My Handsome Boys...

We took a drive to Logan and my cousin Melissa took some pictures of our adorable boys and my handsome husband. They turned out great! Melissa does awesome work. If you are interested in looking at more of her pictures, her blog is www.simplybephoto.com

Happy Birthday Sam!

Sam celebrated his 6th birthday on June 15th. He has been looking forward to his birthday since March when we celebrated Ben's birthday. He had a hard time believing it had finally come....

Mom walking into Sam's room in the morning. "Happy Birthday Sam!!"

"Just one more sleep until my birthday mom?"

"No....its today Sam....today is YOUR birthday!"

"Its later..... after dinner?"

"No it is right now, right this very day!"

"Ohhhhhh!!!!" with a HUGE grin on his face! "Its my birthday, its my birthday, its my birthday!"

Sam is so cute....well, he would rather me say "Cool". When I tell him he is cute, he says, "no, I am cool" and I say "You are right! You are cool!" and then he says, "Thanks mom."

He really is such a sweet boy. He has always had a tender heart and has such a sensitive side to him. He definitely has spit fire in him, (did he get that from me or his dad??....I will let you decide!) But we are so thankful that Sam is part of our family and we love him so very much!

Sam had a fun pirate birthday party and Jonas worked so hard on making the treasure chest and clues for the treasure hunt. They turned out awesome! The kids really enjoyed becoming pirates and searching for hidden treasure.

We had family over in the evening for cake and icecream and Sam got lots of fun presents. He got a scooter, wolverine toys, slime, a marble rollercoaster, squishy snakes, frogs, and lizards. And you'll never guess what we gave him. I am still wondering what I have got myself into....

Yup. Another pet. A reptile pet. Our newest addition, Spikey Gunnar, (Sam wanted to name him Spikey and Ben wanted to name him Gunnar) the bearded dragon. Yes, I agree. I am completely crazy! Sam was of course, THRILLED! He has been asking for a pet lizard for months....years maybe....and I finally broke down and got him one. Little did I know how much time I would spend cleaning his cage and feeding him crickets! Did I really have time to take on another creature to care for? I guess I am stuck with him now. I have to admit though...he is pretty cute. Only time will tell how much I might end up regretting this purchase!

But Sam was so thankful for his present. He told me all day..."thanks for the lizard mom" and "I love my pet, thanks mom" Now how can I possibly regret buying something when it makes my little guy so happy?? We love you Sam! Happy Birthday!

Photography Giveaway!!

My cousin Melissa....(well technically she isn't "my" cousin, she is married to my cousin Jake....but we are all family!) She is having a photography giveaway. You should check out her website. She is amazing!! You will enjoy looking at all the adorable pictures she takes! Plus....you can enter her giveaway for a free photo session! www.simplybephoto.com

Where oh where has my little Ben gone?

I was trying to get Jack to sleep and I could hear Ben in the house. (He had been at the neighbors playing.) Five minutes later I came out of Jack's room and couldn't find Ben. I searched the house and started calling his name. No answer. I went outside and called his name. No answer. I called the neighbors.....nope, he wasn't there. Went back in the house and called his name. No answer. Walked to the neighborhood park. No Ben. At this point I became a little panicked. I drove around the neighborhood looking for him and stopped at neighbor's houses along the way. No Ben. Now I was getting angry and even more panicked! Probably 20-30 minutes had gone by. I came back home and searched the house again. This time I heard something in my bathroom....I never looked in my bathroom because it was quiet in my room so I didn't bother walking back there.....Oh Ben.....there you are....

"Why didn't you answer when I called your name???"

 "Well, I heard you, but I wanted to do this first." 

"But, Ben....mom has been looking for you all over and I was really scared." 

"Well, I just was making a diaper...see"

Yes, Ben. I see. Now stand there before you clean up so I can take a picture for my blog! Yes, my "good" parenting skills kick in and say "wait......get a picture for your blog before you get mad!" Oh dear!

Mother I love you....

Mother I love you, Mother I do. Father in Heaven has sent me to you. When I am near you, I love to hear you, singing so softly that you love me too. Mother I love you, I love you I do!

I have the greatest mom and I think this song sums up my feelings really well! Happy Mother's Day mom.

A grand day at the Tulip Festival!

We spent a day at the Tulip Festival with my mom and sisters. It was my first time there and I really enjoyed it! It was so beautiful and the kids had a fun time playing in the children's discovery garden and looking at the waterfalls. Here are the cousins "striking a pose"

The discovery garden had lots of fun things for kids to "discover" like musical nature, secret pathways, a caterpillar slide, a lighthouse,  and my boys favorite was the bear cave! When their cute cousin Chloe came into the cave I was with her and she had a look of terror on her face when she spotted the "bear". I reassured her it was pretend and she bravely nodded her head a slowly walked forward....much different than the boys reaction! I think Sam and Ben were nervous for a second but then Sam "became" the bear and started growling ferociously! He loved crawling through the cave and hearing the bear growl. They also had a fun maze for the kids to play in and Noah's Ark...but, the water that is normally on for the summer wasn't turned on yet, so I guess that was a good thing for mom! (No wet clothes and crying kids because they got wet!) 

I do think though, that Sam's absolute favorite part of the day was being able to hold a bearded dragon! He loves reptiles and would give anything to become a proud owner of lizards, snakes, frogs, iguanas.....you get the idea! I have no doubt in my mind that one day he will have a room full of reptiles....we have already housed a snake for a few days before we sent the snake back home to "his mom". He has pure joy written on his face in this picture!

I think we will make the tulip festival a tradition. We really had a "grand" day! And I think Kaleb said it best when at the end of our grand day....we were all ready for a nap! 

T-ball Days!

My wait is over....I finally have a child playing T-ball!

It is so much fun to watch Sam play. 

I have been looking forward to this for years and we are all enjoying it so much.

I get just as excited as Sam when it's time to get ready for a game. 

He is so dang cute out there and he loves playing.

I hope he continues to enjoy it because I know I will! 

Let's play ball!