Stories of Johnson and Johnson

MMA

2012-02-16T16:49:00.000-08:00

We took the boys to a Mixed Martial Arts class a few weeks ago. The age group was for 4-7 year olds but the instructor asked Brock if he wanted to join in too; Brock was SO excited to be a part of the class!

They did a really good job of introducing and explaining when it's appropriate to use MMA skills. While covering the ABCs of the technique (and after Brock finished singing the ABCs to the entire class since he already knew his ABCs) one of the topics was "who's got your back?" The instructor was saying that at school, your teacher has your back. While playing soccer, your coach has your back. He then asked who's got your back at home…Troy proudly raised his hand and answered, "Jesus!" The instructor laughed and accepted Troy's answer, then added parent's too, of course!

Troy couldn't contain his excitement when they announced that they would each be able to kick a board. Troy's notorious ear-to-ear smile and little jumps of excitement made for another round of laughs from the parents.

Both boys had successful first attempts at breaking through their boards and earned their white belts.

And only because this one cracks me up:

Jeremy snapped this one of the boys while I was taking "too long" in the dressing room. It feels like my stomach has tripled in size and new shirts were very much needed!

Pinning

2012-01-27T18:01:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's long over-due promotion is official! He technically promoted the beginning of September but with one paper missing, leading to the next, and this and that and that and this, it finally went through for him!

The boys were excited to help with the pinning. Brock got to rip off the old gold bar...

Troy anxiously awaiting his turn...

to carefully pin on the black bar sealing it with a nice, strong punch!

(Good thing Jer is sturdy, Troy would have knocked me flat on my back!)

Congratulating the line up of first lieutenants

Troy giving his crush a nice big hug. Whenever Jeremy's work comes up in conversation, Troy usually asks about Jenny and gets so cute and even bashful around her!

I like how the little buddies held hands for our family shot :)

It was nice hearing what Jeremy's commander had to say about him including being an easy-going nurse with a level head.

As always, we're proud of our G.I. Jer.

Snow, next post down

A Little Snow and Glow Stickin

2012-01-27T17:26:00.000-08:00

Our first snow fall for the year was only a little, but it was fun!

We thought the boys might have had some snow to play in when we were in Idaho, but it took coming back to Washington to play in the fluffy white powder.

I made Brock wear a "beard" since he was still trying to recover from a little head cold

Troy was happy to have a few snowball fights

Jer nailing Troy in the back with a snowball

There was enough sticky snow that a snowman made his way in our backyard

This made me laugh seeing Troy sitting on frosty while touching up his tipped back face

AND a little more snow. We measured about 10 inches at our place. It was crazy seeing how the trees transformed and broke apart because of the heavy snow and ice…the reason for our recent power loss. Trees and branches were hanging SO LOW and since the trees here aren't trimmed back from the power lines they caused a little damage.

So while we had TOO MANY dark hours during the outage we played endless games of Skip-Bo, Uno, Go-Fish, Memory, Hide and Seek, and glow stick dancing. After the boys were asleep, Jer and I would play a few card games and surprisingly Jeremy made it out alive after a few issues (with making up rules and cheating ;) For his sake it's a good thing the power finally turned on!

Brock-left
Troy-right

Leaving their trails as they ran around the table

Baby Baby Baby!

2012-01-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

It's a BOY!!!

Our power finally turned on after being off for almost 96 hours, we were heading into our 5th day without it (thank goodness for our gas fireplace and hot running water!!), but thankfully my 20 week anatomy scan wasn't cancelled. We have a very active and healthy growing baby boy who has some very excited big brothers (and parents) who are constantly hugging, talking, and singing to their little brother. Our littlest man is growing right on schedule making him bigger than both big brothers measured; maybe we'll break our 6#3oz record! My placenta has fully reattached now so we're now hoping for a full term baby!

I started out with a gut feeling that we were going to have a girl; then after having four dreams that we'd have a boy it turned to "gut v. sub conscious"… sub conscious was right!

Profile

I wish this would have printed better but on the right of the pic you can see he already knows how to put up his dukes while stretching his leg straight out on the left of the pic

One of my favorite moments during the ultrasound was hearing Troy lean over to Jer and whisper, "I'm going to take really good care of my little brother."

We can't wait for May to get here!

Newsboy One and Two

2012-01-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

I love how easy and fun Pinterest has made running across fun ideas and pulling up great search results. I've been "pinning" long before Pinterest started by saving fun ideas to a folder, but you can't beat how easy Pinterest has made it! I found THIS newsboy hat pattern and while in Idaho, with my mom there to help clarify with the directions, made a couple hats for my handsomes. I only followed the first half of the pattern then did my own thing (I used a different size yarn and hook than what was recommended and it turned out looking like a baker's hat…big no-go!)

Button, button, who's got the button? I bought a set of buttons before we left for ID and remember thinking I should leave them home since I could add them on any time. Guess who lost the buttons? Me and my mushy, forgetful brain. Now that I've bought these new sets I'm waiting for my originals to show up any time now!! I should get my brain back in five months!

Great-Grandpa Tanner

2012-01-13T14:07:00.000-08:00

We had my parents with us for almost two weeks here in WA; then we drove back to Idaho with them so we could go to Grandpa Tanner's funeral.

Owen and Bonnie - Summer 2010

It was a very nice funeral service and his sweetheart is doing really good. Grandma made us laugh quite a bit and it was nice being able to visit with her and all of our other family that we could squeeze time in for.

Owen and Bonnie - Summer 2010

2007 - Troy meeting his Great- Grandpa for his first time

2009 - Brock meeting Great-Grandpa for his first time

The boys had fun playing with cousins and they all got along great. The last time these guys were together it was only Morgan, Troy, and Lucas...Brock and Kaitlyn hadn't been born!

They all sat together for a few minutes to watch a movie and played hard the rest of the time

The guys

With Great-Grandma

It had been a long seven months since these cousins had seen each other, they gave the word "play" a pumped-up definition! Plus they all loved every minute and cried after their good-bys :(

More craziness when I peeked in their tent to take a picture

still craziness

and as still as they could get!

We all did great for the 13 hour drives, we loved visiting with everyone though we wish we could have had more time to spend. It's nice being home, though we all agree we wish "home" were in Idaho!

A Very Merry Christmas

2011-12-29T17:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas came sooo fast this year it seems that our decorations weren't up that long. The boys loved seeing where Michael, their "Elf on the Shelf" would be sitting each morning and he must have given Santa a good report on their behavior because they had a fantastic Christmas!

Christmas Eve was made extra special when these surprise visitors showed up at our home!

Santa's cookies - check.
Milk - check.
Michaels mini cookies - check.
Carrots for reindeer - check.
Final letter to Santa - check.

Christmas Morning:

I wish I would have beat the boys downstairs with my video camera. They were SO excited and I think I heard Troy say, "This is the best Christmas EVER!" at least a handful of times.

Brock "passed out" after handing Jer a big present

NERF GUN!!!

The boys were so happy that Santa received their lists and was able to give them their "kid" IPads, belts, and yo-yos. They were given lots of fun gifts from everyone and we all had a fantastic Christmas!

We've had nerf darts flying around the house ever since these presents were opened, (even the adults have fun with these toys too, thanks Ty and Laurie!)

The boys LOVE their "Ipads"

It's always fun having new things to play with and we love having G'pa and G'ma here too!

A Visit with Santa

2011-12-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

A much anticipated visit with Santa this year to make sure he received the Christmas lists (and gently tug on his beard and giggle at his real belly). These little gentlemen felt very special visiting with the big guy and would have sat with him all night long if we would have let them!

Looking back, 2010:

2009:

2008:

2007:

And from our family:

In December

2011-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

My blog hasn't needed updated lately…haven't been out much! BUT, I've taken a few pics so thought I'd share (here ya go, Grandpa!)

I had a Christmas gift for a friend sitting on the kitchen table and headed upstairs to shower. While I was doing my hair, Jer was also upstairs talking to me and Troy came up to let me know he had wrapped the gift for me so I wouldn't have to. Jeremy headed downstairs and I could hear him laughing as he came back up. Troy has helped out with wrapping a few gifts lately and decided to give it a shot. Why so many bows? He ran out of tape after the first piece so he improvised with bows.

Excited to "send off" their Christmas lists

Troy has been helping Brock out a lot lately with his letters so we tried his name for the first time. With just a little guidance with his "k"this was Brock's first time writing his name!

This is what happened one day after this sleepy momma slipped into a coma. My mini choc-o-holic needed some chocolate chips and helped himself. He even got a little bowl to "put them in".

Brock has been Jer's cuddle buddy lately. If it's not Jer sleeping, then it's Brock.

Jer made me this blanket the Christmas before we were engaged (ISU colors) and it has been in storage for probably six years. It is so soft and warm that we're always fighting over it. Glad it finally found it's way out of the storage bin!

We thought Troy was a sweetheart for drawing us this picture…Jer is on the left with the four spiked hairs, I'm on the right, with the tamed hair :)

You Know You're Pregnant When...

2011-12-19T19:08:00.000-08:00

You receive returned mail because you forgot to add the stamps

It takes two different alarms to wake you up in the morning; lesson learned after completely sleeping through the alarm for the third time

You pass over your credit card to get on military base (no it doesn't require payment, just your military ID)

You scan the kitchen for 30 seconds, ask your husband where he hid the breadsticks and when he gives you a funny look while pointing, you see they're two inches away from your plate

The first night your "Elf on the Shelf" is back in your home, "he" forgets to find a different place to sit for the next day and makes for some confused/disappointed kids the next morning (*insert random, made-up reason here*)

While checking out some "pretty beads" at a store you leave your purse on the ground and later accuse your husband of forgetting to grab it from the shopping cart, in the following store

You sleep in, take an afternoon nap, take an evening nap, and sleep in again the next morning

You go an entire day without taking a nap and when you go to bed, lay there until 3 am before falling asleep is even an option

You search the entire house for any type of candy since Santa's elf always leaves a little something in place of the kids' Christmas list. Finally, after almost giving up you realize the Christmas Tree is filled with candy canes and could spare a couple

…Unfortunately just being 16 weeks along, the list will more than likely grow over the next few months…

…But fortunately...

Our bouncing baby is doing wonderful; we all loved seeing our baby-thumb-sucker! At my check-up this past week we learned that the tear caused by the clot is finally closing up, YES!!! The most concerning area, the chorion, is healed and now just needs to reattach along the edge of the placenta (this was concerning because it could have lead to a miscarriage or preterm delivery). This also means that the clot is considerably smaller. I have been gradually feeling better over these past six weeks and though I'm still taking it easy, I'm no longer considered complicated and am back to monthly check-ups. I've done enough reading on this topic and understand that these beastly clots tend to tease and sometimes reappear so I'm planning on staying on the cautious side for a while but we couldn't be happier with how things are looking right now. (As far as my tiredness and confused, partially working brain; My doc has prescribed iron for my lower hematocrit. Which should help. A little anyways ;)

tHanKsgiViNg

2011-11-29T08:35:00.000-08:00

Jer dove right into the kitchen as soon as he got home from working all night and made a delicious Thanksgiving meal for our little family. He even brought home the flower-filled cornucopia! He made sure we had all of our Thanksgiving favorite dishes and jumped up halfway through eating after realizing we didn't have any stuffing on our plates.

Troy's favorite: Fruit Salad

Brock's favorite: Olives

Working away after dinner putting together "left-over" pot pies; with just us eating we had lots of left overs plus four freezer "left-over" pies ready to be baked up. My new favorite left over meal!

Jer isn't a fan of it, but he bought me my strawberry fluff salad ingredients and let me make that one salad (in the left corner), which I enjoyed :)

We were skype-called from my fam and they were able to fit all of us in for a family pic… glad we could unofficially be together for a little bit, and we're glad to see G'pa feeling much better after having back surgery!

Party Like You're FIVE

2011-11-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

It hasn't sunk in yet that my baby is five! Troy couldn't be a better big brother and we are so glad to have him in our family. He has been excited for his birthday and has been planning and planning for his party; it turned out to be a blast for our handsome little man.

You would have thought it was Christmas morning when Troy came running into our room bright and early on the morning of his party announcing that it had SNOWED. Jer has been working night shifts and has been running the house while I've had to sit around; but the boys were able to play in the "skiff" a little before he had to leave to grab some party necessities.

Troy went out with his dad the day before to pick out a batman cake, but changed plans when he saw ~~the toys on top of~~ this "How to Train Your Dragon" cake, do you blame him?!

Getting the party started with some pizza of course!

Making the big wish, and yes it was a big wish (he wished for a zip-line)

Cake time with some buddies

Troy loved all his gifts and was busy the entire time! He requested the "fishing game" like Brock had at his party and each kid fished out a pair of goofy disguises and a bag of cowboys v. indians

Troy knows that the birthday boy gets to choose dinner, so after the party wound down we took off to Red Robin that night so I could "take of picture when they sing and give out the dessert!" This guy doesn't like attention.at.all. ;)

Since the next day was his birthday we celebrated some more! FIVE candles, FIVE fingers?!?!

He's been overdue for a bigger bike. I love how excited Brock was too, (I caught him in the middle of a jump in the center pic)

He couldn't wait to try it out. He took off and should be a pro after a few more bike rides! Jer looks pretty cool riding his wifies little bike too :)

It made his birthday even more special getting to skype and talk with all of our Idahoans. His gifts, cards, and birthday wishes he received should hold him over until next year :)

(check out his birthday q and a in the previous post!)

Birthday Q & A, Starring Troy

2011-11-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite color
Green

What is your favorite song
Ummm. Huh. All the songs.

Who do you love
Grandmas, Grandpas, my cousins. Eli and Livi, I miss them.

Do you have a favorite number
All of them

What is your favorite food
Pizza!

What is your favorite dessert
Donuts, cookies…All of the desserts!

Who loves you
I'm sure Eli and Livi and my Grandpas and Grandmas

What color is your hair
Brown

What do you want to be when you grow up
Somebody that does the job of an air-pilot. Then go home when it's dark.

When is your birthday
November 20th

What do you want to do this year now that you're five
Go swimming in an outside pool in the spring. Go on a bike ride. And go to the beach.

What makes you happy
When I see Eli, Livi, Grandpas, and Grandmas
(I think Troy needs to meet his other cousins too!)

What movie do you like
Aladdin and the Troy Movie of when I was a baby

If you get a baby sister what should we name her

Kaitlyn

You already have a cousin named Kaitlyn

No, like Kaitlyn from my old preschool…or how about Blossom

If you get a baby brother what should we name him

Gold. Or... Cozmo and we can have him wear a hat

Do you think you'll get a brother or sister

Maybe a sister since we already have Brock

Is there anything else you want to tell me

No, you're supposed to ask me the questions

Do you have anything else you fell like saying though

No. Well…I'm happy when everyone comes to my birthday party and when Eli and Livi come. Can I say one last thing? This would make me happy; when Eli and Livi come with us when we go camping.

Baby Update

2011-11-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

I was able to see our growing baby for my fourth time today; it's always nice going in for a scheduled appointment rather than emergency. As I mentioned, on Halloween I found out I had a blood clot behind my cervix. The doctor didn't seem too concerned and told me to come back the next week for my previously scheduled appointment, unless I started to bleed new blood again.

After a week of hardly any worry, I was excited when a (different) doctor didn't make a big deal and barely mentioned the clot. The day after my exam, I had just gotten home from dropping Troy off at preschool and Jeremy just got home from his night shift when I started to bleed again, even more than my first scare. So, we grabbed Troy from school and went back in. Another new doc this time. He let us know right away that baby looked fine, though he was fairly concerned that I had a very large, even extreme, subchorionic hemorrhage that has started to tear the baby away from the placenta. He scheduled another checkup for the next week, but told me to come back in if I was bleeding new blood and sent me home on limited bed-rest (meaning I shouldn't just lay down all day, but I shouldn't lift, pull, push, or stand much). I couldn't do much even if I wanted because the clot causes cramping when I stand.

My AMAZING husband has completely taken over. Some wives think they're lucky that they don't have to ask their husbands twice to do something. I'm lucky because I don't even have to ask for a first time. Couldn't ask for a better example for my boys. These past nine days have creeped by and I have researched this topic to death. At my check-up today, it was nice to hear the (same) doctor say he's been watching for my name in both the ER and office and he was glad he hadn't seen my name come up because of how active and strong my last bleed was.

Today's update: Baby didn't want to hold still for a picture :) the hematoma looks much more reassuring this week, though he still considers it an extreme clot. Still on restricted bed rest and it sounds like I'll be getting weekly ultrasounds until this thing clears up (I'm excited for both, the ultrasounds and kicking this clot). We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers from family and friends and look forward to more GOOD news!

We're almost 12 weeks, most pregos are excited to be getting over their morning sickness. I WISH that's all I had to "worry" about.

(these pics are from today; the clot is the dark line right below the baby and looks smaller than last weeks pics)

Lucky Lady

2011-11-14T18:56:00.000-08:00

It made my day getting this beautiful bouquet of flowers

And the sweet little man that chose the perfect bouquet and hand delivered them to me while smiling ear to ear...

MUST be learning from his dad :)

Birthday Q & A, Starring Brock

2011-11-10T20:04:00.000-08:00

What is your favorite color

my favowite color is owange

Do you have a favorite song

ABCs

Who do you love

Gwapa with his cows

(Brock currently has a huge cow fetish and checks on the cows by our house at LEAST 5x each day)

What is your favorite food

SNACKS! I…like…treats!

What treat do you like

Who loves you

Gwapa! My cousins!

What color is your hair

Silver

(said with a big, teasing smile)

What do you want to be when you grow up

Be a Policeman

When is your birthday

I already had my birthday

What do you want to do now that you're three

I'm gone plant a apple tree!

What makes you happy

It makes me really mad when Troy breaks my toys. Troy broke my spiny toy… (Then Troy jumped in saying, "Brock, that's not what she asked!")

What movie do you like

Dora!

If you get a baby sister, what should we name her

Amy

If it's a baby brother, what should we name him

Airme

Do you think you'll get a brother or sister

A girl because I name her Amy

Is there anything else you'd like to tell me

That's all mom

A Wonderful Treat (and Horrible Trick)

2011-11-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

Our littlest was able to dress up for Halloween too! It was definitely a treat to be able to see our sweet and active little baby with a strong heartbeat a week before we were supposed to.

The horrible "trick" on Halloween…

We had to make an early visit to my doctor because Halloween morning I started to bleed A LOT. We were both already worried about having another miscarriage; we had to go through our first loss this spring (baby stopped growing early on, it was horrible hearing and seeing that there was no heartbeat and I miscarried at 12 weeks). We did NOT want that to happen again. While sitting in the waiting room, the sweet little song played through the hospital letting everyone know that a baby was just born. As this song played I just cried and told Jeremy that I HATED that day because it was the due date for our baby from earlier this year and to be in there, worried that we were loosing another baby was just horrible.

I went to the exam room alone while Jeremy stayed in the waiting room since we had the boys with us and I had to wait forever! The relief I had when the doctor said our wiggly baby looks just fine and has a strong heart beat was exactly what we were hoping for. All the bleeding was due to a blood clot behind my cervix, and though there's a chance it can influence a miscarriage, it was absolutely wonderful news knowing that the baby is fine! I couldn't wait to get out of there and tell Jeremy the baby was o.k.!

The newest addition to our family is due June 4, 2012, though we'll have an earlier due date with another scheduled c-section. The boys can't wait to be big brothers and help take care of the little one, and we are hoping and praying for no more "tricks", just a wonderful little "treat" to welcome to our family!

Brock is THREE

2011-11-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

Presents!

More presents!

And a little play time with the fun new gifts

The invite! I had to use a different program to scramble my info; hence the bizarre look :)

He couldn't wait for his costume birthday party to start

Our little ninjas! Brock wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for halloween... until he heard Troy was going to be a ninja, then plans changed! So he requested an orange ninja. Troy wanted to be a green ninja but we couldn't find cool green ninja material so he decided red would be just fine.

These costumes didn't take long at all to make, especially compared to last year's batman and robin.

We would have called them "foot-soldiers" and made Jer a ninja turtle costume with me being April, the reporter but time ran short...

And the GoodWill supplied our "80s workout" costumes.

After the "fishing" game, the kids had to check out their treat bags.

He got so many fun presents from all of his friends

He loved his party and loved being able to share it with friends (and skype and phone calls from family!)

Brock will quickly correct you if you call him a "little" boy. He is a "big" boy and was convinced for a time that he's already five, though he's now fine with being our big three year old :)

Soccer Stars

2011-10-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

We LOVED soccer! Troy is an awesome little player and scored at most of his games, he even scored twice at one game!

As long as his focus was on the ball and not what most 4-yr-old's focus on (helicopters, birds, balloons, fire engines... ;) he knew to hustle.

This game was more of a rugby match but you can still see a smile on Troy's face!

Team cheer

End of season party, receiving his certificate and medal from his awesome coach

At one of the previous practices, only four kids show up so our little Brock Star was asked if he wanted to scrimmage...of course!!! Troy was proud to show his brother off to his team mates.

Brother against brother

And Troy takes off!

But our little guy did amazingly well at keeping up with everyone and even got to kick the ball a few times :)

(Just added another post below, too!)

Round One

2011-10-29T22:36:00.000-07:00

We went to the Pumpkin Patch as a family before we went with Troy's preschool class, hence the "round one" title. Our laptop is back up and running so I wanted to throw on a few more festive pics since I can finally get to them!

Blowing bubbles on the wagon ride. Ya know, the "maaaaa, maaaaa" bubbles?!

Another year down of our GI Joe leading us through the corn maze! (It was much more entertaining with our visitors last year...these guys)

Tasty :) He is a little tease!

Our "little" guys are getting big. I don't think Jer will be able to peek over their heads by next year!

I took a pic of this cute little face as he was peeking through my legs.

Troy was scoping out which pumpkin he wanted to get when he came back with his preschool group.

Brock found one to hide behind!

Our little flowers :)

Yesterday...

2011-10-28T09:54:00.000-07:00

We celebrated THIS

A Pumpkin Here and a Pumpkin There

2011-10-24T17:06:00.000-07:00

Troy's Preschool class (and siblings...which only added one extra, our very own BrockStar) had a field trip to a pumpkin patch.

100% in rain boots :)

They loved the "petting zoo" area, I asked them afterwords what animal they liked the best and the noisy, bristly pigs won.

They loved the hay maze... Troy is definitely a leader when it comes to challenges like this.

My little runt... poor Brockers couldn't squeeze in for a picture from the front so I took one from the rear. Sad little lips :(

Picking out the perfect pumpkins! The field trip rule was that the kids had to be able to carry their own pumpkin back to the hay ride. Both boys used every muscle they had to haul back the biggest pumpkins they could handle!

me, "Troy, let me take a picture of you with your pumpkin!"

Troy, "But Mom! Isn't that Eliza on the slide?!? Isn't that Jason eating his lunch?!?"

Always bigger and better things to do than smile for a pic.

The boys put stickers on their pumpkins and helped Jer and I carve the "big" pumpkins.

Spoonfull of guts

No caption needed

The finished product

(Troy sporting the G'pa Johnson smile)

The spooky owl and vampire bat

Whaa aaa aaa aaa aaaaaaaaaaa!

SFC Leroy Petry

2011-10-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

Since Jeremy almost never toot's his own horn, I thought I would :) Jeremy gets to care for injured soldiers every now-and-then; his favorite type of patient to have. He met SFC Leroy Petry through other wounded soldiers; Petry would visit them at the hospital, while Jeremy cared for them as their nurse. Petry himself is very humble, and though Jeremy respected him because he lost his hand during a heavy battle in Afghanistan, he didn't know the detailed story and Petry never volunteered the details. Jeremy didn't know he was going to receive the Medal of Honor for his heroism of saving his fellow rangers by attempting to throw an enemies grenade back towards them. After working with Petry for six months, Jeremy found out through another patient that Petry was going to leave Fort Lewis to receive the award at a ceremony held at the White House (FYI even the President of the USA is expected to solute these recipients when they're wearing their award). This past week when Petry was visiting the hospital to present a coin to an injured soldier, Jeremy was surprised when Petry also gave HIM a coin for Jeremy's sincere care for the injured…and of course, Jeremy's reply was that he is only doing his job.

The boys and I have visited Jeremy while at work and when we say hi to his patients, they always tell me how lucky I am to have Jeremy. He was told from a "seasoned" nurse that she has never in her career had as many patients request a nurse as much as he's requested.

Click the link to hear from Petry and see the the same hand that Jeremy and the President of the USA has shook ;)

The Daily Show Interview with SFC Leroy Petry

Open Gym

2011-10-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

My blogging is getting behind; I've been busy with pictures lately and have had some really great photo sessions! I'll work on catching up and wanted to start with adding our friday activity: Open Gym. For Troy's preschool, instead of having formal gymnastics on Fridays, they have open play time where siblings and other kids can join in and play for 1 1/2 hours of nonstop running, jumping, rope swinging, hoola-hooping, block pit playing, trampoline jumping, ring and bar swinging, jump-rope FUN. Perfect activity for the upcoming rainy season.

Brock has great form at his summersaults; Troy showed me one backwards summersault, then I could barely catch up with him the entire time so you'll see Brock demonstrating most of the activities :)

~~Brock bouncing the ball~~

The ball bouncing Brock

One little monkey…

Two little monkeys

Time for the block pit

Troy's big jump in

(I had to ask him to take a break from his friends so I could get a couple pictures of him too! The guys spend 3/4 of their time playing "ninja" in their "forts")

Playing on the bar

Brock gets SO upset with himself that he can't lift his body up and flip through the rings. He has enough determination I bet it won't take him long to figure it out!

(He had his two-month follow-up x-ray and it looks like he shouldn't have any growth plate issues and his bone is still healing perfectly…one more follow up in six months and he's set!!!)

Getting the hang of the hoola-hoop.

So is Troy!

It's a Goner

2011-10-08T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Short-Lived Life of Piggy Bank (and Almost Brock)

Grandpa Johnson gave Troy a piggy-bank when we were in Idaho this past spring. Troy has L.O.V.E.D his piggy bank and ever since he was given it his eyes have been trained to find and earn money (quarters are best, ya know). We even bought Brock a little one too so he could have his own to fill with coins.

I was enjoying how quiet it was while Troy and Brock where upstairs playing in their room. Then came a LOUD thud. Brock instantly started crying and Troy came running to get me saying, "Brock is stuck! He's stuck!" I found him (thankfully) between two dresser drawers with his whole bedroom dresser laying on top of him. The little stinker. He claimed he was getting a pair of socks out, reaching to get a puzzle from on top the dresser, and/or reaching for his piggy bank. While I was putting the drawers back in we saw it…Troy's piggy bank. crushed. coins everywhere.

Unfortunately this crushed more than just mr. piggy. It crushed Troy's and Brock's hearts. Troy started crying, then Brock said, while still crying from his big scare, "I'll share mine with you Troy, I'll share mine!!!" Poor little Brockers felt so bad!

(reminds me of when my sister, Ann, was trampled over by a cow…scared us both so bad, so I offered her my popsicle since hers got stomped on, ha ha!)

I'm wondering if I need to have Brock wear a helmet 24/7. The turkey slid down our stairs in an empty box BACKWARDS last week. And no, Troy wasn't involved in the idea making of it. All Brock.

Cowboy Up

2011-10-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

We don't have to wonder where our boys are if the house is quiet…fenced backyards are AWESOME!!! These cowboys would play outside all day long if we let them. They were invited to a friend's birthday party and LOVED the cowboy theme, made these stick horses, and were given these fun cowboy party favors. The day after Gage's party, Troy was the first one to wake up. He dressed himself in his get-up, peeked in our room, and when Jer looked up at him without saying anything, Troy whispered, "yee-haw" and got a laughing response out of it. To top off the "cowboy-thing", our new home is caddy corner to a pasture of cattle. Brock loves checking up on the beef and making sure they go in the barn at night and when it rains. We're loving our elbow room and are all settled in our new home!

(Troy is wearing Brock's shorts, but cowboy boots and shorts are cool no matter what length :)

Preschool - Year Two

2011-09-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

Troy's final year of Preschool has begun! He went for half a year starting Jan 2011 at a local preschool near our house. It was a fantastic preschool, just pricey for the few hours/days he went. SO, I switched him to the preschool on post. oops. It was more of a playgroup than anything and Troy would come home frustrated most of the time because of the maturity level of his class. He was accepted into the strong beginnings program through post since he is now in the pre-kinder age, but since we're moving further away from post I wasn't too excited about the five day program for the distance I'd have to drive…back and forth.

After calling and researching almost every available preschool in our new town, we are ALL so happy to have Troy going to a Tumble Tots Preschool!!! It's three days instead of five (I'm happy about that!) and Troy gets to have 45 minutes of gymnastics after his preschool. He's been going just over a week so far and we're so glad to see him come home happy and excited; he has wonderful teachers AND classmates! Troy is a smart young man, he is doing a great job at reading simple words, he listens well to his teacher, and it made this momma happy to hear from another parent that our friendly little guy befriended a shy girl, helping her feel part of the rest of the group.

School shopping for this dude consisted of finding more t-shirts and soft shorts. He's set.

Can't believe he'll be graduating with the class of 2025 (wowza)

Family Pictures

2011-09-09T07:55:00.000-07:00

It's time to update my wall of family pictures so we took an evening with the tripod and snapped away! Jer and I are getting pretty good at being the biggest idiots ever just to make these little dudes laugh for a picture. I'm sure we were very entertaining to everyone walking past on the trail that evening but hey, anything for happy, smiley boys! I'm excited to add these to the wall of our NEW rental home the end of the month :)

T.Ball with T.roy and B.rock

2011-09-07T22:53:00.000-07:00

Troy was on his first team sport this summer...TBALL! His team was made of three- and four-year-olds and our little slugger played as if he's been playing his whole life. (Yes, I have sports-parent pride...it's hereditary)

We cheered on the side lines for our #12

Few action shots; Troy's scooping the ball to throw to first base

Getting off the ground to make the play

Batter-up!

Team Cheer

He had a fun season and we enjoyed watching our kiddo on the field. Troy was a hustler, always listened and did what his coach asked, top three for speed, and wasn't happy with dinky, little hits; he preferred "home-runs".

Great season #12!!!

Brock learned a lot from watching on the side lines. We went to the park one evening and this bat was left there so we played ball with some apples. This kid can HIT the ball over and over.

connection! Love how he can't keep his eyes open but his mouth makes up for it!

And Troy had to take a few swings.

The apple was mush by the time we were finished with it.

On to the next sport: Soccer in full swing!!!

Garden for Two

2011-09-07T22:37:00.000-07:00

These boys enjoyed helping Grandpa in the garden when we lived in Idaho and they loved eating their "hard work". Jer bought the boys their own garden center this spring since we currently don't have a yard. The boys planted two tomato plants (Troy's request) and some carrots (Brock's request).

(pic taken last month)

They've been able to proudly enjoy some garden-grown vegetables. As soon as there's a red tomato it's picked, washed, and in Troy's mouth. Brock tries really hard to eat tomatoes, but like his mom, he passes them on to Troy to finish.

Little Hoots

2011-08-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

While my mom was visiting I had her teach me how to read a simple crocheted hat pattern and I got a little adventurous and figured out how to transform a bear hat pattern to an owl hat for my two favorite hoots. They asked to wear these today since the sun wasn't shining. It was a no-go since it's still warm but with fall just around the corner, we're ready for those chilly days.

Moser's Visit

2011-08-25T19:51:00.000-07:00

We've been excited for months waiting for my parent's vacation to visit us. We were on the go, go, go the WHOLE time and loved every minute with them!

We took them to our favorite "exploration" beach, Burfoot, and my Dad found a huge sea snail…something new for all of us!

This pic shows the huge, ugly snail partially in his shell

And the big shell

There were about four of these big, beached jellyfish. Troy got too carried away with his exploring and accidentally stepped on a stinger. It stung him pretty good but he felt much better after he heard Brock "killed" it by throwing a rock at it (or it was just the sting removal remedy kicking in which he wasn't too impressed with doing either ;)

We caught a ferry outside of Seattle and drove up the Whidbey Island. It was a quick ferry ride but the kids had fun.

adults too!

At Deception Pass

The fog rolling in looked so neat, it was crazy how chilly the fog was!

One more view

My parents reserved a hotel in Seattle that we stayed in after Whidbey Island so we could get up and head to Pike's Place (we haven't been there since my parent's last visit in November!)

Had to show Troy and Brock the huge fountain. It was a hit. They were wishing they had their swimming suits; not that they didn't swim for hours at the hotel!

Enjoying lunch at the Space Needle Restaurant. Our only pic with all of us together courtesy of the restaurant! We had beautiful weather all week and enjoyed a great view again.

Loving dessert

We found the gum wall by Pike's Place. We can now say we've been there, done that, and each left a piece of gum behind.

Brock posing with his first CD of Morrison Boomer (band playing at Pike's Place). He was shakin it for the crowd and clapping the loudest after each song; guess he loves their style!

AND we hit up the zoo.

These boys love feeding the birds

A zoo flower favorite :)

Squeezing in a snooze before heading out again. I love this pic.

G'pa and Troy fed a hungry seagull; Troy's pic is off focus but it would have been perfect! Jer bought me a new lens that day so I was having fun taking pics of everything, love my new lens (as long as I focus on the right object!)

And we finished by sharing a Mt. Rainier at a favorite Olympia restaurant. We all loved spending a fun-packed week with these guys and already can't wait til see them again!

All Smiles!

2011-08-20T07:35:00.000-07:00

Cast free and LOVING the pool!

The big bulky orange cast came off just before our camping trip a few weeks ago. Dr. Smith removed Brock's seven staples and three pins and our tough little guy didn't even shed a tear. Brock asked for a green cast for his last ten days…

Showing his muscles just before his cast-feedom

He'll have x-rays in two months and again in six months to check on his growth plate. 50/50 chance it will heal the way it needs to. It looks good so far so we're hoping for good news!

Another new post below :)

Oregon Coast and Redwoods

2011-08-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Oregon Coast

I've been checking things off my bucket list left and right this year! We made it to the Oregon Coast and loved the beautiful drive along the coast.

Stopped to stretch our legs before we made it to our camp site and took a little hike to Devils Churn. Jer had a death grip on the boys and our crazy Troy even asked if he could jump off the cliff into the water!

Hand prints in the soft sand

We went to the Sea Lion Caves, the shoreline was packed with these stinky guys!

The cave was nice and cool and pretty fun for our boys.

We had to go play at the beach, these kids don't care how cold the water is!

Brock enjoyed scooping sand

gathering feathers

and chasing the seagulls

Troy can always be found in the water

(Fish eye lens)
These cuties playing so well together

Too chilly for me to ditch my jacket so I spent most of my time hiding behind the little sand hills trying to keep warm…and I'm even from Washington!

Troy's cleaver way to wear his feather. And Brock has a whole hot dog in his mouth.

Sharing S'mores and hugs from the boys

Right behind our campground were some awesome sand dunes. We could have played there all day long! This dune was larger than my pictures make it look and Troy did great hiking up the never ending side of it.

We showed up just as the sun was setting (gorgeous view up there with the ocean in the background!)

Troy sliding down the side

Big sandy kicks

Jer making the jump

My jump

Our little casted child even got to play in the sand and we got this sweet picture of him

Redwoods - Northern CA

Just after setting up camp #2

Being dorks with the camera

Couldn't pass up s'mores on National S'more Day (great timing for a camp trip!)

Boys found too many banana slugs

And collected a pile of fun findings

Playing in the water

We visited Lady Bird Johnson Grove in the Redwoods and couldn't believe how massively huge these trees are!

The boys in a hollowed tree, then a picture looking out from it.

Brock hiked a lot and caught a ride when he tuckered out. We have some pretty good little hikers!

Troy and Brock at the base of this big guy

Couldn't pass up driving our rig through the tree in Klamath

The first time we crossed the bridge in Klamath Jer asked me if I could see what everyone was looking at. I thought I saw a couple of sea lions and told him to keep driving. As we came back he had to stop and see what the commotion was about and we are so glad cause there was a momma WHALE in the Klamath River!

And Trees of Mystery with Paul Bunyan and Babe.

The first pic has TWELVE trees in ONE tree with one trunk.

The boys checking out the Elephant Tree

Riding on the Sky Trail

Cathedral Trees - I didn't know people get married in the Redwoods.

Yes, this says, "Crusades 1096"

I pieced together a few pics to "try" and show how huge the "Brotherhood" tree is. Can you see the tiny brothers at the base?

We camped, hiked, swam, ate, slept with little arms and legs pushing into our ribs, played, explored, got messy, and enjoyed every hot dog and s'more cooked over the fire. Most of all, we loved our camping vacation. Thanks for the fantastic planning Jer!

Summer of Swimming (fixed!)

2011-07-30T00:16:00.000-07:00

The video will work now!

Swimming lessons are over and Troy learned SO MUCH from his awesome teacher! He has been told by a few people that he is the next Michael Phelps; we're still trying to figure out where his gills are hidden cause this kid can HOLD HIS BREATH! Here's a fun old fashioned video of the last couple weeks (watch for Jer chasing Brock around). It ends with a pretty sweet dive and great underwater smile

(Last night he swam the entire length of the pool from shallow to deep…go Troy!)

Steilacoom Beach

2011-07-27T22:57:00.001-07:00

On the nice roasty-toasty days…the beach!

Brock built a big sand castle and water tunnel with the guys

Troy helped out and spent enough time in the water for all of us :) Steilacoom Beach, two thumbs up!

Frog

2011-07-23T07:43:00.000-07:00

After dinner last night we had a tiny visitor down by our little garden. Troy would love to keep these sticky, slimy little frogs as his pets; while Brock would rather just sit back and watch while keeping his distance. We did; however, convince Brock into letting mr. frog "sign" his cast…

Summer Reading

2011-07-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

The boys wanted to do the summer reading program again since we try to go to the library each week. They were excited to add their stickers to their reading charts each night. They completed their charts yesterday so we headed in for a special library visit since they were so excited to receive their fun-earned prizes. They were each given a rubber duck and personal pan pizza coupon. We love that our library is a short walking distance away (though our good old Blackfoot Idaho library summer program was much more exciting :) These guys love their books!

Newest Swimmer in the Pool

2011-07-15T00:27:00.000-07:00

Our biggest little-fish-in-the-water is officially a swimmer! Troy's had four great lessons from our friend and has caught on so well. Since our pool is just a short block away, Troy has loved spending as much time in the water as possible. Lauren says he has a super strong kick and he is far from afraid of the water! While he has lessons or when we go over as a family, Brock and I have enjoyed spending some quality time on the side in both the sun and cloud cover :)

That's our Troy!

(More posts below...I've had some catching up to do)

Twin Falls

2011-07-15T00:26:00.000-07:00

We went to Twin Falls in Snoqualmie last week to go for a hike. There are lots of trails and hiking distances and Jeremy planned this one out so Troy could keep up while Brock rode along in the backpack. It was one mile up and one back and Troy's little legs did pretty good! He practically ran the entire first mile so he was dragging on the way back but has now recovered ;)

The hiking men

Troy running ahead of us. I still love these mossy squiggly trees here!

Stopping for another picture

Had to play with my shutter a little while we were there and blur the water

Where's waldo? (or should I say Jer, Troy, and Brock!) Promise they're in this one!

And at the top of our hike!

Firestation

2011-07-15T00:24:00.000-07:00

Rewind a few weeks back…we were invited to tour a local fire station with some friends. The boys and their friends were able to hear a little about a firefighter's job, check out the inside of the station, and best of all, check out the engines. The pictures say it all so I'll share some from the tour (yours truly thought the fisheye lens would be fun for pics; next time I'll stick to my regular lens :)

About a half hour later, Brock broke his arm and these pics were pushed aside but thought I'd get caught up before I get behind :) Update on Brock: His x-rays looked great yesterday! Dr. Smith explained to me that growth plate fractures are categorized as type one through five with five being the worst there is. Brock's was a four so it put into perspective how bad of a break he had. He's still in his same cast from surgery two weeks ago and will be in it for three more weeks when they'll remove the pins. Then he'll be recasted for another week or two. He does amazing at his check ups, jumps up to the table for x-rays and wins smiles from everyone in the office.

Pool Time

2011-07-14T23:20:00.000-07:00

Another rewind in time…We've been so excited for the weather to warm up enough to swim in our pool so I had to take pics of the kids' first pool day of the year… back in June

Smiles from ear to ear. I bet you'd see the same look from the view across the pool :)

Enjoying the pool all to ourselves

Launch time!

This picture cracks me up… Jer came up for a breather and Troy is aiming to nail him in the back of the head with his boat. Lucky for him, he missed!

Going for a ride

All smiles

Practicing surfing on Dad's back

Brock preferred the hot tub with me.

The coveted goggles. Each boy now owns his own pair :)

Brock can't wait until he can swim again!

Parade, Carnival, and fiRewOrks

2011-07-06T17:56:00.000-07:00

Our neighborhood had a fun parade and carnival to celebrate Independence Day. My (three) boys started their day filling their bellies at the pancake breakfast and they were all happy campers for the parade!

They were impressed; such parade lovers!

What gets you more attention than a cute little red head? A cute red head with with a broken arm. The boys ended up with a PILE of candy, toys, frisbees, and stickers by the end of the parade. (Promise we didn't stick him in the front just for that reason ;)

Troy's line for the day, "Happy 4th of July!" I think he said this to everyone in the parade!

At the carnival the boys got their faces painted. Death grip on Brock's head?!? Glad that didn't scare him from it!

Brock was proud of his flag! They also got balloons from a creepy clown while waiting in line (I left that picture out just for you, Mom)

Troy chose an airplane

He loved it! (I caught him checking himself out in the mirror over and over admiring his face paint, he let me wash it off that night only because I took this picture for him to look at later on)

The long line to ride the ponies was worth it.

Our one armed man even got in a little ride.

AND a little train ride for the excited ~~dads~~ kids.

A Special Forces parachuter making his jump for the carnival. He was great at maneuvering...

Though he came in just a little short and was worried the weight at the bottom of the flag would take out a few kids on the train ride…my boys are in the second train car!

Jer, Brock, and I took naps (Troy? nope) before heading to the firework show over the sound that night. They shot the fireworks off from a barge out in the water.

Love this pic of Brock. That would be my chocolate shake he's scarfing down while I asked him to smile for a picture!

Took my camera and tripod to attempt some firework pics for my first time. It was a pretty show and we shared lots of "aaahs" and "oooohs"

My favorite firework from the show. Seeing it in real life knocks the socks off this picture.

Wishing you a Happy Independence Day!

Brock's Surgery

2011-07-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Brock had an early morning surgery and the hospital took fantastic care of all of us. He wasn't too sure about everything at first "at the "dentist's" as he calls it but had such good nurses his mood went from serious to happy in a matter of minutes.

Serious business...

…to playing around.

Just before surgery he took meds to make him drowsy and calm before heading in. While putting his gown on he cooperated but for no reason said, "I'm not being MEAN mom!" then told Jer he was putting it on wrong. We figured the meds were kicking in. I carried him to the OR doors before I had to hand him over. So sad.

Surgery lasted an hour; we were told to expect him to wake up either crying uncontrollably and confused or sleepy while in the recovery room. Luckily he went the sleepy route.

Jer and I met him in his outpatient room still snoozing away. He was very cooperative before surgery and both of his nurses said he was the easiest, sweetest little guy they've had.

(His hand is blue from the surgery iodine solution…he has perfect circulation :)

He would wake up every 10 minutes and would get squirmy and have to scratch his very itchy nose (side effect of meds) so they let me hold him to keep him comfortable and keep his arm elevated

Itchy nose! He asked both Jer and me to itch his nose a few times, then he'd fall back asleep.

So sleepy. So thirsty.

He slept on the drive home and almost the entire day with a few snack and potty breaks in between. Troy had a fantastic time at the zoo with his good friend, Sam, so the house was nice and quiet for him.

He decided to get up just after dinner time and was a BEAR! He wasn't acting or saying that he was hurting so we think it was just everything else that made those pouty, bossy lips tell us the what-for about everything. But, we just laughed it off (not while the boss was watching, of course).

Dr. Smith ended up putting in three pins and said surgery went as planned; though he has requested a second opinion from another specialist. We're all SO glad surgery is over and are hoping for an easy and fast recovery for our little guy! Thanks again for all of your love and support for this little guy!

Brock's Break

2011-06-29T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well it happened. I knew I would HATE to have one of my babies break a bone and when Brock fell off the swing and landed on his arm, I knew right away that under his jacket we'd see a break. Our friends kept Troy with them so we could take care of Brock and while waiting in the ER, he was able to get in a nice, long nap.

He was such a trooper; I seriously shed many more tears than he did. He was extremely cooperative and even while getting x-rayed, they had to stretch his arm and all he did was say a sad little "owe" a few times.

He ended up with a pretty bad and scary break. His elbow (lower end of his upper arm bone) had three chips of bone break off along with a fracture, all being from and through his growth plate. His dr. said it isn't a very common break and Brock will be heading in for surgery on Friday. He'll have pins placed which will be removed after the six weeks when his cast comes off (the type that "pokes" out of his arm and shouldn't need surgery for removal). We're so grateful for modern medicine and are hoping for a smooth recovery with hopefully no long term complications.

Brock is proud of his new pet squirrel, "Nuts" from his very impressed x-ray tech.

Eighth Anniversary in Style

2011-06-23T22:46:00.000-07:00

I loved spending time with Jeremy for our anniversary this year, I wouldn't mind repeating everything for our next year's anniversary :)

We ate at the Seattle Space Needle Restaurant on our anniversary; BEAUTIFUL weather and view!

We were missing our boys while watching all the kids play in the splash park…I'm sure we'll be back with the boys to play here

Outside of the space needle

Great day to be there! Mt. Rainer is in the center of this pic (though it was taken through a window and had some hazy clouds covering it, hard to see)

Jer waiting for his salmon burger. The restaurant makes a full rotation in about 50 minutes so you get the entire city view (twice while we were there)

And I'm waiting for my skycity burger (mmmm).

Jer's smokey dessert (once again missing out boys; they would have loved to see this)

Enjoying dessert

And just a few pics from around the area

Our reflection off of the art gallery window

Playing around on a big red art design. I would have slide off head first; it was steeper than in looks

Our pics from our bungee jump came, here's some favs

I meant to jump sprawled and wide but obviously that didn't happen!

At the time I didn't realize I had a death hold on the padding; as if that could really help me if the cord snapped!

Jer ended up with some great shots, he's more of a natural faller!

On the bounce back

Love this shot!

Father's Day!

Jer wore his homemade paper tie the boys colored for him to church and was happy to get his much wanted wooden flag. These boys love their dad, I think they don't know how lucky they are.

BUNGEE JUMPERS!

2011-06-18T22:53:00.000-07:00

Just as I said on Facebook; I'm so glad that Jeremy does what I sign him up for...marathons, skydiving, and now BUNGEE JUMPING!!! We're celebrating our eighth anniversary like crAziEs this year and jumped off the Pacific Northwest Bridge, the country's highest bungee bridge at 200 ft, here in our very own Washington state! We'll have pictures in a few days from the bridge photographer but we recorded our jumps so we can get a rush over and over... You'd never guess by the volume of this video that I was the one that signed us up for this ;)

I should add; I didn't have enough time to "mentally" prepare myself. We got on the bridge, weighed in, had harnesses thrown on and I was told that since I was a purple jumper (light weight) that I'd have to jump after the next two jumpers since they had the purple bungee cord attached. Before I knew it they said the other girls weren't there (cause they were off CRYING!!!!) and I had to jump without getting the "how to" prep. SOOO, I didn't get to watch anyone jump first like I had hoped for. But WE LOVED IT!!!!
P.S. Much scarier that skydiving!!!!

Second half of our anniversary celebration will take place eating at the Seattle Space Needle restaurant (on our anniversary).

bLocK toWeR coMpeTitiOn

2011-06-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

Round One: Brock Conquered...

Round Two: Troy Maintained Control...

Round Three: Belongs to Brock…or maybe Troy...

Round Four: Troy all the Way...

Round Five: Troy Owned It...

Round Six: All Brock…

Point Defiance Zoo

2011-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:00

We bought a zoo membership and plan on spending quite a bit of time there this year! We went to Point Defiance to see the Christmas Zoo Lights this past winter, plus they have a halloween event so we should be good all year long! They have a fun kid's zone with toys too. Both boys are usually pretty exhausted by the time we leave!

Watching "Harold" the dog ride across stage in the hot air ballon.

Watching with one of their friends, Sam.

Troy was old enough to ride on the lucky camel! Brock wasn't too happy that he isn't three yet :(

He quickly recovered when he got to feed a bird or two!

Concentrating on feeding that bird!

Watching the tiger roam for a minute

The aquarium has a room of sea life that you can touch. Troy was super excited to visit it again and check out the creatures!

Brock feeling…something.

Troy got to touch an armadillo (for half a second; hence the quickly snapped, grainy pic!)

On our way home Brock was all tuckered out,

troy planned our next adventure

While I played with my camera.

I just posted pics of our day at Ocean Shores too; keep looking!

Ocean Shores

2011-06-08T14:05:00.000-07:00

We went to Ocean Shores last fall when Jer's Mom and Dad were visiting; though it wasn't swim suit weather then it was fun to play around. We had a hot day last week and Troy requested a beach without crabs and rocks so we loaded up and picnicked on the ~~Atlantic~~ (I KEEP calling it that!!!!) the PACIFIC coast! (though there were still plenty of beached crabs!)

Water was a little cold so Brock started out with a ride

The boys

Troy's attempt at keeping his swim suit dry

This sweet little face was watching the horses ride past:

The beach was pretty busy; horse rides and kite flying must be the popular thing to do there!

Troy said, "Oh MAN!!! I forgot my kite!"

Troy lovin the beach

Building their sand castle

sticks and sand; all you need to have a little fun!

Making sure I can see his stick

And back to the water! Brock thought it was funny that when he would run, water and sand would splash up his back and get him dirty.

Warmed up enough to ditch the shirt

And because Brock does everything Troy does, his shirt didn't last long either!

Airborne.

The picture says it all!

From Boy to Man!

2011-06-04T21:12:00.000-07:00

This was one of those moments that I couldn't stop smiling if I had to! We're so excited for our "baby" who can now ride his bike without training wheels! I don't dare blink; I'm afraid if I do he'll be driving a car before I know it :( Way to go Troy Boy!!!

Yes, he needs a bigger bike!!!

Happy Momma

2011-05-25T00:25:00.000-07:00

Annual Mother's Day pics with my babes. I'm so glad to be their mom!

(more posts below… my camera had another zillion pics on it!)

Burfoot Park

2011-05-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

We have found another favorite park to spend our sunny and warm days. When the tide is low we're all over the place playing around and finding aLL sOrTs of sea life…

star fish

crabs (this dead guy was about one foot wide)

sand dollars

clam shells

and a dollar… boo yawhh

ghaaa! Troy is our crab finder. He gets a little careless with the smaller crabs and when they pinch him he softly says, "ouch" then picks them up again!

The cutest little crack on the beach!

Using his clam shell as a scooper

We can NOT keep clean. It's just about warm enough for swim suits then they can get as dirty as they want; on purpose!

I guess he didn't get dirty enough from his first fall! Good thing he does push ups with Jer cause he held himself up until I got over to help him.

Another (normal) star fish

Showing off the big guy

Angeeeel wiiiiiings :)

See what Troy's doing? The turd is wiping his dirty hand off on Brock's back!

Defeating the purpose of the rain boots…

Troy went flying down the trail. Love the pic but it blurred.

My brother, Tyler, and his wife Laurie came up to visit and one of the days they were here we took them to the Burfoot!

The trail to the shore isn't long but it is gorgeous and perfect distance for our boys' little legs!

We went while the tide was coming in so we didn't find many creatures but still enjoyed the area.

(mini story: see the shore length and # of people NOT there? Three girls walked by but stopped and seriously stood right over us; I swear I could feel them breathing down my neck. Gave me the heebie jeebies.)

Troy and Brock loved being able to spend time with Ty and Laurie

a couple pics of the couple

"'Cause I've…had… the time of my liiife, and I owe it all to yooouuuu…"

Recreating here :)

on the way up

We're so glad you two came to visit! You still have a "home" in Washington Laurie :)

I'd a go to IDAHO!

2011-05-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

We were able to go to Idaho for a few weeks! Jer was only with us for the first four days then we sent him home on an airplane so he could go back to work while the boys and I visited and played and played.

The Moser Fam. We weren't quit able to make it in time for our new nephews blessing at my sister's place but it was nice seeing him as a baby before he gets too much bigger!

We had fun with G'pa and G'ma Johnson; we made it to the "Bodies Exhibit", Went to Bear World, played outside and Troy got to squirt G'pa with a water gun or two (he'd been planning his attack for months!)

Here's the boys at Bear World in the rearview mirror

The boys were able to play with their secondish cousin, Isaac at the rides after seeing the bears. Very happy boys!

Going around on the train

Playing on the up and down ride

For Mother's Day I got a beautiful bouquet from my boys :)

A few pics with my G'ma Daniels, Jer's G'pa and G'ma Johnson, and my friend Jessica with her son, Micheal.

Boys loved watching movies with Grandma...

and going on wheel barrow rides from Grandpa.

my quad racers

checking on grandpa's beef cows

Watching the cattle sale with grandpa Moser

Enjoying his big pushes on the swing

I remember my mom getting me out of school early (second grade) so my brother, sister, and I could add our handprints to the fresh cement pad…TWENTY YEARS AGO?!? Really?

Before we drove back to WA we spend a few days at my sister's house so I could hold this ADORABLE seven week old while our four kids played and played and played.

Pretty sure Brock won the dirtiest kid award while we were there!

The kids had fun playing games of "simon says", watching movies, slumber parties, going to Eli's school carnival, and spending hours playing outside!

Drive home went great and it was awesome coming home to gifts for the boys, a welcome home sign, a sparkling clean house, and FOUR dozen beautiful roses from a husband that missed me :)

Check out some CUTE new pictures… click on my photography link to see some of my nieces, nephew, and friend's little boy!!!

Easter Eggstras! (post 1/6)

2011-04-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

***In just ONE WEEK I've taken a zillion pictures because we've been busy having FUN!!! There are six entertaining posts to check out :)***

Homemade Easter vests, bow-ties, and flowers...$6

Telling the boys I want to take a picture and seeing them voluntarily do this...priceless.

My very handsome Troy

And oh-so handsome Brock

Easter Morning

(love the cross-eyed look!)

Showing each other what the Easter Bunny brought

A quick smile at mom

Pondering, "should I eat these?!?"

Troy has been wanting a fishing pole for months! (Just after Christmas actually) and was blown away when he saw the Easter bunny left one for him

The boys thought this chicken-egg-pooper thing is hilarious

Brock scarfing down Easter eggs. Our little candy lover.

Solo Point (post 2/6)

2011-04-25T13:07:00.000-07:00

My blog will be overloaded with pics of this place in the next few years. Solo Point is a shoreline reserved for military only...and it's only 5 minutes away!!!

Boys love using their new bug catchers (thanks G'ma Moser!) and they fill them up...

with CRABS!!! Troy will hold these stinkers and get pinched by their tiny claws and not even care!

Finding more creatures

Brock showing his findings. He's more like his mom; we're fine with NOT touching them!

Filled with crabs and a weird swimming worm (yuck!)

Just playing now

My sweetheart

There was a seal bopping around; Troy was trying to spot it with his binos.

A little pic of the tide working it's way in.

Tuplip Festival (post 3/6)

2011-04-25T11:55:00.000-07:00

We drove up to the Skagit County Tulip Festival on a sunny day last week to see the TULIP FESTIVAL!

Fields of tulips

(it was bright!)

Troy being thrown in the flower field

Brock's turn!

a view from my friendly fish eye

my good lookin boys

Troy didn't now I was taking this pic because he had pollen on his nose. He would have smelled every flower there if we let him!

Cute pic of BrockStar

And of Troy:)

My man

His lady

the Best Friends

the HUNTS (post 4/6)

2011-04-25T11:05:00.000-07:00

We got together with some friends for a fun Easter party; here's the kids lined up and ready to egg hunt!

The awesome little egg finders!!!

Playing at the park afterwords. Brock enjoyed a little snack

We went to our town's egg hunt; Jeremy gave Brock and his friend, Sam, a little pep talk while waiting for the toddler egg hunt to start.

Brock and Sam held their own in the crazy swarm of ~~parents~~ kids

They managed to get an egg or two!

Troy was in the 4-6 yr old group. We went up the side and you can see the huge line up (we call this one "Troy v. The City of DuPont")

Jer told Troy he'd be one of the little guys so he had to hustle out there; this is him exploding "off the blocks" at the end of the countdown

Flying out there to GRAB THOSE EGGS!

Got a decent pile before the herd trampled him over ;)

The boys checking out their eggs...they each found a special "prize egg" and came home with Easter baskets and books.

Egg Coloring (post 5/6)

2011-04-25T10:44:00.000-07:00

Brock stirring his egg into his favorite color, ORANGE!

Letting me take a pic before his dips his egg into his favorite color, GREEN!

The egg-crazy group of us

Being eggstra careful ;)

Three hands are better than one

Checking out our colors

Egg coloring wore out our Troy Boy. Doesn't everyone go to bed this way?!?

***Keep looking! One more post to go!***

Uncle Cory's Visit (post 6/6)

2011-04-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

Jer's brother, Cory, was in Seattle for work and took a weekend to visit us! You would have thought he was Santa Claus from the excitement and attachment Troy and Brock had!

I took the camera out on one of the days he was here and got a few pics from a fun park area in Olympia.

Always looking for stuff. They found the little jumping brine/shrimp things under some wood and were trying to catch them.

Troy found a shell or two...

And Brock...

couldn't...

stop....

collecting!

Jer helped Brock pile his collection and he managed to leave them!

The boys walking up the little trail

I know our kids LOVED spending time with uncle Cory... and I know the big boys had a fun time too :)

Jer found a stump to hide in

While Cory made his own ax. I bet he got this idea from watching "Man v. Wild" :)

Thanks for visiting Cory! Come back anytime!!

Hot Chocolate, Anyone?

2011-04-14T17:47:00.000-07:00

Shortly after Jer and I were married I wanted chocolate one day and since there wasn't ANY in our little apartment I picked up a spoon and enjoyed a spoonful of dry hot chocolate powder. Jer couldn't believe I would do that; he quickly learned how much I love my chocolate. I haven't had to resort to hot chocolate mix for a while; however, our chocolate chip stash always seems too low or empty; and for some reason they never make it to being in a cookie :)

The other day I heard Jer say, "Get the camera!" Looks like our little BrockStar loves his chocolate as much as his mom!

Brock's thought, "...might as well eat this stuff while they take my picture..."

And say hello to "Gilbert". Last week I remember his name being "Scruff". I think his name changes as fast as the weather but whatever this wolf-dog's name is, he is and has been Troy's favorite stuffed animal for the past almost four years since Grandma Johnson brought him home for Troy from her Alaska trip. 'Bout time "Gilbert" made it on the blog ;)

2011-04-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

Flowers from my three boys. My guys are the best and I love them!

Crafty Shmafty

2011-04-05T16:09:00.000-07:00

You can only jump in so many puddles before you start to get sick of the rain here in Washington. SOOO, I tackled a few crafty shmafty projects while it's been dark and grey outside lately (though I hear we should be out of the rainy season soon!)

I made these squares to match my pillows in our bedroom; bought a little wood ($5 total from Home Depot), covered the squares with some old towel squares to add some fluff and used left over material to make my bedroom more colorful. I had to add these cute baby pics of my two handsome boys for character :)

P.S. I don't get along with my hot glue gun. My poor fingers...

I think I like how it added to my boring corner!

(I don't live in "Alice in Wonderland"'s dream; this was taken with my fish-eye lens :)

Made this wreath for our door with a coat hanger, burlap material, used my blasted hot glue gun again, and made my flowers out of a few strips of material. I copied the idea from THIS craft blog

Easy peasy flowers! Twist and glue, twist and glue…

Bought some balls from the dollar store (4 for $1) and covered them with left over burlap, lentils, and scrap paper. Bought a brown plate and old wooden vase from Goodwill, glued em together and had Jer spray 'em black for the tray!

Cute and Cheap centerpiece for our NEW…

Kitchen Table!!!

And nothing too fancy or hard, but my boys are always taking the magnets off the fridge and since they were the small choke size I used my scrap paper from the balls and mod podged them onto some not so chock size (I hope) rocks for some fridge magnets. BAM.

NOW, projects are done--for now--and we're ready to spend some time in the SUN (please?!?)

In a Five Minute Drive

2011-03-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

We went on a little outdoor adventure the other day and had fun in the "wilderness" just five minutes from our house.

our little bird watchers

"I think I see a bird!!!"

He couldn't decide if he should crawl over or go under. He crawled over.

checking out some mushrooms and bugs

Jer found a millipede that refused to open up. I don't blame it.

Brock enjoyed collecting rocks...

and filling his pockets with them.

Troy climbed...

Slipped...

And crunched. He wasn't happy about that!

Boys were checking out the pond from the big log

And had fun throwing rocks in the water.

The trail walk is right behind a fun park so we couldn't leave without playing there for a little bit!

Brock likes his pushes "BIG"

As we were leaving Jer had Brock dump all his rocks he had collected. Brock was having a hard time parting with his collection so Jer tried to distract him by saying there was a snake (we saw one on the trail and thought Brock was fine with them...nope!) After Brock's highest decibel scream yet and practically jumping in Jer's arms, we now know NOT to tease Brock about snakes :/

Lucky

2011-03-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

Though they're best friends, I don't think this little guy realizes yet how lucky he is to have this big boy as his brother…

I was finishing up in the kitchen before Brock's nap time today and when I went to find Brock to get him ready for his nap I found that Troy was taking care of his little brother. All on his own he got him ready for his nap by reading him stories, taking him to the bathroom, and tucking him in (love it!)

Being such a big boy gets exhausting though. Troy was on a waiting list for a different preschool and he was accepted but not before we already had to pay (too much) for the preschool he already goes to for this month. This dude is volunteering to do "double shifts" and this is how he felt his first day of going to preschool…twice:

At the door...

And he crashed. Don't worry he was fine. He doesn't want to miss either preschool so as long as he's up for it I'll take him! Just after going for two days he already learned three new songs and has been throwing the "did you know…" facts out about what he's learning. I will admit though, I'll be glad when this month is over cause that's a lot of to-and-fros for one little guy!!!

Faces of Red

2011-03-06T22:58:00.000-08:00

Brock is a very expressive little man and we managed to get some pics of a few of his faces.

serious scowl

When he gets upset with us he tucks his chin down to his chest and peaks up at us through his little scowl. This one isn't too "severe"; but this is his signature look!

He learned this face from Troy. The "Troy lips" again!

On a lighter note, just a silly face!

My favorite. His scowls are cute, but you can't beat a smile like this from our little red!

Weakness

2011-03-05T13:32:00.000-08:00

Ever tried these potato chips? They are GOOD! When I shared with Troy he asked what they were called and my reply was "Mom chips". After I run at night, I grab a bowl of sweet sugar snap peas and a big handful of my "mom" chips. I did pretty good and refrained from buying another bag the last time I went to the store but wish I would have just bought them! I tried crackers with my peas and it just didn't work.

Brock is sitting on my lap asking for some chips. We're hooked.

Nisqually, Ferry Ride, Port Angeles, and Potty Talk

2011-02-27T16:24:00.000-08:00

Nisqually Park:

A couple weekends ago we had some nice sun (but it was deceivingly cold!) and we went to another local park just 10 minutes from our house. The boys had a good time wearing off some energy and checking out a little wildlife. We saw...

DEER (they're actually in this pic but my focus was on Troy :) GEESE, DUCKS, and chubby SQUIRRELS

Gaggle of Geese

Just because I felt like taking a pic of this mushroom. Okay, Okay, Jer was watching a special on a National Geographic photographer the night before so I had a bug to take pictures of any and everything!

A nice passerby shared some peanuts with the boys so they could feed some squirrels... Troy was counting them.

Right after I told Troy not eat them since ''they're for the animals'' Brock came up to me saying, "nummm, nummm, nummm!" and pretended to eat em up!

Here he's in the middle of saying, "nummm"

This chunkers ran right up to us; grabbed some chow and was gone. He was so fast I wasn't sure I could get a pic of him!

They're doing the "Troy lips". Brock has recently learned he can do this look quite well himself.

Lookin for the deer

Saying "cheese" for me!

We almost made it back to the car before they both decided they couldn't walk any more. Good job ~~mr. pack horse~~ Jer!

Each time we go to Olympia and drive past this little joint, Jer mentions how much he wants to check it out. The boys wanted to go with him to get their hot dogs after the park but since it's a window business I told them I'd take a pic and show them the hot dog stand since they couldn't see their dad. Those hot dogs didn't last long with my hungry boys!

Ferry ride to cross the sound to Port Angeles:

We went to Seattle to eat at a burger joint we saw on "Man v. Food" and afterwords decided to drive to Port Angeles. Which required a fun ferry ride to cross the sound!

Troy patiently waiting in the car for the ferry to show up.

Brock took a snooze while we waited

Heading on the ferry (probably can't tell we're from a "small" town!)

Watching a tug boat out in the water

Troy enjoying the ride

We made it! We've heard there's some pretty fun beaches around Port Angeles that we're planning on visiting this summer so we'll be back!

Checking out Canada at sunset

I LOVE these trees! I've noticed probably a handful of these here in Washington so I had to take a picture when we drove past this guy

And finally, Potty Talk. Brock doesn't like using the training seat and I'm afraid he's going to fall in when he has a "sit-down job to take care of". We've had some pretty good conversations while he's been on the white porcelain. One day he randomly grabbed my face like this and told me: "[When] I grow up I push the button in the mud on the big big big TRACTOR! And the ladder on the FIRE ENGINE! It go up, up, up, and I get the cat [from] on the tree! I push the button. And the garbage truck!"

Love that kid!

Happy {Heart} Day

2011-02-15T18:17:00.000-08:00

Troy couldn't WAIT for valentines this year! Mostly because he was excited for his preschool's valentine exchange, which happened the day after v-day, so he partied it up for two days. We had lots of {hearts} throughout the day, sugar cookies, chocolates, fun packages in the mail, and flowers. SO, we took pictures!

Heart shaped sandwiches for lunch. Troy devoured his; it was almost gone by the time I got the camera!

Eating his self cut, frosted, and decorated sugar cookie

And Troy's turn

We have a photographer in the making :) Troy took a picture of me with my flowers from Jer. Troy LOVED that I got flowers (so did I, of course)! The poor delivery ladies were so messed up though! I got a call from the florist needing directions to my house. One hour later she called again so I directed her, again. She came up empty handed and blah blah blah someone messed up so she said she'd come back later. Well, I got another call from a different girl; she left me a message and said since no one answered she left my flowers on the door step. What? So I checked, sure enough there were NO flowers! I called her back and told her she went to the wrong house. FINALLY 15 minutes before Jer got home from work (8:15) I got my beautiful flowers!

Consider these your e-card valentine from Brock...

And Troy :)

Tolmie Park with the fiSh eYe

2011-02-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

We headed out one day to a local state park and we're excited to visit Tolmie again this summer and fall. (We were especially glad we turned around to get the camera before we got there!)

My three boys checking out the view

Can't wait for the summer to wade in the water and let the boys splash around a little!

Troy found a "big log" which required some major climbing.

The shore line was full of these neat looking mollusks (or mussels or something like that?!?)

Just a little close. I did mention I was using the fish eye lens, right?!

This one almost makes me dizzy. We searched for lots of "cool" beach findings.

And yes, as Jeremy always reminds me, my shoes are from when I was in the 8th grade. They have many miles on them and they're still running strong ;)

I think this is a bird's claw. ouch. poor bird.

My most favorite picture of the day! Wouldn't this pic be aMaZinG with fall colors?!! We'll be back for a redo for sure!

Troy's in the lead...

and the bridge

Trees around here stay green year round ;)

And click right >HERE< see this $5 Goodwill find revamped and put to cute use!