Braden's Birthday

Thank you everyone for your birthday suggestions! It definately gave me some ideas...in the end I got him

1. a new pair of Keen sandals for summertime

2. a mini skateboard for the cul-de-sac (to add to the bloody knees of summer)

3. a boogie board (for the hours we spend each week at the lake)

4. a playground ball for the back yard (kickball anyone?)

We had a "party" at Jump-a-Lot. The kids had a blast.

We topped it off with a Pizza Party at our favorite pizza place. We took over the place but the kids had a great time!

I can't believe my little boy is 5 years old!

Braden is such a sweet boy. He really is my tender hearted kid. He loves babies and the other day asked me if he could go next door to play with baby Jackson (our darling 1 year old neighbor). He is my kid that is SO stubborn. He is very particular about what he wears. He could spend an hour in front of the mirror doing his hair (wetting it, re-wetting it, combing it, re-combing it). He takes his own sweet time when we do anything (there is no such thing as "Braden, quickly jump in the car"...he needs sufficient warning so he can finish whatever he is doing). He is my kid that you can bribe to do about anything for a piece of candy (including quickly getting in the car)! Then when he gets the candy, he'll bite it in half and give half to you if you ask. He will do ANYthing for his sister Jane, who he just adores!

I love that boy!

HELP!!!

Braden's birthday is this Wednesday and I have NO IDEA what to get him! You'd think with Braden being my second boy I'd have some clue but I don't. We have plenty of legos and playmobil guys. I'm going to start Kinex next Christmas but I'm not ready to delve into that one right now. He's already getting Cameron's hand-me-down bike (while Cam gets a brand new bigger one...the life of a first child!), and he got a scooter for Christmas last year. So please, if you have any ideas of gifts to give my darling almost 5-year-old boy, please share! I'm at a loss.

A taste of summer

It's finally warming up! We've enjoyed a few 80+ degree days and will get a few more before it cools off again next week. So today I made a major Costco run. What did I get? Well, water bottles, strawberries, sunscreen, watermelon, some food storage (yeah, we'll save that for another post) in addition to the "regulars". I've already picked up my huge, double beach towel and beach umbrella, to go with my buckets, shovels, and the sand at the beach!

What else comes with this time of year? Well, we've already planted a few shrubs and annuals, and will enjoy a fun Saturday planting the garden!

Can you tell I'm just REALLY happy that it's warm? After enduring the longest winter in history (quite literally), with very few complaints, I think we all deserve some sun! (Braden is riding our neighbors motorcycle.)

On another note, we are quite excited that our dad comes home today! Tom's been gone for the week and now he'll be home for a whole month before he has to travel again! Yipee! Although he will be working on the new business, which will be crazy for him, but at least he'll be here at bedtime.

I had to post a few of Jane. She's sitting up, eating food (thus the messy face), and just really brings so many smiles to everyone in our family! She loves her brothers so much and they both think that they are her favorite!

Here we go...

So we did it. Tom signed the lease today for a building space about 2 miles from our home. We have been in the works for some time now, but it finally is official. Now it's plans, plans, and more plans. And a lot of stress to go along with it. Yippee!
whew...here we go!

I forgot to put in a picture of my baby all dressed up for the wedding! She was so smiley and cute!

Happy Days!

Tom and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary this weekend! What a great way to celebrate...in Las Vegas! We did a little shopping (yeah for H&M), ate out (California Pizza Kitchen, Olive Garden, and In & Out...yes, I think we both gained 5 pounds!), and hung out with family. It was a great weekend away from the kids (well, Jane's still attached). My brother, Christian, was married on Saturday (in Vegas...thus the trip) to a wonderful girl and my new sister-in-law, Amy. The wedding and open house was awesome. It was great to see Chris so happy!My parents were not able to be there (they just left on their mission to South Africa one month ago). Here are the kids in age order...We all kindof match, not even meaning to! Don't I have a cute family? It was tons of fun being together!

It was great to spend the weekend with my sweetheart. After ten years, I love him more than ever!