Me & My Boys

My Little Helper

2012-01-23T15:35:00.000-06:00

I had a photo shoot with a baby girl just two weeks younger than Hayes. While I was getting set up, I tested out a few props with my little guy. He was a big goober!

And here is one of baby girl, Paisley, in the same box.

So cute!

Here are a few things we've been doing this past week.

Santa brought us some play-doh! It kept them busy for a good hour.

Working outside with daddy...fixing our flower beds that settled with the last rain.

We put him in his saucer for the first time, and he's not quite ready for it yet.

But someone else was thought it was pretty cool.

This little boy spends most of his awake time seeing how many fingers he can fit in his mouth.

"Peace, mama."

Baby Hayes

2012-01-16T12:38:00.000-06:00

I've fallen behind on the ol blog. Guess that's what having three kids does to you?

Not sure if I'll try to catch up completely, but it'd be sad to not be able to compare Halloween, and Thanksgiving, etc. with last year, so we'll see what I can manage to get done.

For now, I wanted to post a few of my favorites of baby Hayes from the past few months. He is 4 months old already!

Here he is this morning. Trying out the high chair for the first time!

One Month

2011-10-13T09:02:00.000-05:00

Time is really flying with this baby boy....sigh.

A Family of Five

2011-09-21T17:35:00.002-05:00

This baby boy makes our family a family of five.
It's a little surreal.
He is such a sweetheart.
I forgot how much I love cuddling with a newborn.

Hayes Joseph was born September 13. He weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Is it possible that I maybe jinxed myself into having three boys by naming this blog "Me & My Boys"? ;)

First Day

2011-09-06T14:03:00.001-05:00

August 24th was Bo's first day of preschool. On that particular day we had to wake him up. Thank goodness he woke happy and excited about going to school. This could've gone either way - the day before he had told me he didn't like his teacher and didn't want to go to school. So with about 10 minutes to dress, eat breakfast, and get some before school pictures, things went pretty darn well. Whew!

There are 25 kids in his class!!

He goes Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:30 to 11:00 and has done really well ever since. (And his mama is loving it too!!)

Two

2011-08-22T15:35:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Cruz's 2nd birthday this last weekend. He was SO excited about his jungle animal themed party. For several days before the party, every time he'd wake up he'd say, "Animal party?" So cute!

Hectic

2011-08-14T06:16:00.000-05:00

Why is it that all winter we sat and twiddled our thumbs with not much to do, just waiting to get out of the house? And now, ever since late April, every single day we've been on the go.

Non-stop.

I don't want to complain, but I'm tired.

New baby on the way, building a new house (with two kids), pregnancy induced insomnia, and decisions, decisions, decisions.

With 4 weeks til baby and 8-10 weeks til moving time, the end is near! Or wait, should I say the beginning?

I'm ready!

Even though I wish I could (would) have done more fun things with the boys, we had a great summer.

Bo's swimming lessons.

Gaga's house with Charlie the kitty.

The Sedgwick County Fair

Slip N Slide in the front yard with the neighbors.

Popcorn for breakfast.

Washing the vehicles.

"Working" at the new house.

Morning cartoons in mommy & daddy's bed with Minnie & Mickey.

Playing in the fountains with friends.

Jaden's 8th Birthday.

That's just July. August has been filled with cooler temperatures (mid 90s) and lots of fun! We look forward to more birthday parties and Bo starting preschool. Hopefully I'll get some more updates/pictures posted before baby arrives!!!

4th of July 2011

2011-07-13T16:41:00.000-05:00

This year we began celebrating the 4th a week early in our neighborhood. Bo was so excited when he heard one of the neighbors firing off some fireworks that we had to head to the fireworks stand asap and fire some off every night until the actual 4th.

Daddy let him light a few by himself this year.

It took Cruz a little while to warm up to the loud poppers.

On July 3rd we went to a party at my aunt and uncle's house. They've put on some very big shows in the past, so we were pretty excited to see what they were going to blow up this year.

We were all surprised when my brother pulled up in his patriotic ride. I'm pretty sure Cruz was in love.

I got some lovely posed pics. The first is of Cruz with his Godfather, Heath.

The boys were definitely in a "zone" when I was trying to get their pics. Bo's smile couldn't be anymore forced!

And me, trying to wrestle chunky buns while having our pic taken.

They never actually blew up this festive toilet...thank goodness!

Cruz's last day with his bottle..

On the 4th we loaded up and headed to Kelly's hometown. Again, the boys had fun with the poppers and playing with family. They barely held still long enough for me to get their pictures.

Cruz was hilarious. He would love the sparkler one second and then throw it down and run away from the next. He did this over and over.

Bo wondering WHY I keep telling him to look at me.

And an extremely forced "Cheeeeezzzzzza" from Cruzie.

I'm thinking we're going to have to start saving up around here for the 4th kinda like we do for Christmas. These boys get very excited about loud noises and blowing stuff up.

HOT!

2011-06-26T12:03:00.001-05:00

At least someone is enjoying these 100+ degree temperatures!

Bo & Baseball

2011-06-21T13:13:00.000-05:00

This kid wakes up in the morning ready to play. He immediately asks if his cousins can come play, so one can hit, one can pitch, and one can catch. After it's time for his cousins to head home, he waits and waits for his daddy to come home so they can hit in the front yard.

A couple of weeks ago he broke the neighbors window hitting a wiffle ball. Lovely.

Last night, him and Landon were playing out front and decided they wanted to go to Landon's house to play. I used a bit of trickery and told them they could go once they took some pictures together holding their bat, ball, and glove.

This is what I got. The funny thing is, I didn't pose them in this way...they immediately just got into position themselves.

I'm thinking that in about 10 years I'll be looking at these pictures wishing I could turn back the hands of time....

As of Yesterday

2011-06-11T22:19:00.000-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T17:18:00.001-05:00

We spent this Memorial Day Weekend camping. My parents took their camper, we borrowed my brother's camper, and Heath and Emmy were able to borrow Heath's dad's camper. So things actually worked out perfect. And as fate would have it, we ended up lucking out and choosing a campsite that just happened to be right beside some of our best friends camping. If the weather would've cooperated a little better, it would've been the perfect camping weekend.

Here's our weekend in pictures.

Friday -

We woke up around 5:30 Saturday morning to rain, thunder, and lightening. The rest of the day Saturday was very cool and breezy. The kids exhausted pretty much every game and toy they possibly could have played with.

Saturday -

By Sunday, we were all pretty worn out. The weather was very warm, but the wind was pretty viscious. We took the kids to the beach then packed up to head home late that afternoon.

Sunday -

Some Progress

2011-05-31T07:05:00.004-05:00

Despite the recent wet, windy weather, progress on the house has been coming along pretty well. Here are some pictures I've taken over the past few weeks.

Thursday, May 12

The basement walls are formed and we begin the 10 day wait for them to dry out.

They were able to start framing on Wednesday, May 18. That night it stormed and rained quite a bit so they didn't work on Thursday. Then Friday it rained a little too, so no work was done then either. Go figure. We've had a "drought" for months and now here comes the rain!

Sunday, May 22nd
The view from the back of the house. The exterior walls in the basement are done.

Monday, May 23rd
The walls in the basement are framed out now and the floor trusses are in place.

This if the view from the front of the house.

Sunday, May 29th
The view from one of the kitchen windows...

And this is the latest view from the end of our driveway.

Eventhough we've built a house before, it is beyond crazy to actually walk through rooms we've only visualized on paper for the last several months. Everything is pretty much as I imagined it would be. I would really like to move a couple of doorways, but other than that things are looking great.

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

This Mother's Day the temps were in the 90s, which led us to one of our very favorite places. The lake! We tried to get out there with little work in mind, but as always, the lake and kids is always alot of work. Thank goodness daddy took care of the packing and the chasing of kiddos.
We had quite the set up.

Sun, shade, and a great wind block.

The kids were dying to go swimming eventhough the water was frigid. They didn't seem to mind at all!

It was a great day! Really gets me excited for all of our camping trips this summer.

Playing in the Wheat

2011-05-04T13:55:00.000-05:00

Every evening we've been heading out to the construction sight to check on any progress made on the new house. We're building in the middle of a wheat field so the wheat just gets taller and taller by the day. The kids just love running through it.

It's pretty much over Cruz's head now.

The boys were following their dad around looking for a flag that marked where the water well will go.

There hasn't been too much progress on the house since last week. They poured the walls of the basement and should be taking the forms off today. Then we'll have at least a 10 day wait before they backfill and get started on the framing. That's when it'll get really exciting for me!

Emmy and a few of the kids came out. They had a ball throwing dirt and running, running, running.

I found this little stinker hiding behind a dirt pile. Eating dirt of course!

And the Race is On...

2011-04-27T22:07:00.000-05:00

The race started yesterday actually...

FINALLY!

We have exactly 6 months to get our house built and get moved into it.

Very exciting times around here! And not to mention, a bit stressful, and very busy with lots of decisions to make.

The kiddos are loving it so far. Yesterday this dirt pile was wet and we had a blast coming home with shoes caked in mud. And yes, Cruz is definitely going to be a hand full on a construction sight this summer!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T20:15:00.000-05:00

We got up early Sunday morning, checked out our Easter baskets, went to church, then went to Gaga & Papa's for breakfast and an egg hunt, then ran home for a short nap before heading to my grandparent's house for more food and another egg hunt. Exhausting, but fun!!

We had to pull Cruz out of bed. He snapped awake pretty quick, but was definitely in la la land for awhile - as you can tell in some of these pics!

The boys before heading to church.

After church Cruz was clobbering Jaden with hugs and kisses. She wasn't too sure about it.

The best pic I could get of all the kids before the egg hunt at Gaga & Papa's.

Let the hunt begin!

Fighting over each other's candy...

Our attempts for a family photo.

And the Harp family's photo. So sweet!!

Tried to get a good one of the brothers. Didn't work out so well... goofballs!

After our naps...which I could have just slept the whole afternoon...we headed to great grandma's house.

Bo found the "golden" egg that had money hidden in it.

I think this swing was putting Cruz to sleep. We had to wake him from his nap too that day.

Bo having fun with his cousin.

He enjoyed Easter this year, but really didn't like the stampede at the beginning of all the big egg hunts we did. We went to one up at the city park and the start whistle kind of surprised us all, so when the herd of kids started falling all over each other Bo pretty much had a meltdown. I had to run his hiney across the park, picking up eggs for him!

20 Months

2011-04-20T10:49:00.000-05:00

This boy is 20 months old today.

He still surprises us everyday, saying new things and being so darn hilarious.

He watches his big brother constantly, and mimicks everything he does. Sometimes this drives Bo nuts, and sometimes it scares his mother to death.

I've just recently tried to explain to him that he's going to be a big brother soon. When I tell him there's a baby in mama's belly he replies with, "Huh?"

I have a feeling the new baby is going to get a lot of love from his/her big brother. Cruz always wants to be cheek to cheek with any visitors that come over. It's adorable.

Gaga's Birthday

2011-04-17T10:03:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday we went out to my parents house to celebrate my mom's birthday. The wind actually died down for a bit that evening and we were able to enjoy being outside without being blown away.

One of Gaga's kitty's just had baby kitten's. The kids love them!

My brothers have caught a few fish lately and keep them in a big tank behind the shed. Cruz was beyond fascinated with the fishies.

The ugliest fish EVER!!

How cute are these two!?!

And of course we had to get some pictures of us girls with our mama! Such posers!

Room to Run

2011-04-05T14:17:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, before this crazy wind hit, we had a really nice day. It was Kelly's birthday and we had a garage sale that day. By that evening we were pooped. After letting the boys play in the field behind our house for awhile, we decided to go out to the land that we're getting ready to build a house on.
Here are a few pics of the boys playing behind our house.

This evening was like the calm before the storm. The wind has been blowing 20 + mph since this nice night. It was actually the first time we've been out to our land that we haven't been blown away by the wind. So we were actually able to get a feel for how peaceful the country will be.

My parents and brother just happened to be out cruising around with my aunt in her Cadillac convertible so they stopped to walk with us.

I'm thinking it's going to be a good possibility that I lose the boys on all this land once we move out here.

My aunt and parents weren't sure the lights on the Caddie worked so they had to take off before the sun set.

Now if only we could snap our fingers and have a house and landscaping and everything else done out there!
We are planning on closing on the sale of our house next week. So hopefully we can get started building SOON after. The buyer is letting us live in this house until November 1st....so we only have a short amount of time to get things done!

Sleeping Baby

2011-03-28T16:44:00.000-05:00

Or maybe I should say, sleeping BIG boy.

Last week before Bo's dentist appointment we had to wake Cruz from his nap. I usually never wake my kids from sleep. Ever. Since I had to this time, I thought I'd get a picture of the big boy sleeping. He definitely wasn't ready to wake up. Poor guy.

One Morning

2011-03-24T09:04:00.001-05:00

One morning last week I just had to get my camera out and make sure I never forget how this boy is at this age. Our camcorder went kaput a couple of months ago so I feel super guilty for not being able to capture these times on video. I guess photos are going to have to do for now.

He is still in love with his bottle. I've tried to not give it to him a couple of times, but I'm not pushing too hard. It is SO convenient to give it to him and get up to 20 minutes of "free" time to accomplish something else that needs to be done. And heck, bedtime and nap time are not a struggle at all if a bah bah is involved.

On another note, Bo is holding up pretty well after his dentist appointment the other day. Poor guy had to have two teeth pulled. I'm a little embarrassed to say that. Definitely feel like this could have been prevented and saved our boy a lot of pain.
We were shocked when they came out and told us they were pulling two teeth. Prior to the procedure, they had told us they might have to pull one. We could handle that. But now he's missing his lower, center molar on each side of his mouth. I'm worried he's going to become an even pickier eater than he was to begin with.
In all actuality, he really hasn't complained much at all. Last night and tonight in the evenings it was the worst. And all he did was tell me his mouth hurt and was burning when he tried to eat. He just keeps saying he really doesn't like the guy at the dentist's office. The anesthesiologist told him to give his dad a hug then had to stick him in the bottom with a shot of something that would relax him and make him forget getting the IV. That's all Bo remembers is the pain from that shot. Which is good, we've already talked about going back to the dentist down the road to get his teeth cleaned and he seems fine with it. He knows he had to get his teeth fixed and from here on out we're not going to eat sugary stuff that gets stuck in our teeth easily (fruit snacks, caramels, suckers, sugary gum, etc.), and he wants to brush and floss his teeth every night now for sure.
We've learned our lesson as parents too. I think all of this may have been just about as hard on me as it was him. And we're already thinking about how soon we can get Cruz in to get his teeth cleaned too!

Gaga & Papa's

2011-03-21T09:59:00.001-05:00

Last night we stopped by my parents house to enjoy the warm weather. The boys love going out there to play with the animals and to just play in the dirt. Gaga and Papa have an old tire swing hanging from one of the huge trees in their backyard. Bo was a pro hanging on while swinging....while Cruzie needed a little help.

It took a little convincing, but we were able to get Cruz on the 4-wheeler with Papa and Bo too.

Today we get to take Bo to the dentist to have some work done. Poor guy has to be put out during the procedure. He hasn't been able to eat anything but popcicles and apple juice this morning. After 10:00, he can't have anything. The appointment isn't until 1:00. If you have kiddos you know how difficult the next 3 hours are going to be. Especially since they just happen to be over the lunch hour. The kid asks for something to eat every 30 minutes usually. I've had alot of anxiety and lost alot of sleep over today. So far it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully this afternoon will be fine too. One thing is for sure after this whole ordeal - we're definitely cutting back the amount of sugar and candy we give him!!

Like Father, Like Son

2011-03-09T14:04:00.000-06:00

Best buds.

(and yes, they always stand 6 inches away from the television when they're playing games!)

Getting Outdoors

2011-03-02T14:56:00.001-06:00

Finally! Less laying around in our pjs all day drinking bah bahs and playing the wii....

And more getting outdoors...

I think Spiderman wins the prize for best picture of the afternoon :)

We love getting outdoors, playing soccer with our cousins! Now if only mother nature can keep up the warmer temperatures!

Daily

2011-02-24T13:08:00.000-06:00

This boy knows how to get on his older brother's nerves. His cousin's too. He knows just the right buttons to push to get him irritated. Don't get me wrong, they have their good moments too, but Cruz always has to have a hand (or foot) on whatever Bo is trying to do.

It's pretty darn comical at times. For example, Bo will ask me to turn a show on in the bedroom for him and before I can even answer him, Cruz comes running out of the bedroom with the tv remote trying to hide it from us.

Um, yeah, Cruz is wrecking Bo's fort as I type. Let the wrestling match begin. I'm not worried though, Cruz can definitely hold his own. He gets people in a headlock and won't let go. He does this to Kelly and I and we can barely pry his little arms off us. It's very funny. He's like a little scrapper.

I suppose this little sibling rivalry is probably something that will go on their whole lives. Heck, I'm still experiencing it with my sisters. Hmm, and actually my younger brothers can intentionally try to annoy me at times and succeed greatly! Little sh*ts!

Ice Fishing

2011-02-10T10:47:00.000-06:00

With ALL this snow and freezing weather, we have been going stir crazy having to be indoors 24/7. When I heard that my dad and brothers were going ice fishing at Cheney Lake last weekend, we thought we'd drive out and let the boys see the frozen lake.
We weren't really planning on taking them out on the ice because it just happened to be 50 degrees that day, but of course as soon as we got there they both ran straight for it. After seeing how comfortable my mom and dad were on the ice, I felt like it was ok to let the boys walk on it with someone by their side.

It was a little scary because there were puddles on top of the ice where it had started to melt. But dad assured me that it was 9 inches thick, so we were safe. And if these big guys were fine walking on it, I was sure we were fine too.

Bo was super excited to watch his Papa drill a hole in the ice. For some reason, he wasn't too excited to hold the fishing pole & wait for a fish.

Cruz was up for holding the pole, even if he had no clue what he was doing.

Cruz doesn't have snow boots, so his feet were soaked. The poor kid managed to do a face plant right in a big puddle while on the ice too. Luckily Uncle Kyle had another hat and Gaga had a few snacks to distract him.

Towards the end of our little adventure, I finally ventured out a little ways with the boys and mom. On my way back I decided to walk on the rocks, kinda along the edge of the rocks. Well, what do you know, the only one to almost fall through the ice was me. My whole foot went through. My BearPaws got a little washing from Cheney Lake. Good thing my other foot was steady on the rocks, or I may have just had a little ice bath in the lake that day. We headed home after that little mishap.

Bo

2011-01-31T10:28:00.000-06:00

The other day I was doing a practice set-up run for a photo shoot I was going to have in a few days and Bo asked, "Mom, do you want to take some pictures of me?" Umm, yes please. Usually I have to beg for a photo of him looking and smiling at the camera. The hardest part was convincing him to get some clothes on, since the kid lives in his gundies.

He's almost 4 1/2 now. Crazy.

Cookies

2011-01-19T08:25:00.000-06:00

If you know me well, you know that I like to make cookies. I make at least a batch a week. Recently, for some reason, I've gotten out of the habit. Being stuck inside on these gloomy days lately, I knew that some cookies would entertain and cheer us up a bit.
Usually Bo is my big helper in the kitchen. But on this night, Cruz couldn't have been a bigger helper.

Once the boy tasted the goods, all the helping he could do was to help lick the spoon clean.

"Mmmmmmm!" he says

Oh, was he mad when I took him away from that bowl.

Snow

2011-01-15T17:23:00.000-06:00

With the first snow of the season, came lots of excitement. They were even willing to look at me with smiles while I took their picture so they could get out of the house quicker.

This little boy, on the other hand, gave me more of an eye roll. He didn't know the fun that was to come, he's never gotten to play in the snow before.

Yep, and he loved it.

Loved eating it, that is.

No snowmen this time around. The snow wasn't packing well enough. But all in all, the snow was a hit.

One Year Ago Today

2011-01-11T15:12:00.000-06:00

I was going through old pictures today and came across this one. I took it one year ago today of the little squirts.

And here we are today (yesterday actually), it's not easy getting one of them together!

At this rate, we'll be sending them off to college next week!

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

2011-01-08T16:15:00.004-06:00

He's obsessed.

Literally, if Mickey's not on the tv, he says "uh-oh", or asks for it by attempting to sing the theme song.

He'll sit exactly like this, completely focused on the show the whole 25 minutes.

Cute, and pretty darn convenient, but perhaps a little worrisome?

Cruzie

2011-01-06T18:36:00.000-06:00

I don't think I've ever caught this boy smiling this much on camera before. Pretty funny.

And while all this smiling was going on, his big brother was being a complete goofball himself.

Maybe I'll just blame all the goofiness on cabin fever. We're all definitely coming down with something!

They're Gone

2011-01-04T08:48:00.007-06:00

His sweet little curls came off the other day. It was a very hard decision, but they didn't really curl anymore unless he had just gotten out of the tub, or I wetted his hair down. His hair usually looked pretty crazy.

So I got started with the buzzer, then daddy cleaned it up. I'm not very good at fading. And Cruz wasn't exactly cooperative. But he did do a pretty good job with Mickey on the tv and a bottle in his mouth.

It's like there's a new kid running around my house. He seems older, and slimmer :) Not perfect, but definitely cute.

Then, after a little bribing, I got the two of them to pose together for these shots.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-02T18:25:00.000-06:00

This year we decided to let the boys open one gift each on the 22nd. We were heading to Great Bend the next day and knew there would be tons of gifts and chaos to come. They get so many toys, I wanted to somewhat try to spread it out a bit. It was so much fun watching their excitement.

On the eve of Christmas Eve, we drove to Kelly's parents house. The boys had a good time wrestling with their grandpa and playing the Wii.

Bo begged and begged to open one of gifts from under the tree. Finally grandma & grandpa gave in and let him open one.

The next day Kelly's brother and sister arrived. We opened gifts in the afternoon, then ate dinner & had a gift exchange with the extended family in the evening.

We drove home late Christmas Eve and were able to open gifts from Santa at our house on Christmas morning.

We then headed over to my parents for lunch and more gift opening.

When we got home that evening, it looked like a tornado had come through. With the suitcases to unpack, toys, gifts, wrapping thrown throughout the house, we were beyond tired. The boys really wanted their daddy to put one toy together before bed. Sheesh, it took almost 2 hours! Toys these days just aren't the same as they used to be!

That was our Christmas this year! Eventful, memorable, and so fun to see the boys get excited! They are spoiled!

Gundies

2010-12-21T11:57:00.000-06:00

Today is laundry day at our house. I think I'm doing about 89 loads, or something like that. I fold clothes on the living room floor, but I usually wait until Cruz is napping. Due to the large amount of laundry I'm doing today, there was no time to wait around.

Anyways, Cruz is actually a pretty good helper. He knows how to put his socks and pajamas away all by himself. Keeps him busy and away from the other folded clothes.

Today once he finished putting all the socks and jammies away, he was checking out all of Bo's underwear. He was trying to put some on, so I put the Spongebob ones on over his sweats. Then he kept holding other pairs up around his neck, so I went ahead and helped him out and put them on his head. He thought it was pretty cool.

Bo, on the other hand, didn't think it was very cool and kept pulling the gundies off Cruz's head...

Spongebob Gingerbread House

2010-12-15T13:12:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago we took the boys to Toys R Us to try to get an idea of what they want for Christmas. We didn't bring anything home that trip, except for this very unique gingerbread house. Bo has become somewhat obsessed with Spongebob, so when we spotted this gingerbread pinepple kit, he had to have it. He begged and begged to make it the night we brought it home, but we made him wait. So when I pulled it out the other day, he was beyond excited.

Things started off pretty organized and calm.

Then someone decided to give Cruz a taste of the goods.

And there was no going back from there. Poor Cruzie had to miss the majority of the gingerbread house fun due to the urgent need of a NAP.

But Bo and daddy took over and made one heck of a pineapple gingerbread house.

The finished product, and one very happy little boy. Only because he thought he was going to get to eat the entire thing when they were done.

We didn't quite let him eat the whole thing, but ugh...he had more than he should have.

Newborn

2010-12-07T16:10:00.002-06:00

I recently had my first opportunity to take some pictures of a newborn. I now have baby fever. Not joking. My husband doesn't think it's very funny either.
Baby Gracen was already a month old when I took her pictures. They say the best time to get them is within the first two weeks. Things started off a little wild, with baby girl trying to jump out of the basket we had her in.

After a little rocking and soothing from her mama, she passed right out for a few sleepy shots.

I'm loving the pictures I got, but having a hard time with editing. I really want a more natural look, but always end up messing with things a bit more than planned. Which then leaves me with more decisions. For example, this edit.....

versus this edit.....

versus this edit...

Or these edits...color...

versus black & white...

And one more that's questionable....

versus....

Maybe, I've just been staring at the screen for too long and need to take a break. Or maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist. Or heck, maybe I'm WAY off!!
Here's two more of my favorites that I haven't edited at all yet.

Hmm...maybe we'll have one of these under our tree next year at this time :) Only if I can talk the hubby into it first!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-30T16:51:00.001-06:00

This year we stayed around here and had Thanksgiving lunch at my grandparent's house. It was relaxing not having to drive all over Kansas in one day trying to see all our loved ones. It was also a plus not traveling because I needed some relaxation and an early bedtime so I could wake at 2:45am for some Black Friday deals!
Anyways, the food was awesome, the kids were wild, and we spent most of the afternoon scanning the ads for good deals, oh yes, and drinking wine. Here's the day in pictures.

We spent the first half of the afternoon in the basement where the kids have plenty of toys to play with.

There is a pool table down there too. The kids love to throw the balls across the table.

Once it was time to eat, Cruz enjoyed doing everything, but eating. Here, he stole my aunt's wine glass.

Bo exhausted himself playing with all of my little cousins. Oh yes, and the basement comes complete with red shag carpet. I actually fell down those red stairs and broke my collarbone when I was a couple of years old.

Kelsey, trying to decide where to go first Friday morning.

Who KNOWS what Ben was whispering to Elizabeth! I'm sure it's better that they kept it between them.

This kid wanted to eat his apple pie on top of the table.

Mom couldn't find dad for the longest time, then she checked the spare bedroom and he was sacked out, snoozing away.

Someone kept feeding these two cookies. That was pretty much Cruz's Thanksgiving dinner!

These two laughed as Cruz woke my sleeping uncle on the couch, then he was off to chew on some old dolls in the toy box.

Then we headed out into the frigid weather to attempt a few family pics. I got several good ones of mom and dad.

Ours turned out okay too, you'll most likely be seeing them on our Christmas card ;) But here's a peek at second best....;)

Gamers

2010-11-19T14:01:00.000-06:00

Landon came over to play this morning, and besides wrestle mania in the living room, this is what they did.

They did take a break from gaming for a minute and play with the batman cave.

I think they were sick of me invading their playtime because it all ended with a, "Mom, will you pleeaassse get out?"

Pony

2010-11-15T15:45:00.000-06:00

Oh, does this poor boy need a haircut. I love his curls so much, I don't want to get rid of them. And everytime I try to trim his bangs, he looks like he belongs in the movie Dumb and Dumber.
The other night after his bath I put it up in a pony, just for a few laughs. The little guy didn't notice a thing.

But Bo noticed, and he had had enough laughs and wanted it out, asap.

Other than getting a kick out of playing with Cruz's hair, there's been a lot of this going on around here.

And this.

This past month has been quite busy actually.

I had my ten year class reunion.

We took a trip to the zoo with daddy.

We drove down to OKC to visit with Kelly's family. These are the only pics I got that day. The boys watching a movie on the ride home.

Halloween was a hit.

We put our house up for sale.

I took a trip to KC with my mom and sisters.

And I have been taking lots of pictures for other people...which is awesome, but has somehow resulted in me taking a lot less pictures of my own family.

Shorty on the Go

2010-10-22T08:41:00.001-05:00

Cruz is growing up so quickly. Definitely no babies in this house anymore. It makes me a bit sad. He wants to do everything his big brother does. Build forts with the couch cushions, wrestle on the floor with daddy, eat candy and junk food...and the list goes on. He also loves to tick his big brother off. When Bo is building towers with the blocks, Cruz will charge over to them and swat them down. Or if Bo is trying to watch a show, Cruz will get right up in his face to get his attention.
He loves to go outside and attempt to eat rocks, and he constantly tries to take off down the road. Thank goodness we live in a cul-de-sac. This picture says it all.

What mom? Did you catch that on film?

So darn cute.

They've both kept me very busy lately, along with lots of other stuff going on. But they're both very good boys. I wish life would slow down, so we could enjoy this time more.

Carrie Underwood

2010-10-21T11:10:00.000-05:00

Way back in April, my sister, some friends, and I bought Carrie Underwood concert tickets. Well, the day finally arrived this week, and it was well worth the wait. We all thought she put on a very good show.
Here's the evening in pictures....

Cruz and I waiting outside for my ride to arrive.

My sister, Jamie and I before heading to Kylie's house.

We met up with Kylie and Jenny at Kylie's house. Kylie was kind enough to be our DD :)

We decided to get dinner and drinks downtown at Playa Azul and just happen to run into some of our good friends that were headed to the concert also!

The arena doesn't allow dslr's so I had to bring my piece of poo camera. I was so mad at myself when I realized there wasn't a memory card in it. I had a limit of only 9 pictures! If you know me, I take millions of pictures, so this was super hard for me! Here's Carrie, if you can recognize her through the graininess!

We had the best seats yet since I've been to a concert at the new arena. Good times girls, we need to start planning our next evening out, even if it's six months in advance!! :)

Decisions, Decisions....

2010-10-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

Not that these decisions hold great importance, but they are still decisions. We got out the Halloween tub the other day and tried several costumes on Mr. Cruzie. Flippin adorable.

And my personal favorite, but obviously not his...

Candyland

2010-10-06T18:33:00.000-05:00

So, the other day Bo wanted to call his cousin Landon to see if he could come over and ride bikes. Bo had been in the house all morning playing on the computer, so I told him if Landon came over they had to play outside and ride bikes or something. Trying to be sneaky, Bo calls and immediately says something about playing games (on the computer). As I can hear only Bo's side of the conversation, I hear him say something about Candyland.
They get off the phone and Bo runs out side to watch for Landon walking down the road. Several minutes pass and I finally decide to go out and check it out. This is what I found on our very dirty garage floor.

As you can see, Cruz was as shocked as me.
They had pretty much played a whole game by the time I came out. Well, their version of the game anyway.

Cruz decided to take a seat and learn a few Candyland tricks.

Bo won the first (and only) round. He was pretty stoked. If only they would entertain themselves like this more often. You know, in a non-violent, calm, no running, jumping or hitting kind of way.

Just the Tip of the Iceberg

2010-10-01T17:03:00.002-05:00

Recently, my cousin asked me to take her senior photos. Her pics turned out really great. After showing a couple of her friends they decided to recruit me to take some for them.
Miss Sydney is just gorgeous, extremely photogentic, and had some really awesome ideas. I am very pleased with how these turned out. And this is only the tip of the iceberg.

I love taking pictures.

Transformers Party

2010-09-29T10:58:00.000-05:00

Bo wanted a Transformers themed party for his 4th birthday. Since we had just had the whole fam to our house for Cruz's party last month, we decided to have the party up at the pizza place here in town. I'd say it was a hit!

He has a Transformer's mask on his head in the picture to the left.

His little brother had a blast running, running, running with the rest of the kiddos. He handed out a lot of kisses too :)

A fight to blow out the birthday candles ;)

Playing pin the tail on the donkey, except they're putting a sticker on a Transformer.

Playing, eating pizza, and making scary faces while eating cake and ice cream.

Our little Transformer :)

An attempt at a family photo & one of the brothers once we got home.

Four

2010-09-24T06:37:00.008-05:00

Today our Bo turns four. It has been a wonderful four years full of excitement and a lot of learning on our part.

It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home and trying everything to soothe his colicky cries. That time passed quickly (but seemed like ages at the time). Then suddenly at 11 weeks the crying shut off. He quickly became a crawler, then a walker at the early age of 8 1/2 months. Seems like he barely had a babyhood.

Before we knew it, we were celebrating his first birthday. He put on a show for everyone that day. Him and his cousin Landon had a blast riding around on his new fire engine that Gaga and Papa had brought him for his birthday. He had a farm animal themed party. It was adorable.

By his second birthday he was obsessed with Mickey Mouse (our savior). An episode of Mickey was the only way we could get him to sit by us for more than a second. He also had somehow gotten attached to the binky between his first and second birthday (I blame this on Gaga and Landon). We couldn't go to bed without the binky until he was three years old. The highlight of his second birthday party was the Mickey pinata. Fun times.

For Christmas that year he got a ton of Thomas the Train tracks and trains. Hence, the theme for his third birthday. He loved playing with his choo choo set in his bedroom for long periods of time. Mommy and daddy loved this, but didn't love so much the mess and constantly putting the tracks together. He had fallen in love with tractors and playing in the dirt by the time he turned three. He also moved on to the Nick Jr. network and found Spongebob pretty entertaining, despite enthusiasm from his mother. So for his third birthday he also had a Spongebob moonwalk/bouncy. The kids loved it.

This past year as Bo became a big brother, he's changed in so many ways. He's become mommy's big helper, and has just recently figured out that Cruz is finally willing to wrestle him back. There's more chaos in our house than ever! Another thing he absolutely loves is playing computer games. I'm conflicted over this. Some games are a great learning experience while others aren't, and it's also tough to manage his computer time. He wakes up super early just to play computer games. Ugh! Eventhough he's become such a big boy, he still loves his silky and always wants daddy to read him a book and lay by him at bedtime.

Can't wait to see what the next year holds with this little squirrel ;)
Mawmaw (as u would say), daddy, and Cruzie love you Bo Kelly!

Sweetness

2010-09-17T13:21:00.000-05:00

If only they stayed asleep when you tried to carry them into the house...

Push Ups With Daddy

2010-09-15T17:47:00.006-05:00

The other night before bed Kelly tried to get a few push-ups in. He was able to do a few, but not without a little help from his two little mini me's.

A Boy of Many Hats

2010-09-14T07:02:00.001-05:00

Cruz found his stocking caps in his closet. We now make it part of our daily routine to try each of these hats on. Well, he makes it a part of our daily routine. It's okay with me, it keeps him entertained for a bit, and he looks super cute doing it.

I'm convinced this boy is going to be one that cares about fashion. He constantly wants to try shoes on and now that he's loving the stocking caps he's the little fahionista of the family :) I'm sure he'll love me for saying that one day when he's older!

Bo's1st Hunting Trip

2010-09-12T11:25:00.000-05:00

Bo had his first hunting experience this past week. It was a spur of the moment trip. Kelly was out front planting a bush for me, and I was putting dinner on the table when my brother Ben called to see if Kelly wanted to head out west with them to go dove hunting. He pretty much said he'd be over right away to pick him up.
So we scurried around, ate dinner, and I got Bo dressed while Kelly got his hunting gear ready. In the meantime Cruzie's screaming at me because he wasn't done with his dinner yet. Ben showed up and before I knew it Kelly was buckling Bo in the backseat before I could even take a picture.
He says, "We're in a hurry we don't have time for pictures."
I say, "Are you kidding? This is his first time hunting, we have to get some pictures!"
So they pile out of the truck for a few quick photos - they were not very happy with me. They think I'm crazy with my camera sometimes. They'll thank me later in life!

I could not talk Rambo into putting his shirt on for the picture.

Bo had a great time hunting. A few of his cousins, Jaden and Landon, ended up going too, so that made the trip really great for him. When he got home he kept saying he had fun duck hunting...guess his daddy needs to give him some lessons on what they're actually hunting for. Dove/duck same thing, right?

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

For Labor Day Weekend this year, we went to the KSU game on Saturday, had a barbecue at my parents on Sunday, and ate delicious chocolate sheet cake that my mom made on Monday.
We were worn out from the game Sunday morning, but I found the energy and made a pasta salad and some cupcakes to take over to my parents house. My dad grilled ribs, turtle dove, and a turkey. Sounds like a strange combination, but it was all devoured by the end of the evening.

It was a bit windy, but the kids had a good time enjoying the cooler temperatures.

Cruz and Josie are in such a fun stage right now. When we were taking pictures of them they sat there and said, "Cheese!!" Since they were so excited to get their pics taken we tried to get a few of them together.
They turned out pretty cute, except for my parents dog, Gus, kept turning away from the camera.

Cruz would NOT quit eating dirt, so eventually we pretty much just let him...ugh.

Bo found one of my brother's football helmets and just loved wearing it.

Monday it was extremely windy so all of our outdoor plans pretty much went down the drain. My mom called and said she had made homemade ice cream and chocolate sheet cake. They brought it over to our house that evening and it was so good! I ate WAY too much.

Wildcats

2010-09-05T16:33:00.000-05:00

Since graduating from KSU in 2004, Kelly and I hadn't been to a single Wildcat football game. So when one of our friends asked us to join him and his wife to the game this weekend, we called Kelly's sister to babysit, and were off for a good time. And a good time we had!

Brian and Kelly have been friends since elementary school. It blows me away at how similar they talk and the same slang that they use. Kelly may disagree with me here, but these two are similar in so many ways. I love it!! It's hilarious when they are together.

We tailgated with Brian's wife, Takala, and her family. The boys attempted to throw a football around. And we celebrated Brians 32nd birthday with a cupcake and a very large candle.

After getting some good tailgating in, we headed into the game. It was very strange not heading to the student section. We have now graduated to the old fogie section on the southwest side of the stadium. It was still awesome to see that the fans still have crazy team spirit! Willie the Wildcat started the ceremonies off by leading the Harley motorcycles in on Harley Day.

Our team was able to pull off a victory!

We headed back out the parking lots at halftime and met up with one of my friends/roommates from college, Erinn. We hadn't seen eachother for 2 years, so we chatted while the boys went back in to watch the rest of the game.

Erinn's little sister had made some purple jello shots, so we made sure the birthday boy had plenty of those.

This is Erinn and her husband Justin, and Erinn and her younger sister Hannah.

We definitely won't be waiting 5+ years before attending our next KSU game :-)

A Pinata

2010-09-03T08:10:00.000-05:00

This last weekend we celebrated my nephew Landon's 4th birthday. Him and Bo are like brothers. They're only a month apart in age, and live right down the street from eachother, literally, two houses down. So last week when I told Bo that Landon's birthday party was "this weekend", he asked me 3000 times a day if we were going to Landon's party that day. Anyways, once party day arrived, Bo was so stoked, it was like he was celebrating his own birthday.

Towards the end of the evening, they pulled out a pinata and lined the kids up, smallest ones first. Actually, birthday boy got to hit first. But it was too cute watching them all take a go at it.

So funny, if you notice Jaden's face in the last two pics, she was a little worried it was going to come down before she got to swing at it. Her daddy rigged it back up so she got a turn. I love the look on her face while swinging.

Sammy, enjoying his loot.

And a few shots from earlier in the evening:)

Taking Photos

2010-09-01T15:56:00.000-05:00

My cousin Kelly let me take her senior pictures last week. We're not finished, but here's what we came up with after three hours of shooting, viewing, and changing outfits.

She was a real trooper...not to mention she is gorgeous and lives on a fabulous farm that is awesome for taking photos!

All Dressed Up

2010-08-25T17:02:00.002-05:00

We attended a wedding this last weekend. The boys stayed at home with grandma and grandpa. It was a very good time!

Heath & Emmy

Emmy, Jamie, & Me

Emmy & Me

Mom & Emmy

Kelsey & Courtney

Mom & Me

Heath, Kyle, Ben, & Kelly (aka: Trouble)

Ben, Kelsey, Kyle & Mom

I think I can probably say my younger brother Kyle had the best time, or at least I can say that he drank the most alcohol. He made sure that he danced with each of his sisters and his mom. Him and Emmy put on the best show just as the dance was beginning...you know when there is NO ONE else on the dance floor....it was beyond great!

Cruz's 1st Birthday Party

2010-08-24T13:24:00.000-05:00

We had Cruz's party on Sunday, a few days after his actual birthday. He got to sleep a little later than usual for his morning nap, so he was just waking up as guests were arriving. He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so eventhough Bo had just had a Mickey theme for his 2nd birthday party, we decorated everything with Mickey and Minnie. He loved it!
Here are a few of the details.

1st things 1st. We sang Happy Birthday then let him dig into his cake.

He's was pretty unsure about the cake at 1st.

And then he went to town...

Bo and Landon really wanted a taste of the cake too.

Once he was washed up, he moved on to opening his presents....with the help of his brother and cousins of course!

It was pretty cute, the first thing he opened were these pjs from his great grandma. He was very interested in what was on the front. The next thing he opened was a Baby Einstein Old McDonald dvd from his aunt Kelsey. He didn't want to stop looking at the cow and pig on the front. He's obsessed with cows lately.

In this one he's checking out his new camo cowboy boots that my brother Ben and his girlfriend got for him.

They are so adorable!

After everyone left he had fun zooming around on his Mickey Choo Choo.

Afterwards, we attempted a family photo, obviously Bo was not liking it.

We're thinking (hoping) that this was our last birthday party in this house. We hope to be in our new house by next year :)

Cruz's One Year Photos

2010-08-19T07:00:00.002-05:00

Not exactly what I initiallly had in mind, but I think he's cute enough, he makes up for the cruddy compositions his mama was capable of capturing.

Full Weekend

2010-08-17T11:29:00.000-05:00

Literally, it was a FULL weekend. Our schedule was full and our bellies were full. Everywhere we went we ate. We ate alot. Starting on Friday, with my younger brother Ben's birthday, we ate at Kobe's Steakhouse and it was delicious. I had chicken and shrimp and Kelly had steak and chicken. We need to go there more often, we love the food. Here's a pic of Cruzie getting cleaned up to go out to dinner. He was pumped, he doesn't get to bathe in the sink very often.

The boys really enjoyed watching the chef put on a show while cooking our food.

Happy Birthday Benny!

Saturday, we attended the wedding of a neighbor we had while growing up. My mom is good friends with his mom.

The food at the wedding was amazing! We were only able to enjoy it by taking turns chasing this little squirrel. He just wanted to RUN.

Saturday evening we went to our good friend's 30th birthday party. Actually, it was a celebration for 3 people turning 30. Happy birthday Jenny, Trever, and Brady! I was STUFFED from just eating at the wedding, but that didn't stop me from filling my plate with a ton of awesome food. There are definitely a few recipes I'll be knocking on your door for Kylie and Jenny ;) I was so busy having such a good time (and eating) that these are the only decent photos I got of the night.

Sunday, Josie celebrated her 1st birthday! She is SUCH a doll.

Cruz made sure he gave all the pretty girls hugs and kisses.

Can't wait to celebrate his 1st birthday day next weekend!

Summerfest 2010

2010-08-10T09:32:00.000-05:00

The annual Summerfest was this weekend here in town. Despite the blistering heat, we had a good time. Here's how it all went down this year.

We started out on main street to watch the parade. Our whole extended family usually gathers on this corner and sits together. The kids all get balloons to launch at the start of the parade. Bo insisted that he was NOT going to run for candy, but as soon as it started coming and the other kids were filling their bags, he quickly followed suit. Poor Cruz had to be contained the whole time, he would have been IN the parade if we would've let him! All he wanted to do was run!

Jaden was riding on this float.

One of my uncles and a few of our cousins were also in the parade.

These two beauties, Kelsey and Courtney, showed up just as the parade was ending.

After the parade, we headed up to the park where all the festivities (if you can even call them that) were going on. We went straight to the little petting zoo for the boys.

One of the main attractions of the day is the sand volleyball tournament. The kids took advantage of the firetruck wetting down the sands.

We ate bbq beef burgers for lunch.

And Bo had a good run on the bouncy thing before we headed home for naps.

During the heat of the afternoon, Bo and I headed out to my mom's pool. Kelly and Cruzie came out after waking from their naps.

While we were laying in the pool, my brothers pulled up in a school bus. Yes, a school bus. A couple of their friends (for whatever reason) went in together and bought a school bus. So for fun, they were cruising around in it. What else would you do on a Saturday afternoon in this town!?! So after thinking about it for awhile, we decided we wanted a ride on this fabulous thing. After much persuasion, we convinced them to give us a ride over to my aunt's pool. Let's just say it was the best field trip I've ever taken ;)

Not the safest trip I've ever taken, but definitely fun.

The bus ride was very short lived, my brothers kept saying what dorks we were the whole time. They don't understand that WE DON'T GET OUT MUCH!

Things were pretty wild over at my aunt's pool once we got there.

The evening ended with a bbq at my uncle's shop in town.

Cruz was sad when I took his chicken bone away from him.

He was lovin all the attention from the girls.

We were invited to a block party that evening, but the kids were just too tired to go another minute. We headed home early and hit the hay. We were all exhausted!