2 month anniversary.

mom called today and said she would be bringing over josh's anniversary treat. he said, "I get a treat every month?" mom replied with, "I enjoy your kidney everyday, so I can give you a treat each month". she is so awesome. she tried her hand at making homemade cinnamon rolls just like her parents used to make/bake. we are not just talking about running over to the bakery and picking him up something, she slaved over these all day. she is amazing and we love her to pieces.

the note says thank you thank you thank you love your turbo kidney

saturday donuts.

One of our new little traditions is saturday morning donuts. One Saturday morning about 2 months ago when Coleman was up before everyone else he and I went out to the grocery ( no Krispy Kreme here ) and bought a dozen donuts to bring home for everyone. The next week the kids asked on Friday night if we were going to have donuts again. I was hesitant, but then I remembered how this simple thing thrilled them. I was almost convinced. Then I remembered the bet part of all - how easy the meal preparation was for me! So, a new tradition was born. Each Saturday morning Coleman and I go to the grocery store and hand pick 12 fresh donuts. Yum. Plain glazed for Ashley, Josh and myself. Glazed with chocolate icing for Coleman, Justin and Mitchel.

neglect.

okay so I have been neglecting my blog and I hate it. I've had so much that I have wanted to share but come night I just drop in the bed and zone out to some tv show and go to sleep. and of course have some kind of snack with josh that is so a habit we need to kick. another story for another day.

so anyway, I am going to do some catching up, but it really just bothers me when my blog posts aren't on the date it happened, so I will be posting today but dating them for the date they occurred, so scroll back through and make sure you didn't miss anything. I know my life is so exciting you can't wait.

2 year old wisdom.

Coleman always asks for pink cereal bowls and cups, just like Ashley. I think this annoys his dad who told him that pink was for girls the other morning. Coleman looked at us and said, "I like girls".

Today as we were putting on shoes to pick up Ashley from Kindergarten we were talking and I said something about me being a girl. he looked at me and said, "you not a girl, you a mommy. ashley a girl.

the other day when we were dropping groceries off to grandma, she hugged coleman. he looked at her and beamed from ear to ear and said "you better grandma? (which he says like gran-naw) he knew that for the longest time he couldn't hug her b/c she was "sick" and couldn't get his germs. so since reached down and hugged him to her legs, he figured she was all better! it was so cute. now when we stop by, he runs in, washes his hands, puts a mask on and says "i hug gran - naw". 2 months without hugging your grannaw is pretty hard you know.

conversations of a 6 year old girl.

Ashley to Mom at the breakfast table this morning: " When I am a mommy I will have babies like you right?"
"yes Ashley" says mom. "Oh good" replies Ashley.
She then turns to Coleman and says, " Coleman when you are grown up you will have babies of your own."
Coleman replies with his usual "what?" To which Ashley says, " Well, first you have to grow much taller and then you have to find someone to love, then get married and then you can have babies."

april snow.

do you think the nursery / garden people thought this would happen? we came home from work and looked at our poor garden. okay, it didn't last long, but I really wasn't happy to see this today! it was seriously coming down with some big flakes. would say its beautiful if it was January, but can't bring myself to say that when its nearly May! at this point it is just a major annoyance that needs to leave and not return. I am dying for some warm weather here.

the garden.

Josh and Mitchel completed the garden box and on Saturday we had a nursery deliver some dirt/soil to add to it. They were able to dump it fairly close to the box so we only had to shovel it once. Josh and I shoveled and the boys raked and leveled. They thought it was a pretty tough job! We then planted the items that can withstand some cold. Not sure they knew how cold it would get again (the day we planted was 65) but we've been told they will be fine. time will tell I guess. In this box we have carrots, peas, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower and strawberries. We were then out of room in the box. Another box is in the workings so we can plant some potatoes, onions, watermelon and pumpkins. I am glad Josh is motivated to do this, because I am not. I like the idea of having a garden I just feel so ignorant on the matter and am a little lazy when it comes to outside labor so if it was all up to me I would probably just do nothing.

lunch with dad.

After picking Ashley up from school today we drove downtown and met daddy for lunch. He had discovered this great little Mexican dive right around the corner from his office. Josh and I both love Mexican food and have enjoyed the yummy places they have in Idaho Falls. Sioux Falls definitely lacked for good Mexican food ( in our opinion at least). I also love the fact that you get yummy chips and dip - it keeps the kids busy and prevents them from starving while you wait for your food. The weather was somewhat nice (sunny but still windy) and the kids enjoyed walking outside and chatting with dad for a minute before he headed back to work and we headed home. There are some cute little shops and other little restaurants downtown that we need to try out sometime - perhaps without kids.

pine wood derby.

Tonight Justin participated in his very first pine wood derby for scouts. He ad his dad worked on his car, sanding and painting just right. Justin decorated it with stickers and was very happy with the way his car looked. Even better was the car's performance.

I had never been to a pine wood derby before and had no idea what to expect myself. I couldn't even envision how the track would be or anything. This mama was cluless, fortunately that wasn't necessary for Justin to do well.

He only lost one race and got 2nd place overall. Unfortunately on the second to last race his car somehow jumped the track and he lost some of his weights. nearly an entire ounce was missing. This is fairly significant when the total weight is only 5oz. Up to this point he hadn't lost a race. we could not find it and so he lost in the finals with an underweight car. He was a little bummed, but happy overall that he had done that well on he and his dad's first attempt at building a car. Next year, Josh will be helping both boys and I sense an all out battle! we will remember our spare weights next time and we will use different adhesive.

someone in our ward made these little stands for all the scouts who participated. I thought it was a perfect idea.

building project.

Nothing makes Mitchel happier than a building project with dad. He is always asking what they can cut or nail or build. For months they have been talking about building a garden box when it warmed up. The weekend forecast was finally nice and they set to work today on constructing the box. Mitchel learned how to line up the laser line to see where the saw would cut and he was very enthralled. (note his tongue - showing his deep concentration)




They then set to work drilling holes and screwing the pieces together.



Coleman seems to be following Mitchel's footsteps and is very interested in boy things like this, especially with his dad.


And of course Ashley just likes to be part of the party.



I am always impressed with how Josh can just visualize in his mind how to build something and it works so beautifully. My mind just doesn't work like that. I understood what the finished product would look like, but I not know how it would piece together, like that you would have to make the smaller thicker pieces for the sides to screw into and such. Anyway, I am glad his mind works that way and he is able to make fabulous things for us.

little helper.

Coleman loves to be mommy's helper. especially with cooking. I always have this conflict in my mind. I so want to let him help, let him enjoy cooking with me but it is so much faster and way less messy if I just do it all by myself. lame huh? So I have been working on it and have been letting him help a little more. I'm even trying to make it fun for him. I know, I'm really going all out.



Spaghetti is one of our family's favorite meals. We probably eat it every week. I could probably eat it more. It is also a really fun one for Coleman because there are lots of ingredients to add. He runs and gets his little bathroom stool and puts it right in front of the stove. He loves to push the buttons on the blender and watch the tomatoes get all pureed (we wouldn't want any chunks in this sauce i tell you). I then get all the spices out. he always asks, "what's this?" So I tell him the name, he repeats it, and dumps it in. What fun!

Stirring is lots of fun, oh and doing the little tap of the spoon on the edge to get remaining sauce of the spoon. sometimes this slings sauce all over and I start to feel my need for keeping it all clean kicking in, but I self talk through it and remain calm. I'm so proud of myself.



And of course the tasting. mmmm mmmm good. and no, i don't put the spoon back in after coleman has thoroughly licked it.

that grown up look.

I'm pretty sure that i only turned around for a second and poof - Justin is all grown up looking.

is it really possible for 9 1/2 years to have passed by me? that is one big chunk of time and i'm left sitting here trying to figure out what i did with all of it.

i look at his grown up little self, his glasses and big kid teeth, and i smile. i just look at him and i feel happy. content. fortunate. he is honest. he puts effort and thought into everything he does. he is sensitive. tender-hearted. motivated. concerned. smart. he aims to please.

i tend to expect a lot out of him. i think I count on him to be perfect simply because he is so good. but he is not perfect. he is 9. he is a boy. he is silly. he talks way too much about stuff I really don't care about. he burps at the table. he yells at his brother. he tells goofy jokes. that is okay. he is 9. he is a boy.

i love him to pieces. i wonder if he feels extra loved or slightly slighted? its hard to balance it all. especially when you have some extra demanding children that seem to literally suck the life right out of you. i try to take the opportunity at tuck-in time to share my feelings with him. to let him know how proud i am of him. to let him know how much i love him. note to self: make sure he KNOWS.

he is first. he wasn't alone for long, but he was first. he holds his place well. i know which path he will follow and i hope the other kids see him. watch him. and want to be like him. at least a little.

my children. this week.

Justin after getting off the phone with Grandaddy after the Carolina loss in the final 4. "Grandaddy says he is so sad he is going to wear a black armband tomorrow. I don't have a clue what that means, but I just laughed anyway".

As grown up as we all think he is and treat him, he's just 9 and really doesn't understand EVERYTHING!

Mitchel informing Ashley how tall Mt. Everst is in the car tonight "Ashley, it is so tall you can see the people in heaven from the top".

He was totally serious and I couldn't help but just sit in the front seat of the car pretending i didn't even hear, smile to myself, and feel happy.

Ashley to mom "Its going to be a long time before I am a mommy huh?" I think my heart melted. she was so serious and i love that she dreams about being a mommy. i remember feeling like that too. it is the greatest thing in the world.

Coleman to daddy when being tucked in "get in bed with me daddy" and pulled back the covers. josh managed to squeeze into the toddler bed with him to share a snuggle.