Megan's Musings

SNOW!

2012-01-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

We have finally gotten snow this past weekend and week; which means that we are trying to spend lots of time playing in it. On the weekend the snow was perfect for packing so the boys and I made our first snowman. Believe it or not, Aidan rolled the bottom ball for the snowman all by himself.

And of course, we couldn't play in the snow without having a snowball fight. I did join in the fight but I tried to take some pictures before they starting pelting me with snow. Not many of them actually turned out....oh well.

Jaxon had the opportunity to go sledding with the daycare that he goes to....but we have not gone yet as a family. Sadly, we don't even have a sled. I know, I know. Not good that we don't own a sled....but we will get one eventually.

To be honest, I can't believe we actually have this much snow. It is really pretty and it reminds me so much of growing up in Michigan but I am not expecting it to last too long. It never seems to.

It is suppose to stay cold and then snow again tonight and tomorrow but I believe after Wed it will start warming up and then we will mostly say goodbye to the snow.

Oh yes, and what is the perfect ending to playing in the snow??? Hot chocolate! Yes, we have been consuming our fair share of that as well. For now, we will enjoy the snow and the hot chocolate! Cuz, there's nothing quite like it!

Christmas Thoughts.....

2011-12-31T09:22:00.000-08:00

I do not think it is possible to relay in words or pictures how truly full this Christmas has been. We were able to spend two weeks with Jamie's family leading up to Christmas and then my family came on the 23rd and just left on New Year's Eve. My heart is full with the memories that we shared and I am reminded again of the bond that binds family. Whether you live near or far....you pick up where you left off and enjoy the moments you have.(a certain cousin wanted in on the family picture....so cute)

I cannot possibly pick from the hundreds of picture that were taken between our families. It would be near impossible. But what I can share is that I am blessed! I am blessed with loving parents and a brother who LOVE me, my handsome man and my boys. Who through miles make it seem easy even though I know it is hard. And I am blessed to have married into a wonderful in-law family that has taken me in as one of their own daughters. Aunties and Unkies that LOVE ALL the cousins with wreckless abandon. The friendships with siblings and the cousin love that is so evident. The crazy families that we are, making the best of the moments that we have; creating memories that I hope our children will remember forever. As I look at all the pictures....this is what I remember.
I hope that you all know that we LOVE you and enjoyed all the crazy fun and memories that we were able to make!

Giving Thanks

2011-11-20T16:53:00.001-08:00

I have been reading a book this fall called "One Thousand Gifts". The whole idea behind the book is to live in the present moment and to have a heart of thanksgiving for everything. The author was challenged to write down 1000 things she was thankful for. She took the challenged and it changed her life.....for the better. As I have reflected on her words I am reminded again how important our mindset is everyday and when we focus on being thankful....it brings us back to Him and how we view life completely changes. This is not to say that you still don't have "bad" days but when you get into the habit of looking for and recognizing things in your life to be thankful for.....good habits are formed.

As I continue to move through this life I am more aware of ALL that I have to be thankful for. Back at the end of September we had some family pictures taken by Pinball Photography. She did an amazing job capturing our family. It is funny how great pictures help create a heart of gratitude for those that you love. I love now looking up on my walls and seeing my boys and how she captured them.

My handsome man and my boys are just a few of the many things I know I have to be thankful for. As we move closer to the Christmas season where we are intentional to spend time with family and as American Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away it is easy to think on the things that are blessings in our lives.

My hope and prayer is that even after the festivities of Christmas are behind us I will continue to look for the daily things in my life that I can be thankful for. There are so many things...we are truly blessed.

I want to look at life with a heart of thanks. I believe that it is possible and I believe that when we truly have this as central in our lives it brings us back to a focus that is solely on Him and what He has done and what we can do to bring Him glory.

My heart is full with blessings that He has given me...and I want to continue to look and see what He has for me everyday. I think it is nearly impossible to look at the pictures of my boys and not SEE and be THANKFUL!

Change is Good

2011-10-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

I have always been one to welcome change. I find it fun, exciting and challenging. This summer I was presented with the possibility that change could be on the horizon for me in regards to my job with World Vision. I have been blessed with my part-time job with World Vision but it looked like it might be coming a close. When this came up Jamie and I started talking about what my next job might look like. I had always wanted to work in the school district as a TA (Teacher's Assistant) or a Youth Care Worker. We thought it might be wise to apply to be on the Casual List for TA and YCW so that when my World Vision job was no more I would have my foot in the door.

I handed in my application to the school board in the summer but did not hear anything until the beginning of October. Jamie had warned me that the process can take a long time so I needed to just be patient (not always my strong suit). I got a phone on a Friday to schedule my interview for the next week Tuesday (two weeks ago). I was nervous since I had not had a job interview in awhile. I remember praying asking the Lord to calm my nerves and to help me to be open, honest and real. The interview went great. I felt really good about it but I also felt at peace that I laid everything out there and if this was not my time everything would work out fine.

The next day, Wednesday, I got a phone call letting me know that they wanted to hire me but that they had a FULL-TIME position for me. YIKES! I was absolutely thrilled and terrified at the same time. I am pretty sure I walked around in a daze for the rest of the day. The rest of the day, I spent trying to work out the details of daycare for Jaxon. Thankfully, I had already talked with someone from our church who was willing and ready to take him for me but we were both thinking it might be 2-3 days a week. She was willing to take him for 4 and Jamie's mom was willing to take him for 1. After talking with Jamie about it more in detail that night I phoned on Thursday and told them I would take the job. That meant, I started Monday!

I had my moment of feeling guilty that I was doing this to Jaxon since Aidan got to have me home for 5 years but then after I had my moment I knew that Jax would be fine. He is our child that doesn't mind change (like me). He goes with the flow and change doesn't seem to phase him. I also knew that God was the one that orchestrated all of this from the beginning and I knew that He would be with us during this time of change/transition.
Monday morning came and Jaxon got ready and was excited to head off to Mrs. Tammy's house. Jamie took him on the way to school. When I went to pick him up after school he didn't want to leave! I was so happy! He has had a great week and is loving it!

All of us did great during this first week of change and I can only truly thank the Lord for this. He has provided everything that we need. Life is going to look different for us now but it is a good kind of different. My prayer for our boys is that they will learn that change is good and that life will always be filled with change and we need to learn to adapt and move with it.

So Proud

2011-10-19T08:55:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jamie finally finished what he started last September.....is Master's of Education. I am so proud of him and what he has accomplished. When we started this journey several years ago he never thought he would pursue the Master's. However, I think I knew all along that he would eventually get it.

Last fall/winter was long and hard for us with him gone every other weekend to SFU but we made it through and now we are on the other side.....FINISHED! It was so fun for me to be able to go with him to his graduation and watch him complete what very few ever receive.

It was an outdoor ceremony which meant it was cold up on the mountain but it was a very impressive ceremony. What we started we were able to finish together. Originally, we thought that we would bring the boys with us but it was a very long day and I think the boys were definitely happier staying home. The boys would have gone crazy; would have gotten bored and cold....and then I would have not been able to enjoy it.
When Jamie was doing his Master's work I didn't really understand the topic/focus he had but when it was all done I understood much more and was so impressed. His topic was how to motivate students in the area of academics along with using technology. He learned so much and is using what he learned in his own classroom.
For those of you who know Jamie, you will know that he truly does has a passion to motivate, encourage and challenge his students. The day he graduated with his Master's was just another proud moment for me watching him continue to grow. If you can't tell, I am completely proud of my handsome man! He isn't going to like that I took time to gloat about it here....but too bad. He deserves it!

Kindergarten Here we Come

2011-09-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Aidan has finished his two half days of kindergarten and begin full day everyday tomorrow. I keep thinking about it and have those butterflies that I felt when I went to school. I am so excited for him and I am proud of who he has become. The half day's of school have gone well and he has loved every moment.

He is going in a bit blind as he knows no one in his class but to be honest I think that is best. He has the chance to make new friends. And is learning quickly how to make friends. He has already come home and talked about his new friend, Jason. I am excited to meet him and his mom and/or dad. Thankfully, Aidan is familiar with his school as we helped out with the breakfast program last year. And his teacher is someone he met last year. I really think that having him get familiar with the school last year has helped him this year.

Just in the last couple of weeks I feel like he has made HUGE strides for himself in growing up. He seems to be a bit more self-confident, comfortable with leaving us, and able to express his emotions in a positive way. I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this boy!

As I write this, Aidan is at school for his first FULL day. He was so excited to go and didn't seem to struggle to leave me this morning....I was thrilled. I know this is the first day and we could very well have more mornings of struggles but I am going to take this one day at a time and hopefully we will continue to make positive strides.

My prayer for you my Aidan, is that you will be a good friend to those in your class. Always looking out for those around you. Being helpful for your teachers and classmates. That your self-confidence will continue to grow. That compassion, mercy and love will flow from you. That you will make some great friends and have a sense of belonging with your friends and school. This is your school now a place where you will be challenged and encourage and where you can be an encouragement to those around you. Oh yeah, and if you learn academically along the way...that is good too ;)

Summer Favorites

2011-09-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

We have had an awesome summer...

Here is a large list of my favorite pictures and memories that I will remember forever!

I am so thankful for my family and the memories we have made.

Aidan is 5!

2011-08-27T16:19:00.000-07:00

This week has been a birthday celebration to say the least. Aidan turned 5! It was funny to think that we now have a school aged child. He has grown up so much! He has moved from refusing having his picture taken to tolerating it and choosing to make funny faces for most pictures. However, the funny faces reflect who he is....and I love it!

The day of his birthday we spent most of the day painting the trim on our house. In the evening his Mimi and Pa came and took him to Castle Fun Park and White Spot. They had a wonderful time together; it was perfect birthday treat. Especially for a boy that truly does cherish personal time.

The day after his birthday we all went to the PNE. It has become a family summer tradition for us. Jamie and I use to go before kids and then once Aidan turned 3 we took him for the first time. We had a perfect weather day and enjoyed the food and the shows.

The first show we went to the was the Superdogs. We got there a bit early but it meant we could pick any seats in the house. Aidan was so excited and when the dogs came out he was totally focused on the dogs and the show. I found him numerous times laughing as he watched the dogs.

After the Superdogs we went to watch the motorcycle show but that was short lived as they had parts of the show that blew fire in the air and both boys were freaked out. It would have been an awesome show but the boys didn't want to stay. Too bad.

After the motorcycles we headed to the barns to look at the animals and get a seat for the duck and pig races. I have no idea why I love the duck and pig races because it really isn't much but I suppose it is apart of tradition and what we have always done. We were waiting for the races to begin and we were taking self-portraits....this one Jamie actually took but it shows one of the crazy faces that Aidan was giving me all day. Crazy kid.

We definitely had our fair share of treats that day. Mini doughnuts, fresh lemonade and dole whip (ice cream). It was a perfect way to celebrate a birthday and spend a great day together as a family. It was the first time we went with no stroller and it worked out ok. The boys walked everywhere and never once complained. Jamie gave a couple of shoulder rides and then Jax conked right during the last show (acrobats) and had to be carried to the car...but I think we are definitely hitting the no stroller stage.. LOVE IT!

On Saturday Aidan had his birthday party. It was his first ever friend birthday party. 4 out of the 5 friends he chose were able to make it. We decided to keep it fairly simple and make it a water theme. We were able to borrow this great slip n slide that the kids had a blast on.

We had lunch first and I think it was a good thing since it took the kids a couple of minutes to get comfortable with everyone. So, while they were eating they started to talk and laugh with one another. When lunch was over they were ready to get wet and just have fun.

We planned to do a couple of water balloon games but quickly realized that these balloons weren't going to be pop very easy. So, the games turned to just trying to pop the balloons. Who knew dollar store balloons were so tough! It was hilarious trying to get the balloons to pop. Jamie and Kelly went on the deck to drop from higher ground and it still didn't work.
After the balloons the kids decided to try out the trampoline and asked for Jamie to spray them with the hose. It was a great hit. They loved jumping and getting wet at the same time. Gotta love the simple things in life.....a trampoline and water....so funny! Some of the kids didn't really like it so they got off and just watched or went and played with other toys. Thankfully, I don't think there was ever a moment when any kids were not enjoying themselves....or at least I hope.
Taeya and Aidan know each other from Sunday school and they are hilarious with each other. As parents we haven't ever really seen much interaction between the two so it was funny to watch them. They teased each other and a laughed like old friends. It was so funny! Aidan has finally met his match...she gives it right back to him when he tries to talk smack.. it was awesome!

More Driving and More Fun

2011-08-22T20:09:00.000-07:00

We have just come back from a bit of time in Quesnel visiting Matt, Heather and Kai. We always enjoy the company and spending time with family but the weather....that is different. It seems that every time we go the weather turns and becomes COLD. This trip was no different. Thankfully, we have learned and we pack accordingly.
It was great getting to spend quality time with Kai. This time around he really seemed to gravitate to Unkie Jamie. Jamie introduced him to lots of "ball" on TV. He was thrilled. Every time Jamie would sit down to look for something on TV Kai would come running asking for "ball". So cute.

Doesn't Heather look good for being 9 months prego! Only 2 1/2 (maybe 3) weeks left! Can't wait to meet this new little one. Heather and I always would take self -portraits and I figured I should capture yet another one.
Unkie Matt gave the boys (Aidan and Kai) quad rides. Going for quad rides was one of the many things Aidan was looking forward to. I think as soon as we got to their house he asked if they could have quad rides. Jaxon didn't really want to go for a ride. Not sure why, but he wasn't very adventurous this time around.
Auntie had a great idea to bake a cake and let the boys decorate it. They loved it! They may have consumed as much candy while decorating. At one point, we found Kai with a mouth full and a hand full of jube jubes! It was great! With this cake we celebrated all three of the boys' bday.
For some reason this is how Aidan decided to smile. We have moved from frowning to give some interesting smiles...but I will take it. Thanks Auntie for the bday cake.
This was Kai's bday present from us! A ball pit. To say he loved it would be a bit of an understatement. He was absolutely over the moon about this ball pit. The boys picked it out for him and they were so excited to give it to him. We just now have to find more balls to fill it up completely. It was awesome to watch him play in it and love it.
Kai even got Unkie Jamie in the ball pit. It was so cute. He just kept asking and asking and finally Jamie gave in. Honestly, how can one say "no" to your cute nephew? Seriously, it is not possible. I am pretty sure Kai figured that out pretty quick with his Unkie. ;)
Our last afternoon there we went for a walk to get ice cream. It was a great walk, got us out of the house (or at least the boys) and satisfied that we finally got ice cream on this trip. Aidan remembered the first time we got ice cream. He asked us almost everyday if we were going to get ice cream. Jaxon loved it because he got his vanilla ice cream. He is so funny because given the choice he picks vanilla over any other flavor.
Kai inhaled his tastes of ice cream as well. I think he shared with mommy and daddy. And then of course he was in charge of putting our bowls in the garbage. He takes this job very seriously and does it so well....even if he tries to put a bottle in the mailbox.
Auntie and Unkie got Aidan two water guns for his birthday. After we got ice cream we came back and they had a water fight. It was the warmest day we had there so it worked out well. Eventually after getting each other all wet they went hunting together to get the dog. Aidan loved it! Aidan loves his Unkie Matt. Matt has always been a great Unkie in playing with the boys and just spending time with them. So, they always know when Unkie is around they are going to have a blast.
Here they were stalking their prey! They had found her and were trying to sneak up on her. The poor girl hated every minute of it but they had fun! Afterwards they gave her some love and affection and I think she forgave them.

Thanks Matt and Heather for letting us invade your home. We had a great time!

Desert Canyon

2011-08-04T16:42:00.000-07:00

We just arrived back home from a mini vacation to one of our favorite spots, Desert Canyon. It is outside of Lake Chelan, WA in the hills. It sits on a beautiful golf course and has a small pool perfect for the kids.

We invited our friends, Dan, Erin, Tate and Coen. We shared a 4 bedroom suite and spent Sunday - Wednesday. It was perfect! The weather was gorgeous and the company was great. Even with kids we found it relaxing.

Jaxon was hilarious at the pool. We always put his life jacket on (for safety purposes) however, he rarely came in. I think we have maybe 2 pictures of him in the water. He had more fun standing on the side of the pool and laughing at everyone in the pool. We would pull him in every now and then. He would scream like a girl but laugh and enjoy it but want out immediately.

And then there was Aidan. He LOVED the pool. We definitely could tell that his swimming lessons have paid off. He was so confident in the water and spent most of the time without his life jacket. He did use his life jacket when he wanted to swim the whole length of the pool. We took a break from the pool one afternoon and we took the boys to the driving range to hit some golf balls. We don't have small clubs for the boys; so they had to use Jamie's. It was hilarious to watch them try....both of them were able to hit ball which was impressive.
Jaxon liked it but not as much as Aidan. He hit a couple of balls was content with that. Once he was done he was ready to go back to the pool.
I love the concentration on his face. He was so determined to hit the ball. Of course, if the ball didn't go very far he would get upset and want to hit it farther. Such a type A personality. ;)
Jamie even brought some of my clubs so that I could practice a bit. It was hilarious. I hadn't hit a ball in almost 3 years. I think that Jamie and I went golfing the summer after Jaxon was born and that was the last time. I whiffed at the ball a lot. I did hit a few good ones that felt really good. We definitely have visions of golfing as a family.

Another classic look while at the pool. Aidan jumping in and Jaxon standing on the edge watching. Tate loved the water as well. I think she was in it the most out of all the kids. Our boys liked to go from the pool to the hot tub and back. While the boys were at the hot tub she would stay in the pool.

Oh my, the cuteness! I cannot get enough. I have to thank Dan and Erin for taking most of these pictures. They captured our boys in perfect moments.

Another awesome pic! I think this will be my favorite closeup of Aidan for the summer! I am in love with pics where they are close ups and the kids (or person) are looking straight into the camera! Seriously!

Poor Jaxon got cold....needing a moment in the sun with his towel. He looks a bit blitzed here. I guess no naps for a couple of days will do that to ya. He was so good though. Every night he would fall asleep in minutes and during the day he was good. Not too much crying and/or complaining.
Oh how the kids loved to push us in the pool. We all took turns letting them push us in. They thought it was hilarious. There were a couple of occasions when Jaxon would think he could try to push Aidan in as well....not so good. However, such is life with boys ;)
I promise I went in the pool. There just aren't that many of me in the pool because I was the one taking pictures. Dan and Erin got me in a couple of shots so that was nice. It just proves that I was there. We had such a wonderful time.....we didn't want to leave. Every time we are there we talk about how nice it would be to own a condo here. I think that we would live up there all summer if we did. We came home wanting more but thankful for the time we had. Great memories.

We Came, We Saw, We Conquered....Calgary!

2011-07-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Last week Tuesday we woke up early and started our trek to Calgary. We were heading to the Calgary Stampede and the Zoo. Jamie's Oma and Opa live in Calgary so it worked perfectly to take in the sights and spend some time with them as well. We hadn't ever done this long of a drive so we were curious/nervous how it was going to go. The boys were so excited to go. The before we left they were chanting; "were going to Calgary, were going to Calgary." The boys did great. They watched 7 movies on the way there and 7 on the way back.
These pictures with the cowboy hats were taken the day after we were at the Stampede. Oma wanted a picture with all of us in the hats. After the picture the boys were roping cows.
We were able to go to the rodeo show and it was great! We saw everything. Steer riding, barrel racing, roping calves, bucking bronco's and little kids trying to ride wild miniature horses. The show was really long but the boys did great.

At one intermission Jaxon went for a walk with Opa and came back with a bucket of popcorn. Between everyone the popcorn was definitely eaten. Jaxon actually fell asleep on my lap during the last half of the rodeo. He was so tired and because we were sitting and not moving he couldn't keep his eyes open.

On the first day we were in Calgary, it was Jamie and I's 9th wedding anniversary. We spent it playing at the park, going to the mall with the kids, and having a yummy dinner at Olive Garden with Oma and Opa and boys. It was a good day to celebrate our anniversary. Next year.....Hawaii!

Our first afternoon in Calgary we went to a great park. The boys loved the playground and there was plenty of green space to play baseball. I had brought my phone to take pictures. Jamie was playing around with the different photo setting options. This cartoon option was a favorite along with a vintage setting as well. We were quite impressed with the quality. Aidan also doesn't mind as much if you take pictures of him on the phone instead of with an actual camera. Sometimes I think he just thinks you are on your phone instead of taking a picture ;)

Aidan thought it was fun to try to climb up the twisty slide...we both struggled to get to the top.

The boys love swings and we spent lots of time pushing them and making them go higher. They loved the underdog's or sudden drops that Jamie would give them. He would pull them up and when they weren't expecting it he would let go. I think my favorite part was watching their faces...and hearing their screams....priceless.
Eventually, we moved on to playing baseball. Aidan wanted to make sure that everyone got a chance to bat. Even Oma and Opa got in on the action and took their turn batting. It was great. The boys loved the fact that Oma and Opa played ball with them.

This is one of my favorite pictures. Jaxon decided that he wanted to pitch. He did great. This picture shows the whole action. The ball in the air that he threw to Jamie and Jamie ready to hit it. It was perfect!

On Friday, we headed to the Calgary Zoo. The last time I was there was the first summer Jamie and I were married. It is an amazing zoo. Perfect for the boys. I think that we spent almost 4-5 hours and I don't believe we saw everything.

We had a great day for it. Nice and sunny but with a bit of a breeze so you didn't get too hot. At one point, we stopped for ice cream. The perfect treat for the zoo. I decided to take advantage of the fact that Oma and Opa were with us to have them take a picture of Jamie and I. Since having the boys, we don't often have pictures taken of just us.

Aidan was set on seeing bears when we were at the zoo. I am not entirely sure what it was about the bears but it was important. We finally found them and it was perfect. The zoo staff were throwing food over the fence to the bears. We had the perfect view of the bears coming trying to find the food.

It was a great trip. We were so thankful to have Oma and Opa have us stay with them and be able to spend time with them. It was a short trip but a good one. We left Saturday morning ready for a long trek back home. The boys watched 7 more movies but were content. It was great to have the dvd player along. It was probably the best $200 we have spent. It helped make a long trip bearable.

Thanks Oma and Opa for a wonderful trip. We are very grateful! The boys loved it and enjoyed spending time with you both.

The First of Summer

2011-07-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

The first week of summer has been full of lots of fun. We experienced the Canada Day parade for the first time in our town. There were tons of floats. We actually didn`t last till the end...but we enjoyed what we saw.

We sat in the grand stands so we were a small ways off the curb so the boys missed out on the candy but they didn`t seem to notice. I was kind of shocked that they didn`t notice.. Aidan was focused on getting cotton candy. Unfortunately, the cotton candy vendors never came near where we were.

After lunch we went to Rotary Stadium where the festivities continued with lots of games, food and music. We stood in line for the kids to play some games and found the cotton candy. The boys had a full day and we all had a fun time.

Isn`t he so cute?

One of the games that Aidan really wanted to do was mini golf or at least that is what we thought it was. It didn`t turn out to be mini golf but a mini golf lesson. It was so great. Aidan loved it. He was taught (along with Jamie) how to hold the club, how to swing the club and then got to practice.

Oh, the cotton candy...I think that was the best part for this boy. I don't think they had had it before...so that made it even better.

Jax didn't really know what to do with the stuff and he didn't really like it when it was stuff on his fingers but he didn't like the taste.

Last week was a busy one without daddy. Jamie hs been working on his Master's and had to go into class this past first week in July. We had the evenings with daddy but the days were long. I decided to walk with the boys to the park because I thought they would like the water park....this is what they did first. Played in the dirt! Seriously.

I finally told them that if they didn't go play we were going back home. So, instead of the water park they played at the regular playground. I had brought their lunch and so they played and had lunch before we walked home.

Once they got into playing they had fun...but it definitely took some gentle nudging on my part. Even though when I suggested it at home they were so excited to go.

We spent a lot of time in the backyard playing as well. Thankfully, we had warm sunny weather. Where there is warm weather there is a fun sprinkler. Aidan totally loved it and Jaxon took some time warming up to it. He didn't like to get all wet but he liked to play in it a bit.

Who knew that boys would like to take the sprinkler and water the plants...but it works! And it takes a job off my list! They can water my plants with a sprinkler anytime!

This was the perfect game for the boys. Aidan got to get wet and play on the trampoline and Jaxon got to play with the water but not get wet! It was perfect. Both boys won! It was perfect.
It was a hard week having Jamie gone and so focused on school but the program is almost over. It has been a crazy last 18 months with Jamie back in school but we only have 3 more days left at the end of July and we are DONE! Woohooo!

In Love

2011-06-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

A picture speaks a thousand words.

Mama B took this picture on Sunday of Jamie and his little man, Jax. I fell in love the moment I saw it. The two of them don't always get much 0ne-on-one time but when they do I know they both love it.
In this picture, I see the man I married almost 9 years ago more handsome than ever. I see a little boy who is loving his time with daddy. I see a man who has become the best dad for his boys...who loves them unconditionally and continues to challenge me to become more. I see a boy who knows without a shadow of a doubt that is daddy loves him and will do his best to keep him safe and secure. What I see just makes me fall in love all over again.

It's All Over but Just Beginning.....

2011-06-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

Monday of this week we celebrated a milestone for Aidan.....preschool graduation. I feel like it was just yesterday that I took him for his very first day of school and yet here we sit one school year completed. Ms. Karen was one of his teachers. Aidan loved Ms. Karen. She was a perfect fit for him. I am so thankful that preschool was a success. Aidan has grown so much into his own person and I know he is ready for Kindergarten.

Last Friday Aidan's preschool class had a party at the park. It was a fun time for the kids to play and finish off the school year. I guess during the school year when the kids had lots of energy they would take the class to the gym to run them. So, the party started out with running....very fitting. They had to race to a tree and back. As you can see, Aidan took it very seriously and worked very hard to finish first. He's not competitive at all! Not at all.

Aidan did a great job during his preschool graduation ceremony. For those that know Aidan he is not one to like attention focused on him. So when it comes to his class singing songs Aidan does not sing nor does he do the actions. He focuses his attention on his teacher and just watches her the whole time. This helps him not look at all the people staring in his direction. He really does not like a lot of attention. He also does not enjoy having his picture taken. It is a fight to get him to smile for the picture. I pretty much have to threaten and then tickle him during the picture taking process. So, when we get a good one we are happy and we don't push...or at least we try not to.

This game was the cutest to watch. It was all about wearing Ms. Karen's clothes. They had to put on a pair of her old shorts and a hat...then run to the tree and back. All the kids had so much fun. It was alot of fun watching them enjoy the games.
It has been quite a year of many experiences and growth not only for Aidan but for myself as well. I pray that as he continues to grow that I continue to grow into a better Mommy for him. That means that I need to allow God to come and transform me into the best parent I can be. Waking up each morning and letting HIM take over. It can be a hard thing to remember but I know that as I continue to ask for this transformation in my life that it will happen. I know I have grown and I know he has grown. I am excited to see the continuation of what God has in store for both of us. I love you my Aidan! Even when we have to "start over."

White Rock Traditions...

2011-06-06T16:35:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we spent the afternoon in White Rock. It was a beautiful day for fish n' chips, the beach and ice cream. I can't even tell you how long we have done this White Rock outing but it is wonderful. We have done it several time with Jamie's parents as well as just going the four of us.

First, we hit Moby Dick's for fish n chips and then off to the beach. It is a lot of fun to let the boy go and run through the water when the tide is out. Both boys were a bit tentative at first but they warmed up to the idea. Jaxon didn't want me to put him down at first...but eventually I just put him down and he got use to it. It was a great way for the boys to run off all of their energy.

It was probably one of the first times going to White Rock that we haven't used a stroller. Normally we have the stroller to hold everything that we might need. This time we didn't even think to bring it and we didn't really need it. It was a long walk for the boys but they managed just fine. It was wonderful! For some reason, Aidan has always equated White Rock with ice cream. I don't think we have always gotten ice cream but in his mind it was necessary. There is a great gelato place right off the pier that we have always gone to (when we get ice cream).

Aidan has always been our sharer. I can't ever remember a time where it has been that hard for him to share. He has always had a tender heart that way. We now just have to work on sharing and NOT expecting something in return ;) Oh, the life lessons.....they seem endless.

Jaxon on the other hand....is NOT a good sharer. It is quite funny. When you ask him if you can have some or if you try to take some without asking....he gets very upset and raises his voice. I kept trying to sneak little bites of his vanilla gelato. It was so good, I couldn't resist. He has his moments of greatness in the sharing department but they are few and far between.

Good to the last drop.

Aidan has his last week of preschool this week. I can't believe that we have finished this school year. Granted, the real school year isn't over quite yet...but for Aidan this is a great accomplishment. He has learned so much and has grown in self-confidence. I look forward to next year when he is in kindergarten. It is going to be such a fun year for him as he enters school. I know without a shadow of a doubt that he is ready for this. I know he will go through some struggles adjusting to the all day everyday but that is part of life. Learning, growing and adjusting to whatever (good or bad) life brings us.

Jaxon couldn't quite make the trek back to the car after ice cream. His little leggy's had gone far enough and without a nap he was definitely tired. At first, we thought he might actually fall asleep on Jamie's shoulder's. He had put his head on Jamie's head but when the camera came out he popped back up ;)

Speaking of camera....all of these pictures were taking from my new Android phone! I was so thrilled as I tend to forget the camera when we go and do things. I have no excuses anymore as long as I have my phone. It was great!

Time with Nana and Papa

2011-06-02T09:45:00.000-07:00

This past week we had the privilege of having my parents here. It was great to have them here even if it was only for a week. Mom was a great help to me other than just playing with the boys. She cleaned my stove and fridge and folded laundry. It was great.

The weather wasn't the greatest so if we couldn't be outside playing we were playing ball inside. Both Nana and Papa got into the game and the boys loved every minute of it.

I am sure that the boys are going to go through withdrawal this weekend and next week as for a whole week they had their grandparents at their fingertips. The boys were in heaven having a full-time pitcher and outfielder. My parents were suppose to come several weeks ago, two weeks after my dad had shoulder surgery. However, the recovery process was taking a lot longer than anticipated so they postponed their trip. It was a good thing they did. This time dad was able to play with the boys. He had to be careful but he was a lot more mobile than if they had come earlier.

We kept ourselves busy with play-doh, sword fighting, baseball, hockey, golf, movies and more.

The movie Kung-Fu Panda 2 came out when my parents were here so off we went to the theatre. The boys are great at the theatre. They get their popcorn and drink and they sit through the entire thing. The movie was a hit and so were the swords my parents brought for the boys. They came out after we saw the movie and the boys have had a great time being dragon warriors.

The boys LOVE to play baseball right now. Papa was a great sport to pitch and play in the outfield. Both boys can hit the balls hard. Aidan keeps sending a couple over the fence and Jaxon has made several soar at the same time.

Jaxon always seem to get a home run or at least he thinks they are and Aidan waits patiently for Jaxon to hit him home.

Aidan even tried his hand at pitching to Jaxon.

Aidan is so focused and driven to run hard and hit the ball the best he can. In all the sport he plays he is this driven and focused. It is quite funny, actually. I am sure that we are hooped for when t-ball starts since he can already hit a ball off a pitch.

How precious is this moment. Aidan helping his brother with his helmet. I love it! They truly do love each other and love playing together. I can only hope that this continues as they get older.

Aidan got his bday present early this year. He needed a bigger bike and my parents said they would put money towards it. We went to Walmart one afternoon and came home with a bigger bike. He was trying the next size up from the little kid bike but we soon realized that it would be perfect for this year but with how fast he has been growing in height we weren't sure if it would last more than one year. So, they built the next size (18). It is on the bigger size but will last us a lot longer. He took his first spill and gave himself a good scab on his knee but we got him back on the next day. Eventually he will be riding without training wheels. I still can't believe how big the bike is compared to his first one.

Jaxon has not picked up the coordination of the bike peddles yet so he is sticking too his scooters. I am hoping with more time practicing and watching his brother he will pick it up in no time.

Thanks Mom and Dad for a great week of fun with you and for all you did for us. The boys loved spending quality time with you and we look forward to the next time we are together.

My Jaxon-Boy is 3!

2011-05-24T15:42:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Jaxon Boy!

My dear Jaxon, what a true joy you have been to our lives. I remember when I was pregnant with you and asking God if this baby could be a cuddler. I already had my boy with blue eyes just like his daddy's and this time I just wanted a cuddler. I don't think I realized right away that I had gotten what I wanted till you got older. You truly are our cuddler and we LOVE it. I think there are times when dad and I both compete to get the most cuddles ;)

You have never been bound by fear when trying new things; instead you feel the need to conquer so as to keep up with your big brother. You definitely started a lot of things earlier than your brother but again I think that was mostly so you could keep up with him. You are such a joy and a perfect match for our family.

You definitely share in the love of sports that runs through this family. You have quickly picked up each sport with your own flare that always brings a smile to our faces. I can't wait to see what sports you grab onto and take as your own. I look forward to cheering you on in whatever you decide to do. I can see my life in a gym and/or a field already ;)

You are your daddy's Canuck fan buddy as you love to watch them come out in their matching blue jersey's to yours. We are already on a first name basis with Mark and Richard who sing "O Canada" and the "Star Spangled Banner" for each of the Canuck's home games. I think sometimes the songs are your favorite part as you sing "O Canada" several times a day.

We love you to the moon and back our little smiley Jaxon boy. I am not sure where Jaxon boy came from but it has stuck. I think the best part of my day was just hearing you say "thank you" for your presents. It was not asked for as "good" manners but purely voluntary from your heart. It is those things you do that melt my heart.

Friends, Cousins and Warm Weather

2011-05-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jamie thought it might be fun to see if they boys would like to watch him play hockey on the TV. Perfect excuse to play video games until they decide they want to try :0

It did work for a bit but not too long. The boys thought it was fun to watch daddy play hockey on TV until they realized....they could do it too. Well, sort of. They haven't really master's the hand controls yet but they sure think they have. I will admit that Aidan is definitely quicker on the learning and can actually play a bit.

The nice thing about this NHL video game is that it will look like you are actually playing it when you aren't really doing anything at all. Great for Jaxon cuz he really thinks he is playing and winning ;) I have a feeling that they will be video game junkies in not time.

Of course, the video game playing happened when we had crappy weather and as soon as the sun came out and it was warm it was hard to get the boys to come inside. I am in love with our backyard! It is a great size for the boys to play and for us to sit and enjoy the sunshine. I am continually grateful and blessed for where we live. It's just perfect!

This week we were able to have some friends over to play as well as our little cousin, Kai. The boys loved having so many people to play with. Kai wasn't sure about the trampoline at first but once his daddy got on with him...he gave it a try. I love the trampoline hair everyone gets when jumping (me included).

The boys insisted that we have a picnic outside with lunch. It was cute to watch them all get on the blanket and enjoy being outside and eating.... Not sure why they have to sit on the edges of the blanket and not take over the whole thing but it worked.

The boys are getting really good on the trampoline these days. They love to run in circles and chase each other and then take turns bouncing each other. Because there was three of them on it at one time I had them take turns jumping and they were having fun with it. As soon as they all figured out how to jump together they were up in no time. I am sure we will have an injury one of these days with the trampoline.....something I am not looking forward to in the least but I have boys and something tells me it is inevitable.

I really hope the nice weather keeps coming and the rain doesn't stay for too long. It would be nice to just have summer come and stay.

Mother's Day

2011-05-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

I was able to join Aidan at preschool this past Friday for a Mother's Day Tea. He was so excited to have me come. I was excited and a bit anxious at the same time as I knew the class would be singing and we all know how well my boy loves to sing in front of others. Overall, he did great. He stood up with his class, did not sing but did not cry or freak out. In my books, that means success.
We made bracelets for each other, did a craft together, and he painted my nails. I think my favorite was having my nails painted. He was concentrating so hard. For his first time, he did great. I still even have the nail polish on my nails. I knew that it would have to stay on for awhile as he would notice if it was gone. Now, I kind of like it...it will come off eventually but there is no rush. It was a fun morning that I will remember forever. My little man has definitely grown up lots this year.

On Sunday, Aidan refused to have his picture taken with me so it was Jax and I. It was a good thing I got a picture with Aidan on Friday. I don't really understand Aidan's refusal to have his picture taken but I definitely don't take it personally. I hope one day he grows out of this no picture stage; however, we will work with what we get for now. There are a lot of things I don't understand about my boy, Aidan, but there is one thing I do know..... I LOVE him!
I feel blessed that I was given the responsibility of being Aidan and Jaxon's Mom. I would not trade it for anything. I pray that I will continue to be shaped and molded into the best mom for both of them.
Oh yeah, I LOVE Jaxon too!

Easter

2011-04-23T12:34:00.000-07:00

This Easter weekend has truly been an enjoyable one so far. Yesterday, I sang in an ensemble for our Good Friday service at church and will be singing on Easter Sunday as well. It has been a big time commitment but definitely worth it. It has been a good time of reflection. I have been blessed to be able to join with other singers to glorify our Lord. It has truly been a blessing. I am thankful to Jamie for his willingness to take the boys so that I can do something that I love.

Yesterday afternoon we decided to take the boys to see the movie Rio. We invited Jamie's parents to come along. The boys were so excited to go see the movie. They had no idea what the movie was about but they thoroughly enjoyed it and the popcorn. Jamie and I got ourselves watching the boys on several occasions as they were so engrossed in the movie. Jaxon ate tons of popcorn and sat through the entire movie. I thought for sure we would be taking at least one bathroom break. Aidan loved the movie and hasn't stopped talking about it and now his own Mackaw blue bird. We had our Easter egg hunt today as the weather is absolutely gorgeous. Aidan was so excited. We told him that after he went and had breakfast with Pa we would have the hunt. I think he ate his breakfast in record time and couldn't wait to get back home. Jamie's dad said he has never seen Aidan it so fast. He was definitely a boy on a mission. I love starting traditions with our boys. Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets and even coloring hard boiled eggs were just some of the traditions that I had growing up. I can easily look back at my life growing up and remember having special traditions that we would do. Along with traditions, Jamie and I also want to make sure that the boys recognize the real meaning of what Easter is all about. Aidan most definitely knows and with time I pray they it will become a deeper understanding for both boys. Pa and Mimi came for the Easter egg hunt today. It was fun having them here to join in the fun. I do wish my family could be near during holidays like these. It is such a great time to be together as a family. It makes me look forward to the time when my parents will be coming.....soon. Yay! The boys were thrilled to find candy hidden inside the Easter eggs. I believe they will be on a sugar high for the rest of the weekend.

A transformation of sorts has happened with our Aidan. As you can see he had a haircut. A well needed haircut. He told me before going that he wanted a "hawk". He explained to me and Jamie exactly what he wanted. I decided to let him go for it. He told Dawn (our hairdresser and friend) what he wanted and this is how he came home :) Proud as punch to have "hawk". I can't believe what a difference a hair cut can make. He looks so much older. He is definitely growing up and I love it.....hawk and all.

Child Labor

2011-04-01T15:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Aidan was in the helping mood. It doesn't always happen. He kept asking to help me with dinner but I had just finished and put dinner in the oven. I was wracking my brain to come up with something for him to do. I quickly realized I had a large stack of dirty dishes......yes, that is right I am an advocate child labor :) Just kidding. But when the kids wants to help I figure it doesn't hurt.

Of course, Jaxon needed to help too. So, we pushed two chairs over and the boys cleaned my dishes. Jamie supervised but for the most part Aidan did a good job. There were some things we need to run over again but for the most part he's a pro. A little more practice and he is hired full time.

Mom and Dad, this picture is for you. Over Spring break we found this for the wall at Bed Bath and Beyond. I have always wanted to have something fun and different and when we found it we knew it was coming home. Right now the pictures are of just our immediate family however, down the road it would be fun to add grandparents, cousins and extended family.

Spring Break Beck Style

2011-03-25T16:06:00.000-07:00

For many this Spring Break a warm and/or exotic destination was in store, however; for the Beck's the same old scenery was the plan. We had no plans....nothing was on the calendar but in the end....we had lots of fun.

Here is our lounge position / laid back not in the sand or near a beach but on the playground watching the boys enjoy being outside, in the sun and playing. I figured since this was our vacation we needed it to be well documented.
The first week of Spring break there was lots of bball watching. The high school basketball BC's was taking place in Langley. One afternoon/evening Jamie went with his dad and then we as a family went another evening and then Jamie and I went to the finals. The boys enjoyed the bball watching in the new Langley Event Center.
Of course, during these weeks off for the boys, I still had to work. Jamie was very helpful in taking over my role so I could work.

This second week we planned on a couple of more outings. We took the boys to an indoor play place called, Captain Kid. This was the second time the boys had been and they did awesome. I asked Aidan if he would make sure to help Jaxon if needed to to watch out for him. He did such a great job. There were several times when we saw that Aidan would wait for Jax or would come and help him. Towards the end Jaxon got the hang of climbing about and was keeping up with Aidan.

We laughed so hard watching their faces when they came down these slides. Jaxon was able to keep himself from going too fast but when he would go over the middle hump of the slide he would have a look of fear but at the end he was smiling and ready to go again.

Both boys are fairly cautious but it was quite funny to see how cautious and careful they really are. It definitely was a fun afternoon and the boys wore themselves right out. Lots of fun and we will definitely go again.

We have had some beautiful weather this week. The sunshine was so inviting that all of Abbotsford seemed to be at the park. It was time to take out the scooters and bike. Aidan's bike is too small for his now so it is being passed down to Jaxon. Jaxon was all excited to learn how to ride the bike. However, when he got on the bike it did not come easy to the boy. I promise, we tried hard to help him but for some reason he has not figured out the motion and use of his feet/legs. I think I was expecting that he would pick it up pretty quick and when he didn't it was just a simple reminder that he is not his brother. I know he will pick it up pretty quick...when he is ready.

After trying out the bike for all of 5 -10 minutes Jaxon really wanted his scooter. The boys got their scooters from my parents last year for their birthday. They both have figured out the scooter motion and can go on their own now. Aidan faster than Jaxon (by far) but they can both do it now. We had a good time at the park. We scootered over to the pirate park and spent a good amount of time on the swings.

It's hard to believe that we are at this stage of life now. Two boys that aren't babies anymore. No need for a stroller, doing things on their own while we stand and watch or run after. It is such a fun stage to be at. They are learning new and fun things everyday and so are we. There truly is never a dull moment at our house.

Aidan is growing into such a sweet boy. He has a tender heart/spirit that feels the need to watch over, protect and help his little brother. It was quite priceless to watch Aidan push Jax on the swings. They both had lots of fun.

So, this was our Spring Break. Was it exotic? No. Was it perfect? Yes. When I take the time to look through the weeks worth of pictures I am reminded that it was just what we needed. We were together, we had fun and that is all that matters.

Funny Faces

2011-03-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Aidan went to a birthday party a couple of weeks ago and in his goody bag he received these glasses. They looked absolutely hilarious on the boys but trying to get pictures of them wearing them have been less than easy. The boys (especially Aidan) have created a game with us when we try to take pictures of them. They take off running. So many of our pics of the boys lately have been action shots.

Aidan is doing a bit better in the "brave" department. We are still not completely over crying when I leave him at preschool but he is definitely getting better. He really struggled last week Friday during the Grandparent Tea. The class got up to sing songs and he fought back the tears the entire time until it was over. He then went over to Mimi and cried for a moment. In this situation we know that he truly hates having lots of people starring at him. So, I understand the tears from that perspective. But he did really good to hold off the tears until the end. We are trying not to make it a big deal and just work with it when it comes and as we do I think it is becoming less and less. Definitely never a dull moment with my boys.

Spring break has started this week for Jamie and Aidan. We have nothing exciting planned. Would we love to be somewhere warm and exotic. Absolutely! But instead we will make our own fun at home for two weeks. I have no doubt that we will find fun things for us to do and have lots of laughs along the way.

The boys have been lots of fun lately. We spend lots of time playing hide and seek and spending evenings in the bath. For some reason Jaxon has wanted to have a bath every night after dinner. I can't complain. They love playing in the bath together still. It gives us a break as well. Speaking of water, the boys just finished their swimming lessons. They did not pass their levels but they have both learned lots. Aidan's teacher told us that he is doing really great and there are only a couple of things that Aidan needs to work on before he pass. I think at first he was disappointed but when we explained that it was not something he failed at it will be fun to be a Salamander again he was fine. Jaxon probably has lots of work before he passes Sea Turtle but it is fine if he doesn't pass because I would like to keep the boys at least a level apart so Jaxon doesn't pass Aidan.

I have 6 weeks before the Sun Run 10km run. I am not feeling the most confident at the moment since I was out sick for two weeks. This past week was the first week back and it was a bit rough in the running department. I love having a gym to go to to work out and run but I must admit that I do enjoy running outside more than on a treadmill. It is easy to push myself farther when I run through town. On the treadmill I lose a bit of my determination. Hopefully during these next two weeks I will be able to run outside.

Hopefully this week and next I will be able to take some time to take pictures and document out fun.

For Love of the Game

2011-02-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

Jamie has been coaching grade 8 basketball for 9 years. It is something that he truly is great at and brings him joy. When he first started coaching I knew hardly anything about the game. I learned with each game and season. After each game I would ask a million questions to better understand the game, what he did, why he did it as a coach. Nine years ago I decided that I would do everything I could to encourage him, and be apart of the bball season along with him. The reason for this was two-fold: I knew that coaching would be apart of his life forever and if I ever wanted to see him I would have to spent lots of time in the gym, and the team that he coaches does not have a lot of parents participation for several reasons so I knew that those boys needed a fan in the stands. I donned myself as the surrogate parent for each of those boys and I made a promise that they would always have someone in that stands cheering them on when their parents couldn't be there.

Nine years later and two boys later we are still in the stands cheering on the Huskies. The boys love going to the bball games to cheer on the boys (and their dad). We come with a bag full of snacks and settle in. We have truly raised gym rats. They love the gym and if they are anything like their daddy they will some day feel the most comfortable in a gym. It has been truly amazing to watch our boys learn how to play bball through purely watching it be done in a gym. After each game the boys come home and immediately start playing bball (we have a hoop in their toy room). We have never really taught Aidan or Jaxon how to shoot, dribble, pass and/or shoot layups. It has become a natural progression from just watching and learning. It is true testament to the fact that our children learn from their environment and watching those around them.
This bball season has been no different. We have sat in the stands, gotten to know and become friends with the parents that can come, cheered our Huskies on, learned more about the game, watched Jamie transform his boys from ok players to great players, seen his boys go from liking the game to loving it, falling in love with the game ourselves, and now look forward to next year's season where we will do it all over again.

Our Superbowl Party

2011-02-07T14:52:00.000-08:00

This year was pretty quiet for the Superbowl game. Jamie had school that day so he arrived home just before the game started. The boys got up from their nap time/quiet time, I made some popcorn and Aidan decided that he wanted to play football while watching the game ;) So, typical for our boys. They can watch a movie but when it comes to sports it is more fun to play the game while watching instead of just sit and watch and then play. Jaxon and Daddy enjoyed the popcorn while Aidan would throw, pass and tackle with his football.

I have to admit that his form is pretty good in this shot. I can't say that for other shots or pics I took.

Here Aidan would set the ball up on the ground and then try to kick the ball himself. It is quite hilarious to watch since it is hard to hold the ball and then give it a good kick at the same time.

Jaxon is completely oblivious to what he is doing with the ball. He just follows his brother's lead and if he gets the ball he will run head on into him or run to a spot in the house and yell "touchdown" I am sure he will get the concept eventually.

I have been trying to take more pictures these days. I want to try to captures more moments. You would think that with parents (both mine and my in-laws) love to take pictures that I would have learned or had the love of taking photos transfer but so far....nothing. I always think about it and then realize I don't have my camera. I love seeing photos that others and wish that I would do the same but for some reason grabbing the camera does not even show up on my list of things to grab when leaving the house. I am working on it. Definitely a work in progress.
I was challenged this weekend through reading some one's blog to think back over 2010 and try to pick a word that would describe it for myself. I have been thinking about it lots and I decided that it would have to be the word, "determined." I have been determine to:
be a better wife
be a better mom (to respond instead of react - Proverbs 15:1)
be a light in my community
set an example for my boys
show love more in the ways that all of boys need
reach and exceed the running goals I had/have for myself

I have realized that this word that I chose to describe 2010 also carries over to 2011. All of these areas are definitely works in progress. I have seen improvement but I also know there is always room for growth. So, for 2011 I am determined to allow God to continue to do His work in me.

Cousin Love

2011-02-02T12:25:00.000-08:00

We had lots of fun yesterday because Auntie Heather and Kai came to play. It was so fun to watch these boys start to play together and enjoy each other. Aidan has always been amazing with babies (especially his baby cousins) even though you would never think it.
Aidan was thrilled to have Kai come to his house to play. They enjoyed chasing each other around the house, throwing balls (and other toys), going to the park, and watching cartoons. It is so cute to see that even other cousins suck their thumbs :) You can also see that one these things (kids) is not like the other ones. Kai is the cutest brown hair, brown eye boy....however, you can tell he doesn't belong to my family. Heather and I have always joked that we could switch kids and no one would even notice because Kai and I have the brown hair and eyes in common and she has the blue eyes and use to be blond hair in common.

Aidan and Kai seemed to bond well yesterday. After lunch they decided it would be fun to spin around in circles and fall down. Oh, the fun they had and the laughter that spilled from our mouths. Jaxon was eating and missed out on this fun but he sure did laugh along with them.
I am glad that these boys get to spend some time together. My hope and prayer is that as they get older that they will always pick up where they left off in their friendship as the distance separates them. Right now and today my prayer has been answered for this trip. You can definitely tell they love each other.

Boys and their games

2011-01-23T16:37:00.000-08:00

Both Jamie and I have grown up playing games. We love to play games when we get together with family and friends. For Christmas the boys got some games and they are no different. They love to play games. It doesn`t matter if it sports or board games. They just love to play games.
I have started to notice frustration with Aidan when he doesn`t win. Because he is only 4 he hasn`t learned what competitiveness is yet but he has it. I guess we will have to start working on that and how to harness and use his competitiveness in a positive way.

This is the boys play room (also known as the bball room). They usually only play bball game in here and take out the other toys and play with them elsewhere.

Fun Times in Michigan

2010-12-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
I am not going to write too much because I think the pictures speak for themselves.

We have been having a good time with my family this Christmas season. We have been able to do lots of fun things. Lots of bball, sword games, sleigh rides in the snow, going to the mall to play, the Children's Museum and lots more.

The boys got some fun new games/toys.....at one point the boys didn't even want to open up other presents, they just wanted to play with what they got. It was quite funny.

Sledding through the trees...trying to find the reindeer tracks...

Unkie Ben made the boys their own armor, swords and shields out of cardboard and duct tape for Christmas! They totally loved them. The armor fit Jaxon perfectly. Aidan didn't really like the armor but loved the sword and shield. They have played with it so much that the swords are now very flimsy.

It was a great gift! Thanks Ben!

Aidan made sure to get Papa in on the fights. Always friendly fights but vicious.
Only boys.

The Children's Museum has always been a favorite for the boys. This year was no exception. We probably stayed there the longest this year. Lots of fun.

The bubble station was one of Jaxon's favorite.

Jaxon was trying to catch one of the big bubbles in this picture. It is such a priceless expression of our little man!

Aidan was quite enamored with the dominoes. I believe we spent the longest time sitting at this station. It was great for us adults because we were able to sit for awhile. Nana and Aidan made some great domino trails.

Reading stories with both Nana and Papa were a must before bedtime. The first night here Jaxon was so tired that he didn't even make it for the whole story.

Aidan learned Candy Land and loved it!

At the mall there is a play area for kids that is full of food items that they can play on. We headed to the mall to do some quick shopping and Nana stayed with the boys while we picked up some things. Jaxon was content to fun and follow Aidan but would lose him sometimes and come back asking where Aidan was.....a great way to work out some energy.

The boys and Papa always do one annual Krispy Kreme doughnut run....This morning was the day. They headed out and brought us back a dozen.

It has been a fun trip this year. The boys can do more and even have days where naps are necessary. Hopefully the memories stay for along time. I know they will for me.

Christmas with Opa and Oma

2010-12-24T12:07:00.000-08:00

Tuesday night Jamie and I were able to go out with some friends for dinner and a movie. The boys stayed with Mimi, Pa, Oma and Opa. Mimi decided that the boys could give Oma and Opa their Christmas presents because they would not be with us on Christmas Eve. Aidan went hunting under the tree to find their gifts.

He has been learning how to read letters and numbers at preschool. Apparently, he found their presents. The look on his face is priceless. So proud of finding them all by himself.

The boys enjoyed getting to spend some special quality time with Oma and Opa. Oma would read books to Jaxon and Opa would play soccer and football with Aidan. Not sure who had more fun at times.

One of the gifts that Doris got Oma and Opa was a photo book filled with all the grands. The boys love looking at photo books especially Jaxon. It looks like they found themselves on that page.
Thanks Oma and Opa for spending time with our boys....they loved it; along with the Christmas gift!

2010 Christmas Train

2010-12-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we went to the Bright Nights at Stanley Park. We had done this last year with all of the cousins but since it is just us here this Christmas we went anyways with Mimi and Pa. I think we have started a tradition for the holidays.
We arrived earlier than our scheduled train ride and we beat the rain so we were able to walk around and see all of the lights. We all really enjoyed it but especially the boys. Jaxon was talking a mile a minute.

I asked Pa to take a picture of me and my Handsome Man. We don't really have many pics of just us anymore. I think it turned out pretty good. This was the first weekend he was around in over a month. We definitely are happy to have him around.

Aidan has always been a difficult one to get to smile on command. He is our boy that does not like being told what he needs to do when especially when it is for pictures. At least now he is getting better at not just giving scowls and he just looking at the camera. I love the picture above with Mimi and the boys. They are standing on a tree stump and Jaxon is getting squashed in the middle and Aidan thought it would be fun to stick his tongue out.

Our train ride was for 3:30pm but we asked if we could get in line for the 3:00 train because we were there so early and it had started to rain. They had no problem with that so we waited for in line but under a canopy and out of the rain. The boys did a good job at waiting.
Oh, how I love this boy!

Jaxon did not want his daddy to hold him so he was trying to get back to me. I don't think it was really the fact that he didn't want Jamie but he loves playing that game.
Last year that were several more of us together on this train. At this point it was raining and it had gotten colder. The boys did not seem to be phased by the cold though. I kept asking them and they never complained.
Aidan not wanting to smile for the camera. At this point I think he was done waiting and he just wanted the train to get going.

I love this look! He loved the train and loves Christmas lights. I think it was the perfect activity for this boy. He was completely enamored. I don't even think he said two words on the train. He just sat and took everything in.

After the train ride we went to the petting farm. Aidan really liked the rabbit area because he could lean down and actually pet the bunnies. Jaxon got right in there too but we had to lift him up.

All in all it was a great Saturday afternoon. It was a great way to start off our Christmas holiday's together as a family and enjoy it with Mimi and Pa as well. Maybe next year we can do it with everyone again!

My Mom....and her gift!

2010-12-10T13:31:00.001-08:00

I received a package this afternoon with this as its contents. It is a beautifully handmade quilted tree skirt! You see, my mom is a quilter. She has loved to quilt for as long as I can remember. I remember as a little girl she would buy me needlework or cross-stitch crafts but I hated them. The reason why I hated them was because I could never (and I mean never) get them to look like the sample or picture on the cover. And because it would never look like I thought it should (just like the cover) I would refuse to finish or eventually not even do them.
I am sure this frustrated and saddened my mom at times but I knew that this craft of quilting, needlework, cross-stitch was not for me. So, instead of learning the craft I have instead, learned to appreciate and love the beautiful things my mom has made. When I left and went to university she made me a quilt for my bed. It was wonderful gift and one that I will treasure for the rest of my life There is so many wonderful things that are said through the blankets, Christmas stockings, and now tree skirt that she has made for me and our boys. I know the amount of hours and needle pricks that she puts into these treasures are countless but the love that comes through these beautiful gifts far out ways everything.

(made for Megan, Jamie, Aidan and Jaxon Beck 2010 by (Nana) Nancy Swanton)
These priceless gifts will be with us forever. The boys each have and sleep with their blankets that my mom (Nana) made for them when they were born. The boys have no idea of the work and hours my mom put into these blankets but they do know that Nana made them and they love them. They never go to sleep without them. But when they get older they will have this wonderful memory and blanket to keep for all time.

Every Christmas from here on out our Christmas tree will have this beautiful skirt and I will have the memory of picking out fabrics and phoning my mom telling her I had received it and letting her know how absolutely beautiful it is!
Thanks Mom! I sit here with tears in my eyes because I am so blessed by the many things that you have spent countless hours on for me and my family. I hope that you know how very treasured these things are as well for your hands that made them.
I love you!

The Countdown has begun

2010-12-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

This fall has been a very busy one for our family....or at least the boys and I have feel the effects of Jamie's crazy schedule. However, we have reached a point where we see the light at the end of the tunnel; at least for Christmas. We are all looking forward to the Christmas break and the time to spend with family.

Before we can truly enjoy the down time of Christmas we have a couple more weeks to plug through. I have to be honest that I have struggled with Jamie's schedule. Not because he is gone so much and busy but because my schedule and life (with the boys) is not busy but very mundane and quiet. If any of you know me, I do enjoy keeping myself busy. This is not to say that I haven't been busy with work but it is the same thing all day every day and most days my conversations never pass the child depth. I have had to really give everything back over to HIM and ask for contentment and peace. Something I am working through and I feel like I am doing good at this point.

This past weekend Jamie was gone for most of it with his Huskie Classic basketball tournament that he hosts every year. We were able to go to several of the games which the boys and I completely enjoyed. In the afternoon while the boys were napping (Aidan quietly plays in his room) I cleaned the house and put up our Christmas decorations. The boys had been asking to put up our tree but I knew I couldn't do it without Jamie. We had already decided that we would put the tree up on Sunday. I decide to put everything else up so that the boys could enjoy the decorations.

It was so fun watching them discover the decorations when they got up. They went throughout the house finding all the snowmen, trees, stockings and candles. They were so cute. Aidan told me that he really liked all the Christmas things.

Sunday afternoon finally came, the football game was on in the background and the boys eagerly waited to hang the ornaments. Jamie and I put the tree up with lights in record time. The best part was that we were able to do it without arguing. He was really good and patient with me. For some reason, I am the one that becomes a bit picky when it comes to putting the lights on the tree. If he doesn't hang them right on his side of the tree I start getting bossy and snappy. I am proud to say that this only happened once and he reminded me to relax and then everything was fine. To be honest, I have no idea why I become like this but it is a good thing that Jame doesn't let me get away with it :) He keeps me honest.

The boys did an awesome job of putting the ornaments on the tree. They both had their sides of the tree and seemed to really like decorating the tree. I wanted a picture of both boys in front of the tree but in Aidan fashion he was not going to have his picture taken. Jaxon on the other hand was all about having his picture taken so he gave me some funny faces.

It finally feels like the Christmas season has hit our house. The house has the lights and the decor.....making it feel warm and cozy for the holidays. The only thing missing from our tree is the candy canes that the boys reminded me we need to get.

We have a countdown calendar on our fridge showing the days that we have till Christmas and when we will leave for Michigan. We will have a bit more of a low key Christmas here this year because Jamie's sister's and their families won't be around. We have a couple of things planned but not too busy.

Then off we head to the mid-west. My hope is there is snow for the boys to play with and many nights of games, good food and lots of fun times. I don't have to hope too hard because we normally have lots of fun and do enjoy our time there.

Our Choice...

2010-11-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about writing this post for awhile as discussions has come up with many friends and people with kids sitting in the same situation that we are in.....trying to decide where to send our kids to school. It truly has never been a question as to where we would send our kids. We have always known that we would use the public school system. There are several reasons for this choice but the biggest reason is:
1. God has called us to be a light in the world that we live. (Matthew 5:13-16) "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden." Jamie had a student one year in his class that told her parents "If all the Christians go to the same school; what about the kids in the rest of the schools?"
2. As a church family we have been really challenged to go and be a part of our community and make relationships to make a difference. What a better way to do this as parents then getting involved in our neighborhood school? The public schools need more parents to get involved to make differences in the schools. Jamie always comments on the effect of one positive kid and one positive parent in his class. You will not connect better with other parents than connecting over kids.....there is a bond that happens and a trust that develops and doors open to show love and to make a difference. We live near a great community elementary school that we plan on utilizing and becoming apart of because this the hub of our community in which we live.
3. We would like our children to deal with the tough questions while they are still in our home so that we can talk it through with them instead of them dealing with issues and situations after they have already become an adult and left our home.
4. Back when Aidan was a baby we read the book "Grace Based Parenting" by Dr. Tim Kimmel. It is was an amazing book and one that I would recommend to every parent. In one chapter he was talking about raising "risky" kids. Instantly I remember telling Jamie I wanted to raise risky kids rather than safe Christian kids. In one part, the author says:
"Raising children in an evangelical hideaways and creating a spiritual Disneyland works directly against the development of an empowered relationship with Christ..... These protected environments don't allow a system of spiritual antibodies to develop within the character of the child. This produces a generation of people who must stay within a spiritually sterilized environment in order to thrive. These are nice systems that produce nice kids who marry nice kids who to go nice churches and hang out with like-minded nice friends. Meanwhile, the lost people in the world around them continue in their doomed condition. In these environments, there is little spiritual adventure. God is nice, Jesus becomes a plush toy that we cuddle and we become irrelevent."
5. I don't want to make decisions for our kids out of fear. Philipians 4:6 says "Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God". Grace Based Parenting also suggested that " Fear-based parenting is the surest way to create intimidated kids, It's also the surest way to raise Christian kids who either don't have a passion for lost people, are indifferent to the things of God, or out and out rebel against their parents, their church, and the Lord". Ouch!

Some of you may be wondering where Jamie and I went to school and we both attended a Christian school. We both would say that we had good experiences in those schools, however we are choosing to do it differently for our kids. This does not mean that our parents made the wrong choice, or that Christian or traditional schools are always a wrong choice. There is a time and a place for everything and everyone's situation is unique. But for where we are at right now and for the things that we truly believe in, our local community school is the choice for us. We've been struck by Christ's example of always intentionally seeking out the people of this world and meeting them where they were at. Why should we not do the same?

Bball Time

2010-11-17T17:51:00.000-08:00

For those of you who know our family bball is a huge part. So, we play bball all the time and we become creative on what we use for bball hoops. A couple of weekends ago we are playing and we decided to bring the bball hoop from the basement to the toy room. It was definitely a good choice as the boys do love to play and this way they can go without feeling that they need a parent to come with them.
For the longest time Jaxon would only shoot the ball granny style. However, this time he started shooting with better form :) It is funny to see how the boys do love sports but there is a difference. Aidan lives and breathes sports but also desires to do them correctly. Whereas Jaxon just loves to be apart of the game and doesn't really care if his form is great. We were laughing at them the other night because they were playing football and there was a huge contrast between offensive and defensive player. Aidan was definitely the offensive player (carrying and throwing the ball) and Jaxon was the defense. He would just try to hit the ball out of Aidan hands. He didn't really care to throw the ball. When we tried to get him to catch the football he would hold out one hand too catch. Hilarious!
This is not a great shot but I had to include it because he was trying to make a basket from shooting from the door. You can see how far away he is from the hoop. In this shot he didn't make it but he did make it a couple of times. He was so proud of himself.
I love this shot! Aidan actually smiling a natural smile and not his "cheese" smile. He looks so grown up with his haircut however, I don't think we will be shaving it down like this again. When we had Dawn shave it he started to cry. He has gotten use to it but he did not like it at first. We had no idea shaving his head would invoke such tears. We thought it would be a good idea since his hair grows fast and it is thick like mine.
We have been dealing with what seems like a lot of sickness in our house. The boys had pink eye before Halloween; then I got an upper respiratory infection leading to antibiotics; Jamie finally got the cold that attacked his voice and Monday night Jaxon starting puking. He only puked for less than 24 hours and only had a fever for about the same amount of time as well. He seems to fine now except for not wanting to eat lots yet....which if you know my boys this is NOT normal. So, we will just take it day by day and hopefully he will get his appetite back shortly.
We celebrated Jamie's bday on Monday night with this parents and sadly that was the day that Jamie was so sick that he decided to stay home from school. Life for him has been busy and not it will only be getting crazier. Bball tryouts have started this week and that means after school practices and early morning practices. The boys get really excited for this season as we get to go to the gym and watch him team play. However, with him doing is Master's at the same time there is a lot more juggling involved.
I am looking forward to this season as well because not only do I get to go and watch Jamie coach but I get to meet the parents of the boys that do come to the games. There are not that many parents that do get to come or want to come to the games and I find that I get to be the pseudo parent cheering. I have always felt that I have had a great opportunity to allow God to work to be an encouragement to the parents I get to meet. I have had many neat opportunities to show God's love, compassion and encouragement to the parents and kids that I come in contact with. It is so awesome!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T19:39:00.000-07:00

The first couple of pictures in the clown suit are for my parents. This was the clown outfit that I wore when I was his age. My mom had given it to me awhile back. I wanted to take a picture of Aidan in the outfit for my mom and dad because I know that they have a picture of me just like this (well kind of). Apparently, I didn't wear a wig....just a red nose.

Aidan was all set to be a clown for halloween. He seemed super excited about it and then the four year old mind decided to come up with something else. Saturday morning he informed me that he wanted to be a super hero. I have no idea where this idea of a super hero came from but he is a boy (enough said).

I have to admit I started to panic just a bit as I was pretty certain there was no way that I was going to find a super hero outfit in the stores. I promised that we would check Value Village and see what we could find. As we were looking at VV we found a couple of options. A Spiderman outfit for $39.99 (which he wanted) and a Power Ranger for $14.99. I had to break his heart and tell him I was not going to pay that much money. I showed him the Power Ranger and he relunctantly agreed. As we were looking further he made the comment that he wanted it to have a cape. A cape! At this moment I knew that we were NOT going to be getting the Power Ranger outfit. I looked around and could not find a cape anywhere. However, what I did find was a black apron! I knew right then and there that THIS was going to be our cape. I then remembered he had a batman shirt at home! DONE, Batman it was!

Can you see his excitement?! He was thrilled and his outfit only cost me $3.99!

Oh Jaxon our Dragon or Dinosaur....whichever you choose. Jaxon had two outfits to choose from The Dragon/Dino or a Lion outfit. I had him try on both (one too small; one too big) and let him choose. Well, he chose the Dragon/Dino. I have no idea where it came from but when I asked him today what he was going to wear he knew exactly what he wanted. It was the too small outfit but thankfully he has green gum boots that covered up the bare skin from his legs (well kind of).
These are the faces that I get now when I ask them to smile or "say cheese". Seriously, Jaxon cannot smile normally anymore on cue. Aidan is doing better but still a bit of a silly face. I had to laugh because this truly is a pure picture of our lives....their crazy but beautiful faces.
The plan for trick or treating was to drive to Mimi and Pa's house and get the first pieces of candy and then head back to our neighborhood to walk the streets with some friends. They loved getting their first pieces of candy. Immediately Jaxon asked if he could have one. I told him that when we were all done we would go home and he could pick out some pieces to eat.
Aidan was awesome this year. He ran with our friends kids (that are all older) and would knock on the doors asking for candy. There was never a time that I had to remind him to say "Thank You" It did my heart good to watch my boy go on his own but to have such good manners. I told him afterwards that I was so proud of him. The beaming smile that I received was priceless.
Jaxon and I always brought up the rear but it didn't seem to bother him. He was super excited to go and get candy and to say "thank you" and "have a good night". He has become our copy cat and after he would get his candy and we were about to leave I would say thank you and have a good night. He would then follow suit with " have a good night". When we had walked almost 1km he started asking if we would carry him. I couldn't believe that he walked so far. We had walked a different way so we were actually really close to our house so I walked home with the kids and Jamie ran and got the van. We hit some of our neighbors before heading home. The best part...we were home before bedtime....

First's of Many

2010-10-17T07:30:00.000-07:00

Aidan had his first field trip this past Friday. He was super excited about heading out to the Apple Barn. The last couple of weeks they have been learning about the letter "A" and so this field trip was perfect. The class was taken around the farm and were told all about the different things that apples are made for. At first, Aidan didn't really want to leave my side.....he stayed right next to me instead of going up close to listen to the person talking. However, when we got to the apple sorting machine....he was very interested and stood up with the rest of the kids. The last thing that we did was a hay ride where they took us out to their pumpkin patch and the kids were able to pick out a pumpkin to take home. Since I had Jaxon with me I let him pick out one as well. Both boys said their favorite thing was the hay ride and getting a pumpkin.
Aidan was a bit confused after getting the pumpkin because he thought that we would eventually eat our pumpkin. I told him that we would carve the pumpkin and make a jack-o-lantern. He was super excited to make a funny face on his pumpkin. He kept asking me when we would do it and I decided that we would do it Saturday afternoon.
Aidan loved it! Jaxon did not want to touch the guts of the pumpkin so I did his. After the guts were out I gave the boys markers and they started drawing. We needed to alter the actual faces I would cut out but they thought it was so fun to draw on their pumpkins.

Once Aidan was done making his face I showed him where we would cut and make his pumpkin come alive. He was so good with me doing the cutting. I told him that I would need to do the carving because we had to use a sharp knife. I was a bit concerned that he would give me a fit because he would want to do it himself but he was really good.
As you can tell Jaxon didn't get the concept about drawing a face and I am not sure if he could really do that yet. It is a good thing that marker wipes off easily from a pumpkin :) I tried to make sure to make their faces different....I don't think I am the greatest of pumpkin carvers but I have to admit I think they came out ok. They both were so proud of their pumpkins. Once they were done we took them outside to put on our back porch. We put candles in them and I told them once it got dark out we would light them and they would be able to see their pumpkins glow.
This weekend has been a good one. We have been without dad for most of the weekend do to his Master's classes but the boys have been so great. Jamie's dad came over yesterday so that I could go to my hair appointment without bringing the boys. That was great for both sides...the boys could play with their Pa and I could sit and just get my hair done without having to deal with the boys. Thanks!
Today has been a good day as well. A friend of mine came to church with us and then we went for coffee and took the boys to the park. We spent such a long time at the park that by the time we came home for lunch it was 1pm ! So, instead of naps today the boys are downstairs watching a movie...oh they think they have died and gone to heaven :) Oh, the small things in life.

Today, I am grateful and thankful for what God has given me. My handsome man, my boys, my job, my family, friends, and this community that we live. How could I not be thankful and grateful for the many gifts/blessings that I have!

My First Half Marathon!

2010-09-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

It's hard to tell but that is me at the finish line. I wanted to have Jamie try to take a picture of me finishing with my time in a picture. The words to describe this experience are: mentally challenging, tough, and tiring. Was it a good experience?? Absolutely! However, with that said, there were moments when I asked myself, "What am I doing?"I will try to give a mile by mile recap of the experience.

I was able to run it with a friend and former boss. This was his second half marathon and clearly knew what to expect more than myself. His wife was walking/running the race as well. It was nice to know someone in the sea of runners. However, we did not run the entire 13.1 miles together.

Mile 1-4: these first four miles were the easiest by far. I felt really good going out trying to maintain a good but slow pace. I think I was running close to just over a 10 minute mile. It felt really good. I was nervous prior to this race because I had been having some trouble with my blood sugar when running. It would drop really fast and I would get shaky. I had decided to take a GU energy gel 15 minutes before the race and it definitely helped.

Mile 4-6: Throughout the race there were water stations every 2 miles. At the 4 mile marker I decided to take another energy gel as I felt myself fading. Conveniently, this was at the first long hill so I walked the hill while I sucked back on the gel and washed it back with water. Once I finished and reached the top of the hill I decided it was time to run again. I was running a good pace again and started to feel the gel take affect pretty quickly. It was a good feeling. However, before 6 miles I got a bad cramp that I couldn't seem to kick. Which makes me think (in hindsight) that my pace had sped up and I wasn't aware of it and so the cramp took over. I decided to walk to stretch it out. At the 6 mile marker was another hydration station and gel station. I grabbed another gel but saved it for later. I started running again and felt good for a bit.

Mile 7-9: The first bit of this section I felt good but I was starting to tell that my legs were starting to get tired and muscles were getting tight. My cramp came and went which made me take some walking breaks to try to get it under control. Around the 8 mile mark I decided to take another gel in hopes that the energy boost would push me through my legs feeling tired. Around the 9 mile marker we had to run past the finish line while other runners were already finishing. It was a great boost to hear the music and see runners finishing. I felt like I was maybe in the home stretch....it didn't take long to realize I really wasn't in the home stretch I still had 4 miles more to go!

Miles 10-13.1: This was the part of the run that was the worst! My cramp changed and started to take over my entire rib cage area. It felt like my entire chest and stomach were tightening like I was doing a stomach crunch but holding it forever! I walked more in this portion than I really wanted or planned to but with my body revolting I didn't feel like I could push through the pain. When it wasn't my chest cramping it was my legs that were just tired and tight. I could tell that my running stride had totally changed from the beginning of the race to this point. My stride seemed to have become shorter. It wasn't until the 12.5 mile marker that I didn't really care that I was in pain I was going to finish running and I was going to run it hard. I could hear the people cheering and the music playing and I was going to finish as strong as I could. When I finished I could barely breath and I was gasping for breath. It was an emotional moment as I found Jamie and realized I finally finished. The months of training and preparation were finished. I had FINISHED the race. I knew I would finish the face but I just didn't know how long it would take me (I had a time in mind that I had hoped I would hit). I would be lying if I said I am happy with just finishing and don't really care about the time but my competitive nature spilled out and I was a bit disappointed with my running. I did not expect to have as much problems as I did running and I sure did not think that I would walk as much as I did. Am I happy I finished the race, yes, But now I wonder if I could do it better...

This does not mean that I am planning my next half marathon anytime soon....but it isn't out of the realm of possibilities.

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time. Please do not get me wrong. I love my children and enjoy spending my days with them but there comes a time when I KNOW it is time for them to spread their wings and gain more structure and learning that comes from someone other than myself.

Last week we had an orientation day when I took Aidan in and we got to meet his teachers and get a run down of the morning schedule and the things that he will be learning. The entire 45 minutes Aidan did not leave my side. He didn't want to go play while I sat in the orientation. Most of the other kids were playing and enjoy the toys but not my Aidan. When we left I was a bit nervous as to how it when the morning came that I would drop him off. However, Aidan reassured me that come Monday (today) he would go and say goodbye to me without any tears or problems.
I decided that we would start a bit of a routine the night before school so that he would know that the next day was school day. Aidan helps me pick out the snacks he wants to take to school and then we put them in his lunch bag so he is already to go. We then go and pick out his clothes for the next morning so that we are good to go. He was very adamant that he wanted to wear his bball sweatshirt. I had to wash it on Saturday so that it was nice and clean for this morning.
This morning Aidan kept his promise. I went in with him and helped him find his cubby for his lunch bag and jacket; signed him in and walked with him over to where the other kids were playing. I could tell him wanted to go play so I gave him a hug asked him if I could leave. He told me, "yes". I gave him a high five and talked with his teacher so she was aware that he was there and I was leaving. As I walked to the car I felt a bit strange. I was so excited for him and this new experience for him. He seemed so ready and I know I was ready.
I understand emotions that parents have in entrusting their children to the care of others but at the same time I KNOW without a shadow of a doubt that this is part of the process of teaching your children how to spread their wings and fly on their own. Does it make me nervous? Yes and no. Yes, because it is new and No, because this is life and it is such a fun and an exciting time. I would hate to allow my emotions to stand in the way of Aidan learning and growing and becoming a better individual from the others that will speak into his life.

I remember when I was younger my parents always would pray verses into my life. They would take the verse and input my name as a way of personalizing the prayer to fit into my life. It also was a great way for me to see how personal my relationship with God can be. I found a verse that I decided I was going to pray over him during this new time in his life.

Proverbs 2:2-4
"Lord, turn Aidan's ear towards wisdom and his heart towards understanding. Give him a teachable spirit, one that calls out for insight and searches for it as hidden treasure."

Many a Birthday Celebration

2010-08-26T18:31:00.000-07:00

This past week we have been able to celebrate Aidan's bday in many different ways. There is no doubt in my mind that Aidan knows exactly how loved he is by all of his family.

This past weekend we went to Quesnel to visit Matt, Heather and Kai. Heather had a great idea to do a 24 party for the boys. All the Beck grandson's are all born on the 24th of their month. Aidan = August 24th; Jaxon = May 24th and Kai = September 24th. It is definitely helps in remember birthdays :)

So our first night there we had our first (of many) 24 party. Auntie Heather made yummy cupcakes and all three boys thoroughly enjoyed to the fullest.

This was Kai's first cupcake and it was definitely a hit.

Last night we had Mimi and Pa (Jamie's parents) over for dinner, cake and presents. Aidan was very excited. Not sure if you can see his facial expressions but he LOVED his presents.

I found this sweatshirt for Aidan on one of those facebook pages of women who sell kids clothes. When I saw it I just knew that Aidan had to have it. I showed it to Mama B and she loved it and had a good idea that she would buy it from me and give it to Aidan for his bday.

It is the And 1 brand and it has a bball player and a wolf on it. It is absolutely perfect for the fall and for all the bball games we will go and watch at Jamie's school.
He also got more railway track for his Thomas the Tank Engine trains. He was so excited to be able to make longer tracks. The track they built last night is still on the floor in the living room.

This was the cake that Aidan picked out at Safeway earlier in the day. He couldn't decide if he wanted an ice cream cake or a regular cake. I guess he finally decided when he and Jamie came home with this one. I would have made him a cake or cupcakes but to be honest his bday completely crept up on me. And since he doesn't really seem to care if I make it or if he gets one from the store I figure we will go with that for now. I know I won't be like so many other mom's that go all out and make these crazy cakes. I am not that creative.

Birthday morning......he found his presents pretty quick. He got two large monster trucks and a pitching machine for outside. The machine throws pop flies and grounders as well as pitches. I think that Jamie couldn't resist when he did the shopping. The pitches are a bit hard for him yet but he loves stopping grounders. He learned quickly the correct way of stopping grounders and he is definitely getting the hang of it.

Holding the tickets for the PNE.
Last year we took Aidan to the PNE (without Jaxon) for his bday. We knew last year when we left after a great day we would be starting this as a family tradition. Not sure for how long...but for now the boys are free and we all have a great time. This year we went on Aidan's bday and Jaxon joined us. They were so excited.

Getting ready to watch the "On the Edge" show. It has quad races, monster trucks and truck fights. The boys loved it but did not like the fire pillars. Whenever anyone crossed the finish line they would blow a pillar of fire. We were close enough that you could feel the heat from the fire. Both boys did NOT like that. Thankfully we could tell when they were going to do it so we would warn them.

Enjoying a bit of Dole Whip before the Superdog's show.
The other things we enjoyed at the PNE was the mini doughnuts, fresh potato chips, ice cream and White Spot for dinner. We also went and saw the pig and duck races. I am not sure if there was one thing that was a favorite over the other. It all was a great hit.

My Little Man is 4!

2010-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Aidan!

Today you turn 4! When I think about the last four years I could not be happier for the memories and the experiences we have had with you. Am I the perfect mommy? Absolutely not! I know there have been times that I have failed and I continue to learn and grow with you.
You have and continue to bring joy, smiles and laughter to our faces when you use your creativity. We always stand in awe on how quickly you pick up playing basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, hockey and anything else sports. The backyard is strewn with everything sports because that is what you love. We hope that you will continue to want to play sports and have fun doing these things. Who knows what you will actually choose to play when you get older but for now we will just play them all.
We have hit a new milestone this year. Preschool. We are so excited for you as you start Preschool this fall. We think it is going to be a great time for you expand your world. My prayer for you is that you will learn, grown in who you are with confidence and make some great friends during this new journey in your life.
I love you my little man!

Desert Canyon Fun

2010-08-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

This past week we had the opportunity to head out to Desert Canyon in Orondo, WA. For those that know this area or want to it is between Wenatchee and Lake Chelan. It is a great little golf course resort that we have a timeshare with. We did not think that we would be able to get in there this summer and two weeks ago we phoned to see if there was any availability. There was time last week from Monday - Thursday. We decided that we would invite Jamie's parents and his sister and her little guy.

We all had a great time. It was fun to spend some good time with Heather and Kai. As you can tell Kai and I became great friends. I was the best auntie ever! He tried Lucky Charms and Cherry Coke ( and he LOVED them both)! :)

Aidan could not wait to get into the pool. That is all he could talk about. I should preface that he doesn't just jump in as soon as he is there. He has to warm up to it but then once he is in there (with his daddy) he loves it! Jaxon wanted to go the pool but when he got there he would not go in much. He was not impressed with how cold the water was to start so he would just watch.

We brought lots of toys and books for the boys. After the long drive all they wanted to do was run and play with their toys. It was kind of funny to watch all of them just get a bit crazy before dinner.

Our boys favorite past time in the morning here is to go on the deck and watch the golfers. Kai got right into the action as well. It was quite cute to watch all of them out on the deck.

The first morning/afternoon Jamie and his dad played golf. The course is a great course and Jamie loves to play it (when he gets a chance) Our condo unit backed the fourth hole of the course so we waited and watched for Daddy and Pa and when they came Aidan went down to them to say, Hi. Jamie let him hit his ball at one point. I have to say, the form is not that bad for an almost 4 year old.

Aidan was absolutely thrilled to get a quick ride in the cart with Jamie. I believe it might have been his highlight of the trip. He has told us that he will start golfing with daddy when he is 5 years old. I suppose we will see on that one. Jamie and I are looking forward to golfing with our guys. Hopefully they will like it as much as their dad (and me).

Oh the fun we had at the pool. Aidan would just wear himself right out by the end of the day. He just loved swimming from one end of the pool to the other. Of course it is with a life jacket but nonetheless he likes the water. We are going to have to start swimming lessons again this fall. I am thinking of putting both boys in the same class as Jaxon is old enough to start as well. I think that Aidan would probably do alright with having Jax with him. It will give him an opportunity to be an "older" brother because he has done it before. Hopefully that would help him progress and get better in his lessons and he could actually pass the Sea Turtles :)

Oh the fun we had....

2010-08-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

This past week my family (parents and brother) came out from Michigan for a visit. It was so good to have them here for several reasons. They had not seen our newest home, spent time with the boys since Christmas, and been here since May 2009. The boys were absolutely thrilled to have their Nana, Papa and Unkie Ben around to play with.

My parents have always done an amazing job of finding fun little toys/trinkets for the boys. I think that ever day they had something new for the boys. The first day they received nerf swords that they absolutely loved. They loved to gang up on Unkie Ben and/or Papa.

On the weekend the weather was extremely hot so we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the sunshine, shade and water. We slowly warmed Aidan up to having a water fight and before we knew he was the one starting the battles. Jaxon was not so thrilled with getting hit with water so he stayed out of it....and just watched the action.

I believe that I was the one that started the fight between Jamie and I. I figured I had to do something and before I knew it was soaked. Of course, I knew I would end up drenched but how could I not take advantage of getting my handsome man wet! The thrill of the competitive spirit, I suppose

Aidan was so sweet, he would go and get me more water and pour it into my bucket. For some reason I guess he thought I needed help :)

There are words to describe this picture! Oh how I love them both and their creative minds.
They were having a war with Unkie Ben. I suppose it was mostly Unkie Ben and Jamie going at it but Aidan thought that he needed to help his daddy....it was absolutely hilarious! I wish that you could have been here to witness the craziness of our family!

Aidan was funny...the first day of water wars and he was totally in it and loved it and didn't mind getting wet. However, the next time we tried to have a water war....he did not want to get wet but wanted to get everyone else wet. He didn't understand why he couldn't stay dry while soaking others.

Not entirely sure who won this war but I am sure that Aidan would say, he did.

The boys loved spending time in the backyard with the new little toys that Nana and Papa brought them. One afternoon they put together little airplanes that they flew all over. Jaxon's didn't last long as he wasn't as gentle as he should have.

We kept ourselves very busy with fun day trips, birthday parties, even games of Ticket to Ride and ice cream. The boys definitely enjoyed the fun and the different schedule but we are still playing catch up with naps. Aidan finally napped yesterday afternoon for the first time in a couple of weeks.

The Othello Tunnels was one the first place that we went while the family was here. It was a great place to go when the weather was warm. The tunnels are so cool for a free activity to do with kids. They can fun through the tunnels and look down into the rushing river below.

For whatever reason Jaxon attached himself to Unkie Ben while at the Othello Tunnels. He always wanted to hold his hand as the rule was while walking he had to hold someone's hand. Very cute.

The next day we spent the afternoon playing mini golf at Castle Fun Park. Jamie had taken the boys to play golf when I was gone in Long Beach and they absolutely loved it. Aidan did rather well. Obviously they play by their own rules but Aidan gets the concept of the game. Jaxon on the other hand....has room for improvement :) Not shocking.

We decided that we would celebrate the boys birthday's with my parents one evening as they wanted to make sure that they did that while they were here. The boys got the same gift (Radio Flyer scooters) We bought them for my parents as trying to bring those on the plane would have been utterly impossible.

The age span for these Radio Flyer Scooters says "2-5 years old" however, Jaxon needs a lot more practice before he has the hang of it. Right now he just wants to get on, hold on and have you just push or pull him. He hasn't figured out the coordination of using one leg to propel himself forward.

Aidan on the other hand has figured it out however; we need to strengthen his legs a lot more because when we took him to the park for him to ride our the lake he got tired very quickly and had a good meltdown.

We spent a couple of mornings at the park that is near by. The boys love the park because there are a couple of playgrounds that we go to. These pictures were taken at what they call the "Choo Choo Park" This is all because there is a train at this park that they love to sit in and play. They had just watched the movie Polar Express early that day so Jaxon was using his imagination and pretending he was on the Polar Express. Any kid that came over he would tell them "the train is moving!" I am sure they thought he was nuts but at least he was having fun.

Birchwood Dairy was another fun place that we took my parents. We had not yet gone with the boys so it was new to us all. We had tried one evening but found that when we got there that it was closed. It closes fairly early so it has to be an afternoon event. Aidan absolutely loved feeding the goats grass. I was a bit shocked that he was not afraid to do it since he is a bit more timid and shy. I guess when it is animals and not people the shy factor doesn't really apply.

We spent one afternoon in Vancouver as my brother wanted to go to MEC and my dad really wanted to see the Olympic torch. We had not gone to see the torch since the Olympics so it was really fun to see it without the big fence around it. The area there is so nice now. We were even able to see one of the float planes take off. I believe that was the highlight for the boys. They didn't really care to see the torch but the planes....oh they were definitely a hit!
After lunch we headed to Kits beach to let the boys play in the sand and then to Las Margarita's for dinner. Las Margarita's is one of Jamie and I's favorite places to eat in Vancouver. We have a couple of favorites but this is definitely a good one.
Overall it was a great week with my parents. It is always a fun time as the time we spend is few and far between. I really try to cherish the time that we do get. I know the boys loved having their Nana and Papa around. They were always either reading books or playing with something. Non-stop fun for them for sure.

Thanks, Mom, Dad and Ben for coming and spending a week with us. It was a great time and we really do appreciate all you do for us.

Just a Day at the Park

2010-07-16T18:41:00.000-07:00

We have been spending a lot of time at the park these past weeks. The weather is perfect and the new water park is definitely a fun addition. Aidan has really taken to the water park and doesn't mind getting wet and running around. He is always careful still and picks places where there aren't a lot of kids.

Aidan has been taking his bike and then Jaxon rides in the stroller. We only ever bring the bike when Jamie is around because I don't trust Aidan enough on his bike to be careful. I probably could do it on my own now as he has done really well the last couple of times. However, I don't have to since Jamie is home for the summer :)
Jaxon would love to ride a bike like his brother right now instead of being in the stroller. Every time we are in the garage he tries to get on Aidan's bike. Obviously, he is still a bit small for a bike but I am sure the moment we get him a bike (or pass Aidan's bike down) we won't be able to get him off of it.

Of course, Jaxon thinks it is necessary to follow after his brother and needs to do the same things. Sometimes I hesitate to let him try but for the most part he has done everything just fine and without much issue. They truly do enjoy playing with each other. Of course they have their moments but they do enjoy each other's company.

They were trying to race down the slides at the park but Aidan would always leave before Jaxon. Jaxon didn't seem to mind....he would just follow after his big brother.

Oh how the boys love the swings! I am sure that if we went to the park and spent the whole time on the swings they would be happy. Aidan has mastered the big swings (minus getting on and off by himself) and loves to go high. I absolutely love his laugh and smile in this picture. Every picture I took he was grinning from ear to ear and laughing. I tried to take some of Jaxon but his hat was on and he was always looking down when he came close.
For awhile Aidan would not smile for pictures (except professional) but it seems like for some instances he will smile now so I think we are making progress.

The Fun Things of Summer

2010-07-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

This week has brought many first's for the boys. The weather finally warmed up and we were able to enjoy the sunshine and warmth. On Thursday, the boys and I were playing outside and we had heard the ice cream truck music. They instantly asked if we could get some ice cream. I decided that since it was so hot out it would be a fun treat. However, the ice cream truck never came by our house. Not sure where we heard the music from but he never showed up.

I decided that we should go for a little walk to a little corner store down the road. Both boys were super excited. When we got there they picked out popsicle. I warned them that because it was so hot that they would drip and it would be messy. I have to say they did really well for their first popsicle treat. I thought for sure that Jaxon's white shirt would just be completely orange but he did good.
The walk was no longer than 10 minutes total. So we were able to finish our cold treats at home. I have a feeling we will be frequenting this little store a lot this summer. Aidan was already saying we would have to go with daddy the next time. What a fun first to share with my boys.
Sure enough, on Friday, Aidan started asking if we could go for popsicles with daddy. It was another hot day and I wasn't sure if we should really start this trend but I am a sucker when it comes to cold treats: ) We decided that we would walk with them to go get slurpees. They both were pretty excited to try one. I think that Aidan was more excited that it it tasted like pop. Jaxon of course was sucking it back like crazy....we thought for sure he would get a brain freeze. We told them that these little treats would not be happening all the time. I have a feeling the next time they ask will be soon......

Earlier in the week we decided to get out the Buzz Light Year sprinkler toy that Jaxon had gotten for his birthday. It was the perfect way to keep us all cool while playing outside. For awhile Aidan and Jamie put it next to the trampoline and jumped while they were getting sprayed with water. Jaxon was not a fan of the sprinkler and really didn't want to get wet at all. He would go as long as you held him and didn't get him soaked.

Aidan loved the sprinkler and enjoyed running through it and getting soaked. It was great to see him enjoying this as in years past he was absolutely terrified of getting wet. During one of the sprinkler breaks the boys were jumping on the trampoline and giving me funny poses. Not sure where they learn things like this but they were absolutely hilarious. I love capturing pictures/memories of the pure fun moments. Jaxon has really gotten the hang of jumping on the trampoline. When we first put up the trampoline he was very unsure on his feet but has quickly figured it out. It is a good thing we have a net around it because he likes to launch himself towards the edge and fall into the netting. I know they should really start to learn how to jump with awareness of the edge and falling but so far we are just enjoying the confinement of the cage (just being honest).
This isn't a great look for jaxon but it was the best one that showed off his coloring skills. Just this week he has started to really enjoy coloring. Thank goodness for waterproof markers. After a long day of playing in the sun and being hot....coloring seemed to fit what he needed that day. He completely just relaxed and went into his own world to color.
Sleeping has been a new learning curve this week as the heat has permeated our house. We have been able to do an OK job of keeping it cool (use that term loosely). But the boys room seems to be the one that warms up the most. We open the windows in the evening before bed and put the fan in there as well. And they slept in just their shorts. The first night Jaxon kept waking up from the sounds from outside (cars driving past, sirens, people walking and talking). He was getting very frustrated and he was warm....not a good combo. As soon as he was able to fall asleep he was out for the night. Now it is just the early mornings because the sun is out and brightens up their room. However, we have learned to put Jaxon in front of the TV while I go for a run and Jamie and Aidan sleeps. This morning Jaxon sat for almost an hour while I was out running and Jamie was sleeping. It was perfect for everyone....I got to exercise....Jaxon was up and watching cartoons....Jamie and Aidan were sleeping....everyone was happy!

Transformation!

2010-06-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

These pictures are long due but the process of our landscaping projects took along time. This spring we decided that we were going to do some landscaping in our backyard and change some things in the front yard. At the beginning, we thought that we may have bit off more than we could chew but now that it is over we are so glad that we did it all! We will admit that we are rather crazy. We started the process back in April. Here is a list of the things that we did:
1. created flower beds in the backyard.
2. created a side bed where there were rocks before.
3. took all the rocks out and transplanted them in our side area by the garage
4. pulled out the bushes in our front bed and started over.
5. We had 10 yards of dirt delivered
6. 5 yards of bark mulch delivered
7. bought memberships at Canor Nursery and Cedar Rim Nursery.

Before: This was taken in the fall 2009.

After: This is how it looks now! Kind of hard to see the beds at the front of the house as the big Japanese Maple overtakes the space. It is an absolutely beautiful tree but it will need to be cut back soon.

After: this was all rocks before.....it would be a great place to park a camp trailer but since we don't have one we decided it would like nicer if we created a flowerbed.

After: The bushes that were here before were large and overgrown. There were only three bushes in the front here and you couldn't see the window. We decided we wanted to go with low to the ground plants. I am very happy with out it turned out.

Before: this was before we took the fence down and put up a new one. The old fence was so rotted that Jamie was able to pull large pieces down. It was definitely time for the fence to come down.

Before: This shows the backyard after we put up the new fence! The new fence made the the space seem so much bigger. It was quite the difference.

After: Here's part of a bed that goes the length of the back of the fence. Jamie did an amazing job in creating this flower bed. It has been so fun to watch the transformation of this backyard.

Jamie and I went to Cedar Rim Nursery after we created the back and side (out front) beds and picked plants. I was not really looking forward to it honesty. We don't always like the same thing or see the same idea's of the other so I knew that there would mostly likely be some disagreements. At the end, we were laughing and actually enjoyed the time together. It was quite fun....

We have realized that through this process we are learning to enjoy gardening and we have become rather obsessive over the weeds. Every time I see a weed I just want to pull it because it does NOT belong in my yard....especially after my man worked so hard to create everything!

We decided to create this bed because there is a staircase leading down under the porch and we didn't want kids to fall. So far, the kids stay away from the edge and I think it turned out pretty good. Don't ask me all the names of the plants because I can't really remember. I have kept all of the tags from the plants to be able to look back if we need to make any changes.
The bark mulch makes the whole thing look so much better and complete. We spent this past Wednesday afternoon/evening shoveling and spreading 5 yards of bark mulch. We both didn't think that we would actually finish the whole thing in one night but we did and we were so happy we did. Having the project done feels so good. We can now just go in the backyard and play with the kids without always seeing what needs to be done. The hope with the bark mulch is that this will keep the weeding down as well. Jamie and I laughed last night when we both said that both of our parents were going to laugh when they see what we have done because we both hated yard work growing up. I hated weeding my mother's flowerbeds and I always remembered her say that I needed to get use to it because I would be doing it at my own place some day. Of course, I would roll my eyes behind her back and say (under my breath) " No way" but here I am.....eating my words ;) Thanks Mom! You can now say, "I told you so"

To My Handsome Man!

2010-06-20T13:12:00.000-07:00

Jamie,

I hope you know on this special day that you are LOVED! Your two little boys love you with all of their hearts! Hearing Aidan tell me daily how much he loves you is so special; watching their faces when you come home from school and they know that they get to play with you; seeing the expression on Aidan's face when you tell him it's Saturday and that you don't have to go to school are only a few of the examples that truly are testaments to the love that you have for them and show what a great DAD you are. I have learned so many things from you in how to be a better parent. You have challenged me and encouraged me when I feel that I have failed. Thank you for your love, patience and grace.

A Day out with Thomas!

2010-06-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I saw an event for "A Day out with Thomas" It was being held in Squamish. I knew that the boys would absolutely love it. Jamie and I talked about it and we decided that we would do this with the boys. The best day for us was Sunday. I had to pick up strawberries from the Abbotsford Rotary at 10am on Sunday. After we picked them up and put them into freezer bags we headed out. The weather didn't look great when we left and we hit some rain before Langley but once we went over the bridge the sun came out and it was a beautiful drive out to Squamish. When we arrived we were told that Thomas had broken down in the morning and they were running behind with the train rides. The only availability was for the 4:30pm train ride that had been pushed back to at least 5:30pm! We arrived just after noon so we knew that if we waited that long we would be pushing it with the boys. Especially since Jaxon was not going to get a nap. We decided to just hang out and see the other things that they had going on and ride the smaller trains that were there. We told Aidan that we would not be able to ride Thomas but that there were other little trains that we would get to ride. He was so good about it.

When I went to take this picture of the boys Aidan was not happy to have his picture taken at all and of course all he wanted to do was look at Thomas. So this is the best I got.

This is our attempt of a self-portrait on the little train ride. They were small little trains that you got to sit on and it would take you around the grounds. The boys thought they were so great. Aidan talked about the ride for quite awhile after the fact. Jaxon was pretty quiet during the ride because he was pretty tired but he loved it.

There was an imagination station section for Thomas and they had music, crafts, face painting and a magic show. We stayed for the magic show and Aidan loved it. It has been fun watching him follow things and then laugh out loud when he finds things that are funny. He was completely laughing when the magician was funny. It was hilarious. Last night he was telling my parents about the magic show and he remembered lots of things about it. He obviously was paying close attention to what he was doing.

When we left we saw signs for a windsurfing area so we decided to go check it out. The signs took us down this gravel road that eventually spit us out on this peninsula. There were 30-40 kite surfers. It was so cool. We decided to park the car and walk out farther out to watch them. Jaxon had fallen asleep but we just picked him up and carried him. He woke up pretty quick and enjoyed watching the guys/girls doing flips and flying threw the air.

It is so hard to capture all the kits in the air so I didn't really try. However, this kite was getting ready to out. They harness the kite to their bodies so that if they fall they don't lose their kite. Aidan's best description was guys skateboarding on the water with kites. It is exactly what they looked like. It truly was a perfect ending to a great day. The car ride there and back was beautiful, the boys were grateful for the special day and we were able to make a fun memory. I truly couldn't have asked for a better day.

Eye on the Ball

2010-05-30T19:29:00.000-07:00

This weekend it has not been the nice of weather and it seems to happen that no matter the weather we play sports inside. I am sure that as the boys get older we will have to stop this kind of play but for now they boys seem to enjoy it and we definitely get some good laughs. Their track record has been pretty good too...nothing has ever been broken...yet.

Jaxon was absolutely hilarious on Saturday. Not sure what sparked the interest in wanting to wear the backpack but it was a must for playing baseball (plus no pants). I love watching his concentration...he isn't much for hitting the ball very well yet but he sure does try. And every so often he does connect.

Aidan has gotten really good at baseball. He loves the game and most of all I think he loves running the bases which means running around the kitchen. His forms pretty good too. I think that if you would pitch or play catch with him he would play it all day long. He tries to get Jaxon to play with him but of course Jaxon doesn't play it right :)

Keep your eye on the ball...I think he has that direction down pat..

I think they both have that direction down good....at least in these pictures...

The funny thing about this picture of Aidan is that when Jamie plays baseball he makes the same faces as Aidan when he is about to hit the ball. I laughed so hard when I started reviewing the pictures. They truly are related.

Running the bases....I love the fact that I got him in mid-stride. He is concentrating so hard, the look on his face is hilarious.

Sometimes I wonder if my boys received a sports transfusion from their daddy. They love to play every sport imaginable. They even prefer to watch sports on TV then watching cartoons. It is absolutely crazy but so fun to watch and enjoy.

Green Thumb

2010-05-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

When we started to redo the backyard landscaping I told Jamie that I wanted to also add some flower baskets to our porch railing. This past weekend when we went to Langley for Jaxon's bday present we also stopped at Cedar Rim Nursery. I found the perfect planter boxes and picked out the flowers that I wanted to plant. To be honest the whole process of picking out the flowers stressed me out.

I have always envied my friends hanging baskets and planter boxes that she creates herself. When we were at the nursery I was so intimidated by the process that I wasn't sure what to pick. After we found the planters I saw that the nursery had already created a planter with flowers in it. I loved what it looked like so I have decided to fashion my planters after it. It was exactly what I needed to create my first planters. Of course, I didn't find the exact same flowers and plants but it was close.

I knew that it was good to have tall things in the middle and then fill with different colors and textures. I decided to have each end of the basket be the same pink flowers to add equal symmetry ( not really but it sounds good).

I absolutely love them! Are they amazing??? Probably not but they are good for me! I love being able to see them from my kitchen window. Its great to have flowers to enjoy outside. I never thought that I would enjoy gardening or creating flower arrangements for my yard but it was definitely a fun endeavor and one that I will keep up.

Ok, so the symmetry you can't really see in this picture because the one pink flower bunch on the left was wilting when I took the picture. But with the rain we have received it has perked up and has filled out already. The picture just doesn't do it justice right now.

I look forward to see how they fill in during the summer season.

As well as making planter boxes I decided to grab flowers for the big barrel that we put in the backyard on the playhouse porch. The barrel was in the front yard when we moved it but we both didn't really like where it was at and it didn't have anything it at the time. So, when we started the landscaping project we emptied it and moved it to the backyard. I think it will look great as it fills in as well.
Do I have a green thumb?? Not yet, but I could just get there. Kind of shocking for those that know me...as I have never liked yard work but I think I am starting to get the gardening bug.

2

2010-05-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

2 years ago you came into our lives and brought a sunshine that brightened even the darkest of areas. It was not hard to see that you were going to make your presence known and make sure that everyone saw you. For some reason I could not remember a lot of when Aidan was a baby so I could not do much comparing the two of you which I think was probably a good thing. You were and are your own little person. You are just as strong-willed as your brother (maybe even more) which always makes for some good battles between the two of you. You have always had a certain scream that always let me know if your brother has taken something away from you. You learned quickly that if you wanted to heard you would have to speak up and you have done just that. You have quickly learned words and continue to surprise us with the new words you pick up daily. It definitely keeps us all on our toes because we never know when you will repeat what we have just said.
Aidan was so excited to buy you a birthday present this year. He knew exactly what he wanted to get you and went out with daddy to get them. Of course, I think the most favorite part for your brother (and you) was when he got to give them to you. Your favorite, the shovel! You even knew that Aidan gave it to you :) It definitely warms my heart to see the two of you give to each other and learn what it means to share. Obviously there is room for improvement but I will take what we have so far.

Your Mimi and Pa came over for a "family" bday party on Saturday where you opened gifts from them and Auntie Heather and Unkie Matt. You were so thrilled with each gift that you received. I think at times you were a bit overwhelmed with the situation but nonetheless loved the attention and the presents. You were so good to share everything with Aidan. Aidan was so excited for presents too that sometimes he would just want to do everything for you. We will have another bday party to celebrate your bday and Aidan's bday when Nana, Papa, and Unkie Ben come for a visit.

You picked pizza and cupcakes for your bday dinner and dessert. You were so excited all afternoon when you saw the cupcakes were made and ready. You kept asking for a cupcake but were patient enough to wait until after dinner when you promptly ate 2.

You truly are our baby...

Happy Birthday Jaxon!
(more pictures to come later.....just wanted to have a post for his bday)

Our Little Rockstars!

2010-05-17T16:05:00.000-07:00

There are no words to describe this video of Aidan and Jaxon but I guarantee that you will smile and laugh as you watch our rockstars!

I am sure our neighbor's just loved the music!

Enjoy!

My First Mother's Day Sun Run

2010-05-09T18:38:00.000-07:00

5 -6 months ago I decided that I needed to have another goal around my exercise. Last summer I started running as a way to help me in my endeavor to lose my baby weight. Once I hit my weight loss goal I knew that I needed to have something else to help me in my motivation to keep running. I decided that I would train to run in the Vancouver Sun Run 10km Race. I remember when I told Jamie that I wanted to run in the Sun Run I think he was a bit surprised and a bit skeptical that I would actually follow through with this goal. I don't think that he doubted that I could do it but that with having two boys, working and keeping up with everything else that I would actually have the time or make the time to get myself ready enough to achieve this goal.

Yesterday morning I woke up bright and early and my dear friend, Sharlyn, drove me into Vancouver for the race. The race started at 9am however because there was over 51,000 people racing they have to split you into different groups that start in intervals. I was registered in the white groups which means that I said I could finish the race in under 75 minutes. My goal was to finish in under an hour however I knew with so many people and with the struggles I was having with my foot that it might not be attainable this time around.

Earlier in the week when I was running I hurt my foot. I went to the doctor and he sent me for an x-ray to see if I had a stress fracture. It turned out my foot was fine so I took the rest of the week to rest up. By the time Sunday came my foot felt fine. It was such a beautiful day for the run. There was hardly any clouds in the sky which made it very hot in some sections of the race. It met a girl, Claire, who was running the race for the first time as well and so we stuck together for most of the race. It was really neat to meet someone for the first time and connect in such a way that we could help push one another to keep going when it got tough. We did not end up finishing together as I had to walk for a bit as my foot started to give me some trouble.

Around 7-8km my foot started to bother me and so I decided I would walk a bit to see if it would help. I was really struggling mentally as I really wanted to keep running but at the same time I didn't want to make my foot worse. As I was walking I realized that I truly did want to finish the race running so I started running again. My foot stopped hurting for the end of the race so I was able to push myself and finish the race the way I wanted. It was great to have Jamie, the boys and Dave and Doris there cheering me on at the finish. Doris actually found me in the seas of people and got some great shots. I am smack in the middle of the picture above in all black. The lady next to me seemed to be struggling so I decided to encourage her to finish strong and she immediately perked up and wanted to sprint to the finish; so that is exactly what we did. It was such a neat experience. You are in a sea of people trying to achieve the same goal of finishing and there seems to be a bond that connects you together. It was such a great experience.

Once I crossed the finish line we were herded into an area with water and tents of snacks. I actually ran into Jamie's teaching partner, Lauren, who had just finished as well. I was able to phone Jamie to let him know where I was so that we could meet up. It was great to share this experience with my boys and on Mother's Day. My official time was 67 minutes! I placed 17,421 out of over 51,000! For my first race I think that is pretty good.
After the race we all went out for lunch to Las Margaritas' and the went to the Aquarium. It was such a wonderful way to spend my Mother's Day. My boys cheering me on to the finish line and then spending the rest of the day enjoying watching them stand in awe of the sharks and sea turtles and yelling in excitement at the dolphins as they jumped in the air. I hope that this will only be the first of many more races to come.....

My Crazies!

2010-05-07T19:02:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to more deliberate at taking more pictures of the boys playing and be silly. They have been playing really well together the last little while. It has been fun to try to capture their times together. Aidan loves to have Jaxon play with him and Jaxon just LOVES his big brother.

Will they be partner's in crime?? Absolutely. This is a given. However, my prayer has been that they will be brother's that love to spend time together and truly do love each other. Jamie and I have been curious how they will be together when they get older and want to play sports. Will Jaxon be jealous when Aidan gets to play a sport before he does?? Probably. Will one be better at a certain sport than the other? Will this cause a rift in their relationship?? These are not things that I worry about but they are definite things that do pop in my head because they both love to play sports right now. It will be interesting as they continue to grow and get older.

The new thing that Aidan has been figuring out is how to make silly faces. The first one that he learned was how to raise his eyebrows, however when he raises his eyebrows he has to open his mouth at the same time. It is absolutely hilarious and Jamie and I just bust out laughing almost every time he does it. Jamie has enjoyed teaching Aidan other funny faces as well. And of course Jaxon then tries to chime in and his faces just turn into a open mouth with screams that follow. They think they are absolutely hilarious!

When Jamie was in Vegas several weeks ago he went to the M&M store and bought these shirts for the boys. They love them and always seem to want to wear them together. The other day I put Jaxon's on him and Aidan immediately wanted to wear his. I didn't think that they would necessarily notice or care if the other wasn't wearing it but they completely notice. It is so funny!. Jaxon's is already getting small and we are skeptical that it will last him the whole summer.

The weather has been gorgeous the last little while and the boys have enjoyed going outside. The huge dirt pile in our front yard has become their castle. They stand at the top and yell, "I'm the king of the castle!" We have definitely hit the stage where we are starting to have play clothes and nice clothes. They get so dirty when they go outside that I don't want to have to worry about if I will be able to get that stain out. Friends of ours actually have play clothes bins for their boys so they know that before they go outside to play they need to make sure to change and put those clothes on. I am thinking we will be introducing this idea very shortly.

The boys were waiting for their daddy to get home one afternoon and so they were watching for him out the front window. Pretty soon they noticed that there was a fly in our window. Aidan thought it would be fun to try to catch it in a yogurt container. I got him the container and the fun started. Aidan figured out how to catch the fly fairly quickly. Jaxon thought it was hilarious and just laughed every time Aidan caught it.

Eventually the fly had enough of this game and decided to lay down and die. Jaxon realized that the fly was dead and kept saying "bye bye fly" Of course then Aidan felt bad that he killed the fly and that Jamie didn't get to see that he had actually got the fly. I tried to reassure him that I had taken pictures so that daddy could see that he did in fact catch the fly. He finally realized that was a good alternative and couldn't wait to tell daddy and show him the pictures.

I can't believe that next weekend will be Jaxon's 2nd birthday (May 24). It is a long weekend here and so we have to decide what we are going to do. I don't think we are going to have a big birthday party but we may do a small bbq with family and friends. But I suppose that depends on if people will be around. Seeing as it is a long weekend it may mean that people will be heading away for the weekend. So, we will see. It is crazy to think about that my little one will be 2 years old. In my mind he is my little baby....even though I know he is far from being a baby anymore. I think because he is my youngest and mostly likely (hopefully) last he will always be the baby.

It's Only the Beginning

2010-05-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Jamie and I have started a yard project that seems to be never-ending. We decided this Spring that we wanted to do some landscaping in our backyard and redo and change somethings in our front yard. The backyard is a blank canvas with lots of potential. Several weeks ago Jamie cut out a two flowerbeds in our backyard; one large one across the back fence and one near are porch. Along with the back we decided that we wanted to make a bed along the front side of the house in the front where there has been rock laid. Jamie has been digging up rock for a long time and sometimes wonders if he has even made a dent. Sometimes we wonder if we have bit off more than we can chew.

The reason why it is taking us a long time to complete these projects is that our weekends are never just devoted to yard work. Jamie plays on a church slow-pitch team and always has two games sometimes during the day on Saturday. Jamie was gone for one weekend and it is never easy for just one of us to go out there especially if we are the ones with the kids. It has been a bit frustrating that the two of us just can't go out and work because there is always interruptions of the boys needing/wanting something or needing help.
The boys absolutely love going outside and playing and we find that if both of the boys are outside they can entertain each other but they do need/want to be wherever you are. They have loved having the dirt to dig and play with. They never last too long (if it is colder out) and they end up needing to come in at a certain point. When they do come in I pretty much have to strip them naked outside and then bring them inside. So again it takes me away from helping with the yard work.

This past weekend Jamie had some time in the morning before we had a birthday party to go to and before his afternoon baseball games. He headed out to get some dirt from the front yard into the backyard beds. Aidan was out with Pa at Tim Horton's so Jaxon wanted to be outside with Daddy. So, we bundled him up and out they went. I had to get myself ready for the day and go grocery shopping before the rest of the day because we knew that it wouldn't get done any other way. So, yet another time that I was unable to help out. I kept trying to remind Jamie that it wasn't for the fact that I didn't want to help out in the yard but there is always something else that seems to need to get done or the kids need to be supervised. Thankfully he has realized this situation and understands that it is difficult for the two of us to be out doing yard work at the same time.

When I was almost ready to head out to do grocery shopping this is how I found 2 out of my 3 boys. Jaxon was trying so hard to help his dad fill the wheelbarrow. It was so cute. However, I did find out later that it was time consuming to have Jaxon out there with him because he had to help carry him up the step into the backyard (because they were slippery) and back down when they would go back to the front yard to get more dirt. So, of course, it was a slower process but I know that Jaxon just loved being out there with his dad.

You can't see all the dirt but we had 10 yards of dirt delivered to our house at the beginning of last week. The boys absolutely loved watching the dump truck dump the dirt. Since it has started to rain this week we have had to keep it covered so that it doesn't just become a mud pit. Who knows how long this pile will sit in our front yard (driveway) as this project seems to take longer than we would like. The hope is that next weekend we will be able to go and get plants and at least get close to finishing the backyard flower beds. Eventually we will need to get bark mulch but that will probably have to wait a bit until the dirt is gone because I am not sure where we would dump the bark mulch. The best part is that it will look great once it is all done. It just might take us to the end of summer for it to be finished. I believe I took before and will definitely take after pictures in hopes to post them when this is all done.

A Sleepover like No Other!

2010-04-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

This past week and weekend (Wednesday - Sunday) was a giant sleepover like no other. Jamie headed to Vegas for a Middle School Conference and so the boys and I were invited over to Mimi and Pa's house. Auntie Heather, Kai and Great -Grandma were all there as well. It was a full house with lots of noise, fun and craziness.

The boys (Aidan, Jaxon and Kai) had a great time playing together and getting to know each other better. Kai was very enamored with his cousins. He was always watching them or trying to play with them when they had the patience to sit still. Aidan really seemed to love giving Kai attention and making sure that he has all the right toys to play with. He was always so gentle and kind. It was very sweet to watch.
The boys were so excited with the sleepover because that meant that I would be sleeping in the same room that they were in. One of the bedroom at Mimi and Pa's has the bunk beds and another twin bed. It was perfect for the three of us. They thought it was so great waking up and having me right there. It took me a couple of nights to get use to their noises....Aidan is quite a loud sleeper. I am glad that we are all back in our house now but for the time that Jamie was gone it was a fun adventure.

It was great to spend time with my nephew, Kai. He is a very content little boy who loves to hand out smiles and talk to you. It was quite fun to watch him watch Aidan and Jaxon. You could tell he just wanted to join in with them. Heather and I kept saying how crazy it will be when Kai can run and play with them. It will most definitely be crazy when that happens. They will be trouble when they get together. Nothing but trouble!

One night we had bath time! Kai was doing just fine when he first went into the tub. Apparently he does not like the tub right now but would rather be bathed in the sink. Aidan was a bit concerned for Kai at this point....either that or can't understand why he wouldn't like being in the bath. :) Oh, the laughs we had at expense of our children.

Silly faces with Pa.

Lots of books were read and stories told. The boys love Pa's stories at bedtime. They have learned to ask Pa right before bedtime and then they all head up to listen to their favorites.

Games with Gigi!

Gigi was so great with Aidan and Jaxon. She would sit, listen, play and laugh with them. The boys just loved her. On Wednesday when we arrived she was taking a nap in her chair and Aidan told her "you need to wake up now". He was so excited to see her and play with her. She just laughed and decided that he was right, she did need to wake up and play.

Thanks to all of you for letting us crash your party...it was a great time where I know that memories were made.

Pure Childlikeness

2010-04-07T08:34:00.000-07:00

On Sunday our pastor was talking about pure childlikeness. He talked about how children have the great ability to see things in a simple and pure light; to enjoy life for what it is and having faith that is pure and simple. We (as adults) were challenged to pure childlikeness. One of the examples of pure childlikeness was that of a child finding joy in picking dandelions for his mommy. To a child dandelions are beautiful flowers instead of a weed.

Life is so simple for a child. As we grow up we start to complicate life to the extent that we start to miss out on the simple things that can bring such joy! I truly believe that I have so much to learn from my children. Sure, I have things that I can teach my children but their lives of simplicity are definitely an area that I can learn from.
I want this childlikeness!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-03T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was looking forward to Easter weekend for a number of reasons this year. One reason in particular was that the boys were going to get Easter baskets and have an Easter Egg Hunt for the first time. A couple of months ago my mom and I were talking on the phone and she told me that she and my dad had found some Easter baskets that they thought would be perfect for the boys. I received them in the mail a couple of weeks ago. They were perfect. If anyone truly knows our boys you will know that sports and balls are all consuming for them. So to have ball Easter baskets was very fitting.Monday evening I went out and bought some goodies for their baskets. My mom and dad and sent a few items but then we filled them with the major items. It was so fun to pick out the chocolate bunnies and little treats....It definitely got me in the mood to start the little traditions that hopefully my boys will look forward to and remember when they are older.

I so remember getting Easter baskets when I was young and it was so fun. There were always yummy chocolates and then a small gift of sorts. Nothing very big but nonetheless very special to me.

After I filled their baskets in the morning and hid them (not really) and told them to go find them. Aidan found his with no problem and quickly realized he had a chocolate bunny! Jaxon needed a bit more help to find his basket....

They were so excited to find out what all was in their baskets...I think that is why we ended up sitting on the floor in our kitchen...not exactly where I would have chosen to sit but that is where they ended up.

It was a very special moment to watch their faces as they took out all of their treats. Their faces definitely showed their excitement! Pretty quick after realizing that he had a chocolate bunny Aidan remembered that he needed to phone Nana and Papa to tell them. Nana had told Aidan earlier in the week that if he found a chocolate bunny on the weekend that he needed to phone her and let her know. The best part of the phone call (for me) was that Aidan told Nana and Papa "thank you" for the gifts unprompted by me! It was absolutely priceless. This is progress for us....we have been talking to Aidan a lot about the importance of manner. Sometimes he does it really good and then other times not so good. It is also something that I have been praying about for him and so when I see little steps of progress I am truly thankful!

While we were on the phone with my parents Jamie went outside and hid the Easter Eggs. For a little bit Saturday morning it was sunny and not too windy so we decided this would be the best time to do the Easter Egg Hunt. We were going to video the whole thing with our new video camera we got at Christmas but when we went to turn it on it said the battery was dead. Apparently, we are not too educated on the fact that when you want to use it you have to plan ahead and make sure that the battery is completely charged....we had charged it at Christmas time and had not used it too much so we figured it was fine. Good learning curve, I suppose. We took some video on our camera along with some pictures. I am trying to download one of the videos but it is being difficult.

The boys had so much fun looking for the eggs. Aidan was very good to leave ones that Jaxon was finding instead of running in and taking them from him. Aidan kept running around say, "I found another one"

Jaxon was having so much fun running around the backyard I don't think he cared too much for the Easter Eggs but once he found some he was so excited....

Aidan showing his lute. When we started the hunt I asked Jamie if he counted the eggs as he hid them in case we missed any. Of course, he didn't count them so we had no idea how many we had but Jamie remembered where he hid them all and we were able to do a second/third sweep to make sure that we got them all.

Jaxon didn't do so bad in finding lots of the eggs.

When we found all of the eggs Jamie kept taking eggs out of Jaxon's basket and throwing them into the yard so that there were still eggs to find. He was trying to help Jaxon find more but Jax was not catching on. Aidan however, caught on and would come flying in and snatched the up. I kept thinking that it would be so fun to do an Easter Egg hunt with all of the cousins.....it would be so fun to spend the holiday together.....

When we came inside the boys sat at the table and opened each egg to find candy inside. Jaxon could have sat at the table forever. He just kept opening and shutting the eggs. They wanted us to hide the eggs again and do it all over again.

We had a good weekend. It was very busy for us. We had wonderful friends who invited us to their family gatherings as we did not have family here for the holiday. The boys were spoiled greatly by the treats they received. I was on worship team this weekend which always adds another dimension to the weekend...it was a wonderful time for me to reflect on the wonderful gift that we were given by the death and resurrection. Worship team always takes a lot out of me and I pay for Sunday evening but it is so worth it!

I am going to try to attach the video.....so stay tuned.....

So Big!

2010-03-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

Jamie and I have decided that our boys are getting big. We knew it would happen (and will continue) however we were reminded of it again when we were at the park a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful Friday and Aidan had asked if we could go to the park. We decided to wait for Jamie to get home from school and then we took off. Aidan has always loved the swings but he is now way too big to go in the baby swings. It was fun pushing him on the big swings and watching him get the hang of sitting and holding on. We are still working on the pumping motion but that will come.

When we got there Aidan took off climbing on everything. Of course, Jaxon wanted to follow his brother but he was able to do some of it on his own. Jaxon has started telling us "self" when he wants to do things on his own. It is quite nice that he has come up with a word to communicate to us what he wants. The things that he wants to do himself are:
eating
climbing into the car
going up and down the stairs
climbing into his bed for nap and bedtime

After Jamie went back to school after Spring Break I decided to work seriously with Jaxon on potty training. The first Monday we went through 8-9 pairs of underwear in over 1 hour! Because he had peed in every pair of underwear I had for him at the time he had to go back in a diaper. So, Monday was a bit of a right off. I decided that Jaxon need to go commando while at home because when he would start to pee he would then stop and I could get him to the bathroom in time to finish whereas if he had underwear on then he would just pee. By the end of the weekend he was going longer in between potty breaks. Sunday he even kept himself dry during church and then during his afternoon nap. This past weekend and the start of this week I have been letting him go longer so that he gets the sensation of when he needs to pee and he has actually told me 2-3 times today that he needs to go potty! This is definitely progress in my book.

The weather has been nice the last little while so I have been able to keep up with my running. My goal is to be able to run 10km in just under an hour for the Sun Run that is on Mother's Day this year. I have had to take the boys in the stroller several times in the last couple of weeks. I can tell such a huge difference in how I feel and my knees when I run with the boys. I can usually go about 6km with the boys before I start to feel it more in my knees. I think my pace is about the same but I definitely like running without them when I can.

This weekend we are hoping to start working on the landscaping in our yard. We want to take out the entire front bed and re-shape it and put smaller bushes and plants in. We also want to create some new beds for the backyard. There is no landscaping in the backyard right now so it is a blank slate which is kind of nice. We get to do whatever we want. The only problem is trying to figure out what to do. I really hope the weather is nice enough so that we can do it. Right now the forecast is not great so we will have to see if we can do anything.

We will start some new traditions in our house this weekend for Easter. We will have our first Easter Egg Hunt and the boys will get their own Easter Egg baskets. I am looking forward to this as the boys are older and can comprehend more of is going on This also provides opportunity for us to talk about the real reason for Easter and that has been fun talking to Aidan about this past week and week coming. Hopefully I will have pictures for an Easter post for next weekend.

Spring Break Fun!

2010-03-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

One year ago Jamie and I were sitting by a pool in Mexico soaking up the sun. Enjoying the time together. This spring break did not bring the warm Mexico sun but it did bring some opportunities for us (as a family) to go and do some fun things together.

Last week we had to head into Vancouver for dentist appointments and so we decided to go to the Aquarium afterwards. Our appointments were in the morning and we knew that it would be something for Aidan to look forward to. By the time that we got to the aquarium Jaxon had fallen asleep in the car. We gently transferred him to the stroller and off we went. Jax slept for a bit but was still able to enjoy most of our time at the aquarium.

These pictures are of us waiting to watch the Beluga Whales. The show was not great because I don't think Beluga's can do much but the boys were able to see the whales up close. Jaxon had just woken up from is nap and was completely enthralled with the whales. Everytime he saw one he would just yell, "OH" and point! It was quite cute.

After the beluga's we went down below to see the dolphins swimming under the water. I love this expression because it shows how intent he was on watching them. Aidan was interested in certain things but as soon as he had seen enough he would tell us it was time to move on....and off he would go to the next thing.

I think Aidan is going to be just like me. He will be interested up to a point and then things will just become boring. This was always so frustrating for my mom as she loved to take her time....I just had to laugh has Jaxon would just begin to notice what we were looking at and Aidan was saying it was time to go. There were certain things that could keep Aidan's attention. He loved watching the Sharks (because there was a diver in the tank with them) and the jellyfish. For whatever the reason the jellyfish were captivating.

Before we even got to the aquarium Aidan was talking about jellyfish. Not entirely sure where the jellyfish came from but he was very excited to see them. There were so many different kinds of jellyfish I don't know if he knew where to look. I love the first tank that you see when you come into the Jellyfish exhibit. Its the pictures below....

We needed to take a break from walking so we went to the kids zone where they could just play if they wanted. Both boys were into stacking the blocks....they worked pretty well together.

Aidan is learning to let Jaxon try new things even though it is hard for him sometimes. He always wants to show Jaxon how to do things when Jaxon just really wants to do it all himself. So if they can do things together....they are pretty good.

We sat for awhile and then realized that it was almost time for the dolphin show. The dolphin show was the last event of our time at the aquarium. It was perfect..the boys were so excited. Everytime the dolphins would jump in the air they both would gets big smiles on their faces or yell for us to look. Of course, we were looking but they had to make sure that we saw it.

There was no way that I was going to get these boys to turn around to smile at the camera. The dolphins were definitely more interesting. I love these shots because they show how intent they are at watching.

There were a few tears after the dolphin show when they realized we were heading home but they quickly dried their tears said their goodbyes to the dolphins. We decided to head to one of our favorite restuarants in Vancouver, Las Margaritas. We were a little nervous to take the boys but we decided to give it a shot. The boys were awesome! Aidan shared a taco platter for two with Jamie! Jaxon was content with his french fries. There were times that we needed to remind Aidan to sit still or to be speak quieter but for the most part he was great! We are continually amazed at how he is growing up. Its so fun to watch!

We also wanted to head into Seattle to go to the zoo. Jamie decided to check the weather and we realized that we should head into the zoo on Saturday. We headed out in the morning and had to wait at the border for a bit and arrived at the zoo just after noon. We had never been there before but had heard great things. It sure did not disappoint. It was a great day!

Because the weather was so amazing apparently all of Seattle decided to head to the zoo. It took us awhile to find parking and then we had to stand in a line to buy our tickets to get into the zoo. It was kind of crazy but once we were in the place was great. The first place we walked up to was a bird area. It was a place where you can sit and watch a bird show but they weren't having any shows at that time. Not sure if you can see but there is a vulcher spreading his wings in front of Aidan.

I love this picture because Aidan looks so old. He chose to wear his hat backwards all day. Jamie and I had a good laugh about that because it was something he chose to do and we have never really put his hat on backwards ever....Jamie has never really liked baseball hats on backwards so I don't think he has ever worn his like that so when Aidan decided to wear his like that he just laughed. I think it looks kind of cute :)

We thought that Jaxon would fall alseep pretty quick once we got into the zoo but he got a second wind and was good to go for awhile. He even wanted to walk everwhere. He was very excited to see the birdies. He just kept pointing and saying "birdies" I think we could have sat there for awhile and they both would have been content.

We quickly found the elephant barns...nothing exciting.....until......

we found the bronze sculpture of an elephant. It was fun to see the real life elephants but then it was even better to find a fake one to climb on....

and then of course a photo-op where there is never everyone looking all at the same time :)

When we found the monkeys Jaxon was excited. He kept saying "monkeys...oooahhahooo" They are actually looking at an orangutan but to Jaxon it was still a monkey.

The Safari section (my favorite) was when Jaxon finally bit the dust and decided he needed to fall asleep. It was sad that he missed this part because I know he would have loved to see the giraffe's and hippos but he could not keep his eyes open. Aidan loved the giraffe's but as soon as we saw the hippos we all (minus Jaxon) were quite intrigued with the hippos.

I don't think I have ever seen hippos (at a zoo) this active. There were three hippos in the water that kept swimming around and hitting these balls in the water. At one point this one hippo opened his/her mouth and started making a very loud noise. It was hilarious. The hippos were definitely a favorite.

As we were heading back to the entrance that we came in where there was a carousel I heard Aidan tell Jamie that he really liked the zoo and he had had a fun day! It was a very cute moment. Aidan definitely has his moments where he is the sweetest little boy who has great manners. For the most part he is a sweet little boy yet he also has his moments of ugliness as well. But at the zoo he was the sweet little boy.

The last thing we did at the zoo was ride the carousel. Jaxon was sleeping when we arrived at the carousel but then we realized that we needed to have cash to pay for tokens to ride the carousel. Of course, we did not have any cash so Jamie had to go hunt down a cash machine. While Jamie was gone Jaxon woke up and was super excited to ride the carousel. Jamie was hoping Jax would just keep sleeping so he wouldn't have to ride it ( he doesn't like things that go around and around).

I asked Jax what the name of his horse was and he replied "Huskies"

Aidan was thrilled to ride the carousel. This was what he wanted to do as soon as we entered the zoo but he told him we would do it at the end. He was very patient and it was the perfect end to a perfect day.

My boys!

Jaxon and all his cuteness.

He did great in the car for the long periods. We brought lots of books and he was rather content. They were playing with their hats for awhile and this is how he put his hat on.

We have decided to head up to see Heather, Matt and Kai at the end of this week so we will have another adventure to add to our Spring Break fun! It definitely has not been a Mexico vacation but we have had lots of fun and have enjoyed the special days with the boys. I know it will be hard for the boys when daddy goes back to school next week as they have truly enjoyed having their daddy ALL day.

Chewing Gum

2010-03-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

For Valentines Day my parents sent the the boys their own valentine cards and in the each card they had taped a stick of gum for the boys. This was Jaxon's first time having gum. Jaxon was so excited to have gum. He has seen Aidan chewing gum and has always asked to have some but I told him he had to get a few more teeth. Aidan only started chewing gum a little bit ago and he never chews it for very long before he just swallows it.

Jaxon is showing me his very first piece of gum....

He thought he was hot stuff. He was pretty good with it. He actually chewed it for awhile and then wanted to spit it out instead of swallowing it. I am sure that you have noticed the nice scrape on his chin. I honestly don't know how he got it...he was not in my care when it happened. He was in the daycare at Wednesday Morning Bible Study at church; when I picked him up that is when I noticed it. The ladies didn't even know he had scraped his chin. Apparently, it didn't seem to phase him much! Aidan told him he fell out of the car in the gym....
Jaxon in mid chew....
This past weekend started Jamie's spring break. We didn't do too much it was a bit of a relaxing weekend. On Sunday after the hockey game and before the Closing Ceremonies we decided to take the boys to the park. When we got into the car the boys saw the gum and immediately asked for a piece of gum. So I split the stick of gum between the boys and they were instantly quiet. However, we started to hear Jax smacking his gum! By the time we got to the park Aidan had already swallowed his gum but Jax was still chewing and savoring every minute. He actually kept his gum until dinnertime! He probably had his gum for 1.5 hours. He spit it out right before dinner! Jamie and I could not believe it.

Monday morning after Jaxon decided to poop in his diaper I asked him if he wanted to put on a pair of "big" boy underwear. He was so excited....as you can clearly see.....

He just started running down the hallway and jumping up and down. He was hilarious. Jamie and I kept laughing at him because he was so thrilled to be in underwear. Being excited to be in underwear definitely does NOT mean that he wants to pee in the potty! He is no where close but sure knows what he soon should be doing.

Jamie and I also had to laugh at the difference in body type between our boys. When we started potty training Aidan and he was running around in his underwear he was such a little skinny thing. Jaxon is tiny but more built. Can I say that about a 1.5 year old boy? But it is true...he is just a bit thicker yet still skinny. And he is just crazy! Can you tell???

Oh, the craziness in our home. I believe that if people could hear the screaming that happens in our house they would wonder what is going on. The boys love to get going and then they just love to scream and then they scream louder and try to out scream the other! I swear they have both hearing loss because of there scream -offs. They are most definitely brothers and partner's in crime.

We are heading into Vancouver tomorrow for dentist appointments and then off to the Aquarium. We have decided to do a couple of day trips during this two week spring break. I will just take a couple of days off of work or just work less hours those days.

Stay tuned for more pics coming soon.....