Full day of fun!

Today was our first Monday with no school or work so we packed in a full day of fun. :) I got to go the gym and oh my did I need that!! Then we met Jenn and the kids at the NA library to get the kids signed up for the summer reading program. Braden did it last year and it's super cute because they get prizes for every 20 books they read and coupons etc...plus it gives us a chance to go to the library and pick out new books every couple of weeks. Braden is at such a good age at the library. He can use all the computers and look for books but my oh my did I have my hands full with Ethan. It reminded me so much of Braden when he was little...Ethan wanted to run around, knock the puzzle pieces off, scream from the pirate ship-sheesh!!! Needless to say, they had fun!

All these squinty faces are Ethan saying cheeeeeeese!

I got Braden some new puzzles this weekend yardsaling and he tried a 100 piece for the first time. He did it!!! (with a little help from mom).

So proud!

Then we headed outside for some water fun

Ethan's new ride (with another big cheese) from a yard sale on Saturday :)

Crack me up!!!!!!!!!!!!

* Check out Ethan's swing in this video! I might be a little biased, but I think he's pretty good for 20 months! He seems so naturally athletic to me. He is constantly shooting baskets, throwing balls (and catching) and hitting the ball of the Tee. He loves it all!!! Every time we are in the car and he sees a basketball goal he says, "shoot ball" and pretends to shoot. So cute!

First boating trip of 2011 :)

Yesterday we were finally able to go boating! We have been ready for awhile but the weather hasn't been cooperating too much. :) Last year at this time, we had already been out a few times so we were ready, especially Chris.

Well if you've kept up with our boating stories in the past, you know there is always something with us!!!! Chris says it's the "Noble Curse." ha! Yesterday was no exception. Chris worked on the boat all morning getting it cleaned, dewinterized, all of that good stuff. Then he pulled it up to the gas station to fill up before we headed out. Well the tahoe would not start back up!!! (tahoe is our boat pulling truck). Stinko! We think the starter is out....soooooo Nick had to go get our boat on his trailer and pull it back to our house and then we just decided we'd drive our car to the lake and jump on their boat instead. The Thomas' boat is huge so there's plenty of room for everyone, plus Chris' truck doesn't quite have the umf to pull the boat very well long distances.

Anywhoo, the rest of the day was pretty uneventful besides a few pop up rains that we tried to outrun on the boat which the kids love of course. :) The kids had a ball and Chris and Braden even swam despite the coooooooooold water! So, back to the Noble curse....after boating all day we go to get in our car to go home and it won't start!! This is my car, not the tahoe. Really?!! Seriously?!?!!? I mean you have to laugh at this point. It turns out my headlights were left on and it killed the battery. My headlights are automatic so I would never think to check the manual switch but Mr. Braden was playing in my car while I was packing it for boating and had a little too much fun with all the buttons. :( So with a little help from the jumper cables, we were on our merry way. What a day! I'm sure this is only the beginning of the Noble boating fiascos!! :)

Brrrrrr, boys!

This was kind of like Ethan's first time boating again since he of course didn't remember last year. He was a little afraid of the loud motor and the wind at first, but then warmed right up. Having lots of snacks and drinks always helps with that!

Of course it's not boating season without the boys peeing off the back of the boat...notice Chris is still in the water in target range...Ewwwwww :)

Braden, Carson and Alivia just testing the cold water with their feet

Me, Jenn & Christy enjoying the sunshine!! ahhhhhhh, love it!

Ethan took a good 'ole nap on Chris' chest....a soothing boat ride is the trick :)

* Check out Braden and Carson's dance moves...they were so cute! Carson could karaoke this song!! :)

Teeball game #2

Braden and the mighty purple team played another great game Saturday despite the heat. :) I was so proud of Braden...not a single tear or moment of frustration. Woohoo! Good job Purple!

Getting ready to bat

We still hit the Tee here and there but hey, at least we are making contact with something. ha!

Coach Daddy telling him when to run

Go Forest, go!

Ethan chillin' on the bench with the big kids

School's out for summer!!!!

Last Wednesday was my last day of teaching and Braden's last day of preschool. When I taught full time I was definitely a teacher that counted down the days until summer but with only working part-time, I'm actually sad the year is over already! But anywhoo, more fun times with my boys so we got busy right away on our first day off. We met Carrie and Carolyn at the park by Tumbleweed on the river...the kiddos had a blast!

Ethan trying to climb the steep wall and yelling at something apparently.

Jace, Braden and Jacob chased each other up and down this playground 100 times!

The big kids having a picnic lunch

The little guys....Lexi and Ethan enjoying their lunch

Braden's first tee ball game

Today was Braden's first tee ball game of the season. They are the lucky purple team! :) This year is more like real baseball in that the only ball that goes in the field is the one hit by the opposing team...so we got to witness several kiddos running, diving and falling for the one ball. Hee hee! I had a feeling it was coming and sure enough, after a few plays Braden started crying because "I'm never gonna get the ball!" Oh brother....I thought this would continue the whole game but I was so proud of him for getting it together and not crying anymore when he went on the field. Hopefully that was a first game, get used to it kind of deal and we'll be over it. You just never know what you'll get with a 4 year old. :) Anyways, the kids were super cute and all did such a great job! Our whole team is all of our friends' kids which makes it so fun. Even though the kids all know each other, they all sat so nicely on the bench waiting for their turn to bat and got in "their positions" on the field. SO big! Chris is helping Damon coach so that was fun for Braden to have him out there. Here are some action shots from the Mighty Purple today. :)

Braden is in the navy blue shorts in the middle....running after the ball

Scooping up a grounder :)

Check out that stance...so ready. Oops, our glove isn't quite on the correct hand. ha! I'm pretty sure we are determining he is a left hander but we have a glove for a right hander

How low can you go, how low can you go? :)

Ethan and Cash hang with the team

Nice form buddy!

Run big boy!

Not sure if this is a slide or just a rest :)

Cousin Izzie!

Darbi and Ethan enjoying the views and a sucker

Gabe, Carson and Braden ready

Another great hit....we still hit the Tee quite a bit but when he ball goes somewhere, we are proud! :)

Braden getting some tips from Coach Daddy

Ethan's swim lessons

Ethan started swim lessons this week in the Mom and Tot class. I wanted to make sure he was comfortable with the water before we started boating and I definitely didn't have anything to be worried about! He loved it and had absolutely no fear (kind of scary really....since he'd jump in with or without me there-yikes)! I'm so happy he loves it! He only has one other toddler in his class so that makes it nice. We just sing little songs and get them used to kicking, putting them on their backs and blowing bubbles.

"1, 2, 3 GO" (or "doe" as Ethan says).

Using the back floaty

Kick, kick, kick!

Braden sat and watched with Daddy

Cookout

We threw together a last minute cookout tonight with our neighbor Deanna, the Vaughn's and Thomas'. Apparently we need to do these more often because this food is way fancier than what I cook!! Thanks friends for coming over and topping off a fun Mother's Day. Luv you guys and your sweet kiddos. :)

Pretty girls eating their dinners

Happy Mother's Day to us!! I think we got to sit for all of 5 minutes before one of the kids needed us.....ahhhh, but it was nice to sit and be adults for a bit. :)

The kids played so hard! Ethan was starting to crash so I started a movie for some of the kids and he got up on the couch and got like this. Crack me up!! He sleeps with his arms behind his head but this looks like he's posing for a magazine. :)

How cute is this!? Getting ready to watch a movie before they went home.

Mother's Day

I still remember sitting in church every Mother's Day before I was ever pregnant thinking, "I can't wait until I get to be a mom and stand with all the mothers." I just couldn't wait for that day. Being a mommy sure is the best (and hardest) job in the world!! I can't imagine life without my two little love bugs! As crazy as life is in our house (especially at mealtime) I wouldn't change one thing about these two precious gifts God gave to me! I think about how blessed I am everyday to have my boys and try to remember to cherish these moments...the fun ones and the ones that make me crazy because I know it will fly by. Thank you Braden and Ethan for making me the happiest mommy! I love you more than you'll ever know!!! (tear)

* Ok, now that I'm almost crying, back to this post...so I basically had a whole mother's day weekend-woohoo! Chris left for work like normal Friday morning and I was getting the kids through breakfast and dressed, texting friends about going to a park and all of a sudden he walked back in the house???? He had taken the day off (and just left to throw me off) to be with the boys and me for Mother's Day. :) So sweet and thoughtful! So we had the whole day just to be a family. We shopped around for a new tv for our bedroom. We were still using Chris' teeny tiny tv from 1989 :) and we decided to get a new flat screen with a DVD combo to put in our room...we are counting this as a Mother's Day/Father's Day combined gift. hee hee. So anyways, we shopped a bit, had lunch at Chuy's, came home all 4 took big naps, went flower shopping for our house and then met the Johnsen's for dinner. It was a full, fun day.

Then today, we went to church and met Chris' family at Mike Linnings for lunch. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a blast playing.
They loved this little playground

My lovebugs!

Up over the hill of the restaurant was a trail, these railroad tracks and the river...some fun sights.

Sweet boys...besides Braden squeezing Ethan's neck off. :)

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there!!!