Shake It Darling!

Spring is here! Holla! Every time I see a tree in full blossom I almost fly off the drivers seat in the car and belt out the popcorn popping song at the top of my lungs. My kids are so sick of it. I started to rap it giving it a whole new flavor thus becoming one of their top 5 again. Whoot whoot!

Holy Hogwarts!!!

For Nathan's Birthday, Justin and I had the boys gather in the living room to watch a brief clip from the movie, Harry Potter. It was the scene where they boarded onto the Hogwarts Express, ate chocolate frogs, and had an impressive ride on the train to good ole Hogwarts.

The boys were talking nonstop when the clip ended and Justin and I could barely wait to give them their little blue ticket. The ticket that entitled them to a ride on the Hogwarts express.

We had a matching blue bag full of goodies and fun things to do on our 8 hour ride to Grand Junction, where we would spend spring break.

Justin dropped us off at station nine and three quarters, and we made the most of the train ride eating candy sour gummy worms, sucking on ring pops, sipping juice, enjoying beautiful scenery throughout the canyons, exploring the observation cars, fitting all three of us into the same tiny bathroom...4 times, eating lunch in the dining car, playing card games, and going for a stretch and a photo shoot during small stops along the way.

After lunch, we got our blankets and stuffed animals all situated on our laps with a tiny movie on my iPod. Kendall leaned over and said, "Mom, it's okay if you need to take a nap." Good thing because it sure was cozy watching the snow fall with my boys laying on my lap as the train softly lulled me into a most relaxing state. I will never forget the feeling I had in that moment.

Celebrating Nathan!

We had a small family get together with some of Justin's family to help Nathan celebrate his turning the big 6! Aunt Lisa made his special spiderman cupcake and we all ate his pick, lemon cake from Costco...mmmm.

Kendall has been waiting so long for Nathan to have his birthday. He could hardly wait to give him the Lego set he picked out for him, in fact I overheard it slip out a few times and they would excitedly talk all about it.

A Long Birthday Weekend!

Nathans birthday isn't until Monday, but we like to stretch it out and celebrate him as long as possible!

Friday morning we went to the store to pick out doughnuts for Nathans class. We cleaned them out of fluffy chocolate sprinkle and glazed.

At lunch time we went and picked up dad from work and headed up to the school with McDonalds happy meals for a birthday lunch. I love to watch Nathan and Kendall interact with eachother. Nathan carried Kendall all over the school and found the perfect table to sit at with Kendall right by his side. He asked all his friends if they would like to "see" his brother and of course Kendall eats it up! They kept hugging each other all during lunch and made plans for what they were going to do when Nathan got home.

Friday came...and went and it was time to go the the Apex center to have a little fun in the pools. I told Nathan he could pick one friend from his class to go with us and he chose his best bud, Joey and of course Mammy.

Slides, fountains, waterfalls, pizza, a beachy atmosphere, and geysers kept us there for hours.

I know we all think our husbands are the best dads but we just love the king of our family. The boys adore him and he melts my heart on a daily basis. I still get a twinge when I hear the keys jiggle in the lock and he walks in. The boys tackle him and I patiently wait for my bear hug and smooch....go throw up now.






I have hundreds of these pictures of Justin laughing at an inside joke that was going on this day and wanted to post one, even though I would kill him if he kept taking pictures of me in my swim suit!

This Must Be Love.

In fact I'm sure of it! Every morning after working out, my mom and I whip up a little sip of heaven and as we drink, it takes us out of reality until we slurp up the last drop.

What is it? Deliciousness.

1 cup of ice, 2 oranges- no rind, 1 carrot- peeled, 1 large slice of cantaloupe, and about a cup of 100% pure orange juice but if you don't have that, orange, pineapple, banna juice from Dole works rather well!

Overseen...

It was our family's turn to clean the church. Nathan and Kendall were in charge of emptying out all the trash cans and replacing them with new trash bags.

They had finished with all the small ones and were getting ready to tackle all the bigger ones.

Curious, I watched from the corner to see how they would manage such a large trash can. I then overheard Nathan, "Okay, Kendall. I'm ready! Come and plug my nose for me!"

Kendall stood on his tippy toes, reached up and plugged Nathan's nose while he completed the task.

The job is done, no complaints.

Those Dang Leprechauns!

Apparently, when you go to Kindergarten, St. Patrick's Day, is a huge deal.

Saturday, Justin spent the morning with the boys trying to rig a trap that would catch some Leprechauns.

Nathan and Kendall bated it with green, rainbows, four leaf clovers and tons of coins to lure them over.

They took turns keeping watch, but in the end...no luck!

They woke up to a house turned absolutely upside down! Green milk, surprises under their pillow, a note telling them how LUCKY they are and inside the trap-green and gold candy.

Maybe next year....

Morning...

I stepped out the door at 6am for a brisk wog only to find I was immediately unlocking the door and grabbing my camera.

I was not expecting this wondrous sight until next winter. As much as I don't care for the cold, it was beautiful. Snow fell lightly all night long and it's soft blanket enveloped my little world.

It was so peaceful and quiet as if it were soundproofing the streets to let you alone with all your innermost thoughts.

I found myself being extremely grateful this morning...for so much that I have.

Not To Worry...

Justin and I were able to go on a date last night...and the best part? I knew my kids were in the best hands resulting in us having a great time because we did not need to worry about them.

My mom volunteered to Mammy-sit for us and asked if the boys could have a sleepover.

When I picked them up this morning they were eating their chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes in their jammies with their bed-head flopping around.

I asked them what their favorite part was and here is the run down:

They sidewalk chalked the entire sidewalk after eating a yummy dinner.

Then to Chick-fil-a for ice cream cones and a trip to the play land. This is where they made movies as Mammy took hundreds of video and pictures of them coming down the slide. A big hit!

Off to Albertsons to pick out a movie and back to Mammy's.

Before watching the movie, Mammy downloaded all their video onto the computer where they laughed as they watched themselves over and over.

Next, bath time. Now, at Mammy's bath time has always been a tradition and a favorite because sometimes she just might put on her swim suit and get in with the boys. Last night was a lucky night because she did just that and then they had a contest to see just how high they could get the bubbles with the jets. After 14 inches of bubbles and getting sparkly clean they all got out and into their jammies.

Pillows and blankets covered the couch as they wound down to the movie, Cats and Dogs.

Mammy and Kendall crashed and at 10:30 she opened her eyes to find Nathan watching intently and asking her if it was midnight yet?!

G'nite!

Me: Jake how'd you get to be sooo funny?

Jake: Papa taught me.

Nathan: Yeah, Papa taught ALL of us how to be funny!

Jake asked me most nights if they could be, "The Library Boys."

Sometimes before bed we played library. We read stories, sang songs- acted them out, and ran off to bed to see who the winner of the go-to -sleep-club was going to be. The winner always got to pick breakfast which was usually homemade hot chocolate and toast!