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)

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

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

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

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

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

Two

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.