The Olson's Invade San Francisco

On July 8th my mom and Bob flew out with the boys and me to San Francisco and Tim met us there later that night. It was finally time for my good friend Linsey's wedding!!! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the wedding (Lins - send me the LINK!!!) but here are a few pictures from our one day of sightseeing. BIG HUGE THANKS to Gigi, Papa and Tim for parenting my children while I was busy being a bridesmaid :) And congrats to Linsey and Joe! It was a beautiful wedding and we are so happy the two of you found each other!

A quick shot at Fisherman's Wharf. We were cruising through here because the boys had reached their breaking points.

Heading up the stairs at Lombard Street

Tim and I took this same picture here almost 5 years ago to the day

Wow how our lives have changed!

Gigi and Jake waving hello!

Jake did a great job with all those steps!

Papa and Gigi with their grandsons

Halfway down the street

Fabulous Friends!

I was so happy that I was able to meet up with two of my dear friends Lyndsie and Rachael while I was in town. Rachael just moved to Cambodia last weekend and I am already missing her! This was our last time to see each other before her move :(

The hot mommies!

Ryan loving on baby Jane (Rachael's little girl)

Trying to get a picture of all of our kids was not an easy task. From left: Jake, Rylan, Jaidan, Jack, Jane and Ryan (say that 5 times fast)

All hell breaks loose: Jake throwing grass at Jack, Jack not happy, Ryan trying to eat baby Jane and Jaidan just observing the chaos :)

Jacob is TWO!

Two years ago, almost to the minute, we were welcoming a healthy, screaming, 7 pound 12 ounce baby boy into this world. Today, we are watching that baby turn into a little boy who speaks in sentences, goes to the bathroom on his potty chair, tickles his little brother, and can recognize and name letters, shapes and colors. His giggles can make a bad day better in an instant, and his cries can break our hearts just as quickly. He has changed us, challenged us, and made us love deeper than we ever knew possible. Jacob, we love you. We couldn't be more proud to call you our son. And although we will miss your baby days, we are so excited for the fun we are going to have with you as a "big boy". Happy 2nd Birthday Jakey!!!

Birthday Boy Jake and Little brother Ryan - Aug. 19 2009

Jake at 1 year

Jacob Alan - Day 1

Farmington for the 4th

On July 1st the boys and I flew back to NM without Tim to start my month long wedding spree. The first wedding was for my childhood friend Marohn in Durango on the 4th. The day before the boys and I spent time with my moms side of the family and watched the city fireworks show. Jake loved the fireworks this year! We weren't super close so they weren't very loud for him which I think helped the overall experience. Ryan didn't make it up for his first fireworks display. Poor guy was really tired by the time the show started so he was already fast asleep. The day after the wedding my mom, Bob, Alan and I took the boys to the Party in the Park at Brookside. It was really hot and not a ton to do there, but Jake had fun on the rides. Here are a few pics from those two days (in backwards order).

Gigi and Jake brave the big inflatable slide

Try to ignore the giant rip that is duct taped up...

Gigi and gap-toothed RyRy

Alan, Gigi, Jake & Papa

Jake refused to look at me throughout the entire train ride.

Ryan's first 4th (actually 3rd)

Once again, getting awfully hard for me to hold both!

Jake and his cousin Hayden

Sk8tr Boi

I know, typing the title like that almost physically pained me, but it fit the bill. Anyway, one of our awesome neighbors (have I ever mentioned how great almost all of our neighbors are? I love our neighborhood!) Shane has this really fancy skateboard, or longboard, or something like that and he taught Jake how to sit on it and hold on while he pushed him down the street. Jake thought it was pretty much the coolest thing ever and poor Mr. Shane probably had a sore back the next day from pushing Jake back and forth in front of our houses.

Hanging out it the hammock chair with his best bud Braelyn ("Brae Brae")

Ry Ry Cutie Pie

Sometime in June Ryan started army crawling and pulling up on things (poor second child doesn't get dates written down like the first born). He did that until about mid-July when he transitioned to a regular crawl and bear crawl. Now he is just all over the place!

Celina Balloon Festival

Toward the end of June there was a Balloon Festival in the nearby town of Celina. As we all know, I love hot air balloons so even though it was scorching hot that day, I made everyone head out for some fun in the sun. We waited a long time for the balloons to arrive, but thankfully they had a carnival and playground to keep Jake entertained. I also discovered my new favorite summer beverage - mint limeade! I spent a small fortune on these at $5 a cup. Thanks to Tim and the boys for being troopers and enduring the heat! (these pics are posted in backwards order because bloggers uploader is lame)

Poor Ry was so miserable at this point (notice Jake making a friend in the background)

It's getting much harder to hold both boys at once

Finally the balloons arrive!

I can't believe I let them go up in this thing

Jake's first ferris wheel ride

Bouncing in the bounce house

Jake's first horse ride!

Yo Baby and Biter Biscuits

Ryan loves his teething biscuits, but also makes a HUGE mess when eating them. Jake loves his Yo Baby yogurt, but also makes a HUGE mess while eating it. The pictures show just how animated and dramatic my little Jakester can be.