our shenanigans: July 2011

7.07.2011

ps

ps. don't you just love the new background? i'm seriously obsessed with quilting as of late, and this just warmed the very corners of my soul.

happy quilting:)

mmmm. i love the fourth. i was telling shawn that besides christmas and thanksgiving it is for sure my favorite holiday and he said,"not sure what that leaves us. colombus day? you don't like colombus day?!?" he can be a smartass sometimes.

anyways. i love the fourth. bbq at grandma's, seeing cousins i never see but that i love with my whole heart, warm nights, fireworks, the parade, and i heart the balloons.

i especially loved it this year cuz it was spread out over the whole weekend. 3 wondrous days. so fun.

i love our country. i love my freedom. i love how safe i feel. i love that i feel the spirit when i hear the national anthem or recite the pledge of allegiance. i love the men and women who are brave enough to serve in the armed forces and defend all of the things i love. thank you. thank you to my brother, mike. and i thank my Heavenly Father for helping it all come to pass.

now, after all of that feeling and emotion, you would think it would be well-documented with pictures. but no. there are but two.

i was excited for the hot air balloons because this would be the first year that sammy would like it. so was jack. on the way there, he kept saying, "i'm so exciting! i'm so exciting!" ha ha! i couldn't bring myself to correct him, it was just too good. unfortunately, they couldn't fly because of the weather but we still had a good time watching them blow up.

this was the first year that the darth vader balloon joined the fest. with him came his whole crew as crowd control. the costumes were awesome, even did the cool voices when they spoke. jack was in awe. he gave this guy a high five seven times.

boys will be boys

behold, the weaponry...

we do love each other though.

sam-boy is 2

sammy turned 2 on the 23rd of june. luckily, he doesn't have quite the fire that jack did at this age, he's a little more tender, but he sure does have a stubborn personality that is all his own. he's a sweetheart and his smile still melts my heart.

this boy l o v e s his blankie. many is the time i have caught him loving on his blanket. he loves to roll around on it and hang out, just the two of them. and more than the blankie itself, he loves the tag that is on the corner of the blankie. he grabs his blankie and asks "co-nuh, pease." we find the desired corner which he promptly grabs and then sticks his two middle fingers in his mouth. every time. without fail. i love it.

this is the only actual birthday shot. he was not in the picture mood and i never have the energy to pin him down. we tried with aunt jamie and it kind of worked. notice the toothbrush on the table. this kid loves toothbrushes. he carries them around, sucks and chews on them, and occasionally uses them as weapons. it's a handy 2-for-1. this is important for the following story.

so the presents...sam starts to "open" presents, which is really jack doing it for him. sam is not as enthusiastic as jack would like. they open balls, sand and water toys, a cool puzzle, etc. the main event is supposed to be this sweet wagon that the grandparents chipped in for. it's awesome. red radio flyer with seats that fold up and down, drink holders, snack holders, the works. it's rad. and he loves wagons. he loves to ride and pull them. so i was super excited. we roll it out and we barely get an acknowledgment.

THEN

my brother brad grabs a gift bag that i had put a ball in, of which sam had already opened. brad shoves something in it and says to sam "here's your last present, buddy", courtesy of his cute girlfriend, lydia. sam sticks his hand in and pulls out a brand new toothbrush (lydia is a dental assistant) and sam goes WILD. he's yelling "a toofbwush! a toofbwush!" and jumping up and down.

lesson learned. next time, avoid the $80 dollar wagon/bike/scooter and go for the FREE toothbrush obtained from lydia's dental office. what was i thinking?