Thursday, March 29, 2012

Blog Book #2 is done!!!


I have started doing a blog book every two years (this is my second.) After 3 months, and around 50 hours of working on it I got it in the mail yesterday. I am so glad it is done and on my bookshelf. I can't wait to see many blog books lined up next to each other.

My blog books and I have a love/hate relationship. They are so time consuming to do, but I love that all my scrapbooking and journaling for two years is in a beautiful bound book.

Has anyone had better luck on another site other than blurb.com? I've done both my books on their program. I thought that after two years there would be more improvements and didn't notice any changes.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Right out of the bath




Beautiful March weather

Carson has figured out how to climb one of our trees and is out there all the time now. Luke likes to sit under the tree and watch.





Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sparky & Bob Update

They have been alive and swimming for two days now. =)

How did this happen?

Carson has become my easy(er) kid and Luke has become my hard one! Ugh! Luke has always been the well tempered, easy going child. For the past 2 months its been constant whining and needed to be held all the time. He is driving Steve and I CRAZY!

My sweet little Lukey, please come back to us!!

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Finger painting


Sparky & Bob


Potty training isn't going so well (meaning he doesn't want to at all.) He did want a pet fish though, so I made a chart to where if he went potty 5 times we'd get a fish. He managed to do it (I don't think we are any closer to being potty trained, but at least it was some improvement.) We went to Petco Friday and Carson got to pick out two of his very own goldfish. He named them Sparky and Bob. That night he was so excited it took him 1 1/2 hours to fall asleep. Every time we checked on him he was in the bathroom talking to his fish. Along with the excitement of first pets this weekend came the wonderful lesson of death and heaven...Sparky and Bob were dead by morning. Carson took it very well and would tell anyone who asked that Sparky and Bob were dead. Steve and Carson ventured out Saturday morning to get a new Sparky and Bob, and they too were dead this morning.

I think we've figured out the problem and third time should be a charm (fingers crossed!)

Monday, March 12, 2012

Dora's Chocolate Banana Nut Cake

Carson takes his library books pretty seriously. This has been the recent, read-all-day, book. I was harrased non-stop until we finally copied the cake in the book and made our own.

I love Carson's face in this picture. It is the first picture where he purposefully looked and smiled at the camera. I guess the key is to take a picture of what is important to him. The best part of this picture is what you can't see...he is naked from the waist down. (I'm trying the naked potty training method.) I haven't been successful yet, but he seems to enjoy running around the house naked...

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Grandpa's Funeral

My Grandpa passed away last week. All of the siblings flew out to Arizona over the weekend to attend his funeral and celebrate his life. Grandpa Coats was my Dad's stepfather, but he raised my Dad from a young age and was always a real father to him. Grandpa was a marine who fought in the battle of Iwo Jima and these marines came to honor his grave with a beautiful flag ceremony. It was very emotional thinking about how much he and all the other men who served in World War II sacrificed for our country. It makes me sad that pretty soon this generation will be gone.

The services were beautiful. My Dad gave the eulogy. There have been so many funerals in our family over the past few years and somehow Dad has become the unofficial eulogy giver. He's really good at it though! I want him to write me a eulogy so I can enjoy it while I am living!

Grandpa was a all-american athlete in baseball and football. He looked so handsome in his uniform. Grandma said what attracted her to him was "he was the most masculine man I ever met."
I know Grandpa is pleased to have Grandpa back with her. He really hadn't been the same since her death in 2009. Grandpa was a healthy fairly active 89 year old man and we all thought he had 10 years left in him. Grandma always gets her way though. =) My uncle Phil died from a two year battle with cancer just a week before Grandpa. My cousin Susan said the funnest thing. She said when her Dad, uncle Phil got up to heaven Grandma said "I said BILL, not PHIL!" That's so Grandma. 
All seven of us kids were able to attend (no kids/spouses.) As much as we missed them... it was so fun for the old gang to be together. The last time it was just us kids was right before my wedding. Mom insisted on renting a full sized van, just like old times!

The boys

The girls

Here are our cousins the Betz, minus Uncle Phil (who died a week previous) and their oldest daughter Erin who passed a way a few years ago from a brain tumor. Over the past 5 years my Dad's sister Kathi has lost her daughter, husband, a brother, a sister and both her parents.  unbelievable, right? She says that she has a lot of guardian angels watching over her and for that she is grateful.

My Mom's mother lives in Arizona as well, so it was fun to stop by and visit her.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Matching Day

The other day Steve came home from work and noticed that the boys and I were all wearing mustard. Needless to say we needed a picture.

The other day Steve came home from work and noticed that the boys and I were all wearing mustard. Needless to say we needed a picture.