Life's A Beach!

If only my life could be a beach or at least near a beach.  I love love LOVE the beach and now so do my boys.  In my book there is nothing better than sun, sand, surf, family, oh, and the occasional frozen refreshment and that is exactly what our vacation in St. Pete Beach (and Disney) included. 

The boys experienced a lot of "firsts" during this trip.  Their first time to....  

walk on the beach,

wade in the ocean,

hunt for seashells,

enjoy a drink with an umbrella in it,

meet Mickey 

and it was Chase's first time to fly the friendly skies.  It was also our first time as parents to witness our children loving every minute of it, and I can't wait to do it again!

Catching My Breath

Eight loads of laundry, 150 emails, a big trip to the grocery store and two long days later, I am finally catching my breath after our wonderful spring break in St. Pete Beach, Florida, including a day trip to Disney World.

The boys had a blast, and I mean blast on the beach, they were in seashell heaven, I think we came home with half the beach.  They swam in the ocean, dug in the sand, did cannon balls in the pool, drank frozen drinks, met Mickey Mouse, rode roller coasters, and skipped naps (okay so that last one, not such a great idea).

Thanks Mema and Papa, Mickey and friends for great time.  I have a lot of great pics to share but they are not quite blog ready so here is a short preview.  I wish I could take credit for these, but I won't (only because my sister reads the blog and she would know I was lying).

How Old Are You? Thirty-two.

That’s right folks, my other half is 32 today.  For 77 days each year I am a different (more mature) age than Nate (this was only really cool the year I turned 21) and for those 77 days I hear over and over again how old I am.  Let’s not mention that I look younger, that I still get carded at various outings and that I still have all of my hair.  All that aside, I hope you have a great birthday old man!

Fantastically FIVE!

As I sit here I think back to five years ago at 8:07 a.m. when you arrived and totally changed our lives forever.  You made me a mom.  I seems like it was just yesterday as the images and sounds of your cry are so clear in my mind.  Every time I look at your sweet face I realize how blessed I am to be your mom.  It has been a wonderful (and fast) five years, you have learned so many things, experienced so much and developed into a beautiful little person inside and out.  You are an amazing son, big brother, grandson, nephew, cousin and friend.  I am looking forward to many, many, many more years of celebrating you.  Happy birthday sweet boy, I love you.

I must be crazy but I thought this year would be fun for Carter to invite some of his friends to help him celebrate.  We gave him the choice and Jumping Jax was the location selected.  Twelve very hyper kids, a K-State cake, lots of family and two rooms filled with blow up fun.

Rub a Dub Dub, Two Boys in a Tub

My boys both love love love the water.  I have zero trouble getting them to take baths (I am sure this will change once they turn about seven so I am knocking on wood).  I do often have trouble getting them out.

I Love You Brother

It melts my heart every night when I put my boys to bed.  They must give one another a hug and kiss and have recently started saying:  I wuv you Carter and I love you too Chase.  I want them to always remember that no matter what happens during their day, no matter what toy they fought over or who hit who with the plastic sword that the love each other and will always be there for each other.  I think as parents it is important for us to teach and show them that love and nurture their relationship with one another.  I want them to grow up not just being brothers but to be great friends.

Knock Knock. Who's There?

Orange.  Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana (pause for much laughter) Get it?  Me either, but it has certainly become a daily joke at our house.  I believe the real joke is Knock knock.  Who’s there? Banana (repeat several times) and then onto Knock knock, Who’s there? Orange.  Orange who? Orange you glad I didn’t say banana.  There are several others as well but I won’t bore you to death with those.  I will admit there is nothing quite as wonderful as a couple of sweet little boys telling jokes and while they don’t always make much sense you still can’t help but laugh uncontrollably.  And in my book there is nothing in the world more perfect then my kiddos laughter, I wish I could bottle it up and keep it forever