Jumanji had a Make-over! YAY!!

we, I ESPECIALLY, have been wanting a new backyard, for a long time now (especially with my little crewzer who loves to be outside all the time)!!

**side note: to give you a better understanding, this huge dirt area use to be an amazing garden (due to the original owners who built this house in the 50's. they were the world's greatest gardeners ;>). after my one attempt at gardening, the result was a crosspolinated batch of squashzinni. needless to say, the garden went down-hill when we moved in!

mean while, weeds are growing at an alarming rate, the original raspberry bushes, FROM THE 50'S, are spreading like wild fire, the aspen quakey trees are growing randomly out of the grass in various places (yuck), and lastly, the stupid 'morning glories' are breaking away from their barriers to join the rest of the disasterous mess! ugh. ugh. ugh. i hated it. i never wanted to go in the back yard, even though i dreamed of hanging out back their to grill, relax on the patio, jump on a trampoline, get a swingset/playground-set, put up crew's little pool, and finally, have a little white picket fence wrap around the yard/house!! i am not asking much! he he!

ok, so really and truly i would just be happy with a clean yard, EVEN IF IT'S JUST PLAIN CLEAN DIRT!!

But AT LAST, i got my dream of all new beautiful sod and i am in heaven!! yay!

so here are the before and after pics of the fruits of our very INTENSE labors!! ONLY i didn't take the before pic early enough, so imagine this to be about 50x's worse (70 ish raspberry bushes covered this ground, we have already hauled out 5-8 big ugly trees, and more)!!

BEFORE

AFTER

(and it's even more beautiful than the pics look)

yay! now i don't have to be the neighborhood's embarrasement! do you love it! i am so excited!

AND A REALLY BIG HUMONGOUS SHOUT-OUT TO MY HARD WORKING HUBBY WHO MADE THIS ALL HAPPEN! I LOVE YOU!

my domestic son!!

crew-zer loves the blender and the hand-mixer! he always points to the cupboard they're in, and i get them down, put them on the kitchen floor and he loves to play with them, pushing the buttons and carring them around the house! it's really funny, b/c i don't even use them! but i figure, i should help him explore his passions inspite of our differences (i hate anything to do with cooking, rather go out to eat). so i bought him a cake mix! and i helped him use the hand-mixer to make the cake batter! it was really fun!

unfortunately i failed to get a pic of him throwing the eggs into the bowl like it was a ball, then i would grab out the shell quickly! HE LOVED THE BATTER THE MOST (just like mommy), when it was completely finished, he took the liberty to dunk the beater back into the batter a few more times and lick it clean!! turns out, i don't think he cares to cook, just likes the noise and how it works!! this is more fun the older crew gets! all of his explorations, are actually helping me to explore what really makes him happy! we are having so many good times together!! mommy loves you, crewzer :)

wus up couz??

and we thought crew had a dark complexion!! he he! cousin, andreaus is only two days younger than crew so they had a lot of fun playing cars together! COOL AFRO, stud!

Aquarium Fun

the boys were all smiles and full of laughter and aahhh at the AQUARIUM, until mom pulled out the camera and stuck them in a little make-shift boat for a pic. aside from that moment of fear, they ran from one thing to the next, playing in the water with the sting-rays (for those of you who don't know, their stinger has been removed, thankfully), watching the sharks swim close to them, looking at all the fishies, touching a mock eel (not crew, i touched it and got a teeny tiny shock, crazy), looking at the octopus (who never moves, every time we go, he's in the same place, has anyone seen him in action?), playing on the boats, and pretending to be fishies in the little children't play coral reef! really fun! crew's friends: gavin, jackson, and sawyer.

two tired toads!

crew and mason, mason and crew!!

these cute boys love to play with each other! we are next door neighbors, so we get to see each other all the time, it's awesome! crew always looks out the front window, looking for mason and listening, then if he sees him, he starts bouncing up and down, reaching up high to try and open the door, and squealing for me to him out! they love each others toys! it's way cool and they are only two weeks apart in age!

Stacking Blocks!

i think crew likes to stack his blocks mostly b/c he has an excuse to use his stool (new fav. thing). he goes and gets his stool and looks out the window, or looks on top of the bath room counter to try and reach for our toothbrushes, or by the couch to jump on! it's amazing to me how fast he is discovering the wide world! i am so proud of crew, and i have more fun with him then i ever could have imagined!! SWEET MOMEMTS EVERY MINUTE AS A MOMMY!

Spring Weather is Here and WE are loving it!

dad, i love you so much! thank you for always playing outside with me and teaching me what all the different cars are that drive by. you know that i especially love the garbage trucks, semi's (not that they drive by), the jeeps, and most of all the trucks...just like you dad! you are so cool and i love our time together!

crewzer bruizer!!!

Roller Skating Night!

we went to classic skating for a night of family fun and had a ball! crew was really loving the loud music and the sporadic siren noises, the black lights, disco ball, and all the kids around. not to mention he loved the food....potato chips, nachos, cheese prezels, pizza, and soda to drink! we all had fun, i wore my roller-blades, while jonz wore the real roller-skates! super cool, babe!! i liked seeing you race around in those!!!

Gymboree Play and Music

just a quick post of crew's gym class! we are now in the level 4 and focusing our attentions to "problem solving, and patterns and actions to perform, and in what order, to reach a goal-- this is called motor planning." he loves it, so we try to attend a few times a week. we have been able to meet so many fun people and lil' friends! crew's fav is bouncing really high (if ever a different teacher comes and doesn't bounce him as high, he quickly becomes very dissappointed, much to my dismay, he then throws a fit and every one looks at me like i should know what to do, but i don't). i thought we had another year before 'fit-throwing' started, but he is very advanced in this area, and therefore his skill set at the gym has proven to be a replica of his mother (needing to be an extreme bouncer, ie: roller coasters, and a strong communicator of his will) ha!!!

Easter Egg Hunt!

our church put together the cutest little in-door Easter Egg hunt. it began with games and music (sooo cute). then all the kids were split-up into different rooms according to their appropriate age group to fill their baskets. after this, the Easter bunny came to visit and they all received a special basket with goodies!!
good thing it was inside be/c it was snowing outside (hence our turtle-necks and snow hat)!!!

Zoo'n- It in the Cold!

Three little monkey's hang'n with their mommies!

it was my first time to venture to the zoo IN THE COLD, but it was funner' than ever b/c the animals were so playful and alert! take a look-see at what crew was able to enjoy! and in addition to the monkey and the elephant tricks, there was the cutest interlude between a mommy and baby gorilla, that i didn't catch on video since i was too captivated with their sweet exchange!

PLAYING BALL WITH THE BOYS! (just like my dad)

bEST bUDS! Crew is lucky to have so many great friends!! and I am so looking forward for tee-ball in a year or so! it's going to be so fun and so cute!!

Snowmobile Days!!

even though you can barely see crew, he is all bundled up and helping his grandpa steve plow the drive way!! loved it, not scared at all!

snow or not, he just loves a good ride!!

Five Year Anninersary!

j + t = five years of marital bliss and a weekend to celebrate!!! we took crewZer to grandma and grandpa's for a day of spoiling fun, while we hit the slopes for a day of fresh powder and beautiful sunshine!! it was a blast! plus, we had the added bonus of the world cup tournament taking place while we were there! it was so cool, like being at the olympics again, except with out the massive crowds, we skiied right up the ropes to watch and it was so cool! see below!!

Back in the lodge, we indulged ourselves with home-made gigantic slightly doughy cookies with a sip of hot coco to top it off, with a live band to kick-off happy hour (and you can say that again!!) it was so rich!!

Here is the Visa Freestyle International World Cup in action, which we continued to watch from the lounge while eating our treats!! Thank you so much honey bunny boo boo! that was wonderful, i love you, and i look forward to our sixth year anniversary!

First Year Pics!!

what a stud muffin!!

feeling the effect from the economy yet??? this is hilarious

don't forget to pause the music player before watchings this!

Flashback Friday!

Happy Anniversary (tomorrow)

this pic was taken when we were only dating, 6+ years ago....

FIVE YEARS AND RUNNING...
i love you, jeremy.
why do i love you so much....

because you make me laugh (my most favorite thing-you are truly hilarious)
you are so determined and work so hard with out giving up when it gets tough
you are so wise and insightful
you love me so much
you have a genuinely kind heart
we have so much fun together all the time
you encourage and believe in me
you are so creative
your intellect is an inspiration to me (i love how you facsinate me, it's enchanting)
you are so patient with me
you help me become my better self
you fight for what you want
you comfort me
and you sure can kiss and more!!
these are only a few things that i absolutely adore about you! thanks for choosing me!
you truly are MY MAN!! a real man! the kind of man who would swim through shark infested waters to bring me a glass lemonade! and that turns me on, babe!!

I WANT TO BE YOUR GIRLFRIEND FOREVER!! (p.j.)
i TRULY believe that YOU could do almost any thing, and be super successful at it!!

loves to be outside!

it doesn't matter what crew is doing, he races to the front door any time it is opened! the cold doesn't even bother him, he will be in a onsie and it's 30 degrees out, but he wants to crawl out and play! maybe he is mimicking our dog!!

Flashback Friday to Dec. 12th!! One Year Old Today!!

My baby is a BIG BOY....

A Birthday Celebration with all my friends and family!

The Race to First Place Birthday Invitation! it seriously looks dorky because i marked out the info to make it blogproof the fastest way possible!

The cake mommy and daddy made for me!! Actually dad made this cake and mom helped decorate it, after mom ruined two previous box cake mixes (the kitchen isn't the place where her talents shine). see below..

as much as i loved my cake, i equally disliked every body singing to me!! (who wants that??)

there was no mistaken who had a peice of THIS cake! if you even smiled at all, you were proven guilty on sight!

party favors!! these are so cute, so it's worth clicking on this pic so you can actually read the print!! thanks for indulging me! inside, there are fruit snack race cars!!

so here's the truth.... this party was for mom and dad! and it was the funnest thing ever! lets face it, if crew had it his way, there would be two guests (max) including mom and dad (and the grandmas), he wouldn't have to open any gifts, he would be naked eating his cake, and lastly he wouldn't be pressured to blow-out a candle! This was truly every thing i hoped it would be and probably my only chance to make all the calls before crew has an opinion.... i figure that all the parties in the future will have to cater to his desires (although i am still hopeful that my manipulation tricks might work, even then. he he)

The Great Grandparents

watching the video we made of crew's first year! (we hope to have that on the blog sooner than later)

baby sophie has sinse arrived as of Dec. 29th, 2008..... and she is so beautiful! we look forward to her big birthday bash in one year from now!!!

"SAY CHEESE" means nothing to them!

OK OK....HERE ARE THE B-DAY CAKES MOM MADE...

i decided to include this chapter of the the birthday.... my first attempt at making his cake overflowed!

The second cake mishap sunk-in and looked like a bunt cake!

CREW'S coolest present to go along with the theme of the party was a motorized 4-wheeler! he loves it, and was actually able to drive it all by himself that very same day, i was so proud! i unfortunately don't have a pic b/c i only have it on the video cam (haven't downloaded that yet, oh-well)