Happy Friday the 13th

Yesterday was not my fault.... I tried to post. I really did. Blogger has been down the last 2 nights. I managed to wait it out Wednesday night, but last night I just couldn't. Anyway, yesterday was a busy day getting ready to start a big project today. Here is a sneak peak at the beginning.

We spent all day outside and some of us have sunburns to show for it. The boys loved playing with everyone there and tried to be good helpers.

Another crazy thing for the day.... Toby and I have been married for 6 years today! We were even married on Friday the 13th! We will have to party hard when we get back together.

Quick check in

We had a very LONG car ride to Nana and Popi's house today, but we finally made it. The boys were very excited to get here and we are ready to have some fun in the next few days.
Toby, I miss you. Love you lots.

Cook-ie

Porter has really started talking these last few weeks. It is so fun to hear him say new words. My favorite word right now is "cookie".

I've tried to remember all the words that he is saying but I can't even keep track anymore. Here is a list of words that I can think of right now.

Mama
Dada
milk
cookie
dog
ball
bye
buckle
go

Anyway the list is ever growing and he's really turning into a little parrot. And a picture for your viewing pleasure.

If you look close you can see the teeth that are trying to come in and that are causing everyone grief. Just hurry up and come in... please!!!

Sledding the last day of April... seriously?!

I hate how much my mood can be affected by the weather. When I woke up on April 3oth and saw that we had a few inches of snow I was a little ticked. Luckily for me, Toby was excited and the mood spread. We pulled on our snow clothes and headed up the mountain. This is our 2nd excursion up the mountain to sled this year, but we left our camera home the first time. Toby took Porter on his back this time and I got to help Zeke walk up.


When it got steep and Zeke got a little too tired, I pulled him up on the sled. Toby even did double duty for a while taking on both of the boys.

We found the perfect little trail coming off of the main trail that was just right for sledding.



Zeke wanted to do it by himself and did so over and over and over.



When it was time to head home I strapped Porter on my back and Toby pulled Zeke on a crazy ride down the mountain. We had a great time together as a family doing some end of the season (I hope) sledding.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day!

I never really understood what an amazing mother I had until I became a mom.

It's hard work. It's tedious, overwhelming and exhausting, but I wouldn't want to be doing anything else.

Sometimes I want to crawl in my bed and hide, but then I remember these cute little faces. I get the best hugs. I see the excitement of learning something new. I experience the joy of mastering a skill. I love being a mom. I love watching these 2 little boys grow.

And to my mom: Thank you. Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for teaching me what is right. Thank you for raising me to think of others and to find ways to serve. I love you!

And to my other mom: You are such a great example. I am so glad you taught Toby how to be a good man. You are an amazing mother and I'm so glad my kids get to have you as a grandma. We love you.

Sneakily Healthy

After working hard outside on the yard, I thought it would be appropriate to eat something a little bit healthier for dinner. I have a hard time getting my family to eat vegetables, so I finally tried a trick that I've been hearing for quite some time.

I added spinach to a smoothie.

I made a pretty healthy smoothie with sugar coming from the juice and fruit with nothing extra added and then threw in a couple handfuls of spinach.

It worked like a charm. Toby even drank it even though he knew what I was up to. The boys loved it and were begging for more.

I think I might be onto something.... weird looking, but yummy tasting smoothies here we come!

I know I'm a little late on my Saturday post, but at least I got it up right?

What are those tiny brown dots?

Yesterday was beautiful! It was the best weather we've had all year. I needed a day like that.... Bad!
Yesterday was also the day that Zeke had his Mother's day program at preschool (pictures coming soon) and the day that I had to teach a piano lesson.
Those 2 things required me to need a babysitter twice. My wonderful friend and neighbor watched Porter in the morning at the park and a different wonderful friend of mine let them play in her sandbox in the afternoon.
Both times I completely neglected to put sunscreen on Porter. Bad mom! When you have a fair skinned red head you need to carry sunscreen with you at all times.
The picture shows a little bit of his sunburn but it looked way worse yesterday. The point of this long story....

Porter's has freckles!

Toby pointed them out to me when he was checking out his sunburn last night. There is no way I could take a picture close enough for you to see so you'll just have to trust me. They are there right next to his little nose. So CUTE!