tinkled pink

in a few short months,
i'm going to be an auntie {again} but this time to a new niece!

my sister, leslie, is expecting a baby GIRL in april.
my sister-in-law reminded our family,
we've waited 17 years for a girl on the shappard side.
{the youngest granddaughter is now 17},
so we were due.  overdue!

here is a photo of my pretty pregnant sis.
she's so darn stinkin' cute, she always makes me want to
go for a 3rd.  almost. {don't have a heart attack christopher}






 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

she's still a few months away from her due date,

but this auntie has already found herself wandering over to

the baby girl sections in stores.  i can't help myself!!

 

dresses, tights, hair accessories and PINK are calling

out to me.  i can't remember the last time i even bought

anything pink. i found these cute onesies at an on-line boutique.
they reminded me of leslie.  she is going to have SO much fun
dressing a baby girl! {auntie too}
 

via

 

 

 



space themed birthday

since finn's interest is SPACE right now,
this made for an easy birthday theme.

because i'm a sucker for paper products,
i wanted to send paper invitations.
i know it's not very green, but i do recycle
and drive a prius. {i hope that counts for somethin'?}

before i even jumped onto etsy,
i found these invites from meri meri.

i loved the glossy paper, the window that actually opens,
and the gold tassle that resembles fire,
but i had to get finn's approval first.
i didn't dare send anything 'too babyish'.
{he's almost double digits for goodness sakes}. *grin*

his response "it's not realisitic but it's pretty cool.
you can get those if you want mom". 
with permission granted, i ordered a box.

then we all went off mexico and i completely forgot all about the party.

this past weekend, i figured i had better get moving,
since it's just around the corner.  for finn, the b-day activity and the cake
are the most important things, and since he chose a backyard movie night
as the main event, the cake was all that was left.

i googled 'space cakes' and several cute options popped up. 
i shared a few with christopher since he is our family cake designer,
and reminded him to give me his shopping list this week.
.
this one was my favorite.
{i love the beautiful blue cake pedestal it sits on}

i'm a fan of clean, simple design
and this cake is perfection to me.
c might chose to build a solar system cake,
but why when this works beautifully.
{i think finn would really be happy with this}.

though this backyard birthday bash is the main event,
finn did enjoy having 2 friends sleepover last weekend.
the next day, they went to the discovery museum in orange county.

i was hoping to go to another museum to see the endeavor shuttle,
but finn specifically wanted this museum as it has a rocket lab
exhibit that he wanted to see.  {oh the things that excite him}.

he had a great day with this pals and when i get photos uploaded,
i'll share!

finn is ten!

this beautiful blonde boy blessed our lives 10 years ago today.
he opened our hearts and minds to a joy and life we had never known,
and we wondered {and still do}, how we got so lucky to have the privilege
of raising him.  we feel honored and understand being parents is the most
important job we will ever have. 

finn, since you read my blog regularly now, i'm going to address this next
part to you. and as tradition goes, here are TEN that are special about you,
birthday boy!

1. You have SO much passion. 
Your dad and I got a glimpse of this when you were just a baby.  Before you could hold your head up, you preferred to be face forward in the baby bjorn, instead of facing in, so you could see what was going on.  You walked at 9 months old and were running at 12 months!  You charge through life the same way - learning everything you can and loving people all along the way.  Your father and i hope you never lose your zest for life!

2.  You still love science, and now SPACE has captured your attention.
Your favorite programs are still Nova and the Discovery channel, and you've discovered kerbel space program,
a computer game that lets you build and launch rockets into space.  You are especially interested in Mars and rovers, curiosity that is there collecting data.  {you even named your stuffed dog Spirit, after another rover}

3. You are a reader. 
For years it seemed you preferred technical manuals to novels,
but we don't think that's the case anymore.  You discovered the 39 Clues series last year and it seemed turned you on to fiction which was a nice change {your teacher even encouraged it}.
Now, you are devouring the Harry Potter series right now and don't go anywhere in the car without a book in hand. 

4. You are a good friend. 
You've made friends in Kindergarten who are still your closest pals.   We've never heard an unkind word about any of these boys and whenever an issue might come up, you talk about it with your friends and resolve it together.   It's a skill that will benefit you your entire life.

6. You aim high. 
You want to do well, not just for your parents and teachers, but for yourself.  You talk about college often, and after watching a documentaries on robotics with engineers from MIT and Caltech, you've put these universities at the top of your list.  You tell us you aren't sure if you want to be an engineer or a scientist but we remind you, there is still time to decide. {Your father and I just hope you'll be able to get some type of scholarship} Whew! 

7. You are responsible
You are still a rule follower and from early on seemed wise beyond your years.
At 2 years old at preschool, you wouldn't go outside to play unless you had your sun hat on.  Your teachers loved it and commented to me that you helped them remember when they'd forget.  Today, you reassure sitters about helping them navigate the evenings after your dad and I leave the house for date night.  You make everyone's job easier finn, and your parents, teachers and sitters appreciate that so much.  Because you are so responsible and so good with people, you are a natural born leader.

8. You are the best big brother. 
Your father and I have had countless conversations about why you were first and it's as if you were meant to be born first.  You are a natural leader and you protect, nurture, and teach Scout so much.  You boys do fight, but you are quick to forgive your brother and move on.  I often see you with your arm around Scoutie when you are walking side by side.  Scout is so proud to be your little brother. I hope you two remain close all your lives.

9. You are 50 inches tall and weigh 50 lbs. You've also lost 4 teeth in the past 5 weeks, AND have 2 more teeth that are loose. {you can't eat alot of things right now which is making life a little difficult for you}.  hang in there, you'll have some middle and back teeth soon. *wink*

10. Spaghetti and meatballs is still your favorite meal, and french toast is your favorite breakfast.  we wonder if you will ever tire of these. 


last, you bring SO much happiness to those who know you finn.
you truly make this world a better place by being in it.

happy 10th birthday beautiful boy!!

discovering the discovery museum

southern california is chock full of museums and since we've explored
most of the museums here in san diego, we were encouraged recently by explorer's
science teacher, to check out the museum in orange county/los angeles area.
she said there were several exhibits that finn would love.

since his double digit birthday was just around the corner,
it was a good excuse to go. we looked at several museums and in the end,
finn chose the discovery science museum specifically for it's jet propulsion lab exhibit.

he took 2 of his buddies, josh and charlie along, since they love space almost as much as him.

a few photo highlights of finn's day at the museum.

 

 


finn had a great day and was totally in his element.
christopher and i were exhausted by day's end,
but happy to hear him tell us he had a great time there.

he likes lists

HELLO!!

i haven't forgotten you blog....i promise.

just trying to play catch up at home and work since we're returned
to the real world.  until i can devote some time to you,  i just had
to share this list i came across on scout's desk before we left for mexico.

the first thing i thought was, he's already starting lists!?
{i'm a list girl, but i didn't start them till middle school}.
my second thought, wow his penmanship is better than mine.

scout's list, age 6



this list is going in the keepsake bin and hope i'll always
remember #2, those mornings when scoutie comes into our
bedroom to rest {i.e. cuddle} before he starts his day. 

~ i have SOOO much to post about and i need to do it
soon before it becomes a distant memory.
our family trip to mexico served it's purpose. 
it gave us lots of time to relax, read, and play.  

slowing down in Sayulita

the boys and i have been in MEXICO for the past several days
in little surf town called sayulita.

i found insanely inexpensive flights on the mexican airline, volaris
a few months back that and i couldn't pass up so i booked immedately.

with weekends spent working on a new {old} house,
christopher getting settled into his new job, we needed this as a family.

it's been wonderfully relaxing for all of us.
the boys are spending lots of time in the ocean,
there's been lots of reading for me and
we've all been enjoying many mangos!

we've met lots of canadians escaping cold weather,
and many families from the west coast,
including washington, oregon and california
one couple we met is from a neighboring beach
community. 

i look forward to sharing photos and details about
our trip. ziplining has been the highlight so far!!
{the entire family did it again}

boys in brianhead: 2014

i almost forgot to post about the boys' trip to utah!
they went, they played and they made it home before christmas day.
{as christopher promised}

this trip was extra special for scout as this was his first time on the slopes.
he's been in snow a few times during his 6 years, but as luck had it
he was under the weather the two years he was of age so he never got to do
anything more than sled/tube.

this year he was healthy and ready to hit the slopes!

christopher picked up the boys from school and headed straight there.
he arrived in st. george late that night and the next morning,
they caravanned with trevor, shannon and their cousins to the cabin in brianhead.

they spent a few days at the cabin and at brianhead resort skiing.
since it was scout's first time and it had been almost 2 years since finn
had been, c put them both in ski school for a full day.

they had a GREAT time and gained so much confidence that come 3pm,
when it was time for their dad to pick them up, they both wanted to ski more! 
they ended up staying on the slopes another hour and a half with their cousins.
{i can't even go a full day anymore}.

c did remember to snap a few photos and take some short videos:



scout {6} and finn {9}

 

and here's scoutabout skiing. 
christopher was behind him recording...he had no idea}

 

 

 

 

finn oliver, age 9

and here's finn and his silly cousin isaac {aka 'ice man'} sledding.

















i hope we get to squeeze in one more ski trip this year
because i'm itching to go snowboading.  it's been 2 years for me! *sigh*

a new nephew

my sister stacey welcomed her 2nd child over the holidays.
axel was born december 29th and weighed in at a whooping 8 lbs. 7 ounces.
{a big boy for my petite sister}. 

he's a cute little guy and mom and baby are healthy and well.
my mom shared this photo with me a few days ago.
i can't get over his FULL head of hair.  so so cute!



axel bray