Baseball Fever

They boys had their first baseball games today! After a LONG and HOT day, I have concluded my Saturdays are pretty much gone for the next month or so. These 2 games have taken up the entire day!

Nate was over in Pocatello for a race so I had all three boys in tow. We packed up and left the house at about 9:30am. The first game started at 10:15 and the second one started at 1:30. I thought we'd better just stay over by the fields and get lunch somewhere since the games are played at a high school about 35-40 minutes away from my house. Needless to say, we didn't get home until 3:30 and being out in the 95 degree temps all day long has WORN US OUT! It's only 6:15 now and poor Landon is out for the night! haha!

This was Parker's very first time playing. (Warning...bragging moment coming on.) Let me just say....Parker is a little stud. He is the smallest guy on the team yet is is by far the FASTEST and can hit the ball the FARTHEST. It was hilarious....Parker was the last batter up. The last batter always hits a "home run" no matter what. All of the coaches in the outfield were telling the kids to scoot up. (Thinking that this teeny kid wouldn't hit it far at all.) Parker steps up to the plate and SMASHES the ball way over the coaches heads in the outfield. Then he runs all of the bases...and he ends up beating both of the runners on 2nd and 1st base. All of the parents had a good laugh. The next time Parker was up to bat all of the kids knew to move back because the "hitter" was up. Honestly....if you know Parker, you're not surprised at all.

Dallin had a great game too. Now that he is a U7 he gets to play on a real baseball field. All of the kids looked so little out there...to me anyway. Dallin had 2 great hits and gently needed to be reminded to stop picking his nose out in the outfield a few times. Love that kid.

Landon and I huddled under the shade of my umbrella and tried not to cook. It has been a good day. Again...LONG and HOT but still really good.

Memorial Day Weekend

Its been a fun weekend! The boys finished up their last soccer games and we enjoyed spending time outside with Grandma LeeLee. Kickin Kids soccer was a HUGE success! The boys had a fun season and were thrilled with their new trophies! Monday we went boating and had a BBQ! It was a perfect Memorial Day Weekend!

Whirlwind Week

It's been a busy week and before it becomes an even busier weekend I thought I would do a quick recap.

On Monday it was my brother Jason's 16th birthday! My parents surprised him with a ride in a stretched HUMMER limo. We had a great time cruising around downtown with all of his friends. We made a stop over at Coldstone. It was such a fun time! Our driver was this Rod Stewart look- alike. I couldn't stop starring at him. (He was so STRANGE) The limo was awesome though....tvs, huge speakers and disco lights! The boys thought it was the COOLEST thing ever! I can't believe my BABY brother is 16! Crazy!

The boys finished their last week of swim lessons. They finished just in time to START playing baseball. :) (sigh)

Nate had another crit on Tuesday. He is doing a series of crit races for a few weeks this spring over at the fairgrounds. (I compare it to Nascar...but on a road bike) The guys ride around and around a course for 30 minutes. He accomplished his goal of a top ten finish! Its fun to cheer him on and the boys love it too. It doesn't matter WHO rides by...they boys scream "GO Daddy GO!" to all of the riders! Its pretty cute.

Parker graduated from preschool today. It was so adorable. All of the kids wore caps and gowns and received a diploma. He was so excited for his "grad-appreciation" as he puts it. He has had a wonderful time going to Miss Fenn's this year and we will are so sad that she isn't teaching next year! (I'm REALLY going to miss the little BREAK during the week!)

We're gearing up for a fun Memorial Day weekend with Grandma LeeLee! Have a safe Memorial Weekend everyone!

Too Cool for School

Scooter

Hat

Shades

Cherrios on a string.....

What more could a guy need??

You know it's a BAD day when.......

You look down and your hand and see that your diamond from your wedding ring is G-O-N-E.

I've had that constant aching feeling in my stomach all day long. I keep trying to tell myself that really it's just a THING but it is so hard for me to look past all of the sentimental value associated with it. I feel horrible...especially becuase just 2 weeks ago Nate told me to go and get the prongs checked out.

Good thing our marriage is eternal.....cause obviously my ring wasn't. Today sucks...I am going to bed.

Pretty Scary Stuff

Here is a picture of the first apartment we lived in while Nate attended Law School in Spokane:

Here is that same apartment TODAY as it burned to the ground.

Thankfully no on was hurt but I can't even begin to imagine what these people are dealing with today. Fire was something I CONSTANTLY worried about while we were apartment dwellers. I am so glad everyone escaped. SO SCARY

8 is GREAT!

Seven year itch is over! Happy 8th Anniversary to us! I love you my dear!

A close call

This afternoon the boys and I were running a few errands. We were cruising down the road blasting the Kids Bop song "Life is a Highway" that we got from our latest visit to McDonalds. We had the windows down singing at the top of our lungs. Out of the corner of my eye I see him. A motorcycle cop...pointing his gun right at me.

Crap. His lights start to flash as he pulls out.

I am very proud of the fact that my last speeding ticket was all the way back in high school. I always boast to my dear spouse that I am a much more attentive and better overall driver then he is. (He really is a good driver...I just love to give him a hard time!)

All of a sudden I feel sick to my stomach. I start crying as I pull off on a side road. I had no idea how fast I was going....everything feels fast when the windows are down.

The boys start crying because I am crying. Landon doesn't know what the heck is going on.

I look in my rear view mirror and watch as the cop cruises right past me and nabs the truck that was right in front of me.

I start laughing...the boys are still crying.

We turn "Life is a Highway" back on and we start rocking on right where we left off.

Sweet...I am still ticket free.

To My Birthday Boy

Dear Landon Loo,

It seems like yesterday that we brought home this handsome little man. The joy that you have brought to our home has been overwhelming!!!

It is hard for me to believe that you have grown so fast into such a busy toddler!

You are full of life and laughter and we are so blessed to have you. Here are some of your favorites at 2:

Favorite toys: any kind of BALL..shape or size doesn't matter, three wheeled scooter...you insist on riding it every time you enter the garage and every time we go to the park, nerf guns (trying to be like the big brothers), your new basketball hoop, golf clubs, books, cars.

Things you LOVE: your BLANKETS.....yes that is plural...you are crazy about your 4-5 blankets and insist on sleeping with ALL of them every night, playing outside, when Daddy walks through the door, seeing airplanes fly overhead, taking your shoes and socks off, getting into my lotions and potions, you love to DANCE!

Favorite foods: spaghetti, eclairs (I'll never forget when we made some together and when I looked the other way for a second you had CRAMMED all of them into your mouth as fast as you could!) tacos, cheese, bananas, "Yeeareal" or cereal.

You are such a sweet and strong willed little guy. I love how each morning as soon as you get up you come running into my room and you let me hold you for a few minutes. Even though it seems like our snuggles get shorter and shorter I cherish those few minutes each day. My baby isn't a baby anymore!!

Happy 2nd birthday big boy. I love you.

Love, Mama

Women's Conference and MUCH more!

I feel like I have been gone for 2 weeks...not 5 days! We CRAMMED a lot in in the few days we were down in Utah.

The boys and I left on Tuesday and right before we went out of town I read all about the Shoshone Falls in the newspaper. The water level was at an all time high so I thought we would stop on our way since we didn't take the time to see it last summer. It was absolutely amazing. Hard to believe the falls are actually taller than Niagara.

Wednesday we met up with Ash and Ann for lunch. Afterwards, we went down to Lindsay's cute house to see their new little addition. Connor is darling! Later that day we did some shopping at IKEA. Man....I love that store.

The next day we headed down to Thanksgiving Point. Grandma was able to make her own glass flower as a birthday gift from Nat. Grandma had a great time and she was definitely in her "artsy" element!

After lunch we headed over to the Tulip Festival. It was just beautiful. It was a picturesque spring day and the boys loved playing in all of the fountains and running around the gardens. We'll definitely try to come down for the festival next year.

Friday I went down to BYU to attend Women's Conference. Grandma was such a saint for taking all 3 boys for me so I could go. It was so much fun spending the day with Marce and feeling uplifted and encouraged by the speakers. I just can't understand how so many years have gone by since we went to school there. It really doesn't seem that long ago! We had fun eating at the good old Cougareat and doing some shopping in the Bookstore. I thoroughly enjoyed my Cinnamon Bears and the famous BYU Mint Brownies! YUM!

After the conference we met Sarah and Jenny for dinner at CPK. It has been a long time since the Madison 9 girls had a reunion. (We missed you Erin!)

We had fun catching up and laughing about the good old college days! Such a fun night.

Nate came down to UT on Friday with Jared to do a race over at Antelope Island. We were going to go over and cheer him on but when we woke up Saturday morning to a major downpour I opted not to drag the kids out there. Nate had a rough race and wasn't able to finish because he ended up getting 3 flat tires. He was bummed but still had a fun time. Later that day we all met up over at his parents house to celebrate Kelsey and Landon's Birthdays!

MY BABY is 2 years old!

I will do a little post on him later but for now we had a great time seeing the whole family and he had fun opening his presents, eating fruit pizza, and playing with cousins.
It was a memorable week!

Chocolate Covered CInnamon Bears

Can I just tell you how excited I am? I am leaving today to head down to BYU to attend my very first Women's Conference. Why is anticipating this trip making me so giddy?

#1. I get to spend some time with my old college roomates who I haven't seen in YEARS.

#2. I get to visit my old "home" of Provo. I really did enjoy my time down there. Even though my husband couldn't wait to leave and never looked back I have a special place in my heart for that fun and quirky city.

#3. I'm looking forward to a little "battery re-charge" in a sense. Sometimes it gets hard not having the opportunity to attend Relief Society and feel of the spirit from the sisters in our ward. I'm not saying I don't love working with the YW becuase heaven knows I do...It will just be so nice to be surrounded by women for a couple of days.

#4. NO kids. Need I say more?

#5. Chocolate Covered Cinnamon Bears. These yummy bears of goodness bring back great memories of studying late into the night at the food-banning library and sneaking in my bag of non-drowsy bears tucked in the deep recesses of my backpack. I remember 1/4 lb bag-fulls taken to class and stashed under my register as I worked at the BYU Bookstore. Woo Hoo!

Look out cinnamon bears...here I come!

Swim Lessons

I know it's still early spring around here but I have decided that my kids are doing swim lessons EARLY this year. It seems like our summers get so crazy that we have a hard time sqeezing in the all important swim lesson. The boys had their first class today over at the YMCA. The had a great time! The best part (in their opinion) is that they get to head on over to the kiddie pool and play as long as they like afterward!
I'll tell you what this mom's LEAST favorite part is....having to take all 3 of my BOYS into the WOMEN'S locker room to change. Obviously I can't really let my 6, 4, and 2 year old head into the men's changing room by themselves so I have to be ON GUARD at all times for those crazy ladies that walk around wearing nothing and think nothing of it. Parker looked down an isle of lockers where a woman was standing and immediately whispered LOUDLY...."Hey Mom....I think I saw a Big BumBum." Needless to say, all 4 of us crammed into a bathroom stall so the boys could change and I could hide from the Big-Bummed lady.

Teeing up!

When you are 50% Rock and 50% Starnes you are genetically predisposed (when you are male) to become a HUGE golf fanatic! These boys love to go hitting the links with Dad!
We are lucky to live about 5 minutes from the course. I'm sure the boys will be spending lots of time over there this summer! (And MOM always enjoys some peace and quiet for a little while! :)

This and that

I've been in a bit of a blog funk for the past few days. It just doesn't seem like there has been anything "worthy" enough for a post. It was a pretty low key week...we've spent the majority of our time outside enjoying SPRING in all it's glory!

Nate was able to travel up to good old Spokane for a hearing. It was fun to have him call me and tell me that he just "drove by the hospital where Parker was born" or he "drove by our old apartment." It is so crazy to think that Law School was 3 years ago...time is just flying by. I made him promise me that next time he goes up there that he has to take me with him. It would be so much fun to take a little walk down memory lane.

Dallin only has 3 more days until he is off track again. I have really enjoyed year round school this year. It is fun to have 3 full weeks to spend with him at random times during the year. I love having him around...and Parker is thrilled. They do butt heads a lot but they always prefer to be together. Today we had stake conference and when we told Dallin we only had to go to the sacrament meeting part of church he was very excited. (We opted not to tell him it was for 2 full hours) After about an hour and a half he looks over at me (body slumped over) and says, "Mom...I really don't think I can take much more of this....it is going on and ON forever."

Parker is just Parker. He is the coolest 4 year old ever. He got a new bike this week and has insisted on riding it ALL DAY. He wanted to ride his bike to preschool so I had to drive next to him over to his school. He has become quite the little skateboarder over the last couple of months. He is always wanting me to watch his "shuv-it" and "ollie" tricks. We went over to the park last night and all of these 10-13 year old boys saw Parker and they were like, "Hey Parker...whats up man...wanna come skate with us?" I could overhear them saying that Parker was a "sick little skater." We were driving somewhere the other day and Parker was looking out the window. He suddenly chimes in with a "I could totally rail that picnic table." The kid is 4...is this REALLY starting already??

Landon is almost 2! My baby isn't a baby anymore. He started sleeping in a big boy bed about a month ago. He has also started saying ALL sorts of things. He is quite the little parrot. I always thought that Parker would be the child that tried my patience but Landon seems to be getting worse and worse. He poured 2 full boxes of cereal all over the downstairs of my house last week. Thank heavens for vaccuums and for those baby door handle things. We have them everywhere now. I also couldn't find my toothbrush the other day...then I finally found it in the sandbox! Lovely.
Good thing he is so cute....

Alright....time for bed.

Our Easter Weekend with family, friends, and an Olympic Gold Medalist

What a wonderful Easter weekend! The Pitcher's came up to visit us for a few days and we have had such a great time playing with our cousins!!! We started things off right away with a fun Easter egg hunt that we put on over at our park. We had lots of friends and neighbors come and the kids all accumulated WAY too much candy! Saturday we drove out to Middleton to watch Nate and Justin and the rest of Team CF compete in the Bike and Trike Race. The kids had lots of fun playing in the bounce house and we had fun cheering all of our guys on! They all look so cute in their new jerseys! After the race our team met Kristin Armstong (Olympic gold medalist-the winner of the Women's Time trial in the 2008 Summer Olympics.) She wanted to know more about what team CF stood for and was impressed with the team's message.
*Maybe I haven't mentioned that Nate's team and fellow riders formed TEAM CF to raise awareness about Cystic Fibrosis. We have some dear friends that have 2 sons who are dealing with this disease. One of the boys (Kim) rode in the race on Saturday. He is such a great kid..we were proud of him for even attempting to race with all of these crazy biking men!
After the men raced there was a kid's race. Parker was VERY disappointed that his tire popped before the race started. I found an older kid and asked him if we wouldn't mind racing Parker and letting him win. We let Parker ride on Dallin's bike and Parker thought he WON the race. He went from bawling and sobbing to happy and elated. Shhhhh...don't tell him what I did! haha



After the race we came home to celebrate the twins birthday! Kaiden and Keagan are 3!!! Easter morning was fun! The kids were all thrilled to see that the Easter Bunny had come. We did a little hunt in the backyard and got all ready for church. No pics of my kids in their Easter shirts.....too much going on!

After church we went over to my parent's house for a classic ham and funeral potato dinner! YUM! We walked down to the river to throw rocks. The kids had a great time.

Such a fun weekend! It's just too bad that it went by so fast!