birthday part 1

On the boys birthday we woke up to a flood on our property. It was crazy.

We took cupcakes to sunday school. The boys picked Iceburg for their birthday lunch.

We enjoyed a nice afternoon at home and went to my parents to celebrate. It was a great day. More on their big party to come...

five.

It's real. I have two five year olds. I am the mother to two five year olds. It's incredible and some days hard to believe it went so fast. Mind you not always easy. I was sitting here tonight on the eve of their birthday trying to remember how I felt five years ago... I had been in the hospital for days already and although terrified I remember just wanting them living outside my tired, aching body. I was sure it could not stretch any further and they had completely run out of room. Although not much went as I would have planned .. I remember my heart was so full as I laid eyes on my little ones. All 4lbs of them. And for the last five years we have learned how to love each other in ways that are best for us and we have grown in leaps and bounds since then.

Noah - He is independent, very gentle. He has a way with words.. he is detailed and descriptive always wanting to find the best words to describe things.. whether it's how he is feeing or the way he sees something.

He is caring... not only for people but for things that mean something to him. He is not shy and always willing to go first and try something new. He appreciates his alone time and can play well by himself. He loves cheese strings, pizza, mac & cheese and still loves water downed juice. He enjoys being active and could play outside all day long.

Ari - My sensitive double. He has highs and lows. Emotional extremes. He always needs a friend. He loves people.. especially his best mommy. He doesn't like doing much of anything by himself. If Noah is with him he is happy. He is getting better at trying new things but likes to see someone else do it first.

When he is tired he crashes and is done whatever activity he happens to be doing. He loves deep. Cares deeper. He also loves cheesestrings, mac & cheese and any all fruit. His new favorite thing is to play baseball.. not for the baseball (he could do without that) but he loves going to TimPortens for chocolate milk after. He just wants to be loved. Don't we all?

Its been amazing to watch them grow.. hard to believe in fall they will walk into Kindergarten. I am so proud of them... proud that they are who they are and proud that we have all made it this far. Stronger with hearts a little fuller than before. My hope is that they flourish as individuals and always dream big. Believing that they can do whatever they put their minds to and that they would always know that we are for them in every way. Fly high my best Ari and my best Noah. Fly high.

back to reality

we arrived home late monday night. tired. happy. full.

it's hard for me to even know where to begin. our trip was more than we could have ever expected. in every way. we won't have any pics for a bit yet.. our friends have the camera and as soon as they get home will send us a cd. i can't wait to look through them.

its been hard to adjust to being back. so great to be with the boys. i am thankful that i missed them but it did not make our trip harder... we knew they were having a blast and we were totally relaxed about it.

it's hard to describe our hotel and the amazing food we ate. the hotel is worth all 5 stars and all the awards it's been given. we have never stayed in a place like that before. we dined in amazing places and enjoyed cold drinks by the pool in the hot sun every day. we dressed up and really enjoyed ourselves.

by far the highest point was the company. morgan & martha are the best people to vacation with. morgan and the stallion go way back... best friends since they were young. they are the kind of friends that it doesn't matter how long it's been since you've been together it's just like yesterday. you can pick up right where you left off. we were so blessed to be with them.

i promise to do a play by play once there are pictures to go with it. it will be like re-living it all over again. for now there are some new ventures on the horizon... and i see a deep blog post in our future. stay tuned.

pause.

putting life on pause for a few days to hit up Vegas with the stallion and two of our dearest friends. i promise to be back next week.. better than ever!!

the stallion.

I can recall a reason to celebrate this guy every day. He is selfless, generous, patient, forgiving and the best thing that ever happened to me. So thankful I married him.

In honor of his 28th birthday...

Here is to 28 reasons I am more than happy he is alive.

1. He is steady. Like a rock.

2. He balances me.

3. He's super hot

4. Biceps

5. Softest hair you will EVER touch

6. He loves food and all things I cook for him

7. He accepts anyone and everyone

8. He takes things at face value

9. He sees the best in most situations

10. He never over-reacts

11. He makes some cute babies

12. He works hard

13. He can breakdance.. he has skills people!

14. He never ever disrespects me and makes sure my boys don't either

15. His laugh.

16. His pursuit of excellence.. in all he does.

17. The way he can instantly make you feel comfortable. He's a friendly guy.

18. The way the ladies turn to look at him... yep he's all mine.

19. Even though touch is not my main love language and is totally his.. I love that he is not afraid to show his affection. It's nice.

20. the way he looks at me.

21. The way he can calm me down and help me settle back into reality.

22. Did I mention his hair?

23. He can fix pretty much anything. Total handy hubby.

24. Even though he is super frugal.. I respect it.. well, most of the time.

25. He is good at whatever he does. Sometimes this bugs me but mostly I like it.

26. He is the best Dad.. Our boys know who they are and how special they are to him.

27. He is a rough, play hard kind of dad but can also be so soft and gentle with them.

28. He's only getting better. Like a fine wine.

I feel like I won the jackpot most days and am so thankful to share my life with someone like him. Some days I pinch myself just in case I'm dreaming... I mean really who wouldn't love this face. Happy Birthday my love.

Easter 2011

Wanted to share these photos. I love traditions... I love holidays. I like having traditions surround special holidays. The boys really got Easter this year... they understand that Jesus died on the cross for our sins on good Friday and that he rose from the dead so we can live. Love that they get this... they also LOVED our annual easter egg hunt. They were pumped for days leading up to it.

After Jett went down for his afternoon nap we hid eggs all over the yard and let them loose.

(not so sure why they are totally color coordinated... lol)