My Little Ragamuffins

Thank Goodness I have a sister that is a hairstylist!! 
Thanks Amelia!! 
You did a great service to my family for going to beauty school
 (I know that's why you did it). 
If not for you I might be one of those mom's that just never, ever cuts their kids hair...ok...I'd just buzz it off but you always do such a nice job.
If you haven't noticed by now my boys are the exact opposite of eachother when it comes to their physical features.  One has dark & curly hair,  dark eyes,  olive skin.  Blake.  The other one has light & straight hair, light eyes & light skin.  Sonny. 
BUT....they both have tons of hair regardless of the color & texture. 
I tend to just let it grow out for a while in between cuts & this is what it ends up looking like...

This.....

Don't we look like ragamuffins...

all long & shaggy!!

After. 

Sonny does not like cutting off his precious locks of hair. 

He did a great job sitting on my lap but afterwards he acted as if we threw out his best friend. 

He got over it after a while & then thinks his hair feels really cool & then wants everybody to "feel" it. 

He looks like a different kid.

Here he is with a happy face!! 

Isn't he so cute!! 

How could you not love this face?

 After....

  Blake always prefers to get a "trim" as opposed to a "cut".  This time I had Amelia trim it even shorter than normal for the summer.  And he went for it.  Now the boys have nice cool haircuts for the summer.  I got my haircut too but have yet to take a picture of it yet.  I finally let Amelia do a true a-line cut & it's shorter than it has been for a long time.  I'm liking it but still trying to figure it out.  Eventually I'll get a new picture...(one where my face doesn't look fat...haha) & put it up for all to judge  see.

Goodbye Red Sox!! (for now)

All I can say is that Blake had an awesome year in Coach Pitch Baseball this year.  I could not be happier with the progress this kid has made.  He hits the ball almost every time & he's getting better & better at fielding the ball.  He had some great plays at 3rd base a couple times too.  Wow!!  Way to go Blake.

Here's some pics of his last game.  This was a crazy game to say the least.  3 teams showed up to play & so our team was split in 1/2 so they could play their last game.  CrAzY!!  At least they got to play...the game 1 day before was rained out.  There have been more rained out games this year than in the last 2.  Even though it was weird at 1st it was still fun!!  Blake has the "red" belt....didn't want to go out & buy a blue one & the coach said it was totally fine....plus it made him easier to find amongst the other kids :)

(click on images to see larger)

The end of the year/recognition party was a week later & it was really nice.  The weather was great & we had great food.  Everyone pitched in to make it great.  I'm so happy with the coaches we had this year...especially Coach John.  He was really great with all those boys & I'm hoping that we will be on the same team next year too.  That would be great for the boys to continue playing with eachother.

Here's a few pics of Blake with his Coach & his trophy & Sonny just being a cutie...(he even got a goody bag :) he was soooo happy).

(click on images to see larger)

Can you find the spelling mishap on the cake? 

The mom who got the cake said she didn't think she would have to spell out

S-o-x...

.it was funny...

so of course I had to capture the moment :)

Blake's Incredible Month of May

MAY has come & gone but it sure was a good one for Blake!! 
He accomplished so much last month!!
So here's the rundown.....

Here's Blake in his suit for Church. 

I have never been the type of mom that made/makes my boys wear a suit to Church but I have always insisted that a collared shirt be involved.  I do however, insist that Blake (because he's 7 now)  wear a button up shirt & either a tie or a sweater vest.  I do this because I feel it completes the outfit & want to give the appearance that YES...I do care what he wears to Church.

Anyways....he chose his suit for the special occasion of giving his talk in Primary.  This was not his 1st talk, BUT, it was his 1st talk that he did not need mom or dad's help in the Primary room.  Brad was good enough to tackle the writing of the talk & having Blake practice before Church.  I'm usually still preparing everything I have to do for my class.  Thank you Brad!!!  He did great & didn't even need help on the tough name of Mosiah because we practiced all morning :)  Yay Blake & I'm so glad that he knows that you should always dress your best...especially if you are speaking in church.

Next.....yes my Blake is 7 years old but he

FINALLY

learned to tie his shoelaces on his own!!!! 

I cannot tell you how awesome that is for me!!! 

He's left handed & I think it was weird for him to watch me do something that looked backwards for him.  You should see it...it's very weird to watch BUT...he can do it on his own & they stay tied & I don't have to do it anymore!!!!

(sorry...no pics)

 

And FINALLY!!!!

Blake "mastered riding his bike"

(his words not mine)

I know a lot of kids learn to ride 2 wheelers way before the age of 7 but...

better now than never!!

He got a totally cool bike for Christmas & we went out a few times but he was just too nervous.  I even had the training wheels taken off of his "Rocket Quest" just in case he might be comfortable with a smaller sized bike.  Still...he just didn't want to do it.  He preferred to ride his scooter everywhere.  Ok...it's not like I was going to "force" him to ride it.  It's not going to make or break him...I hope.

Then one Sunday in May...after Church he decided he wanted to ride his bike.  I said...don't you mean your scooter...and he said No...my bike.  Ok I thought.  About 10 minutes later he ran in the house yelling MOM, MOM!!!  I just mastered riding my bike.  Really I said?  Then I went outside to see & I'm proud to say that YES, he had mastered it. 

We went in to get dad & the camera for proof. 

NOW

I can't get that kid off his bike. 

He even rides it to school!! 

He's even tried out other kids bikes &

 eventually he will get more comfy riding the bigger bike

 (it really is too big for him).

I'm so proud of this kid & all he's learned this past May!!

Now let's hope he doesn't drive me too crazy when school's out for Summer!!!

Peanut Butter Cookies & Baseball

The other night I finally decided to make peanut butter cookies because we have TONS of peanut butter & I found a simple recipe online that I had all the ingredients for!!  That's always a bonus. 

Preheat oven to 350

1 C. sugar

1 C. peanut butter

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

mix together & then mold into balls

loosely flatten with fork & bake for 8-10 minutes.

Seriously...that's it!!!

recipe found at allrecipes.comallrecipes.com

Well...Blake said he wanted to help & I thought the fork part would be great for him.  So I went outside & this is what I found.

Blake was teaching Sonny to throw the baseball to him so he could practice his catching skills.  I thought it was so sweet & Blake wasn't even yelling at him.  Why did they take their shirts off?  I have no clue but it was so fun watching them & I even took some video.

(gotta figure out how to upload to here...I used to know how to do it)

Needless to say...I finished the cookies by myself because they  were having so much fun.

But...the definitely helped me eat them!!

Blake's Open House

Here's Blake with his teacher Mrs. V @ his school's open house last week. 

 I can't believe it's that time of year already!! 

Where has the time gone? 

He's showing us his plants that they've been growing in class.

I'm so proud of Blake & all that he's accomplished this school year!! 

He is definitely a "reader" now & is really good at math & spelling & has lots of friends. 

His teacher has nothing but good things to report about him. 

I'm so HaPpY he's done great this year. 

Only 12 more days of school left!!!

Stung by a Bee

Last week Blake went in the house to get a drink & then all of a sudden he started that cry/scream. You all know what I'm talking about. At 1st I was like...what the heck...and then I KNEW what had happened. He'd gotten stung. I was outside & he was inside...weird, I know...but I took a look & there it was...the stinger!!! Geez!!! I got a card & finally got it scraped out & then proceeded to look on the internet to see what it was. This time it was a bee because bees leave their stinger behind. Last summer it was a wasp because there was no stinger & it stung him multiple times. I made sure I got a little ice pack to put on it. & then we looked & looked to find the bee but it wasn't til about a 1/2 hour later that my friend Jaime finally spotted it. Blake insisted on showing it to his friends & then sketched it. So there you have it...Blake's sketch of the bee that stung him. And...he was totally fine. Thank goodness he's not allergic!!

Happy (late) Mother's Day!!!

Here are my 2 handsome boys on Mother's Day. 

(Sonny's holding bacon for the brunch at my parents).

I would have to say that I had a lovely Mother's Day. 

It's hard to believe that I became a mom 7 years ago (almost 8).

I love my boys so much & truly grateful for the stewardship I have over them.  I pray that I can be the best mom for them & that I can teach them everything they need to be the best that they can be throughout this life.  It's a fun, happy, sad, exciting, irritating & truly a wonderful experience for me & I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.  I'm grateful to have these 2 wonderful boys!!!

HaPpY MoThEr'S dAy to all of you too!!!

(I actually wrote this on Mother's Day & just posted it because I was looking for baby pics of me with them when they were born & I can't find Blake's because they are not on the computer.  Guess I need to do some scanning.  ♥)

Safetyville USA

 A few weeks back Blake's 1st grade class went on a field trip to Safetyville USA. I went because I've never been there & I've always wanted to check it out.
Well, we went on a tour & learned all about.....
(drum roll please)
                   SAFETY!!!!
It was fun & good to reinforce all those rules that we as parents are always trying to teach our kids. Everything is minature there & that was so cute. Mini streets, street lights & signs, garbage cans, & places of business (that of course were not real). The kids were disappointed to find out that the McDonald's was fake. We had a fun time & I'm glad I got to go. I got to meet some of the other mom's of the kids that I meet on the morning walk & that Blake talks about. There's a picture of the kids on the ground & at 1st you might think they are doing STOP, DROP & ROLL....but they are actually in "log" position. If you come across a dog & you want it to leave you alone you are supposed to stop & stand like a "tree". If you are already on the ground you are supposed to become a "log"...rolling on your back & clasping your hands behind your head. They say it works so I think I'll try the "tree" one if I need to because I am not a big fan of big dogs. It was a great learning experience with a little fun sprinkled in.

Photo

I think it's fun to play with pictures in Picasa 3. 
So here's one I did but I have to say I miss
seeing the brightly colored shirts but I love the look of sepia too. 
I also like to crop the bad stuff out when I'm doing a close-up.  It's so nice.


I'm trying to figure out how to get my picasa pictures to load from the insert image while posting.
Anybody know how to do that?  Please send your help my way.  I don't mind blogging from picasa when I have 1 picture or a collage but I'd love to figure out how to blog more than 1 picture from picasa because that seems to be the place where I edit my photos most often.  Also if I'm making a photo gift on one of the many sites that are out there I can't seem to figure out how to use a photo from picasa.  If you know how to do this...please leave me a comment with instructions.  If not I'm sure I'll figure something out.  Thanks!!!

Blake & Sonny's Easter Pictures

Here are my 2 handsome boys & all the funny faces that come along with them.

Looking down instead of at me & Sonny's new "side" smile.

Looking at me....Blake decided to put his arms around his brother.

They are so cute..."side" smile again.

Pretty similar but a little bit better.

I like this one.

I ♥ this one cuz they are both laughing & look like they are having fun.

A close-up.

And the last one. 

I'm thinking that I need to go play around with the editing on a few of these to see what I can come up with.

I ♥ my boys!!!

Easter Pictures with Libby

On Easter morning we decided to take the kids out front to take some pictures.

(trying to cut back on pictures @ studios...they can be pricey plus I can practice my raw skills).

My boys were not too happy about this but we finally got a few good shots.  Actually....Kimi's pictures turned out way better than mine but she's a professional & has a way better camera & I don't have her pictures so we'll make do with what I took.  Plus...I don't know why but I alway stand off to the side when I'm taking pictures...I need to stop doing that.

Have you ever seen a boy more sad?

Now that Blake is smiling...Sonny's pouting.

I love how his arms are crossed & his bottom lip is totally sticking out.

Still a little mad.

Now Blake's pouting again.

Ok...here we go...the boys are finally smiling!!!  Yay!!!

And another one.

Doing better...Sonny looks like he may fall over.

This is a cute one.

And another cute one.

And we are DONE!!!!!

The boys & Libby have done pictures together many times but it was fun to just do it on our own & thank goodness for digital cameras!!!  I need to practice more.  The boys only are up next.

A Visit to the Park

Last week was Spring Break!!  Yippee!! 

I wasn't sure how everything was going to go seeing as how the weather didn't look so "springy".

And it's always a "joy" to find things for 4 kids to do when it's raining....hahaha.

BUT....I got a text from my friend Sarah H. saying that she was in town & she wanted to get together at a park so the kids could play.  I think it's been at around 2 years since she & her family moved back out to Utah & she & her family have been greatly missed!!  I was so excited & happy that I'd have a chance to see her while they were visiting.  I told Blake & he was excited too!!  So we set up a day & time to go to the park.  I packed lunches for the kids & we set off to go to the park.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only chilly & not raining outside.  Thank goodness for that.  We had a few other friends join us too....Miss Rose traveled with Sarah so of course she was there & Heather with her family as well.  We had 8 kids there altogether & Sarah has 1 on the way.  It was sooo fun to get together with all the kids again.  We were there for 3 hours & it was a great way to play the day away & for us girls to catch up on what's been going on.
Here's a ton of pictures from our fun day at the park.

Colby on the slides.

Sonny

Here's the whole gang eating lunch....

(adults are...Sarah, Heather & Rose)

Here's Sarah's oldest upside down!!

Colby & Blake strategizing their next move.

Rose & Heather...sisters-in-law.

Here's Kylie & Sarah's youngest....(for now).

Sonny B (that's Kylie's cup)

Here I am again.

Action shot.

Laying on the bridge.

Here's me & my friend Sarah H. 

I tried to fix my teeth in this picture but I couldn't figure it out.

NO!! 

 I'm not missing any teeth...it's a shadow...

or I really need to get my teeth whitened!!!

Blake & Colby in action.

Blake being attacked by 2 girls while Colby just stands in the background watching &

wondering...what the heck!!

And the girls conquered him!!

Don't they look sooo pleased!!

Here's all the kids in a group shot.

Sonny, Colby, Kylie, Blake

& then SD, MD(Heather's girl), SV, & SC

(the S girls are my friend Sarah's & I'm not using their names cuz their mom prefers it that way)

Well it was a really fun day at the park & I got the kids all packed up & ready to go &

of course....

Kylie had a poopy diaper....bleh...so I changed her in the back of my car & we were ready to go.

Not 5 mins after pulling out of the parking lot it started pouring!!!

Seriously!!!  I must say that luck was on my side that day.  Thank goodness it didn't start til

after I was done cleaning up the poopy diaper!!!!