bath time

I love me a four year old in a towel skirt.

carpet craziness

We got new carpet the Friday before school started. Hurray!! We had been wanting to do it for a couple of years and finally got the opportunity. It was fairly painless even though this picture of our master bedroom might lead you to believe otherwise.

This is the hallway mid-project. It took 3 guys 5 hours to complete.
Dylan and Carter's room

This is what our playroom looks like post-carpet. After having to take everything out, we decided to make some changes and get rid of some things. The kids are getting bigger and the playroom needed to serve different purposes. So we got rid of the big old couch and got these cute chairs.

We also re-configured the cabinets. I like how it looks more open and spacious and there is still lots of room to play.

Yep that's Carter's blond head playing the Wii. We were worried about only 2 chairs but they are big enough that 2 kids can sit on one easily.

I am crazy in love with this carpet. I love the color, I love the softness, I love how it's a little shaggier. I love how when you vacuum it, it actually looks like you did something. And it makes our whole house look fresher. Ah - that new carpet smell!

12 years with my baby

Our 12th anniversary was on Saturday, August 22. I have been thinking a lot about how cool it is to be married and how it continues to get better with every year that passes. I love making memories together. I love taking care of each other. I love that we are better about letting the things that aren't important go. I love the man that he is and feel so lucky to share my life and my eternity with him.

I love being married to him.

school time!

Our first morning back to school was a relaxing one - Dad went to work late so we could take the kids to school as a family. The morning goes so smoothly with us running tag team! These are my handsome's in their back-to-school gear.
Jake is in 4th grade in Mrs. Hunt's class. 4th grade just feels like the big time. He really likes his teacher and knows some kids in his class. Mostly girls though, not his buddies. But that's okay - there's not really time for hanging out in class anyway. He will get to rotate through all the 4th grade teachers every day for math, writing and science. He is excited to learn science from Mrs. Hunt - his favorite subject!

Dylan's a first grader in Mrs. Davis' class. Initially we were a little disappointed that he didn't have Jake's old teacher but I am so happy with Mrs. Davis. Her teaching style is a great fit for us. Last night we did our first homework which was going over spelling words and reading for 10 minutes. This is the kind of homework I like - I am not a huge fan of busy work stuff .

Carter is back at Ms. Mechelle's this year and is so happy. He loves preschool so much and loves to learn and play there. Here he has taken ownership over his friend Kate who we go to church with. It was her first day of preschool and he was excited to show her the ropes. I am excited to see what new things he learns this year and can't believe we will shortly be on our way to kindergarten. Holy cow!

I'm excited for a new school year - I always feel like it such an fun time with all the possibilities for the upcoming year. It has been nice to get back to our routine, although I am missing the lazy days of summer. I'm sure when everything else gets added in (sports, Scouts, piano, etc.) I might be losing my mind but for now, it is so fun to welcome them back from school and to get to spend the afternoon together.

I miss summer but here's to a great year!

cardinals training camp

We had the fun idea to go up to Flagstaff on Saturday to beat the heat and watch our very own Arizona Cardinals at training camp. Patrick also had the side job of delivering gloves and treats to some Cutter's sponsored players. It was so nice and cool up there. But definitely crowded! Lots and lots of fans - we'll plan better next time and get there early to stake out a better spot for watching practice.

My cute boys in the crazy crowd! Next time I will not wear sandals (dirty feet!) and we'll bring chairs to sit in.
After getting a little frustrated about not being able to see well, we wiggled our way in to a good spot. There were some big dudes out there - so different when you see them in person!

Then Patrick called the equipment manager (he's worked for the Cardinals for 30 yrs. - isn't that cool?) and we were able to meet up with him and his family and go into the stadium where the locker rooms are to wait for the players Patrick needed to talk to. It was really cool sitting there watching the players come through and getting a chance to meet those that Cutters supplies gloves to. We were a little starstruck but everyone was so nice and normal.

The boys had fun racing on the artifical turf and tossing the football around. We ended the day with a relaxing visit to a nearby park and walking around downtown Flagstaff. We had a yummy burger dinner at a local place and then headed home. It was fun to have an all-day adventure like this - once sports start, it's really hard to take a whole Saturday away. We had a good family day!

we're ready for school and have the haircuts to prove it

The boys have gone all summer without a haircut. Well, that's not entirely true - my mom gave them a little trimmer when we were visiting. Which was good because otherwise they would have been completely unrecognizable. I think they liked their surfer/skater hair but it was time to clean up for back to school. Jake was the one that was the most sad about his long hair being gone. Dylan wished his bangs were still long enough to flip. Carter was happy immediately with the results. He kept telling me, "Mom, I look different." He was saying the same thing when he was watching Jake and Dylan get their cuts. "Mom, my brother's look different."

They look super handsome to me. And I like that I don't have to fight over getting it brushed.

a week in seattle (with basically no pics)

So this is the saddest post ever. Me and the boys went to Seattle a few days ahead of Patrick and I forgot the camera. He did a stellar job of remembering it for me and brought it when he joined us Thursday night. However, he didn't check to see if the battery was charged. There really was only enough juice for the pictures you see here.

Above is Jake, Patrick and Carter off Peg and Steve's deck at their new, stunning home in Redmond. They have a beautiful view of the trees and mountains and we spend a lot of time out here.

I don't have any pictures of our trip to Great Wolf Lodge which is a great family-friendly resort outside Seattle that has an indoor water park. A perfect place to ride out the record-breaking heat Seattle was experiencing. We didn't bring it, I swear. It was pretty crazy to experience 100 degree heat with most of the city not enjoying air conditioning. We thank Grandma and Grandpa for installing some in their house when they built it. So Great Wolf was a great place to hang out with Kim and the boys and Grandma. We got lots of water play time (and saw Austin turn into a swimmer boy before our very eyes), arcade time, buffet grub time and fun Magicquest game playing time. Kim and I enjoyed sleeping in while Grandma wrangled the boys in their room. Seriously - isn't that the nicest thing?

I don't have pictures of our fun BBQ at Aunt Kim's and Uncle Dave's where we informally celebrated Uncle Jim's retirement from Boeing. But you can visit Ashley's blog to see a little bit of our fun. Carter, Austin and Ava were adorable as all the uncles got them going with obstacles coarses, baseball and blanket pulling.

I don't have pictures of our day out on the lake for Seafair. We spent the day with Grandpa, Aunt Sara and her friend Ramey. The Moore's were busy at baseball (which we enjoyed the day before and would later that night) - Andrew had such a fun tournament team! The day on the lake was a great one. The weather was so warm that we all spent time in the lake - although I got teased for not going in farther than I had to to pee! What?! The water was still pretty darn cold in this girl's opinion. We had a great lunch out on the water and the Blue Angels were so awesome! So many times the planes were just right over our heads. Really a great show. Other than Patrick's back getting sunburned like crazy, it was a perfect day.

I do have pictures of our BBQ that night. We enjoyed a delicious dinner and then we fired up the fireplace to make s'mores. And then as only little boys can do, the whole got turned into this crazy Lord of the Flies-esque fire dance party! It was all over who was going to sacrifice the marshmallow.

Austin, D.J. and Andrew

Such great cousins and good friends to our boys. We miss them already!

Uncle Dave, Aunt Kim and Patrick wondering what the heck these crazy boys are up to.

Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Dave and Aunt Kim enjoying the grub.

Seattle in the summer is always the best. We love getting to be with family and enjoying each other. Grandpa and Grandma's house was so beautiful, comfortable and fun - they have a great loft upstairs for the kids to play games and do their thing. Grandpa even taught them how to play his Harley Davidson pinball. We loved staying with them. We love to visit the Burnett's and Moore's!! Thank you!! We love you!!

our favorite way to spend a summer day

How else would we survive the Arizona heat?! The funny thing is - we go so much, they actually start to get tired of it. Weird, right?

It always helps to bring Kameron along. She is way more fun than boring ole mom.

Only 9 more days of every day loungin'. Where did the time go?