OUR FLAG

Mandi came home from the store on Saturday only to find me starting a new project. I've always wanted to paint an AMERICAN FLAG on the side of our fence. I asked her if she minded if I did that. She said . . . "No, I don't mind you graffitiing up our backyard." We had so much fun painting the flag together while the Boyz jumped on the trampoline and rode their bikes. It helped bring in the spirit of Memorial Day.

The finished product!

Finally!

What more could we ask for? A nice night, amazing view, Twilight, and a nice cozy fire!

Kolby was, of course, right next to daddy getting things ready.

Two of a kind.

I had to get a shot of Josh's little "perfect fire". It never ceases to amaze me how perfectly Josh can do things! Love ya hun!

What a night! The weather up here is finally getting nice enough so that we can do one of our families favorite things. Sit outside in the back yard and have a fire! We look forward to the weekends especially because we get to snuggle up together and watch a movie, or just enjoy our view while staying warm by the fire. The boyz absolutely LOVE to be able to help Josh get things ready. And when he gets ready to light it, they both come running and get all excited when the flame "wooshes" out at them. ( Thanks to a little help from gasoline!) Then the relaxing begins! { Well, for Josh and me.} The boys usually don't last all the way through the movie no matter what we try to watch. Jake usually ends up inside playing video games, and Kolby usually ends up sleeping in our laps. And, by the time we are done, the blankets, their jammies our clothes and my hair STINK like campfire! But  we can't wait until the next time when we can do it all again!!! Life is good!!!

Special Day!

Kolby turned the big 4 today! Unfortunately, he didn't get the iPhone he had his heart set on. But, he did get his second wish, a skateboard and some cool sunglasses. We love you Kolby and your free spirit! Thank you for always making us laugh and reminding us to chill once and awhile!

NO SHAME AT ALL!!!

So, Mandi gets a bath ready for the BOYZ and we sit outside to enjoy the weather and our freshly planted flowers. When all of the sudden, Kolby comes racing out of the front door in his B-DAY SUIT! He wanted to show us his newest "OWIE." He paid no mind to the neighbors out and about. He was as free as the wind blows. We love Kolby and his free spirit. Another step closer to becoming true "White Trash!"

White Trash on a Bike!

Mandi and I were outside in the front yard looking at our flower beds. When all of a sudden, Kolby comes flying out of the garage on his bike with no shirt or helmet on. It was hard to be mad at him because it was so unexpected and funny! 

Let it SNOW???

Josh as he was beginning the daunting  task of shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. . . again. . .

This is the Sycamore tree in our back yard. The branches were touching the ground because the snow was so heavy.

The view from our back yard.

This is our neighbors tree. It usually points UP!

This is another shot of our tree from our bedroom. CRAZY STUFF!!

On Tuesday morning last week, we woke up to a foot of snow!!! I knew we weren't out of the woods yet as far as snow storms go, but I thought that they would at least stay up in the higher elevations or just be a light dusting on the grassy spots.  I could not believe it when we got outside to start shoveling, just how much there actually was! So, I grabbed the camera and started shooting a few pictures of our house, and our neighbors house so we could actually prove that there was THIS much snow in the MIDDLE of April!!!

Mother Nature. . . ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!!

Jake is 8!

We are so excited that our Jacob is a great big 8 year old!

He was clearly on a MAJOR sugar high in this picture but he was having so much fun!

Even our little Kolby had a blast cruising around the skating rink.

Jake was super exited about his Star Wars cake. ( He wasn't too sure about the trick candles though)

This was his reaction to watching the music video of the Macarena (or however you spell it) But I thought his look was priceless!

We had Jake's birthday party at  the local roller skating rink Classic Skating.  It is one of Jake's favorite places to go and ride his scooter. Yes! His scooter. He is not too crazy about the idea of actually "skating" around the rink, and he is really good at riding on his scooter. When we got there, the kids just totally disappeared in all directions, and didn't see them again until it was time for pizza. You would not believe how fast 2 giant 16 piece pizzas can be gone! They were hungry kids! After that, they got some tokens and played on the games while we got the cake ready to eat.  After a quick song of "Happy Birthday" and some fun blowing out the candles 5 or 6 times, we devoured the yummy cake and he opened his gifts. By then the party was winding down but not before the D.J.  put the spotlight on Jake in the middle of the skating rink and let him skate around for a bit to his favorite song. . . The Star Wars theme!!!! Thanks to all who were there to help us celebrate this special day with us. We are sure to remember it for a long time!