except for the pool.

it was our turn to bring the snacks for the last game.

i'm not the best at reading the email all the way to the bottom where it tells you this.

can't believe i missed my last chance of the season to bring orange slices and gatorade.

tragic.

i'm sure gonna miss saturdays at the soccer field this summer,

but i'm soooooo glad to have the summer off too.

i'm ready for the days to slow down.

at least,

to where we don't have to be anywhere by any time, 

except for the pool:)

{when did these boys get old enough to go to first grade???}

cheers {beth is here}

cheers to the summer of emily and beth.

where all you need is a plate of salami, carrots, and cucumber sticks,

some blank drawing paper and markers,

a tire swing,

and hay from the barn to feed the horses.

oh happy day:)

thursdays like this

thursday:

the day max taught chase how to climb a tree,

and the day we had icee's and popcorn for lunch at target.

i'm gonna miss thursdays like this:)

two more sleeps until school is

ooooouuuuuut.

with a sopping wet half head of hair from his ear draining fluid.

{he has my eyes. he's my best cuddler.}

...

we've got sick people over here.

lots of them.

colds.

coughs.

sore throats.

runny noses.

stuffed up noses.

going on a week.

or more.

or something crazy long like that.

'cause it's may.

and it just doesn't seem right to be sick at the end of may.

it's like when you hit may you're all, 

"we've made it! healthy 'til november! december if we're lucky!"

and the germs are all,
"woooooah there, not so fast emily. i've got a few tricks left in my bag.

like that one where i made brennan puke and other stuff last thursday in the middle of this added bonus of a cold i've thrown at all of you."

so last night every gibson kid had their turn at getting up in the night.

max

then brennan

then chase waking up brennan

then brennan coming in to tell us that chase was crying

then me finding chase with a sopping wet half head of hair from his ear draining fluid.

"ear owie"

that's what he said when i walked into his room.

his whole body shaking it was hurting so badly.

oh how happy i was to have ear drops in the bathroom medicine cabinet.

praise the lord.

so we layed together on the spare bed in chase's room 

{the one with fairies, flowers, dragonflies,cowboys, and horsies on the walls},

brennan crawled into my spot with sean,

and max by the grace of god stayed asleep in her very own bed.

and it was finally quiet for the first time all night.

so i sang to him with my cracking sore throat,

stroked his hair,

and he curled right up into my chest,

and burried his head into my neck,

and we just layed there breathing together.

it was pretty great. 

but i'd still love it if we could all just not be sick anymore:)

"when people show you who they are, believe them the first time." {maya}

some of my favorite things 
maya taught me...

"when people show you who they are, believe them the first time."

"if someone's keeping secrets from you, they're trying to control you, and that's not love."

"life is always about energy. clear your energy space."

"divorce yourself from the relationships that are toxic to you."

"when you see crazy coming, cross the street!"

"don't let yourself be surrounded by people who will peck you like a duck. otherwise they will take a little piece of your soul piece by piece because you will be less than what you were meant to be."

"courage allows the successful woman to fail--and learn powerful lessons--from the failure--so that in the end, she didn't fail at all."

"when you learn, teach. when you get, give."

i'll never forget the first time i read why the caged bird sings in 7th grade.

it was the first time i read a book and remember it changing me.

as a person.

as a woman.

amen,

amen,

amen.

thank you maya,

xoxo

emily.

must be memorial day.

when the rotatiller broke we ended up at the pool.

it's a rough life,

but somebody's gotta do it. 

4 hours later i delivered the bigs home to sean who had fixed the rotatiller, 

bathed a baby who i'm told spent the afternoon enjoying his life in the dirt,

a vaccuumed out car,

and a lawn with every piece edged.

or my in laws did that part.

bless them.

i've never been so happy to see churned up dirt in my life!

we bathed the kids,

tucked them into bed,

and i planted all of my plants and seeds until the sun went down at ten, 

and i couldn't see my hand in front of my face.

even after showers our feet still had dirt on them.

i can almost see the corn growing on the fence and the sunflowers towering high into the sky.

must be memorial day:)

...

to jackie and shawn p. whose service i honor.

and to all who serve, we THANK YOU!

happy memorial day!

we're gonna need some more wood.

this morning i have 4 words for you:

peanut

butter

cup

smore's

you'll never be able to go back to Hershey's bars ever again.

you're welcome.

we're gonna need some more wood.

{there's always one guy. usually it's me.}

you'll find me here every sunday night until september.

ready,

set,

SUMMER NIGHTS:)

GO.