my 32nd birthday in photos

a morning of my boys playing outside in their jammies and talking about life.a surprise visit from a sweet friend. and she came bearing way too many gifts.
a delicious dinner with my family on the patio at my favorite place. MI COCINA!!an icecream cake from marble slab.opening a couple of gifts from my little guys. Holden did the shopping and he thought I needed neon pink nail polish and yellow hoop earings.laughing at Jeremy's choice of card. If it weren't so inappropriate, I'd tell you all about it. ;) Notice Holden already had gotten his hands on the nail polish. I have to keep nail polish WAY out of reach for that little dude.

It was a great day indeed!

energy.

I'm not sure if the walls of this house have ever seen the energy that it now sees on most days. I know with certainty that it's at a whole new level for this mommy. I love these boys and the fun they bring to this home. The scene below happens regularly around here. The boys tell daddy they want to "fly". And he makes it happen.

special day.

10 years ago today, on this very night, Jeremy asked me to marry him!! March 23, 2002. I reminded him of that little fact this week. He didn't remember the date, but it has stuck with me. 8 months later, to the exact date, we married. In some ways I can hardly believe it has been 10 years. I mean, did we marry when we were 15, because I don't think I can even be old enough. ;) You may not notice below in the scrapbook page I attached, but my sweet and always romantic boyfriend matched the flowers he bought me to my dress. Whoa. Where did this guy come from? I'm very blessed and thankful to God in how he brought us together. And how he has grown us together for the past 12+ years. We learn a little more as time goes on. And I see a little more clearly how perfectly we fit together. I'm excited for a lifetime ahead with this guy right next to me.(And yes, that is me dancing on a moving luggage rack. I didn't have a drop of alcohol in college, so we can't blame it on that. I really wish that girl would come out to play more often these days.)

signs of spring. . .

You never know with the changing of the seasons. But I think spring is officially here to stay. And I am really trying to enjoy each day, because I know, in just a short amount of time, we'll be sweating bullets and avoiding anything outdoors between the hours of 11am and 5pm. But for now, the weather has been perfect. And we love spending the majority of our day outside. The boys stay busy digging in the dirt (where our blow up pool sat last summer), playing on their swingset, chasing each other all over the yard and going for rides in the wagon and jogger. And let me tell you they are quite a load to push or pull. Adds a little extra to my calories burn, I hope. ;) But here have been the recent signs of spring over here at our house.

We've busted out the spring/summer pajamas (and spring/summer everything else). In fact almost all long sleeves have been put away. Call me a weirdo, but I LOVE going through the boys clothes and re-organizing their closets and dresser drawers everytime the seasons change. It's one of my favorite "jobs". Oh, my little boy is really starting to look like a big-o boy.
The first mow of the season happened this weekend. Poor guy really struggles with allergies around this time of year. And we're not sure if this guard does anything for him.Many lunches and dinners on the backyard patio. And hopefully a little less sweeping of my kitchen floor.Just to name a few.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!

movie night.

Lately, I've been pretty passionate about our family time on the weekends. Jeremy just ended a busy little season. And we have been thrilled to have him back on a more normal schedule. So we've been putting a little more thought into our weekends and time with the boys. Since Holden and Pax are older (really is 2 and 3 older? I don't know.), there is alot more options of things we can do with them now. Remember we went bowling. And then we had a much needed weekend away. Then most recently, we had our first family game night on Friday. Then late afternoon on Saturday, we all went to see a movie together. It was Jeremy's idea after he watched the movie trailer for The Lorax. It was a beautifully colorful, really cute movie. One that we may need to add to our stash at home. And it was perfect for the boys. They still shy away from any kind of "bad guy" (or bad/mean creature) in a movie. But this one was just a happy happy movie. I loved watching my boys soak it all in. We had promised them movie theatre popcorn and then I cheated and brought along lots of snacks in my purse. Pax and Jeremy sat next to one another and shared the popcorn. Holden was more interested in the movie than eating. But Pax was like a movie theatre pro. He completely vegged out. I kept looking down and watching his little hand shove popcorn in his mouth as his eyes were glazed over at the big screen. It was pretty cute. I snapped a few pictures during the previews (which were a little scary and Holden told me he wanted to go home). After I snapped the 2nd one, Jeremy loudly whispered "Are you done?!" So I guess I was. I just wanted to document our little family movie night! Can't blame a mommy for that!
Holden was a little timid during the scary previews. And he did wear his hoodie throughout the entire movie.
And Pax was completely in his element the entire time. They did so great, sat so quietly and thoroughly enjoyed watching the movie. And I loved sharing in their experience. Another little first in their lives.

First Family Game Night

I have dreamed of the day when we could have Family Game Night with our kids. Just the idea of the whole family playing games together, warms my heart. ;) Yesterday was a first for us. Jeremy came home from work with our favorite pizza in his hands. So we gobbled down our pizza, had a quick clean up and then settled on the floor of the living room for a round of Candy Land. Pax was VERY into playing and got excited about every little thing. It was a fun time for all of us.
Next up was bowling. Jeremy's mom got Holden this fun, little bowling set a LONG time ago. But for whatever reason, we recently pulled it out of his closet to play with it. Now the boys LOVE bowling at home!
Last night was the perfect ending to our week and beginning of our weekend. Family Game Night might just need to become our Friday night tradition.

Thank You Jesus.

Thank you Jesus. Thank you Jesus.
For our food. For our food.
Thank you for mommy. Thank you for daddy.
We love you! We love you!
That picture was NOT staged. It is from a couple of weeks ago. I was about to back out of my driveway, when I looked over my right shoulder only to see sweet Pax saying his little prayer. I snatched up my phone and fortunately, caught this incredibly sweet moment in a photo. He learned this little prayer at his school and I love it when he spontaneously decides to share it with us.