

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend! It was a beautiful one here but it went by way too fast. Another heat wave has moved in on us here in New England. Our town does not start school until September 7th but high school sports are in full swing with practices well underway with some upcoming scrimmages. It will be so hot this afternoon for my son's soccer practice. He has a scrimmage tomorrow night and I can not wait to see him play again... Our campground is getting quieter with each passing day. A lot of towns start school this week. I took a walk around my little neighborhood on "the hill" and took a few photos of my friends campsites. They look so pretty and peaceful ~ just waiting for their next arrival...
All of my neighbors do such a wonderful job setting up camp each season, taking pride in their site and making it look so nice...

Planting flowers for unexpected pops of color... Personalizing their site and adding things to remind them of their summers growing up like the beautiful sound of an old fashioned screen door opening and closing... It is so nice that everyone keeps their site looking pretty because... The places we gather on my site are quieter now too...

But this weekend the laughter will be back with good times and great friends to celebrate the Labor Day holiday weekend. Thank goodness I have something to look forward to because I have a busy week ahead. Remember my post back in May about the princess suite? Jaclyn was coming home for the summer and I knew her room would not look so sweet for a while. That seems like yesterday! My girl worked so hard this summer waitressing, bartending and doing an internship as well. I did not get to spend much time with her but I know she had a great summer. The next few days we will spend packing all her "stuff" back up to move back to school for her senior year! I feel the tears welling up as I type. My little girl will be graduating college next year!!! I thought I just put her on the kindergarten bus... She will be turning 21 in just a few short weeks... This photo was from our 2009 Disney trip. I did not even see her enough to take a new photo of her this summer! She only made it to our campground once. It was a season of change for me this summer ~ both good and bad. It was good, actually great that Jim and I were able to go on vacation to Aruba without the kids but it was also bad, actually more sad that Jac has outgrown the campground and was home. At least I have a few more years until Jake wants to stay home too. While our nest will soon be half full, I do miss this... I miss having my whole family together ~ all together and smiling! Hmmm, another Disney photo ~ I think I just might be getting the bug again! Well, thanks for visiting today ~ I should probably get busy packing. Although you know I will do a bit of blog hopping first!

happy sixteenth birthday Jake...

Sixteen years ago today we were on our way to the hospital to have our second child.



Another girl the doctor said.



On the radio was the story of a local firefighter who lost his life doing his job. "He was a Good Jake" the newscaster said. Jim and I already had our names picked out ~ it was going to be Jake if it was a boy. Right then and there I knew the doctor was wrong and I was having a boy...my Jake.
So cute and sweet with a little wild side in him too...
He is still cute and sweet as well as kind and caring, respectful and loving. He is always there when I need him and he makes me proud every day...

Happy Sixteenth Birthday Jake...Love Mom!!

If you would like to know where the term "Good Jake" came from take a peek here.

lucky girl...

Happy Friday! It has been a long, busy week for me...the princess came home with all her "stuff". I think it all multiplied since she left with it in September!! It has all been somewhat organized and packed away until August ~ all in totes and plastic drawers ~ right outside my room. I do not think I will like looking at that all summer. Thank goodness I will be away alot. I have also been preparing for company tomorrow to celebrate my son's Confirmation ~ mostly cleaning as I am keeping appetizers simple and ordering pizza. I did not have anything planned to post today until I popped in over at Sandi's ~ drum roll please ~ I won her giveaway!!! Look at these beautiful french inspired garden markers...

Am I a lucky girl or what?! I call Sandi my fairy blog mother ~ she was there on day 1 of my blogging adventure to help me through a few behind the scene elements of my first post and always has time to help me when I need it. So, thank you Sandi for your friendship and for these little beauties!!

I actually took a few photos yesterday of the pretty flowers I bought for the party tomorrow...

I gathered a few other pitchers and will use them to hold forks, knives and spoons... I put a picture of Jake from his Christening and his First Communion into this old frame... It was so hot the day of his Christening and I put him in a little satin suit... My pride and joy...where does the time go...wasn't this just yesterday?! Um...please pay no attention to my hideous decor ~ what was I thinking!! Now for his First Communion (again keep your eyes focused on Jake)... So sweet!! The fireplace, not so much! If you take a peek here you can see what my fireplace looks like today ~ please!! I will take some pictures tomorrow of Jake and share them with you next week. For now I will share this one from our trip to Walt Disney World last year... I have had so many new visitors to my blog this week ~ it was nice meeting all of you. Thank you for stopping by today and enjoy your weekend!! This lucky girl will!

pride and joy...

When I posted the other day about my vintage jewelry collection I wanted to show you a photo of my beautiful daughter Jaclyn wearing my Mom's necklace to her senior prom. She went with Matt, just friends...

Just beautiful! She'll be 21 in September...where did the time go? My son Jake will be 16 in June, he plays soccer for the high school, he's in the green...
I love to watch him play, he plays hard and puts his heart and soul in every game. This next photo of them was from our trip to Disney World last March. We stayed at the Beach Club Resort and had the most amazing view from our room...

This family photo was taken on our last night at Epcot (our favorite) in Germany. Can't wait to go back!!

Thanks for letting me share my pride and joy. It's been just over two weeks since I started my little blog and I can't believe that people are following and leaving me wonderful comments. I've "met" so many nice people who with their kind words make me glad I took this path. Enjoy your weekend!!