Happy birthday our 4 year old!!!

We celebrated Jaden's birthday today although he officially turns 4 tomorrow. He had so much fun having a day centered around him. Here's some pictures to show the celebration!!! What a cutie!

Where I was....

Chris informed me that I'd always remember where I was when Michael Jackson died like our parents did with Elvis. I can't say that I really followed Michael Jackson career so he's never impacted my life in any way. I can truely say I'll always remember where I was on 9/11 but I wasn't sure about this so I thought I better blog about it.

On Thursday we went up to Island Park to celebrate our anniversary. When we first arrived we went & checked into our hotel & we were very disappointed. We've usually stayed in pretty nice hotel's so we were disappointed when we got a full sized bed & there were no amentities....I'm not sure why I was expecting a lot in Island Park. After we checked in we went canoing & actually had a lot of fun. We canoed on a river so we had a current to contend with but we got it down & also worked some muscles. After that we went back & got ready & then went to a dinner Theatre. It was fun & we met a bunch of really nice people. That ended at 9pm & we weren't sure what to do so we headed to West Yellowstone. While we were walking the streets we wondered why we would sleep in a full sized bed when we have the most marvelous king size bed at home not that far away. We made the decision to go & get our stuff, drop the keys off in the drop box, & get home getting to sleep at 2 am. It was an adventure that I'm sure we won't forget:):):) We also learned that we probably need to check out the amentities before we make the reservation to get what we want. Expensive lesson learned.

Supporting our boy!

So Jaden informed me two days ago that he wanted everyone to wear green to his t-ball game. So we did!!!! I realized as I was getting ready to go that Landon really doesn't have green clothes & that his really old, ugly, slightly green onesie would have to do. Gracie joined us too!

Now I just have to hope that Jaden doesn't want us to do this every week. I have a total of two green shirts, Chris has one, & Landon...well can I call his shirt green??? We may have to make a shopping trip.

WE love this green loving, creative filled, always keeping me on my toes, turning 4 on Sunday boy!

tributes!!!

Ok...first off I need to mention that I'm not any good at these at all. I'm not good with putting my feelings & thoughts into words so I almost hate to do one at all. This tribute has two purposes. It's fathers day today and tomorrow is my wedding anniversary therefore I have a lot to reflect on and be grateful for.

Before I begin I need to mention that my scanner isn't working because I need toner; makes a lot of sense huh. Since they didn't do digital back when I got married I had to take a pic of a pic. This has made them very yellow & icky but thought these pictures were fitting since one contains my dad & it was the day I got married. I did enjoy today with him & forget to take pictures too.

As I reflect on my dad I think of him as my dad growing up and as a grandpa now. Growing up & even when I was in career mode I'd often think of how he'd handle situations since he's loved & respected by everyone who knows him. I have many fun memories growing up of family trips & vacations that my dad worked hard to make sure our family could go on. I was always proud to announce he was my dad. In high school a story that sticks in my mind was one of trust. A friend and I decided it'd be fun to try out for a play & play trees in the background. We were goofy & were shocked when he & I went to see what parts we got I got the lead & he too got a large role. I was very disappointed since it wasn't really my thing & that was never my intention...long story short my drama instructor asked me to get out of a ski class for fear of injury. I told him I'd already paid & that I wasn't going to quit. He said he'd get back my money...I agreed if he got my money back. I was happy when he failed to do so & I went skiing. Anyways, my dad was on the school board & some how the Principal received word that I had agreed to quit skiing but hadn't done so & told my dad. My dad sat me down & kindly asked me the situation...he knew I'd much rather be skiing then acting. I told him the story & told him that I told my drama teacher I'd quit if he got my money back. My dad trusted me & wasn't angry but respected me. I really appreciated that since the whole experience was frustrating.

As a grandpa my dad spoils his grandchildren & children too. My dad is always thinking about fun things to take the kids to do. I'm so glad that my children have gotten to know him (Washington made it a little hard) & are making memories with him all the time.

So now to Chris. This is a focus on being a dad/our anniversary. I feel so old as I reflect on being married & all the different adventures & trials that we've been through. We often reflect back when we were first married & that we'd head to Seattle every weekend. We played lots!!!! Some say their first year of marriage was their hardest but we both thought it was all fun & play. I think that the word "FUN" really sums up a lot about us. We will sometimes just giggle over absolutely nothing, strange little things make up happy, we both encourage one another to set goals & achieve them (Chris is running a 5k in two weeks), we LOVE our boys & totally get a kick out of them, and if I were to sum up this last year...life isn't perfect but we really are BLESSED.

I know Chris was ready for kids sooner then I was. For whatever reason I was terrified to be a mom & really enjoyed working & could totally picture myself progressing career-wise (that may have been part of my hestitation.) So when I accidently became pregnant with Jaden I think Chris tried to hold in his excitement for fear of how I was feeling. Sometimes accidents are meant to happen for it moved my career in a different direction:):):) Oh how much fun we had with baby Jaden; Chris would pack him around everywhere he'd go. He was a proud dad (totally just thought of a picture to post but don't want to take another pic of a pic) & showed his little boy off every chance he had. I remember that I then felt a different kind of love for Chris as I saw him as a dad. Now that Chris is on the road it breaks his heart to miss out on what the boys are doing. He likes many details on what the boys are doing at home & he's excited to get to take Jaden to t-ball this week.

This week is a great week & this is why....this is Chris's last week to travel until two weeks in November. He took Thursday & Friday off so that him & I can go to Island Park to bike, catch a show, & spend the night. So that means he'll only be gone two nights. And on Saturday & Sunday we get to celebrate Jaden's B-day.

So happy fathers day to my dad & Chris...I love you!!!!!!!!!!

walking, eating, & t-ball

Chris is begging me to email him t-ball pic's & I figured I would just do a post & kill two birds with one stone.
First of all, I'm sometimes amazed how the simplest things make me the most happy....most of the time. On Sunday we decided to take Jaden, Gracie, & Landon to the greenbelt to look at the temple & also ride their bikes. I followed Jaden & Gracie on their bikes (I ran much of they way to keep up) & it was so refreshing & fun. I just loved watching Jaden ride his bike & at one point he went down underneath the bridge & it was so fun watching him walk his bike down a sharp incline only to lose control & his bike went flying into a fence. His reaction was priceless. Chris & Landon were a little behind us but we eventually met up & fed the ducks. Chris & I figured we had went about 2 1/2 miles but when we got to the end & checked out the map we had went 3.7 miles. I couldn't believe Jaden & Gracie were able to ride their bikes that far.






On Monday we went to Twin to visit Chris. My camera battery died so I only got Monday night's dinner on camera although we crammed a lot of activities in 3 days. We went to a little Mexican restuarant down town & Jaden insisted on eating by himself. After he finished eating he kept climbing on cement things & proclaiming he was very tall. Landon kept running towards the road...he does this at home too. I'm not sure why he finds it so exciting.











Last night we came back so the Jaden could go to t-ball. I've been very poor in training him but he picked up on it really well. Jaden's friend Kotter is on his team & Angie (Kotter's mom) is a huge sports fanatic & invited Jaden over to practice this week but we were out of town so we're going to try for next week. It rained a little bit but Jaden really had a lot of fun & hopefully he'll be a pro soon:):):)










And this little clip is the cutest. Landon was trying so hard to drive Jaden's jeep but couldn't figure it out so Jaden hopped right in & took him for a ride. AND Yes, Landon screams like a girl.

A true cowboy!!!

Yesterday we got to celebrate the life of my Grandpa Blane who passed last August. His friends put together a roping to celebrate his life. Originally this was going to be at my grandpa's outdoor arena but rained forced the event into an inside area....I really wish we could have done it at his like old times. There was such a large turnout of cowboys plus a huge gathering of family. I was amazed how far some came to be there.

They had a beautiful saddle for the winner plus some other prizes. We (all of Blane's children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, brothers) also got to go out into the middle of the arena to announce a scholarship program in his & my grandma's name. A page out of my grandpa's journal was read (he was an excellent journal writer) about college & how he earned a 4.0 & believed the value of education. My aunt announced that he mailed all of the kids a copy of his transcript to motivate them to work hard & earn a 4.0 too. The ONLY class on his transcript....roping. He was a funny man:):):)

Afterwards we all got together to enjoy food!!! My family is so wonderful & it was fun to visit with everyone. My grandpa had to be smiling down yesterday.

Our Summer thus far...

Our summer thus far has consisted of rain. It's truely been a sad thing for me since I had so many fun activities planned that consisted of no rain. The positive side is that all my flowers, garden, & grass are getting fed very well. Here are before & after pic's of our garden adventure. This was a project that I've dreaded since we moved into our home because I knew it wouldn't be a simple task. First off, our entire backyard has brick lined flower/tree gardens that are beautiful but very time consuming. I knew I wanted my garden to blend in with the landscraping but also knew I was going to also have to remove a lot of landscraping unless I wanted it in the middle of my backyard (wouldn't look very pretty.) So as you can see in the before pic's we have trees, bushes, vines, bricks, & grass that had to be removed. Oh headache!!!!! After this was done we relined the backyard with brick (can't see very well since we can't mow since it won't stop raining) & planted a drawf peach tree, strawberries, corn, tomatos, green onions, peppers, squash, cucumbers, pumpkins....we are in for a FEAST!!!! BTW, I'm totally aware that by removing the landscaping it totally shows my fence that needs to be painted. This is an ongoing project since I'll already painted two gallons on only one a small section. It is also time consuming since wood isn't the best surface to paint. Probably by the end of the summer this small section will be done:):):)

With rain also brings Jaden to disappointment. He was supposed to start t-ball yesterday. We gave him his mit on Sunday as an early birthday present & he was so excited all day yesterday. As it continued to rain I got worried but thought just maybe they'd get to play. When we showed up his coach had already left. So to keep Jaden from getting too disappointed we went & purchased umbrellas. It did the trick. He played in the backyard with his umbrella for quite a while. (Picture taken through a window...thus it's not very clear.)

And this little guy is the best boy to ever get a haircut. Jaden is the worst but Landon was so pleasant & fabulous as he got his hair cut. Landon is improving in his independence...something I'm so grateful for. There was a while that I thought I was going to lose my mind since he wanted to be held non-stop.

Chris has two more weeks of travelling...was supposed to be done this week. So we're going to go with him part of next week since Jaden is really missing his daddy. Mentally I am done this week so I'm prepping myself up for a couple of more.

All about Jaden

Today is filled with mixed emotions. Jaden had his last day of pre-school...until next fall that is:) I'm so excited to spend more time with Jaden but have loved watching him learn & grow.

Jaden is an excellent counter to 20 & loves to count how many objects there are. He understands the different coins & I hope to teach him how to add up money this summer. He can spell his name & mommy. He knows all his letters. His favorite thing to do is match colors & insisted on wearing a long sleeve brown shirt on Saturday since Chris was wearing a brown shirt too. I hope that I can keep him learning this summer & stimulate his mind.

Not only is he now out of school for the summer but he turns 4 this month too. I'm constantly begging him to be my 'baby Jaden' just for a day because he's growing way to fast. We are having a birthday party for him (we'll be sending out invites too) if there is anyone that wants to attend that'll be in town or we might have missed.