Rainy Day

today was a rainy day...

the kind of rain I love

gentle pitter patters

without the thunder and lightning

and

we played outside for a good part of the day

Benjamin and Jake

were Water Ninjas

Tommy...

laughed

danced

and touched the rain

and then wanted me to hold him

under the umbrella

and I hummed

and slow danced with him

until he feel asleep

A day

I will always remember

♥

17 Mai 2010

Pins made by Carol Stone,

for the young

and the young at heart

♥

Benjamin

jamming, leading the parade







HIPP HIPP HURRAH!

Carol Stone, myself and Tillie Elvrum

Happy 17 Mai!

*This is the first year I have worn my bunad

and actualyy felt comfortable in it...

After joining Weight Watchers 11 ago and losing 19 lbs!

2010 Kite Festival

Today was a wonderful, long, crazy day

We left the house at 10 AM

Went down to UC to the

Kids in the Kitchen

Be Healthy. Be Active. Event

~The boys

ran obstacle courses

made potato heads out of veggies

planted seeds

Guessed what different fruits and vegetables were

blindfolded

(Ben knew them all)

did other various arts and crafts

danced

tumbled

ran

Then we went to the

Kite Festival

where Ben insisted on bringing his kite

and it was fantastic!

He flew it all by himself

for over and hour

and Tommy had a blast running around

Ben's Shark Kite

which he really wanted to fly by the

Scuba Diver kite...

but couldn't as it was flying in the professional area

Flying kites are pure bliss...


Tommy playing around with Ben,
Ben, keeps his eye on the kite...
I love it!



Then, we went to IKEA
(can't go up in that direction and not go...)
and
got
home
at
9:00 PM

~

Tommy was crashed

Zoo in Spring

Images of Spring at the Zoo...
April 8, 2010

I know this last image may not seem like much now...

but in the coming years,

when Tommy is bigger

this pull at my heartstrings

♥

Easter

Easter

a day we traditionally spend with

The McGills

but this year, we did it at our house

and

I had to steal this first picture from Sonja

-my Easter arrangement-

decorated with hearts

made by my grandmother

♥

Buddies

Jake and Ben

Little Finn
♥oooooooooooooo♥

Tommy and Finn

Blowing bubbles

that our neighbor Laura gave the boys...

Ben showing off his loot

What's this?

a tractor

Enthusiasm at it's best...

on a mission

Sonja and Finn

Happy Easter!

and here's to many more!

♥

End of 2009

Happy New 2010!!!

I can't believe how long it has been since I have posted on here...I think about it all the time...I take pictures like crazy that I want to post, and I just haven't found the time to sit and do it...and as I just sat down on here and read through some of my past posts I realize how precious those seemingly small moments are ...the boys are growing up so fast and I love having the documentation...so here is to picking up blogging again...hip hip hooray!


For now, I am going to start with a pic from our Annual Christmas Walk with Jake and Scott and Sonja...and this year-Finn!!! I love this tradition started by Sonja...

Anytime Tommy was done walking he would just sit down until I came and picked him up...

he is a stubborn one he is...

The big boys havings a snack and hot cocoa

Christmas Walk 2009

My Camera

A few weekends ago
Bob had to work from home
making calls
Lots of calls...
so, I tried to stay away

Saturday I about lost my mind...
Tommy was fussy
Ben wouldn't listen...
one of those kind of days

so, Sunday morning
immediatly after breakfast,
we left to go run some "quick"
errands
Ben's clothes were dirty
and mismatched
I didn't take my purse
just my wallet
I didn't really have a plan
other than to be
out of the house.

After a few stops,
we ended up going to
Trader Joe's
(One of my FAVORITE stores!)
and after we left there
I was on the way to get milk
at Whole Foods
yet, I passed the exit
and ended up
getting off at an exit
that went by my favorite
BBQ restaurant~
BBQ Revue!
Needless to say we had to stop...
While we were having lunch
one of the employees
came by and suggested we go
to a KIDS FESTIVAL
down at Sawyers Point
She said it was FREE
face painting,
rides, water fun...etc
but that it was over at 4:00
The time was 2:15.
My only reservation
(Other than the fact that
Ben was dirty)
was that I didn't have
my camera
with me
How could I go to something
that cool
without my camera?
Without
my storyteller,
my diary.
I was pretty upset...
and that is what made me realize
how much I depend on
my camera
to keep track of my memories
to be my eyes

I debated
about stopping somewhere
and buying a disposable one...
and then decided
to just go

We had the best time!
We parked for free
We got samples
Ben went fishing for real catfish
(he didn't catch one
and was oh, so disappointed)
He went down a huge water slide
he took a ride on a mini kayak
in a huge pool
he played games
got all sorts of cool give-a-ways
saw an Anaconda
a turtle
and a trantula

He had such a good time!
and Tommy was so good
and I didn't capture
one moment of it
with a photo
but the day
and it's pictures
will forever
be
in my mind

xxoo

Happy Mother's Day

Woke up this morning

at 8:45...Tommy was still sleeping...

(thanks for that one Tommy!)

and

with Benjamin full of excitment

about the gift he made for me

at school...

and quite honestly,

I was excited

to see what it was...

I had seen

some really cute things

other mother's had gotten

from their children in the past...

most of them involving hand prints...

and I think I was hoping

for something with a handprint...

don't ask me why...

My gift from excited Mr. Benjamin

was

a handmade card,

a flower planted in a dixie cup...

and a potholder ~

wrapped in green tissue paper,

(I picked green

because green is your favorite color mom...)

and placed in a paper bag

painted with a heart.

The pot holder was painted

with rubber stamp imprints

of hearts, hands, and flowers. ...

The best part was his telling me

about how he made it,

which stamp he put on first

and how when he put the holes

in the bag

using the hole puncher

all the little paper circles

went flying

everywhere!

and we both laughed and laughed...

We went to church
and got big Starbucks Frappacino's
on the way home

I got Coffee

Ben got Strawberry Cream

and then went on a
Mother's Day Hike...

Bob was supposed to join us,
but he didn't feel good

so, it was me and my boys...











Pretty much,

just another day
like any other day,

full of Hugs and Kisses

and

I love you mom's...



except this one
started with handmade presents

and ended with
Graeters Ice Cream ~


Mocha Chocolate Chip
Coffee
and Double Chocolate Chip (Ben's request...)


YUM

Happy Mother's Day Mom...
I love you
~

All in a day...

Goofing off...

Cracking Tommy up

Crashed out trying to wait up for daddy...

Went to the store Toys R Us

Ben got Easter money from Aunt Joan

that he wanted to spend...

$5.oo

He put it in his spiderman wallet

that he got from Aunt Henriette

and walked around the store

so excited...

How much is this mom?

$20-

OHHHHH...sigh...

over and over again...

finally he found a

Pokeman ball that he wanted

After paying for the toy

the cashier askes him if he wants a bag

he says yes, as I say no need

and then as he is handed the bag

he says

no, that's okay

I am going

to do what my mom says!

The cashier was amazed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Twilight Tide Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

FABfabFABULOUS pettiskirt giveaway!

Big enough...

The other day was

one of those especially "hard ones"

It was long

and I had both kids by myself all day

...again...

and it has been tough...

I have been trying to clean and organize

my bedroom for months

ok-years really-

but really working on it for months

and had been trying on

pre-pregnancy clothes.

At the end of the night

I was brushing my teeth

in the bathroom

when Benjamin came in

and saw me wearing a sweatshirt

"Silly mommy...

you're not wearing that to bed

are you??"

"no, Ben, I was trying it on to see if it fit..."

"Hmmmm" (looking me over)

"It's ...

and I think he is going to say something like

'really nice mommy...or something like that...'

"It's...

big enough for a fat person..." !!!

I said thanks

and then laughed so hard I spit my toothpaste out!

It was really a great way to end a crappy day~

Smiling.