My Boys

One fun thing about Isaac is getting to use all of the cute stuff that I used with Noah, with him {plus it makes me happy to know that I don't have to buy many clothes for him!}. I always enjoy pulling out Noah's old clothes and the memories that come with it. I also enjoy looking back at pictures of Noah and seeing the similarities between my boys. When Noah was Isaac's age, we let his hair grow out until we just couldn't handle it anymore. With Isaac, I've pretty much just kept it short...easy maintenance :).

Noah at 14 months...
Isaac at 14 months...

I am so happy that these two have one another. The bond that they have is just precious...and they are just so dang cute! Love my boys!

Noah is in Kindergarten!

It's crazy how it feels like it was just yesterday that I was sending Noah off to Preschool for the first time! I better brace myself because I get the feeling that the rest of my kids lives are going to fly by like a bullet...and I'm not ready for it, not one bit!

I promised myself that I was going to keep it together today. I was going to keep that smile on my face and not show any sign of sadness. But it's hard...I'm not sad because he's getting bigger and going to school...I'm mostly sad that my little buddy isn't going to be home with me every day. Noah and I are very close...we kind of lean on one another throughout the day. Maybe it's because he's my first baby...whatever it is, it was hard to send him off to school, and come home without him. I know that I have done this before, but now he was going to be at school every day. And the kicker is that he will only be gone for half a day...what in the world am I going to do next year when he is a true big kid and is gone all day?!?!? I better not think about that now, because I'll get to experience it first hand very soon...and I just don't want to go there.

Anyway...back to Noah's first day of Kindergarten. He's been talking about starting school all summer. I know that time to kids is very hard to understand, but I did my best to explain when he would be starting. More than anything, I pretty much told him to just enjoy summer and all that comes with the freedom of it...which he did! Once we went to back to school night, all of those unknowns that Noah had about school started to get answered, and be became more and more excited.

Then the big day came...and he just couldn't wait. The night before, Doug explained to Noah the joys of school and gave him his first father's blessing...which really was so sweet. I so look forward to this little tradition with all of our kids when they start school! Noah goes to school in the afternoon, and all morning long he kept asking when we were going to go {this goes back to the whole time thing with kids...}. We finally got him all dressed and went out and took some traditional back to school pictures...
THEN came the hard part. We live very close to the school, so I told Noah that it was time to walk to school, but he just flat out refused and said that he wanted me to drive him. I wasn't in the mood to disagree with him, so we got in the car and I drove him. He was quiet the entire time. I parked the car and looked back at him and he had tears puddled in his little eyes. I unbuckled him and had him come sit on my lap and asked him what was wrong, to which he said "I'm just nervous, mom." I proceeded to tell him that it's completely OK to be nervous on your first day of school...and I know that's the truth, because I remember being so, so nervous on my first day of school. So, he sat there on my lap and started to take deep breathe, after deep breathe to calm his nerves. Let me tell you, it took all that I had to keep it together during this little moment, which was hard to do! I'm a very emotional person, and holding back those tears and putting on my brave mommy face...ugh. So hard. But I did it, I held it in and just sat there and hugged my little guy and told him how wonderful of a time that he was going to have. When he was ready, we got out and started walking towards the school. He gripped my hand so tightly, so I knew that he was still nervous. We stopped to take a quick picture in front of his school, and you can just tell by the look on his face how he was feeling.
THEN...we got to the little playground and all of those nerves were gone in a flash! He ran over and started to play and was back to his happy and excited little self! Thank goodness!And then it was time to line up and go to class...for the first time. When his teacher came out, she asked them all to get in a line and to wave goodbye to their mom and dad's. Before he went to get in line, I gave him a huge hug and a kiss and told him that I loved him and how excited I was to see him after school. And then he went......and Leah, Isaac and I went and got in the car and totally let go of all those emotions that I was back. And I was ok with the fact that I was crying...I was happy for my little guy, but a little sad at the same time that he was growing up so fast. He is such a great kid...and these tears were for all the love that I have for him. I'm so proud of him! And the best part about my little sob-fest was that Leah came and sat on my lap and said "Mommy, I'll take care of you." Can you believe how cute that is...and of course, I just started to smile and be happy again. We headed home and took naps, and 3 hours later we eagerly went to go get Noah...
...and he had the most wonderful time! Just like I knew that he would! He even said to me when we were walking home that he had the best day ever! Music to my ears! I am beyond happy that his first day of Kindergarten was all that he thought that it was going to be. I am also so thankful for his most wonderful teacher...I just know that she is a good fit for my little guy and I so look forward to all of the wonderful experiences that we will have this year!

Lagoon ~ 2011

Last time we went to Lagoon, I pretty much swore that we weren't going to go back for a loooonnnng time...well, that didn't happen. Doug's work had their summer party there, again, and we decided to look past the fact that the place is dirty and the lines are sooo slow, and decided to look on the bright side and how kids are kids and they just don't care about that stuff and they really have so much fun there! So, we went, and we actually had a great time! The only downfall was the heat...oh the heat! Not only was it HOT, but it was humid too...man, this day in the sun made me thankful that we don't have to deal with humidity all of the time!

Anyway, here's a look at our day...

Noah and Leah could not wait to go on a ride and this was the first one of the day.

They were troopers waiting in all the lines.

And I just love that they decided to go together on pretty much all the rides...they really do love one another :).

Can I just say that Isaac is the best.baby.ever! He was such a great little guy and was pretty much happy the entire time. The heat was so bad that he was sweating non-stop...plus he couldn't take a nap because it was so hot.

Fun on the carousel.

Even Doug and I were able to go on some rides with the kids. We decided to forego going on any "big kid" rides, mostly due to the fact that the lines are so, so slow. We still had a grand time taking turns going with Noah and Leah though. Oh...to be a kid again :).

We ended our day with a ride on the train. Always a favorite in our fam.

Sleeping Beauty

Leah definitely values her sleep, so much so that she does NOT enjoy waking up...whether it be in the morning or at nap time, she is just a little grumpy pants until she feels like being happy. And trust me, it is best to just leave her alone when she wakes up...I know from experience :). Well, Leah has this habit when she wakes up from her nap...she'll get out of bed, then go find a comfy place on the floor and fall back asleep! I get a kick out of finding her little body all sprawled out on the floor...or curled up in a little ball. One time I couldn't find her anywhere, and she was sound asleep in the corner of my closet! I always wonder where I'll find her next!

We LOVE Water!

Growing up, my most favorite thing to do during the summer was to go swimming. That is what I remember about summer break...swimming almost every day! I LOVED it, and I still do! Noah and Leah absolutely love the water, so I am not at all hesitant to pack up and head to the pool {or splash pad}!

Honestly, I was a bit nervous about going to the pool this summer, seeing that I now have three little ones. BUT, to my amazement, it has been somewhat easy to manage all of them at the pool. Noah is a decent swimmer, plus he can touch the bottom so that I don't have to carry him around. Leah is pretty good at staying close and knows that she has to keep her floaties on at all times. And Isaac stays in my arms or in his little floatie. Plus we have an absolutely awesome pool that is so kid friendly...that totally works to my advantage :).Thank goodness it has worked out, thus far!

Here are some random pics from our water adventures this summer...

Our first trip to the pool...so excited!
I LOVE Shea's cute yellow polka dot swimsuit! Little girl swimsuits are my fav...especially this one :). What a cutie!
Ah...I love my babes!
Hannah and Leah getting a snack before heading back for more fun.
Taking it all in :).
Isaac LOVES this little water fountain. At the beginning of the summer, he wanted nothing to do with it...in fact, he didn't want anything to do with any aspect of the water. Now he LOVES it and has become a water baby, just like Noah and Leah!
Playing in the pool in our back yard is a regular occurrence on non-pool days.
Isaac's loves playing with the hose and drenching himself...it's pretty cute to watch :).

Jumping, and playing, with some of our most favorite friends...

Leah giving Isaac a squeeze at the Splash Pad {which is so.much.fun!}.
Noah has been begging for me to get him a snowie at the pool all summer...well, today I finally gave in. Talk about two happy little kids!

Here's to a lot more fun days at the pool this summer!

Heritage Park ~ 2011

We made our,what seems to be a yearly {2009, 2010}, visit to Heritage Park last weekend. This time we were able to take Daddy with us, which was SO nice! I absolutely LOVE having Doug with me when we go to places like this...just makes it that much easier. We also left Isaac with my mom and dad, so we were able to enjoy our outing even more. Don't get me wrong, I love having my babe with me, and, if I'm being honest, I missed him so much when we were gone...but it was also nice to be able to give our attention in it's entirety to Noah and Leah. That said, we had a great time! The weather was in our favor, which made for an even better outing!

Leah was SO excited to ride a horse...that girl really has no fear! Noah, on the other hand, was so incredibly nervous. He's ridden a horse so many times in the past, but this time he was just not into it. Right when we were leaving, he decided that he wanted to give it a shot, so back we went so that he could have his chance, and he was so glad that he did!
The kiddos, and Doug, stamping leather. Leah was so insistent to make hers all by herself.


Thank goodness they have a little shuttle to take you from here to there...that place is big, especially with little ones ;).
Digging for gold...we found 10 pieces! Noah was determined to find a lot because the payout was candy! Of course, candy is always a good incentive to do pretty much anything, right?!?
Riding the train is always a huge hit!
Us.

Afterwards, we went over to the This is the Place monument for a little history lesson :).

4th of July

We had a wonderful 4th of July...

...getting all dressed up in red, white, and blue!...going to the parade and visiting with family and eating watermelon....and having a BBQ with the fam and eating this for dessert! Yum!

I am so thankful to live in this great country and enjoy the freedom that we have. It was a great day!

30

It was my birthday this past Sunday...I turned 30!

Honestly, it's hard for me to believe that I'm 30. I feel great and I really am so happy with all that I have accomplished thus far in my life. There, of course, have been challenges too, but that's normal. I guess I just like to focus on all things good...and those things make my heart swell with happiness. I am so happy to be where I am in my life right now, at this moment. I have wonderful parents who have helped mold me into who I am today, I was fortunate to get a good education, I married my true love, and I have three amazing little angels that I love SO much! Life really is good.

It's pretty obvious that I love celebrating birthdays, and it was so wonderful to spend my special day with the ones that I love! After getting home from church, all of the kiddos were in a very cheery mood, so I jumped on the opportunity to get a pic of us together...seeing that I really don't have many good ones :). Lucky for me, Doug was able to get a decent shot...**Happy Birthday to me!!**

We then headed to my parent's house for an evening of relaxing, eating, gift giving, and cake! My mom has always made sure that my birthday is extra special...I honestly can't remember her not going above and beyond on my birthday...makes me smile! This year, she got me the most YUMMY cake from Mrs. Backer's Bakery. I can honestly say that it was one of the best cakes ever...and it was oh, so pretty too :).
My Noah knew exactly what he wanted to get me for my birthday, and he made sure that it was going to happen. I'm not afraid to admit this...we definitely have a little Bieber Fever in this house. Well, maybe it's just me and Leah, but I know that the boys like the Biebs too ;). His songs are catchy, plus Leah knows most of his songs and it is so funny watching her dance around and sing them. SO...Noah got me Never Say Never for my birthday! We had rented it a while back, we all enjoyed it, so he had the idea to get it for me. I just thought that it was so dang cute the effort that my little 5 year old went through to get me a gift...he's such a thoughtful little boy :).
We always set off fireworks on my birthday...such a fun tradition. I had some fun taking some sparkler pictures...Isaac's name was the only one that turned out, but that's alright.

I really had a wonderful, wonderful day! Thanks to all who helped me celebrate!

Sleepover and S'mores

Noah has been asking me, for what seems like *forever*, to have a sleepover with his cousin. SO, I finally delivered and we had Jacob come over last weekend for a fun filled sleepover! After our BBQ, we were lucky enough to have even more cousins stop by and have some s'mores with us. S'mores are definitely a favorite treat around here during the summer! So sticky, and SO yummy! Doug, being the awesome dad that he is, put the tent up in the backyard, and slept in it with the boys. Thankfully, they fell fast asleep and everyone had a good nights rest :).

Noah had such a wonderful time, and we definitely look forward to our next sleepover. Good times!