The pictures suggest an ethereal romp through snow-caked country, rookie skiiers who are sweet and eager, smooth drives along quiet, empty roads, sisterly love in the form of icicle-hunting and driveway dance parties, hand-holding family love. But the pictures do not tell the whole story.
It is hard, and unseemly, to capture the hours of Friday traffic, the carsickness that brings fountains of vomit, the screaming baby at midnight, 1am, 2am, 3ish, 4something, 5am. Also hard to capture the mom and the dad who are good sports, but beyond tired who swill coffee and don smiles and roll with it because that’s just what you do.
But pictures are a wonderful option when it is 8:50pm on a Sunday night and you are so tired you can barely contemplate watching more than ten minutes of the Oscars which are on in the background, emitting spirited, Hollywood noises that do little to keep your eyes open.
And pictures are just plain wonderful, aren’t they? Because they allow you to look back at moments that happened yesterday and long ago, moments that were downright exquisite in their texture and color and life. Moments that were yours, and will always be yours.
It was a lovely weekend. Our kids got to ski for the very first time. We got to spend time with Husband’s cousin and his family. And we’ve forgiven the baby for our sleepless night. She is cute and we’re in love even though she can be a tricky thing sometimes. And today is a new day, isn’t it? A day full of moments to live and love and capture. A day for coffee.
And now for the pictures. Oh how they make me smile.
Do you enjoy photographing your life? How do you handle profound exhaustion? Were/are your kids good sleepers at home and on the road?
Looks like you had a wonderful time! And I don’t know if I (or anyone else) has said it before, but I think it quite a bit when I see pictures of all three girls, but Big Girl really seems to embrace being the big sister and being able to help and point things out to her younger sisters. Hope you’re well-rested and the girls aren’t too hard to get up and ready for school today.
Thanks, Elise. Got a good night of sleep and am tucking into my first cup of coffee and feeling pretty good. And you are right in your observation. Big Girl is a wonderful big sis and loves to take care of her sisters and show them how it is done
And worth mentioning that she is the BEST sleeper ever. Always has been. Nothing keeps that girl from getting good rest, even a screaming little sis mere feet from her.
Hope you have a good Monday! xo
Oh, but that photo of the hands, those wee little digits poking out from that sweater…I imagine years from now that image will bring back the scent of sweet cuddles and pillow soft hands cupping your face at bedtime.
Love, love, love these.
Thanks, you. I had this thought when sleepily penning this post last night… I don’t think I would have fallen in love with photography if not for blogging. And the odd and interesting thing is that because I decided 4 years back not to show faces of my kids, I have also fallen on love with capturing less obvious things – pictures of my girls from behind, of cracks on the sidewalk, etc.
Great snapshots of your weekend and your life with sweet little girls and husband. Enjoy it all and thanks for sharing.
Thanks, Ayala. As always
Your sweet girls seem to have such a loving relationship – kudos for capturing that, again and again.
Thanks, Sara. I think one of my favorite parts about blogging is taking the time – in words, in images, in questions – to capture the evolving connection between my girls. I hope they appreciate my efforts some day!!
These photographs are timeless, Aidan. The picture of your three girls looking through the door is exquisite. Staring at the white blanket of snow, I wonder what they were thinking at that very moment.
I do love that one. We had just eaten a delicious brunch at a wonderful & cozy inn before hopping in the car and heading home. Xox
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Lovely, lovely pics. I am just about to post some of my own from our ‘ski’ weekend (no skiing — little one is too little) but he did go sledding for the first time. I, too, was wiped (still am) and the oscars seemed like a distant thing that didn’t belong to my mom life!
xox
My littlest was too littleto ski as well and she and I were cooped up in the cabin. And a teensy part of me resented this but then I realized how fleeting this time is, these days if ‘too little for X’, these days of diapers and sleeplessness even, and I don’t want to rush it. Even if it is all wildly exhausting. Even if such exhaustion preempts the Oscars. Can’t wait to see your pics!!
Remember our annual spring break trips to Stratton? These pics all made me remember those, but especially the one of the coffee (hot chocolate?) cups and forks and knives on what I assume is a table at the “lodge.” Nobody else will know what I’m talking about but this is the torrent of images running through my mind: watching March Madness from the grossly carpeted floor of our room at the Four Winds (never to be confused with the Four Seasons); roshti potatoes (at the something Rooster?); trooping to the mountain every day in a rickety open-air shuttle from our parking spot in what must have been a satellite to the satellite parking area; dreading ski school (your girls seem happier to be there than we were!); warming up with Mom at a window table littered with said coffee and hot chocolate cups, rice krispie treat remains, and every New York newspaper Mom could get her hands on; searching the slopes for Dad’s signature hopping slalom style as we waited for lunchtime to arrive or the day to end; and more and more … Thank you for making me remember our most lunchpail of family vacations. We don’t have actual pictures of those days but my mental snapshots are so clear.
C – This comment makes me miss you. Isn’t so cool that we have the very same memories tucked away? It turns out that Middle didn’t totally love ski school. Last night before bed, the girls revealed that she spent a fair bit of the time crying because she missed her daddy. And I didn’t even make it to the mountain, but was cooped up with the overtired babe. But who cares, right? What I love most about your comment is that it makes me realize that these trips are not just trips. They are memories. Memories sisters will tuck away for later.
Love you. See you this weekend, right??
Yes you will
And soon enough you will be seeing more of me than you want when we come to visit and take over your top floor!
I love watching the excitement of parents as they pass their passions onto the next generation. You can’t help but to be swept up by the positive energy! I love photographing my life so much that I have an incredibly strong urge to get better that is constantly fighting with a lack of time to improve as much as I’d like! My two year old is not a bad sleeper, but he does wake up in the middle of the night and insist on sleeping with one of us in the guest bed on most nights. For us, playing musical beds is a much better option than sleep training, because everyone still gets to sleep (just not necessarily in the bed where they started)!
Love the image of musical beds! I think you do what you have to do in these early years. And I so understand the struggle of trying to improve in an area of personal interest while trying to stay afloat in the sea of parenting. Sorry for the less than stellar metaphor, but I think you get me, right? Thanks, Nilsa!
I love these pictures! Your girls are so sweet. My son will be 4 months old at the end of the week but so far he’s sleeping between 9 1/2-10 hours per night but it’s taken a fair amount of structure on our end. We’re very lucky to be getting great sleep for now and I’m hoping he keeps it up.
Dani
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