4/27/09

Mylie showing off her cute new outfit!

4/26/09

It was a pretty windy afternoon which we thought would be good for kite-flying ... but the wind was only blowing downward. We gave it a good try though and Mylie sure had fun trying.

4/25/09

{New jammies} Jeff picked up some new jammies for Blake today ... and yep, that's a cape. (I think Jeff was bummed they didn't come in men's XL.)

4/24/09

{Ring Around the Rosies} Drake is spending the night tonight and he and Mylie have such fun together. They both include Blake too, which is so sweet. Blake was especially happy when they started playing ring around the rosies just for him!

4/23/09

Ugh. Springtime means the wasps are back. Time to spray all their little hives.

4/22/09

I am often reminded of how lucky I am to be married to Jeff. Sometimes it is because I hear other people talk about their marriages and I realize how wonderful mine is. Sometimes it is because I get home from work and he has the kids picked up and dinner in the oven. But most often it is because he totally believes in me, he is my biggest fan (well he AND my mom), he encourages me to follow my dreams, he knows me better than anyone and he truly is my best friend. I know I am a pretty lucky girl.

4/21/09

Here are 3 of Mylie's books, taken away from her and now sitting on the top of the fridge, sigh. When I got home from work Jeff told me that he had been sent to bed and if I looked in the bathroom garbage I would know why. So I looked and there were 3 of Blake's board books all torn up. I'm not sure what she was thinking, purposely ruining things is very out of character for her, especially books, she loves books. I knew the best punishment would be to take 3 of her books away. She and cried and cried and cried. Somedays I would just like to be in her head and know why she does what she does! {I'm sure my mom said the same thing about me, well into my 20s!}

4/20/09

I'm amazed at how this rose bush has grown. It was a such a small little $3 start when we planted it years ago. It is on the side of the yard and honestly hasn't had much tending to, but is covered in beautiful red roses all summer long.

4/19/09

I *finally* took the facebook plunge. Would you like to know how much time I've wasted in the last 48 hours? I didn't think so.

4/18/09

{Hot date} Mel watched our kids tonight and we went out to dinner. So good! Coconut shrimp is so delish. Is it bad that whenever we go to Outback (which really isn't that often, maybe twice a year) I take all the coasters off the table? They are perfect for paper crafting projects. The last batch that I collected I made a calendar for my office, so cute.

It it funny because when I was in college my roommate Sarah's sister worked at Chilis back in their hometown. She would send us coasters by the 100s. We had no clue what do to with them, in fact we would stand on our second floor balcony and fly them like frisbees (they were round) at people. Oh man, how I would love 100 coasters now!

4/17/09

Dressing a little boy is fun! I'm loving this plaid shorts that look more like manpris (the male version of capris). Blake is happily about to wrestle the diet coke box he just threw down. I don't think I'll buy any more toys ... he is extraordinarily happy with boxes and utensils!

4/16/09

{Bloom!} My lilacs are starting to bloom. We have two lilac bushes right off of our front patio. Lilacs are without a doubt my favorite flower. Not only do they smell beautiful, but they evoke a lot of emotion. Both of my Grandmas were excellent gardners and had many lilac bushes in their yard. The smell absolutely reminds me of them.

4/15/09

{The giggly glasses} I have discovered a new hilarious game to play with Blake. If I look at him and take my glasses off he cracks up. Not just a little giggle either. He throws his head back and does a total belly laugh. What a goof!

4/14/09

{Giggles} There is no shortage of these at our house. :)
(Blake is a big fan of utensils.)

4/13/09

{Redecorating} Sigh, this is how you decorate when you have a 14-month old and have no more furniture to block him from getting into things.

4/12/09

Happy Easter from our house!

(No editing today ... using my netbook and I'm not installing PSE on it. So as we say in our house, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit!)

4/11/09

{BFFs} We watched Mel's kids tonight, such fun. Even though there is a major age difference in her girls and Mylie, they all play together so well. Blake and Brax are just 3 months apart, it is fun to watch them. It is crazy to think how long Mel and I have been friends ... through high school, as college roommates and the many years since. I love that we now live in the same town. Life is busy and we don't get together as often as we would like, but I sure love her!!

And for the record, this was the best of quite a few attempts. I don't have the skills to keep both a 14 month old and a 17 month old's attention.

4/10/09

Today (while sobbing) I finished the 9th and final book in the Work and the Glory series. I would estimate that I have read 7000 pages in the last 5 or so weeks. This series was SO good, one of those that you don't want to end because you don't want to leave the characters. I have such an awe of the early years of the church and am looking forward to my trip to Nauvoo even more!

4/9/09

A picture of my phone because I felt like I have been on it ALL DAY LONG! Lots of crazy (work related) things going on have the potential to majorly affect our life.

4/8/09

This is the ring that Jeff gave me this Christmas with all of our birthstones. He joked and told me it was his way of saying we aren't having any more kids ... hahaha. It has his birthstone, mine, Mylie and Blake's. Mylie calls it the birthday ring and often looks at it and says she is figuring out how long until her birthday, she is so funny. I love this little ring though. The way these four stones look together remind me of how much I love the way the four of us come together to make our little family.

4/7/09

{Scrapbooks} Green for Mylie. Red for Blake. I had scrapbooked before my kids were born, but really developed a love of it after Mylie was born. Scrapbooking led to my love of photography ... now my two favorite hobbies. I don't get to scrapbook as much as I used to, but I did go to a crop this weekend and got 6 pages done. So fun!

4/6/09

{Oh baby!} Because seriously, how could you not love this fresh out of the bathtub face? (Don't mind the drool.)

4/5/09

{She loves to read.} We made a trip to the library last weekend, so she is excited to have new books. She is so smart. I read them to her once, and she remembers the words quite well. She loves to play school (and church), just like I did when I was young. I imagine that Blake has many, many hours ahead of him playing student. He can commiserate with Uncle Ben on that one.

4/4/09

Mylie was the goalie today, she takes it pretty seriously. Four year old soccer is so fun!

4/3/09

{Spoiled.} This is my new baby computer, a 10" netbook, which really looks like a baby next to my 17" laptop. I have been eyeing these for months, and in fact have convinced two people to buy them, but had yet to buy one for myself. I've turned into a bit of a geek, and frankly I just think they are cool. But coolness alone wasn't enough to justify it. However, after my teaching offer at CWI, I decided this would be a great little help for my online classes, thus giving me the ability to write part of it off on my taxes. Plus, the battery on my 17" laptop needs replaced, but the it is $200 (seriously? $200 for a battery, ridiculous!). My thought was that we use that computer at home plugged in anyway, and that $200 would pay for a good chunk of this netbook. (If you couldn't tell, I rock at justifying things.)

Jeff told me a month ago if I want it to just get it. I, however, like to obsessively research things. Like, seriously obsessively. I know everything about netbooks now. But I hadn't intended to buy one yesterday, we were just picking up milk at Costco ... and they had a new one there ... and it had all the features of the one I had narrowed myself down to online ... but for $90 less ... plus Costco automatically has a 2 year warranty on its electronics ... and it was in stock ... and yadda yadda yadda ... now I have a netbook.

And seriously, 24 hours into it, I love it. It is so light, less than 3 pounds, the battery lasts forever! Like over 6 hours. We have become fast friends.

But what would this post be without a Mylie story. So she knows that I have been looking at "little punuters" (she says punuter for computer, so cute I can't stand to correct her). So as we are driving home last night she asks, "So Mom, what are you going to do with your little punuter?" And I tell her how it is small so I can take it with me. And she responds by asking, "But don't you already have a punuter at work Mom? And don't we already have a punuter at home?" And while she and I are having this conversation, Jeff is fighting back the biggest grin, and I just know that he is thinking that these are all the same questions he thinks about asking me, but then doesn't. So, thank you Jeff, for just indulging my quirks and letting me be happy to be a geek.

4/2/09

This is my favorite of all of Blake's shirts, probably because it is so darn true. It reads, "I am sweet, I break things, I am in charge." Do you like how Mylie has to hold him still for the picture? And check out that Buddha belly! I sure love this chunky monkey.

4/1/09

{Ouch!} This is Mylie's newest injury, it just gives me the heeby jeebies looking at it. She was running, in the house, in flip flops at daycare tripped and banged her neck into the table. Poor thing!