Project 52 {48}

My favorite thing about you:

You're game.

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Got some hair-brained awesome idea?  Talk to my kids.  They're up for it.  Can you sell it as "Quite possibly the greatest thing they'll ever do.  In their entire lives!"?  Totally game.  My kids are most definitely "yes" people.  At almost 6 and 4.5 years old, my kids think little about their decisions.  And that's great.  They don't consider their limitations, because at that age, lets be honest:  The only thing that could possibly hold them back is their size.  We have little concept of the "Risk of life or limb" idea.  And while I'm sure that running with the bulls, or skydiving would be really great, I am not one of those people.  I strive to be, but sometimes I just want to sit in the house with my covers pulled up to my chin and watch a little television.  

We talked a bit this week about the idea of courage, and that's something my kids have in spades. We're not a family who believes in a lot of fear (though, as a mother, I have enough for all four of us.  Times infinity.  But never let them see you scared).  We dismiss the idea of being afraid of the dark.  Rather, if it's something that makes you uncomfortable; fix it.  Turn the bathroom light on yourself.  Don't like the thunder?  Lets find a way to make it less scary - discuss how it occurs, a way to think or rationalize around it.  Things you understand are far less threatening.  Afraid that you physically can't do something?  Most of the time the worst thing that can happen is that you can't and with a little practice, that can change.  Being afraid of failure is absolutely unacceptable for these two.  It's my job to make sure that they know with preparation and support anything is possible.  That's not to say that failure is unacceptable.  It absolutely is.  But to use fear as a means to keep you from even trying... nuh-uh.  

All of this to tell you that this week we went to the city's Parade of Lights with our good friends.  We all packed into my car and headed down to the madness.  It was a great time, with hot chocolate, and pretty amazing peanut butter (and jelly in a container, not on your PBJ) sandwiches.  Side note:  if you have a PB & Jellies near you:  GO!!  The kids saw a pretty well make-upped Jacob Marley, rattling his chains right at them.  Scared the crap out of them.  But with a little discussion (and distraction) before bed, we were able to talk through the fear of him.  We moved on and one fewer thing in this world for them to be afraid of.  Because, being honest again:  As they grow there will be plenty of time and things for them to be afraid of.  But if you let fear keep you from doing things, you'll never accomplish anything of greatness.  Be game for whatever life has headed your way.  

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 . Truly Dedicated Mommy 

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.  

Project 52 {42}

My favorite thing about you is:

You're strong.

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Not necessarily physically, although to ask you, you'd say you're the strongest person in the world.  But strong in character.  To be strong in your character at this age is no small accomplishment.  You know right from wrong and in your world, it's pretty black and white.  There is good and evil, and you unfailingly fall on the side of good.  You're like a preschool superhero.  I should make you a cape.  

Everyday when we pick you up from school, we turn the music off in the car and do our best to have a good long conversation about your day.  What was your favorite part?  Was it a good day? What did you have for snack?  Did anything bother you?  With your sister this conversation almost always lasted the whole way home.  With Kale, if I can squeeze 5 minutes and anything more than one word answers, I chalk that up in the win column. The win column has very few points in it.  But Friday afternoon, you had lots to tell me.  

Here was (according to my memory) a recounting of the conversation:

Me:  So what did you do today?

Kale:  We went outside (a VERY common qualifier of a good day).

Me:  Oh yeah?  What did you do out there?

Kale:  I told *Boy* to stop teasing my buddy!

Me:  What was he doing to your buddy to tease her?

Kale:  He was saying mean words.

Me:  That's great that you saw someone being mean to another person and you told them to stop.  That's a very big boy thing to do.  It's important to stand up to people being mean to others.  Buddies or not.

Kale:  What does stand up mean?

Me:  Uhh...  You saw something you knew was wrong, and you did your best to make it right.  

Kale:  Oh, yeah.  I did that.  

I was so proud at that moment I wanted to cry.  Kale is significantly bigger than this other boy, and sometimes (at home) he forgets his words and uses his actions instead.  Jeeze, is that a montessori sentence or what?!  But this time, when it counted, he used his words and stopped the boy.  You hope as a parent that you're raising good kids.  On the whole, if I could pick the characteristics of my kids, cute and athletic would be pretty far down on the list.  Are they good people?  Hard workers?  Smart?  Do they make good choices?  That's what I'm after.  Someone, who, when I turn them loose to the big wide world, will contribute to the greater good.  Productive members of society.  Now, here's where I jinx myself:  I think we're on the right track.

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 . Truly Dedicated Mommy 

Can I link you too?  Leave me a comment.  

And other happenings of the last week(+)

With the beginning of school, comes the beginning of activities, among happenings around here.  So many things I photographed this week and last that didn't make it to Project 52, but I still felt like they required a post of their own.  

First up, we FaceTimed with our BFF's a bit more than a week ago.  Seriously.  What did we do before technology like this?  Write letters?  But where was the instant gratification?  How did you know what their house looked like, what their backyard looked like, what the weather was right then?  How the kids sounded?  Begs the question, what are we living without right now?  It was great to see them.  The kids really missed each other (and so did the parents).  

We roasted marshmallows with turn-ey sticks and toes for props.  And OMG!  Look!  It's me!

We played with my phone in the great outdoors.  Mommy fail.  If he hadn't been completely and utterly bored waiting for his sister to race, this would have been totally unacceptable.  As it was, when she finally ran by he missed her, and she noticed he wasn't cheering.  So this weekend, he can just be bored to tears, let the whining commence.

Speaking of racing... We had our first Kindergarten Cross Country race.  Haley ran a half mile in 5:57!  For the record, that's faster than my marathon pace.  Our good friend, a first grader, won the half mile with a time of 3:31.  That's faster than my one mile pace.  By a lot.  

We took first day of school pictures in pajamas (Dad had to leave for work early).  And the smile was better than any other one I got that day with Kale.  

We jumped in puddles.  We finally got a day of rain, which left tiny puddles on the patio after school.  Puddles just right for putting on her (far too small on her feet) galoshes, grabbing her Tinker Bell umbrella, and jumping her heart out.  

School picture day came.  No uniforms were required, so long as the clothes were fancier than a normal uniform (so no jeans).  Something tells me I'm going to like this picture better than whatever was taken at school.

Aaaand... we did some more jumping.  My favorite is the bottom right.

Project 52 {29}

My favorite thing about you is:

That you're a good friend.

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This week the whole family says goodbye to our BFF family.  I guess, it's really a "See ya later" type deal (or at least it better be), but over the last 4 years we've grown so close to these guys that it's a tough goodbye.  Lets start at the beginning:  5 and a half years ago, we lived in Montana and Jeff worked for a (pretty tight knit squadron) called Deuce.  Haley was born.  This family showed up at our door step with the best spaghetti ever.  Seriously guys, E.V.E.R.  Turns out she was pregnant too and due about 5 months later.  If I hadn't been in my newborn baby haze (and could have seen to the future), I'd have invited them in to share the dinner and started our friendship right then and there.  But I was dumb, and if you've ever been in that newborn haze, then you know where my head was at.  Fast forward a year and a half (4 years ago, if you're doing the math) and we all end up just two houses apart on the same side of the street here in Colorado (again, if you're doing the math, that's stumbling distance, folks).  

4 years of amazing friendship, and many dinners/desserts/drinks later, these are definitely some of the closest friends we've ever had.  We've been through some serious life events together, including recently gaining another member of the club, 2 years of preschool pick-ups/drop offs, a deployment, TDY's, just so much.  It's going to be tough not having them down the street.  They're our go to fire-pit and drinks friends.  Thank God for Facebook (and texting).

Beyond the adults, the kids are hardly going to know what to do with out their BFF down the street.  Whenever we pull into the driveway, they're looking to see if he's out in his.  They're worried whether he'll like his new home, and new school and make new friends (he'll be fine).  This is the first time that they're really going to realize how it feels to miss someone in their life.  I'm proud that they care so much about their friends.  They're loyal, and empathetic, and as a parent, I can't ask for much more than that in their friendships.  Additionally, they really pick some great kids to be friends with.  I can't complain because many times, as a result of their friendships, I gain a new mom friend too.  How great is that?!

Anyway, guys, we'll miss you.  So much.  We'll come visit, and hopefully we'll see you down the street again in another 4 years or so.  And because I'm in tears now, and you're due to my house for one last dessert in about 30 minutes, I'm going to go get my *stuff* together.

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.

Balloon Classic Round 2

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.

Birthday Party and Easter Day

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.

It's been a while

I have mentioned before on this blog about what great friends the Air Force has provided us with, and here is likely the most shining example. Sierra and Tobin we met while we were stationed at Vandenberg AFB in California while Sierra and Jeff were in training to become missileers. Tobin and Sierra, along with Bill and Crystal (Bill was in the same class) would turn out to be our life long best friends who also lived with us in Montana. Also from this class were Mary Yelnicker, Jake Licheliter and Jeff Parish.

When we arrived in Montana as a group we were the only friends we knew, will all of us just couples (or single). We celebrated Bill and Crystal finding out they were pregnant just before moving to Montana, then Caden being born. We congratulated Jake as he brought Kathryn, his new bride into the mix, and then more celebrations as we welcomed Haley Kay into the mix, shortly followed by Haley Madison being born to Bill and Crystal, then Emily to Mary and Brett, and then were amazed as Jake and Kathryn had twins Nathan & James. We cried when it was time to say goodbye to Sierra and Tobin and once again celebrated when they had Kora far away. All of this in just 4 short years. We all marvel to look back on our beginnings and laugh at how there are now 8 kids added to this mix of friends.

This weekend Sierra and Tobin were able to make it out to Colorado for an all to quick visit en route to Florida for vacation. It had been about a year and a half since we'd last seen them, kids had been born, or grown bigger and yet, it was still just as comfortable and fun as always. During this visit we were able to get all the kids together (minus Emily who now lives in California) to meet each other and play for a bit while enjoying to company.

We are truly thankful for the friendships that the Air Force has provided us, and know that these are people who will be a special part of our life forever. We've experienced things together that no one in the "civilian world" could possibly understand and for that we have bonds for a lifetime. I look forward to watching each other's children grow and accomplish things and hopefully become as good of friends as their parents. And while we might not always live close to each other, we'll always be just a phone call or quick visit away, and still be as close as we ever were
.

All of the kids - clockwise from on top of the table: Kale (ours), Caden (Bill & Crystal's), Haley Kay (ours), Kora (Sierra & Tobin's), Nathan? (Jake & Kathryn's), James? (Jake & Kathryn's), and Hailey Madison (Bill & Crystal's).

Tobin: feeling the itch with my not so small baby (the youngest of the group - for now)!

Kora, Kale and Haley in the swimming pool sized tub. Yes, they're rocking the Mohawks (as best Kora can anyway).

Monkey Jammies!! Yeah, they called each other and coordinated outfits (or at least their mom's did).

Me & Sierra - we realized the night before they were leaving that we had a ton of pictures of the kids together, but none of us so we quick took one in the kitchen in the midst of sterilizing binkies.

Now That's a Real Friend!

We're finally getting our fence put in! This is a great day because the poor puppies have had to live with a tiny 15x15 foot chicken wire enclosure off the back porch when we actually own a bit more than a 1/4 acre. But that's not the purpose of this post.

We met Bill and Crystal before they were married when we were just newlyweds ourselves (actually, Jeff has known Bill since the Academy, but as friends, that goes back to 2003). Bill and Jeff were "Crew Partners" at Vandenberg (no, that's not a metaphor for anything) where they did all of their missileer training. We've since followed each other to Montana, and now here to Colorado. In fact, they live just diagonally behind us here (or, within stumbling distance). We truly don't know what we would do without them as our friends - they let us live in their basement for about 3 months while we waited for our house to be done, and now, Bill's been back from deployment for about 2 weeks (and is still climitazing) however, he volunteered to come over and help us put our fence in. The weather this weekend was below freezing and even snowing at times (so cold that there are still 2 holes that couldn't be dug because the ground was too frozen for the auger to go through).

As up and down as life is in the Air Force sometimes, were it not for it, we would never have met such great lifelong friends.

Bill and Jeff (fighting the frozen hose) to cement the fence post in while it snows.