Like Father Like Son

Spider Man with blinking lights.

That is the shoe that I had to talk Braeden out of the other day while shoe shopping.

I grabbed his attention when I said... "but this one is silver and black and looks just like Dad's running shoes. Don't you want shoes like Dad's"?

Today Sean was heading out the door for a run. Braeden (in his sweet little voice) said...

"Dad, can I go for a run with you? I have new running shoes".

How do you say no to that?

Home sweet Home

"The most important work you and I will ever do will be within the walls of our own homes." Harold B. Lee

Here is it... a little tour of the the new house.

I seriously pinch myself everyday.

I think we took a brave step in living with a white kitchen with two boys. Magic eraser will become my new friend.

My antique teapots now have a beautiful home.

Turning on the fireplace sets off the smoke alarm.

Guess it will take some time to burn off the residues.

Down this hall, straight ahead, is the Master bedroom and bath.

Down the hall to the right is the laundry, mud room and garage.

I am standing with my back to the hall that goes to the boys' rooms.

The stairs head to the basement.

Miles' room.

I am thinking Jalapeno Jelly will the the color for the walls.

Braeden is requesting blue walls and the Toy Story theme will continue.

Master bath.

Mud room/drop zone off garage.

This area will be so handy in the winter.

If you come to visit, you will now have your very own room and bed in the basement.

You will also have your own bathroom.

The basement space is awesome.

So much room for the boys to run around.

Also plenty of room for the treadmill and other work out stuff.

It still needs some organizing...

Then in basement, we also have this unfinished space... great for storage!

We are loving the new town of Marion. It is the oldest town in Iowa. The downtown is bustling with business. The town park is home to festivals and concerts in the summer.

We have a trail head that is half a mile from the front door. Sean is loving that he can head out for a run and not have to run on concrete.

We are right next to Cedar Rapids so the opportunities for the boys are endless. Braeden is signed up for soccer that begins in two weeks, Blastball that starts in June and swim registration is coming soon. Story time at the library is great!

Our neighborhood is full of kids. And from what I see... safe. Kids ride their bikes all over the neighborhood, they run with their dogs down the street and everyone plays basketball in the driveways. Neighbors have gone out of their way to introduce themselves and bring over fresh goodies.

This area was voted one of the safest places to raise a family. Schools have great ratings. I am really looking forward to staying put for a long while.

Miles is 18 months old and this is his 4th house.

I am ready to call Iowa home.

Come visit!!

A Surprise Visit

Last month my beautiful friend Melissa celebrated the BIG 4.0.

We packed up the car and hit the road to Colorado Springs to surprise her for the celebration.

When she walked in the room at the restaurant... I believe the words "What the heck"??? were spewed with surprise.

Then she looked in our direction and the pandemonium that followed almost evacuated the restaurant. We saw each other last in 2004. She and her family stood in our driveway, we were both a mess, as we waved goodbye.

She and her husband Jimmy have 4 kiddos, Cady, Matt, Zach and Emilee.

Zach is now a master at card tricks and kept the entertainment going at the party!

Emilee and her friend Lexi. (Lexi being the daughter of our other friend Melissa)

Emilee was 3 when we first met her. Makes me feel old.

We were able to enjoy the party child-less thanks to my cousin Bobby and his wife Nicole. They just happened to recently move to Colorado Springs, it was so awesome that they watched the boys for us!

We spent the rest of the weekend with Melissa and her family (and her mother). Fun times were had with 11 people in one house!

We were neighbors for 3 years and I hung out with Melissa's family... A lot!

We ran together every morning at 5:45.

Even when the wind was blowing the flagpole to the ground and is was so cold, that ice formed on my face.

We entered the local races.

Sean was gone for 8 months and they were my rock, they were my family. I went to ball games with them and danced with her kids in the kitchen while we made dinner.




Zach in his morph suit.
We really miss the days of hanging out with them.... sitting around the table playing games on a Friday night.

Cady was entertaining Miles.

Melissa is my best friend friend! She is loved and missed to pieces!

I am thankful that we were able to spend the weekend with her.

I am thankful that she was able to meet my boys.

I am thankful that she is in my life!

...Pikes Peak as we left town...

Sorry Matt, I did not have a good pic of you... Matt is an awesome guitarist and rocked us out with some of his tunes!!

Moving

Sean and I just bought the house of our dreams...

With the kitchen of my dreams...

No dog pee here.

Moving date Monday!

The Thaw

The snow is melting. I am crying a river...

Gone will be the days of stocking caps.
Gone will be the days of "I can't put my arms down"!
Gone will be the days of 4 foot high snow drifts.

Gone will be the days of eating snow from the doormat.

"What"?? No more snow?

Gone will be the days of bitter, bitter cold.
And gone will be the days of snowball fights.
Do you hear me crying?

Being a Boy

Being a Boy means always hamming for the camera.

Being a Boy means making bubble whiskers to look like Dad.
Being a Boy means that while you are supposed to be resting quietly in your room,

you are instead in the bathroom setting up a pig led army for an attack on who knows what.

The Happiest Place on Earth

Well.... usually.

I LOVE Disneyland at Christmas time. It is creative, artistic, festive.

If I could have a dream job, I would be a decorator at Disneyland at Christmas. Three days after Christmas, we knew Disneyland would be crowded. Crowded?

It was INSANE!!

It was sold out! It was over sold!

If we had not purchased our tickets online, we would not have gotten in.

This was not a crowd gathered for a show.

This was the crowd that was everywhere.

Getting the stroller around was virtually impossible. We ended up parking it and started walking... or shuffling, or pushing...

We did manage to make it on 4 rides and walk through Mickey's house.

Braeden and Miles were both troopers.

Miles reluctantly crashed so it was just Sean and Braeden left to help Buzz Lightyear defeat the Evil Emperor Zurg. And I took Braeden on the Mad Hatters Tea Cups.

I love the teacups at night.

One of many childhood Disneyland memories that I have.

And...

a trip to Disneyland is not complete without a set of personalized ears!

Despite the madness, at the end of the day, most of us were still smiling.

We had asked Braeden what his favorite part was.

He said "All of it"!

Priceless.