Schools Out for Summer!!

 Thursday we went to Coopers preschool Carnival.  He got all sorts of prizes and "a Black Mamba" snake.

 Friday we grabbed all the neighborhood boys, went to the park, ate popsicles and had a massive Sword Fight!

 

I am so lucky to have summers off with my boys!!  I bet you can't wait to see what we are going to do/explore!  I know i can't!

Preschool Graduation

I have been seeing a lot of posts from friends about Preschool Graduation.  Inevitably they all say how grown up their kids look.

  I had a completely different reaction to Coopers Preschool graduation.  I thought he looked Little, way to young to be graduating Preschool and going to Kindergarten. 
 I don't think I am ready for this, but I KNOW he is.  


For example:
Coop was awarded : 
The Top Scholar Award, for passing off everything, and reading
The (only) Perfect Attendence Award, I am particularly proud of that one, because getting him there, for every class, was HARD.
And a Homework Award, because he turned in more homework than anyone in his class.
                                    Check out that trophy!!

  These are his amazing teachers.  It was a great school experience for him!

 Check out all his "Booty"

And of course the video of him singing.  So handsome.

I am so proud of all he has done and learned this year.  I hope Kindergarten is just as good of an experience!

Fathers and Sons

Nick and Coop went to Fathers and Sons, which means the Baby Bug and I got to hang out.

We went to the park and played for a long time.

Then we checked out the Storm Drains.  He thought it was so cool, and you better believe I scrubbed his hands when we got home!!

 It was such a nice day to be one on one with my baby who is so quickly becoming not-a-baby.

2T

The toddler years are in full swing around here.


Jacks turned 2 today.  We had a Thomas the Train themed Party.


Mommies and babies/toddlers were invited and we made a fun Mothers Day Craft.


We chased Bubbles,

We ate Cake.

We Opened Presents.

Dear Baby Bug,
You are so big, and so smart.
I love your 2 word sentences and how you count things using "more".
Truck, More Truck, More Truck. etc.
  I love when you say "hand" and then drag your daddy or I off on an adventure with you.(Usually to go watch a Thomas movie)  When you are not in my arms, or on my lap, I miss the weight of you.  I love you, Sweet, Wonderful Boy.
Momma

Love is patient, Love is kind

It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

 Love Never Fails,

Love is Choosing Each Other,

Love Works Hard ,

Love is Creating a Family,

Love is creating a Home,
,

Love is creating Memories,

Love is Finding Joy, 

Love knows Forever is worth it,

Love is Home,

 Love is what YOU are to THEM,

This is Love.......

Happy Anniversary,
My Love.


For our Anniversary we went out to a fancy steakhouse where you cook your own steak on a Smokin' Hot Lava Rock, and then went and saw Brian Reagan.
He was hilarious.  It was such a great night!

New Family Pictures

We took these pictures back in March. The Trees in the Church Orchard were blooming and I had my heart set on Pictures with the blooms. The orchard was closed, all the gates were locked, so we staulked around the city and took the first set of pics in someones back yard. But I just couldn't get over my wishes. So we crawled under the fence, and I got my Orchard Pictures. Jacks was crabby...I mean CRABBY. She worked really hard to get ANY pictures with him smiling, and they turned out so great.

Cooper was such a Ham (see side picture)

We were running around to try and get Jacks to smile, and so Coop got Super Hyper

But we got the best Smiles!!

This is the picture Coop chose for our wall and to take to school.

Jacks running away.

He did a lot of this!!!!

The rest of the pictures were taken after our Breaking and Entering into the Orchard.

Jacks did a little better since he could run.

In this picture he was looking at an "Airplane"

He is obsessed with watching airplanes streak across the sky!

Family Pictures taken by Andrea Stratton Photography.

Trust Me...

Yesterday Coop pulled a door over his toe...Sheared off the skin, pulled off the nail.
Oh man it hurt.
He cried.
I carried him to the bathroom and held his hand.
I tried to wipe the blood away and he told me NO.. squirmed and cried some more.
I took a deep breath looked in his eyes and said 
"Do You Trust Me"
"Yes"
So he held still and the whole time I was praying that I deserved that trust, and more importantly that I wouldn't lose it.

I realized at that moment how much I need him to trust me, how much I need to be trustworthy.


I make decisions for my kids everyday and I Need them to be the Right decisions.

We have chosen a new Daycare.
It was hard, I went to the temple 2X in 4 days.
I struggled with this decision because it is a short term solution.
In my gut I know it is the right place for my boys to be, but in my head and heart I know it is just for this next school year, and that I will have to do this all over again next year.
That Terrifies me.  
One year with new people in a new place, one year in a school for Cooper, and then finding another solution.

The new place is gorgeous, the lady in charge is so sweet and I got excellent references from her since she used to work for the School District.
Coopers school is a good school.  The Kindergarten teachers are enthusiastic and excited about the work they do.


The RIGHT decision.


Hopefully the "Trustworthy" decision.

 My Boys watching Daddy mow the lawn