Lake Tahoe and Magnetic Calendars

Today we headed off to Tahoe for an adventure and it was super fun! The boys loved it. Tracen did ALOT of swimming which totally surprised me since the water was like ice. Logan on the other hand HATED the water because of its "coldness" so he hung out on the beach. I made him a little hole with water and he like to splash in there. We couldn't have asked for a better day. The sky was clear, not too hot and hardly anyone there. We had so much fun!!!

Our sad little sand castle.

Mom and the boys!

I came up with a plan to make magnetic wall calendars for my house. It has been quite a project. Did you know they have magnetic paint? And it really workds. Then the paint over the top is chalkboard paint. we are almost there. One more day and they should be done! We rock!!!

Amanda after pulling off some of the paint

Jess hard at work!

My board after painting

I couldn't resist trying out putting on the border. So here it is. ALMOST DONE!!!

Pants on the Ground

I can never catch Tracen in the act of singing this, so when I did I had to jump all over it! He is a goofy kid!

Happy Father's Day!

We tried to get this a ton of times but the webcam kept skipping so this is the best we got! We love you Chris! Only 4 more days!!! YAHOOO!!!

We have some catching up to do!

On May 21st my sisters, niece and my mom went to Carrie Underwood. It was an awesome concert and just as awesome was the food before-hand at Texas Roadhouse. It was my first experience and it was yummy!!!

Amanda, Ally, Stacey and Me!

Mom, Ally, Stacey and Amanda ready to ROCK!

Memorial Day weekend the boys and I were set to go down and visit Daddy in Vegas, but an unexpected flu bug kept us in Reno. I was so bummed, but Chris quickly made the decision to call in sick to work and fly home for the weekend. Most of our time was spent hanging out at home while Tracen recuperated....but Chris did find time to take the boys out and mow the lawn.
Daddy and Logan!

I think they look like twins! So handsome!!!!

We also had 2 graduations in our house. Tracen graduated from Preschool. We weren't able to get very good pictures, but I have the whole thing recorded. Then Logan graduated from Mini Miners at my school. I have to say that I was super emotional during the little ceremony. My boys have been with Chrysta since Tracen was an infant and I can't believe that they won't be going there next year. It is so crazy how quickly time goes by.

The Logan man!

My little graduate!

Mommy and the grad!

Logan and Bobbie...he absolutely adores her! Everyday he would run up to the school saying..."I play with Bobbie!"

Logan and Chrysta!

Logan and Ms. Kasey. I couldn't get him away from that delicious donut!

Our friend the Iversons came into town and we have had a couple of fun dates together. we took the kids to the Sierra Safari Zoo. Its small, but they have some impressive animals.

The Lion!

One of the tigers

Tracen and Brooklyn in front of the Tiger cage

Weston and Logan....we were happy the even looked!

The boys!

The kiddos! Thanks Lindsay, Brookly and Weston for such a fun time!

My Boys

Happy Mother's Day to all the AMAZING MOMS that we know and Love! We love all of you and are so grateful for all that you do for us! Especially for Grandma Debbie and all the time she takes to help with Tracen!

This year with Chris being gone, my amazing bro-in-law helped the boys make me a little gift, which I absolutely adore. How he got Tracen to sit long enough to color his half is beyond me, but THANK YOU RICK for all you do for our family and especially Tracen!

I got a little picture happy this morning and promised Chris that I would not disappoint him in seeing the boys. I can't believe that my Tracen is already 4 and Logan is 2. I no longer have a baby in the house and in some ways that is good, but other ways makes me long for that little one around (but don't worry...that won't be happening for a LONG time!) Since Chris has been gone the past 11 weeks, the boys and I have really gotten a chance to adapt to the world of not having daddy, and while we have missed him more than anything...we have been getting into some really fun things.

1. WRESTLING: The boys love to wrestle on Papa Craigs couch. They giggle and I giggle and we have so much fun. It would probably stress many women out to watch the first time, but they just have fun and I love that I can see them so happy! Just the other day Tracen said, "I love to wrestle with Logan, it makes me so happy!" I love that they are brothers and have each other during this time.

2. POPCORN and MOVIES: Logan and Tracen may be the most active boys I know, but WE LOVE to relax, eat a bag of popcorn and watch a movie. Some of our favorites right now are Robin Hood, Toy Story, Princess and the Frog, The Chipmunk Adventure and Peter Pan.

3. READING: We love to read books before we go to bed. Our favorite now is Green Eggs and Ham (thanks to Miles) and The Goodnight Train. We also love the Spooky Old Tree (even though it gives Tracen nightmares) and It's Not Easy Being a Bunny.

4. THURSDAYS: We recently have started hanging out with our cousin Ethan on Thursdays and his Mommy, Jessica! We LOVE it! It is fun for the boys to play and even more fun for the Mommy's to chat!

5. SWIRLING: We LOVE U-SWIRL. It never fails, Tracen always wants vanilla and strawberry. Logan will eat whatever you put in front of him. They are silly boys!

6. MICROPHONES: It has become a sunday tradition that we pull out the old karaoke machine and Tracen will give us all a show of the songs that he has learned at church, school, from movies or just from me singing to him. He is a CRACK UP and it is quite a good time. Just today he told me, "We get to go singing tonight! I love singing with the microphone!"

There are lots of other things we've been doing, but these are on a regular basis. I try to make sure that when I get home from school that I am paying more attention to the boys and really interacting with them. Some days are A LOT harder than others because I have a pile of papers to grade, dinner to make and laundry to do, but those are the nights that I become a night owl. We are doing good without Chris here, but we miss him and can't wait to have him back! Then we will be GREAT!!!!

My handsome boys! I really don't think they look anything alike.

Michievous 1 and Michievous 2
My Logie Bear! Tracen got a Star Wars gone from Stacey, Scott, Ally and Zack. I can't get him to put it down:)

For Daddy

Its been a long time since I updated...so here goes! First of all, my computer ate my pictures that I tood ok Logan when we had a little party with my family on easter...so I am SUPER bummed about that. We have just been counting down the weeks until we get to have our Daddy home again! We miss him so much, but know that he is doing good things in Vegas! Chris gets home on June 25th and we CAN'T wait, but he will be leaving us again for the month of August to go to Hershey, PA to do a rotation in orthopedics at Penn State. Then we are hoping he will be gon e in September in Cinncinatti to do the same thing. So by October we should have him home! Only 7 more weekends! YAY!!!!

This week I took the boys to the doctor for their annual check-ups and here are the results:

Tracen: 4 years old

Weight: 34 lbs (32%)

Height: 39.75 inches (35%)

Pretty much he is skinny and a little short

Logan: 25 months

Weight: 30 lbs 14 oz (88%)

Height: 35.5 inches (80%)

This one surprised me...I knew he was big, but I figured he was a lot bigger. He is just super tall and a little CHUNKY :)

So here are some pictures for you to enjoy...mostly their so Chris can see the boys and that is why there are so DANG many of them!!!

My little (or should I say big?) couch potatoe

What?

Logan has taken to falling asleep in random places. I found him here when I came down to get him to come eat his dinner. Poor guy :(



Tracen turned 4 on May 5!!! I can't believe he is 4! He got Toy Story Yahtzee from Mom and Dad and LOVES it! He is really cute when he smiles...too bad it is VERY RARE to catch him looking so adorable!



The "Moder-lawn" from Cars

We also got him Buzz Lightyear wings...

Getting ready to fly

To Infinity and Beyond!

Grandma Maree and Gigi sent a package and he had lots of fun opening all the presents! Thanks so much!

A Sound Train Puzzle from GiGi

Tracen started a little baseball clinic at the YMCA. Today was Tray's first REAL practice!

Getting a grounder from the coach!

He was a little timid with the tee....but he hit and did a GREAT JOB!!!

Running to 1st base!

Tonight we had a little b-day party for Tracen. I ATTEMPTED to make a treasure chest for a pirate party! Our party favors were swords and they were a hit! I better stick to my day job because cake making isn't my best talent :)

Opening presents!

Happy Birthday to Tracen!

He even blew out all his candles in one try!