Husbands and Fathers are an important part of a family unit.
Hence this post, Toph is in New Mexico for a business trip, and our family is no where close to being complete or whole without him. We miss him terribly, and we are anxious for him to come home.
We miss you, Tucker asked if he could fly to New Mexico to be with Dad, I don’t blame him. I want to be there too.
See you Soon Dad, We love you!
It is warming up, what wonderful weather! Christopher is getting the “outdoor bug”, and this week when his church calling was canceled, he decided it would be a great opportunity for a hike, but when we didn’t have enough time for that, we decided to go and find a couple of Geo Caches. For those of you unfamiliar with Geo Caching, It is just basically bunches of Treasure Hunts, and Tuck and Tru love them. Here are a few pics from our latest cache…
Tucker Carrying the GPS Unit to look for the Cache
Tucker and Truman Entering the Bush Hut, where they spy a treasure
Bringing out The Treasure Box-Cache
Opening up the box with Toph
So, our good friends let us tag along with them as they went to take family pictures. The gardens were beautiful, but as usual, Tucker and Truman did not want to have anything to do with having their pictures taken. Our friend was going to be taking the pictures, and I was really optimistic before we left, Tucker is now 4 Years old and has done well in our candid type photo shoots, but anyone who has been around us has seen that somehow my children have been conditioned into hating having their pictures taken. In addition, they are true boys, who would rather be running through the grass rather than than sitting still. So after dreaming of the perfect family picture, and with the culmination of all of these things, I would like to introduce our family photo….
After thinking last night, I began to realize this is how our family is, so even though it may not be perfect to others, silly faces, cheeser and all, it does capture our family, and so it is just that.
Perfect.
This is the time of year for birthday wishes. Today is my mothers birthday. There is nothing like a mother. They teach you so many things, and the older you get, the more you learn to appreciate them. I am grateful for my mom, she has taught me many things.
-compassion, kindness and love
-that I really don’t want white wall in my whole house 🙂
-there is an art in living, and living well
-you make your own choices in life, and happiness comes from the inside
-to make a mean potato, ham and cheese casserole
Mothers are the best, this list could go on and on. I am glad she is my momma, happy birthday mom!
For Belle’s Birthday, she had a Star Wars Themed Birthday Party. Tucker and Truman were so excited for such a long time, ever since we got the invite last week. On Saturday Morning, we got their costumes ready. Tucker wanted to be Luke the Jedi, and Truman wanted to be Yorda (Yoda). I whipped up some costumes, and Tuck painted one of his swords to look like a lightsaver, (He painted it pink and black-his favorite colors) and we were off to the Party.
The kids had a great time, and we enjoyed watching all of the little kids come in their outfits.
Since the party, Tucker has been trying to get ready to be a Jedi. Again, the great thing about being 4 is you really can dream of being a Jedi.
Here is a pic of Luke, Yorda and Princess Leah.
Happy Birthday Belle!
Truman is getting older. The past few days I have been watching him and wondering how he grew up so fast. It really just seems like yesterday that he smiled at me for the first time, now he has grown up, and is becoming more independent every day. In some ways we are entering the “terrible twos”, complete with the tantrums, but in other ways, I love the way he thinks so independently. Last week we were holding hands and walking up the stairs, not really talking to each other, when he looked up at me, and said, “Love You Momma” There is nothing like being a mother, especially to such an adorable toddler.
Tucker has figured out how to write notes.
This week, he is starting to understand literacy a little better. He know how to write his letters, and know almost all of them. But he is just realizing that he can write notes to people, and now he has written notes to many people.
On Sunday, when we returned from vacation, and there was a note from my friend, and her son. He was so excited to see it, and then immediately wanted to make a note for this friend. He wanted to write his friends name across the top, I circled his name from the letter that was left. Tucker copied the name from the note, and then wrote his name on the bottom. He was so proud of himself. The next day, he delivered it, then wanted to write a note to his teachers at Preschool. This is where it gets good….Instead of just their names, he wanted to write a note. He told me what to write, and then he copied all the letters/words. This is what he said/wrote: “Did anything bad happen at school while I was gone? Tucker”
This must be how little boys think….a totally abstract world to me.
I think Truman is getting ready to be potty trained, I have been gearing up to do this, but wanted to wait until after the vacation. We are back, and Truman seems ready, I think I am going to start next week!
Some friends recommended a book, called “Potty Training in a Day” (or something like that) I am about half way through, but am going to try to finish reading it this weekend, and start the beginning of next week! I am sure there will be more posts on this subject.
My sister Amy commented last week to my previous Guitar Hero Post:
You better believe it! And I will STILL beat you and Toph!
So the story continues, On our way home for Oregon, we stopped at my parents to wish my Dad a Happy Birthday, and guess what my family was playing? Not hard to guess, Guitar Hero.
After the festivities were done, Toph and I decided to take a turn at it. (there wasn’t much time, Amazing Race was about to start) Tuck and Truman wanted in on the game too, Toph won 1 game, and I won 1 game. Next time we’re up there, Toph and I are going to have to play a rematch.
And Amy, Next time Tuck and Truman are on YOUR team, we’ll see who wins then! 🙂
While we we in Oregon, we missed my Dad’s Birthday, and since I have been trying to catch up on Laundry (Man there is alot of Laundry when you come home from Vacation), and trying to catch up on life (Is this ever really possible?), I have not taken much time to post to the Blog, but I wanted to let my Dad know how much I love him.
Here are some of the things my boys said about their Gramps:
Me:Hey Tuck, I want to write Gramps a note, can you tell me your favorite things about him?
Tuck:He’s Nice to Me, and he calls me names and stuff, Maybe we could print him a Larryboy picture to send to him, does he like Larry Boy?
Me: I don’t know, I am sure he would like it if it were from you!
Tuck: My Gramps, he does things for me, remember when he took me to McDonalds, and we got a ninja turtle?
Me: Truman what do you want to say to Gramps?
Truman: um, Gramps Gonzales?
Me: Yea,
Truman: Yea.
🙂
Truman Said it better than I could have.
We Love your Sense of Humor and are grateful for all you do for us.
Love you Dad, and Happy Be-Lated Birthday.
