Ito & Samantha

Saturday we felt very blessed to be able to make it out to Riverside for Ito and Samantha's birthday party.  Can you believe grandpa is now 80!?!?  I have mixed emotions as I know I am so blessed to have such an amazing grandfather in my life for so long.  And really, he's so healthy and strong and I just adore him.  But man, 80, I hate that he's getting older because we can't imagine life without either of them.  Samantha on the other hand is finding herself and developing her identity as an adult and that's so very fun to watch.

Cole was woken up from his nap but I swear he knew he was going to the party because he quickly became very happy to load up and head out.

I thought it was great that Shannon got a pinata because it's hard for us showing up knowing there are no other kids for our kids.  We desperately wish they had cousins but it makes us that much more grateful for our friends and their children and the friendships they share.  Although, I do have to say, the kids have a lot of fun at Wildcat and at Ito and Juana's.  They're happy little people.

The Arrietta men are so funny - Apparently it takes 80 years to realize a real smile is cool.  Actually Rob is doing a pretty good job too!

 

 I just love the relationship these two have.  It's always as though no time has passed.

Happy Birthday Ito and Samantha - we had a fabulous time celebrating with the families.

He Walks!

Last Sunday Cole took four steps on his own.  Not prompted, not assisted, he just decided to do it and would not do it again.  Later that evening someone caught him trying again and that's how it has been all week.  He can do it and he does do it when it's not being requested.  Only when he feels like it will Cole actually walk around.  Unless, we have found, he's trying to play basketball.  This is his new obsession over the last couple of days.

It's good he's walking because he LOVES to eat.  Pb&J, eggs 'n ham, string cheese and instant breakfast... yum.

Open House

I have a memory from one of my own Open Houses - my mom was upset with me for running on the grass.  But I knew it was OK because we did it all the time.  This was my turf and I didn't like being told what I could or could not do by someone that wasn't there every single day like I was.  Oh my it's insane how much I see myself in Jackson.  We made our way over to his first Open House and let me tell you, we were on HIS TURF!  It was as though we had never before stepped into his classroom.  He was bubbling over with excitement and pride having us all in there to view his world.  I loved it.  I loved that he loved it.  I love that he loves school.  I love that we love his teacher.  Love, love love.

SIX

1. What is your favorite color? orange (this is new.. maybe a month ago)

2. What is your favorite toy? my game on the computer

3. What is your favorite fruit? watermelon

4. What is your favorite tv show? Green Lantern (Still don't get this because he's never really seen it)

5. What is your favorite movie? Nemo 

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?  Agent clothes

7. What is your favorite animal? a leopard

8. What is your favorite song? "It's All About You, Jesus" (used to be Queen's, "We Will Rock You... weird how things change)

9. What is your favorite book? The makes that I, Jackson, make

10. Who is your best friend? it's hard cause I have lots of friends and lots of them are best.  "I think I should all say of them are the best friends.  Hard to tell"

11. What is your favorite snack? Cheetos

12. What is your favorite drink? Chocolate milk

13. What is your favorite breakfast? waffles

14. What is your favorite lunch? cheeseburger

15. What is your favorite dinner?  cheese pizza

16. What is your favorite game? Giant Bird game

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? catching lizards

18. What is your favorite holiday?  Christmas

19. What do you sleep with at night? nothing

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? an agent (sometimes he says "ninja")

21.  What do you love about dad?  He lets me stay up and watch shows while mom is gone in the night.

22.  What do you love about mom?  She makes good meals.  But I love water balloons.  Even I like to work on my desk.

The Night Before....

 That morning the kid woke up before us all as usual.  Kinda a bummer that mom and dad had been up all night with Cole and were too beat to greet him bright and early.  At one point I heard him tell Andrew, "Dad, why has no one said Happy Birthday to me except mom?".  Ry quickly said, "Happy Birthday" to which Jackson replied, "No one but mom and Ryan."  I couldn't believe he was saying that because it was reinforcing how old he's getting.  We've had such little kids for six years, it's weird getting into the place where much more is expected and noticed.  Man, the pressure is on!  He's was much happier when Paige sent him a text with Bella, and then he heard from Grandma Shopping, Bri and the Fazeli's.  The recognition was making him so happy.

 It only got better at church when all his friends wished him a happy birthday and they sang to him in Primary and he got his birthday baggie from the Bishop.  From church we headed to grandma shopping and grandpa grandpa.  We were all so grateful to grandma shopping for the all work, time and energy she put into making Jackson's day festive.  This little man loves a party.

 I love our annual picture because he's always so loving!

 The night of his birthday he would not go to bed until his entire "office" was set up.  Grandma got him supplies needed for a proper office and Jackson wanted to make sure everything was in it's place before sleeping.  I don't know where he gets this from :)

Some of his best quotes from the day:

Best day ever

this is totally awesome

oh man that's what I wanted

I just love today

This year for his birthday I did not want to go all out.  We always said "5" would be the big birthday and it was.  I asked Jackson what he wanted to do and multiple times he said he wanted to do water games.  Thank goodness it was so hot - Jackson made his guest list of his "closest friends" and said brothers and sisters could come too.  He even went so far as to starting to make thank you notes for each kid until he realized it was using up all his paper.  He did a real good with his guest list because it was so manageable and required no editing.  The only downer of the day was our pool got a leak a couple days ago and we didn't realize until all the kids started piling in... they didn't seem to mind.  It was 100% craziness the first 30 minutes after arrival.  It was a Monday afternoon and after sitting in school all day, they were ready to have fun (I totally want to do this in the future instead of during a weekend)

 Cole was still struggling from allergies and teething so he hung out inside and rearranged the kids' shoes.  I don't know why he has such a fetish but he loves giving people their shoes and he loves cleaning them up and putting them in our shoe bin.

 The water balloon toss was kinda funny because no one tossed well and no one caught well.  I really don't think one balloon was caught.  But again, who cares, they had fun!

 PINATA TIME!  Ok, I kept calling this gathering a "play date" because I didn't want the pressure of throwing a "party".  But the pinata is tradition and so yes, it leaned more on the "party" side but that's ok.

 Thank you Vallarta for your durable pinata!

 I think Allie had the best form - it was so awesome Jackson even tried it out at the end when he was trying to finally bust it open.

 Everyone was so kind, so generous and truly made Jackson's day.  We don't purchase toys around these parts and so this kid didn't know what to do with himself and all his new gadgets.  It was very exciting.

 Best Buds!

 Can you feel this kid's birthday joy?

*Thank you Nikki for capturing such an expression!

 The kids played for about 2 and a half hours and really did entertain themselves.  Best party ever - so easy!  I was impressed that two mom's from school allowed their boys to come hang out.  Steven came home with me after pick-up and Darin was dropped off by his mom.  I can't say I would have allowed Jackson to do this but I'm glad Steven and Darin were allowed because Jackson just loves those boys.  One day Steven even showed up to school with a picture he had colored for Jackson.  I love that I can work in the classroom and know firsthand of their relationship and character.  I only pray Jackson continues to pick good friends throughout his life.

Everyone was beat when the last guest departed but man, what a great day.  Jackson, I can't imagine life without you - you are a stud!

*PS.  I just love that Andi sat here the entire time I worked on this post (and talked to Tori) diligently working on a puzzle all on her own.  We're so excited to see what she does with her life.

Busy Weekend

Thursday night I had card night which was a late one but so much yummy fun!  (Masculine... but you knew that, right?)

Annette and Richard came to Cali to work on their house and so Friday night they came over to do dinner.  We headed to Bucca Di Bepo again because the pizza is divine and the atmosphere is easy.  Ryan was in a silly mood and wanted to make funny faces (yes, I edited).  Andi then wanted to join in but she wasn't nearly as creative as he.  Jackson was in heaven downing all the pizza and pasta he could get his hands on.  Cole too, I suppose :)  I loved how he kept throwing his head back in delight.

Saturday morning Andrew quickly began work on the pavers in hopes to get it mostly done for Jackson's "play date" for his birthday.  (Not really a party because we're lazy like that but a gathering if you will of his closest friends)

Because I have a totally awesome husband, this is what was going on when I left the house for Tina's birthday celebration.... The beach, without kids, a beautiful Saturday afternoon, food, food and more food, good convo and laughs.

Did I mention the food?  Lauren made us all a delicious sandwich - no really, mouth watering.

 Happy Birthday, Tina - here's to an amazing year with loads of fun because let's face it, it's always a good time when we get together.

Heaven on Earth had a few downfalls... one being Michalle didn't get there until I was on my way home.  Two being that I had to leave early (but that was ok because it was for a very good reason).  Three, being that I wasn't dealing with children, I actually had the chance to lie down and read for nearly the entire time... the bad part you ask, well I'm not used to putting sunscreen on my back side and let me tell you, the drive home was very uncomfortable.  Sitting here now is VERY uncomfortable.

But, why did I leave?  I left because yesterday afternoon my dear, dear friend Fran, was blessed enough to have her oldest daughter choose to get baptized.  Jessica really is amazing and I just love talking with her and laughing with her.  She's gorgeous in every way.  Congrats to the Milhoan family!

I showed up sandy and burned, but I'm glad I was there.  I was also glad to get home and let down my hair and apply loads and loads of aloe.

As for today, today is the biggest day of all because today, my firstborn, turns SIX YEARS OLD!  The timing is funny because when I was on my way to the beach yesterday, I of course passed Pepperdine and there was a graduation happening.  

I've graduated twice in Alumni Park and there memories that came rushing back were overwhelming.  It especially made me miss all our friends that have spread out further than we would have liked.  So much has happened over the years and though I envied the emotions and exhilaration of those graduates, I feel so blessed to be where I am now and to be a mother of one of the most amazing little boys I know.

To be continued...

Mark's Bday

Apparently when you have no carpet in the entire house, children believe it's completely acceptable to rides bikes round and round and round.  Even the little one gets in on it.  Some days I fight 'em, some days I turn the other way.

On to the point of this post... Mark... he's gettin' old!  Wednesday we had the chance to have dinner with the family at La Cabana.

 It's nice having Mark back and being able to celebrate with him - his last year in his 20's!

We had another birthday to celebrate this week.... a very first one... Hunter Evans made his appearance Thursday, May 17th and we were all so very excited.  The funny thing was we saw Laurel about an hour and a half before she left for the hospital Wednesday night.  Andrew called it right then when he commented at how done she looked and he doesn't miss me being in that state.  Neither do I which is why it's fun to live it through someone else :)  Congrats, Evans family.

This morning my grandparents had to head back home so we all met up for breakfast before they took off.  We all wished they lived much, much closer.  But go figure, the birthday boy didn't make it out the door for breakfast - he missed out.

*A birthday request - gold of course.

Mother's Day

Now that we have family out of state, we had to start a little earlier in preparing for this holiday.  The kids and I worked on some cards for the grandmas which I think turned out to be more fun for the kids than for the recipients.

 Then I got everyone together to take a picture for Annette.  Jackson was so reluctant to take a picture with his shirt off because he didn't want gramma nette laughing at him.  He is very modest these days and doesn't quite get it he has nipples, not boobs.

 Saturday Andrew had a couple softball games so I wanted to get away for a bit before venturing off to the fields.  As I was pulling away Andrew called me asking if I wanted "help".  Andi had run inside and quickly changed out of her bathing suit and into an outfit so she could come with me.  It wasn't what I had in mind but it was nice having time with my little girl.

 I returned home a couple hours later and we all headed out to the fields.  I am looking forward to these games more so next year, or better yet the year after.  There's no enjoying the game when you have four little ones wanting to play at a busy park.  But they did well listening and staying together which I am so very grateful.

Sunday, actual Mother's Day, my day began unofficially at 5am then again, officially, at 7am when all came onto my bed with breakfast.  Oh man I was not ready to get up and eat.  We lounged most of the morning until a slight Primary mishap was brought to my attention at about 9:45am at which point I went into crazy mode.  I hauled booty to my 11am meeting only to discover I was the first one there.  At church I was overwhelmed with the love and appreciation from others.  In sacrament the Bishop presented myself and the other presidents with a set of flowers and a speech of gratitude.  Oh man, go figure this would happen on the day where just an hour before I had called him out on something in our morning meeting.  Haha, good timing :)

From church we headed to Acton to celebrate with my mom.  The kids were in heaven, as they always are out there.  And now that the jacuzzi is working it's even better.  In fact yesterday Jackson asked if we could go visit them again.

When I think about my teenage years, I think about my mom sitting in the jacuzzi with her hands in the air so she didn't mess up her nails.  I think this picture is perfect because she's in her favorite place (well maybe her favorite would be a jacuzzi in Utah) with her favorite little people.

 I am so grateful for these little characters in my life.  They teach me valuable lessons each and every day and I hope and pray I do all I can to raise them to love God and their family and to always remember what's most important.

My mom and I were given the gift of "relaxation".  We had the chance to go together to Glen Ivy and waste away the day in the sun, pool, jacuzzi and massage table.  It really is quite a way to spend the day and an even better way to spend Mother's Day.  I am grateful for my mom and all she does and all that she is.  And to add to it, she's a fabulous grandma.  Cheers - to us!

*The best part about being a mom is hearing the way they think:

Me: "You can't ride in Ryan's car seat because you're not heavy enough and it's dangerous"

Andi: "But look, I fit" (yes, we drove to Pinetree and I didn't even realize she wasn't in her seat but instead in Ryan's)

Me:  "No, the policeman wouldn't be very happy about that.  If we got in an accident, you would fly out of the car!"

Andi:  "No I wouldn't, mama, I don't have wings!"