Dylan's 2!

We LOVE this terribly-terrific TWO year old boy of ours!!!
(notice Swiper in the background)

Dylan's Birthweek!

We like to really celebrate and tend to stretch out our birthday's, so here's Dylan's week of fun!

It started on U. Blake & U. Jonny's birthdays, while we were in TX. Since neither of them were around, we celebrated Dylan on their behalf. :) A day of swimming with the Murdock fam, followed by a yummy dinner of hot dogs & BBQ chicken sandwiches, corn on the cob, Bri's famous bean dip, salad & veggies. We attempted to open presents, but Dylan wasn't really interested since we had blown up these AWESOME sword-like balloons for the boys to play with. It was really fun for us to celebrate his birthday with family, something we rarely get to do.

Saturday was his REAL birthday and we started the day by opening presents before he could get too distracted. We then went into town for lunch at Red Robin, a family fav. After that we headed to the pool where we spent a few hours cooling off and having fun as a family. He was tuckered out after a long day in the sun, so fell asleep on the way home. We also watched Madagascar that night & ate dinner in front of the TV. Lots of laughter, lots of fun!

Sunday night we did birthday cake and he REALLY got into it. He knew just what to do with the candles, and then dove right into the frosting. This is the first time I've bought a birthday cake from the bakery and the frosting was really thick....it was grossing Ben & me out, but the boys were loving it! Felt a tad guilty for not making & decorating a cake for him at first, but when I saw how much fun he was having, it washed all guilt away!

Thanks to all our friends & family for making Dylan's day so great! WE LOVE YOU x2 DYLAN MICHAEL!!!

Night at the Museum

Don't look, Gramma!

Music Makers

The BALL Room

Every once in a while I forget I'm pregnant and get some hair-brained, overly-energetic idea that we should pack in as much fun as possible before Dad leaves for the week. And so it was just a normal Friday morning when I remembered it was the free night at the Phoenix Children's Museum. Since Kaleb and Ben had gone earlier in the year on a free Sat. promotion and said it was well organized, I figured it couldn't be THAT bad...why not?

We drive in to meet Ben after work and proceed to wait for 2 hours...part of that time out on the street 0f 7th Ave downtown! By the time it was our turn it was almost 8 pm, I was exhausted having been standing almost the entire time, and the place was packed. We packed in as much 'fun' as Mom could handle, before we made our way home to 'copa. Thankfully the boys were REALLY WELL BEHAVED the entire time, which made it all worth it!

The next day we went to a water park for a few hours and I kinda-sorta got to relax. :)

Kaleb's First Day of Preschool

Kaleb started his first day of Jungle Explorers preschool today. Ever since he went to Meet the Teacher last week, he's been asking me several times a day when he could start. I think these photos really say it all!

Typical me, after weeks of searching, I still can't decide on bedding. I don't know if it's because there's too many choices, or if I'm just too picky. Probably both! I typically love anything and everything from Pottery Barn, but I'm disappointed that their bumpers are really one-sided...meaning adorable on one side, plain solid color on the other. I think for the price they should be beautifully detailed (or at least have a cute coordinating print) on both! I also want to use pink & green as the color scheme, and am trying to tie in some red in case we name our baby girl RUBY. This is still up in the air, but I have loved this name for quite some time now.

Cast your vote...comments, please!
1. Penelope (I would order just the bumper & skirt & substitute a floral or dot sheet for the birds). No red, inside of bumper is plain.
2. Sophie...no red, inside of bumper is plain.

3. Ladybug. I bought this one already and the fabric isn't very soft. The back of the bumper is pink & white gingham.
4. Bloom. I also bought this one. I like how you can change the bumper & the wild stripe is out of that super soft minky-chamois fabric. The sheet isn't very soft though.

The Rest of the Trip...

Daddy joined us!
Daredevil Dylan went down this slide by himself & cried when we left screaming, "AGAIN!"

HIGHLIGHTS:
* Quick trip to Seattle to visit Uncle Rog, Aunt Judy, Jeff & his cute family. Breakfast & a beautiful drive to Maltby's.
* We spent 3 glorious days at a beach house my parents rented in Lincoln City. Although the weather wasn't great, we had a GREAT time! The house was perfect, the company, too. We missed T & Jo + fams, but next time I'm sure they'll come. We did take Sophia with us, and several people asked if she and Dylan were twins. Tidepools, good shopping, good food, & lots of fun!
* Dinner with my friend, Stef & our families. We reunited recently through F/B & blogging, and it was just so nice to spend time with her...one of those friends that feels like no time has past, a kindred spirit. She has the cutest family of 3 little girls and a wonderful husband, and they live in a beautiful home that Mike built. Stef was the perfect hostess & we all had a wonderful time. Dylan even snuck in a hug & kiss for little Ruby before we left, but of course I didn't get a pic! :)* Picnic at Jacquith w/ Aunt C, Gramma-Gramma, Miss & cousins. This is where we spent half our childhood playing softball, baseball & tennis. Memories! We also drove by the house that Ben grew up in.
* Date night in Portland. We always try to sneak away kid-less at least once! Ben & I enjoyed a romantic evening along the waterfront in Portland. We found a new Chinese place right around the corner from the Marriott where we spent our first night as Mr. & Mrs. We walked around, shared some yummy Tillamook icecream & dreamed a little.* We also spent lots of time relaxing, watching movies, wrestling "the uncles", playing legos & pong...just enjoying ourselves being together. Thanks everyone for such a nice & memorable trip!!!

A Day at the Days

Dani, Jonny's girlfriend of a few years, invited us to her place in the country. We spent the day doing everything boys should do all summer long...pure bliss! The only way it could have been better is if our Dad was there. The Days live on a hill with several acres that overlooks a lake which is stocked with 2 or 3 types of fish. They also have horses, cattle, pigs & dogs, maybe a few other animals. After taking a tour, we headed down to the lake.





Mom & I thought we'd spend a few hours looking at the animals, having a picnic, and fishing with Grandpa. But honestly, I have never seen my dad so happy...he was like a kid in a candy store! There was no reeling him away from an afternoon of fishing with his boys. We were all enjoying ourselves & the boys were all so cute, we ended up staying all day! Grandpa and Jonny would get a fish on, then yell for Kaleb to reel it in. He tried casting and waiting a few times, but lost interest in that pretty quick. Collectively, they caught about a dozen fish, but the story keeps getting bigger & better if you ask the fishermen!

The boys also played with newts, worms, dogs, & got a few rides in the paddle boat from Jonny & Dani. Towards the end Dylan would insist on touching all the fish, and then would get upset when they'd toss them back in. Kaleb also made up a fun game where he'd jump into a tube with netting under it, then pull himself back to the dock with a rope. All in all, it was a memorable day with the Days. Thanks, Dani!

We took so many pictures, I couldn't narrow it down, so here's a slideshow. Enjoy!