Mother's Day

What a great weekend we had here! Though I feel totally spoiled now (doesn't help that my birthday was three weeks earlier). But that is okay, because I get to make it up tomorrow for a very special husband's birthday. 

Saturday Brad took ALL the boys out (a very daunting task) to get some Mother's Day gifts, let them play at the play place at the mall, and got them McDonald's. What a sweet daddy. He declared I was to do as little as possible, for Mother's Day was starting early. 

Sunday morning began with waffles and bacon... and being 20 minutes late to church. All thanks to a stubborn four-year old, a sleepy one-year old, getting the frosting on our refrigerated cake for that night, and the usual scramble of getting ready. Oh well. James sang with the Primary in Sacrament meeting- will that ever get old? Love seeing him up there. He is just too darn cute. Once he got up there I hear, "Hi Mommy!" I look up and he is just beaming at me, which makes me smile, and I wave at him. Again, he says, "Hi Mommy!!" Made my heart burst. Then Gavin set in with fighting me, saying, "I want to go! I need to go up there!" and the crying ensued. Poor guy. Next year! 

Brad and Rachel made dinner (I helped a little, but it's mostly because I don't know how to not be busy during dinner time). After dinner, we got the boys back in their church clothes and headed to Hendricks Park. If you haven't noticed, we haven't had our family picture taken professionally in like a year and a half. Boo. So, in the meantime of figuring out when that will happen, I wanted some new pics. At Hendricks Park there is a rhododendron garden. Oh. My. Beautiful. The boys had so much fun running around and seeing the flowers... and finding prize-winning sized sticks. We even got some good pics in. Yes! 

I love being a mom. I feel inadequate most of the time, but then these little boys snuggle into my neck and whisper I love you, Mommy and giggle, smile and look at me. And just like that, I don't feel like such a failure. There is too much comparison these days amongst women and mothers. We do what is right for our own families. We need to stop listening to the social media, which shows just a small facet of other people's lives... which, may not even be a true facet. We are all doing our best in life and that is all that we need to be worried about. I love my family and am so very blessed to have these three adorable boys and loving husband. 

Birthday Celebrations

Well... this is it. This, my friends, is the last year of my twenties. What a decade it has been (and still is). I plan on this year being awesome. I'm usually not that excited to get one year older, but my goodness- next year is the start of my thirties, and that will be full of so much firsts with my kids and watching them get older, that I am really looking forward to it. So  here is to ending my twenties with a great year!

When I realized my birthday was on a Saturday, I knew exactly what we were going to do- COAST TRIP! We didn't do anything very exciting at the coast, but just being at the ocean is enough for me.

We started the day with waffles at home and running around getting everything ready for the trip with three kids. Surprisingly, we didn't forget anything and we left only 10 minutes later than planned. Success!!

Once at the coast, we walked around the little town a bit, headed for our lunch stop. Okay, random tidbit- there is something about being at the coast that makes you want to eat somewhere not fancy, but tastes amazing. Right?? In California, our two main coast destinations are either Monterrey or Half Moon Bay. Both places have great places to eat, but they don't look like much from the outside. But amazing food. Well, in Florence, there is sort of a place like that. Good food, but not a definite repeat in my book. So last time we went, we wanted to try something different. We ended up going to a place that looks more restaurant-y than I prefer. But dang. Great food! And the same price as the other place. So that is where we ate again. Not disappointed at all. I had squid and chips and their ocean chowder, Brad got fish and chips, and Rach got ocean chowder linguine. Mmmmmm.

There was a firehouse themed restaurant- the boys enjoyed seeing the firetruck in the window

After the delicious lunch, we walked around a bit more. The boys were getting anxious for the beach, so we got back in our car and headed towards the ocean. Last time, we loved where we went. But it took us at least 15 minutes to get there. This time we saw an awesome beach, Heceta Beach, way closer and only $3 parking. After we left we saw cars parked elsewhere and decided to do the free parking route next time :)

Finally flying our Spiderman kite!

Sissy playing with the boys in the sand

What I loved about this spot was the tide streams/puddles. There was a ton of open beach and before the ocean, the tide had left stream-like puddles. They were full of warm water, and the boys couldn't get enough of it. They were fully dressed and just JUMPING in the streams. Eh. I brought extra clothes so they could do whatever they wanted.

We had to bring rain boots for Gavin because he hates the feeling of sand and being dirty. BEST thing ever for him. He was so excited to go "swim" in the ocean.

The day was beautiful, but of course right by the ocean it was rather windy. So about 20 minutes into the puddle-splashing-ocean-running party, we had to head back to the car. The boys were shivering. But beyond happy and exhausted and ready to go home.

We were home just in time to make some ravioli alfredo and have punch bowl birthday cake. Then presents. I actually had to open a present in the morning because James was so excited for me to get my superhero movie, The Dark Knight Rises (he was beyond insistent to get me something superhero related- anything from a necklace to a camera to a shirt. love that boy).

Then, while the boys were having their daddy put them down for the night, Rach and I went and rented The Hobbit. Brad and I saw it in theaters (duh), but Rach hadn't been able to. And I do not mind watching that movie a second time. Or more. I couldn't believe how great of a day I got to have. 

Outside Time

The weather was perfect while visiting our families, so we spent lots of time outside. The Monday we were there, plans changed for the reunion so we spent the day at the ranch. James and Gav rode a horse for a little bit, but before they did Papa Jim told them they could wear boots if they wanted. These boys are obsessed with boots and were far too happy to put on the little boots. And to snap a shot together:

 We took family pictures and this guy PASSED out right after

Later that night we had some rain, and that led to some awesome puddle jumping, playing with Cutter, brotherly slide time, and just plain having fun in the rain. Looooots of laundry when we got home, I tell you what. They were soaked.

At my parents house, we pulled out their new sand toys and went to go play in the dirt. Ah, the joys of boys. Gavin greatly dislikes sand/dirt on him, so once he would take the time to notice he was dirty, he'd ask me to  clean him up. 

After the billionth time wiping dirt off Gav's hands and emptying his flip flops, I decided to get the boys distracted in another part of the yard. They were all dirty so I got the hose out and hosed their feet and hands. And their clothes. Since that enticed many a giggle, we decided to get swim trunks on and play in the water. James is such a water kid, he had a blast getting hosed down and sprayed. Jack liked the idea at first, but then decided the cold water was not for him. Gavin... well, is Gavin and kept his distance from the water. I was proud of him for letting us get him a little wet. Once James teeth started chattering, we finally went in. 

 Chubs baby coming!!

 This picture... love

The day that we left, my parents wanted to get a family picture of us. To warm the boys up to the idea of more posed pictures, we played for a bit, took pictures, played some more, took more pictures in a different spot. Though they didn't behave perfectly for the shoots, it sure did help to play in between. Papa Pat helped the boys with a ladybug in between takes. 

What joy from a grandpa. Love this picture of my dad

 We were taking pics of just the two of us and James wanted in on it

I have realized this before, but seeing the boys with the ladybug really made me realize how much I need to get over my fear of bugs. Correction: tolerate them. I kid you not, I hate all bugs. Yes, ladybugs and especially butterflies included. Stupid fluttering insects. So the other day while we were outside, I came across a ladybug! And I had it on me. That is major. Not so bad :) And it was so neat to see how gentle and good James and Gavin were with it. Though, it did fall off of James and he tried to pick it up and almost squished it... I saved him/her just in time.