a fun morning

We had a relaxing morning hanging out with little friend Jaxton & his sweet mother. What a nice way to get a head start on the weekend!

remembering the moments

While these pictures don't capture our entire day, it was fun to take a few pictures along the way to remember these moments...the days fly by so fast.

a good bye kiss before leaving for school
a near collision into a tree

telling the big story
eating peas at the supper table at Grandma's house
a happy boy
a quick stop for frozen custard...it was good!
mudding in the garden...it's been a full day and we are tired!

Today

Dear Benjamin,
Today will be your first experience out in the world 'alone' - a trial run at your new Montessori school. This will be a good transition to regular school & I feel a bundle of emotions inside - nervousness & excitment all at the same time. You can't wait to meet your teacher & find new friends. I know you'll do great & this will be quite a learning experience for all of us. It's a new chapter in our lives...we love you so much!

Happy Birthday!!

Someone at our house is having a birthday today!!! We enjoyed celebrating yesterday.
Nope, he's not 40...he's 18 with 22 years experience!


[thanks for the calls, cards & emails!]

Benjamin

I don't give him enough credit for being such a wonderful son. He is - so flexible when we have to change plans (sometimes bec of Trevin), an amazing helper, a loving & protective big brother and so much more. I'm so thankful how he can cheer me up. His shoulder rubs & words of encouragement ["it'll get better soon, Mommy"] & the way he makes me laugh are the best! In a few short months he'll turn *5* AND start Montessori school. While my heart aches in thinking about this transition, I know this is so important for him. So my goal is to enjoy this summer with him to the fullest. This week he & I have gone swimming in the evenings together & spent time together outside after Trevin has gone to bed. It has been so good for both of us. I love these moments with him.

eventful weekend

Our weekend started off wonderfully -

Russell came back from Washington DC with lots of goodies & inspiration from the Microsoft World Conference.

I had the wonderful surprise of winning a gift certificate from Becca's 2nd blogiversary. I know just what I'm going to get - check out www.shopgussy.com

Thanks Becca!!!

We had a fun evening swimming at Mom & Dad's pool. Ahhh...there is nothing like getting in the water to relax - even with 2 active boys. Fortunately Mom & Dad were with us, so we took turns watching B&T.

Then Saturday, our upstairs ac went *out* and my neck started giving me problems again...meanwhile I was preparing for a busy Sunday & getting ready for Russell to be gone again. What happened to our relaxing weekend?

Fortunately on Monday everything got "fixed" - the ac, my neck, & my sanity.
Hopefully the rest of the week isn't quite so eventful.

in all seriousness

Busy days

Daddy, we've been busy since you've been gone. We can't wait to show you everything we've learned...

discovering how to use a hammer
loving his lessons

gasing up the mower & mowing the lawn...

trying to escape...

pool time

Memory Lane Monday: Father's Day

Since we were away from home this year in mid June, I didn't get to post anything exclusively for Father's Day. So...here we go!

Father's Day 2010 at Dagmar, MT

Father's Day 2009

We are certainly missing him this week.

hosted by From This Front Porch

Outdoor Fun

10 months!

Today Trevin is 10 months old. Things I want to remember about this stage...

-laughs the loudest with his brother
-can climb the stairs proficiently (we're still working on the going down part)
-crawls in 4 wheel drive - will go over anything to get where he wants to go
-loves the water & tries to escape out of his infant inner tube while in the pool
-still wakes once to eat at night
-he's teething, but no ones have appeared yet - only 2 bottom teeth
-has peach fuzz on the top of his head
-daytime naps never last more than 45 minutes
-pulls to stand easily and started taking steps along the couch this week

a favorite

I am thoroughly enjoying our online photography class. This is one of my favorite photos of the boys.

Thought for the day

Trip Part 3: At the farm