according to instagram

After a great week with Dani and Sommer here to keep us company while Will was away, and then a fun weekend in Pennsylvania (our first since Christmas!) with my parents (we missed you Care!), we are back to a normal week around here. There will be school and homework and baseball and church and walks through the neighborhood and meeting up with friends and riding bikes and shooting hoops and even a Friday date night. We'll have rushed mornings and family dinners and game nights and quiet evenings. I'm so thankful for the normal because it makes the other things - the time spent with sisters and cousins and family - even more special. 

Since I'm still catching up from our weekend away, I thought I'd share some photos of what we've been up to according to Instagram...

One early morning a couple weeks ago, I was standing at one of our back windows sipping my coffee and watching the sky brighten up with the sun. As I looked around at all of our trees, I noticed that there's one directly behind the house with a heart on it. I love spotting little things like that.

 I put this cute stamp on the back of all the invitations for Carrie's bridal shower that's coming up soon! As I was addressing and stamping, I had a tiny moment of panic when I thought to myself, "This can't be right! She's only 14!" Since I left for college when my baby sister was only 14 years old, she's just stayed that age in my mind ever since. But really, she's gone from a teenager to a beautiful woman and I couldn't be happier for her and her upcoming wedding :)

 My sweet pea has really gotten into drawing and "writing" letters. She loves to draw pictures, dictate long notes, and then sign her name. Love. It. Favorite line: "I love you so much Sommie and I want you a-hug me every day."

 Another of Annabel's favorite things is nail polish. This is a tough one for me since I am decidedly not a fan of the stuff, but since I tell my children on occasion that "sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do" (like go to the grocery store or sit through basketball practice, etc, etc, etc.), I figured I better practice what I preach. (Also, she's the cutest girl in the whole entire world and if she gives me the puppy dog eyes she has a really good chance of getting whatever she wants. Ahem.) Annabel talked me into "yellow for spring!" and I have to admit, it wasn't terrible.

 You may remember this photo from last week's post but I couldn't resist including it again. So cozy.

 I love seeing my Red Sox out on the field together!

 Lest you think that my children sit like this all the time, let me assure you that this is a very rare occurrence...thus the photo capture of the moment. When they're sweet, they're really, really sweet. Love these two.

 My handsome boys, ready to head to the ball field.

 Spotted: a monkey at the playground!

Watching the Red Sox

There's not much like the bond between a kid and his grandparents. Tommy loves his grandparents and it's so amazing for me to sit back and watch their relationship change over the years. Every time we go visit my parents, Tommy and my dad head out on Saturday morning for an adventure. This time around they stopped by the butcher shop for meat sticks, the tractor store for a new toy truck, the ball field for a little batting practice, and the high school to watch a lacrosse game. Tommy loves spending time with both of my parents and is always so sad to leave.

That's a little look at what we've been up to lately according to Instagram. Hope you have a great start to your week and we'll see you back here on Wednesday!