Ben's 30th Birthday Bash

This is not Ben (I know...you're thinking...really?). But maybe this is what his face looked like at his awesome 30th surprise birthday party last night...if I had taken pictures!!

I guess I was having too much fun talking to everyone to even think about pictures. I feel terrible. Not one picture. (if you came to the party and took any pictures, you should send them my way)

Thanks to all the family and friends who came. We had a great turnout. Ben was really appreciative to see all of his awesome friends/family.

I've tried so hard to keep it a secret the past few weeks, and I did. It's a miracle. It was super stressful, but worth it.

The Plan:
The guests were to arrive at our house at 5:00 p.m. and not park in front of the house.

After church we ate our usual brunch. Then I sent Ben down for a "birthday nap". He thought it was weird I was not taking a nap with him, but I blamed the caffeine in the Midol I took that day (which I really did take). I did last minute cleaning while he was asleep. Then the boys and I woke up him up at 4:00 p.m. and I told him we were taking the kids to the park.
The park was HOT, so they all wanted to leave after a few minutes. But I said, no we're fine, let's stay. I drove them back at around 5:20 p.m. He really was surprised. I wish I could have seen the look on his face.
Thanks to everyone for helping, and bringing food. We really had a great time. And Ben was excited to see everyone. Thanks!!

Journey of the Yard: Baby Steps

BEFORE

Boys enjoying the show...in underwear and pj's (it was 7:30 a.m.)

The Old

Plumbers Crack

I'm sure guests will enjoy not having to walk in the mud/dirt/snow when walking up to our house.

AFTER

Why I love Target #43

Ryan is growing like a weed. I swear two weeks ago his church pants and shoes fit him. This last week? Not so much. I was pleasantly surprised when we bought the exact same shoes he has just in a bigger size on clearance. Was: $17.99 (what I paid for his other ones) Now: $4.98

School is coming up quick. With, 2 birthdays, 1 wedding, 1 anniversary, 3 bridal showers, 1 baby shower, 2 holidays, and school starting...July is expensive! So it is nice to find a good looking t-shirt for $3.50.

All school supplies right now are at a great price. My boys LOVE to color, especially when they have their own books. These are $.25 each. They would be good for: grocery lists, to color at church, for the kids to doodle at home, or for school.

Ryan is Six! - We've been Married for Eight!

Boys + Big Rocks =

Ryan's turned 6, Sunday the 18th. The day before his birthday he got to choose whether he wanted a big birthday party with lots of friends, or take one friend to Boondocks.
He chose Boondocks.

We all had a great time, and can't wait to go back again (although, I think Ben and I want to go there on a date w/o kids at least once).

Ryan is getting so big! He was barely tall enough to ride this by himself. We brought his friend Alayna with us, but she was not tall enough, so I took her on the other race cars and I drove. She still had lots of fun! I love where we live. Our kids have really great friends here!

Ben with Ethan, Ryan drove his own (which he was super excited about), and Alayna and I were on another. It was fun having another girl around (don't get any ideas though...we're not having any more kids).

Taking a break from golfing

Ethan loved the golfing the most. Ryan and Alayna wanted to move on to other things. The kids were great! They loved the pizza we got for lunch too. They were all grateful kids.
After Boondocks we went to see Despicable Me (so good) and to Cafe Rio with my parents. Thanks for the cool puzzles & Toy Story magic coloring book! Ryan had a fun filled day-before-his-birthday day.

We're mean parents! We made Ryan wait until after church to open his presents. He did enjoy being sang to in Primary though. Ry was so excited to get his Indiana Jones Lego Wii game. Such a funny face!

We asked him what he wanted this year, and he wanted a bunch of Toy Story toys, and the video game. Do you notice how kids don't care so much about clothes they get on their birthday (notice the green shirt tossed to the side on the lower left hand corner)...maybe it's because I'm a girl, but I always loved getting clothes.

Later that night, Grandma Linda, Grandpa Bob, Uncle Peter & Aunt Maren came to visit Ryan on his birthday. Thanks for the King Kong!

Mrs. Potato Head (I mean Uncle Peter)

Monday the 19th was mine and Ben's 8th anniversary. We counted Cancun as our anniversary celebration, so we did not do much on the day. I cleaned the house, took the boys to the splash park, Ben made candy popcorn with the boys, and we watched Indiana Jones with the boys (Ryan's been obsessed since he got the game). Thanks for the flowers!

Happy Anniversary Ben. You're a great husband and a great father, and I appreciate all you do for us. You are still my very best friend eight years later.

My Non-pregnant Nesting Stage

Dang! I forgot to take a before picture of my pantry. You'll just have to take my word for it...It was grossly unorganized. The above photo is of my pantry contents on my counter. It's amazing how many expired items I found, and hidden treasures.

Oh so nice.

See all those Spaghettios? Yeah, I wonder if my kids like them?
And I love to bake (I hate to cook) so I had to have a whole shelf just for baking items (top).

You can never have too much A1 sauce (as I have previously mentioned).

I left room for all the stuff I'm out of. Gosh I need to go shopping. Maybe one day I'll make it to the store.

Riding Bikes sans Training Wheels

Ben took Ryan's training wheels off a few days ago. Ryan has been doing so well without them. He gets mad when he wrecks, and still runs into people sometimes...but he's working on it, and doing great! Ryan and Ben went for a long bike ride around the neighborhood yesterday. I can't believe how big my boy is getting. (Above) Ethan does not want to feel left out, so here he is "riding" his bike.

Starting

Getting balanced

Coming down the hill

Learning to turn around and come back

Throwing his bike
Screaming
Sulking
All because he accidentally went in the street and got scared.

All in all though, he is doing so good. He's learning not to freak out every time he biffs it.

Sweet Summertime & the dentist

What's summertime without a trip to the dentist?

And making grilled ham & cheese sandwiches on the awesome George Forman Grill (my new favorite thing).

And blowing bubbles on the back porch in underwear & cowboy boots?

And a trip to Wheeler Farm to see all the animals...

And feed the ducks.

Happy Summertime!