Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today is my Grandpa's 86th birthday! Saturday we celebrated with a party in St. George, UT. It was a great day and Grandpa seemed to enjoy himself. (Photos to follow).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDPA!

We LOVE you!

Teddy Bear Picnic

Friday Cole's preschool class had a Teddy Bear Picnic. That day the kids got to bring their favorite bear to school. The bears sat with them at their tables and went to group work time and recess with them. The parents were invited to attend the last part of the day. When Carson and I arrived at the school a cute little picnic had been assembled on the floor complete with Teddy Grahams and honey butter sandwiches. After we ate the kids played a round of honey pot bingo which Cole won and then they sang The Teddy Bear Picnic song for us. There was a big bear in the room and all the kids waited in line to have their photo taken with it. It was such a cute little class party which I'm sure Cole will remember for a long time.

You Are My Sunshine

So I know I do a lot of bragging about how great my husband is but truly he is. He is so super-duper thoughtful! He is always doing little things for me that are really amazing and I am so lucky. So getting around to the point...
Monday night a big fat Harry Potter book fell off of our book shelf and crashed my silly old sun vase down to the ground shattering it into a zillion pieces. Now this sun vase is old, like 15 years old or so. I bought it back when I was renting a little house with a girlfriend of mine and we were really into sun and sunflower decor that was popular in the early 90's. It's not valuable like ming dynasty pottery or anything but I love it. It's been with me a long time. So yeah, I was pretty bummed about it's demise. Last night I was checking my email and there was a message from Alan in my inbox with a link to an ebay auction. He found this exact vase on ebay and had bought it for me. Can you believe it? What a guy! Seriously, he is just so thoughtful and full of surprises. And can you believe that ebay had this vase? I guess it was meant to be. So Alan, I just wanted to tell you thanks again and that I love you! You are my sunshine!

Happy Valentine's Day Mom!

Sometimes (well most of the time) being a Mom is just not a whole lot of fun. There is always messes, dirty diapers, laundry, crying, complaining and whining to deal with. But then your sweet 4 year old says something like this and it reminds you why you chose this career path and it's suddenly all soooo very worth it.

Cole: Happy Valentine's Day Mom!

Me: It's not Valentine's Day you silly goose.

Cole: I know, but I love you so much I just wanted to tell you Happy Valentine's Day!

Me: (trying not to get teary eyed) I love you so much too Cole, Happy Valentine's Day to you.

Photo taken just shortly before the above conversation. And YES, he is always dressed as a pirate, always!

Carson aka Trouble Baby

He looks innocent enough, right? But what you can't see is all the mischief this one little boy is capable of. Lately he has been giving me a run for my money. He has turned into a climber and will stop at nothing to get to where it is he thinks he needs to be, which is mainly on top of the kitchen table. The kitchen table is his stage, when he gets up there he dances and does all of his silly little Carson things. Of course I pull him down immediately and then he throws a tantrum the likes of which I have never seen. It's fun (not)! He can make messes faster then anyone I have ever seen. He empties the toy cabinet and the pan cabinet in record time. He dumps the toy bins in Cole's room and laughs while he's doing it. This little guy is lucky he is so dang cute! That's all I have to say, lol.

Chef Cole

Cole was invited to a birthday party for a little girl in his school class and it was held at Little Pastry Chefs which is a fun hands-on kitchen where the kids make the food. He was super excited to go to the party! Upon arrival the kids were greeted at the door and dressed in an apron and real chef's hat and since Cole is into dress-ups right now he was pretty impressed.
Up first on the menu was pizza. The kids all got a ball of dough and were instructed on how to flatten it out into a circle. Next came the sauce and toppings (Cole made his plain cheese). Then into the oven they went.





Cole told me it was the best pizza he ever ate. Maybe the trick to getting Cole to eat is to let him make his own food. I'll have to try that theory out one of these days.

Up next on the menu was cake! The kids each got a small cake to decorate. First they practiced using the icing in pastry bags on wax paper and then they got to decorate for real.

Notice that big glob of yellow icing on his fingers. Yep, it went straight into his mouth. Yum!

Lookin' good!

Adding the finishing touches.

Cole's completed garden cake complete with dirt and worms. Mmmm.
He was excited to take the cake home and share it with his cousins.

Of course Carson got to go also but he was too little to make a pizza or a cake. But he kept himself busy trying to catch balloons and climbing on all of the baker's racks. We were lucky to get out of there with only 1 bloody nose.

Happy Birthday Alan!

Happy Birthday to the best hubby, friend and daddy we know!!!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

(Photo courtesy of Cole)

A Funny Cole Story

Last night I told Cole it was time to put his pajamas on and he says to me in all his four year old seriousness, "But Mom putting on my pajamas is not really something I'm very good at doing".

Where does he come up with this stuff?

What's His Name?

The other day the boys and I were at Target and we stopped off in the snack bar for Icees and a diet coke for me. Cole was talking to Carson and all of a sudden the lady ringing us up stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at me with the strangest expression on her face. I'm thinking to myself, "What did I do"? Then she hesitates a bit before asking me what the baby's name is. I say "Carson" and she lets out a huge sigh of relief and says "I thought you guys were calling him Tarzan"! LOL! Maybe if I was a big Hollywood star I could get away with naming my child Tarzan but here in the real world I'll stick to a little bit more conventional name choices.

A Fun Weekend Surprise

Alan surprised me Thursday night with the news that we were going to be getting away Friday night. He had booked a suite at the Venetian Hotel and reserved tickets to see Spamalot at the Wynn. He even took care of the arrangements for the kiddos. I was super SHOCKED and a little apprehensive (I know, what's wrong with me?)!

But once we were out I was able to relax and have a good time. We ate dinner at a yummy Italian place inside the Wynn and then waited for the show to start. I wasn't too familiar with Monty Python but had heard good things about this show. It was hilarious, laugh out loud funny! After the show we got a treat and headed back to our room. The next morning we slept late (well one of us did) and had a nice breakfast, did a little shopping and then headed home. It was the perfect getaway! Thank you Alan! You truly are the best husband (or what)! And a HUGE thank you to my sister Gretchen and her family for staying the night at our home and watching our kids. You are the best!

The entrance to the theater had a lot of funny stuff to check out. That's me hanging out with a couple of King Arthur's Knights.

Um Alan, looking up a lady's skirt is just bad manners, lol!

A silly hunting trophy.

Baby Mate Carson

Meet Carson, Cole's First Mate.

McDonald's is featuring pirate toys in their Happy Meals and Cole got a bandanna head scarf which was too small for his noggin but fit Carson's perfectly. Cole agreed that Carson could have it and Baby Mate Carson was born. I wasn't sure if Carson would keep the silly thing on but to my surprise he LOVES it! When I try and take it off he cries. If he sees it lying around he brings it to me and motions for me to put it on him. He loves being a pirate like his big brother.

The other day Cole came and found me and told me that Baby Mate Carson was fired. When I inquired why he told me because he was stinky. Sure enough Baby Mate Carson had to take a time out for a much need diaper change.

He knows he's cute!

Captain Cole and his Baby Mate.

The boys sail the 7 Seas in their trusty red wagon.