Football guy

Ask the boy if he wants to throw the ball around and you may just get a full on football player coming out to greet you.  

Indigo (aka Sharks)

Cruz had his first soccer game--after the first 2 being cancelled due to rain, rain and more rain.  He was crying at home before it started because he suddenly didn't want to play.  Then like a little miracle worker, Oshyn took him outside to practice for a few minutes, let Cruz beat him over exaggerating-ly and then said "Cruz--are you going to beat the other team like you just beat me?!?"  Cruz said "Yeah!" and then behind his back, Oshyn gave Beau a thumbs up (like--Dad it worked!)  Cruz then went on to score two goals and had a blast.  We were dumbfounded, but happy.  The only thing that stopped him was a generous mom that shared gatorade with him.  He drank too much and had a stomach ache every time he tried to run after that.  You can only ask for so much :)

When Cruz first got his uniform (a blue shirt) he said he wanted his team to be named "Indigo"--what 3 year old says that?!  Anyways names have evolved and by the time they actually had a game, he told me the name was "Sharks".  So the whole game Beau and I were yelling "GO SHARKS!"  When the game was over the coach got the team together and asked if they wanted to be called "Sharks".  They thought that was a great idea :)  

Thanks Cruz.

Artichokes

and kids.  Nothin' better.

He-man Woman-likers Club

The big boys are super into forts and club houses.  We have finagled what we can in our back yard with some wood and towels and they are satisfied.  They are fence climbers and give our neighbors heart attack scares when they sit on top of the little shed.  Sometimes all I hear is my front door opening and closing.  Not ever going out but always coming in.  They hop the fence, shimmy down the outside and then come inside and start over.

I had to laugh on spring break when Oshyn was a bit bored and he was trying to think of things to do.  He was heading up the stairs to my room with a rope in hand when I asked him what he was doing?  He said he was going to loop the rope around my bed and climb out my window.  I told him that repelling from our 2nd story wasn't going to happen, especially not with that skinny rope.  He got grumpy and said, "I never get to do anything I want to do!"  That is where I laughed.  Seriously--I have to say 'No' somewhere along the line!

Busy Boy

Tyce is turning into a little comedian/jokster.  He has a small, yet growing vocabulary and knows how to use it.  He bit Beau's toe the other day and said, "Owie!"  Occasionally when we kiss him he'll say "Owie" too and then smiles.  Tyce has just learned to say "Pepe" which is what my kids call my good friend Stephanie.  I was trying to have him say "Mama" the other day and he just kept laughing and saying "Pepe!"  So funny to see his little sense of humor emerging.  A much needed quality in this house!  He continues to carry the stool around the house and get up whenever he deems it necessary & as I type this, he has unrolled an entire roll of TP
(the things we let slide as we are trying to
document our lives).  He keeps me just a tad busy!

Speed Racer

The 442 Red Speed racer bike is my new best friend.  A few Saturdays ago, Beau had Cruz try Oshyn's big bike to see how he'd do.  Well, he rocked it and we've never looked back.  We had this great little (big little) red bike that our neighbor gave us a while back that Cruz has started riding.  Funny that O and C are riding the same size bike!  The crying that occasionally accompanied bike riding with Cruz has disappeared.  It makes perfect sense now.  He was peddling his little blue bike about 10 times as fast and going almost no where.  Talk about frustrating!  Now he stands up, rides jumps, does tricks, asks O if he wants to ride bikes, can go on bike/runs with Daddy or Mommy (and rode 4 miles on Saturday!).  I can't tell you how happy I am that he is enjoying it.  All it took was a 16 inch tire on the 442 bike.  The only downer is that he looks like such a big kid riding it.  I keep telling them not to grow, but they're not listening.

Glasses

 Somebody REALLY needs new glasses!

And Somebody REALLY wishes he did too!

Sneaky

I turned around for less than a minute and someone decided I was taking to long.  He was ready to get in the bath--diaper, clothes and shoes on (I had to stop mid-undressing to document it :)
Never curb that enthusiasm for water Tyce!

Mr. Hotstuff

This is how Tyce spends his days lately.  On a high stool in the kitchen, checking out the counters and whatever I'm doing.  Let's just say he likes to be close to wherever I am.  At least I can walk better now (his 2nd favorite spot is glued to my leg).

Last week I was noticing how capable he was of walking everywhere just a tad wobbly, but chose to crawl.  When he would walk and then fall he always said "Uh oh".  So very cute.  Starting this week, Tyce is now choosing walking over crawling.  Wow.  15 months.  He crawled for over 5 months longer than the other two.  That's long in baby time.  The nice part has been that he's seemed littler longer because of that.  Now that he's upright he seems much bigger (and taller--especially when he's on stools :)
Tyce does this growl-grunt sound to let me know when he wants something.  He knows how to sign, but choses to growl-grunt for "more" and just chucks everything on the floor when he's "all done" and I'm not paying attention.  That may have bugged me if Oshyn did that as a baby, but I'm more into laughing about silly small stuff now.
He's starting to repeat more words and just today I could tell he was trying to say "up" for me to pick him up.  That's cool.
He says "Hi Pop Pop!" (Beau's dad) and when Pop Pop says "Hi Tyce!" back to him, Tyce says "Hi Tyce!"  Love it.
He is a "thank you", more like "tay too" man, very polite and uses it appropriately and OFTEN.
Tyce still says "hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi, hi..." all day and holds random objects up to his ear and says "hello?"  He LOVES phones and skype.  In fact, when he is cranky, that is how I can get him to chill out--call someone or even pretend to call someone on skype.
Tyce LOVES his brothers.  It seems so fun to me to be the third guy.  He has so much entertainment and loves.  They adore him, and for the most part will do anything for him.
He recently weaned himself into one nap.  Thanks Tyce.  Everyone loves a bit more afternoon freedom.
You are a joy to have in our family and make me want to have 100 more little dudes.  (Don't worry--that is definitely an exaggeration.)

P.S.  I don't know how I forgot to mention that he is a BITER.  I mean he likes to sink his 7 teeth into my shoulder, arm, leg, toes...anywhere that seems tasty.  It was really cute before he had teeth because I think he thought of it as terms of endearment--open mouth kisses.  Well, now--it just hurts.  Bad.  The boys laugh and say "Charlie bit my finger!" (check that out on YouTube--you'd laugh too).  So, basically Tyce is not learning.  It hurts but people are laughing--so he keeps doing it.  We'll see where it takes him...

Today

I love a day when sharing seems to come easily, kind words flow out of little mouths like a full waterfall, smiles and laughter are the majority, bikes are ridden and the sun is shining.  What a fabulous day it was.

Ski Week Gone Wild!!

by guest blogger B. Nobmann

Oshyn and I both got outfitted this year with all of the ski equipment so we thought we better go big this year.  We went up to Tahoe for six days and skiied five out of six days!  We met up with the Panttaja gang and Pop Pop at the "Cab" and had a blast.  We could not have timed the weather any better.  It dumped 4-6 FEET of snow the week before and was sunny and clear all but one day.

Oshyn and Isaac tried to find every possible jump and took a few headers in the process (gotta love the new Helmet Fad!)  Dean the Machine was like a bullet, straight down the mountain and Tuke (aka Lukie) kept up with everyone.  Good work dudes!!
Getting everyone to go to sleep at night was no problem!...except Millie...those boys kept being "mean" to her :)  It's tough to be the only girl.

Me again...
First off, I have NEVER seen so much snow in my life!  When we drove up to Truckee it felt as though we were in a winter wonderland.  The snow was so heavy on everything--even the trees were loaded.  All I could think of when I saw the houses were that giant marshmallows were melted on top.  It was beautiful.

While Beau, (Ralph & Nicole on some days) took the big boys out on the slopes Pop Pop and I got to hang with the littles.  We played, colored, watched movies, went sledding (kind of), drank hot chocolate, played pool and went grocery shopping.  Pop Pop and I even took turns going to the gym and swimming laps OUTSIDE!!  Good for cabin fever :)   The littles mostly wanted to stay inside because if they stepped in the snow, it would go up to their chin.  It was so fresh that to sled we were crawling on our hands and knees to try to pack the snow down--and even then we were sinking!  I'm okay with that though because the time we did go out to "sled" and have a snowball fight, Pop Pop was gone and putting all of that gear on 3 littles--2 that are 3 years old and a one year old was A LOT of work.

We had fun making memories and being with each other.  We left a day early because the snow was going to hit hard again.  Chains were on in the first 5 minutes and stayed on all the way down the mountain.  It felt like we were driving through a blizzard.  We made it safe and sound & much to Oshyn's dismay, made it back for school on Friday.

To my Lovely Mother on her NZ Birthday

You are the sweetest, most generous, service-oriented woman I know.  You aren't perfect, but you are human and that's part of what makes you so great.  You are always striving to better yourself and are open minded to any situation that arises.  You are supportive and lend your ear to all of my stories and complaints.  You are positive optimism at its best and you give great advice. You cater to your children, grandchildren, and others according to their needs and personalities as individuals.  You have always respected me (from 3 days to 3 years to 3 decades old!) and the choices I make.  You are always behind me 150%. 

You are a cook & baker, an educator, a book lover, and a spin class cycler, not to mention tech savvy.  I admire you and am always trying my hardest to be half the mother to my children that you are to Chad and I.  If I picked you in heaven, I sure knew what I was doing and if someone picked you for me, they sure knew who I needed for a Mommy.

Hope you have a fabulous day and know that you are loved.  And in fact I love you more than you love me!

Overloads and Cherry Blossoms

I hate to think the reason I have been lagging at blagging (I mean blogging) is my fear of computer overload.  I think our computer is mad at us for having so many home movies and pictures.  I am trying my hardest to back up and move things, but in the mean time we are taking more pictures and movies.  Plus we have 3 little boys that keep us busy (even when we're not documenting it in pictures or movies :) Today I decided that the blossoms needed to be documented though...cross your fingers our computer doesn't blow up.

Every year when these sweet little flowers start budding up on the trees outside our home, I immediately feel a smile creep across my face.  I LOVE SPRING!  Even when its jumping the gun in February--I still love its enthusiasm of blossoms covering the naked trees.  I have a few favorite trees that produce different flowers and blossoms, but Cherry trees hold a place in my heart.  It has everything to do with the Cherry tree we had in my front yard growing up and all of the wonderful memories I have growing up in that home with my fabulous parents and stellar brother (whom I respect much more now, than the days I chucked remote controls at him while I was mad and other things I'm not super proud of--like middle fingers and I'm sure a tongue & other really mature gestures--sorry Chad :)  Back to the blossoms...

There is not too much better that a tree covered in teeny tiny flowers.  Did I mention I LOVE Spring?  And that may have everything to do with the fact that after Spring comes Summer.  In case you didn't know---I LOVE SUMMER--but until then we are basking in blossoms and praying the wind and rain don't whisk them away too soon.

Our own little Pups

Just a bike

A few Saturday's ago we were enjoying the nice day and the boys had just finished their bottle rocket. After about a zillion launches that looked something like this...

we got everything together and opened our back gate to put it all away. It was then that Beau noticed our road bike was missing. Not our Walmart bike that I cruise around with Tyce in the green goodie seat, but a bike I was given as a birthday gift a few years back that resembles one you may see people in tight clothing and helmets ride--like they are working, not lolli-gagging. My heart sank and the fabulous mood that we were both in plummeted. This wasn't a bike we could easily replace. We looked around the neighborhood, but no luck. It is not an exaggeration to say that we were heart broken. I loved the feeling of flying I got when riding the Lightspeed.

As I was getting ready to go to bed a few days later Monday night, I heard a ding on my phone (meaning an email had come through). I opened up the email from one of my dearest friends and time literally stopped.

I found out earlier today that I have breast cancer.

and as I type this weeks later, I still cry--for this kind of trial and journey in a person's life are never wanted or asked for (yet still for a reason). It is all very surreal to me, yet in just a moment, it brought me back to the perspective of what is really truly important in life. Good friends, family, relationships--people in general.

Not bikes.

Back in Business!

After getting a new phone, DSL filter and modem--we can hear people that call us on the phone & are up and running the internet again. Wow. 2 weeks using just my cell phone worked, but I am happy to have the bigger picture. Now its time for catch up...

**Don't worry--you are at the right place...I know after almost 4 years of the same background you may get confused with the pizazz. One would think with how often I like to change my furniture around it would have happened sooner! (...that reminds me its been a while since I pushed couches around...)**

Signs

Should I be offended? I am the only girl here...

You'll never guess the secret code!

I love stuff like this.