Ode to Joshua James....

My boy is 5!! What can I say about Josh? For those of you that know him well, know that he is a bundle of ....... EVERYTHING!!! I am crazy for this boy AND he can drive me crazy as well. I am so grateful for this boy in my life that really loves his mommy and daddy, adores his older brother and worships his little sister. There is joy bubbling over from every inch of him. And he has a twinkle in his eye to prove it. I cannot imagine life without all the laughter, noise, heart stopping "tricks", emergency room runs, dirt and happiness that Joshua provides. Joshua....You are pure joy and I am beyond grateful that you are mine!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Things we love about Josh ~

1. His eyes. They are bluer than blue and really do twinkle and sparkle.

2. He has the greatest laugh!

3. The fact that he told me the other day that he knew who the REAL super hero was. When I asked him who, he said, "Jesus".

4. Totally happy 98% of the time.

5. Even at 5 he totally knows who he is and really likes himself.

6. His unending energy (ok, I don't love this all the time but.....)

7. If lizard catching was an olympic sport, Josh would own the gold medal.

8. His love of adventure.

9. He really isn't scared of anything (except for when we ask him to go to the basement and clean up, he's all of a sudden scared of the dark).

10. The fact that he loves my singing. If I tell him there is no time for lullaby's one night he'll ask me to just "sing his name".

11. He's loves to cuddle.

12. No matter what I do to his hair it always looks BEYOND haggered by the end of the day.

13. He's completely oblivious to dirt on any part of his body or the amount in which it accumulates.

14. This morning, when opening our present (a VERY large box with a remote control car) he says, "Man, I hope this isn't a shirt".

15. He has a real and true love of life!!!

Here's to you Joshua and to all the love you bring to our lives. We love you big 5 year old boy!!!!!

ps. For those of you that don't know who this adorable 12 year old girl is in these pictures, she's out neighbor Hannah. Joshua has been IN LOVE with her for the past 2 years. She has come to his past two parties and Joshua is certain this is his soul mate. Hannah is so awesome to come to a birthday party with a bunch of 5 year olds. You rock Hannah!!!!

The best job around

I can say this now that I have just come home from vacation and am well rested and back to the "honeymoon" stage with my kids..................being a mom really is the best job around!! I so completely adore these "babies" of mine. They are each so unique and have such fun personalities. Spencer is my "rock". He is such a good boy and is so helpful. He loves so much and is loved by everyone who knows him. Josh is our "what's he gonna do next" kid. No matter what he does he has us laughing and running to the emergency room for yet another round of stiches. There is no one else in the world with as much twinkle in their eye!! And Allie is our "all girl with punch" (I heard my sister refer to her daughter this way and it really fits). It is so fun to have all her girliness running around the house. We catch her constantly singing, pretending, twirling and admiring herself in the mirrior. She is absolutely adored and worshiped by her brothers! Good thing she adores them back. They are the PURE joy in my life. Now, ask me about them in a few days when the relaxation of the vacation has worn off, and they may be PURE something else. But for now, I just feel complete joy and awe at how lucky I am to be the mother of these precious children!! Like I tell my kids everyday, "I'm the luckiest mommy in the world"!

AHHH... Vacation!!

Oh ~ Mexico really is the perfect place to go for a relaxing vacation! Gregg and I just got back from 6 wonderful days in Cancun/Playa del Carmen with our friends Brandon and Monica. We had the greatest time!! We were able to relax by the pool and ocean, scuba dive (my very first ocean dive), go to the ruins at Tulum (while getting drenched in a downpour), play Canasta every night (card game that the GIRLS won), snorkel at Xel Ha, SLEEP, ride wave runners, shop, bargain, LAUGH, eat more chips and guacamole than I'd like to admit, and just plain old relax. It was sooooo great! Now we are home and getting back to reality and peeling (I swear I wore 30 spf the entire time). Thank you so much to everyone for helping with our kids while we were gone. A vacation (vacations are without kids, trips are with kids) really is needed more often than I'm taking them. Thank you Mexico!!!!!

Labor Day

We had a great time for Labor Day. We had over 50 family members come out to our house for a BBQ. It was sort-of a last minute thing, so we were so glad to see such a great turn out. Great music, great food, great conversation, lots of laughs, and a big "shout out Happy Birthday" to cousins Carrie and Jonathan!!

We're back to school

That's right....all 3 kids in school. Of course, not at the same time. Our carpool schedule is ridiculous, but I'll do anything at this point to be down one kid. Spencer started about 3 weeks ago and is loving 2nd grade. He's so easy. His teachers always love him and he always has a million friends. Josh started yesterday and is in his 2nd year of pre-school (that means he's like a "senior" on campus). He loves school and is bored only going 3 days a week. Allie (MY BABY!!!) started today. Talk about a social butterfly. She LOVED school and goes with 3 of her very best friends. 2 days a week is just NOT enough for all the socializing she has to do.