What Better Way to Go Swimming...

...than with a dad who skips school to go with you!! 

Spontaneous

/spänˈtānēəs/

1. the act of being awesome

2. throwing it all to the wind

(I have a ham for a daughter....)

Ashley's Wedding

 My beautiful cousin got married on May 4th in Mesa. (You can see more of her gorgeousness over here) What I love most about weddings is family coming in from all over to celebrate together. Anna met lots of her aunts and uncles that weekend too, including her name sake! Even though it was only the beginning of May, we had to find refuge from the sun any chance we could. It was HOT! And the depressing thing is that summer hasn't even begun yet. I'm preparing myself for our "winter" over here where we don't leave the house for the next couple of months.
Lots of swimming to be expected and tans too. :)

Digging Todd's outfit?! He's been dubbed "Dapper Dan" in nursery. Not only does he look always look sharp (except for his constant mess of hair), but he sure knows how to steal the old lady's hearts in there!
His suaveness must be genetic. Not from me though.  

Todd's Party....Kind of.

 I should probably feel a little guilty that we used Todd's birthday as an excuse for us to have a little social get-together, but Todd won't remember that there wasn't a pinata or Pin the Tail on the Donkey, right?! That is until he reads this one day :)
We kept his party small and intimate, only inviting a few of Alex's medical school friends and their families. We don't live that close to campus, so it meant a lot to us that they would come out for Todd's party. They even pitched in together and got Todd a great little basketball hoop. So sweet! (I guess I'll have to make the "no gifts" plea on the invite -which I'm quite proud of- a little more prominent next time so it can't be ignored. The kid has way too much as it is!)
Although my decorations were not Pinterest worthy, the Dollar Store sure pulled through for me at the last minute! I mean those star balloons were staring me in the face while I was in the check out. It's as if they knew there was a Buzz party waiting for them.
And what would a party be without sparklers and a game of mini-basketball?! Six men clumped together, attempting to get their hands on that little orange ball and into the net was quite a sight. No game is too small to bring out intense competition. :)

Cinderella: On Five Years of Marriage

Ballroom dancing translates to dancing ridiculously weird in front of your kids to the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse theme song.

Those squeaky mice are really squeaky children who are equally amazing at destroying as mice are at making dresses.

That horse drawn carriage strangely looks like a black mini van with three car seats in the back and goldfish crushed into the floor.

Who stays up til midnight anymore?!

The only wish your heart makes is that you're dreaming you could stay fast asleep!! Kids jumping in your bed at the crack of dawn gets old real fast. 

The glass slipper fit then and it still fits now.

The castle is actually a quaint little house with a playground and sandbox in the backyard.  

Where's the Fairy Godmother when you really need her? The dishes are piled high, toys are strewn everywhere, and beds need to be made. Not to mention, it would be so nice to be magically whisked away again, just the two of us, to some awesome party...or a beach would be nice too!

But when the Prince still gently kisses your hand, looks deeply into your eyes, and manages to sneak in a dance or two, barefoot in the kitchen with little "mice" running circles around you both, you know that you have found your Happily Ever After.

So this is love and life truly is divine!

Happy 5th Anniversary, Alex! My handsome Prince Charming!

I wouldn't change any of it for the world!

You are the love of my life.

All Flowers Remind Me of You

Happy Mother's Day to the most beautiful, most deserving woman I know! Both of these women have shown me what it means to really have strength...the spiritual, emotional, and physical strength to keep going no matter how hard life gets. The amount of faith that shines in these women's hearts is truly inspiring. How grateful I am to have them in my life! And how I love them so!

You've Had a Birthday, Shout HOORAY!

Usually a birthday post starts out with "I can't believe this boy is two already!"...well, I sure can! In my mind,Todd has been "two" for the last six months!! His birthday just snuck up on me here. 

And what better way to start your birthday morning than with streamers and Mickey Mouse pancakes?!

Lets see...Todd at two....
Perhaps we named him perfectly. Because he is every bit of what a Toddler is! Climbing, jumping, rough-housing, destroying, and dirt. Not to mention bugs and dead birds. I can hardly keep up with that boy!

Everything is BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ! That boy is obsessed with Buzz Lightyear! He "flies" around the house with his arms stretched out in front pretending to be that oh so famous Space Ranger. He "shoots" his laser from his arm and makes "pew! pew!" sound effects to go along. He is always wanting to wear his Buzz costume from Halloween and his Buzz pj's. He wakes up asking for Buzz and goes to bed asking for him.
As much as it drives me nuts, I secretly find it absolutely adorable!

The trains, planes and yes, automobiles, are a given. He LOVES anything with wheels or flies. I'm grateful to live near the train tracks because we get to see the trains nearly everyday!

Todd is working on his communication skills. He is a little, maybe a lot, behind. He has a hard time with his consonants and piecing words together. But we're working on it! A big part of it is teaching Lucy not to do all the talking for him and allow him to answer the given question.

He has endless amounts of nicknames:
Toddy, Todders, Toddagin, Tater Todd, Todd Squad, Tiddles, Tiddly Wink, Todgy, Taj Mahal, Todd Man, Todd Gack, and the list goes on.... we add to it daily. But for the most part, he goes by Toddy or Todgy around here.

Happy Birthday Todd!
What a perfect fit you are to this family! We adore everything that is YOU!

Two Infinity and BEYOND!!