Christmas 2011

364 days of preparation......1 night of perfect execution.

This Christmas was simply wonderful. Not that they haven't all been in the past. This year we took a different approach to most gifts though and all the family received homemade goodies. With the boys gifts and the gifts from Santa, we started collecting them throughout the year. By the time Christmas rolled around we had a HUGE collection of gifts for the boys and even surprisingly for each other.

After our Christmas Eve dinner at Nana's we hurried home so Daddy could sprinkle reindeer food on the rooftop. We set out the homemade cookies and a big cup a milk and then all settled in to watch one more Christmas movie before calling it a night.

The long awaited Christmas morning is here.....So much waiting and it's all over and done with in a flash. I think a storm warning could have gone out over our home to prep for the wrapping paper tornado that was about to hit!

This is the super cool EZY Roller that K got. I think at first he was a little disappointed. He thought since it had 3 wheels it just had to be for E. Little did he know.....this thing is a rolling machine!

Daddy and E taking it for a spin:

This thing is cool enough to bring curious neighbors out of their house and to leave little boys watching in amazement.

And with that....Christmas and the rest of 2011 is just about a wrap. It's been a good one. I look forward to spending the last week of the year at home with my babies enjoying some mommy & crazy boy time.

Tooth Fairy hits the homestead.....

Seems like just yesterday on December 10, 2006 I was marking the first spot in K's baby book that he had officially cut his first tooth.....
I blinked and....

....that first tooth was gone. Amazing how fast times flies! I am giddy with excitement because I see the joy in my son's eyes. He keeps asking me if I'm still exciting because he wants to keep the moment alive. Of course I'm excited!!!!!

but at the same time my eyes fill with tears on the fact that my baby boy is growing up. As if starting kindergarten in just two weeks wasn't a big enough milestone....He goes and pulls this on me.

The tooth fairy is however super excited and decided to go all out and do a little something different this go around. He's getting a little dollar gift box that not only shares a small little note from the tooth fairy but also holds $2.61 to be exact. Tomorrow morning is guaranteed to be fun! Not only can the tooth fairy not wait but Mommy and Daddy can't wait either!

Conquering #3

Number 3 on my 30 before 30 list is:
3. Find and take a trip to a Sunflower field.
Well do you know how hard it is to find a Sunflower field!?!? I know they exist. We actually found a small "field" right down the road from us. Problem is, the field is in the front of someones house....The more I thought about it, I'm just not too sure how they would feel about my rolling up into their front yard to take pictures. That's when I put myself up to the challenge and decided to grow my own. This spring I planted 24 sunflower seeds in a very small patch of my yard. I think in total about 14 came up and as of right now we have about 6 that have bloomed. I am just so excited that I am beside myself. This sunflowers are HUGE! I believe they were supposed to get between 9-12 feet and I believe we have just about reached that.

Look how perfect and beautiful!!

Nature at it's finest!

and last but not least.....my teeny weeny sunflower field! I conquered # 3 on my list!! :)

A Glimpse of Summer

March is such a fickle month. We have had some great great weather lately. This past weekend it was in the 70's....and this weekend is promising to be even closer to 80*. With that being said though today is cold and rainy....One never knows.

We really enjoyed this past warm weekend. I couldn't believe it when my 4 year old broke out the bathing suit and played in the sprinkler.

One of K's favorite parts of the sprinkler okay, maybe I should just admit it....it wasn't a sprinkler but rather a hole in the hose.... ;) was putting his foot over the hole and making a rainbow.

While we were busy pretending it was summer we also decided to take part in some watermelon. I'm very excited....We have two different varieties of watermelon that we plan to grow in our garden this year. Hopefully there will be more pictures of those to come!

With that being said....some of our homegrown has started to bloom. I'm a little worried about such an early spring. Our plants are being teased into thinking spring and summer are here when truth be told...some of our biggest snow storms have been in the mist of March and April. Let's  hope this year they decide to hold off.
Here is a picture of our beautiful blueberry bush setting itself up for blooms.

I am so excited to have a tasty snack and to make some homemade blueberry muffins and pancakes!

Snips, Snails, and 5 married years to mud....

A treasure to a little boy does not consist of money, gems, or jewelry. He will find far greater pleasure in the wonder of rock, pebble, stick, or beetle. ~Author Unknown

Love that quote and it rings so true for my boys...All of them! The picture above is a product of my oldest boy (my husband....) playing in the mud with his truck and then K later underneath the truck playing in it with our shop vac. Feb. 3, 2011 will mark the 5th year I've been married to my best friend. I sometimes think that maybe, just maybe I can get him to want a nicer truck...a cleaner truck....but who am I kidding. This is who he is. This is also who K is and I have no doubt it is who E will grow up to be. My three musketeers.

May I please have my tail back!?!?

This weekend was a fun filled weekend at the family's house. The boys get along so well with their cousins. It's like a vacation in itself when we go there. We decided to head over at the last minute and learned while we were on our way that there was a bowling party that the kids would be going to on Saturday afternoon.
Awesome! Keagan had never been bowling and it had been years since I'd been so I thought it would be fun for the whole family....Kids party or not.

Let me just say...Bowling in real life is nothing like bowling on the Wii....You forget these things. Apparently according to the Wii I'm a bowling pro...Ha! Funny! In real life I think my score was a 64 or something crazy like that. And that's with bumpers!!
I also tried to snap a few pictures but between the horrible lighting and chasing after a one year old who was fascinated with the huge colorful balls-not too many pictures came out of that trip. Fun nonetheless!

On our way back home Sunday morning we were running on little sleep and very grumpy children. We decided to stop for a quick breakfast at one of our favorite unapproved fast food restaurants and this was our view! I laughed and laughed....I'm also still trying to decide if this was a worker (who would obviously be very motivated to get to work....) or a customer (who would obviously be very hungry)...either way-I have never seen a moped quite so pimped out!

Please note the homemade windshield....and the rodent at the bottom of the picture who clearly wants his tail back! :)

You Want Me To Go Where?

Day after the "Snow Storm 2011" as they call it...I have to admit I do find that a little humorous but as we all know the media has to add a little drama into everything.
These are the roads in my neighborhood though. Nasty, nasty!

Why does this make me happy, you wonder!? No daycare for the boys! No work for Daddy & I! And another day at home playing, snuggling, and eating yummy warm foods with the family.

Wordless(ish) Wednesday with two of my boys

I had the MOST ANNOYING afternoon. I get off of work early to take the baby in for his 12 month shots. My appointment is at 3:45 and I do the good thing and show up about 10 mins early. Well after waiting for over an hour and watching the waiting room empty out I finally get called back. I was thinking, "Thank Goodness!!!" Rush to get into the room to sit and wait some more. The baby is annoyed, tired, hungry (and of course I have nothing), my patience that I'm lacking on a normal basis is all but gone and I try to calm my self before I stick my head out and ask what in the world could possibly be going on!?!? FINALLY at 15 after 5 the Dr comes walking in. At that point I'm holding a baby asleep in my arms and the first thing the Dr says is, "ooooh, he's not looking too good, I think we may have to hold off on those shots." You've got to be kidding me at this point!! Of course he isn't looking good. I'm sure I look like an angry housewife who's hair is about to go from brown to grey-I can't imagine what my 1 year old looks like. Lo and behold though he finds another excuse to not give shots and in the end we walk away a little over 2 hours later having achieved nothing.
I'm in a mood at this point and ready to hang the next person that crosses me....but when I get home and baby and Daddy see each other-this is my view. How could anyone stay in a mood after this!?

Duff (that I teasingly call my husband) hates it due to his double chin....but who's looking at him anyways!? I love the pure joy on my baby's face when he's in the arms of his Daddy. Love it!