january... how did that happen?

how is it possible that it is already january... a new year... holidays are over. where has the time gone??

i'm extremely excited for this year. hopeful for all sorts of good to come from the major changes we will be going through.
here's the run down...
luke is getting out - is a woohoo inappropriate here?:)
i'm going back to work -yikes & yippy all in one!
l is going into kindergarten - just yikes on this one!! how did that happen?? i was just changing his diapers;)
e is starting preschool - holy smokes! i'm pretty sure he'll be in a full day/full week preschool/daycare & i'm really hoping that it will be good for him! fingers crossed.
oh and we're moving... no big deal!
oh and we'll be buying another house... another no big deal;)
did i miss anything? i'm sure i did:)

here are the important things...
we will be very close to family!
we will be back with ri friends! on the flip side we will be moving further away from some super friends - but we know we'll see them often:)
we will be together!
luke will be home a lot more!! - this one could go either way... just kidding!!

so here's to it all... the good - because i think it's all going to be really good!!

xoxo

catching up

it seems like a lot of my most recent posts have a very similar title... always playing catch-up around here!

here are a few favorite instagram pics from the holidays. hope you all had a merry merry!
xoxo

we decorated our tree with cinnamon applesauce dough stars.
love, love, love the smell of clove studded oranges.
l celebrated his 41/2 bday with birthday cake pancakes:)
we had snow for our holiday parade! (mama wore her furry boots:)) and we finished the day with hot cocoa in our jammies.
love quiet days spent making legos & doing art projects.
Hanukkah dinner made complete with latkes! yum

harmonicas for christmas.

cookies & milk for santa.

snuggles with daddy & a new puzzle.

mama & daddy in their christmas jammies.

l & his harmonica

daddy & l going out to sprinkle the reindeer food.

more harmonica... BIG hit!!

mama's christmas pressie!

our gingerbread house.

one little word 2013

so... my word for 2012 was peace. anddddd i am seriously happy to say that in my eyes i achieved peace by the end of 2012! some of the things i  had to do to make this happen were easy. some were really hard & definitely took a toll on our family for a little while. but, we came out of it a stronger unit & i am at peace with my decisions!

moving on to 2013... 2012 went by waaay too fast by the way!
the word that i have chosen is change. 2013 holds some major changes for the marland family. luke is getting out of the coast guard. this is a huge one!! after the decision was final things just started happening that solidified that this decision was absolutely 100% the best decision for us. love it when that happens!! we are so excited and a little scared for the road ahead but i'm pretty confident it will be full of positive changes for us as a family. i am ready to embrace all the changes heading our way in 2013 and hoping for a bright year full of wonderful family and our awesome friends. happy new year to all! may you all be surrounded by lots of love all year long.
xoxo

instagram love

here are some recent instagrams that i'm lovin' on at the moment

                                    rockin' out toby keith style:) cowboy hat & elmo microphone.

                      l loves his ribs!! this is the only thing he will literarly eat down to the bone!

                        love these three snuggled in their fort...daddy is the king of fort-making!

               silly boy... he still loves his owl hat from auntie jenny & i'm hoping it fits all winter:)

                        e looking up at the kite we flew... he insisted on wearing brothers socks;)

more of september

looking back at pictures i am noticing that i have NON for august. this is shocking... i was so very good in july & totally slacked in august! big ol' oooppps on that one:) hmmm i think i know the culprate - a new iPhone perhaps;)
september doesn't seem to be that much better but at least i snagged a few.

                      the boys love to "walk" on this fence leading to one of our favorite playgrounds:)

                                                            new kicks for school:)

                                                                     painting with q-tips

                                                       we made a fall tree with leaves:)

                       

daddy turns 31

Luke turned 31 this past september... i will always tell him that he's not allowed to complain about his age since i hit that number two whole years before him;) i'll still be saying it when he turns 90 and i'm 92;)

the boys & i made him some funfetti cupcakes - from scratch i might add:) super yummy & the frosting was delish as well!! here's the recipe . soooo good!! make some for someone you love:)

xoxo melys

ooppss

it has been brought to my attention - thank you el:):) that i have pretty much fallen off the face of the *blog* earth!
yikes!! it's been since july... ok i always say i'm going to try to be better - but honestly i'm not sure;)
needless to say we have been BUSY!! i guess since i missed so much i'll have to do a little catch-up here on the good ol' blog. lets start with back to school!!! it's so hard for me to believe that l is in his second (& last) year of preschool! he is ready for kindergarten, or so he says;) i keep telling him to enjoy now & not wish it away... i think he is:)

                                          silly boy

                                                 silly boys
                                                 

                                       love *love* love when they hold hands. melts my heart!

                                      his first lego creation on day one of school... castle towers.

north conway

this was the second year we went to north conway and we LOVE it so much up there!! there is so much to see and do! amazing restaurants! super cute little town! it's got it all:) we were thinking of going to see thomas the train again but decided to go to story land instead. so glad we did! the boys had a blast!!

l's favorite ride - bamboo shoots, e milking a cow, the boys with humpty, e & mama on the train & the boys in the pumpkin;)

they also had this awesome ball fun zone... so. much. fun. you put foam balls in all sorts of contraptions that suck them up & spit them out somewhere else:) we easily spent a half hour to an hour here alone & the boys would have been happy there all day!

  we also made a little trek up mt. washington. holy scary!!! i think that might be a one time trip for these marlands;) definitely well worth it but both luke & i were a wee bit scurred;)

this is definitely a spot we will go back to every time we make our way up there. we found this river/falls last year & a bit further up there are rock water slides & rope swings & a big rowdy group of people having a blast. when the boys get older we'll definitely venture up there. but for now this spot is perfect for us & the little dudes:)

all in all a great trip. my all time favorite part (as it is every vacation) is getting to spend time with our little family:) we're pretty darn lucky to have such great boys!! 

xoxo

july so far

holy moly! what a whirl wind of a summer!! i can't believe it's about halfway through summer already! we have been busy!! unfortunately i have not been busy taking pictures. i was doing so well for a little while & then fell back into my old picture taking slump. so here's the overview;)

                              strawberry picking with the little dudes & making freezer jam! yum!!

made {cheater} homemade doughnuts! yum yum!!

                                       more baseball & park time with e while l was on the field.

eating our fresh picked yummy strawberries:)

                                            random... {super healthy} smoothies for breakfast

 
                                              a little gum accident:) peanut butter to the rescue!

                             scavenger hunt:) with the makings for some s'mores as the final destination!

making peanut butter cup s'smores:) i may never eat a regular old s'more again!!

                                      sponge balls {very fun for getting wet} and painted rocks;)

so i've been keeping these little guys busy & as entertained as possible;) we really are enjoying our summer and making the most of the beautiful weather we have been having! loving it:) and like i said i've been bad at pictures so there's tons more that i just didn't document! hope everyone is having a rockin' summer as well!! 

xoxo