While waiting for Tropical Storm Isaac, we didn’t put up shutters or bring anything inside, off the patio. Nope. On Saturday morning, I went to kickboxing with my friend, Lisa. Rene spent the day moving his boat. The kids and I started our Harry Potter marathon – Half Blood Prince (the sixth movie) is just... Read More →

Isabel’s last year in elementary school? What the heck!??! I remember kindergarten. Vaguely. And Ryan is in 2nd grade. In a fancy portable. Taking PE… and Spanish… and Art… and Music. Officially a “medium kid.” (The fifth graders are BIG kids.) While the kids were excited for the new year to start, I was rightfully skeptical. I... Read More →

In April (yes, I’m trying to catch up on past blog posts never written), Ryan went to a hematologist for some examination. He is going to have his tonsils and adenoid removed in July and some blood work came back out of range. On the way to pick up Ryan for his appointment, my van’s... Read More →

Lovin’ my kids these days. Lovin’ the age they are at. Lovin’ their independence and their dependence, and how it fluctuates each the minute of the day. Lovin’ their evolving talents and personalities. Lovin’ that there is a month left until school ends and a month left until both of them turn a year older.... Read More →

This past March, my family and I went on a road trip with our Girl Scout troop. We went to Savannah GA, to learn about the Girl Scout founder: Juliette Gordon Low. We visited to her birth house and the nearby neighborhood, which was beautiful. She is truly inspiring, so I recommend reading more about... Read More →

I took Midnight to the dog park today; there she could use up some of that crazy energy, and I could read. The gate to the lake shore area is always locked, but there are always dogs playing in the lake. I never could figure out how they got there – until today. And man,... Read More →

The game took place the night before my family left me and went to Panama. It wasn’t great timing, but it was definitely nice to get out together. My parents joined us in the van, but bought their tickets separately – on the opposite side of the stadium. We got to the new stadium 30... Read More →

My dear friend, Aurora, gave the kids some gift cards for Target – as thanks for being stellar photography models. Completely unnecessary and uncalled for. This is one of those gifts that ONLY benefits the kids. Thankfully, I had a camera to keep me entertained as the kids combed each toy aisle, and spent some... Read More →

We don’t actually call him “Gramps,” but I think we SHOULD, now that he’s seventy! We had a low key birthday dinner for Grandpa’s 70th birthday. Our long-time family friend, Eva, came over to my parents’ house. My sister came down from Boston with her two kids (the light ones), and my parents picked my... Read More →

Two months? Really? Well, sorry for neglecting my audience of six people for so long! I have just been resting and RELAXING. But enough is enough, right?? ************************************************************************* I started writing this post a week ago – then got distracted by a 100 other things. This post is about our Girl Scouts campout two weekends... Read More →

Just about every Wednesday, my Dad picks up the kids early from school. He takes them different places, to the park, to the playground at Burger King during inclement weather. But many Wednesdays, he takes them to play tennis. This Wednesday, I joined them to capture some shots of the event. View my photos here: http://mariloujaen.smugmug.com/Lifestyle/My-Family/Tennis-with-Grandpa-2011-12/ Read More →

Welcome, visitors from Karen Russell’s blog! Thanks for clicking my link! View more pictures from our trip to Universal’s Islands of Adventure here: My Islands of Adventure Photos. View my Project 365 photos here: http://mariloujaen.com/365/                                            ... Read More →