Brandt's Birthday Party

Brandt. Loves. Trains.

So when it came to deciding what to do for his birthday, there was no decision to  make.  I knew it would be trains.  Now, when my kids turn two, I think they're still too young for a party with friends so we always just have a little party with the family.  No big deal.  Still, I try to make it a special day.  Here are some of the things we did.

We swam in the pool.  You might ask what this had to do with trains.  Nothing.  We just did it because it sounded fun/cool.  And it was!

I just posted three pictures of us swimming because I hardly have any others from this day!  I am looking at my pictures in shock because I can't believe I didn't take more.  *sigh*
That means I'll just have to explain it to you.
This was Brandt's cake, made following an idea from familyfun.

And just for fun I got a roll of wide masking tape and made "tracks" from our front door all the way around out kitchen island.  I placed a covered card table over the tracks to make a "tunnel".  Brandt and the other boys had a blast hooking up together to make a long train (Mitch and I joined in too, of course) and making our way around the track.  Everyone took a turn being the "engine."

I had prepared this egg carton train craft, which my boys all had fun with.  Brandt, was to young to join in the crafting, but he had fun playing with the finished product!

After gifts, I presented each boy with a "ticket" to the train at a local park, where we would take the boys that weekend.

The day we rode the train I tried to get Brandt to wear an engineer's hat for the train ride but he would have none of it.  That's okay.  The train ride ended up being  a lot of fun, even though it was hot outside.  The train even went across a little bridge and through a tunnel.  Overall this was a simple, fun birthday party that made Brand't day special.

Brandt is Two

I can hardly believe my baby is two years old.  And yet, it's gone by so fast!  I love this little guy.

He binds our family together because we all love him so much.  His brothers are always helping him, playing with him and making him laugh.  They may fight with each other but they all have tender hearts towards Brandt.  

Well, look at him.  Can you blame them.?

Brandt can always make me smile.  He'll run at me, arms stretched out yelling, "Maaaahm!"  And when I scoop him up he throws his arms around my neck and hugs me so tightly I wonder how he has such strength in those small arms.  Someday when he's too big to scoop up, maybe when he's a teenager grinning at me after his first shave, or when he's a father scooping up his own son, I want to be able to remember those hugs that were just for me.  Full of all the love in his heart.  And that's why I'm writing this.

Brandt, whenever you need a hug you can come to me because I'll always have a hug just for you too.

First Week of Summer

What have we been doing for the first week of summer?

Well, we kicked it off with cake pops.

I had made them for teachers' gifts and, well, just to celebrate the start of summer vacation.

The kids painted t-shirts using the freezer paper technique (google it if you're confused).

Brandt's been busy with his Nesquik commercials.  Not really, but he could, right?

We had a great Memorial Day barbecue with friends and family after Mitch did a big hike with the guys.  I made these cupcakes, and mmm, they were fantabulous.

This was a fun collaborative art project.

We've had our first Saturday Store as part of our summer program, where the kids get to spend their points.  In this picture Caleb is getting ready to leave for Cub Scout day camp, hence the sunscreen.

We're loving the fruits and vegetables of the season.

And look!  My tomatoes are getting ripe!

Summer is off to a good start!

12 Years

I've been married to this man for 12 happy years.

For our anniversary he whisked me away to Tucson for an overnight getaway.  We stayed in a resort on the foothills that had a beautiful view of the city.  The place looked like a huge fortress/mansion and we got turned around more than once in the labyrinth of hallways inside.  We went to dinner at Roma's, a little Italian place Mitch found on Yelp in a completely frightening neighborhood that was truly a hole in the wall.  But inside it was clean, bright, and full of smells to make your mouth water.  The food was delicious.  We browsed around downtown on foot for awhile and hit Bookman's before heading back to the hotel.  We sat in the hot tub near a waterfall outside and watched dozens of bats swoop and dive overhead.

The next morning we went on a beautiful hike to Seven Falls, which is dry this time of year, but still majestic.  It made me want to come back when there's water gushing down.  In this desert landscape it would be truly a sight to see.  As it was the only waterfall we saw was a hiker relieving himself, unconscious of our presence at first.

On our way home we stopped for a movie made after a book we had both read, Water for Elephants.  And then we went to pick up our boys, who had so much fun with their cousins it was hard to drag them away.  I'm such a lucky girl.

Caleb's a Bear

Caleb received his Wolf badge for Cub Scouts.  He had to complete a lot of requirements to earn his Wolf.  Way to go, Caleb!

Dried Naturals

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but those aren't on sale," the checker informed me today as she pointed to the dried branches and flowers I was unloading from my cart.  I had thought that in a vase they would look lovely in a window cutout we have along the stairway.
"Aren't they floral?  Floral is on sale, isn't it?"
"These are dried naturals, not floral, so they're not on sale," she said. "They were just on sale last week," she added helpfully.
Deflated, I handed her the dried naturals and said I'd wait for them to go on sale.
As I left the store I got thinking. What am I doing?  Am I really going to spend my time and money waiting around to buy a bunch of sticks?  I went home and looked around my yard.  I eyed the shade trees in the corner from which the boys' swing is hung.  Could they spare a few branches?  Then I turned around and, Bingo.  The whole top half of the lemon tree had frozen this winter and was nothing more than a brittle bunch of sticks!  I got to work with the pruners and soon I had this.

So when life hands you lemons, make lemonade.  And when the frost gets your lemon tree, make use of the dried naturals.

Cupcakes and Liners

I wanted to make cupcakes for some dinner guests but I was out of cupcake liners.  I determined to bake them anyway.  I borrowed a great idea and made my own cupcake liners.  Where there's a will, and a little parchment paper, there's a way.   I'm so glad nothing got in the way of making these.  Mmmmm...