One of my friends and fellow photographer, Crystal of Pure Photoshop Actions, has a wall decal up that reads:

In this house…

we do real

we do mistakes

we do I’m sorry

we do fun

we do hugs

we do second chances

we do happy

we do forgiveness

we do really loud

we do family

we do love

I *love* it…we are hopefully moving into our new home within a couple of months and that is getting slapped up on a wall ASAP 😉

I dug up old pictures today, ones that I want to put in an album with the simple title, “we do fun.” on the cover. Pictures for me to flip through when I start beating myself up for not being the parent I feel like I need to be. I’m not immune to comparing myself to moms who seem to have it all together. I may have my priorities in line in terms of balancing work and family, but sometimes I wonder if the time I spend with them is *enriching* enough. Do we do enough puzzles? Crafts? Are we teaching them to be too rowdy and wild? I think a lot of parents have this worry. With Pinterest and bloggers documenting every piece of glitter and every can of chalkboard paint used for their kids to scribble on their very own wall, I get to feeling deflated.

But then I see how confident they are becoming as they grow (a certain little blonde has enough confidence/attitude for the whole Vanoven crew) and I *know* we’re doing something right 🙂

 In our house….

We realize when a baby jumps in the tub in footie pajams, you can’t get mad.

We know that there’s only so long that your growing girl will let you take sudsy silly pictures of her in the bathtub, lookin’ a hot mess!

We have no-hands-allowed-spaghetti-eating-contests…

…that carry on to breakfast the next morning 😉

The fun extends to baby sisters/aunts who do this:

Our kids do just about anything to make us laugh…

the art of sprinkler-butt is passed down from kid to kid

boys can rock pink nail polish if they can be coerced by big sisters

Josie knows that she never has to be “normal”

Children who are warned repeatedly to stop horsing around on the edge of public fountains will only be helped out after everyone has a good laugh and pictures are taken. Said children then get to frolic around downtown Indianapolis in a sopping wet dress 😉

road trip pit stops are always perfect photo opportunities!

(sidenote: I’m shocked my arm pits are shaved)

If cousin Logan wants to wear goggles that make him look like Sloth from the Goonies while we go for a walk in the woods, he can.

We allow sisterly boob grabs in the name of recreating art.

If we go on a walk looking for deer and can’t find any, someone will pretend to be a deer for us.

Little ones are launched over water

When dripping water looks like pee…we make sure that moment is captured forever

We sneak in kisses whenever possible

Bubbles rule.

Parents hardly ever get to “just lay out” at the beach…

normal smiles are boring 😉

Grandmas are able to lay the smack down on their fully grown sons!

Children can be seen AND heard

Grandpas can make clown noses out of roma tomatoes and cheesy smiles are okay too 🙂

Daddies have mad ups

Jumping off the picnic table is okay

Kids sneak coffee

adults aren’t the only ones that can hail taxis!

Lip Smacker addictions are fed

Proper nature walks involve sword fights and beaver hunting

Little girls who fake cry like this will have their picture taken and shown to them to make them see how ridiculous they look

Grown men can comfortably show off their interpretive dance skills without risk of ridicule

Pops break Nana’s “no rough housing” rule….frequently 😉

Spit bubbles have a proper time and place

The kids know that even if they grow up to be Death Eaters, we’ll still love ’em

and lastly, golfing is always best done in your underwear

<3