Yesterday we celebrated Sammy turning six. 6 years of this incredibly bright, witty and forthright boy in our lives. His sense of logic and thirst for knowledge, astound us on a daily basis and there is nothing I love more than spoiling him on his birthday. I love that our family and friends come together in the most happy of occasions to all sing the same song, cheer and clap, just as you do when they are 1 or 100. 

The sense of togetherness, of bringing together the important people in their worlds, to give them a real moment in the spotlight, where all they can do is smile like a Cheshire cat. His birthday has lasted the whole week of the half term holidays, starting with a weekend with his little cousin Yasmin, a mini holiday to my in-laws in Poole, and the most simple of birthday days in the garden.

The sun shone, we played. And that was all. We didn't leave the garden, bar Granny going to pick up the requested birthday lunch of fish and chips, and we watched as the three of them cemented their special bond, playing hide and seek in the long grass and exclaiming "weeeee" as they all took turns on the new slide.

It was an ordinary day. It was the day he wanted. Just us, in the garden, no work, just play.

We ended the week with a little less simplicity and a little more fanfare! He may have loved his simple birthday but when it comes to parties my boys are all about the bigger the better! Phew! Because I just adore throwing these parties for them. It was a camping party extravaganza and when he came with me to pick up some last minute bits on Friday afternoon he said, "Ooh Mama what theme shall we have next year?!" And that is why I love this boy. For his sense of innocent joy, anticipation and excitement. He relishes the simple days and the extraordinary days. He's just like me, the build is all part of the fun. Every detail is noted, he sat with me looking at Pinterest for inspiration for his cake decorations, he helped me set out the buffet table. He memorises the little things, the things that seem over the top. And that's why I do it, because he will pour over the photos, he will randomly on a car journey recall one tiny detail and he will thank me again quietly, weeks after the event, for such a lovely time. 

So even at 6am, when I was barefoot in the garden in my PJs on the morning of his birthday, when Granny was trying to keep him in bed a little longer (She had slept on a mattress in their bedroom with them as a special treat - what a Granny!) it was worth it. Worth laying out a trail of presents, pound shop finds, a few bits I had got in a charity shop still in their packaging and a few new things, to the new tree house fort we had all clubbed together to buy. 

He hadn't even got round the corner and he was shouting "This is the best birthday ever!" 

Sammy - you have a feisty temper, you wear your heart on your sleeve. You have the best and worst our our personality traits and yet I know you will grow up to be the most wonderful young man. You don't know you are cool, that the girls like you, that your floppy hair and enormous brown eyes are going to give us all sorts of trouble in the future! The night before his party he had a bad dream and we played musical beds as usual. And I must have stirred at around 6.30am, when it was light outside and I could see the sun rays coming through the cracks in the blind, and I just looked at him. He sleeps with his mouth closed, his skin is slightly sun kissed from a week in the garden and on the beach with Grandma and Grandad, and he looked so handsome. A spattering of freckles on his soft skin, his fringe just touching his eyelashes on account of a missed half term trim. And I said to Rich as we were manoeuvring the dining room table through the conservatory doors, I just took a minute to look at him, to take him in. To snap a mental picture of this innocent boy who is so healthy, so fit, so desperate to learn, achieve and grow. He is vying to be a big boy and we are longing for him to stay small. To relish this time being so young, to soak up everything life has to offer being 6. 

His teacher has a few pet names for the class. There's Popstar (Poppy) and Super Sammy.

And that's what you are our boy. Super Sammy.

In all the birthday excitement the day passed without a photo of the four of us. But yesterday at the party we hopped on the "totem pole" chair (That's been hidden in the garage since we moved) and my sister snapped this photo. She looked up from behind the lens and said. That's your Me and Mine shot!

And suddenly here we are. The end of May, with a 6 year old. A boy who has lived in 3 houses, will have gone to 3 schools come September when they start a new adventure, and who we couldn't be without. 

The months ahead are packed with planes, trains and automobiles. No lazy weekends at home at all, but the bags under our eyes will hopefully have time to heal with a precious first family holiday just the four of us to Turkey and we are squeezing in a few other holidays, more happy birthdays including one in Paris and one in America, and making as many memories as possible. Last year taught our family the hardest lesson and I am determined to make the most of what we have. Being able to visit my brother in America because my Mum works for BA, have complete trust in my in laws to leave the boys with them so Rich and I can have some desperately needed time being just as husband and wife for a day or too, and spending as much time with our best friends as possible. June is packed with blog conferences, meeting new friends and catching up with old ones. People I talk to every day online but rarely get the pleasure of a proper hug. On those crazy weekends haring across the South West we still fit in lazy brunches, with a house full today we were still in pjs at 11am. The down time is there, it's just not always at home. It's in our homes from home, in Southbourne, in Poole, in the South East and beyond. 

But this week was all about you. Super Sammy.

I owe so much to this Me and Mine project and I know I am way behind visiting all the lovely blogs who join in. I promise to catch up. It's a pleasure to see everyone's families. Pop over to Jenny's blog to see what her beautiful family of four have been up to this month. 

May, I rather liked you. Pop back to see the party photos later this week! 

I guess it might be something to do with living in a project house, but ever since we moved I have taken to creating little arrangements around the house. I realised I did it in our last house but here it feels all the more important. That in amongst the chaos and crumbling paintwork there are  patches of niceness. 

I wish I knew how to properly arrange flowers. The posy making workshop I went on was a real eye opener and I have all these receptacles and vessels just waiting to be filled with a nice block of oasis. I love that arrangements mean so many things to different people. I join in a few hashtags religiously and love the inspiration I see from all the creative accounts. #gatheredstyle on a Tuesday hosted by @aquietstyle, #fridayfaffingcompetition on... you've guessed it Fridays with @katherinedorrington, @juliabesidethesea and @am_i_dreaming_now and on a Thursday #byarrangements with @sarahnotes, to name just a few.

This was my week of arrangements.

The #capturingcolour gallery grows each week and the way in which we all see colour differently just blows me away! Here were some favourites. Pop over to my Instagram feed for the account details. 

But my absolute favourite had to be this pin board. Captured by Amanda in her teenagers room. Doesn't this take you right back to your teens?!!! When you didn't realise what a skill it is to create a mood board like this?! Companies pay creative consultants thousands and yet the next generation of talent could take on the world! Amanda has a beautiful gallery, so fresh and soulful. Go check it out here. 

My sister kindly came to stay over the weekend and blitzed my new office. 5 bin bags later of half broken, half ripped paper and odd bits left over from parties, I have a proper space to work in. I'll be sharing some photos on the blog next week, after some finishing touches. All the old walls have been given a fresh coat of white and the pine woodwork is now sparkling and clean. No more yellow it's a white fest! But the old beams have been untouched and the fold down wooden table the previous owner used for all her paints is still there. And it's fast becoming my new favourite prop. 

So this week come and share your creative interpretations of "ON WOOD". Think wooden surfaces, garden tables, fences, wooden spoons anything that you can capture on a wooden surface. 

Just take a look at the gallery and all the beautiful images joining in already. 

I am busy this week gearing up for Sammy's camping party, managed to persuade the Scouts to loan us a tent for the garden and have 20 red spotty hanky party bags on sticks to make up tomorrow night, after a day shooting for a local smoothie company Flower Field Smoothies. How exciting!

#capturingcolour is a weekly theme on Instagram. Tag your ON WOOD photos this week. Favourites will be featured next Monday :)

I was overwhelmed with all the lovely comments from this post and it was such a pleasure to see all the fingers and toes and smiley faces in the #capturingcolour gallery last week. I love sharing photos of the boys (they love it less) and this week I tried to capture the moment more, no tripod, no remote, no "urgh Mama, not me and Mine time again!" How rude! I do remind them that these are precious photos, photos they will look back on and be glad I took!

A friend of mine was talking about the digital footprint we are all leaving for our children. And I hadn't really thought about it properly until this week. As a parent who blogs I reply on the boys. I rely on them being part of this blog, really without asking them at all. At 5 and 3 they have no understanding about the wonder and the danger of the internet bar Youtube videos of roller coasters!

As "mummy bloggers" or "daddy bloggers" for that matter, we post week after week about our children. And as mine have got older I've realised they've featured a little less. I want them to want to be part of this blogging journey. But I didn't ask whether they wanted to be part of it. Whether they wanted their quiet down time moments after school snapped for my social media feed, whether they wanted our holidays documented, a digital scrap book of memories for the world to see. When I started this blog just over 3 years ago, I had no idea where it would lead, if anyone other than my Mum would read it. And the boys have been swept up in the ride! So I wanted to dedicate a week especially for them. To appreciate how much they, quite frankly, put up with, having a blogger as a mama. Blogging has changed my life for the better. It has changed their lives for the better. 

I talk about making the ordinary extraordinary but I used to say my site was about capturing the milestone moments and the moments in between and I still stand by that sentiment. It's about capturing those holding hands moments, those cheeky telepathic smiles, that only the boys know what they are saying, the silent moments. 

I loved that the #capturingcolour was full of bumps, babies and beyond! Families made up of two, three, four and more. Family doesn't mean babies. It's what family means to you. I don't think I understood just how much I count our bestest friends as family until now. Rich and I went to school together, went through University together and have a handful of closest friends who we think of our extended family. Friends we spend birthdays with, who text you when they know you are struggling and who we couldn't be without. I love that we can pick up exactly where we left off, even if there's a year between proper cuddles. FaceTime is good, but real hugs are better. 

I loved this image from the gallery and this one too. Check them out. 

And this grid just made me feel full of love. Love for new beginnings, of family we haven't even met yet, for motherhood and for moments. 

I guess there was a moment when I felt like whoah, we are about to be a family of our own. And this photo took me right back, like I'd been dragged 50ft backwards in an instant. I wish wish wish I'd had a maternity shoot. Rich took some lovely photos of me and my stretch marks (one day I must share them on the blog) but I kind of wish I'd been with a stranger. Does that make any sense?! I would have quite like to have been wrapped in petals!

I saw this image by Lisa and it stopped me in my tracks. What a precious photograph ahead of the thousands of the baby that will come!

This week is all about ARRANGEMENTS. I thought about this theme and the fact that anyone can join in! Share a photo of a little corner of your home, a collection of things on a piece of paper, a styled photo especially for Instagram. 

I look in disbelief that there are now over 13,000 posts linked up to #capturingcolour! Thank you so much for supporting this wonderful gallery! 

I am catching up this week after a weekend away. On Friday morning we headed to a lovely friend's wedding in Brixham in Devon, then went straight to Poole where the boy's were kindly looked after by my in laws. We drove to Southampton on Sunday for our niece's Christening and landed at home with two tired boys, a little past their bedtime on Sunday night. But do you know, it's all worth it. 

To have a whole afternoon in a room, or rather a garden with our family. There were family members we hardly ever see, Auntie's and Uncles who we get to spend just 2 or 3 times year with, cousins who span 2 generations. But when we are all together it's just perfect. They wait for me on the beach to take a photo for my Instagram feed, they don't mind when they have to step in and be models for my product photography work. They listen to my endless, intricate ideas for a camping party. They are awesome.  They nominate me for a MAD blog Award. I love them!

psst you can nominate too here... my blog is http://www.capturebylucy.com (Only if you want to!)

#capturingcolour is a weekly theme on Instagram. Tag your ARRANGEMENT photos this week. Favourites will be featured next Monday :)