the me and mine project {august}

Rich is loving

* catching up with an old mate back home.

* barbecuing on our weekend at the seaside.

* our beach hut day out.

* seeing all the welsh family.

* the new football season.

Lucy is loving

* beach hut days at the seaside.

* seeing her baby bro.

* having all three kiddos together all the time.

* floral maxi dresses.

* mint chocolate cornettos.

Dylan is loving

* playing mini golf.

* going on the Sky Ropes at the country park.

* ice creams from the ice cream man.

* having monkeys on the car at the safari park.

* adventures with Uncle Matt and Auntie Tiff.

Everly is loving

* My Little Pony blind bags.

* singing Disney princess songs.

* jumping over waves.

* her new lunch box for preschool.

* sleeping the wrong way round in her bed.

Ashlyn is loving

* days at the seaside.

* standing up (and trying to let go!)

* eating sand.

* stealing crisps.

* nodding and giggling.

August has been the best month. 31 days of uninterrupted time with the kiddos. I don't think I'll ever be one of those mummies who is desperate for school to start, I just love the slower pace and the abundant family time that the school holidays brings. It hasn't been all plain sailing of course; juggling my freelance work has been tricky, and Rich has been super busy with his work too, which has all been rather badly timed. But we've made it work and it's been a lovely summer. I'm actually pretty devastated that tomorrow brings September, and that next week brings the return to school. 

August family photos are all about our little tradition of returning to the same spot and capturing an updated snap. We actually took the first one in this little series before I'd started The Me and Mine Project, and I feel so proud that it's inspired us to keep it up. I love this little tradition of ours, and I teased the children while we were there that even when they are big and grown up, I'm still going to drag them to this spot every August to take the same photo. There is something really nice about recapturing the same photo each year and the way that it really tracks all those little (and not so little) changes. I must confess that we were very released to turn up and realise that Dylan and Everly were both tall enough to peer through the gaps  in the gate by themselves; I wasn't sure how we were going to juggle holding up three between the two of us.

It just makes me smile so much to look back over all of the photos now. In our 2012 snap we were just weeks away from meeting our big girl; I remember feeling like Dylan was so big, but looking back he still looks like a baby. Our 2013 snap had the addition of our little Everly, and it's crazy because looking at the photo I already feel like I can't remember her being that small. In 2014 it looks like we have two toddlers on our hands, but by 2015 those toddlers look so much more like children. And in 2015 we were yet again, not far off of meeting a new family member. So this year's introduces a new little person to the line up behind our favourite gate.  And seriously... how fast do plants grow and change? Almost as quickly as our children it would seem. 

Oh and I owe my dad a big thank-you for taking these photos for us each year. I don't think he quite realised when he took that first one of us - when we were still a family of three - what it was that he was signing up for. But this little spot for our photo is somewhere that I couldn't set the tripod up in the right place even if I tried, so we really do have to rely on a willing photographer unlike most other months where we sort out our Me and Mine snaps by ourselves. Same time next year Pops?

Make sure you tag your family photos with #meandmineproject on Instagram, and we'll share some of our favourites. And link up your family photos at the bottom too, I can't wait to see them all. Of course, do remember to pop by my cohost's blogs and see what Alex, Fritha, Jenny, Katie and Lucy's families are sharing this month.

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