Memorial Day

We bought this pool for the kids the other day and thought it would be fun to have a BBQ Monday evening and use the new pool. Of course our boys couldn't resist waiting until their friends came to start the fun.

Our friends, Ben and Jordan, have two boys very close to our boys ages, so they play really well together. Except Logan kept trying to give Brannon (2 weeks older) a neck massage. Brannon didn't appreciate that gester too much. As anyone who knows Logan will attest, he's not the gentlest creature.
Pretty soon our backyard BBQ turned into an X-rated affair. Logan stripped first and then Brannon (who was changed into dry clothes and a diaper) follwed suit. A couple neighbors stopped by and I think we shocked them with our nude children. I think we're adding a little too much excitement to this neighborhood full of old people!
One nice neighbor brought the kids "taffy's", the Philly term for suckers. Isn't that funny?

New Jersey Shore

We went to the "shore" for our first time on Saturday and had SO much fun! We drove to the beach town of Avalon, which was about 1.5 hours away. Avalon was a really cute town and we were impressed with the clean, wide beach. The water was only about 62 degrees, but the boys still loved splashing in the little waves. The water is a very different color here, more grey/brown, definitely not as pretty. Regardless, I was thrilled to be at the beach and stoked to have my husband be able to relax with me. He took his huge oral exam last Thursday (which he has been studying for for months) and passed with flying colors. Yeah!!!

Logan did not want Eric holding his hand at all, can you see him trying to pull away here? When I took him out, I let him stand on his own like he wanted and he got blasted by a wave and fell down, head under and everything, so after that he wanted to hold my hand. Ha ha!

I thought the boys looked so cute lying on their beach towels with their feet in the air. Their mouths were full of tootsie rolls as they were saying "Cheese" for the camera.

Mason's Preschool Graduation

Last night was Mason's preschool graduation. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! They sang a bunch of songs that they learned throughout the year and each of them had a speaking part. I was worried Mason would be too shy to do his part, but he spoke loud and clear and did a great job. All the kids were so cute in their tye-dye shirts they made at school!

Here is Mason accepting his cap and diploma...
His teacher announced what each kid's favorite color was and what they wanted to be when they grew up: Mason said his favorite color was green and that he wanted to be a cowboy, missionary, and superhero when he grew up! He was the only kid with multiple professional occupations - what high aspirations!
All the kids admiring their candy leis...
Singing their farewell song, I think I got a little teary-eyed, I'm such a sap!

Thank you Jamie for such a great preschool experience. We are going to miss you next year!

Fun at the Zoo

We went to the zoo today with some friends, and while we were waiting for them to arrive I let the boys play in the grass. They love trying to climb trees, but usually end up collecting sticks they break off in the process.



One of my boys favorite things to do at the zoo is ride the train that goes around a circle 5 times. Doesn't seem to exciting to me, but they LOVE it. Here are all the kids we were with (except Mason who was too cool to sit on the wall) waiting for their turn on the train.

I thought it was so cute seeing all these little boys in the train car by themselves. Logan wouldn't look at me, but I think you can tell which one he is. It is so fun having friends with boys the same ages as ours.


It was so hot and humid at the zoo today, I thought I was going to melt. The bad part is it's only May, I am in for a lot worse! Maybe our next outing can be to a pool!

Mother's Day

Mason made me my first homemade Mother's Day gift this year. He made it at preschool and it is a pencil flower in a cup of rice with a card that has a pop-up heart. He was soooo proud of himself! The funniest part was when he was reading the card to me and asked me what "UMA" spells - he wrote those letters on the card hoping that it was a word and was very disappointed when I had to tell him it wasn't. Notice is backwards "S" in Mason, he just can't do it the other way, and I think it's pretty cute. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful women in my life!

Dream Garden

Someday I hope my yard is filled with hyrdangea bushes. I just love the intensity of the colors and the tight clumps of petals.


For intoxicating scents, I choose lilacs and lily of the valley. If you have never seen lily of the valley, you are missing out on one of the most delicate and delightful flowers there is. Spring wouldn't be complete without these flowers.


The dahlia - a true beauty! I love the petal structure and the beautiful color combinations this flower displays.


Ranunculas look like they are made out of tissue paper and I have loved them since I first saw them as a child at a ranuncula field near my home in San Diego. Do these grow in Philly?

I have been trying to beautify our backyard, and am not pleased with the results. I realized this is because I am forced to buy plants that I really don't like due to financial restraints. My planters are filled with vinca, petunias, and marigolds, none of which inspire me. So, I thought I would devote this blog to the flowers I really love and wish I could plant all over my yard.

Bad Mom

We've told Mason that "stupid" is a bad word and that he can't say it. He's really good about not saying it, but I have some issues. I never realized how much I say it until he started correcting me. I say it at least 3 time a day, if not more! This morning, Mason was saying our family prayer and blessed me that I won't say "stupid" anymore. It was really sweet of him to seek help from Heavenly Father on my behalf, but it made me feel like a bad mom! I guess I have some improving to do in my son's eyes!

Attack dog

We are so lucky to have this beautiful disco ball and icicle lights on our backporch all year round (ha ha). Recently two sparrows have decided that this ball would make a good nesting place. Eric has seen them trying to create a nest in it and he is very much opposed so he decided to scare them away by first putting a toy dinosaur on the ball. That worked for about a day until the birds got used to that, so Eric switched the dinosaur for a robot toy. They weren't scared of the robot, so Eric put this stuffed dog up and so far the birds have stayed away! Logan hates that his toy dog is up there and whines for it every time he sees it. So, if you come to our house, beware of the attack dog perched on our beautiful light!

New York, New York!

I took Mason and Logan to New York this past weekend to visit my friend Mehrsa and her darling little girl, Cyra. We had so much fun walking around the city and playing in Central Park. I might just move to New York and buy that house I am standing in front of (yeah, right!). Don't you just love all those hydrangeas? Thanks for being such a great tour guide, Mehrsa, we had so much fun!

The kids loved playing on this concrete maze thing, but I hated it because I could never keep track of where they both were! It was a nice break when Mason fell asleep in the stroller and Logan was content to sit on the ground and eat raspberries.

We went to FAO Schwartz and my boys were in love with this life-size stuffed horse. Mason stayed on it for probably 15 minutes before I had to physically remove him.

They also loved this huge Batman made out of Legos, Logan couldn't take his eyes off it to look at the camera! Mason found this Spiderman he wanted, but I had to say no when I saw the price tag - $35 bucks!

When I wouldn't let Logan ride the full-size horse anymore, he resorted to this small stuffed one. I thought it was hilarious, but the sales woman made us put it back because he was pulling it along the floor and probably getting it dirty - oops!