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playgroup BBQ
Known these awesome people since Jack & Patrick were 3 months old at Gymboree. Who ever would’ve predicted that 15 years later (!!!) we’d all still be friends. Not to mention throwing another ton of kids into the mix! Ray and Maureen were nice enough to host a summer BBQ for all of us. Celeste and her girls flew up from Georgia, and the only ones missing were Maureen and her crew but they just couldn’t make it in from Michigan (luckily, 2 days later the boys and I went to Michigan to visit for a few days so we did get to see them too). Hopefully some year we’ll ALL be together again at the same time in the same place.
The original 7. (new picture. top row: jack, patrick, beau. bottom row: molly, kerrin & ryan. old picture, the same except Connor on top left.) They still look exactly the same, only huge.
Jack, Connor, Beau, Ryan, Kerrin, Molly & Patrick
And in 2014, its pure chaos! From left, back row: Ali, Kerrin, Molly, Jack, Patrick, Beau, Mac, Ryan & Peyton. Middle row: Johnny, Joey, Timmy, Eli. Front row: Teddy & Luke. (not pictured in this one: Bridget)
Utter chaos.
We always said these two look kinda alike. 
The girls.
The boys. 
The moms!! These are my girls. Love them so much!!!
And a picture from Michigan. Jack, Connor, Katie, Patrick, Timmy & Spencer. 
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braces be gone
On the one month anniversary of getting them off (yes, I’m THAT behind on editing!) after 5.5 loooooooooong years of many, many appointments, I’m finally posting the before and afters of Jack & Patrick’s braces. We were all so happy to get them off. So freaking happy!!!
Jack on the left, Patrick on the right the morning of the getting them off appointment.Last time with braces, ever.
Jack on the left, Patrick on the right after getting the braces off. Such a difference!! I’m still getting used to it a month later. 
March 2009- September 2014. Jack.
Patrick. They look like completely different people, but still sorta the same.
And now we get started with Timmy. It had better not be another 5 years. I can’t take it. -
erin @ gymnastics
Always wanted to try my hand (my lens?) at dance or gymnastics photography since I find both so much fun to watch. Luckily, my friends daughter is a gymnast so I snuck into a meet (actually 2 meets) between client sessions and got to shoot for a while. I learned some stuff- the first being this is way harder than I thought! The lighting is tough, catching the action without knowing the routine (especially on floor) is difficult, and that Erin is even more amazing to watch in person!
Vault was the first event, and I only caught that first pic- utter concentration, love it. 
Beam made my palms SWEAT while watching/photographing. 
Floor is my favorite. This girl rocks it!! I, however, need to get better at capturing the big moves.
She got so many medals, I lost track. (1st for floor). But I liked her expression in these. 
I need more practice, but I hope you liked what I did manage to get. -
the 1st day of school
And just like that, summer is over. So very sad about that this year, but looking forward to a great school year for all of the boys.
Timmy actually had school earlier than Jack & Patrick today (they had orientation in the afternoon) so they came along to see him off. He had his brand new Vineyard Vines shep shirt all ready to wear yesterday, but with it being 90 degrees (ironically, the first 90 degree day the whole summer fell on the 1st day of school) he had to skip it. Still terribly handsome though!
Getting to school.
Timmy has his BFF Jack N in his class this year. The first time since 1st grade. Although he looks just thrilled in the picture, they were both sooooo excited to be back together. I’m sure their teacher may be not quite as happy about the arrangement- I see separate corners in their near future to prevent chatting!
And his other BFF James is also in his class again this year. The kid lucked out big time!!
As Jack & Patrick said, it’s the Timmy three.
The school grounds were NUTS so I didn’t get many other pictures. 4th grade should be a blast!!
And then it was the big boys turn to go to school (just a 2hr orientation yesterday, but then they took the train up to Yankee Stadium with a school friend to catch the game. Not such a bad life, right?)
A moment of peace and twinness. They were happy to be back at school (mostly. ya know, except for the work which will start on Monday when classes do). They are crazy tall and grown up. And today is a big day too- braces are coming OFF! Pictures on that soon too. 
Hope everyone had a smooth & easy transition back to school. I’m not digging the schedule part of it, but I got so much done yesterday (more than the whole summer combined I think!) so at least I’ll be productive while I mourn the beach and sleeping late every day. For those of you who emailed me on the fall calendar- I will get back to you sometime today. Things got crazy (my usual excuse, but sooooo true- I swear!!) and I just ran out of time. Again. -
spring & summer reading
I’m back again (was away for a few days- drove to Michigan with the boys to see our friends) and back to editing, so there will be more shoots up on the blog coming soon. In the meantime (read: the 23 hours I spent driving the car back and forth on said vacation- there is a lot of time to think!) I realized I hadn’t posted a reading list in a long time and I’ve been reading a lot. So here goes my list from the last few months worth of reading.
Conversion- a story about the Salem Witch Trials and a current day epidemic of teen girls with a “mystery illness” at a private Massachusetts school. Really liked it but the ending was a little too “loose” for me. I need shit tied up with no loose ends and definitive answers. Still recommend.
Never Knowing- I loved Chevy Steven’s Still Missing. This was a different kind of story but a really good read, watching the main character unravel was interesting.
Bird Box- was a post apocalyptic thriller. If you like that kinda thing, you should like this. There is never really an explanation as to why the apocalypse type thing happened, but just the after effects.
if i stay- its in the movies and its a young adult story, but I liked it anyway. I am immature at heart, what can i tell you? If you liked Fault in Our Stars, you’ll like this one.
It Ain’t Me Babe- for whatever reason, this one i really liked. A story about a guy from a motorcycle club (like the baaaaad kind of an MC club- outlaws) and a girl who escapes from a totally backwards-ass, crazy Waco type religious sect to be taken under the wing of the main guy in the MC. Two things that totally do not go together, but she made them work. Some p*rn, lots of cursing, not a typical love story and not always 100% believable when it comes to her blending into a new life, but such a good read anyway. I am hoping for a sequel!!
Lineage- Joe Hart may be a new favorite author. Hints of Stephen King (he grew up reading SK books), lots of supernatural, and great character development. At first the two storylines don’t tie together at all, but then they do. The concentration camp parts were even hard for me to read (and you know gore doesn’t bother me) at times, but if you can deal with it for a little while, you’ll enjoy the rest. 
we were liars- another YA book but i still really enjoyed it. Told you, I’m still like 15-17 years old at heart. The twist at the end is very twisty! I didn’t figure it out till right before it was revealed but was still kinda surprised when they did finally say it.
China Dolls- if you liked the other Lisa See books, you’ll like this one. About 3 chinese girls leaving home to peruse an entertainment career in San Francisco right before and during WW2. Not too political (you know I don’t like that!) but interesting getting a taste of history from sorta inside. Interwoven lives and all that.
The Neighbor- a good short story harkening back to the old Dean Koontz I used to love reading. But you have to read The City first.
The City- Dean Koontz is readable again. I was not a fan of most of his recent books, but this one was good.
The Colorado Kid- short story by the Master himself. No supernatural really in this one, more of a mystery. Definitely quick and enjoyable.
The Dinner- I don’t know what to say about this one. I liked it and didn’t like it at the same time. But it surely made an impression. Its one of those books where its hard (like, really, really hard) to like and root for any of the morally bereft characters. And the tension in the book filled me with tension too. I was kinda glad it was over. But it was interesting and unforgettable too. Read at your own risk.
Mr. Mercedes- loved it. Absolutely no supernatural anything in it anywhere, but a giant, fast paced, heart racing mystery with amazingly developed characters. Sounds like there will be a sequel too. Yay!!
The Three- another one with a strong start but with an ending that didn’t explain shit, didn’t tie anything up and left me annoyed cause the beginning was so good with so much potential. A story about 3 plane crashes (yeah, yeah i know…) on the same day with only 1 child from each flight surviving and what happens after. 
The Submissive, The Dominant and the Training- all pretty much 50 Shades rehashed, but MUCH better writing and editing. So lots of p*rn, a rich guy and a young, quirky girl. If you liked the other series, read these too. 
The Ruins- a bunch of friends on vacation in Mexico end up somewhere they shouldn’t and bad things happen. It was really, really good but I think it could’ve been a little shorter. There’s a movie too and I watched part of it- book is much better.
And then She Was Gone- a Jaycee Duggard/Elizabeth Smart type of story where a kidnapped girl is eventually found and brought home- and the repercussions for everyone involved. If you like that kind of story, this was a good one.
Redeployment- a bunch of short stories from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Very, very disturbing but very, very eye opening. How any soldiers come home (with or without PTSD) and function in life after war is still amazing to me. It was written by a Regis graduate. I can’t say that I enjoyed it per se, and its not light reading, but I would still recommend it. Its kinda heartbreaking. Because of this book, I am hoping to go volunteer at the VA this year.
House of Glass- fiction based on the Petit Family murders in Cheshire CT. If you can deal with that, its a really well written book. Edge of your seat.
The Troop- I may have mentioned this one before, but I loved it. Stephen King meets Lord of the Flies. A boy scout troop goes to a remote, isolated place for a campout and bad shit happens. Like really bad shit.
Camp- a must read for anyone who has gone and survived sleep away camp. A family secret and teenage girls= a sure gigantic, bullying, heartbreaking mess. Loved it. 
Hush Little Baby- a woman with a seemingly perfect life, kids & husband (the husband is pretty fucking far from perfect) and what she has to do to survive/escape. A fast and exciting read.And I just downloaded a bunch of new books for the rest of summer and start of fall, so reviews on those when I’m done with a good chunk of them. Happy reading and let me know what you think of any of them if you pick them up.