2 yr old wedding bells

this morning we went to the park with our friends.

the older boys always play really well together
and
alex and adi just do their own thing ...

i LOVE watching the 2 of them.
they REALLY play together.
they talk
they laugh
they plot against their brothers
and
they interact in a way that a lot of 2 yr olds don't.
it's nearly impossible to watch them and not laugh.

today was the perfect example ...

ben came running over and said
'did you know alex and adi kissed?'
moments later adi came running over ...
'this is my honeymoon!'



now i'm not sure whether this was an arranged ceremony compliments of their brothers...
or if they were really looking to take the jump this young ...
but whatever the case ...
i think they are so cute together ...
and i'm glad they are starting to understand love and friendship ...
even if they're only 2 ;)

just "a little" wind ...

... can make for a few very interesting nights of baseball.

i'm just sayin.

effective marketing

so ... it's may sweeps ..

and stacey and i are falling behind on our shows ...

BUT i just have to say ...

starbucks did the right thing by having the stars of the celebrity apprentice walk around with cups of their coffee.

i can't watch a celebrity apprentice episode without wanting a venti drink for myself!

mmmmm ....

puppies, puppies, and more puppies!

the best way to explain our weekend is ...

puppies.

we brought chewy.
bekah (my sister) brought moose and marley.
and my mom has sophie and bella.

so ... 5 dogs ...
(in addition to the 8 adults and 4 kids)
made for a full ... and very busy house!

we let the dogs just do their thing ...
(which they did ... wink wink ...)
and moose and marley did really well with chewy and bella.



we took the dogs to see grandma at the nursing home
(marley is still learning that she isn't a lap dog)

and we watched as chewy and bella wrestled
over ...
and over ...
and over again :)



it was busy ...
but it was fun ...
and there sure is something to be said for 'play hard ... sleep hard'
...
and i'm not just talking about the dogs.

happy mothers day!

today i want to say happy mothers day to all moms ...
especially mine ;)

today is just a reminder of how much you are loved
and how special you are

it may just be 'another day' ...
but for me it's a day when i can look back ...
see past all of the things that annoy me ...
and be extremely grateful that i have been given the opportunity to have 3 little boys

3 boys that as crazy as they get ...
love me, need me, and treat me like a princess ;)

each of the boys had something special that they 'cooked up' for me over the week and then my mom helped them finish it off with a book about why they love me.

now, it's no secret that my absolute favorite thing is when my kids bring me handwritten love letters ...
both of their letters to me for mothers day were SO sweet and of course made me teary-eyed.
but they also made me giggle ...
among other things ...

*ben mentioned that he loves to play tag with me
(apparently i need to do that more often because i can't remember the last time we did)
*drew told me that i am an amazing cook
(yes ... those of you that know me well can stop laughing.
for those of you that don't - i bake and do snacks well. but an amazing cook - not so much)
*drew told me he loves that i love nature
(once again, i appreciate that he gives me so much credit.
i love looking at some nature. and i like being outside. but ... an outdoorsy girl i am not)
*as one of his reasons he loves me ... ben listed 'good party planner'
(now ... i do love to throw parties ... i just thought it was funny coming out of his mouth)

it's gifts like these that seriously make it all worth it.

'the beach'

now that the weather is finally warming up we are exploring our new development.

one of the hits is the new 'beach'.
supposedly this summer it is being developed into 'a real beach' -
however not much has been done yet.
SO ...
until then ...
we are enjoying walking over there and having the place to ourselves.

there's dirt.
there's water.
and
there's rocks.
so,
my boys are thrilled.

why i need ear plugs ...

the following conversation happened in the car today

ALEX: what's that?
ME: a lawn mower.
what's he doing?
mowing the lawn.
what's mowing the lawn?
cutting the grass.
why is he cutting the grass?
so it doesn't get long.
why does it get long?
because it grows fast in the summer.
why does it grow fast in the summer?
because the sun shines so bright.
why does the sun shine so bright?
because God made it that way.
why did God make it that way?
so that it wouldn't be dark all of the time.
why would it be dark all of the time?

and that is where i put on his favorite song ...
made sure to turn it up nice and loud ...
and reminded myself that finding ear plugs before our next trip to WI might not be all so bad.

ben turns a page ;)

ben finished his first chapter book today and he was SO excited!
(he asked me to take this picture)

as i look at this picture i realize how thankful i am that my kids really enjoy doing things to make each other happy ...
well, usually ;)
drew knew this book would make ben happy so he used one of his 2 weekly school library book choices to get this for ben.
they have been using their time on the bus lately to read
and i think it's really helping ben jump ahead with his reading!

way to go ben!!
i'm so proud of you!
and thanks for being such a thoughtful brother drew!

** on a side note i apologize for such a cheesy title. but i just HAD to ... ha ha **

why i would LOVE to get married again (to stacey, of course)

ok .. so i just learned of a trend in weddings.

this trend is the candy buffet.
it functions as a favor for the guests.
there are boxes and/or bags that they can fill with goodies and take home with them.

now ... i LOVE candy.
(remember what my dream job is?)
the thought of setting up and organizing a table of candy like this ...
the thought of the fun pictures we could take with a table like this ...
the thought of what my kids would do to a table like this ...
ok ... maybe not ...
BUT ... really ...
the mere THOUGHT of a table full of candy such as this ...



WOW!

THAT is a trend i would like to see stick around!

thankful

there isn't a day goes by that one of alex's prayers doesn't make me smile.
they are always SO random ...
and often times they go on ... and on ... and on ...

his latest had all of us fighting back the giggles ...

we were sitting at dinner and alex said he wanted to pray.
ben sighed, i smiled at stacey, and alex began his prayer ...

'dear Jesus ...
thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this,
and thank you for this.
.....
he continued to make his way from one corner of the table to the other thanking God for each thing he saw.
HOWEVER ...
rather than saying what he saw - he just kept saying 'thank you for this' ...
over and over and over again
and then ended with a big ...
amen.'

you're so funny little guy.
i'm glad that you enjoy praying.
you make me smile ...
you encourage me ...
and
i love that.