Beach Babies...

I present to you, our first trip to the sacred chapel known as the beach.  And you know that annoying person at a party who tells the same stories over and over again?  I'm sooo gonna be her.  And one of the tales I will have on repeat will be this one... the day we took these little gents of ours to see the power and beauty of the ocean for the very first time.  It was just that good.

I'm kind of a nature gal.  I love me some snow capped mountains, some golden fields, some red dirt and some spring flowers.  Now nearing the top of my, "God does everything best" list is the beach... and seeing it's wonder through the eyes of my babies.

 These two LOVED it.

They ran into the cold water and let the waves chase them up the receding sands about a thousand times... giggling every time. 

 This one wasn't so convinced.  He would curl his little toes up and out of the cold water keeping them a safe distance from the ground and mostly keeping himself up in the safety of someone's arms.

Which was just fine by me.  They are all growing up so fast.  I'll gladly savor the babe-on-hip moments as long as they'll let me.

 I watched and snapped for hours.  Literally.  It was so, so revitalizing and we breathed in the salty air and noticed that all around us was this obvious enjoyment painted in the form of smiles on everyone's faces.  A drunk-on-life morning in the rays of the California sun.  

 Dax didn't stop from his game of "chase and be chased by the waves" the entire time we were there.  Not even an impressive pile of sand castle building supplies could sway him.  He was mesmerized.

Kael walked up and down the little beach in search of shells and sticks and critters.  And he found them.  In bulk.  He declared his collection complete only after he had gotten a few shells for every member of our extended family, his teacher and his preschool friends.  

 And little man found his comfort zone up higher on the shoreline surrounded by sugary sand and colorful toys where his feet were coated brown and his shoulders became pink.

  With the occasional quick visit out to the edge of the water just to prove to himself that he could.

I don't know, I might just become a beach kinda gal after all.  Don't be surprised if everything we own is for sale soon and we drift off into the sunset like floating gypsies.  :)

For now we find ourselves with a heap of new memories, a camera full of sunny blue pictures and a little collection of seashells and sand.

Of Magic and Mice...

Well, we did it.

We done went to the happiest place on earth and if I may, I'm going to be so bold as to say, we totally conquered the joint.  

I mean, these kids of ours were better than we ever dreamt they would be and then some.  They did a mighty fine job indeed -- car rides included.  And Ryan and I?  Fuh-get-about-it.  We pushed those strollers up and down the streets of Disney and through the crowds like rock stars.

I'm giving us all a 10.0 for sure.

Despite the "you must take this picture upon entering the gates of Disney photo-op flop" I was surrounded by these devastatingly great boy men for three days straight and ladies of all ages just kinda went gaga for them.  I get it.  I really do.

You should note the dog tags in every picture.  I was certain I'd lose a babe and though they all know their names and our names, I was just... well, terrified.  

So they wore their little Army accessories everywhere and it kind of added to their overall appeal.

This is Ace modeling his with his own version of the "blue crush" face.  'Atta way, tiger.

You should also note that the massive turkey leg was a total hit atop the giant ferris wheel which may be illegal - but no one told us.  The littles were gobbling so fast because they were certain they could see "Sharks" in the water below and they didn't want the ocean life to eat their lunch.

They mastered the art of line waiting.  The key is to talk with the characters in depth about life's biggest questions AND to snack on an endless supply of goodies while climbing on or messing about with the chains and or gates that designate line waiting.  Only once did we have to ask a little man to stop licking it... which coincidentally was when I nearly lost my lunch.  :)

They rode every ride they met the minimum height requirements on at least once.  

 And they must be living right because they got to ride Splash Mountain (Their very favorite ride) four times with NO LINE and Radiator Springs four times with fast passes and switch passes.  

When Ace couldn't ride he was a good sport and he pulled out a car or a some other little toy and entertained himself or volunteered to feed the ducks.

They watched every parade with either a churro or cotton candy in hand because their Dad is the very nicest and because they shocked us by not once even asking for a souvenir?  Like, who are they already?  I am still a little bit baffled by their gentlemanly Disney behavior.  We might go back after all.

Ace mastered the, "Gimme Five" game and added "Cut the Pickle.... Tickle Tickle" to the end like a champ.  He did it to all the little ladies he could get to and at times would climb out of his stroller to show off his latest trick.

Me?  I smiled like a loon just watching all this magic happen around me.
Seriously - it is not a lie... Disney + Kids = Magic.  

I feel like Ryan and I are living the American dream all thanks to a week in sunny California with a bunch of cartoon characters and our own little gang of toons.

Life is the strangest. 

 And the sweetest.

Don't you think?

Weekend Favorites...

It was a sun-filled, lovely weekend full of bike riding and grilling and open windows.  I'm not gonna lie, I think Spring is just around the corner.

In my "high on life and spring" attitude, here are a few of my weekend faves...

This boy and his affinity for all things "Cat in the Hat" decided to grace us with his presence AND dawn his preschool head gear.  I might have melted.  

He's also been collecting rocks and sticks at an alarming rate for his ever growing, "collection".  And he told me, "I'm saving my money so I can build a house when I get big.  I'm gonna build one right next to you, OK, Mom?"  OK, Bud.

Dax loves "Mindians" or Minions as they're more commonly known.  We don't own Despicable Me, but we do own a computer, and when you can find those little fellas on YouTube that's just as good.  He looks up at the Computer Screen and busts a gut.  I love it.  

He's also been busy teaching his brothers how to scale fences.  It's official... we need a fortress to contain them.

We've been listening to little story books on CD in the car lately.  Acey has, "The Rain Came Down" 100% memorized.  This weekend he performed his dramatic interpretations over and over again with gusto.  He's kind of a drama cat.

Sometimes he wears costumes... and occasionally he even sports pants.  :)

We've got happy things to report back on soon.

Until then... happy Monday, Happy Week.  

Sweet Nothings...

I feel as if my life got exponentially better after we purchased the cotton candy maker.  Word to the wise - if you're feeling down and out, go to Amazon and ship yourself one of these puppies.

Now, the actual day of my birthday presented a husband-less house.  Not to worry.  One of the greatest parts of having kids is they're so quick to go along with the dumb stuff I come up with.  So a "party" complete with cotton candy and the birthday banner = the greatest bash of the century.  It's so brilliant how they revel in the little stuff like rock stars, you know?

And so we did.  At 4:30 in the afternoon, after Kael assembled goodie bags for all the party attendees, and Dax drug out our felt birthday banner - we just spun ourselves some sugar en mass.  And we finished it off with sprite... before dinner.

Clearly, that alone is reason to celebrate.

 Camera One...

 Camera Two...

 Camera Three...

 We might do it again next Wednesday just for kicks and giggles.  And because we have earned a black belt in out-of-the-blue parties complete with sweet stuff.

That's right.  When we celebrate life, we celebrate life, baby.

Chocolate Glow Sticks, Please...

Today I turn 34. 

And just to solidify my spot as the most complicated or maybe even contradictory girl in the Universe...

I feel old.

I feel young.

And a few more other things just to be completely self-indulgent/introspective, on this, the anniversary of the day I was born...

I love these babies that are in our home.  I watch them sometimes and just get overwhelmed with emotion.  I can't believe how they have changed our lives in the best possible ways.

I cuss.  Frequently. Sometimes in quiet response to my little holy terrors.

I am passionate about words & stories and I take my responsibility as the official memory-keeper of our family very seriously.

I like to buy stuff.

I life to make stuff.

Sometimes I'm just fed up with stuff.

I believe in God somethin' fierce and my relationship with him is a huge part of my life.

I read fashion magazines all the time.

I dream of living in fields of grain in the shadow of our mountains with no neighbors and lots of acreage, a half dozen chickens, two horses and a cow.

I love Costco.  Their produce makes me giddy.

Sometimes I feel so strong I think I could run the world.

Other times, I want nothing more than to hold my Ryan's hand and let him guide me through it.

I feel full of gratitude.

I strive to achieve more.

I am a pleaser.

I am an independent soul.

And today,

I am a 34-year-old mom.

With a leftover slice of chocolate cake that was decorated with glow sticks courtesy of my favorite boy in the entire land... Ryno, you still knock my socks off.

Family birthday cake picture?  Nailed it.  :)

P.S. The big little men colored pictures for my day then opened their carefully colored envelopes for me so I wouldn't have to lift a finger.  Me with yellow hair and slightly taller than the little circle with limbs that represented them with their yellow hair.  It was exactly what I always wished for.

And thanks to Ry's family who came in with the win - dinner, cake, gifts & fun after hosting an all grandson sleepover this weekend so the mister and I could make a quick romantic getaway.

Not for the faint of heart, I tell you.  Thank you!

34... I think we'll get along nicely.