50 years and counting!

On August 28, 2009 my wonderful parents will celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. And on August 29, 2009 David and I are honored to be hosting a celebration for them. My parents will be surrounded by 100 of their family and friends - and they couldn't be happier.
As the day gets closer - I get a little choked up. I am thinking about what this day means to them - and what it means to me. As a daughter - I feel so special that my parents loved me enough to stay together so that I would have a safe, stable home environment. I am the youngest of 5 children - so my parents were actually my age when they had me. As a mother and a wife - I am thankful that my mother was a great role model for me to emulate. Although - I do wish she had taught me to cook (and so does David : ).
People always say 'you look like your mom or your dad.' I have been thinking what characteristics of me come from my mother and my father. My parents are two different people - complete opposites (much like David and I).
My father is compassionate, kind, caring, trusting. He hasn't met a stranger - he loves to laugh and be the center of everyone's attention. I take the out-going characteristics from my dad. I, too, have all the qualities that he has but I am not as trusting as he is. I am fair, but just more guarded.
My mother is kind and caring. She is out-spoken and direct. She is not afraid to speak her mind. She is trusting, but guarded. I get my out-spoken, direct characteristics from her. Out of 5 children, and the last, I am the only one who possesses this characteristic. I am not afraid to stand up and speak my mind and I will stand for what I believe in - much like my mother.
As the date gets closer - I knew that I wanted to make their invitation as special as their party. They came over and I took them next door to our neighbors and took some photos outside their pool. It was full-sun and hot. I took down some of their pool fencing and got stung by a bee on my behind (something I will always remember). Nice, huh? The pictures turned out good - my parents were pretty much done after one photo. Afterall, I only needed one picture, right? Wrong! These are memories we are capturing - I wanted as many special moments as I could get my hands on.
As the planning is going strong - my mom is excited. She's helping me plan and giving me her input. This is the reception she didn't have. My parents will re-new their wedding vows, cut their anniversary cake, and make a toast to the committment they've shared and the next 50 years that we pray they will continue to share.
I wanted to share these special memories and let my parents know how truly proud I am of them and how much I admire their love and dedication for one another. This truly is a moment I hope they never forget.
front of card:


back of card:

ben vs. will

it's amazing to me how 2 brothers who come from the same mother/father can be so different. but that's definitely the case with ben and will. ben is 7 and will is almost 5.

• WILL is affectionate. he loves being hugged, kissed and held. BEN wants affection on his terms. when he wants to be hugged and kissed, he'll ask.
• WILL is giving. he will always give ben the best. the best toy, the best sticker, the biggest piece of cake or candy. BEN is selfish. he takes the best for himself. he always has to go first, and always has to have equal everything that will has.
• WILL is protective. he worries about his family. he wants us all to be safe and gets upset if we do something that's not safe. he tries to keep us from being hurt (especially ben and andy). BEN is protective of himself. he doesn't care if will gets hurt or in trouble as long as he doesn't get into trouble.
• WILL is concerned about his appearance. his clothes must match, be clean and fit well. his teeth have to be brushed, his hair has to be nice. he won't be in front of people (other than his famly) not 'put together'. BEN doesn't care. he won't go in front of other people in his underwear - but he's not concerned so much about his appearance, being matched, etc.
• WILL is relaxed. he does just enough to get by. he's ok with not being the best at something as long as he has fun. BEN is an over-achiever. he has to be the best and works hard so that no one will to get to a "higher level" on anything than he is.
• WILL is thankful. his manners are impecable. he constantly tells me how much he appreciates me and how much he loves me being his mommy. BEN wants what he wants and he wants it now. he does say thank you and knows his manners - but he often has to be reminded.
• WILL is imaginative. he can create fun for himself out of nothing. he loves to dress up as a different hero - and do pretend play. BEN is more realistic. he deals more with how things are in real life. he can't use his imagination real well. everything has to be lined out and in order.

WILL gets his emotional side from me. he gets his giving, affectionate, protectiveness side of him from me. he gets his manners from his daddy. he gets his relaxed tendencies and imagination from his daddy. he gets the need to being concerned about his appearance from me (although that's not been the case w/me too much in the last 5 years : ).
BEN gets his selfishness from me (i'm not too proud of that one : ). he gets the lack of desire for affection from his daddy. he knows he's loved - so he doesn't need to be reassured as much. he gets the not caring about appearance and what people think - from his daddy. he gets the over-acheiver, realistic part in him from me. and for his manners - from me too. i am thankful - but like him, need to be reminded at times.
i am anxious to see how ANDY turns out. so far he is made up of the best of ben and will, and so far - doesn't have too many qualities that aren't good. i think ben and will are made up of the best and worst of david and i, and andy's made up of the best of both of us. hopefully - he continues and stays the sweet, loving, well-mannered boy that he is.

between brothers.....

today, on my way home from picking up ben from school - ben and will started having a conversation that was pretty intense...

ben: you know, i am the boss of you, will.
will: no, you are not. if you are the boss of me then you have to buy me shoes.
ben: i am not buying you shoes, but i am the boss of you.
will: no, you aren't. you aren't a parent.
ben: you don't have to be a parent to be a boss. jamie is our boss and she's not a parent.
will: yes she is.
ben (to me): mommy is jamie a parent?
me: no, she's not.
ben: see will, she is our boss and she's not a parent.
will: well, you have to be a grown-up to be a boss.
ben: whatever will ... i am still your boss. now pick up that penny for me.

it was much funnier than my illustration here. you would of had to hear their tone and the certainty in their answers to one another. sometimes, i get lucky and hear their conversations. it seems pretty intelligent to me and i'm amazed at how well they spar with one another and sometimes - only sometimes - i get lucky and it ends peacefully.

Swimming at the Gym

We have a membership at a local gym, not really so mommy can workout (which I SO need to) - but so that we can use their pool. They have the greatest pool area for kids. It's a beach type - so it has a large pool that is very shallow - which works for me having 3 boys under the age of 7.

The kids have been wanting to go to the gym to swim for quite sometime. Having a pool is essential here. It gets so hot that in the summer - you must be near the water. I finally agreed to take the boys to the pool - all 3 of them. I gave David some much needed time alone.

The boys had a lot of fun. Ben and Will are swimming so well. They were doing well going under water and I feel totally comfortable with them swimming. Which is great b/c Andy is constant. I have to constantly watch him b/c he is not swimming yet. He had a great time. We brought some toys along for him to play with which he really enjoyed. He loves being in the water. He works really hard and plays hard. Which is why it doesn't take him long to get tired. I took Will and Andy into the childcare area and then Ben and i stayed in the pool together for alittle while longer. We went down the big slide a couple of times - which Ben enjoys. It is fun ... but I'm not a fan of heights and the stairs are pretty high to get to the top of the slide.

will and ben swimming together....


andy playing in the shallow end - playing in the sprayers. he loves those.


andy again, playing with his water pail.


andy and ben. i had to pull andy's drink out of his mouth to snap the photo. he didn't want to take a picture : )


ben, will and andy. playing...


will relaxing at rest time.


So after we were done swimming, we went and go the boys and went into the summer fun carnival they were having at the gym. They had blowups, face painting, animal balloons, tons and tons of fun games. The boys really enjoyed it.

andy getting a tattoo (drawing) on his hand of a ball. he kept yanking his hand away from the girl b/c it was tickling him. she was cracking up at him. (will's in the background).


will getting a tattoo of stitches on his forehead.


ben enjoying some popcorn.


It was a great day. It was fun to be with the boys and do something they love. i know we'll spend many more days at the gym in the pool this summer..... for our summer's just getting started.