Good Times with Marmie, "Mamie" and "Kais"

today we got to spend some quality time with three of our favorite folks: marmie, "mamie and kais", (as ben david has affectionally dubed his aunt and cousin...not a clue why he has chosen to pluralize kai's name, but he has).
we had a lot of fun hanging out in the blow-up pool and eating lunch together. beautiful weather and so fun to catch up with our family. even lucy got in on the action...she and ben david are the best of buds.
thanks mom and amy for taking care of my kids for me!! you don't see me in these pics because i was sitting in a lounge chair drinking margaritas the whole time...j/k:)

Fun Photo Shoot

as part of ben's father's day present, we had amy's sweet friend ginny take some fun candid shots of us to put up in his office. don't worry...he also received a game of golf with dan!:)

here are a few of our favorites. thanks ginny!

Who's Your Daddy??

in my husband's words, it makes no sense to give him a father's day gift as he is not my dad. so please understand that i am simply typing this email while james and ben david are dictating the following to me!:)

our dad is the best!! no matter how tired he is after a day of work, he come home and entertains us. he plays fire truck, trains, ball...anything you can think of, he does it. he always seems so excited to see us and that makes us feel so special.

some dads have no idea what their kids schedules and routines are like, but our dad has ours down. he knows exactly what we like for breakfast, lunch and dinner. he knows just when to put us down for a nap. he even knows that we like bubbles in our bathtub!:) he knows we like to hear the book about the "pig and the pancake" every night and that we require two favorite blankets and two pacis to go to bed. he changes our diapers without complaint, no matter how bad they are. he even helps with potty training!:) there is no task he is unwilling to do on our behalf.

he takes us on runs when he gets home from work so our mommy can have a little "break" (though we are not sure what a "break" is, she sure seems to enjoy it:). he even lets her sleep in on weekends and has been known to take both of us on outings so she can have some "downtime" (something else we don't quite understand, but again, she seems to really appreciate it).

we really think we have the best dad and we are so grateful for him!! thank you daddy for all you do and for just being you. we are two blessed little guys.

p.s...mommy says to tell you she thinks you are pretty special too:)

Pool Days!

here are some pics of our first trip to the pool for the summer. while i managed to dodge the camera, ben entertained ben david and james in the baby pool. we quickly learned that james was a little waterbug and couldn't get enough. ben david sported his intertube/bathing suit combo that ben purchased secondhand for him. while not the most stylish of all the kids there, it turned out to be a real hit! ben david had a great time trying on other people's goggles and stealing kids toys. he is quite brave and willing to jump right off the side of the big pool with no encouragement!

more pics to follow from future trips to the pool.

Road Trip Birmy.

I recently had the pleasure of spending 2 days with Dan Wray (aka Deuce) on a road trip to down south. We made a quick stop in Doraville, GA to see a project we had started and then down to Birmingham, AL to look at a few past jobs and to look at some new possible work. Dan is now not only the CEO of FHG but is also becoming a Project manager so this was Dans first Bid walk and chance to bid a project.

I just wanted to take a minute to highlight Dan and how much i appreciated him taking care of the company vehicle that we drove down in. I cleaned the car especially for Dan - I mean what other lowly project manager wouldn't want to impress the CEO of a company with how well he takes care of FHG equipment?

Well i have to say after 2 days in the car on our road trip Dan has almost destroyed the vehicle. Below are a couple pictures highlighting Dans actions:

Thanks for taking such good care of the car. This will be the last time you eat a pack of Lance in my car...

The Latest Happenings...

most recently, ben david had his first encounter with the ice cream truck that comes through our neighborhood. this was something we had been anticipating/dreading, as we knew it would prove both exciting, fun...and also slightly addictive for ben david. i always thought it strange that the ice cream truck rolled through right around 5:30pm. i mean, that is right before dinner time. i now, however, think it is an ingenious marketing ploy.

nothing like coming around to hit up mom's who are worn down and dead tired from a full day of taking care of kids. moms who are at there weakest...willing to cave at the slightest pressure if it might result in peace, quiet and survival for all until daddy gets home. i can now see how this can often result in the ultimate demise...feeding kids ice cream right before dinner.

we too fell into this trap at 5:30 last saturday. fortunately, ben was home and so i was not totally to blame. it was really fun seeing ben david experience this for the first time. here are some pics of him picking out and enjoying his special treat, a chocolate ice cream bar:

and here is a picture of what occurred when ben assured me that he was sure we could just explain to ben david that we would "put the ice cream in the freezer and let him finish it after dinner"(yes, i am a terrible mom for taking this but words would not suffice):

needless to say, dinner was not a great success that night. for all thinking we are the meanest parents around...let me conclude by saying that we did, in fact, return the chocolate ice cream bar to our son, as promised, after his 15 second dinner took place.

it is pretty hilarious now, as ever since this, when ben david hears the music (which is christmas music, mind you...strangely unseasonal) of the ice cream truck...he comes running pell mell from wherever he might be shouting something unintelligible at the top of his lungs in hopes that he might get yet another ice cream. hmmm...i think it's going to be a long summer.:)

meanwhile...james is just happy he's finally founds someone smaller than he is to play with! here he is...tackling his cousin annascott. he was determined to give her lots of hugs and try to swipe her hat in the process. i'm not sure annascott knew quite what hit her, but she was a great sport!:)

and finally...james' latest trick...sticking his finger in his nose. this was not a one time occurrence, though i wish it was. it happens quite frequently! telling him no only seems to encourage him and he just laughs at me.

oh well...

boys will be boys!:)

thanks guys!!

after a leisurely morning of sleeping in, i came downstairs to a wonderful mother's day surprise of starbucks coffee and a scone! in addition, there was this beautiful pink hydrangea, along with two wrapped gifts! one from ben david and one from james.

these little guys did a fantastic job picking out a pair of very cool rainbow flip flops and a great adias running shirt! this mom is going to be the hippiest mom around:)

in addition, i received the greatest card ever complete with two footprints from the boys:

i kept telling ben i did NOT want him to go and get anything for mother's day, as he has a tendency to get quite extravagant with gifts. he, however, kept telling me not to worry because, in his words:"why in the world would i give you presents on mother's day??? you are not MY mother!"

as usual...he found a way to circumvent the "no gifts" rule. ben david and james are totally responsible for this nice spread!;)

how blessed i am to be the wife of this thoughtful man and the mother of these two precious boys. i am daily reminded of how fortunate i am. what a gift to be entrusted with the little ones.

in addition to the above festivites...we had a fun "mother's day" cookout last night with my parents, annaliese, evan and their five and evan's brother scott. here are a few pics from that event:

the whole gang!

uncle ben and annascott

can you tell i never get this at home???

the grill masters!

a cousinly bear hug!