a Pirate Party and a ballgame

I thought I should share some photos from Collin's pirate party that we had 2 weeks ago....I'm such a bad blogger.

 The cupcakes. (the brown is supposed to be an island)

 My 3 Pirates

 Opening gifts from the grandparents before our friends arrive

 On a scavenger hunt to find the treasure map! (the scavenger hunt was actually a back up in case it rained, but we combined the 2 to make it last longer)

 Looking for treasure

 Found it!

 It took a long time to get the pinata open. Dan and I eventually had to grab it and rip it open.

 Collin didn't want a candle, but we sang to him anyhow.

The cute kids eating their cupcakes and icecream.

We had a blast!

Later that night we headed tot he Wingnuts game with family and friends.

 A couple of the players read a story to the kids before the game.

 Keegan and Collin...I believe they were trying to be rappers.

 This kid is the picture of adorable orneriness.

Beer run. Oh, and to get me some tacos.

Cheering for the Wingnuts. He would raise his hand up and yell "woo!" It was super cute.

a baby no more, my big boy is 4!

(Okay, so this is a week late... sue me)

It's hard to believe that 4 years ago I became a mommy for the first time. I hardly remember a time when I only had 1 child, let alone one teeny tiny little baby who depended on me for everything. Where has the time gone?

I remember so clearly giving birth to him, bringing him home from the hospital, nursing and rocking him, his first steps. And now...

Such a stud.

Collin,
You are such an incredible little boy. I can't even begin to tell you all the joy that you bring to my life. I love watching you play, and how you teach your little brothers new things. Though ornery and stubborn at times, you have such a good heart, and you try really hard to do what is right. I love your appetite for learning and how you constantly ask questions (and almost always remember the answer).
I love your love of music and your ability to remember the lyrics and the tune, and even kind of sing on pitch (you get that from me). Though I'm not a huge sports fanatic, I love how much you love every single sport (you get that from your daddy, though he doesn't get excited about Nascar like you do). It amazes me that you are willing to sit and just watch baseball or football on tv. I think you enjoy this mostly because it's something you can share with daddy, and that's awesome.
You love to play games and do puzzles, and your new found favorite are puzzles that are also games! You learn the rules quickly, and though you tend to have a temper when things don't go your way (sadly that probably comes from me as well) you'll still play the same games over and over and over again.
Last week you started preschool. I can't believe you are old enough to go to school. You only go 2 days a week, but that is enough for both of us. It's been a little bit of an adjustment. You've cried a couple times when I drop you off, which in turn makes me cry, but you always have fun when you are there.
You are never lacking for energy but you always take time to stop and snuggle with me. I love it. You promised me that you would still want to hang out with me, and give me hugs when you are all grown up. I hope you do because I will never outgrow snuggling with you.

Happy (belated) birthday, sweet boy! I love you so much!

Love,

Mommy

a to z

I'm copying this from my friend, Marie's blog. She coppied it from her friend's blog. I just thought it looked like fun.

A. age :: twenty seven

B. bed size ::queen

C. chore you hate :: scrubbing the toilets. yuck. 

D. dogs :: none.but my neighbors have them. and they bark. a lot.

E. essential start to your day :: a shower. i can't wake up without it!

F. favorite color :: it changes often. currently i'm loving green.

G. gold or silver :: silver (or white gold)

H. height :: five feet. seven inches.

I. instruments you play :: vocal chords. i sing. i've been told i sing well.

J. job title :: mommy. it's the best job in the world!

K. kids :: Collin, Ronan and Dylan.

L. live :: Kansas!

M. maiden name :: young

N. nicknames :: sammy

O. overnight hospital stays :: um... 7 when I was 4, 2 with my first baby, 1 with my 2nd baby,  2 when he had pnemonia, and 1 with my 3rd baby. so.... 13

P. pet peeve :: dirty dishes put in the sink or on the counter right next to the empty dish washer.

Q. quote ::

"God didn't promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain. But he did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way"

-unknown

R. righty or lefty :: righty

S. siblings :: 2 sisters. i'm in the middle.

T. time you wake up :: between 6 and 6:30.

U. university attended :: Wichita State University

V. vegetables you dislike: creamed corn.

W. what makes you run late :: i generally plan ahead because i hate being late, but if anything it's getting 3 kids ready.

X. x-rays you’ve had :: dental, ankle for many sprains, wrist for a sprain, back, finger (my sister slammed it in a door when i was 1 and broke it, it's still crooked), do MRI's count? I've had a lot of those for a brain tumor I had at age 4.

Y. yummy food :: salad. i really like a good salad.

Z. zoo animal favorite :: giraffes. they're beautiful.

40 Years - Photo Booth Fun

For the party we wanted to get a photo booth, but they are WAY expensive. So instead, we set up our own photo booth. In one of the spare rooms (we had the party at my brother in law's house, we don't have any spare rooms) we set up our camera on the tripod with a bunch of props and some chairs.

I had to force some of the relatives in, but I think they all had fun. My boys loved it for sure!

 Posing with Mamaw and Pap

 Uncle Tim and Dylan

 Uncle Tim and Ronan

 Collin going solo.

 Ronan and Collin (they took a bunch but I thought I'd spare you and show the best one)

 Ronan going Solo.

Ronan and Uncle Rob.

40 Years

Over the weekend we threw a party for my husband's parents. Their anniversary was in June and they have been married for 40 years. (we would have thrown the party sooner, but we seriously had no free weekends until now!) 40 years! Can you believe it? It's so rare these days for couples to stay together for that long.

We are so blessed to have such a good example of love in our family.

I borrowed my dad's camera to take pictures during the party (my camera was being used for the photo booth which you'll see in the next post). His camera is so much nicer than mine. The pictures just come out so clear. I don't think I want to give it back!

Here are a few shots of my family from the day.

Ronan snuggling with daddy.

Dylan playing with Dan's cousin's little boy, Camden. They are only a few months apart.

Me with my Dylee Bug!

Our family

Ronan and Collin

My beautifully decorated table

The banner I made.

Dylan trying out the monkey ears

Dyl snoozing on Papa

My delicious cupcakes  and flags I made.

My little ham. He cheeses every time the camera comes out. Later I'll have to do an entire post about him and his many goofy faces. The kid cracks me up!

Tiffany

I was rummaging through some boxes of my old stuff the other day looking for one of my favorite things from my childhood.

Isn't she precious?

I was needing someone to model some of my new headbands and hats and I knew she'd model without complaint :)

I got this sweet dolly for my 7th birthday and fell in love! I took her with me everywhere I went. I changed her diaper, gave her bottles and rocked her. She even had her own cradle to lay in (which I still have).  I remember even getting diapers (real Pampers diapers) for her for Christmas one year. I was so excited! Seriously, what 7 year old gets excited about getting diapers for Christmas?

For the past several years she's been in a box under our stairs, but now she hangs out with me downstairs when I'm crafting.

I don't let my boys play with her because I havet his fear of her beind drawn on or her arms being ripped off. I don't think I could bear it. Hopefully one day I'll have a little girl of my own to pass her down to. Until then, she's going to model headbands and hats.



consignment chairs

*I love when I have a whole post typed up and it magically vanishes.....

Last week I helped out with a consignment sale here in town. I consigned some of our baby stuff that we don't need right now and don't have room to store. It's a good opportunity for me to clear out some clutter, get out of the house, hang out with other moms, and get some good deals on "new" stuff for the boys.

One of the consignors I checked in brought in 2 matching child size recliner chairs to sell. We've been wanting to get some for the boys, but to buy them brand new is a good $100. We don't have that kind of money just lying around, so when these came in I got really excited!

 I got a great deal on them, and I'm not talking $30 or even $20 each. She was selling them for only $10 each! The boys love them and it's so nice to have extra chairs for family movie night. One of us usually ends up on the floor cause the kids take over the couch.

It's hard to see the chairs because my beautiful children are blocking them, but they're great!