The Kelsey's

2012-01-10T21:19:00.001-08:00

Happy birthday to my Coley. 4 months late. I realized I never posted a happy birthday to him on my blog and I thought that just wasn't fair to all my readers. Which means my mom. Didn't his cake turn out so cute mom?

I love you Cole. Now no more getting big.

Camping? (like the Kelseys)

2011-07-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

I like camping 100x more than my husband. And I only like camping a little bit. But our boys have been begging us for a camping trip. They want a campfire and "snores" like they watched on Max and Ruby. So what can you do? Its almost impossible to deny that cuteness. You camp. Kelsey style.

First you set up your tent. Xavier insisted that we needed a tent.

Then you pack all the food you will need in the appropriate boxes and coolers.

Then you ignore your mom when she tells you not to open the bag

Or eat the treats before everything is ready

And you admire all the wildlife.

Then you get grammy cause she's the best.

And you try to take a cute couples picture because it has been awhile and the lighting might be flattering. Hmmm.

And you continue to ignore your mom's attempts to keep you from getting sugar-sick.

And you get papa to tell you a really scary campfire story

And you can't believe how incredibly adorable your boys are.

Then you attempt to make snores with your kids without getting 3rd degree burns. Extra bonus: walking away with BOTH your eyeballs.

Then you eat your treats just before bed.

Then you head to your sleeping bag. I mean your house. With your nice warm bed with clean white sheets. And you start to get happy because you realize you get to have a full nights sleep and you won't wake up at four in the morning sweaty and cold. And you get to take a shower in the morning with your favorite shampoo and all the necessary beauty tools you need will be at your disposal. Plus there will probably be time to watch Jimmy Fallon before you actually fall asleep. Then you realize that camping is very fabulous after all.

one of "those" moms

2011-04-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

There is a huge puddle in our THURSDAYS parking lot. Last week I noticed a cute mom holding her baby in the breezy Idaho weather watching her little 3 year old throw rock after rock into this huge puddle. Her little boy was having a blast. I though to myself,"I need to be one of those moms." Many times my boys have wanted to throw rocks into that puddle and I always come up with a million excuses..."no no its too cold" "come on we are in a hurry" and of course "any second a car is going to come and smash us like a bug!" When I got home from work that afternoon my boys needed an afternoon snack and asked for chocolate milk and like a good mom, I obliged. In a few seconds they had their cups, selected straws, and were slurping down their milk. Then Coley started to blow big messy milk bubbles...

Before I could even start my rantings on manners and upcoming punishments, Xavier was in fits of laughter and started joining the fun. Then I thought, "Here it is. Here is my chance to be one of those moms." So instead of lecturing, I pulled out my camera.

Now I am one of those moms who clean up unnecessary chocolate puddles on the kitchen table and who also have to try to re-teach good manners. I should have let them throw those darn rocks.

a little intense

2011-03-24T21:19:00.000-07:00

I got to meet my baby nephew Jack for the first time tonight. He is all kinds of cute. I got to feed him, burp him, and kiss him. He even fell asleep right on my shoulder...something babies don't usually do. I vowed to love him forever. I whisper-yelled to Nick, "Get my camera quick and take a picture of me and Jack!" He hustled to get a quick shot. When I asked him if it looked good he said "yeah its pretty good." Then after Jack-Jack had left our house for the night I found my camera to look at the prized picture only to find this one. Sorry its so weird. You can't even see my adorable nephew. The really sad part is I thought I was having a good hair day today. yikes.

I haven't blogged about by big 2-year-old becoming a 3 year old. He is. This is a picture from his very birthday. Its not a great picture...I still can't figure out how people get their kids to look at the camera and look natural. But this picture sums up his personality well. If I had one word to describe this little boy it would be intense. He is intensely sweet, intensely mad, intensely polite, intensely clean, intense while at play...etc. Not to mention he is intensely adorable, smart, and hilarious. Right now one of my favorite things about him is his LOUD and some-what monotone voice. He only has one volume...LOUD. Its intense of course.
Here's a view of our morning on March 7th. Not awesome. It's forecasted to do this tonight too. Is anyone else mad about this?
Here's Coley being cute in our backyard. Xavier gave him that scratch on his cheek like 2 months ago. I have become a better nail-clipper.

Here's a picture of Xavier making friends. He is intensely friendly too.

good fall

2010-11-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

Good weather, good trees.

Good boys, good leaves.

Good pumpkin patch.

Good-bye rock wall. Good change.

Good husband, good helpers.

Good potato vine. (you can't kill that thing)

Good boots.

Good dragon, good knight.

This good fall has been such a delight. the end.

Birthday

2010-11-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Coley's two now guys. Here is a sample of his cute-ness.

Two

2010-09-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

Two two-year olds. Two very sweet and adorable boys. Days spent with them are pure bliss and pure frustration. To each other they are equal parts best friends and bitter enemies. Perfect frenemies. Perfect little boys.

2010-09-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

This is where all the rich people who live around Twin Falls go to swim. Nick's cousin bought a membership to this country club and I invited myself and my boys to come along a few times. Its awesome. I like to pretend that I belong there, with all the other "real" doctor's wives. Xavier and Cole love the sandy beach and paddle boats but they never put much effort into eating the lunch I so lovingly packed for them. But the hot sun sucks all the energy right out of them and I am almost always guaranteed a 3 hour nap after swimming there. I want to be rich bad.

A no post

2010-09-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Summer has been so busy, crazy, stressful, fun, wonderful, and sooo short. You know how we bought an old 60's style ranch house to fix up? Well thats what we did all summer (I swear we like doing that stuff). Nick worked like a champion and I gave my orders and approvals. Don't you love before and after pictures? Me too! and I had tons to share. But somehow we have lost all of our photos from like the last 5 years. Steps are being taken to retrieve them, don't fret. Until then enjoy this lone photo of Xavier (and his cousin) that somehow got attached to my desktop. It could be the one and only from summer 2010.

Ode to Cleveland

2010-05-31T22:03:00.000-07:00

Oh Cleveland. Maybe it is ranked as the #4 most miserable city in the US by Forbes magazine but I love it. How bad can a city be when I can count at least 3 H&M stores within 20 minutes of my brother's apartment. The scenery is so green and lush, it reminds me of my days in Oregon. And the houses! The houses are off the charts charming. Old city charm. If only I had taken better pictures...

Here is a little recap of my travels to this fine city:

My first visit was when I worked on the corporate board at REAL DEALS on HOME DECOR, my brother and sister-in-law's new franchise. They held their first convention in Seville, OH just hours away from where Brett and Eryn were living in Cleveland. It was a brief but fantastic visit. Here we are at a Mexican restaurant in downtown before heading out to an Indians game.

Visit #2. Nick and I took our little Xavier, who was 5 months, on his first vacation to Cleveland. Complete with an Indians game, Rock and Roll hall of fame, and a trip to Niagara Falls. Great vaca.

This is a picture from my third visit to Cleveland, during Brett's dental boards when I was given the task of lending my mad dental hygiene/assisting skills. He took me to a restaurant that was featured on the food network and is famous for its Rueben sandwiches. Can you believe the size of that sandwich? Brett was suffering from extreme stress and lack of sleep. Nothing that a huge pile of pastrami can't fix.

The final stay. Nothing can be better than watching a fabulous brother emerge confident and victorious from a long and tenacious battle with Dental School. He will be a wonderful Dentist (I should know I have worked with all sorts). And the best part? Free dental work for the rest of my life. Thanks Bro.

And thank you Cleveland.

How to Train Your Children (to make it through the movie)

2010-04-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

We decided it was high time we share with our boys one of our OLD favorite pastimes... going to the movies! We thought, "hey they watch movies 9-10 times everyday at home, surely they are ready to make it through this one." Here's what we did:

1. watched the previews at least 8 times on youtube with the boys

2. got them super-psyched by talking about how awesome dragons are and by making dragon noises all morning

3. talked about all the popcorn, pop, and candy we were going to eat at the movies

4. arrived on time to our movie so we could purchase all our goodies

5. refilled our GIANT tub of popcorn about 20 minutes into the movie

6. ran out of jelly beans about an hour into the movie

7. finally took Cole to run around in the hallway just after the jelly beans ran out

8. ultimately left the movie about 15 minutes early when Xavier wanted to start running around with Cole. I pretty much guessed the ending anyways.

What we learned:

1. arrive late next time to avoid wasting precious "attention time" on previews

2. buy the biggest tub of popcorn for FREE refills (I have never heard of this before)

3. bring, I mean buy, a full bag of candy next time

4. wait another year before attempting this again. It felt like a super-stressful way to drop $30 in 1 hour and 20 minutes.

What shall we tackle for fun next? Any suggestions?

Xavier's Birthday

2010-02-18T21:19:00.000-08:00

The handsome, delightful, and most charming Mr. Xavier turned two years old this weekend. Two years ago Nick and I shared the sweetest Valentines Day ever when we were blessed to bring him home from the hospital and into our lives forever. How lucky we are! Happy Birthday Xavy.

New Moon, Movie Stars, and ME!

2009-11-19T10:07:00.000-08:00

I took a trip to LA to see the red carpet premiere of New Moon with one of my bestest friends, Rachy B. We got some fabulous pictures due to a streak of good luck. No, we did not sleep in the streets of LA for three nights, but we did end up with a better spot than some of the people who did. We met two adorable 17 year olds from LA, who frequent premiere parties, and taught us the ins-and-outs of the red carpet event. They shared their favorite spot with us and let us tag along for most of the night. It was unbelievable! Here are some pics.

I'll start with my favorite. Here is Nikki Reed (Rosalie). She is absolutely gorgeous in real life. My friend found this picture off a website and sent it to me. I love it.

Kellen Lutz- Emmett. Thats one of our friends, Jerreny, with her arms around him. She had met him earlier that day at another event for a radio station. She knew everything famous.

The big three; Kristen, Robert, and Taylor. So close, yet so far away.

Elizabeth Reasoner - Esme. Of course she is waving at us.

Jamie Kennedy-from the Jamie Kennedy Experiment. We used to love that show. He came with Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Billy Burke- Charlie Swan.

Peter Facinelli (Dr. Cullen) and his real-life wife Jennie Garth. They were so cute on the red carpet together.

Gil Birmingham- Billy Black

Mark Salling- Noah "Puck" on Glee

Justin Chon- Eric

Cameron Bright- Alec

Michael Sheen - Aro

Dakota Fanning- Jane

Kiowa Gordon- Embry Call

Chaske Spencer-Sam

Alex Meraz- Paul

It was an awesome event with tons of excitement, thousands of CR-AZY insane fans, and beautiful movie starts. Not bad for a Monday night.

Happy Fall Y'all

2009-11-03T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here is an exciting round-up of happenings in the Kelsey household this fall.

My 30th Birthday. I usually love my Birthdays but this one was just awful. You can tell by the picture above that nobody looks great, nobody feels great. I got this gigantic Costco carrott cake that nobody around me would eat because they were all on a diet. Plus it didn't even taste that good. Bummer of a day. Glad its over.

Coley's 1st birthday, what a special day! He finally got to be the center of attention on this very special occasion. Complete with chocolate cake and lots of presents for Xavier to play with. Just to let you know, he is possibly the sweetest baby ever.

Halloween was fun (sort-of). Xavier was a Cowboy and Coley was his Horsee. Never did get the picture I was hoping for of them looking off into the Idaho sunset together. This is as good as it gets. I have loved looking at all the Halloween pictures that so many of you have posted on your blogs. Thanks for the entertainment and inspiration. I am committing myself to becoming a better photographer this year. Stay tuned and Happy Fall Y'all!! (said in authentic Idaho accent)

The Park

2009-08-30T21:30:00.000-07:00

Xavier and Cole love to spend time at the park down the street from where we live. Its really fun when Grammy and Papa come along to add to the excitement and help keep the boys safe (and it gives me the opportunity to take darling pictures of my little baby boys). They are growing so fast, will they even need our help on the swings or to catch them at the bottom of the slide next year? (sniff, sniff) I hope so.

Summer shakedown

2009-08-23T20:11:00.000-07:00

Where do you think you're going summer? Please don't go, we love you so!

Mobile

2009-06-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

Cole is Crawling

(and I am crying).

He has even crawled down our stairs. Well, he crawled down the first one and rolled down the rest. He's Amazing.

Cool Uncle Brett

2009-05-31T10:16:00.001-07:00

"He just appeared out of nowhere."-Buster Bluth

Thanks for coming to town and giving us an excuse to act like we were on summer vacation. We love eating out every night and watching Arrested Development during the day (he did work with Dr. Kulm most days, I promise Eryn). Make sure you bring your beautiful wifey next time.

Mothers

2009-05-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

I always hoped to have a picture like this.

Me, as a mom (finally!), with my mom and her mom on Mother's day.

Pajamas

2009-04-28T21:14:00.000-07:00

The wonderful Dr. Molly Saunders sent Xavy and Cole these adorable pajamas. I can't help but have a mini photo session every time they wear them. Here are some to enjoy.

The situation here is very typical of Xavier and Cole. Once Xavy realizes that Cole is somehow getting some of his attention, he tries to take Cole out of the equation. Good thing Cole is too little to get his feelings hurt.

Happy Easter

2009-04-26T20:51:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday was wonderful. We woke up in time to dress in our Easter best, comb everyone's hair, and even drive to the church in time. Just as we sat down in the cultural hall (we weren't early) I picked Cole up out of his carseat only to find that he had a blow-out that leaked through his three layers of clothing. Such a bummer. I made him keep his sweater on for our family picture though (the leakage on the sweater was small). Enjoy.

Easter festivities were kept to a minimum due to a lack of interest from Xavier and Cole. We did enjoy a delicious feast at Great-Grandma Lancaster's that afternoon. What a wonderful Sunday.

Halloween 2008

2008-11-08T22:09:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2008

Xavier made it to Halloween without getting any teeth and therefore became the most adorable tooth-less vampire that ever existed.

Cole spent the evening bundled in his favorite fall sweater and snuggling with whoever was holding him.

It was the Best Halloween ever, thanks to our boys. We can't wait for next year!