Character Counts...

Sam won an award for his good character. Yea , Sam! You can see how proud he is by his face. When I first saw this photo, I thought the teacher picked the four shortest kids in the class and Sam. Then I thought, is he standing on a box? Nope, our Sammy is just one tall kiddo AND the other kids are on the shorter end.

Have been so busy with things...hope to get back in the blogging habit. Have been working on several projects...just need to take photos and post them for you viewing enjoyment! Have been enjoying the weather and things are blooming in the yard...so exiting!!

What a Difference a Day Makes...

Last Thursday night we were in Scottsdale, Arizona. The weather was amazing and there was green grass outside our hotel!! I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a FAMILY foot picture!

On Friday, we got off the plane to this....we got about 30 minutes out of Omaha and had to pull over for the night. Cars were going off the road in front of us and I insisted that we find a hotel! So, we stayed in Avoca at the hotel motel 6.

Sam and I decided that in the morning, we would we count cars in the ditch. If there was 10 cars, it was a good idea to pull over. If there was less than 10, then we could have made it home. We counted about 50 cars. It was a great decision by the looks of some of those cars!

A sunset in Tuscon...

A week ago today, we were in Tuscon enjoying the 72 degree weather!

We also enjoyed the Tuscon sunset...

There really isn't an orange stripe on Sam's shirt...that is the sunset...how did that happen??

One Week Ago...

Just seven days ago, we were waking up to the sun in Phoenix...

The boys and I shot hoops at 9:00am on our hotel basketball court (we had a little trouble with the time change)...

I wore flip flops by the pool...

The boys had their feet in the pool, wearing t-shirts and shorts...

I had a morning Starbucks outside on the patio in the sun...

How dreamy it was...then back to reality this weekend!

Next...

Happy 40th Birthday, Mr. Jason!!!

Awesome Plates...

For my birthday, Jason took the boys, without me knowing, to the pottery plate painting place and each of the boys created a plate just for me. jack used his hand to make the "4" and then made his hand into a circle for the "0." He wrote the "I love u" all by himself!

Sam drew a picture of me for the "0" and has flaming candles on the "4." These were two of my favorite presents I received this year!

Thanks to everyone for the birthday wishes and advice! It was so nice of everyone to remember me and it did help with the transition of going into my next decade a bit easier.

A Challenge...

Before going to Arizona, I knew I would want to put together a scrapbook of the trip. So I am challenging myself to create one while we are on the trip...I KNOW!! I am using an 8x8 American Crafts album. I have already cut the paper to size using last years K and Company summer line. I am also taking some matching card stock to mat pictures...if needed. I also had all these embellishments in my stash (also from K and Company) to use on the pages. I added empty 6x6 page refill pages in case I need them for some "junk" from the trip - brochures, menus, etc. I cut white paper to 6x6 squares for the boys to draw on while on the trip. I will show you how far I got when I get back...no matter what it looks like!!

PS - don't worry I didn't pack any scissors!! :)

PSS - To my MN friends...like my bag in the background!!?? :)

Monkey Jack...

Jack got another great pair of monkey pjs. Here he is showing us his best monkey pose...

Ah, bananas. the perfect touch for this "photo shoot."

And some great little socks from Target dollar section. Adds that perfect touch to the pjs...

It's time...

Yep, today is the big one...thanks for all the birthday wishes...and the advice on how to handle "going over the hill." Most of it is appreciated.
My sister sent me this beautiful and colorful balloon bouquet at work yesterday.

This shows a bit more of its size...it was great to have is on display at the store...everyone asking, "Who's balloons? Who's turning 40?"

A Big Snow Problem...

Sam went outside to play the other day, came in and proceeded to tell me how cold his knee was..."Why?" I asked. Then he showed me. The last time I saw this "hole" it was about 2 inches wide. Well, as you can see, not anymore.

So i went out to find snow pants. Which is impossible this time of the year! Finally at my fifth store...I found some snow pants - thanks goodness! I bought them large, so maybe he can use them for next year, too.

We Finally Got Outside!

The boys have had cabin fever so bad this winter. They finally got out last week and enjoyed the sun, warmer temps and melting snow.

The boys got on their scooter and never looked back!!

Oh My....

This picture makes me laugh. We went shopping yesterday and Jack got himself ready, all by himself. He put gel in his hair and wanted a nice part - right in the middle! He got his shirt all buttoned up - no wind will bother him! When he put on his hat, he put it on very carefully so it wouldn't mess up the part in his hair! Got to love it!!

14 Monkeys Sitting with Jack...

Yesterday I took a picture of every monkey that Jack owns, so I can make a little monkey album for him about these guys. He walked in while I was doing this and wanted a picture with his family!! How could I say no?? So, Jack got himself all situated with his family: "orang" around his neck and others on his lap.

We are only missing two monkeys...Jellybean, who is about the size of a jellybean and Pongo. Jelly bean is so small, we think she got flipped somewhere and will be located at some point. We think that Pongo has taken off - he had enough of the cold weather. Unfortunately, he was missing an arm, so his "escape" may have been jeopardized. In other words, I have no clue where those monkeys could be!

The Evolution of Jack's Bedroom...

This is how the previous owner's had Jack's room arranged...it was a great guest room.

Then Jack moved in... (My word, don't his parents make him clean his room!) The brighter green color (the one on the left) is the one that Jack REALLY wanted...he referred to it as Kermit Green. Unfortunately for Jack, I made an executive decision and picked the darker one...

We also moved his bed. (Had to include this photo to show that his room can be clean)

And this is what jack's room looks like now...with the darker green!

This is Jack when he saw the paint for the first time. He sat there looking at it (I was hoping to capture an excited Jack) and then he said, "This is no Kermit green. I think you will have to paint it over." I did some fast talking and he does like the color of his room now. I just had to get a Kermit green lamp, mirror, bedspread.....

Jack's New Sleeping Spot...

After spending a couple of nights in Sam's closet, Jack went back to his own bed. Then last Monday, he decided that he needed to sleep in Sam's room again. This time he set up his "sleeping" area at the foot of Sam's bed. This way he would have more room to stretch.

He told me he wanted to sleep near the legos (above his head.) He also brought in a couple of books (lower left hand corner) and three pairs of pjs (in front of the books.) He slept in there every night last week and then back to his room on Friday. He told me he was going to sleep there for four nights...he wasn't joking!