Bon Voyage! Toodle Loo! So Long for Now!

I must go cruising...see you in a few days my friends!

Valentines Day

On the week of Valentines, we met our good friends and old next door neighbors "the Orgills" for dinner at Pei Wei!
It was like we hadn't been away from each other at all! Just like old times. My kids just adore Cole...and my boys think he is their long lost Brother. They have missed him so much. I practically raised that kid right along with my own, and the Orgills raised mine too! They really were the best next door neighbors EVER!

Cole looks like he is just being tortured. Obviously my boys think he is hilarious!

The cutest part is that Cole (who is Hannah's age and has been her best friend since she was two) gave her a necklace for Valentines Day! They were so cute and embarrassed. I guess you could say they were "having a long distance relationship." It was short lived though, because they broke up already in order to preserve their friendship forever! Ha ha ha...aren't 12 year olds funny?
Anywho, it was sure good to see the Orgill's...we just love them to pieces!

Easton's first Birthday Party with...FrIeNdS!!!!

He chose his own cake...

He saw a picture in a magazine and picked the spot for his party....

He thought about who he wanted to invite....

Daddy was #1 on the list!

The clean-up and referee crew!

Easton was nice enough to let his sisters and their friends come.

Carson was the first to arrive...Easton opened the present before he even got inside the door.


He had the "bug" party room at "Kangaroo Zoo" so naturally we had to find bug balloons! I think they turned out sooooo cute!

The "kings" chair



All the kiddos getting their instructions before they are let loose to destroy and conquer!
The place is filled with like 25 huge blow up slides, bounce houses, and mazes. Super fun.

Addie loved it so much, she wants to have her party there!

He was so proud of his Spiderman cake.

All the party people.



At one point all the kids lined up in front of the kings chair and did "hail to the king." Easton thought it looked so fun that he got off his chair and ran around to do it with the rest of them. So cute!

The kids were so hot and thirsty...we just had to get slushees!

The gun game.

At the end, they turned on the bubble machine and let all the kids run through them. Easton absolutely loves bubbles...so this was so appropriate for his BIG DAY!

He got so many nice gifts and had so much fun. He just keeps saying, "Mom, my party was so, so, so cool!"
And that makes THIS MOMMY so, so, so HAPPY! I just love that LITTLE BUG!

Amigo + Amiga = LOVE

I love him.

Maybe it's because he makes me laugh...
or because we laugh at the same things together.
Or because he's smart and generous, kind and fun-
He's someone I can talk to about anything!

I just know I love him...
and I will FOREVER.
(THAT'S WHAT MY VALENTINE CARD TO HIM SAID)

(THIS IS WHAT HIS SAID TO ME)
I choose you to be my Valentine.
Who else would put up with my crap?
Happy Valentines Amiga, I LOVE YOU
(seriously, who (unless you are hispanic) writes "Amiga"
in their Valentine card?)

I STILL LOVE HIM
JUST THE WAY HE IS...
AND I AM PROUD TO BE HIS "Amiga"

Gloomy Day = Clean House

Every now and again, I must "welcome" a gloomy day.


I mean, one of those days that I don't leave the house ALL DAY LONG!
(which, might I add... is a very rare day)
I turn on the fireplace...


Throw something yummy and comforting in the crock pot...


Light a fresh, spring smelling candle...


Put on my PANDORA radio and blare it though the house...



Somehow by doing all of these things, it makes this job tolerable.


And even hard core, scrubbing, disinfecting cleaning look do-able.


Organizing is a breeze.


And vacuuming a snap!

Sometimes we just have to embrace that
gloomy day!
(Where is Easton during all of this you might say to yourself??? And I say, "undoing everything as fast as I get it done." But oh well, we always have that warm comforting dinner to look forward to.)

He has ARRIVED!!!

CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS THAT IS!
(Just in case you didn't recognize him)

If you need underwear...you know who to call. He will zip over with his tool kit chuck full of undies! However; if you are not a size 3T or 6 in boys, you may be out of luck :)

WAIT FOR IT......

Wait for it.....

KEEP WAITING for it....

the suspense is almost over....but don't you love the colors????






Ta daaaaaa.....My new picture frames, filled with the ones I love!!!
(Thanks to Jen for taking such fabulous photos of my kids, I adore her work. And someday she will make a million dollars doing what she loves! BTW...she also talked "safe" little me into doing four different colors...AND I LOVE IT!)

My heavy heart

The past couple of weeks, my heart has felt so heavy with gratitude for my babies. As I sat in my car in front of a girlfriends house last week, a tiny little boy jumped off the bus (backpack as big as his whole body), and waddled up the driveway holding his moms hand, and tears welled in my eyes.
Not for any reason, other than, I'm already getting jealous of the day that my kids don't jump off the bus and come waddling home with me!
Time is going by so fast, and I feel like I can't fit everything in. I want to be a perfect mom to my kids. I want them to have happy memories of childhood and grow up to be good people.
Everyday, I say to myself, "you need to sit down and read with Easton this morning, and play motorcycles or pirates." Then, the phone rings, or I find a mess to clean up, or I look at the heaping baskets of clothes in the laundry room, and I somehow get distracted with everything and anything that is NOT IMPORTANT AT ALL! What is that about?
I hear older people say all the time, "cherish those little ones, they grow up so fast." And until now, I kind of brushed it off. But my oldest is almost thirteen years old and I feel like she is already slipping through my fingers. She no longer wants to go with us to petting zoos or museums, she is wearing makeup and hanging out with friends all the time, she is starting to be sassy and teenagerish! I just want to grab her and kiss her little head and protect her from the world she is about to face!
I watch Chance sit at the counter and draw for hours. Each time he finishes a work of art, he can't wait to show me. I know that too will be short lived! Although, I hope he will always want my approval.
Addie sits and tells me stories until I swear my ears are going to fall off my head, but I try to listen because someday soon she won't want to tell me EVERY SINGLE THING that goes on in her day! Or maybe, if I'm doing something right, SHE WILL?!?!
I don't mean for this to be a depressing post, I just wanted to journal how I was feeling at this time. And to be honest, right now, my stomach is sick more times than not because I am coming face to face with how much I love being a mom and realizing that if I don't slow down and enjoy it, someday I will regret it with all my heart!
So today, I WILL...read with Easton, draw with Chance, listen to my Addie, and be patient with Miss Hannah. And that my friends will lighten my "heavy heart" and BRING ME GREAT JOY!