Photoshoot sneak-peek

aawwwwww!

so made of cute!

big brother

bigger brother

That's it. I need another baby.

Congrats on the new addition Spencer & Alisha!

Easter Sunday

Getting off to church Easter morning was a little hectic, especially since Brian had meetings........yah...meetings on Easter morning!........so we didn't have enough time for the traditional Easter Sunday dress pix of the kids. I'm sure they were so bummed. And it's just as well, since I didn't get around to buying any cute new Easter Sunday clothes.........

.......and yes, I know Zane needs a haircut.

It was a beautiful day, so we hung out on the front lawn after a big Easter dinner........

.........while I snapped some pictures.......

..........of my favorite people.

Happy Easter!!!

Easter Fun

It was a rainy Easter Saturday. But that didn't stop us.
We still had the annual neighborhood Easter egg hunt.........

Zane, who was sure everyone else got more eggs than him, declared this "the worst Easter ever!" Then to find out he didn't get a plastic ring in one of his eggs like Max did!! Oh, the injustices of this cruel world! I tried to explain to him that each kid could only find 12 eggs to make it fair, which, in my opinion, is a form of socialism. May the best man find the most eggs & keep them! is what I always say.............anyway, Zane wasn't hearing any of it.

Then, some cousins came in town & we colored eggs all afternoon.........

It was so fun to have Justin in town for a day.

Max , being the artistic one in the family, was way into it!

So was Jolie.

Gus loved it! He's obsessed with eggs, and he loves making messes, so this was right up his alley.

When he's concentrating he wags his tongue back & forth like this. So funny.

And I think we'll pass on the glitter next year......not a good idea.

Look at these beauties!!

And now for Easter Egg Hunt #2 !!!

.........again in the rain.........

........but no one seemed to mind.

I told them to do their favorite pose......I think Jolie's is my favorite.

Gus missed this hunt because he was passed out on the family room floor with chocolate all over his face, and poor Jake missed both egg hunts because of a basketball game & helping someone move.

Apparently, 14 years old is not too old to hunt for Easter eggs, we found out,

and Zane ended up having a pretty good day, despite himself.

Later, we heated up the jacuzzi & the kids went swimming.

Good times were had by all!

Barf-O-Rama 2009

No details necessary. We'd rather forget them. Mars would especially rather forget throwing up in the Junior High hallway.

And my washer died.

Stomach flu & broken washer..........not a good combo.

Spring Training game with the Bakers

It took the Bakers coming in town for us to go to our first Spring Training game.......the Mariners, of course.
We got lawn tickets & sprawled out in the sun with our hotdogs & Cokes & churros & slurpees......

........and grapes.

I think Jake & Max did this the whole time.

I love Kate's freckles.

Maybe I was just super hungry, since I'm not a hotdog person, but these hotdogs were AWESOME!!! I'm craving one right now! Weird.

We were cracking up at Zane.

He found himself this little pocket of shade & set up camp.

Keaton's the biggest baseball fan of us all. He was diggin' it.

(notice Jake & Max still fighting in the background)

It was so, so fun. I can't believe we hadn't done this sooner. But it was hanging out with the Bakers that made it so super fun.

We had a GREAT weekend with you guys!

"Enjoy the little things......"

"Enjoy the little things,
for one day you may look back
and realize
they were the big things."
- Robert Brauit

This quote is so inspiring to me. I have it sitting next to my computer.

But sometimes I wonder just what, exactly, are the little things? For apparently, one day, I will miss them, and look back longingly......and maybe with regret......if I didn't enjoy them.........these little things that hold the bigger meaning of my life.

This is a warning.

This gives me anxiety.

I don't think I am enjoying the little things enough.

It's hard when there's just so many little things to do & say & listen to & enjoy!

Gus made himself some lunch yesterday. I walked into the kitchen & found this. All lined up & empty, just like this. Too funny. Was this one of those little things that I'll miss??

Maybe.

And then there's this scene.

Every morning.

It was cute the first day.

No so cute the next day.

Now it's a serious annoyance.

Gus wants to go to school in the morning with the big kids.

So he packs his backpack with all sorts of random items he finds (when we're missing something we'll usually find it in his backpack) , lately he has to have a baseball hat on, then he'll load up a skateboard with more random items, then heads down the street to school.

He's such a determined little punk.

And when he's got plans, he's not easily deterred.

I used to be able to lure him home with popsicles. But that's not working so good anymore.

So I'm in my pajamas, in the street, trying to get this kid & all his stuff back home..........for a half-hour...........every morning.

I don't think I'm going to miss this little thing.

Or maybe I will.

Maybe I'm just too close to the situation to see it for what it is.

This is why I blog.

Hopefully I can look back and enjoy it later.

Max turns 9!

Swim party!!

We heated the pool to a nice 80 degrees. It was a beautiful day!

A big blue ball for everyone! It was alot of bang for the buck.

Water balloons, a warm swimming pool & a sheet cake.

What more could a guy ask for on his birthday?

.......maybe some more Legos?

Look at how strong my sexy man is.........

Brian always gets a good workout in the pool, because the kids constantly want to be thrown around.

It's Max's favorite thing.

Check this picture out! The aliens finally got Brian. They beamed him up to the mother ship right out of the pool! haha!

Cool, huh?!

What a cute group of boys!

Happy Birthday Max!!!

I can't believe you're already nine!