Starting off Summer

 I truly loved my students this year. I can honestly say I have never had such a great group of kids. No problems at all this year, so respectful and hardworking, and fun. On the last day of school I found this envelope in my mailbox at school. I thought it was from one of my coworkers when I first saw it. But I opened it up and it was from a student I had a couple of years ago. He'll be in 10th grade next school year. This is why I love teaching!!

We are starting summer off right! Lots of jammie time, sleeping in, and outdoor play. Here are some pictures of our first week of summer.

 One trip to the dollar store and we came back with all sorts of fun things to keep us going all summer long. One of our favorites are the squirters they sell there. They're only a buck, so one good bonk on the cement means they're toast--so we bought a few to make sure they last us through the summer.

This boy isn't happy unless he has a mouthful of something: dirt, rocks, sand...food...it's all the same to him

Brooke gulping from the rootbeer bottle

Ah!! When will this boy learn to walk? He hates the feel of the grass on his bare legs so crawls like this. Doesn't he realize walking would be a heck of a lot easier?

 Brooke helped me make rolls one afternoon

This is Brooke's best buddy Z. They love to play together and love to get into little spats. If you read my rant on FB about the joys of listening to friends bicker, these are the culprits. 

 And finally, Mr. P can walk, but only if he's holding onto one of your fingers.

10 Years

2003: He asked, I said yes, we were married, and haven't looked back since!

2004: Moved to Logan to finish our degrees and lived in the best married student housing ever!
2005: homework, writing papers, studying for tests (*shiver* so glad THAT's behind us)
2006: Courtney graduated from USU with an English Teaching degree

2007: Bought our first home and felt like we had arrived!

2008: Blake graduated with his degree from USU; Brooke Riley joined our family

2009: moved from Logan (sniff,sniff) to house sit for Blake's parents while they served a mission
2010: I decided being a SAHM was no beuno for me and went back to teaching
2011: Blake's parents came home and we bought a new house of our own
2012: Porter Blake joined our family

2013: 10 YEARS!!
 Looks like we made it, Look how far we’ve come my baby ,We mighta took the long way, We knew we’d get there someday, They said, “I bet they’ll never make it”, But just look at us holding on, We’re still together, still going strong

So excited to see what the next 10 years brings!!

Summer here we come!

We are so ready for summer at our house! I'm not sure what we are going to do to fill our time, but we'll think of something! Brooke begs me constantly for friends to play with--and this is all new territory for me. I'm not sure what is acceptable among moms for setting up playdates--I worry that Brooke is bugging them too much play so I tell her we can't always play with friends and she's been having a hard time with that. 

Brooke loves her bubbles (this was her prize for filling up her fuzzy jar). Just after this picture, Porter dumped almost the entire bottle all over the deck.

 First time in the sandbox:

 See Porter's bruise on his forehead? He was climbing on the kid's picnic table and fell off.

 The secret world behind the trees :)

 Mother's Day was nice. Blake knows the way right to my heart: flowers and regular Dr. Pepper (seriously, I'm not lying..I'm easy to please) and I treated myself to one of those chevron skirts I've been seeing all over the place. Brooke made me a card where she answered questions about me, that was probably my favorite thing. Blake made breakfast Sunday morning and Brooke "sang" during church (and by sang I mean played peek-a-boo with the little boy next to her the entire time).

 Porter had his 15 month checkup:
Height 32 inches
Weight 21.4 lbs
long and skinny--just like his sister!
The doctor is slightly concerned that he's not walking yet. And slightly concerned that he can really only say 2 words (ma-ma, da-da). When he asked me if Porter could point to parts on his face I almost laughed out loud. I got a good dose of guilty mom. I know I've slacked when it comes to working with Porter. I'm proud to say, though, that only a few days later Porter added back in a 3rd word to his vocabulary (uh-oh) and can now sign "milk" so we're making progress.

Poor baby, teething is still giving us nightmares. I tried to take a cute picture of him in his room and this is what I got. It pretty much sums up our life right now.

 Then amazingly, this boy LOVES peas and was all smiles eating them. This is not an inherited trait. I, for one, hate peas. They are nasty little things that explode in your mouth. YUCK!

 And we've been having lots of tender moments.

 LOVE summer nights

 This was yesterday. I don't think my flowers stand a chance.

my camera was on a weird setting when I took this.

What are some of your tips and tricks to having a productive, fun summer with small children? I'd love to hear some ideas!

Backyard Adventures

I know I've said this before, but I love our backyard. It definitely was a selling point when we bought our house. 

When I was a kid, our house bordered a forest (at least in my memory it was a forest. If I went back to my childhood home, it would probably really be just a few trees in a field.) and I have the best memories of playing in those trees, building forts, and playing pretend. The trees in our yard now have that same feel to me. I thought for sure they'd be a magnet for Brooke and her wild imagination, but she ignored them pretty much until this year. Porter, on the other hand, though, was instantly attracted to them. This boy of mine LOVES to be outside. He is all smiles and is so content to just explore the yard. He literally will kick his feet and scream when I pick him when it's time to go inside.

playing peek-a-boo in the trees

I know it looks like Brooke is standing on Porter's head, but she's not, I promise!

eating a stick, a very determined look on his face

playing pretend

in the sandbox, another favorite spot

And this little munchkin of mine is 15 months!! He's crawling all over the place, wearing holes in the knees of his jeans when he's outside, and is cruising along furniture like a pro. He loves to close doors and look at books. He is feisty and is not afraid to let you know when he's frustrated about something. This boy loves to eat! If we are eating and he's not, he's one unhappy boy. He's also our snuggle bug and loves to be held and have some quiet time. He enjoys being teased by Dad and playing games. He's gotten big enough that Blake has started wrestling with him and Porter squeals in delight. My favorite is when Blake comes home from work, no matter where Porter is in the house, he starts squealing and giggling and will come crawling as fast as he can to greet Blake and be tickled by him.

I wanted to get some pictures of Porter in his cute bow-tie, but he just wouldn't hold still :)

snuggle time with dad

I also thought I'd do a little update on Brooke. She is all imagination and comes up with the craziest stuff. Today she made a paper plate mask at her sitter's house. When I asked her about it she told me it was a "Rapunzel Vampire"--I have no idea where she got that! Also, a few days ago she heard Blake talking about our neighbors who had music blasting. Blake said, "I'm about ready to go over there and chew them out." Brooke says, "Dad, we don't chew on people, that's not nice."

 Blake has been itching to take Brooke fishing since she was born. He said he was going to buy Brooke her own fishing pole and I expected him to come back with a little princess one or something. Nope. It's the real-deal for Brooke! The night after she got her new pole, Brooke was saying the family prayer and she said, "Please bless my new fishing pole, that I can look at it all night." She sure knows the way right into her daddy's heart. :)

Brooke and J. on the boat--they caught 7 fish!

Finally, I have been so frustrated with some of Brooke's naughty behavior that I decided to try a new reward system. I bought a small jar from the dollar store and bag of fuzzies. Every time Brooke does something good, no matter how big or small, I have been trying to recognize it and letting her put a fuzzy in the jar. I told her when we fill it to the top, she'll get a treat. I asked her what she would want and she said, "Pixie dust so I can fly." I convinced her that new bubbles would be really fun too. She filled the jar a couple of days ago and was so happy! Now we're off for round 2 on filling the jar (dollar store gifts make the best rewards, I think).