Kindergarten

Chase started Kindergarten this week and had a great first day. He likes his teacher a lot and already knows a few of the kids in his class so that made us both happy. I snapped some photos before we got to the school and got my tears out of the way. Chase tried to console me and gave me a big hug and he told me that he loved me and that he was just growing up and going to big boy school...yes, I just cried even more! Braxton was the only one crying when we left the school, poor little guy. He dragged his feet saying that he missed Chase and even kept that frown on his face - until we got home and he could play with Chase's Super Mario toys all by himself. Ha Ha! It's so hard having my Chasey Bear growing up, but he had so much fun and told me that he LOVED school when I picked him up!

Chase LOVED swimming lessons this Summer and he was so excited that his favorite friend from Preschool happened to be in his class. Braxton did good in his class the first day, but when he got dunked under the water the next class time, he hated it and refused to go back in the water. I didn't want my money to go to waste so we joined in the Mom & Tot class with my sister Erin and nephew Beckham. It was actually nice to be able to play with Braxton and hang out in the water while Chase was in class.




We went with some friends up to Bear Lake several weeks ago and had a great time with the kids. We went to the Minnetonka Cave which was pretty cool (literally)! I think it stays at a constant 40 degrees. Some of these pictures are blurry, and I was disappointed that I didn't get any photos of our jet-skiing. It was fun though, and hopefully we do it again!



Brian snapped a photo of the view at the house we were staying at. So pretty!


Braxton and Chase looking at the chipmunks waiting for the cave tour








Brian's parents came to visit along with his sister Amanda and her son Mason. The boys were excited to spend time with their cousin, Auntie and grandparents!




Every year we get Lagoon tickets from Brian's work, so we went last weekend. I didn't take many photos for some reason, but did snap a few cute ones. The kids had a great time and since Chase is pretty tall for his age, he was able to go on the Wild Mouse with me which is my favorite ride. It was an exhausting day, but worth it to see them having so much fun!


I am so sad that Summer is ending and Chase is starting school next week. Fall is coming too soon!

I thought I would post some pictures from Braxton's birthday party a few weeks ago...



...and a summer afternoon with the slip-n-slide!

Graduation and a Vacation!

Chase had a graduation ceremony for his Preschool and it was so cute! They performed songs and Chase did awesome standing up at the microphone to say his part that he memorized. They played a movie with music and photos for the year and I seriously had to try hard not to start crying! The girl that made the video of course chose a bunch of sentimental songs and adding that with photos of my little "Chasey-Bear" growing up and moving on to Kindergarten is a cry-fest waiting to happen!



The day after Chase's Graduation, we packed up the car and headed to California! We stopped overnight in Las Vegas and then spent the week in Laguna Beach with special trips to Legoland and Disneyland. It was lots of fun and the kids loved it!!







Chase loved getting buried in the sand! He didn't want to get out so when he got hungry and thirsty, he asked if we could help him. Too funny!



We were leaving the beach one day carrying all of our beach supplies up this giant hill. We were only about half-way up the hill when the boys decided it was the perfect hill to roll down...


Exhausted Boys!!!






We went to Dave & Busters one night for dinner and played some games. Chase used his last tokens in this machine and won the 500 ticket jackpot! The boys were SO excited!! They had the best time picking out prizes with all those tickets!



We spent Braxton's 3rd birthday at Disneyland! He got to wear a birthday button with his name on it and everyone was wishing him a happy birthday. It was fun that he was getting so much attention but he did end up taking it off because he was leery of all the strangers talking to him! haha!!







We stopped at the Ridemakerz store in Downtown Disney. The boys got to pick out a car they wanted and build it with custom accessories. I always love a fun store dedicated to boys!


On the way back home, we stopped again in Las Vegas and the boys love this play area at Town Square. When Chase asked me to ride on the Unicorn with him, I asked him where we were going...he told me that we were going to Modesto, CA. HaHa!! Just a little something he picked up from Monsters vs. Aliens

Chase and Braxton LOVE Super Mario Bros.!! Chase's favorite character is Luigi, so he is always Luigi and Braxton is always Mario. They have actually referred to each other as Mario and Luigi for a whole day on several occasions. Chase requested mustaches for him and Braxton to make their playing more real. Which character am I?? I am lucky enough to be called Princess Peach by both of my boys instead of Mom, it is so funny!





Here are some Game Day photos of Chase running home. And to the makers of Sun Drop Soda, I have found you a spokesman!





Chase had his final field trip for Preschool at Hogle Zoo. I was so happy it turned out to be one of the warmest and nicest days of the year.





Date Night at the Drive-In!!



With the Kids.....

2011 So Far...

Chase turned 5 back in March and when I asked him what type of party he wanted, he said that he wanted a Robot Dance Sleepover Party. We didn't have a sleepover, but we definitely had a Robot Dance Party!

Here is a photo of Birthday morning and the robot treats that we made for Chase's Preschool class.



I made Chase a special robot shirt and the kids made robot faces with magnets. Chase was super excited to get his big-boy bike!



There was a robot pinata followed by the robot dance party. I was happy that all the kids, and us grown-ups danced! Here is the robot cake I made at Chase's request. I had him pick a picture from online and he liked one with doughnut arms and legs.



Momma B came to visit from Texas after Chase's birthday and spent a week with the boys. They loved it!!! Momma B played with them ALL day long and hopefully she felt special because the boys kept fighting over her. Here are some photos when we went to Pirate Island. Braxton and Chase CRIED when it was time to leave...it was so nice having her here and we can't wait until she comes back!!



My friend Wade got Chase this conductor uniform for his birthday because he knows how much my boys love trains. He wore it every day for a week and in fact, he is wearing it right now as I type this! He takes his conducting very seriously as you can see in the photo. He can't have too much monkey-business or the train will be late!



We went on a field trip with Chase's preschool class to Discovery Gateway. I took a seat and had a nice break watching them play with the magnetic gears because they played with them for about half an hour. That's the thing they go for every time we go! They also built a tower bigger than them and then they asked me for a photo.



Chase started T-ball this year and is a Chicago Cub. He likes T-ball a lot more than soccer, and I actually do too. Game nights are always fun.



Here are the boys answering the door on Easter morning. Chase was attempting to hug his brother, not actually choke him...



We had family over for dinner and had an egg hunt for the kids in the back yard. Chase pretty much only likes to make funny faces for pictures, so the second photo is what I got when I asked him to smile nice. haha!

We're Back with a 2010 Post!!

So I took a small break from the blog back in 2009, which turned into a REALLY long break and all of a sudden it is 2011!! I've been wanting to update our blog for so long, but the longer it went, the more overwhelming the thought of catching up became. I am also figuring that no one probably checks our blog out anymore because it has been so long and everyone has given up on me. I hope all my friends are still out there!! 2010 was a wonderful year full of great memories, but I didn't want to go back and post a million photos! I've tried my best to find a few pictures to quickly summarize the year and I will just have to try harder to keep up!

Chase turned Four last year and Braxton turned Two. Chase had a Pirate themed birthday party, but I only have video of that...We did however celebrate his special day at the Dinosaur Museum and Red Robin. Braxton had a Luau Party and HATED being the center of attention! In fact, he cried when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.






In July, we were off to New York City with Brian's family which included visits to Niagara Falls and Palmyra!!



Chase started preschool last August and loves it! Braxton was not very happy when his best friend left him on his first day. I can't believe that he is now registered for Kindergarten this Fall, I can't stand that he is growing up so fast!



In September we set off again to Orlando for another Conference that Brian was attending. We did Disney and Universal Studios...





...and then headed down to Jupiter and Miami after the Conference for some relaxing on the beach!



Chase played his first season of sports and we signed him up for soccer. He didn't really 'play', he more or less just ran after his teammates having a great time not really caring if he kicked the ball or not, but we loved watching him. We celebrated Halloween with our Ghost and Frankenstein and then I posted a Christmas shot. We kept telling Braxton to stop eating Santa's cookie, but he was still trying to be sneaky in the photo!



For Christmas, Chase got his own digital camera and I love to download the photos and see what moments he captures during his day...there are so many, so I will have to keep posting them every now and then, but here are a few examples:


I'm not finished! check back as I catch you up on 2011!!!!