The Three Musketeers

Jen and I decided to get the boys together for bike rides throughout the summer, now that they are all pedaling on their own. Despite the heat, we take 2 mile rides in the neighborhood now (gearing them up for longer rides). We imagine passersby think we're crazy - "Get to the right, the right I said, out of the road, pull over there's a car coming, get on the sidewalk, faster, slower..." - or cute (3 little musketeers). Our latest ride took us to the park, then we made pizzas in swim trunks before playing in the sprinklers, picking lemons and making mud pies. Oh, what fun!

Jump Crazy

When Ethan turned 2 he got a trampoline and he's been bouncing on it ever since. Now he can bounce higher and he even does tricks (like donkey kicks, tucks and somersaults!). Sometimes we just enjoy laying on it, watching the moon and stars at night.

An Early Celebration

"When is my birthday, Mommy?" I've heard this quite a bit lately as we've practiced making the number 3 on our fingers and have already bought the BIG present together. Today was Ethan's special day at school to celebrate his summer birthday. We made a brownie cake (brownies are his favorite) and the kids all celebrated by bringing presents and singing. What fun to have multiple parties!

I'm a CAT Kid!

If it's not Monster Trucks, it's CATS (that's Caterpillar heavy equipment). Daddy-o said the local CAT store had kid things so we went to check it out. There wasn't a big selection, but Ethan did find a couple little toys including an excavator. The thrill was the BIG CATS outside. Next to each one, Ethan said, "Mom, take my picture!" He's learned that Mom doesn't travel anywhere without a camera. :) We thought this one was especially cool. Ethan counted the steps into the cabin and peered inside the huge bucket. It's too bad we couldn't go for a ride.

Meeting Willy Wonka

One of my favorite books and movie growing up was Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The Johnny Depp version wasn't near as good, even though I like Johnny Depp and have his autograph on my office wall. When I heard the Valley Youth Theatre was putting on the show I bought front row tickets early, hoping it would be as good as the original book and movie. It was amazing! We laughed so hard and met the characters afterwards, all while enjoying Willy Wonka bars of our own. The highlight was just before intermission. Charlie found the golden ticket in his candy bar. As he did, Ethan yelled out, "He got the ticket!" Some of the audience members thought he was part of the show. To see Ethan get so excited (and not know the story) was so sweet.

My Friend Baby Jameson

Jameson gets a tiny bit bigger every time we see him. He's up to 11 lbs now. I swear I can't remember Ethan that small. Ethan LOVES babies. We were talking yesterday and he was running through the list of people he knows asking if they had babies (none of which do). So, he gets his baby fix when we meet up with Becca. :)

Happy Mother's Day

"A mother can take the place of everyone else, but no one in the world can take her place." Even at (almost) 38, my mom is the one person I can go to for anything! She gives great advice, listens when I need to vent, thinks of her kids everyday, is an amazing cook, would drop anything to help and loves us unconditionally. I can call her when I'm in the grocery store and can't remember the ingredients for meatloaf, ask her what to fill out on an application or call her to my aide when I'm sick. She's always there for me, no matter what. I sure hope when Ethan is an adult he'll think of me in the same way - not only as his mother, but as a best friend. "I love you Mama and Grammie!" - Ethan

Happy Birthday Carter

Ethan's friend Carter just celebrated his 4th birthday. It was the first "kids" birthday party for Ethan. Carter's mom, Jen, had planned everything around a garbage truck theme with trashy games and food, to making "dirt" pudding and giving a shirt to each child that read "I got trashed at Carter's 4th birthday party!" Sooooo creative!

Boating on the Lake

Ethan's 1st time on the lake was when Uncle Jason and Mai recently came to town. Grandpa rented a boat for us to cruise around in for the afternoon. Ethan really got a kick out of steering it and making it go fast. Clearly, he'd make a great race car driver! Grammie had made a gourmet picnic lunch while we watched for wildlife and enjoyed the beauty of Arizona.