So much to catch up on!

Well, we've had two big events at our house. The first... Mark turned 40! How did my young husband get so old?

And more importantly, we've added on to our family! Little Baby Miles was born on July 15! Man, he's a sweety! He was 8 lbs and 21.5 inches long. He has huge feet, just like his mama. :) Alex is especially attached and in love with his new baby brother. That is probably one of the sweetest things that have touched Mark and I. Welcome to this world, Miles!

Kitchen re-do

What does this, this, and this

mean? It means that I'm finally redoing my 1980's kitchen. (on a budget, no less!) Can't wait to see the final product! Stay tuned.... we're about two weeks away from finished!

Cats!

Thanks to a cousin's love of the production, "Cats!" and a very talented Aunt Julie, Alex came home from Gma C's looking like Old Deuteronomy, singing Magical Mr. Mistoffelees and Macavity. Fun times!

Two very grown-up three-year olds!

Happy Birthday to AJ and Jax!

First thing on the morning of their birthday: presents!Mastering the tricky third finger. The long-awaited pink Maglight flashlight!

Bubbles!

These candles are kinda tricky to blow out! (at Gma C's)A little spit should do the job.

AJ: Precocious, unique, curly hair, pink cheeks, smaller of the two (those cheeks fool ya), L.O.V.E.S. vaccuums (obsessed), loves pink, loves anything silky in texture, loves his big, pink fleece blankie, loves firetrucks, little bit shy, serious nature, always says, "ohhhh-kay...," prefers adults over kids, loves his "best friend, Jaxie."

Jackson: A tease, silly faces, makes us laugh, good ball-handler, dribbler, wants to be "in" on the action, wants to be big like Alex, good trampoline jumper, tender-hearted, great sharer, "I just love you SOOO much," also loves his "best friend, AJ."

Happy Easter

Our good friend Becky took the boys a couple of nights before Easter and made these darling cakes. I'm so grateful for good friends! This is one of those things that I would never do, but I'm glad that I get to see.

Finally...snow!

Want a surefire way of guaranteeing NO snow all winter? Spend some good money on snowclothes for your kids! Works wonders!

We FINALLY got to pull out the duds... in March! The boys were in heaven!

Happy Birthday to my big boy, Alex!

How did my sweet, sweet boy turn 5 already! Time has whizzed by! Alex is such a sweet, thoughtful little guy. He's so concerned about others' feelings, and will go out of his way to make others happy. He's so easy-going, and has really come leaps and bounds with his anxiety over the last year. His interests can be summed up into two categories: friends, and Star Wars. Never saw a kid so obsessed with Star Wars... makes it easy to buy him presents! His highlight was his Darth Maul double-bladed light saber, and decorating sugar cookies with his buddies.

Crazy little AJ

This kid cracks me up. He definitely walks to the beat of his own drum... L.O.V.E. him!!

Merry Christmas

Here are the three greatest Christmas presents a mom could ask for. Christmas was magic for these little boys this year.

From left to right, Jax, Alex, and AJ, after presents, Christmas morning.

The newest cousin!

Here's the newest addition to the family. Congrats to Danny and Patrice and family! (Glad he came at 36 weeks instead of 32! Way to hang in there, mom!)

Chase Timothy

Cute little funny face that he's pulling, huh? Love it!

New Moon

Phew! We wanted to go with a big group... So we rented a theater. We worked our tails off. We spent HOURS. We gathered tons of cool prizes! We stressed, worked, collected money, and worked some more! We had NO time for pictures. We LOVED the movie, thank heavens! We went home and crashed.

Thanks, Elisha, for being a great partner in crime!

(Isn't she gorgeous!? our only picture from the whole night...)

Silly Boys

These boys of mine... They love dress-up as much as a girl! The next door neighbor girl came over to play with Alex one afternoon. AJ and Jax immediately had to try on her pink coat and pink shoes. Sillies.

Halloween

Happy Halloween, and Happy Birthday to Gma B!

It's that time again...

I know it's a bit early to be thinking of Christmas, but it's time to register for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. Now!! Go to www.lds.org/events to sign up!

And to get you excited, here's a clip from last year. This still brings me to tears. I loooove it!

Monster Mash...

Because my kids watched Sherine's video no less than 10 times... I decided to make one of our own....

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Thank you, Lawrence Welk

Thanks to this man,

this little man was entertained for a whole hour!(This is my wanderer child... the one that doesn't hold still for more than a few minutes. The combination of stomach flu and Lawrence Welk made for a quiet afternoon!)

Firemen!

The church across the street from our house has a huge grassy field. Once a month or so, the local firemen head over there to check their hoses and do whatever it is they do to prep their truck. Well, Saturday, they let the neighbors bring their kids over to ride on their ladder. Our boys were in heaven! Afterwards, they sprayed their hoses and let the kids run around in the water. Good times!

First Day of School

September 8th was Alex's first day of preschool. The crying started a week ago. My poor, highly anxious little boy was not excited. By the morning the crying had turned to anger. "You can't make me go! I'll run away first! I don't want to go to school!"

After I chased him around the house and carried him, kicking and screaming, to the car, he gave in and wimpered the whole way there. He finally said, "But mom, I don't know what Miss Martha's voice sounds like." Then the crocodile tears started. Man... breaks my heart to make him so uncomfortable. But, I know that he needs to be stretched to learn and grow. So tears or not... he was going to school.

He managed to fake a smile long enough for a quick picture, then he stood at her window in tears and waved goodbye to mama.

Of course he was fine, and when I returned to pick him up he said, "You're here already? I don't want to go home!" But the shenanigans continued for the next couple of days.

I guess a part of me is glad that he loves and misses his mommy. Another part of me wishes he was an independent kid that wasn't so fearful. But, he's improved leaps and bounds from a year ago and I know he'll just continue to improve. I'm kind of tearful that someone else gets to spend so much time with my little boy. I want him under my roof, in my arms where I know he's safe and loved. sigh... My baby is growing up, and I'm not quite ready!

Bikes!

I finally buckled down and spent some money on bikes. I had checked DI and Kid-to-Kid, but didn't haven any luck. So, I purchased some bikes, sat down and assembled, and let the good times roll. Best money I've spent all year. The boys are in heaven!

Our August

August was such a fun and busy month! I love having kids that are old enough to take places and do fun things. I'm definitely a "summer mom." Hitting September and schedules has been an adjustment. I love the lazy days of summer.

Near the end of August, I flew to Atlanta with my brother, Danny, and we officially picked up my parents from their mission. We sent them home on a plane, and Danny and I made a cross-country drive with their car and their possessions. It was... long. :) But fun!

Then we had a large family reunion on my mom's side, and a farewell for my niece, Amberlee who left to the California, Carlsbad mission, Spanish speaking.

Along with that, here are some of our other highlights:

Lagoon. It was AUGUST, and we were wearing long pants, and jackets by evening. Remember that one cold Saturday? PERFECT Lagoon weather. Of course we went a couple of weeks later for Bounceback too!

Park City: Family, pizza, and the mountain. It was a blast!

We heart cousins!

To prevent mom from getting mad when I sneak into the refrigerator, I just need to share with my brother. Mom will think it's so cute, she can't get mad!

Alex sent his first e-mail to his "best friend," John. This is what he sent: