A Video of My Life

Recently, Keri and I have been texting videos of the cousins to send to each other. The boys get a kick out of watching Kenley and Claire. They watch the videos over and over and over. James talks back to Kenley and answers all of her questions as he watches. (I'm secretly saving ALL of these videos for our upcoming flight to CA!)

This video is one that we sent a little while ago. It's a little long, but made me laugh. Just typical Nate and James. 

March 27, 2012

Children's Museum

Yesterday, John had to run some errands down south, so the boys and I packed up early from the Children's Museum and went with him. I love that John has a job where even in the midst of crazy-busy days, we can still spend lots of time with him.

Waiting for Daddy in the car.

The "NO SMILIN' " smile.

On the way home, we took the Bremerton Ferry just because it's more fun. The boys loved riding on the boat and looking at the scenery.

A Little More Sun

Saturday morning we went to the park with Baby Landon (and his parents).

Miss LeAnn taught James how to walk across the steps here.  He loved being able to do it all by himself.

Apparently we wore Baby Landon out with all that playing!

A Little Sun

We've had some pretty *ahem* God-ordained weather the last few weeks. But, I've absolutely loved the couple days of sunshine that we had this past weekend. (On a side note, I should probably spend more time outside when the sun is out - and less time inside cleaning up the dirt and dust that the sun reveals!!)

It's so much fun watching the boys play outside together. Camping this summer will be a blast!

Nate is cuter and cuter every day. When he walks, he leads with his belly (like a pregnant woman) and points to things he recognizes with all the intensity his little body can muster.

Our dear Hugo.... I feel like I need to clarify that the shadow here is the tree behind me. Not ME!! In case there was any question... And if that was your first question, we can't be friends anymore.

I'm only putting this in here because it's the only picture I took of James. Oops! Time to step up the cuteness-factor, James!  ;-)

Nate is fearless.

Intense concentration.

This is Nate's second attempt to go down the slide. The first time Nate climbed up the play-set, I  went to grab my camera that was over on the bumper of the truck. When I turned around, I saw little Nate ready to slide down the slide head first. I did a Mama-sprint over to save him at the bottom of the slide just before he got a face full of rocks! Did I mention he is fearless?! This boy is going to give me some gray hair soon.

Peek-A-Boo!

March 17, 2013

With my new found attitude adjustment and growth spurt - with changing schedules and growing kiddos, Saturday, we were a little "looser" than usual. 

Playing in the sink. In PJ's. At 11am. Because we can.

This is how James ate lunch - In PJ's. And boots. With a tube top? At 12:30. Why not...

1:00pm. James helped me vacuum. Stylish as usual.

And when I returned from laundry-sorting, he decided to make himself even more comfortable.

Saturday night, we went to a friend's house for dinner and St. Patrick's Day celebration. They went way over the top with decorations, meal, AND dessert just for us. I have pictures on my phone, but now they look stupid... Corned beef, mashed potatoes, biscuits (with parsley in the shape of a clover on the top!), and chocolate-Guinness cupcakes with Bailey's frosting. Sugar-Free March didn't win the battle of the cupcakes. Or the drinks. I figure if you're going to cheat, might as well make it worth it!   :-/

Thirteen, thirteen! Fifteen!

"I find that the children's attitudes are tethered to mine. If I pray for a growth spurt, for ideas on how to help them, how to make this a fun new phase, and how to appreciate their new needs, then the change on my part usually clears up a lot of things. I am not saying that this eliminates the need for discipline, but it makes it gloriously clear-cut and sweet. My attitude is no longer a player, and it is no longer a big "situation." It is just normal life."

Point taken, Rachel Jankovic. Point taken.

 < "Loving the Little Years"   Pg. 72 - for reference so next time it's not so hard to find! >

At a friend's birthday party last weekend.

Nate only played with the balloons at the party. Whenever he went missing from the party room, I knew I could find him hunting down balloons from the lobby down the hall!

Lake Chelan 3/2 - 3/4

 My parents were nice enough to let us use one of their extra condos at Wapito Point last weekend. (Hi Mom & Dad!)  It was a very fun and relaxing trip. It was even better because Mom & Dad were there in a different condo and entertained the boys just about the entire trip. Now THAT'S the way to vacation! I wish our stay could have been longer, but I was the only one who brought my jobs along on our trip.  ;-)

The bare, but pretty view. Ok, maybe it wasn't THAT pretty, but it was nice.

James enjoyed the train sets.

Goodbye Grandma & Grandpa!

Grandma & Grandpa took James to play mini-golf Saturday afternoon. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.  ;-)

James was very proud of himself on the golf course. My mom said he'd be the next Tiger Woods. I'd like to choose someone with a tad better character and marital-commitment level!

While James was gone, Nate got to play BY HIMSELF for a little while. This is a throuroughly-enjoyed treat for Nate.

Nate recently surprised us by learning to say "Elmo". James has a little Elmo that he got for Christmas, so John suggested we pick up another little Elmo for Nate. He loved his surprise.

Before we left Chelan on Sunday, we took the boys to burn off energy at the playground.

It always weirds me out to see the water level so low in the Spring.

It is still so crazy to see Nate walking around like his brother. I can already tell they're going to be a lot of trouble in a couple years!

High-Five!

High-Five FAIL.

On our way to the car getting ready to leave, James insisted that he bring a rock home. (I don't get boys.)

This is the rock he wanted. James couldn't muscle it out of the ground....

So he settled for this stick. James used it to poke John in the head the entire ride home.  :-)