Happy Birthday, Brian!

The love of my life celebrates his 26th birthday today. Except he's not celebrating; he's mourning because now he is older than 25. It's ok, hun; you're still young (and look it, too)! Brian is an amazing husband and father (the kids sure love their Daddy!), and we are so blessed to have him in our lives. Love you, hun!

First Haircut

Before


During


After

Pioneer Day Activity

So I know this happened almost a month ago, but I still want to post the cute pictures from it. Kara participated in the stick-horse and potato-sack races and made jewelry, and she and Joshua both dressed up and played with musical instruments. Joshua's favorite activity was eating taffy. (Daddy gave it to him, not me.)

Get set...


GO!


sweeping the floor


ready to race


...and she's off!


making a button bracelet with Daddy


dressing up


Pioneer children...


sang as they jumped and jumped and jumped and jumped.


Look at that concentration.


"more"


"candy"


Mmmmmm!

Strange Surprise

This afternoon I was about to take the kids to the library, so we went out to the garage, I opened the car door, and there was a cat sitting in the car, looking up at me. Luckily, it didn't leave any messes in there for me, except for the cat hair everywhere. I happen to be allergic to cats (and so is Brian), so I was sneezing all the way to the library.

I tried to think of how in the world it got in there (into the garage, not the car; it obviously just jumped through one of the open windows) and thought it had to have been that morning during the 30 seconds it took for me to bring the garbage can back in. It was highly unlikely, but possible.

Brian got to hear the story when he got home from work, and he sheepishly suggested that the cat probably came into the garage last night... since he accidentally left the garage door open all night long. Yeah, that was probably when it happened.

So, here's a little word of advice: If you happen to leave your garage door open unattended for an extended period of time, don't forget to check for critters!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

It's my step-dad Jim's birthday today. He's one of the best parts of my family, and we love him! He's retired (twice, I think), and he now works for the City of Yuma. He always has to be busy but also makes time to enjoy vacations with my mom. Thanks for being such a wonderful father to me! We love you, Dad!

Yummy Yogurt!

Brian got himself some yogurt as part of his breakfast the other day, but before he could take even one bite, I called him away to help me with something in the living room. Joshua seized the opportunity to try some yogurt himself (since, of course, he can already reach the tabletop!).

We came back into the kitchen minutes later to find this



with Kara innocently (but not really since she didn't say anything!!!) standing by.

Close Call

Hopefully I'm not the only one who has "I'm-such-a-horrible-parent" moments. You know, when you think, "I can't believe that just happened!" or "I can't believe what just almost happened!" I'm talking about dangerous things happening to my children... because I'm not watching them carefully enough. For example, babies falling off beds; or a small child licking a razor, eating lanolin, or tasting diaper rash cream.

Do you know what this is?


It's one of those little metal ends of a dressmaker's measuring tape. Yesterday Joshua managed to take it off, put it in his mouth, and choke on it. Luckily, it came back up.

12 months

He's actually 13 months now, but I wanted to post his 12-month pic. And here's Kara at that age too, just for fun.

Happy Birthday, Leah!

Yep, today's my birthday. It was a good day. My parents and in-laws and some friends gave me some awesome gifts, and Brian took me out to dinner while a friend (who graciously offered) watched the kiddos. Also, Joshua made my day by sleeping in until 7:15 this morning AND taking a 2-hour nap (it's usually just 1 hour). Thanks, all!

Independence Day

We had a tri-ward flag-raising, pancake breakfast, and parade the morning of July 4th. We all had a grand time, but it was HOT by the time it ended. Joshua liked wandering aimlessly around the parking lot, and Kara enjoyed keeping up with everyone in the parade. That evening we met up with some friends and watched fireworks from a mall parking lot. Happy belated 4th!