Happy Belated Birthday To My Boyz......

October went as quickly as it came! It was filled with soccer games, a visit from Nana and Papa, sicknesses, the craziness of the boyz schedules, and birthdays!!! Two of my boyz celebrated their birthdays and we did it up Barton Style! On the 16th we celebrated........ (can you guess???)

Nate's 29th Birthday!!!

Nate is not like me when it comes to birthdays....basically he doesn't like to spend the entire week celebrating it... well I wasn't going to have any of that! The day started off with the family and I bringing in lunch for his squadron, then we had a fabulous dinner that night (if I do say so myself)!

Nate was feeling his age and had the boyz help him blow out the candles!!

Nothing says I love you like a pair of motorcycle boots!!

The birthday celebration did not end there as Saturday night we headed to our friends MOVIE FLYER (which is this big semi truck that has a ten person movie theater inside - decked out in leather chairs and surround sound which you can actually feel in your seat) We watched Indiana Jones on the big screen and enjoyed a night out!!!

Happy Birthday to my best friend! I could sit here and write all the things that I love about you but it truly would be a very long blog.... I thank God for bringing you into my life 1o years ago...you are an amazing father and husband...and I love being married to you!!! You have filled my life with adventure and love!!! xoxo

And so the partying did not stop there... it was on to this little guys birthday.......

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Cooper

Happy 1st Birthday!

Yes he was even doing pirate faces at age 2!!!

I can't believe that you are 3!!!

Cooper had two days of celebration..... We threw him a party with his friends at our favorite place Moving and Grooving! The kids attend classes there during the week and it is run by this amazing couple! The party was filled with everything that he loves to do there....singing songs, playing with the parachute, running around to the songs, playing on all the slides, riding bikes..... and of course all the extras for his birthday....hats, cupcakes, and PRESENTS!!!!

The actual day of his birthday he was able to open his family gifts...which included the present from his Nana and Papa that each of the grand kids get when they turn 3....

( We have already have had to talk to the boyz about not playing bumper cars with each of their power wheels!!)

Cooper - you have filled our lives with joy with your fun loving personality! I love so many things about you..... I love
1. how when you laugh you try to laugh even harder and louder than the last time!
2. how you always want me to hold you so you can play with my hair and suck your thumb!
3. how you tell me that you love me at all times of the day.
4. how each night you tell me that you want to pray like me...then you say the "Now I Lay Me" prayer and then show me how you folded your hands!
5. how you always like to look at the bible while you are singing Jesus loves me!
6. how much you love your brother and try to do everything that he does!
7. how when it is nice outside you go and wait on the steps for dad to come home.
8. your pirate faces and noises...and when you tell me that you are a nice pirate!
9. your sense of adventure!
10. how caring and sensitive you are!

Happy Birthday Cooper! I am amazed everyday at how big you are getting and everything you do! I can't wait to see what this year has in store for you! xoxo!!

THAT'S MY MAN!!!

Last weekend we ventured up to our favorite place, Jim Creek, for a weekend of camping! This time not just only for a family getaway but it was also a squadron function as one of the Chief's was retiring. What made it even more special was that he had asked Nate to give his retirement speech....that's right my man was the main speaker! It truly was an honor for Nate as LT's usually aren't the ones that speak at the retirements.
I was overcome with overwhelming pride as Nate stood before Chief Thrailkill's family, friends, and his squadron talking about his accomplishments and what he had done not only for the prowler community but for our nation. He talked about how being in the military was not just a job it was a lifestyle....a lifestyle that can only be fully understood by those who live it. Not only did Nate give an outstanding speech but he looked amazing in his uniform!!

After the speech we retreated to our cabins with Brandi, Cooter, Bryce, Erin, Puffy, Katie, and Carl for the remainder of the weekend!!!

There are so many things that I love about camping... I love planning and preparing the meals for the weekend, sitting lazily by the fire drinking and roasting smores, watching the kids explore and go on secret missions to find hidden treasures, and enjoying our family and friends!

Katie, one of the girl's in Nate's squadron, camped with us and bought all the boys Spiderman fishing poles - she also made these incredible cinnamon rolls that the boyz couldn't get enough of! She definitely is going to have to be a regular with us!

Coop was all about practicing before his Daddy took him and his brother to the lake!

Connor became the master at finding lizards... although after the first one he caught we had to teach him not to squeeze them so hard.

Jim Creek has become our favorite family outing as we have embraced camping together. I just love the fact that it is all about our family when we are there...no distractions but just each other! Life doesn't get better than that!

A Week Full of "Firsts" for Our Boyz

I have officially have become a "soccer mom"! I think I was more excited than Connor when we went to our first soccer practice and then to our first game! Connor's excitement was more about his new soccer uniform and shoes - none the less - my little boy was in his first soccer league!

The first game didn't turn out quite like we had anticipated. About 30 seconds after the whistle blew, Connor walked off the field and told me he didn't want to play. We tried to get him to go back on the field later in the game but he wasn't having any of it! I figured that there had to be hope because he told one of his buddies that he scored five goals and while in the car eating his snack he said to us,"Well that was fun!!" I didn't know where the fun was but hey it was a step in the right direction!!

THE JETS

The following Monday was the first day of school for both boyz! Cooper is going to preschool at our church! We have started Mother's Day Out and Coop attends the 2's and 3's preschool room! I think he was most excited about eating lunch there with his other buddies!

Connor is at the same preschool that he attended last year and if you can believe this one - it is his last year!! He will be entering Kindergarten - what happened to my little boy????

Well it was back to the soccer field that next Saturday! We were feeling a little more optimistic because he had fun at the previous two practices.....So here is the clip of the beginning of the game (Yes, I am the one screaming in the background, Yes, I know it is U-6 soccer) His number is 1! (How appropriate :) )

Connor played his best buddies team that day and both him and Levi had a great cheering section!

Connor, Levi, and Cooper relaxing with their snacks after a great game of soccer!

Already this year we have entered a new stage of life with our boyz... they are growing up so fast! They are both in school, both in Sunday School, Connor attends Children and Worship, Kids Club, and choir at our church. He also is going to be taking a Spanish class while Coop attends a Terrific 2's and 3's class at Moving and Grooving! What fun!
They both bring so much joy and love to our lives...how blessed we are to be their parents!

Life On Otty Lake

Before you even read this.... grab yourself a cup of coffee (preferably Tim Horton's and you might as well grab a maple dip too since we are doing this Canadian style) make sure the play list is on a song you like, and sit back and relax....this is a long one!!
The fam and I just got back from an amazing time in Canada with my entire family. My older sister lives there with her family on Otty Lake and my parents bought a cottage on the same lake (just a side note - my parents just moved into a house literally seven miles away from my twin sister and they have a house on the lake that is less than a five minute boat ride from my older sister....and they have a house in Oak....oh wait no they don't - NEED I SAY MORE????)
We arrived in the morning and that afternoon we were able to witness my niece and nephew, Jakob and MacKenzie, be baptized in their lake! It was awesome!! Being so far away I feel like I have missed so many milestones in their lives and it was such a great feeling to be a part of such an important part of their life - their testimonies were moving and inspiring!!

Nate and I couldn't imagine a better place than Otty Lake to end a perfect summer together!

The boyz couldn't have been happier either....all the cousins were together again and it was non-stop fun! Of course they were spoiled each morning by Nana as she made them her infamous Mickey Mouse Waffles outlined with chocolate chips!!! (Papa was in charge of the coffee)

Nate is my nephew's biggest fan....and of course you can see one of the reasons why as Jake was giving Connor rides on his dirt bike!

This is my adorable niece Jordyn - she is quite the little "mom"! Coop absolutely loved her because she would let him play with her hair!

The trampoline was definitely the hit of the lake...At times I thought Coop would never come out of there! Actually it might have been a tie between Nate and Coop as to who was in there the most!

For Nate and I - it was just so much fun to see the boyz with their cousins and how well they got along!

Connor especially loved to go in the boat! Uncle Dave was our designated driver as he took us all over the lake....there was a lot of wake boarding and knee boarding during our trip!!!

I think I want to become a professional knee boarder!!!

Connor even ventured on to the tube a couple of times with his cousins!!

Thanks to Nana and Papa the boyz have their own fishing poles and loved going fishing off the dock! Papa kept us well stocked with worms!

This was Cooper's first time fishing, as Connor was taught last year, so Papa gave the initial instructions to the new fisherman!!

Kenzie was a huge help as he got started! Once he caught his first fish though there was nothing stopping him!

We were quite proud of Nate and the fish he caught with Connor's Mickey Mouse pole!!

So my niece Kenzers and nephew Jake - I think it would be pretty hard to find anyone as cool as these two kids! Simply put... they rock! Not only are they both amazing and incredibly gifted...they are great with the boyz!

Kenzie just turned 11 in August and if I were to ever have a girl I would want her to be like her! She has a smile that lights up a room and is just so much fun to be around! She is very bright and takes half her studies in French....tres bien Kenzie!!! She just started figure skating again this season... and I am sure she is going to be great!!

Jake just turned 13 in June and is an incredible athlete! While we were there we got to watch him play hockey (which I might add Connor wants to play) and that boy has got some mad skills on that ice! When he was little he used to walk around the house with his hockey helmet and gloves - he hasn't taken them off since - he lives and breathes the sport - he's that good!

It was so much fun to watch him wake board and knee board - I mean seriously is there anything that he can't do???

They both had us cracking up all week.....they are awesome!!

Coming home my heart wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be... I think it was because I felt incredibly blessed.... my husband was home for the entire summer and we had a great time together as a family and did a lot of fun things - we truly did the summer Northwest Style!! We were able to spend time with his mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa) and then ended it with my entire family in Canada!

Mom, Dad, Jenn, Dave, Kenzie, Jake, Jess, Jason, Jordy, and Caden - thank you for all the memories, the many laughs, the endless games of washers, jumps on the trampolines, rides in the boat...everything....that made it the best possible way to end our summer as a family. I miss you all like crazy and can't wait to be together again :) Anyone up for a trip to Whidbey???

A visit from Grandma and Grandpa

Last week Nate's parents made the trip to Whidbey Island together! Peggy hadn't been here in almost three years and this was the first time they had come together so it made it even that much more special....Nate took the week off so it was a vacation for everyone!
For us, we were excited to have them experience the amazing Northwest summer so what better way to start it off the trip by an afternoon ride on the Puget Sound to go crabbing!!! ( Of course this was after we had gone to Anacortes to our favorite breakfast place).

It was a successful trip and we caught our limit for the day but before we could go home and cook them it was off to the docks for the dirty deed of cleaning - not going to lie it is a little creepy when you are cleaning a crab that has been broken in half and their pinchers are still moving!!

Nate giving the crab its final goodbye!

Scott was a trooper cleaning the crabs too - Peggy opted to take the pictures!

Connor and Cooper weren't too convinced that the crabs weren't going to pinch them!

Of course we didn't spend the entire time crabbing (but we did do it more than once) - We spent an afternoon at Fort Ebey flying kites, bike riding at City Beach, enjoying the sun in the backyard while the kids played in the pool and then we went to which has become my favorite place on the island... Double Bluff!! Yes - we have found a beach that actually has sand and not rocks! Whoever said that you couldn't get tan on Whidbey has never been to this place!!

We had to take some time out to train the kids in their own personal "flight training"

Navy Pilots in the making!

Connor loves Grandma's snowball cookies so of course she made them with the boyz....although I think more made it into Cooper's belly than on the cookie sheet!!! Yumzers!!

The night before they left happened to be Prowler Ball....YES..FREE BABYSITTING!!!! Nate and I had a great time with our friends and just spending the evening together..truth be told though we didn't spend the entire evening there - at midnight you would have found us at Applebees with a big plate of nachos!

These are my girlfriends Erin and Brandi from the squadron!! There is never a dull moment when we are together!

Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for making the trip to Whidbey! It was so great being able to share our daily lives with you and for you to experience our home in Whidbey! Thanks for the memories - We love you!!!