Disney Countdown

Only a few days left before our trip to Florida and we are so excited! AJ and I did a fun project in anticipation of our vacation.

He gets to take one link off the chain each day and see it get shorter and shorter until the day we leave for the airport. It's been a good visual reminder to me to get organized too.

Ever since our last trip to Disney World, I have been dreaming of the day we go back. This time with two children. I think my favorite Disney memory was AJ hugging Mickey Mouse. He was almost 3 years old here (and JJ 28 weeks in utero).

Do you have any favorite Disney memories you want to share? Leave me a comment and let me know. I can't wait to make more memories with my boys!

AJ turns 6!

This was AJ six years ago. Born on April 9th at 2:53am,

he weighed 6lbs. 12oz. and was 18 1/4 inches.

I can't believe it's been six years since AJ was born! How he has changed our lives. We celebrated AJ's big day with a backyard party for 10 friends the weekend before the actual day. They had a ball! AJ is still very much a Buzz Lightyear fan, so we had the space rocket Jupiter Jump and star themed cupcakes.

It must taste goooood!
AJ and some of the friends.

Of course, opening presents is always the highlight of a party!

On the morning of April 9th, AJ had a special homemade breakfast on a special birthday plate.

It was then off to school where mom & dad showed up at snacktime with star shaped rice crispy treats. Ms. Annie lit six candles. You can tell that AJ was either very concerned about the fire or was sizing up his task. When asked to make a wish, he said "I wish for all my friends to be my best friends forever!" What a sweetie!

The class then sang the Happy Birthday Cha Cha Cha song to him while he danced.

AJ is such a loving and loveable child. He tells us "I love you" at least 100 times a day (in English, Spanish, & Sign Language) and gives the best hugs.

We love you little buddy! Happy 6th Birthday!

HE IS RISEN!

Happy Easter! I wanted to share a few pictures with you from our Easter Egg hunt this weekend. We were invited to a family cookout in the country. We had beautiful weather and a great time hunting through the fields for eggs.

The boys are comparing their finds.

The magic of discovery - candy!!

Easter Sunday has been a cold & rainy day. However, it doesn't dampen the fact that we serve a RISEN LORD! Happy Easter!

An April Fools' Day Tribute

April 1st has always been a special day for my family. It is my Granddad Harold's birthday. He is no longer with us, but the memories of the times we shared are still very fresh in my mind. It's fitting that April Fools' Day was his birthday as he enjoyed 'kidding around'. I can still hear my grandmother's voice saying "Oh, Harold". They were such a special couple, married almost 65 years.

Granddad was a very social person knowing just about every person's name in their small town. He loved sports - he and my grandmother went to several Olympics. They also had season tickets to OSU football, basketball & wrestling. I remember my sister & I spreading out the OSU Orange blanket in their living room as our "wrestling mat" and taking turns pinning him in record time! This photo of them was taken almost 20 years ago at some kind of OSU event.

My Granddad Harold developed Alzheimer's and "missed" the last 12 or so years of his life. During most of those years he would still greet people with a smile and a handshake and joke around a little. It seemed like the same old Harold to most people. He really 'fooled' them that he didn't remember their names anymore. Granddad was kind, caring, a gentle spirit, and loyal. He was a man of integrity, honest, trustworthy and a good friend. He had such enthusiasm for life - he lived a great life.

Happy Birthday, Granddad Harold! We love you! And that's no April Fools!

"I GO in a CUP!"

This sweet child of mine has had no interest in going to the potty. We talk about it, he'll sit every now and then (if promised some kind of treat), even AJ has shown him how it's done, but nothing has ever "happened" - until tonight. JJ thinks it's great fun to get in the shower with Daddy. He had already had his bath for the night. But when he asked to join Daddy in the shower, we said yes. I pulled his diaper off and noticed that it was dry after two hours. So I mentioned to Daddy that JJ may be able to go if given the opportunity. When they were finished, JJ was asked if he would like to sit on the potty and earn an M&M. His answer was "No, I don't want to." Then JJ was asked if he would want to try to go in the shower cup we use for rinsing the boys. He says YES and proceeds to go in the cup! Not sure what this means for his future in potty training. But if it gets things flowing, I guess I'll take it. By the way, the cup will be cleaned before it's used again & he earned three mini M&M's for his effort tonight.

Our Trip to the Zoo

This week was Spring Break. One of the things we did was go to the zoo. It's one of our favorite family activities. The weather was beautiful! Lots of other people had a the same idea, but we had our game plan in place. We arrived first thing when they opened, and since we are Zoo Members :) we bypassed the line to buy tickets and walked right up to the the "Members Only" window. Then we hiked (and it's a HIKE) to the back of the zoo. The area we like the best is the Rainforest. It is very warm and humid in that building (since it's supposed to mimic the rainforest and all) so visiting when it's still cool outside is smart. We have never seen a sloth up close until this day! The boys thought is was especially neat because Diego, The Animal Rescuer, helps a sloth on his cartoon show.


The sea lions were taking a nap and the penguins didn't feel like swimming, so we headed over to the Big Cat displays. Our zoo has two new snow leopards and a keeper was showing this skin (I guess it belonged to the 'old' snow leopard! Anyway, AJ was willing to touch it after being reassured that it was not alive and wouldn't hurt him. JJ wanted nothing to do with it. He actually said "Let's get out of here!"


By then the zoo was getting pretty crowded. I let the boys play in the zoo park for a while before we rode the train and called it a day. Here they are pretending to be pirates. JJ would then try to climb the ladder you see behind him and somehow end up on the ground with mulch in his teeth. Time to "get out of here"!

We had a great time. AJ walked the entire morning - he was a trooper! As we were leaving, the line to purchase tickets was all the way out to the parking lot. There was also a line of cars waiting just to get into the parking lot! Crazy! It pays to plan ahead. I'm sure someone was really happy to get our parking spot!

No More Training Wheels!

AJ has learned to ride his bike without training wheels! He is so proud of himself (as are we). He is having a ball riding up & down the street. Stopping is the tricky part. Daddy explained that he should try to make a skid mark, then put his feet down. He's about 50/50 on graceful dismounts, but he's getting there. Way to go, AJ!!