outtakes & ready for spring

anyone who has ever tried to photograph more than one child will appreciate these um, well,  outtakes.  :)

and, welcome spring!  the weather sure has been crazy this winter - but it seems safe to say that spring has sprung and has brought eighty degree temps along with it. 

time to break out the old flip flops!  owen's first time wearing flip flops - which he calls "blip bops."

love owen's chubby little feet.  he appears to be sporting a size 7.5 and henry a size 9.5 these days.

speaking of spring, our house sits behind a nook of trees.  within a week the leaves popped out in the below pic.  now, they have really popped out and you cannot see our house from the road {or this part of our driveway, really}.  crazy!  will have to take another pic to compare.

 our yellow rosebushes are blooming ... a few of their first blooms.  first for us, for for them.

and with these nice warm days, we have spent a lot of time outside.  checking on the cows.  prepping our raised beds for our garden.  exploring.  weeding.  planting.  laying pine straw.  eating on the porch as much as possible.  watering. taking walks. cutting grass.  gazing at the amazing stars - the sky seems so much clearer out here.  finding frogs.  finding ant beds.  playing with anything that could resemble a club.  kicking the soccer ball.  listening to the sounds of nature at night.  playing with cars and trucks.  loading trucks {the one above hails from michigan back in the days when sue's brothers were young.  sue, remember these?  we have this dump truck and a fire engine that you all passed on to brock when he was younger}.  loading trucks is a big part of each trip outside.  this day's load consisted of some good old rocks, a few leaves, and a piece of stone.  the trusty old dump truck is enjoying spring, too.

hello from h & o

no particular reason for any of these - other than just pure cuteness.

 mmnn, mmmnn, mmmnnn.  mommy is such a sucker for these brown eyes, dimples and grin.

 henry was pretending he was a little bird and the blanket was his nest.

 the boys love this car/town mat.  love love love it.

 before school one morning

 h & o ... trying to get a pic of the two {at times a challenge} ... and ahem, brotherly love.

they actually DO love each other ... owen is just not a big fan of hugs from h sometimes.

but they do pal around together at home and at school ... when i pick up the boys from school and ask henry who he played with on the the playground, he always {as in three days each week, the three days they are at school} says, "owen!"  the other day at school when owen saw henry on the playground he gave up the swing and said, "hen-ee's turn."  most times they have a blast together.



cowboy round-up

a long long time ago it seems, gary and i took henry to the storybook farms cowboy round-up.  it was a whopping low thirty something degrees ... freezing in alabama ... but lots of fun.  there were games, horses to pet and see, dinner for the cowpokes, "calf" roping, stick horse races, a blacksmith, and a campfire.  it was so cold I did not take the old camera - just used the phone.  henry had a great time - he didn't mind the cold.  he did mind the one horse that snorted though - wasn't a big fan.  here he is below with corduroy, of whom he was a fan.

and the video above is of the stick horse races ... henry was great about bringing up the rear each time {they raced about five times}.  for you out of towners, storybook farms is a local, non-profit horse farm that serves children with disabilities and/or illnesses.  all of their horses and paddocks are named after literary characters ... and they are a fantastic organization.  here's the link if you want to take a peek!http://www.hopeonhorseback.org/

funny moments

from one of henry's awesome teachers ...

h:  "hurry owen! hurry owen!" (over and over)

h's teacher:  "where are you going all in a hurry?"

h:  "why to the ponderosa of course!"

and ... last week at school h and a few friends were sitting with this same sweet teacher.  she asked them what they wanted to be when they grow up/  the conversation went like this:

friend:  I want to be a pilot.

h's teacher:  What kind of pilot? 

friend:  An airplane pilot and a rocket pilot too!

h's teacher:  That would be so cool to go to the moon and outer space!  What do you think Henry?

h:  Well, I would rather just stay here on Earth.

laughs to start out the week!  :)



wrapping up the month of birthdays

january 13th - henry's birthday.

february 1st - owen's birthday.

february 16th - my birthday.

february 25th - gary's birthday.

we have wrapped up the month of birthdays around our house.  the lanterns have come down.  the birthday treats have been gobbled up.  yet, owen still sings happy birthday sometimes.  ha!

my birthday was wonderful - gary made my favorite meal {breakfast}.  we were all home and enjoyed good tunes, good company and good times.  that saturday i ran in the Love Your Heart 10k ... it rocked!  that's one race in auburn i have not yet run.  one word: thankful.  well, two words: thankful and excited.  gary had a wonderful birthday too - we went to our first {and only this year} auburn basketball game.  the tigers did not win, but we all enjoyed the game.  we met up with good friends there and then they all came back to the house with their kiddos to visit and have dinner.  the bushes trekked down from birmingham - great to see you guys, as always!

also in february, gary and i took henry to the storybook farm cowboy round-up {that's another post}. 

we continue to "unpack" and situate things here ... that will continue it seems. 

 thanks to greg, brett's dad, for the delicious peanut butter and chocolate cake!

 above: from our front porch.  our "neighbor" across the street turned the cows out in the field next to us ... when we drove in the driveway for the first time after turning them out, henry exclaimed, "we live on a farm now!  there are cows!"  he and owen LOVE these moo cows.  there are a handful of calves and the boys enjoy watching the calves frolic and follow their mommies {and, get out of the fencing}.  gary and i both grew up on land with livestock {cattle and horses mainly}, so we have certainly enjoyed having them close by too.  there is one bull amongst these cows ... what a life, right?  poor guy. 

 and this is the view from our deck/porch that overlooks the pond. 

see that bench in the middle left of the picture?  that is the bench on which gary asked for my hand in marriage - june 29th, 2003.  the bench sat in his dad's yard in anniston at the time, but several years ago when his dad moved to auburn, he moved the bench to the ponderosa.  for christmas that year he gave us a plaque for the bench, "the betrothal bench," with the date of our engagement.  quite thoughtful.

that is our driveway there on the right.  our sits a ways from the road.  when they were adding the gravel and making the driveway way back when, gary and i said, "we like a snaky {curvy} driveway."  henry quickly said, "i do not like a snaky driveway."  ha!  will never forget that.

we are able to witness the sunset every day.  gorgeous.  in all honesty, what a blessing does not seem to truly capture our emotion, for all parts of life.  not sure how one would describe it, really.  undeserving? unimaginable? utterly thankful?  

for now, let's just say that if you are ever on our end of town and want to stop by, we would love to visit with you.  come and check out the cows, pull up a chair on the deck and watch a spectacular sunset.  

sound the alarm ...

birthday party pictures!

{better late than never, right?!}

to start the day we had a great visit with Allison, her mom, Madeline and Mary. 

henry and owen met mary for the first time ... and they had a blast.

henry {4}, madeline {4}, mary {6ish weeks}, owen {2} - owen cracks me up in the above pic with his hands behind his head.

... cheese ...

and then on to the party for the boys ... a tour of the fire station for the older ones and then a walk on over {a whole block} to felton little park for sweet treats and play time for all.

the firemen did such a amazing job with the tour ... enjoyed by all and really very informative!

and exploring the truck was tons of fun of course ... and at the very end of the tour, the fire station received a call and they had to pack up and leave.  let me just tell you they were out of there in literally eight seconds.  the kiddos all had priceless expressions on their faces.  impeccable timing!

a few birmingham friends ... allison and her mom.  so great to see you ms. claudia!

robbie and jake

grandmother and owen at the park ... owen was a little too young to hang at the fire station.  thanks to elizabeth and jon for playing with owen at the park until we got there!

 love this pic of owen and allison!  and below, owen finds the sand.

 time for cake!

the weather that day was warm - windy but warm enough for shorts!  the wind did not allow the candles to stay lit for too long ... madeline, cole, and the boys

 enjoying the homemade firetruck cake ... and the deep red icing!  henry wanted a "black cracker" {AKA oreo} wheel.  owen wanted the gum drops.

 and below is henry's sweet friend annie.  he and annie have been classmates for three years and have really been best buds the last two years.

after the party family came back to the house to visit.  owen enjoyed the balloons we brought home.  children always love balloons, don't they?!

and below, john gregory {tricia and brett's youngest son, 8 months} and mary

 the invitation and thank you favors

{firemen hats and firetruck crayons}

 the fire department did such a phenomenal job, the park was great fun, the weather was enjoyable, and the wonderful company made for a truly memorable birthday. 

the whole day was just. plain. incredible.

to the birthday boys!