A Butterfly and 14 years

Call me crazy but this really happened and it's hard not to think it meant something. 

I was sitting on my porch the other morning working when suddenly my Mom popped into my head. It was this clear picture of her in my mind and I instantly felt this overwhelming sadness and just missed her so much. I said...out loud..."I miss you Mama" and blew her a kiss. Then I said...out loud again... "Mom, I wish you could show me a sign that you're around so I know heaven is real". 

A few minutes later, I got up to warm my tea and saw that something was blocking the filter in our pool. I put the tea down and went out onto the deck...and saw this right in front of me... 

At first, I truly thought nothing of it and walked on by to retrieve the object in the pool. When I walked back, the butterfly was still there sitting very still. So I got my phone and took some pictures because it was so pretty...and it was a gorgeous yellow which is my favorite color. I even sat down next to it for several minutes examining its wings and admiring how pretty it was. Then it dawned on me...maybe it's the sign that I literally just asked my Mom for! I acted a little crazy talking to it. I put my hand down and it crawled right into my hand!! I slowly got up and walked down the stairs to put it on the grass in case it was injured...

when it flew over to the fence right in front of me. I slowly walked over to it...all teary I might add...thinking that it quite possibly could be a real sign from my Mama. Then I said, "Thank you Mama for visiting me. You can go now." 

And wouldn't you know it...that very second...it flew away into the trees and disappeared. 

That has never happened to me before. Usually butterflies flutter around like crazy and take off when you approach them. The timing of this was impeccable. So crazy. Was it just a coincidence? Or my Mama showing me a sign that heaven is real : ) 

Also...today is 14 years since my Dad left us. It still feels like yesterday...

He left us just as the sun was setting on this very last day of August. I watched the sun go down out the hospital window while holding his hand. Summer was his favorite season...and it was ending too. 

She's 22

Julia turned 22!  I don't know anyone who loves their birthday more than Julia. Her birthday fell on the first day of school. She celebrated the night before with a bunch of friends by going out to dinner and having a drink at the local bar. But as it was a school night they didn't stay out too late. Her roommates decorated their living room for her and they made a birthday cake that night...

We drove up to Endicott to pick her up along with Gianna and Joey and went to a cute restaurant in downtown Salem...

I love how it's decorated...

Her big present is a new Lululemon backpack. I had to ship it to her at school because it wasn't in on time. I gave her a few other little things too. 

I told her I needed a first day of school picture to document her very LAST FIRST day of school ever...so here she is with a few of her roommates...

Who knows if she'll go back to school someday but for now this will be the end of her school days. Grade 16!! She's very happy about that! Me? I got a little weepy thinking about it : ( 

Weekending

What a great weekend we had. We were invited to some friends of ours Newport home on Saturday. We spent the afternoon sailing and it was the most picture perfect day! 

After that we enjoyed some drinks on their porch...

and then went to a rooftop bar to watch the sunset...

So many belly laughs...especially about how bad our camera phones were at capturing the spectacular sunset. The sun was in fact HUGE and it looked so tiny in our pictures. 

After that we had a nice dinner and then walked around eating ice cream. It was just a really fun day with good friends.

On Sunday, Danny and I went to the North End for St. Anthony's Feast. It's one of our favorite things to do. We walked down to the waterfront and then over to the North End. We had a fabulous lunch out on a patio and enjoyed some marching band performances. They were parading around the streets for the celebration. After we walked around Faneuil Hall. 

It was the perfect weekend!

UofL Hockey 2024-25 roster

Getting excited for the new hockey season! We'll be visiting The Boy in October and will get to see some games! 

Beach Photoshoot

I love that the dance team has their own official photographer. I get the most fabulous pictures! During preseason, they went over to one of Endicott's private beaches for a photoshoot. There are so many beautiful pictures but these are my favorites...

Julia's buddy group...

Gianna's buddy group...

The new girls...5 freshman and 2 sophomore transfers...

Seniors...

Captains...

The new 2024-25 team...

Official Empty Nest

We moved the girls to Endicott yesterday for Julia's last year as a senior and Gianna's first year as a sophomore. They're there for dance preseason. What a time it was getting them both ready to go for about a week or so and then packing up three cars. Then moving all of it into their rooms and setting it all up. It was so exhausting but it went well! 

Julia is in a six person on-campus apartment this year and she loves it so much! She has a living room, full kitchen, two full baths and a washer and dryer. She's sharing a room again with Holly and it's really big. There is also another double and two single rooms. They're on the third floor at the end of the hall. There's a spacious study area right outside their suite which is so nice. The windows are floor to ceiling in her apartment and in the lounge area. One of the moms said it looks like they're in a treehouse and it really does! It's very peaceful and serene. I'm so happy for her! Let's hope she has a fabulous senior year! 

and Julia's view of her roommate's side...look at that window and pretty view!

Here are some updated pictures of her decorated Living Room. I love the view out those floor to ceiling windows! So peaceful...

Gianna is also very happy with her dorm and room! Thank goodness!!  She's in the same dorm that Julia was in last year but she's in a triple so it's very tight. But they decorated it so nice! It's very cozy and a serene space too. She and her dance teammate, Maddie, are living together. They coordinated everything so it looks great. It is so much better than last year. Actually there's no comparison.  I hated her dorm and her room last year.  It was awful.  This year she has her own bathroom in her room which is fabulous!  She has another roommate that hasn't moved in just yet as the girls are there for dance preseason. She's also a sophomore and was there last year but decided to go random for some reason. She seems like a sweet girl. Fingers crossed! 

Gianna hasn't hung any of her pictures just yet and still was in the process of putting things away. It took sometime to put up those headboards and curtains. We did as much as we could until we had to run off to a dance team family luncheon. That was super fun! It was so nice to see everyone again! 

Here's what she had done so far before we had to leave...

Updated pictures of her bed all done...

We took a quick selfie before it was time for the girls to say goodbye and head off to practice...

I keep getting all these positive texts from Gianna like this one which is a tremendous relief...

They're working hard on their brand new game day routine. Let's hope it's another gold medal year!! Julia in the center...

and there's Gianna on the right...

They had a photoshoot on the beach this morning. It was a glorious day! I can't wait to see the pictures! 

I'll be missing my Gulls for sure, but knowing they're not far away, and they're together, makes my heart so happy!!  I'll be seeing them a lot this year so it's really not that sad. 

Feeling very grateful.