Chloe and Andrea's visit

Andrea and Chloe came for a visit this past Saturday and stayed all the way until yesterday. It was awesome!!!! Chloe has grown up so much and she was absolutely delightful to have around. She and Zane had a great time playing with one another. It is always so fun and relaxing to spend time with Andrea. I am so grateful that we get to see each other as often as we do, but my selfish side wishes we still lived in the same city. Oh well, I'll take what I can get. It will be a few days before Zane stops telling me that he wants to play with Chloe, but that's OK, I think it's adorable that he likes her so much and had such a good time. What can I say, LIFE IS GOOD.

Our Thanksgiving!

Today waqs Ryder's first Thanksgiving. That being said, I all but forgot to make a big deal out of it and take a bunch of pictures. I took a few, but nothing like for Zane. Sorry kiddo, you're number 2.
We started off our morning with a Turkey Trot around our neighborhood. It was the first annual Maricopa Turkey Trot and an amazing 75 people participated. I couldn't be more impressed with how well my friend Jen pulled it off. The best part is that it was a canned food drive for our local food bank. Way to go Jen!!!

We spent the rest of the day with our friends, the Mix's. Kib said it was the best holiday we had ever had, and I tend to agree. We were were welcomed with open arms by the Mix's and their extended family. It was so nice to be in a place where Zane and Ryder could run wild and no one minded. Fun was definitely the word of the day. We played games. Lots, and lots of games. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! This family clicks in every way that I hope ours will as our kids grow older. They are a family worth mirroring our own life after. I am truly grateful for the friendship that we have fostered with the Mix's and look forward to many more wonderful times together.

So what am I thankful for this year?

1. My kids, duh.
2. Kib, for giving me, and helping me raise, our kids.
3. My family, cuz their great.
4. My friends, all of them mean more to me than I can ever tell them
5. Our comfortable life.
6. Our great country.
7. And so many other things, the list just goes on.

Hope you all had as wonderful of a day as we did. We love you!!!!

Rainy Day Fun

It's not often that we get a rainy day here, especially not one pleasant enough for Zane to play in. Today it rained, and it was great. Zane played outside for what felt like forever. Playing in the rain, splashing in the puddles, and just having a great time. I'm not suggesting that I wish we had more weather like this, but I wouldn't complain if it happened once a month.

Nough said...

Zane and the roll of toilet paper

So this is what happens when you ask a two year old if he needs help in the potty, and he says"NO." He was right, he didn't need any help at all getting into the toilet paper and making an outfit out of it. What a cutie. It's a good thing I have a sense of humor:)

My boys are so cool!!

I hope that everyone enjoys reading about my boys. This week has been so much fun. Ryder started giving kisses this weekend. If you kiss or nuzzle hiw cheek he turns around, and mouth wide open, plants one on your cheek. It's very wet and slobbery, but so stinkin cute and wonderful. Zane learned how to dribble a basketball. Kib taught him on Sunday, and yesterday I ended up taking the ball away for a little while cuz the (bounce, bounce bounce) was driving me crazy. But he is good, really, really, good.

This is cool!

I love my friend Jen, she has the coolest blog, to which I steal all her great ideas. I never knew you could do collages in Picasa, and thanks to her, I am now an addict. So thank you to Jen for giving me one more thing to keep me busy:)

As for the photos, they're just a few to make you smile. I am amazed every day bu how much my kids grow and change. Zane was able to help Daddy this morning by using his Apple/pealer/Corer. This is a big deal since just 2 months ago he didn't have the dexterity to turn the handle by himself. I just stood there in awe as I watched my baby grow up before my eyes.
We can't forget Ryder and all his milestones. He pulled himself up onto his bouncer today, and proceeded to walk around it. He's been pulling himself up on everything he possibly can for the past week, but walking along it was new. Between that and his new love of "peek-a-boo" we have a lot more to look forward to.

Some fun photos of the boys!

Zane is just the cutest little bugger. This evening after dinner (more like during dinner) he decided to get a chair from the dinning room table and clean the dishes. How cool is that? It cost me more in water than if I had just replaced all the dishes, but he was so sincere and cute that I had to let him just go with it.

As for Ryder, well, we just get such a kick out of his crazy hair. He is really started to develop the most wonderful personality. What can I say, we are 2 for 2 when it comes to having wonderful kids.

Just a few fun photos

Kib's Surprise Weekend

It's sad, but true, Kib will officially be 30 in 3.5 hours. Every year I try to "one up" myself and this year, I did. For the past six months I have secretly been planning a fun weekend for Kib and his friends to celebrate his 30th birthday. It all started Friday afternoon when our friends Kelly and Kevin came in from WA. They spent Halloween with us and then I sent Kib off to the airport to pick up Ziff and Nicole (kib's brother and sis-in-law). Saturday morning everyone headed to the river to go kayaking. I spent the morning with Nicole getting ready for his surprise party that afternoon. With the help of my dear friends (Cheryl, Virginia, Kelly, and Jen) we were able to pull off an awesome surprise party. When Kib walked through the back door at Cheryl's he was greeted with Silly string, he was such a good sport. We went with a Mexican theme which included a pinata, virgin margaritas, and quesidillas for lunch. We really had a wonderful time and ended up hanging out until about 9:00 that night. (don't laugh, that's a late night for us). My thanks to all of our friends for coming out and supporting Kib on his big day. We love you, and as very grateful for your role in our family's life.

Haloween 2008

We had such a great time this year for Halloween. Zane went as Thomas the train. He loved it, he started wearing his costume on Thursday for school, and has worn it every day since. Ryder went as a chili pepper, although he only tolerated the costume long enough to get about 3 pictures taken. So for Halloween night our friends Kelly and Kevin (from WA) came into town and we went to a neighborhood potluck around the corner from us. We all sat out in front of our neighbors house and waited for the kids to come around. They must have thought they hit the jack pot. They pretty much hit 10 houses in one. Zane figured out pretty quickly to keep going around the circle and say "trick or treat." He was so cute that everyone kept giving him more candy. Eventually he just found a spot in the dark with a basket of candy and started eating it. It's a miracle that he didn't spend the night throwing up.