There's a New...

Sheriff in town! He decided to try on my new cowboy boots. He was so proud of himself!

Action Shots

Here are a few action shots of Leo during his T-ball games. As you can tell, he loves to pay attention...

I Caved...

I was never going to let the boys go on the 4-wheeler. It went too fast and there was never anything on their heads. Well, Leo must have asked me at a weak moment, because I said yes. What was I thinking?!?! Well, Leo had a wonderful time. He thought it was great. He said, "Daddy went 36, but the next time we go on it we are going to go 63." Ummm, yeah right, Leo! Leo & Daddy The whole family...this year's Christmas card?!

Nate & Sabrina {5-26-12}

The day I've been waiting for. I can't believe it was finally here. Last summer I let the secret out, and now the day had arrived. My best friend is marrying her soul mate. All of the planning and preperation had led us to May 26th. I had the honor of being a bridesmaid. The beautiful bride and I after our hair was finished. <3 Putting on the garter. The beautiful bridesmaids. The handsome groomsmen. The newly married couple. The sassy bride. The groom and I. Nate & the girls Sabrina & the boys My good-lookin' groom It was the most beautiful wedding I've even been to. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house as she walked down the aisle, as they said their vows, and pledged themselves to each other. It was beautiful. After the ceremony, Leo had a job to do. He was so excited to hand out the celebration ribbons. We were so busy doing that, we didn't get a family picture taken. I also didn't get a picture taken of Sabrina and I all dolled up or Sabrina with my boys. I was really sad about that. The bridal party wasn't finished with pictures yet, so we loaded the bus and headed to the park. We had fun taking silly pictures. At the reception, we ate, watched this video. I dare you not to cry! I still can't watch it without sobbing. After the video it was time for the next secret. Who can believe I kept another one in?!? Thank.you.very.much! We had such a blast learning and practicing the dance. Nate & Sabrina ~ The day was beautiful from the smallest detail, to the biggest. It was wonderfully planned. I have loved watching the two of you fall in love, grow in your relationship, and now become husband and wife. Thank you for letting me be a part of your special day. It was awesome to see and feel all the love surrounding you. May your love continue to grow. Love you both!

Rehearsal Dinner

Today we started the celebration that is going to last all weekend! We started decorating at the church yesterday. It looks beautiful. I can't wait until the professional pictures are finished so I can get a few of them. Today we started decorating at the community building. It was a lot of work! Thankfully, most of Nate's groomsmen were around so they were there to help. It went really fast with everyone there. At 9:30 we took a short break for our Wedding Day 5K. Sabrina's cousins from Oregon planned it. It was lots of work fun! Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the 5K. Cheryl and I ran it together. We enjoyed the beautiful weather and the fun company. After we ran it was right back to decorating. I wish that I had pictures to show. I forgot my camera at home. :( I left at around 4 to get my house ready and myself ready for the big night. When I say I had to get my house ready, it's because all of the bridesmaids and their significant others stayed at our house. It was a great time! Rehearsal went off without a hitch. I wish I could say it went off without a tear, but that would be lying. I choked up the second Sabrina and Scott came down the aisle. Emily & I Shelby & I Heidi & I Crazy that I don't even have a picture with Sabrina! She was so busy with everyone there. It was so beautiful. Sherri and Greg did a very nice job of decorating. After we ate, the wedding party had to sneak out for a little secret. Stay tuned for the secret!!

Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle, Wiggle

Leo is happy to announce that he has his first wiggly tooth!

MLB Watch Out!

Here comes our lefty! Leo is a proud member of the of the Gray team. Actually, he was very upset he wasn't a member of the purple team. Because, of course, purple is the color of the Lions! After we talked him into playing for the gray team, he was pretty excited. He's so lucky to have his mom and dad as his coaches. Hmm...mayabe lucky isn't the right word for it. Ready for the game in his Bearcat hat! Loved playing catcher. Can hit from both sides of the plate. My favorite picture of the future MLB player!

Happy 90th Birthday!

Today Justin's family helped his gradma celebrate her 90th birthday. All of his cousins and their families came. Grandma Alyda's twin sister and her family were there to celebrate as well. Isn't that crazy? Twins reached their 90th birthday and are still living on their own! Leo and Eli thought we needed to sing "Happy Birthday" so these pictures are of the great grandchildren singing. I never got around to getting a group picture with all the kids. There are too many to have in one place!

The Million Dollar Son

I'm afraid that Leo may be following in his daddy's footsteps. While they were at Justin's parents house, Leo was running and tripped, fell onto the boot, and needed to go to the emergency room. Here is our phone conversation: (Justin may or may not be the worst communicator in the universe) Me: Hello? Jus: Hey, um, well, we kind of had an accident. Me: WHAT!?!? Are you guys ok? (Anyone else thinking car accident at this point?) Jus: Well, yeah, but Leo needs to go to the emergency room. Me: Is he ok? Is Eli ok? Are you ok? What happened? Is the van wrecked? Jus: What? Yeah it's fine. Not that kind of accident. Leo was running and tripped. He fell onto my boot, so we are taking him to the emergency room. Me: I'll meet you there. At this point, I don't remember much, other than Amy, Scott and Sherri saying it was ok for me to have a freak out. (I love them!) Scott took me to the emergency room and waited for them to arrive. Thankfully, Nurse Cindi was there, so Leo was pretty calm when he got there. He laid on the table all brave. Dr. Springer came in and decided that we needed to glue and not stitch. Woo hoo! Leo was so brave! He didn't cry until everything was over. He's my tough guy!

All smiles for the camera!

The {Last} Day of School

Today is the official LAST day of school for my Leo. This year went so fast!

Eli thought he needed to be in the picture too :)

The {Pre-School} Graduate

My first baby graduated from Pre-School tonight. Where did this year go?! Here's a flash back to his first day of school. He looks like just a babe doesn't he?! They walked in to the auditorium and sang a few songs. The afternoon sessions sang some songs too. The kids did such a good job. Leo had to walk across the stage when his teacher called his name. He was so cute when he walked across the stage. Then the kids came and sat with us. They had a cute slide show for us to watch. As soon as the song started, I started crying. I just can't believe that Leo is going to school. All I could think about was soon it's going to be his high school graduation. Sometimes I feel like time is moving so fast. I just want to stop and enjoy every moment. Even the days are filled with fighting and crying and messes and I just can't take another minute, I know these minutes will be gone all too soon, and I'll be wanting them back. I'm so thankful for every minute I have with my boys. Ok, now I'm crying again. On to the pictures! Leo with his class on stage

Getting his diploma

The Graduate

Wrestling with his brother after graduation

Leo ~ I'm so proud of you and all you learned this year. I can't wait to see all you learn this year. I love you!

Spring Snapshots

Leo has pre-school graduation tonight, so we are all looking spiffy. I decided to do a mini photo shoot. Get ready for a photo overload. Leo ~ My Pre-School Graduate

Eli ~ My Soon to Graduate Diapers

My mini tornados

The 3 boys who hold my <3

Mom & the boys

Mom & the Graduate

The Graduate & his parents

Our family

Just Like the Million Dollar Men

Eli has to be just like his daddy or his big brother.

Since Jus has had his bum foot, E wanted to be like him. I remembered that we had Leo's "wee walker" from when he fractured his foot. I told E that he could be just like Daddy. He thought that was really cool.

But, only for a little while. He was clearly ready to take it off!

Sweet Tooth

This little boy has nearly as big of a sweet tooth as his mommy. He had to lick the frosting off of the spoon when we were making treats for Leo to take to school. He was in heaven :).

Mommy's Day

Today is a day to celebrate mothers and the wonderful things they do in our lives. I am very blessed to have a wonderful mom. She watches my boys pretty much anytime that we ask, she plays with them, cleans my house, does my laundry, and so many other things. But, those aren't the reason why she's a good mom. We have been close my entire life. In middle school and high school when my friends would say they were so annoyed with their moms, I can honestly say I never thought that. We would talk about everything under the sun. When I went to college, and was so terribly homesick she would talk to me on the phone, even when she wanted to hang up! When I had my first job, we would talk on my way to and from work. Now that I work only 2 blocks from my house, that doesn't really work so well. I'm so very thankful to my mom for everything that she does for my family! I love you, Mom! This is my 5th Mother's Day. My little boys are in desperate need of haircuts (tomorrow!), but I couldn't pass up the chance to get them to love on me. I am so blessed to have these two as my sons. I always wanted to be a mommy; Melia, Ashley and I played house every day in the summers for many summers. These two know how to push my buttons and make me scream in frustration, and in the next minute they can tug on my heart strings and make me cry. I can't believe how big they are getting. It seems like yesterday we were just deciding to have kids. I am so thankful to God that He entrusted me with these sweet boys. I hope that I can raise them to be God-fearing men who are sensative, caring and loving to everyone they meet. My first baby

My boys <3

My youngest baby

The {College} Graduate

Didn't I just write this post? Wow, that was a fast 4 years - well, some days. Sometimes I can't believe that she's already done with college, and other days it feels like she's been gone for a million years. Either way, let me share some pictures of her special day! Sabrina received a special award from the education department, so we headed down early. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I am so proud of her! She did such a great job and will be an asset to any school district. (I know a district that she needs to come to... just saying!) The college graduate!

It was so hot at the ceremony! Nate had a great idea to put his program on his head. It did cool us off for a little bit. Who's bright idea was it to sit in the sun anyway!?!

Walking across the stage to get her degree. What an accomplishment!

The entire crew. We made quite the scene when SMS walked across the stage. I may or may not have whistled very loudly.

Even the Million Dollar Man made the journey for the festivities. He said he wouldn't miss it. (I think he kinda loves her, too!)

Congratulations, Sabrina! Very proud of you and all of your accomplishments! Can't wait to help you set up your classroom (can it be just down the hall from me?!)!