my TWINS and a great night

The girls wanted to dress EXACTLY alike for school (day care) and they made it happen. The teachers LOVED how they matched exactly. One of the teachers kept calling Kalli Kaya and it made them laugh. AND, they spent the night in Kalli's twin bed together and slept ALL NIGHT! It was awesome. They giggled for a little bit, then the drifted off to sleep and made it all night. This is how I found them in the morning. I LOVE THESE KIDS!

Summer is FINALLY here!!

School is out. The bathing suits are out and the sprinklers are whirling and the kids are pulling us into them! Kalli is practicing on her bike, and there were a few tears. Kaya hugged her and tried to make it better, and when Kalli kept crying, Kaya said "But I kissed it, it should be all better, right?" We love summer and wish we lived where the weather was nice all year long. We took SO MANY photos already. This is a small sampling (and, when Kalli went to try her new bike from Maggie, she yelled out "Hey Mom, get the camera!!" I totally have them trained!

So many photos in just a few days...

I am not even sure where to start.... I could have uploaded about 100 photos, but here are just a few....

Kalli graduated from Kindergarten on Monday, and it was awesome.... I cried. She was amazing. She did a wonderful job doing a reading in front of a church full of people. She was just amazing. Afterwards, she and her good friend Trina happily rolled down the hill in their dresses - instead of stopping them, I ran for the camera. I love love love that photo of Kaya in the field. They were stunning that entire day.

We also had a blast at the races this weekend with a few of her friends. They all LOVED it and we cheered and cheered for the cars we liked. Kal and her friends usually started cheering for whoever was out in front which just cracked us up! Nothing like picking a winner!!

I love love love this photo of Kalli, Kaya, and the three Mulligan children walking hand in hand. It just makes my heart smile. I imagine looking at this photo when they are all grown up and wishing I could relive this moment. Also, just a few photos of Kalli taking good care of Kaya as always. I love this family.

Happy 40th Anniversary Mom & Dad

So many wonderful things happened because 40 years ago TODAY my parents married each other. They were so young (19) and they took a leap of faith. They struggled through life on a very limited income and chose to have us three kids. They became AMAZING parents who loved us all so much. Because of the love they shared this day, we now have their amazing grandchildren. If only my Mom were still here to celebrate this wonderful day. We just sent her up a bunch of balloons with notes from us. We hope she knows how much we love her and miss her and we pray she is happy in Heaven.

Beautiful Kids in fancy dresses....

It amazed me today just how much my daughters and niece LOVE to dance. They loved every aspect of my Dad's wedding - the fancy dresses, someone doing their hair, the make-up, the limo, and ESPECIALLY the dancing. Rolling on the floor, cartwheels, twirling, and simply dancing like EVERYONE was watching and they totally did not care what anyone thought? Why can we not hold that happy attitude in our hearts as grown-ups? Doing what you love, having fun, and having no care if you ruin your fancy dress, rip your tights, or people think you are a little insane! Watching their joy and feeling the support of our closest and truest friends made me feel surrounded by blessings today as my handsome Dad married Jean and took an official stand on choosing LIFE over DEATH. He did not chose to be at this place in this moment in time - but he stood as a shining example of a man who lost almost everything and decided to enjoy to the best of his ability every moment he has left on earth. I love him so much it actually hurt my heart (which is exactly what my Mom said it feels like to be a grandparent). Parts of the day were incredibly hard as people would imagine, but I wish they could feel a bit of the pride I had for my siblings, my Mom's mom, my Mom's brother and his entire family, my Mom's best friend and her family and my parent's closest friends. They were there in memory of the wonderful life we all had and to honor my amazing Mom and also to support my Dad and share in his celebration of making a choice we really need to be proud of. I pray he is safe and happy on his honeymoon. I love that man.
Shannon and I took SO MANY photos - here is just a sampling. You can go to www.kristiandneil.com/wedding and Shannon's awesome husband made it link to the 180 (out of like 1800 we took) we have posted in an album on Shutterfly.
Hug your family tightly today. As tight as you can. Because it all could change tomorrow, and your perspective could be entirely different. Enjoy every moment as it happens. So many people danced and lived in the moment on Friday at the wedding, and I am grateful they are our friends.