New Lego Set

Dan really wanted to build Legos with the boys and the easiest way for him to do this is to buy a new set- heck, the pieces are all there- no searching for missing blocks in umpteen bins.

So, he went on got The Pirates of the Caribbean ship- and it's cool. They started in the afternoon and finished after dinner. I love how Dan patiently includes the boys in building different sections and makes it a team effort!

Lots of skeletons on the ship!

check out the new haircuts!

That's one way to recycle!

Puzzle-Obession

My mom brought me a 1,000 piece puzzle on Thursday afternoon and by Saturday morning it was done. I had done most of it by Friday night, but just couldn't see straight to get the last 50 pieces in. I had only done the outside edges by Thursday night (which gave me permission to go to bed that night) so the majority of the work was done in one day.

Border is complete- time for bed

card table with all the middle pieces

Friday afternoon-so far so good

finished puzzle- phew!

I will probably be taking a break for awhile from doing one, but it sure was phone while it lasted. The best part was having Nathan help me. He is quite good at doing them and it is fun to share my passion (I mean obsession) with my boy!

Boy and his Dog

I often will look over from something I am doing and find one or both boys cuddling with Chloe. I just had to take a picture of Nathan with Chloe- We have had our sweet girl for almost 8 months and we just love her so much. She has been a blessing (mostly) to our family!

PS-look how grown up Nathan looks. I can't believe he will be nine this year!

Funny Flats

I made a large bowl of pancake batter and instead of trashing it, the boys had pancakes all week. The first day I made them the silly flats (what Jason calls pancakes) I used chocolate chips and whip cream to make funny faces with them. The next day I took cut out photos of eyes and mouths and put them on the faces. The boys got a kick out of them and now we have a new thing- "funny flats". It is fun to surprise them in the morning and it makes breakfast a bit more fun!

More Straw Fun

Okay, the boys have really gotten creative with the straws they got as a late Christmas present.

Here is Nathan's sea plane- he made up the design and executed it! Want to take a spin?
Here is a nice arch that the boys made. The original design was much smaller, but they really wanted to BOTH be able to walk underneath it without having to bend over- so cute!

Imagination Jason

With some money the boys received for Christmas (thanks Uncle Dave & Aunt Sandy), we bought them some unique toys. I saw this straw building set at a friend's house and I knew the boys would LOVE it. Jason went right for it and the building began. We decided to make our little structure bigger than the one pictured and because of that we had to make many modifications to keep it from falling over. It was very "Suessical"! I haven't had that much fun with my boy in awhile!

A Visit From the Tooth Fairy

Well, we had a special visitor last night. Jason Crout lost his FIRST tooth. It took awhile, but he finally has a hole in his mouth. His two bottom teeth have been loose, but it took biting on a fork wrong to really get things moving.

It was hanging so much that I helped it be removed (yanked it violently- tee hee). After tears and the sight of blood- Jason was excited!!

Before and After

I have a feeling that tooth #2 won't be far behind- it is quite loose as well! My baby is growing up!

Happy 9th Anniversary

November 2002

It feels like yesterday that I blogged about our 8th anniversary. How does this happen? How does a whole year fly by in the blink of an eye? Since we are taking our trip to Hawaii in 3 months we kept the celebrations low key and local! Sunday night we barbecued and had Dan's mom over for dinner. Tonight we took the boys to our favorite Tepan Grill restaurant- Koki. It was fun to be entertained while we ate great food! Saturday night we will go out for dinner and a movie courtesy of our sweet friend who is watching the boys while we hang out!

January 11, 2003

January 2006

August 2007

September 2009

June 2010

August 2010

January 2011

December 2011

Honestly, every day feels like an anniversary with my hubby. I just love that man so dearly and thank God every day for the blessing he is to me personally and to our family. I know that in no time at all we will be having our 10th and I won't be able to comprehend where another year went! Time definitely flies when you are having fun!!

New Furniture

A need for a better TV led to a mini living room makeover! Our TV was 9 years old and had horrible sound so we thought it was time to replace it with a new one. We have tossed around the idea of a flatscreen TV for awhile and finally bit the bullet.

I had gone to IKEA and bought a piece of furniture that would support the new TV, but it only had room for a 32 inch- not a big improvement on the size of our old one, but the price was right on the case. So, I brought it home and built it before the kids got out of school. That evening we went to Howard's and bought a really good 32" flat screen and a sound bar. The picture and sound quality is a major improvement!!

After demolishing the old armoire and moving things around- we realized that the style was going one direction and we needed to add something else. So, the next day I went back to IKEA and got another shelf unit to fill the space where an old hutch used to be. I really loved the hutch, but it just didn't go with the new look. Thankfully where we live you can put something outside the garage with a "free" sign on it and someone will inevitably pick it up!!

I also picked up a new rug for the family room and rearranged furniture in this room too. I am hoping to be done for awhile and just appreciate our lovely home that has housed us for 7 years now. Instead of furniture that was thrown together and functional- we now have a space that goes together! We don't have to have furniture that can withstand small children- now we just have to watch that our doggie doesn't chew the rug up- YIKES!!

Wrestle-Mania

Before Ryan left to go back to school, he and the little brothers had a good wrestling match. This was one of many that occurred the three weeks Ryan was home. Someone always cries, but they all enjoy it and bond over their sweat, tears and bruises!!

Happy New Year!!

I can't believe a new year has begun. As much as I look at my calendar, plan events, cross off days- I shouldn't be so surprised that another year has come and gone (but I am).

We have a lot of fun things planned for this year and I know there will be many unexpected surprises, experiences, joys and sorrows too. My hope is to live each day to the fullest- not looking back with regret and not looking forward with anticipation or anxiety- just being in the moment!

Today is the day that the Lord has made- I will rejoice and be glad in it!!

Today I am grateful for my two sweet sons- who light up my life with their joy, keep me on my knees in prayer, on my toes with their energy and my arms full of warmth from their big hugs!