A Few of My Favorite Things

A special early Mother's Day gift from my mom prompted me to create a list of some of my favorites:

1. Aaron. He takes care of me--I never have to worry about anything. My weakness are his stengths. He is strong. He is solid. He is my rock.

2. My boys. Hank and Max are the air I breathe and the water I drink. I couldn't live without them.

3. My family. I lucked out. I was lucky to have been born into a wonderful family and I lucked out again to have married into a wonderful family.

4. CHOCOLATE. I can't get enough.

5. Clean sheets.

6. Fresh socks. It may not be the most fashionable, but the only thing that can coax me out of my warm bed in the morning is the thought of putting on a pair of thick, cozy socks.

7. Sunshine. Life seems to be so much better when its sunny.

8. The beach.

9. Reading. I love getting lost in a good novel, learning something new in a book, or just thumbing through a magazine.

10. Hot showers. The shower is my own private, sound-proof, escape. Some of my best ideas and inspiration have come to me while I'm in the shower.

11. Baking. I love the smell of warm cookies and I love the feel of a ball of bread dough. Preparing food is a great comfort and eating it is fun, too!

12. Lists. Making a list is therapuetic. I love the feeling of accomplishment when I strike items off of a list.

13. My blog, my pictures, my journal. I love to document and preserve each special family memory and milestone.

14. Walking. It invigorates my body and lifts my spirit.

15. Plans. I'm never without one.

16. Chapstick. I feel naked if I'm not wearing chapstick.

17. Favorite scripture: Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 "To everything there is a season..."

18. Favorite counsel: "enjoy the journey" & "come what may and love it"

19. Traditions. I love our established family traditions and I love making new ones in our own family.

20. The hour between 9 o'clock and 10 o'clock at night when I have the kids tucked neatly into bed, the house is calm, I can take a deep breath and reflect on my day, I give thanks for my blessings, and resolve to do better tomorrow.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

I decided I didn't like being left out of all the fun, so the other night we returned to the Mariners as a family. Max sported his little Mariners outfit and even got an official certificate as a first-timer. It was a beautiful night and the team won!

Brotherly Love

Hank likes to give Max hugs and say, "I love my brother (pronounced brah-zir)." The other day, after saying that he loves each of us, Hank said, "I love my family." Priceless.

Spring Fair

Yay for the Spring Fair! This is the first time in three years that the weather has cooperated with the spring fair so we couldn't resist getting in on some fair action.
As usual, my favorite part of anything is always the food. Hank loved the cotton candy and I ate my fair share of scones. Yum!

Max loved the scones, too!

This is Hank doing a little jump for joy when we told him that he was going to get to sit on an actual firetruck that was parked at the fair. Hank is completely obsessesed with all forms of transportation right now and has a particular fascination with rescue vehicles.

Max loved the firetrucks, too!

Hank got to see all kinds of snakes and spiders, and even touched a turtle at the reptile exhibit.

Hank loved the petting zoo and chased the poor little goats around the pen until he finally caught one--and hugged it!

Max loved the animals, too!

Daddy Date

Last week Aaron scored a couple tickets to the Mariner's game at the last minute so he decided to take Hank with him to the ball game as a Daddy/Son date. Since I wasn't invited, I had to learn all the details the next morning from Hank. Hank told me that Dad bought him lots of treats: popcorn, licorice, pop, and candy. He said that he heard the choo-choo train. Hank also told me that he got stuck in the ropes when Dad took him to the indoor playground at the ball field. Hank said that he was scared and he told me that Dad held his hand and helped him get back down. It seems that Hank had a great date with his daddy. I love that Aaron and Hank are best buddies.

*picture taken with Aaron's cell phone--not the best quality.

Easter Eggstravaganza!

We had a great Easter weekend full of family and festivities. On Saturday morning, Aaron and my dad played a quick round of golf while my mom, my sister, and I took the boys to an Easter egg hunt. I think the word "race" would be more appropriate since the 17,000 eggs were more haphazardly strewn about a large field than hid and the entire hunt was over from start to finish in less than two minutes.
Last year I thought Hank could manage to gather eggs himself so I didn't accompany him on the actual hunt. When the officiator yelled for the hunt to begin, Hank took two steps out of the gate, tripped, and got skunked on the eggs. We learned from our mistakes, and this year I made sure to "help" Hank find the eggs. When the start whistle blew, Hank and I didn't waste a second. We ran straight for the back of the field. While everyone else fought over the first few eggs, Hank and I had the whole backfield to ourselves to cherry pick the eggs. Once our basket began to overflow, I started to feel a little guilty, realizing that I had become the parent that I criticized last year. Hank was giddy with his loot and we had lots of fun.

Egg dying: such a fun idea, such a big mess.

Hank woke up on Easter morning to find his basket filled with a Memory game, a new flashlight (he likes to stay up late in bed playing with his trucks), a new cement mixer, and a load of candy. Thank you Easter Bunny!

Easter Sunday

I have wonderful memories as a little girl of getting to shop for a special Easter dress and then wearing my frilly dress to church on Sunday. Hank and Max got to wear matching Easter outfits this year and were quite handsome, if I do say so myself.

As I was carrying Max in his carseat in one arm and Hank on the other arm with the diaper bag slung over my shoulder, someone at church commented that I'm tougher than I look. I think I do look tough, but I guess I'll take that as a compliment.

Three cuties in sweater vests.

Happy Easter!