Noni's 90th Birthday Party

Last month, Drew's Grandmother turned 90! Anyone who knows Noni knows what an amazing person she is. We are grateful that we were able to be there to celebrate her.

Unfortunately, some people didn't want to smile for pictures 

Drew and Noni have a special bond 

All of Noni's children, grandchildren and great grandchildren were there to celebrate with her 

Our Sunday with family

For the past month, Ben has asked just about every day when he can see his cousin, Aaron. He was so excited to get to see him this past weekend. Aaron is great with both of the boys and they had a great time running around playing together.

It is always good to visit with my Grandma. Ben and Jack had fun riding on the golf cart while I was able to spend time visiting.

Our next stop was to Sarah and Chad's house

I love being close enough to family where we can make a little day trip to visit them

Friday night

After dinner this evening, we headed out for ice cream and play time and ended it with a train ride.

Life with the boys

Life with Ben and Jack is many things, none of which are boring. The two of them keep us going and help make our lives exciting. Whether it's watching them act goofy with their dad, exploring new places together or those sweet moments where they forget that they are supposed to be wild little boys, the two of them constantly remind us what life is about. They give us the memories we cherish and the future that we look forward to. 

I love picking Ben up every day from school. To see the smile on his face as his class walks out and he spots Jack and I. When we get home, the boys sit at the counter while I get their lunch ready. This is one of my favorite times of the day because for that short time, they are sitting quietly while we talk about everything that is "important" to a 3 and 5 year old. 

My heart melts when I spot the two of them being sweet to each other. When Ben helps Jack in his big brother way. Or when Jack hugs Ben as he looks up at him and says "I love you Benny."  

I look forward to our weekends where the four of us get to spend our time together. I enjoy our balance of time at home relaxing and our adventures outside of the house. 

I become that proud mom many times each day when I catch the boys doing a good deed or showing off something new they have learned. When they draw a picture that shows off how far they have come with their coloring. When they bring home a worksheet from school that shows excellent penmanship. Hearing them say thank you and please. Seeing them try hard at what they are attempting.

It is the moments like these ones that make being parents a really great job.

The boys and I saw Grammy one more time today before she heads back home to Colorado later today. I have a lot of memories of my time with Grammy when I was younger and I love seeing the boys get to spend time with her.

There's nothing like waking up early on a Saturday morning...

and heading to Disneyland! This morning we left our house at 8:30 and headed not too far up the freeway. We wanted to get there when the park opened so we could get on a few of the rides before it got too crowded. The morning went very smooth and after a fun filled 5 hours, we came home to rest and enjoy the rest of our day relaxing.

Our first time on the Radiator Springs Racers ride in Cars land. The first half is slow but the second half is faster with a few little hills and turns. Ben spent the whole second half of the ride with his face buried in Drew's arm. At lunch, Jack told us that ride scared him. I don't know if we'll be riding that one again for awhile.

Ben studying the map and trying to get us to the 6 points we had to reach to complete the trail

Ben's scared face when we went into a dark cave

Russell from the movie Up

He's proud that he found them all 

Ended our time there with cotton candy

Cousins at the pumpkin patch

Last weekend, it was time to pick out our pumpkins and we were lucky to have lot of our family come with us. Sarah, Luke, Lanxton, my dad, DeAnn and my Grammy all made it to our house for the day. We spent the afternoon picking out pumpkins, on the inflatable obstacle course and dancing to country music while enjoying a lollipop.

Halloween and our superheroes

It was a great evening as Drew and I took the boys trick or treating around our new neighborhood. Batman and the Flash lasted an hour and a half as we went from house to house. By the time we made it home, they dove into their candy (actually, we all did :-)

Bringing it back...

Last week as I unpacked boxes in the new house, I came across about 15 binders, each containing the pages of our blog. Drew's Grandfather would print the pages every month and he compiled all of our posts throughout the years into books. I looked through these binders as I put them away and remembered all of the good memories that each page told. I am so happy that I have each of those memories documented. I am also sad that we haven't kept up with the blog posts. I miss taking pictures of our family and I miss sharing them with our family and friends.

I don't want to have anymore regrets about not taking enough pictures or writing down what is happening. The Little Men is making a comeback!

Playing in the snow

Happy Veteran's Day