eight seconds.

this time of year seems to be so busy. i know i say this every season but it is true. spring is so busy, as i thought fall was busy. this time of year you have yard work, too many things you need to do, too many things you want to do and time you need to just spend breathing in the fresh air and sunshine. before we (oklahomans) know it, it will be too hot to sit outside and play without water and a refreshing pool in sight.

a couple of saturdays ago my sister's family had a dual birthday party for my sister and my nephew. they reserved a local park, got some live music, inflatables and a mechanical bull. yep, you read that right. a mechanical bull. let me tell you, it was perfect. the sun was shining and so many families came out to celebrate.

this was the birthday boy

it was really too windy for candles. he didn't mind.

the start of the party was during james' nap time. i went out early and mr. h brought him when he woke up. i was mingling with the guests until i looked around and saw this:

my boys are here! and james is wearing his cowboy hate. this is going to be perfect.

all the boys migrated to the mechanical bull. while it looked fun, i personally did not attempt. but someone we know was awfully curious.

once we were told that they could make it safe for james, we had to let him have a turn.

i mean, arm up and all. he was taking notes!

and apparently you have to work to stay on.

eight second? who needs just eight. james is going on forty eight.

we had one happy little cowboy.

until we had an unhappy little cowboy.

zinnia {week 1}

and we have babies!!!

score!!!

james may turn out to be a master gardener. i love fresh flowers and veggies. this could be a sweet deal for dear ol' mom.

the water hose.

after i took away james' zinnia pail, i went inside the house to find a nice spot for it to sit, undisturbed for a while. i'm doing my own thing, you know for a whole two miutes, when i peek out the back door to see this.

i couldn't tell the extent of the damage but i grabbed my camera and went back outside anyway.

the damage, well, it's nothing the washing machine and a bubble bath couldn't fix.

covered. head to toe. and i think i see some mud in his smile. was he eating it? or using the shovel as a spoon? i'm not quite sure but the clean up crew was called in to get to work on this little pigpen.

the clean up crew is aka mr. h and the water hose.

even though the water was cold, james loved it!

james then decided he wanted to take matters into his own hands.

the boy loves the water hose. i'm telling you, this will be a dual purpose game this summer - to entertain james and water the backyard. score.

who knew something we already need to do would be such a hit?

if you can't reach me by cell, i'm playing out back with james and the water hose.

veggie tales pail.

grammie got james a veggie tales flower pot for james. it was so much fun! we got it on saturday and couldn't wait so we planted it on sunday morning.

well, mr. h and james planted it while i took pictures. i still think it counts as a "we" job.

the kit came with seeds and two blocks of compact dirt. i'm sure there is a fancy name for the dirt disks but you get the point. so, we added water and let james get to it.

can you see the piles of mud?  yea, the more it went flying, the more fun this project became.

see? james is in the zone. he is having a blast. i'm just letting him do his thing but trying to not get in his line of fire.

finally the dirt was ready and it was time for the seeds. this kit came with zinnia seeds. i expected it to be a veggie. you know, they are veggie tales but it was a nice surprise. we haven't planted any flowers yet but i love our azaleas and spring flowers.

isn't it just too cute how james is mimicking mr. h? he is such a sponge. and so smart. and no, i'm not bias. he really is and his memory is top notch. this can be very tricky.

next up, time to rake in the seeds with some tlc.

james didn't really want to use tlc. he wanted to play in the dirt. so.... we had to take it away from him.

can you see the look of disgust in his face when mr. h was trying to pry the little rake from his hands? he was not happy and was not going down without a fight. as soon as we distracted him, i snagged the freshly planted zinnias and carried them inside. and put them up high where someones little hands couldn't dig it in when i turn my head.

i hope they bloom.

fingers crossed.

saturday morning scene.

 

with warm weather brings outside time and responsibilities. after my run, the farmers market and a snack, it was time to do work.

the hubs needs to mow so james wanted to mow too. we also played soccer and climbed on the jungle gym. what a fun saturday morning.

we obviously play soccer two ways around here. you see the white blog on the bottom of the picture. that is utah. he loves that ball. he's just wait for the chance to get it back from james.

see? he loves it.

see that dog run on the fence? i'd love to say we were making that dirt a flower garden but utah would trample it. 

see that hole next to utah? that is from the other dog. waylon is trying to find china. 

dogs.

off to a saturday fill with birthday fun!!

happy friday.

does this picture make you smile too???

i hope so.

we picked up these glasses when we went to incredible pizza for valentine's day. i've pretty much been holding them hostage until i could find a time to set up a photo shoot. yesterday after work, i deemed it time.

i grabbed the glasses, attempted to put them on and loured james outside with them. i tried to get him to sit on the deck for some snaps. he actually did good until we got photo bombed by waylon.

james was saying "waylon" and petting him and having a good time. waylon was posing so i just went with it.

i love these two boys.

neither one usually sits still for me to take a picture. maybe those are magic glasses? if so, i'll need to buy reinforcements bc they stretch out and look like they may only last another time or two. as soon as james wasn't looking, i took them back inside and put them up. i'm mean like that. well, i'm not but i just didn't want them to get broken in the first ten minutes of play time. accidentally of course.

i will be spending the weekend with family and sunshine. can it get any better? i think not.

happy friday!!!

gangsta.

last night i was inside while the boys were out in the backyard. mr. h yells inside and says i have to come and check out james' gangsta outfit. hummm. i knew what he was wearing so this intrigued me so of course i went to check him out.

my little man wearing his nike flip flops, life is good shirt, his woody hat and playing with the soccer ball. it was adorable!

he did not want to pose for pictures and actually made it pretty darn hard to get one of his face. he is quick and knows how to shield his face with the ball and hat apparently.

he dropped the ball and i kept trying to get a picture. i wanted him to drop this little stick but you know that didn't happen. he is looking at me like what? what do you want??

then finally. i got what i wanted!!!

yep! that big smile.

Life is Good.

jungle gym.

yay for warm weather. james got a playhouse/sports center/slide/jungle gym for christmas but it hasn't gotten much use. until now...

GO COWBOYS!

and keens!!

james is picky about whether he'll wear a hat or not. if mr. h or i am wearing one, there is a much better chance. we put it facing forward and he flipped it backward. cool kid.

see that circle he is looking out of? well, that is actually a place to practice throwing a football. we're not there yet but one day. now he looks out of it and i tried and tried to get the perfect picture.

well, while james was having fun, i wasn't getting that image of his head placed perfectly center and smiling with sunshine delight.

i got close...

but no cigar.

regardless i still love the image. it brings back the spring time memory. james is going to love this thing more and more. he will just play and play and entertain himself on the jungle gym. he'll take turns slam dunking the basketball and climbing the back to go down the slide. he'll stand at the top like he is king of the world and squeal.

and

it is so versatile. obviously.

you think a little girl would have done this?



mr. chesney

this past saturday i went to the kenny chesney concert with my older sister. my sister is ten years older than i am but the older we get, the more we have in common. we live in the same town but not close to each other. we both have busy lives and don't really find time for each other. well, besides family time or time spend to honor our children like birthdays, gymnastic meets, baseball games, and so on. it isn't anything bad. we actually both wish we had more time for one another but then life happens.

 this is my sister. isn't she pretty? sometimes we look similar. people either think we look alike or we don't at all. i'm on the fence. i suppose i don't see it more than i do. especially in this picture. i don't see it. there are obvious difference - her hair is naturally brunette when i'm a natural blonde. i enhance my color but it is my natural. she is at least 4 inches taller and has more of an olive complexion. i'm obvious more fair and i'm sporting a sunburn from my saturday morning run. i had no idea. she told me i was burnt but i didn't see it (or the sweet tank top lines) until i went to the restroom. i think it was margarita induced bc it wasn't there when i left the house. i swear. anyway, we're sisters and we love each other despite our conflicting schedules and lack of resemblance. obviously.

back to the man of the night, mr. kenny chesney.

this is the best picture i got of him. this is him on the jumbo tron. we weren't that far away from him but my cell phone would not take a good picture. i mean, wouldn't no matter how i tried.

kenny look like an angel. see:

i mean, he is heavenly. in a little kind of way. don't get me wrong, he is cute and puts on a great show but i couldn't stop thinking man, he is so small. i wonder if i would look huge next to him? i didn't say anything but after the concert my sister said that she thought she could take him. i knew that i wasn't the only person who didn't think he was a tiny man. dangit.

overall i had a really wonderful evening. i just have one complain. a big one.

this guy: 

he smelled so bad. i know, it's sad. at first i was so mad. he sat through the first performances and played some game on his phone. i just thought why would you pay so much moeny to play phone games? then as the concert went on and the arena warmed up, it started to smell. bad. at first i thought it was me (not who smelled but the only one who could smell it) but then i noticed the girls on both sides of me smelling it too. i mean, i just don't understand. at first i was mad but then i just felt bad for him. i hope he doesn't have this problem all the time.

anyway, this really put damper on my coastal experience but i would recommend anyone who likes country to go and have some fun.

my feet still hurt from my saturday morning run and then walking around in my boots all day. i know, i know - i don't expect sympathy. i brought in on myself. i just wanted to complain.

The more things change

The more they stay the same

Don't matter how old you are

When you know what I'm talkin' 'bout

Yeah baby, when you got

Two bare feet on the dashboard

Young love in an old Ford

Cheap shades and a tattoo

And a Yoo-hoo bottle on the floorboard

Perfect song on the radio

Sing along 'cause it's one we know

It's a smile, it's a kiss

It's a sip of wine, it's summertime

Sweet summertime