L's Celebration!

Our funny L is turning 6 this week and so we celebrated it on Saturday.

I asked L what he wanted to do for his birthday and he said he wanted to have tiger cake at the zoo and that was it! So I made a tiger cake and we went to the zoo, just our little family.

It was very busy there but we still had a good time. We gave L a zoo map and told him he was the leader and we went where he wanted to go. It was beautiful and sunny, the boys played and played, then when they were all done we went out to the parking lot and had a birthday celebration of tiger cake and presents in the bed of the truck. It was a lovely time, and I loved seeing L so happy and having so much fun with his big bro, his Dad, and me.

We sure love that L, he is pure wonderfulness!

Love Those Boys!

Last night L and R were watching a movie in my room, this is how I found them:

A bit of Panic!

I'm taking some of my first business management classes right now. In one of them we had a unit on identity theft and credit fraud...nasty stuff!
A few weeks after learning about his stuff I'm out and about using my debit card and when I get home there is an automated call about an issue with J's and my account.

Ooh, that doesn't sound good. And since J is the primary name on the account he has to call back. Well, my card is still working and there are no suspicious purchases on our account. So I tell him he can do it after his duty at work is over and he's at home (the next day).

The next day I try to buy dinner with a friend of mine after a meeting when my card won't process...panic!
Shoot, I've been the victim of ID theft! I try not to think of the damage that potentially could have happened and all the crazy steps I'll have to go through to solve my problem.
I get home and tell J all about it. He calls in the morning and the code is expired it says. Hmmm, that is weird and my dread worsens.

So I call the bank and I'm told there doesn't look to be anything wrong with the account, I'm trying to understand what is going on, and getting nowhere. Is my credit life over, is there someone running around town acting like me buying stuff that I'll never see?!

Then the lady says, "What are the four expiration numbers on the card please?". I tell her its the 4th month of this year, and she politely tells me, "Well, its now the 5th month..."
Oh....my debit card has expired! She asks me if I have a new one in the mail. Uh.....maybe, probably....I forget. And a quick look shows me, yup, its right there in our mail pile and I just forgot about it!

I thank her for being so nice about it all and hang up feeling utterly relieved and totally like an airhead! At least I wasn't a victim of ID or credit theft, just my procrastination!

Point of View!

L and I were watching Bambi this morning. The part was on where Bambi is in the meadow with his Mom came on. Faline, the little girl deer, is giggling and teasing Bambi and I say, "She's silly huh?"
L says, "No, she's just distracting him!" And yes he said it with a bit of disgust in his voice, like how dare that girl deer be like that.
Oh, that L, he makes me laugh!

Update!

We've had busy full days now that Spring has arrived!
I had a combined birthday dinner/Easter dinner with some friends of ours, it was a wonderful day. I got beautiful Orchids, my favorite candies, a new backpack with a water pouch, flowers, pics on my wall from my best friends ever, and homemade ice cream cake!

It is garden time and this year, I wanted bigger and better than ever! I put in more strawberries, onions, spinach, various lettuce, cute-cumbers, 3 kinds of pumpkin, 2 kinds of squash, zucchini, 2 kinds of peas,3 kinds of beans, carrots, peppers, corn, potatoes, raspberries, and some herbs. I've also planted some flower seeds here and there.


J has a list of things he wants to get done before his schedule gets too hectic and he has been working hard! He has built the coolest chicken house, both sides of the roof lifts up and there are little boxes for nests inside. The little house and enclosed cages are completely portable, they are not all attached to each other, but all have openings that fit together. This way we have been moving them around and next month they are being placed on the back of the property. He has been clearing, rototilling, and burning as well. There is more grass seed to be put down and even more clearing that he plans on doing.

R is all done with basketball, he had a fabulous season! He learned so much, grew so much, and had so much fun! He is still working on the piano and his Bear cub scouts, he is rockin the 4th grade too! L is doing so well in school, he is turning into a book hound big time! He is our busy little boy who is always full of new ideas, funny faces, and goofy antics!
I have been slaving away over my school work, just teasing! It must just be harder for me to do school work when the weather is so nice. I'd much rather be outside than inside studying! I have really been enjoying gardening, hanging with friends and my little family. I did get some Spring cleaning done and this is my favorite outcome: I got this idea from a friend of mine. I love how it looks up ontop of my cupboards with pics of the boys instead of as a place for storage!

I have to say, Spring Rocks!

The Best Hike Ever!

Saturday 9 of us along with 2 dogs went to Mt. Walker for some hiking. It was awesome! The weather was perfect, the view was amazing, and it was just so fun all being together! The hike up was 10-20% grade and 2 miles going a total of 2000 feet up. At the top we had a picnic checked out the two view points there and then we took the road down which was 4 miles.
A and R having a great time up the mountain!
J and serious R!
L's a little pooped at this point, too bad it's not even 1/2way yet!
Boys going up the mountain!
My 2 best friends ever!
M, me, J, and J at the top!
All the kiddo's and the 2 pooches!
Best Friends, I love these ladies!

My New Nephew!

10.1 oz. of Beautiful Boy! Way to go sis!

School Daze!

I'm done with my 1st 2 classes with Kaplan University:
Statistics and Current Trends in Fitness and Exercise.
Statistics was the hardest class I have ever taken, it was a roller coaster of a class I had A's, B's, C's and even an F on my projects! But overall I received a B for the class. That B couldn't be sweeter! For my other class I got an A.

My next 2 classes start on Wednesday they are:
Intro to Business and Business Math. I changed my degree from psychology to business in Human Resources so I can actually use my BS right away and take my Masters at a more leisurely pace later on. I'm excited for my new classes and just hope they are not as mind warping as statistics was!

Spring!

I love Spring!
I love that it's March already!

A lot has been happening, the days fly by some happenings are:

~J had 3 awesome weeks off, it was just the best ever having him home
~R and I took a 5 day trip to Utah w/our 2 friends to visit the coolest lady ever
~We now own Mario Cart and all 4 of us are hopelessly addicted to it
~We have 10 baby chicks, currently sitting in a Rubbermaid tub in the kitchen
~I've planned my garden, purchased the seeds, planted the strawberry roots, and onion bulbs
~I also worked on my flower bed, I planted 29 primroses, and 25 gladiolus bulbs
~I'm ending (surviving) week 8 of my two 10-week classes, I have no idea yet of what my next 2 classes will be
~R has 4 games left for this basketball season, he is just amazing out on the court
~The boys got taller and we had to buy them both longer pants
~Both boys participated in a reading challenge at school and read hundreds of minutes
~We finally got the piano tuned and its a whole new world when R practices

I have pictures on my camera (not sure what they are) one of these days I'll get them uploaded and posted! As of now...the days are full and wonderful and I'm just loving Spring!

That's How I Know!

J loves me!!!

Well, its 1am on a Saturday night and he just got done helping me with a huge chunk of my statistics homework which consisted of sampling distributions and estimations. We worked on it for days...OK, hours, but it felt like days! I really needed his help, I was stuck and completely confused, along with grumpy, stressed, and irrational. He was so patient and helpful and just seemed to know what exactly to do! What a keeper, I sure love that J!