Shorts, Plants, Popsicles, Smiles

We just bought a set of three tomato plants. I LOVE garden tomatoes. Stephen hates them with a passion! If he gets tomatoes on his order in a drive-thru (he always asks for NO tomatoes), he'll look up and call the place to complain! Oh well, bummer for him, more for me!

And for the boys I daresay... Cooper LOVES these little plants! He was the one that suggested we get them at the store and now he coddles them like they are his charge to keep well. :) He sits and watches them and softly touches the leaves- so cute! Wish I could get him to act that way towards Ryder... :)

Had a fun couple of really beautiful days last week- the boys got to wear shorts for the first time and suck up popsicles in the yard! See Ryder's squishy face at the cold of the first bite?!

These awesome popsicle holders are so handy! They make it so the boys hands don't get cold while eating them. I've been swapping these ones at whoopdwhoop!

Fun Mother's Day Gifts!

Ok, I can't resist- I'm excited to share the fun gifts we've come up with for our own Moms and Grandmas for Mothers Day this year! We're pretty sure they won't be stopping the blog through the weekend, so I guess I'll risk ruining the surprise to post about these fun gifts before the day is over!

For the first part of the gift, I went looking around the crafty blog world for something Cooper and Ryder could get in on creating with me. I came across this post from Brown Paper Packages and knew it would be what we would do- Personalized notepads that include the boys' own drawings!

I love homemade gifts that include photos- it's just more "me" I guess. And neither my own mom nor my mother-in-law, Janie, or Stephen's Grandma Sally (who had a big hand in raising him), are people we get to see all that often, so photos are valuable to them too! I used the instruction from Kierste almost exactly, other than I added some small pics of the boys along the top!

You draw a pencil line a couple of inches up from the bottom of a sheet of normal white paper. That is the space that I let Cooper (and a tiny bit Ryder- he's just not as into doodling yet) draw within. Then I placed and sized the pictures along the top of a Word document, as well as put the words "Grandma's Notes" in a cute font in the middle. Four is a nice number when it comes to craftiness, eh? :)

Then I took this exact sheet in to a local copy shop and asked that it be sized down to a quarter of a page. Then those were cut and stacked in sets of 50 and made into notepads with chipboard at the bottom. These will hopefully be perfect for Janie at work or and for my Mom in both her offices! They'll have something that makes them think briefly of their handsome grandsons when writing a reminder!

EDIT: Want a much cheaper way to make these? Click through to this tutorial at The Letter Four to see how you can skip the copy shop and make your own notepads! Could've saved a lot if I had thought of it before!

Fun, eh? Well, then just a couple days ago, Stephen had the thought that we should trying making our own dipped strawberries to add to the gifts also! I love making pretty food!

Aren't these lovely?! And they really taste yummy! I think I may try perfecting the packaging and selling these, along with pretty caramel apples, at a future craft show sometime.

We are anxious to give these simple, cute little gifts to our favorite ladies this weekend! Our Moms are some of the best parts of us- they are amazing Grandma's and such selfless examples- we love you!

Either one of these, and specifically the notepads, would make fun gifts for all sorts of occasions! We wish anyone stopping by a wonderful Mother's Day!

On Being a Boy Mama

Thinking lately (with Mother's Day on the brain) about being a Mom, a Mom to boys. I remember sitting in high school and doodling on my notes the words Rebekah Sky. I love that name spelled like that- I had every intention of one day naming my daughter Rebekah Sky. I'm Sky Colleen after my own Mom and my first daughter would be named after me.When Stephen and I first decided we would try to have a baby, I bought a small terrycloth bib with pink ruffly trim and pink words that said "I Love Daddy." I love the idea of tea parties and helping a little girl dress up in big hats and over-sized high heels.Or of late night talks when she would get dropped off from a date or girls nights when she hadn't been asked.

OK, cue that scratchy record interruption sound... because there might not be a little girl in adorable ponytails running around in homemade tutus, but there is stuff like this...

This white rectangle thing with dots is a phone, of course...

Knocking stuff over = awesome!

 Digging in dirt with no regard for the mess = equally awesome.

Sweet hat hair = Oh Yeah!

(said in a Vector from Despicable Me voice)

 Big juicy worm and a hoodie pocket for keeping it in =

the king of all awesomeness!

Ya know what, I caught a wasp for Cooper this morning in the front yard after several attempts with a mesh net- and it was totally rad! I was as excited as he was... well, in that initial moment anyway... thrilled "Thank Yous" would continue for the next half hour :) As grand as tea parties and dress up? No question.

And actually, I do still do tea parties I suppose... they're just actually muffin tin picnics in the backyard or inside a fort made out of our trusty white sheet in the living room. And dress up- for sure! It's just Batman masks and army helmets and plastic feathers strung through headbands to be Indians instead of high heels and flowery hats.

Late night talks... indeed, just that he'll be driving home instead of getting dropped off. I appreciate that it will be him with a larger span of control, actually. And Cooper did announce the other day that when he grows up he wants to marry me, so maybe he'll be the one opting not to ask anyone ;)

How do I feel about being a Boy Mama? One thing's for sure... Disappointment is NOT in the list of descriptors...

Wishing any Mom who reads this a very Happy Mother's Day weekend! I've got some great projects that will be our gifts to our Moms and Grandmas to share with you- just can't until next week or it would ruin the surprise!

And PS... see the new button on my upper sidebar? I just joined a fun site called Top Mommy Blogs and when you click that button, my blog here moves up the list. I think it'll be fun to have a spot to easily connect with other bloggers- click as you leave if you can!

Sticks and Stones

Well, arrows and rocks anyways...
For the past while, Stephen's been digging out some old gear and doing a bit of trading to get us ready to start participating in some 3D archery shoots! Stephen used to be an awesome target shooter and hasn't done it in a long while. This last Saturday was the first shoot of the season. We love any chance we get to get down into the Snake River Canyon- it was a beautiful day!

We actually learned a lot and got more excited to keep shooting in the future. Next time we'll leave Ryder with a babysitter and make sure Cooper really wants to be there for the long haul- they both got tired too soon! It was interesting to see all the targets and lose a few arrows in the process!

The little boys loved this huge rock that was near one of the targets! Coop is telling me "I Love You" from the top!

I was actually able to cover this shoot for the Times News too, which made it fun! I liked being able to talk to and photograph the shooters around us. This is a really cool atmosphere, with most people there as families, packing kids just like we were!

I think this day made Stephen rather proud... and rightfully so! There will be more shots like these coming up this summer for sure! If you drive by our house during the evening these next few weeks, you'll see us out practicing!

Meaningful Monday: Don't Blink

One thing being a correspondent for our area newspaper, the Times News, gives me (beyond just the chance to write), is also the chance to have a moment of time to myself when gathering for a story. Last week I was on the way home from an event I covered and heard the song "Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney on the radio. Usually the radio is OFF when I'm driving cuz I don't want the extra noise, but in that moment I had the chance to actually hear the music and absorb the lyrics.


This isn't a new song or my favorite artist or anything like that, but I thought the lyrics were, well, meaningful...

I turned on the evening news

Saw a old man being interviewed

Turning a hundred and two today

Asked him what's the secret to life

He looked up from his old pipe

Laughed and said "All I can say is."

Don't Blink

Just like that you're six years old

and you take a nap and you

Wake up and you're twenty-five and

your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don't Blink

You just might miss

your babies growing like mine did

Turning into moms and dads

next thing you know your "better half"

Of fifty years is there in bed

And you're praying God takes you instead

Trust me friend

a hundred years goes faster than you think

So don't blink

I was glued to my tv

when it looked like he looked at me and said

"Best start putting first things first."

Cause when your hourglass runs out of sand

You can't flip it over and start again

Take every breath God gives you

for what it's worth

Don't Blink

Just like that you're six years old

and you take a nap and you

Wake up and you're twenty-five and

your high school sweetheart becomes your wife

Don't Blink

You just might miss

your babies growing like mine did

Turning into moms and dads

next thing you know your "better half"

Of fifty years is there in bed

And you're praying God takes you instead

Trust me friend

a hundred years goes faster than you think

So don't blink

So I've been tryin' ta slow it down

I've been tryin' ta take it in

In this here today,

gone tomorrow

world we're livin' in

So am I "blinking" too much as a Mom? Is there any possible way when they are grown that I won't feel like the answer is yes? I just hope I'm doing the same... taking it in. Hope you are too, whatever "it" is! :)  If you haven't heard these lyrics in awhile, hope you'll watch the video- hearing it is, of course, lots better than just reading!

P.S. These pics are from a warm day we had last week that Cooper called "The Hottest Day Ever!"