Happy Birthday, B-man!!

B,

Its hard to comprehend that today you turn 4. Wow, my baby is 4. Where have these last 4 years gone. Just yesterday you were snorting your nose at people making everyone laugh. 

Just yesterday, we were celebrating you taking your first steps. 

And just yesterday, we celebrated the fact that you had finally arrived, safe and sound into our lives. 

And you have turned our world upside down. Your definite opinions on things, love for anything car and strong emotions have made for many crazy, funny, huggable days. 

You are constantly telling us how much you love us. There are so many times that you are yelling my name and me being annoyed that I'm answering you for the 5th time without you responding, you tell me that you love me. How can I get mad when you're being so loveable??

In some ways, you are so much easier to discipline than your brother, because you seem to be learning from his mistakes. And we've also figured out your currency-electronics. Just last week you were struggling to get your 2 shirts off and crying up a storm. As soon as Daddy mentioned the word ipod, those shirts were off and in the hamper before we knew what hit us!

In your mind, this was the year of the princess birthday. Your dad and I blame that on the fact that your best friend is a little girl who has an obsession with pink. We compromised by having a knight theme for your party and let's just say Mommy had a lot of fun. There's a lot more you can do with a knight/castle theme than there is with a trash truck theme:)

Mommy made you a knights tunic and we had the other knights and princesses go through training with an obstacle course and learning to jump a moat. Even Miss Lori had fun by dressing up into a princess.

 And I think in the end, you figured out that being a knight was a pretty cool profession, but that's not to say you aren't already planning your next birthday party...which is tractors, by the way:)

Mommy and Daddy love you a million times a google times an infinity. :)

Growing pains

He goes to Kindergarten this week. 

Kindergarten!

And I'm not sure. Not sure that I'm ready, that he's really old enough:), not sure of the unknown. 

Gone are the days of no schedule, live for the moment days. And there is still so much more I want to do and teach and show him. For the last 5 years, I've been able to chose his friends, what he watches, what he listens to, how he spends his days. And the protective Mama in me wants to keep him right here, close to me, safe from all the pains the world will give him. 

But I also know that this is a beginning. A beginning of something amazing, wonderful and big for my boy. This is the start of discovering what he's going to be someday. This is the start of friendships he choses to form. I can't hold him back.

And the beginning of a deeper trust in God for me.

This past weekend, we went to his sunday school preschool graduation and we were asked to think about picking a life verse for our boy. They were helpful enough to give us some suggestions and once we saw this verse, we knew immediately that it was what we wanted him to learn and hold close. 

"Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

N, we love you so much. Your daddy and I pray that this verse becomes the focus of your life. May you learn to love others more than yourself, boldly share your faith in God and be a leader others can look up to. Love, Mommy and Daddy

Whats new

These last few weeks of lazy summer have flown right by. And what do we have to show for it?

A really great tan!!

We have developed a deep love for the local sand and waves and spend time every week digging, building, splashing, swimming and thoroughly enjoying some mini-vacation time:)

We also stocked up on blueberries. Although it appears B stocked more inside his stomach than inside his bucket.

N and best buddy J had lots of fun finding the biggest berry.

And I got the privilege of surprising my Mama. What fun. I love surprises and its not very often you get to have a fun surprise. 

For those that don't know, my mom is going through breast cancer. It shocked us all but I think its drawn out the best in our family. Its made us appreciate each other more and be thankful for every precious moment we have here on this earth. My moms a fighter and she's right in the midst of showing this cancer who's boss. 

I love the joy that continues to radiate through her. I love that my parents have become more united and have decided that this is just one more way for God to reveal His glory and goodness through this trial. And I love my moms bald head:) 

I got to go for the head shaving party. My parents had no idea I was coming, but what a celebration it was. I'm so thankful I got to be a part of it and watch the family have fun in the form of mohawks and laughter. 

It was fun to watch her be able to whip off that wig and instantly have a new night look:) I know she won't ever flaunt it in public, but she sure looks like one tough Mama when she's at home. 

And I'm still working on convincing her to get a tattoo...what every bald head calls for:) 

So in honor of that head shaving party, my boys decided to shed their hair for her too. I have to say they all looked pretty cute with little mohawks.

And of course, with a mohawk, comes the real attitude!

A friend is teaching me to quilt. I found a quilt I loved for the biggest boy but didn't want to spend the big bucks the company was asking for it. So we're making our own version. And I gotta say I like it even better than the one in the store.

Some newly shaven boys playing a new favorite game...Rush Hour.

We decided we had held off long enough and it was time to get N into some organized sports. So into soccer he went. And I think he really likes it. Its really entertaining to watch the huddle move around the field with the ball, and I love all the random butterfly catching, twirling and zoning out that happens during the game too:) (surprisingly, N was not part of that group, he actually managed to stay focused and with the ball most of the time)

Here's my out take for the week. I told the boys to just keep playing the game while Mama took pictures, but B just can't help himself. He's just too used to looking at the camera:)

Colorado 2012 Part 5

Okay, I promise this is the last one. I told you we did a lot. We go home to recover! But we don't want to miss a thing or leave anyone out!

What is it with boys and wrestling? Our friend B wrestled B and in turn, N wrestled him back! Can't we just give a simple hug boys?!?!?

And Lolli knows her grandsons...lots of construction equipment! The boys spent many hours building imaginary roads

Looks like a good picture of some boys behaving right?!?!

But turn your back for 1 second and look what happens...

Betcha didn't know Poppi was a jungle gym did you?

A favorite at Lolli and Poppi's house-Uncle Lance's trike.

Thank goodness for that extra slab of concrete. Let N loose and theres a chance you won't see him again:)

The boys can only go so long before diving back into the land of Legos. And they loved teaching Uncle Flip all about how to build them.

A little cousin love! 

I see a remake of this picture in their future. Amazing how quickly these years will go by and before you know it, we'll have a couple of teenagers on our hands!

And after 3 years, my family was able to enjoy a complete family bbq. So much fun to hang out with everybody!

L's getting some instruction on the different types of construction equipment

Lovin' being an auntie!

L was so anxious to hold baby cousin. Love that this little girl is such Mommy already.

Hanging with the girls

Baby cousin meeting baby cousin. 

Seems that this was the thing to do...get to know new baby cousin.:)

Colorado 2012 part 4

There is so much we do while we're in Colorado but my favorite part of our visit is spending time with all of our favorite people. 

Uncle Flip knows just how to make atleast one boy smile:)

We enjoyed visiting Whit's End...we hear all about it all year long from Adventures in Odyssey and its fun to see where it was made. But the best part is getting to slide down the HUGE slide. And N was determined before we arrived that he would be going down the slide, but got pretty intimidated once we  were there. I had to convince him to try it once and never have to ride it again if he didn't like it. He went 13 more times:)

The boys loved visiting this huge plane. N wanted to make sure he pointed out all the possible places that bombs could come out 

We love the zoo. Our current hometown zoo is pathetic-not a single big animal. So we love to come to the zoo to catch up on our animals. And ride the carousel.

And get a glimpse of the view. 

M made a great animal spotting buddy.

And in all the years I lived in C.S. I never remember visiting this cool memorial way up on the mountain.

Even better city views and wind:)

I took several shots of E and got a different face within a matter of seconds. I love how the emotions are so plainly portrayed on her beautiful face.

I love the friendships ahead for these 3!

 We really enjoy feeding the giraffes. It takes a bit of convincing but once they get started, its hard to stop them.

This face makes me laugh!

Even B got in on the fun and the laugh face proves that he enjoyed it.

N just had to make sure this lonely giraffe, alone in his own pen recieved some food too. This old, hairy, bumpy headed giraffe made a huge impression on him. He still talks about him.

Lovin' on the Lolli

Papa taught the boys the handstacking game. Here I go with my hand fetish again:)

We spent a day with my brother and his wife who have been out of the country for 2 years and I love how because of Skype, the boys didn't take any time in jumping back into life with them.

And we discovered so many things this year that I never knew were around. We visited an old farm stead right in the middle of a major nearby city.

The boys practiced writing letters home about the troubles of life on the farm. But never fear, with N around, it'll get taken care of in a hurry. (He'll make sure of it!)

We learned the difference between a mule and a donkey. Do you know what it is?

Hands on learning about how privileged we are to have come so far from these

Auntie Katy is one of the few women (aside from Mommy) whose hand you can be holding, B!

The boys got a hands on lesson about what blacksmith did at the turn of the century. They actually listened to the whole lesson too!

I have discovered that my brother and his wife are awesome at getting little kids to eat their food. 

Then on to another old farm, this time converted into a restaurant, complete with a petting zoo.

 Saw this van at the the restaurant...definitely americans!

There was even a petting zoo.

And can you believe this view is in the middle of the city?! Wish I could get a good book and just go sit.