2 in Texas

The boys turned 2 in Texas. We didn't have any wild party on their birthday, but were able to spend time together as a family for the first time in months. We had lunch at Chick Fil-A and later the boys rode their new bikes to the playground.

It was the perfect day.(The boys borrowed shoes from other kids at the chick fil-a playground - I couldn't say no, it was their birthday)

Arlo riding his bike with rainboots (my boys have a shoe fetish, it's genetic from their daddy)

Josiah & his bike

Happy Birthday boys. Daddy & I love you more than you could ever understand.

We now have two - 2 year olds in our house.
Happy 2nd Birthday to Arlo & Josiah!!!!!!!
Before we left Virginia we had a family BBQ to celebrate.

This is what the boys & cousins were doing while we were all singing happy birthday!!! No time to waste!!

Uncle Travis provided us with some music...

Great Uncle Kenny, Great Uncle Boone & Grandaddy Hall

Great Aunt Dixie, Aunt Renee & Great Aunt Jean

You may never believe me except for this photo is small proof that my boys love new clothes as much as their momma does!!! Can't you see the excitement Josiah has for his new clothes!?

And even Arlo was SUPER excited for his Crocs from Aunt Susan. (Both boys insisted on wearing them to bed that night!)

Coles Knob

We spent 3 wonderful months with my parents in Virginia. The boys absolutely loved living there & called it home. We could stay at the house for days & not get bored - there's so much to do - we hardly went to town except grocery shopping or church. Even the drive to town is entertaining to look at tractors & farm animals the whole way there. The only thing that could have made Grandma's house better would be to have Jason there with us.

So, here is our top ten reasons why Grandma & Grandaddy's house is AWESOME!!!

10. Cows & sheep (next door)
9. 60 acres to run around
8. Go-cart & bicycles to ride
7. 2 power wheels to drive around the driveway
6. A room FULL of toys, toys, toys
5. Sandbox
4. Swing set
3. Outdoor Trampoline
2. Visiting with cousins EVERY week!

and #1 reason why we love being there......

1. Hanging out with Grandma & Grandaddy EVERY day!!!!

The boys LOVED to sit at the bar and eat Grandaddy's breakfast with him in the mornings.

Grandma treated us to lunch at the park!

My Addiction

I think I can finally admit...
Step 1. I have an addiction to rewards programs. You know, the kind where you buy stuff, collect "points" and redeem for free stuff. I love to shop, but on a budget, there's a limit to how much shopping I can do; this way I can get stuff FREE!! (love that word!) For a while I got so hooked on so many programs that I found myself completely absorbed on the computer ALL evening!
Step 2. I've decided to cut a few programs out like Pampers diapers GTG or the Huggies "Enjoy the Ride" and all those other sweepstakes, drawings & programs. I still do a few though...I just can't resist......

My ALL TIME FAVORITE rewards programs is www.mypoints.com. In the past year, I've already earned $150 in FREE gift cards!!!! No joke, I'm totally hooked on this program. All you have to do is look at their daily advertising emails. Anytime we make a purchase online, we can earn more points by visiting the mypoints website first. I'm so silly that one time I cried because Jason forgot to go through the website before buying plane tickets, so I didn't earn any points!!! Is that silly or what?!!
DON'T join this program without me sending you an invitation via email - If you join through my email, we both get BONUS points!!! Leave me a comment with your email address & I'll send you an invitation. (I'm crazy, right?)

Another favorite in mycokerewards. I wouldn't have joined this program except that my husband, mother & father are all POP ADDICTS!! They drink so much pop that I thought "Hey, why not save the pop lids, enter the codes and get free stuff? I've gotten a Chilis gift card & a few magazine subscriptions for free. They don't have the best prizes, but a few little things are fun.

Swagbucks is another good one, but I don't spend much time doing it, so it takes me a while. I like to save up my points for Amazon gift cards....that's about the only decent prize available.

On to cuter news.....

*Josiah can peel a clementine like a pro. No help needed.
*Both boys can use the "big kid" swing at the playground. (although they prefer the baby swing because they can swing faster and higher!!)
*They have become exceptional at speaking in complete sentences. They can say anything they want.
*We will only be in Virginia for 2 1/2 more weeks...it's bitter-sweet...we are all SO EXCITED to head to Texas & see Jason, but SO SAD to leave my parents. They have been so good to us & the boys LOVE grandma & grandaddy Hall so much.

We went to Floyd this past Friday evening for all the live bluegrass music & as you can see, WE GOT ICE CREAM!!! The boys got so messy & sticky that we had to take them back to the van & change into PJs. Of course we went back to listen to some more music after getting cleaned up.

Arlo, I don't think that napkin is helping much. Don't give me that look, I won't take your ice cream.

Josiah, enjoying his ice cream & the music.

OUTside!!!!!

Who doesn't love to spend the ENTIRE day outside with beautiful weather?!

Last month it rained a LOT so we didn't get outside very often. (April showers....) On one of those non-rainy days of the month we took a walk with the stroller. At one point Arlo stood up on the foot rails of the stroller, stretched his arms as wide as he could reach and yelled "OUTside!!!"

The boys really appreciate the nice weather & their mood changes instantly when we walk outside! WELCOME MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST & every day of beautiful weather!!!



Josiah on the Powerwheels. He's pretty serious when he's driving. Focus.


Loving the trampoline!!!


Helping Grandaddy get the ground ready for flowers!!

A trip to the park!!

And when it's time for a nap, it's much better to fall asleep on the floor together with all our blankets, pillows & stuffed animals.

Spring Time

The boys are growing up too fast, but seem to get cuter every day. (I'm not biased.) They are the best of friends and show so much love to each other. Each boy insists on always being in the same room as his brother & knowing what he is doing at ALL TIMES. They absolutely LOVE to play outside & I have to bribe them to come back in the house. They are learning how to take turns with each other, brush their own teeth, say their own prayers & speak in full sentences.

The other night after putting the boys to bed, I heard them laughing. When I peeked in the room I found that Josiah had climbed into Arlo's crib & had brought along all the blankets & pillows. They love to be together.

Arlo & Josiah have begun to sit still & watch TV now. We watch a little TV in the morning & evening to relax before bed. Their top two requested movies are.......Monster Inc and Carebears. (interesting, huh?)

Their favorite food? Candy. ("Nandee")

Arlo (He refers to himself as "Aryo")
"I DID it!!" or "I GOT it!!"
A daredevil & throws all caution to the wind! He's wreckless & consequently gets hurt often.
Arlo is a performer & loves an audience to watch him.

Josiah ("Siah")
His best friend #1 is Arlo. Best Friend #2 is Lobster.
He has quite the imagination & is excellent at playing pretend.
Josiah is a thinker. Sometimes I can just see his wheels spinning & he is very observant.



Jason came to town for a few days & we were able to spend Easter together. We miss him so so much when he's traveling.


Arlo didn't care about collecting lots of Easter eggs; he just wanted the candy inside. He stopped between each egg to enjoy the sweets. (Notice the chocolate streaks all over his shirt!!)


Josiah took the Easter Egg hunt very serious & collected as many eggs as fast as he could

Here's a bird's eye view of everyone coloring Easter eggs.

Arlo was really proud of his Easter egg that he dyed blue. He kept saying "pretty"

Jason & Travis roped together the 2 power wheels cars & the red wagon. The boys got on with their cousins to be pulled by the lawn mower. All the kids loved it!

You Might be a Redneck....

That's right folks....
A truck pulling a snow mobile...
ON GRASS.



I should explain...A few years ago my dad acquired the snow mobile from "who knows who" because it was going to be trashed. The snow mobile is broken, but occasionally has a spell of functioning correctly. Today my brother Travis decided to run the machine for a bit. As expected, the machine died way out in the field, so my dad had to rescue him & haul him back to the house.

"It was fun while it lasted"

Oakton

This past weekend the little boys and I took a visit to my hometown, Oakton, Virginia. It's been a while since my last visit and it's interesting to see that a lot has changed, but so much is still the same. I have such wonderful childhood memories there.

We were able to visit lots of dear friends there, including Janine Goode, Julie Doolittle, Manderino family & Thomas family. We also visited Oakton Ward sacrament meeting on Sunday. The boys were so excited and had such a good time that they stayed up as late as possible, woke up at the crack of dawn & only napped during the short car rides!!!!


Jessica Thomas, Lisa Manderino & me


Lisa's children - Caleb (2) & Melanie (4)


Jessica's little girl Ruby (1 1/2)


Don't ask me why I didn't take photos of my own children on the trip, but here are a few recent photos of them. =)



Driving grandaddy's tractor.



Josiah watching TV with Grandaddy (G has to wear headphones to the TV b/c of all the background noise in the house!)