what a weekend

Did that weekend fly by, or was it just me??? We had the Cancer Walk for Life in town this weekend and I took the boys in the morning to walk with their Grandpa, who is a proud cancer survivor. Go, DAD! It was amazing to see the survivors walking in their purple shirts. It makes you realize how much cancer affects our lives. Then, that evening, around midnight, my mom and I went to walk with dad again and see the luminarias set up. So beautiful! My parents had purchased one in memory of my cousin Jimmy, who passed away over 10 years ago. Jimmy was a great guy. He was about 6-10 years older than me (how much really, mom?). I remember seeing him when he was sick and he had come out to visit. He was so strong and brave, and had a wonderful attitude. I just can picture him sitting on the beach in Carmel, smiling. He had a gift for art and advertising. He had showed me some ads he had drawn, and I remember being very impressed. Jimmy, I miss you. I know you are with Grandma now, smiling down on us.
Next year I think I want to get more involved and walk more myself. What about you? How can you get involved? What has affected your life? I have always wanted to do the breast cancer walk, too. Hey, Vicki, maybe we can do it together sometime. I think you had talked about it once, too.
Anyway, it really makes me appreciate what I have. I am posting some pics of my two precious boys (of course). :-) Thinking of you, Robin, as you wait for your little girl to come this week. Your precious, petite, sweet baby girl! Happy Birthday to Maddie this week, as she moves into the double digits! Wow, i remember being at the hospital when she was born.
Finally warm here! Actually, very warm. We skipped the spring :-( But, Ok, yes, I am ready for capris and shorts! My boys' legs are so cute in their little shorts, playing in the sandbox. Coop loves sand (loves to eat it, too), but hates grass. Spencer loves it all. He can be found running down the sidewalk, skipping over the grass, on his belly, looking for bugs and snails, and happily taking a bike ride with Daddy. "Mama, we went in tunnels and over bridges and to the park!" he says, excited. I am fearful of riding with my child on my bike. I am not the best rider, so Joe will have to do the carrying in the bike seat. Coop will have to settle for the jogger, and maybe I'll dust off my rollarblades and go out like that!

Cool things (websites, books)

Ok, check out these sites:
www.chocolatecakecity.com for a movie trailer of "Brokeback to the Future". Hilarious!

And then for the "Sleepless..." fans there's pyscho "Sleepless..." at www.tomatopatch.com/films/sleppless.htm

Also, for my friends expecting their second child or with 2 kiddos, or even your first one, read "Waiting for Birdy" by Catherine Newman. It's great! It's a memoir type book and I was soooo glad to see she feels the same way as me sometimes. It's a bargain book at Amazon right now (4.95, I think), if you are interested. Also, check out my wish list at amazon, it's got some great titles I will be adding to my library. Mommy books, art books, food books, Christian parenting books, fiction books...
I miss reading, I really do. I was the biggest reader! Before I had kids, I could easily read a book in a day or 2. Since I have had 2 kids, I haven't read much lately. Magazines, blogs, news online, picture books to my boys, that's about it. I MISS it. I am going to try to read more. Re-activate the ole library card. I can't wait for summer! The boys can play in the backyard and I can maybe sit out there and READ. (And what a good model for my kids, too...:-))
OK, what are you reading right now??? Tell me so I can add it to my list!

oops...spelling

yes, I am a teacher....sorry, I meant rain boots! Oops!

Pictures...

Here's our Easter pic and my little man mowing the lawn. Don't you love his fashion sense? Rainboats and shorts! :-) To be a kid....ahhh, the life....

Spring Break

OK, we're home after a fun trip to San Diego! It was great! Mom, me, and the two boys drove down to stay at Jenny & Justin's new place. What a cute place! Perfect location, too. We went to the beach, shopped (oh the shopping....), hung out, went to dinner, had a Santana's burrito (the best!!), took walks, went swimming, played with the 2 adorable dogs, Zero and Dahlia,what else? Spence is a great traveler. He was so good all week. Perfect in the car, good sleeper, friendly, cute...Coop was good, too, but being a creature of habit, he had a hard time adjusting to sleeping in the Pack-n-Play. Give him his crib and he's good to go. But no such luck without it. But he managed (after being rocked to sleep most of the time by his lucky grandma).
We were so sad to leave. Spence, "Mama, I want to live in San Diego (pronounced San Aygo). I want to MOVE to San Diego!" I said, "Talk to your Daddy."
We also went to Pasadena to visit my grandma and Uncle Imre. I am so glad grandma got to see my boys. I hadn't been to see her in over a year...yikes! I really wanted her to meet Cooper. She has a way with babies. He loved her. Spence was so cute, helping her out of bed and all. It was a nice visit.
Now we are home and whew, I need a vacation! Laundry is going and I need a long sleep. I took the boys to their babysitter's house this morning and slept! Felt so good. But I need more.
Posting pics of our Easter Morning. We went to church with the our two moms and over to Grammy's for an Easter Egg hunt (indoors...boo, more rain!) with the cousins and then to my mom's for dinner before leaving on our big trip.
I'll post pics of the SD trip when I get them. Unfortunately, we are a 1 camera family still. Joe needs the digital for work, so I couldn't take it. We used Jenny's. I was so hoping to get a new camera, the Digital Rebel, but life happens, the assessor's tax was due, we need concrete, etc. etc., so the camera is on hold for now. Anyone wanting to contribute to the Amy Needs a Good Camera Fund can see me ASAP! hee-hee.
Have a wonderful week!
OK, pics aren't working...I'll try to post later....

I SAW a funnel cloud! (and other thoughts)

OK, first off, happy birthday to Vicki!!!! Hope you have a great day! Check out her blog at http://blog.myspace.com/vickila She hopped onto the blog bandwagon. I've checked out myspace, and wow, there are a lot of people online. Everyone has music playing and pictures and all kids of stuff. Vicki's wedding pix montage is very cool!
OK, and second, I SAW a funnel cloud!!!! We have been having crazy weather (who hasn't around the US?), and yesterday the sky was very dark. I told Joe I thought it looked like the sky in War of the Worlds. I was half expecting aliens to shoot down. hee-hee. Anyway, I was pulling out of our driveway and looked up into a grey cloud and I noticed a small funnel. I stopped the car in the middle of the road and continued to watch. It kept getting bigger and bigger (still up in the clouds), but still....I called to some of the construction workers building houses across the street from us. One came up to me and I pointed to the funnel. We both jsut watched it. My mind started racing, and I was thinking, should I run into the house, hide in the hall bathroom? My boys are at their babysitter's house! What should I do? But then, the funnel dissipated and was gone...but what a weird feeling! And I wish I would have had my camera!!!!
Tomorrow we're heading down to San Diego. Can't wait! And tomorrow is Easter. Take time to reflect on the true meaning, on the resurrection of our Lord. God bless you!

Are these the cutest kids or what?

Had to share these shots....my Baby C is too CUTE! :-) And of course, the "the man" is adorable!

Special Visits...and other thoughts

Yay! We had some special visitors today! Our friends from TO stopped by on their way home from Oregon, Danny, Nicole, & Riley. We had a nice visit. Last time I saw Riley he was about 2 weeks old and in the hospital. Now he's a busy 1 year old with quite the passport. :-) It was great to visit with them. I miss them, and wish we could see them more often. Now they are planning a move to Portland and actually almost convinced us to go, too. The only thing that worries me is the rain...I think I am too much of a sunny weather gal, but hey, if Robin can handle it in Seattle, maybe I can, too! :-)

Leisure time...something I have been thinking of...where has it gone??? There have been so many advancements made in technology lately, but have they really made our lives easier? Now you can call anyone anywhere, anytime, email, etc....now if I drive without my phone, I feel worried. What will I do if I need someone??? In college, I used to drive the 5 hours to Santa Barbara by myself with no phone and I was fine. I took small, windy highways, too...but I survived just fine! I even had an overheating issue once, but luckily, I had a friend with me that time...even though we were clueless and thought turning on the A/C would COOL down the car. So off we drove down the 101, freezing ourselves, but convinced it would cool off the car...I think, no, I know, I am more car-savvy now. Owning my overheating lovin' Explorer taught me real quick....
But I digress, have we really made things easier, or more simple, this way? Do we really need it all? When was the last time you just sat, sat and watched some meaningless TV or read a book for fun or even stared out the window? OR if you have, did you feel guilty? Feel like you should be washing dishes, ironing, balancing the old checkbook, etc, etc...That's me. If I actually sit to watch the OC, I need to grade papers, too, or go through junk mail. Relax, people. I think we need to spend more time relaxing. It's OK to just sit. The cleaning, the bills, the other stuff will still be there. I will try to remember this, too. We Americans are on the go too much. Time has become our enemy, instead of just a clock on the wall. What do you think? Agree with me or think I am wasting your time...pun intended...or is that really a pun? whatever..... :-)