Roberson Family

Project 52 {9}

2012-03-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

You remind me of my mom.

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This smile right here. This is my mom's smile. I wish I had a picture of her to show you how crazy similar it is. That hint of crooked is exactly what her's looked like. And those eyes, if they were green, they'd be hers too. Haley and I get comments all the time about how much we look like each other, just like I got when I was with my mom, and just like she got when she was with her mom. Haley definitely has that sense of Reid woman sass, and my mom would have loved every second of this little girl.

It's taken having kids of my own to appreciate what a good mom my mom was. Faults, sure, but we all have them in varying degrees. The way she raised me, the experiences she gave me, it was a great childhood. It's difficult for me to put into words what it means to have these little reminders of her, it's just important. And there's not really another word for it.

This week my grandma passed away. Reminders of our loved ones are what keep their memories alive. It's the little things in our future that keep our past with us. All of this makes us who we are right now.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {8}

2012-02-24T07:15:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

That you're growing up.

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Don't get me wrong here, I'm not rushing anything. I know that these days will pass by all too fast. I'm going to blink and you'll be 5 and 7, 12 and 14, 17 and 19, gone and out of my house leading your own lives. I dread and look forward to that day. But right here, in this moment, I'm thankful. Privileged, that I get to watch and guide you as you become your own, amazing person. I hope that someday you get this same privilege.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, 3 years old is hard. I try to put myself in his shoes, he's still learning appropriate ways to express his feelings and that's tricky. Other times I know darn well he heard and understood me and is just exercising his new found free will (that's a nice way of putting it). But this week we made a very tangible step in his growth progress. Kale moved to a big-boy-bed. Yup, no more cribs in this house (unless you count that both of their beds are convertible cribs). And one more bed for me to make in the morning (on those days when I really want to make beds that dogs don't lie on). Despite a new mattress, sheets, comforter, and pillow, Boomer (the boy with no pants) and Max (the pillow pet dog) still hang around and I think they enjoy the extra space in their new digs.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {7}

2012-02-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

Your determination.

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Both of you. We've been working on reading with Haley since October. I'm determined not to rely on schools filled with too many kids to teach my kids what could possibly be the most important educational skill they'll ever pick up. Haley has caught on to this and loves to practice her reading. She's determined to make it through this yellow book. And within this last week she's taken off. Things are totally clicking, I'm not having to help out as much because she has the drive within herself to be able to start reading her books (Doesn't it make homework so much easier when they want to do it?!). The pride when she's able to read one of us one of the books from the collection is like nothing else. She loves it! I love that she enjoys reading so much. I really look forward to the days when she takes a book in the car instead of her gaga (and that's only partially because I don't need to throw the book in the laundry).

We were lucky enough to be given a hand me down version of Hooked on Phonics (complete with unused workbooks)! This program has been fantastic and something that I find super easy to work with. We'll get to the point where I can just sit her down with the tape and workbook and let her go, but for now I'm involved and enjoying seeing every inch of her progress. BTW this is as close as I'll get to homeschooling my kids.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {6}

2012-02-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

Your big, sloppy, wet nose.

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Atlas is our first baby. He was our wedding present to each other 8 years ago. We knew right away we wanted a Lab, the big debate was Chocolate or Yellow. I wanted Chocolate. When we went to the breeder in California, there was a whiny needy Chocolate and Atlas, who wandered the goat farm/breeder and didn't need anyone (there was $h!+ to be smelled... literally). I made the first sacrifice for our marriage that day and went home the loser (you may note that we never did get a Chocolate,but that's another story for another day). We thought we were smart in picking the independent one. Oh boy. OH. BOY. Fast forward a couple months and this monster of a pup would look at me, steal the pillows off the (brand new) couch and run out the giant sliding glass door waiting for me to chase him down and corner him. He would only drop something for a piece of tri-tip. Screw you and your dog treats, Mom. He was a handful who was gaining about 10 pounds a month. Let me let that sink in... Ten. Pounds. A. Month. He currently weighs in at a healthy 100 something pounds - that's enormous for a healthy Lab, his chin sits level with the dining room table. At the encouraging of one of the parents I worked with, we joined up with a gun dog trainer and got to work. It was comical, but he came around and became manageable at home. His energy was spent running in a field, swimming in a pond, and focusing his attention on birds - what Labs are meant to do. We (with the help of some professional trainers) worked with him so much that we (Jeff) eventually competed and titled him. I called the breeder back that summer to let her know what a great dog he is, and she made the comment that a lot of his litter had behavioral problems, one was even returned. We made the right choice with that independent pup with the ~~huge~~ GIANT paws that day, and can't imagine our family without him. Owning a dog takes work and commitment and he was the perfect primer for having kids. Seriously, you've heard it: Owning a dog is perfect practice for having kids, we totally believe it.

8 years later we thought he would calm down and for the most part the picture above is his normal day (save for maybe a change in location from the on couch to behind the couch or on our bed). But I dare you to ring our doorbell, or try to pet him (or worse, Bella). He loves people. LOVES. He is 100% Jeff's dog, his doggy sun rises and sets with Jeff, as evidenced by the giant hairy flat spot on the carpet on Jeff's side of the bed. He care's that I'm in this world only when Jeff's not around, obviously he's the 2nd in line Alpha Male and has to keep his pack in order. His wet nose will sniff your butt, drool gallons of water on you, and make all kinds of funny snorting sounds. He's our Atlas and he's amazing! For all his goofball quirks we just wouldn't be the same family without him.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Style, by Kale

2012-02-08T11:11:00.003-07:00

So last week I gave you an example of one of Haley's outfits when I leave her to her own devices. Well, at the end of last week we had a snow day around here, so we weren't going anywhere and Kale actually dressed himself (for once). This is what he came up with. You'll note that he even did his own straps for the red fleece lined overalls. All he really knew was that it was cold outside and he needed to be warm. What's not seen in this picture is the pair of grey sweat pants that are under the overalls - I can't even begin to figure out how he got the overalls on over them...

I bet you can't guess where his sister was while I was taking these pictures...

Project 52 {5}

2012-02-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

Your prayers at night.

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Every night before bed we say prayers. The exact same prayers my parents said with me growing up. I love that it's a passed on tradition and that we're making faith a part of our everyday. We pray to give thanks and to talk about our day, each night the you are asked to list one thing you're thankful for and one thing that made you sad during the day. Every night you can come up with something you're thankful for, and most nights you have a difficult time coming up with something that made you sad: proof that you guys are just happy kids (something I'm thankful for). We use this time to talk about our day, things that were fun, behaviors we can improve upon, and lots of other conversation starters. We also pray for each other and our family.

One day this week I asked Kale what he was thankful for, without hesitation he said "You, Mommy." It was one of those mom moment's where I could actually feel my heart melt. Pile of goo. As difficult as some days are with a three and a five-year-old, it's moments like this... That keep me from eating my young.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Style, by Haley

2012-02-02T20:44:00.001-07:00

Remember last week when I told you that we battle her outfits and how much I love her style when she can just play? We had Yanni over the other day and she decided that since the boys had played enough with the Imaginext, and "shooter guns", it was obviously time for a photo shoot. So after chasing the boys away from my tripod (clearly a "shooter gun") and out of my studio (a great sniper location because the loft looks over almost the entire house). She had her accessories set: The outfit I made her wear because we had conference that day (cream shirt from Children's Place, and a reversible smock from Nordstrom Rack), a faux fur (duh) boa, purple flower sunglasses and a Tinker bell Umbrella. Done. Also, it should be noted that all outfits can be completed with this pink boa (if you're 5).

Also, I apologize for the lack of white balance here, totally forgot to do it before I started the shoot and lost some cool pictures because of it. Bummer. Lesson learned.

Immersion is the best form of learning

2012-01-30T14:01:00.001-07:00

When we first moved out here three years ago, my girlfriend casually mentioned that she was going to "join a local Roller Derby team, was I interested too?" "Uh... No, I'm way not tough enough for that" was my response. I'm the person who quit water polo because I didn't like conflict in the environment that I'm most comfortable in, the water. Never mind that it had been years since I'd been on a pair of roller skates. I was out, but the idea was interesting, I told her we'd definitely go support her in a bout. Three years later and (many) broken dates on my end (sorry), I finally made it out to one and (at Carri's urging), brought along my camera.

The morning of, I had a moment of panic when I was all of a sudden lacking confidence in my abilities (a common occurrence right before most of my shoots), and knew that with my manual focus zoom I just wasn't going to be anywhere near fast enough (and dude, let me tell you, this sport is fast). This must require a new lens. A trip to the store later my camera bag of tricks now contains a 55-300mm. Jeff says I'm getting a card for Valentine's Day (I don't even need that).

When I pulled all seven-hundred-something (!!) photo's into the computer to start ~~gratuitously deleting~~ processing, I knew I wanted to take a very harsh, vivid, but shadowy kind of approach to processing them. Most of them I totally got the look I was going for. And how fun to completely change up my normal style, it was like Halloween for my processing. Anyway, here are my top photos of the night and a few things I learned:

Working clockwise from the top left corner:

1. A Jammer on the last jam of the night, the girl in the background cheering is the coach for the other team. It was great to watch how supportive everyone was of each other, regardless of the teams. I also love her expression, you could tell she was really enjoying herself.

2. A ref's skates at half-time. But more importantly, his socks. Let me tell you, if you're a detail shooter, there's so much subject matter at one of these.

3. The "crappy wooden sign" to let you know where to turn off the main road. It's right on the corner of this desolate lot, and just begged for a picture. There I was in the middle of the road taking it.

4. My favorite shot of the night. Two girls and their knee pads lined up waiting for the whistle.

5. Blood on the track. Someone told me it wasn't real, they had some zombie thing here a couple weeks ago, but it so fit into the roughness of the whole event, I couldn't resist. If you're a story telling kind of photographer, go to Roller Derby!

6. As my wuss-self anticipated, it's rough out there and people fall. I loved her expression in this picture. Just ~~pissed~~ mad.

8. More skates lined up waiting for the whistle. It was interesting to be able to be so up close and see all the personal details the girls put into their costumes and gear, my camera allowed me inside the safety tape, so I was able to observe so much more than your average spectator. Lucky!

9. Another Jammer (denoted by the star on the cap), getting ready to go, her make-up made it really difficult to resist shooting her. I loved the intense focus in her eyes in this picture.

Now, lest you think I've abandoned portrait/kid shooting, I did learn that, while action is fun, it's the people and the details that I really tend to enjoy. However, learning to shoot action will undoubtedly serve me well when Haley and Kale start to really get into sports. But then again, shooting my kids can sometimes be action (goodness they can be quick). All of that said and learned I met this guy:

Meet Barris. His mom is a Derby Girl, and I found him hanging out (camera in his hands the whole night) upstairs. Super cool, polite kid that just has and old soul, kind of way about him (I couldn't resist his photo, he's a total natural - look at that face!). Apparently he's into skateboarding, has some serious moves on the dance floor, you'll be seeing more of him here for sure.

I also met Al. I'd show you a picture of him, but, like me, he had a camera to his face almost the whole night too. He gave me about a million crazy useful pointers about where the good shots come from, how close I could get away with, and just photography stuff in general. Most strikingly he was really willing to help an amateur out. So great. Al, I totally appreciate it, thank you!!

Interested about Roller Derby or want to check out a bout? Go here to learn more: Missile Mountain Roller Derby

Project 52 {4}

2012-01-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

Your style.

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Every day is a battle with you, 5 year old. Most of it stems from the fact that we live in Colorado and the weather is one of two options: Very hot or very cold. Inevitably, you will pick the least appropriate outfit for the weather, and we'll battle it out (we have to go to school 5 days a week and likely, if I let you just "figure it out", someone would arrest me for neglect). Add to this the fact that you strongly dislike wearing jeans and would rather just wear your tights or sleeveless dress every day... The other part of it is that you are me, and we are both stubborn and independent. But then there are those days when we have no where to go and nothing to do. I let you wear whatever your heart desires and you surprise me with the greatest outfits (sometimes the only thing that ties them together is the fluffy factor, or the color - not shade or hue - of pink). You picked the above outfit on a (very) cold day in January, but it was one of those days. And the fact that you paired it with a classic strand of pearls? Perfect.

I could take pictures of these kids' eyes for days. I probably have a million of them already. But this is the first time that I've loved her eyes without even seeing them in the picture. This day we were trying to even up the good pictures of the kids since I took that one of Kale last week.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {3}

2012-01-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

Experiencing old things through your new eyes.

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This week you both had a couple of firsts. Haley had her first slumber party at a friends house, and at barely 5 years old, managed to outlast the older kids and her friend and held out till 11:30 before she finally went to bed. We purchased some light up bracelets to make the night extra fun and let you take nearly your entire bed with you. Let me just tell you, not having her in the house that night was a little strange, like we'd forgot something. I have a feeling this is the first of about a million of these so I'd better get used to it.

That same night we took Kale to his first Hockey game. Colorado College vs. St. Cloud State. A great game, but even better was watching how much you enjoyed it! And can we just say... The Zambonis?! Those were "Super cool mom"! I was amazed at your attention span and ability, to sit through 2 periods plus over time, especially considering when we got there it was already past your bedtime, but then you were receiving undivided attention from both Mom and Dad. Also great (aside from your Tiger face(s) above)? You decided you didn't much care for Cotton Candy, which is makes me happy because I love it and there's more for me! However, you were not so great at sharing the popcorn.

Both of these things I can remember doing all. the. time. growing up. While something may seem so everyday or un-special to me, it was a first for you and brought back what it was like when I was younger. As many grey hairs as you're sure to give me, these experiences this week took me back and it was fantastic. I can't wait for more.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

My Sweet Boy

2012-01-19T14:50:00.000-07:00

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This should have been my Project 52 pic this week, seeing as how it's head and shoulders (yuk yuk yuk) above anything else I've produced this week, but I got so excited I went and shared it on Facebook. Dangit.

Jeff went hunting this past three day weekend so I decided to play with my hobby. I went into my loft, and hung a white sheet from the desk, which is right by a North facing window. Behind me I hung another white sheet off the ironing board to help me reflect the light. This was taken in the afternoon just messing around with the kiddos. There was some minor processing in Photoshop, in the interest of full disclosure. Also in the interest of full disclosure, I had a great one of Haley too, but I missed the focus so it got scrapped.

Three years old is a crazy hard age. My dad once told me "you know why they call it terrible twos? Because they hadn't met three yet". No joke. I've lived through one and a half years of the threes now and so far? Man. It's tough. They push boundaries like never before, they're sassy, they forget how to listen, and the list could go on. But, they're still your kids, and I don't have to tell you that you still love them. You just realize how lucky they're going to be to make it to four.

Kale has taken to the three's exactly as his sister did only this time the three year old is taller, tougher, still likes to head butt things, and can't dress himself yet (ARGH! But we're working on it). The one thing that seems to reign him in is asking him "Do you know where my sweet boy is? Because I just can't seem to find him right now". He'll disappear (to another room, below the bed, somewhere), and reappear with this face. His sweet boy face. Never a full smile, just enough of a smirk to let you know he still has some nice left in him, but mischief is doing everything it can to take him over. It only lasts a moment, but I love it, and it's enough of a reminder that this age is only a moment. Talk to me again when they're fourteen.

And then one day we were a family of four

2012-01-15T12:07:00.001-07:00

There's a baby boom abound right now, and lots of friends are having their second wee ones. When Haley came around she was right in the middle. Some of my friends had their first already, some were pregnant right along with me and others were still about to travel down that road. But when Kale came along, I was one of the front runners to have #2. Mostly, because we made the decision to have our kids close together... 17 months apart to be exact. Haley was just 6 months old when we tried (and succeeded) with Kale. We got lots of "you know where babies come from right?" and "WOW, couldn't keep your hands off each other" and "Are you crazy?!" comments. (Mostly) These were answered with "Yup, we actually planned it this way", and even started prefacing it with "Yes, we planned this." People right? But my sister and I are a tiny 15 months apart and I really appreciate the relationship we have, being a military family I wanted my kids to have a built in best friend that would always be around.

I was incredibly focused on their relationship, the transition for Haley, and the fact that the second time around was going to be a boy. A boy! Coming from a family with lots of girls, the boy thing was completely new to me, and I was consumed with all things blue and what a contrast they were to the sea of pink we were currently in. I completely glossed over the transition from a family of three to a family of four. My thought was "I'm a good mom and I can handle it".

I stay at home with my kids and have been lucky enough since weeks before Haley was born. She and I had a great, close relationship, and I was wholly unprepared for what adding another into the mix would feel like. I planned for the transition for her, we talked about having a brother, and how he would be tiny and need lots of Mommy's attention. We talked about how you need to be gentle, and speak softly, but she was only 17 months (walking for only 3 months!).

The day Kale arrived was mostly uneventful, we had a planned c-section so I just hung out till it was my turn. But in those "stewing hours" I began to freak out a little... What had I done to Haley? It would no longer be the two of us/the three of us. There would be this newcomer. Would he fit in? How would he fit in? Oh my gosh, it's too late to take this back, we're stuck here, and I've completely destroyed my precious girl. I even remember thinking that there was no possible way that I was going to love him as much as her, my heart just wasn't big enough. Funny how those hormones work isn't it?

So. Here are 10 things that I wish I had been told, right then, in those moments:

1. Yes, no matter how much you love #1, you will love #2 equally. But maybe not right at first in the same way. Remember when #1 was born and you loved them right away? That love has evolved into the kind where you know them inside and out. You have to get to know #2, but you'll get there. You'll still love them right away and you won't even realize when it changes to the inside out kind. I promise.

2. You haven't destroyed your relationship with #1 by bringing in #2. You've strengthened it. And it's okay that they no longer get 100% of your attention during the day, they're going to be better people because of it. I promise.

3. By making them the older sibling, you haven't forced them to grow up before they're ready. They're still the same kid you had before #2. I promise.

4. It's okay to put #2 down and snuggle up with #1 in the hospital bed, and when they'd rather play with with whatever cool medical stuff they can find in the hospital room, it doesn't mean they're taking anything out on you. I promise.

5. You're going to have a split second when you're going to wonder about #2 and if they'll be as great as #1. They will be. I promise.

6. When you're feeding #2 and #1 does something terrible, they're not trying to tell you you're a bad parent. They're testing your boundaries. This might sound totally rational now, but the thought will cross your mind. You're a great parent. I promise.

7. There will come times when you'll have to choose between the two and #1 will get the short end of the stick. It's okay. You can make it up to them later. They won't hold it against you, and they'll still turn into good people. I promise.

8. It's okay to call your friends and freak out a little. Call one that already has two kids. She understands. I promise.

9. Trust your "Mommy Sense". You know what you're doing this time around. I promise.

10. Everything's going to be fine. There's a happy ending. You'll sleep again someday. I promise.

Project 52 {2}

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite thing about you is:

The way you love and take care of each other.

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Most days the two of you flip back and forth in a never ending circle of loving each other and driving the other up the wall (which, in turn, drives me up the wall). You are each other's best friend. Your very first and most important best friend; and I've been here from the very beginning to watch this amazing friendship grow. When one of you is hurt, the other runs over as fast as you can and gives the best and most sincere hug, you can see how badly you want the other to feel better (even if you're the one who caused the hurt). You miss the other when they're not around. When you send each other off to school, you each get the last hug before you head off into class and the first one when we come to pick you up, and in the in between time, you hardly know how to play by yourself. Watching you love each other is one of the best parts about being your mom.

When I took this picture, I truly meant to document their feet, together. If they're anything like me, they're going to be growing at a rapid rate, and for this brief moment in time, they're pretty much the same size (though, in about a month, Kale will officially be a whole size bigger than her, I'm sure of it). I was going to talk about their steps into the world and how they should be sure to take them together. I don't think that's going to be an issue.

Also, Kale will tell you that winter in Colorado (when you're three) is the only time you are (EVER) allowed to wear socks and Crocs.

Want to check out some other super great Project 52 eye candy?

. Styleberry . Wicked Kate . Adventures in Mommyhood . Lucas & Mahina . Heather Marie Portraits . Something Insightful .

Can I link you too? Leave me a comment.

Project 52 {1}

2012-01-06T12:34:00.005-07:00

My Favorite thing about you...

Is how much you love school.

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Haley, today you turned 5! FIVE... F.I.V.E. FIVE! That's a whole entire hand! Instead of dropping you off at the door with a boat load of cupcakes to celebrate with your classmates, your dad and I got the opportunity to be there. Right there. With you. We experienced your excitement at being the leader, heard your show and tell, and got to sing "Happy Birthday" with your classmates. I love seeing you interact with your friends, getting to know your teachers and helping with the craft projects. Both of you love school. Nothing makes my heart happier because I loved school too. I hope that your love of learning is something you take with you your entire lives.

So... Yeah. It's been more than a year since I've blogged. My sister told me (at Halloween) that it was time to post something since it had been since last Halloween that I had done anything with it. I honestly can't tell you what the blog even looks like right now, it's been so darn long. I can tell you though, that it needs to be updated.

So here it is the first week of 2012 and I've vowed three things this year: Get fit (again), blog more often, and work on my new (favorite) hobby: photography. What better way to do two of the three than with a Project 52. I was inspired by the one my friend Shawna did last year, check out her blog here. I really looked forward to it each Friday, like I hope you'll look forward to mine. She's also doing another one this year and I'd really encourage you to follow her too - you won't be sorry.

For my theme I mulled over a few ideas and up until about 15 minutes ago was convinced that I was going to do "Growing up", but my mind kept nagging me. I didn't want this to be about rushing them through childhood, at 3 and (now) 5, they're just starting to grow up and as I kept looking at the pictures today "My Favorite Thing About you" grabbed hold of me and wouldn't let go. So, there it is. Each week I'll use my pictures to illustrate to my family what my favorite thing about them is. I have lots of favorite things about them. 52 isn't going to begin to cover it. But it's a start.

A little witch and a turtle

2010-11-04T15:42:00.003-06:00

So this year we started talking back at the end of August/early September about what in the world the kids wanted to be for Halloween. Kale was always going to be a turtle, the kid loves them and this is likely the last year he's going to just allow me to pick out and make his costume so I found a pattern and went with it. Haley on the other hand... well, there was a point where she was going to be a Strawberry Shortcake/Alice in Wonderland/Cinderella/Witch. I'm really glad we were able to find a focus there because I can't even imagine what that costume would look like otherwise.

Last year I managed to make Kale a really great dinosaur and subsequently learned that following a pattern is definitely not rocket science... at least not for a kids costume. So I figured this year that I could make two costumes if I started early enough. By the end of September/early October I had patterns and supplies and was off and running. Originally I bought a pattern for Haley, but realized that she had a black shirt and tights were only $5 at Wal-Mart so all I had to do was find her a hat, and sew her a tutu.

Here's the great thing about making your kids' costumes: I could make them as warm and modest as I want. Hence, Kale is head to toe fleece because typically, out here in Colorado, it's like -25 degrees and snowing horizontally. Or so I hear, we've been here for three of them and each one has been uncharacteristically warm - like no coats necessary. But just in case I keep my kids as warm as humanly possible. For Haley, I made her skirt a bit longer than a lot of witch costumes out there (and we just won't even talk about some of the older kid costumes coming down the pipe in the coming years). I did this for two reasons, one, a longer tutu is cute - it gives it a bit more room to fluff, and two, this will fit her for a long while - instead of using an elastic waist (hindsight that might have been better but...) I did a satin ribbon tie so she'll be able to wear this thing for a long time.

Yeah... Blah blah blah. Here's what you're waiting for: the pictures.

This is at the zoo. This is the second year we've done their Boo at the Zoo and really enjoy going around to see the animals while we trick or treat at stands set up by lots of local businesses. Below them are the zebras and "G-Raffes", the tree is there for the vultures but it was a perfect scary backdrop.

For actual Halloween we went to our friends' home - they live in a "Socially Superb" neighborhood. My little girl makes a great witch. Also, we found her a kid's sized hat but it didn't have anything on it, and it really needed something so we got this feather boa stuff and I had to hand sew it to the hat - tedious and there is still a ton of purple fluff roaming around my house, but it really completes the outfit.

No, she is not capable of making a normal face in pictures. I think we used them all up for the wedding.

My Dude-a-Turtle. If you asked him, he was a Scary turtle, but mostly he was just cute and mildly uncomfortable with that shell on him. I wish we got a picture of him from behind, it was a really cool shell.

And the family picture. Jeff really wanted to be The Cat In The Hat, but thought this up at the last minute (I'm sure I could have made him an awesome one too). So we found the kids' dress-up costume, tied it around his neck, pinned it in the back and threw a giant afro wig up in the hat to make it stand up - Done! Cat In The Hat. Now, you can't tell in this picture, because, as usual, I'm overtaken by kids, but I'm wearing a pair of Haley's fairy wings, and her tiara from the wedding, my hair was all loopy and cute.

I've decided that once my kids no longer want or need my costume creating services, I'm going to hire myself out... costume sewing is just fun. Also, while the kids got a ton of candy, there were not nearly enough Butterfingers to pay me for making their costumes - bummer. Oh, and BTW, this year we carved some super awesome pumpkins, I could describe them, but honestly... Boring. We did these the Thursday night before Halloween and I stuck them outside thinking we would just get pictures with the kids on Halloween night when we lit them up. Yeah, Friday was hot and the darn things just melted. They literally look like they melted, all of the faces, and designs just fell from the heat. This is especially sad because four of the 7 we carved (we had a total of 9), we grew ourselves in our garden. We didn't even light them up they looked so pitiful. Note to self for next year.

We're raising runners!

2010-10-26T14:52:00.006-06:00

We started running a bit more than a year ago and it's kind of stuck. We go do a 5k in downtown Colorado Springs, it starts and finishes at our favorite Irish Pub. We also did that little run back in June. Aside from my personal goals and benefits, I really wanted to set a good fitness example for my kids. I want for them to grow up in a fun and active environment, I want this to be their normal. I want them to spend time outside running and playing and enjoying it as it's something that's taken me till my late 20's to fully embrace. Yes, I was athletic growing up, I loved to swim, but now, I love lots of things and I want my kids to start out being diverse in their activities.

Being that the kids are 2 and 3 there aren't a lot of "organized" things available to them beyond maybe a tumbling class and some soccer theory. So when we heard about the Venetucci Farms 5/10k and the accompanying kids fun runs, we were in! I ran the 5k that morning with a friend and we paid the $5 each for the kids to do a 400m dash. It was a quick lap, Kale was one of the final finishers, and Haley tripped, but they both crossed the finish line with a huge smile on their face and really enjoyed themselves. It didn't hurt that they both got first place ribbons and a pumpkin for running either. We had a great day at the farm with the kids getting some great fresh air and a bit of exercise.

At the starting line... you can see us at the top left of the picture.

Boys club off to a strong start!

And Girls Club coming around the last corner. We went last weekend to support some of our friends who were competing in the Denver Rock n Roll Half Marathon and I couldn't help but look forward to the day when Haley will run on of those too and you'd better believe it'll be Girls Club running there too (which means I'd better get a bit faster and stick with this thing).

Boy's Club finishing the race!

So the rule at the pumpkin patch was, the kids could only pick a pumpkin they could carry out of the patch, they both really pushed that limit. They carried it a good few feet, then they might have got a bit of help (shhh...).

A family picture and again, getting both kids to look at the camera is never easy. This is the best we could do.

On her way to running the world

2010-10-26T14:25:00.006-06:00

It's not that I would call my daughter bossy... well... yeah maybe that's the best explanation for her. But a more "parent" term would be to call her a leader, one who takes her responsibilities seriously, or (and this might be my favorite), she's sure of herself and her abilities. This is something that I really try to instill in her. Independence, and self esteem, it's something I sure never lacked at her age and I feel it's served me well. All of this to say that she has found her environment. Haley started Preschool this fall at a really great Co-Op school. Up front Co-Op means that every 6-8 weeks the parents get to go into the classroom to help out the teacher, we provide snacks, and help with clean-up, but I also get a great insight into how my child behaves in an educational environment, one with her peers, not just her brother.

To say that she loves school wouldn't quite let you fully understand what a part of her life this has become. She lives to go to school. When we tell her it's a school night, we might as well tell her Santa's coming too. It's a big deal. We set her clothes out the night before and she always seems to wake up a few minutes earlier on school days. She doesn't complain as much about me doing her hair because it's "for school" and on those occasions when her behavior lacks a little lustre, it's great to be able to hold it over her head. I sure hope that still works when she's in high school.

So I mentioned that we set her clothes out the night before. I'm just going to fess to this before someone rats me out... her dress is on backwards for all of these pictures. For the record, she dressed herself the first morning of school and the only thing that denotes the back of the dress from the front (aside from a tag) is a little button that should be on her collarbone, instead it's on her back shoulder. Whatever. We all made it out the door on time, and she made it to school, what can you do. I guess she and Kale are now even - in his first pictures I put his little Nike's on backwards. Whatever. Go ahead, take away my Mom of the Year prize, I'm sure I've lost it from lots of other infractions, but we just won't go there.

So her backpack is an adorable preschool size pack from the North Face. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. Turns out they send a lot of stuff home in preschool... giant works of art, normal size pieces of paper... lots of things... and a preschool size backpack is actually not anywhere near an appropriate size. Have I replaced it yet? No. I refuse to buy into Dora, and all the other commercial characters until I absolutely have to.

Haley and her good friend Yanni, who also started school the same day, but a different class.

Probably one of my most favorite pictures ever. Ever. EVER.

Dropping her off at the door, this is Mrs. Cooper, Haley's head teacher (there's also Mrs. Rose who's her classroom helper everyday). She was fine, not one tear, or even hint of sadness or nerves, she was ready. Me? Yup, I was fine too, I knew how excited she was and was excited for her, this was the beginning of what Jeff and I can only hope is a long and successful educational career. Kale? He yelled "Sissy!" "Sissy NOW!" all the way down the hall in tears. What would he do with out her? Just so you know... Mom is not nearly as fun to hang out with as Sissy is. But he's figuring it out which is turning out to be a learning process for him too.

Balloon Classic Round 2

2010-10-26T14:00:00.004-06:00

On of the things that kind of marks the end of our summer around here is the Annual Balloon Classic that takes place every Labor Day weekend. We went last year (kind of amazing to see how much they've grown since last year), and didn't want to miss out on it again this year. Once again we went early in the morning to watch lift off and some balloons almost didn't make it up since here in Colorado, while it might be nice on the ground, just a few more feet up and it can be a bit nasty, colder temperatures, gustier winds, etc. But most chose to head up and it was another big hit with the kids. Once again we went with some of our great friends and were able to get some fun family pictures, although it seems like the kids tag team on who wants to be the one to smile for the pictures. This day must have been Haley's because Kale is grumping in nearly all of them.

This was actually at the end of the day as we were on our way out. I love it because it's a family picture where we didn't dress-up, it just really represents how we are on a normal day (including me with a ponytail and sunglasses on). The only exception is Dude-a-Man who clearly didn't want his picture taken.

But then there's my little ham, with some "cheese" thrown in. One of the things we worked on before the wedding was a good smile for pictures, this is the byproduct of my hard work. I love this picture of her!

The Girls. It's not uncommon when we head out for us to split into pairs, The Dude prefers "Dude time" with Dad, and Haley likes "Girls Club". We race in almost everything we do as it seems to be the best motivator to get her to do anything and if Girls Club wins, it's a good day, on the occasion that Boys Club beats us... well, we're working on being a good sport which isn't easy to do when you come from two highly competitive parents.

Yup, wouldn't be the Balloon Classic if I didn't have some random scenery pictures of hot air balloons being blown up.

Yeah, this was pretty much the morning. Haley learned how to do "Bunny Ears" for pictures, yup kid, real hilarious and original. None the less, she did them everywhere, so here she is doing that and the boys are wrestling, like they do all. the. time.

MmmmHmmm. More scenery pictures. Or, random picture of a lady taking a picture, your call.

And they're off! They go take a quick dip in a lake, then they head off on their float.

Haley just informed me that in this picture they're playing tag. I think that someday they're going to be embarrassed that I have a picture like this. These two go to the same pre-school and may even start kindergarten together, not to mention they only live right up the street from us. The only thing missing is the Dude, who's usually in on it too.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, get off my back...

2010-10-24T14:12:00.006-06:00

So as you may have noticed, it's been a little while since I last posted a blog update. I know. I've been meaning to, and we keep doing cool thinks and I keep thinking it's going to be so fun to do a post about this, and then I remember what all i have to blog before we can get to it, and I get all kinds of overwhelmed and just scrap it for another day. Anyway. It's another day, I've forced myself. And I've decided to just throw all of August into one giant post since once I've over that it'll be a lot easier to get some of the smaller posts finished. Okay, done with my whining, on with my typing...

We (being me and the kids, because someone has to work to allow us to do this stuff...) went home for THE. ENTIRE. MONTH. OF. AUGUST. Bottom line: it was FAN.FREAKIN.TASTIC. This wasn't just a "Hey, my work travels well, lets go to Seattle for a month" kind of trip, it was a "My cousin is getting married, half of us are in the wedding, and by God, I'm not missing a moment of this" kind of trip home. And I don't think there was one thing we missed out on. We got out there the 31st of July, and didn't come home till September 1st.

First up on the list was just enjoying the fact that we didn't have to cram a million things into two week's worth of vacation. So we went to watch a bit of my brother Ben's swim team practice at a pool that Jeff and I both have spent many hours in.

After Ben was done with practice, we got the kids into their swim stuff and hopped in with him. This is the same pool that I did two swim team's worth of practice in, Jeff did his diving and water polo in, while we were in high school. Oh, and there's this whole other lifeguarding/swim instructing thing that we did there through high school (and beyond for me) too. Yeah, you could say that this pool is partially responsible for the existence of my kids. It was like a crazy homecoming, life coming full circle kind of thing for me. Except for the power-trippy, lifeguard, who clearly didn't know my history with this building, gosh I hope I wasn't like that as a guard. It was really cool watching my brother enjoy swimming so much too, it's pretty clear that us Schwabs are good in the water, my only regret was that I didn't race him. I fear that as he goes into middle school this year, my day's of being able to beat him are quickly passing me by.

Then there was the bridal shower, but I was far too busy helping Lori carry out the party to stop for 4 seconds and take a picture. Moving quickly on to the bachelorette party. If you weren't there then you don't know, and that's all I'm saying about that, other than that it was beyond amazing and so much fun. Having all of us together was like the stars aligning just right, I don't think this has happened since my wedding more than 7 years ago.

I also was part of the birth of what will hopefully become a family tradition, the maiden party of Merv, the party gnome. I swear one of these day's I'm going to create a facebook page for him and all of his awesomeness. That way I can keep up with him from many miles away. Maybe one day someone will drive him out my way... hint hint.

Getting back from the bachelorette party, it was time to get on some real wedding seriousness, like baking a million delicious rosemary cookies that Amanda used as her favors. The really special thing about baking cookies, is this is where the flower girl truly fell in love with the bride. I mean seriously, we had talked with Haley about her responsibilities, but Amanda might as well have been a unicorn as far as Haley was concerned. Amanda showed up that night with a cupcake apron for her to borrow and let her help her all night long baking the cookies. LOVE.

Once the cookie baking was done, Haley cuddled up with "Pumpa" and got ready for bed. Prior to staying at my Aunt Linda's house while she was on vacation, we stayed two of the best weeks of my life with my dad. He really got to spend some quality time getting to know the kids and vise versa. It was perfect, there just aren't any words for it. On a side note, the cookie night ended perfectly, Dad showing his sisters Tosh.O. We had been watching this show and any re-runs and on-demand that we could find and just peeing ourselves wishing everyone could see it.

One of the things I was most looking forward to with wedding prep was taking Haley to her first mani/pedi. While she didn't get the whole deal (we had to keep her attention level in check), she did get them painted. We walked in and she immediately picked the brightest shade of purple on the wall... yeah, not so much. We were able to talk her down to a nice shade of sparkly pink. She did great! I can't wait to take her back and do it again... maybe for her birthday.

The next day was the wedding, we took off to get our hair done and all dressed up pretty. It was an incredible day filled with love and the greatest family ever! Haley and I were so honored to be a part of it. As a side note, I wish I had pictures of all the silly faces Haley was making while she was getting her hair done, I know I'm biased, but she was the cutest flower girl around (lots of other people said so too, though).

Three generations getting ready for the wedding. By the way, LOVED my hair that day. I need to pay someone to make my hair look like that everyday. This is my Aunt Judy (mother of the bride) helping cut the strings out of my dress. Jeff joined us for the wedding but left the next day to go on a week long fishing trip for salmon in Oregon.

From weddings, we went to farms. This is the Elliott Farm. They've known Jeff longer than me (by a long shot), and that's really saying something. If you know my son, than you know that he loves, all things boy, and that by no means stops for tractors, cows, and other livestock. So we never miss a chance to get our personal farm tour. This time happened to come with a ride on the tractor (hauling poo... does it get any cooler?!). Bruce Elliott is officially the coolest guy Kale knows, he drives a tractor and Kale also got to "help" him work on his house, which involved tools too.

Jeff came back and joined us for the last little bit of the trip which meant a play date for the boys. No, not Kale and Luca (his pre-determined BFF), but for Jeff and Sonny. Luckily they picked a great new park in Auburn and the kids had some fun too (though I'm not sure it was as much as the dads). This is one of the swings that fits many kids, Haley loved it, I'm not so sure Luca thought it was cool.

Here's how you know she's my kids. She loves spinning rides. It was painful getting her off of the merry-go-round to go do other things around the park. You couldn't spin it fast enough for her, and she had a blast.

Okay, so if you look at Krystal's facebook page, Luca is the happiest kid you'll ever see. He just really didn't think I was the coolest person in the world. Little does he know. But this is a great picture of Aunt Krystal, Uncle Sonny and (someday) Kale's Brother from Another Mother.

See?! Proof he was on a little bit of the vacation with us! The boys just loved running around the park together (this time my boys, not just Sonny and Jeff).

So the greatest vacation ever! I have to say it made me kind of homesick being around for a longer period of time. It really gave me a taste of what it would be like to live out there with my family, and it felt good. But then I came back to Colorado and it's nice here too. So I've decided that everyone in Washington just needs to move to Colorado with me. Problem solved. See you all soon!

YAY! we have real family photos!

2010-07-15T09:04:00.003-06:00

So the day before Jeff and I ran our marathons, we took the kids, plus our nephew Alex to Alki Beach for a photo shoot with one of our friends from high school and her husband (they drove all the way over from Moses Lake). It was really fun and they got some really great, truly Seattle photos of us and the kids! You can check out their blog/our post here!

The LONG and winding road

2010-07-12T14:25:00.005-06:00

So in order to get home for the marathons we had to drive - a lot of times for us, it's just easier to do that and have our car, and all the stuff we can shove in it while we're at home than to fly. We'll be doing this trip again in August. It took us two days to get out there and since we were lucky enough to be able to haul the boat home, three days to get back. Here are some highlights of the trip.

Before we even left Colorado Springs, Jeff grabbed a booger from Kale then showed it to him - this was his reaction. This kid is so expressive it cracks us up!

Haley doing her impression of Kale.

The Hampton Inn we stayed at in Tremonton, UT on the way home was so kind as to provide chocolate chip cookies upon check in. Kale looks like the kid who took 25 of them when, in reality it was just one. He liked his cookie.

The kids ready for bed in the hotel. This isn't even close to how they slept though. Haley cuddled with me in this bed while Kale and Jeff hung out in the other bed - Kale only fell out once.

Because this is how he insisted on sleeping. We can't be blamed if he won't let us move him to a safer position.

They both loved reading books, this was Kale's favorite! He's pretty into it, even though he hasn't cracked it open yet.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was going to visit my grandma in her awesome new digs - seriously, I want to move in too. She took us on a tour of the place, and then invited us to stay for lunch - she was the hit, with all her friends coming by to ogle at the kids.

Kale and Daddy taking a walk around the place.

Then he got tired and hitched a ride with Great Grandma on her kart. Downhill wasn't bad (thank God she has breaks on that thing), but going up was a challenge.

She took us to see her garden and I think this is by far the best picture of the entire vacation. It's rare that we get both kids looking at the camera and smiling! I can't wait to print a couple of these!

Grandma Debbie filled their buckets with water one evening when it was warmer and they were able to just play. These kids are such water babies, this is where they're happiest, just a bucket and a way to play with the water.

This is Luca, Jeff's best friend's son. Luca and Kale don't know it yet, but they're predetermined to be BFFs so we get them together whenever we can. And if things don't work out with Caden or Yanni, Haley's welcome to go cougar on this guy. We just hope that someday Luca has a sister - then we can officially consider Sonny and Krystal family. Also, please note that my kids are wearing bibs - they demanded because Luca got to wear one, they're just eating PBJs.

I (WE) DID IT!!

2010-07-12T13:03:00.007-06:00

It's no big secret that Jeff and I have been working really hard at being healthy and getting into better shape. Last year for our Christmas letter I threw out there that my next goal was that I wanted to run a half marathon. Ours being a marriage of "Anything you can do, I can do better", Jeff upped the ante and decided to run the full (that's 26.2 miles) - I folded and stayed with the half. We chose to run the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon and Half Marathon, because we thought it would be nice to have family there to support us, and honestly, we knew it would be easier to run at sea level (and why not get every advantage we can get). June 26th we did it! Let me say this again: WE. DID. IT. I'm proud to say that we both finished, and with great times to boot!

I went into this saying that if I finished that was great, then it became, "well, I'd like to do it in 3 hours", then it was "I think I can run the whole thing". I ended up running all 13.1 miles, and finished with a time of 2:32:15. 2 minutes and fifteen seconds away from two and a half hours. The competitor that I am, I know that I can do it in under two and a half and thus becomes my next goal (sometimes being so darn goal orientated can be such a burden - HA!).

The race was absolutely a ball. I got to run on places that people are only able to drive (like the commuter lanes of I-5), along parts of Lake Washington that I've never seen before and all kinds of other great places. Jeff got to run on the I-90 floating bridge and on the Alaskan Way Viaduct! The weather was perfect and the entire experience was more than I hoped for. The best part? Seeing Molly, my dad and Ben as I came down the finish line and their high 5's! Witnesses that I finished! Nobody tells you how emotional it is to finish something like this, I hugged my sister in the meet up place and cried like a baby! I did it! And, since I believe that no blog is complete without pictures, here ya go! If you want to see pictures of me actually running the race go here (there's one of me at the finish where I look like I'm going to die), Jeff running the race - go here (his are pretty cool).

At the start line we got to run underneath the Brooks Rocker's legs. I can die now.

Yes, I realize it's blurry, but the lighting was crud, and did I mention I WAS RUNNING?! This is in one of the commuter tunnels.

My first glimpse of the city! The end is near!

After Jeff and I finished! I'd been done for a bit, but I gave him about 5 minutes to stretch and sit before I made him take this picture. He did his race in 4:30:14!

My medal! I love that there is a coffee cup on it, and that it looks like the Pike Place sign.

Jeff's medal! 26.2 miles! I still can't wrap my head around running that distance!

Memorial Day Weekend, or That time we hauled a lot of dirt

2010-06-09T19:05:00.012-06:00

So ever since we moved into this house with it's ginormous backyard, we've known that we wanted to create a vegetable garden to teach the kids about where our food comes from, truly grow locally and seasonally, and mostly, just to enjoy (literally) the fruits (and veggies) of our labor. And ever since we started getting bids on landscaping the backyard and a lady suggested a terraced area in that corner, I knew what we were going to do. It took us the entire 4 days of Memorial Day weekend to complete it, but I think what we came up with is far better than I ever imagined. The specs on it are that it took nearly a pallet of bricks, 6 yards of planters dirt, 7 bags of compost, 2 strings of soaker hose (that doesn't get used), many sections of portable fencing (borrowed from the neighbors), the top section is 13 feet from the corner, the bottom is 16 feet, and the total planting area is approximately 201 square feet. Here are about a million pictures of the process and what all we're growing in this thing.

Kale really loved the wheel barrow. "Ride? Ride?!" He would ask, then when it was full he would "help" Jeff push it back into the back yard.

Working on the first layer of bricks. Amazingly it's pretty level all the way across.

What 6 yards (or two hydraulic trailers full) of dirt looks like when dumped on a much too small tarp on our driveway. Dumping the dirt was pretty easy, but getting a pallet of bricks off of the same trailer was quite the experience - it's a wonder we didn't break the entire load of bricks.

Haley had to go in and change her outfit to wear a cami top "like mommy". Then just for good measure made sure she had her butterfly wings on so that she could be our garden fairy. Also, she has on her good patent leather white shoes - they're highly conducive to working in a garden.

The diagram of the garden. If you're having a difficult time reading it, you should be able to click on it to make it bigger.

The top level all finished, and with Kale's pinwheel that seems to be keeping the birds out of the garden. Or, "Critters" as Haley calls them.

The bottom level.

We went to Harding Nursery for all of our plants. The starts were the biggest we'd seen in town and also really healthy (until I got my hands on them). This is my Roma tomato plant, all of my tomatoes and the Anaheim pepper came with fruit budding on them already.

These are the "Sweet One Millions" a hybrid of the Sweet One Hundreds, that's supposed to be heartier and produce more fruit. I don't know if there's a cherry tomato plant in this world that will produce enough for me plus the kids.

My "First Lady" tomatoes, also a hybrid of the Early Girls.

A blurry but point making photo of my first bloom... a sunflower.

As we call them in our house, the Greeny Beanys. We're going to get some wiring or mesh for the fence right there so that they have something to climb. these have taken off already with their blooms and buds. We have 4 total of these plants.

One of my beans closer up. This should give you a better idea of the blooms they're already starting to get.

Hopefully soon there will be some buds in this area too. It's supposed to be three rows of Sugar Snap Peas, or as Haley calls them Sugar Peas. It's only been about a week and we needed a bit of a learning curve to figure out watering out here, but hopefully they'll be popping up soon.

They called this a Salsa Pepper, but upon further review, it's an Anaheim Pepper. You'll note that there's already a pepper that's pretty big on it. Hopefully we'll get it to produce a few more. Aside from onions our garden is pretty set to produce everything we need for making our own salsa.

This is our red pepper - these things are so expensive in the grocery store, but really quite cheap to grow our own. As of this morning there were about 5 flowers and two tiny peppers starting to emerge. YUMMY!

These are our radishes. They had a pretty rough start, bearing the brunt of our watering skills (or lack there of), but have made up for lost time and are really starting to take off and do well. You can almost see them grow.

The strawberries. We were told that this year we might get 10 berries, but to pinch them off and next year they'll take off in my garden. Our goal is to be able to make our own jam out of these next year (and also snack on them). So it looks like we'll be buying them for one more year, then we should be seasonally self sufficient next year!

Many years ago, Jeff picked Atlas up from training in Idaho and the trainer had a gaggle of bush beans that grew like crazy into HUGE beans. He saved some seeds and we're giving them a shot this year. Another item we're praying pops up soon.

This is our Jack-O-Lantern plant. We bought this one started, but we also have planted a seed from our pumpkins from Halloween 2009 - we'll see what happens. I wish I would have taken this picture this morning, it has a HUGE orange flower that pops out on it in the morning but closes up by the afternoon.

My Zukes! We gave these and the Cukes a wide berth to grow and spread in the upper area and I hope that's what they do... I really want some homegrown zucchini with olive oil and garlic on the grill! Oh, and at dinner the other night we told the kids that the zucchini on their plates came from our garden and they ate it right up - this just might work!

The cucumbers. Yes, they look pitiful, but if you had seen them the other day, this looks like they've come back from the dead. Everyday as we water the snot out of them they look better and better.

I think I was most excited about doing basil. I had some last year but never ended up transplanting it out of it's bucket. This year they made it into a full garden - this is the sweet basil, and I've already used some of it in cooking... Oh Yummy!

I also did a start of Italian basil just to taste the difference... I definitely like the sweet basil better for most cooking, but it'll be fun to have some to put into spaghetti sauce.

There were some other projects that we completed over the course of Memorial Day weekend as well. Things that just needed done around this house to complete the overall look of things.

This is a lilac bush on the side of the yard we only see when we visit the neighbors. Our neighbor, however, sees it everyday and it's pretty plain, and covered in utility stuff. She has a gorgeous front yard that she has really improved this season and she found that she bought an extra lilac plant. Guess where it ended up? Hopefully it'll grow (quickly) and cover up all those utility things on the wall.

With this 4 day weekend, came heat like most people in Washington won't see in a lifetime over the course of a 4 day weekend. It was great! So we decided to finally install a ceiling fan in our room to help circulate the air conditioning. Sooo nice.

Our home has a large, tall front porch and the light that came with it was just disproportionately small, so we bought a nice bigger one. The funny thing is that it came with three lights up in there, and we had to unscrew two of them because when all three are lit up it's like daylight on our porch.

Since we were replacing the big light, we figured the rest of the lights probably needed done too. So this is the one that's just to the right when you're looking at the garage - it has a motion detector which is kind of nice, even though our room is on the other side of the house. On our (Jeff's) to do list is to install another one on the other side of the house (which will require drilling a fairly large hole in the house and playing with electricity - so glad I married a handy guy!), and replacing the cruddy jar lights by the two back doors with a smaller, non-paned version of this one.

After quite a few summers of backyard s'mores, our old fire pit was looking pretty sad so we decided to replace it with this one, which should look good on a patio someday.

And finally, last but not least, was this project. If you know one thing about Atlas, it's that if it's bigger than 1 foot vertical it's his by means of marking it. Ever since we got an air conditioner we've had chicken wire around this to keep him from peeing on it. I'm neurotically convinced that if he pees on something that sends air into my house, the air coming into my house will smell like pee eventually, thus the need to protect the A/C unit. Jeff built up an adorable cedar picket fence (he's kind of a pro at this), to keep him out of it. It still needs to be stained or painted (an ongoing discussion around here), but there it is, and it's so much better than the rebar and chicken wire that was protecting it.

So there you go, you're mostly caught up with what's going on around our house. It's taken us a year and a half, but we're finally starting to settle into this house and make it a home.

A Special Adventure

2010-05-09T16:08:00.007-06:00

So with Jeff being gone for training right now, it was just me and the kids for Mother's Day. We woke up, enjoyed our biscuits with honey and jam, then headed out for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It was really important to me to make this day more special than just a regular day at home with the kids, and the weather just couldn't be beat. In fact, I dressed the kids in a t-shirt and jeans, and brought sweatshirts just in case it got cold, but we would have been fine dressed in our summer clothes. I've been looking forward to today for about a week and it was more than I ever could have hoped for.

Couple things, first, I forgot the camera and by the time I had two kids buckled in, and the house alarm set, I wasn't going back in. So, I decided that my iPhone would be just fine, and it turned out I just had one less thing to carry in the stroller, the phone did great. These first three pictures I took with the regular camera then played with them a little bit with an app called Tilt Shift Generator. I was really happy with how they looked on my phone, but when they're a little bigger, I might have overdone it, but I still really enjoy this app. My only complaint about the iPhone camera is that there's no zoom (except the good, old fashioned, walk your a$$ up to the subject kind).

One of the things that CMZ is known for is their abundant population of giraffes, if I remember right from the last time we were there at Halloween, they have more than any other zoo in the world, and they have a TON. Today we got to see two baby giraffes that were about 4 months old. SO cute. We got crackers to feed them, Haley wasn't even remotely interested (despite the fact that she loves to give Atlas and Bella treats). Kale, loved it! The first one he threw right into their paddock, the next ones I showed him how to make them reach for it so that their long black tongue would reach out to us, and he thought that was pretty cool. But, since it was just the three of us, no pictures of actual giraffes, or us feeding.

The kids, at the very beginning, ready for a fun day at the zoo, shades and all.

When we went for Boo at the Zoo, neither kid was going anywhere near the train, today, they had so much fun. They smiled a ton and Kale kept saying "whooooa" as it went around the corner.

We also went into the Budgie Buddies display. It had a ton of parakeets of all different colors in there and you could feed them a tiny bit of bird seed on a stick. I thought there was no way in a million years Haley would touch this with a ten foot pole...

I was wrong! She thought it was so neat that the little birdies would come right up to her and let her feed them. She was also pretty enthralled with the waterfall they had in there for a birdie bath. On any other day she would have climbed right in there, but she must have known that it was a special day and kept out.

Poor Kale, had a difficult time with his cast. I would set him up to look at the critters (the oldest breed of cat in the world - acted just like a typical house cat), but when it was time to turn and look at the camera (phone), he had a really difficult time turning around, so a lot of pictures have just one kid looking at the camera (phone).

This was at the bear display... we called the fishies "bear food". A lot of the animals were really up and at 'em today. We saw the bear wake up from his nap, then take a 5 minute pee. We also saw one of the elephants poop. I'm pretty sure the fact that elephants and bears "listen to their potty" was the #1 highlight of the day for Haley.

Yup, see, they trade off.

They have a really fun place for the kids to really get out of their stroller, crawl around and even a mini petting zoo. These are my little hatchlings. I enjoy that Kale is pointing at Haley like she needs to do more hatching.

I suckered a poor lady (who I'm pretty sure had never seen an iPhone in her life) into trying to take our picture. She was really good about it and took a couple for us. The kids are less than cooperative at taking group photos, so this was the best we got. At least I have proof that I was there with them on Mother's Day.

Still in the petting zoo exhibit, there were some chickens near by. Parakeets are okay, chickens are not apparently, as you can tell by her clenched fists. She's ready to sock them if they come any closer. I admit it would have been a little entertaining to see her knock a chicken out for coming too close.

She seems concerned that she's sitting on a giant frog.

Kale waited all day to see a turtle (or tortoise), we saw three of them. I guess they glue a washer on top of them because they like to burrow under the ground and when they do that they use a metal detector to find them. At least that's what the sign said.

Growing up with my mom she was always really into snakes and reptiles in general. I loved this because she showed me that there was nothing to be afraid of when it comes to snakes and other things like that. I try really hard to be like that with my kids now. On the way in to the reptile house they had a Desert King Snake to pet. Haley was NOT interested, but I showed her how I did it and it was okay. On the way out she reconsidered, she pet it twice. I was so proud of her bravery.

And in the final, and probably the most ironic picture of the day... Kale, on a "Cycle' with his "Cycle" shirt that says "I do my own stunts" and his cast. He thought it was pretty cool to sit up there.

So, a really great Mother's Day. I'm proud of myself for getting out and making the day special on my own - I reclaimed a bit of my independence today (something I'd been lacking with two sick and broken kids). I won't call it perfect, we definitely missed Daddy, but it was as close as it could get. Two really well behaved kids, and a very "special adventure".

A Very Important Date

2010-05-09T15:27:00.007-06:00

So a while back, Jeff and Kale were playing and Haley wanted to join in, but didn't play nice. She was uninvited to play and was told it was a "Boys Club". Thus started her obsession with "Girls Club" and "Boys Club" to denote who will be attending or playing. At our gym they hosted an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party, so Haley and I dressed up and the "Girl Club" went to a tea party.

They had the entire kids gym decorated with all kinds of activities for the kids to do, and tables all set up for tea and snacks.

Haley had a lovely time sipping her "tea" (the Kool-Aid bottle labeled "Drink Me"). And, of course when one attends tea, she must wear her best white gloves.

Haley, with Alice, and her magic wand, she loved that stick with a heart on top! The characters were played by the people who work in the childcare area of the gym, and they really did a fantastic job. Haley sees these people nearly everyday, but had no idea they were anyone other than the characters.

With one of her favorite ladies. She's just enthralled to be there.

She found the White Rabbit!

From the very beginning of spring, Haley has been asking to play croquet, I'm not entirely sure where she first heard of this, but when I told her they were going to be playing it at the tea party, she couldn't quit talking about how excited she was to play "Croka", then when we got there and found out she would be using "Mingos" as clubs, I'm not sure life really got any better than that. This was the first activity she went for after snacks.

With Miss Jenny, the Queen of Hearts, but she was a nice Queen. There was no "Off with her heading".

Next up was the craft table where she was able to decorate a caterpillar, and make a Mad Hatter hat.

All of the kids and the characters. Haley is down in the front row, three in from the right.

Playing Connect Four, or "Just put all the pieces in the contraption" with either Tweedle Dee or Dum.

Wearing her Mad Hatter hat.

Playing Ring Around the Rosy with Alice and some other little girls.

Next up... Musical chairs!

She should have been out a few rounds before she actually was, but she had some help from the characters.

Someone did an amazing job hand painting this backdrop.

The table of teas.

On the way home, I think she had a good time.

And once we got home, I realized that we didn't get a picture of the two of us, sooo... A picture of the two of us.

She had so much fun with this, I just might make it a theme for one of her birthdays. Regardless, when this event comes around again next year, they can count the "Girl Club" in again!

BROKE?! What do you mean BROKE?!

2010-04-23T19:48:00.004-06:00

Monday, like a bit more than a week after Jeff left for Alabama I took the kids to the gym, per my necessary (especially when Dad is TDY) sanity break planning on the normal weight lifting day. Not 15 minutes into the day and the childcare lady came looking for me. She said that Kale had been hurt coming off the slide and just wasn't calming down and didn't want to stand. Oh man! So I went back and checked him out and after about 10 minutes still didn't want to put any weight on his feet, I knew something was up (this kid will knock his head and keep on walking - it's a 2nd child defense mechanism, I'm convinced). Thankfully, friends (who also live up the street) were there working out with me and were able to let Haley stay and play while I took Kale to the Hospital up the street.

10:00 we walked into the ER and by 2:45 we finally saw a doctor. When we left for the gym this morning we didn't plan on a trip to the hospital so I had no snacks or even a sippy cup so another good friend was able to bring Kale a lunch and some food for me too. Seriously? What would I do without these friends of mine? Oh yeah, I'd have a starving three year old and a starving, hurt 21 month old, as the hospital for nearly three and a half hours! Awesome!

Anyway, they x-rayed him three times on his left ankle (where he felt most of the discomfort), and determined that there was no visible break but explained that with toddlers it can sometimes take five to seven days for a break to show up and that we should follow-up with the pediatric orthopedic soon and see what she has to say about it. They put him in a "soft cast" which was basically a fiberglass splint, wrapped with an ace bandage. He couldn't get it wet and was not allowed to put any weight on it. I was worried about the latter part of that advice, but it didn't seem to be a problem since he just didn't want to put any weight on it.

His new favorite hang out: by the tv with his babylegs on and his soft cast. Oh, and his Duplo blocks. He LOVES his Duplo blocks and has logged many hours with those things since getting his soft cast.

Favorite show? Yeah, lately it's been Strawberry Shortcake - I get it, it's Haley's favorite too, and it's all ranch/farm themed so I think it's less about the characters and more about the topics. But he runs around demanding "Shortcake... Shortcake!"

Yesterday (Thursday) we did the follow-up with the Pediatric Orthopedic (Dr. Mindy Siegel). She did some poking and prodding and determined that there was a "toddler fracture" on his left tibia. The doctor told me that she was almost certain that this was caused by his shoe catching on the slide as he was going down stopping his foot while his body continued forward. She also wanted to make him crawl to rule out a broken femur. Now, I've seen him crawl in the past couple of days but the doctor had to see it too. She asked if she could bribe him with s-u-g-a-r, and if you know me, it's nothing my kids haven't seen or been bribed with on a near daily occasion so, yeah, go ahead. We pulled out an entire bucket of suckers and nothing. Pulled his ga-gi away from him, nothing. Unwrapped the sucker, nothing. I finally went around the corner of the hallway and played peek-a-boo with the unwrapped sucker, and the ga-gi and he came smiling around the corner to see me and gave the doc what she needed to see.

She determined that he needed to be in a short cast for three weeks (for those of you doing the math, it comes off the day before Dad comes home). She also said that they now offer a Gortex waterproof cast but that insurance won't cover it so I can pay... wait for it... $10 out of my pocket. What? $10 so that when my kid inevitably sticks his foot in the dog water (happens once a week) I don't have to run back to the doctors and get a new cast put on? Yeah, sold. I would have paid a lot more.

Also, it's very much worth noting that my kid was an absolute champ getting his cast on. He sat there with no tears, fussing, not even so much as a flinch putting the cast on. To include when they had to use the saw to cut some off to free his baby piggy. He was a perfect angel. I just can't help but worry about when Karma is going to catch up with me for this one... he can't have been that good for no reason at all. Or, maybe it is my Karma for having to deal with a kid in a cast for three weeks. Yeah, it's going to take more than that. So, here are the pictures of The Dude and his cast.

This one says "See? This is my good foot!"

Haley and Mommy were the first ones to sign it. Haley chose to draw a picture of Mommy, Daddy, Haley, Kale, Gramma, Papa and Uncle Ben. Clearly.

I feel it should also be noted at the end of this post, that I'm creating a new label for this post and quite likely future posts: Injuries. Like they've told me at the ER... I have a boy, this probably won't be my last time in the ER. For the record, it's number 3 for him, the first for injury.

Kinda Crafty, This Girl Is

2010-04-23T17:24:00.008-06:00

So, a while back my sister came out to visit and we took her to this little Hippie town at the base of the mountains out here called Manitou Springs. We wandered around the town, looked at the creek that goes through town, shopped, hula-hooped on the sidewalk outside of a store, shopped, played on the old arcade rides, and shopped some more. It was a really good time, and that day the weather was great for Colorado in October. Well, we found this really great shop called Safron right at the edge of the shopping area that had a ton of purses that Molly just loved and some really super adorable dresses and aprons for little girls. They were pricey for kids cloths but so cute and Molly really wanted to buy one for Haley, I relented knowing that one pricey dress could equal many more if I had something to model it after. The super cool thing about the dress (aside from the awesome retro prints) was that it was reversible. Fast forward a few months to wearing this to like the third birthday party and my ever so careful three year old spills cake on her dress. No worries, we just flipped it and she had a clean outfit in pictures again. PERFECT!

The original "birdie" dress. The flip side of it has the trees on the pocket for the main print and the birds and eggs for the pocket. Stinkin' cute!

So Jeff is TDY for some training and I've been just kind of hanging around the house with a couple of kids. When a coupon for 50% off at JoAnns came through the Sunday ads, I knew this was the perfect time to start on my projects. For just more than $30 I was able to get all the supplies I would need to make three dresses, and have a bit of fabric left over for other projects. I started in the afternoon making and cutting patterns, transferring them onto fabric and cutting them out. About 6 hours later I still couldn't figure out this crazy dress. Our neighbor came over to help, and I probably ended up ripping out the seams on every edge at least twice (some places lots more). I finally gave up for a bit and put the kids to bed. A bit of Googling past bedtime and I found the answer here. Stupid easy, just like I suspected, and only took about 45 minutes of sewing. This is the first dress:

Just like the name it's kitties and flowers. I made a couple of modifications from the tutorial dress... I added the pocket just like her birdies dress, and instead of having the bows tie the shoulders together (which would drive my daughter nutso, resulting in her untying the bows causing her dress to fall down around her ankles), I put them in the back, you can see how in the pictures.

Dress number two is a pattern of adorable owls and a coordinating striped print. Very "her". In fact, after I took the pictures she didn't want to take the dress off so she's still wearing it (with pizza stains already, guess it's time to flip it).

Dress number three you'll have to wait a bit for. I picked up a couple of green damask prints (one dominantly green the other dominantly white) and will use them to make Haley's dress for an important bridal shower and rehearsal dinner coming up this summer.

So that's what I've been up to keeping myself busy... among a few other things, but we'll get there next.

El Duda

2010-04-10T15:50:00.005-06:00

that's right, we call him "El Dooda", or "The Dude" to you. He takes satisfaction in the liberation of toes from the oppression of socks and shoes, and his signature is rubber boots for every outfit. Don't mess with "El Dooda".

In reality we stopped by Dairy Queen and Jeff got an ice cream cone that Kale was all too happy to help him eat, thus resulting in the chocolate (or "chok-it" as he calls it) mustache.

And because it's the goofiest thing he does... "Cheeeeeeese Face"

Haley was asleep for the trip.

Birthday Party and Easter Day

2010-04-05T22:18:00.006-06:00

So it was a busy weekend for us at the Roberson Homestead. Saturday was Hailey Madison's birthday. Hailey is Haley's same name friend from way back when Crystal and I were pregnant. They're BFF's whether they like each other or not, the or not doesn't seem to be a problem. Anyway, Hailey Madison turned three this week and we got to go celebrate. Crystal planned a bunch of really fun games for the kids to play and they all had a ball (then went down stairs in a sugar rush and tore up the playroom in the basement... good times).

This is Kale with our friend Owen. Poor Owen drew the short straw and got Kale for his partner, and he was such a good sport about the whole thing, just put his arm around him and was so patient and helpful. They didn't really move very far from this spot for the race, but everyone got a prize.

Haley and Hailey waiting for the go sign... I think Hailey is talking some trash here and our Haley is backing her up. They did pretty well, but it's hard to beat a couple of 5 year old boys.

Speaking of trash talking, Kale may not have enough words to tell Haley to "Bring It!" but I think his expression says it all.

The party was a blast and my kids came home and crashed for bed. Crystal was a fantastic hostess (as always) and it was great to see everyone.

So on my way to bed Saturday night I realized that I had forgotten my camera at Crystal's so I sent her a text at 11:30 and was on my way to her house at about 7:00 in the morning to pick it up before the kids went downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny had brought.

Kale was super excited about his truck load of Easter stuff. That scratch on his face? Yeah he wouldn't share one Mega Block with his sister (we have about 500 of them), so she took four fingers and scratched him right down his cheek, that's the one that really stuck. I think we mentioned this in the post before this and the phone call to the Easter Bunny that ensued.

As you can see, we really followed through with that whole "just bring a basket for Kale" thing. She was excited about the stuff in her basket too, but when she saw the pretty dress that he brought her, she about lost it, jumping up and down and couldn't wait to put it on (Mean Mom made her wait till after she ate her breakfast).

After Easter baskets, we all got dressed up in our Sunday best and headed off for Easter Sunday services at church. It was a nice service and a great reminder of the reason for the special day. After that we ran home and got some things and headed off to our friends Ashley, Tim and Addison's house. Now here's an Easter rabbit trail for you: Ashley and Jeff went to school at The Academy and had a bunch of classes together, then were both stationed out at Vandenberg after school, and then went our separate paths. Fast forward a few years and I'm out at the pool at our gym and this girl asks me if I'm Jeff Roberson's wife, "why yes, I am... why?" Ashley re-introduces herself to me and we end up being workout buddies training for the triathlon together and now we spend pretty much 5 days a week at the gym accountable to each other. We're currently training for our half marathons together. She's a great motivator and most of all a great friend. But I digress, Ashley and Tim had us and some other friends over for a delicious Easter Brunch, and Easter Egg Hunt in their back yard. There were some rumors about them hiding champagne in the bushes for the adults (me) to find, but it turned out to be just talk. Boo.

Haley and Addison hanging out on the couch talking (like their mom's do) and reading books. They were such girls and so adorable.

Hey look! A family picture!! We're all dressed up and it's actually documented... a regular Easter Miracle!

Haley outside in her Easter dress. She also had little white gloves that matched, but they made it kind of hard to play. She's also wearing the necklace that she got from her God Parents at her baptism for the first time. She loved having her diamond necklace on (like Mommy)!

The Dude-A-Man modeling his Easter clothes for us. He kept looking at me and saying cheese, but I wasn't fast enough on the trigger.

Dad and Dude playing in a backyard with grass... they do exist! Hopefully we'll have ours by the end of next month!

Haley doing her best at the Easter Egg Hunt. She picked up a ton of eggs, including the ones that "fell" out of Kale's dump truck.

Kale pretty much just enjoyed following the other kids around and watching them pick up eggs, but he finally got the hang of it, then he would "dump" his truck when it got full (because that's what you do when a truck gets full... duh)!

Showing me his egg that he picked up, he really did have a fun time.

Haley, looking around suspiciously at the other kids while she loads up her basket. When the hunt was over she was only a couple of moments away from being that kid that takes eggs out of other kids baskets. We stopped in the nick of time.

So that was our weekend, busy but so great and full of nice family time. I think Easter is officially my favorite holiday, I went to bed Sunday night and could only think that it had been such a fun day.

Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its Way!

2010-04-02T20:30:00.004-06:00

Yup, Easter is around the corner and the kids (me) are really having fun prepping for the holiday. To date there are 2 batches of sugar cookies mixed, rolled and frosted and put onto plates ready for brunch. For the record, frosting butterflies is pretty dumb. Jeff will tell you the best part about these two batches of cookies is that he didn't have to do one little thing... not even the dishes... he owes me. I baked the cookies while the kids were napping and when they woke up, they were more than excited to see them laid out on the table. Kale was given a butterfly with no frosting and gobbled it down, I guess he liked it so much he decided to try a bite out of a bunny, tulip and egg. But just a bite mind you.

He's the new cookie monster in town.

She didn't want to miss out on an opportunity to lay on the table and take a picture.

The kids have really been pushing me lately with their sibling rivalry and Haley has been especially fantastic with the behavior. You might notice in a few of the upcoming pictures of Kale he has a great big scratch across his left cheek. That would be his sister's revenge for him not sharing a block. After she did this I made a phone call to the Easter Bunny (who works surprisingly like Santa). It went something like this: "Hello Easter Bunny? This is Mommy. How are you? Are you getting ready for your big night? Oh great! Well I just wanted to let you know that you don't need to bring Haley her pretty dress, any candy or presents. Yeah, she hasn't been nice to her brother lately so you can just bring Kale's stuff and that would be fine. Thanks. Yup, you have a good Easter too. Bye!" She freaked, but has been a little nicer to her brother. She'll still get her basket, but desperate times call for desperate measures and when you have a three year old and an almost two year old, it's survival mode.

Then there's the main event of Easter (besides church on Sunday I guess). Dying eggs. This is Haley's 2nd year and Kale's first year. You can tell that the extra year of experience has really paid off for Haley.

I feel like I need to preface this whole situation by taking you back about 15 years to the first year I ever dyed eggs with Jeff's family. Jeff's mom was so wonderful to make me my own dozen of eggs and I really love my eggs to be beautiful and bright and just colors. Don't draw on my eggs, don't try to get all creative, they should just look like perfect one color Easter eggs. So I have my own eggs and I make a quick run to the ladies room, while I was in there Jeff took out one of my eggs and colored on it - I don't even remember what he wrote, but he ruined my entire dozen eggs with that one little coloring and I cried. I will never, ever, ever live this down.

So I told you that, to tell you this: I'm kind of particular when it comes to dying eggs in my own home and in trying to be a good mom, I'm trying not to pass this neurosis down to my kids. I really had to let go and let them be messy and put one egg into many different colors and just let them turn out as strange as they want them to be. This was no easy task for me, but I think it turned out fine and the kids had a great time.

The before picture with the white eggs that Kale is happily grabbing from any carton and throwing primarily into orange and yellow. We decided to do this on the kitchen floor and just threw an old sheet down (I couldn't find any newspaper and honestly, the thought of sitting on the newspaper was yucky to me).

See? Orange and Yellow. You can't see them all but there are three eggs in orange and five, yes FIVE eggs in the yellow. Three quarters of his eggs in those two colors (just let it go Mommy, let it go).

Haley didn't mind reaching in with her hands to pull the eggs out. This proved easier with the hands than with spoons, the spoons made the mugs too tippy.

Kale showing me his hand, not quite as yucky, but getting there.

Pulling one of three out of the orange, and still marinating the yellow.

This is the aftermath. Messy, and will probably be stained forever but it's pretty much just used for a dog sheet on our bed, or a picnic blanket in the backyard. Also, at one point when Kale was rough handling the eggs he picked one up and threw it at Haley, the sound of it cracking as it bounced off her head was a sound we couldn't help but laugh at (as we told Kale not to throw eggs at his sister).

More aftermath, and a painted leg.

Haley showing off her eggs. Now, after that whole story above, Haley's eggs are gorgeous. For the work of a three year old, I'll definitely take it. I can't help but look forward to years ahead when she wants to get creative to make beautiful eggs with rubber bands and marble paint, and glitter and who knows what else "they" and she will come up with.

Kale showing off his eggs. He's pretty proud. I don't think any of them came out with less than a few cracks, some were completely trashed and chunked up.

The finished products side by side. I don't feel like it's necessary to tell you who's dozen is who's.

Kale's name egg.

Not that you can tell, but Haley's name egg.

So I guess that's Easter for now around here. There will definitely be pictures to follow of them in their Easter outfits and likely of our brunch at friend's house Sunday morning.

Coldstone's got nothin' on us!

2010-03-24T11:52:00.003-06:00

So, at precisely 8:00 last night it started to snow, like first it wasn't there, then there were three inches out there. That kind of snow. Which out here in Colorado Springs goes by the name of "Spring Snow". It's still cold, it still fills up our driveway, and it still blows into huge drifts in the back yard, the only difference, as far as I can tell, is that it comes after the 21st of March and in far larger quantities than plain old winter snow (WTF?!).

Being that it is in fact spring, I decided to use this snow day as a spring cleaning day, after all, it is a "Spring Snow" Day. I rearranged the play room (also known as the front living room to those of you that don't have kids that necessitate an entire room full of toys) and did a good clean on it. Read: down on hands and knees scrubbing the scum off the base boards, and removing a build-up of crayon that seems to have spread beyond the dining room (A.K.A. the art room... My house is like one big homey classroom). The great thing about having a three year old daughter? You can convince her that the Magic Eraser really is magic and if she scrubs at stuff it's like being Cinderella (bonus points for having the costume on hand so she can truly dress the part). Maybe life with two really is getting easier.

Once I got bored with cleaning (and that didn't take long) we decided to use the "Spring Snow" to make Ice Cream ala Paula Deen. I remember doing this as a kid while babysitting in South Dakota and it being yummy and figured that if I could make it back then, now should be no issue... thankfully, I was right.

Now, I mentioned before that it was cold out there and I really didn't want to get all bundled up for the 15 foot trudge across the back yard for the snow that hasn't already been yellowed. So I sent my kid. She likes any excuse to put her boots on, also, please note her cooking apron since again, in the spirit of dressing the part and this was a kitchen activity, said apron must be worn.

She got two of the required eight cups of snow before I was bundled up to trudge the 15 feet. Dang It!

Add to the eight cups of snow, one can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and a teaspoon of vanilla...

...Stir, and serve.

Haley was all kinds of interested in stirring it, but when it came time to taste, she just couldn't get over the idea that it was made of snow, and I couldn't have paid her to try some. The Dude on the other hand LOVED it.

He loved it A LOT!

Ate it like I've never seen him eat ice cream (or maybe he just wanted to participate, his sister might not hold out on this forever). In the spirit of a snow day full of spring cleaning, we ate it straight from the bowl sitting on the floor. What was left we packaged into little Ziploc containers and we'll see how well it freezes and stores. Haley jumped back into things to help me take the containers and put them in the fridge.

Then it was time for the clean-up crew to go to work. Mission accomplished. It was super yummy and well worth keeping a can of sweetened condensed milk on hand in the future.

The Dude and his Boots

2010-03-10T15:46:00.004-07:00

So about a week ago we got a package in the mail from Jeff's mom. It included lots of great things for the kids, but the biggest hit by far was this pair of dragon galoshes from The Children's Place.

To say that Kale loves them could quite possibly be the biggest understatement ever, EVER, E.V.E.R.! He wakes up and puts them over his footie jammies, then comes into our room in the morning, he will wear them all morning, including when we go to the gym, he takes them off for a nap, but as soon as the nap is over back on his feet they go, they're there through dinner, then when it's time for tubby and we get him all undressed, the boots go back on. I have photographic evidence of this, but feel like I have to draw the lines of inappropriate pictures somewhere, but rest assured, if you have a daughter about his age, she might one day see it. What? It's my right as his mother. In any case... His feet are rarely not clothed in dragon.

Throwing a tantrum on the floor... in his boots.

Playing with the bathroom chair (I refuse to call it a stool for obvious reasons based on it's location)... In his boots.

The Robersons are Cavity Free!

2010-03-10T14:48:00.004-07:00

Today was the kids' first dentist appointment... EVER. This is pretty much right on time for the Dude, but Haley was probably a little bit behind. We took them to Dr. Erickson just up Powers from our house and what a great office! What I really liked about him from the get-go (aside from the fact that he went to UW for dental school - even if it wasn't WSU, he's still from the Northwest) is that he's a dual specialist, dentistry and orthodontics so in the future (if we're here that long) we'll only have to go to one office.

We got to the office and the kids were immediately at home, I mean they had a football chair for Kale and a princess one for Haley to sit in in the waiting room. Plus, they had books and Duplo blocks and if you know my kids, you'll know that there are few things in the world that make them happier than the latter and you sure won't find those other few things in a dentist's office.

We were called back to the exam area and Haley climbed right up and let her hygienist get right down to business, she even got to pick her tooth polish flavor (Raspberry). She happily laid there watching and laughing at cars with her mouth open "big as a house". This kid did so well it made me wonder if someone had secretly switched out kids (I knew someone had taken my well behaved Haley and switched her with some kid with broken listening ears, I just knew it). She even let them floss her... WHAT?! I know you're jealous!

Watching Cars during her cleaning.

Then it was time for her to have x-rays taken. I'd heard horror stories about kids having them done at the dentist's office and freaking out so I was kind of apprehensive, but once again, she totally surprised me. I stood at the doorway (since The Man wasn't allowed in), but she got to play dress-up in a lead vest while they took pictures of her newly cleaned and shiny teeth! She kept wanting to spit it out, but once she understood what they wanted her to do, she was on it. As a reward she got to pick out a new Dora toothbrush - she chose pink.

Pictures of her clean and shiny teeth.

How did Dude-a-Man do? Not so much. He doesn't really like people touching his teeth, let alone strangers, in a new place so it just wasn't going to happen. He did decide that they were good people though when they gave him a new blue and green toothbrush with Dora on it (Diego too, but I had to put my foot down on him picking a pink or purple one with just Dora on it).

Showing you his new toothbrush.

Showing you how to use his new toothbrush.

Then Dr. Erickson came back and counted Haley's teeth - turns out he didn't know how to count very well so Haley had to help him... she has 20 teeth. He also looked at her x-rays and said that we're likely to have some crowding problems when her adult teeth come in (I guess it's genetic as Jeff had the same issues). He painted on some fluoride stuff that tasted like Cherries, she wasn't too sure about this, but it tasted too good not to let him finish. He was impressed with the fact that she uses a spin brush and said as soon as she's willing, we can start her with a Sonicare.

Dr. Erickson counting Haley's teeth.

Then it was Kale's turn. He gave me two options, not examine him, or examine him and let him scream. We decided that he was too young to remember this and since Jeff and I have no problems going to the dentist we might as well just let him scream, this is something you just have to do. I held The Dude on my lap and leaned him back so his head was on the dentist's knee and we went to town. Counted his teeth, checked for cavities, and also painted the fluoride on his teeth too. Painting on the fluoride I believe went like this in Kale's head: "AAHHHH!!! Oh, that's tastes really good! Oh yeah, I'm angry! AAHHHH!!! But it tastes so good! But AAHHHH!!" There are no pictures of this because 1) I was holding him and couldn't take any because it took both my hands to hold his down, and 2) we're just not going to remember that part of the dentist's visit. Our only concern with Kale is that teeth tend to create their enamel between 12 and 18 months and one of the things that can interrupt that is the use of antibiotics. Kale's first major ear infection was at 12 months and he was on antibiotics pretty consistently after that up until he got tubes, soooo.... it's a wait and see game, but we have to watch him closely and likely we'll have to deal with it as he gets older.

But the best part of the whole visit (for me)? NO CAVITIES!! For the kids? They gave them presents... a squirt toy, a new Dora toothbrush, flossing toys... DUH! And we get to do this all over again in September (hopefully The Man will figure things out by then).

A True Colorado Experience

2010-02-17T14:00:00.006-07:00

Ohhh my gosh... finally! I've posted the pictures of our trip up to Farish. What a hidden gem! We drove about 45 minutes from our house up into the mountains (for those of you who are familiar with the area, or want to google map it, it's not too far from Woodland Park - the town, not the zoo you Seattlites). It's a resort type of place that has meeting facilities, and also overnight camping and cabins and is available only to military. We went up with our good friends and neighbors Spiro, Andrea and Yanni (who is about 5 months younger than Haley).

Jeff has gone up there to play since he was a cadet, and was reintroduced to it only a couple days before we went up, by a buddy who took him ice fishing for the first time ever. Yep, he's picked up another hobby (don't tell my garage or basement, I don't know if they can take another one).

We checked in at the front office and spent $15 to rent a pair of skates each for Jeff, Haley and me, and also rented a purple toboggan. Kale was left out of the skates because he's only been walking for a bit more than 4 months, and snow boots are tough enough for the guy. Haley played with her skates for about 15 minutes and decided it just wasn't for her yet (never mind the smallest pair they had was about 4 sizes too big for her). The best part of the day was that we were the only ones on the ice... that meant lots of "rule" breaking and fun for the kids. We brought the toboggan out and hauled the kids all over the place.

Haley had taken her turns being swung around on the toboggan, and decided she wanted to take a turn pulling Mommy (Daddy helped push).

Daddy pulled both of us on the saucer around the ice, but we took a self portrait before we got going.

Spiro wasn't a fan of the skates but he was a great train engine. He's got a hold of Yanni's sled, who's holding Haley's sled, who's holding Kale's sled. I think the kids could have done this all afternoon.

Like I said earlier, he's only been walking around for about 4 months and that ice stuff can be kind of tricky. This was about as high up as he could get himself without help. But how cute is that hat?

Never one to miss a photo opportunity, this is likely a sneak peek at our 2010 Christmas card. This place is so gorgeous and quintessential Colorado we just couldn't resist a family photo (especially when there's another family there to take the picture for us).

We returned the favor, and by favor I mean my daughter was standing behind the camera making faces at Yanni to make him smile, he was more than happy to make them back at her... Duh! Andrea said that she didn't even know Yanni was making that face, she was laughing at Haley. We took a bunch of pictures of their family, but this one was my favorite!

This is a picture looking down through the ice. The little white circles are bubbles that got stuck on their way up. The cracks are everywhere, but not in a dangerous kind of way, moreover they just showed us how deeply frozen the ice was. Jeff said that where he was fishing (only about 100 yards from where we were skating) it was about 24" deep. It was truly beautiful. They had swept and slightly groomed a circle for skating and an oval for broom ball. We mostly hung out on the oval but the family pictures were taken on the circle.

After we were done ice skating we snuck into the cabin kitchen and used their stove to heat up some soup and chili, fed the kids their PBJs. It was great, they had a bunch of large tables that were able to seat all 7 of us. When we were done there, it was on to the sledding hills. They have 3 of them up there - 2 for sleds, and 1 for tubes. We tried the sledding hill first but after Kale and I rearranged a hay bale going way too fast, we moved to halfway down the tube hill. It was perfect for the kids. We also took the dogs up with us and they had a total ball running all over the place up there. I think they forgot that they don't usually run that much in a normal day. They were spent and slept the whole way down.

Jeff was getting ready to do a run down the hill and the kids were hanging out on a hay bale. Haley had to give Daddy a kiss before he went.

My favorite picture of the day and it's not even my kid! Yanni was having so much fun sledding down the hill and I was at the bottom to take pictures of the smiles when they landed.

Kale was super duper tired at the end of the day and wanted to hang out with Daddy. Daddy was happy to give him tickles that perked him right up.

We thought I could get the same reaction out of him and this is the best I could do without a binky in his mouth.

In the spirit of the Vancouver Olympics: Someday when Haley is competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics as a figure skater, this is going to be one of those pictures they show before she skates - her first time ever on the ice. But we have a lot of work to get to that spot. Doesn't she look like she knows what she's doing though?

On our way home, Kale never even made it to pavement before he fell asleep, and Haley wasn't long after. They woke up once we got home, so we popped in a movie, found a "gaga" and "gagi" and cuddled them up on the couch.

It was a really great family day and one I hope we're able to repeat soon.

Kale's first major art project...

2010-02-12T16:31:00.004-07:00

So I have to get a confessional out of the way right now... I owe you all a post about the great trip we made up into the mountains, but that's going to be a lot of picture uploading and I'm lazy. I'll get there I promise, the pictures from that trip are so cute, you're going to D-I-E.

Anyway, onto the topic of this post. Haley has always been my artsy fartsy kid, she loves to color, paint, sculpt, you name it. Kale likes to eat art supplies and just hasn't shown much interest, beyond what it tastes like and what it would look like if he threw his medium across the room (he likes to throw things). Chalk it up to being a boy, or just not that in to art, whatever - your reasoning is as good as mine.

Well, all that stood true till this afternoon. I thought he was peacefully out in the playroom while Haley and I were in the family room working on her letters. I was wrong. He was in his favorite forbidden place... the office. He found a yellow marker and went to town! He made up for 19 months of disinterest in art in about 20 minutes... yeah I would have thought it would have taken longer than that either (goes to show how much I learn everyday in this mom job). Being his first major art project, and that I couldn't keep it forever and ever, I took a picture... actually I took three because that's how many I needed to capture the whole thing. Here it is for you to enjoy too:

Maybe paper just wasn't the material he wanted to work with... maybe he wants to be a muralist. Maybe I should paint the office in that chalkboard paint. I give up.

Our December & Christmas

2010-01-04T20:31:00.005-07:00

I told you I would add more about Christmas later, well later is finally upon us. This year Jeff and I made the decision to stay out here in Colorado and enjoy (for the first time in 6 Christmases) waking up in our house, just our family. Let me tell you, it was great! Just as we hoped it would be. The kids (and by kids, I mean all four of us) were allowed to hang out and play with all of our presents, we had no where to go, and nothing to do. In fact, we stayed in our new Christmas Jammies all day long! A really nice, family centered Christmas celebration. In the spirit of just enjoying Christmas morning we didn't take a whole ton of pictures and rather just lived in the moment, so for this post, I decided to tell you all about the month of December in the Roberson house, and not just Christmas Day.

This is Atlas giving you an editorial picture of how drastically his life has changed in the past 6 years (most of the time he doesn't look so much like we need to talk him down off the ledge, this is just a moment for him). Where once he had blankets and beds to cuddle up on (and hump) anytime he wanted, he now must find room on the floor amongst the crayons, sippy cups and kids' blankets.

My "helpful" cookie helpers. We needed to make a batch of cookies for Jeff's Det's Kids Holiday party and they wanted so bad to be my sous chefs (or whatever you call an assistant pastry chef). The looks on their faces will give you exactly an idea of how helpful they were. While the recipe does not call for any nuts, you can see we had plenty on hand.

In case all of the blue stuff, and dinosaur pajamas in this picture weren't enough, Kale proves to us daily that he is made of slugs, snails and puppy dog tails every time he looks out his front window. He is beyond excited to show us all of the bulldozers, front loaders, concrete trucks and other construction equipment that visits our ever growing block. It'll be a sad day (very soon) for him when all of this stops, we only have a couple of houses with exterior finishing left, but hopefully spring and warmer weather comes soon so we can walk around and see what's happening on other blocks.

In the middle of the month our little man had a bout of the sicks and was up at 10:00 one night with bowls. Kids or not, I don't have to tell you what that means. He and Jeff each had their "Ats" and were bonking each other in their makeshift helmets, part delirium, part the fact that he just likes to head butt things, this was great entertainment for our sick little man.

This year I thought I would go cookie crazy and made batches of Chocolate Crinkles (that came out flat... WTF?!), Gingerbread (yeah, when the recipe calls for you to grease the cookie sheet, you should listen, Betty Crocker knows her shit), and a quadruple batch of sugar cookies. These are my ever present cookie helpers and also my dual 30 pound weights. This right here is why I work out - this is what I have to keep up with.

I got about 2 cans of frosting into the batch and said SCREW IT! We ate what we had frosted and I didn't pass a one out and I don't feel a bit guilty about it (except when I look in my dining room and see the 4 gallon size bags of unfrosted cookies... I bought 3 cans of frosting today at the commissary). Anyway, Haley came in to help me sprinkle, this year was a little rough, she had a difficult time keeping the top of the sprinkles off of the frosting, but by next year, she will be good to go and will officially have her position as the 5th generation of sugar cookie makers.

Haley in her Christmas Jammies right before bed in front of the tree. Kale was a lot tired by this time so we didn't get him in front of the tree (where he wasn't melting down).

Here is Kale's picture in front of the tree, no more presents left and you can't really tell that the lights are on, but he is happy and has his "MoMo" (his name for anyone that resides on Sesame Street).

Daddy was helping us make Kale smile for his pictures and decided to jump in the picture with him, which led Atlas to jump in too. My favorite part of this picture is Atlas' tongue about to clean Kale's face in one fail swoop.

Haley was beyond excited to see that Santa had come through with her Strawberry Shortcake Berry Cafe, he also left her a letter in return, ate the cookies, drank the milk, and fed the carrots to the reindeer (BTW, she was VERY perturbed that they were messy reindeer and spit a bunch of their carrots all over the snow in the front yard... I mean really!).

The Dude-a-Man in his Cozy Coupe, a.k.a The Drive In Movie Theatre, and the one thing he doesn't HAVE to share with his sister (which makes her want in it even more). He LOVES it, and lives in it.

Enjoying driving his cozy coupe. For the most part he is a pretty happy driver.

But sometimes he gets cut off, and he gets a little angry. I don't know if an 18 month old could utter the letters W-T-F, but the picture definitely says that.

So that's our past month and closes out our 2009. January and 2010 has already been an adventure (at least for Jeff) and maybe (for once), I'll get him to post some stuff on this blog and tell you about his trip to Tokyo, Japan. A belated Merry Christmas to you and we hope 2010 is good to you!

Getting ready for Santa and his Reindeer

2009-12-30T18:10:00.004-07:00

I know it's been a while since we posted stuff, but what can I say... The holidays are hectic. We managed to slow down just a little bit (and by we, I mean Jeff and I, not so much Haley), and prepare for Santa and his reindeer's arrival. Here's a video of Haley explaining it.

Kale's Evaluation

2009-12-09T14:46:00.003-07:00

It's 10 degrees outside (which is a 25 degree increase since about 7:30 this morning), there's snow on the ground, the sun is shining and chicken and dumplings are simmering on the stove. What a beautiful day for an intervention. Of the developmental kind that is.

Today we had a team of 4 women come out and assess Kale for early intervention services. A nurse, a speech pathologist, a developmental expert and a case manager all came by to watch our Dude play. As I suspected with 4 brand new people in the house, he didn't utter a single word (except for his favorite UH! sound), and save for once when he told the nurse MINE! when she asked for the toy he had (a developmentally appropriate response, especially for a kid with a 3 year old sister). They said he was right on target for all of his skill and abilities for a typical 18 month old except for that darn speech thing. Apparently a kid his age should have roughly 15 words and is beginning to combine them into two word sentences - we don't have 2 words that would go together to form any kind of coherent sentence, unless you consider MINE! HO! HO! (Kale for "My Santa toy).

I'm pleased with the outcome of this because it looks like we will be having a specialist visit us at our house twice a month (possibly until he's 3) to work on his vocabulary and speech development, particularly his "expressive" words. I know that it won't take him long to catch right on to this speech thing and before we know it we'll be telling him to hush too.

The Dude-a-Man get's down

2009-11-23T22:25:00.004-07:00

So the last post was all about Haley, in fairness, it was time to put one up of just Kale. Lately the kid has really wanted to dance, and when that urge comes up, it's hard to suppress it. It's okay buddy, we understand. So, here is some choppy video of that. Also, every time we have a camera out, he thinks it's time to pose so you'll see some video of him "Cheesing" - there's no doubt, it's the cutest thing on the face of the planet. Like I said, it's choppy, but, I'm sparing you some Dramamine needing footage, some screaming children, and other kinds of useless-cute only to parents-debauchery, you should thank me. Enjoy!

Cross that off the bucket list... oh, wait!

2009-11-16T14:52:00.006-07:00

One thing that I've always wanted to do was run a triathlon, now, we're not talking anything about the Iron Man, that's just madness, who would really want to swim 2 miles, then bike over 100, and then, just for good measure, run a marathon! Really! But the sprint ones are always something I thought I could do if I could only get into running. Well about 4 months ago I ran a whole mile for the first time since, oh, about 5th grade. Game on! This month our gym hosted an indoor one and I finally had a goal. I managed to pick myself up a training buddy, Ashley (a friend that we knew when we lived in California and happened to run into again out here, who, coincidentally has run a few of these before), and off we went. For about two months I hit the gym daily, doing rotations of biking and running, swimming, and Pilates (because I want my stomach to be flat one day).

Saturday was the big day and I had big goals! The swimming was only 200 yards so I was hoping for a 2:15, then there was a 10 mile bike that I wanted to do in 30 minutes and the 3 mile run that I wanted to do in 35 minutes, I also had goals of placing in swimming and running the entire run (walking is for wusses).

I am proud to say that, while I didn't make my goal time (as you can see in the picture above I did a 2:45), I did win the women's swimming by 26 seconds... Ya'll TWENTY SIX SECONDS!! That's no small amount of time when you're talking about just 200 yards. It's nice to know that competitive swimmer is still in there somewhere. After swimming we hit the bikes for 10 miles. I had a good lead in my heat but my transition was less than stellar (it's no small feat to put workout pants on wet legs, plus get your shoes and socks on.

Again, I missed my time goal on the bike, and did about 32 minutes for 10 miles, not fantastic but a really good starting point. And now I know where my weakness is and am implementing a few spin classes into my routine. Live and learn right?

After the bikes it was on to the treadmill for 3 miles. I ran a pretty steady 5.5 mph and finished it in 32 minutes, three minutes under my goal time, and I'm proud that I was able run the entire three miles.
Ashley, my training buddy and I with the final times. I pulled in a total of 1:15, Ashley was 1:13 and we took 11th and 9th place. Not too shabby!

Now, onto the next goal. For sure (as of right now) the Tri for the Cure August 1st (a 750 swim, 13 mile bike and a 5k), and I'm also hoping to be able to hit the Seattle Rock n Roll half marathon. Oh, and the Briargate Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, and by next summer we will have shirted in the Jack Quinn's Running Club, we only have 2 more left till we meet the requisite 10 5ks. GO ME!!

Haley

2009-11-13T14:14:00.004-07:00

Today on our way to Kale's doctor appointment I made a stop by Starbucks for my seasonal favorite (peppermint mocha with soy), and decided that at almost three Haley was plenty big enough for a drink of her own, and a chance to share in what has become known as Red Cup Joy! She got a gingerbread warm steamed milk and really enjoyed drinking "coffee" with mommy. Just another example of how my little girl is getting bigger and bigger every day.

A couple of days ago she was being silly for the camera, and this is what we captured.

Her "cheese" face (with a little bit of laughing).

One of my new favorite pictures of her, I think she looks like such a beautiful little girl here.

And our goofball Haley. She's learned to "look at her nose" and this is the silliness that we get. I love it!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T21:22:00.008-06:00

Halloween is lots of fun when you have two kids big enough to trick-or-treat! We took them to the Boo at the Zoo last week and they had fun practicing - Haley loved to go up to people and tell them "Trick-or-treatin'" like she needed to announce what she was doing and then they would give her candy. But by tonight she had the whole thing down. Since we're still working on getting a consistent MaMa or DaDa out of Kale, we just let him walk around with his pumpkin, and hold it out to people - they knew what to do.

Haley decided to go as her current (as of the day we went shopping, and luckily today also) favorite princess; Belle. She got to have her hair curled and had a pretty headband to wear just like the real deal. I think we are in for a few years worth of princess costumes.

Love Kale's costume?! Yeah me too... I made it, all by myself! I even put a zipper in it and stuffed the junk out of the tail and spikes. One thing about Colorado is that you never know what the weather is going to be, but this time of year you can bet on either cold or wind (sometimes both), so I wanted to know that he would be warm. the entire thing is made of fleece and I think it turned out pretty great. He loved wearing his costume, even the hood (but wouldn't you love to walk around in a fleece one piece outfit).

This is the pumpkin I made. A couple of years ago we found little glass beads that you could inset in the pumpkin and now all of my pumpkins use them. It makes them glow beautifully. I also scraped some of the skin off to make the name glow.

Jeff's pumpkin, classic and cute.

The kids' pumpkins. Kale's says boo (yes, that's the one he was trying to pick up at the end of the last post), and Haley decided that she wanted polka dots on hers. She has a real fear this year of lots of things associated with Halloween and most of the regular Jack-o-lantern faces fall in that category. We tried to find something that would be on her "good" list and that pretty much always includes things with polka dots on them, oh and we added "squirrels" (or swirls) to it too.

One of my pumpkin lanterns out front of the house. I had four of them all lit up along my walkway. Hope your Halloween was as happy as ours!

The Robersons go to the Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-27T19:13:00.005-06:00

So far our Colorado fall has been erratic to say the least. We've had snow, wind and sun, and all in the same week. We lucked out the weekend before last and had a nice (only a little bit windy) day and decided to Carpe Diem and get ourselves out to the Pumpkin Patch. We went to Shooting Star Ranch in Black Forest (less than 15 miles from our house), and they had everything! There was a great petting zoo, pony rides, a hay slide, a train, a mountain of hay bales, a corn kernel box, hay rides, and pumpkins (imagine that). Guys, they even had a camel! They also has a few great photo opportunities too. We spent the entire morning there getting the kids some much needed (already) fresh air and our Jack-o-Lantern's to be. We didn't make it down the driveway before Kale was passed out and the only reason Haley made it home was because she had some kettle corn. With that... Bring on the pictures!

Loving the hay ride!

Also loving the hay ride.

Checking out the bunnies.

I think this pig is part Roberson... He's sleeping with his tongue out.

There were some great boulders on the property and the kids thought they were mountains put there just for them to climb.

Haley: "There's a camel where?"

Camel: "There's a Haley where?"

Playing his new most favorite game: Peek-a-boo! From the corn kernel bin.

Haley playing the same game, at greater than 2 1/2, this game was so last year.

My little farm boy. It's like he was meant to be there.

Haley was having fun jumping off the hay bales.

He was so funny trying to pick up his pumpkin. He would grunt and heave and grunt and it wouldn't go anywhere.

The day of the surgery

2009-10-01T15:16:00.003-06:00

Today was the day of Kale's ear tubes surgery, and man are we all tired! Jeff and I woke up at about 5:30 to get the kids out the door on time, which isn't bad considering we had to have Haley to the Burich's and Kale to the hospital across town by 6:30. It helped that we didn't have to dress either kid, just take them straight in their pj's.

Once again let me tell you that we are so lucky to have such great friends so close to us. Haley got to go spend the morning with Crystal, Grandma Krissy, Caden and Hailey Madison at a farm ("with animals mommy") with Caden's preschool. She had a ball picking out a pumpkin and was super tired by the time they brought her home at 10 (which worked out perfect because we all got to take a nap later on).

Anyway, back to the subject of the post. We got to the hospital at 6:30 on the button and were taken right back to his room to wait. We saw about 6 different nurses (all of which remarked on how beautiful his eyes were as they took his temperature), a couple of anesthesiologists, and the doctor who would be doing the surgery. By 7:25 we were handing the little man off, and by we, I mean Jeff - there was no way he was going to leave my arms to go with anyone wearing one of those sets of teal scrubs, plus there would have likely been some tears on my part.

No sooner had I completed about three quarters of a row on the blanket that I've been working on for Kale since before he was born, was the doctor back to tell us it wall all over and it went really well. He said that there was no fluid or infection in either of his ears (a first since June), so we really caught a good window for optimal healing. Additionally, he mentioned that one of his ears was a little thicker and was probably a sign of prolonged fluid build up (further affirmation that we were making the right choice to do this surgery).

Then it was time for one of us (like there was a choice) to go back to recovery and hold him while he woke up. Now that sounds really peaceful. I imagined me holding my little man all knocked out and being the first thing he saw as he slowly opened his groggy little eyes. WWE Smack Down would have been a better comparison to what I got. He was ANGRY that he was waking up and was going to let me, the nurse, and the housekeeping lady know it. There was about 45 minutes of screaming, throwing himself backwards from my arms and all kinds of tantrums. I have never seen my mild mannered little man behave like this. My body was physically tired from this and even several hours later is still very sore (no need to feel guilt about missing the gym today, and thank God for my persistent trips there and all the weight lifting).

They took us out of recovery and down the hall (presumably because there was someone else coming out of surgery who didn't want to listen to a screaming child as they woke up), in any case there were plenty other people to hear his screaming from our room. He didn't let them take his pulse/oxygen or temperature and wasn't about to fall for their ploy of watching cartoons and eating Popsicles while he hung out. Nor was he going to allow anybody wearing a set of those damn teal scrubs any where near him. In his Kale way he would turn his body toward whichever one of us was holding him and say "NO". He didn't even want them in the room with him. He finally gave them 2 post op temperature readings and 2 pulse/oxygen readings and that was enough for them to suggest that maybe we should just go home. No sooner did we get to the car was our little man right back to his normal happy self.

I'm happy to report that as of this afternoon, less than 12 hours after the surgery, he is running around the house, tormenting and being tormented by his sister, eating and drinking like normal.

Kale's ears

2009-09-29T21:12:00.004-06:00

I know lots of you have been wondering what's up with the Dude-a-Man's ears, so here's our basic rundown. When we were home in June for Andy and Katie's wedding, I took Kale into the urgent care where he was diagnosed with an ear infection (his official 2nd one). Since June we have been bouncing back and forth between actual infections and just having fluid in one or both ears. Since we have not been able to clear this up we started the tubes conversation about a month and a half ago. The final decision was made today and on Thursday, early in the morning we will head in and have them put in.

We made this decision after only having him off of antibiotics for a grand total of less than a month (since June). The rounds have been made from Amoxicillin to Omnicef, to Zithromax and back around to Amoxicillin again and a daily regimen of Zyrtec. One major concern is that he could possibly become antibiotic resistant. Probably our highest concern is his speech development. At his 12 month well baby, he was about 1 word behind where they consider normal (he had 4 out of 5), while this isn't huge, it could become an issue. We took him last week to an audiologist for an evaluation and found that at the time (with a double ear infection - since he'd been off antibiotics for 4 days) that he was hearing at about 25 decibels (15 is normal, anything above 35 is considered deaf), they called him borderline. We will re-evaluate this 4 weeks after tubes to see if he's made any improvement and I will make the call to begin Early Intervention for speech therapy evaluation. It's pretty likely that once tubes are put in we'll begin speech therapy for him just to keep him on track.

The surgery will take only about 15 minutes to complete and he will only be put out with a mask (no IV required). It will all be done at the Air Force Academy hospital by the Ear Nose and Throat doctor. He said that if all goes well we should be on our way home by 9:00am. The tubes should last about a year before they fall out and the doctor believes that we will likely have to do this at least one more time before his ears properly mature (I think it's hilarious that my HUGE baby boy has tiny ears). There will be ENT checks at 1 month and 6 months to make sure the tubes are functioning properly and haven't fallen out, and also by the pediatrician at any well baby check ups. If you feel you'd like to know way more than any person (aside from the doctor) should know about this you can look here or here. Prayers that all goes well with the surgery and recovery are very appreciated (and also for his mom's peace of mind since I'm about to lose it worrying about him and this whole thing).

Haley Haley Haley

2009-09-29T13:26:00.003-06:00

I did the post before this then downloaded pictures and video that were just hanging out on the camera and decided that it was time for this little girl to be the star of her own post. Lately her favorite dress-up costume has been her new tutu from Grandma Linda. She will dance all around the living room in it, doing her best moves. I love it.

You'll have to excuse the state of my living room, it was laundry day.

She is officially in 3T clothing, this is a bit of a pain in the rear because the 2T's finally started to fit her in the waist, but one morning we woke up and her jeans looked like really bad high waters so we're back to having to cinch up the waist again. Thank God for adjustable waist jeans!

The following are some of my new favorite pictures. Jeff went up to bed last night and then called down to ask me for the camera. This is what we found at about 10:00. She was dead asleep on the floor outside hers and Kale's room. I have no idea how she ended up there since we didn't hear her stirring, but whatever she was doing I guess she got tired.

You'll note in this last one, she has, in the hallway, all the things she needs in her actual bed: a book, Amen Baby and her Gaga. Maybe she needed more space and it's time to move her into an official big girl's bed.

Growing up too fast!

2009-09-29T13:03:00.004-06:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again, we are in trouble when it comes to these two kids. I knew I wouldn't quite be prepared for it when it happened but I now have two fully mobile kids, they both go up and down the stairs, and even though Kale is still a fair bit slower than Haley, they chase each other. This gives Haley a greater chance to push Kale down (continuing to rack up Karmic points) and there is never a shortage of "fires" for me to put out. Oh how much easier life was when they just laid on the floor.

Haley lately has learned to use some hilarious phrases... "whatever mama" is her favorite, "no way Jose" is also up there. This kid has more personality than I possibly know what to do with. I remember when she was brand new I looked forward to the day when she would say to me "NO mama" and show her independence. Ohhh boy did I need to be careful what I wished for, at two going on three going on 17, this little girl definitely has an independent streak.

Showing me how she bows, she learned it from Elmo, followed by a few of her phrases.

Hot Air Balloon Classic

2009-09-29T12:28:00.007-06:00

Yeah, so there's so catching up to be done around here... every Labor Day weekend, Colorado Springs plays host to the Hot Air Balloon classic. As many Labor day weekends that we've spent out here, neither of us had ever been to it. We woke up extra early and got the kids all ready to go for the day, headed out to the Yukon, started it up and found a flat tire. We were supposed to meet everyone at Starbucks, but they all headed back here and between the Burich's and the Tsitsilianos' piled everyone into their cars and were on our way downtown.

The group at the beginning of the morning.

Noah's Ark Balloon - you can not grasp how big this balloon is unless you see it in person.

Another one that was just larger than life. Haley is still talking about the big bunny (especially when we see Energizer batteries).

The one on the bottom is actually higher up and is behind a cloud.

There were about 75 balloons that took off that morning.

On our way out we walked past the Velodrome and there were riders practicing - it was pretty cool to seem them ride on this track that has such an incredibly steep bank.

Once we were done with the balloons it was time for Brunch (and mimosas, duh). We went to a little restaurant called the Pantry in Green Mountain Falls (just our side of Woodland Park). It was so neat to eat right next to a little creek that went right through the restaurant, they even let the kids play in the creek if they wanted to. We got some really great family pictures there (spoiler: you'll probably see this on our Christmas letter).

Spiro, Andrea, Yanni and his stick.

Great day spent with good friends, can't wait to do it again next year. Possibly next year we'll keep the kids up late and go to the glow (done at night and there isn't a lift off, just the balloons inflated and glowing like big night lights).

COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!

2009-09-05T09:13:00.006-06:00

Game Day is sacred in this house. Period. End of story. We tell Haley that she can have the TV 6 mornings out of the week but, without sugarcoating it, Saturday is for Dad. Jeff and I have always had an Apple Cup rivalry in our house. I, having spent some time at WSU am forever a Coug fan... he, on the other hand, well, he supports that other team (don't know why). I'm proud to say that my daughter is a coug fan. Check out this video. She gets a little confused for a minute, but figures it out, I mean, she is only 2. By the end of the season (or more importantly, Apple Cup) she'll have it down. Now, we just need to get Kale to come around, sounds like the Cougs could use a future big guy like him (then what would Jeff do?!).

2009-08-22T23:34:00.005-06:00

So, a couple of things that I need to state right up front with this blog: First, it's very late, nearly midnight, but I really felt the need to get this blog up and the whole house is so gosh darn quite. Second, I'm spoiled. I'm very lucky and thankful for the life that I get to live.

Okay, now that this is all out of the way, here's the goods and good they are! You may remember a while back I told y'all that we joined a new gym and it had a really great outdoor pool (again you can visit it here: VillaSport). Well that gym recently went through a little growth spurt and they unveiled it to us, the members today - they should really be paying me for what I'm about to share with you, but, unfortunately, they're not. They expanded their pool to include not only my beloved indoor lap pool and the therapy pool to this (bear with me because there are pictures of the kids below it all and a big reward at the end):

The two new indoor water slides - they go almost as high up as what you see in the picture. They have a small atrium area that sticks up to accommodate them.

Here's the best part, they put in a water play structure that we can enjoy any time of year! January? Snow outside? Blowing wind? Yeah, you'll find me and the kids at the pool!

Another side to the play structure, there are 4, count them, 4 water slides! And, my favorite as a mom, the zero depth entry pool! Haley refers to the pools here as the beach. Wonder if she'll ever know what a real beach is like?

This is an indoor/outdoor hot tub, they have windows that open and close according to the weather. Mmmm, hot tubs in the snow, sounds like fun to me!

The burning lava rocks, wonder if they'd let me bring my own s'mores makings? And that bench behind it? It's a warming bench, and we're not talking about that warm Colorado sun folks, that's just a nice place to sit that will always feel like you're sitting on someone else's recently sat on spot.

Kale has decided that he loves watermelon! I can't say I blame him, it was some really good watermelon.

After eating the watermelon the traditional way, he decided "why bring the watermelon to your face when you can bring your face to the watermelon." So that's what he did - seems to work.

Playing with Daddy's shades - he's a really cool kid.

This one's pretty cool too.

He likes to eat rocks. I think it's a boy thing, 'cause Haley never did such disgusting things, but he loves them. You can tell him "UCK" and he'll stick his tongue out and just let them casually fall out of his mouth. 3 minutes later, he's eating them again. I don't get it.

Miss Attitude 2009 right here. The girl is forever stomping it out on her imaginary runway complete with her hands on her hips.

Kale decided today that he now knows how to stand up on his own and walk wherever he wants to. He climbed out of the pool and then walked to the wall all by himself. So proud of my Dude-a-Man!

I just love her eyes in this picture. I thought I rotated this picture, but folks, it's uploaded and didn't I mention above that it's late?!

You're reward for making it all the way to the end of this post... The Dude-a-Man gettin' down with his funky self. The kid has some pretty awesome moves. He's dancing to Celebrate and you'll have to excuse the kid in the background having a Grand Maul Tantrum... I feel for his mom, I've been there.

Lord help me, I have 2 kids that can walk!

2009-08-17T21:56:00.004-06:00

Before we get to the much awaited video of Kale walking, here's one of my latest favorite pictures. That's Haley in the basket reaching out for help, to grab Kale's foot or just give herself a bit more room in there. You decide. I think my favorite part of this is that Kale is just looking at the hand like "What? You want out?! I think you can hang out in there for a little while. Karma sis, Karma."

Here it is, the moment we've all been waiting for (except for me - I've been dreading it)! Kale walks, though not directly to anyone. One of the kids' favorite toys is the tripod, what we have the camera sitting on to get the video. He is super frustrated that we want him to walk to one of us, rather than at the tripod (maybe he likes it better than us because the tripod didn't make him the 2nd child).

He did WHAT?! Yeah, he crapped in my shoe.

2009-08-13T19:20:00.004-06:00

Jeff left on Tuesday for a quick TDY (temporary duty for the non military) to Washington DC, leaving me with Kale on the verge of walking and a Haley with a attitude that just doesn't all fit into her little body.
He comes home tomorrow and THANK GOD! The crazy kids have finally turned on their dear mother, the one who carried them in a nice little home, safe, warm and well fed for 9 months. The poor woman who stays home with them every day doing her best to keep them safe, make sure they turn into good well rounded citizens, and continues to keep them well fed.
Haley has done her level best to make sure her brother hates her by the time he turns 2. Someday (soon) Kale is going to do 2 things: get bigger than her and learn to walk. When that happens Haley is going to have some serious Karma headed her way.
Kale is currently going on week 7 of fighting a nasty double ear infection and as such is on some serious antibiotics which gives him a nasty diaper rash. I tell you this so you don't think I've lost my mind when I tell you that the guy was running around naked for the greater part of the evening tonight - he was air drying. I think he had finally had it with me asking him to stand and try to walk because he picked my running shoes to hide a turd in. He didn't hit anywhere else, just square in my shoe. It was time to replace them, but now it's really time to replace them.

2009-08-11T22:03:00.005-06:00

So we've had a pretty busy summer around here. Not long after we got back from Seattle, my Aunt Linda (or Grandma Willa as Haley calls her) came out to visit us. It was great to have her out here and we got to do all kinds of fun touristy stuff. One of the last things we did before she headed home was take the Cog Railway up to the very tippy top of Pikes Peak (or Big Mountain according to Haley). Here are pictures of the kids on top of the Purple Mountain Majesty.

It was really great on the way up... since we bought Haley a ticket we had lots of room (4 whole seats for the 5 of us). The kids were able to hang by the windows and climb all around - it was a little tiring by the time we got to the bottom, but the kids did really great (and handled the altitude well too).

Not too sure what she's grabbing at here but the new phrase to get her to smile is telling her to say "pepperoncini" she give us this natural smile every time. She has a couple of new phrases "No way Jose!" and "Whatever!" The other day I asked her to put her shoes away and she said, under her breath, "What-ever Mommy". She's 2!!! We're so in for it!

This was just today at the Banning Lewis Ranch playground. It's a western covered wagon theme playground and she was on the outskirts looking in.

After Banning Lewis Ranch, we went to Cordova and they have an Alice in Wonderland themed playground. Kale kept hanging under this part of it and thought it was hilarious to "peek!" at us. He has a couple new words - MAN! (pronounced Mahn) for MINE!, and GO! (usually directed at the dogs). He's also getting better at telling us what he wants (or demanding) - he'll point at what he wants and grunt (Uh! Uh! Uh!), the more grunting the worse he wants it.

This was also this afternoon - Kale is starting to stand for longer and longer stretches, here's some proof of it.

We've also been busy hanging out at the pool, and enjoying hanging out as a family. We spend nearly every other weekend at a local farmer's market and hanging out with friends enjoying the summer (because we know there can't be that much more left of it - it could snow next month around here). So there's an update of what's been going on around the Roberson house.

Mama I'm Comin' Home

2009-07-24T12:20:00.008-06:00

So this summer we were super excited to head home for a couple of weeks - Andy Elliott, one of Jeff's friends since pretty much the dawn of time was getting married to the wonderful and perfect match for him, Katie and Jeff was part of the bridal party! Now, the wedding was excitement enough, but add to that the fact that for two whole nights IN A ROW (yes, italics and all caps, that's just how exciting it was) we were kid free (thanks to Gramma, Papa, Auntie Christy and Agrix) and it's a wonder we ever came back! This is everything that happened on that trip besides Kale's 1st birthday party.

Packing and getting ready is hard work enough, add to that packing for not only yourself but 2 kids and 2 dogs and it's madness. Haley was just helping out. If only the kids could have just traveled this way - throw them in suitcases and then into the trailer (just kidding, but only kind of... 2 days in a car and I would have thought long and hard about it).

Kale, thinking he could fit in his suitcase too. BTW, lately, this kid is never wearing pants! What's up with that?!

On the road Kale is talking on his double foot phone. He thought this was too funny, and so did we.

Let me tell you, when traveling on a budget with a family of 4 and 2 dogs, God Bless KOA! We spent $35ish and got a really great Kabin (yes, since it's K-O-A, it's a Kabin), complete with a bunk bed, queen sized bed and a bathroom not too far away. The best part? If the kids screamed in the middle of the night, or the dogs barked, we were pretty much off in our own little place. Perfect! And the beds were actually comfortable! We did this on the way there and on the way home.

I'm pretty sure now that I look at this picture that it's upside down, but it's uploaded now and you get the idea so it stays. Kale passed out in his pack and play in the Kabin.

Haley passed out on the lower bunk of the Kabin. One day I'm going to blog about all of the crazy ways that Haley has fallen asleep. We must have 100 pictures of Haley sleeping in all kinds of silly positions - the kid is a nut, even when she's sleeping.

Jeff and Haley hanging out on the porch swing in front of our Kabin.

Kale, awake on his 1st birthday - too bad the poor guy had to spend it in a car, but is that not the cutest groggy face in the world?

They even had a Haley sized broom to sweep in the Kabin - she was all too happy to help out.

Once we made it to Gramma & Papa's house we did a lot of swimming in the hot tub...

...and the pool, where they ate Popsicles (thank goodness the weather was nice while we were out there).

Haley (in the cutest pj's ever) helped to clean Gramma's sink. It's her new favorite activity and a great way for her to keep occupied for about 20 minutes (like forever with a 2 year old).

Both of the kids could have spent all day in the backyard swinging in the maple tree. I could have too I think.

The kids spent a lot of time jumping on the trampoline too. Kale really liked to hang out by the exit and on the ladder (this is one of the rare times he was actually in the trampoline).

Haley got to go on her first fishing trip with Daddy and Papa. They caught something like 6 fishies and she had fun till one got too close. You'll notice her "Ga-Ga" in the picture, that wasn't her only comfort item on the boat. This trip back she decided that she was going to potty train so her potty also got to go with in the boat.

Haley got to spend some time with GG (Great Grandma). Now every night when we say our prayers, we say "and bless GG" and Haley says "I love her!" in the sweetest voice. GG really made an impression and they had so much fun hanging out and going through her knitting and sewing basket.

We were really happy to be able to be out there for the 4th of July so I got the family the whole Old Navy set up. It was great. But of the 6 or so pictures we took with our camera, this was the best one... guess this is how it will be for a while.

We spent part of the 4th up at the Knoll's house and got to spend some time with our Best Friends Sonny and Krystal and their new baby (and Kale's pre-determined BFF) Luca. We know that Luca and Kale are going to be best friends because their going to be the only kids their age that will be the size they are (these boys are beefy).

THE MAIN EVENT!

Like I said before, the whole reason for this trip out was for Andy & Katie's wedding. I'd love to tell you that I have tons of pictures of everyone at the wedding, including the bride and groom, but I left that up to the photographers. Mainly, our camera got busted out not long after the drinking commenced, and with no kids in sight for 2 nights, there was some partying goin' down!

Let me tell you, these crazy kids know how to throw a wedding. Katie's family has a ranch a stone's throw from the Snake Rive in Patterson, WA. They brought us down there, let us throw a trailer up in their pasture and stumble home to it in the wee hours after really great time. They had "The Erection Part Deux" (complete with Coug flags up on top) put up to hold the reception under and it was beautifully decorated (for those of you that don't know the Elliott's "The Erection Part One" would be at the farm in Kent - you can see the barn when flying over in an airplane - I know first hand).

Jeff was most impressed with the father of the bride's keg-a-rator trailer. He said, "you know it's a good party when you run out of beer and you had 10 kegs!" Anyway, it was a privilege to be a part of this really special occasion and as you'll see from the kooky pictures below, we had a great time!

So two things about this picture. First, I'm so excited to finally be a part of one of Krystal's notorious self portraits - these things are legendary! Second, things are going down hill fast. You'll know this because I look high (promise just drunk - count my teeth) and Jeff is walking around with an unlit cigar and an unusual vacant look on his face.

Two parents without kids - look out! Oh, and yet another appearance by the unlit cigar and lots of my teeth. Hey we were having fun (and for record this is the first time since May of 2006 I was neither pregnant nor breasfeeding). I remember doing the dollar dance and telling Andy not to spin me too much because it wouldn't take much to drop me on my ass! Or something like that anyway.

A rare picture of the two of us, and we actually look presentable. Love it, I should find a frame.

Oh... the night took a turn now I have the unlit cigar (and a really devilish look on my face). Look out! I started to drink a lot of water not long after that.

And I guess this is the picture we leave you with for this vacation. We had a wonderful time hanging out with friends and family, Happy Birthday to Kale, Congratulation to Andy and Katie and Thank God we're back home in Colorado again! Could we do this again next year?

Kale's 1st Birthday!

2009-07-24T10:55:00.008-06:00

This year we were on the road home to Seattle for Kale's actual first birthday so we celebrated it a day later up at Grandma Linda's house on the Party Deck! It was a great day, except for the weather and everyone had a really fun time watching Kale attack his cake.

We ordered one of these for Haley's first birthday so it was only natural that we'd get one for Kale. The lady on the phone was all "WHAT is his name? How do you spell that?" and I'm all "Kale, K-A-L-E, like the lettuce"

The birthday man rockin' the hat like it's his job, but on your first birthday, it pretty much is.

The Party Deck, mind you this is only about a quarter of it. You really can't grasp how big this thing is through pictures. It was perfect! Grandma Linda really should rent this thing out and hold events at her house.

The 1st Birthday Throne. Clean, waiting and ready to be destroyed by cake!

The Dude-a-Man and his real cake. The Albertson's in Auburn totally jacked this thing up - they did it up to match his napkin, then found my totally awesome picture in the envelope. Rather than scraping the frosting up the just laid the picture over the bright green frosting. By the time I went to pick it up the frosting had bled through the picture. They had to re-print and re-lay the picture so there ended up being 2 layers of that nasty edible picture stuff there - oh well, we just scraped it off ourselves and you'd never know to look at the pictures.

His first handfuls into the cake. We thought this is what we would get with Haley (I don't know why, she's such a bird when it comes to eating - maybe we were hoping).

This kid dove in by the fistfuls! He loved it (although it's not like he's ever met a food he didn't like)! I think his first experience with birthday cake is exactly what every kid should do and look like. Perfection!

You'll notice in the top left side of this picture, there is just one small piece of cake - he wasn't about to let anything his the floor! It was just that spotless when we finished. I think he may have dropped that for my benefit - I had just got the camera to take a picture of the spotless mat.

It wasn't long after the cake infused eye rubbing that we decided to cut him off. Something about having cake in your eye makes you cranky I guess. Either that or the sugar shock had finally set in. He might be my son, but he's got some tolerance building to do when it comes to sugar (or more importantly chocolate).

The official video of Kale's first dive into cake. Beware, it's a 10 minute flick. I don't really know why I included this - all of our family (the only people that I believe would actually want to see a 10 minute video of my kid eating cake) were there. However near the beginning there is a description/discussion of the most delicious bacon I've ever made or ate (it's like bacon flavored candy).

The aftermath - good thing Grandma Linda has a bathroom at her party site - we needed it big time. This kid was a MESS!

The handsomest guy to ever rock a Mohawk (don't know what his face is about, but I love it).

Now it's on to present opening! We had so many people show up to celebrate with us (especially considering we did this on Father's Day) that we were just in awe. Oh, and we opened presents for like 45 minutes - Good Lord!

I think this is the coolest backpack! It has a dinosaur face on the back and he looks so stinkin' cute carrying it around! It's become his new diaper bag for now and as much as I want him to stay my little boy - I can't wait for him to wear it off to preschool!

Grandma and Papa got him this sweet ride, so now he can quit hanging out on his sisters pink and purple one!

And this is the ride home. We didn't make it down Grandma Linda's driveway before he was OUT cold. Can't say I blame the guy, we were all pretty tired. Oh, and we went to the doc the next day only to find out the poor little man had an ear infection the whole time (you'd never have known by his behavior though, such a trooper). Thank you so much to everyone who came, it really was a special day.

Summer is starting!

2009-06-10T20:30:00.009-06:00

Yes we've gone through some changes around here on the Robo-Family Blog. I finally decided that it would be worth my time to try to figure out some of this HTML stuff and start actually designing this page and making it our own. Since I'm not even close to cool enough to design my own layout beyond just concept, I went too The Cutest Blog On The Block for the background, but the banner with our names and stuff is all me. Go me! So anyway, any tips from those of you who know what you're doing with this blogging thing and can throw some suggestions my way, they'd be greatly appreciated. On to the actual post!

Oh my goodness how we love the warm weather, especially out here where there's so much to do! We decided to take this summer off from boating (this was actually decided for us this winter when we took the boat to get winterized just one freeze too late and did some pretty extensive damage to our third child). However, having the summer to just hang out and not have to worry about the boat, taking it out, who's coming with etc. has proved (at least for me) to be pretty darn relaxing. But we'll be ready for it next summer for sure.

One of the things we've really been taking advantage of is our gym membership (not just to get in shape for swimsuit weather). We joined a really great one called Villa Sport that is super family friendly and is more like a country club. They have an awesome outdoor pool for the kids with a beach entry pool that has a play structure that's just perfect for the kids. Oh, and they serve strawberry margaritas poolside. We've been spending nearly every piece of nice weekend hanging out there and it's perfect because it's close to the house so we can head over in the morning, play and then take the kids home for nap time just in time for the afternoon thunder storms to run through.

The Dude-Man and his shades... his future's so bright!
Our skinny mini tends to turn purple after only a few minutes and asks to go sit in the sun wrapped up by towels. Can't really blame her, I'd rather hang out tanning too.

"What cookie? I didn't see any cookies 'round here." After sharing a big hunk of cookie with Mommy.

Summer time around here also means intramural softball up at the base. We went the other night to watch Jeff's first game(s) and to play on the playground (read: swing for about a half hour). Kale, in true Roberson and Schwab family form didn't even want to eat he was so engrossed in the game. For a kid who eats like he does, that's really saying a lot!

"What Mom? I'm trying to watch the game!"

Haley decided to show us that the single stroller we brought was really a double stroller! Why did we buy this huge double jogging stroller then?! She was tired and just curled up down there, and we covered her with a blanket we keep in there; she never went to sleep, but definitely made herself comfortable.

Dude-a-Man Gets a Haircut!

2009-05-25T15:30:00.006-06:00

Well, you've seen a bunch of his before pictures (if not, look at the millions below). It was time. We tried to wait the traditional 1 year before the first haircut, but you can only take your handsome little man being mistaken for a girl so many times, and besides his bangs were in his eyes (something no little boy should have to experience), he couldn't see. Here's my new and improved Dude-a-Man. Oh, and much to my pleasure, he can once again rock his Mohawk (YAY!).

One final before picture, that's some long hair on a little boy.

This is so stinkin' much fun Dad!

Very serious, don't move a muscle.

The after, I'll have to post one of the Mohawk later - he's pretty awesome.

Only in Colorado

2009-05-23T12:52:00.007-06:00

Last week Jeff's office had a "Det. 4 Day" - you could equate this to a team-building day in the real world. There were several options and one of which was to head to the mountain in the morning and the lake after lunch. Here are some pics he took.

No, he's not dead, but after choosing to wear his swim trunks skiing (pretty much just to say he did) he might have wished he was.

There they all in all their pre-frostbite glory.

On the lake. I don't know if he could have missed his boat more. They were behind a 19' Bayliner without ballast, or comparable horsepower.

Despite lack of HP and a good wake he was still able to go big and impress the buddies. If they only knew... Maybe they'll get to surf next year.

What's Happenin'

2009-05-23T12:14:00.016-06:00

With two kids under three, there is never, ever a dull moment around this house. In fact, if there were a dull moment, that would be so exciting to me that I doubt you could count it as dull anymore. It's been since Mother's Day that I posted last and LOTS has been happening around here. Kale is getting more and more mobile, and Haley is really starting to explore her personality and opinions (she, much like her mother, has one about everything - imagine that). So here are some of our latest pictures. Oh, side note: On the bottom are a couple of them that I've decided to work over in Photoshop - let me know what you think, they begin with Haley with a large flower on her head.

Like I said before, Kale has really started to move his way around everywhere and he's decided that he wants to climb the stairs on his own. Haley picked this up in a day, Kale is taking it a bit more thoughtfully, and while I'm not really ready for him to figure this out yet (I don't have a gate big enough to cross the bottom of our stairs), I guess it's time whether I like it or not.

He has also figured out that when the bright orange light on the camera goes off, mom wants me to smile - so whatever he's doing he stops, looks at me and smiles as big as he can. Pretty cute!

Jeff has been spending a lot of time outside finishing up about 4 miles of fencing (I'll post something about that later this week), and Haley has been his right hand gal. Today the weather was pretty nasty, but she wanted to help anyway (guess she's got some Seattle in her after all - YAY!).

My little ham sandwich, like I said, the orange light goes off... He and Haley were helping me with the laundry and Haley insisted that he get inside the "cage"

Now that he has 2 official teeth and one bump on the bottom he's been allowed to enjoy biter biscuits, this was after a teether toast and dinner (green beans and apples and chicken). He was thrilled to be disgusting - What a BOY!

Holy Haley Faces! This girl has one for EVERYTHING!!! This is her "I'm thinking about it" face only usually she's not looking at me, she'll look completely sideways and sometimes she'll throw a finger to her lips.

This is "Cuddle me" and her not cheese face. I love her eyes in this picture.

This is her "cheeeese" face! You also sometimes get to see it when she's really excited. I also think she looks a lot like me in this one.

He LOVES toilet paper. He will pull himself up on the holder and just spin and spin. This particular day he managed to take care of a whole new roll. The two of them were just laughing in the bathroom and this is what I found. He pulled it off and then proceeded to tear it all apart. couldn't have been happier.

Cuddling with Daddy in front of the TV on a gloomy morning. Daddy was trying to sleep in a bit more - I think you can tell by her face she wasn't as interested in that.

Kale decided he had his diaper, and he shoes on, what more did he need?! He was ready to go and go he did (wish I had taken video of this).

This was her super cute outfit she wore the other day. I've decided to try to grow her bangs out and these headbands have been fantastic. I love the little barrette flower clip that goes into it too.

Haley Kay had Hailey Madison over for a play date the other day - they were so cute having their berry snack with their Gymboree hair clips in that I had to take a picture.

This is Haley telling us to "listen...listen". I love that she always holds her hand in front of her ear for this. She likes to listen for airplanes and thunder.

Finally, Jeff taught Haley that pretty much everyone we know lives in Wa-shing-ton, so this is Haley telling you that and a few other things I wanted to make sure we got on video before she grew out of it.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T14:03:00.005-06:00

All I asked for this year was to sleep in till 10 o'clock and to have breakfast to include bacon. Jeff went above and beyond and woke up early with the kids, got them dressed all by himself (as he'll tell you, he put Kale's outfit together all by himself, they didn't even come on the same hanger). He took them to Lowe's where he had Haley pick out a pot for me and flowers to go in it. Then be brought them home, helped the kids plant them and made me a delicious 3 cheese ham and tomato omelet and bacon. Kale apparently had fun helping out and also eating the dirt, what can I say, he's a boy!

Teething on the trowel.

Helping to flatten out the dirt.

Mmmm Dirt. When something tastes this good, you can't be concerned with keeping clean. And a good one-eye look. Haley likes to look at this picture and say "Kale eat dirt...Eeewww." She's been pretty obsessed with it lately.

Kale helping to shovel the dirt.

It was a great Mother's Day.

Kale is Officially Crawling

2009-05-05T09:48:00.003-06:00

The last thing that Jeff told Kale before he went off to Germany was "don't grow up too much while I'm gone little man". Apparently Kale was asleep when he told him this because over the course of the last couple of weeks Kale has started to pull himself up on EVERYTHING, he's cut a tooth and started to crawl like a normal baby (no more low crawling). You can see in the video he's getting pretty quick.

PaaaPa, Where Aarrre Youu?

2009-05-05T09:18:00.006-06:00

We've been lucky enough to have Grandma out here to help out with the kids while Jeff has been in Germany. Haley, in the last few days, has wondered where Papa is and since Mr. Potato Head has a "tickle-stash" that will work. Here is some video with her and Grandma making Papa.

Giving Papa a kiss

Making a silly face while showing her Papa.

Me, Mom & The Kids

2009-04-29T21:24:00.012-06:00

A hundred years ago when Jeff and I started dating (okay so 12, but close enough), I was welcomed into his amazing family and developed a bond with his mom that has developed into her becoming more of a mom to me than anyone else in this world. She's amazing help to me and a wonderful Grandma for the kids. Last week Jeff took off to Germany for 2 weeks for a deployment (Yes, that's what the Air Force is calling it) and Mom flew in to lend me a hand (and make sure I didn't kill the kids). While most days Jeff is a huge help around the house with the kids, and chores, having another mom around is super helpful. I come down from putting the kids to bed and the dishes are done and toys put away - life is good! Here are some pictures from halfway through her "work-cation".

Kale peeking through the loft, or Baby Jail - you decide.

Mom, in her PJ's (it was a work day around here) gaining a whole new respect while trying on the Kevlar with armor. It's HEAVY!

One way to get her to sit still and watch a movie. Actually, Haley really enjoys being "Buckled Safe" into her car seat and I had it in the house to clean the crud bucket up. When it was all reassembled she wanted to sit in it and watch her movie.

One of Grandma's highlight's was that she found Kale's first tooth. Now, I've been checking daily and he managed to pop it out right when she decided to look. I'd be bummed that I didn't get to find it first, but Auntie Christy found Haley's first tooth so I'm O-fer.

Don't know what this kids obsession with Cheerios is about, except that maybe it's the only solid food he can have with his partial one tooth, but he kept peeking around the box and smiling at us.

On Sunday before bed I looked outside and there was like an inch of snow (I know, nothing compared to MT right now, but I can still be ticked - after all, I spent more than a few winters there). You might have to open the picture to read the sign, I'll just apologize for the profanity now, but I'm TIRED of the snow.

Our little engineer trying to figure out how the dishwasher works. He ended up sitting on the door and looking around at the living room (must have accomplished what he climbed up there to do).

Grandma and Papa decided that the kids needed a playhouse. As usual, they're right. They LOVE it. It has a working doorbell that both kids could push all day long and a telephone that Haley carries with her everywhere. Also a hit? The ginormous box that it came in.

Apparently it's also a great climbing structure. Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Homewreckers!

2009-04-16T20:40:00.007-06:00

Have you ever wondered what an entire box of Cheerios would look like if you dumped the whole thing on the floor? Yeah, I haven't really either, but apparently Haley and Kale had that thought this morning and decided to explore it. Earlier in the morning I had given Kale a small handful in a bowl and stuck the box up on the island in the kitchen. I was upstairs in a vacuuming zone, finished the stairs, came around the corner and this is what I found. I should also mention that they were silent before I found them and in the time it took me to download the pictures and e-mail them to Jeff, Atlas and Bella had completely cleaned it up for me.