The Larkin Family

Thursday, June 05, 2008

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!?

Friday, May 23, 2008

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...