Our 9th Anniversary

9 Years ago today I woke up next to Emile for the first time. Ok ok... so i had fallen asleep next to him before, but this time... it was because we were married! We were now a family ready to take on whatever challenges life could give us. Together!

So, Today I make this post to you...

Dear Husband,

I can still remember the first time we went on a date, and the first time we kissed!
I knew a lot about you when we got married. We dated for a long time, so there weren't too many surprises. But sometimes I wonder... would you still marry me if you knew what you now know?

Did you ever think that I could get so cranky when I am pregnant? Or that I would obsess over craft projects? Would you do it all again if you knew I liked to clean my toes while watching TV? Or that bad hair days mean that I am going to sit and wait for you to
find a compliment that I deem as "sincere"?

I know that I would marry you one million times over if I could!
I would do a few things different though.

I would choose the other side of the bed! We established this early on, and I wish I had made a different choice. I also would have made a book of your favorite things. So I could give you better gifts when special days come around.
I would have been more appreciative of all the sweet things that you do for me. You deserve so much love, and there are days that go by that I wish I could have loved you just a little more.
I love you! You are my voice of reason, calming when I become irrational, you are what I look forward to, you make me want to remember what I did in a day so I have someone to share it with. You are the one I want to share my jokes with and keep the DVR paused for when something funny comes on.

You, Emile, ring my bell.
Happy Anniversary!

Now, to celebrate we went out to a restaurant with the best views in town. I had heard of this place, but I just recently heard that their food was good too!!

(Thanks for the recommendation Jen...it was AWESOME!)

This was honestly our view while we ate!!!

Then we went down and had a picnic at Willamette Park and watched the boats go by while we sipped on Italian Sodas and had some yummy treats!

I love you Emile!!! Now good luck planning our 10th next year. :D

Summer time

We finally said goodbye to this...

But we said "hello" to this...

The boys were SO excited they couldn't wait to sleep! This thrilled not only me, but my aching body from trying to lift out the old stuff before Emile came home from work. I was in a hurry to get the old stuff out so he couldn't turn around and say... "these beds are GIGANTIC" (which they are).
The boys have been playing in them non-stop! I have to tell you that Emile cringes at the thought of garage sales... but this one was worth it! We scored big time!!!

Maybe they are so exhausted because of swim lessons too. Simon gets to play with me on the side of the pool and he is actually enjoying it. I thought for sure he would be upset every moment he couldn't step foot into the water... but look at that smile!

And this one was taken right after he kissed me!!! I'll smooch those cheeks anytime, anywhere, and even if they have leftovers on them! I love kisses!


And Trenton is getting better and better!!

And while they swim.. I dream up ways to make cakes! I made this one for Emile's mom for her Birthday! It tasted so so yummy.. and I'll be making it again as soon as I have another good excuse.

Banana Pops

Here's to keeping cool!!

We made some delicous treats today. Let me share what our Banana Pop recipe:

Ingredients:

• 3 bananas
• 1 cup chocolate-chips
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter

Materials:

• 9 wooden popsicle sticks
• parchment paper

1. Peel bananas and cut into three sections. Gently insert a popsicle stick into the center.
2. Place on a parchment paper lined tray and place in the freezer while you melt your chocolate.
3. Combine chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on medium (power 6-7) until melted. Stir with a spatula until smooth.
4. Pour melted chocolate into a tall, narrow glass or container. Remove bananas from freezer. Dip, one by one, into the chocolate, letting it ooze up the sides of the glass and coat the banana.
5. Place bananas on tray again and sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Freeze until solid.

To enjoy: remove from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature for about five minutes.

Serve with a napkin.

Beach trip

I love good friends! I especially love good friends at the beach. The only thing I don't love is that I left 100 degrees in Portland to needing a jacket and sweatshirts in Lincoln City.

What really made this amazing was when we went to Newport and went crabbing. Of course I forgot my camera (I'll get photos later), but at least you can see what we got to enjoy from our excursion!

I'm not sure if you can imagine what these crab tasted like... but it was the sweetest "bounty from the sea" (as Tony would say).

And... along with his impressive description of our tasty crab... he makes a pretty mean sand castle with stalactites. :D

Primary Party

I only wish I had been as relaxed as the kiddos above look. My primary had another party, and this time it was at my house!! This was a little stressful for me, although I think the ones that came to our party had a pretty good time. Here are a few of the pictures...

We had a story time about Pioneers

We played a stick pull game... and it looks like 3 kids to 1 still couldn't take Mike down!

We made individual Ice Creams in bags. They got to shake their ice cream and eat their labor. This was perfect for a hot sunny day!

This is just one of the fine ladies who helped with the work. I couldn't do this alone, and we have fabulous teachers to teach these precious children. They came and participated when they probably would have rather been with their own families!

We had edible crafts

Played a hula hoop ("Hupa loop" if you ask Trenton) relay game

and Burlap sack races

Now... I'm just relaxing for a bit!

Burned

I got burned today. In more than one way. The first is obvious. Just take a look. So much for yard work on the nicest day this year. I'll make sure to have my sunscreen handy now for sure!

The other "burn" was much more fun!!!
While working in the yard I had a few... "twigs and branches" to burn. I do not do this regularly, but it was necessary this afternoon. I threw in a few logs... a little lighter fluid... and got the fire burning my branches pretty well. After about 30 minutes, I just happen to be taking the garbage out at the same time a big huge fire truck pulls into the driveway. I see 4 firemen walking towards me and immediately my heart stops. They said they were responding to calls about yard debris and garbage being burned. He immediately started talking about the necessary permits and the city burn regulations. This happened pretty quickly as they walked toward my fire pit. The nice fireman looked at the damage and said... "Well.. all I see here are logs. Logs are just fine". I did admit to a few branches and twigs but assured him there was NO GARBAGE. He didn't seem to hear me and he was actually complimentary of our awesome pit, in an open space, with rocks and only asked that I keep the hose nearby.
The boys were pretty excited to have a fire truck come just for them, and of course we got a few junior fireman stickers just for good measure!
I feel a little like a rebel for my burn. At least they didn't come when it was REALLY rocking! I only wish I had the courage to ask them to pose with me for a picture. For now.. here is all they saw by the time they arrived.

Catch up

I'm playing a little catch up here with my photos. Have fun as I summarize where I have been in the last little while.

Golfing...

Painting...

Preschool with our favorite teacher Alisha!!!

Father/Son campouts (with special guest Papa)

And finally making Simon's Baby book. You can preview most of it below. I left a few pages out that were extra special and just not worthy of the blog. :D

SNB by Simon Nino Bonfiglio | Make Your Own Book

Bloggable?

Today I cried to an utter stranger! She might have been an angel, but either way she was unfamiliar to me.

I don't like to cry, so this was rare. Maybe I felt more comfortable because she wasn't someone I knew, although I wish I had seen someone who knew that I wasn't a horrible mother and to give me a sincere hug of empathy.

This was all while at Winco, and my sweet 2 year old had a meltdown that was the likes of no other meltdown in history. He was bonkers! Not for a minute or two... but for like 15. I started out pushing the cart and laughing while I had to get my things. This was funny because there wasn't an option to cry, or punish him. I tried bribing, threatening, hugging, ... everything you can do while in a store.

People were coming around from corners to see if the screaming was inflicted or not. Finally I pulled over in the tissue isle... tried to think of something to do, and a sweet lady came and gave me kind words of encouragement and love. I lost it.. right there.. in the Kleenex isle. This sweet woman gave me tissue and tried to make him laugh. He spit on her, threw the reachable groceries at her, and continued to scream like he was either being kidnapped or tortured... and she never judged him. She kept calling him Sweet!!! Maybe she was crazy, but .. today has been hard. He has a new level of tantrum and I have to figure out how to get threw this.

I just thought I'd blog this and see if it made me feel a little better.

Homemade

Who doesn't love warm rolls? I know I do, and the fact is that until this week, I could NEVER successfully make them. My yeast would never do that thing... where it bubbles. And what's up with the scalded milk? I can scald milk, I can mix, and I can follow recipes, but until my friend actually showed me how... I could never do all of those things together.

Look at what I did today! (you might notice in the picture where they are cooked, I couldn't wait to get the camera ready before I dove into them! )

And this is the boy that helps me eat them.