good golly....

Ok, so it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything other than photos for the iHeartFaces website. Dang! I'm a HORRIBLE blogger! So, this post is probably going to be chock full of pictures, to do a bit of catching up :-) My mom likes to see pics of the kiddos, so if you aren't interested, you might as well stop here! If don't mind seeing a couple of the cutest kids in creation, ENJOY! (I KNOW you will, mom! We miss you, and can't wait to see YOUR pictures!!)
There has been LOTS of water play...

Trips to the coast, Central Oregon, waterfalls, fairs and festivals...
Lots and lots of growing (way too quickly, in my opinion!)...

Enjoying the time as a whole family, and feeling grateful to live in such a beautiful place!

Cupcakes for breakfast?!?

Today is Maleah and Jaden's REAL birthday! Last night while the kiddos were sleeping, I put up some balloons, made cupcakes, and put together little gift bags to help celebrate this morning. Yes, they really did have cupcakes for breakfast! Hey, it's their birthday! ;)

Since they got SO many great gifts at their party, we decided just to give them little gift bags full of party favors. Happy Happy Birthday, babies! Mommy and Daddy love you SO much! :-D

**The cupcakes aren't wonky, they're heart shaped! ;-)**

Maleah's turning 5, and Jaden's turning 2...on the same day! So what do we do?

CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!

We celebrated Maleah and Jaden's birthdays this past Saturday. Their actual birthday isn't until the 18th, but Justin has to go BACK to Maryland on the 18th (for a week or so?), so we had it early. Maleah is IN LOVE with Hello Kitty right now, and since it is her 5th birthday, we decided not to do a joint themed party (like a luau, or beach party like we originally planned). So Hello Kitty and Mod Monkey it was! And we had a GREAT time! we had a pinata (big hit! No pun intended, especially since it was a pull string one! GREAT idea!)Jaden is all about efficiency...here he's opening ONE present, while trying out another!This little lady was ALL smiles, ALL day. At one point (before the pool) she did have her hair done. Oh well, that smile makes it all ok!The super duper yummy cakes (from my FAVE store and cake bakery, Market of Choice) The monkey cake was poppy seed with raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting (can you say YUM!?!?!), Maleah's cake was ALL chocolate, and the middle cake is all vanilla. I kinda got worried about not having enough! That's what happens when you get NO RSVPs from people...what has the world come to? sheesh...Jaden blew out his candles too quickly...he really wanted that monkey toy from the top! ;)

Everyone had a great time, the kids got SO many gifts (even though when asked what they needed/wanted, I let everyone know gifts weren't necessary!) Everyone was very generous! :) It's nice to know I still have almost a full year 'till the next one, though!

mmmm......

Today we went to Lone Pine farms (the same local farm where we went for mother's day) to pick our own strawberries. Funny, but it wasn't just Maleah and Jaden's first time, but mine, too! We had a great time, and got some super yummy berries!

I think he may have picked one berry, but had a great time nonetheless!

She picked an entire half of a bucket to herself! She was very selective with hers!

The berry taster. They must have been good!

Gotta find JUST the right one!

I think Jaden had more interest in entertaining his best buddy Aiden (and trying to share berries!)

We got lots of sweets! Not just berries, but candy sticks, and flavored honey tubes! We're gonna have to take it slow, since I alone have already just about made myself sick on fresh berries! I may look up a recipe for making freezer jam, so all the yumminess doesn't go to waste!

Happy Mother's Day!

This morning I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. My hubby didn't remember to tell me happy mother's day, AND he's really far away, AND I didn't have my mom around AND... then I figured out why it really IS a happy mother's day for me, and I have NO reason to feel sorry for myself.

These two! These little ones are the reason I breathe, the reason I get out of bed every morning, even when I want to just pull the covers over my head and never get up. The are my sunshine on a rainy day, the wind that lifts my spirits. They are my world! Yes, there are times I just want to run and hide, change my name to something OTHER than mommy for 5 minutes, scream at the tops of my lungs. But they are so fun. So smart. So funny. So full of life, and love, and energy. And they are mine. Forever! And for that, I am a happy happy mommy, and it's a happy happy day!

This happy day we spent at a local farm. It was a lot of fun! We saw some animals, played on the playground, "mined" for gemstones, ate ice cream, and just enjoyed being together.

aaaand, a pic of the giant fuschia plant from my kiddos. I LOVE it! :)