Happy Birthday Jackson!

A little late but I had to get some pictures of Jackson on his birthday.  We celebrated with the Hansen's on his actual birthday.  I was a little worried that we'd have to cancel because he had some problems with his asthma the day before but he was doing okay on his birthday and I know how much he was looking forward to having his cousins over.  This time we made a dirt cake with "worms" in it (per Jackson's request).  As I tucked Jackson in at night I told him that he has to stop getting older and his response, with an extra big gring, was "Mom, I'm NEVER going to stop having birthdays."  As much as I love seeing him change each year I can't help but think how quickly time in going and how precious this time with him is.  He's such a joy in our lives!

Fun with Cousins

We had Lauryn and Evan over for part of the week and the boys had a blast with their cousins.  The first day they were here, all 4 kids were going upstairs, then downstairs, then outside, and then where ever else they could run.  It was great to see them playing so well together and I kept wishing that if only I had a fourth of their energy, I'd be able to get so much more done during the day!  The little boys wanted to do everything that Jackson and Lauryn did but we didn't really have fighting between the kids.  Having cousins as friends certainly is priceless and I wish that I had taken more pictures of them playing together.

Happy 60th Dad!

We pulled it off - a surprise party for my dad's 6oth birthday!  Sara and I had started talking about this awhile back but as soon as Eric came on board we really set the wheels in motion for planning this (Eric was the mastermind of getting Dad out of the house and then getting him back).  If you know my dad, you know that he loves being around people so this was right up his alley.  In the weeks prior to the party he kept talking about how he was going to be 60 and wouldn't let us forget that it was a big birthday for him.  Little did he know that we had been planning the party.  And it was a complete surprise to him!  When he walked in the door, we was speechless and kind of stood in the doorway for awhile not knowing what to say or do.  It awesome to see that as we don't left see him that way.  Happy 60th Birthday Dad!!!!

June Birthdays

On Friday we got together to celebrate all the June birthdays in my family (Cohen, Dad and Jackson).  Cohen and Jackson were besides themselves with all the presents for them and of course Dad was a good sport letting them take the spotlight despite the fact that this will be his 60th birthday!  I attempted to make a Lego cake for them but my skills as a cake decorator are far from professional.  Jackson's response when he saw the cake, "Mom, that's not Legos.  I want a new cake!"  I think that for now on I'll stick to cakes from the bakery:)

Big Brothers!!!

More attempts at pictures but this time it was for pictures to announce that that we're expecting Baby #3!!!!!  It sure was hard trying to get both of them to look and then to have Brendan's shirt showing.  There's lots of excitement at our house now because of the baby.  Luke and I feel blessed to be having another child, Jackson is thrilled to be a big brother again and Brendan doesn't have a clue how much his life will change.  We're due November 19, 2011 (the day after Brendan turns 2) but secretly I'm hoping for an 11/11/11 baby.  Now that I say that, I know that it won't happen.  When Luke and I were dating, he always said that we'd get married on 11/11/11.  Little did we know that we'd be expecting our 3rd child by that time!

Happy Mother's Day

We tried to get a nice picture of the boys in their ties since we didn't get one on Easter but of course as soon as the camera came out, both boys refused to look at the camera and then didn't want to sit where we wanted them too.  That and the fact that we were looking right at the sun.  Maybe someday I'll get a nice Mother's Day picture:)  Maybe:)

 

I also included a picture from out trip to see the Whitecaps on Saturday night.  We left Brendan home with a babysitter and took Jackson - this picture doesn't show it at all but he really did love being at the game (he just really doesn't like pictures ... unless it's his idea).   

And here's the picture I love the most - Jackson was so worn out after playing with his cousins at lunch that he fell asleep under the cushions of the couch... sleeping pictures are still my favorite pictures of the boys!

Spring Break 2011

It's been a long time since we last posted since I was unable to link any pictures up because our camera wouldn't upload pictures - our new camera arrived right before spring break so I have lots of pictures to now download!

Anyways, we just returned from our trip to Orlando and I am seriously thinking about looking for jobs down there.  There's just something about the beautiful landscaping, sunny weather and all the Disney activities!  It's always difficult leaving Florida - I always seem to leave there with tears in my eyes.  And now Jackson feels the same way!  He was very upset that we had to leave and is already talking about going down again.

We didn't do any of the Disney parks but I can't wait to take the kids there someday!  I had a lot of different ideas of things we could do down there (1/2 days so at least Brendan would get a good nap) but we discovered the boys were just thrilled to be swimming in the pool so we stayed put at our condo most of the week.  There was one day of rain that we ventured out for a bit of shopping but didn't last too long with the boys.

The best part was seeing the excitement in the boys eyes when they would see things.  Jackson was beside himself when we went to Downtown Disney and visited the Lego store (he got his 1st set of Legos and loves them!) and Brendan absolutely loved the pool.  He would climb in and out of the kiddie pool and just stand there watching all the kids. The boys did a tremendous job traveling and behaving down there.  Of course we had our moments, like when Brendan threw a fit during our last night out for dinner but all in all they did a great job. 

The worst part of the trip reminded me how precious each day is.  My Uncle Bern and part of his family traveled down there as well and while we were there he went in to the hospital because something just wasn't right.  We had all figured that he'd be diagnosed with a minor stroke or something of that sort but it was discovered that he has a brain tumor.  News like that makes every problem that we face right now seem so unimportant.  Now we just pray for good news for him.