Inspired

I feel so lucky to have some pretty incredible women in my life. Some I have known for what seems like a lifetime and others only a few years. I feel like each of them brings something special to my life and inspires me in different ways.

One of these incredible women is my friend Kim. I am so blessed to know such an amazing woman. I wish I was as 1/2 as generous and caring as she is. She inspires me to want to be a better person. When someone is in need, Kim doesn't think twice about helping out. She is a giver by nature. This week I have been especially inspired by her. When her sister was having a wedding dress emergency, Kim immediately made herself available to help Beki and generously purchased her a new wedding dress. When my car wouldn't start on Friday, she didn't hesitate to adjust her schedule to pick Noah up from school. She is an amazing person.

I am so thankful to know Kim. She makes me laugh every day and I am grateful to be able to call her my friend.

My Baby is 4

Wow. I cannot believe that it has been 4 years since we welcomed little Cooper into our family!

He is such a blessing. I love how he and Noah love to play together. They are the best of friends and I am so lucky to be their Mom. :)

Cooper spread his birthday celebration over several days! We had his party a few days before his actual birthday. He had his first "friend" party this year. The bounce house was a big success! Cooper thought it was so much fun to have his friends over.

We celebrated his actual birthday at the zoo. I am so greatful to have the flexibility in my job to take the day off to spend with him. There is nothing better than spending the whole day with my boys! They are such characters!

4th of July Fun

Every year we spend the 4th of July with our great friends Robert & Kendall Tierney. I think we have been attending their 4th of July bash for nearly 10 years!! The boys look forward to it every year - especially Noah! His favorite part is the annual water gun fight! He looks forward to it all year! Cooper even got in on the action this year!

The evening ends with a fireworks display in the cul-de-sac. Noah loved the sparklers this year! Cooper even did one!! He soon wanted to go to our usual spot during fireworks - the living room where I read him stories...someday he'll want to watch the fireworks!
Noah is already looking forward to next year! I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July celebration with your friends and family!

My peonie has a first name....it's Oscar!

So last year I purchased 2 beautiful peonies. I was so thrilled when they came back this year! I was anxiously awaiting their bloom. Then tragedy struck - Cooper ripped 1/2 of one of the plants out of the ground! No blooms from that one! I hope there is enough of it left that it will come back next year. Not to worry! I still had one plant and it had several buds on it! Sadly, one by one, those blooms got pulled off by my adorable and destructive boys until there was just one left! I protected that remaining bloom and threatened my boys if they came near! Finally, the day came when Noah excitedly ran in the house and exclaimed, "Mom! Your bologna is blooming!!" I love that kid! ;)

It's been a few months...well, 10 to be exact!

I figure I better update my blog before Kimberly removes me from her list! ;)

Today seems like a great day to do it. Today is Noah's 7th birthday!! I cannot believe it has been 7 years since Noah entered the world! He has grown into such an awesome kid! I am so blessed to be his mom. I love that he's not too big to want to snuggle with me and even thought he'll tell you Daddy is his favorite, he and I both know that he's a Mamma's boy! ;)

We have had a great day today. We went out to breakfast where he enjoyed a delicious chocolate smiley face pancake. He was surprised when the Ihop staff sang happy birthday to him and brought him an ice cream sundae after breakfast. I don't normally let him eat ice cream for breakfast!

After breakfast, we headed to Julia Davis park to ride the paddle boats. Noah and Grammy were in one boat and Adam, Cooper and I were in the other. I appreciated having Adam to help me paddle! It is quite a workout!! It was a beautiful morning and it was very enjoyable. We saw ducklings and even a turtle! Did anyone else know that there were turtles in the pond??? We say two but one bailed off the branch as soon as we got close.

After the paddle boats we headed over the Friendship Bridge to Boise State where the boys played on the statues before heading in to see Ms. Karen. The boys think it is so fun to see my office - I don't feel the same way on my day off!

After a quick stop in the office we headed back to the park for a picnic lunch. The geese were very interested in joining us, so we had to keep shooing them away.

We spent the rest of the day hanging out around the house. Tomorrow is Noah's party - we are seeing Cars 2! I hope it's as good as the first one.

I will make it a priority to keep this blog updated more often - of course, I'm not sure if anyone besides Kim reads it! Oh well, I'll keep you updated anyway, Kim! ;)

Children's Center Changes...

Friday was Noah's last day ever at the BSU Children's Center. It was much more emotional for me than for him! He started at the Children's Center when he was 2 1/2. I have loved having him there. He has had great teachers and has made wonderful friends.

His favorite teacher has been Ms. Judy.

She is awesome! (Fingers crossed she will still be there when Cooper is in the pre-school class!) I am so grateful for the wonderful experiences Noah has had while at the Children's Center. I hope that he enjoys kindergarten as much as he has enjoyed pre-school!

Friday was also Cooper's last day with his loop teacher Ms. Terri.

I am so sad for Cooper to be leaving the loop. Leslie and Terri have been wonderful teachers. Cooper first met them when he was 4 days old, although he didn't officially start at the center until he was 10 months old. Cooper has had a wonderful experience growing and learning in the loop program. I feel so thankful for the wonderful experiences Cooper has had. Luckily, Cooper will just be down the hall from Leslie and Terri so he will get to visit every now and then! I hope he enjoys the transition classroom as much as he has enjoyed the loop!

Backyard Water Fun!

Noah LOVES the water. He doesn't care how cold it is. The sprinklers are his best friend in the summer! A month or so ago we bought a slip-n-slide. Noah thinks it ROCKS! Cooper, on the other hand, prefers just to walk around the sides of it and look at it! He is not a huge fan of cold water. If he is in control and can decide when and how he gets in, he's okay. He does not like to be splashed or sprayed! He loves to do the spraying though! Watch out if Coop gets a hold of the hose! Here are a few pics from their backyard water fun the other night!

My baby is 3!

I can't believe that Cooper is 3! It has been a whirl wind three years. Cooper has blessed our family more than I could have ever imagined. He is a ball of energy but has the most loving heart. I am so proud to be his mom!

Everyone who knows Cooper knows that he is OBSESSED with Toy Story. I mean OBSESSED. He loves all things Buzz or Woody related. So, of course, we had to have a Toy Story theme for his birthday.

He doesn't get to have a friend party until next year so we invited the family to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. Mmmm...nothing screams kids birthday like cardboard pizza and video games! :) The kiddos had a great time! Noah, Cooper, Dylan, Mya and Gianna enjoyed all the games and activities.

Noah turns 6!

June 24, 2004 - An 8lb 13oz Noah Joseph entered the world! He has been such a blessing to our family. He has been a ball of energy since he was born! He was super excited to turn 6 this year! His birthday started with smiley face pancakes - with the requested cherry eyes! :)

Followed by the big surprise - Toy Story 3!

After the movie the boys has "mocha's" with Grammy.

Noah enjoyed super delicious Delsa's ice cream while Cooper was napping - don't worry, we brought some home for Cooper and Daddy!

His birthday was supposed to end with a back yard camp out, but the weather had other plans. So we moved the tent into the family room!

Sounds like a pretty good day huh? Well, his birthday celebration didn't end there!

Saturday was his party with friends. We had it at the Discovery Center of Idaho. It was great!

The kiddos got to play with tons of cool stuff and actually learn something at the same time!

They loved the liquid nitrogen demonstration. Especially the ice cream! I was pretty proud of the "dirt" cupcakes that I made - complete with rocks and worms!

Adam was able to spend the night making the day extra special! :)
Noah's birthday celebration ended with a family party at the house. The weather was perfect for hanging out on the new deck. It was also perfect to break out the gift Noah received from Bryce and Landon - water balloons!

It was an awesome 4 days! Secretly, I was looking forward to going back to work today to rest!! Shhh...don't tell! ;)

The Graduates

It has been an emotional end to the semester. Both boys graduated this semester! Noah graduated from pre-school. He will be starting kindergarten in this fall. I am excited for this next step, but sad to see his time at the Children's Center coming to a close. He has learned so much and has made some great friends. I hope he has a great summer before he is off to kindergarten!

Cooper graduated from the looping program. He has had the same teachers the entire time he has been at the Children's Center. I am so sad to know that he will not be with Ms. Terri & Ms. Leslie next year. They have been fantastic teachers and Cooper loves them. I am looking forward to the next step for Coop, but wish we could take Terri & Leslie with us!!

I love my boys!

My wonderful boys sent me these beautiful flowers for Mother's Day. I am so blessed to be Mama to my two wonderful sons.

When life gives you lemons...

SMILE!