The Fall Update

I know I haven't been as good at posting as I had hoped, but I'm making up for it today - See below for lots of fun pictures from the summer. We had a great time, and really enjoyed our time together as a family. Our big family vacation will be in a few weeks when we head to Destin for some "fun in the sun" with Jim's extended family for the Cranston Family Reunion! We are really excited for it - especially since the kids are now old enough to carry some of their own stuff to the beach (and John, we hope, won't ingest as much sand this trip!)
Both kids swam like fish this summer - Margaret can do flips underwater, is learning freestyle, and is just really at home in the water. We have been joking that if we start now, maybe we can have a shot at the 2020 Olympics! Crazier things have happened!
John still uses his floaties, but he loves to paddle around, loves to be underwater, and jumping off the diving board is a favorite past time. We really enjoyed watching them this summer!
Other than that, we stayed close to home most of the summer. Grandma and Granddaddy came and spent several days with us over the 4th of July, and the kids had a blast with them. I think they were sorry to see Mom and Dad come home!!
Enjoy the pictures below, and please know that I'm TRYING to be better (I know, I know...actions speak louder than words) about posting, so maybe this is the year I'll actually do it....who knows? (like I said above...crazier things have happened)...

A Larkin Family Portrait

We had to take a family picture for Margaret's class this morning, so I thought I would share it with all of you. It's been ages since we've taken a family photo, and when I was scrambling this morning to meet the deadline (because, as in all things, I had procrastinated for a week!) the most recent one I could find with all of us was from LAST September. OK, new goal for the year - be better about family photos!! Anyway, here we are. I really am so lucky to have such an amazing husband and beautiful children!

Back to School, 2008

Wow! I look at this picture and get overwhelmed...How is possible that I sent my oldest off to pre-k today?! Real, honest to goodness school (okay, it's not really school, but it feels that way to me). We have a schedule we have to follow (read: she has to be there before 8:30 every morning), we have lessons they work on each week, and we have things to work on with her. She loves school, loves her teachers, loves to learn. I only hope this trend continues throughout her life - it will be SO much easier if it does!! And then there's my baby - my sweet little boy who seems to have grown up overnight! He's in a UNIFORM (!) which I still am not prepared for each morning as we get them ready. John is getting more and more of a personality, more and more independent (I do it myself, Mommy!), and more and more loving. Jim and I really are the luckiest parents to get the privilege of raising these two remarkable children! Margaret is everyone's favorite helper - she will do ANYTHING to be the mommy...John is the peace-keeper; the one who has never met a stranger. We love you both - all the stars and moon & the whole entire world, little bunnies!

Another Favorite

It's amazing how fast they grow up...This was a few weeks ago, and they were both in good moods at the SAME TIME (amazing, you see...). I also thought that John looked like a little man with his plaid shirt and sunglasses on his head...So, I seized the moment and incredibly we actually got a blog-worthy photo! These two really do light up our lives. This picture reminds me to focus on the important things in life, and not so much on the little things. We love you, Margaret & John-John!!

Before the Haircut

Here are my children waiting to get their hair cut. Notice my son's "wings" as Jim refers to them. I, of course, thought he was/is adorable! We did cut his hair, and luckily he's STILL adorable. Meg had hers cut too - if anyone else could experience the drama that is brushing her hair everyday you would know why it's such a miracle I allowed her to have any hair left at all!

Princess Margaret & Queen MeeMaw

All smiles. Thanks for a great weekend MeeMaw!!

Our Children...

Beautiful Margaret

I think the shirt and the look pretty much say it all.

This is the first Lucky Dog for John, so I had to capture it for posterity...

There's a Caption Here Somewhere!

Meg and John trying to pose for a photo...of course, it's raining, John's pulling Margaret's hair, Margaret's trying to run away from us...so this is the best we could get!

Another attempt at a kid photo. John looking up at the raindrops, Meg "posing" (who told her that putting her hands on her face was a pose?!)

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...I love this photo - it's just so THEM!!

Back to the Big D

Heading back home to Dallas from a fun-packed visit with MeeMaw and PopPop! Notice the Philly Phanatic Meg and John are both clutching - this was a gift from PopPop in honor of his favorite sports team, and his grandchildren are showing it the necessary reverence - Thanks, PopPop!! And look....my children are actually smiling/happy on an airplane...leads to a very happy Mommy - Great trip, all the way around!

My New Favorite Picture

Thanks to Granddaddy for taking this photo of my children. It really captures their personalities, and their love of life (I think it also shows they are both total hams for the camera!) This picture warms my heart, reminds me to enjoy the small things in life, and not to get so caught up in the minutae - I'm working on it, but it's harder than it sounds! Thanks, Margaret and John-John, for being the light in our life!

School's Out "Sundae" at Church

John-John and Margaret hitting the water slide. This was the highlight of the afternoon ('til they found the ice cream sundaes - see photo below)...

Are they cute or WHAT??!? No one can tell them not to have fun!!

Margaret and John enjoying the giant ice cream sundae out of a gutter - don't worry, they were brand new...Mom and Dad weren't too excited about that idea but who are we to argue with these two faces?? (notice the amount of ice cream my children both had in front of them....there was NONE left when they walked away from the table)!

Spiderman on the Attack!

John-John and Austin having a battle of the "Spidermen" :) Sweet boys...

The Three Amigos

Austin, Margaret & John-John before the swimming chaos ensued...

Smiling for the camera

Austin and John-John in a waterhose fight -- they had such a blast!

A Sign of Things to Come?

John John had great fun with the fireman get-up at Austin's birthday party!

Trying to Stay True to my Word

So far, so good. It's only a few weeks into summer, and already I've posted twice! Yay for me. We have already spent pretty much every weekend at the pool, enjoying time with friends and quiet time with just our family (well, maybe not quiet exactly, but good quality time anyway). The kids are loving the time in the water, and Margaret is excited to take swimming lessons this summer - we'll have to find time to wedge that in along with all the other activities.
Our good friends just had a beautiful baby boy, so I am again reminded of the miracle of life! He is precious and perfect, and we were so lucky to get to meet him just a few hours into his life. Welcome again to the world, Little Man, we can't wait to show it to you! We have good friends who are waiting day to day to have their little miracle. We are excited to welcome him into the world as well - the two little boys will be able to be good friends, getting into all the trouble that little boys do, together. Luckily for all 6 of us parents, we all have older ones who will show them the way, and protect them along their journey. What a true blessing it is as a parent to watch that happen.
Work is still going well for me. It's busy, but that's a good thing when one is in sales - if you are busy it means people are actually interested in what you have to sell! Jim's work is busy too. We are looking forward to a brief respite while we are in Vegas (but I'm sure my computer will get thrown in the carry-on. I haven't taken a trip without one in over 5 years!!)
I guess there's nothing else too exciting to report - we are just continuing to spend lots of time outside...trying to teach John-John to ride his trike - right now that consists of either mom or dad pushing him down the street. Not so much fun for the parent involved. Margaret is an expert on her bike - I'm actually thinking that she might be about ready to try it without the training wheels. This is a rather big step for her Mommy as well - the first time she has had the proverbial "training wheels" removed. She really IS a big girl. They grow up so fast!

Ice Cream with Our BFFs

Aunt Steph and Jase called and invited us to ice cream tonight, and what better timing...it made all the drama of the earlier evening (see pictures below for details) fade into the distance - Amazing what some strawberry ice cream and gummy bears can do for a kid!

Take 2 - the sun is in their eyes, hence the squinting (couldn't POSSIBLY be that they don't want to listen and just smile sweetly while I'm holding the camera)...

The first documented case of a true "face-plant"

Still smiling...although she still looks a bit stunned

Back on her "A" game (with a few scrapes to show for it)

And being silly again..."C'mon mom...take ONE more picture...PLEEEZE!" (how could I resist??)

Piggy back rides

Two peas in a pod. I just wish I could bottle the moments like this, where both kids are being silly, laughing and playing NICELY with each other. I can hear the giggles and silliness when I look at this picture. And I love every minute of it!

He's STILL cute!

How is it that even crying, this little boy can melt my heart?? I don't have any idea what he was crying for, but I can assure you that mere minutes later he was back to his smiling self...I'm just lucky that way.

My Little Covergirl

I can't help it - I'm over the moon for this girl! And please notice the shirt, "Recycle my Brother" - who says she isn't going green!?

May, 2008

It's hard to believe we are already in May - at the end of May at that! I mean, how is it already Memorial Day?? I'm not quite sure I ever felt like I had the chance to fully enjoy spring, and now summer is being sprung!! The years really DO move faster the older you get, I suppose.
We have lots planned this summer - LOTS of time at the pool, hopefully finally teaching both our kids to swim without floaties...We are also looking for a dance/gymnastics class for Margaret, possibly a drama class (her favorite "subject" in school), and hopefully a cooking class as well. John John will be taking swimming lessons, and maybe a gymnastics class. He is pretty active, so anything we can do to wear him out!! We also have a "mom/dad" trip to Las Vegas, during which Grandma and Granddaddy are coming to hang out with the kiddos. They will have them for 3 days - I'm not sure they know what they're getting themselves into! We are planning a trip to Florida in September, and hoping to get a couple trips home (one to DC and one to New Orleans) packed in there somewhere too...not sure where all the time's going to come from, but you have to dream big!!
I have attached lots of pictures from the last several months - hopefully catching you up on the Larkin-land news.
Other than that, we are enjoying time together outside - Margaret rides her bike as often as she can, and both kids have shown an amazing talent and interest in dancing - we have dance parties often, where they show us their moves. I'm ashamed to admit that they can most definitely out-dance their parents...and they're still preschoolers! Ah well, part of that must be the lack of inhibition when you're 2 1/2 and 4.
We hope to see lots of friends this summer, and have lots of pool dates, time at the park, Friday nights at the ballpark -- whatever...summer is a time for relaxing and reconnecting with friends and family, so if you're in the area - please drop by...we would love to see you! Enjoy the photos below...

Class Photos - May, 2008

John John's class - what a group of personalities!!!

I had to include this photo as well because this look is the one that is most of the time on John's face - the "I'm loving life and always finding something wonderful to be happy about!!" look

This is Margaret's class - she is very much enjoying her last year before "real" school!

I included this one because it's hard not to see all of us from our school days in this picture - everyone trying to be good, but really ready to be done with the photography session...