day four of sba

*ya'll ready for a buttload of pictures?!*

after the blessing we went back to the house for some lunch that bryan was nice enough to pick up for everyone.

finn & nathan snacking on some gold fish.
how cute is this! he idolized these two "big kids!"
tyler & cathi brought our kids books :) finn's reading chicka chick boom, with some attitude.
yummy mac n cheese for the kids.
isabelle watching the boys.


i loved the energy in this house the whole weekend.




jeff & maya, stephi & charlie... they are such good aunts & uncles!


after lunch doug & molly were heading out. they'd only been home for less than 24 hours before driving the 5 hours up to the bay thursday night. they'd just gotten back from vacation & then were delayed in minnesota because of the storms! i think they were very ready to veg out on their own couch.

before they left i requested our first group photo. :) this staircase won't be able to hold this whole gang one day!

steph wanted one with the three babes... finn wasn't too cooperative, while sweet charlie was all smiles!
i think this one is the cutest!

& then it was time to wrestle.

tackling cathi.

nathan helping his mama up.

finn loves playing chase. how crazy does this fall look?! he didn't stop laughing.
tyler got him!
time for hugs goodbye :(

finn had this slightly strange crush on molly. i think it's his first! he requested she read him books the night before but when she came down to do it he got shy & said "no mommy do it."
such a cute kid.


this is how prince charlie allows you to kiss him :)

the rarig's :)
poor maya's awful heat rash... it makes me so sad to look at it!
daddy fanning her.
we headed down to the beach for the breeze & cold water. daddy kept cooling her off.

luckily, i'd brought this little fan with us, so we took turns holding it over her... isabelle is such a sweetheart!
cat & her daughter addie came with us to the beach.


:)
adorable.


tehee.

sweet addie.
i think i've mentioned that we don't have a tv, so while finn was watching cat in the hat alone after everyone had left he would freak out & say uh-oh during the commercials! we watch dvd's on our computer... so it took a second for me to realize he didn't know what a commercial was.
aunt rae rae reading books.
what a great day!

the kid's blessing.

bryan & i decided to get the kid's blessed while we were in new york. so on that sunday, after mass we invited friends & family to join us for a very special blessing in lake george!

we choose lake george because it's a very special, spiritual place. we choose bruce tamyln to do the blessing because he is silver bay's chaplain & was a great mentor to me while i worked there. we choose to do it outside to symbolize that, for us, god isn't inside four walls... he's outside. in all living things. & bryan & i feel most at home in nature. & we hope that for our kids as well.

bruce confirmed our choice, well mine at least, during the service prior to the blessing. his message was: "i don't believe the question is going to be 'have you done enough good? when you get to heaven i think it's going to be -did you know how much i loved you?"

i want my kids to be raised spiritual. to make decisions based on what's right & feels right & not out of fear. not that we're faulty human beings & need to beg forgiveness. if they learn to believe in their guts then i truly think they'll be decent human beings with a great care for others & mother nature.

i have yet to find a religion that i can strongly stand up for, committed to it's entire message. i'm not willing to choose a religion, but like a groodie dinner pick out the parts i don't like. which is why finn hadn't already been baptized. i may be living in a dream world desiring such a thing, a religion that fits me perfectly like a glove. but i deserve that, don't i? don't we all? to believe in something so wholey! yep, we do. & so far, being outside, having time to think & be thankful is where it's at.

SO, here is our sweet blessing.

in attendance: steph & jeff, doug, molly & charlie, carolyn close (my boss & good friend from sba), maryann (an especially wonderful, woman who i worked closely with my last summer at sba, she surprised us & came!), our good friends tyler & cathi & their kids (who used to live in phx but now live in burlington vt. they drove down for the day!) i wish i'd gotten a picture of the whole group, because not everyone was able to make it back to the house for lunch :(

tyler & isabelle figuring out the labyrinth.
cathi meeting maya for the first time!
charlie was a dear & held onto finn's shoes for him :)

:)

bruce brought his guitar & played a few kid songs to get everyone settled & engaged :)


he explained that he wasn't blessing the kids, but we were celebrating the fact that god had already blessed them. i love that!
i told you we were in lake george :)

finn's turn!
maya's turn!
we were also celebrating the fact that these two had eachother... :0







it was perfect! thank you bruce & everyone that was able to make it for sharing in this special occasion with us.