True Story Tuesday!

A few weeks ago my oldest son, Brendan, got mad at us. Shocking, I know!! We left him and his brother at a friend's, their friend's, house just for a few hours so that Ryan and I could have a date night. We just wanted a few hours by ourselves to enjoy a movie and dinner. Not to much to ask...right? Well that's what we thought, but Brendan had other thoughts! He was mad most of the 4 hours that we were gone. That's right... only 4 HOURS! So when we picked him up, he still wasn't talking to us, so we told him if he was gonna pout he needed to go to bed! So he did!! After about 30 minutes or so of him being in bed, he 'bout scared me to death when he runs outta his room FREAKING. OUT.! Well of course, my patience was very low at this point because of his behavior, but Ryan calms him down enough to find out that he, Brendan, thinks a bug flew in his ear. What's that you say....a bug flew in your ear?! Well, after some muffled laughs, we finally convince him that there is indeed NO bug in his ear. We get a flashlight, check his ear...no bug! Check his room...no bug! Check his bed...no bug! He finally goes to bed, reluctantly, but none the less goes to bed! As I do every night, I check on the boys on my way to bed; and this is how I found Brendan asleep for the night.....

Not bugs gettin' in there!!!

Good night, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite!

Gotta true story? Link up with Rachel...cuz we would all love to read about it!!

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good-bye...

As you read this today, we will either be on our way to Colorado or already there! Yep...we are heading out! We left last night about 9:00 pm to drive to Ryan's Aunt & Uncle's house. We are all very excited, as we haven't seen them in quite some time. They have actually only met Brendan once, when he was 3 months old, and they have only ever met Colin in pictures from this blog! Along with his Aunt & Uncle, Ryan's 4 cousins and their families will also be there. You see, every year over the 4th of July, they all get together for a sort of mini family reunion and this year they invited us to come along too! And of course we said yes! We will be coming from all over the country for fun, family and food! In all, there will be 24 of us! So if I am not around bloggy land for a few days, you know the reason! Have a great week and I will be back soon! I have scheduled posts but I will be MIA in the comments area!

See you in a week!

Another Moment I'm Gonna Miss...

This past week the boys attended a baseball camp that was put on by our city. This is actually the 3rd time that they have attended said camp. It is a 4 day camp, Monday-Thursday, for 3.5 hours each morning. (free time for me....aaahhhh!) They run every summer and every winter break (right after Christmas). The city puts it on, but the coaches from the local high schools run it with their players. This camp was run by the varsity baseball coach from WCHS, where Ryan works and coaches.

The thing that I am gonna miss most about these camps is that they won't need me there anymore! I know I have a few more years, but Brendan is 9.....*sigh*....so in a few short years, they will be able to take themselves to their sports camps.

And they are not gonna want mom hanging around snapping pictures of them at every turn!!

But until they say otherwise, or drive themselves, I will be right there with them, taking pictures and cheering on my players!

This is the fist morning on the way to the field. Brendan was be defiant, and didn't really want to go. In my opinion, he didn't want to go cuz he didn't want to get up that early! Camp was from 8 am-11:30 am so we had to leave the house by 7:40am! A little early for him on summer vaca I guess!

Anyways, instead of wearing baseball pants, he chose to wear shorts. He came home with boo-boo knees that day, so needless to say, he wore baseball pants the remainder of the week! Didn't teach anyone a lesson but himself!!

Colin ready to play some ball. THIS child was more than happy to be at camp no matter what time of the day! Baseball is his favorite!

First morning meeting. Coach M welcoming all of the players and giving them the rules and expectations! There were about 20 boys at this week's camp.

Brendan practicing throwing with accuracy.

Great catch Bren!

Colin getting ready to throw!

Colin catching a pop fly.

Throughout the week, the boys practiced throwing, catching, running...all things baseball! They learned new things, practiced skills & drills, and all around had lots of fun and learned so much. Thanks to the great coaches and players for all of their hard work and effort!

I know that I will never get a chance to miss my boys playing sports, because I am almost certain they will be playing sports for quite some time, but I will miss being their everything, but I will always be there cheering them on!

For more You're Gonna Miss This Moments, visit Pam.

My ABC's

Why not? I have nothing else forming in my mushy brain...

A -Age: 36
B -Bed size: queen, although I wish it were a king
C -Chore you hate: Mopping the floors
D -Donuts or Kolaches: Donuts
E -Essential start your day item: 10 minutes of laying in bed quietly
F -Favorite color: Purple
G -Gold or Silver: silver
H -Height: 5'8"
I -Instruments you play: Don't play any...have always wanted to learn how to play the piano
J -Jokes or Rhymes: jokes
K -Kids: 2 very active boys
L -Living arrangements: House that we had built in 2004
M -Movie: I love romantic comedies, chick flicks and fun family movies
N -Nicknames: Stace, Coach Mac's wife and Ryan calls me Che
O-Overnight hospital stays: 4: 2 births, 1 kidney stone op, 1 hysterectomy
P -Pet Peeve: People that dress up animals
Q -Quote you like: Treat others as you would want to be treated
R -Right or left handed: Right
S -Siblings: 1 younger sister
T -Time you wake up: During the school year: 5:30 am; summer: whenever
U -Underwear: I go for comfort!
V -Vegetable you dislike: Peas...YUCK!
W -Ways you run late: Kids...enough said
X -X-rays you've had: Elbow, knees, back, ankles
Y -Yummy food you make: White Chicken Chili...Thanks MiMi
Z -Zodiac sign: Taurus

Now you know my ABC's, next time won't you sing with me!
Thanks to Amber over at I'm Here for this fun idea!

Where's Mom?! 18/52 Photos of Me!

Are YOU a mom? Are YOU missing from the pictures? Most moms I know are, but here is a fun meme that brings us moms out from behind the camera and puts us into the spotlight! Carin over at Forever In Blue Jeans is the hostess for this year long picture project! It is lots of fun, and just think after 52 weeks there will be at least 52 pictures of YOU in them! It can be scary, but com'on, give it a try! It's easy, all you have to do is hand over the camera and smile (or not, it's completely up to you!). And the best part is, you can jump in whenever; for me this will be my 18th week!

This week hasn't been very exciting on the photo front with the boys being away at baseball camp every morning and Ryan working a football camp for HS players, so there was very little opportunity for me to get into any pictures.

Instead, I took another walk, yes I took one yesterday too, down the memory lane of my hard drive to see what I could see! And this is what I found!!

This was taken in March of 2006 on a family trip to Disneyland. This was the boys' first extended trip there and we had so much fun! We stayed 3 days at the park and did everything we could! We even celebrated Brendan's 6th birthday there!

This is a picture of me and the boys waiting for the light parade to start on Main Street. Since it was mid March and the weather in AZ is pretty reasonable at that time I year, I didn't even think it would be different in CA; boy was I wrong! By the time the sun went down so had the temperatures!! What was a mother to do, except buy new sweatshirts all around! Here we are sporting our new duds (over our spring jackets mind you!)! That was one of the best vacations ever...I loved seeing the excitement in the boys' eyes at every turn!

I {heart} Disney and can't wait to go back!!

Now it's your turn to join the fun! It's easy, hand the camera over, smile and say cheese!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Erica over at Scottsville hosts this cute meme each Wednesday and since I didn't have any fun and exciting Wordless Wednesday photos, I thought I would stroll down memory lane in the hard drive of my computer! As I was looking through all my old pictures, I was kinda sad that they boys are getting so big...I guess that's what happens! *sigh*

Here we are back in Feb 2005 and we are spending the day at the Wildlife World Zoo.

This is a very cool zoo because all of the animals are in their natural habitat. Well as natural as they can be, but still in captivity! There is no cement, just dirt; which makes for a very dusty day!

My favorite part of the zoo is the giraffe house! And the reason it is my favorite is because you get to feed the giraffes, yep you read it right, YOU GET TO FEED'EM! And how is that you ask? Well...you climb up about 20 or so stairs to a feeding station and the come right up to you...like in the picture! Here is my niece, Kennedy, feeding one!

Look at how black, long, & curly those giraffe tongues are! They stick'em out and you drop the food onto their tongue.

Here is Colin, with the help of my mom (since his arm was a little short!) feeding the giraffe.

And here is Brendan. Looks as though he wants Brendan's hand right along with the food!

Looks as though the giraffes are Brendan's favorite animal too! Gotta love that smile!

Look at how little they were...I can't get over the fact that I have a 9 & 8 year old; seems just like yesterday they 5 & 4 years old and feeding the giraffes!

For more walks down memory lane, be sure and visit Erica!

F.O.R.E!!

We have some avid golfers, I mean AVID golfers in my family. Both sets of parents, my mom & dad and Ryan's mom & dad, golf all the time! Ryan has picked up the sport too, golfing every Thursday after football practice with some of the other coaches. So it was only natural that Brendan and Colin would show interest in this sport at some point! They have been asking for awhile now for Ryan to take them out, and he finally obliged this past weekend! They were THRILLED! They put their 'golf' shorts & shirts on and happily headed to the course with their daddy!

They might not have their driver's license, but in the past week they have sped around a go-kart track and now a golf course!
Brendan double checking his put! Just like a pro!

Practice swing!
Steady...breath...take it slow...head down...feet apart... Colin taking his swing

Putting...their most favorite part!
Nice follow through Brendan!

That a way Colin!

They had so much fun with their daddy! (and thanks to daddy for all of the great photos!)

They can't wait until their next tee time with daddy!

FORE!

It's What He Wanted!

Hope all those daddies had a fantastic day yesterday...the daddy at this house did!!

After we went to church, we came home to hang out for awhile and then decide where to head out for dinner. While discussing the options, Ryan kept posing the question back to me and I in turn kept saying...this is your day and it is for you to decide. After careful contemplation, he said 'I can have anything'...and I said, 'of course...this is your day'. So with a smile on his face, he said 'I wanna stay home and have pizza and wings!' So that is exactly what we did! I headed to our favorite small town pizza place and ordered wings, pizza & bread! And it was so yummy!

Hoping your day was just as yummy!

Happy Father's Day!

I am so lucky to have this man as the father of my boys. He plays with them like I have never seen! Always on the floor and wrestling around! Encouraging them and helping them to do their best at everything, especially sports!

Hope you enjoy your day, Ryan. We love you!

Like 3 peas in a pod!

Dear Daddy,
Thanks for everything you've done for me. I love you a lot. I love to play football, well all sports, with you! Have a great father's day. I love you!
Love, Brendan
Always playing and having fun with the boys!

Dear Dad,

You are a great Dad because you play with me in the pool, you help on the computer, and I love to do stuff with you. Hope you have a great father's day. I love you!

Love, Colin

This was last Sunday at CrackerJax, the fun surprise Ryan had for us after church.

And Happy Father's Day to my Dad!

You are a great dad and a fantastic grandpa!

Enjoy your day!

We love you!

My Mom & Dad with me, my sister & the 3 grandkids!

CrackerJax...Not Just A Snackfood!

*Warning* LOTS of pictures from a fun filled day!

The boys and I got home from church on Sunday to a husband who was waiting at the front door with a very exciting surprise. The boys were told to put swimsuits on with flip flops and hats. When we asked where we were going, we got silence. For those of you that know, I am really not into surprises; I need to be in control, I need to be prepared, I need to KNOW!! But to no avail, Ryan wouldn't leak it! So we piled into the car and headed here...

This is a family fun park about an hour from our house! It has lots of fun things to do including putt putt golf, go-karts, bumper boats, water wars, batting cages, and a driving range. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, the weather in AZ at this time of year is usually HOT, HOT, HOT, but the last few weeks it has been in the 90s instead of the 100s (although that is soon to change by this weekend!). So the weather was bearable while we were there and the crowds were light since it was the middle of the day!

We bought a family fun card that allowed us any 10 attractions. Go-karts was first on the list. They boys were so excited to be able to 'drive'! Colin was just tall enough to be able to be an individual driver. Here they are anxiously awaiting their turn.

They felt the need for speed! They loved being able to drive! Brendan came out when he was done and said to us 'OK I am ready for my license!' YEA...right!

Next on the list was putt putt. We all had lots of fun trying to put the ball in the cup!

Making the boys pose by a tire sculpture! 'No more pictures Mom!'

Onto the next event...bumper boats! This was the funniest thing ever. When they first got into their boats and tried to steer the only thing that happened was that they went round and round and round in circles! They had absolutely NO idea how to steer them! It was hysterical! Ryan and I were trying to yell at them to tell them how to steer, but they couldn't hear us. Finally the guy who was working it, talked them through it so they were able to have fun! And fun they had!

The last thing of the day was Water Wars...now this was fun to watch! The object was to catapult a water balloon to your opponent hoping to break it over their head. It took the boys a few balloons to get the hang of it, but finally they did and they got wet!

Colin was better at this as he is stronger than his older brother, so to say the least, Brendan came out wetter than Colin did! Ryan and I had a few laughs watching this!

After play snacks!

After a long, fun filled day we headed home! Until next time...that is!